cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Degenerative (De Novo) Adult Scoliosis

De novo scoliosis is a term used in adult patients who have no history of scoliosis as adolescents but then develop a coronal plane deformity that is associated with degenerative changes in the spinal column. It rarely presents before 40 years of age. Differentiation from degenerative idiopathic scoliosis may be difficult. The coronal curve usually involves the lumbar and less commonly the thoracolumbar junction. Osteoporosis, degenerative disk disease, compression fractures and spinal canal stenosis have all been implicated in the development of degenerative scoliosis. Patients with degenerative lumbar scoliosis present with complaints ranging from debilitating back or lower extremity pain and spinal imbalance to incidental findings on lumbar radiographs. When surgical treatment is indicated, careful preoperative evaluation and surgical planning should always be done. There are increased risks of complications in this population. The deformities are often more rigid; however extensive posterior release in addition to solid pedicle fixation will allow the surgeon to address most of these deformities through a posterior approach. Anterior approach may be reserved to add structural support at the lumbosacral junction. Despite the high risk of complications in patients undergoing reconstructive surgery for de novo scoliosis, most studies suggest a significant improvement in quality of life and a high rate of patient satisfaction.
Monotonicity of the Fisher information and the Kullback-Leibler divergence measure

Abstract Many economic variables are often reported only up to intervals, and not up to exact points. This paper proves that as the data information gets richer in the sense that the data partition gets finer, both the Fisher information and the Kullback-Leibler divergence measure increase monotonically, approaching their continuous counterparts, respectively. This monotonicity property offers a valuable insight into designing an optimal number of cells to increase the power of specification tests based on cell counts.
The inhibition of synchronous division of tetrahymena pyriformis by actinomycin D

The inhibition of synchronous divisions of Tetrahymena pyriformis by actinomycin D has been shown to depend on the nutritional conditions of the culture; cells grown and synchronized in a richer medium are more sensitive to the antibiotic. Following heat synchronization, the two subsequent divisions show also a profound difference in their sensitivity to actinomycin; under the same conditions of time of exposure and concentration of the inhibitor, the first division is unaffected, whereas the second is almost completely inhibited. A possible explanation of the results is presented.
Abundance and distribution of pelagic piscivorous fishes in the Columbia River plume during spring/early summer 1998 2003: Relationship to oceanographic conditions, forage fishes, and juvenile salmonids

Abstract From 1998 to 2003, we observed large fluctuations in the abundance and distribution of four pelagic predatory (piscivorous) fishes off northern Oregon and southern Washington, USA. Fluctuations in predatory fish species composition and abundance were strongly linked to the date of the spring transition and to ocean temperatures. Predatory fishes, forage fishes, and juvenile salmonids had distinct spatial distributions, with predators distributed primarily offshore and forage fish and salmonids onshore, but this varied depending on ocean conditions. We suggest that predatory and forage fish distributions respond to ocean temperatures, predator/prey interactions, and possibly turbidity. A shift in ocean conditions in 1999 decreased overall predator fish abundance in the Columbia River plume, particularly for Pacific hake. Marine survival of juvenile salmon started to increase in 1999, and forage fish densities increased in 2000, lagging by one year.
Optical and magnetic resonance characterization of undoped and doped wurtzite GaN films deposited on sapphire substrates

Abstract We have used a combination of defect-sensitive techniques to study native defects and impurities in GaN films deposited on the basal plane of sapphire. The optical and electronic properties of undoped samples are dependent on the degree of compensation between shallow donor and acceptors levels. The paramagnetic studies of undoped films reveal resonances from effective-mass and deep-donor states. Photoluminescence studies of films doped with Mg-acceptors indicate a possible dependence of the localization of the Mg-related center with the increasing concentration of activated acceptors. The optically detected magnetic resonance measurements of Mg-doped samples show that the Mg-acceptor is perturbed from its effective-mass state.
Meeting global challenges: Discovery and innovation through convergence

Our awareness of the global nature of major problems facing our planet is relatively new and demands global responses for which neither the scientific community nor the general public is well prepared. To meet such global challenges requires the engagement of people and their leaders from diverse cultures and experiences. While many sectors of society must become involved, the scientific community has a special role in preparing for these challenges. It is impossible to consider here all of the roles of scientists and engineers in this transformation, whether advancing knowledge of nature, translating new insights into innovations, or educating future generations. But few would disagree that in the long term, discovery and innovation are central to effectively meeting these challenges. Yet it is often difficult to link discovery and innovation to their impact because of the years of development required before a discovery matures to a level that can be adopted on a global scale. I highlight below how some organizations are planning to accelerate the transition from discovery to innovation to address some of the great challenges facing society. As an illustration, I discuss the history of the transition from discovery to innovation at the molecular level in life sciences. At the end, I comment on how further convergence of physical, mathematical, engineering, and social sciences with life sciences will accelerate innovation.
Adrenal autoantibodies bind to adrenal subcellular fractions enriched in cytochrome-c reductase and 5'-nucleotidase.

A quantitative assay for human adrenal autoantibodies has been developed to aid in the detection and isolation of human adrenal antigens. To define the subcellular location (s) of the antigen (s) capable of binding with these antibodies, we have quantitated both antibody binding to various adrenal subcellular fractions and the adrenal autoantibody binding inhibition caused by each subcellular fraction. To further define the subcellular location of the autoantibody binding, each fraction was assayed for organelle-specific marker enzyme activities. Enzyme activities were correlated to adrenal autoantibody binding to each fraction by linear regression. Of the materials tested, both antibody binding and inhibition of binding were most highly correlated with adrenal subcellular fractions enriched with cytochrome-c reductase and 5'-nucleotidase (r = 0.98; P < 0.05). Thus, our data support the localization of adrenal autoantigen(s) in the microsomes, plasma membrane, or both.
Defect states in substoichiometric tantalum carbide

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to determine core-level binding energies (BE's) and valence-band structure for ${\mathrm{TaC}}_{\mathrm{x}}$ over the range 0.5\ensuremath{\lesssim}x\ensuremath{\lesssim}1.0. As x decreased from about 1.0 to about 0.5, the tantalum 4d and 4f BE's shifted toward the Fermi level by about 0.8 eV and the p-d valence-band peak shifted by about 0.6 eV. The carbon 2s BE was difficult to determine precisely, but it too appeared to shift toward the Fermi level as x decreased, though by a smaller amount than did the p-d valence-band peak. The carbon 1s BE shifted by yet a smaller amount, and possibly even remained constant for xg0.6. Also, the relative intensity in the valence-band spectra between about 1 and 2 eV BE increased as x decreased. These observations are explained in terms of (i) an added negative charge in the vicinity of tantalum atoms owing to the presence of carbon vacancies and (ii) the corresponding redistribution of tantalum states, i.e., the formation of occupied defect states. In addition, as x decreased it appears that charge may have transferred away from carbon atoms remaining in the crystal.
A Fuzzy Approach to Stereo Vision Using Pyramidal Images with Different Starting Level

We propose a stereo matching algorithm based on multiresolution correlation that varies the depth for the resolution level with which to start stereo calculation for each image pixel (or block of pixels). The initial depth depends on the images local characteristics. We propose to use a neural fuzzy approach to calculate the desirable depth for each pixel of one of the matching images and then use this starting depth to proceed with the multiresolution approach. Variable depth correlation reduces the errors caused by coarse levels. At the same time, the new fuzzy heuristic that we propose for calculating the desired depth keeps most of the blocks at a coarse level, thus having little impact on execution time. Variable depth correlation is expected to have little problems with very plain surfaces and borders, but is rather faster than usual algorithms. In the tests, the multiresolution algorithm proposed here performed faster than plain correlation, with much better results
Preoperative Radiation Therapy With Concurrent Capecitabine, Bevacizumab, and Erlotinib for Rectal Cancer: A Phase 1 Trial

Purpose The goal of this phase 1 trial was to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of concurrent capecitabine, bevacizumab, and erlotinib with preoperative radiation therapy for rectal cancer. Methods and Materials Patients with clinical stage II to III rectal adenocarcinoma, within 12 cm from the anal verge, were treated in 4 escalating dose levels, using the continual reassessment method. Patients received preoperative radiation therapy with concurrent bevacizumab (5 mg/kg intravenously every 2 weeks), erlotinib, and capecitabine. Capecitabine dose was increased from 650 mg/m 2 to 825 mg/m 2 orally twice daily on the days of radiation therapy; erlotinib dose was increased from 50 mg orally daily in weeks 1 to 3, to 50 mg daily in weeks 1 to 6, to 100 mg daily in weeks 1 to 6. Patients underwent surgery at least 9 weeks after the last dose of bevacizumab. Results A total of 19 patients were enrolled, and 18 patients were considered evaluable. No patient had grade 4 acute toxicity, and 1 patient had grade 3 acute toxicity (hypertension). The MTD was not reached. All 18 evaluable patients underwent surgery, with low anterior resection in 7 (39%), proctectomy with coloanal anastomosis in 4 patients (22%), posterior pelvic exenteration in 1 (6%), and abdominoperineal resection in 6 (33%). Of the 18 patients, 8 (44%) had pathologic complete response, and 1 had complete response of the primary tumor with positive nodes. Three patients (17%) had grade 3 postoperative complications (ileus, small bowel obstruction, and infection). With a median follow-up of 34 months, 1 patient developed distant metastasis, and no patient had local recurrence or died. The 3-year disease-free survival was 94%. Conclusions The combination of preoperative radiation therapy with concurrent capecitabine, bevacizumab, and erlotinib was well tolerated. The pathologic complete response rate appears promising and may warrant further investigation.
MAGMATISM OF THE EASTERN SAYAN

New geological and petrological data on the range of magmatic complexes and formations of the Eastern Sayan show two primary magmas: basic and granitoid. These magmas were formed through melting hard deep-seated layers of the earth crust: basaltic and sialic. During the geosynclinal stage the development of magmas belonging to the Archean, Proterozoic, and Salair [Cambrian] volcanic cycles proceeded consecutively from ultrabasic and basic formations formed in a pre-orogenic or earlier-orogenic geosynclinal development stage to granitoids set up in a synorogenic or later-synorogenic development stage. During the platform stage middle Paleozoic (Lower Devonian) and Mesozoic-Cenozoic cycles of magmatism proceeded directly, without the geosynclinal preparatory stage. Their development, accompanied by faulting, proceeded in reverse order from acidic and alkalic intrusions to predominantly basic eruptives. A further development of deep-seated basic and granitoid magmas was determined first by magmatic different...
Gamma-ray imaging with thick position-sensitive silicon detectors

Abstract The construction of a prototype Compton imager at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is nearly complete. The instrument is an 8-layer stacked silicon detector and is based on the “3-Compton” energy reconstruction technique. The silicon detectors are 2 mm thick, double-sided, orthogonal strip detectors. Instrumentation and performance of the individual detectors and layers are presented along with simulations of the completed instrument. Implications of the instrument for real world applications and future work involving the final assembly are discussed.
Actin Filament Nucleation is Influenced by Electrostatic Interactions with the Bni1p Formin FH2 Domain

Formins catalyze the nucleation and growth of actin filaments. Here we study both the structure and interactions of actin with the FH2 domain of budding yeast formin Bni1p. We built an all-atom model of the formin dimer on an Oda actin filament 7-mer and studied structural relaxation and interactions between formin and actin by molecular dynamics simulations. These simulations produced a refined model for the FH2 dimer associated with the barbed end of the actin filament and revealed the presence of electrostatic interactions between the formin knob and actin target-binding cleft. Mutations of two formin residues which contribute to these interactions (R1423N, K1467L or both) reduced the interaction energies between the proteins, and in coarse-grained simulations the formin lost more inter-protein contacts with an actin dimer than with an actin 7-mer. Biochemical experiments confirmed that there is a strong influence of these mutations on Bni1p-mediated actin filament nucleation, but not elongation. This suggests that there are different interactions that contribute to these two functions of formins.
Transcorneal oxygenation of the preretinal vitreous

Objective: Transcorneal oxygenation is a promising approach to the treatment of various anterior ocular diseases, but its effect on the vitreous and retina is uncertain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ocular conditions necessary to permit transcorneal oxygenation of the preretinal vitreous in the rabbit eye. Methods: Oxygen at atmospheric pressure was supplied via a goggle to the eye while preretinal oxygen tensions were measured with a minimally invasive technique: fluorine-19 ( 19 F) nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of a small preretinal droplet of perfluorotributylamine. Experiments were performed on lensectomized eyes with intact posterior lens capsules (group 1) or in eyes that had also undergone posterior capsular discission (group 2) and mechanical vitrectomy (group 3). To better understand the results of the oxygenation studies, a water-soluble, freely diffusible contrast agent was applied topically to the cornea, and its penetration into the aqueous and vitreous was studied using T 1 -weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Results: Preretinal Po 2 was significantly increased after 30 minutes of transcorneal oxygenation in group 3 eyes ( P =.002). In contrast, no change was observed in the other groups despite 30 minutes (group 1) or 3 hours (group 2) of oxygen exposure. The imaging studies demonstrated that contrast penetration of the vitreous was uniform and rapid in eyes in group 3, consistent with a fluid flow-dominated process. A much slower process of anterior and midvitreous enhancement was observed in groups 1 and 2 that was consistent with contrast diffusion. Conclusions: Because of bulk fluid movement, transcorneal oxygenation of the retina is feasible in singlecompartment (vitrectomized, lensectomized) eyes within a reasonable period (30 minutes). This finding could prove useful in the treatment of retinal diseases in which hypoxia may play a role.
Evolution of a vertebrate social decision-making network

Animals evaluate and respond to their social environment with adaptive decisions. Revealing the neural mechanisms of such decisions is a major goal in biology. We analyzed expression profiles for 10 neurochemical genes across 12 brain regions important for decision-making in 88 species representing five vertebrate lineages. We found that behaviorally relevant brain regions are remarkably conserved over 450 million years of evolution. We also find evidence that different brain regions have experienced different selection pressures, because spatial distribution of neuroendocrine ligands are more flexible than their receptors across vertebrates. Our analysis suggests that the diversity of social behavior in vertebrates can be explained, in part, by variations on a theme of conserved neural and gene expression networks.
Adalimumab for Crohn's disease in clinical practice at Mayo clinic: The first 118 patients

Background: We sought to assess the effectiveness and safety of adalimumab for the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD) in clinical practice. Methods: Demographic, clinical, and treatment data were abstracted from the medical record. The primary outcome was clinical response to induction therapy with adalimumab for CD (complete, partial, or nonresponse). Results: In all, 118 patients were prescribed adalimumab for CD between January 2003 and June 2007. All but five subjects (96%) had received prior infliximab and 50 were on systemic corticosteroids at the time of initial adalimumab dose (44%). A complete response was achieved in 53 patients and 20 patients had no response. The cumulative probability of any response (complete or partial) was 81.3% at 1 year. Dose escalation was required in 59 patients (1-year cumulative probability, 54.0%). Among patients with complete response, 18 lost response during follow-up (1-year cumulative probability, 21.4%). Among 50 patients on corticosteroids at baseline the median daily dose was 20 mg, which decreased to a median of 0 mg during treatment. Sixty-four patients (54%) experienced a total of 117 adverse events. Thirteen patients (11%) experienced 15 serious adverse events. Sixteen patients (14%) discontinued adalimumab due to an adverse event. Conclusions: Adalimumab was both effective and well tolerated for the treatment of CD in this tertiary practice with a high prevalence of past infliximab exposure. This experience largely predates FDA approval of adalimumab for CD. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2010)
Metabolic turnover in cell wall constituents of Avena sativa L. coleoptile sections

Abstract Avena sativa L. coleoptile sections were incubated in radioactive glucose solution for 3 h, and then for various periods of time in unlabeled glucose. The 14C contents of the cell wall fractions and sugar components were measured and metabolic turnover determined. The data indicated that after transfer to unlabeled medium 14C was lost from the sugars of the aqueous-soluble fractions almost immediately but continued to build up in the sugars of the more insoluble fraction. The 14C level in the cellulose remained stable. Coleoptile sections were incubated in [14C]glucose with or without auxin. Sugars from various wall fractions were eluted from chromatograms and their amounts determined colorimetrically and by 14C content. Net increase in wall constituents was compared with increase ccalculated from radioactivity data. Turnover was indicated where the net observed increase was less than the 14C calculated increase. Turnover was clearly indicated in the hexoses of the acid-soluble fractions. No turnover was detected either in cellulose or the alkali-soluble fractions.
Lateral Stability of Towed Flexible Vehicles

SUMMARY The highway transport of mobile homes is a matter of concern for the increasingly safety-minded driving public. The low speeds of towed vehicles necessary to maintain stability, together with the requirements for excessive lane widths due to clearance for the lateral motion, result in increased likelihood of traffic accidents, impeded traffic flow, and reduced highway capacity. A safe increase in the stable cruising speed, coupled with a decreased amplitude in the pendular motion helps alleviate all three of the aforementioned problems. Energy input at hitch point and lateral forces between the road and tires permit lateral vehicular motions, which occur above a critical speed, to increase in amplitude until possibly a limit cycle or instability is reached. One would expect that structural dynamics could have a pronounced influence on the lateral response of towed vehicles with large and relatively flexible chassis, such as mobile homes. The objective of this research is to determine the influence...
NEW TAXA AND NOMENCLATURAL CHANGES IN ARCEUTHOBIUM (VISCACEAE)

The following new taxa are recognized inArceuthobium: subgeneraArceuthobium andVaginata; sectionsVaginata, Campylopoda, andMinuta; seriesCampylopoda,Rubra, andStricta; speciesA.apachecum,A.californicum,A.guatemalense,A.hondurense, andA.pini; new formae specialesA. abietinum f. sp.concoloris,A. abietinum f. sp.magnificae. New combinations:A.abietinum (Engelm.) Hawksworth & Wiens, andA.microcarpum (Engelm.) Hawksworth & Wiens.
Activity of clarithromycin and its principal human metabolite against Haemophilus influenzae.

Abstract Clarithromycin is a new macrolide antibiotic which forms a microbiologically active principal in vivo metabolite, 14-OH-clarithromycin. The in vitro activities of clarithromycin and its metabolite were examined separately and in pharmacokinetically relevant fixed combinations of 4:1 and 2:1 against a group of 50 Haemophilus influenzae isolates. Broth microdilution susceptibility tests indicated that clarithromycin was less active than erythromycin against all but highly erythromycin-susceptible strains, while 14-OH-clarithromycin was generally more active than either antibiotic. An enhancement in activity against the majority of strains was demonstrated when clarithromycin and its metabolite were tested in combination.
Studies directed toward the total synthesis of discodermolide: asymmetric synthesis of the C1-C14 fragment.

A convergent and stereoselective assembly of the C1−C14 subunit of marine natural product (+)-discodermolide has been completed. The approach employs chiral allylsilane bond construction methodology to establish four of the eight stereogenic centers. Key fragment coupling is achieved via an efficient stereoselective acetate aldol reaction between C1−C6 and C7−C14 subunits.
Four-moduli set (2, 2n−1, 2n+2n−1−1, 2n+1+2n−1) simplies the residue to binary converters based on CRT II

Abstract A multiplier-free residue to binary converter architecture based on the Chinese remainder theorem II (CRT II) [1] is presented. The paper also includes a binary to residue converter. This is achieved by introducing a new moduli set (2, 2 n − 1, 2 n + 2 n −1 − 1, 2 n +1 + 2 n − 1) for RNS application. The complexity of conversion has been greatly reduced using CRT II with the new moduli set. The proposed hardware architecture replaces the necessary multiplication by shift-left operations. A similar hardware architecture is presented for the binary to residue conversion.
RADAR Reference Adult, Pediatric, and Pregnant Female Phantom Series for Internal and External Dosimetry

A new generation of reference computational phantoms, based on image-based models tied to the reference masses defined by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) for dose calculations, is presented. Methods: Anatomic models based on nonuniform rational b-spline modeling techniques were used to define reference male and female adults, 15-y-olds, 10-y-olds, 5-y-olds, 1-y-olds, newborns, and pregnant women at 3 stages of gestation, using the defined reference organ masses in ICRP publication 89. Absorbed fractions and specific absorbed fractions for internal emitters were derived using standard Monte Carlo radiation transport simulation codes. Results: Differences were notable between many pairs of organs in specific absorbed fractions because of the improved realism of the models, with adjacent organs usually closer and sometimes touching. Final estimates of absorbed dose for radiopharmaceuticals, for example, were only slightly different overall, as many of the differences were small and most pronounced at low radiation energies. Some new important organs were defined (salivary glands, prostate, eyes, and esophagus), and the identity of a few gastrointestinal tract organs changed. Conclusion: A new generation of reference models for standardized internal and external dose calculations has been defined. The models will be implemented in standardized software for internal dose calculations and be used to produce new standardized dose estimates for radiopharmaceuticals and other applications.
The Adjustable Balance Mortgage: Reducing the Value of the Put

We propose a new mortgage contract that endogenously captures the risk of house price declines to minimize default risk resulting from changes in the underlying asset value while still retaining contract rates near the cost of a standard fixed-rate mortgage. By reducing the role of the legal system in mitigating house price risk, the new mortgage reduces the negative externalities and social costs arising from defaults. In other words, the new mortgage minimizes the need to use the legal foreclosure system to deal with the economic risk of house price declines.
Iterative demodulation and decoding of frequency-hopped PSK in partial-band jamming

This paper considers the problem of developing and utilizing side information in a frequency-hopped communication system using phase-shift keying (PSK) and operating in an environment with partial-band jamming. Two aspects of side information are studied. The first deals with estimating the unknown random carrier phase that varies from hop to hop. The second aspect is the detection of jamming signals. We use a serially concatenated convolutional code structure with differential M-ary PSK as the inner code. The iterative receiver uses an expanded trellis in the inner decoder to resolve the phase ambiguity and is augmented by a ratio-threshold test for detecting jammer energy. Performance is compared for different dwell interval lengths and both log-APP and max-log-APP decoding algorithms. This paper also considers the effect of different thresholds on the false alarm and detection probabilities of the ratio-threshold test.
SPIDAC: specimen input to digital automatic computer

The SPIDAC system is an automatic optical-microscope scanner for on-line input of pictorial data from a glass slide directly into the core memory of a digital computer. In this paper we describe both hardware and software systems and give a specific application. The major hardware subsystems include the optical microscope with highspeed automatic stage movers and an instantaneous continuous automatic-focusing scheme, high-resolution video reading circuitry, a video memory, and interfacing circuitry. The software system includes programs to automatically move the microscope stage with an accuracy of 1.25μ to any point on the slide, to scan and digitize pictorial data, to examine the scanned image for areas of interest, and then to determine if the pictorial data is amenable to analysis by the digital computer. After the slide is placed on the microscope stage, the system is fully automatic, ending when the entire slide area has been completely examined.
Feature-oriented regional modeling and simulations in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank

The multiscale synoptic circulation system in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank (GOMGB) region is presented using a feature-oriented approach. Prevalent synoptic circulation structures, or ‘features’, are identified from previous observational studies. These features include the buoyancy-driven Maine Coastal Current, the Georges Bank anticyclonic frontal circulation system, the basin-scale cyclonic gyres (Jordan, Georges and Wilkinson), the deep inflow through the Northeast Channel (NEC), the shallow outflow via the Great South Channel (GSC), and the shelf–slope front (SSF). Their synoptic water–mass (T2S) structures are characterized and parameterized in a generalized formulation to develop temperature–salinity feature models. A synoptic initialization scheme for feature-oriented regional modeling and simulation (FORMS) of the circulation in the coastal-to-deep region of the GOMGB system is then developed. First, the temperature and salinity featuremodel profiles are placed on a regional circulation template and then objectively analyzed with appropriate background climatology in the coastal region. Furthermore, these fields are melded with adjacent deep-ocean regional circulation (Gulf Stream Meander and Ring region) along and across the SSF. These initialization fields are then used for dynamical simulations via the primitive equation model. Simulation results are analyzed to calibrate the multiparameter feature-oriented modeling system. Experimental short-term synoptic simulations are presented for multiple resolutions in different regions with and without atmospheric forcing. The presented ‘generic and portable’ methodology demonstrates the potential of applying similar FORMS in many other regions of the Global Coastal Ocean. r 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Speed up SVM-RFE Procedure Using Margin Distribution

In this paper, a new method is introduced to speed up the recursive feature ranking procedure by using the margin distribution of a trained SVM. The method, M-RFE, continuously eliminates features without retraining the SVM as long as the margin distribution of the SVM does not change significantly. Synthetic datasets and two benchmark microarray datasets were tested on M-RFE. Comparison with original SVM-RFE shows that our method speeds up the feature ranking procedure considerably with little or no performance degradation. Comparison of M-RFE to a similar speed up technique, E-RFE, provides similar classification performance, but with reduced complexity
H.264/AVC Intra-only Coding (iAVC) and Neural Network Based Prediction Mode Decision

The requirement to transmit video data over unreliable wireless networks is anticipated in the foreseeable future. Significant compression ratio and error resilience are both needed for applications including tele-operated robotics, vehicle-mounted cameras, sensor network, etc. Block-matching based inter-frame coding techniques, such as MPEG-x and H.26x, do not perform well in these scenarios due to error propagation between frames. Intra-only coding technologies, such as Motion-JPEG, exhibit better recovery from network data loss at the price of higher data rates. In order to address these issues, an intra-only coding scheme of H.264/AVC (iAVC) is proposed. In this approach, each frame is coded independently as an I-frame. In order to speed up the coding procedure, we propose a neural network based intra-only prediction mode decision approach, which has the potential to significantly reduce coding complexity. Frame copy is applied to compensate for packet loss. The proposed approach is a good balance between compression performance, memory usage, and error resilience. It achieves compression performance comparable to Motion-JPEG2000, with lower complexity. Low computational complexity and memory usage are very crucial to mobile stations and devices in wireless networks.
Ridge-detection for the perceptual organization without edges

The authors present a novel vector ridge detector which automatically finds the right scale of a ridge even in the presence of noise, multiple steps and narrow valleys. One of the key features of the ridge detector is that it has a zero response at discontinuities. The ridge detector can be applied both to scalar and vector quantities such as color. A parallel perceptual organization scheme that works without edges and is based on the ridge detector is also presented. In addition to perceptual groups, the scheme computes potential focus of attention points at which to direct future processing. The relation to human perception and several theoretical findings supporting the scheme are presented. Results of a Connection Machine implementation of the scheme are presented for perceptual organization using color. >
SSME Failure Detection

During ground testing of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), there have been twenty-six major incidents resulting in substantial hardware damage and loss. Historical characteristics, advances in detection technology, and advances in computing technology led to plans for study of an advanced real time SSME test stand failure detection system which would reduce damage and preserve evidence when a failure with major incident potential occurs. This detection system will speed recognition of dangerous engine operation, and quicken the shutdown decision. The scope of this study, SSME characteristics, SSME test history, the problem definition, and some technical issues will be addressed herein.
Modeling of shielded broadside‐coupled substrate striplines

Broadside-coupled substrate striplines represent an essential part of modern integrated circuits. In this article, we will illustrate modeling of inhomogeneous quasi-TEM shielded broadside-coupled substrate striplines using the finite element method (FEM). FEM is especially suitable and effective for the computation of electromagnetic fields in strongly inhomogeneous media. We illustrate that FEM is suitable and effective as other methods for modeling shielded broadside-coupled substrate striplines. We specifically determine the capacitance per unit length, even mode impedance, odd mode impedance, and characteristic impedance of shielded broadside-coupled suspended striplines. Excellent agreement with some results obtained previously is demonstrated. We extended the modeling by designing our own model of shielded broadside-coupled inverted microstrip line and determine the capacitance per unit length, even mode impedance, odd mode impedance, and characteristic impedance. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 51: 9–13, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23960
A Behaviorally Explicit Demographic Model Integrating Habitat Selection and Population Dynamics in California Sea Lions

Although there has been a call for the integration of behavioral ecology and conservation biology, there are few tools currently available to achieve this integration. Explicitly including information about behavioral strategies in population viability analyses may enhance the ability of conservation biologists to understand and estimate patterns of extinction risk. Nevertheless, most behavioral-based PVA approaches re- quire detailed individual-based data that are rarely available for imperiled species. We present a mechanistic approach that incorporates spatial and demographic consequences of behavioral strategies into population models used for conservation. We developed a stage-structured matrix model that includes the costs and bene- fits of movement associated with 2 habitat-selection strategies (philopatry and direct assessment). Using a life table for California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), we explored the sensitivity of model predictions to the inclusion of these behavioral parameters. Including behavioral information dramatically changed predicted population sizes, model dynamics, and the expected distribution of individuals among sites. Estimated popula- tion sizes projected in 100 years diverged up to 1 order of magnitude among scenarios that assumed different movement behavior. Scenarios also exhibited different model dynamics that ranged from stable equilibria to cycles or extinction. These results suggest that inclusion of behavioral data in viability models may improve estimates of extinction risk for imperiled species. Our approach provides a simple method for incorporating spatial and demographic consequences of behavioral strategies into population models and may be easily extended to other species and behaviors to understand the mechanisms of population dynamics for imperiled populations.
POLIOMYELITIS AND THE LYMPHATIC APPARATUS

In rhesus monkeys the Toomey "T" strain of poliomyelitis virus could not be detected in cervical or thoracic duct lymph after intranasal or intracerebral inoculation.
Advanced methods for simulation output analysis

This paper reviews statistical methods for analyzing output data from computer simulations of single systems. In particular, it focuses on the problems of choosing initial conditions and estimating steady-state system parameters. The estimation techniques include the replication/deletion approach, the regenerative method, the batch means method, the standardized time series method, the autoregressive method, and the spectral estimation method.
Mammary Tumor Growth Arrest by Collagen Synthesis Inhibitors

The basal lamina is an extracellular matrix material that is deposited by mammary epithelium at the interface between the epithelium and surrounding stroma. It forms a limiting barrier and serves to maintain tissue organization. Recent experiments have indicated that production of the lamina is important for the growth and/or survival of the epithelium of the normal gland and for many well differentiated rate mammary tumors. Lamina deposition can be selectively blocked in vivo by proline analogues that are specific inhibitors of collagen production, with a consequent involution of the mammary epithelium and a regression of mammary tumors. Because of the importance of the lamina, the mechanisms and factors regulating its production have been sought. Current evidence indicates that endogenously produced growth factors regulate lamina production in an autocrine fashion. Very potent factors that differentially stimulate synthesis of the lamina proteins, type IV collagen and laminin, have been detected in rodent and human mammary tumors. Most interestingly, the responsiveness of mammary cells to these growth factors is potentiated when the mammary cells interact with stromal collagen. This seems to provide for the selective deposition of a lamina at the interface between the epithelium and stroma. The dependency of mammary tumors on lamina production can be lost by a process of selection or dedifferentiation. Some rat mammary tumors selected by serial transplantation no longer produce a lamina. Their growth in vivo becomes resistant to proline analogues and their production of the growth factor that enhances lamina protein production is lost. These tumors also do not contain myoepithelial cells, the cells believed to be responsible for most of the type IV collagen production by the normal epithelium and the epithelium of well differentiated mammary tumors.
Flexible Servers in Understaffed Tandem Lines

We study the dynamic assignment of cross-trained servers to stations in understaffed lines with finite buffers. Our objective is to maximize the production rate. We identify optimal server assignment policies for systems with three stations, two servers, different flexibility structures, and either deterministic service times and arbitrary buffers or exponential service times and small buffers. We use these policies to develop server assignment heuristics for Markovian systems with larger buffer sizes that appear to yield near-optimal throughput. In the deterministic setting, we prove that the best possible production rate with full server flexibility and infinite buffers can be attained with partial flexibility and zero buffers, and we identify the critical skills required to achieve this goal. We then present numerical results showing that these critical skills, employed with an effective server assignment policy, also yield near-optimal throughput in the Markovian setting, even for small buffer sizes. Thus, our results suggest that partial flexibility is sufficient for near-optimal performance, and that flexibility structures that are effective for deterministic and infinite-buffered systems are also likely to perform well for finite-buffered stochastic systems.
WHY AMERICA MUST CARE ABOUT TROPICAL MEDICINE: THREATS TO GLOBAL HEALTH AND SECURITY FROM TROPICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES*

Fellow members of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, distinguished guests and friends, it is certainly an honor to be sharing this podium today with Dr. Hughes, Dr. Feachem, and Dr. Varmus. First, I thank Dr. James Hughes for his gracious introduction. I must say that one of life’s greatest riches is continuing to learn from one’s fellows. As the first in an extraordinary group of fellows with whom I have had the privilege to work, Jim Hughes, now director of the National Center of Infectious Diseases, has clearly led not only the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but also our U.S. and global awakening to emerging infectious diseases. I also want to thank you, the members of our Society, for the honor of serving as your president. There is no greater honor than recognition by one’s peers. However, I must confess that my immediate concern was that you had given me a very sobering responsibility; that of representing our Society at an important pivotal moment of potentially unprecedented awareness of the threats to us all from the growing health crises in the tropics. These threats will be the focus of my talk. After a brief overview of our history, I shall divide these threats into three areas: 1) emerging infectious diseases, 2) exploding population without improved health, and 3) erosion of our humanity and leadership if we turn our backs on the health problems of the growing majority of people on our planet. I shall then argue that we devote dangerously little attention and resources to the health problems of the growing majority of people living in the tropics. Finally, the members of this Society are the repository of insight and experience in tropical medicine. As such, ours is the sobering responsibility to educate modern society about the critical importance to us all of tropical medicine and global health.
GODIVA: lightweight data management for scientific visualization applications

Scientific visualization applications are very data-intensive, with high demands for I/O and data management. Developers of many visualization tools hesitate to use traditional DBMSs, due to the lack of support for these DBMSs on parallel platforms and the risk of reducing the portability of their tools and the user data. We propose the GODIVA framework, which provides simple database-like interfaces to help visualization tool developers manage their in-memory data, and I/O optimizations such as prefetching and caching to improve input performance at run time. We implemented the GODIVA interfaces in a stand-alone, portable user library, which can be used by all types of visualization codes: interactive and batch-mode, sequential and parallel. Performance results from running a visualization tool using the GODIVA library on multiple platforms show that the GODIVA framework is easy to use, alleviates developers' data management burden, and can bring substantial I/O performance improvement.
Alveolar epithelial fluid clearance persists in the presence of moderate left atrial hypertension in sheep

The effect of moderate left atrial (LA) hypertension on alveolar liquid clearance (ALC) was investigated in anesthetized, ventilated sheep, surgically prepared to measure lung lymph flow as well as...
Keynes on capitalism: Reply to Hill

Abstract Greg Hill's recent article voices the Keynesian complaint that capitalism produces unemployment because there is no mechanism that coordinates decisions to save with decisions to invest. But resources that are not spent on current consumption are either “invested” as bank deposits or “hoarded” as cash. Deposits are lent out by banks to investors, who are informed by interest rates as to the degree of saving for future consumption that is taking place. And wage/price flexibility, as well as increases in the supply of cash, can avoid declines in real income and employment caused by increased cash holdings.
Note on Friedman's 'fundamental theorem of biomedical informatics'.

Charles Friedman recently proposed a fundamental theorem of biomedical informatics (henceforth called the fundamental theorem) which states that ‘a person working in partnership with an information resource is better than that same person unassisted’.1 The person could be a clinician, researcher, student, patient or administrator interacting with the resource to perform some specific task at hand. Without loss of generality we can be agnostic about the various roles of the person and assume that the person is interacting with the information resource for decision making. Using the framework of decision removes from consideration pedestrian uses of a computational resource such as watching a movie or checking news. Hastie and Dawes2 formulate decision …
Falsafa and Law

This chapter surveys the treatment of law within classical Islamic philosophy (falsafa), focusing on al-Fārābī, Ibn Sīna (Avicenna), Ibn Bājja (Avempace), Ibn Ṭufayl and Ibn Rushd (Averroes).
Building a Value-Based Workforce in North Carolina

Health care in the United States is likely to change more in the next 10 years than in any previous decade. However, changes in the workforce needed to support new care delivery and payment models will likely be slower and less dramatic. In this issue of the NCMJ, experts from education, practice, and policy reflect on the "state of the state" and what the future holds for multiple health professional groups. They write from a broad range of perspectives and disciplines, but all point toward the need for change-change in the way we educate, deploy, and recruit health professionals. The rapid pace of health system change in North Carolina means that the road map is being redrawn as we drive, but some general routes are evident. In this issue brief we suggest that, to make the workforce more effective, we need to broaden our definition of who is in the health workforce; focus on retooling and retraining the existing workforce; shift from training workers in acute settings to training them in community-based settings; and increase accountability in the system so that public funds spent on the health professions produce the workforce needed to meet the state's health care needs. North Carolina has arguably the best health workforce data system in the country; it has historically provided the data needed to inform policy change, but adequate and ongoing financial support for that system needs to be assured.
Gas Turbine Technology for Steel Mill Gas and Syngas Applications

Recent market place activity over the past years has shown a renewed trend in using steel mill waste gas for combustion in gas turbines. To effectively use steel mill gas, as well as other industrial off gases and syngas from gasification, more than just the combustion process has to be considered. With steel mill gases some of the more critical areas involve gas clean up and compression, as well as integration with the steam system of the host industrial plant.This paper will summarize some of the special considerations for applying a gas turbine/combined cycle power plant to a steel mill. Due to the similarities of the fuels, this paper will also discuss how this is common to other industrial gases applications. GE has substantial experience in combustion of low calorific fuels as well as industrial process gases and more recently steel mill gases.Copyright © 1997 by ASME