cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multiple Model Predictive Control Strategy for Disturbance Rejection

Classical model-based control strategies assume a single disturbance model. In practice, the type of disturbance is often unknown or can change with time or multiple different disturbance types can occur simultaneously. In this paper, a multiple model predictive control strategy is developed to handle different disturbances, including multiple disturbances occurring simultaneously. A detailed discussion of disturbance model bank generation, state estimation, and disturbance model weighting is provided, and an unconstrained multiple model predictive control solution is formulated. Simulation results demonstrate successful estimation and control of single and multiple simultaneous disturbances.
Hypoxia and oxygen dependence of cytotoxicity in renal proximal tubular and distal tubular cells.

Ischemia and hypoxia are major causes of renal failure and altered oxygen supply may affect renal responses to toxic chemicals. In vitro experiments were designed to evaluate the susceptibility of isolated proximal tubular (PT) and distal tubular (DT) cells from rat kidney to brief periods of oxygen deprivation and to assess how variations in oxygen supply affect chemical-induced cytotoxicity. Isolated cells were incubated for 1 hr in either oxygen (95% O2/5% CO2), air (21% O2), or nitrogen (95% N2/5% CO2) atmosphere. PT cells exhibited no injury due to brief oxygen deprivation whereas DT cells exhibited moderate, but significant injury, indicating that DT cells are more susceptible than PT cells to hypoxic injury. The cytotoxicity of chemicals that alter cellular redox status [i.e. tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBH), menadione, methyl vinyl ketone] and the cytotoxicity of "chemical hypoxia" [i.e. KCN + iodoacetic acid] were greatest in air, intermediate in oxygen, and lowest in nitrogen. In contrast, the cytotoxicity of the alkylating agent N-dimethylnitrosamine was independent of oxygen concentration and the cytotoxicity of p-aminophenol was related directly to oxygen concentration. The mechanism of the oxygen dependence of chemical injury was investigated further, employing tBH as a model toxicant. tBH metabolism was oxygen independent in both PT and DT cells. Depletion of cellular protein sulfhydryl groups by tBH increased with increasing oxygen concentration and lipid peroxidation due to tBH was inhibited in nitrogen but was not different in air as compared with oxygen. Although these processes may contribute to the much lower toxicity in nitrogen as compared with oxygen, it does not explain the higher toxicity in air as compared with that in oxygen. Other processes that predominate at lower oxygen concentrations but that only produce injury if enough oxygen is present are likely to be responsible for the enhanced susceptibility of both PT and DT cells to oxidants in air as compared with oxygen.
How Taiwan Weathered the Asian Financial Crisis

This paper attempts to explain why Taiwan was able to cope with the East Asian financial crisis more successfully than other economies in East Asia. It pinpoints Taiwan's competitive industrial sector as the most likely relevant underlying factor. It also shows that while sound macroeconomic policy and prudent financial policy all contributed to allowing Taiwan to avert the crisis, an effective industrial policy that fostered industrial restructuring, strengthened industrial competitiveness, as well as helped to restore macroeconomic equilibrium, was the most instrumental factor.
Effects of task incentive on cardiovascular response in type A and type B individuals.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the interaction of task incentive and the Type A behavior pattern in determining psychomotor performance and psychophysiological responses during a verbal problem solving task. Twenty-four Type A and 17 Type B subjects as determined by the structured interview were randomly assigned to a Monetary Incentive condition or a Non-incentive Control condition. Results indicated that the presence or absence of explicit incentives affected task performance for Type As but not for Type Bs. Type As gave more responses more quickly when offered monetary reward. In contrast, the effects of incentive on cardiovascular responses were observed in Type B subjects but not Type As. Type As showed increased systolic blood pressure and heart rate and skeletal muscle vasodilatation in both conditions, while Type Bs showed increased heart rate and systolic blood pressure only when incentives were offered. Type Bs in the Control condition did not change significantly from baseline and actually tended to respond with a deceleration of heart rate and skeletal muscle vasoconstriction. The results are discussed in terms of the need to consider both the interaction of Type A with the nature of the task and the pattern of cardiovascular responses in future studies of psychophysiologic differences between Type A and Type B individuals.
Stochastic treatment of cooperative specific adsorption.

A stochastic treatment of cooperative specific adsorption of ions at a linear chain of discrete sites leads to a set of differential equations for the various probabilities involved in which the coefficients are determined by nearest neighbor interactions and relative adsorption specificities of the ions for the sites. It is shown that the cooperative specific adsorption isotherm derived earlier on the basis of statistical mechanics for essentially a very large number of sites can be obtained with maximum deviations of only three per cent with this approach by considering only five sites.
Reforming the Public Distribution System: Lessons from Chhattisgarh

Reforms to the public distribution system in Chhattisgarh that focused on extending coverage, improving delivery and increasing transparency have led to its remarkable revival. An overwhelming majority of the beneficiaries are now satisfied with the way their ration shops function and are firmly against the proposal of cash transfers. This article presents the findings of a team that visited 12 randomly selected villages in Mahasamund and Sarguja districts of Chhattisgarh as part of the PDS Survey 2011.
Vibrational Contribution to Thermal Conductivity of Silicon Near Solid-Liquid Transition

Although thermal transport in silicon is dominated by phonons in the solid state, electrons also participate as the system approaches, and exceeds, its melting point. Thus, the contribution from both phonons and electrons must be considered in any model for the thermal conductivity, k, of silicon near the melting point. In this paper, equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations measure the vibration mediated thermal conductivity in Stillinger-Weber silicon at temperatures ranging from 1400 to 2000 K — encompassing the solid-liquid phase transition. Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics is also employed as a confirmatory study. The electron contribution may then be estimated by comparing these results to experimental measurements of k. The resulting relationship may provide a guide for the modeling of heat transport under conditions realized in high temperature applications, such as laser irradiation or rapid thermal processing of silicon substrates.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Enabling broadcast of user-generated live video without servers

We are witnessing the unprecedented popularity of User-Generated-Content (UGC) on the Internet. While YouTube hosts pre-recorded video clips, in near future, we expect to see the emergence of User-Generated Live Video, for which any user can create its own temporary live video channel from a webcam or a hand-held wireless device. Hosting a large number of UG live channels on commercial servers can be very expensive. Server-based solutions also involve various economic, copyright and content control issues between users and the companies hosting their content. In this paper, leveraging on the recent success of P2P video streaming, we study the strategies for end users to directly broadcast their own live channels to a large number of audiences without resorting to any server support. The key challenge is that end users are normally bandwidth constrained and can barely send out one complete video stream to the rest of the world. Existing P2P streaming solutions cannot maintain a high level of user Quality-of-Experience (QoE) with such a highly constrained video source. We propose a novel Layered P2P Streaming (LPS) architecture, to address this challenge. LPS introduces playback delay differentiation and constructs virtual servers out of peers to boost end users’ capability of driving large-scale video streaming. Through detailed packet-level simulations and PlanetLab experiments, we show that LPS enables a source with upload bandwidth slightly higher than the video streaming rate to stream video to tens of thousands of peers with premium quality of experience.
Similarity of the Relations between Marital Status and Subjective Well-Being Across Cultures

In a sample of 59,169 persons in 42 nations, relations between marital status and subjective well-being were found to be very similar across the world. Although cultural variables were found to alter the size of certain relations between marital status and subjective well-being, the effect sizes were very small. Specifically, in terms of life satisfaction, the benefit of marriage over cohabitation was greater in collectivist than in individualist nations. In terms of positive emotions, the benefit of being married over being divorced or separated was smaller in collectivist than in individualist nations. In addition, in terms of negative emotions, the benefit of being married over being divorced or separated was smaller in nations with a high tolerance for divorce. Finally, the relations between marital status, culture, and subjective well-being did not differ by gender. Because of the small size of the effects of the cultural variables, the authors concluded that the relations between marital status and subjective well-being are very similar across the world.
Flow Boiling Heat Transfer and Two-Phase Flow Instability of Nanofluids in a Minichannel

Single-phase convective heat transfer of nanofluids has been studied extensively, and different degrees of enhancement were observed over the base fluids, whereas there is still debate on the improvement in overall thermal performance when both heat transfer and hydrodynamic characteristics are considered. Meanwhile, very few studies have been devoted to investigating two-phase heat transfer of nanofluids, and it remains inconclusive whether the same pessimistic outlook should be expected. In this work, an experimental study of forced convective flow boiling and two-phase flow was conducted for Al2O3–water nanofluids through a minichannel. General flow boiling heat transfer characteristics were measured, and the effects of nanofluids on the onset of nucleate boiling (ONB) were studied. Two-phase flow instabilities were also explored with an emphasis on the transition boundaries of onset of flow instabilities (OFI). It was found that the presence of nanoparticles delays ONB and suppresses OFI, and the extent is correlated to the nanoparticle volume concentration. These effects were attributed to the changes in available nucleation sites and surface wettability as well as thinning of thermal boundary layers in nanofluid flow. Additionally, it was observed that the pressure-drop type flow instability prevails in two-phase flow of nanofluids, but with reduced amplitude in pressure, temperature, and mass flux oscillations. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4029647]
Identity, Structure, and Causal Representation in Scientific Models

Recent debates over the nature of causation, casual inference, and the uses of causal models in counterfactual analysis, involving inter alia Nancy Cartwright (Hunting Causes and Using Them), James Woodward (Making Things Happen), and Judea Pearl (Causation), hinge on how causality is represented in models. Economists’ indigenous approach to causal representation goes back to the work of Herbert Simon with the Cowles Commission in the early 1950s. The paper explicates a scheme for the representation of causal structure, inspired by Simon, and shows how this representation sheds light on some important debates in the philosophy of causation. This structural account is compared to Woodward’s manipulability account. It is used to evaluate the recent debates – particularly, with respect to the nature of causal structure, the identity of causes, causal independence, and modularity. Special attention is given to modeling issues that arise in empirical economics.
Failure of the hypothalamic noradrenergic system to function in adult androgen-sterilized rats.

We have examined norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) initial concentrations, rate constants and turnover rates in microdissected regions of the hypothalamus and gonadotropin release in ovariectomized (OVX)estrogen-treated adult control and androgen-sterilized rats (ASR) (50 micrograms testosterone propionate at 5 days of age). When Silastic capsules containing estradiol (E2) were implanted one week after ovariectomy (Day 0) in control rats, afternoon luteinizing hormone (LH) surges occurred on Days 3 and 4. When 2 progesterone (P) silastic capsules were placed s.c. on Day 3 at 0900 h into E2-primed ovariectomized controls, the afternoon LH plasma surge concentrations were markedly amplified. In contrast, identical E2 or E2P treatment of adult ovariectomized ASR had no effect on plasma LH on either Days 3 or 4 after E2 capsule placement. Serum concentration differences of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (Prl), E2 and P between control rats and ASR and the effects of E2 treatment on these hormone levels also were recorded. In E2-treated ASR, initial steady state concentrations of NE were significantly less than in controls in all brain regions examined. NE turnover rates increased significantly in E2-treated controls at 1500-1700 h compared to those at 1000-1200 h in median eminence (ME), medial preoptic nucleus (MPN), suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) but not in arcuate nucleus (AN). No increase in NE turnover rates occurred in MPN and ME and only slight increases in turnovers were observed in SCN and AN in E2-treated ASR during the afternoon. DA turnover rates declined between morning and afternoon in ME of control and ASR. In control rats, DA turnover rates increased during the afternoon in AN and MPN but remained unchanged in these same hypothalamic regions in ASR. A considerable amount of previous evidence suggests that NE may be the neural trigger which evokes the release of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) from ME axon terminals in normal proestrous or in E2-treated ovariectomized rats. The failure of NE to be released into the MPN and ME of ASR may account for the failure of estradiol to induce LH surges in these animals.
Influence of navigational lock and dam structures on adjacent fish communities in a major river system

We assessed the effects of a series of navigational lock and dam (L/D) structures on the composition of their adjacent fish communities. The Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers of southwestern Pennsylvania contain 14 lock and dam installations, eight and six respectively, which transform their river corridors into a series of contiguous pools. We selected two targeted fish assemblages, large-bodied fishes (>250 mm TL) susceptible to gill-netting and small-bodied benthic species captured by trawling, for assessment upstream and downstream of each L/D installation. Gill nets were fished for approximately 16 h/net, while trawls were performed across three parallel 2-min hauls. A total of 56 samples were collected over the spring/summers, 2004–2008. Species richness, abundance and the Jaccard Coefficient of Community Similarity (JCS) were calculated for each targeted fish community. Small-bodied species, particularly darters, were depauperate upstream L/D while abundant and diverse downstream L/D on the Allegheny River. However, Monongahela River upstream and downstream L/D communities were similar. Jaccard Coefficient of Similarity values were comparable for both targeted fish assemblages on the Monongahela River, but differed markedly among Allegheny sites. While JCS values of large-bodied fish assemblages of both rivers were strongly correlated with lockage frequency, this pattern was not replicated among small-bodied assemblages. The near doubling of yearly lockages on the Monongahela River compared with the Allegheny may account for the similarity of its upstream and downstream ichthyofauna. Serial L/D navigational facilities on a large river may alter biotic connectivity patterns through physical isolation of adjacent fish communities. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Gender Differences in Work Satisfaction, Work-Related Rewards and Values, and the Determinants of Work Satisfaction

This study investigates possible gender-related differences in perceptions of work rewards, work values, overall work satisfaction, and the determinants of work satisfaction. Data from 1385 workers representing a variety of occupations are analyzed. Basically, the analysis identifies a number of similarities as well as differences between male and female workers regarding their perceptions and attitudes about work. Additionally, two explanations of the gender-work satisfaction relationship are examined. They are the expectancy and value explanations. The available data provides conditional support for the value explanation. The implications of these findings are subsequently discussed.
Key management for decentralized computer network services

The authors propose an efficient scheme for key management, incorporating smart card technology and the master key concept, for both users and providers in multiservice environments over a large-scale network. This scheme has the following features. Every service can handle its own authentication and administration. Every user has a smart card with a single master key. The service keys can be regenerated within the card in a very secure manner. Users can also update their master keys by themselves without third-party intervention. As there is no need for storing any user password in the service center (except, perhaps, for a user PIN number), security is greatly enhanced. >
Mitotic Kinases and p53 Signaling

Mitosis is tightly regulated and any errors in this process often lead to aneuploidy, genomic instability, and tumorigenesis. Deregulation of mitotic kinases is significantly associated with improper cell division and aneuploidy. Because of their importance during mitosis and the relevance to cancer, mitotic kinase signaling has been extensively studied over the past few decades and, as a result, several mitotic kinase inhibitors have been developed. Despite promising preclinical results, targeting mitotic kinases for cancer therapy faces numerous challenges, including safety and patient selection issues. Therefore, there is an urgent need to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying mitotic kinase signaling and its interactive network. Increasing evidence suggests that tumor suppressor p53 functions at the center of the mitotic kinase signaling network. In response to mitotic spindle damage, multiple mitotic kinases phosphorylate p53 to either activate or deactivate p53-mediated signaling. p53 can also regulate the expression and function of mitotic kinases, suggesting the existence of a network of mutual regulation, which can be positive or negative, between mitotic kinases and p53 signaling. Therefore, deciphering this regulatory network will provide knowledge to overcome current limitations of targeting mitotic kinases and further improve the results of targeted therapy.
Effect of elbow position on grip strength in the evaluation of lateral epicondylitis.

Purpose This study evaluated the maximum grip strength in a position of elbow extension versus flexion as a diagnostic tool in the assessment of a patient with suspected lateral epicondylitis (LE). Methods From our database we identified 81 patients with grip strength measurements and the diagnosis of LE. From these patient records we collected grip strength measurements with the elbow in full extension and with the elbow in 90° of flexion for the affected and the healthy extremity. We then compared 2 values: the pretreatment grip strength in flexion and extension for the affected extremity and the pretreatment grip strengths of the nonaffected extremity compared with the affected extremity. Grip strengths were compared with paired and unpaired 2-tailed t tests. Results Grip strength was no different in flexion and extension for the healthy extremity and 29% stronger in flexion than in extension for the affected extremity. The affected arm averaged 50% of the strength of the healthy arm in extension and 69% of the strength of the healthy arm in flexion. These differences were statistically significant. An 8% difference in grip strength between flexion and extension was found to be 83% accurate in distinguishing the affected from the unaffected extremities. Conclusions The measurement of extension grip strength is a useful objective tool to aid in the diagnosis of LE. In patients with LE, the grip strength decreases as one moves from a position of flexion to a position of extension. Type of study/level of evidence Diagnostic III.
Arterial Destiffening With Atorvastatin in Overweight and Obese Middle-Aged and Older Adults

We hypothesized that atorvastatin (ATOR) treatment would reduce arterial stiffness in overweight and obese middle-aged and older adults. Twenty-six (11 men and 15 women) overweight or obese (body mass index: 31.6+/-0.7 kg/m(2)) middle-aged and older adults (age: 54+/-2 years) were randomly assigned to receive either ATOR (80 mg/d) or placebo for 12 weeks. Arterial stiffness (beta-stiffness and pulse wave velocity) was measured before and after the intervention. At baseline, the ATOR (n=16) and placebo (n=10) groups did not differ with respect to age, body mass index, blood pressure, serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, indices of arterial stiffness, or compliance (all P>0.05). After the 12-week treatment period, the ATOR group experienced a 47% reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (149+/-6 to 80+/-8 mg/dL) and a 42% reduction in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (3.6+/-0.8 to 2.1+/-0.5 mg/L; both P 0.05) in the placebo group. There were no relations between the reductions in arterial stiffness indices and any of the baseline cardiometabolic risk factors (all P>0.05). However, the reductions in arterial stiffness were correlated with the reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol but not high-sensitivity C-reactive protein or any other cardiometabolic variables (all P<0.05). Taken together, these findings suggest that ATOR reduces arterial stiffness in overweight and obese middle-aged and older adults, and these favorable changes occur irrespective of baseline cardiometabolic risk factors.
Between a rock and a hard place: evaluating the relative risks of inbreeding and outbreeding for conservation and management

As populations become increasingly fragmented, managers are often faced with the dilemma that intentional hybridization might save a population from inbreeding depression but it might also induce outbreeding depression. While empirical evidence for inbreeding depression is vastly greater than that for outbreeding depression, the available data suggest that risks of outbreeding, particularly in the second generation, are on par with the risks of inbreeding. Predicting the relative risks in any particular situation is complicated by variation among taxa, characters being measured, level of divergence between hybridizing populations, mating history, environmental conditions and the potential for inbreeding and outbreeding effects to be occurring simultaneously. Further work on consequences of interpopulation hybridization is sorely needed with particular emphasis on the taxonomic scope, the duration of fitness problems and the joint effects of inbreeding and outbreeding. Meanwhile, managers can minimize the risks of both inbreeding and outbreeding by using intentional hybridization only for populations clearly suffering from inbreeding depression, maximizing the genetic and adaptive similarity between populations, and testing the effects of hybridization for at least two generations whenever possible.
Edaphic Ecology and Genetics of the Gabbro-Endemic Shrub Ceanothus roderickii (Rhamnaceae)

Abstract Edaphic-endemic plant taxa are often interpreted as recently derived entities that evolved in situ, with genetic divergence driven by substrate specialization. However, little is known about the evolution of specific edaphic-endemic taxa, particularly the role that soil conditions may play in their initial divergence and continued persistence. Our study focuses on Ceanothus roderickii, a strict specialist on soils derived from a single outcrop of the geological material gabbro located in south-western El Dorado County, California. In order to elucidate the evolutionary history of C. roderickii we sequenced the third intron of the low-copy nuclear gene nitrate reductase (NIA) for individuals representing four populations of C. roderickii and a wide taxonomic and geographic sampling of closely related plants, including 37 populations of Ceanothus cuneatus and a single representative from 16 other taxa. Analysis of NIA shows that C. roderickii is closely related to C. cuneatus var. cuneatus, a widel...
Robo4 is a vascular-specific receptor that inhibits endothelial migration

Guidance and patterning of axons are orchestrated by cell-surface receptors and ligands that provide directional cues. Interactions between the Robo receptor and Slit ligand families of proteins initiate signaling cascades that repel axonal outgrowth. Although the vascular and nervous systems grow as parallel networks, the mechanisms by which the vascular endothelial cells are guided to their appropriate positions remain obscure. We have identified a putative Robo homologue, Robo4, based on its differential expression in mutant mice with defects in vascular sprouting. In contrast to known neuronal Robo family members, the arrangement of the extracellular domains of Robo4 diverges significantly from that of all other Robo family members. Moreover, Robo4 is specifically expressed in the vascular endothelium during murine embryonic development. We show that Robo4 binds Slit and inhibits cellular migration in a heterologous expression system, analogous to the role of known Robo receptors in the nervous system. Immunoprecipitation studies indicate that Robo4 binds to Mena, a known effector of Robo-Slit signaling. Finally, we show that Robo4 is the only Robo family member expressed in primary endothelial cells and that application of Slit inhibits their migration. These data demonstrate that Robo4 is a bona fide member of the Robo family and may provide a repulsive cue to migrating endothelial cells during vascular development.
Fuzzy Admissions Model

Some have criticized the SAT based on its inability to predict success of freshman performance, as measured by freshman grade point average. Contrary to this view, this paper shows that the inability of SAT data alone to predict freshman performance as measured by freshman grade point average might be the result of the efficient use of the SAT data to place entering students in the appropriate freshman level mathematics and English courses. This paper also suggests that a nonlinear predictive model based on fuzzy logic techniques might be more accurate than the linear regression model used as the basis of the criticism.
Mutant PrPSc Conformers Induced by a Synthetic Peptide and Several Prion Strains

Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease is a dominantly inherited, human prion disease caused by a mutation in the prion protein (PrP) gene. One mutation causing GSS is P102L, denoted P101L in mouse PrP (MoPrP). In a line of transgenic mice denoted Tg2866, the P101L mutation in MoPrP produced neurodegen- eration when expressed at high levels. MoPrP Sc (P101L) was detected both by the conformation-dependent immunoassay and after protease digestion at 4°C. Transmission of prions from the brains of Tg2866 mice to those of Tg196 mice expressing low levels of MoPrP(P101L) was accompanied by accumulation of protease- resistant MoPrP Sc (P101L) that had previously escaped detection due to its low concentration. This conformer exhibited characteristics similar to those found in brain tissue from GSS patients. Earlier, we demonstrated that a synthetic peptide harboring the P101L mutation and folded into a -rich conformation initiates GSS in Tg196 mice (29). Here we report that this peptide-induced disease can be serially passaged in Tg196 mice and that the PrP conformers accompanying disease progression are conformationally indistinguishable from MoPrP Sc (P101L) found in Tg2866 mice developing spontaneous prion disease. In contrast to GSS prions, the 301V, RML, and 139A prion strains produced large amounts of protease-resistant PrP Sc in the brains of Tg196 mice. Our results argue that MoPrP Sc (P101L) may exist in at least several different conformations, each of which is biologically active. Such conformations occurred spontaneously in Tg2866 mice expressing high levels of MoPrP C (P101L) as well as in Tg196 mice expressing low levels of MoPrP C (P101L) that were inoculated with brain extracts from ill Tg2866 mice, with a synthetic peptide with the P101L mutation and folded into a -rich structure, or with prions recovered from sheep with scrapie or cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Anatomy and Transpiration of the Avocado Inflorescence

Abstract Structure and function of the inflorescence of cv. 'Hass' and 'Fuerte' avocado ( Persea americana Mill.) were examined by scanning electron microcopy (SEM) and by porometry. Sepals and petals could not be distinguished by their position in the flower, by visual gross morphology or by microscopic surface structure and were hence designated as tepals. These tepals were arranged in two whorls of three, followed by two whorls of three outer and three inner stamens, each opposite a tepal. The most conspicuous feature of tepals, developing leaves and peduncles was the dense cover of hair which were most frequent on the adaxial tepal surface (925-1200 trichomes mm -2 ), followed by their abaxial surface (625-1000 mm -2 ) and peduncles (375-655 mm -2 ). Stomata were absent from the adaxial surfaces of both tepal and leaves, as well as peduncles. On the tepals, abaxial stomata appeared functional, small (8-9 × 11-13 μm) and scarce with 2·8-3·4 stomata mm -2 , i.e. very low relative to avocado leaves (350-510 stomata mm -2 ) or young fruit (50-75 stomata mm -2 . However, flowers including tepals transpired 1·2-1·3 mmol under field conditions in Southern California (1·6-2 kPa), i.e. in excess of leaves (0·7-1·1 mmol) and peduncles (0·6-0·8 mmolH 2 O m -2 s -1 ). This situation was attributed to the few small but functional abaxial stomata on the tepal, in contrast to 80% closed stomata and dense epicuticular wax cover in form of rodlets on young and dendritic crystals on old leaves including the guard cells, and absence of stomata from the peduncle.
Recognizing text through sound alone

This paper presents an acoustic sound recognizer to recognize what people are writing on a table or wall by utilizing the sound signal information generated from a key, pen, or fingernail moving along a textured surface. Sketching provides a natural modality to interact with text, and sound is an effective modality for distinguishing text. However, limited research has been conducted in this area. Our system uses a dynamic time- warping approach to recognize 26 hand-sketched characters (A-Z) solely through their acoustic signal. Our initial prototype system is user-dependent and relies on fixed stroke ordering. Our algorithm relied mainly on two features: mean amplitude and MFCCs (Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients). Our results showed over 80% recognition accuracy.
Institutional Self-Presentation in a Changing Ideational Context: The World Bank and the UNDP Define Their Roles in Promoting Development

This paper explores how international organizations cope with dynamic issue definitions by examining how the World Bank and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have presented their visions of promoting development in their Annual Reports. These Reports are their primary self-presentations to their various constituencies, and their content permits tracing how the organizations have coped with shifts in predominant ideas about development because each shift has involved a change in vocabulary. While “growth,” “investment,” and “infrastructure” have been constant themes, introduction of phrases like “rural development,” “poverty reduction,” “gender approach,” “human capacity,” “good governance” and “human rights approach” mark the phases of discussion. Thus the paper uses a directed coding of content to track the emergence and persistence or decline of these various words or phrases to track changes in how an organization’s leadership characterizes the organization’s efforts. For the period 1990-2012 the coding reveals a strong similarity in definitions of activities relevant to development, focusing primarily on economic growth and social aspects of development, with less emphasis on environmental aspects or reform of political institutions.Abstract will be provided by author.
How to use Neuroimaging to Study Visual Attention

The last decade has witnessed an explosion in the field of human brain imaging Several methodologies, most notably Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), allow us to image brain activity in vivo during sensory, motor, and cognitive behavior. The combination of brain imaging with task paradigms derived from cognitive psychology and psychophysics represent today one of the most effective ways to correlate in vivo cognition and brain activity (Raichle, 1994).
Detection of metanil yellow contamination in turmeric using FT-Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy

Turmeric is well known for its medicinal value and is often used in Asian cuisine. Economically motivated contamination of turmeric by chemicals such as metanil yellow has been repeatedly reported. Although traditional technologies can detect such contaminants in food, high operational costs and operational complexities have limited their use to the laboratory. This study used Fourier Transform Raman Spectroscopy (FT-Raman) and Fourier Transform - Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) to identify metanil yellow contamination in turmeric powder. Mixtures of metanil yellow in turmeric were prepared at concentrations of 30%, 25%, 20%, 15%, 10%, 5%, 1% and 0.01% (w/w). The FT-Raman and FT-IR spectral signal of pure turmeric powder, pure metanil yellow powder and the 8 sample mixtures were obtained and analyzed independently to identify metanil yellow contamination in turmeric. The results show that FT-Raman spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy can detect metanil yellow mixed with turmeric at concentrations as low as 1% and 5%, respectively, and may be useful for non-destructive detection of adulterated turmeric powder.
Generalized Attracting Horseshoes and Chaotic Strange Attractors

A generalized attracting horseshoe is introduced as a new paradigm for describing chaotic strange attractors (of arbitrary finite rank) for smooth and piecewise smooth maps f from Q to Q, where Q is a homeomorph of the unit interval in real m-space for any integer m > 1. The main theorems for generalized attracting horseshoes are shown to apply to Henon and Lozi maps, thereby leading to rather simple new chaotic strange attractor existence proofs that apply to a range of parameter values that includes those of earlier proofs.
Investigating Hypoglycemic Confidence in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract Background: While research designed to understand the concerns about hypoglycemia among patients with diabetes has been primarily focused on the investigation of fear and anxiety, recent evidence suggests a potentially important and conceptually distinct element—hypoglycemic confidence. To investigate this dimension, we developed the Hypoglycemic Confidence Scale (HCS); herein, we describe the construction and validation of the HCS and examine how key patient factors are associated with hypoglycemic confidence. Methods: Items were developed from interviews with six type 1 diabetes (T1D) adults, six insulin-using type 2 diabetes (T2D) adults, and seven diabetes healthcare professionals, resulting in nine self-report items. Separate exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) were conducted with T1D adults (N = 326), with T2D adults using both basal and prandial insulins (T2D-BP, N = 145) and with T2D adults using only basal insulin (T2D-BO, N = 82). Construct validity for the HCS was established with overa...
Gauge fields and related forces in antiferromagnetic soliton physics

We derive equations of motion for topological solitons in antiferromagnets under the combined action of perturbations such as an external magnetic field and torque-generating electrical current. Aside from conservative forces, such perturbations generate an effective ``magnetic field'' exerting a gyrotropic force on the soliton and an induced ``electric field'' if the perturbation is time-dependent. We apply the general formalism to the cases of a domain wall and of a vortex. An antiferromagnetic vortex can be effectively moved by combined applications of a magnetic field and an electric current.
Genetic polymorphisms predict response to anti-tumor necrosis factor treatment in Crohn’s disease

Genetic polymorphisms predict response to anti-tumor necrosis factor treatment in Crohn’s disease
Genome-wide profiling of H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 dynamics reveals fundamental epigenetic influences upon CD4 T cell activation (IRC7P.423)

H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 are frequently studied in the context of their association with gene expression, but their cause and effect relationship during CD4 T cell activation has not been determined. Using ChIPseq for H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 alongside RNAseq in naive and memory human CD4 T cells at rest and after activation at 24 hours, 5 days, and 2 weeks, we have defined the roles these modifications are playing throughout the process of activation. Our results demonstrate that promoter H3K4me3 is acting in a feed-forward fashion, where lower expression genes containing H3K4me3 at rest increase expression more rapidly than genes without H3K4me3, and H3K4me3 deposition acts to reinforce increased expression. Conversely, promoters containing H3K27me3 at rest generally show a decrease in expression after activation, particularly in higher expressing genes. However, changes to promoter H3K27me3 after activation act to reinforce basal expression. H3K27me3 demethylation is a prominent finding in both naive and memory cells during activation, and inhibiting this demethylation leads to decreased proliferation, blunted upregulation of IL2RA, and changes to the cell cycle, suggesting H3K27me3 demethylation is integral to achieving full T cell activation. Our results enhance our understanding of the role these histone modifications play during CD4 T cell activation and underscore key differences between naive and memory cells in their activation dynamics.
Strömende Bewegung der Gase

Auf die Stromungsgesetze im allgemeinen soll nur so weit eingetreten werden, als dies fur die Messung der Liefermengen von Kompressoren notwendig ist. Bei dieser Frage sind drei Falle auseinanderzuhalten, die je nach der Grose des Druckunterschiedes vor und nach der Duse verschiedene Losungen erfahren.
Credit Risk Transfer and the Sustainability of Housing Finance

Testimony prepared for “Sustainable Housing Finance: Private Sector Perspectives on Housing Finance Reform - Part IV” on December 6, 2017, before subcommittee on housing and insurance U.S. House of Representatives.
Spatiotemporal changes in the size and shape of heat waves over North America

Heat waves are occurring more frequently across the globe and are likely to increase in intensity and duration under climate change. Much work has already been completed on attributing causes of observed heat waves and on modeling their future occurrence, but such efforts are often lacking in exploration of spatial relationships. Based on principles of landscape ecology, we utilized fragmentation metrics to examine the spatiotemporal changes in heat wave shape and occurrence across North America. This methodological approach enables us to examine area, shape, perimeter, and other key metrics. The application of these shape metrics to high-resolution historical (1950–2013) climate data reveals that the total number and spatial extent of heat waves are increasing over the continent, but at an individual heat wave patch level, they are becoming significantly smaller in extent and more complex in shape, indicating that heat waves have become a more widespread and fragmented phenomena.
Constellation optimization using an evolutionary algorithm with a variable-length chromosome

This work presents a new evolutionary algorithm that searches over the space of satellite constellations to optimize coverage-related metrics (e.g. minimizing average revisit time or maximizing daily visibility time) while simultaneously minimizing the number of satellites and their semi-major axes. It utilizes a variable-length chromosome to represent a satellite constellation, two specialized operators to handle the variable-length chromosomes, and an adaptive operator selector that adjusts the search strategy during the optimization. The proposed chromosome encodes an m satellite constellation with m n-tuples, where each satellite is defined by an n-tuple (e.g. a subset of the orbital elements). Currently, evolutionary algorithms that optimize constellations employ a fixed-length chromosome where either 1) the maximum number of satellites in the constellation is pre-specified and each satellite has an extra Boolean variable that dictates whether to manifest the satellite in the constellation or 2) the algorithm is run several times, each time exploring constellations with a specific number of satellites. The chromosome representation in the former method has low-locality and is redundant, both of which makes the search more difficult for an evolutionary algorithm. The latter method does not take advantage of good partial solutions or schemata discovered for a constellation of a given size that could inform the design of another constellation with a different number of satellites. In contrast, a variable-length chromosome grows and contracts as the algorithm explores constellations with different numbers of satellites and significantly reduces the redundancy in the chromosome representation. The efficacy and efficiency of an optimization run using the proposed variable-length chromosome representation is benchmarked against a fixed-length chromosome on a multiobjective constellation design problem whose goal is to simultaneously minimize the global average revisit time, the number of satellites in the constellation, and the average semi-major axis of the satellites. Results show that the search conducted with the variable-length chromosome reaches a high-quality solution set using thousands of fewer function evaluations than a search with a fixed-length chromosome.
Electronic Structure of Metal Hydrides: A Review of Experimental and Theoretical Progress

In this paper we discuss metal-hydrogen electronic interactions in bulk hydrides by reviewing recent theoretical and experimental results for typical monohydrides (VH, NbH, and TaH), dihydrides (LaH2, PrH2, and NdH2), and trihydrides (LaH3).
Practices and perspectives on building integrated data repositories: results from a 2010 CTSA survey

Clinical integrated data repositories (IDRs) are poised to become a foundational element of biomedical and translational research by providing the coordinated data sources necessary to conduct retrospective analytic research and to identify and recruit prospective research subjects. The Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium's Informatics IDR Group conducted a survey of 2010 consortium members to evaluate recent trends in IDR implementation and use to support research between 2008 and 2010. A web-based survey based in part on a prior 2008 survey was developed and deployed to 46 national CTSA centers. A total of 35 separate organizations completed the survey (74%), representing 28 CTSAs and the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. Survey results suggest that individual organizations are progressing in their approaches to the development, management, and use of IDRs as a means to support a broad array of research. We describe the major trends and emerging practices below.
Education Attainment and Alcohol Binge Drinking: Diminished Returns of Hispanics in Los Angeles

According to the minorities' diminished returns (MDR) theory, socioeconomic status (SES) indicators such as education attainment have smaller protective effects on health risk behaviors for racial and ethnic minority groups in comparison to the 'dominant' social group. However, most studies of MDR theory have been on comparison of Blacks versus Whites. Much less is known about diminished returns of SES in ethnic subpopulations (i.e., Hispanics versus non-Hispanic Whites). To test whether MDR also holds for the social patterning of problematic alcohol use among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Whites, this study investigated ethnic variations in the association between education attainment and alcohol binge drinking frequency in a population-based sample of adults. Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, 2001, included 907 non-Hispanic White and 2117 Hispanic White adults (≥18 years old). Hispanic ethnicity (moderator), education attainment (independent variable), alcohol binge drinking frequency (dependent variable), and gender, age, immigration status, employment status, self-rated health, and history of depression (confounders) were included in four linear regressions. In the overall sample that included both non-Hispanic and Hispanic Whites, higher education attainment was correlated with lower alcohol binge drinking frequency (b = -0.05, 95% CI = -0.09 - -0.02), net of covariates. A significant interaction was found between ethnicity and education attainment (b = 0.09; 95% CI = 0.00⁻0.17), indicating a stronger protective effect of high education attainment against alcohol binge drinking frequency for non-Hispanic than Hispanic Whites. In ethnic-stratified models, higher level of education attainment was associated with lower binge drinking frequency among non-Hispanic Whites (b = -0.11, 95% CI = -0.19 - -0.03), but not among Hispanic Whites (b = -0.01, 95% CI = -0.04 - 0.03). While, overall, higher education attainment is associated with lower frequency of alcohol binge drinking, this protective effect of education attainment seems to be weaker among Hispanic Whites compared to non-Hispanic Whites, a phenomenon consistent with the MDR theory.
Ion multiplexing: Maximizing throughput and signal to noise ratio for ion mobility spectrometry

Abstract When balancing signal to noise ratio and spectral resolving power, drift tube ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) experiments are often conducted with instrumental duty cycles below 1%. Multiplexing techniques, specifically Fourier and Hadamard approaches, represent a considerably different approach to conduct drift tube IMS experiments and realize ion utilization efficiencies approaching 50% without sacrificing separating power. In addition to providing a succinct account of the history of Hadamard and Fourier techniques in IMS, this review outlines, in tractable language, the origins of the signal to noise ratio (SNR) gains observed in multiplexing experiments. A cursory evaluation of the technological maturing of multiplexing approaches applied to IMS suggest that future efforts will enable seamless integration of ion multiplexing technologies especially for hybrid instrumentation. Moreover, as developments associated with state-of-the-art signal processing techniques gain traction within the community, further gains in SNR and resolution are anticipated.