cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A real-time assessment of interpersonal complementarity

The principle of complementarity asserts that the interpersonal behaviors of interaction partners tend to complement each other by encouraging partners to act similarly in terms of warmth and opposite in terms of dominance. The current study applied Sadler’s computer joystick tracking device (originally designed to assess personality perception) to examine complementarity. Sixty-six unacquainted females were videotaped during an unstructured dyadic interaction, and their warmth and dominance behaviors were coded using the joystick. Results indicated that both partners tended to alter their behaviors in a complementary manner. In addition, partners who complemented each other in terms of warmth tended to like each other more and performed tasks more accurately and quickly than dyads who were not as complementary on this dimension. When two individuals interact with each other, it is often apparent that the behaviors expressed by one partner are intertwined with the behaviors expressed by the other interaction partner. When an individual extends her hand in greeting, the hand is typically met with a similar extended hand to be shaken. In a smooth interaction, turns are taken while speaking, and a laugh or a smile from a partner is reciprocated. In some ways, interpersonal interactions are like a dance wherein both partners implicitly know which behaviors to perform at a given moment. Of course, like dancing, a misstep or an inappropriate interpersonal behavior could lead to a less than optimal interaction. However, little is known about what specifically makes some interpersonal exchanges flow more smoothly than others. To this end, the current research examines the interpersonal
CHEMICAL HEATING ABOVE THE POLAR MESOPAUSE IN WINTER

Abstract Earlier predictions that the upper atmosphere at high latitudes is warmer in winter than in summer in the region between about 70 and 100 km have been verified during the IGY by direct temperature measurements with rockets. However, calculations based on radiative balance alone indicate that there should be a net loss of heat in the middle of this region of about 10−4 watts per g of air, or a rate of decrease of temperature of about 10 deg per day. It is suggested that this heat loss can be compensated by a release of the energy of recombination of atomic oxygen, which may be carried downward from higher altitudes by large-scale subsidence. (The downward transport by some sort of eddy diffusion is not ruled out.) The required release of energy can be achieved by a rate of descent of as little as 42 m per day, under optimum conditions, and is considerably more effective than adiabatic heating everywhere above 85 km. The explanation of these high winter temperatures in terms of heating by aurora1 p...
Non-photochemical hole burning of chlorophyll a and b in polystyrene

Abstract Facile non-photochemical hole burning is reported for chlorophyll a and b in polystyrene films. The holes burned at T = 1.9 K are stable, that is, do not exhibit any spontaneous hole filling following termination of the burn. However, laser-induced filling of a primary hole at ω B resulting from secondary irradiation to the low- and high-energy side of ω B is observed (with the latter significantly more efficient). The filling is not accompanied by spectral diffusion. Thermal cycling experiments reveal a large hysteresis effect associated with ground-state spectral diffusion. The optical dephasing is found to obey a T 1.3 ± 0.2 dependence.
Pollen production in soybeans with respect to genotype, environment, and stamen position

Our objective was to determine the average numbers of pollen grains from fertile plants (Ms 1) and the average numbers of coenocytic microspores from genetic male sterile plants (ms 1 ms 1) in soybeans, Glycine max L. Merr. Comparisons were made between the average numbers of pollen grains and the average numbers of coenocytic microspores with respect to environment where plants were grown and to stamen position in the flower. Five male sterile lines were used. They included the North Carolina ms 1 mutant, the cultivar Hark with the ms 1 gene, and mutants identified as the Urbana, Tonica, and Ames male steriles. Three environments used were the Agronomy Farm, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia; the Agronomy and Agricultural Engineering Research Center, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa; and the Agronomy Greenhouse, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. Pollen production from fertile plants varied from 374 to 760 pollen grains per anther among genetic lines and environments. This variation may be an important consideration in selecting a male parent to use as a pollinator for hybrid seed production. Among fertile plants, the average numbers of pollen grains per anther of the separate stamen and and of the lower whorl of stamens were significantly different only in greenhouse-grown plants. Among male sterile plants, the average numbers of coenocytic microspores per anther of the separate stamen and of the lower whorl of stamens were significantly different in three genotype x environment combinations. These three exceptions did not conform to any genetic or environmental pattern. Deviations from the expected ratio of 4 pollen grains from fertile plants: 1 coenocytic microspore from sterile plants were attributed to initial differences in the average number of microspore mother cells between the two genotypes.
Hyoid bone syndrome: a degenerative injury of the middle pharyngeal constrictor muscle with photomicroscopic evidence of insertion tendinosis

This article describes the condition known as hyoid bone syndrome, its diagnosis by exclusion, and the histopathologic evidence of focal, degenerative muscle injury. The injury involves the origin fibers of the middle pharyngeal constrictor muscle on the greater cornu of the hyoid bone. The importance of the dentist and physician in recognizing the condition is emphasized, because dental and nondental pain reference sites make up the syndrome.
A self-consistent model for multi-fiber crack bridging

Abstract A self-consistent model for determining the equivalent spring stiffness in fiber crack-bridging problems is proposed. The model is compared with the shear-lag model for ideal bonding of the fiber-matrix interface, in which case the springs have a linear spring constant. A comparison is also made, in the homogeneous limit when fiber and matrix elastic properties are identical, with results from particle and ligament crack-bridging analyses. The self-consistent model is seen to agree with these other models. A simplified parametric equation is given which approximates the results over the considered range of material properties.
PEG-linked geminal dicationic ionic liquids as selective, high-stability gas chromatographic stationary phases

It is known that room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have wide applicability in many scientific and technological fields. In this work, a series of three new dicationic room-temperature ionic liquids functionalized with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) linkages were synthesized and characterized via a linear solvation model. The application of these ILs as new GC stationary phases was studied. The efficient separation of several mixtures containing compounds of different polarities and 24 components of a flavor and fragrance mixture indicated comparable or higher resolving power for the new IL stationary phases compared to the commercial polysiloxane and poly(ethylene glycol)-based stationary phases. In addition, the selectivities of the IL stationary phases could be quite unique. The separation of a homologous alkane and alcohol mixture displayed the “dual nature” of these ionic liquids as GC stationary phases. The thermal stability study showed the column robustness up to 350 °C. The high separation power, unique selectivity, high efficiency and high thermal stability of the new dicationic ionic liquids indicate that they may be applicable as a new type of robust GC stationary phase.
Binary and attenuated PSM mask evaluation for sub 50nm device development perspective

As the semiconductor industry continues progressing toward increasingly complex and unforgiving processes of device shrinkage and shorter duration of device development, many industry participants from photo-lithography are taking interest in material and structure of the photolithography mask. Due to shorter wavelength of the source laser and device technology ranging around the order of magnitude for the source laser wavelength (ArF), the difference in mask material and structure shows greater performance difference then larger technology node. Especially around 50nm and beyond, many industry followers are reporting better performance from different types of mask then previously used. In this study, we will analyze the effect of the photo lithography mask material for sub 50nm device, in development perspective. Two major types of mask will be evaluated on the scale of device development. Effects such as Mask Error Effect Factor (MEEF), Depth of Focus (DOF), Exposure Latitude (EL) and Critical Dimension Uniformity (CDU) will be analyzed for both binary and attenuated phase shifted mask under different process condition. Also, we will evaluate the comparison result for application on development of sub 45nm device.
A model for diurnal patterns of carbon fixation in a Precambrian microbial mat based on a modern analog

Microbial mat communities are one of the first and most prevalent biological communities known from the Precambrian fossil record. These fossil mat communities are found as laminated sedimentary rock structures called stromatolites. Using a modern microbial mat as an analog for Precambrian stromatolites, a study of carbon fixation during a diurnal cycle under ambient conditions was undertaken. The rate of carbon fixation depends primarily on the availability of light (consistent with photosynthetic carbon fixation) and inorganic carbon, and not nitrogen or phosphorus. Atmospheric PCO2 is thought to have decreased from 10 bars at 4 Ga (10(9) years before present) to approximately 10(-4) bars today, implying a change in the availability of inorganic carbon for carbon fixation. Experimental manipulation of levels of inorganic carbon to levels that may have been available to Precambrian mat communities resulted in increased levels of carbon fixation during daylight hours. Combining these data with models of daylength during the Precambrian, models are derived for diurnal patterns of photosynthetic carbon fixation in a Precambrian microbial mat community. The models suggest that, even in the face of shorter daylengths during the Precambrian, total daily carbon fixation has been declining over geological time, with most of the decrease having occurred during the Precambrian.
Overexpression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1/ CCL2 in β-amyloid precursor protein transgenic mice show accelerated diffuse β-amyloid deposition

Microglia accumulation at the site of amyloid plaques is a strong indication that microglia play a major role in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. However, how microglia affect amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) deposition remains poorly understood. To address this question, we developed a novel bigenic mouse that overexpresses both amyloid precursor protein (APP) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1; CCL2 in systematic nomenclature). CCL2 expression, driven by the glial fibrillary acidic protein promoter, induced mononuclear phagocyte (MP; monocyte-derived macrophage and microglial) accumulation in the brain. When APP/CCL2 transgenic mice were compared to APP mice, a fivefold increase in Aβ deposition was present despite increased MP accumulation around hippocampal and cortical amyloid plaques. Levels of full-length APP, its C-terminal fragment, and Aβ-degrading enzymes (insulin-degrading enzyme and neprilysin) in APP/CCL2 and APP mice were indistinguishable. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-insoluble Aβ (an indicator of fibrillar Aβ) was increased in APP/CCL2 mice at 5 months of age. Apolipoprotein E, which enhances Aβ deposition, was also increased (2.2-fold) in aged APP/CCL2 as compared to APP mice. We propose that although CCL2 stimulates MP accumulation, it increases Aβ deposition by reducing Aβ clearance through increased apolipoprotein E expression. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these events could be used to modulate microglial function in Alzheimer's disease and positively affect disease outcomes.
Ethnography, Cultural and Social Anthropology

ETHNOGRAPHY, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY By ROBERT H. LOWIE HE discussion Murdock and Firth, Professor Fortes's T contribution to by Professors Professor Radcliffe-Brown's illuminating the debate, letter in a recent issue of this journal, and a number of other statements by American and British colleagues (Murdock 1951; Firth 1951; Radcliffe-Brown 1952; Fortes 1953; Evans-Pritchard 1951) stimulate reflections on cultural and social anthropology. In the present, wholly uncontroversial article I shall first define the aims of cultural anthropology as I understand them and shall then inquire intQ the relations of that discipline with social anthropology as defined by British scholars. I Whatever differences may divide cultural from social anthropologists, they are hardly greater than those which divide self-styled cultural anthropologists. Indeed J I should say that many of us feel incomparably closer to the English anthropologists referred to above than, say, to Goldenweiser in his later phases. A concrete example will illustrate the issue. In one of his books (Golden­ weiser 1922) this writer devotes a chapter to the Baganda, relying as he was bound to do on Roscoe's well-known work. He tells us that maize is perhaps the principal staple food, but plantain trees are also cultivated on a large scale. Now the primary source (Roscoe 1911: 5, 432) states in unmistakable terms that plantains furnish their staple food, whereas maize was never grown in any quantity ... ; no one called the two or three cobs which he ate a meal. Of course, anyone is liable to factual inaccuracies, but what is involved here is something deeper. Goldenweiser writes about these matters as might any layman-not as a student of culture. He does not explain to his reader that maize is a species introduced into Uganda in r~cent times. He shows no inkling of the problems connected with the occurrence and distribution of East African plantains, indigenous and otherwise. Yet in his several publica­ tions there is no end of references to culture-to psychology and culture, to culture and environment, to the theoretical categories and cultural reality, and so forth. It would be convenient to have an English term designating the kind of cultural anthropology of which some of us-say, Kroeber and myself-are votaries, a term corresponding to Klemm's allgemeine Culturwissenschaft. For the purpose intended, cultural history will not do since it one-sidedly circumscribes the discipline; and notwithstanding the analogy of sociology, many of us recoil from deliberately perpetrating a twin monstrosity such as culturology. However, Professor Radcliffe-Brown informs us that since 1909 British colleagues have used ethnography to denote descriptive accounts of
Enhancing PTFs with remotely sensed data for multi-scale soil water retention estimation

Summary Use of remotely sensed data products in the earth science and water resources fields is growing due to increasingly easy availability of the data. Traditionally, pedotransfer functions (PTFs) employed for soil hydraulic parameter estimation from other easily available data have used basic soil texture and structure information as inputs. Inclusion of surrogate/supplementary data such as topography and vegetation information has shown some improvement in the PTF’s ability to estimate more accurate soil hydraulic parameters. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are a popular tool for PTF development, and are usually applied across matching spatial scales of inputs and outputs. However, different hydrologic, hydro-climatic, and contaminant transport models require input data at different scales, all of which may not be easily available from existing databases. In such a scenario, it becomes necessary to scale the soil hydraulic parameter values estimated by PTFs to suit the model requirements. Also, uncertainties in the predictions need to be quantified to enable users to gauge the suitability of a particular dataset in their applications. Bayesian Neural Networks (BNNs) inherently provide uncertainty estimates for their outputs due to their utilization of Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques. In this paper, we present a PTF methodology to estimate soil water retention characteristics built on a Bayesian framework for training of neural networks and utilizing several in situ and remotely sensed datasets jointly. The BNN is also applied across spatial scales to provide fine scale outputs when trained with coarse scale data. Our training data inputs include ground/remotely sensed soil texture, bulk density, elevation, and Leaf Area Index (LAI) at 1 km resolutions, while similar properties measured at a point scale are used as fine scale inputs. The methodology was tested at two different hydro-climatic regions. We also tested the effect of varying the support scale of the training data for the BNNs by sequentially aggregating finer resolution training data to coarser resolutions, and the applicability of the technique to upscaling problems. The BNN outputs are corrected for bias using a non-linear CDF-matching technique. Final results show good promise of the suitability of this Bayesian Neural Network approach for soil hydraulic parameter estimation across spatial scales using ground-, air-, or space-based remotely sensed geophysical parameters. Inclusion of remotely sensed data such as elevation and LAI in addition to in situ soil physical properties improved the estimation capabilities of the BNN-based PTF in certain conditions.
Superconducting RFQ linear accelerator

Abstract We are investigating the performance capabilities of a niobium superconducting radiofrequency quadrupole (RFQ) accelerator for high-field continuous-wave operation, to provide greater acceleration and stronger focusing of low-velocity ion beams. We present an example of an RFQ to produce radioisotopes for positron-emission tomography (PET), and we report on the mechanical design aspects of a short, superconducting RFQ four-vane prototype structure that will be tested at high fields during the coming year.
Evaluation Method for the Topological Synthesis of Sheet Metal Components

The popularity of sheet metal in modern engineering artifacts is due to the fact that it is both inexpensive as a raw material and inexpensive to form into components. In comparison to forging or machining components, sheet metal can produce lightweight and inexpensive design solutions. The main shortcomings of sheet metal are that resulting components have a limited rigidity and the feasibility of the parts is constrained by the inherent two-dimensionality of the initial sheet. Furthermore, design and manufacturing engineers are challenged by finding a shape that satisfies all spatial constraints and by deciding the optimal sequence of operations for making this product that minimizes both time and associated manufacturing costs. In the past two years, we have been working towards an automated tool that creates candidate sheet metal topologies and optimizes them for spatial constraints as well as time and cost objectives. While we have yet to complete this goal, we have to date developed a representation capable of creating a wide variety of sheet metal topologies (see DETC2002/DAC-34087) and have recently created a thorough evaluation method which is presented in this paper along with some preliminary results.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
"The little engine that could": voltage-dependent Na(+) channels and the subthalamic nucleus.

Abstract The most effective treatment for late-stage Parkinson's disease is to electrically stimulate the subthalamic nucleus (STN) at high frequencies. Why this strategy works is unclear. The work by Do and Bean shows that the Na channels in STN neurons have distinctive features—like resurgence—that regulate their spiking behavior, providing new insights into the mechanism of DBS.
Gallup Poll: Using the Internet to Learn about the Influence of Public Opinion in Politics

The author discusses how high school civics teachers can use the Gallup Poll Web site to teach students about the influence of public opinion in politics. The author describes his firsthand experiences using the Web site with high school students. He emphasizes the need for teachers to structure higher-level thinking questions instead of having students passively view the Web site's information. Examples are given to make the lesson user friendly to readers who intend to use the Web site in their civics classrooms. Teachers and students can use the Web site to investigate public opinion on domestic or foreign issues facing the United States. As a result, teachers can provide teachable moments on the role of public opinion—in particular, how public opinion influences decisions made by incumbents and those seeking office.
Presidential success through appointments to the United States courts of appeals

An enduring legacy for any president is achieved by appointing judges with similar policy preferences who then maintain those policy preferences during their tenure on the bench and long after leaving office. This process provides one of the few democratic checks on the judiciary. Some authors demonstrate that in the areas of social and economic policy, Supreme Court justices’ policy votes are concordant with their appointing presidents over time. We explore whether presidents are as successful at the courts of appeals level and find that they are. We also explore the influences on presidential success in nominating judges to these courts who then vote in concordance with their policy preferences; we find that the presence of a home-state senator of the president’s party substantially constrains presidential success. However, neither presidents’ appointment strategies, presidential popularity, nor the party composition of the Senate affected the degree of concordance between presidential policy preference...
Validation in Genomics: CpG Island Methylation Revisited

In a recent article in PLoS Genetics, Bock et al., (2006) undertake an extensive computational epigenetics analysis of the ability of DNA sequence-derived features, capturing attributes such as tetramer frequencies, repeats and predicted structure, to predict the methylation status of CpG islands. Their suite of analyses appears highly rigorous with regard to accompanying validation procedures, employing stringent Bonferroni corrections, stratified cross-validation, and follow-up experimental verification. Here, however, we showcase concerns with the validation steps, in part ascribable to the genome scale of the investigation, that serve as a cautionary note and indicate the heightened need for careful selection of analytic and companion validation methods. A series of new analyses of the same CpG island methylation data helps illustrate these issues, not just for this particular study, but also analogous investigations involving high-dimensional predictors with complex between-feature dependencies.
Oceansub-bottom sensing using randommatrixmodels

Cross-correlations of diffuse ocean noise provide travel time information between different sensors, which correspond to the various propagation paths in the environment. We use random matrix theory to model the diffuse component of the ocean noise field and distinguish statistically, the outliers which are due to anthropogenic sources (such as ships). This approach enables improving the “diffusivity” of the noise field by selective removal of outlier eigenvalues. We demonstrate its application in sensing the ocean sub-bottom structure using an L-shaped array (horizontal and vertical line arrays).
Electrochemical oxidation of the dianion of bidurenol

Electrochemical oxidation of the dianion of bidurenol (2,2',3,3',5,5',6,6'-octamethyl-4,4'-biphenol) has been studied at a glassy carbon electrode in benzonitrile solvent. The dianion 3 2- was produced in situ by deprotonaton of bidurenol with tetra-n-butylammonium hydroxide. Two oxidation peaks appear in cyclic voltammograms. The first has an associated reduction peak on the return scan but this peak is rather small. The second oxidation peak is irreversible. Controlled potential electrolysis at the second peak requires removal of two electrons per molecule of dianion. The principal product is bidurenol, postulated to result from hydrogen atom abstraction by the highly reactive twisted form of neutral 3. The first oxidation peak has been assigned to reversible oxidation of 3 2- to the radical anion 3 -. . The latter species takes part in a reversible dimerization reaction and cyclic voltammograms have been fitted by digital simulation according to this dimerization mechanism. The properties of the highly hindered diphenoquinone redox series 3, 3 -. , 3 2- are contrasted with the behavior of unhindered diphenoquinones.
URBAN POLITICAL REGIME FORMATION: A Study in Contrast

ABSTRACT:Urban political economists in the 1980s have focused much of their attention on urban development and the politics of growth. Urban political regime analysis has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the political economy of urban development. This study applies regime analysis to two cities— Boston and Detroit—with starkly different economic contexts to determine the relationship between uneven development and the form and policy focus of urban political regimes.
An asymptotic model of slab casting

An asymptotic model is developed for the problem of slab casting. The model assumes that the slab is thin and uses two-dimensional planar flow and deformation for simplicity. The governing equations are presented, and a reduced set of equations are derived from the asymptotic formulation. Three features are included in the present analysis: treatment of the thermal transport, inclusion of the solidification front development and calculation of the components of the dilatation.
Sub-banded Reconstructed Phase Spaces for Speech Recognition

A novel method combining filter banks and reconstructed phase spaces is proposed for the modeling and classification of speech. Reconstructed phase spaces, which are based on dynamical systems theory, have advantages over spectral-based analysis methods in that they can capture nonlinear or higher-order statistics. Recent work has shown that the natural measure of a reconstructed phase space can be used for modeling and classification of phonemes. In this work, sub-banding of speech, which has been examined for recognition of noise-corrupted speech, is studied in combination with phase space reconstruction. This sub-banding, which is motivated by empirical psychoacoustical studies, is shown to dramatically improve the phoneme classification accuracy of reconstructed phase space-based approaches. Experiments that examine the performance of fused sub-banded reconstructed phase spaces for phoneme classification are presented. Comparisons against a cepstral-based classifier show that the proposed approach is competitive with state-of-the-art methods for modeling and classification of phonemes. Combination of cepstral-based features and the sub-band RPS features shows improvement over a cepstral-only baseline.
Attacking DDoS at the source

Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks present an Internet-wide threat. We propose D-WARD, a DDoS defense system deployed at source-end networks that autonomously detects and stops attacks originating from these networks. Attacks are detected by the constant monitoring of two-way traffic flows between the network and the rest of the Internet and periodic comparison with normal flow models. Mismatching flows are rate-limited in proportion to their aggressiveness. D-WARD offers good service to legitimate traffic even during an attack, while effectively reducing DDoS traffic to a negligible level. A prototype of the system has been built in a Linux router. We show its effectiveness in various attack scenarios, discuss motivations for deployment, and describe associated costs.
Pathological Parameters of Radical Prostatectomy for Clinical Stages T1c Versus T2 Prostate Adenocarcinoma: Decreased Pathological Stage and Increased Detection of Transition Zone Tumors

Purpose: Studies of radical prostatectomy specimens have suggested that the majority of prostate specific antigen detected (clinical stage T1c) tumors are clinically significant. We compared tumor location and pathological parameters in the radical prostatectomy specimens of stages T1c versus T2 cases in a 3-year period. The percent of stage T1c disease represented a stable majority of patients undergoing treatment for clinically localized prostate cancer.Materials and Methods: From January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2000, 417 radical prostatectomies were performed at Vanderbilt University, including 246 for stage T1c and 108 for stage T2 disease. A total of 37 patients were excluded from study because of neoadjuvant antiandrogen treatment. Pathological parameters, including tumor location in the transition and/or peripheral zone, tumor Gleason grade, tumor stage, total tumor volume and surgical margins were compared in stages T1c and T2 cases, and in transition versus peripheral zone stage T1c tumors in com...
The Effect of Realistic and Fantastical Narrative Context on Perceived Relevance and Self-Efficacy in Serious Games

This study examined the differences between a game with a realistic narrative context and one with a more fantastical narrative context, in terms of perceived game relevance and game-specific self-efficacy. Users who played the game with the more realistic narrative exhibited greater perceived relevance and greater game-specific self-efficacy, in comparison with their counterparts. The more realistic narrative may allow for the material being learned to be better incorporated into the underlying narrative, thus increasing the perceived relevance of the game overall. The more realistic context may have yielded an increased game-specific self-efficacy due to the increased feasibility of the actions users undertake in the game. Using Yi & Hwang’s (2003) Technology Acceptance Model, we suggest that the increased game relevance and self-efficacy that result from a more realistic context can be used to increase the amount of time users spend using the learning game.
Polyoxometalates functioned as ligands: Synthesis and crystal structure of a new hybrid compound constructed from metatungstate and metal complex units

Abstract A new organic–inorganic hybrid compound, [Zn(bpy)3]1.5[H3W12O40Zn(bpy)2(H2O)]·0.5H2O (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine) has been synthesized hydrothermally from ZnCl2, Na6[H2W12O40], and 2,2′-bipyridine, and has been analyzed using X-ray crystallography, thermogravimetric analysis and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The compound contains an anionic complex [H3W12O40Zn(bpy)2(H2O)]3− in which α-metatungstate ion [H3W12O40]5− coordinated to a [Zn(bpy)2(H2O)]2+ unit through a bridging oxo group.
Reinforcement learning based adaptive rate control for delay-constrained communications over fading channels

In this paper, we study efficient rate control schemes for delay sensitive communications over wireless fading channels based on reinforcement learning. Our objective is to find a rate control scheme that optimizes the link layer performance, specifically, maximizes the system throughput subject to a fixed bit error rate (BER) constraint and longterm average power constraint. We assume the buffer at the transmitter is finite; hence packet drop happens when the buffer is full. We assume the fading channel under our study can be modeled as a finite state Markov chain, however the transition probability of channel states is not known, and the only information available about the wireless channel is the instantaneous channel gain, which is estimated and fed back from receiver side to the transmitter side on the fly. In this paper, we use reinforcement learning approach to learn the time-varying channel environment and search for the optimal control policy on line. Simulation results show that starting from an arbitrary control policy, the learning agent gradually modifies its estimation about the system model and adjusts the control policy to its optimality.
Separating internal and external dynamics of complex systems

The observable behavior of a complex system reflects the mechanisms governing the internal interactions between the system's components and the effect of external perturbations. Here we show that by capturing the simultaneous activity of several of the system's components we can separate the internal dynamics from the external fluctuations. The method allows us to systematically determine the origin of fluctuations in various real systems, finding that while the Internet and the computer chip have robust internal dynamics, highway and Web traffic are driven by external demand. As multichannel measurements are becoming the norm in most fields, the method could help uncover the collective dynamics of a wide array of complex systems.
Locoregional Recurrence Risk in Breast Cancer Patients with Estrogen Receptor Positive Tumors and Residual Nodal Disease following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Mastectomy without Radiation Therapy

Among breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and mastectomy, locoregional recurrence (LRR) rates are unclear in women with ER+ tumors treated with adjuvant endocrine therapy without postmastectomy radiation (PMRT). To determine if PMRT is needed in these patients, we compared LRR rates of patients with ER+ tumors (treated with adjuvant endocrine therapy) with women who have non-ER+ tumors. 85 consecutive breast cancer patients (87 breast tumors) treated with NAC and mastectomy without PMRT were reviewed. Patients were divided by residual nodal disease (ypN) status (ypN+ versus ypN0) and then stratified by receptor subtype. Among ypN+ patients (n = 35), five-year LRR risk in patients with ER+, Her2+, and triple negative tumors was 5%, 33%, and 37%, respectively (p = 0.02). Among ypN+/ER+ patients, lymphovascular invasion and grade three disease increased the five-year LRR risk to 13% and 11%, respectively. Among ypN0 patients (n = 52), five-year LRR risk in patients with ER+, Her2+, and triple negative tumors was 7%, 22%, and 6%, respectively (p = 0.71). In women with ER+ tumors and residual nodal disease, endocrine therapy may be sufficient adjuvant treatment, except in patients with lymphovascular invasion or grade three tumors where PMRT may still be indicated.
Women Writers, Nineteenth Century Nursery Rhyme and Lyric Innovation

From “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star” to “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, some of the most recognizable children's verse in the English language was written by nineteenth century women poets. A close look at this tradition of original nursery rhyme reveals that it is surprisingly experimental and that it enhances our understanding of the ways in which women writers from this period negotiated the relations between gender, genre and authorship. Indeed, children's verse constitutes important evidence of a tradition of generic innovation and lyric experimentation by women writers, who use juvenile poetry to expand the formal potential of the lyric, adapting the conventions of oral verse to develop a new poetic voice for women. More specifically, women writers of juvenile verse develop a lyric voice capable of expressing the complexities of one of the central aspects of nineteenth century female experience: motherhood. The tradition of original nursery rhyme is dominated by mothers. This is not to say that all women who wrote children's verse were literally mothers but that children's poetry from this period has both a maternal context – women reading to preliterate children – and is voiced by maternal speakers. Through an examination of the collaborative Romantic-era poets Ann and Jane Taylor and the American poet Eliza Lee Follen, the maternal speaker emerges as of central importance to women's poetry. Not only do women writers use maternal speakers to authorize their entry into the commercial literary marketplace, but these writers also use various aspects of maternal experience, including voice and sound, to push the boundaries of the lyric.
equilibrium and extraction: dual organization in the Andes

The division of society and space into halves or “moieties” has been an important feature of Andean culture for centuries. Contemporary moieties are often regarded as the result of either an impervious pre-Columbian conceptual model that has resisted Spanish influence or of marriage preferences. In this article I challenge these views, arguing that the ubiquity of moiety organization today can best be understood as the result of an indigenous imperial model of domination, the extractive uses of which continued into the Spanish Colonial and Republican periods. Based on a case study from the southern Peruvian Andes, I demonstrate that the continued use of moieties in Andean communities must also be understood in terms of the role that dualism plays in ritual action and other conceptual and social domains. I also explore the relationship between equilibrium and extractive ideologies, and between historical models and contemporary social process.
Flight control system for a micromechanical flying insect: architecture and implementation

Describes results on the design and simulation of a flight control system for the micromechanical flying insect (MFI), a 10-25 mm (wingtip-to-wingtip) device eventually capable of sustained autonomous flight. The biologically inspired system architecture results in a hierarchical structure of different control methodologies, which give the possibility to plan complex missions from a sequence of simple flight modes and maneuvers. As a case study, a stabilizing hovering control scheme is presented and simulated with VIFS, a software simulator for insect flight.
An evaluation of the performance advantage of DiffServ with respect to voice over IP flows

In this paper, we study the network queuing effects on the VoIP delay and jitter. Two service polices, FIFO and Differentiated Service (DiffServ), are studied with repect to the queuing delays of VoIP packets. First, we present our assumptions for delay characterization. Then, we provide a model for the traffic flow. We create a “Markovian+Deterministic (M+D)” model in order to represent the traffic flow as a combination of periodic VoIP deliveries and Markovian “background” traffic. We then simulate the system and evaluate the performance of DiffServ and FIFO for VoIP flows under various the traffic intensities and a varied number of routers. The simulation results show that FIFO queuing introduces larger delay jitter as the background traffic intensity approaches the router's processing capacity. However, DiffServ can efficiently confine the VoIP jitter level at each hop and limit the growth within accepted VoIP delay requirements over a series of routers.
Human natural killer (NK) cells present staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) to T lymphocytes

Superantigen-mediated T cell activation requires the participation of antigen-presenting cells (APC). Once superantigen has bound class II MHC molecules on the surface of APC, it then can interact with the T cell receptor to induce T cell activation. Superantigen-mediated T lymphocyte activation, along with its consequent cytokine production is thought to be the basis for the pathophysiology of conditions such as toxic shock syndrome, Kawasaki's disease and possibly rheumatoid arthritis. We examined the role of CD56+ NK lymphocytes in the interaction between superantigens and T lymphocytes. First, we found that a subpopulation of CD56+ cells freshly isolated from human peripheral blood expressed class II MHC molecules. The amount of HLA-DR expression varied between individuals, ranging from 9.3% to 37.7%. CD56+ (NK) cells were purified from the peripheral blood by cell sorting and were tested for their ability to support SEB-mediated T cell activation as assessed by surface expression of IL-2 receptor alpha-chain (CD25) on CD3+ lymphocytes. We observed that when enriched T cells were incubated with SEB in the presence of NK cells, there was a significant up-regulation of CD25 expression of the T cells. When HLA-DR+ cells were removed from sorted CD56+ populations, the remaining HLA-DR- NK cells were unable to support SEB-mediated T cell activation. Also, SEB up-regulated the expression of HLA-DR on CD56+ cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) populations after 24 h of incubation, implying that the ability of NK cells to function as superantigen-presenting cells is up-regulated by superantigens themselves. Together, these data demonstrate for the first time that human CD56+ HLA-DR+ NK cells can function as superantigen-presenting cells, and imply that NK cells may be involved in the activation of non-specific T cell reactivity during early host defences against superantigen-elaborating microorganisms in vivo. Furthermore, the physical linkage of NK cells and T cells by the interaction of superantigen with HLA class II molecules and T cell receptors, respectively, may lead to NK cell activation and augmented lytic potential, helping to clear the body of superantigen-elaborating microorganisms.
Requiem for Keynes, Ideology and Reform: A Keynote on Transformative Practice

In a BP-belied, Wall Street weary, Afghanistan anguished world, reality is hopelessly fraught with post-ideological angst and apogee. Policy innovations are prescient plans for a dubious 21st Century. We examine the interface of social change and policy innovations and argue for a global renaissance. However, in the wake of recent meltdowns—from Darfur to the Gulf of Mexico—it's time to revisit civic culture, modernity and social development in light of their cumulative impact on inter- and intra-societal relationships. The implications of this analysis validate innovative policy intervention as key to social transformation.
The Dynamic Response of Low Voltage, High Current, Disk type Transformer Windings to through Fault Loads

In 1973, Louisiana Power & Light Company and New Orleans Public Service Inc. joined to sponsor research aimed at improving the core-form, power transformer design methods published in the literature. The specific improvement sought was in the mechanical design of continuous low voltage secondary windings of stepdown transformers to withstand the high, transitory currents caused by secondary short circuits.
Modified large sample confidence intervals for Poisson distributions: Ratio, weighted average, and product of means

AbstractInterval estimation procedures for the ratio of two Poisson means, weighted average of Poisson rates, and product of powers of Poisson means are considered. We propose a confidence interval (CI) based on the modified large sample (MLS) approach, and compare with the Cox CIs and the Wilson-score CIs. Our numerical studies indicate that the MLS CI is comparable with the Cox CI, and offers improvement in some cases. We also provide MLS CI for a weighted sum of Poisson means and compare with the available approximate CIs. The methods are illustrated using two examples.
Hypothyroid Myopathy and Thelogen Effluvium

Describing common and uncommon manifestations of hypothyroidism and rapid changes in thyroid function.
Factors Affecting Juvenile Hormone Analogue Activity in the Tobacco Budworm12

Tests showed last instars of Heliothis virescens (F.) to be the larval stage most sensitive to juvenile hormone (JH) analogues based on morphological defects in the pupal stage. Peak sensitivity of the last in star to a JH analogue appeared 2 days after ecdysis, When treating last instars, greater effects (up to 10-fold) were observed when the same dosage was extended over a 3-day period. Intrahemocoelic injections of a JH analogue produced fewer deformities than topical applications. Comparing 2 posttreatment temperatures, the higher gave a 2 to 9-fold increase in effectiveness over the lower temperature. Differences in tolerance to JH analogues were shown to exist in 2 strains of tobacco budworms. The insecticidally resistant strain proved to be more tolerant to JH analogues than the susceptible strain. Additional studies revealed that Heliothis eggs also were sensitive to JH analogues based on failure to hatch. These ovicidal tests indicated that sensitivity was greater when eggs were less than 12-hours old.
Next-Generation Modeling of Melt Blowing

An advanced model has been developed for predicting the behavior of a fiber as it is formed in the melt blowing process. The model involves the simultaneous solution of the momentum, energy, and continuity equations. Crystallization effects are included. The model equations are solved numerically. As a bottom boundary condition in this solution, a “stop point” is assumed. The stop point is the point where (a) the fiber stress is zero, and (b) the air velocity and fiber velocity are equal. Predicted parameters include fiber diameter, velocity, temperature, stress, and crystallinity. The predicted results show that very little online crystallization takes place under typical melt blowing conditions.
Perceptual Errors Leading to Bile Duct Injury During Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Application of human factors concepts to high-risk activities has facilitated reduction in human error. With introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the incidence of major bile duct injury increased. Most injuries involved deliberate major bile duct transection due to misperception of the anatomy. This illusion is sufficiently compelling such that the surgeon usually does not recognize it. We elucidate our experience in the analysis of over 300 laparoscopic bile duct injuries within the framework of human error analysis and normal human perception. The primary cause of error was a visual perceptual illusion; the neurocognitive aspects of normal visual and haptic perception are discussed as well as alterations in this perception within the laparoscopic environment. Surgical sensemaking and situation awareness is also discussed, as well as factors that led to injury detection, including the use of framing. Since the complication-causing error occurred at few key steps during laparoscopic cholecystectomy, we have formulated specific rules to decrease the incidence of bile duct injury. This analysis provides insights into the complexity of surgical perception and human error