cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Theorizing practical geopolitical reasoning: the case of the United States’ response to the war in Bosnia

Abstract This article seeks to develop a discursive-argumentative perspective on practical geopolitical reasoning, using the United States’ policy dialogue towards the Bosnian war in the early summer of 1992 as an illustration. Foreign policy statements, press briefings and public policy actions by the President, Secretary of State and their staff are used to document this policy dialogue. Sources include The Public Papers of the President: George H. W. Bush , journalistic reports from leading newspapers and transcripts of State Department press briefings, most of which are accessible in the data archives of Lexis-Nexis. Memoirs, where they exist, are drawn upon to provide insight into the backstage of foreign policy making. The perspective outlined here draws upon the work of the argumentative approach in public policy, some social constructivist perspectives in IR, and a selection of the literature on rhetoric and meaning in social psychology. The article outlines a heuristic theory of how practical geopolitical reasoning works and can be studied in a critical geopolitical fashion. The emphasis is on geopolitical reasoning not state interaction so there is no consideration of the ‘grammar’ of strategic interaction and communication between the U.S., its allies and the various Balkan warring parties. The goal is to illustrate an important feature of the United States’ Bosnian policy discourse, namely its consistent internal tensions and conflicts. This is perhaps best expressed as the argument that the Bush administration, and succeeding administrations, never really had a unitary foreign policy toward Bosnia but rather had a foreign policy argumentative space. The theoretical approach outlined in the article develops a synchronic map of this policy space and documents empirically how it operated.
Constructing noise-reducing operators from training images

Abstract We discuss constructing non-linear noise reduction operators on binary images using a training set of noiseless images. We extract from the training set a probability distribution over local neighborhoods. Our operator changes pixel values when such a change turns a low probability neighborhood into a high probability one.
How many antennas does a cooperative jammer need for achieving the degrees of freedom of multiple antenna Gaussian channels in the presence of an eavesdropper

In this work, multiple antenna Gaussian wiretap channels with a multiantenna cooperative jammer are considered. In particular, the focus is on identifying the spatial resources needed at the cooperative jammer in order to achieve a secure degrees of freedom (s.d.o.f.) for the channel in question equal to the degrees of freedom (d.o.f.). In order to accomplish this goal, the cooperative jammer sets out to send correlated jamming signals. Simultaneously, the legitimate transmitter chooses a precoder that perfectly aligns its information signals over the jamming ones at the eavesdropper. Both terminals use structured signaling, i.e., discrete constellations. The proposed approach is shown to achieve full d.o.f. for the channel at hand as long as the cooperative jammer has twice the antennas of the eavesdropper. It is also shown that within 1/2 of the d.o.f. is achievable with one less antenna at the cooperative jammer.
A comparison of auction and flat pricing for differentiated service networks

In a network with quality of service (QoS) support, pricing is an effective means of dealing with congestion control and revenue generation. In the Internet, the needs of the customers and their applications are constantly evolving. An auction based algorithm is the best choice for this environment because it needs minimal a priori information. In this paper, we propose an auction based pricing algorithm which lets customers choose the price as well as the services required, and in which the service provider decides on the admission price threshold and the service level of the differentiated service provided. We then investigate the system's adaptive behavior by simulating it in various environments and situations.
Testing the parton model in massive lepton pair production

Abstract The parton model and the conjectured diffraction behavior of F 2 γN ( x ) at small x are used to establish a relationship between the deep inelastic electroproduction process and massive lepton pair production. The result is applied to present and future experiments.
Studies on the field biology of Graminella nigrifrons, a vector of corn stunt virus in Mississippi.

There are at least 3 generations of the black-faced leafhopper, Graminella nigrifrons (Forbes), in Mississippi. These generations, represented by peaks of adult activity, may be referred to as the spring, summer, and fall generations. High populations of this vector of corn stunt virus in April in the northern portion of the State occur about the time of spring corn planting. Although leafhopper infectivity is low (less than 1% of the natural population) the large first generation is most destructive to young corn. The second generation of leafhoppers is of lesser concern because the crop is older when exposed. G. nigrifrons survives through the winter as both adults and eggs on winter grasses, grain, and grazing crops. Adult leafhoppers actively lay fertile eggs in warm periods during the winter; thus there is no apparent diapause.
Accounting education: Turning wrongs into rights in the 1980's

Abstract This article speculates upon the evolution of accounting education in the 1980's. Ideas are presented which impact upon many facets of higher education including undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education programs, as well as research and service. Further, institutional issues concerning the role of academics are addressed. The paper begins with “wrongs” of accounting research, education, libraries, and continuing education. Particular stress is placed upon weaknesses in educating and motivating accounting faculty to teach and have primary concern for students. Promotion, tenure, expense support, and reward structures are biased toward research and publication rather than teaching. Funding and faculty attention are not directed toward innovation in accounting education and development of university libraries as learning centers. In short, accounting educators continue to “educate for absolescence.” The paper ends with some suggestions of how to turn “wrongs” into “rights.” More than increased funding is needed. Of primary importance is a shift in attitudes and reward structures.
Elections, Capital Flows, and Politico-Economic Equilibria

We study an open economy where a pro-labor and a pro-business candidate compete in an election. The winner chooses taxes, which affect investment returns. Electoral outcomes depend on the size of the foreign debt, but the debt itself reflects expectations about the election. The resulting interaction is novel and has several implications. Elections are associated with increased volatility. Politico-economic crises can occur. Inefficiencies vanish if the candidates commit to an appropriate tax policy, but such commitments have predictable effects on the election. Empirical evidence supporting the theory is discussed. (JEL D72, F34, O17, O19)
Reel syndrome-not a twiddler variant.

We report three cases of an unusual form of “reel syndrome” characterized by isolated, reeling dislodgement of a single lead in patients with dual-chamber or biventricular devices. One of these patients presented with worsening heart failure due to loss of left ventricular pacing and the others were detected incidentally during scheduled device checks. We suspect that a ratchet mechanism was probably responsible for this and that this type of dislodgement is not a twiddler variant. We propose a simple solution for prevention.
Changes affecting the initial evaluation and care of the pregnant trauma victim

Pregnant women in American society today are at significant risk of injury during a period when physiologic responses to trauma, as well as expected findings of physical examination and laboratory evaluation are altered by the on-going pregnancy. Changes in anatomy, hemodynamics, respiratory function, gastrointestinal function, and hematologic and hemostatic parameters impact upon the approach to the evaluation and management of injured pregnant women. Maternal outcome is dependent on the nature and extent of injury and on the delivery of appropriate care. Fetal outcome relates to the magnitude of direct injury and the maternal physiologic response. It is imperative that all physicians involved in clinical evaluation and management of injured pregnant women understand the changes engendered by pregnancy and their effects upon the mother, the fetus, and the decision-making process. The best way to secure a favorable outcome for both mother and fetus is a standardized planned approach to care provided by a team cognizant of these changes.
Scattering by Individual Transparent Spheres

Scattering intensity functions of individual droplets of dioctyl phthalate (refractive index, 1.4830), phenyl methyl siloxane (refractive index, 1.5559), and pentaphenyl ether (refractive index, 1.6309) illuminated with 6328-A radiation from a He–Ne laser were measured over the size range from 7.5-μ to 110-μ-diam. Within the limits of experimental error the results are shown to be in good agreement with Mie theory.
Burma : the challenge of change in a divided society

Foreword Aung San Suu Kyi - Preface P.Carey - Abbreviations - Notes on the Contributors - Introduction P.Carey - PART 1: POLITICS AND CONSTITUTION MAKING - The National Convention: An Impediment to the Restoration of Democracy J.M.Diller - The Constitutional Future of Myanmar in Comparative Perspective R.H.Taylor - PART 2: FOREIGN POLICY - Burma's Relations with the People's Republic of China: From Delicate Friendship to Genuine Cooperation C-S.Liang - PART 3: VIEWS FROM THE PERIPHERY - Burma's Ethnic Minorities: A Central or Peripheral Problem in the Regional Context? M.Smith - The Civil War, the Minorities and Burma's New Politics J.Silverstein - PART 4: THE CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT - Priorities for Burma's Development: The Role of International Aid D.I.Steinberg - Economic Reform and Political Conditionality in Myanmar P.Cook & M.Minogue - Responding to Myanmar's Silent Emergency: The Urgent Case for International Humanitarian Relief and Development Assistance R.C.Carriere - Suggestions for Further Reading - Glossary - Index
Adrenal adenomatoid tumor in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus.

We present the clinical course of a patient with human immunodeficiency virus and an adrenal adenomatoid tumor (AAT). We describe the clinical course and laboratory, radiographic, and microscopic findings of a patient with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and an adenomatoid tumor of the right adrenal gland. A review of the literature was also done via electronic searches through PubMed for articles from 1965 to 2008 that contained the following search terms, adenomatoid tumor limited to the English language only. A 22 year-old African-American male with HIV was incidentally found to have a hypermetabolic right adrenal mass. The patient underwent laparoscopic adrenalectomy and the mass had morphological and immunohistochemical features that were consistent with an AAT. A review of the medical literature reveals that almost all cases of AAT were in male patients (96%) with a mean age of 41±11 years (range=22–64) with no significant difference in laterality (right side=46%, left side=50%, unknown=4%). AAT have an average size of 4.2±3.5 cm (range=0.5–14.3 cm). Pre-operative imaging studies do not appear to be able to reliably distinguish AAT from other types of adrenocortical tumors. For reasons that require further research, AAT typically occur in male patients and may be associated with immunosuppression. AAT can be safely removed laparoscopically with no evidence of long-term recurrence even with tumor extension beyond the adrenal capsule.
On the relation between low-dimensional models and the dynamics of coherent structures in the turbulent wall layer

In this paper we establish some rigorous connections between the dynamics of coherent structures in the wall region of the turbulent boundary layer and the low-dimensional models of the type studied by Aubry et al. (1988). An important first step is to determine what sort of connection is feasible. We choose to study the energy budget of the models in comparison with the energy budget of the real flow. This is done by comparing the respective kinetic energy equations. In the process we reexamine some of the assumptions and approximations of Aubry et al. (1988) and perform order of magnitude analyses to determine when they hold. We find that, for the models developed in that paper, involving modes which do not vary in the streamwise direction, the energy production lies within positive, experimentally determined, bounds. Moreover, the dissipation due to neglected modes may be reproduced correctly with an order 1 value of the Heisenberg parameter α, as assumed by Aubry et al.
A “Wiimote”-based spatio-temporal wireless channel sounder (non-refereed)

Guaranteeing reliable and ubiquitous signal reception is one of the current challenges faced by wireless communications systems. Ideally, wireless transmissions suffer only from propagation losses. In reality, the landscape through which wireless information travels often contains structures that contribute to significant losses in signal reception. While increasing broadcast power will boost signal integrity, it will invariably contribute to increased co-channel interference. The high demand for ubiquitous signal reception, coupled with the aforementioned challenges, has motivated research into the development of propagation prediction models based upon extensive spatio-temporal wireless channel measurements.
A two-dimensional scaling theory of intermittency

Abstract A two-dimensional scaling theory of intermittency in the presence of noise is modeled on tangent bifurcation of general area-preserving maps incorporating different universality classes. The two-dimensional functional renormalization group equations, and the associated eigenvalue equations describing deterministic and stochastic perturbations are derived. The complete eigenvalue spectra are found, and the scaling behavior of the length of laminarity is discussed.
Frictional and morphological characteristics of ion- plated soft metallic films☆

Ion plated metallic films in contrast to films applied by other deposition techniques offer a lower friction coefficient, longer endurance lives and exhibit a gradual increase in friction coefficient after the film has been worn off. The friction coefficients of metallic films are affected by the degree of adherence, thickness and nucleation and growth characteristics during ion plating lead to a fine, continuous crystalline structure, which contributes to a lower friction coefficient.
Adsorption of gases in carbon nanotubes: are defect interstitial sites important?

Molecular simulations are used to shed light on an ongoing controversy over where gases adsorb on single walled carbon nanotube bundles. We have performed simulations using models of carbon nanotube bundles composed of tubes of all the same diameter (homogeneous) and tubes of different diameters (heterogeneous). Simulation data are compared with experimental data in an effort to identify the best model for describing experimental data. Adsorption isotherms, isosteric heats of adsorption, and specific surface areas have been computed for Ar, CH4, and Xe on closed, open, and partially opened homogeneous and heterogeneous nanotube bundles. Experimental data from nanotubes prepared from two different methods, electric arc and HiPco, were examined. Experimental adsorption isotherms and isosteric heats for nanotubes prepared by the electric arc method are in best agreement with simulations for heterogeneous bundles of closed nanotubes. Models including adsorption in defect interstitial channels are required to ...
Methylmercury Induces Apoptosis in Cultured Rat Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons

Abstract Methylmercury is known to have devastating effects on the mammalian nervous system. In order to characterize the dose dependence of methylmercury-induced neurotoxicity, we first studied neurite outgrowth from rat dorsal root ganglia explants. In this model, methylmercury inhibited neurite outgrowth with a TD 50 of approximately 0.5 μM. We then used this relationship to optimize dosing for subsequent transcriptional profiling analyses in two independent neuronal model systems: dissociated sensory neurons and PC12 cells. As seen in previous studies, the expression of a number of genes associated with oxidative stress was altered following a 6 h challenge with 1 μM methylmercury. When PC12 cells were subjected to a longer exposure (24 h), a relative increase was noted in the representation of genes associated with cell cycling and apoptosis. To confirm the presence of apoptosis in cultured neurons, we then applied TUNEL staining and bis-benzimide staining techniques to primary cultures of dissociated sensory neurons. After 24 h, 1 μM methylmercury increased both DNA end-labeling ( P P
Gamma synchrony predicts neuron-neuron correlations and correlations with motor behavior in extrastriate visual area MT.

Correlated variability of neuronal responses is an important factor in estimating sensory parameters from a population response. Large correlations among neurons reduce the effective size of a neural population and increase the variation of the estimates. They also allow the activity of one neuron to be informative about impending perceptual decisions or motor actions on single trials. In extrastriate visual area MT of the rhesus macaque, for example, some but not all neurons show nonzero “choice probabilities” for perceptual decisions or non-zero “MT–pursuit” correlations between the trial-by-trial variations in neural activity and smooth pursuit eye movements. To understand the functional implications of zero versus nonzero correlations between neural responses and impending perceptions or actions, we took advantage of prior observations that specific frequencies of local field potentials reflect the correlated activity of neurons. We found that the strength of the spike-field coherence of a neuron in the gamma-band frequency range is related to the size of its MT–pursuit correlations for eye direction, as well as to the size of the neuron–neuron correlations. Spike-field coherence predicts MT–pursuit correlations better for direction than for speed, perhaps because the topographic organization of direction preference in MT is more amenable to creating meaningful local field potentials. We suggest that the relationship between spiking and local-field potentials is stronger for neurons that have larger correlations with their neighbors; larger neuron–neuron correlations create stronger MT–pursuit correlations. Neurons that lack strong correlations with their neighbors also have weaker correlations with pursuit behavior, but still could drive pursuit strongly.
Cooperative DNA binding by the B-isoform of human progesterone receptor: thermodynamic analysis reveals strongly favorable and unfavorable contributions to assembly.

Progesterone receptors (PR) play critical roles in eukaryotic gene regulation, yet the mechanisms by which they assemble at multisite promoters are poorly understood. Here we present a thermodynamic analysis of the interactions of the PR B-isoform (PR-B) with promoters containing either one or two progesterone response elements (PREs). Utilizing quantitative footprinting, we have resolved the microscopic energetics of PR-B binding, including cooperativity terms. The results of this analysis challenge a number of assumptions found in traditional models of receptor function. First, PR-B interactions at a single PRE can be equally well described by mechanisms invoking either the receptor monomer or the dimer as the active DNA binding species. If, as is commonly accepted, PR-B interacts with response elements only as a preformed dimer, then its intrinsic binding affinity is not the typically observed nanomolar but is rather picomolar. This high affinity binding is opposed, however, by a large energetic penalty. The penalty presumably pays for costly structural rearrangements of the receptor dimer and/or response element that are needed to form the protein-DNA complex. If PR-B assembles at a single response element via successive monomer binding reactions, then this penalty minimizes cooperative interactions between adjacent monomers. When binding to two response elements, the receptor exhibits strong intersite cooperativity. Although this phenomenon has been observed before, the present work demonstrates that the energetics reach levels seen in highly cooperative systems such as I cI repressor. This first quantitative dissection of cooperative receptor-promoter interactions suggests that PR-B function is more complex than traditionally envisioned.
Selective Laser Sintering of Multilayer, Multimaterial Circuit Components

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is presented for the creation of multilayer circuit components compatible with microwave frequencies. SLS is a one step process that uses a laser to pattern and fully sinter screen printable inks without the use of any high temperature post processing. For the first time, this process is demonstrated for multiple layers of material with varying properties, such as metals and dielectrics. Sequentially sintering conventional thick film materials is used to create functional layers, both conductive and dielectric, in a layer by layer fashion, forming metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors and spiral inductors on soda-lime glass.
How religious groups promote forgiving: A national study.

A nationally representative survey was conducted of adult Americans who were currently involved in prayer groups, Bible studies, or other religiously oriented small groups. The purpose of the study was to determine if these respondents had engaged in forgiving behavior as a result of being in their group and, if so, to ascertain which group activities were most likely to facilitate this behavior. Of the 1,379 respondents, 61 percent said their group had helped them to forgive someone, 71 percent said they had experienced healings of relationships as a result of their group, and 43 percent said they had worked on improving a broken relationship in recent months. Group activities generating “social capital” or “cultural capital” were mostly unrelated to these responses, while activities involving “emotional capital” and “spiritual capital” showed strong positive relationships. Further analysis suggests that forgiving behavior is especially facilitated by groups that emphasize prayer, sharing, and learning about forgiveness. The study also suggests that forgiving behavior may have such consequences as encouraging prosocial involvement, helping to overcome addictions,and promoting emotional well-being.
The inhibitory actions of prostaglandins on respiratory smooth muscle

Prostaglandin E(1), in concentrations as low as 1 ng/ml., relaxed isolated tracheal muscle from cat, monkey, rabbit, guinea-pig and ferret. Tracheal muscle from the cat, monkey and rabbit did not exhibit inherent tone and the effect of prostaglandin E(1) on these preparations was seen only after a sustained contraction had been produced by a previous dose of acetylcholine or of another agonist. Prostaglandins E(2), E(3) and F(1alpha) also relaxed isolated cat tracheal muscle which had been stimulated by acetylcholine: their activities relative to that of prostaglandin E(1) were, respectively, 1.0, 0.2 and 0.002. In the anaesthetized cat prostaglandin E(1) increased lung "resistance to inflation" (presumably comparable to bronchial resistance) and the heart rate. In the anaesthetized rabbit and guinea-pig, prostaglandin E(1) antagonized the rise in resistance to inflation of the lungs obtained after vagal stimulation or after the intravenous injection of histamine; it sometimes lowered the resistance to inflation in these species. The possibility that prostaglandin may have a local physiological role in the control of bronchial smooth muscle tone is discussed.
Single mechanism for generating large-scale structure and providing dark missing matter.

We consider a boson field with a phase transition driven by a cosmologically small quartic self-coupling. While its short-wavelength components are stabilized, its very-long-wavelength components start a ``slow-rolling'' phase transition as soon as they come within their horizon. The Universe becomes filled with a critical density of ``soft-boson'' particles with a Compton wavelength of tens of kiloparsecs. Large-scale structure with present size tens of megaparsecs is inescapably formed by the wave-packet dynamics of such soft bosons. Baryons are gravitationally coupled to this structure. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle prevents soft bosons from falling into clusters of galaxies.
Focusing light into a multiple-core fiber. I. Theory

Abstract We develop a variational, scalar-field treatment of the guided modes and their propagation constants for a multiple-core optical fiber consisting of many single-mode single fiber cores closely spaced inside a common cladding material. The variational procedure, when supplemented with symmetry considerations, produces without great effort the modes and their wavevectors for a highly symmetrical arrangement of an arbitrary number of cores. By employing these modes, we compute an expression for the coupling efficiency of an arbitrary wavefront focused into such a fiber. We argue that such a fiber should be more strongly coupled than the standard single-core single-mode fiber to an arbitrary wavefront due to a piecewise coupling of the wavefront to the multiple-core fiber. The improved coupling efficiency is illustrated with the example of a focused plane wave, for which a periodic spatial redistribution of energy among the cores, as a function of the propagation distance, is also verified. In the following paper, we demonstrate dramatic improvements in coupling efficiency for an atmospherically aberrated wavefront focused into a multiple-core fiber, a result with considerable implications for ground-based fiber-coupled interferometry.
Antagonistic and additive effects of IL-4 and lnterferon-γ on human monocytes and macrophages: Effects on Fc receptors, HLA-D antigens, and superoxide production☆

Abstract During an immune response a multitude of lymphokines are produced which modulate the function of mononuclear phagocytes. In this study, we investigated possible additive, synergistic, or antagonistic effects of three lymphokines, IL-4 (1–100 U/ml, 0.01–1 ng/ml), interferon-γ (IFN) (1–100 U/ml) and IL-2 (30–300 U/ml) on Fc receptors (FcR1 and FcR2), complement receptors (CR3 and CR4), and HLA-D antigens (HLA-DR and HLA-DQ) on human monocytes and macrophages. Exposure of monocytes to IL-4 alone resulted in changes in the expression of all these receptors. Both FcR1 and FcR2 were downregulated in a dose-dependent manner while the expression of CR3, CR4, HLA-DR, and HLA-DQ was increased. Antagonistic effects of IL-4 and IFN were observed on FcR1 and FcR2; IL-4-induced downregulation of the FcR1 and FcR2 was inhibited by IFN, and vice versa, IFN-induced upregulation of FcR1 and FcR2 was inhibited by IL-4. Phagocytosis of particulate immune complexes (EAs) as well as production of superoxide (O 2 − ) in response to EAs were inhibited by IL-4, and the inhibition was reversed by IFN. Antagonistic effects of IL-4 and IFN were also observed on CR3 and CR4 expression. Additive effects of IL-4 and IFN were on the other hand seen on HLA-DR and HLA-DQ expression as well as on O 2 − production in response to stimulation with phorbol ester (PMA). The addition of IL-2 to IL-4 and/or IFN-containing cultures had no further modulatory effect on receptor expression or O 2 − production. In vitro matured macrophages (Mφ) had a similar response pattern to IL-4 and IFN as the freshly isolated monocytes. Alveolar macrophages (AMφ), on the other hand, did not modulate FcR1 and HLA-DQ in response to IL-4, and downregulated FcR2 in response to IFN. Antagonistic effects of the two factors were only seen on CR expression. These results imply that FcR expression and function on monocytes and inflammatory macrophages may be in sensitive balance with the relative concentrations of IL-4 and IFN in the immune environment. FcRs on AMφs are less responsive to modulation by these lymphokines.
Compaction bands: a structural analog for anti-mode I cracks in aeolian sandstone

Abstract We present evidence for the existence of tabular zones of localized deformation in aeolian sandstone, that accommodate pure compaction. In this sense they are analogs for anticracks or closing mode I fractures such as pressure solution surfaces or stylolites. The so called “compaction bands” are exposed in outcrops of the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone in the Kaibab monocline, Utah. They are characterized by lack of shear offset across their plane, volume loss, micro fracturing and very little grain crushing or comminution. Based on their geometry, two kinds of compaction bands are distinguished: the first kind is 0.5-1.5 cm thick and fairly straight over lengths of about 5–10 m. The second kind is 0.1-0.5 cm thick over lengths up to 2 m, and is conspicuously crooked with wavelengths of 1–5 cm and amplitudes of a few mm to a few cm. Compaction bands preferentially developed in the compressive quadrant at the tips of small faults or “deformation band faults” which suggests, together with the direction of shear along the deformation band faults, that compaction bands form perpendicular to the largest compressive stresses induced by motion along the deformation band faults. Also, the compaction bands typically occur in sedimentary layers with large grain sizes (0.3-0.8 mm) and high porosity (20–25%) whereas the deformation band faults occur in the layers with smaller grain sizes (0.05-0.25 mm) and lower (
Software quality assessment using a multi-strategy classifier

Classifying program modules as fault-prone or not fault-prone is a valuable technique for guiding the software development process, so that resources can be allocated to components most likely to have faults. The rule-based classification and the case-based learning techniques are commonly used in software quality classification problems. However, studies show that these two techniques share some complementary strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, in this paper we propose a new multi-strategy classification model, RB2CBL, which integrates a rule-based (RB) model with two case-based learning (CBL) models. RB2CBL possesses the merits of both the RB model and CBL model and restrains their drawbacks. In the RB2CBL model, the parameter optimization of the CBL models is critical and an embedded genetic algorithm optimizer is used. Two case studies were carried out to validate the proposed method. The results show that, by suitably choosing the accuracy of the RB model, the RB2CBL model outperforms the RB model alone without overfitting.
2C-1 A Post-Beamforming 2D Pseudoinverse Filter for Coarsely Sampled Ultrasound Arrays

Beamforming artifacts due to coarse discretization of imaging apertures represent a significant barrier toward the use of array probes in high frequency ultrasound (HFUS) applications. In this paper, we present a new design approach for two-dimensional (2D) regularized Pseudoinverse filters suitable for restoring imaging contrast in systems employing coarsely sampled arrays. The approach is based on a discretized 2D imaging model for linear arrays, and the imaging operator can be represented with a block Toeplitz matrix with the blocks themselves being Toeplitz. With sufficiently large grid size in the axial and lateral directions, it is possible to replace this Toeplitz-block block Toeplitz (TBBT) operator with its circulant-block block circulant (CBBC) equivalent. This leads to a computationally- efficient implementation of the regularized Pseudoinverse filtering approach using the 2D fast Fourier transform (FFT). Using FIELD II, we present simulation data of the 2D point spread functions (PSFs) and a cyst phantom for imaging systems employing linear arrays with fine and coarse sampling of the imaging aperture. The 6-dB axial and lateral dimensions of the PSF, the main-lobe grating-lobe ratio (MGR) and contrast ratio (CR) are computed for the coarsely-sampled array with different levels of regularization to demonstrate the trade off between contrast and spatial resolutions. These results demonstrate approximate sigmoid functions with respect to log10beta which reveals a smooth, well-behaved regularization process of this algorithm.
Quantum Meaning of Classical Field Theory

Recent researches have shown that it is possible to obtain information about the physical content of nontrivial quantum field theories by semiclassical methods. This article reviews some of these investigations. We discuss how solutions to field equations, treated as classical, c-number nonlinear differential equations, expose unexpected states in the quantal Hilbert space with novel quantum numbers which arise from topological properties of the classical field configuration or from the mixing of internal and space-time symmetries. Also imaginary-time, c-number solutions are reviewed. It is shown that they provide nonperturbative information about the vacuum sector of the quantum theory.
Induced Crystallization in CW Laser-Irradiated Sol-Gel Deposited Titania Films

Isothermal annealing of amorphous TiO2 films deposited from acidic sol-gel precursor solutions results in film densification and concomitant increase in refractive index. Subsequent heating above 300°C leads to irreversible transformation to an anatase crystalline phase. Similar phenomena occur when such amorphous films are subjected to focused cw laser irradiation. Controlled variations in laser fluence are used to density or crystallize selected regions of the film. Low fluence conditioning leads to the evolution of a subtle nanograin-size morphology, evident in AFM images, which appears to retard subsequent film crystallization when such regions are subjected to higher laser fluence. Time-resolved Raman spectroscopy has been used to characterize irradiated regions in order to follow the crystallization kinetics, assess phase homogeneity, and evaluate accompanying changes in residual film stress.
Documenting the global conversation: Relevancy of libraries in a digital world

ABSTRACT Disruptive technologies pose challenges to research libraries and universities similar to those confronting the music and publishing industries. Digital information resources and web-based discovery tools threaten to undermine the library's traditional role as information provider. Research libraries should confront this challenge by embracing the technological tools of information discovery and stay focused on facilitating critical inquiry on the part of the university community
Sodium Reduction in Bread Using Low-Sodium Sea Salt

ABSTRACT Yeast bread is a major contributor of sodium in the American diet. Because of its functional impact on dough rheology and the quality of the final baked product, simply reducing the level of sodium chloride (salt) in the formula or replacing it with salt substitutes has found minimal success. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of sea salt containing 57 or 64% less sodium than common sea salt on the breadmaking properties and consumer acceptability of bread. The sodium content of the salt had no effect on dough strength, mixing time, gas production, loaf volume, or crumb grain. The flavor and overall liking of breads containing sea salt with 57 and 64% less sodium content were scored only slightly lower than bread containing the control salt by an untrained panel of 118 consumers. No difference in texture and no unacceptable flavor notes in the bread made with reduced-sodium salts were reported. Thus, it appears that use of reduced-sodium sea salt is a satisfactory alternative...
Conjugated polymers containing pendant terpyridine receptors: highly efficient sensory materials for transition-metal ions

Conjugated polymers containing terpyridine receptors have been prepared and characterized which contain unusually high fluorescence sensitivity toward transition metal ions including Fe2+, Co2+, and Ni2+. This unique molecular structure combines inherently fluorescent conjugated polymers with a low lying electronic state formed upon binding between transition metal ions and terpyridine receptors on the polymer. The result is a dramatic fluorescence quenching response of the conjugated polymer. Fluorescence quenching measurements demonstrate quenching rate constants of 10-9 M-1s-1 and as much as 5 percent quenching of the emission at concentrations of 4 X 10-9 M in organic solution. The enhanced sensitivity of these structures is explained based on facile energy migration through the conjugated polymer system to any of the pendant excitation trapping sites. Thin films of these materials demonstrate further enhanced quenching efficiencies as well as moderate reversibility.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Integrins as receptors for laminins

Laminins are a family of trimeric glycoproteins present in the extracellular matrix and the major constituents of basement membranes. Integrins are alpha beta transmembrane receptors that play critical roles in both cell-matrix and cell-cell adhesion. Several members of the integrin family, including alpha 1 beta 1, alpha 2 beta 1, alpha 3 beta 1, alpha 6 beta 1, alpha 7 beta 1 and alpha 6 beta 4 heterodimers serve as laminin receptors on a variety of cell types. This review summarizes recent advances in understanding the involvement of individual integrins in cell interactions with laminins and the roles of laminin-binding integrins in adhesion-mediated events in vertebrates, including embryonic development, cell migration and tumor cell invasiveness, cell proliferation and differentiation, as well as basement membrane assembly. We discuss the regulation of integrin function via alternative splicing of cytoplasmic domains of alpha and beta subunits of the integrin receptors for laminins and present examples of functional collaboration between laminin-binding integrins and non-integrin laminin receptors. Advances in our understanding of the laminin-binding integrins continue to demonstrate the essential roles these receptors play in maintaining cell polarity and tissue architecture.
Lipoprotein cofactors located in the outer membrane activate bacterial cell wall polymerases

Most bacteria surround themselves with a peptidoglycan (PG) exoskeleton synthesized by polysaccharide polymerases called penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs). Because they are the targets of penicillin and related antibiotics, the structure and biochemical functions of the PBPs have been extensively studied. Despite this, we still know surprisingly little about how these enzymes build the PG layer in vivo. Here, we identify the Escherichia coli outer-membrane lipoproteins LpoA and LpoB as essential PBP cofactors. We show that LpoA and LpoB form specific trans-envelope complexes with their cognate PBP and are critical for PBP function in vivo. We further show that LpoB promotes PG synthesis by its partner PBP in vitro and that it likely does so by stimulating glycan chain polymerization. Overall, our results indicate that PBP accessory proteins play a central role in PG biogenesis, and like the PBPs they work with, these factors are attractive targets for antibiotic development.
Perioperative Heat Balance

Daniel 1. Sessler, M. D. * ANESTHESIA and surgery commonly cause substantial thermal perturbations. Hypothermia, the typical alteration, results from a combination of anesthetic-induced impairment of thermoregulatory control, a cool operating room environment, and factors unique to surgery that promote excessive heat loss. Available data suggest that inhibition of normal thermoregulatory defenses contributes more to hypothermia than does cold exposure per se. Furthermore, much core hypothermia results from altered distribution of body heat rather than from a systemic imbalance between metabolic heat production and heat loss.
A Method for Deembedding Mixed-Mode Power and Reflection Coefficient Measurements

The required S-parameter matrix formulations for deembedding single-ended measurement data to a mixed-mode device-under-test (DUT) measurement plane are presented. The necessary matrix equations for use with measured data given for components having a combination of single-ended as well as mixed-mode ports, and an example procedure for obtaining the matrices is given. The intended corrections presented in this work are for differential power and reflection coefficient measurements made at single-ended reference planes.
Detecting kinetic occlusion

Visual motion boundaries provide a powerful cue for the perceptual organization of scenes. Motion boundaries are present when surfaces in motion occlude one another. Conventional approaches to motion analysis have relied on assumptions of data conservation and smoothness, which has made analysis of motion boundaries difficult. We show that a common source of motion boundary, kinetic occlusion, can be detected using spatiotemporal junction analysis. Junction analysis is accomplished by utilizing distributed representations of motion used in models of human visual motion sensing. By detecting changes in the direction of motion in these representations, spatiotemporal junctions are detected in a manner which differentiates accretion from deletion. We demonstrate successful occlusion detection on spatiotemporal imagery containing occluding surfaces in motion. >
The functional and prognostic implications of regulatory T cells in colorectal carcinoma

One of the cornerstones for the immune system is the discovery of T-regulatory cells (Treg), which play an essential role in maintaining self regulation of the immune response to foreign threats. However, they may also interfere with the immune response to tumoral cells, for which reason much effort has been put into characterizing the molecular makeup of this T cell population. It has been shown that Tregs are increased in the peripheral blood of patients with many cancer types, and also enriched in the tumor sites. However, the significance of this phenomenon on prognosis is controversial, especially in colorectal carcinoma, one of the most common cancers worldwide and a major cause of cancer-related death. This literature review focuses on characterization of the Treg cells in colorectal cancer patients and its implications on the prognosis of this disease. In the end, the potential therapeutic strategies aimed at Treg modification are discussed.
Sugar and Nonvolatile Acid Composition of Persimmons During Maturation

Sugars and nonvolatile acids of Japanese persimmons were identified and quantitated by GLC as oxime-TMS derivatives. Sugars quantitated were arabinose, galactose, glucose, fructose and sucrose. Fructose, glucose and sucrose were predominant and present in all cultivars from mature green to fully ripe. Quantities of all sugars varied significantly by cultivar and maturity. Nonvolatile acids quantitated were succinic, malic, citric, and quinic. Malic was the predominant acid in all cultivars followed by citric. Quantities of malic increased with maturity; citric decreased. Sorbitol and inositol were present in minor quantities and varied significantly by cultivar and maturity stage.
β-Lactam antibiotic produces a sustained reduction in extracellular glutamate in the nucleus accumbens of rats

We investigated the short- and long-term effects of ceftriaxone on glutamate transporter subtype 1 (GLT-1) transporter activity and extracellular glutamate in the rat nucleus accumbens. Repeated ceftriaxone administration (50, 100 or 200 mg/kg, i.p.) produced a dose-dependent reduction in glutamate levels that persisted for 20 days following discontinuation of drug exposure. The ceftriaxone effect was prevented by the GLT-1 transporter inhibitor dihydrokainate (1 μM, intra-accumbal). These results suggest that β-lactam antibiotics produce an enduring reduction in glutamatergic transmission in the brain reward center.
Flavor symmetry for strong phases and determination of βs,ΔΓ in Bs→J/ψϕ

Abstract Studies of angular and time distributions and CP-violating observables in B s → J / ψ ϕ decays yield a space of parameters which can be considerably reduced if relative strong phases among different amplitudes are specified. We show that the relations between B s → J / ψ ϕ and B 0 → J / ψ K ∗ 0 amplitudes given by flavor symmetry [actually U(3) rather than SU(3)] are likely to be quite reliable, and hence the use of strong phases from B 0 → J / ψ K ∗ 0 in the analysis of B s → J / ψ ϕ is justified. We point out the potential advantage of using helicity angles over transversity angles, and comment on a way to measure a sizable CP-violating phase independent of strong phases.
Adjacent-channel inhibition in acoustic onset detection

Simple acoustic onset detectors respond to sudden changes in energy levels. Unfortunately, they respond to frequency modulation as well as to amplitude modulation, and have high false-alarm rates in the presence of siren or chirp signals. The authors show how adjacent-channel inhibition can be used to greatly reduce the false-alarm rate. An LMS procedure is used to obtain optimal inhibitory weights. Computer simulations reveal how the response to chirps varies with the rate of change of instantaneous frequency. >
Demonstration and Analysis of Asynchronous and Survivable Optical CDMA Ring Networks

We propose an incoherent optical code-division multiple access (CDMA) ring network configured such that each node in the network includes all-optical add/drop multiplexers to provide truly asynchronous operation and a self-healing protection monitoring circuit to ensure service availability during link failure. We also analyze the performance of such a network considering the presence of multiple-access interference and noise from incomplete dropping of the desired data and accidental dropping of the undesired data. Furthermore, we experimentally demonstrate the proposed design with a two-node system operating at 2.5 Gbits/s. Error-free transmission is obtained and a 5.3 dB power penalty at a bit error rate of 10−9 is measured for the worst connection configuration. The complete optical CDMA ring network is successfully demonstrated in truly asynchronous operation.
Taming complexity in high-perforrmance computing

Abstract Today’s high-performance computing environments, and the applications that must exploit them, have become much more complex than ever. We now build ensembles of large, shared-memory parallel computers, linked together with high-speed networks, in an attempt to achieve previously unheard-of speeds and still retain a ‘general-purpose’ capability for running diverse applications. Demands for greater precision and realism in today’s computer simulations of physical phenomena tax the imagination of the most aggressive system designers. Enhancing the accuracy of tomorrow’s simulations requires simultaneously accounting for more physical, chemical and biological components. Predictive simulation is essential for making informed, science-based decisions on questions of national importance, including stockpile stewardship, global climate change, wild-fires, earthquakes and epidemics. These applications are too massive and inter-related to be built, verified, tuned and maintained by conventional methods. Software teams in the Advanced Computing Laboratory (ACL) at Los Alamos National Laboratory, along with collaborators world-wide, are building an integrated software infrastructure for scientific simulation development. This paper describes the ACL projects now underway in object-oriented frameworks, scalable run-time software, scientific visualization, software component architecture, and high-end and experimental computer systems. We include achieved results and the status of projects.