cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bullying and Victimization During Early Adolescence: Peer Influences and Psychosocial Correlates

SUMMARY This study examined the association between peer dynamics and bullying behavior among early adolescents. Participants (N= 422) included middle school students in grades 6 through 8 from a small midwestern town. Students completed a 40-minute survey that included demographic questions, self-report and peer-report measures of bullying and victimization as well as measures of other psychosocial variables. Male adolescents self-reported more bullying and were nominated as bullies more often than female adolescents, and older students self-reported more bullying behavior than younger students. Approximately 14.5% of the sample met the criteria for bullying frequently. Cluster analysis yielded five distinct groups of bully/victim subtypes. Bullies had the same number of friends as students who did not bully their peers, and the relation between popularity and bullying behavior was the strongest for 6th grade male adolescents. With respect to peer affiliation and bullying, 75% of bullies nominated fellow...
Resolving conflicts over employee work schedules

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine justice perceptions using potential employee conflict over provision of a work‐life benefit, and to link the findings to existing theory and research in organizational justice.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 208 undergraduates at a liberal arts college responded to a version of the scenario. There were six versions, representing varied organizational conditions, with hypotheses based on both theory and previous empirical work.Findings – Students were asked whether they preferred equity (contribution), equality or need as the allocation norm to be used in the scenario. Under all organizational conditions, equity is favored over the other two norms, but some differences emerge. Organizational conditions that are less empowering and more stressful lead to higher preference for equality and need than when organizations are seen as treating employees well. In contrast with some earlier findings, women are more likely than men to prefer equity as the ba...
Berkshire Versus KKR: Intermediary Influence and Competition

Kathryn Judge of Columbia University documents how financial intermediaries persistently impose high fees compared to the value rendered, attributes this to political influence, and suggests countervailing policy strategies, including stoking competition and enhancing disclosure to reduce excessive transaction costs. In this solicited comment, I concur with Judge's findings and prescriptions by adding a paired example: that of Berkshire Hathaway versus Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. In the field of corporate acquisitions, these rivals are opposites, Berkshire shunning intermediaries and generating virtually no transaction costs while KKR feasts on multiple and lavish fees. The contrast reflects broader differences between Berkshire and private equity on several dimensions, including not only direct fees but also indirect costs from their respective attitudes towards financing (Berkshire eschews debt that private equity uses maximally); management (Berkshire believes in autonomy where private equity practices intervention); and time horizon (Berkshire holds forever whereas private equity flips companies as rapidly as possible). Professor Judge is right: enhanced disclosure of the fees that KKR and other private equity firms charge would increase competition in this market and neutralize some of the excess.
Dark Matter Triggers of Supernovae

The transit of primordial black holes through a white dwarf causes localized heating around the trajectory of the black hole through dynamical friction. For sufficiently massive black holes, this heat can initiate runaway thermonuclear fusion causing the white dwarf to explode as a supernova. The shape of the observed distribution of white dwarfs with masses up to $1.25{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ rules out primordial black holes with masses $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{19}--{10}^{20}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{gm}$ as a dominant constituent of the local dark matter density. Black holes with masses as large as ${10}^{24}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{gm}$ will be excluded if recent observations by the NuStar Collaboration of a population of white dwarfs near the galactic center are confirmed. Black holes in the mass range ${10}^{20}--{10}^{22}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{gm}$ are also constrained by the observed supernova rate, though these bounds are subject to astrophysical uncertainties. These bounds can be further strengthened through measurements of white dwarf binaries in gravitational wave observatories. The mechanism proposed in this paper can constrain a variety of other dark matter scenarios such as Q balls, annihilation/collision of large composite states of dark matter and models of dark matter where the accretion of dark matter leads to the formation of compact cores within the star. White dwarfs, with their astronomical lifetimes and sizes, can thus act as large spacetime volume detectors enabling a unique probe of the properties of dark matter, especially of dark matter candidates that have low number density. This mechanism also raises the intriguing possibility that a class of supernova may be triggered through rare events induced by dark matter rather than the conventional mechanism of accreting white dwarfs that explode upon reaching the Chandrasekhar mass.
Cargo 200: a bricolage of cultural citations

Persistently revisiting the notion of a Godless society, Aleksei Balabanov directly dialogued with Fedor Dostoevskii’s cursed question and established a permanent touchstone for his own representations of Russia/the USSR, with the help of William Faulkner’s potboiler Sanctuary, in Cargo 200 (Gruz 200, 2007). Balabanov assembled a cinematic text for viewers, drawing on philosophical ideas articulated by the character Ivan Karamazov, filtered through a vulgar reinterpretation of Friedrich Nietzsche and constructed within the context of socialist realism’s own version of the Grand Inquisitor. Faulkner’s entire novel was forcibly relocated to the Soviet Union, where the degradation of the American South is offered as the wreckage of an industrial civilization tottering on the verge of collapse – or the late Stagnation period. Through the bricolage of Dostoevskii and Faulkner, Balabanov explores the realities of a Godless, morally corrupt Soviet society in which anything and everything is permitted. In so doin...
Numerical pole assignment by eigenvalue jacobian inversion

A numerical procedure for solving the linear pole placement problem is developed which operates by inverting an analytically determined eigenvalue jacobian matrix. Convergence characteristics and pathological situations are discussed.
Comparative Effects of Ethanol and Malnutrition on the Development of Catecholamine Neurons: Changes in Neurotransmitter Levels

: The comparative effects of exposure to ethanol and malnutrition on the concentrations of tyrosine and catecholamines in whole brain and selected regions of brain have been studied in the developing rat. These animals were the offspring of optimally nourished rats (control pups), of rats fed a diet with 35% of the calories supplied by ethanol (ETOH pups), or of animals fed a diet calorically equivalent to the latter but lacking ethanol (iso-caloric, 1C pups). These diets were administered to dams either during the last week of gestation (prenatal) or during lactation (postnatal). Tyrosine levels were elevated prior to birth in the prenatal ETOH or IC pups or at 1 and 2 weeks of age in postnatal ETOH or 1C pups as compared with values found in the control offspring. Dopamine concentration in whole brain was significantly lower in prenatal ETOH pups than in prenatal IC pups at 3 weeks of age. Levels in the brains of postnatal ETOH pups were lower than control values, but not relative to animals exposed to 1C diet. Investigation of corpus striatum showed a significant decrease in dopamine concentration compared with control or IC pup values as a result of postnatal exposure to ethanol. Norepinephrine levels in the whole brain of prenatal ETOH pups were consistently 30–40% lower than either control or matched 1C pups during development. At 3 weeks of age, the norepinephrine levels in the hypothalamus of animals exposed to ethanol pre or postnatally were 30–60% lower than values in the corresponding region in either control or 1C pups. In the rat model described, ethanol caused a decrease in catecholamine levels, perhaps solely by affecting the norepinephrine neurons.
The interaction between mediobasohypothalamic dopaminergic and endorphinergic neuronal systems as a key regulator of reproduction: an hypothesis.

The models shown in Figure 3, illustrating proposed interactions between MBH dopaminergic and endorphinergic neuronal activity as well as gonadal steroids and PRL in the regulation of GnRH secretion, Figures. 4 and 5, illustrating that these putative mechanisms may be mediated by other neuronal activity, and Figure 6, illustrating a hypothetical mechanism by which some other neuromodulators could integrate with this regulation, do appear to offer credible, although admittedly simplistic, mechanisms for much of the fundamental neuroendocrine regulation of reproduction. There are obvious limitations to these models, including the facts that all of the MBH dopaminergic or endorphinergic neurons most certainly do not serve the same functions or respond uniformly, that many undoubtably critical parameters have essentially been ignored, that species and sex differences have occasionally not been considered, and that interactions outside of the MBH are also clearly important, especially in the rat. Furthermore, the line between hypothesis and speculation has clearly been crossed in some instances. Nonetheless, when the consistently likely roles of these basic interactions in the full panorama of experimental and physiological functions discussed here are considered together, it is indeed apparent that these interactions between mediobasohypothalamic dopaminergic and endorphinergic neuronal systems probably represent key regulatory mechanisms in reproduction. However, I acknowledge the counsel of pioneering neuroscientist Santiago Ramon y Cajal, who wrote “I wish to warn young men against the invincible attraction of theories which simplify and unify seductively” (324) and thus offer these models only as heuristic bases for probing the actual, and clearly far more complex, physiological mechanisms.
Enhancement and suppression of spontaneous emission and light scattering by quantum degeneracy

Quantum degeneracy modifies light scattering and spontaneous emission. For fermions, Pauli blocking leads to a suppression of both processes. In contrast, in a weakly interacting Bose-Einstein condensate, we find spontaneous emission to be enhanced, while light scattering is suppressed. This difference is attributed to many-body effects and quantum interference in a Bose-Einstein condensate.
Luteolin Inhibits Human Keratinocyte Activation and Decreases NF-κB Induction That Is Increased in Psoriatic Skin

Psoriasis (Ps) is an autoimmune disease characterized by keratinocyte hyperproliferation and chronic inflammation, with increased expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Anti-TNF biologic agents are effective in treating Ps, but are associated with increased risk of infections and blood malignancies. Moreover, keratinocyte hyperproliferation and activation have yet to be addressed. Flavonoids, such as luteolin, are natural compounds with potent anti-inflammatory properties, but their actions on keratinocytes remain unknown. We show that TNF (50 ng/mL) triggers significant production of inflammatory mediators interleukin-6, interleukin-8 and VEGF from both human HaCaT and primary keratinocytes. Pretreatment with the flavonoid luteolin (10–100 µM) significantly inhibits mRNA expression and release of all three mediators in a concentration-dependent manner. More importantly, luteolin decreases TNF-induced phosphorylation, nuclear translocation and DNA binding of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) typically involved in inflammatory mediator transcription. We also report that luteolin reduces TNF-induced mRNA expression of two genes (NFKB1 and RELA) encoding two NF-κB subunits (NF-κB p50 and NF-κB p65, respectively). Interestingly, we show that gene expression of RELA is increased in human psoriatic skin. Keratinocyte proliferation, which is a characteristic feature of psoriatic skin, is effectively reduced by luteolin in HaCaT cells, but not in primary keratinocytes. Finally, luteolin does not affect intracellular ATP production or viability. Appropriate formulations of luteolin and related flavones may be promising candidates to be developed into local and systemic treatments for Ps and other inflammatory skin diseases.
Sample Size Effects on Measuring Grade and Dollar Value of Farmers' Stock Peanuts!

Multiple samples of two sizes from 40 trailers of farmers' stock peanuts were inspected to determine sample size effects on measuring grade factors and dollar value. Grade factors and dollar value were measured using the current sample size (IX) and in a sample double the current size (2X). The 2X sample variances for determining sound mature kernels, sound splits, other kernels, damaged kernels, foreign material, loose shelled kernels, and load value were Significantlylower than the IX sample variances in only 8 or less of the 40 trailers. Average dollar values indicate measurement errors caused by equipment and human errors when cleaning samples, determining kernel size, and determining damaged kernels may be increasing as sample size increases. At least 24% of the total error can be attributed to equipment and human error. The grade factors with the smallest percentage of total error attributable to equipment and human error will benefit most by increasing sample size. Thus, dollar value, sound mature kernel, foreign material and damaged kernel measurements will benefit most by increasing sample size; whereas, loose shelled kernels, sound split and other kernel measurements will benefit most by improving equipment and procedures. The Federal State Inspection Service (FSIS) inspects samples from lots of farmers' stock peanuts to determine grade factors and dollar value. Grade factors are determined by measuring the percentage of edible kernels, inedible kernels, split kernels, foreign material, and moisture. Accu­ rate measurement of these grade factors insures the seller receives a fair price for his product and insures the buyer pays a fair price and has accurate information about the quality of the product. The buyerwilluse this grade informa­ tion to insure proper segregation, storage, and processing of the peanuts. Inaccurate evaluation of grade factors and subsequent over or under estimate of the load value can result from sampling errors or measurementerrors made by equipment or by inspectors. Accurate evaluation of grade factors is paramount to insure only good quality peanuts reach the market place. The U. S. peanut industry has requested that the grading system be examined to deter­ mine if the system needs to be modified or updated to improve the precision and accuracy of measuring grade factors (3). The grading procedure begins with obtaining a sample of at least 1500 g from a load of peanuts using a pneumatic sampler (Fig. 1). This sample consists of foreign material (FM), loose shelled peanut kernels (LSK), and peanut pods. LSK are kernels shelled from pods during the harvesting, handling, and sampling process and are mostly of poor quality. The FM and LSK are removed by a sample cleaner and by hand and the percentage (weight basis) of FM and LSK determined. Five hundred grams of pods from the
Potential causes of weight gain in type 1 diabetes mellitus

Aim: To investigate the potential causes of weight gain with insulin therapy and improved diabetic control in type 1 diabetes mellitus. Methods: This was an open-label prospective study of insulin therapy of 6 months duration in an academic medical centre. Twenty-one subjects with type 1 diabetes were enrolled. The goal was to achieve an haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in the range of individuals without diabetes (<5.6%). At baseline, 3 and 6 months, weight, resting energy expenditure, appetite assessment, food intake, activity level, HbA1c and 24-h glycosuria and urea nitrogen were measured. Plasma leptin, ghrelin and adiponectin levels and body fat were measured at baseline and 6 months. Results: At baseline, average weight was 73.7 ± 17.4 kg and HbA1c was 10.0 ± 2.2%. Weight increased by 2.15 kg (2.69% of baseline) by 6 months whereas the HbA1c dropped by 1.71% (16.3%) to 7.9%. Energy intake differences between 3 and 6 months had a negative correlation with weight gain, but the changes in glycosuria, appetite scores and the frequency of hypoglycaemia did not correlate with weight gain. Glycaemic control did not correlate with weight change but tended to correlate with fat mass increase (p = 0.064; r = −0.51). An increase in the activity levels between 3 and 6 months correlated with decreasing fat mass (p = 0.037; r = −0.74). The changes in the appetite scores had a negative correlation with fat mass gain (p = 0.035; r = −0.61). The changes in lean body mass correlated with protein and total energy intake (p = 0.007, r = 0.85 and p = 0.003, r = 0.73 respectively). The changes in leptin levels correlated with weight gain. Conclusions: The lipogenic effect of insulin with subsequent increase in fat mass may be the primary cause of this weight gain that can be attenuated by the increases in the activity levels. The negative correlation of energy intake and appetite scores with fat mass gain suggests that they do not play a significant role in fat mass gain whereas energy intake did correlate with lean body mass gain.
Diacetyl as the buttery flavor component in soybean oil

Soybean oil often exhibits a buttery flavor in the early stages of autoxidation. Molecular distiliates from “buttery” soybean oil consisted of aqueous and oily layers. The aqueous layer contained the buttery flavor. During gas chromatography, the buttery flavor compound had a retention time similar to diacetyl on both polar and nonpolar columns. Diacetyl-bis-2,4-dinitrophenyl-hydrazone was isolated from the aqueous layer of the distillate. Diacetyl added to fresh soybean oil faithfully reproduced the buttery flavor.
Phoretic Motion of Arbitrary Clusters of N Spheres

Phoretic motion of particle clusters suspended in a liquid or a gas is observed when an external gradient of some physical property (temperature, species concentration, electrostatic potential, etc.) is applied to the system. In this study, a theory of phoretic motion of clusters of arbitrary number of spherical particles is built for example of thermophoresis in the near-continuum regime. Using a multipole expansion of the temperature and flow velocity in a series of spherical harmonics and formulating the Lamb's boundary conditions for velocity on the cluster surface, the problem is reduced to solution of the infinite system of linear equations for the expansion coefficients. For practical applications, the system is truncated and the truncation level is the only parameter, determining the accuracy of obtained numerical solution. The method is characterized by good convergence, as shown by comparing predictions of the described theory with available theoretical results. Based on the developed theory, influence of shape and size of various particle clusters on their thermophoretic velocity is established. In another application, the electrophoretic behavior of binary clusters, consisting of spherical colloidal particles with different signs of zeta-potentials, is investigated. It is found that ensemble-averaged electrophoretic velocity in general case can be adequately described using the Smoluchowski model with average value of zeta potential in the cluster.
Protection of human subjects in prehospital research.

Research is necessary in medicine to develop new ideas, techniques, and technologies that lead to improvements in patient care. Carefully designed and conducted research provides new information for caregivers and inspires ongoing refinement of medical treatment from which all patients ultimately benefit. In order to conduct research that benefits patients, ideas must be tested in an objective manner. While good research can result in long-term benefits to large numbers of patients and to society as a whole, there is the risk of a less-than-optimal outcome for an individual study subject. The risks borne by study subjects are of significant ethical concern and must be addressed appropriately regardless of the presumed societal benefits of the study outcome.
A Bayesian approach to monitoring and assessing unexploded ordnance remediation progress from munitions testing ranges

We present a statistical methodology which aims to monitor and assess the progress of unexploded ordnance remediation. We explicitly quantify the probability that each buried sensor-identified anomaly is not a target of interest conditional on the information gleaned from anomalies which have been dug and identified. We provide a measure of confidence that the anomalies which remain onsite after remediation are not unexploded ordnance—this measure of confidence is gleaned through Monte Carlo methods. The methodology is iterative in that, at any point in the remediation process, we can assess remediation progress and compute the probability that no targets of interest remain given the available dig information.
Energy and Electron Transfer in Photosynthetic Units

It is proposed that energy transfer by electron exchange is a likely alternative to that by electric-dipole coupling for the case of chlorophyll and carotenoid proteins of the antennaes of photosynthetic systems. Biliproteins fit the criteria expected for the traditional Forster transfer. The criteria are fluorescence yield and lifetime of the pigments and structure and polarizability of their environment.
Demand Point Aggregation for Planar Covering Location Models

The covering location problem seeks the minimum number of facilities such that each demand point is within some given radius of its nearest facility. Such a model finds application mostly in locating emergency types of facilities. Since the problem is NP-hard in the plane, a common practice is to aggregate the demand points in order to reduce the computational burden. Aggregation makes the size of the problem more manageable but also introduces error. Identifying and controlling the magnitude of the error is the subject of this study. We suggest several aggregation methods with a priori error bounds, and conduct experiments to compare their performance. We find that the manner by which infeasibility is measured greatly affects the best choice of an aggregation method.
Organogenesis of endocrine pancreas from transplanted embryonic anlagen.

Abstract The number of donor human pancreas organs that can be transplanted directly or used for islet of Langerhans isolation is limited. We and others have shown that it is possible to ‘grow’ new pancreatic tissue in situ by transplanting embryonic organ-specific pancreatic precursor cells. This technology takes advantage of the fact that selective development of islets takes place post transplantation of embryonic pancreas and that the developing organ can attract its blood supply from an appropriate vascular bed post transplantation, enabling the transplantation of pancreas in ‘cellular’ form. Whole pancreatic anlagen implanted into a host peritoneum develop into a novel organ consisting of functional islets of Langerhans surrounded by stroma or individual alpha and beta cells within omental fat. Transplantation of developing pancreas to achieve organogenesis of its endocrine components could lead to a novel treatment for diabetes mellitus.
Radiation-induced changes on beef fat-cephalin mixtures bygamma-radiation. Inhibition ofcis-trans isomerization

Ionizing radiation-inducedcis-trans isomerization of unsaturated bonds in beef fat was inhibited by the addition of phospholipid. Infrared absorption at 10.35µ (966 cm−1) ofγ-irradiated beef fat-dl-a-cephalin dipalmitate mixtures was less than that of beef fat alone. These decreases were dose-dependent, but oxygen-independent. Reactions in the dose range 6 to 25 Mrad (see footnote 2) appear to differ from those in the dose range 25 to 100 Mrad. Some suggested explanations are offered for these phenomena.
Mutual influence in therapist competence and adherence to motivational enhancement therapy

Although psychotherapy involves the interaction of client and therapist, mutual influence is not typically considered as a source of variability in therapist adherence and competence in providing treatments assessed in clinical trials. We examined variability in therapist adherence and competence in Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) both within and between caseloads in a large multi-site clinical trial. Three-level multilevel models (repeated measures, nested within clients, nested with therapists) indicated significant variability both within and between therapists. There was as much and sometimes more variability in MET adherence and competence within therapist caseloads than between therapists. Variability in MET adherence and competence within caseloads was not consistently associated with client severity of addiction at baseline. However, client motivation at the beginning of the session and days of use during treatment were consistent predictors of therapist adherence and competence. Results raise questions about the nature of therapist adherence and competence in treatment protocols. Accordingly, future analysis of clinical trials should consider the role of mutual influence in measures of therapist performance.
Self-anchoring scaling for study of perceptions of religious maturity.

further developed methodologically in the smdy of buying-behavior. Kilpatrick and Cantril have used the technique to measure individuals' unique reality worlds (3), and much of Free's (1, 2) empirical data were gathered via self-anchoring method, but practically no use has been made of the technique in the psychological study of religious concepts. The present research was undertaken for this purpose. A self-anchoring scale is one in which each respondent is asked to describe, in terms of his own perceptions, goals, and values, the top and bottom (anchoring points) of the dimension on which scale measurement is desired and then to employ this sell-defined condnuum as a measuring device. In the present study 46 Negro and 35 Caucasian girls,
Scattering from submerged objects by a hybrid asymptotic-boundary integral equation method

Abstract We describe a method to compute the field scattered or radiated by acoustically large objects. The method combines the a high frequency asymptotic approximation with a boundary integral equation (BIE) method. The method is based on patching a short wavelength “outer expansion” to a BIE representation of the “inner solutions”. The inner solutions describe the field in the vicinity of sharp changes in geometry or boundary condition. We describe the formulation and solution of the inner problems using a boundary spectral strip method. The hybrid formulation consistently includes effects of infinite order multiple diffraction. The method is demonstrated by scattering from a wedge, from two small circular cylinders, and from a triangular shaped obstacle.
The value of site-specific information and the environment: Technology adoption and pesticide use under uncertainty

Remote sensing technology offers an opportunity to significantly increase the amount of site-specific information about field characteristics such as pest populations. Coupled with variable rate application technologies, this added information has the potential to provide environmental benefits through reduced pesticide applications. However, producers face a complicated adoption decision because output prices and crop yields are uncertain. A model is developed to examine the potential value of remote sensing information to pesticide applications in an option-value framework under uncertainty. Simulations suggest that remote sensing information could decrease pesticide use, but uncertainty and irreversibility are likely to limit technological adoption by farmers. Potential cost-share subsidies are discussed.
A fast volume rendering algorithm for time-varying fields using a time-space partitioning (TSP) tree

This paper presents a fast volume rendering algorithm for time-varying fields. We propose a new data structure, called Time-Space Partitioning (TSP) tree, that can effectively capture both the spatial and the temporal coherence from a time-varying field. Using the proposed data structure, the rendering speed is substantially improved. In addition, our data structure helps to maintain the memory access locality and to provide the sparse data traversal so that our algorithm becomes suitable for large-scale out-of-core applications. Finally, our algorithm allows flexible error control for both the temporal and the spatial coherence so that a trade-off between image quality and rendering speed is possible. We demonstrate the utility and speed of our algorithm with data from several time-varying CFD simulations. Our rendering algorithm can achieve substantial speedup while the storage space overhead for the TSP tree is kept at a minimum.
Modeling infinite/axisymmetric liquid metal magnetohydrodynamic free surface flows

Over the past several years, as part of the Advanced Power Extraction (APEX) project, liquid metal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) film and jet flows have been modeled using the assumption of axisymmetry to simplify the governing equations to a more tractable two-dimensional (2D) form. The results of these 2D simulations as they pertain to liquid wall and divertor flows is presented here. The effect of toroidal field gradient on the flow thickness is shown to be rather small for thin fast first wall (FW) flows on electrically insulated backwalls, but streamwise currents generated by flow across the toroidal field gradient can interact with radial magnetic field components to produce toroidal motion with strong shear across the flow depth. The drag effects from flow across the toroidal field gradients become much stronger if thicker flows are considered. Concerns about surface stability due to forces trying to pull the liquid off the backwall also become much more severe for thicker flows or flows with conducting walls. Plans for continued work with three-dimensional models are discussed.
Image analysis with regularized Laplacian eigenmaps

Many classes of image data span a low dimensional nonlinear space embedded in the natural high dimensional image space. We adopt and generalize a recently proposed dimensionality reduction method for computing approximate regularized Laplacian eigenmaps on large data sets and examine for the first time its application in a variety of image analysis examples. These experiments demonstrate the potential of regularized Laplacian eigenmaps in developing new learning algorithms and improving performance of existing systems.
Local and Q-superlinear convergence of a class of collinear scaling algorithms that extends quasi-newton methods with broyden's bounded-⊘ class of updates† ‡

Ariyawansa [3] has presented a class of coilinear scaling algorithms for unconstrained minimization. A certain family of algorithms contained in this class may be considered as an extension of the family of quasi-Newton methods with the Broyden family of approximants of the objective function Hessian. Let ⊘ k be the parameter that specifies the Broyden family member used at the (k+1)th iterate, .In [3], the members in this family of collinear scaling algorithms corresponding to ⊘ k := 0 for all k(which extends the DFP method) and ⊘ k :=1 for all k(which extends the BFGS method) were shown to be locally and q-superlinearly convergent. In this paper, we extend that result to other members in the above family of coilinear scaling algorithms in the following sense:all the members in the family of algorithms with {⊘ k } chosen so that for some and all kare locally and q-superlinearly convergent
Improved cerebrospinal fluid flow measurements using phase contrast balanced steady-state free precession.

We present a demonstration of phase contrast balanced steady-state free precession (PC-bSSFP) for measuring cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow in the brain and spine, and a comparison of measurements obtained with this technique to conventional phase contrast using incoherent gradient echoes (PC-GRE). With PC-GRE sequences, CSF images suffer from low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), due to short repetition times required for adequate temporal resolution, and the long relaxation time of CSF. Furthermore, CSF flow is often nonlaminar, causing phase dispersion and signal loss in PC-GRE images. It is hypothesized that PC-bSSFP can improve CSF flow measurements with its high SNR and insensitivity to turbulent flow effects. CSF images acquired from the two techniques were compared in 13 healthy volunteers. Three measures were used to objectively evaluate the PC-bSSFP sequence: the CSF flow percentage, defined as the percentage of the total CSF region exhibiting pulsatile flow, net stroke volume and SNR. Images acquired with PC-bSSFP demonstrated pulsatile CSF flow in 35.8% (P<.005), 11.2% (P<.05) and 27.8% (P<.0005) more pixels than PC-GRE in the prepontine cistern, anterior and posterior cervical subarachnoid space (SAS), respectively. Likewise, measurements of stroke volume in these regions increased by 61.6% (P<.05), 16.8% (P<.001) and 48.3% (P<.0001), respectively. Similar comparisons in the aqueduct showed no statistical difference in stroke volumes between the two techniques (P=.5). The average gain in SNR was 3.3±1.7 (P<.001) in the prepontine cistern, 5.0±0.2 (P<.01) at the cervical level and 2.0±0.4 (P<.001) in the aqueduct in PC-bSSFP magnitude images over PC-GRE images. In addition to the obvious advantage of increased SNR, these results indicate that PC-bSSFP provides more complete measurements of CSF flow data than PC-GRE. PC-bSSFP can be used as a reliable technique for CSF flow quantification for the characterization of normal and altered intracranial CSF flow patterns.
A prospective randomized trial of prophylactic platelet transfusion and bleeding incidence in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: 10,000/L versus 20,000/microL trigger

Abstract An optimal platelet-count threshold for prophylactic platelet transfusion in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients has yet to be determined. Between July 1997 and December 1999, we performed the first prospective randomized clinical trial addressing this issue in 159 HSCT recipients who received a prophylactic platelet transfusion when the morning platelet count fell below a 10,000/microL (10K) or 20,000/microL (20K) threshold. Subsequent prophylactic transfusions were administered according to a predetermined algorithm. The number of prophylactic and therapeutic transfusions and the incidence of minor and major bleeding were compared between the 2 groups. The groups were matched according to patient and transplantation characteristics. There were no significant differences in bleeding incidence or severity. Fourteen percent of patients in the 10K arm compared to 17% in the 20K arm had major bleeding events. Only 3 central nervous system bleeds occurred, 2 in the 10K group and 1 in the 20K group. No deaths were attributed to bleeding. An average of 11.4 days of bleeding occurred in both groups. An average of 10.4 platelet transfusions per patient were administered in the 10K group compared to 10.2 in the 20K group (P = .94). More transfusions were given above the assigned transfusion threshold in the 10K group than in the 20K group (4.3/patient versus 1.9/patient, respectively, P=.05). Safety measures incorporated into our study may have precluded demonstration of significant differences in platelet use between the groups. In conclusion, a platelet transfusion trigger of 10K was found to be safe; however, a decrease in platelet use was not achieved because of safety measures incorporated into our study design. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2002;8(10):569-76.
OVARIAN SUPPRESSION BY DDT AND RESISTANCE IN THE HOUSE FLY (MUSCA DOMESTICA L.)

Suggested by immunological theory, this study was initiated to test an hypothesis on physiological induction of resistance to insecticides. The hypothesis was proved untenable in the test system, but from the experimentation emerged evidence for a chronically toxic action of DDT expressed in reduced fecundity in female house flies fed sub-lethal amounts of this insecticide. This action can be a strong selective force, promptly revealing tolerant genotypes in the population. The usual selection for resistance does not necessarily also select for ovarian tolerance; even DDT-resistant flies can show ovarian suppression when fed DDT-contaminated food. It is possible that the route of administration of the DDT is important as the means by which the physiologic events described can occur as a chronic intoxication without the usual acutely toxic effects. Zusammenfassung DDT-INDUZIERTE FRUCHTBARKEITSMINDERUNG UND RESISTENZ BEI DER STUBENFLIEGE (MUSCA DOMESTICA L.) Der vorliegenden Arbeit liegt die Frage zugrunde, ob Stubenfliegen, die bereits im Embryonalstadium DDT ausgesetzt werden, diesem gegenuber Resistenz erwerben konnen. Futterung erwachsener Stubenfliegen mit C14-markiertem DDT fuhrt zu dessen Inkorporation schon in den Eiern der Ovarien; die Inkorporation konnte in den schlupfenden Larven weiter verfolgt werden. In Versuchen, in denen je Versuchsglied stets nur die Nachkommenschaft eines Elternpaares (ein Eigelege) verwendet wurde, spalteten sich zwei gleichgrossen Populationen heraus: Wahrend die eine die gleiche Anfalligkeit gegenuber DDT (0,12 μg/Fliege) aufwies wie die Nachkommenschaft DDT-ungefutterter Eltern, war die andere Population dieser Dosis gegenuber tolerant. Die Ergebnisse von weiteren Versuchen belegen eindeutig, dass die durch DDT-Behandlung im Embryonalstadium hervorgerufene DDT-Toleranz primar nicht physiologisch bedingt ist, sondern primar auf genetischen Ursachen beruhen muss: Wurden DDT-gefutterte Weibchen mit DDT-anfalligen bzw. DDT-resistenten Mannchen, denen kein DDT zum Futter gemischt worden war, gekreuzt, so war die gesamte Nachkommenschaft DDT-anfallig bzw. DDT-resistent. Es ergibt sich die Frage, welches Prinzip diese genotypisch verankerte Toleranz phanotypisch in Erscheinung treten lasst. Die in den Versuchen verwendeten DDT-Dosen waren ohne wesentlichen Einfluss auf den Eischlupf und die Mortalitat von Larven und Fliegen. Dagegen senkte die Futterung deutlich die Anzahl der zur Eiablage befahigten Weibchen und die Anzahl der von den anderen Weibchen gelegten Eier.
Reassociation of eukaryotic ribosomal subunits: dependence of reassociation on formation of a 40S initiation complex: effects of aurintricarboxylic acid and pactamycin.

Abstract Aurintricarboxylic acid and pactamycin inhibited initiation factor catalyzed reassociation of ribosomal subunits to form 80S couples and subsequent polyphenylalanine synthesis although their effects were qualitatively different. The two inhibitors prevented the formation of 80S monomers if they were present with 40S subunits in the reassociation mixture before addition of large subunits; they did not inhibit protein synthesis nor reassociation if they were added with the 60S subunits after formation of a small subunit initiation complex. Thus creation of a 40S initiation complex precedes addition of the large subunit and formation of an 80S monomer. An additional finding was that aurintricarboxylic acid preferentially inhibited the formation of inactive 40S–60S couples.
Crisis Management An Assessment and Critique

This article provides an assessment and critique of the current state of crisis management literature with special emphasis on what historical case studies reveal about the validity of this approac...
Immigration and colonization of portable apple trees by arthropod pests and their natural enemies

Abstract Levels of immigration/colonization by selected arthropod pests and natural enemy species into portable apple orchards were estimated in eight combined treatments of two orchard-density groups or regions, three distance classes from orchard source pools and two orchard-species pool types (i.e. abandoned vs commercial). Eighteen to 24 trees comprised each portable orchard and ground cover, cultural management, spraying, etc. were standardized at each site. Arthropod sampling included both extensive and intensive timed samples through the growing season in each site. Species immigration rates were compared for each portable orchard site. Pest species immigration was similar between regions, but decreased with distance from source pool. Generalist predator immigration was similar between regions and across sites. Specific observations of immigration and colonization were made on 96 species in 11 orders and 46 families.
A fundamental role for KChIPs in determining the molecular properties and trafficking of Kv4.2 potassium channels.

Kv4 potassium channels regulate action potentials in neurons and cardiac myocytes. Co-expression of EF hand-containing Ca2+-binding proteins termed KChIPs with pore-forming Kv4 α subunits causes changes in the gating and amplitude of Kv4 currents (An, W. F., Bowlby, M. R., Betty, M., Cao, J., Ling, H. P., Mendoza, G., Hinson, J. W., Mattsson, K. I., Strassle, B. W., Trimmer, J. S., and Rhodes, K. J. (2000) Nature 403, 553–556). Here we show that KChIPs profoundly affect the intracellular trafficking and molecular properties of Kv4.2 α subunits. Co-expression of KChIPs1–3 causes a dramatic redistribution of Kv4.2, releasing intrinsic endoplasmic reticulum retention and allowing for trafficking to the cell surface. KChIP co-expression also causes fundamental changes in Kv4.2 steady-state expression levels, phosphorylation, detergent solubility, and stability that reconstitute the molecular properties of Kv4.2 in native cells. Interestingly, the KChIP4a isoform, which exhibits unique effects on Kv4 channel gating, does not exert these effects on Kv4.2 and negatively influences the impact of other KChIPs. We provide evidence that these KChIP effects occur through the masking of an N-terminal Kv4.2 hydrophobic domain. These studies point to an essential role for KChIPs in determining both the biophysical and molecular characteristics of Kv4 channels and provide a molecular basis for the dramatic phenotype of KChIP knockout mice.
Lens changes and the incidence of cardiovascular events among persons with diabetes

Previous analysis of data from the Framingham Heart Study and the Framingham Eye Study showed that the “all-cause” death rate for diabetic persons with lens opacities was more than twice that of diabetic persons without lens opacities. Additional follow-up information was used to investigate whether these lens changes were associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in particular. At the eye examination (1973 to 1975) there were 133 diabetic persons with no cardiovascular disease, of whom 41% had lens changes. Of these 133 persons, 57 had at least one cardiovascular event by the time of the most recent follow-up examination (1981 to 1983). Regression analyses suggested an increased risk of cardiovascular events among diabetic associations of lens changes with the development of congestive heart failure (incidence rate ratio = 3.6; p = 0.01) and coronary heart disease (incidence rate ratio = 2.5; p = 0.08). Thus lens changes, in addition to being early prognostic signs of mortality, appear to be predictors of cardiovascular disease in adult-onset diabetes.
EFFECT OF TRAP DISTRIBUTION ON G-R NOISE SPECTRA

Abstract The carrier number fluctuations in semiconductors and insulators with traps distributed uniformly across the energy band gap are calculated at thermal equilibrium. It is found that in both insulators and semiconductors the noise spectra always follow a behavior comparable to the g-r noise of a single recombination level. Furthermore, from the derived curves it can be concluded that a uniform distribution of traps, where the traps are allowed to interact with all the free carriers, is not a source of 1 f noise in semiconductors or insulators.
Compactness and independence in non first order frameworks

This communication deals with positive model theory, a non first order model theoretic setting which preserves compactness at the cost of giving up negation. Positive model theory deals transparently with hyperimaginaries, and accommodates various analytic structures which defy direct first order treatment. We describe the development of simplicity theory in this setting, and an application to the lovely pairs of models of simple theories without the weak non finite cover property.
Macrophyte detritus in the winter diet of the estuarine mysid,Neomysis americana

Neomysis americana, a common prey item in the diet of estuarine fish, is seasonally abundant in saltmarsh tidal creeks of North Inlet, South Carolina. Visual examination of mysids collected in winter revealed only diatom tests in their guts, with nearly all of the ingesta unidentifiable. Immunological diet analysis provided strong evidence that proteins fromSpartina alterniflora detritus were present in the guts of field-collected mysids. Laboratory determinations of weight-specific ingestion rates for male and female mysids fed particulateS. alterniflora were best described by a curvilinear quadratic function. Ingestion rates ranged from zero to 0.116 mg C ingested per mg C body weight per hr, or greater than 200% of body carbon per day if continuous feeding is assumed. These high ingestion rates may indicate low assimilation efficiency, but ifN. americana’s assimilation efficiency is similar to that of other mysid species, then this mysid may represent an efficient trophic link between saltmarsh macrophyte production and higher trophic levels. The occurrence ofSpartina detritus in the guts of winter mysids suggests that detritivory may be important during periods of scarce food.
On the parallelization of unsteady BEM problems with variable mesh size

This paper presents code acceleration strategies for a boundary element method (BEM) simulation of an unsteady free-surface problem with a variable mesh size. The evolution of the film and droplet field emanating from a classical swirl injector/nozzle is used as a test case for the methodology. The unsteady free-surface problem (dynamic grid problem) presents challenges for load balancing the inversion of a matrix that is changing size with time. Since inversion of the matrix of linear equation coefficients represents the dominant computational cost for large problems, the parallelization of the second-order BEM code is implemented using a portable computation library, ScaLAPACK. A different processor grid topology using ScaLAPACK has been implemented and compared to the recommendation of ScaLAPACK guide. Implementation of ScaLAPACK in the solver routine of BEM has been successful and a significant simulation time reduction is demonstrated on an Opteron Dual Processor high-performance computing cluster employing two processors per node.