cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Perceptual issues in scientific visualization

In order to develop effective tools for scientific visulaization, consideration must be given to the perceptual competencies, limitations, and biases of the human operator. Perceptual psychology has amassed a rich body of research on these issues and can lend insight to the development of visualization tehcniques. Within a perceptual psychological framework, the computer display screen can best be thought of as a special kind of impoverished visual environemnt. Guidelines can be gleaned from the psychological literature to help visualization tool designers avoid ambiguities and/or illusions in the resulting data displays.
Suppression of the Zero Order Diffracted Beam for Near Field Holographic Projection by Phase Compression

Phase compression technique is demonstrated to be capable of eliminating the near field on-axis zero order diffracted (ZOD) beam. Image quality including diffraction efficiency and root mean square (RMS) error is simulated and discussed.
Enhanced expression of GTP-binding proteins in differentiated U937 monocytic cells: possible involvement of tyrosine kinase and protein kinase C.

Monocytic U937 cells were differentiated into mature macrophages in the presence of 100 nM phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) for 24 h at 37°C. We investigated the alterations in the expression of GTP-binding proteins that take place during differentiation of these cells. A 40 KDa α-subunit of the inhibitory G-protein was identified by specific antibodies to Giα-1/2 and Giα-3 on Western blots and also by ADP-ribosylation catalyzed by pertussis toxin. The expression of the 40 KDa Giα subunit was increased 3.4 fold in differentiated cells. The expression of a 43 kDa Gsα subunit identified by Western blotting using specific antibody to Gsα and by ADP-ribosylation in the presence of cholera toxin was increased approximately 2 fold in differentiated cells. A faintly recognizable 46 KDa Gsα subunit was also increased but to a lesser extent (1.3 fold). Small molecular weight GTP-binding proteins identified by [35S]GTPγS binding on nitrocellulose blots were also increased significantly. The PMA-induced expression of Giα-1/2 and Gsα subunits was blocked to control level by both genistein and staurosporine, inhibitors of protein tyrosine kinase and protein kinase C, respectively. However, staurosporine was unable to block the PMA-induced expression of Giα-3; this was blocked only by genistein. These data suggest a role for tyrosine kinase and protein kinase C in the expression of G-proteins during differentiation of U937 cells.
Quality improvement in hospitals: how much does it reduce healthcare costs?

The philosophy of W.E. Deming suggests that continuous quality improvement efforts, when properly applied, ultimately will lead to financial dividends and will help ensure business longevity. Reducing hospital charges can be exciting for the participants and can provide an impetus for expanding quality improvement efforts. Americans, however, tend to demand almost instant gratification and have limited patience for longer-term results. This factor, coupled with minimal knowledge of actual operational costs and inaccurate charge accounting systems, may lead hospital managers to misinterpret the potential net long-term effects of their quality improvement efforts. In the approaching environment of capitated reimbursement, such mistakes may have serious consequences.
Are injuries correlated? Interpreting the intraclass correlation coefficient

As mentioned by Bangdiwala (2011), in the injury field, interventions are mainly environmental or policy-based, and experimental studies to evaluate them usually require using ‘group randomised’ or...
Interchain Forces in the Lattice Dynamics of Trigonal Se and Te

Valence force field calculations of the lattice dynamics of trigonal Se and Te have not been able not been able to provide a good description of the elastic constants and long wavelength optic modes. We have developed a more complete description of the inter-chain forces that is based on the directional character of these bonds and that considers a competition between the primary intra-chain bonds and the secondary inter-chain bonds. This approaches provides a good description of the phonon description, and accounts for other properties as well, e.g ., the pressure dependence of the Raman modes.
The economics of large-scale infrastructure FDI: The case of project finance

In this paper a theoretical framework is developed to explain why multinational enterprises invest in infrastructure through the mode of project finance (PF) instead of using corporate finance. Infrastructure assets are susceptible to creeping expropriation from host governments, and to hold-up from concentrated suppliers/buyers. Corporate finance-based foreign direct investment (FDI) cannot fully mitigate these threats. However, PF-based FDI through strategic use of capital structure – chiefly high leverage and syndicate structure of debt – improves the bargaining position of firms in ex post recontracting negotiations. High leverage precommits cash flows, serves as a monitoring and early warning mechanism that reveals creeping expropriation, induces lenders to join renegotiations and reduces reported net profits. The syndicate structure of debt creates a reputation effect for host countries. High debt shields wealth from concentrated suppliers/buyers while separate incorporation in PF allows suppliers/buyers to hold equity stakes. This theoretical framework is tested by assembling a database of 200 investments worth $159.97 billion, by 167 firms, in 128 countries over 17 years. Sample selection bias is controlled for through Heckman probit specification. The hypothesis that PF-based FDI helps mitigate hold-up from concentrated suppliers/buyers finds strong support, while the hypothesis that PF mitigates country risk finds limited support.
The juvenile court and the progressives

Today's troubled juvenile court system has its roots in Progressive-era Chicago, a city one observer described as "first in violence" and "deepest in dirt." Examining the vision and methods of the original proponents of the Cook County Juvenile Court, Victoria Getis uncovers the court's intrinsic flaws as well as the sources of its debilitation in our own time. Spearheaded by a group of Chicago women, including Jane Addams, Lucy Flower, and Julia Lathrop, the juvenile court bill was pushed through the legislature by an eclectic coalition of progressive reformers, both women and men. Like many progressive institutions, the court reflected an unswerving faith in the wisdom of the state and in the ability of science to resolve the problems brought on by industrial capitalism. A hybrid institution combining legal and social welfare functions, the court was not intended to punish youthful lawbreakers but rather to provide guardianship for the vulnerable. In this role, the state was permitted great latitude to intervene in families where it detected a lack of adequate care for children. The court also became a living laboratory, as children in the court became the subjects of research by criminologists, statisticians, educators, state officials, economists, and, above all, practitioners of the new disciplines of sociology and psychology. The Chicago reformers had worked for large-scale social change, but the means they adopted eventually gave rise to the social sciences, where objectivity was prized above concrete solutions to social problems, and to professional groups that abandoned goals of structural reform. The Juvenile Court and the Progressives argues persuasively that the current impotence of the juvenile court system stems from contradictions that lie at the very heart of progressivism.
Effects of Preweanling Ethanol Odor Exposure on Ethanol Preference

Preweaning exposure to a foreign odor has been shown to alter later responding to that odor. Early experience with ethanol odor may alter not only responding to ethanol odor, but also intake of ethanol solutions. The present study tested the effects of exposure to ethanol odor prior to weaning on ethanol odor preference and ethanol consumption. Sprague-Dawley-derived rats were exposed to the odor of 100% ethanol from postnatal day 1 to 22 in the home cage. An odor preference test was conducted on postnatal day 14 and a two-bottle ethanol intake test was conducted after weaning. In both odor preference and intake tests, animals previously exposed to ethanol odor exhibited a greater preference for ethanol than controls. The results demonstrate that early experience with the odor of ethanol can increase ingestion of ethanol later in life.
Book review: Inborn metabolic diseases. Diagnosis and treatment (5th edition)

Abstract The text “Inborn Metabolic Diseases (5th edition)”, edited by Saudubray, Van den Bergh, and Walter is one of several survey volumes available to metabolic physicians. The latest edition has numerous incremental and several major improvements including a greater focus on inborn errors of metabolism in adults. Overall, the text remains a must for trainees and experienced practitioners alike.
Blocking β-catenin binding to the ZBP1 promoter represses ZBP1 expression, leading to increased proliferation and migration of metastatic breast-cancer cells

ZBP1 (zipcode-binding protein 1, also known as IMP-1) is an mRNA regulator, functioning in mRNA localization, stability and translational control. ZBP1 is actively expressed during embryogenesis and tumorigenesis, but its expression is repressed in metastatic breast-cancer cell lines and tumors. In this article, we show that downregulation of ZBP1 expression results from its promoter methylation, an epigenetic process that remodels the chromatin structure and frequently represses gene activity. Demethylation of the ZBP1 promoter in metastatic cells reactivated ZBP1 expression, owing to restoration of the interaction of the ZBP1 promoter with β-catenin. Loss of ZBP1 function not only increased growth ability of metastatic cells, but also promoted cell migration. We identified a number of mRNAs that were selectively associated with ZBP1 in breast-cancer cells. Many of these are involved in cell motility and in cell-cycle regulation, and displayed altered expression patterns in the absence of ZBP1. These data suggest that repression of ZBP1 deregulates its associated mRNAs, leading to the phenotypic changes of breast cancers.
A knowledge-centric framework for process redesign

Research in the area of business process redesign has traditionally focused on performance metrics for measuring process change. However, from the perspective of an employee performing the business process, such measurements are inadequate because they fail to account for the knowledge change required for the employee to perform the new process. This paper explores process redesign from a knowledge perspective. We introduce the concept of a knowledge gap when a process is redesigned and, using theories of learning transfer, identify several process knowledge elements. A framework incorporating these knowledge elements can be used to assess knowledge change during process redesign. We illustrate the use of this framework in a case study, the process redesign at Campus Health department of a large public university.
Social registers in chidzero's “Nzvengamutsvairo”

(1973). Social registers in chidzero's “Nzvengamutsvairo”. African Studies: Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 99-112.
Continuing Education in Professional Psychology: Do Ethics Mandates Matter?

Do continuing education (CE) mandates increase participation in ethics programs and enhance their perceived outcomes? In a study of 5,198 North American psychologists, significant differences were found between mandated and nonmandated psychologists in relation to their participation in ethics programs but not in the perceived outcomes associated with those trainings. Although 64.3% of those psychologists operating under ethics mandates reported completing at least one ethics training within the previous year, only 40.7% of those without such mandates reported doing likewise. Overall, both groups tended to view their ethics training quite favorably in relation to its perceived outcomes, though they differed in relation to their endorsement of CE mandates. Results are discussed in relation to the ongoing development of evidence-based CE and its role in developing critical professional competencies.
Evaluation of promotility agents to limit the gut bioavailability of extended-release acetaminophen.

Background: Erythromycin and neostigmine have both been shown to act as gastrointestinal promotility agents. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether either erythromycin or neostigmine, administered parenterally, would result in lower serum levels of a recently ingested drug, when compared with placebo. Methods: Ten volunteers ingested 1300 mg of extended‐release acetaminophen on each of three occasions. They were then given an intravenous dose of erythromycin (200 mg), neostigmine (2 mg), or placebo. Each volunteer received all three treatments in a counterbalanced fashion, each separated from the next by at least two weeks. Blood for serum acetaminophen concentration was drawn at 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 h after treatment, and the serum acetaminophen elimination curves were compared for the three treatments. Results: The elimination phase of the curves did not differ among the treatments as a result of administration of the prokinetic agents. Conclusions: Under the present conditions, admi...
Acetylation of histones associated with the p21WAF1/CIP1 gene by butyrate is not sufficient for p21WAF1/CIP1 gene transcription in human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells

Butyric acid is well recognized as a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, and changes in histone acetylation are thought to alter gene expression. The mechanism by which sodium butyrate (NaB) induces p21WAF1/CIP1, a critical gene involved in the antiproliferative effect of NaB, was studied at the chromatin level. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay, acetylation of histone H3 was observed at the proximal region of the promoter within 30 min of NaB exposure and this extended to the distal region within 2 hr. By contrast, histone H4 was acetylated both at the proximal and the distal regions of the promoter within 30 min. NaB did not influence other histone modifications. NaB stimulated recruitment of the transcription factors ZBP89 and Sp1 as well as GCN5, but did not influence recruitment of Sp3, HDAC1, p300, or CBP. As recruitment of HDAC1 to the promoter appeared not to account for NaB-induced changes in histone acetylation, we aimed to influence HDAC activity by altering its phosphorylation status. The kinase inhibitor, H7, suppressed p21WAF1/CIP1 mRNA in both the absence and the presence of NaB without influencing the butyrate-induced hyperacetylation of H3 and H4 associated with the p21WAF1/CIP1 promoter. These results suggest that acetylation of histones at the p21WAF1/CIP1 promoter is not sufficient for NaB to exert antiproliferative effects via transcription of the p21WAF1/CIP1 gene. Induction of p21WAF1/CIP1 transcription by the phosphatase inhibitor, okadaic acid, in the absence of changes in association of acetylated histones with the p21WAF1/CIP1 promoter provides further evidence of the importance of phosphorylation to p21WAF1/CIP1 transcription.
Sequential decisionmaking with imprecise reward structure

We examine a finite stage, finite state, and finite action dynamic program having a one transition value function and a terminal value function that are affine in an imprecisely known parameter. The special structural characteristics of the one transition value function and the terminal value function have been assumed in order to model parameter imprecision associated with the problem's reward or preference structure. We assume that the parameter of interest has no dynamics, no new information about its value is received once the decision process begins, and its imprecision is described by set inclusion. We seek the set of all parameter independent strategies that are optimal for some value of the imprecisely known parameter. We present a successive approximations procedure for solving this problem.
Central neural responses to restraint stress are altered in rats with an early life history of repeated brief maternal separation

Repeated brief maternal separation (i.e. 15 min daily, MS15) of rat pups during the first one to two postnatal weeks enhances active maternal care received by the pups and attenuates their later behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to stress. In previous work, we found that MS15 also alters the developmental assembly and later structure of central neural circuits that control autonomic outflow to the viscera, suggesting that MS15 may alter central visceral circuit responses to stress. To examine this, juvenile rats with a developmental history of either MS15 or no separation (NS) received microinjection of retrograde neural tracer, FluoroGold (FG), into the hindbrain dorsal vagal complex (DVC). After 1 week, FG-injected rats and surgically intact littermates were exposed to either a 15-min restraint stress or an unrestrained control condition, and then perfused 1 h later. Brain tissue sections from surgically intact littermates were processed for Fos alone or in combination with phenotypic markers to examine stress-induced activation of neurons within the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), and hindbrain DVC. Compared to NS controls, MS15 rats displayed less restraint-induced Fos activation within the dorsolateral BNST (dBNST), the caudal PVN, and noradrenergic neurons within the caudal DVC. To examine whether these differences corresponded with altered neural inputs to the DVC, sections from tracer-injected rats were double-labeled for FG and Fos to quantify retrogradely labeled neurons within hypothalamic and limbic forebrain regions of interest, and the proportion of these neurons activated after restraint. Only the dBNST displayed a significant effect of postnatal experience on restraint-induced Fos activation of DVC-projecting neurons. The distinct regional effects of MS15 on stress-induced recruitment of neurons within hypothalamic, limbic forebrain, and hindbrain regions has interesting implications for understanding how early life experience shapes the functional organization of stress-responsive circuits.
Pragmatism, Neopragmatism, and Phenomenology: The Richard Rorty Phenomenon

Traditionally, the chief function of every civilization has been to orient its members in the world. Time proven ways of getting about and surviving are imparted ritualistically, ways of avoiding confusion, damage, disaster, ways perchance of flourishing. Revolutions of all sorts in the last four hundred years have relentlessly disrupted or destroyed nearly all traditional maps of the world and modes of orientation. The very meaning of “civilization” has become problematical. As has “reason” and “reasonable.” To understand the emergence of pragmatic modes of thinking in the last half of the last century requires an understanding of the ground swell of crisis to which it is a creative response. Also required is a grasp of the connections between pragmatism and phenomenology. I then turn to a current literary phenomenon: Richard Rorty’s so-called neo-pragmatism, and his assiduous avoidance of phenomenology. Finally, a note about the ecological crisis, and how a deeper attunement to the environment calls for a reappropriation of phenomenological impulses in the earlier pragmatism. Every traditional civilization aims to orient its members within their immediate locality. This is true even when interpretations of local things and events are in terms of a “spirit realm” or “alternate reality” ‐ construals fantastic to contemporary North Atlantic ears. Always a modicum of what we would call “common sense” is discernable, e.g., a tree may be experienced as moving under certain conditions and for certain modes of numinous consciousness, but it is justthat tree, the one that is always found in the work-a-day-world forty paces in front of the chief elder’s house. Without commonsensical rootage in the local environment, elementary evaluations necessary for the orientation and conduct of everyday life are impossible. Now it is just this rootage that 400 years of revolutions of all sorts have disrupted. Western industrialization uprooted vast populations from agrari
Corrosion behavior of ferritic–martensitic steel T91 in supercritical water

Abstract The corrosion behavior of a ferritic–martensitic steel T91 exposed to supercritical water at 500 °C and at two different dissolved oxygen concentrations, 25 ppb and 2 ppm, for exposure times up to 505 h was characterized. In this corrosion experiment, all the exposed samples formed a stable oxide layer, but of varying thicknesses. The dissolved oxygen concentration played a significant role in the oxidation behavior of this alloy. For lower oxygen concentration exposure, phase distribution analysis showed a duplex oxide structure, consisting of layered magnetite and spinel phases. Higher oxygen concentration resulted in an additional hematite enriched layer in the outer oxide region. Furthermore, samples exposed to high oxygen content supercritical water exhibited a more porous oxide scale with weaker adhesion to the substrate. Samples of T91 steel whose surface was modified by oxygen ion implantation were tested in the lower oxygen supercritical water environment and were noted to exhibit a lower oxide layer thickness compared to the untreated alloy. The formation of nanometer-sized oxides precipitates at the surface due to oxygen ion implantation appears to influence the nucleation and growth texture of the oxide scale, which may play a role in reducing the oxide layer thickness.
Spin S exchange interaction model of ferromagnetism

Abstract The first 8 terms of the low field-high temperature susceptibility series are obtained for an exchange interaction model of ferromagnetism for general spin and crystal lattice. For the f.c.c. lattice k B T C J = 1.20 + 5.72 (2S + 1) .
Changes in Religiosity Across the Transition to Young Adulthood

Social identities, as those pertaining to religion, may change over time as adolescents make the important transition into young adulthood. This 4-year longitudinal study examined developmental changes in religious affiliation, identity, and participation across the transition from adolescence to young adulthood among 584 individuals (from M age = 17.9 years to M age = 22.1 years; 55 % female). We also investigated whether changes varied as a function of individual (i.e., gender and ethnicity) and contextual (i.e., college type and residential status) factors, as well as the association between religiosity and well-being (e.g., meaning and purpose in life, depressive symptoms). The results indicated a significant decline in reported affiliation with a particular religious group or faith for all youth. The change in a psychological sense of religious identity varied by gender, and the change in religious participation differed by ethnicity, but other individual-difference factors generally played minor roles in the changes in religiosity across time. Religiosity was more consistently linked with a greater sense of meaning and purpose than with fewer depressive symptoms across the transition to adulthood, suggesting that it may be particularly important for eudaimonic well-being. Overall, the findings suggest that youth generally experience a decrease in religiosity as they transition to young adulthood, but this rate of change may vary between individuals. The results have important implications for the way in which religion is viewed and lived out by young adults in the United States.
Motor scaling by viewing distance of early visual motion signals during smooth pursuit.

The geometry of gaze stabilization during head translation requires eye movements to scale proportionally to the inverse of target distance. Such a scaling has indeed been demonstrated to exist for the translational vestibuloocular reflex (TVOR), as well as optic flow-selective translational visuomotor reflexes (e.g., ocular following, OFR). The similarities in this scaling by a neural estimate of target distance for both the TVOR and the OFR have been interpreted to suggest that the two reflexes share common premotor processing. Because the neural substrates of OFR are partly shared by those for the generation of pursuit eye movements, we wanted to know if the site of gain modulation for TVOR and OFR is also part of a major pathway for pursuit. Thus, in the present studies, we investigated in rhesus monkeys whether initial eye velocity and acceleration during the open-loop portion of step ramp pursuit scales with target distance. Specifically, with visual motion identical on the retina during tracking at different distances (12, 24, and 60 cm), we compared the first 80 ms of horizontal pursuit. We report that initial eye velocity and acceleration exhibits either no or a very small dependence on vergence angle that is at least an order of magnitude less than the corresponding dependence of the TVOR and OFR. The results suggest that the neural substrates for motor scaling by target distance remain largely distinct from the main pathway for pursuit.
Finding Gender Differences in End-User Debugging: A Data Mining Approach

We are currently investigating what types of end user personas (or homogeneous groups in the population) exist and what works for or hinders each in end-user debugging. These personas will be determined using data mining methods such as cluster analysis to see how static (background and self-efficacy), behavioral, and success variables interact for each cluster of users. This research will help provide a better understanding of the needs of end users and the tools that are necessary for supporting both male and females in debugging tasks.
Infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy of XeH

The infrared emission spectrum of the Rydberg molecule XeH was recorded with the Kitt Peak Fourier transform spectrometer. XeH was made in a hollow cathode discharge of 2·2 torr H2 and 0·1 torr Xe. The 0-0 bands of the C 2Π-B 2Σ+ and the D 2Σ+-C 2Π transitions were observed near 3250 cm−1 and 4420 cm−1, respectively. A rotational analysis provides spectroscopic constants for these states.
Syntrophic–archaeal associations in a nutrient‐impacted freshwater marsh

Aims: Evaluation of the composition, distribution and activities of syntrophic bacteria and methanogens in soils from eutrophic and low nutrient regions of a freshwater marsh, and to compare these results with those obtained from a similar study in the Florida Everglades. Methods and Results: Culture dependent and independent approaches were employed to study consortia of syntrophs and methanogens in a freshwater marsh. Methanogenesis from butyrate oxidation was fourfold higher in microcosms containing soil from eutrophic regions of the marsh than from low nutrient regions. Propionate was oxidized in eutrophic microcosms at lower rates than butyrate and with lower yields of methane. Sequence analysis of 16S rRNA gene clone libraries from DNA extracted from microcosms and soils revealed differences such that the dominant restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) phylotypes (representing 82‐88% of clone libraries) from eutrophic soils clustered with fatty acid oxidizing Syntrophomonas spp. The four dominant RFLP phylotypes (representing 11‐24%) from microcosms containing soils from low nutrient regions were sequenced, and clustered with micro-organisms having the potential for fermentative and syntrophic metabolism. Archaeal 16S rRNA sequence analysis showed that methanogens from eutrophic regions were from diverse families, including Methanomicrobiaceae, Methanosarcinaceae, and Methanocorpusculaceae, but clone libraries from low nutrient soils revealed only members of Methanosarcinaceae. Conclusions: These findings indicate that syntroph‐methanogen consortia differed with nutrient levels in a freshwater marsh. Significance and Impact of the Study: This is one of few studies addressing the distribution of fatty acid consuming-hydrogen producing bacteria (syntrophs) and their methanogenic partners in wetland soils, and the effects of eutrophication on the ecology these groups.
Markers of growth and development in primate primordial follicles are preserved after slow cryopreservation.

Objective To investigate the effect of slow cryopreservation on the morphology and function of primate primordial follicles within ovarian tissue slices. Design Fresh monkey ovarian tissue was frozen by slow cryopreservation and thawed for analysis of morphologic and functional parameters. Setting University-affiliated laboratory. Animals Rhesus monkey ovarian tissue. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Histologic analysis, follicle counting, assessment of protein abundance and localization. Result(s) After freezing and thawing, 89% of the primordial follicles maintained their laminar-based architecture, with sizes close to those of fresh fixed follicles. Molecular markers of early follicle health (activin subunits and the phosphorylated form of the signaling protein Smad2 [pSmad2]) were present in fresh and frozen-thawed primordial follicles. Stroma cells, but not follicles, had a higher level of TUNEL staining. Granulosa cells within the follicles of frozen-thawed ovarian tissue cultured for 48 hours had the capacity to proliferate and sustained expression of the activin subunits and nuclear pSmad2. Conclusion(s) This study provides evidence that markers of early follicle growth and development are preserved after slow cryopreservation and thaw, with little effect on follicle morphology and function.
Partitioning a sample using binary-type questions with ternary feedback

The problem is to find the largest observation in a random sample of size n by asking binary-type questions of people (or items) in the sample. At each stage of the search, a threshold is calculated and a binary-type question is posed to each member of the sample. The threshold is determined from answers given to the previous questions, and no exact data is ever collected, i.e., no member is asked to explicitly provide his observation. Arrow, Pesotchinsky, and Sobel (APS) calculated the optimal threshold sequence for two different objectives: (i) minimize the average number of questions required for a solution, and (ii) maximize the probability of solving the problem in, at most, r questions. APS have assumed that the number of respondents in the affirmative at each stage of the search is exactly known. There exist applications where the number of affirmative answers is only known to be one member of the set (0, 1, more than 1). For these applications, we calculate exactly the optimal thresholds, in the sense of maximizing the probability of getting precisely one affirmative answer to the next binary question. An application of the threshold-calculation procedure is demonstrated in resolution of packet collisions over multiuser communication channel. >
Linear Anelastic Equations for Atmospheric Vortices

Abstract A linear anelastic-vortex model is derived using assumptions appropriate to waves on vortices with scales similar to tropical cyclones. The equation set is derived through application of a multiple-scaling technique, such that the radial variations of the thermodynamic fields are incorporated into the reference state. The primary assumption required for the model is that the horizontal variations in the thermodynamic variables describing the reference state are appreciably longer than the waves on the vortex. This new version of the anelastic system makes no approximation to the requirements for hydrostatic and gradient wind balance, or the buoyancy frequency, in the core of the vortex. A small but measurable improvement in the performance of the new equation set is demonstrated through simulations of gravity waves and vortex–Rossby waves in a baroclinic vortex.
Oscillatory Flow Phenomena in Diffusers at Low Reynolds Numbers

In studies of a diffuser operating with inlet flow oscillations, it has been found that large amplification of the inlet velocity oscillations occurs within the diffuser when the throat Reynolds number lies in the range 103 to 104 . This phenomenon is caused by travelling waves in the wall boundary layer which are initiated in the laminar portion of the boundary layer and propagate into the turbulent boundary layer, causing large variations in the displacement thickness.
Abnormal Estrous Cyclicity after Disruption of Endothelial and Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase in Mice

The roles of nitric oxide (NO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in reproduction were studied by examining the estrous cycle of wild-type (WT) mice, inducible NOS (iNOS)-, and endothelial NOS (eNOS)-knockout mice. We observed an average estrous cycle of 4.8 +/- 0.2 days in WT mice. While we observed no significant influence of iNOS deficiency on cycle length, eNOS-knockout females showed a significantly longer estrous cycle (6.6 +/- 0.6 days; p < 0.03) than WT females, due to an extension of diestrus (p < 0.03). There was no influence of iNOS deficiency on ovulation rate compared with that in WT females; however, eNOS-knockout mice showed a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in ovulatory efficiency relative to WT or iNOS-knockout females. In contrast to WT females, in which the highest level of estradiol (E2) was observed at 1500 h of proestrus, iNOS-knockout females reached a peak of E2 at 1830 h of proestrus. In eNOS-knockout females, the peak of E2 occurred at 1830 h, as in iNOS-knockout mice; however, E2 levels were 5-fold and 3-fold higher (p < 0.05) than levels observed in WT and iNOS-knockout females, respectively. There was no effect of genotype on the plasma LH concentrations at proestrus. On the first day of diestrus, eNOS-knockout females showed significantly higher plasma E2 and progesterone levels (p < 0.05) relative to WT and iNOS-knockout females. The dysfunction in cyclicity, ovulation rate, ovarian morphology, and steroidogenesis in eNOS-knockout female mice strongly supports the concept that eNOS/NO plays critical roles in ovulation and follicular development.
Design and performance evaluation of connection routing schemes for wireless ATM environment

We present two connection rerouting schemes, termed RAC (rearrange ATM connection) and EAC (extend ATM connection) for wireless ATM networks. These schemes can be used in isolation or in conjunction to support connection management in infrastructure-based wireless ATM networks, where the base stations are connected to ATM switches. The choice of using one or both schemes could be based on the desired level of bandwidth utilization, level of implementation complexity, and the acceptable level of connection processing load. The EAC includes detection and removal of any possible triangular or circular route that may be caused due to connection extension. To quantify the performance gain that can be achieved by removing and/or avoiding triangular and circular routes, we have developed a simulation model and some results are presented. These results show that significant savings in wireless bandwidth can be achieved by incorporating removal of inefficient routes in connection extension schemes.
Integrated Data Reorganization and Disk Mapping for Reducing Disk Energy Consumption

Increasing power consumption of high-performance systems leads to reliability, survivability, and cooling related problems. Motivated by this observation, several recent efforts focused on reducing disk power consumption through hardware, OS and compiler based techniques. This paper presents a novel approach to reducing disk power consumption of large-scale, array-intensive scientific applications. It proposes and evaluates a compiler-based approach that employs two complementary techniques: data reorganization and disk mapping. The first of these, data reorganization, determines a suitable layout for data in the array space, whereas the second technique, disk mapping, decides the corresponding layout in the disk space. The goal of data reorganization and disk mapping is to ensure that data (from the different disk-resident arrays) that are accessed within the same loop iteration are colocated in the same set of disks. In this way, we can increase disk inter-access times (idle periods of disks) and this in turn allows better exploitation of the underlying hardware mechanisms used for reducing power. Our experiments with eight disk I/O-intensive scientific applications indicate that the proposed approach brings significant reductions in energy consumption, whether the underlying disk system uses spin-down disks or speed-reduced disks, two previously- proposed hardware-based disk power reduction schemes. The results also show that both the components of our scheme (data reorganization and disk mapping) are very important since applying any of these components alone does not generate large savings for most of our applica tions.
Comparison of 1-year outcomes for the Chhabra and Codman-Hakim Micro Precision shunt systems in Uganda: a prospective study in 195 children.

Object. The author investigated the 1-year outcomes for shunt treatment of hydrocephalic children in Uganda, comparing the results using the inexpensive Chhabra shunt ($35 US dollars), widely used in East Africa, with those using the Codman-Hakim Micro Precision Valve shunt ($650). Methods. The results in 195 consecutive children (mostly infants) in whom shunts were placed were studied prospectively. In Group 1, 90 patients randomly received either the Chhabra or Codman shunt as primary treatment for hydrocephalus. In Group 2, 105 patients received the Chhabra shunt when endoscopic third ventriculostomy could not be performed or had failed. The end points of the study were shunt malfunction, shunt migration, wound complication, death, or no problem at 1 year. Of all patients, 9.7% were lost to follow up and 15.9% died before 1 year. The occurrence of complications in all patients were infection (9.7%), migration/disconnection (6.3%), wound complication (5.7%), valve malfunction (3.4%), ventricular catheter obstruction (2.8%), and peritoneal catheter obstruction (1.1%). There was no statistically significant difference in any outcome category for patients receiving the Codman or Chhabra shunt (p = 0.2463‐1.0000). Conclusions. Ventriculoperitoneal shunt insertion for treatment of hydrocephalus can be performed in a developing country with results similar to those reported in developed countries. No difference in outcome was noted between the two shunt types. No advantage was found in using a shunt system that, in this setting, is prohibitively expensive.
Convergence and colored noise issues in bounding ellipsoid identification

The convergence and bias properties of a general class of optimal bounding ellipsoid (OBE) algorithms are discussed. OBE algorithms are set-membership (SM) based identification algorithms which are applied to models which are linear-in-parameters, and are closely related to weighted recursive least square error (WRLS) methods. >
Semantic Roles for String to Tree Machine Translation

We experiment with adding semantic role information to a string-to-tree machine translation system based on the rule extraction procedure of Galley et al. (2004). We compare methods based on augmenting the set of nonterminals by adding semantic role labels, and altering the rule extraction process to produce a separate set of rules for each predicate that encompass its entire predicate-argument structure. Our results demonstrate that the second approach is effective in increasing the quality of translations.
Interfacial sythesis of polyphosphonate and polyphosphate ester. VII. Temperature effects and reaction loci in polycondensations of hydroquinone with phenylphosphonic dichloride and 4-methythiophenyl phosphorodichloridate

Polyphosphate and polyphosphonate esters of molecular weights > 10,000 were synthesized by base-promoted, liquid-vapor and liquid-liquid interfacial polycondensations of hydroquinone (HQ) with 4-methylthiophenyl phosphorodichloridate (MTPP) and phenylphosphonic dichloride (PPD). The barium hydroxide-initiated liquid-vapor polycondensation of PPD and HQ in the temperature range of 15–95°C shows that [η] increases with reaction temperature and unfractionated yields exhibit a maximum at about 45°C. The analogous liquid-vapor polycondensation of MTPP and HQ between 25 and 854C also shows a maximum yield at 45°C, whereas [η] decreases with increase in reaction temperature. The results are contrasted with temperature dependencies of base-catalyzed, liquid-liquid polycondensation of HQ with MTPP and PPD. A different insight is obtained by analyzing the temperature effects on fractionated products. The relative importance of degradative saponification reactions are ranked as attack on chain ester linkages > phosphorus chloride reactant > end groups of growing chains.
Iron metabolism and diagnosis of iron overload disorders.

Importance of the field: Iron is an essential metal required for biochemical processes in the body including hemoglobin synthesis and cellular proliferation. However, unbound or excess iron can be toxic as a catalyst for free radical reactions, damaging cellular membranes, proteins and DNA by means of reactive oxygen species. There is no active mechanism to excrete this metal, and it must be highly regulated to avoid cytotoxic harm. The liver is the major storage organ for iron and produces transferrin and hepcidin, which help to regulate iron. Iron homeostasis is ultimately controlled at the level of absorption in the duodenum. In the last 13 years, the discoveries of hepcidin and the HFE gene have propelled our understanding of iron metabolism and iron overload disorders.Areas covered in this review: This review includes findings from many landmark studies over the course of 80 years, but with particular emphasis on recently established evidence. Iron homeostasis, hepcidin, common iron studies, liver bi...
TV Viewing Motivations Of Arab American Households In The US: An Empirical Perspective

The study surveyed a sample of 149 adult Arab immigrants in Detroit (MI) and Los Angeles (CA). The findings indicate that the five primary television viewing motivations, in order of importance for these Arab American respondents were: entertainment, relaxation, social Interaction, habit and information. The study however showed that the primary motive for watching Arabic TV was to keep informed about what is happening in the country of origin and around the world. The place of birth whether in the US or in the country of origin, and the length of time in the U. S. appeared to have an impact on the TV viewing habits of Arab Americans. The implications of the findings are also presented.
The Ordovician‐Silurian boundary: new data, new concerns

Despite International Union of the Geological Sciences (IUGS) ratification of the International Commission on Stratigraphy recommendation that the base of the Parakidograptus acuminatus zone be the base of the Silurian and that the boundary stratotype be at Dob's Linn, Scotland, numerous concerns continue to be expressed over the timing of the selection as well as the boundary and its stratotype. The richness of both graptolite and non-graptolite biostratigraphic data in numerous stratigraphic sections from many areas in China published at about the same time that the boundary and stratotype were approved formally and shortly after approval suggest the possibility that boundary designation may have been somewhat premature. The new data from China document clearly the major extinction of characteristic Late Ordovician taxa significantly below the presently accepted System boundary. The new data indicate that the re-radiation of graptolites after the extinction took place in the Glyptograptus persculptus zone, the graptolite zone subjacent to the P. acuminatus zone. New geochemical data from Dob's Linn reveal a change in chemistry in strata subjacent to the base of the G. persculptus zone that could be used as an aid in correlation. The new data suggest the possibility that the base of the G. persculptus zone, the relatively traditional base of the Silurian, could be as appropriate a System boundary as the base of the P. acuminatus zone.
Postproduction leaching affects the growing medium and respiration of subirrigated poinsettias.

Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch) were grown in pots filled with 1.5 L of soilless growing medium and subirrigated daily with a fertilizer solution containing N at 210 mg·L -1 (electrical conductivity (EC) = 1.5 dS·m -1 ) for 128 days. After production, plants were placed in a whole-plant photosynthesis system and the effects of applying different volumes of water (0, 0.75, 1.5, and 3 L) to the top of the pots were quantified. Leaching with 0.75, 1.5, or 3 L of water reduced the EC in the top and middle layers of the growing medium. Applications of 0.75 or 1.5 L of water significantly increased the EC in the bottom third of the pots, where most of the root growth occurred. However, even in these treatments the EC in the bottom layer was only 2.6 dS·m -1 (saturated medium extraction method), which is well within the recommended range. The 0.75- and 1.5-L treatments also reduced the respiration rate of the plants by 20%, but none of the treatments had a significant effect on the photosynthesis of the plants. Regression analysis indicated a negative correlation between the EC of the bottom layer of the growing medium and dark respiration, while the EC of the top and middle layer had no significant effect on respiration. Although top watering can increase the EC in the bottom layer of the growing medium, this effect is unlikely to be large enough to cause significant plant stress and damage. Ebb and flow irrigation is a viable method to produce poinsettias without runoff (Argo and Biernbaum, 1995; Dole et al., 1994; Morvant et al., 1998). However, excessive accumulation of salts in subirrigated pots may reduce the postproduction longevity of the plants. Ebb and flow-irrigated plants dropped more of their leaves than top-watered plants in the first 3 weeks after production (Deneke et al., 1993). The electrical conductivity (EC) in the top layer of the growing medium of subirrigated poinsettias is up to 10 times as high as that in the middle and bottom layers (Argo and Biernbaum, 1995). Kent and Reed (1996) found that the EC in the top layer of the growing medium of subirrigated pots with New Guinea impatiens (Impatiens hawkerii Bull.) or peace lily (Spathiphyllum Schott) was 2 to 5 times as high as in the middle or bottom layer. The EC of the top layer was especially high if the N concentration in the fertilizer was higher than optimal. Kent and Reed (1996) also reported that most of the root growth occurred in the middle and bottom layers of the growing me- dium; therefore a high EC in the top layer of the pot may not be important during the pro-
Wealth Shocks and Executive Compensation: Evidence from CEO Divorce

I find lower firm risk in the year of a CEO divorce. This lower volatility is consistent with a reduction in risk incentives, as CEOs pay large divorce settlements and are less able to diversify firm-specific risk from their portfolios. Divorce has a larger impact on firms with cash-poor CEOs who lack diversification. The sensitivity of compensation to both price and volatility is significantly higher after divorce, suggesting compensation incentives adjust to portfolio incentives; increasing total compensation by over $2 million on average. I find no evidence the results relate to increased distraction or alternative explanations.