cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anticipation from example

Automatically generated anticipation is a largely overlooked component of response in character motion for computer animation. We present an approach for generating anticipation to unexpected interactions with examples taken from human motion capture data. Our system generates animation by quickly selecting an anticipatory action using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) which is trained offline to distinguish the characteristics of a given scenario according to a metric that assesses predicted damage and energy expenditure for the character. We show our results for a character that can anticipate by blocking or dodging a threat coming from a variety of locations and targeting any part of the body, from head to toe.
Oxy-functionalization of nucleophilic rhenium(I) metal carbon bonds catalyzed by selenium(IV).

We report that SeO_2 catalyzes the facile oxy-functionalization of (CO)_5Re(I)-Me^(δ−) with IO_4− to generate methanol. Mechanistic studies and DFT calculations reveal that catalysis involves methyl group transfer from Re to the electrophilic Se center followed by oxidation and subsequent reductive functionalization of the resulting CH_3Se(VI) species. Furthermore, (CO)_3Re(I)(Bpy)-R (R = ethyl, n-propyl, and aryl) complexes show analogous transfer to SeO_2 to generate the primary alcohols. This represents a new strategy for the oxy-functionalization of M−R^(δ−) polarized bonds.
Modeling ionic strength effects on cation adsorption at hydrous oxide/solution interfaces

Abstract The effects of changes in ionic strength on the adsorption behavior of selenite (SeO32−) and selenate (SeO42−) on goethite and hydrous ferric oxide have been modeled using a generalized version of the triple-layer surface complexation model. Selenite adsorption, which is relatively unaffected by changes in ionic strength, is best modeled assuming that selenite forms an inner-sphere (surface coordination) complex; selenate adsorption, which is markedly reduced by increasing ionic strength, is best modeled assuming that selenate forms an outer-sphere (ion-pair) surface complex. The modeling results suggest that it is possible to distinguish between inner-sphere and outer-sphere anion surface complexes by studying the effects of ionic strength on anion partitioning.
Pattern recognition with memristor networks

In this paper we develop the concept of implementing pattern recognition algorithms in analog memristor networks. First, a device model is presented with experimental results demonstrating the feasibility of using WOx-based memristors to represent the tunable weights in a neural network. Next, simulation results demonstrate that an array of these memristors can be used to implement an unsupervised learning algorithm for pattern recognition. Handwritten digits are classified as an example problem while the concept is developed for more general use.
Factors determining participation in prevention trials among systemic lupus erythematosus patients: a qualitative study.

Objective A feasibility study for a trial of strategies for the prevention of atherosclerosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was stopped because of inadequate recruitment. There is little understanding of the factors influencing patients' decisions about participation in prevention trials. Our goal was to determine factors that patients with SLE consider in deciding about participating in prevention trials, to uncover concerns about SLE trials, and to investigate how study design and purpose affect participation decisions. Methods We conducted focus groups with trial participants (n = 13), trial nonparticipants (n = 8), and a group of patients with diabetes (n = 9). We conducted telephone interviews with SLE patients who refused participation in the trial and the focus groups (n = 10). A trained facilitator elicited factors influencing participation decisions. Transcripts were coded and grouped into themes using grounded theory. Results Demographic characteristics of the groups were similar. Seven factors emerged as important in decision making: current health status, study design, physician involvement, personal benefit, altruism, time, and incentives. These factors were considered by individuals who elected to participate and those who did not, but weighed differently. Among the trial participants, good health status, encouragement from one's physician, and desires to learn and to contribute stimulated participation. Reasons for nonparticipation included current health status, medication and randomization concerns, and personal factors. Conclusion We observed that similar factors were weighed differently by participants and nonparticipants. Our results suggest that strategies such as health education, enlistment of personal physicians, and limitation of time requirements may enhance recruitment of patients with SLE into clinical prevention trials.
Therapy of transplantable mouse leukaemias with antileukaemia sera.

THE therapy of leukaemias by the administration of heterologous antisera has been tested both in experimental animals1–5 and in patients6,7, but the results have been variable and confusing. This article seeks to explain these discrepancies and indicates how positive results might be obtained.
Applicability of Neuber’s Rule for Thermomechanical Fatigue

Gas turbine components, such as blades and vanes, are routinely subjected to non-isothermal fatigue conditions. Accurate service life predictions can be made from analyzing transient stress-temperature histories and constitutive modeling. The local stress and strain histories at geometric discontinuities are typically calculated with stress shakedown approaches (i.e., Neuber’s Rule, Molski-Glinka Approach, Calladine Method) based on elastic responses rather than coupled elastic-plastic deformation observed from low cycle fatigue (LCF). For the notched material subjected to thermomechanical fatigue (TMF), there is no widely-accepted method for correlating remotely applied load with notch root behavior. In this study, a notched specimen of the Ni-base superalloy IN939 is modeled by means of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) via the ANSYS general purpose software. Calculations made from the Neuber Rule are compared with numerical simulations of the notch root response. Limitations of this classic stress shakedown approach are identified. Although the candidate material of this study is a generic polycrystalline, dual-phase Ni-base superalloy, the presented techniques are likely to be straightforwardly transferable to other materials. When combined with S-N data from experiments on tensile specimens, the method can be used to correlate notch tip response under TMF with fatigue life.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Advantages of enteral nutrition over parenteral nutrition

It is a strong and commonly held belief among nutrition clinicians that enteral nutrition is preferable to parenteral nutrition. We provide a narrative review of more recent studies and technical reviews comparing enteral nutrition with parenteral nutrition. Despite significant weaknesses in the existing data, current literature continues to support the use of enteral nutrition in patients requiring nutrition support, over parenteral nutrition.
Synthesis and reactions of xanthate and thioxanthate carbonyl complexes of molybdenum and tungsten

Abstract A series of complexes CpM(CO) n S 2 CX (M = Mo, W; n = 2, 3; X = OR, SR; R = Me, Et) has been prepared by the reaction of xanthates and thioxanthates with CpM(CO) 3 Cl. The dicarbonyl compounds are the exclusive products after sufficiently long reaction times and are produced at least partially through the tricarbonyl species as intermediates. The conversion of CpM(CO) 2 S 2 CX to CpM(CO) 2 S 3 CX is not a simple first-order process but is catalyzed by Cl − and/or S 2 CX − . The tricarbonyl species can be alkylated at the uncoordinated sulfur atom to give ionic di- or tri-thiocarbonate complexes.
Carotenoids protect Phaffia rhodozyma against singlet oxygen damage

The only known habitat of the astaxanthin-containingPhaffia rhodozyma is in slime fluxes of deciduous trees at high altitudes. In this habitat, the function of carotenoids inP. rhodozyma is probably to provide protection against photogenerated antifungal substances in the tree flux such as singlet oxygen (1O2). To investigate the role of carotenoids inP. rhodozyma, genetic selections were employed to determine if carotenogenic yeast strains ofP. rhodozyma have enhanced ability to quench1O2. Singlet oxygen was generated in liquid culture by the interaction of visible light (λ-550 nm) with the photosensitizer rose bengal or by the activation of α-terthienyl with ultraviolet light (λ=366 nm). In each case the treatments selected for growth of pigmented strains ofP. rhodozyma. Albino (carotenoid-less) or yellow (β-carotene producing) strains grew less well in media containing1O2. Addition of the1O2 quencher sodium azide to the medium with α-terthienyl allowed growth of non-pigmented strains. Since the ecological niche ofP. rhodozyma is highly specific, we investigated whether extracts of birch trees (Betula), the original source ofP. rhodozyma, contained a compound that would select for pigmented populations of the yeast. WhenP. rhodozyma strains were exposed to ethyl acetate extracts ofBetula papyrifera excited with 366 nm ultraviolet light, only pigmented cells were able to grow. These results suggest that carotenogenesis developed inP. rhodozyma in response to the presence of photoactivatable antifungal compounds produced by the host tree.
Atypical nephrogenic metaplasia of the urinary tract: a precursor lesion?

BACKGROUND Nephrogenic metaplasia with cytologic atypia (atypical nephrogenic metaplasia) is occasionally encountered and its biologic potential is uncertain. METHODS The authors describe 18 cases of atypical nephrogenic metaplasia characterized by the presence of prominent cytologic atypia, including nuclear enlargement, nuclear hyperchromasia, and enlarged nucleoli. DNA ploidy analysis by digital image analysis and immunostaining for high-molecular-weight cytokeratin (34βE12), cytokeratin 7, cytokeratin 20, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), p53, and MIB-1 were performed in 9 cases. RESULTS The mean patient age was 62 years (median, 65 years; range, 39–84 years). The male-to-female ratio was 2.6:1. Two patients had a history of noninvasive papillary urothelial carcinoma. The typical clinical presentation was hematuria (8 patients) and voiding symptoms (5 patients). Cystoscopic findings were suspicious for neoplasm in 7 of 13 cases. The neoplastic cells were positive for high-molecular-weight cytokeratin, cytokeratin 7, and EMA, and were usually negative for cytokeratin 20 and CEA. p53 nuclear accumulation and increased MIB-1 labeling index were seen in 4 cases. DNA ploidy analysis showed aneuploid pattern in 2 of 9 cases. The mean patient follow-up was 3.5 years (range, 0.5–10.6 years); 2 patients had recurrent nephrogenic metaplasia, and the remainder were alive without recurrence or urothelial carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS Atypical nephrogenic metaplasia is benign; it occasionally displays substantial cytologic abnormalities of no apparent clinical significance. Awareness of the spectrum of cytologic changes within this entity is critical to prevent overdiagnosis of cancer and avoid unnecessary treatment. There is no direct evidence that links atypical nephrogenic metaplasia to cancer. Cancer 2000;88:853–61. © 2000 American Cancer Society.
Definition of the Role of Contemporary Surgical Management in Cisternal and Parenchymatous Cysticercosis Cerebri

With increasing immigration from endemic regions, the incidence of neurocysticercosis in North America is rising. This retrospective study was undertaken to examine the role of surgery in those cases presenting with large cystic parenchymal and cisternal lesions in the current era of anthelminthic a
A model for pressure loss, film thickness, and entrained fraction for gas–liquid annular flow

Abstract A two-component (air–water) annular flow model is presented requiring only flow rates, absolute pressure, temperature, and tube diameter. Film thicknesses (base film and wave height) are calculated from a critical film thickness model. Modeled pressure gradient is weighted by wave intermittency to compute average pressure gradient. Film flow rate and wave velocity are estimated using the universal velocity profile in the waves and a piecewise linear profile in the base film. For vertical flow, mean absolute errors for film thickness, wave velocity, and pressure gradient are 9%, 9%, and 19%, respectively. In horizontal flow, mean absolute errors for pressure gradient, base film thickness, and disturbance wave velocity are 17%, 10%, and 14%, respectively, on par with those from single-behavior models that require additional film thickness or other data as inputs.
THE TRANSMISSION OF GEMINIVIRUSES BY BEMISIA TABACI

The cosmopolitan whitefly species, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) and Trialeurodes taporariorum (Westwood) have always been regarded as pests to a large range of worldwide crops. Both species are capable of transmitting plant viruses, with T. vaporariorum being the vector of only a few ‘clostero’-like viruses and B. tabaci the vector of viruses in several groups. The largest group of viruses transmitted by B. tabaci are the geminiviruses and B. tabaci is known to transmit around 60 members. Until recently, B. tabaci had been associated with only a limited range of host plants within any one region, although its total potential host range was large. Virus transmission was confined within the plant host range of each regional population of B. tabaci. The emergence of the polyphagous ‘B’ biotype of B. tabaci with its increased host range of more than 600 plant species, has resulted in geminiviruses infecting previously unaffected crops. As the ‘B’ biotype spreads further into Europe, European field and glasshouse crops have been shown to be susceptible to whitefly-transmitted viruses already endemic to other parts of the world. More than 20 colonies of B. tabaci, including both ‘B’ and non-‘B’ biotypes from disparate global locations have been compared for their ability to transmit more than 20 geminiviruses. All but two highly host-specific colonies were capable of transmitting most geminiviruses tested. However, some viruses were transmitted more efficiently than others. The virus coat protein or capsid is essential for vector recognition and transmission. By comparing transmissible viruses at the molecular level to viruses that are no longer whitefly-transmissible, the active epitope on the virus coat protein could be identified for designing future virus control strategies.
Opportunities and challenges to telemedicine in rural America

Rural communities have chronically suffered from a lack of adequate health care resources. Too few primary care practitioners and the need to travel long distances for specialty care have made it difficult for many rural residents to receive the care they need when they need it. Telemedicine provides one tool for improving this situation. As is often the case, however, telemedicine's potential has not been realized in rural America. Significant technical, regulatory, organizational, and financial barriers have prevented rural communities from benefiting from the technology. This paper discusses these issues and suggests a prescription for establishing successful rural telemedicine programs.
DNA mutations of the cat: The good, the bad and the ugly

Practical relevance:The health of the cat is a complex interaction between its environment (nurture) and its genetics (nature). Over 70 genetic mutations (variants) have been defined in the cat, ma...
Decline in synthesis of elongation factor one (EF-1) precedes the decreased synthesis of total protein in aging Drosophila melanogaster

The decrease in the rate of protein synthesis in aging adult Drosophila melanogaster was found previously to be due, to a great extent, to a drop in the rate of peptide chain elongation, and principally to lowered activity of elongation factor one (EF-1). This decrease does not appear to be caused by appearance of an inhibitor of peptide chain elongation. Instead, the synthesis of EF-1 declines markedly early in adult life. This decrease is followed by lowered activity of EF-1 and by a drop in the synthesis of most of the cellular proteins.
The implantable cardioverter defibrillator: its history, current psychological impact and future

The innovation of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) represents a modern medical achievement with substantial life-saving benefits for patients at risk for potentially life-threatening arrhythmias. Over a decade of research resulted in the first ICD implantation in 1980, dramatically changing the face of cardiac care. The introduction of the device was met by skepticism and outright rejection by some, yet large-scale clinical trials clearly demonstrated the mortality benefit of the ICD. Today, specific challenges for this technology have emerged, including barriers to individual and social acceptance of the ICD as a viable form of technology, as well as psychosocial adjustment difficulties and fears in patients. To address these challenges, scientific research, improved communication regarding devices and psychosocial interventions have been developed and extended to this patient population. As such, it is hypothesized that the future will hold expanding indications for ICD implantation, while further meeting patients' medical and psychosocial adjustment needs. The purposes of this paper are to review the history of ICD innovation, describe past and present research on psychosocial adjustment to the ICD, and corresponding psychosocial interventions, analyze individual and social acceptance and utilization of device technology, and forecast future applications and developments of the ICD.
High levels of glutathione attained during postnatal development of rat testis

The concentration of glutathione (GSH) in rat testis increases approximately 3-fold between 8 and 29 days of age, coinciding with the initial wave of meiosis, and is then maintained during spermiogenesis. In the adult rat, mM tissue GSH concentrations rank approximately as follows: liver > testis = kidney > caput epididymidis. However, with respect to protein content, relative GSH levels are testis = liver > kidney. In addition to its possible role during meiosis, the high concentration of GSH attained by developing germinal epithelium may be necessary for the biosynthesis and processing of sperm proteins containing SH and SeH.
Stochastically robust static resource allocation for energy minimization with a makespan constraint in a heterogeneous computing environment

In a heterogeneous environment, uncertainty in system parameters may cause performance features to degrade considerably. It then becomes necessary to design a system that is robust. Robustness can be defined as the degree to which a system can function in the presence of inputs different from those assumed. In this research, we focus on the design of robust static resource allocation heuristics suitable for a heterogeneous compute cluster that minimize the energy required to complete a given workload. In this study, we mathematically model and simulate a heterogeneous computing system that is assumed part of a larger warehouse scale computing environment. Task execution times/energy consumption may vary significantly across different data sets in our heterogeneous cluster; therefore, the execution time of each task on each node is modeled as a random variable. A resource allocation is considered robust if the probability that all tasks complete by a system deadline is at least 90%. To minimize the energy consumption of a specific resource allocation, dynamic voltage frequency scaling (DVFS) is employed. However, other factors, such as system overhead (spent on fans, disks, memory, etc.) must also be mathematically modeled when considering minimization of energy consumption. In this research, we propose three different heuristics that employ DVFS to minimize energy consumed by a set of tasks in our heterogeneous computing system. Finally, a lower bound on energy consumption is provided to gauge the performance of our heuristics.
Experimental study of isothermal swirling flows in a dump combustor

Detailed mean and turbulence data were obtained in a dump combustor with and without swirling inlet flow. A two-component LDV was used, and large samples were collected to resolve the second- and third-order correlations of velocity fluctuations with good accuracy. Large-amplitude well-organized oscillations were observed in the swirling flows and discussed. The swirling flows with and without vortex breakdown exhibited significantly different mean flow and turbulence field behavior.
Perception of disability in chronic back pain patients: a long-term follow-up.

Abstract Long-term outcomes for 300 chronic back pain patients were assessed retrospectively by a telephone follow-up 4–6 years after the patients were evaluated by a multi-disciplinary rehabilitative program. A Perception of Disability scale, developed to rate subjective disability, was used along with objective measures of functioning. On objective measures, 56% of patients reported themselves working or work ready, 58% no longer received compensation, 62% were taking no prescription medications and 65% had no or brief medical treatment since evaluations. Perceived disability, however, suggested a bleaker outcome picture with only 29% of patients perceiving themselves as improving. There was a strong relationship between perceived disability and objective circumstances with 63% of the patients unable to work and 61% still on disability payments reporting their disability as increasing. Of the 48 patients reporting back surgery at some point after evaluation only 17% perceived themselves as improved while 58% considered themselves worse. These results are discussed in the context of the development of pain focussed lifestyles.
Effects of allopregnanolone on the reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior in male and female rats

Rationale Previous research indicates that progesterone (PROG) decreased cocaine-seeking behavior in female rats. This effect of PROG may be in part due to its metabolite allopregnanolone (ALLO), which has been shown to decrease the sensitizing effects of cocaine and reduce lethality associated with cocaine overdose in mice.
The Dean as Participant Observer.

Effective leadership in colleges of educa tion is based on the recognition that or ganizations are cultural settings in which symbolic systems influence perception, attitudes, and behavior. The role of a Dean requires ethnographic skills in monitoring organizational realities such as changing symbolic systems, manag ing cultural conflicts, and dealing with conflicting expectations generated by organizational and professional affilia tion.
Adult Age Differences in Visual Search

The visual search technique was used to assess adult age differences in visual information extraction. The study included three adult age groups. In Experiment 1, participants searched for targets embedded in a list of unrelated words. Targets were defined structurally, phonemically, or semantically. Search for structural targets was faster than search for phonemic and semantic targets. This was true for all three age groups. In Experiment 2, targets were embedded in prose. The oldest age group required additional time to detect each target type, but the largest age difference was associated with semantic search.
Effect of mental activity on breathing in congenital central hypoventilation syndrome

Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) is associated with hypoventilation during sleep, but breathing can be adequate during wakefulness. It has been assumed that in awake CCHS patients breathing is activated by the forebrain, even voluntarily (i.e. Ondine's Curse). We tested whether or not an abnormal breathing pattern can be provoked by intense mental concentration in CCHS patients as this would be expected to disturb any voluntary control over breathing if present. Breathing (inductance plethysmography), end-tidal PCO2) (PETCO2), arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) and EEG were measured in 5 children with CCHS (aged 8-17 years) and 5 controls during 5 min periods while resting; reading; performing mental arithmetic and playing a hand-held "Nintendo" game. There were no significant differences between controls and CCHS (unpaired t-tests, P > 0.05) in mean breath duration, tidal volume, ventilation, SaO2 or PETCO2 during REST or the conditions of mental stimulation. Both groups increased ventilation during mental stimulation. Respiratory variability was not greater in CCHS in any condition. These data provide indirect evidence that CCHS patients do not require voluntary activation of every breath (they do not have Ondine's Curse) and suggest that mental concentration might stimulate the respiratory complex as part of a generalised CNS arousal.
Single- and Multilocus Allelic Variants within the GABAB Receptor Subunit 2 (GABAB2) Gene Are Significantly Associated with Nicotine Dependence

Twelve single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human γ-aminobutyric acid type B (GABAB) receptor subunit 2 gene (GABAB2) were tested for association with nicotine dependence (ND) in an extensively phenotyped cohort of 1,276 smokers and nonsmokers, representing ∼404 nuclear families of African American (AA) or European American (EA) origin. The GABAB2 gene encodes a subunit of the GABAB receptor for GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter involved in the regulation of many physiological and psychological processes in the brain. The gene is located within a region of chromosome 9q22 that showed a “suggestive” linkage to ND. Individual SNP analysis performed using the PBAT-GEE program indicated that two SNPs in the AAs and four SNPs in the EAs were significantly associated with ND. Haplotype analysis using the Family-Based Association Test revealed that, even after Bonferroni correction, the haplotype C-C-G of rs2491397-rs2184026-rs3750344 had a significant positive association with ND in both the pooled and the AA samples. In the EAs, we identified two haplotypes, C-A-C-A and T-A-T-A, formed by SNPs rs1435252-rs378042-rs2779562-rs3750344, that showed a highly significant negative and positive association with ND, respectively. In summary, our findings provide evidence of a significant association of GABAB2 variants with ND, implying that this gene plays an important role in the etiology of this drug addiction.
The Problem of Group Agency

L'A. s'interroge sur la nature possible des groupes sociaux et conclut a l'impossibilite d'une action morale de ceux-ci en tant qu'agents. Examinant le statut des corporations comme personnes morales en reference aux travaux de P. A. French, l'A. montre que la reconnaisance de structures decisionnelles ne suffit pas a attribuer une decision morale au groupe.
Fast implementations of nearest neighbor classifiers

Abstract Standard implementations of non-parametric classifiers have large computational requirements. Parzen classifiers use the distances of an unknown vector to all N prototype samples, and consequently exhibit O( N ) behavior in both memory and time. We describe four techniques for expediting the nearest neighbor methods: replacing the linear search with a new kd tree method, exhibiting approximately O (N 1 2 ) behavior; employing an L ∞ instead of L 2 distance metric; using variance-ordered features; and rejecting prototypes by evaluating distances in low dimensionality subspaces. We demonstrate that variance-ordered features yield significant efficiency gains over the same features linearly transformed to have uniform variance. We give results for a large OCR problem, but note that the techniques expedite recognition for arbitrary applications. Three of four techniques preserve recognition accuracy.
Semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatographic purification of a 28-amino acid synthetic parathyroid hormone antagonist

Abstract Structure—activity studies of parathyroid hormone (PTH) over the last decade have led to the design and synthesis of a peptide hormone inhibitor of PTH action in vivo, [Tyr-34]bPTH-(7–34)amide. To evaluate the biological properties of this 28-amino acid hormone analogue, sufficient amounts of the peptide needed to be prepared in a high state of purity to permit continuous infusion in groups of animals for periods of several hours. For this purpose, gel chromatography followed by semi-preparative, reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using a lyophilizable solvent gradient system of acetonitrile in 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid was utilized. In a parallel purification scheme, gel filtration followed by ion-exchange chromatography was employed. Comparison of yields and product purity were determined by a battery of chemical analytical techniques. Semi-preparative HPLC generated a highly purified product; substantial heterogeneity was detected in the ion-exchange-purified material. The HPLC-purified product retains the biological activities of binding to PTH receptors in vitro and inhibiting PTH action in vivo.
The Error Coding and Substitution PaCTs

A new class of plug in classification techniques have recently been developed in the statistics and machine learning literature. A plug in classification technique (PaCT) is a method that takes a standard classifier (such as LDA or TREES) and plugs it into an algorithm to produce a new classifier. The standard classifier is known as the Plug in Classifier (PiC). These methods often produce large improvements over using a single classifier. In this paper we investigate one of these methods and give some motivation for its success.
Explanation and Rationality Naturalized

Familiar accounts have it that one explains thoughts or actions by showing them to be rational. It is common to find that the standards of rationality presupposed in these accounts are drawn from what would be thought to be aprioristic sources. I advance an argument to show this must be mistaken. But, recent work in epistemology and on rationality takes a less aprioristic approach to such standards. Does the new (psychological or cognitive scientific) realism in accounts of rationality itself significantly improve the prospects for unproblematic forms of rationalizing explanation? Do earlier misgivings about rationalizing explanation ring hollow when the rationality to be attributed is “naturalized”? Answer: while explanation in terms of naturalized rationality would be free of one fatal flaw possessed by explanation in terms of rationality understood in the traditional fashion, it would yet have parallel flaws.
Representation and First-Order Approximations for Propagation of Aleatory and Distribution Parameter Uncertainty

Many probabilistic uncertainty propagation methods have been developed for many single discipline problems involving expensive computational codes in order to propagate physical variability in the input, typically expressed through random variables and random processes and/or fields. Most of these techniques have only been studied with respect to physical variability represented by probability distributions, but are not able to include both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties. Epistemic uncertainty can come from many different sources, including incertitude resulting from model form errors, solution approximation errors, and scarcity of data about the underlying variables subject to physical variability. Therefore, the contribution of this paper is to develop and illustrate approaches for the propagation aleatory and epistemic uncertainty due to sparse data, using probabilistic methods of uncertainty propagation. We reformulate the problem of deriving confidence bounds on cumulative probability estimates as an optimization problem and use the results of these optimization formulations to derive absolute and/or confidence bounds on the cumulative probability distribution of system response.
Automatic electropolishing of cobalt chromium dental cast alloys with a fuzzy logic controller

Cavities and ageing leads to a higher demand for robust and durable dentures. Cobalt chromium dental cast alloys fulfil these requirements. After the casting, the alloys have to be thoroughly cleaned in an electrochemical dissolution bath. In the existing technology an expert has to control the polishing process. In this paper we present a fuzzy logic controller with 16 fuzzy rules, which completely automatize the polishing process of cobalt chromium cast alloys. The user has to only put the untreated cast alloys in the polishing machine and press the start button. Our experiments have shown that the treated dentures have a consistent, very high quality during the service life of the electrolyte. Furthermore, the exchange point of the electrolyte is also automatically determined. The proposed strategy can be extended to other polishing processes with different cast alloys or electrolyte concentrations.
Decentralization and Democratic Instability: The Case of Costa Rica

This article examines the consequences of the decentralization process that is under way in Costa Rica and which may undermine, rather than bolster, democracy in that country. I first outline three key contextual variables relating to the reform process: existing sociopolitical realities (constructing local legitimacy), the dynamics of the reform process (bottom-up versus top-down), and the timing or sequencing of the proposed reforms (what is being decentralized and when). Though I focus here on Costa Rica, these three variables are generally applicable in any case of decentralization. After considering these contextual factors, I evaluate the likelihood of four negative side effects arising from the ongoing decentralization process: party-system fragmentation, reinforced or mutated clientelism, intermunicipal conflict and polarization, and local government instability. Early evidence suggests that some of these effects, particularly party-system fragmentation and municipal instability, have begun to manifest themselves.
Photoconductivity in the Chalcohalide Semiconductor, SbSeI: a New Candidate for Hard Radiation Detection

We investigated an antimony chalcohalide compound, SbSeI, as a potential semiconductor material for X-ray and γ-ray detection. SbSeI has a wide band gap of 1.70 eV with a density of 5.80 g/cm3, and it crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group with a one-dimensional chain structure comprised of infinite zigzag chains of dimers [Sb2Se4I8]n running along the crystallographic b axis. In this study, we investigate conditions for vertical Bridgman crystal growth using combinations of the peak temperature and temperature gradients as well as translation rate set in a three-zone furnace. SbSeI samples grown at 495 °C peak temperature and 19 °C/cm temperature gradient with 2.5 mm/h translation rate produced a single phase of columnar needlelike crystals aligned along the translational direction of the growth. The ingot sample exhibited an n-type semiconductor with resistivity of ∼108 Ω·cm. Photoconductivity measurements on these specimens allowed us to determine mobility–lifetime (μτ) products for electron...
Marching Towards Nirvana: Configurations for Very High Performance Parallel File Systems

Over the past 7 years, the San Diego Supercomputer Center has worked to produce the highest possible performance file systems available to the National Science Foundation community in the USA. Most of this was done with GPFS, IBM's parallel file system, but several distinctly different configurations were designed and implemented with numerous lessons learned in the process. All of these systems provided transfer rates in the multiple GB/s range. In this paper, we detail the configurations and their intended modes of operation and, as much as possible, show the resulting performance. We attempt to describe the advantages and disadvantages of each approach with an emphasis on the implications for future systems.
Sport as Context for the Development of Women’s Same-Sex Relationships

Based on semistructured interviews with 56 women who had at least one same-sex relationship prior to age 30, I conclude that sport both nurtures, and to a lesser degree hinders, development of thes...
“like a veil to cover them”: women and the Pentecostal movement in La Paz

This article explores the connections between class, gender, and evangelical Christian ideology in the formation of new social relationships, as well as in the masking of inequalities and the implicit affirmation of traditional relations of domination between men and women. It argues that women address gender- and class-based problems by using religious ideology to recast the meaning of past events. Through their ties to other believers, they also promote values and practices that challenge aspects of the dominant society, even though they do not question the hierarchical aspects of Pentecostal ideology.
Information Theoretic Bounds for Distributed Computation Over Networks of Point-to-Point Channels

A network of nodes communicate via point-to-point memoryless independent noisy channels. Each node has some real-valued initial measurement or message. The goal of each of the nodes is to acquire an estimate of a given function of all the initial measurements in the network. As the main contribution of this paper, a lower bound on computation time is derived. This bound must be satisfied by any algorithm used by the nodes to communicate and compute, so that the mean-square error in the nodes' estimate is within a given interval around zero. The derivation utilizes information theoretic inequalities reminiscent of those used in rate distortion theory along with a novel “perturbation” technique so as to be broadly applicable. To understand the tightness of the bound, a specific scenario is considered. Nodes are required to learn a linear combination of the initial values in the network while communicating over erasure channels. A distributed quantized algorithm is developed, and it is shown that the computation time essentially scales as is implied by the lower bound. In particular, the computation time depends reciprocally on “conductance”, which is a property of the network that captures the information-flow bottleneck. As a by-product, this leads to a quantized algorithm, for computing separable functions in a network, with minimal computation time.
Miglitol: Assessment of its Role in the Treatment of Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate miglitol, a new oral α-glucosidase inhibitor, and discuss its pharmacology, therapeutics, pharmacokinetics, dosing guidelines, adverse effects, drug interactions, and clinical efficacy.DATA SOURCES:A MEDLINE English-language only database search using the keywords miglitol, glyset, and Bay m 1099 (1985 to December 1999), was completed to identify relevant articles including reviews, recent studies, and abstracts; American Diabetes Association 1999 Annual Meeting abstracts; Pharmacia & Upjohn data on file and product information.STUDY SELECTION:The clinical trials that were selected to be reviewed in detail were randomized, double-blind studies with at least 100 patients in the intention-to-treat group.DATA EXTRACTION:All articles and abstracts were reviewed along with the product labeling from Pharmacia & Upjohn.DATA SYNTHESIS:Miglitol is an α-glucosidase inhibitor that exerts its effect through the delayed absorption of complex carbohydrates in the small intestine, resulting in a de...
Chronic Microcystin Exposure Induces Hepatocyte Proliferation with Increased Expression of Mitotic and Cyclin-associated Genes in P53-deficient Mice

Homozygous p53 deficient knockout mice were used to assess the role of p53 in tumor promotion by the protein phosphatase inhibitor and hepatic tumor promoter microcystin-LR (MCLR). More than 50% of human cancers bear mutations in the p53 gene, and in particular, p53 tumor suppressor gene mutations have been shown to play a major role in hepatocarcinogenesis. Trp53 homozygous (inactivated p53) and age-matched wild-type control mice were assigned to vehicle or MCLR-treated groups. MCLR or saline was administered daily for up to 28 days. RNA from the 28-day study was hybridized onto Mouse Genome GeneChip arrays. Selected RNA from 28 days and earlier time points was also processed for quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Livers from the 28-day, Trp53-deficient, MCLR group displayed greater hyperplastic and dysplastic changes morphologically and increases in Ki-67 and phospho-histone H3 (mitotic marker) immunoreactivity. Gene-expression analysis revealed significant increases in expression of cell-cycle regulation and cellular proliferation genes in the MCLR-treated, p53-deficient mutant mice compared to controls. These data suggest that regulation of the cell cycle by p53 is important in preventing the proliferative response associated with chronic, sublethal microcystin exposure, and therefore, conclude that p53 plays an important role in MCLR-induced tumor promotion.
Epidural analgesia versus intravenous patient-controlled analgesia following minimally invasive pectus excavatum repair: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background/Purpose The minimally invasive pectus excavatum repair (MIPER) is a painful procedure. The ideal approach to postoperative analgesia is debated. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of epidural analgesia compared to intravenous Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA) following MIPER. Methods We searched MEDLINE (1946–2012) and the Cochrane Library (inception–2012) for randomized controlled trials (RCT) and cohort studies comparing epidural analgesia to PCA for postoperative pain management in children following MIPER. We calculated weighted mean differences (WMD) for numeric pain scores and summarized secondary outcomes qualitatively. Results Of 699 studies, 3 RCTs and 3 retrospective cohorts met inclusion criteria. Compared to PCA, mean pain scores were modestly lower with epidural immediately (WMD −1.04, 95% CI −2.11 to 0.03, p=0.06), 12hours (WMD −1.12; 95% CI −1.61 to −0.62, p Conclusions Epidural analgesia may provide superior pain control but was comparable with PCA for secondary outcomes. Better designed studies are needed. Currently the analgesic technique should be based on patient preference and institutional resources.
What Is the Role of Ovarian Ablation in the Management of Primary and Metastatic Breast Cancer Today

Ovarian ablation has been used for more than a century in the treatment of breast cancer. Methods of irreversible ovarian ablation include surgical oophorectomy and ovarian irradiation. Potentially reversible castration can be accomplished medically using luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) analogues. In addition, cytotoxic chemotherapy unpredictably produces amenorrhea and primary ovarian failure in 10%-95% of premenopausal women as a function of patient age, cumulative dose, and the specific agents used. In the metastatic setting, ovarian ablation and tamoxifen monotherapies produce comparable outcomes and may be more effective when used together. While many early adjuvant trials of ovarian ablation were methodologically flawed, a more recent meta-analysis by the Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group of 12 properly designed randomized trials found significantly greater disease-free and overall survival rates for women under the age of 50, regardless of nodal status, receiving ovarian ablation as a single adjuvant therapy. Several important issues regarding the role of ovarian ablation in the treatment of breast cancer remain unresolved. Data suggest that ovarian ablation followed by some years of tamoxifen produces similar results to those seen with adjuvant chemotherapy in women with hormone-receptor positive breast cancer; however, the value of combining these modalities is still unclear. Other areas of ongoing investigation include the appropriate duration of therapy with LHRH analogues in the adjuvant setting, the long-term sequelae of ovarian suppression among young breast cancer survivors, and refinement of the population most likely to benefit from ovarian ablation or suppression.
BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS OF DRUG SELF-ADMINISTRATION. II. A UNIT-PRICE ANALYSIS OF CIGARETTE SMOKING

In behavioral economics, the ratio of response requirement to reinforcer magnitude is referred to as unit price. Previous research with nonhuman subjects has demonstrated that (a) comparable amounts of food are consumed at the same unit price even though different response requirements and reinforcer magnitudes comprise that unit price and (b) increases in unit price decrease food consumption in a positively decelerating fashion. The present study assessed the generality of these findings to the cigarette smoking of 5 human volunteers. During approximately 18 3-hr sessions, various combinations of response requirement (fixed-ratio 200, 400, and 1,600) and reinforcer magnitude (1, 2, and 4 puffs per bout) were arranged. Consumption (i.e., the number of puffs) generally was comparable at the same unit price independent of the response requirement and reinforcer magnitude comprising that unit price. In addition, increasing unit price generally decreased consumption in a positively decelerating fashion. These results extend the generality of the unit-price analysis to human cigarette smoking. Moreover, these results further support the position that reinforcer magnitude and response requirement are functionally equivalent and interact to determine consumption. The concept of unit price, by integrating and summarizing the effects of those two operations, provides a more parsimonious explanation of the results than do separate evaluations of the effects of response requirement and reinforcer magnitude.
All-fiber passively mode-locked thulium/holmium laser with two center wavelengths

We have demonstrated a self-starting, passively mode-locked Tm/Ho codoped fiber laser that lases at one of two center wavelengths. An amplified 1.56 μm distributed feedback laser pumps a ring laser cavity which contains 1 m of Tm/Ho codoped silica fiber. Mode locking is obtained via nonlinear polarization rotation using a c-band polarization sensitive isolator with two polarization controllers. The laser is able to pulse separately at either 1.97 or 2.04 μm by altering the intracavity polarization during the initiation of mode locking. The codoped fiber permits pulsing at one of two wavelengths, where the shorter is due to the Tm(3+) emission and the longer due to the Ho(3+) emission. The laser produces a stable pulse train at 28.4 MHz with 25 mW average power, and a pulse duration of 966 fs with 9 nm bandwidth.
A compact representation for scanned 3D objects

We consider the representation of densely sampled scanned 3D objects. Scanning physical objects can be an efficient way of obtaining natural looking input for computer graphics image generation. Scanned meshes however require large amounts of storage. For applications such as computer graphics, preserving the look of objects rather than precise measurements is critical. We seek a representation that preserves characteristic features at both low and high spatial frequencies. Our proposed representation consists of a simplified base mesh and characteristic detailed patches. The detailed patches contain a spatially dense sampling of mean curvature on a small region on the object surface. A large initial set of patches covering the object is segmented into sets of patches using k-means clustering. Each cluster of patches is then compactly represented with Gaussian distributions. We present comparisons of a series of original scanned objects and the objects reconstructed from the compact representation.