cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Accuracy Confidence Bands Including The Bias Of Model Under-Fitting

New results are developed that give accuracy confidence bands based upon the parameter estimation error of system identification including the bias of model under-fitting. In this context, bias means the underestimation of model accuracy due to selection of the model state order than the true system order. It is shown that the optimal accuracy model is given by the model minimizing the Akaike information criterion (AIC), and that the bias is indicated by the behavior of the AIC as a function of model order beyond the minimum order. The resulting confidence bands are simultaneous so that they guarantee the system frequency response function lies entirely within the band for all frequencies with the stated probability. Such bands are then appropriate for guaranteeing robust stability and performance of robust controllers.
THE CORN INHIBITOR OF ACTIVATED HAGEMAN FACTOR : PURIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF TWO RECOMBINANT FORMS OF THE PROTEIN

Abstract A cDNA clone that encodes the 14-kDa bifunctional inhibitor from corn seeds (L. Wenet al., Plant Mol. Biol.18, 813–814, 1992) has been expressed inEscherichia coliafter being incorporated into the pT7 expression vector. This inhibitor protein, referred to as CHFI (for the corn inhibitor of activated Hageman factor) or as the popcorn inhibitor, is an important tool for specific inhibition of human activated Hageman factor (activated forms of coagulation Factor XII) and has been well characterized as isolated from corn seeds. Recombinant CHFI was expressed inE. coliin high levels but was insoluble. We solubilized the expressed protein by sonication in 5 M urea and 1% Triton X-100. Several steps of purification, culminating with reversed-phase HPLC, yielded pure, recombinant corn inhibitor in about 5% yield (about 1 mg per liter of culture). The form with which we have worked most, 7N-CHFI, contains 7 amino acid residues at its N-terminus that are encoded by the expression vector. Physical properties of this recombinant protein indicate it has the expected mass and is properly folded. Functionally, 7N-CHFI is indistinguishable from the inhibitor isolated from corn seeds in its inhibition of porcine trypsin, human β-Factor XIIa, failure to inhibit human plasma kallikrein, and its inhibition of an insect α-amylase. A second recombinant form, (4N-11)-CHFI, which lacks 11 residues from the corn inhibitor's N-terminus, is indistinguishable from 7N-CHFI in its pattern of inhibition of the three test proteinases but is inactive against the insect α-amylase. This suggests that the N-terminal region of 7N-CHFI forms at least part of the protein's site of interaction with α-amylase.
Association between glycosylated hemoglobin and intentional weight loss in overweight and obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a retrospective cohort study.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between magnitude of weight loss and improvement in percentage A1C (A1C%) among overweight and obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) undergoing weight reduction.MethodsCase records of patients enrolled in 2 university-based weight management programs were reviewed. Patients were sampled if they had a diagnosis of DM and had at least 1 documented A1C% reduction from their baseline value. Weight loss treatment was individualized and consisted of a calorie-restricted diet, a behavior modification plan, and a plan for increasing physical activity. Patient weights were measured at bimonthly visits. A1C% was measured every 3 months.ResultsSeventy-two patients formed the study cohort. Mean baseline body mass index was 35.1 kg/m2, mean age was 52.6 years, and 59% were males. Mean starting A1C% was 8.6. Patients achieved significant mean weight loss (10.7 kg) at study exit. Weight loss of 6.5 kg (4.5% of baseline body weight), 12.2 kg (8.7%...
Visual Models in Analogical Problem Solving

Visual analogy is believed to be important in human problem solving. Yet, there are few computational models of visual analogy. In this paper, we present a preliminary computational model of visual analogy in problem solving. The model is instantiated in a computer program, called Galatea, which uses a language for representing and transferring visual information called Privlan. We describe how the computational model can account for a small slice of a cognitive-historical analysis of Maxwell’s reasoning about electromagnetism.
Fast algorithm and architecture for constrained adaptive side-lobe cancellation

An efficient implementation of auxiliary constraints for a concurrent-block least-squares adaptive side-lobe canceler is described. A QR decomposition of the auxiliary data matrix is computed, and this information is sent to one or more main beam processors, where the constraints are applied using blocking matrices and the individual residuals are computed. Structured blocking matrices are used to derive a fast algorithm and architecture for constrained main beam processing. This approach reduces the operation count of this phase of the processing from O(n/sup 3/) to O(n/sup 2/), where n is the number of auxiliary sensors. >
Quantitative analysis of correlations among flower traits in Gerbera hybrida, Compositae : 2. Direct and mean correlated response to selection.

A Mean Correlation Response (MCR) model was developed to estimate the relative effectiveness of direct selection when other traits also respond to the selection. A measure of the relative effects of mean correlated response and direct response (R) and a measure of the relative efficiency of direct selection (IE) were applied to a genetic correlation matrix of 38 traits. These were measurements of inflorescence, receptacle and involucre, scape, disk florets, ray florets, and trans florets in the Davis population of Gerbera hybrida, Compositae. Generally, traits with high heritability had high direct and mean correlated response; these were often traits measuring disk and trans florets. Traits with low heritability had low direct and mean correlated response; these were often traits measuring the inflorescence. Traits of the inflorescence had the lowest efficiency of direct to mean correlated response.
588 Perinatal Factors Associated with Multiple Large Cysts on Chest Computed Tomography in Extremely Premature Infants with Chronic Lung Disease

Objective To identify perinatal factors associated with multiple large cysts on chest computed tomography (CT) in extremely premature infants with chronic lung disease (CLD). Methods A case-control study of 87 infants with CLD who were ≤28 weeks’ gestation, admitted between 2005 and 2010, and underwent chest CT. CLD was defined as the need for supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks’ postmenstrual age (PMA). A chest CT was performed at between 36 and 44 weeks’ PMA. Nine infants had multiple large cysts (≥5mm) throughout the lung fields on chest CT (MLC group), and 78 had no or a few localized large cysts on chest CT (controls). Perinatal factors including placental histology was were compared between the groups. Results The incidence of premature rupture of the membranes (PROM) and histological chorioamnionitis (HC) was significantly higher in the MLC group than in controls. Significantly more infants in the MLC group had an elevated level of serum IgM (≥30 mg/dl) at birth than in controls. The severity of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) was significantly reduced in the MLC group compared with controls. Conclusions The presence of multiple large cysts on chest CT is associated with an increased incidence of PROM and HC, elevated levels of serum IgM and reduced severity of RDS in extremely premature infants with CLD. These findings suggest that the presence of chronic intrauterine inflammation and the acceleration of fetal lung maturation may play important role in the formation of large cysts in the developing lung.
Effect of cryostorage on oxygen uptake and autograft viability of rat skin.

Abstract The pre- and post-thawing oxygen uptake of rat skin treated with either 0.9% NaCl or 10% DMSO was compared with the gross survival of skin autografts. Little change was observed in the average oxygen consumption of freshly excised samples taken 28 days apart. Soaking for 2 hr in 10% DMSO decreased oxygen consumption about 29% and freeze-thawing caused a further decrease in oxygen uptake. DMSO soaked, frozen and thawed grafts (studied 28 days after grafting) had a 12% higher oxygen utilization than freshly excised skin. Only 5 of 19 autografts soaked in 0.9% NaCl became functional, but 21 of 38 skin samples soaked in 10% DMSO became functional autografts. The oxygen consumption of the 21 takes was not significantly different from the non-takes . An analysis of variance showed that oxygen utilization of skin subsamples could not reliably predict autograft viability after freeze-storage.
Real Time Prognostic Strategies With Application to Stationary Gas Turbines

Stationary gas turbines are increasingly deployed throughout the world to provide electrical and mechanical power in consumer and industrial sectors. The efficiency of these complex multi-domain systems is dependent on the turbine's design, established operating envelope, environmental conditions, and maintenance schedule. A real time health management strategy can enhance overall plant reliability through the continual monitoring of transient and steady-state system operations. The availability of sensory information for control system needs often allow diagnostic/prognostic algorithms to be executed in a parallel fashion which warn of impending system degradations. Specifically, prognostic strategies estimate the future plant behavior which leads to minimized maintenance costs through timely repairs, and hence, improved reliability. In this paper, statistical and wavelet prognostic methods are presented to forecast system health. For the statistical approach, a multi-dimensional empirical description reveals dominant data trends and estimates future behavior. The wavelet approach uses second order Daubechies wavelet coefficients to generate signal approximations that forecast future plant operation. Experimental data has been collected on a Solar Mercury 50 stationary gas turbine. The monitored plant signals were analyzed to identify prognostic information for preventative action recommendations. Representative results are presented and discussed to compare the overall performance of each prognostic algorithm.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Antimalarial therapy for lupus erythematosus: an apparent advantage of quinacrine.

: A retrospective study of 26 quinacrine-treated lupus erythematosus patients failed to show evidence of drug-induced ocular changes. Although quinacrine commonly produces minor side effects, such as yellow discoloration of the skin, and may rarely produce very serious side effects, such as aplastic anemia, it appears to produce much less oculotoxicity than does chloroquine.
Transport processes of excessive sediment

The session on Transport Processes of Excessive Sediment Loads at the 1983 AGU Fall Meeting featured an excellent summary by H.W. Shen of the general points of the prevailing theories of transport mechanisms of high sediment loads, including both U.S. and Chinese work on the topic. The session attracted interesting papers and a good audience. The panel discussion after the papers was quite lively and contributed to the general understanding of the topic. Ray Krone gave a status report on the work of the American Society of Civil Engineers on excessive sediment loads, and guidelines for flood insurance for mud-flood events was discussed.
A new and simple means for self-assembled nanostructure: Facilitated by buffer layer

One-dimensional semiconductor nanomaterials are expected to be important components in future nano-devices. The well-controlled growth of the nanomaterials is the most important aspect of nano-devices production. A new and simple means of growing ZnO nanowire (NW) arrays using a TiN buffer layer, but without using any catalysis or template, was proposed although the crystal structure thus obtained differed entirely from that of ZnO.
Soot coagulation with surface growth kinetics

Abstract A generalized system of rate equations governing simultaneous coagulation, surface growth and nucleation of a homogeneous soot dispersion is presented. Coagulation is modeled by free molecule Brownian collision kinetics and surface growth is treated in terms of a global chemical reaction scheme. Particle nucleation is neglected and the equations are numerically integrated to yield the time dependence of particle number density, mean size and size distribution standard deviation. A time dependent lognormal particle volume distribution function (PVDF) is assumed. For coagulation only, the asymptotic lognormal PVDF (i.e., standard deviation = 0.912) is shown to be almost identical to the self-preserving distribution function based on comparison of their respective moments. Particle coagulation is found to strongly influence net particle growth via its effect on particle surface area. The major effect of surface growth on coagulation dynamics is a tendency to narrow the particle size distribution
Evaporated integrated microcircuitry for electronic systems

Abstract The problems in evaporating accurate and stable integrated microcircuits are discussed in detail together with specific solutions. Techniques for producing multiple resistor and capacitor patterns are described. Also discussed are circuit interconnections, and methods for mounting the evaporated microcircuitry. Methods for inserting unencapsulated transistors and diodes into an evaporated microcircuit are explained. The paper closes with a look at the future of the integrated form of evaporated microcircuitry, with a brief summary of the current status of evaporated single crystal semiconductor films which can ultimately be used to produce evaporated active elements.
Isotope-coded and affinity-tagged cross-linking (ICATXL): an efficient strategy to probe protein interaction surfaces.

Chemical cross-linking followed by identification of the cross-linked residues by mass spectrometry provides structural information on protein interaction surfaces. Nevertheless, accurate analysis of the digested, cross-linked proteins is often challenging. Herein, we describe a novel strategy that relies on the use of affinity-tagged cross-linkers and isotope coding on the cross-linker-modified species. Incorporation of O16 or O18 during the hydrolysis of the cross-linkers results in a characteristic “doublet” for the undesired products of a half-cross-linking reaction. Therefore, genuine cross-linked peptides are readily distinguished for further structural analysis. This strategy permits a sensitive and facile analysis on a dimeric protease inhibitor, ecotin, showing general applicability to other protein assemblies.
The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act and California's Proposition 227: Implications for English Language Learners With Special Needs

Abstract California's Proposition 227 (1998) has affected the education of many English language learners (ELLs). However, the extent of Proposition 227's influence on special education planning and practice is unclear. ELLs who have moderate to severe disabilities face major communication obstacles. The present qualitative study looked specifically at the impact of California's Proposition 227 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1990) on special education teachers' educational planning, assessments, and classroom practices for students identified as ELLs who have moderate to severe disabilities. Findings indicated teacher misinterpretation of Proposition 227, resource scarcity, a lack of administrative support, and the exclusion of parents from decisions regarding which language should be used to instruct ELLs with moderate to severe disabilities.
The Role of Nonperpetrating Fathers in Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy: A Review of the Literature

Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP) is a psychiatric condition and form of child abuse in which a caregiver, usually a mother, induces illness in a child to gain attention for herself. Because children that are abused by a MSBP perpetrator are likely to be hospitalized multiple times, it is important for the nurse to know warning signs and symptoms of MSBP. Of particular interest is the role of the child's parent that is not involved in the abuse, usually the father. This article presents a review of literature on MSBP, focusing on the role of the nonperpetrating fathers.
Translocation (2;15)(p23;q21.2) and interstitial deletion of 7q in a case of low-grade myxofibrosarcoma

We describe a case of low-grade myxofibrosarcoma with the karyotype 46,XX,t(2;15)(p23;q21.2), del(7)(q?11.2q?22). Only six of these tumors have been previously studied and all were cytogenetically different.
Recent results of searches for new particles at fermilab

I review recent results from particle searches at Fermilab, with particular emphasis on the searches for the top quark at the Collider by DO and CDF.
Life-course financial strain and health in African–Americans

Differential exposure to financial strain may explain some differences in population health. However, few studies have examined the cumulative health effect of financial strain across the life-course. Studies that have are limited to self-reported health measures. Our objective was to examine the associations between childhood, adulthood, and life-course, or cumulative, financial strain with disability, lung function, cognition, and depression. In a population-based cross-sectional cohort study of adult African-American twins enrolled in the US Carolina African American Twin Study of Aging (CAATSA), we found that participants who reported financial strain as children and as adults are more likely to be physically disabled, and report more depressive symptoms than their unstrained counterparts. Participants who reported childhood financial strain had lower cognitive functioning than those with no childhood financial strain. We were unable to detect a difference in lung function beyond the effect of actual income and education in those who reported financial strain compared to those who did not. Financial strain in adulthood was more consistently associated with poor health than was childhood financial strain, a finding that suggests targeting adult financial strain could help prevent disability and depression among African-American adults.
A comparative benchmark study of using different multi-objective optimization algorithms for restraint system design

Vehicle restraint system design is a difficult optimization problem to solve because (1) the nature of the problem is highly nonlinear, non-convex, noisy, and discontinuous; (2) there are large numbers of discrete and continuous design variables; (3) a design has to meet safety performance requirements for multiple crash modes simultaneously, hence there are a large number of design constraints. Based on the above knowledge of the problem, it is understandable why design of experiment (DOE) does not produce a high-percentage of feasible solutions, and it is difficult for response surface methods (RSM) to capture the true landscape of the problem. Furthermore, in order to keep the restraint system more robust, the complexity of restraint system content needs to be minimized in addition to minimizing the relative risk score to achieve New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) 5-star rating. These call for identifying the most appropriate multi-objective optimization algorithm to solve this type of vehicle restraint system design problem. In this paper, several advanced multi-objective optimization algorithms are employed to solve a large-scale restraint system design problem. The accuracy to the "true" Pareto set and percentage of feasible solutions are employed as the performance metrics to judge how well each algorithm performs. A detailed analysis of why some algorithms perform better than others will be investigated, and the experience gained from this benchmark study will offer some guidance as to how to choose multi-objective optimization algorithms for solving future restraint system design problems. Language: en
Empowering adolescent with asthma to take control through adaptation

Clinical nurse specialists, family nurse practitioners, pediatric nurse practitioners, and pediatric nurses in schools, primary practice settings, and the emergency department are at the front line of caring for adolescents with asthma. By empowering adolescents, these health care professionals can reduce the cost of health care and morbidity for these patients. The purposes of this article are (a) to discuss adolescence and powerlessness and (b) to identify nursing interventions that can empower adolescents to adapt behaviors that will enhance the prevention of acute attacks and encourage preventive management of the disease process. The article will also discuss current nursing strategies used with adolescents to promote feelings of power and control of medications and treatment based on current national guidelines and the Roy adaptation model.
Prediction of the dynamic response of flexible manipulators from a modal database

Presented in this work is a modal-data-based and experimentally-orientated method to predict the dynamic response of a time-varying and non-linear system, consisting of a robot manipulator with elastic members. The method utilizes modal models which can be reliably obtained through well-known modal testing techniques. For such a system where modal characteristics vary with robot position or time, modal testing usually yields modal data in a limited number of positions. In order to employ these data, which may be coarsely placed in a robot's workspace, an interpolation technique is used to obtain continuous modal variations. These interpolated modal data along with the mass properties are utilized to form a modal summation solution for prediction of the time history of deformable motion. This approach is more efficient since the modal database identified for a robot can be repeatedly used for a variety of different tasks. Because modal data can usually be experimentally obtained from modal testing with a great degree of reliability, the prediction on this basis should lead to more accurate time response information. Case studies are conducted for robot trajectory planning of a prismatic-and-revolute manipulator, with primary consideration of elastodynamically-induced positioning inaccuracy.
Blood pressure variability reduction and organ protection in hypertension treatment.

It is estimated that approximately 1 billion individuals worldwide have hypertension, and more than 7 million deaths per year may be attributable to hypertension-induced complications and organ damage (1). The mechanisms underlying hypertension are complex and incompletely understood. To better control hypertension-induced end-organ damage, it is important to investigate new and effective targets for therapeutic intervention. Besides blood pressure level itself, recent studies have demonstrated that the spontaneous variation in blood pressure, called blood pressure variability (BPV), is another key determinant of hypertensive end-organ damage. Clinical trials have demonstrated that, for nearly any level of 24-h mean arterial blood pressure, hypertensive subjects with low 24-h BPV had a significantly lower prevalence and severity of organ damage than those with high BPV (2). Furthermore, the cardiovascular complications of hypertension may in fact depend on the degree of 24-h BPV (3). Tatasciore et al. showed that awake systolic BPV, via non-invasive ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, correlates with subclinical target-organ damage that is independent of mean blood pressure level in hypertensive subjects (4). In contrast, ambulatory blood pressure levels and BPV are closely associated with carotid artery alteration, as found in the Ohasama study, suggesting that these parameters are independent risk
Timing of oral glutamine on DMBA-induced tumorigenesis.

Abstract Introduction. A single dose of oral 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) in pubertal rats causes breast tumors by 11 weeks and is associated with ablation of the normal gut glutathione (GSH) production for up to 4 weeks. We hypothesized that glutamine (GLN), known to restore the gut GSH production inhibited by DMBA, given only during this 4-week period, would prevent breast cancer initiation. Methods. 160 Female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided to 10 groups (n = 16/group): Long Term (LT): DMBA + GLN, DMBA + FA, DMBA + H2O, OIL + GLN, OIL + FA, OIL + H2O; Short Term (ST): DMBA + GLN, DMBA + FA, OIL + GLN, OIL + FA At age 50 days old, rats received a one-time dose of 100 mg/kg DMBA or sesame oil. LT rats were gavaged daily with isonitrogenous GLN, (FA), or water (H2O) the entire study. ST rats were gavaged with GLN, freamine, or H2O the first 4 weeks and then H2O the remaining 7 weeks. All rats were pair-fed defined chow. Rats were sacrificed at 11 weeks, observed for tumors, blood assayed for GLN, GSH, gut GLN and GSH and uptake or production calculated using labeled C-14-PAH. Results. ST and LT GLN were equally effective in preventing tumor formation. GLN doubled gut GSH production in LT animals as compared to all other groups (P Conclusions. Oral GLN when given only during the 4 weeks of known gut GSH ablation had the same tumor prevention efficacy as prolonged GLN administration. Not previously reported, GLN appears to affect the initiation of tumor formation in this model.
Optimizing vitamin D concentrations for breast cancer risk reduction.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble essential precursor to an active hormonal form that is an important regulator of numerous health conditions. Vitamin D is present naturally or is added to many foods, and is commonly taken as a dietary supplement. Vitamin D is converted to the active 25-hydroxyvitamin D form, or 25(OH)D, in the liver, and it is the form usually detected in serum as an indicator of vitamin D concentration. 25(OH)D is then converted in the kidney to the biologically active form 25-dihydroxyvitamin D (calcitriol). Food contains the vitamin D3 form, which is metabolized to 25(OH)D3. Vitamin D is also converted to the active form via sunlight exposure of unprotected skin to ultraviolet B radiation from the cutaneous 7-dehydrocholesterol to previtamin D3, which is then metabolized to vitamin D3. Calcitriol binds to the nuclear vitamin D receptor (VDR). The association of calcitriol to its receptor initiates normal transcription and leads to optimal gene expression.
Atomistic simulation study of surfactant and polymer interactions on the surface of a fenofibrate crystal

It is currently of great interest to the pharmaceutical industry to control the size and agglomeration of nano- and micro-particles for the enhancement of drug delivery. Typically, surfactants and polymers are used as additives to interact with and stabilize the growing crystal surface, thus controlling size and agglomeration; however, selection is traditionally done empirically or using heuristics. The objective of this study was to use molecular dynamic simulations to investigate and predict additive interactions, and thus, evaluate the stabilization potential of individual and multiple additives on the surface of the model drug fenofibrate. Non-ionic surfactant Tween 80, anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and polymers hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and Pullulan were evaluated individually on three distinct crystal surfaces [(001), (010), (100)], as well as in surfactant-polymer combinations. HPMC was determined to have the strongest interaction with the surfaces of the fenofibrate crystal, and therefore, was predicted to be the most effective individual additive. A mixture of HPMC with SDS was determined to be the most effective mixture of additives, and more effective than HPMC alone, indicating a synergistic effect. The predictions of mixed additives indicated a relative order of effectiveness as follows: HPMC-SDS>HPMC-Tween 80>Pullulan-Tween 80>Pullulan-SDS. The simulations were subsequently validated by an anti-solvent crystallization of fenofibrate where it was found that HPMC individually, and a mixture of HPMC-SDS, produced the smallest and most stable crystals, as measured by laser diffraction; this, in combination with measurements of the crystal growth rate in the presence and absence of additives confirmed the results of the simulations.
Arboreal lichen in uncut and partially cut subalpine fir stands in woodland caribou habitat, northern Idaho and southeastern British Columbia

Abstract To better understand the effects of partial cutting on arboreal lichen production within woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ) habitat, lichen was hand picked from 1228 branches on 307 subalpine fir ( Abies lasiocarpa ) trees in Idaho (ID), and in British Columbia (BC). Lichen biomass from partially cut stands was compared with biomass on trees from adjacent uncut stands at each site. Arboreal lichen biomass did not differ significantly between uncut and partially cut stands. Total number of branches per tree did not differ significantly between uncut and partially cut stands. Live branches had more lichen than dead branches. Species composition of arboreal lichen changed in partially cut stands compared with adjacent uncut stands. The ratio of live to dead branches was substantially different within the BC partial cut.
EPR spectroscopy of a diaza derivative of meta-xylylene

Abstract Photolysis of 2,4,6-trifluoro-1,3-diazidobenzene in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran at 77K produces a dinitrene quintet. Upon warming the quintet briefly to look followed by recooling to 77K the EPR spectrum of the quintet disappears and is replaced by that of a trifluorodiaza biradical.
DCT image fidelity metric and its application to a text-based scheme for image display

The discrete cosine transform (DCT) can be used to transform two images into a space where it is easy to obtain an estimate of their perceptual distance. We used this method to find the closest fit of the ASCII symbols (which includes the English alphabet, numbers, punctuation, and common symbols) to rectangular segments of a gray-scale image. Each segment was converted into a DCT coefficient matrix which was compared to the coefficient matrix of each ASCII symbol. The image segment was replaced with the symbol that had the least weighted Euclidean distance. Thus, a page of text was generated that resembled the original image. The text image format has the advantage that it can be displayed on a non-graphic terminal or printer. It can also be sent via electronic mail without requiring further processing by the receiver. The processing scheme can also be used to preview stored images when transmission bandwidth is limited or a graphic output device is unavailable.
Salt Species-Dependent Electrostatic Effects on ssDNA Elasticity

The interactions of charged, flexible polymers with counterions of various valencies is a fundamental unsolved problem of polyelectrolyte physics, with specific applications to structure formation ...
Time‐of‐flight scattering and recoiling spectrometer (TOF‐SARS) for surface analysis

Low energy (< 10 keV) ion scattering spectrometry [10.1] is becoming increasingly important as a surface analysis technique in three specific areas, i.e., surface elemental analysis [10.2–4], probing surface structure [10.5–16], and studying electronic transition probabilities [10.7,7–19] between ions or atoms and surfaces. This is largely due to the following recent advances: (i) impact collision ion scattering spectrometry [10.6] (ICISS) in which the scattering angle is close to 180°, thus simplifying the scattering geometry and allowing experimental determination of the shadow cone radii, (ii) the use of alkali primary ions [10.9, 10] which have low neutralization probabilities, leading to higher scattered ion fluxes, (iii) time-of-flight (TOF) techniques [10.20–23] with detection of both neutrals and ions in a multichannel mode in order to enhance sensitivity, (iv) scattered ion fractions [10.7,17] to probe the spatial distributions of electrons, and (v) the use of recoiling [10.24, 25] to determine the structure of light adsorbates on surfaces.
Projection Errors and Cognitive Models

Herbert Simon's interdisciplinary breadth and depth is the most striking feature of his book. Nonetheless, he approaches each of his topics in a consistently formal mode of reasoning and reflection, seeking to derive significant theoretical generalities expressed in sparse but lucid propositions. From his earliest work in administrative science and economics to his later contributions to psychology, especially to the founding of computational cognitive science, Simon exhibits a relentlessly systematizing and abstracting intellect at work. In this book, he is primarily concerned to show to what extent it is possible to construct a science ofdesign of artificial phenomena, that is, of phenomena that are human creations and, therefore, characterized far more by contingency than by the necessities he sees as constituting natural phenomena and their modes of existence and operation. Thus, he is interested in economics, cognitive psychology, and planning and engineering design as cases of areas that involve the study of complex systems in complex environments (economies and cognitive conduct and human organizations). His intended audience appears to be comprised of computer scientists, psychologists, engineers, and planners, although there is, of course, much in this book to interest many others in quite different fields of inquiry. My aim in this brief commentary is to focus almost exclusively on what Simon has to say about mind and cognition in human beings, topics on which he has made very influential contributions. Indeed, he is correct to note that the information-processing theory of cognition, along with transformational linguistics, was
Raf-dependent apoptotic response to lipopolysaccaride (LPS) in IEC-6 enterocytes

Introduction: Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) is a leading cause of premature infant mortality. Bacteria and bacterial by-products such as lipopolysaccaride (LPS) in the gut lumen may play a pivotal role in the gut barrier failure. We hypothesized that LPS may contribute to gut barrier failure by inducing enterocyte apoptosis through a Raf-dependent pathway. Methods: IEC-6 cells (young & old passage) were exposed to LPS (0–25 ug). Apoptosis was measured by DNA laddering and morphology. Mitochondrial membrane potential was tested with Mitotracker™. Cytochrome c, caspase expression and tyrosine phosphorylation was measured by SDS-PAGE. Raf activation was inhibited with GW5074. Results: LPS stimulated IEC-6 cells undergo time- and dose-dependent apoptosis. The induction of apoptosis was observed in the young (passage 5–20) but not in the old (passages beyond 30) cultures. The LPS-induced apoptosis was associated with the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into cytoplasm, activation of caspases, and cleavage of caspase substrate proteins. Inhibition of Raf, the MEKK kinase upstream of ERK, abrogated the LPS-induced apoptosis. MEK1 and MEK2 inhibitors had no effect on apoptosis. Phosphorylation at tyrosines 340/341 was associated with Raf activation and activation increased in the presence of LPS. (Figure) Conclusion: Thus, stimulation of apoptosis by LPS in a Raf-dependent manner may contribute to enterocyte death and the development of gut barrier failure in NEC. Download high-res image (87KB) Download full-size image
Expressive features for movement exaggeration

Given a single motion-capture sequence of a person performing a dynamic activity at a particular intensity (or effort), our goal is to automatically warp that movement into a natural-looking exaggerated version of that action. Consider warping a movement of a person lifting a lightweight box to make the movement appear as if the box were actually very heavy. We describe an efficient data-driven approach applicable to animation re-use that learns the underlying regularity in an action to select the most "expressive" features to exaggerate. Other "style-based" approaches are presented in [Gleicher 1998; Brand and Hertzmann 2000; Vasilescu 2001].
In Vitro Performance Assessment of Distal Protection Devices for Carotid Artery Stenting: Effect of Physiological Anatomy on Vascular Resistance

Purpose:To assess in vitro the performance of 5 distal protection devices (DPDs) by evaluating the capture efficiency, pressure gradient, volume flow rate, and vascular resistance in the internal c...
Ultrasonic detection of viscera slide as an indicator of abdominal wall adhesions

Real-time ultrasonography can detect the movement of viscera immediately deep to the abdominal wall. This motion of abdominal contents is called viscera slide, and is produced by the force of respiratory motion (spontaneous viscera slide) or by manual ballottement of the abdomen (induced viscera slide). Viscera slide was observed in 18 "normal" subjects (no history of previous abdominal surgery or peritonitis) and in 24 subjects at "risk" for abdominal wall adhesions because of previous abdominal operations or past history of peritonitis. In 14 of the 24 "risk" group subjects, spontaneous and induced viscera slide was restricted to excursions of less than 1 cm (58.3%). Operations were performed on 18 patients, which confirmed the fact that restriction of ultrasonically detected viscera slide identified abdominal wall adhesions in all cases, but no adhesions were found in patients with normal viscera slide. This ultrasonic finding of restricted viscera slide may be useful in the preoperative discovery and localization of abdominal wall adhesions prior to laparoscopy or laparotomy.
Rad51 gain-of-function mutants that exhibit high affinity DNA binding cause DNA damage sensitivity in the absence of Srs2

We previously identified several rad51 gain-of-function alleles that partially suppress the requirement for RAD55 and RAD57 in DNA repair. To gain further insight into the mechanism of action of these alleles, we compared the activities of Rad51-V328A, Rad51-P339S and Rad51-I345T with wild-type Rad51, for DNA binding, filament stability, strand exchange and interaction with the antirecombinase helicase, Srs2. These alleles were chosen because they show the highest activity in suppression of ionizing radiation sensitivity of the rad57 mutant, and Val 328 and Ile 345 are conserved in the human Rad51 protein. All three mutant proteins exhibited higher affinity for single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and showed more robust strand exchange activity with oligonucleotide substrates than wild-type Rad51, with the Rad51-I345T and Rad51-V328A proteins displaying higher activity than Rad51-P339S. However, the Srs2 antirecombinase was able to disrupt Rad51-ssDNA complexes formed with all the mutant proteins. In vivo, the rad51-I345T mutant strain exhibited high resistance to methyl methane sulfonate that was dependent on functional SRS2. These results suggest the Srs2 translocase is able to disrupt Rad51-ssDNA complexes at stalled replication forks, but in the absence of Srs2 the enhanced DNA binding of the Rad51-I345T protein is detrimental to cell survival.
Generic existence result for an eigenvalue problem with rapidly growing principal operator

We consider the eigenvalue problem in the case where the principal operator has rapid growth. By using a variational approach, we show that under certain conditions, almost all λ > 0 are eigenvalues.
Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis in the presence of stochastic and subjective uncertainty

Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses for systems that involve both stochastic (i.e., aleatory) and subjective (i.e., epistemic) uncertainty are discussed. In such analyses, the dependent variable is usually a complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF) that arises from stochastic uncertainty; uncertainty analysis involves the determination of a distribution of CCDFs that results from subjective uncertainty, and sensitivity analysis involves the determination of the effects of subjective uncertainty in individual variables on this distribution of CCDFs. Uncertainty analysis is presented as an integration problem involving probability spaces for stochastic and subjective uncertainty. Approximation procedures for the underlying integrals are described that provide an assessment of the effects of stochastic uncertainty, an assessment of the effects of subjective uncertainty, and a basis for performing sensitivity studies. Extensive use is made of Latin hypercube sampling, importance sampling and reg...
Characterization of polyacrylamide gels as an elastic model for food gels

Serving as an elastic model system for food gels, characteristics of polyacrylamide (PAAm) gels were investigated using small amplitude and large deformation rheological tests. The PAAm gels displayed elastic or viscoelastic behavior depending on network crosslink density. For elastic PAAm gels, the rheological properties obeyed the theory of rubber elasticity; whereas for viscoelastic PAAm gels, shear modulus depended on temperature. The elastic PAAm gel fracture parameters did not change with deformation rate (0.2–5.5 s−1), indicating insignificant viscous flow during deformation. Fracture stress was correlated with gel monomer concentration, whereas the fracture strain remained constant regardless of the monomer concentration. In addition, the stress was linearly proportioned with strain up to fracture, indicating that PAAm gels did not experience finite network chain extensibility during large deformation. Consequently, the fracture of PAAm gels did not result from the extensional limitation of network chains, nor did gel fracture result from the nonlinear force–distance relationship between polymer connections. Purportedly, the fracture of PAAm gels was caused by external force overcoming the gel cohesive forces, and low strength of PAAm gels compared to rubbers caused fracture prior to experiencing nonlinear stress-strain deformation.
Clinical assessment of standard and generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisition diffusion imaging: effects of reduction factor and spatial resolution.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: PI improves routine EPI-based DWI by enabling higher spatial resolution and reducing geometric distortion, though it remains unclear which of these is most important. We evaluated the relative contribution of these factors and assessed their ability to increase lesion conspicuity and diagnostic confidence by using a GRAPPA technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four separate DWI scans were obtained at 1.5T in 48 patients with independent variation of in-plane spatial resolution (1.88 mm2 versus 1.25 mm2) and/or reduction factor (R = 1 versus R = 3). A neuroradiologist with access to clinical history and additional imaging sequences provided a reference standard diagnosis for each case. Three blinded neuroradiologists assessed scans for abnormalities and also evaluated multiple imaging-quality metrics by using a 5-point ordinal scale. Logistic regression was used to determine the impact of each factor on subjective image quality and confidence. RESULTS: Reference standard diagnoses in the patient cohort were acute ischemic stroke ( n = 30), ischemic stroke with hemorrhagic conversion ( n = 4), intraparenchymal hemorrhage ( n = 9), or no acute lesion ( n = 5). While readers preferred both a higher reduction factor and a higher spatial resolution, the largest effect was due to an increased reduction factor (odds ratio, 47 ± 16). Small lesions were more confidently discriminated from artifacts on R = 3 images. The diagnosis changed in 5 of 48 scans, always toward the reference standard reading and exclusively for posterior fossa lesions. CONCLUSIONS: PI improves DWI primarily by reducing geometric distortion rather than by increasing spatial resolution. This outcome leads to a more accurate and confident diagnosis of small lesions. GRAPPA : generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisition PE : phase encode PI : parallel imaging R : reduction factor SS : single-shot
Fighting strategies in crayfish Orconectes rusticus (Decapoda, Cambaridae) differ with hunger state and the presence of food cues

Crayfish, bearing dangerous weapons in the form of chelae, resolve intraspecific conflicts using stereotyped behaviors and structured, escalated encounters. According to predictions of game theory models, any decision to resort to unrestrained combat without prior careful behavioral assessment of the opponent’s fighting abilities carries great risks. The present study examines the significance of internal hunger states and the presence of chemical food cues in this decision process using a 2 · 2 factorial design. Hungry crayfish escalated more rapidly, and thus took greater risks, during agonistic encounters, while the presence of a food source reduced the rate at which fights increased in intensity. However, there were no significant diAerences in fighting behavior as a result of the interaction between these two variables. We then address the complex tradeoAs that individuals face in fighting with respect to increased risks of injury, appetitive states, and opportunities for resource access.
RACIAL PRESENCE VERSUS RACIAL JUSTICE: The Affective Power of an Aesthetic Condition

In the realm of electoral politics, a growing number of women, African Americans, and Latinos now serve at the highest levels of government. For many Americans, the bipartisan presence of representatives who are people of color and/or women is proof that we live in a “post-feminist” and “postracial” era in which institutions are now fundamentally fair and accessible. Rather than assuming that racial presence is synonymous with racial justice, this essay turns to aesthetic theory to advocate for a new understanding of presence—not as proof that racial or gender justice has been achieved but as a kind of beauty that is experienced as a form of visible certitude. Drawing on the work of Hannah Pitkin, alongside writings on descriptive representation for Latinos and African Americans, this essay stresses the importance of judgment, arguing that on questions of social justice, a racially diverse elite is simultaneously ethically valuable and politically indeterminate.
Systemic elevation of ACTH and hippocampal activity during classical conditioning of the rabbit nictitating membrane response

Hippocampal multiple-unit activity was recorded from rabbits injected with ACTH or with vehicle alone during classical conditioning of the nictitating membrane response. Elevated systemic levels of the hormone had no apparent effect on behavioral learning or on the hippocampal “model” of the conditioned response. Data from a control group, which received unpaired presentations of the CS and US, showed that the hippocampal response is learning-dependent. These results indicated that the behavioral effects of ACTH in intact animals is not, as previously conjectured, mediated by a disruption of hippocampal function.
Arrival Time Based Traffic Signal Optimization for Intelligent Transportation Systems

Road Transportation is a crucial component of today's society, which drives several facets of our lives. The goal of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) is to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and safety of the transportation system. Traffic signals are an elementary component of all road transportation systems. In order to maximize the productivity of a city, traffic signals must be able to efficiently control the flow of vehicles. Traditionally, current traffic signal optimization is based on traffic arrival rates, either estimated or forecasted. In this paper, we illustrate that arrival time based solutions can outperform arrival rate based approaches. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that exploits arrival times of vehicles to improve traffic signal efficiency in order to reduce stopped delays and fuel consumptions, thus in turn reducing greenhouse gases and emissions. We show that arrival time knowledge can be utilized in realizing drastic gains in sparse load scenarios and significant gains in moderate load scenarios. The performance improvement translates to reducing stopped delays by over 40,000 hours daily and in reducing fuel consumption by over 650 gallons/signal/day.