cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Flying Height Modulation for a Dual Thermal Protrusion Slider in Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR)

Thermal flying-height control (TFC) technology has been used in the last few years in hard disk drives (HDDs) to achieve a lower flying height for higher storage areal density. In this paper a slider with dual thermal protrusions, one produced by the laser used to heat the disk in HAMR and the other one used for TFC, is studied. The flying height modulations (FHM) due to disk waviness and external disturbances are compared for the dual protrusions, single protrusion and no protrusion sliders. The protrusions provide additional force and torque excitation to the slider. The protrusions can be viewed as a passive feedback loop to compensate the disturbance. The gain of the feedback loop depends on the stiffness of the protrusions, which is determined by the protrusions' heights and positions. Thus the complicated air bearing slider system with protrusions is simplified by casting the protrusion perturbation as a feedback loop and this simplified model helps to speed up the optimization of the TFC protrusion height and position. The numerical simulation results show that FHM of the dual protrusion slider is reduced significantly when the TFC protrusion height and location are optimized. External disturbance induced FHM can be suppressed as well. This scheme for dual protrusion optimization and analysis described in the work can benefit HAMR head design because the optimized dual protrusion provides a more consistent flying height and a greater ability to compensate external disturbances.
The Impact of College Experience on Political and Social Attitudes.

In the last two decades a considerable volume of research has focused on how the college experience affects students. The purpose of the research reported here was to investigate to what extent students (predominantly Caucasian) at a highly selective university on the East coast changed their political and social attitudes during college. In particular, the influences of religious background, gender, membership in a fraternity or sorority, and time in college on attitudes were examined. Results indicated that students as seniors scored higher on measures of liberalism, social conscience, homosexuality tolerance and feminist attitudes and lower on male-dominant attitudes than they did as first year students. Given the lack of previous studies of change in attitudes toward homosexuality in college and the current political debate about issues relating to sexual orientation, an important finding was the substantial increase in tolerance of homosexuality by all subgroups. Results are discussed with respect to the special characteristics and potential influence of Ivy League students.
Optimization of OT-MACH filter generation for target recognition

An automatic Optimum Trade-off Maximum Average Correlation Height (OT-MACH) filter generator for use in a gray-scale optical correlator (GOC) has been developed for improved target detection at JPL. While the OT-MACH filter has been shown to be an optimal filter for target detection, actually solving for the optimum is too computationally intensive for multiple targets. Instead, an adaptive step gradient descent method was tested to iteratively optimize the three OT-MACH parameters, alpha, beta, and gamma. The feedback for the gradient descent method was a composite of the performance measures, correlation peak height and peak to side lobe ratio. The automated method generated and tested multiple filters in order to approach the optimal filter quicker and more reliably than the current manual method. Initial usage and testing has shown preliminary success at finding an approximation of the optimal filter, in terms of alpha, beta, gamma values. This corresponded to a substantial improvement in detection performance where the true positive rate increased for the same average false positives per image.
18.4 A matrix-multiplying ADC implementing a machine-learning classifier directly with data conversion

Embedded sensing systems conventionally perform A-to-D conversion followed by signal analysis. In many applications, the analysis of interest is inference (e.g., classification), but the sensor signals involved are too complex to model analytically. Machine learning is gaining prominence because it enables data-driven training of classifiers, overcoming the need for analytical models. This work presents: 1) an algorithmic formulation, where feature extraction and classification are combined into a single matrix, reducing the total multiplications needed, and 2) a matrix-multiplying ADC (MMADC) that enables multiplication of input samples by a programmable matrix. Thus, the MMADC combines feature extraction and classification with data conversion, mitigating the need for further computations. Two systems are demonstrated: an ECG-based cardiac-arrhythmia detector and an image-pixel-based gender detector.
Reverse engineering the mouse brain

Behaviour is governed by activity in highly structured neural circuits. Genetically targeted sensors and switches facilitate measurement and manipulation of activity in vivo, linking activity in defined nodes of neural circuits to behaviour. Because of access to specific cell types, these molecular tools will have the largest impact in genetic model systems such as the mouse. Emerging assays of mouse behaviour are beginning to rival those of behaving monkeys in terms of stimulus and behavioural control. We predict that the confluence of new behavioural and molecular tools in the mouse will reveal the logic of complex mammalian circuits.
Performance optimization of distributed-system models with unreliable servers

Models of distributed systems with servers subject to breakdown and repair are investigated for optimization of performance measures. The optimization problems are the cost minimization, response time minimization, and throughput maximization. The system is modeled by a preemptive-resume priority queuing network. The mean-value analysis algorithm is applied to derive a relationship between the multiprogramming level and performance measure formulas. Based on this relationship the Lagrange multiplier technique is applied to carry out the optimization of performance measures. Optimal service rates are obtained that reach a target throughput while minimizing the total cost. Servers are also treated individually in order to minimize the mean response time of a particular server in the system in order to find the optimal service rates which minimize the response time of a particular server while reaching a target throughput. Formulas are derived for determining the maximum throughput of the system; unfortunately, it has no closed-form solution. However, it can be solved using the binary search and insert value method. Numerical examples illustrate the solutions. >
Explanatory style as a risk factor for illness

Some have speculated that explanatory style puts an individual at risk for illness. Study 1 supports this hypothesis by showing that college students who believe that stable + global factors caused bad events experienced more days of illness in the following month and visited physicians more frequently in the following year than students who explain bad events with unstable + specific causes. These findings held even when level of previous illness was controlled. Study 2 explores some of the possible links between explanatory style and poor health. College students who believe that stable + global factors caused bad events reported more unhealthy habits, lower efficacy to change these habits, and more stressful occurrences than students who explain bad events with unstable + specific causes.
Compact remote multisensing instrument for planetary surfaces and atmospheres characterization

This paper describes a prototype feasibility demonstration system of a multipurpose Raman-fluorescence spectrograph and compact lidar system suitable for planetary sciences missions. The key measurement features of this instrument are its abilities to: i) detect minerals and organics at low levels in the dust constituents of surface, subsurface material and rocks on Mars, ii) determine the distribution of trace fluorescent ions with time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy to learn about the geological conditions under which these minerals formed, iii) inspect material toxicity from a mobile robotic platform during local site characterization, iv) measure dust aerosol and cloud distributions, v) measure near-field atmospheric carbon dioxide, and vi) identify surface CO2-ice, surface water ice, and surface or subsurface methane hydrate. This prototype instrument and an improved follow-on design are described and have the capability for scientific investigations discussed above, to remotely investigate geological processes from a robotic platform at more than a 20-m radial distance with potential to go beyond 100 m. It also provides single wavelength (532 nm) aerosol/cloud profiling over very long ranges (>10 km with potential to 20 km). Measurement results obtained with this prototype unit from a robotic platform and calculated potential performance are presented in this paper.
Piston-cylinder work producing expansion device in a transcritical carbon dioxide cycle. Part I: experimental investigation

Abstract Carbon dioxide is receiving strong consideration as an alternative refrigerant substituting hydroclorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) due to its zero ozone depletion potential and negligible global warming potential. The system performance of CO2 systems, however, is typically poor compared to the current conventional air conditioning systems using HCFC or CFC. One of the most effective ways to achieve parity with CFC and HCFC systems is to replace the expansion valve with an expansion device that minimizes entropy creation and allows for energy recovery during the expansion process. A piston-cylinder type work output expansion device was designed, constructed and tested as part of the study reported here. The first-cut prototype device is based on a highly modified small four-cycle, two-piston engine that is commercially available. The work-producing expander replaced the expansion valve in an experimental transcritical CO2 cycle and increased the system performance by up to 10% as characterized by COP. The prototype device was not meant to be a final product, but provided valuable insight and experimental results to validate a detailed simulation model of the device. The model and corresponding theoretical analysis are presented in a companion part II paper.
Impact of intraguild predation by adult Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on Aphis glycines (Hemiptera: Aphididae) biological control in cage studies

The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, has become a principal arthropod pest of soybean in the U.S. since its Wrst detection in 2000. This species threatens soybean production through direct feeding damage and virus transmission. A diverse guild of insect predators feeds on soybean aphid in Michigan including the exotic coccinellid Harmonia axyridis, the native gall midge Aphidoletes aphidimyza and the native lacewing Chrysoperla carnea. In addition to feeding on A. glycines some members of this guild may also engage in intraguild predation. These interactions may produce positive, negative, or neutral impacts on A. glycines biological control. We explored the impact of intraguild predation on soybean aphid population dynamics by comparing aphid populations in microcosms with either A. aphidimyza larvae or C. carnea larvae alone, with both a H. axyridis adult and either A. aphidimyza or C. carnea larvae, and without predators. When H. axyridis was present with larval A. aphidimyza or C. carnea, the lady beetle acted as an intraguild predator. However, intraguild feeding did not result in a release of aphid populations compared with microcosms containing only the intraguild and aphid prey. A similar result was found in Weld cages. Cages allowing large predators had reduced numbers of A. aphidimyza and C. carnea larvae but also signiWcantly fewer aphids compared with predator exclusion cages. Thus, in both lab and Weld studies the direct impact of H. axyridis on A. glycines overcame its negative impact as an intraguild predator. Together, these studies indicate that while the exotic H. axyridis does act as an intraguild predator and may contribute to local declines in A. aphidimyza and C. carnea, it is also currently important in overall biological control of A. glycines.
Desulfurization of jet fuel by π-complexation adsorption with metal halides supported on MCM-41 and SBA-15 mesoporous materials

Abstract Desulfurization of a JP-5 light fraction (841 ppmw S) for fuel cell applications was achieved by π -complexation adsorption with CuCl and PdCl 2 supported on the MCM-41 and SBA-15 mesoporous materials. CuCl/MCM-41, PdCl 2 / MCM - 41 , CuCl/SBA-15 and PdCl 2 / SBA - 15 sorbents were prepared with spontaneous monolayer dispersion of metal halides onto surfaces of supports. These sorbents were characterized with XRD, N 2 physical adsorption and CO chemisorption. The results showed that the mesoporous structures remained in the supported sorbents. Desulfurization of JP-5 light fraction with these sorbents was investigated at room temperature. PdCl 2 / SBA - 15 showed by far the highest capacity of selective sulfur adsorption among all known sorbents, and the significant breakthrough occurred at about 50.0 ml/g for desulfurization of JP-5 light fraction. The total sulfur content of JP-5 light fraction can be reduced from 841 ppmw S to below 50.0 ppmw S. The spent PdCl 2 / SBA - 15 was regenerated by purge with benzene at 70 °C, and the regenerated PdCl 2 / SBA - 15 was tested again for the desulfurization. The results showed that about 44% and 48% of the sulfur capacity were recovered at breakthrough and saturation, respectively.
Multiscalet basis in Galerkin's method for solving three-dimensional electromagnetic integral equations

Multiscalets in the multiwavelet family are used as the basis and testing functions in Galerkin's method. Since the multiscalets are orthogonal to their translations under the Sobolev inner product, the resulting Galerkin's method behaves like a collocation method but possesses the ability of derivative tracking for unknown functions in solving integral equations. The former makes the method simple in implementation and the latter allows to use coarse meshes in discretization. These robust features have been demonstrated in solving two-dimensional (2D) electromagnetic (EM) problems, but have not been exploited in three-dimensional (3D) scenarios. For 3D problems, the unknown functions in the integral equations are dependent on two coordinate variables. In order to preserve the use of coarse meshes for 3D cases, we realize the omnidirectional derivative tracking by tracking the directional derivatives along two orthogonal directions, or equivalently tracking the gradient. This process yields a nonsquare matrix equation and we use the least-squares method (LSM) to solve it. Numerical examples show that the multiscalet-based Galerkin's method is also robust in solving for 3D EM integral equations with a minor cost increase from LSM. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Acute effect of nephrotoxic serum on renal sodium transport in the dog.

Acute effect of nephrotoxic serum on renal sodium transport in the dog. In order to study the tubular mechanism for salt retention in acute proliferative glomerulonephritis, clearance and micro-puncture experiments were performed on nine volume-expanded dogs before and after injection of sheep anti-dog glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibodies (nephrotoxic sera [NTS]). Histologic sections obtained two hours after NTS injection following completion of the functional studies demonstrated infiltration of glomerular tufts by polymorphonuclear leukocytes, swelling of both glomerular endothelial and mesangial cells and the mesangial matrix, and linear anti-GBM antibody deposits along the glomerular capillaries. There was an almost immediate reduction in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), filtration fraction, urine flow and absolute and fractional sodium excretion; arterial blood pressure and renal plasma flow were not significantly altered. Micro-puncture studies revealed no change in fractional sodium reabsorption in the proximal tubule despite a fall in single nephron GFR. A proportional reduction in single nephron and kidney GFR coupled with an unchanged intrarenal distribution of blood flow following NTS suggests a relatively uniform effect on both superficial and deep nephrons. In contrast to the well-preserved glomerulotubular balance in the proximal tubule, fractional distal sodium reabsorption was significantly increased as reflected by the decreased fractional urinary sodium excretion. We conclude that salt retention and low fractional urinary sodium excretion observed in acute glomerulonephritis could be primarily due to reduced distal delivery of sodium which leads to increased fractional sodium reabsorption in the nephron segments distal to the proximal convoluted tubule.
Visibility and the just allocation of health care: a study of age-rationing in the British National Health Service.

The British National Health Service (BNHS) was founded, to quote Minister of Health Aneurin Bevan, to ‘universalise the best’. Over time, however, financial constraints forced the BNHS to turn to incrementalist budgeting, to rationalise care and to ask its practitioners to act as gatekeepers. Seeking a way to ration scarce tertiary care resources, BNHS gatekeepers began to use chronological age as a rationing criterion. Age-rationing became the ‘done thing’ without explicit policy directives and in a manner largely invisible to patients, to Parliament, and to the public. The invisibility of the practice, however, violates the publicity principle that John Rawls and other philosophers believe essential to fairness. BNHS invisible age-rationing practices are thus a test case of the principle that fairness presupposes publicity; they raise the question: is it possible to preserve equitability in a system that uses non-public criteria to allocate scarce resources? To seek an answer, published data on access to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) treatment in Britain and the European Community (EC) are analysed. Among the findings are: that BNHS age-rationing acts as an excuse for denying care to those most likely to need ESRD treatment; and is, moreover, arbitrary and inequitable. It is further argued that no age-rationing policy can sustain visibility, and that, if the BNHS is to be fair to its patients, it must reform its present age-rationing practices, replacing them by a publicly visible, outcome-based rationing policy that rations either in terms of QALYs or triage categories.
Primary endoscopic obesity procedures

Primary endoscopic obesity treatments include a variety of restrictive and malabsorptive procedures that are emerging as alternatives to bariatric surgery. Although bariatric surgery is extremely effective and generally considered safe, there is a small, albeit significant, morbidity and mortality. This makes less invasive treatments attractive. In addition to being less invasive and perhaps safer, endoscopic treatments may be more cost-effective and reversible. Additionally, endoscopic treatments may prove to be a viable alternative in poor surgical candidates, or as a method to induce weight loss in super obese patients before definitive surgical bariatric procedures, and may be an option for the nonmorbidly obese who have failed diet and exercise. Experience with these emerging endoscopic technologies, however, is limited to feasibility and safety studies and small prospective trials with minimal long-term follow-up. There have been no large, prospective, randomized, or sham-controlled trials evaluating the long-term durability of endoscopic obesity treatments, and there have been no such trials comparing endoscopic treatments with traditional bariatric surgery. In this article, we will review these emerging primary endoscopic obesity treatments with a focus on procedural techniques.
A hybrid system model of seasonal snowpack water balance

It is estimated that seasonal snow cover is the primary source of water supply for over 60 million people in the western United States. Informed decision making, which ensures reliable and equitable distribution of this limited water resource, thus needs to be motivated by an understanding of the physical snowmelt process. We present a direct application of hybrid systems for the modeling of the seasonal snowmelt cycle, and show that through the hybrid systems framework it is possible to significantly reduce the complexity offered by conventional PDE modeling methods. Our approach shows how currently existing heuristics can be embedded into a coherent mathematical framework to allow for powerful analytical techniques while preserving physical intuition about the problem. Snowmelt is modeled as a three state hybrid automaton, representing the sub-freezing, sub-saturated, and fully saturated physical states that an actual snowpack experiences. We show that the model accurately reproduces melt patterns, by simulating over actual data sets collected in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We further explore the possibility of merging this model with a currently existing wireless sensing infrastructure to create reliable prediction techniques that will feed into large scale control schemes of dams in mountain areas.
Accelerated Neutrophil Apoptosis in the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Neutrophil (PMNL) function defects occur as a consequence of HIV infection. This study examined PMNL apoptosis in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to determine if accelerated apoptosis contributes to impaired function. PMNL were isolated from 10 HIV-infected patients with CD4+ lymphocyte counts or = 88.0% for both groups from 0-6 h, but by 18 h viability was significantly decreased for the HIV group (58.8+/-12.4 vs. 83.5+/-10.4%, P = 0.001) due to an increase in non-viable apoptotic cells. Incubation with serum from AIDS patients had no effect on control PMNL, and incubation with control serum did not reduce the rate of apoptosis of PMNL from AIDS patients. Incubation with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in vitro significantly decreased apoptosis for PMNL from AIDS patients. PMNL from patients with AIDS exhibit markedly accelerated apoptosis ex vivo. In vivo, apoptosis and functional impairment of PMNL may contribute to the risk of secondary infections, and cytokine therapy may be of potential clinical benefit in this circumstance.
Injected muscimol in pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus alters ethanol self-administration

The pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPN) has been implicated in a variety of behavioral functions, including stimulus selection. Given the PPN interactions with the mesolimbic system, it was considered important to determine its involvement in ethanol self-administration. Long-Evans male rats were trained to self-administer 10% ethanol by using a sucrose-substitution procedure. After implantation of cannula guides, microinjections of 30, 100, and 300 ng of muscimol into the PPN before the self-administration session were performed. Ethanol self-administration was decreased at the 300-ng dose, in a manner similar to the actions of dopamine agonists microinjected in the nucleus accumbens. It is hypothesized that loss of PPN cholinergic input to the mesolimbic system affects the integrative activity of the nucleus accumbens and underlies the observed change in ethanol self-administration behavior.
Ozone-induced lung inflammation and hyperreactivity are mediated via tumor necrosis factor-α receptors

This study was designed to investigate the mechanisms through which tumor necrosis factor (Tnf) modulates ozone (O3)-induced pulmonary injury in susceptible C57BL/6J (B6) mice. B6 [wild-type (wt)] ...
Logarithmic Potential Theory with Applications to Approximation Theory

We provide an introduction to logarithmic potential theory in the complex plane that particularly emphasizes its usefulness in the theory of polynomial and rational approximation. The reader is invited to explore the notions of Fekete points, logarithmic capacity, and Chebyshev constant through a variety of examples and exercises. Many of the fundamental theorems of potential theory, such as Frostman’s theorem, the Riesz Decomposition Theorem, the Principle of Domination, etc., are given along with essential ideas for their proofs. Equilibrium measures and potentials and their connections with Green functions and conformal mappings are presented. Moreover, we discuss extensions of the classical potential theoretic results to the case when an external field is present. MSC: Primary: 31Cxx, 41Axx
Acid Dye Method for the Analysis of Thiamine

An accurate, precise, and simple method for the analysis of thiamine has been developed. The method is based on the salt formation of thiamine with an acid dye, bromothymol blue. There is no interference from other vitamins, hormones (ethinyl estradiol and progesterone), and excipients. The nature of reaction between thiamine and bromothymol blue appears to be a simple acid-base reaction. The stoichiometric balance has been established to be one part of dye to one part of thiamine.
Airflow Simulation over a Vegetated Soil Surface

The performance of infrared sensors under various meteorological and soil-surface conditions is a perennial concern for remote characterization of local environments. To aid in the testing and improvement of these sensors, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models can provide realistic simulations of ambient airflow and temperature conditions. High CFD grid resolution is generally required for capturing the physical properties of a given region of interest, which may contain rocks, bushes, grasses, and other vegetation. In this study, the PAR3D model is used to compute spatially variable wind speeds and air temperatures, which will be coupled (in future work) with surface heat-exchange functions in ground-water and vegetation models. The resulting soil, rock, and vegetation temperatures can then be used to compute infrared images for these features, and the synthetic images can ultimately be used to test sensor performance. Thus, the eventual aim of the airflow, heat-transfer, and infrared computations is the production of high-resolution, synthetic infrared imagery for realistic surface environments.
Perceptions of the organizational information system

The information system plays a central role in many con temporary organizational activities. How well the information system is integrated into organizational processes, though, is a key factor influencing the degree of effectiveness present in decision-making especially at strategic levels. To optimize deci sion-making, the appropriate information system level must match the type of decision situation. This study examines the perceptions of the information systems within 132 organiza tions.
The Right to Know? State Politics of Fracking Disclosure

Energy firms in the United States are increasingly expanding their production of natural gas, often by relying on a controversial extraction technique known as hydraulic fracturing. While proponents cite a litany of benefits including economic development and reduced carbon emissions, opponents articulate concerns typically centering on environmental quality. Caught between these opposing points of view, states are turning to disclosure requirements. Yet all disclosure statutes are not created equally. In order to better understand this variation, the authors utilizes Abel, Stephan, and Kraft's (ASK) 2007 performance model, which evaluates the effectiveness of information-based disclosure rules for industry. The model here, however, is applied in an attempt to understand why disclosure regulations emerge and vary across states. Results generally validate the ASK approach but with the caveat that in the context of differing disclosure regulations, the ASK model's pollution severity/risk measure may be refined by including risk perception.
Self-Referent Motivation and the Intrinsic Quality of Friendship

Some observations suggest that friendships are developed and maintained because they involve some form of reinforcement or interpersonal reward. Other observations suggest that friendship has an intrinsic, end-in-itself quality making it unnecessary, if not contradictory, to assume that friendships must be rewarding to be formed and sustained. The present paper outlines a model of friendship based on a conception of self and self-referent motivation. The model represents, in part, an effort to reconcile the observed rewardingness of friendship with its intrinsic, end-in-itself character.
Low dose, short-term rivastigmine administration does not affect neurocognition in methamphetamine dependent individuals

Neurocognitive impairment is a well-documented consequence of methamphetamine addiction. Not surprising, methamphetamine-associated neurocognitive impairment has been identified as an important target of treatment. Thus, this study sought to determine whether rivastigmine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and cognition enhancing agent, could improve neurocognitive performance in a sample of long-term, high-dose methamphetamine addicts who were not seeking treatment at the time of enrollment in the study. This double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated whether a daily dose 0, 3, or 6 mg of rivastigmine, administered over six consecutive days, would enhance performance on measures of attention/information processing speed, episodic memory, and executive/frontal lobe functioning relative to test performance at baseline. The results revealed that rivastigmine did not alter neurocognition in this cohort. There are a number of factors that may have mitigated the effects of rivastigmine in this particular study, including especially the short-term, low-dose treatment regimen utilized. The negative findings notwithstanding, the study serves as a springboard for future investigations that will examine whether other medications can alter neurocognition in methamphetamine dependent study participants.
Preposition semantic classification via Penn Treebank and FrameNet

This paper reports on experiments in classifying the semantic role annotations assigned to prepositional phrases in both the Penn Treebank and FrameNet. In both cases, experiments are done to see how the prepositions can be classified given the dataset's role inventory, using standard word-sense disambiguation features. In addition to using traditional word collocations, the experiments incorporate class-based collocations in the form of WordNet hypernyms. For Treebank, the word collocations achieve slightly better performance: 78.5% versus 77.4% when separate classifiers are used per preposition. When using a single classifier for all of the prepositions together, the combined approach yields a significant gain at 85.8% accuracy versus 81.3% for word-only collocations. For FrameNet, the combined use of both collocation types achieves better performance for the individual classifiers: 70.3% versus 68.5%. However, classification using a single classifier is not effective due to confusion among the fine-grained roles.
Unit Price Contracts: A Practical Framework For Determining Competitive Bid Prices

A general analytical framework within which to solve the competitive bidding problem is developed by considering a unit price contract. By viewing the problem in the standard capital budgeting framework and exploiting the linearity of the firms objective function and constraints, the problem can be formulated as a standard linear programming (LP) application whose solution is the optimal bid. We also investigate a so-called unbalanced bidding strategy as an effective way for bidding firms to hedge the risk, or uncertainty, inherent in may unit price contracts.
Optimal Multi-Step Toll Design under General User Heterogeneity

Abstract This paper studies the optimal multi-step toll design problem for the bottleneck model with general user heterogeneity. The design model is formulated as a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC), which is NP-hard due to non-convexity in both the objective function and the feasible set. An analytical method is proposed to solve the MPEC by decomposing it into smaller and easier quadratic programs, each corresponding to a unique departure order of different user classes. The quadratic programs are defined on a polyhedral set, which makes it easier to identify a local optimum. Importantly, each quadratic program is constrained by a set of linear feasibility cuts that define the presence of each user class in the arrival window. We prove that the proposed method ensures global optimality provided that each quadratic program can be solved globally. To obviate enumerating all departure orders, a heuristic method is developed to navigate through the solution space by using the multipliers associated with the feasibility cuts. Numerical experiments are conducted on several small examples to validate the proposed methodology. These experiments show that the proposed heuristic method is effective in finding near-optimal solution within a relatively small number of iterations.
The Future of Microelectronics is Macroelectronics

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Fabrication and physics of nanonet transistors Bulk heterostructure solar cells Conclusions
Protein structural and surface water rearrangement constitute major events in the earliest aggregation stages of tau

Protein aggregation plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, and the mechanism of its progression is poorly understood. Here, we examine the structural and dynamic characteristics of transiently evolving protein aggregates under ambient conditions by directly probing protein surface water diffusivity, local protein segment dynamics, and interprotein packing as a function of aggregation time, along the third repeat domain and C terminus of Δtau187 spanning residues 255–441 of the longest isoform of human tau. These measurements were achieved with a set of highly sensitive magnetic resonance tools that rely on site-specific electron spin labeling of Δtau187. Within minutes of initiated aggregation, the majority of Δtau187 that is initially homogeneously hydrated undergoes structural transformations to form partially structured aggregation intermediates. This is reflected in the dispersion of surface water dynamics that is distinct around the third repeat domain, found to be embedded in an intertau interface, from that of the solvent-exposed C terminus. Over the course of hours and in a rate-limiting process, a majority of these aggregation intermediates proceed to convert into stable β-sheet structured species and maintain their stacking order without exchanging their subunits. The population of β-sheet structured species is >5% within 5 min of aggregation and gradually grows to 50–70% within the early stages of fibril formation, while they mostly anneal block-wisely to form elongated fibrils. Our findings suggest that the formation of dynamic aggregation intermediates constitutes a major event occurring in the earliest stages of tau aggregation that precedes, and likely facilitates, fibril formation and growth.
War Profiteering Comparing Military-Industry Stock Portfolio Returns versus Market Returns During the Iraq and Afghan Wars

The Department of Defense (DoD) relies on a privatized defense industry for tools of war. Following the Cold War, the majority of this Defense Industry consolidated into 5 large corporations: Boeing, United Technologies Corporation, Honeywell, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin. In this study, an equally weighted portfolio of the 5 aforementioned companies stocks is constructed, and then analyzed during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The equally weighted portfolio is then compared to the market to see whether or not a defense-industry portfolio can outperform the market during wartime. Both the portfolio and the market index are assessed by average monthly return and the Sharpes Slope. These metrics are compared between the portfolio and the market through a Difference in Means Statistical Test.
Material for Demonstrating the Essential Features of a Basidiomycete

Species of Neurospora are very adaptable for class demonstration of sexuality, life histories and Mendelian inheritance in ascomycetes. Biology teachers need comparable material for illustrating basidiomycetes. During the summer of 1932, members of the Department of Dermatology, P. & S., Columbia University, studying the fungi arising on plates exposed in rooms where patients were suspected of having contracted asthma or hay fever, isolated what appeared at first to be a good hyphomycetous species. The plate was evenly covered with " conidiophores " each bearing a crown of from three to seven spores. More careful examination, however, proved that the erect spore-bearing structures were really basidia, which invariably arose from clamps along the surface hyphae or from clamps in a more or less erect proliferating system. This fungus was not found to be the cause of asthma in any patient, but it has been kept in culture by the writer because of the ease with which it can be grown and the origin of basidia from clamps demonstrated.
Proteins at Interfaces are Universal, but still Poorly Understood: A Challenge

Volume 2, Issue 1 of Biodiversity, Bioprospecting and Development carried a very important article on Protein-Protein interactions (Hooi Ling Ho, Plant Protein Kinase and Protein-Protein Interaction, http:// dx.doi.10.4172/2376-0214.1000142) that reminds us of the ubiquity of proteins throughout Nature’s domain. It is long overdue to resolve some fundamental issues of the appearance and organization of such important molecules that underlie all natural cellular attachments and biological interactions with increasingly diverse synthetics/prosthetics.
Biomechanical study on the repair of femoral head necrosis in goat with the BMP-2 gene transfected autologons bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells

Objective To study the change of local biomechanical property after treatment of femoral head necrosis with BMP-2 gene therapy. Methods 11 goats with 22 sides were divided into 4 groups: Ⅰnormal group (n=6 ), Ⅱ untreated group (n=6 ), Ⅲ β-gal group (n=5), Ⅳ BMP-2 group (n=5). TCP (β-tricalcium phosphate) loaded with Adv-βgal or Adv-hBMP-2 gene transfected MSCs was implanted into femoral head at 3rd week after establishment of animal models of femoral head necrosis. All goats were killed at 16th week after treatment. Sub?-chondral bone and cancellous bone were harvested to test its biomechanical property. Results The maximum stiffness and elastic modulus of cancellous bone in BMP-2 group were (38.35±4.16) MPa and (86.85±7.28) MPa, respectively. The maximum stiffness and elastic modulus of sub-chondral bone in BMP-2 group were (80.76±5.32) MPa and (126.65±10.88) MPa, respectively. The parameters in BMP-2 group are higher than that both in β-gal group and untreated group(P0.05), but close to normal group. Conclusion The BMP-2 Gene transfected autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells can accelerate the repair of femoral head necrosis and prevent the collapse of femoral head.
Application of self-tapped mini-implant for orthodontic anchor

Objective:The purpose of this study was to evaluate the application result of self-drilling miniscrew implant anchorage in orthodontic patient who involved in molar extraction and retention.Method:Seven cases were included ,using miniscrew implant to increase the anchorage of anterior or posterior teeth.Result:All the miniscrew implants shown significant anchorage effect.Conclusion:Self-drilling miniscrew implant is an effcctive method to reinforce the orthodontic anchorage in the serious and complicated malocclusion treatment.
The Urologic Status of the Vietnam War Paraplegic: A 15-Year Prospective Followup

AbstractIn a 15-year prospective followup of the Vietnam War spinal cord injury patient the corrected death rate was 20 per cent. This rate is not significantly better than the World War II and Korean War veterans 15 years after injury. However, the percentage of renal deaths 15 years after injury in the Vietnam War group is approximately half that of the other 2 groups, which possibly could be owing to better and more successful efforts to maintain a status free of a catheter. These patients were managed during the era of external sphincterotomy, an important therapeutic advancement in the treatment of detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia.
Direct mitogenic properties of interleukin-1.

Optimal lymphocyte activation generally requires two concurrent signals, one involving the T cell receptor, and another supplied by an accessory cytokine such as interleukin-1. We investigated the conditions under which partial cellular activation occurs in the absence of signal to the T cell receptor. Both murine thymocytes and the T cell clone D10.G4.1 responded to recombinant interleukin-1 in the absence of a mitogenic signal, although the magnitude of these responses was smaller and required higher concentrations of interleukin-1 than if a comitogen had been present. Interleukin-1 and interleukin-6 in combination were synergistic and induced tritiated thymidine incorporation in D10.G4.1 cells equal to 15% of that obtained with optimal concentrations of concanavalin A. Such synergy suggests that a significant degree of nonspecific activation of lymphocytes may occur in the presence of combinations of monocyte-derived cytokines.
The Effects of Multimedia Formats of Presentation on the Spatial Recall of a Narrative

AbstractThis study investigated how four types of media formats influenced message comprehension. Middle school students were presented with four different narrative stories in different media formats; talking head, voice-under-text, voice-under-video, and multiformat. Students were tested about each story through free recall, forced choice recognition, and a spatial task. Results of the recall andforced choice recognition tasks indicated that memory of a narrative differed significantly between the primarily visual and primarily audio formats; visual formats seem to enhance memory. In contrast, initial analysis of the students' spatial recall was inconclusive, possibly due to the inadequacy of the spatial scoring schemes to reflect the differences in drawings. This article briefly reports the verbal recall findings of the study, then suggests how the spatial task findings can be evaluated to further understand the relationship of presentation format to comprehension. These findings have implications for ...
Social media and impression management: Veterinary medicine students’ and faculty members’ attitudes toward the acceptability of social media posts

Introduction: While social media has the potential to be used tomake professional and personal connections, it can also be usedinappropriately, with detrimental ramifications for the individualin terms of their professional reputation and even hiringdecisions. This research explored students’ and faculty members’perceptions of the acceptability of various social media postings.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015.All students and faculty members at the College of VeterinaryMedicine were invited to participate. The sample size included140 students and 69 faculty members who completed the SocialMedia Scale (SMS), a 7-point semantic differential scale. TheSMS consisted of 12 items that measured the extent to which avariety of behaviors, using social media, constituted acceptableand unacceptable behaviors. Items appearing on the SMS werean amalgamation of modified items previously presented by Coe,Weijs, Muise et al. (2012) and new items generated specifically forthis study. The data were collected during the spring semester of2015 using Qualtrics online survey software and analyzed usingt-tests and ANOVA.Results: The results showed that statistically significant differencesexisted between the students’ and faculty members’ ratings ofacceptable behavior, as well as gender differences and differencesacross class years.Conclusion: These findings have implications for the developmentof policy and educational initiatives around professional identitymanagement in the social sphere.Keywords: Social media; Professionalism; Medical education; Medical students; Medical faculty
Conserving and managing ancient monuments: heritage, democracy, and inclusion

The breadth of the heritage sector is immense and confusing, encompassing museums, built heritage conservation, historical archives, archaeology, cultural resource management, heritage conservation...
Ply: Visual Regression Pruning for Web Design Source Inspection

Despite the ease of inspecting HTML and CSS, web developers struggle to identify the code most responsible for particular stylistic effects, due to complex DOM structures and CSS property cascades. In this paper, we introduce Ply, a DOM inspection tool which augments the Chrome Developer Tools to help developers explore complex professional web designs. To compute source code relevance, we introduce a technique called visual regression pruning, which uses pixel-level screenshot comparison to help developers locate CSS responsible for a webpage's appearance. A user selects an element, and Ply computes the visual impact of each matched CSS property. If a property does not affect the webpage, Ply hides the property from the inspector. In multiple iterations of needfinding studies, developers located relevant code more quickly using Ply. In a case study with the Airbnb homepage, Ply displays an average of 49% fewer CSS properties per element, compared to the Chrome Developer Tools as a control.
TCDD, FICZ, and Other High Affinity AhR Ligands Dose-Dependently Determine the Fate of CD4+ T Cell Differentiation.

FICZ and TCDD, two high-affinity AhR ligands, are reported to have opposite effects on T cell differentiation with TCDD inducing regulatory T cells and FICZ inducing Th17 cells. This dichotomy has been attributed to ligand-intrinsic differences in AhR activation, although differences in sensitivity to metabolism complicate the issue. TCDD is resistant to AhR-induced metabolism and produces sustained AhR activation following a single dose in the μg/kg range, whereas FICZ is rapidly metabolized and AhR activation is transient. Nonetheless, prior studies comparing FICZ with TCDD have generally used the same 10-50 μg/kg dose range, and thus the two ligands would not equivalently activate AhR. We hypothesized that high-affinity AhR ligands can promote CD4+ T cell differentiation into both Th17 cells and Tregs, with fate depending on the extent and duration of AhR activation. We compared the immunosuppressive effects of TCDD and FICZ, along with two other rapidly metabolized ligands (ITE and 11-Cl-BBQ) in an acute alloresponse mouse model. The dose and timing of administration of each ligand was optimized for TCDD-equivalent Cyp1a1 induction. When optimized, all of the ligands suppressed the alloresponse in conjunction with the induction of Foxp3- Tr1 cells on day 2 and the expansion of natural Foxp3+ Tregs on day 10. In contrast, a low dose of FICZ induced transient expression of Cyp1a1 and did not induce Tregs or suppress the alloresponse but enhanced IL-17 production. Interestingly, low doses of the other ligands, including TCDD, also increased IL-17 production on day 10. These findings support the conclusion that the dose and the duration of AhR activation by high-affinity AhR ligands are the primary factors driving the fate of T cell differentiation.
Always hard to absorb: youngsters suicide from childhood adversity

Suicide is a complex social issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), each year there are nearly 800,000 deaths from suicide worldwide (1). Among youngsters with ages from 15–29 years old, suicide is the second leading cause of mortality worldwide, and its incidence rate is increasing (1-5). Therefore, it is important to identify corresponding risk factors for future intervention.