cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cardiac risk stratification in renal transplantation using a form of artificial intelligence

The purpose of this study was to determine if an expert network, a form of artificial intelligence, could effectively stratify cardiac risk in candidates for renal transplant. Input into the expert network consisted of clinical risk factors and thallium-201 stress test data. Clinical risk factor screening alone identified 95 of 189 patients as high risk. These 95 patients underwent thallium-201 stress testing, and 53 had either reversible or fixed defects. The other 42 patients were classified as low risk. This algorithm made up the "expert system," and during the 4-year follow-up period had a sensitivity of 82%, specificity of 77%, and accuracy of 78%. An artificial neural network was added to the expert system, creating an expert network. Input into the neural network consisted of both clinical variables and thallium-201 stress test data. There were 5 hidden nodes and the output (end point) was cardiac death. The expert network increased the specificity of the expert system alone from 77% to 90% (p < 0.001), the accuracy from 78% to 89% (p < 0.005), and maintained the overall sensitivity at 88%. An expert network based on clinical risk factor screening and thallium-201 stress testing had an accuracy of 89% in predicting the 4-year cardiac mortality among 189 renal transplant candidates.
Using CAD scales for cross-cultural marketing

Abstract CAD (compliant, aggressive, detached) scales have been used in marketing research for many years, however, they have not been widely utilized in cross-cultural studies. International marketers can gain additional insight into market differences with this technique. CAD scales share cross-cultural application problems with all other attitudinal tests. While this methodology is far from perfect, it does provide the international marketer with an additional tool to enhance the understanding of cultural differences. To illustrate how this technique can be used, a study was performed. University students in China, Japan, and the United States were surveyed. The results of our comparisons suggest that Chinese students were higher on all three scales while the United States students tended to be more compliant than the Japanese sample, although all three samples were compliant. The United States sample was roughly equal to the Japanese in aggressiveness and detachment.
Dynamics of rare gas desorption from Pt(111) induced by collisions with photogenerated hot oxygen atoms

We present a classical trajectory study of the collision-induced desorption of rare gas (Rg=Ar, Xe) atoms from Pt(111) by ‘hot’ O atoms generated by photodissociating coadsorbed O2. Empirical potential energy functions are used to describe the Rg/O/Pt(111) systems. The calculated angular and translational energy distributions of the desorbed Ar and Xe are in good agreement with experimental observations. It is found that the desorption dynamics involves two collisions. The first collision between O and Rg supplies the necessary kinetic energy for desorption, whereas the second collision between the departing Rg atom and a coadsorbed Rg atom results in a desorption angle of 25–35° from the surface normal for Ar and 35–45° for Xe. The light oxygen atom is found to chatter between the Xe atom and the surface during an O–Xe collision, enhancing the energy transfer.
Carathéodory-Hamilton-Jacobi theory for nonsmooth problems of Lagrange and problems of optimal control

In his book [3] Caratheodory introduces and develops the concept of equivalent variational problems for the Lagrange problem of the calculus of variations. His method leads immediately to the classical HamiltonJacobi theory. In the sixties this approach was extended by Bridgeland [l, 21 and Snow [ 121 to problems of optimal controi under smoothness conditions compatible with Caratheodory’s original treatment. By considering nonsmooth Lagrange problems in the calculus of variations and utilizing the techniques of nonsmooth analysis we establish here a generalization of Caratheodory’s method under significantly weaker smoothness hypotheses than those appearing in the current literature. In addition, since the formulation considered here has been shown in Rockafellar [lo] to be equivalent to the Lagrange problem of optimal control considered by both Bridgeland and Snow, the results proven here contain these latter results as a special case. Moreover we establish conditions which show, under the usual hypotheses guaranteeing the existence of an optimal solution, there exists a measurable optimal feedback control.
Certain problems of auriferous lodes and placers

Origins and positions of gold fields and ores, particularly of placers, in the Yana-Kolyma area and elsewhere in the Northeast, as indicated by the morphostructural analysis and the behavior of gold in endogenic and exogenic processes. – V.P. Sokoloff.
Experimental investigation of viscosity and specific heat of silicon dioxide nanofluids

Results of an experimental investigation into the viscosity and specific heat of silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) nanoparticles with various diameters (20, 50 and 100 nm) suspended in a 60:40 (by weight) ethylene glycol and water mixture are presented. Nanofluids with particle volume percentages ranging from 0 to 10% were examined. Viscosity experiments were carried out over wide temperature ranges, from -35 to 50degC, to demonstrate their applicability in cold regions. The nano- particle diameter effect on the rheology of the SiO 2 nanofluid is explored. Non-Newtonian behaviour was observed for the particle volume concentrations of these nanofluids at sub-zero temperatures. A new correlation was developed from experimental data, which related viscosity with particle volume percent and nanofluid temperature. The specific heats of the SiO 2 nanofluids for various particle volume concentrations are presented.
Quality of life and menopause in women with physical disabilities.

Objective: The goal of this cross-sectional study was to explore quality of life (QOL) in a sample of postmenopausal women with physical disabilities due to polio contracted in childhood. A structu...
Dry Low NOx Combustion System for Utility Gas Turbine

A Dry Low NOx combustion system has been developed for a 80 MW gas turbine operating on natural gas and on distillate oil. The system, employing two-stage combustion and multimode operation, meets the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for NOx emissions across much of the load range for both fuels. Mid-load smoke, NOx, and carbon monoxide emissions on distillate oil require further development. This paper outlines the emissions performance of the system for Dry Low NOx applications, specifically in terms of NSPS NOx requirements. Machine data, in addition to test stand data, support the conclusions.Copyright © 1983 by ASME
QUALITY OF MINIMALLY PROCESSED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Consumer demand for fresh fruits and vegetables coupled with a demand for convenience is fueling an interest in minimally processed products. Advances in packaging technology provide a potential for improved quality and extended shelf-life of these products, but little is known about the physiological, microbiological and nutritional consequences of minimal processing. Mass marketing and brand-label identification of these products will require a new perspective on shelf-life and quality assurance. A systems approach has been proposed as a framework for quality management of fresh and minimally processed product based on the concept of providing the consumer with optimum quality at purchase and consumption.
Cortical Activation in Response to Pure Taste Stimuli During the Physiological States of Hunger and Satiety

This event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (er-fMRI) study investigated BOLD signal change in response to a series of pure gustatory stimuli that varied in stimulus quality when subjects were hungry and sated with a nutritional pre-load. Group analyses showed significant differences in activation in the hunger minus satiety condition in response to sucrose, caffeine, saccharin, and citric acid within the thalamus, hippocampus, and parahippocampus. When examining the hunger and satiety conditions, activation varied as a function of stimulus, with the majority of the stimuli exhibiting significantly greater activation in the hunger state within the insula, thalamus, and substantia nigra, in contrast to decreased activation in the satiated state within the parahippocampus, hippocampus, amygdala, and anterior cingulate. Region of interest (ROI) analysis revealed two significant interactions, ROI by physiology and ROI by physiology by stimulus. In the satiety condition, the primary (inferior and superior insulae) and secondary (OFC 11 and OFC 47) taste regions exhibited significantly greater brain activation in response to all stimuli than regions involved in processing eating behavior (hypothalamus), affect (amygdala), and memory (hippocampus, parahippocampus and entorhinal cortex). These same regions demonstrated significantly greater activation within the hunger condition than the satiety condition, with the exception of the superior insula. Furthermore, the patterns of activation differed as a function taste stimulus, with greater activation in response to sucrose than to the other stimuli. These differential patterns of activation suggest that the physiological states of hunger and satiety produce divergent activation in multiple brain areas in response to different pure gustatory stimuli.
Matricellular Proteins in Cardiac Adaptation and Disease

The term matricellular proteins describes a family of structurally unrelated extracellular macromolecules that, unlike structural matrix proteins, do not play a primary role in tissue architecture, but are induced following injury and modulate cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. When released to the matrix, matricellular proteins associate with growth factors, cytokines, and other bioactive effectors and bind to cell surface receptors transducing signaling cascades. Matricellular proteins are upregulated in the injured and remodeling heart and play an important role in regulation of inflammatory, reparative, fibrotic and angiogenic pathways. Thrombospondin (TSP)-1, -2, and -4 as well as tenascin-C and -X secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), osteopontin, periostin, and members of the CCN family (including CCN1 and CCN2/connective tissue growth factor) are involved in a variety of cardiac pathophysiological conditions, including myocardial infarction, cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, aging-associated myocardial remodeling, myocarditis, diabetic cardiomyopathy, and valvular disease. This review discusses the properties and characteristics of the matricellular proteins and presents our current knowledge on their role in cardiac adaptation and disease. Understanding the role of matricellular proteins in myocardial pathophysiology and identification of the functional domains responsible for their actions may lead to design of peptides with therapeutic potential for patients with heart disease.
Export credit guarantees: The commodity credit corporation and US agricultural export policy

Abstract A model is presented to explain the economic incentives for export credit guarantee programs. A methodology for estimating the discount component of credit guarantees from the importer's perspective is developed and applied. The cost of offering CCC credit guarantees is discussed as are issues regarding the effectiveness of the programs. In general, we find that the program benefits both importers and exporters.
Uncovering the Arundel Library at the Royal Society: changing meanings of science and the fate of the Norfolk donation.

Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, was the most important collector in early 17th Century Britain. Much attention has been paid to his collections of painting and sculpture, his patronage of painters such as Rubens and Van Dyck and architects such as Inigo Jones, and his search through Greece and Turkey for antiquities. Little, however, has been written on the Arundel Library, which was equally famous. The cause is not hard to find: the library has been dispersed whereas the marbles and antiquities have found a home at Oxford, the manuscripts at the British Library and the College of Arms, and the paintings and sculpture remain identifiable whether at Arundel Castle or in British, continental or American museums. Yet the Arundel Library is of great significance: to the history of book–collecting by the great bibliophiles Willibald Pirckheimer and Arundel himself; to the study of the reading practices and libraries of members of the Howard family, possibly including Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and, certainly, his son, Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton; and, more generally, to the history of the book in the Renaissance and early modern Europe and the concomitant study of communities of readers.
Effects of grazing on a salt marsh

Abstract Changes in the quantity of plant material in three salt marsh systems: (1) a pristine unaltered marsh, (2) a marsh grazed by ungulates, and (3) a marsh formerly grazed by ungulates, were measured periodically over two years. All three had a mixture of Spartina alterniflora and Salicornia virginica while the latter two also contained Distichlis spicata. The annual production, potential detritus contribution percent dry weight, mineral concentration, plant species composition, and fiddler crab populations were examined for comparative purposes. In addition, the effects of simulated grazing were evaluated at three times of year in a pure stand of S. alterniflora. Finally, an economic assessment and comparison of the three systems was also considered. Living S. alterniflora attained the greatest quantity of standing material in late summer and dead plant material in late winter. Live D. spicata was most plentiful in August and less abundant during February; S. virginica displayed no apparent annual variation in production. Average yearly standing crop increments indicated that the aerial plant production for the ungrazed system (583·4 g/m2/yr) exceeded the production of the formerly grazed marsh (322·3 g/m2/yr). The production of the formerly grazed system exceeded that of the grazed marsh which had an annual production of 221·9 g/m2/yr. Significantly more fiddler crabs were found in the ungrazed area than in the grazed marsh system.
Healing the wounds of war: the Vietnam veteran after Operation Desert Storm.

topic. How Operation Desert Storm, and the positive response of the public to this crisis, seemed to stimulate and heighten unresolved feelings for many Vietnam veterans. purpose. To show that understanding the lived experiences of Vietnam veterans, at time when men and women returning from Operation Desert Storm were welcomed back by their country, would allow for the development of more effective treatment approaches in working with Vietnam veterans. methods. Personal interviews, during and immediately following Operation Desert Storm, with 12 men who served in Vietnam. findings. Themes identified and described by Vietnam veterans included repressed fear, shame, isolation and loneliness, disillusionment, permanence of memories, and acceptance. conclusion. Further exploration and analysis of these themes is recommended.
Mapping of vertebral artery perfusion territories using arterial spin labeling MRI.

PURPOSE To demonstrate the use of a noninvasive arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI technique and evaluate vertebral artery (VA) territories in the brain. MATERIALS AND METHODS Vessel-encoded ASL was used to determine the territories of the left and right VAs in five healthy subjects. Territory maps were analyzed quantitatively by comparing the fractional contributions of the left and right VAs in selected regions of interest within the brain. RESULTS VA territory maps demonstrated a complicated pattern of perfusion to the posterior aspect of the brain, but were consistent with the posterior cerebral and cerebellar artery distributions. Cerebellar perfusion was predominantly ipsilateral (P<0.01). The total left and right VA contributions were unequal (P<0.01), and there was relatively little mixing in the vertebrobasilar system. CONCLUSION Vessel-encoded ASL can reveal individual VA territories in the brain. In a small sample of healthy volunteers the VAs appeared to contribute unequally, provide predominantly ipsilateral supply to the cerebellum, and undergo minimal mixing in the basilar artery.
Structural features of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor revealed by antibodies to synthetic peptides.

Abstract Antibodies were raised to the amino- and car☐y-terminal decapeptides of Torpedo californica acetylcholine receptor. Structural studies of the native receptor using the antipeptide antibodies as probes proved the existence of the car☐y terminal sequence in the α subunit predicted from its cDNA sequence and supported structural models of the native receptor that place the car☐y termini on the intracellular side. The amino termini of the subunits were not accessible on the surface of native receptor.
Copper(II) carboxylate dimers and chains

Abstract Copper(II) carboxylates have been synthesized to develop a magnetostructure function relationship. The pseudopolymorphs Cu 2a (OH 2 ) 2 ·H 2 O and Cu 2a (OH 2 ) 2 ( 2a =1 ,4-benzenedicarboxylate (terephthalate)) form 1-D ( θ =−7.2 K; J / k B =−9.15 K ( H=−2J S 1 · S 2 )) and 2-D layers with ferromagnetic coupling ( θ =+0.8 K), respectively. In contrast, formation of isolated dimers of (Cu 2 (O 2 CMe)( 3 ) 3 (EtOH) 2 ) ( 3 =2 -(4′-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-3-oxide-1-oxyl) enables the coupling of S= 1 2 spins on the nitroxides to the S =1 excited state of the copper(II) dimer. This coupling of −157 K is two orders of magnitude greater than the S= 1 2 nitroxide–nitroxide coupling of −1.5 K.
An instructive example of homomorphic signal processing

In this paper, a specific application of cepstral processing is considered to illustrate homomorphic signal processing. In particular, an analytic expression is derived for the frequency domain representation of a signal that has been recovered from a multi-path signal with cepstral processing. The multi-path signal is composed of time-delayed, scaled versions of the transmitted signal, and the transmitted signal is to be recovered. The recovered signal is expressed analytically in the frequency domain. By truncating an infinite series, the recovered signal can be expressed in the time domain. The analytic expressions can be used to predict the distortion that will result in the recovered signal when the cepstral processing is implemented with discrete Fourier transforms (DFTs). The analytic expression of a recovered signal is compared with the signal recovered with DFTs. The signal recovery from a multi-path signal that is composed of the transmitted signal and an amplified version of the transmitted signal is discussed and considered in two examples. The examples also demonstrate the scaling of nonminimum phase signals to minimum phase signals. >
Tuberculosis Among Urban Health Care Workers: A Study Using Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Typing

Cases of tuberculosis identified during 1992-1994 through an active tuberculosis surveillance network among six hospitals that serve New York City (the TBNetwork) were analyzed according to the occupational status of the patients. Clinical data were obtained by review of medical records, and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates was performed. No known nosocomial outbreaks of tuberculosis occurred at these hospitals in the study period. Occupational status was known for 142 of 201 patients whose isolates were available for strain typing. Patients infected by organisms with a clustered strain typing pattern, as determined by RFLP analysis, were presumed to have recently acquired disease. RFLP typing revealed that isolates from 13 (65%) of 20 health care workers and 50 (41%) of 122 non-health care workers had a clustered RFLP pattern. The strains infecting eight (89%) of nine health care workers seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) had a clustered RFLP pattern. Multivariate analysis of 75 patients with known HIV and occupational status revealed that HIV status (P = .03) and health care worker status (P = .02; RR = 2.77) were independent risk factors for a clustered RFLP strain. These findings suggest that many of the apparently sporadic cases of tuberculosis among health care workers may be due to unrecognized occupational transmission.
A minimum-power wireless sensor network self-deployment scheme

In deploying a wireless sensor network with a given number of nodes, a placement policy is required to minimize the power consumption needed for communication. This issue is addressed by formulating a non-linear optimization problem. To avoid combinatorial complexity, we propose an incremental self-deployment algorithm by adding nodes one-at-a-time into the network in the most energy-efficient way identified. This scheme, which achieves possibly suboptimal performance, is tested in a simulation environment and its effectiveness is discussed.
Wardrop Equilibria with Risk-Averse Users

Network games can be used to model competitive situations in which agents select routes to minimize their cost. Common applications include traffic, telecommunication, and distribution networks. Although traditional network models have assumed that realized costs only depend on congestion, in most applications they also have an uncertain component. We extend the traffic assignment problem first proposed by Wardrop in 1952 by adding random deviations, which are independent of the flow, to the cost functions that model congestion in each arc. We map these uncertainties into a Wardrop equilibrium model with nonadditive path costs. The cost on a path is given by the sum of the congestion on its arcs plus a constant safety margin that represents the agents' risk aversion. First, we prove that an equilibrium for this game always exists and is essentially unique. Then, we introduce three specific equilibrium models that fall within this framework: the percentile equilibrium where agents select paths that minimize a specified percentile of the uncertain cost; the added-variability equilibrium where agents add a multiple of the variability of the cost of each arc to the expected cost; and the robust equilibrium where agents select paths by solving a robust optimization problem that imposes a limit on the number of arcs that can deviate from the mean. The percentile equilibrium is difficult to compute because minimizing a percentile among all paths is computationally hard. Instead, the added-variability and robust Wardrop equilibria can be computed efficiently in practice: The former reduces to a standard Wardrop equilibrium problem and the latter is found using a column generation approach that repeatedly solves robust shortest path problems, which are polynomially solvable. Through computational experiments of some random and some realistic instances, we explore the benefits and trade-offs of the proposed solution concepts. We show that when agents are risk averse, both the robust and added-variability equilibria better approximate percentile equilibria than the classic Wardrop equilibrium.
Impact of Claims Data Research on Clinical Practice

Despite their potential utility, clinicians are skeptical about claims data as a substrate for clinical research. Clinicians' concerns are centered on two issues—the quality of the data and the fairness of comparisons that are made. To increase the impact of claims data research on clinical practice, several strategies should be pursued.
Optimal scheduling of probabilistic repetitive projects using completed unit and genetic algorithms

In this paper we introduce the completed unit algorithm (CU-AL), a probabilistic scheduling methodology for repetitive projects. The algorithm has two main advantages, simplicity and short computational time, that facilitate and expedite its use in simulation modeling and optimization. An integration between CU-AL and genetic algorithm (GA) is established to optimize the problem of maximizing profit for repetitive projects with probabilistic activity durations. This integration between CU-AL and GA is explained in detail through an example project with 5 activities and 10 repetitive units. A simulation model for this project is developed in Stroboscope, an activity-based simulation system. The optimization is performed by ChaStrobeGA, a Stroboscope add-on using genetic algorithm to optimize the overall objective function of project profit. Discussion of the results provides insight into the tradeoff between maintaining and relaxing resource continuity constraints in order to maximize expected project profit.
Thoracic and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Aneurysms of the aorta are at times evaluated and treated by physicians from a number of specialties. Indeed, whereas cardiac surgeons operate on the ascending aorta and arch and vascular surgeons manage abdominal aortic aneurysms, at present the responsibility often falls to cardiologists to oversee the medical care of patients with aortic disease of all types. However, although formally trained in “cardiovascular medicine,” most cardiologists devote their attention to the heart and its coronary arteries, and relatively few have experience in the management of diseases of the aorta. It is therefore important that cardiologists acquire a sufficient knowledge base so that they can confidently evaluate and manage patients with aortic disease and know when it is appropriate to refer them for surgery. Toward this end, the purpose of this review is to summarize the current understanding of thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms. Thoracic aneurysms may involve one or more aortic segments (aortic root, ascending aorta, arch, or descending aorta) and are classified accordingly (Figure 1). Sixty percent of thoracic aortic aneurysms involve the aortic root and/or ascending aorta, 40% involve the descending aorta, 10% involve the arch, and 10% involve the thoracoabdominal aorta (with some involving >1 segment). The etiology, natural history, and treatment of thoracic aneurysms differ for each of these segments. Figure 1. Anatomy of thoracic and proximal abdominal aorta. (©Massachusetts General Hospital Thoracic Aortic Center. Used with permission.) ### Etiology and Pathogenesis Aneurysms of the ascending thoracic aorta most often result from cystic medial degeneration, which appears histologically as smooth muscle cell dropout and elastic fiber degeneration. Medial degeneration leads to weakening of the aortic wall, which in turn results in aortic dilatation and aneurysm formation. When such aneurysms involve the aortic root, the anatomy is often referred to as annuloaortic ectasia. Cystic medial degeneration occurs normally to some extent with …
Exercise capacity in long-term survivors of pediatric cancer: an analysis from the Cardiac Risk Factors in Childhood Cancer Survivors Study.

Background Childhood cancer survivors may have premature symptomatic cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular diseases that contribute to reduced capacity for physical activity. Studies of exercise capacity and identification of risk factors for reduced capacity in survivors are limited. Procedure We assessed maximal myocardial oxygen consumption (, a measure of exercise capacity) in survivors at least 4 years after cancer diagnosis and sibling controls. We evaluated associations between and age, sex, treatments, cardiac structure and function, biomarkers, endocrine function, and physical activity. Results Of 72 survivors (mean age, 22 years; range, 8.0–40 years) and 32 siblings (mean age, 20.2 years; range, 8–46 years), about half were male. Mean time since diagnosis was 13.4 years (range, 4.5–31.6 years). In age- and sibling-pair adjusted analyses, was lower in survivors than siblings (males, 28.53 vs. 30.90 ml/kg/minute, P = 0.08; females, 19.81 vs. 23.40 ml/kg/minute, P = 0.03). In males, older age (P = 0.01), higher percent body fat (P < 0.001) and high or low left ventricular (LV) mass Z-scores (P = 0.03) predicted lower . In females, older age (P < 0.001), methotrexate exposure (P = 0.01), and higher, but normal, LV load-dependent contractility (P = 0.02) predicted lower . Conclusions Fitness for most survivors and controls was poor and generally lower in survivors, particularly females. Older age, higher body fat, methotrexate exposure, and extremes of LV mass/function were associated with lower in survivors. Because physical activity can improve nutritional and cardiac conditions, survivors should be encouraged to exercise regularly with close monitoring. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2013; 60: 663–668. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Fe57 Mössbauer effect study of the metallic glasses Y1−xFex†

Abstract The compositional variation of atomic density and Fe 57 Mossbauer Effect spectra in the paramagnetic metallic glasses Y 1− x Fe x has been investigated. The spectra consist of two fairly well defined symmetric lines for all compositions studied (0.25 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.45). A sensitive compositional dependence has been observed for the quadrupole splitting, isomer shift, and to a lesser extent the atomic density. This behavior disagrees with the predictions of models based on random packing of hard spheres. Explanations based on enhanced chemical ordering and a tendency towards phase separation are discussed.
What if the hereditarian hypothesis is true

Rushton and Jensen (this issue) review ten bodies of evidence to support their argument that the longstanding, worldwide Black-White average differences in cognitive ability are more plausibly explained by their “hereditarian” (50% genetic causation) theory than by “culture-only” (0% genetic causation) theory. This commentary evaluates the relevance of their evidence, the overall strength of their case, the implications they draw for public policy, and the suggestion by some scholars that the nation is best served by telling benevolent lies about race and intelligence.
An alternate algorithm for discrete-time filtering

The discrete-time Kalman filter is an optimal estimator for the states of a linear, stochastic system. It assumes that measurements are linear combinations of the states, and all disturbances are Gaussian. The influence diagram, a decision analysis tool that provides an algorithm for discrete-time filtering equivalent to the Kalman filter when the influence diagram represents Gaussian random variables, is discussed. The influence diagram algorithm is a factored form of the Kalman filter, similar to other factored forms such as the U-D filter. Compared with the Kalman filter, it offers improved numerical properties. Compared with other factored forms, it offers a reduced computational load. >
Development of Ski Resort Liability: Statutory Challenges and Implications for the Hospitality Industry

Ski resort liability has become an important issue in many states as large monetary judgments have been awarded against ski operators, leaving many in jeopardy of losing liability insurance protection. This article examines the development of the common law of negligence regarding ski resort liability in the United States; statutes that address the specific duties and responsibilities of skiers and ski resort operators; and constitudonal challenges to these statutes. Legislation designed to protect ski resort operators could serve as a model for legislation reform to protect resort operators who offer other forms of recreation.
Capture from pair production as a beam loss mechanism for heavy ions at RHIC

Electron capture from electron-positron pair production is predicted to be a major source of beam loss for the heaviest ions at RHIC. Achieving the highest luminosity thus requires an understanding of the capture process. We report measurements of this process at Brookhaven National Laboratory's AGS using 10.8 GeV/nucleon Au/sup 79+/ projectiles on Au targets. Capture from pair production is a process in which the very high electromagnetic field involved in the collision of two relativistic heavy ions results in the production of an electron-positron pair with the capture of the electron by one of the ions. There are many theoretical papers published on capture from pair production with discrepancies between predicted cross sections. The experimental results are compared to theory and to previous experiments at 1 GeV/nucleon. The implications of extrapolations to RHIC energies are presented.
Plant polyploidy and the evolutionary ecology of plant/animal interactions

Until recently almost nothing was known about the effects of plant polyploidy on interactions with herbivores and pollinators. Studies of the saxifrage Heuchera grossulariifolia throughout its geographical range in the US northern Rockies have shown that autopolyploidy has probably arisen multiple times within this species since the end of the Pleistocene. Tetraploids from those different origins experience higher levels of attack by the moth Greya politella (Prodoxidae) than sympatric or parapatric diploids. In addition, within one intensively studied region, the plants are also attacked by two other lepidopteran species: G. piperella, which preferentially attack diploids, and Eupithecia misturata (Geometridae), which preferentially attacks tetraploids. Sympatric diploid and tetraploid plants also differ in the overall suites of pollinators they attract. Hence, the evolution of polyploid populations has the potential to change significantly the evolutionary ecology of interactions with herbivores and pollinators. Because a large number of plant lineages include polyploid species, the evolution of plant polyploidy may have had major effects on the interaction structure of terrestrial communities.
Characteristic basis function method: A numerically efficient technique for analyzing microwave and RF circuits

In this paper, we present an efficient electromagnetic analysis of planar microstrip structures, called the characteristic basis function method (CBFM). In this method, the original problem geometry is segmented into smaller regions called sections, and high-level basis functions are generated to represent the electromagnetic characteristics of these sections. These basis functions are referred to as the characteristic basis functions (CBFs), and their use leads to a reduced matrix equation. Since the method only requires the solution of small-size matrix equations, associated with isolated domains, the computational burden is relieved, and an acceleration of the solve time is achieved. The efficiency of this method is demonstrated via several examples, including a filter and an amplifier circuit. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 38: 444–448, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.11085
Soil microbiota effects on rye growth: implications for integration of a rye cover crop into temperate cropping systems

Integration of rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crops into the corn (Zea mays L.) soybean [(Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation of the upper Midwest USA can provide many agronomic and agroecological benefits. Integration is made difficult by short growing seasons, but may be facilitated by management of key agroecological interactions such as those between rye and soil microbiota. Rye growth was measured and colonization by arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was determined in greenhouse experiments using soils from seven different management systems from a long-term cropping-systems experiment in southwest Minnesota. Microbial effects on rye growth were not evident before vernalization, but at final harvest (4 weeks after vernalization) soil microbial populations reduced rye shoot and root growth, relative to a pasteurized control inoculum. At final harvest, shoot biomass in 2-year rotations was 17% greater than 4-year rotations, indicating that microbial populations selected for by 4-year rotations may be more deleterious or pathogenic than those selected for by 2-year rotations. Growth of three rye cultivars was examined in all inocula; cultivars differed in their mean response to soil microbiota and their ability to host AMF. These findings suggest that management factors affect interactions between rye and soil microbiota resulting in altered rye growth.
A new policy for the service request assignment problem with multiple severity level, due date and SLA penalty service requests

We study the problem of assigning multiple severity level service requests to agents in an agent pool. Each severity level is associated with a due date and a penalty, which is incurred if the service request is not resolved by the due date. Motivated by Van Meighem (2003), who shows the asymptotic optimality of the Generalized Longest Queue policy for the problem of minimizing the due date dependent expected delay costs when there is a single agent, we develop a class of Index-based policies that is a generalization of the Priority First-Come-First-Serve, Weighted Shortest Expected Processing Time and Generalized Longest Queue policy. In our simulation study of an assignment system of a large technology firm, the Index-based policy shows an improvement of 0--20 % over the Priority First-Come-First-Serve policy depending upon the load conditions.
Effect of different mattress designs on promoting sleep quality, pain reduction, and spinal alignment in adults with or without back pain; systematic review of controlled trials

A significant number of US citizens lack appropriate sleep for several reasons. Back pain has been identified as possible cause for inappropriate sleep in adults. Previously, the quality of mattresses and bedding systems has been correlated to the pain perceived by individuals. However, there is controversy in the literature regarding the type and characteristics of a mattress that best serve the purpose of decreasing spinal pain, and improving spinal alignment and quality of sleep. This study gathered the best available evidence in the literature related to this matter through conducting a systematic review of controlled trials that were published since the year of 2000. In those trials, mattresses were subjectively identified as soft, medium firm, firm, or custom inflated. Articles examining the effect of temperature alterations of mattresses on promoting sleep quality and reducing pain were included as well. Twenty-four articles qualified for inclusion into this systematic review. The methodological quality of the reviewed clinical trials was deemed moderate to high according to the PEDro scale. Results of this systematic review show that a mattress that is subjectively identified as a medium-firm mattress and is custom inflated (self-adjusted) is optimal for promoting sleep comfort, quality, and spinal alignment. Evidence is not sufficient yet regarding the appropriate temperature of the optimum mattress; however, warm temperature has been recommended by authors.
Excitation-Contraction Coupling and the Role of Calcium in Contraction and Relaxation in the 1950s and 1960s

While spectacular advances were being made in the understanding of the mechanism of contraction during the 1950s and 1960s, there were equally exciting advances during this same period in the understanding of how muscles were turned on and turned off. Alexander Sandow at New York University gave a name to this new field of study of activation of muscle contraction when he coined the term “excitation-contraction coupling” (Sandow 1952). He defined the field this way: “We shall designate the entire sequence of reactions—excitation, inward acting link, and activation of contraction—by the term excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling”. The elucidation of the fundamental features of E-C coupling came from a melting of physiology, cell biology and biochemistry. Even though this is a great success story, there were mis-steps, forgotten clues and strong personalities along the way. And as pointed out by Ebashi and Endo (1968): “It is ironic that recognition of the essential role of Ca ion in contraction has resulted mainly from the investigation into the mechanism of relaxation.” This period also resulted in the emergence of the influence of Japanese scientists in the muscle field. This emergence was almost single handedly due to the outstanding achievements and influence of Setsuro Ebashi.
Optimum filter for surface-wave group-velocity determination

abstract An exponentially decaying function in time domain has been used as a filter for group-velocity determination with multiple filter technique. The bandwidth of the optimum filter is obtained minimizing time duration of the filtered signal. Sufficient resolution for practical purposes is obtained with bandwidths proportional to the center frequencies.
Spectral effects of dispersive mode coupling in driven mesoscopic systems

Nanomechanical and other mesoscopic vibrational systems typically have several nonlinearly coupled modes with different frequencies and with long lifetime. We consider the power spectrum of one of these modes. Thermal fluctuations of the modes nonlinearly coupled to it lead to fluctuations of the mode frequency and thus to the broadening of its spectrum. However, the coupling-induced broadening is partly masked by the spectral broadening due to the mode decay. We show that the mode coupling can be identified and characterized using the change of the spectrum by weak resonant driving. We develop a path-integral method of averaging over the non-Gaussian frequency fluctuations from nonresonant (dispersive) mode coupling. The shape of the driving-induced power spectrum depends on the interrelation between the coupling strength and the decay rates of the modes involved, providing a means of characterizing these modes. The analysis is extended to the case of coupling to many modes, which because of the cumulative effect can become effectively strong. We also find the power spectrum of a driven mode where the mode has internal nonlinearity. Unexpectedly, the power spectra induced by the intra- and intermode nonlinearities are qualitatively different. The analytical results are in excellent agreement with the numerical simulations.
HANDBOOK OF MINERALOGY, VOLUME III

These, the third and fourth installments in the five-volume series, cover the halides, hydroxides, and oxides and the arsenates, phosphates, and vanadates, respectively. Reviews of the first two volumes have appeared in the American Mineralogist (vol. 77, p. 1122 and vol. 81, p. 524) and reviews of the first three volumes have appeared in several other journals. My examination of volumes III and IV indicates that they are very consistent with the earlier volumes in the style and quality of their presentations. The organization is simple and straightforward. One page is devoted to each known mineral in alphabetical order. Each page is headed by the mineral name and idealized formula. Descriptive information follows, arranged under the headings: crystal data (including details of the …
Black Resonance: Iconic Women Singers and African American Literature Emily J. Lordi. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2013.

Black Resonance: Iconic Women Singers and African American Literature Emily J. Lordi. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2013.I thought I knew something about the history of black music and artists like Mahalia Jackson and Bessie Smith; I thought I was well versed in the writings of Ralph Ellison and James Baldwin. I was wrong. Thankfully, Emily Lordi's brilliant Black Resonance: Iconic Women Singers and African American Literature took me to school. Not only does the book expand one's understanding of a myriad of iconic black writers and singers, chronicling their collaborative histories, but also it offers profound and important readings of their insurgent works and their voices of freedom.At its core, Black Resonance is an examination of the shared histories, overlapping cultural discourses, and interconnections between the sonic and literary, between the artist and the writer, between song and text. "Ever since Bessie Smith's improbably powerful voice conspired with the emerging 'race records' industry to make her 'the first real superstar in African American popular culture,'" writes Lordi, "black writers have memorialized the sounds and detailed the politics of black women's singing" (1). Pushing back at the conventions that separate popular culture and high culture, activism and cultural production, intellectual musings and the sonic boom, Lordi, a professor of English at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, offers a series of examples that contest and undercut the binaries and boundaries that anchor discourses around culture.Challenging the myth of the muse and the privileging of certain forms of expression, Black Resonance moves the conversation about this history, a series of black artists, and our collective discourse around art, agency, and activism. It is not simply interesting intersecting vectors between black writers and artists or the ways that black writers, from Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison to James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni, engaged the work of singers, from Bessie Smith and Mahalia Jackson to Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin (and vice versa). According to the author, writers and singers are "equal partners in the creation of black aesthetics" (5) and in the production and articulation of "freedom Dreams" (See Robin D. G. Kelley's Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination, 2002). Lordi remarks thatI stage them as collaborators, in the etymological sense of 'laboring together,' as they develop analogous expressive techniques. It is necessary that they know each other, or that vocalists sing about writers, in order for writers and singers to collaborate in this way. Their collaboration is not literal; nor is it perfectly symmetrical. Writers discursively co-create musical meaning when they write about singers. (5)In a chapter on Ralph Ellison and Bessie Smith, Lordi highlights the dialectics operating with their work, and their deployed aesthetics, narratives, and tropes, challenging the discursive privileging of the "white gaze" and its flattening of their meanings. …
Hypertension in the Dialysis Patient

Hypertension is common, difficult to diagnose, and poorly controlled in dialysis patients. There remains controversy on the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of hypertension in dialysis. This chapter describes the latest evidence on epidemiology, diagnosis, management, and prognosis of hypertension in dialysis.