cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Essential amino acid deficiency and enzyme activity.

Abstract 1. 1. Complete amino acid diets and diets deficient in either tryptophan, isoleucine, or phenylalanine were fed to rats by both ad libitum and force-feeding techniques. The in vitro activities of kidney d -amino acid oxidase and of liver arginase, aconitase, catalase, and xanthine oxidase were measured. 2. 2. The activities per milligram tissue nitrogen of arginase, aconitase, and d -amino acid oxidase did not change in the deficient animals. The activity of catalase and xanthine oxidase per liver decreased in the deficient animals irrespective of the maintenance of liver nitrogen by forced-feeding. 3. 3. The results are compared with those obtained by other investigators when low protein or protein-free diets were fed. It is concluded that the influence of these deficiencies depended upon the relative priority of the synthetic systems for the amino acid pool.
Organ sites of lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production in the anesthetized rat.

Abstract The objective of this research was to determine the amount and timing of nitric oxide (NO, nitrogen monoxide) gas produced by the lungs, intestinal mucosa, and organ surfaces facing the peritoneal cavity after iv injection of a bacterial toxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Some of the deleterious effects of LPS on organ function have been attributed to NO or strong oxidants formed locally from NO. Medical-grade air was used as an inspiratory air source (50 strokes/min × 3 ml/stroke) or was pumped through the ileal lumen or peritoneal cavity (20 strokes/min × 3 ml/stroke). The air was collected at intervals of 15–30 min for 3 h after LPS and analyzed for authentic NO gas by chemiluminescence. LPS (5 mg/kg) or saline was injected iv. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) was injected to determine the appearance of its NO released into the perfused compartments. Blood pressure, plasma nitrate plus nitrite (NO x ), and total plasma leukocytes were measured as other manifestations of LPS effects. NO began to increase in the pulmonary expired air 90 min after LPS and continued to increase for the remainder of the experiment. The final pulmonary post-LPS [NO] was about 20-fold greater than the [NO] before LPS. LPS had no effect on intraluminal or intraperitoneal [NO]. The saline injection had no effect on [NO] in any compartment. SNP injection increased NO entry into all three air-perfused compartments. Thus, NO from an exogenous tissue source was not prevented from being detected. Blood pressure was decreased by LPS only during the pulmonary perfusion. There were no significant effects of LPS on leukocytes or plasma NO x . LPS decreased blood pressure and leukocytes and increased plasma NO x when air perfusion was not done. It was concluded that different organs can produce LPS-induced NO at markedly different rates and times. However, some aspect of the experimental technique of air perfusion could alter the effects of LPS.
Puerperal group A streptococcal infection: beyond Semmelweis.

Ignaz Semmelweiss made one of the most important contributions to modern medicine when he instituted handwashing in an obstetric clinic in Austria in 1847, decreasing mortality there from more than 10% to 2%. Unfortunately, puerperal sepsis remains a leading cause of maternal mortality throughout th
Advanced technologies for perimeter intrusion detection sensors

The development of integrated circuit fabrication techniques and the resulting devices have contributed more to the advancement of exterior intrusion detectors and alarm assessment devices than any other technology. The availability of this technology has led to the improvements in and further development of smaller more powerful computers, microprocessors, solid state memories, solid state cameras, thermal imagers, low-power lasers, and shorter pulse width and higher frequency electronic circuitry. This paper presents information on planning a perimeter intrusion detection system, identifies the site characteristics that affect its performance, and describes improvements to perimeter intrusion detection sensors and assessment devices that have been achieved by using integrated circuit technology.
Symptom reporting around the menopause in Beirut, Lebanon.

Abstract Objectives : to assess the extent to which women in Beirut suffer from symptoms in the course of the menopause transition, and to measure the medical management of menopause. Methods : a survey was carried out on a representative sample of 298 women; the questionnaire collected information on respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics, life circumstances, general health, and reproductive health; it also included a symptom checklist, questions on the management of menopausal symptoms, and lifestyle questions. Results : the article documents the frequencies of various symptoms associated with aging and menopause; the number of symptoms reported by respondents is negatively associated with employment, but other associations with sociodemographic variables are not significant; smoking is found to be high in the study population and is associated with the occurrence of hot flashes, but its association with other menopausal symptoms is not significant; over a third of the women seek help in dealing with the symptoms they experience, 15% use hormone replacement therapy, and 20% use calcium supplements.
Curvature and mechanics

Classical or Newtonian Mechanics is put in the setting of Riemannian Geometry as a simple mechanical system (M, K, V), where M is a manifold which represents a configuration space, K and V are the kinetic and potential energies respectively of the system. To study the geometry of a simple mechanical system, we study the curvatures of the mechanical manifold (Mh, gh) relative to a total energy value h, where Mh is an admissible configuration space and gh the Jacobi metric relative to the energy value h. We call these curvatures h-mechanical curvatures of the simple mechanical system. Results are obtained on the signs of h-mechanical curvature for a general simple mechanical system in a neighborhood of the boundary ∂Mh = {xeM: V(x) = h} and in a neighborhood of a critical point of the potential function V. Also we construct m = (n2) (n = dim M) functions defined globally on Mh, called curvature functions which characterize the sign of the h-mechanical curvature. Applications are made to the Kepler problem and the three-body problem.
Scene Analysis Of High Resolution Aerial Scenes

In this paper we examine a number of issues related to developing a vision system for aerial scenes. A hierarchical vision system that utilizes evidence from intrinsic and relational characterizations of objects is described. Issues related to developing spectral and spatial operators for extracting image cues about the presence of objects are discussed. Example analyses of high resolution urban scenes are presented.
Initiation of closed-chest cardiopulmonary resuscitation basic life support. A personal history.

Modern external (closed-chest) cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) basic life support (BLS) gives everyone anywhere a chance to initiate the reversal of death from airway obstruction, apnea, or pulselessness. The history of modern CPR has its roots around 1900, but lay dormant for half a century, until in the 1950s several fortunate circumstances merged to allow for documentation of Steps A (airway control by head-tilt and jaw-thrust), B (breathing control by mouth-to-mouth ventilation), and C (circulation control by closed-chest cardiac massage, i.e. chest compressions) and their combination into BLS Steps A-B-C. BLS is only for borderline emergency oxygenation, i.e. Phase I of the life support chain. Both the non-authoritarian environment of the U.S.A. and several role players with keen interest in resuscitation were needed to enable the systematic research (Steps A and B), a chance rediscovery (Step C), and the integration of BLS with advanced life support (ALS, drugs and defibrillation, transferred from open-chest CPR) and brain-oriented prolonged life support (PLS, intensive care) to result in the development of an effective cardiopulmonary-cerebral resuscitation system. A fertile environment led rapidly to the development of resuscitation delivery systems in hospitals and communities. This paper is a story told by one of the role players.
Three-dimensional launch simulation and active cooling analysis of a single-shot electromagnetic railgun

An electromagnetic railgun is one of the applications of electromagnetic launchers, which are devices used to accelerate projectiles to velocities exceeding those attained with conventional propelling systems. A magnetic field is generated when current flows through two conductive rails connected by a moving armature. The current that passes through the rails exerts an electromagnetic force on the armature and causes it to accelerate to high speeds. In this work, a three-dimensional transient model for the thermal and electromagnetic solutions of the launch process is presented. The model accounts for the determination of the current and temperature profiles inside the rails, the projectile movement, and the cooling process after the first launch. Focus is given to the thermal management where five different arrangements, one without cooling and four that include cooling channels, are studied. A 10 to 50 K reduction in the peak temperature was obtained with the inclusion of cooling channels when compared to the no-cooling-channel case. It was also shown that the position and size of these channels can be optimized in order to reduce this peak temperature.
The contrary position to the nonresective treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm

Abstract The operative mortality rate for abdominal aortic aneurysm resection remains high (20% to 66%) for high-risk patients. The high-risk factors are severe cardiac, respiratory, and renal insufficiency and morbid obesity. Those advocating the alternative nonresective treatment of aneurysm thrombosis and axillofemoral bypass grafts have reduced the operative mortality rate to between 0% and 7%. However, in a collective series of 87 patients, there was a mortality rate of 10.3% in the patients with aortic aneurysms treated by the nonresective method and an incidence of reoperation for complications of axillofemoral graft of 31.0%. Many of these patients had subsequent operations and/or radiologic procedures to complete the process of aneurysm thrombosis (23.0%). Because there is an increasing trend toward this method of treatment, we reviewed our experience with the conventional aneurysm resection in a similar group of patients. Of 105 consecutive patients, 19 qualified as high risk. One patient died, resulting in an operative mortality rate of 5.2%. Cerebral, cardiac, and renal morbidity was transient and subsequent operations were not required. Eighteen patients were discharged as well. In the remaining 86 patients, one died, resulting in an operative mortality rate of 1.2%. The mortality rate for the entire series was 1.9%. Indications for the nonresective treatment appear to be increasing by the addition of other risk factors. This trend is of concern. We believe that there are limited indications for the treatment of aortic aneurysms without resection. However, the procedure should not be offered lightly as an alternative form of treatment. (J VASC SURG 1985;2:42-8.)
GENDER AND RACE PATTERNS IN THE PATHWAYS FROM SPORTS PARTICIPATION TO SELF-ESTEEM.

Athletics is the most prominent extracurricular activity in U.S. secondary schools in terms of student participation and school budgets. The latter is often justified on the grounds that healthy bodies produce healthy minds, that school sports boost school spirit, and that participation in school-based sports increases students' self-esteem. In this article we examine the interrelationships among participation in a school-based sport and the benefits assumed to be associated with it. Specifically, we test a model that postulates that school spirit, operationalized as attachment to school, and healthy bodies, operationalized as a sense of physical well-being, mediate the relationship between school sports and self-esteem. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health on Caucasian and African American girls and boys were employed to test the model. School attachment and physical well-being absorbed the statistical effect of participating in a sport for all four gender-by-race groups. Among Caucasian girls a negative residual effect of sports participation was observed, which suggests that sports participation encapsulates multiple effects with contradictory influences. For African American girls school attachment by itself was not a significant mediator of the effect of sports participation on self-esteem. For all groups a sense of physical well-being was the more powerful mediator.
Suggestions to the calibration of weights.

Carefully calibrated weights are needed only for such chemical investigations which require weighings of high precision. Consequently, the attainment of high precision should be considered first when selecting the weights and when deciding on the method of weighing and on the procedure of calibration to be used.
Acoustical comparison between samples of good and poor vibrato in singers.

Summary: The purpose of this research was to analyze samples of frequency vibrato taken from recordings of eight different singers, which were classified as examples of good or poor singing. The samples were analyzed by a software package, which makes use of the linear prediction coding (LPC) method to determine the time varying rate and extent of the frequency vibrato wave. Four parameters, which relate to the periodicity of the samples, were extracted from the time varying rate and extent and investigated in order to verify or reject the hypothesis that the best vibrato samples were the most symmetric ones. Ten samples per singer were analyzed, 5 good and 5 poor, for a total of 80 samples. The results show that the samples judged as good were the most periodic ones.
Sex and race discrimination resulting from manager-client relationships: Applying the rational bias theory of managerial discrimination

Rational bias theory predicts that discrimination may be situationally influenced by circumstances in which a show of bias seems likely to be rewarded or punished by others. This study applies the theory in an examination of managerial sex and race discrimination in situations in which normative or unusual signals are given. In agreement with rational bias theory, the participants, acting in the role of managers, indicated that they would be less likely to discriminate in personnnel decisions with cues indicating that discrimination might not be needed or wanted. The results are interpreted as supportive of rational bias theory and as useful for the design of new policies aimed at ending discrimination. The findings also suggest that the importance of discrimination against blacks of both sexes in management has been widely ignored.
“It’s like a story”: Rhetorical knowledge development in advanced academic literacy

Abstract In the academic ranks of schooling, writing tasks move gradually from a focus on the transmission of knowledge to the transformation of knowledge. As a more complex writing task, knowledge-transforming requires writers to engage in the rhetorical act of persuading readers of their work's value, significance, and credibility. At the graduate level, writers may be wrestling with these issues for the first time, often discovering this more occluded rhetorical dimension only after they have become somewhat more comfortable with issues of generic form or subject-matter content. This paper explores the nature and role of rhetorical knowledge in advanced academic literacy through the writing of two multilingual writers. As these writers engage in high-stakes writing tasks, their rhetorical knowledge of disciplinary writing becomes more explicit and more sophisticated, influenced by mentoring, disciplinary participation, identity, and task exigency.
Ethical dimensions of fetal research

This paper provides an account of major ethical dimensions of fetal research. A balanced approach is offered on the basis of the concept of the fetus as a patient. The paper offers criteria for a balanced approach to fetal research, an account of the informed consent process and consideration of whether selection criteria should include the woman’s preferences regarding abortion.
Absolute i.r. intensities, dipole derivatives and vibrational charge parameters in the perchlorate anion

Abstract The absolute intensities of the ν 3 and ν 4 fundamental bands of perchlorate anion have been measured in a state of matrix isolation in a potassium iodide host. Force constants were evaluated with the aid of the chlorine isotopic shift and used to define the transformation between normal coordinates and symmetry coordinates. The dipole derivatives with respect to symmetry coordinates were analyzed from the point of view of a charge and charge flux model, and the results were compared qualitatively with simple electronic bonding theory.
Globalization in Light of Luther's Eucharistic Economic Ethics

This article suggests that Christ “filling all things,” and abiding in a special way in the assembly of believers, offers moral agency for faithful response to economic structures that gravely threaten Earth's regenerative capacities. That claim is explored through Luther's theology of Christ indwelling creation held together with his eucharistic economic ethics, his call to certain practices, his refusal to minimize the pervasiveness of human sin, and his insistence that in brokenness and defeat the saving God is present and calls forth power. The trends designated by the term “globalization,” as used in this essay, are clarified. Dangers posed to the Earth community by that constellation of trends are illustrated.
THE DETERMINANTS OF CORPORATE LEVERAGE AND DIVIDEND POLICIES

In this paper we analyze the leverage and dividend choices than 6,700 industrial corporations over a 30-year period. Our empirical analysis is designed to provide a basis for assessing the relative importance of the various factors - taxes, contracting costs (particularly, the financial distress costs and the "free cash flow" benefits of debt), and signaling effects - in explaining corporate financial behavior. Such findings can than be used to guide corporate managers in thinking about trade-offs among different leverage and dividend choices.
Performance of a cylindrical phase-change thermal energy storage unit

An experimental apparatus with a water-circulated calorimeter was designed and constructed to evaluate the high-temperature performance of a phase-change material (PCM) in a cylindrical thermal-energy-storage container (TESC) sample. A 12 in. long, 1 in. diam Inconel 617 container filled with a eutectic PCM of 64 LiF30MgF2-6KF salt was tested. The phase-change characteristics of the salt during melting and solidification were observed by monitoring the external axial temperature profile of the container. Energy was supplied to the sample by radiation from a resistance heater and energy was rejected to the calorimeter by radiation. The sample container was mounted in an ion-pumped vacuum chamber. Analysis of phase-change heat transfer in cylindrical geometry was based on the modified heat balance integral method of Tien which provided the solidification rate and time. The thermal diffusivity of the salt at its fusion temperature was then calculated. The experimental results obtained for the eutectic salt melting point (710°C), freezing point (671°C), latent heat of fusion (782 J/g), and thermal diffusivity (0.00799 cmVs) were in good agreement with those found in the literature. The experimental and analytical results of the nondimensionalized heat-transfer resistance as a function of the solidified or melted weight fraction were compared.
Lateral thoracotomy and one-lung anesthesia in patients with morbid obesity

Between May, 1980, and October, 1981, 22 morbidly obese patients ranging in weight from 93.4 to 236.8 kg (average, 145.2 kg) underwent transthoracic gastric stapling. Fourteen of these operations were performed using endobronchial intubation and selective collapse of the left lung to facilitate surgical exposure. The patients were compared with 22 consecutive patients treated by trans-abdominal gastric stapling during the same period. None of the 44 patients had evidence of chronic alveolar hypoventilation (pickwickian syndrome). In terms of operating time, blood loss, duration of intubation, and hospital stay, the two groups did not differ significantly. Despite marked shunting during one-lung ventilation, satisfactory arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) could be demonstrated on 100% oxygen for all thoracotomy patients (PaO2 range, 67 to 230 torr; mean, 132.3 torr). In fact, except for a lower PaO2 during one-lung anesthesia, the thoracotomy patients were indistinguishable from the laparotomy patients in terms of perioperative respiratory function. Pain, sedation, and positioning led to significant decreases in vital capacity and one-second forced expiratory volume in both groups on the first post-operative day, and in the thoracotomy group on the second day. There were only two wound infections in the thoracotomy group, as opposed to six infections with two dehiscences in the laparotomy group. It is concluded that lateral thoracotomy with or without one-lung anesthesia can be performed safely in massively obese patients--at least in those without preexisting alveolar hypoventilation syndrome.
Relationship between sex-role attitudes and personality traits and the revised sex-role behavior scale

Two hundred college men and women completed self-report measures of sex-role traits (Personal Attributes Questionnaire), attitudes (Attitudes Toward Women Scale), and behavior (Sex-Role Behavior Scale). Intercorrelations among the three measures were examined to test two competing theoretical perspectives which dominate sex-role research today. The social learning point-of-view of Janet Spence and her colleagues asserts a general independence of sex-role personality traits, attitudes, and behaviors. The cognitive-developmental theory of Sandra Bem asserts that sex-role phenomena are fairly closely interrelated, at least for sex-typed individuals whose gender schemas cause them to adhere closely to traditional sex-role norms in their self-concepts and behavior. Findings of moderate relationships between masculine, feminine, and sex-specific personality traits, and the corresponding interest/behavior scales of the Sex-Role Behavior Scale, and between sex-role attitudes and behaviors lend partial support to both perspectives.
Defense-related R&D as a model for “Grand Challenges” technology policies

National defense represents a significant share of most OECD governments’ R&D budgets and an even higher share of their mission-oriented R&D spending. This public R&D investment has focused on research and innovation supporting defense missions, and in many cases the military services of these governments have purchased weapons systems incorporating the resulting technologies. Defense-related R&D investment has influenced innovation in the broader civilian economy of several OECD nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The scope and nature of this influence remains uncertain and subject to considerable debate. Nonetheless, policymakers throughout the industrialized economies have expressed interest in “applying the lessons” of defense-related and other mission-oriented R&D programs to such challenges as climate change. This paper examines the characteristics of defense-related mission R&D programs in the industrial economies, with particular attention to the subset of nations for which reliable longitudinal data on defense R&D spending are available. I highlight the characteristics that distinguish mission-oriented R&D in this field from mission-oriented R&D in other sectors and to point out some significant differences among OECD economies in the structure of their defense-related R&D programs. The discussion also emphasizes the ways in which the unique structure of defense-related R&D limit its utility as a model for mission-oriented R&D programs aimed at other goals.
What Relates to Vote for Three Religious Categories

amine what differences there might be between Catholics, conservative Protestants, and mainline Protestants in terms of factors related to how they voted in the 1992 presidential election. Social class was found to be a major factor in how Catholics voted; conservative social issues, especially traditional family values, played an important role in how conservative Protestants voted. There were no significantly distinct factors that related to how mainline Protestants voted.
Modeling the generation, equilibrium, and emission of dislocations at elastically misfitted particles.

Abstract The generation, equilibrium, and emission of dislocations from an elastically mismatched particle–matrix interface under the combined effects of thermal and mechanical loading have been studied. Energy considerations are used to compute the generation, equilibrium, and instability conditions, and force balance is used to find the equilibrated loop shape. When the mismatch strain exceeds the generation limit, which is particle size dependent, the generation of dislocations lowers the system energy, and a stable dislocation loop segment will be generated and bulge out from the particle–matrix interface. Upon reaching instability, also particle size dependent, the dislocation will be emitted from the particle. Analytic expressions describing the generation, equilibrium, and instability are derived. A dislocation generation mechanism map is obtained for the analysis and design of particle-reinforced composites under thermo-mechanical loading.
Influencing the fates of CD4 T cells on the path to memory: lessons from influenza

In the face of emerging infectious diseases caused by rapidly evolving and highly virulent pathogens, such as influenza, we are challenged to develop innovative vaccine strategies that can induce lasting protection. Since CD4 T cells are needed to generate and maintain protective B-cell and CD8 T-cell immunity, and can also mediate additional protective mechanisms, vaccines should ideally elicit efficient CD4 T cell, in addition to CD8 T and B-cell responses. We outline here the process of CD4 T-cell differentiation from naive to effector and from effector to memory with an emphasis on how exposure to microbial products and variables in antigen presentation can impact the functional quality and heterogeneity of activation-based CD4 T-cell subsets in vitro and in vivo. We discuss the impact of different phases of antigen recognition, the inflammatory milieu, acute versus chronic antigen presentation, and the contribution of residual antigen depots on CD4 T-cell effector differentiation and the formation and maintenance of CD4 T-cell memory. We propose that novel vaccine strategies, which incorporate both microbial products and antigen targeting, may provide a flexible and long-lived memory CD4 T-cell pool.
Dose rounding of ipilimumab in adult metastatic melanoma patients results in significant cost savings

PurposeTo assess cost savings incurred with a dose rounding process that was implemented for ipilimumab. Secondarily, to assess response rates, patient tolerance, and adverse effects associated with ipilimumab upon implementation of dose rounding.MethodsAll patients with a diagnosis of metastatic melanoma and who received at least one dose ipilimumab were included for analysis. Doses of ipilimumab were calculated based upon the actual body weight (in kg) of the patient at the FDA approved regimen of 3 mg/kg every 21 days × 4 doses. The exact total mg dose was then rounded to the nearest 50 mg vial size. The potential effect on cost was calculated in US dollars for both the calculated and rounded doses. Waste, in mg, was defined as the amount of drug that may have been discarded if the calculated dose was used for therapy. The acquisition cost applied was US$120 per mg.Results22 patients have received at least one dose of ipilimumab. 11 patients have completed therapy and received all four induction doses....
The Effect of Deformation on Room Temperature Coulomb Blockade using Conductive Carbon Nanotubes

We report fluctuations in resistivity and the manifestation of Coulomb blockade phenomena of conductive multiwalled carbon nanotubes under buckling loads. Individual nanotubes were suspended and soldered between two indium-dipped tungsten probe tips. Using the electrical connection between the probes and the nanotube, electrical measurements were taken with the tube straight (unstrained) and bent (strained). Typical resistances were in the 10 GOmega range with resistivities in the 15 to 30 Omega-m range within the Coulomb blockade region of -1.0 to -0.4 V. Coulomb blockade, or electron tunneling events, appeared to occur at one of the contact points. This effect was diminished or lost once the carbon weld was broken.
Implementing the Uruguay Round Agreements: Problems for Developing Countries

Unilateral removal of trade restrictions is good economics, but it is often bad domestic politics. GATT negotiations for 50 years provided a mechanism to overcome this political incorrectness. The Uruguay Round carried multilateral negotiations into many ‘new areas’ with more complex economics – areas of regulation that establish the basic business environment in the domestic economy, e.g., technical, sanitary and phytosanitary standards; intellectual property law. Doing these things is costly and you can get it wrong – the economic correctness is not so simple as the economic correctness of removing trade restrictions. Making economic sense in these areas requires cost-benefit analysis, experimentation, projects tailored to specific problems. Some developing countries would benefit from reforms in the new areas, but the Uruguay Round requirements do not identify the problems that exist in developing countries and they consequently demand establishment of institutions and regulations that will impose higher costs than benefits on the countries that implement them. Implementation issues are development issues, not trade issues. The procedures of the World Bank are suited to taking on such matters, those of the WTO are not.
Techniques for real-time generation of range images

Range sensors based on optical triangulation and time-of-flight techniques are reviewed to determine, from first principles and sensor parameters, what actually limits performance, and how performance can be improved. Laser time-of-flight range sensors are limited by the photon nature of light, but might be able to produce range images at video rate (thirty 500*500 pixel images/s). Two triangulation techniques appear to be able to generate five to ten range images per second using currently available equipment, and perhaps 30 images/s. Several sensors generate registered range and intensity images which can be processed in combination using standard equipment to extract 3D features in real time. >
The adaptive k-meteorologists problem and its application to structure learning and feature selection in reinforcement learning

The purpose of this paper is three-fold. First, we formalize and study a problem of learning probabilistic concepts in the recently proposed KWIK framework. We give details of an algorithm, known as the Adaptive k-Meteorologists Algorithm, analyze its sample-complexity upper bound, and give a matching lower bound. Second, this algorithm is used to create a new reinforcement-learning algorithm for factored-state problems that enjoys significant improvement over the previous state-of-the-art algorithm. Finally, we apply the Adaptive k-Meteorologists Algorithm to remove a limiting assumption in an existing reinforcement-learning algorithm. The effectiveness of our approaches is demonstrated empirically in a couple benchmark domains as well as a robotics navigation problem.
Sequence-specific assignments and their use in NMR studies of DNA structure

There has been a surge of recent interest, reflected by a sharp increase in the number of publications, in the area of high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies of DNA. The goal of many of these studies is to monitor the structure of biologically important DNA sequences directly in solution; the impetus for such studies was the realization, from early single-crystal X-ray structures, that nearest-neighbor context effects are a major determinant of local structure in short double-helical DNAs (Dickerson & Drew, 1981; Dickerson, 1983). Thus, instead of the previously assumed regular averaged structure of the double helix derived from fibre diffraction analysis, the more interesting concept emerged that specific sequence-dependent distortions from ‘classical’ DNA structure might be responsible for the recognition of such sequences by a variety of ligands such as repressors, polymerases, drugs, etc.
Portable performance on heterogeneous architectures

Trends in both consumer and high performance computing are bringing not only more cores, but also increased heterogeneity among the computational resources within a single machine. In many machines, one of the greatest computational resources is now their graphics coprocessors (GPUs), not just their primary CPUs. But GPU programming and memory models differ dramatically from conventional CPUs, and the relative performance characteristics of the different processors vary widely between machines. Different processors within a system often perform best with different algorithms and memory usage patterns, and achieving the best overall performance may require mapping portions of programs across all types of resources in the machine.To address the problem of efficiently programming machines with increasingly heterogeneous computational resources, we propose a programming model in which the best mapping of programs to processors and memories is determined empirically. Programs define choices in how their individual algorithms may work, and the compiler generates further choices in how they can map to CPU and GPU processors and memory systems. These choices are given to an empirical autotuning framework that allows the space of possible implementations to be searched at installation time. The rich choice space allows the autotuner to construct poly-algorithms that combine many different algorithmic techniques, using both the CPU and the GPU, to obtain better performance than any one technique alone. Experimental results show that algorithmic changes, and the varied use of both CPUs and GPUs, are necessary to obtain up to a 16.5x speedup over using a single program configuration for all architectures.
Biotechnology and industrial ecology: new challenges for a changing global environment

Human causes of global environmental change are invariably linked to inconsistencies in the relationship between industrial activities and ecological systems (industrial ecology). The choice of fuel materials used in the energy industry is directly responsible for increases in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, resulting in the current trend of global warming. The dependency of the agricultural industry on chemicals to sustain productivity in marginal landscapes has led to a global-scale contamination of the environment with toxic pesticides and with nutrient fertilizers that are changing the course of biogeochemical cycles. One of the strategies proposed to mitigate climate change is to lower dependency on fossil fuels by substituting renewable biomass. This strategy has several co-benefits for human health and the environment because it supports investments in agricultural biotechnology while reducing the adverse health impacts of combustion byproducts of fossil fuels. The strategy has limited likelihood for success if “run-away” climate change modifies the ecosystem sufficiently to impact agricultural productivity. The development and global implementation of biotechnological approaches can contribute urgently needed solutions to problems associated with inefficiencies in the industrial ecology of agricultural and energy resources. The necessary biotechnological protocols are available, but scale-up techniques are limiting, particularly with respect to the cultivation and processing of alternative non-recalcitrant raw materials in stressful environments. Key words : Biotechnology, industrial ecology, energy, agriculture, biofuels, climate change, desertification, genetic engineering. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 2 (12), pp. 596-601, December 2003
The Lessons of Flowshop Scheduling Research

This paper reviews the flowshop-sequencing research since 1954 that has been devoted to the static deterministic case in which n jobs are to be processed through a shop in which the processing times at each stage are fixed. The paper then comments on NP-completeness, the selection of criteria for optimization, and the lack of applications of this work in industry. Finally, it draws some conclusions about the possible future of sequencing research and the lessons that this area's work has to teach the rest of operations research.
Synergistic effects of low oxygen concentration, predator kairomone, and a pesticide on the cladoceran Daphnia pulex

The cladoceran Daphnia pulex was exposed to low oxygen concentration, a kairomone from the predator Chaoborus, and the pesticide carbaryl; the combined effects of these factors on Daphnia life-history characteristics were analyzed. Low oxygen reduced juvenile growth rate, mature size, clutch size, neonate body size, and neonatal necktccth development; the effects depended on size at birth (neonate size), with a stronger influence on smaller neonates. The kairomone and carbaryl had similar effects, apart from the effect on neonatal neckteeth development, which was enhanced. In all treatments, positive relationships were found between individual body size and clutch size, mother’s body size and neonate size, and neonate size and neonatal neckteeth development. The most important effect of the environmental factors is probably reduction in juvenile growth rate. Reduced growth rate induced small size at maturation and thus smaller adult sizes, leading to smaller clutch sizes and producing smaller neonates, which had poorer neckteeth. Synergism was detected statistically for the effects of any pair of the three factors and of all together, indicating that one factor reduces tolerance to the other factors. Daphnia is one of the most important components of freshwater planktonic communities. It is a significant herbivore that affects the composition and abundance of algal communities and is also a significant prey item for vertebrate and invertebrate predators (Larsson and Dodson 1993). The dynamics of Daphnia populations arc affected by numerous environmental factors (Peters and DeBernardi 1987; Dodson and Frey 1989). However, studies of these environmental factors have usually been single-factor studies. In nature, the population dynamics are likely to be influenced by many factors simultaneously, and there are likely to be synergistic interactions among the factors (Hanazato and Dodson 1992). The purpose of the present study was to analyze the combined effects of environmental factors known to affect Daphnia population dy
Russian Expansion to the East Through the Eighteenth Century

Most historical generalizations must be approached with a wary eye; Kliuchevskii's dictum that “the history of Russia is the history of a country in the process of colonization” is no exception. Taken unjudiciously this dictum grievously compresses time, focuses attention on only a single historical dynamic, lends to the historical process a pre-ordained character which is indeed usually absent. The historian's critical apparatus is dulled, and the delicate nuance and important variant are neglected. Moscow, it has been argued, was a chosen town to lead the southward and eastward expansion of the Great Russian people because of her physical location on the edge of the Valdai hills giving her control of the crucial waterways of European Russia. (Why not, for the same reasons, Vladimir or Rostov, Suzdal or even Uglich?) Muscovite expansion forms the central thread of Russian history, determining the economic and political structure of the state. It was the expansion which fixed and defined the necessity of the “service state,” which in turn subjugated all classes and groups to the all powerful tsardom. (Why not the reverse—the “service state” defining the expansion—and why did not an independent merchant class come to control the expansion, and the towns and politics of Muscovy?) To pursue the argument to a logical conclusion, die modern audioritarian state in Russia (bodi Soviet and Tsarist) is essentially a continuation of old Muscovy. As the latter expanded and colonized, so must the former. (The role of the Party and the Marxist dialectic, by this line of argument, has no fundamental historical significance.)
Transit Stop-Level Origin-Destination Estimation Through Use of Transit Schedule and Automated Data Collection System

As fare and data collection technology has developed, the resolution of collected data has reached the level of the individual traveler in investigations of transit passenger behavior. This paper investigates the use of these data to estimate passenger origins and destinations at the level of individual stops. Because of a lack of information from the fare collection system, researchers still need some estimate of passengers' alighting stops to complete each passenger trip chain on a specific day. Automated fare collection (AFC) and automated vehicle location (AVL) systems are the inputs to the estimation. Instead of typical AVL data, the paper proposes two models to estimate the alighting stop; both consider passenger trip chaining by using AFC data, transit schedule data (Google's General Transit Feed Specification), and automated passenger counter (APC) data. The paper validates the model by comparing the output to APC data with vehicle location data (APC-VL) and performs sensitivity analyses on several parameters in the models. To detect transfer trips, the new models propose a submodel that takes into account the effect of service headway in addition to some typical transfer time thresholds. Another contribution of this study is the relative relaxation of the search in finding the boarding stops, which enables the alternative algorithm to detect and fix possible errors in identification of the boarding stop for a transaction. As a result, the paper provides algorithms for the proposed models and sensitivity analysis for several predefined scenarios. The results are based on data and observed bus passenger behavior in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, area.
Language Brokering Among Mexican-Immigrant Families in the Midwest A Multiple Case Study

Language brokering (LB) is the act of translating and interpreting within immigrant families by children and adolescents for their parents, other family members, and other adults. Although LB is a common phenomenon among immigrant families in the United States, research regarding its impact on immigrant families mainly focuses on the experiences of language brokers only and not on their parents or immediate families. Thus, the purpose of this in-depth multiple qualitative case study was to understand how the demands of LB affected relationships within Mexican immigrant families living in the Midwestern United States. Six two-parent Mexican immigrant families with an identified child language broker participated in this study. Parents and child brokers were interviewed separately and participated in an LB simulation. The data were analyzed case by case through thematic analysis followed by cross-case analysis. Four themes emerged as pertinent across all cases and included family relationships, feelings abo...
Some Misconceptions about Understanding Autoimmunity through Experiments with Knockouts

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) has served as a prototypic model of T cell–mediated, organspecific autoimmune disease, and as a useful model for the human disease, multiple sclerosis (MS) (1). Frei et al. (2) demonstrate that in two strains of mice with a double knockout, where both TNF-α and LT-α are inactivated, that EAE may develop. The disease in these double knockout mice progresses in an apparently typical fashion, concordant with what is observed in the usual inbred strains of mice where EAE is induced: there is clinical paralysis, and histopathology reveals intense perivascular and parenchymal infiltration with CD4+ T cells and demyelination. They conclude, and I agree, that the results are surprising, given the large body of information suggesting that TNF-α and LT-α are important in the pathogenesis of EAE and MS. However, before accepting their ultimate conclusion that, “these results indicate that TNFα and LT-α are not essential for the development of EAE,” it is worthwhile to consider the limitations of the first-generation knockouts that have been employed in their study. Certain misconceptions have arisen concerning the interpretation of experiments with these contemporary knockouts. This is especially true when trying to understand the role of critical effector molecules like cytokines, in the development of complex phenotypes, like the paralysis and inflammation seen in EAE. Many of these cytokine molecules have diverse biological activities, and many of the functions of these molecules can be duplicated by other cytokines. Thus, in animals with disrupted or “knocked out” cytokine genes, one may expect many diverse changes in several physiological processes, and one might find that after all is done, that another gene and its product can replace the function of the gene that was disrupted.