cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Overview of Volunteer Efforts during the Refugio Oil Spill Incident in Santa Barbara, California

Abstract # 2017-168 Historically in California volunteers have been incorporated into oiled wildlife response since the late 1990s. Prior to the Refugio Oil Spill (ROS) incident in May 2015, Califo...
Placenta previa without morbidly adherent placenta: comparison of characteristics and outcomes between planned and emergent deliveries in a tertiary center.

Objective: The objective of this study is to compare patient outcomes between planned and emergent cesarean deliveries for placenta previa without morbidly adherent placenta.Study design: All patients with confirmed, persistent placenta previa (without morbidly adherent placentation) who underwent the surgery between January 2010 and April 2016 were included in this retrospective study. Primary outcome was composite maternal morbidity defined as the presence of at least one of the followings: death, red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, hysterectomy, reoperation, hospital stay >7 d, ureteral injury, bowel injury, or cystotomy.Results: Three hundred and four patients with placenta previa were identified during the study period, of whom 154 (50.65%) had an antenatal and 10 (3.28%) had an intraoperative diagnosis of morbidly adherent placenta. One hundred and forty patients met the inclusion criteria. Eighty (57.1%) underwent planned cesarean delivery (planned cesarean delivery (PCD) group), and 60 (42.8...
Causal Interaction in Factorial Experiments: Application to Conjoint Analysis

We study causal interaction in factorial experiments, in which several factors, each with multiple levels, are randomized to form a large number of possible treatment combinations. Examples of such...
Laparoscopic Evaluation of the Nonpalpable Testis: A Prospective Assessment of Accuracy

To assess diagnostic accuracy, laparoscopy and surgical exploration were prospectively performed in 104 children with 126 nonpalpable testes. Laparoscopic localization of the testis was correct in 90% (114 of 126 testes) and was nondiagnostic in 8% largely due to preperitoneal insufflation. No surgical complications occurred. Using the criteria of blind-ending vas deferens and spermatic vessels as diagnostic of an intra-abdominal vanishing testis, the accuracy of diagnosis was 100% but the inability to identify either vas or vessels was associated with intra-abdominal testes in 2 of 3 cases. Identification of canalicular vas deferens and spermatic vessels was associated with testes in 36 of 75 cases (48%). Bilateral nonpalpable testes were significantly less likely to have an absent testes (5%) than a unilateral nonpalpable testis (59%), suggesting the possibility of different pathophysiological mechanisms in those entities. Diagnosis and surgical management of nonpalpable testes were directly impacted by laparoscopy in 42 of 117 testes (36%) by identifying intra-abdominal vanishing testis, the location of an intra-abdominal testes or the need for retroperitoneal exploration when vas deferens and spermatic vessels were not found. Accurate knowledge of testis location in 97% of the testes facilitated development of an appropriate surgical strategy (that is laparoscopic/laparoscopic assisted versus open procedure).
Cancer Theranostics: An Introduction

Cancer theranostics combines cancer diagnosis and cancer therapy, aiming for early diagnosis, accurate molecular imaging, and precise treatment at the right timing and proper dose, followed by real-time monitoring of treatment efficacy. This chapter provides an overview of the state-of-the-art of cancer theranostics from the selection of genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic biomarkers, applying molecular imaging techniques for in vivo measurement of cancer hallmarks, image-guided cancer interventions, citing examples of theranostic platforms triggered by light, magnetism, and sound to the design of nanoparticle platforms for codelivery of imaging labels and therapeutic drugs. The challenges of clinical translation of cancer theranostic approaches are also discussed.
College Readiness for English Language Learners (ELLs) in California: Assessing Equity for ELLs under the Local Control Funding Formula

English Learners (ELs) represent critical mass of K-12 students in public schools across the nation. However, states have failed to improve EL student academic outcomes, including college readiness...
Neuro-Mimetic Dynamics of a Ferroelectric FET-Based Spiking Neuron

We demonstrate that a ferroelectric field-effect transistor (FeFET)-based spiking neuron is capable of mimicking various spiking and bursting patterns characteristic of cortical neurons. We propose a compact model to describe the dynamical behavior of such FeFET-based spiking neurons. This model captures the current-voltage dynamics of the FeFET and the critical voltages of its hysteretic region. It is aimed at system-level modeling and simulation of biomimetic networks of the FeFET neurons that are ideal for neuromorphic computing.
Mechanisms of bacillary dysentery: lessons learnt from infant rabbits

The bacterial pathogen Shigella flexneri causes more than 250 million cases of bacillary dysentery (blood in stool) every year across the world. This human-specific disease is characterized by profuse bloody diarrhea, dramatic ulceration of the colonic epithelium and immune cell infiltration of the colonic tissue. A major challenge in understanding the mechanisms supporting bacillary dysentery is the reliance on animal models that do not fully recapitulate the symptoms observed in humans, including bloody diarrhea. Here we outline advances provided by a recently developed infant rabbit model of bacillary dysentery. The infant rabbit model defines bacillary dysentery as a critical combination of massive vascular lesions and dramatic epithelial fenestration due to intracellular infection and cell-to-cell spread, respectively. The infant rabbit model provides an unprecedented framework for understanding how the cell biology of Shigella flexneri infection relates to pathogenesis.
Understanding the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI): A Cross Sectional Analysis of Symptom Factors That Contribute to DHI Variance.

Objective:The Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) is the most commonly used quality of life measure for vestibular disorders. However, there is wide variability in scores, and little is known about which variables contribute to dizziness-related quality of life. Our goal was to investigate the key de
Local structure of potassium doped nickel oxide: A combined experimental-theoretical study

The electronic structure of Mott and charge-transfer insulators can be tuned through charge doping to achieve a variety of fascinating physical properties, e.g., superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance, and metal-to-insulator transitions. Strong correlations between $d$ electrons give rise to these properties but they are also the reason why they are inherently difficult to model. This holds true especially for the evolution of properties upon charge doping. Here, we hole-dope nickel oxide with potassium and elucidate the resulting structure by using a range of experimental and theoretical tools; potassium is twice as big as nickel and is expected to lead to distortions in its vicinity. Our measurements of the x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) show a significant distortion around the dopant and that the dopant is fully incorporated in the nickel oxide matrix. In parallel, the theoretical investigations include developing a Gaussian process for quantum Monte Carlo calculations to determine the lowest energy local structure around the potassium dopant. While the optimal structures determined from density functional theory and quantum Monte Carlo calculations agree very well, we find a large discrepancy between the experimentally determined structures and the theoretical doped structures. Further modeling indicates that the discrepancy is likely due to vacancy defects. Our work shows that potassium doping is a possible avenue to doping NiO, in spite of the size of the potassium dopant. In addition, the Gaussian process opens up a new route towards obtaining structure predictions outside of density functional theory.
The American Civil Rights Movement Reconsidered: Teaching the Role of Women.

This article examines coverage in social studies curriculum and U.S. history textbooks, specifically, of women in the American Civil Rights Movement (CRM) and considers how social studies teachers ...
Seroepidemiology study for serogroup A epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis antibody level in the population of recruits

Objective To investigate the distribution of serogroup A epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis antibody IgG in recruits, provide scientific evidence for further prevention and control of the disease. Methods By using ELISA, serogroup A epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis antibody IgG serum samples of 360 recruits, who came from 7 provinces during the past four years, were detected, and the positive rate was analysed. Results There was no statistical difference in serum serogroup A epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis antibody IgG levels in each years, which ranged from 66.67% to 96.67% with a average rate of 83.33%, content of antibody ranged from 6.23 μg/mL to 26.47 μg/mL with an average content of 12.42 μg/mL, regional difference existed. The higher level found in recruits from Hubei (96.67%) 、Shandong (91.43%)and Beijing (88.00%), and lower level from Henan (66.67%) and Shaanxi(72.50%). There was no significant correlation between the antibody IgG positive rate and education or occupation background of the recruits before their recruitment (χ2 = 0.12, P > 0.05). Conclusions The positive rate of serogroup A epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis antibody IgG in recruits range from 66.67% to 96.67%, antibody level range from 6.23 μg/mL to 26.47 μg/mL, with a average content of 12.42 (μg/mL. The positive rate for antibody IgG varies in different provinces. It is necessary to give vaccination and education for the recruits to prevent serogroup A epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis spreading. Key words: Meningitis, meningococcal; Antibody level; Epidemiologic investigation
Reducing The Noise Impact of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Flight Control System Augmentation

The aim of this thesis is to explore methods to reduce the noise impact of unmanned aerial vehicles operating within acoustically sensitive environments by flight control systemaugmentation. Two methods are investigated and include: (i) reduction of sound generatedby vehicle speed control while flying along a nominal path and (ii) reduction of acousticexposure by vehicle path control while flying at a nominal speed. Both methods requireincorporation of an acoustic model into the flight control system as an additional controlobjective and an acoustic metric to characterize primary noise sources dependent on vehiclestate. An acoustic model was developed based on Gutin’s work to estimate propeller noise,both to estimate source noise and observer noise using two separate acoustic metrics. Thesemethods can potentially mitigate the noise impact of unmanned aerial systems operatingnear residential communities.The baseline flight control system of a representative aircraft was augmented with acontrol law to reduce propeller noise using feedback control of the commanded flight speeduntil an acoustic target was met, based on the propeller noise model. This control approachfocuses on modifying flight speed only, with no perturbation to the trajectory. Multipleflight simulations were performed and the results showed that integrating an acoustic metricinto the flight control system of an unmanned aerial system is possible and useful. A secondmethod to mitigate the effects of noise on an observer was also pursued to optimize a tra-jectory in order to avoid an acoustically sensitive region during the path planning process.After the propeller noise model was incorporated into the vehicle system, simulations showedthat it is possible to reduce the noise impact on an observer through an optimization of thetrajectory with no perturbation to the flight speed.
Simulation models for mobile-to-mobile channels with isotropic and nonisotropic scattering

Recent radio channel measurements in peer-to-peer (P2P) and mobile-to-mobile network indicate that, depending on the mobility of the terminals and scattering properties of the environment, the predominate fading mechanism contains a combination of Rayleigh and double Rayleigh fading with or without line-of-sight (LoS) component. In this paper, we present the statistical and deterministic models by the sum-of-complex-sinusoids to simulate the channels in isotropic and non-isotropic scattering. The auto- and cross correlations of the in-phase, quadrature components, and squared envelopes of the channels are derived. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations are performed to validate the statistical properties of the proposed models. The time-average statistical properties and the corresponding variances are also investigated to justify that the models achieve satisfactory convergence performance.
Poroelastodynamic responses of a dual-porosity dual-permeability material under harmonic loading

Abstract We solve analytically and numerically a two-dimensional boundary value problem for the poroelastodynamic responses of a dual-porosity dual-permeability material subjected to harmonic excitation. To derive the analytical solutions, we first apply Helmholtz decomposition to decompose displacement vectors into divergence- and curl-free components. Then we use the diagonalization method to solve a series of coupled partial differential equations. The numerical solution is obtained using the finite element method. We present an example showing that the analytical and numerical solutions are close to each other.
Dragonflies in the African Bush: Security Ramifications of Low-Cost Light Attack/Air Reconnaissance Aircraft Proliferation and the Chinese Aviation Industry

The adaptation of civilian agricultural aircraft into a military attack and reconnaissance role represents a potential proliferation risk to US interests in areas of low-intensity conflict, particularly if the Chinese aviation industry builds on initial investments made by Chinese state-owned enterprises. Judging the likelihood of this shift, however, remains difficult. While not a high-tech threat, this type of aircraft has the potential to disrupt US diplomatic and military operations, as well as economic interests, in areas where advanced air-defense systems are not present, exploiting a narrow capabilities gap between these and man-portable countermeasures. The rapid advances Chinese firms have made in the international military UAV market and recent domestic reforms poise them uniquely to capitalize on the market for this type of aircraft, particularly in the African theater, and the issue begs closer attention from US military and intelligence institutions.
Latin American Culture and the Limits of the Human. Editado por Lucy Bollington y Paul Merchant. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 2020. 324 páginas.

La resena comenta la coleccion "Latin American Culture and the Limits of the Human", editada por Lucy Bollington y Paul Merchant. Se valora su contribucion al campo de los estudios criticos del posthumanismo en America Latina y se detallan sus contenidos.
Numerical Analysis of the Evolutionary Variational Inequalities

We will now derive and analyse finite element and finite volume approximations for evolutionary variational inequalities studied in Chapter 3 from the analytical point of view. For this purpose we often exploit results obtained in Chapter 4 for the numerical treatment of elliptic variational inequalities.
Applications of Carbon Nanomaterials as Electrical Interconnects and Thermal Interface Materials

A brief review on CNT structure, electrical property, heat transport, and synthesis methods, CNT applications as electrical interconnects and TIMs, CNT integration into circuits and packaging, with focus on CNT transfer technology, are presented. In comparison with CNT/polymer composites, nanographite/polymer composites are more promising for TIM applications, which is discussed together with current thermal measurement techniques, commercialized and non-commercialized.
Compliance as Resistance to Normative Control: Evidence from the Corporatisation of Science in New Zealand

When the New Zealand Government restructured the system of the public funding of research (1990-1992) it created Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) as companies operating in a global, market-led economy. One CRI, YCo 1 , responded to this environment by corporatisation and instituted a normative system of control of workers which, through strategic plans, vision and mission statements, and performance assessment processes, encouraged workers to adhere to company goals. This paper, reporting on an ethnographic study of this CRI, shows how most scientific workers (technical staff and scientists alike) experienced insecurity through estrangement because the contributions they wished to make were less valued both in society and in their work organisation. They were excluded from participation in both organisational and Government policy-making, and felt they did not 'belong' anymore. Scientists in particular were also experiencing alienation (in the Marxist sense), as they were losing autonomy over the production of their work and its end use. Scientific workers developed tactics in order to resist these experiences and ostensibly comply with organisational goals while maintaining and protecting their self-identities, and making their work meaningful. Meanwhile the work of the CRI continued.
Down-regulation of LXR/RXR activation and negative acute phase response pathways in colon adenocarcinoma revealed by proteomics and bioinformatics analysis

Background and objective Deficiency of vitamin D could be a major cause of colon cancer as suggested as early as 1980 by Drs. Cedric and Frank Garland of the University of California and has recently been underscored by a large European case control study. Whether vitamin D deficiency is because of inadequate intake (food and sunshine) or because of vitamin D metabolism disorder in the patient body is unknown. A proteomics approach to identify protein pathways associated with vitamin D transportation and metabolism pathways will help us understand better the pathology of the colon cancer. Methods Lysates of colon adenocarcinoma tissues and their matched healthy tissues, from seven colon cancer patients, have been evaluated by quantitative proteomics and bioinformatics analysis to determine protein expression profiles. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering and principle component analysis (PCA) were utilized for protein expression profiling and biomarker identification, while the reporter ion ratios from tandem-mass-tagging (TMT) labeled peptides were used for quantification. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was used to analyze protein pathways. Results and conclusion Proteomics analyses demonstrated that the proteins involved in vitamin D/E binding, heme/iron binding and transportation, and lipid/steroid transportation/metabolic systems were down-regulated in colon cancer and the same set of proteins were down-regulated in the LXR/RXR activation and acute-phase response pathways, revealing a plausible mechanistic connection between vitamin D deficiency, iron homeostasis, and colon cancer.
Reliability Forecasting of a Load-Haul-Dump Machine: A Comparative Study of ARIMA and Neural Networks

Both the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA or the Box–Jenkins technique) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) are viable alternatives to the traditional reliability analysis methods (e.g., Weibull analysis, Poisson processes, non-homogeneous Poisson processes, and Markov methods). Time series analysis of the times between failures (TBFs) via ARIMA or ANNs does not have the limitations of the traditional methods such as requirements/assumptions of a priori postulation and/or statistically independent and identically distributed observations for TBFs. The reliability of an LHD unit was investigated by analysis of TBFs. Seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) was employed for both modeling and forecasting the failures. The results were compared with a genetic algorithm-based (ANNs) model. An optimal ARIMA model, after a Box–Cox transformation of the cumulative TBFs, outperformed ANNs in forecasting the LHD's TBFs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Scheduling of Parallel Jobs in a Heterogeneous Multi-site Environment

Most previous research on job scheduling for heterogeneous systems considers a scenario where each job or task is mapped to a single processor. On the other hand, research on parallel job scheduling has concentrated primarily on the homogeneous context. In this paper, we address the scheduling of parallel jobs in a heterogeneous multi-site environment, where each site has a homogeneous cluster of processors, but processors at different sites have different speeds. Starting with a simple greedy scheduling strategy, we propose and evaluate several enhancements using trace driven simulations. We consider the use of multiple simultaneous reservations at different sites, use of relative job efficacy as a queuing priority, and compare the use of conservative versus aggressive backfilling. Unlike the single-site case, conservative backfilling is found to be consistently superior to aggressive backfilling for the heterogeneous multi-site environment.
Computer science laboratory projects: Breadth through depth

We present a Java toolkit platform (Java Power Tools) to support GUI's and IO in a safe way that takes advantage of the Java Swing capabilities and provides a framework for GUI design. Java Power Tools provides support for input and display of all types of data through safe conversion to and from a String (by implementing the Stringable Interface). recursively defined Displays allow for combining simple display panels into complex user interfaces. The design is based on Model-View-Controller paradigm. The design of all components is clean and extensible and provides a model for building user interfaces that students can first use with ease, and later study to learn the proper design techniques in Java. JPT will be available for testing and a suite of projects and laboratory assignments will be available by October 2000. This tutorial will focus on the pedagogical aspects of the toolkits and present ideas for use in student projects.
Crater degradation in the Noachian highlands of Mars: Assessing the hypothesis of regional snow and ice deposits on a cold and icy early Mars

Abstract The presence of valley networks and the highly degraded state of Noachian highland craters has led to the interpretation that Mars was once warmer and wetter. Recent climate models have suggested, however, that the extremely cold climate in the Noachian would be unlikely to support liquid water precipitation. The presence of a thicker atmosphere thermally coupled to the surface is predicted instead to concentrate surface snow and ice deposits in the higher-altitude southern highlands, producing a Late Noachian Icy Highlands (LNIH) characterized by hundreds of meters of relatively continuous ice cover. In this study we test this hypothesis by reevaluating the degradation state of Noachian highland craters to assess whether their degradation state might be attained in such a cold and icy climate. We review the characteristics of Amazonian-aged impact craters hypothesized to form in surface snow and ice layers (excess ejecta, EE; double-layered ejecta, DLE; and pedestal, Pd, craters) to provide the potential initial conditions of craters forming in Late Noachian surface snow and ice layers. We then examine modification processes active in the Amazonian that may have played a role in crater degradation in the Late Noachian. In addition, we examine the potential morphometric effects of impacting into a thick surface ice deposit, and the potential erosive effects of backwasting, top-down melting, basal ice melting, and atmospheric warming pulses on the morphology of Noachian highland craters. We find that several aspects of the highly degraded state of Noachian craters could be accounted for in the context of a cold and icy climate, and we outline further tests of the hypothesis.
A dislocation model for the Parkfield earthquake

Using the Haskell formulation relating the displacement time history on a fault surface to the displacement time history at a point in an infinite space, a propagating dislocation has been used to model the Parkfield, California, earthquake of June 27, 1966. Reasonable agreement is obtained with displacement from doubly integrated accelerograms using a model with a propagation velocity of 2.8 to 3.0 km/sec, displacement of 25 cm, and particle velocity at the fault of greater than 10 cm/sec. From the model, trigger times of the accelerometers can be estimated and are up to 4 sec after the first P arrivals. A high-frequency phase on the vertical accelerogram can be related to P waves originating from irregularities of the rupture process. Calculation of surface-wave arrival times shows that (1) surface waves may be important on the displacement records before body-wave arrivals ended and (2) when the observations diverge from the model, it could be due to surface waves.
Physico-chemical characteristics of the levan produced by streptococcus salivarius

Abstract The levan from Streptococcus salivarius has an intrinsic viscosity of 0.15–0.16 dl/g. It sedimented as a single peak in the ultracentrifuge with a sedimentation constant of 215–217 S. The levan has a molecular weight of 16–23 million. The biological implications of these properties have been discussed.
Calibrating hydrogeologic parameters for the 3-D site-scale unsaturated zone model of Yucca Mountain, Nevada

An important issue in the evaluation of the unsaturated zone (UZ) at Yucca Mountain, Nevada is the calibration of the parameters used in the 3-D site-scale numerical flow model. The hydrogeologic parameters are calibrated using an inversion code (ITOUGH2) to fit measured core sample and in situ data according to statistical criteria. The available data include saturations, water potentials, pneumatic pressure records, and pore water age estimates based on geochemical analyses. Five 1-D columns are extracted from the 3-D site-scale model and used in an inversion that matches data from the five boreholes simultaneously. This results in layer-averaged fracture and matrix permeabilities and van Genuchten fitting parameters. The columns are then refined and individual inversions are performed with each 1-D model to develop a spatially varying parameter set. A number of sensitivity studies are performed to evaluate the effects of modeling assumptions on the calibrated parameters. Several fracture-matrix interaction formulations are also investigated during the study. The results show that the calibrated parameter set concluded to be most consistent with the conceptual model provides a good fit to the ambient data. The study also shows that the choice of the fracture-matrix interaction formulation has a significant effect on the calibrated parameter set.
Sex differences in running-wheel behaviour in the rat: The inductive and activational effects of gonadal hormones

Abstract I compared the effect of oestradiol benzoate (OB) administration on running-wheel activity in gonadectomized male, female and neonatally androgenized female rats. In the first experiment, conducted on 300–400-day-old animals, OB stimulated running-wheel activity of female rats to a significantly greater extent than that of males or neonatally androgenized females. In the second experiment, conducted on 91-day-old rats, females exhibited maximal activity at lower doses of OB than males. Previous experiments have shown that open-field activity, a putative measure of susceptibility to fear, is subject to group differences in OB responsiveness (i.e. between male, female, androgenized female) which parallel those seen in the present study; thus, gender differences in open-field activity may reflect group differences in general activity rather than male/female differences in emotionality or susceptibility to fear.
Kinetic roughening, global quantities, and fluctuation–dissipation relations

Abstract Growth processes and interface fluctuations can be studied through the properties of global quantities. We here discuss a global quantity that not only captures better the roughness of an interface than the widely studied surface width, but that is also directly conjugate to an experimentally accessible parameter, thereby allowing us to study in a consistent way the global response of the system to a global change of external conditions. Exploiting the full analyticity of the linear Edwards–Wilkinson and Mullins–Herring equations, we study in detail various two-time functions related to that quantity. This quantity fulfills the fluctuation–dissipation theorem when considering steady-state equilibrium fluctuations.
Elderly Mobility and the Occupancy Status of Single-Family Homes

This research explores the occupancy status and tenure transitions of single-family homes from which elderly homeowners recently moved. First, we compare the housing and neighborhood characteristics of homes vacated by nonelderly and elderly homeowners. Then, we use a multinomial logit model to test the extent to which these characteristics are associated with the home's subsequent vacancy and tenure status. The results indicate that a lack of recent updates and modern amenities may hinder subsequent owner occupancy of homes vacated by the oldest homeowners.
The Strategic Computing Program at four years: Implications and intimations

Examining the Strategic Computing Program after four years, in the context of the crucial recognition that it is only a small part of the whole range of military artificial intelligence applications, suggests a number of clear implications and intimations about such crucial questions as: 1) the current roles of industry and the universities in developing high technology war; 2) the effects on political and military policy of high-tech weapons systems; and 3) the importance of advanced military computing to subtle philosophical dilemmas including human self-definition and the future of war.
Financial Growth and Macroeconomic Stability in China, 1978-1992: Implications for Russia and Other Transitional Economies

Abstract From the start of its liberalizing reforms after 1978, China′s price level remained remarkably stable compared to the more recent experiences of liberalizing economies in Eastern Europe. This stability is puzzling because Chinese public finances deteriorated with falling government revenues and heavy borrowing from the state banking system. A major price inflation in China was avoided by a huge, voluntary build up of household financial assets, mainly claims on the state banking system. At the same time, remarkably little bank credit was given to the newly liberalized, rapidly growing sectors in industry and agriculture. In the early years, before competition from the liberalized sectors was fully effective, rationalized price controls on the unreformed state owned enterprises were also necessary to peg China′s nominal price level. J. Comp. Econom., June 1994, 18 (3), pp. 438-469. Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305.
Abstract 313: ATDC drives bladder cancer formation by promoting methylation of the PTEN promoter and inhibition of p53 function.

Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC Bladder cancer is the 5th most common malignancy and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, but the molecular events leading to its development are incompletely understood. We have identified an oncogene, Ataxia-Telangiectasia Group D Complementing (ATDC) gene, which drives formation and progression of pancreatic and bladder tumors. To better characterize the oncogenic function of ATDC, we generated transgenic (tg) mice which overexpress ATDC and the predominant phenotype of these mice was the development of non-invasive and muscle-invasive urothelial carcinomas. Tg bladder tumors were histologically identical to human tumors and displayed a similar gene expression signature to human invasive bladder tumors. ATDC expression was assessed in a tissue microarray and was highly up-regulated in 70% of human invasive bladder tumors (173/252). High expression of ATDC correlated with more advanced stage disease and worse survival after chemotherapy (p = 0.002). ATDC knockdown in human bladder cancer cell lines correlated with increased sensitivity to chemotherapy in vitro and decreased proliferation and invasion both in vitro and in vivo in a human bladder cancer xenograft model. To understand the mechanism of ATDC-mediated tumor formation, we modulated ATDC expression in normal and bladder cancer cells lines. ATDC overexpression down-regulated PTEN levels via DNA promoter methylation by DNMT3A in both tg mouse tumors and human cell lines. IHC analysis of ATDC, PTEN and DNMT3A expression in human bladder tumors specimens demonstrated similar findings. ATDC was also found to bind to p53 and inhibit p53 mediated functions. These findings establish ATDC as a novel determinant of bladder cancer initiation, progression and resistance to treatment which mediates tumorigenesis by down-regulation of PTEN expression and inhibition of p53. Citation Format: Phillip Palmbos, Lidong Wang, Huibin Yang, Taylor Detzler, Gina Ney, Justin Hart, Stephanie Daignault-Newton, L. Priya Kunju, Chandan Kumar-Sinha, Monica Liebert, Mats Ljungman, Diane Simeone. ATDC drives bladder cancer formation by promoting methylation of the PTEN promoter and inhibition of p53 function. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 313. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-313
Refined structure of rat Clara cell 17 kDa protein at 3·0 Å resolution

Abstract The rat Clara cell 17 kDa protein (previously referred to as the rat Clara cell 10 kDa protein) has been reported to inhibit phospholipase A2 and papain, and to also bind progesterone. It has been isolated from rat lung lavage fluid and crystallized in the space group P6522. The structure has been determined to 3·0 A resolution using the molecular replacement method. Uteroglobin, whose amino acid sequence is 55·7% identical, was used as the search model. The structure was then refined using restrained least-squares and simulated annealing methods. The R-factor is 22·5%. The protein is a covalently bound dimer. Two disulfide bonds join the monomers together in an antiparallel manner such that the dimer encloses a large internal hydrophobic cavity. The hydrophobic cavity is large enough to serve as the progesterone binding site, but access to the cavity is limited. Each monomer is composed of four α-helices. The main-chain structure of the Clara cell protein closely resembles that of uteroglobin, but the nature of many of the exposed side-chains differ. This is true, particularly in a hypervariable region between residues 23 and 36, and in the H1H4 pocket.
The psychodynamics of obesity: A review.

Le modele «psychodynamique» cense rendre compte de l'obesite est controverse. Bien que la mise a l'epreuve empirique de ce modele psychanalytique ait mis en evidence certaines lacunes concernant le role de l'affect dans le comportement alimentaire, de recentes donnees experimentales confirment le caractere central de cette dynamique affective
Broken SU(3) symmetry from quark interchange

The one-boson-exchange model is related to a bag-model quark-interchange mechanism for the hadronic interactions at low energy and momentum transfer. These mesonic interactions are a consequence of quark reflections in the color-confining hadronic surface region, where such events in neighboring hadrons are required to be paired for chiral invariance to hold in each perturbative hadronic interior.
Swimming performance of a biomimetic compliant fish-like robot

Digital particle image velocimetry and fluorescent dye visualization are used to characterize the performance of fish-like swimming robots. During nominal swimming, these robots produce a ‘V’-shaped double wake, with two reverse-Karman streets in the far wake. The Reynolds number based on swimming speed and body length is approximately 7500, and the Strouhal number based on flapping frequency, flapping amplitude, and swimming speed is 0.86. It is found that swimming speed scales with the strength and geometry of a composite wake, which is constructed by freezing each vortex at the location of its centroid at the time of shedding. Specifically, we find that swimming speed scales linearly with vortex circulation. Also, swimming speed scales linearly with flapping frequency and the width of the composite wake. The thrust produced by the swimming robot is estimated using a simple vortex dynamics model, and we find satisfactory agreement between this estimate and measurements made during static load tests.
An efficient probabilistic framework for multi-dimensional classification

The objective of multi-dimensional classification is to learn a function that accurately maps each data instance to a vector of class labels. Multi-dimensional classification appears in a wide range of applications including text categorization, gene functionality classification, semantic image labeling, etc. Usually, in such problems, the class variables are not independent, but rather exhibit conditional dependence relations among them. Hence, the key to the success of multi-dimensional classification is to effectively model such dependencies and use them to facilitate the learning. In this paper, we propose a new probabilistic approach that represents class conditional dependencies in an effective yet computationally efficient way. Our approach uses a special tree-structured Bayesian network model to represent the conditional joint distribution of the class variables given the feature variables. We develop and present efficient algorithms for learning the model from data and for performing exact probabilistic inferences on the model. Extensive experiments on multiple datasets demonstrate that our approach achieves highly competitive results when it is compared to existing state-of-the-art methods.
Direct-conversion bandpass sigma-delta modulator

A bandpass sigma-delta modulation analogue-to-digital (A/D) converter that uses direct conversion to baseband with in phase and quadrature paths within the feedback loop is described. The bandpass input signal is processed with continuous-time circuitry and the I/Q baseband signals are processed with switched-capacitor circuits. Experimental and simulation results indicate that the passband centre frequency can be maximised while suppressing the effects of I/Q mismatches.
Left ventricular diastolic collapse. An echocardiographic sign of regional cardiac tamponade.

BACKGROUNDCardiac tamponade after cardiac surgical procedures is often associated with hemodynamically significant localized pericardial effusions. The localized collection of pericardial effusion in the postoperative period and the atypical presentation of cardiac tamponade limit the use of conventional clinical and echocardiographic signs usually seen with a circumferential pericardial effusion. Observation of left ventricular diastolic collapse in the echocardiogram of a patient with postoperative regional cardiac tamponade prompted us to explore the frequency of this sign in regional cardiac tamponade.METHODS AND RESULTSWe retrospectively analyzed the echocardiograms of 18 patients with postoperative cardiac tamponade for the following echocardiographic findings: right atrial collapse, right ventricular diastolic collapse, left atrial collapse, and left ventricular diastolic collapse. Three of the 18 patients had circumferential pericardial effusion, and 15 had loculated pericardial effusion; in 10, t...
Nonlinear discrete Sturm–Liouville problems

In this paper we study nonlinear boundary value problems of the form Δ[p(t−1)Δy(t−1)]+q(t)y(t)+λy(t)=f(y(t));t=a+1,…,b+1, subject to a11y(a)+a12Δy(a)=0anda21y(b+1)+a22Δy(b+1)=0. The parameter λ is an eigenvalue of the associated linear problem; that is, there is a nontrivial function u that satisfies the boundary conditions and also Δ[p(t−1)Δu(t−1)]+q(t)u(t)+λu(t)=0 for t in {a+1,a+2,…,b+1}. We establish sufficient conditions for the solvability of such problems. In addition, in those cases where the nonlinearity is “small,” we provide a qualitative analysis of the relation between solutions of the nonlinear problem and eigenfunctions of the linear one.
Efficient Smart Phone Forensics Based on Relevance Feedback

When forensic triage techniques designed for feature phones are applied to smart phones, these recovery techniques return hundreds of thousands of results, only a few of which are relevant to the investigation. We propose the use of relevance feedback to address this problem: a small amount of investigator input can efficiently and accurately rank in order of relevance, the results of a forensic triage tool. We present LIFTR, a novel system for prioritizing information recovered from Android phones. We evaluate LIFTR's ranking algorithm on 13 previously owned Android smart phones and three recovery engines -- DEC0DE, Bulk Extractor, and Strings? using a standard information retrieval metric, Normalized Discounted Cumulative Gain (NDCG). LIFTR's initial ranking improves the NDCG scores of the three engines from 0.0 to an average of 0.73; and with as little as 5 rounds of feedback, the ranking score in- creases to 0.88. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of relevance feedback for quickly locating useful information among the large amount of irrelevant data returned by current recovery techniques. Further, our empirical findings show that a significant amount of important user information persists for weeks or even months in the expired space of a phone's memory. This phenomenon underscores the importance of using file system agnostic recovery techniques, which are the type of techniques that benefit most from LIFTR.
Mixed e-beam/optical lithography process for the fabrication of sub-0.25-um poly gates

In this paper we investigate the use of two negative resists, a commercially available negative tone electron beam resist (CAR), and AX-E, an IBM resist, with a 50 KeV variable shaped electron beam system. All aspects of processing and tooling were investigated to understand the impact on critical dimension control. Post applied and post exposure bake times and temperatures were examined in an effort to optimize resist contrast, resist profile, and gate linewidth variations. Proper tool set-up and proximity correction were also investigated. SEM metrology as well as high resolution SEM cross-section metrology were extensively used in the process optimization. A complete understanding of the resist, processing, tool and metrology have resulted in the fabrication of working devices and circuits with physical gate linewidth dimensions down to 0.10 micrometers with a 3(sigma) better than +/- 0.03 micrometers across a wafer.
Direct Learning in Dynamic Touch

A dynamic touch paradigm in which participants judged the lengths of rods and pipes was used to test the D. M. Jacobs and C. F. Michaels (2007) theory of perceptual learning. The theory portrays perception as the exploitation of a locus on an information manifold and learning as continuous movement across that manifold to a new locus, as guided by information available in feedback. The information manifold was defined as a 1-dimensional space of inertial variables. To encourage maximal learning, a 2-step procedure was used in each of 2 experiments. Each step comprised a pretest to identify the starting locus on the information manifold, a practice phase in which feedback specifying the optimal locus was given, and a posttest in which the ending locus on the manifold was identified. In the 2nd step, a different feedback variable specified a different optimum. In both experiments, participants, who sometimes began at different loci, showed the predicted movement toward the optimum in each phase. Whereas previous applications of the theory posit the existence of information-for-learning without identifying a candidate variable, such a candidate is identified.
Early smelter sites: A neglected chapter in the history and geography of acid rain in the United States

Abstract Dominant spatial and temporal theories of acid rain in the U.S. are identified, followed by brief comments on how historical data have generally been used in modern acid rain research. A frequently-cited 1982 article by E.B. Cowling is examined, one that has influenced much thinking on the history of acid rain. The article overlooks early American smelters, however, and the role they played in the true history and geography of acid rain in the United States. Continuing with this theme, a connection is established between acid rain and turn-of-the-century smelter smoke problems. Literature on the latter subject is discussed, and American and German examples are given. A beginning is then made on writing acid rain's neglected chapter, focusing on Tennessee's Copper Basin (Ducktown District) where copper smelting dates back to the 1850s. A short historical overview of this area's smelting operations is given, with particular attention to the air pollution and other environmental problems resulting from large emissions of sulfur dioxide. Five additional early smelter sites for potential study are mentioned as well. The paper concludes with some observations regarding the way in which expanded research of early smelter sites could affect the general perception of acid rain in the U.S. It is also suggested that such research might contribute to a better atmosphere for making decisions and policies pertaining to the phenomenon as it exists today.
Optimal dynamic mechanism design via a virtual VCG mechanism

We consider the problem of designing revenue maximizing mechanisms for dynamic settings. We propose a simple optimal mechanism for rather general "separable" settings. The proposed mechanism is implemented via an affine transformation of a dynamic VCG mechanism.
Apparent periodicities in the redshifts of quasi-stellar objects.

COWAN1 has applied the method of power spectrum analysis to the distribution of redshiffts of quasi-stellar objects and has found several peaks in the power spectrum which, if real, would correspond to periodicities in the distribution of QSO redshifts. This letter points out that the distribution of power levels in his Fig. 1 is not significantly different from what would be expected from the analysis of purely random noise.
Development and Evaluation of Bankfull Hydraulic Geometry Relationships for the Physiographic Regions of the United States

Bankfull hydraulic geometry relationships are used to estimate channel dimensions for streamflow simulation models, which require channel geometry data as input parameters. Often, one nationwide curve is used across the entire United States (U.S.) (e.g., in Soil and Water Assessment Tool), even though studies have shown that the use of regional curves can improve the reliability of predictions considerably. In this study, regional regression equations predicting bankfull width, depth, and cross-sectional area as a function of drainage area are developed for the Physiographic Divisions and Provinces of the U.S. and compared to a nationwide equation. Results show that the regional curves at division level are more reliable than the nationwide curve. Reliability of the curves depends largely on the number of observations per region and how well the sample represents the population. Regional regression equations at province level yield even better results than the division-level models, but because of small sample sizes, the development of meaningful regression models is not possible in some provinces. Results also show that drainage area is a less reliable predictor of bankfull channel dimensions than bankfull discharge. It is likely that the regional curves can be improved using multiple regression models to incorporate additional explanatory variables.