cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Model-Driven Product-Line Architectures for Mobile Devices

Abstract The large number of mobile device types and possible device configurations makes it possible to deliver mobile applications to user devices that are not fully compatible with device characteristics. In these situations, users must perform the tedious and error-prone tasks of altering their device configurations to meet the needs of applications. Mobile application product-lines and automated product variant selection engines are promising approaches for deriving and delivering custom tailored applications to devices, thereby eliminating the need for end-user configuration. This paper provides three contributions to model-driven product-line variant selection for mobile devices. First, it describes an infrastructure-driven product variant configuration tool that tailors a product variant to the specific capabilities of a mobile device. Second, it shows how this tool automates the capture of device capabilities and maps them to product-line feature models. Third, it shows how a constraint solver can be used to derive a valid product variant and incorporate a device's resource constraints into the derivation process.
From Social Worker to Crimefighter: Women in United States Municipal Policing

Preface Abbreviations Introduction Forerunners: The Matrons (1820-1899) The Early Policewomen (1900-1928) The International Association of Policewomen (1915-1932) Women's Bureaus (1918-1928) Depression Losses (1929-1941) World War II and the 1940s Paving the Way for Patrol (1950-1967) Women Become Crimefighters (1968-1990s) Notes Selected Bibliography Index
Comparison of different strategies for soybean antioxidant extraction.

Three extraction strategies including Soxhlet extraction, conventional solid−liquid extraction, and ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) were compared for their efficiency to extract phenolic antio...
Small-Angle X-ray Scattering of Spider Dragline Silk

As part of a general study of the structure of spider silk fibers, major ampullate gland silk fibers were collected from Nephila clavipes spiders, and SAXS patterns were obtained from loops of fibers under a variety of conditions. Two orders of lamellar reflection were seen, with a long spacing of 8.4 nm. This increased reversibly by 4% when the fiber was stretched by 10% and shrank to 5.8 nm when the fiber itself shrank 45% on wetting. A strong equatorial streak had a bimodal orientation distribution similar to that seen in NMR and WAXD. The sharper component had a lateral size scale (radius of gyration) of 2.5 nm and a misorientation of 10° FWHM, similar to the orientation of the crystals. The minimum breadth of the streak indicates that the scattering objects are 0.1 μm long. There is an isotropic central scattering, probably caused by voids. On wetting, the lamellar peaks became more intense; more dramatically, the equatorial scattering strengthens and extends to higher angles, almost halving the late...
Examining the Effects of a National Alcohol-Free Fraternity Housing Policy

This investigation examined the effectiveness of an alcohol-free fraternity housing policy on the risky alcohol use of members of a national fraternity (N=718). Comparisons of members in chapters with fraternity housing (FH) and those in chapters without housing (NFH) over time revealed no policy-related effects on measures of alcohol use. Among FH members, comparisons of those who lived in fraternity housing and those who lived in other housing also found no effects. FH members reported that the policy was implemented moderately well; however, it may have shifted alcohol use from fraternity housing to other settings. Editors’ Strategic Implications: The results of this study will be of interest to national and local fraternity administrators, campus student affairs and dean of students offices, and substance use counselors in various settings. For fraternity and possibly other college student populations, an alcohol-free housing policy appears to be a strategy that does not work.
Theory of Many-Boson Systems: Pair Approximation and the Jastrow Trial Pair Function

A perturbation theory approximation is applied to the many-boson problem to obtain a parametric trial pair function similar to that derived by Jastrow. The major contribution to the ground state energy from single pair excitations is evaluated by a direct calculation in configuration space. This treatment is similar to the direct evaluation of the second virial coefficient for imperfect gases. The perturbation theory connection is shown at an early stage before the full formalism of the cluster development is introduced. This serves to motivate the general method of cluster integrals that may be so treated to be completely equivalent to the perturbation theory in the approximation of pair excitations.
Use of a finite-stage transport concept for analyzing residence time distributions of continuous processes

This study is concerned with the derivation and application of the finite-stage transport concept for modeling residence time distributions (RTD's) originally proposed by Adler and Hovorka (1961). This six-parameter model is shown to be more versatile and accurate than the common two-parameter tanks-in-series or axial dispersion models. Radioactive tracer results are given for a number of particulate unit processes with special emphasis on wet-discharge ball mills.
Vacuolar proteases livening up programmed cell death

The molecular identity of the key executioners involved in controlling plant programmed cell death (PCD) has been elusive. In a recent paper published in Science, Hatsugai and coworkers reported that a well-characterized protease called VPE from the plant cell vacuole can cleave caspase-specific substrates and is required for cell death activation by tobacco mosaic virus. This work provides clear evidence for the importance of the vacuole in plant PCD and a novel regulatory function for this organelle as well as for VPE proteases.
The impact of selective laboratory evaluation on utilization of laboratory resources and patient care in a level-i trauma center*

Background Routine laboratory evaluation of preoperative patients has not been shown to be cost effective when a detailed history and physical examination are performed. However, since such a detailed history is not possible in trauma patients, the time-honored approach has been for laboratory evaluation to be protocol driven. The cost-benefit ratio of this practice has never been evaluated. Methods Trauma patients who underwent routine laboratory evaluation (n = 552; group I) were compared with patients who had laboratory evaluation based on clinical need (n = 603; group II). A concurrent review of each case in group II was conducted every day while a retrospective review of charts was conducted for patients in group I to determine patient care issues and identify abnormal trauma center test results. Results The number of patients with laboratory tests decreased from 97% in group I to 27% in group II ( P P P Conclusion Selective laboratory evaluation of trauma patients can greatly reduce medical cost and does not adversely affect care.
User interactive multiple aerial view analysis for reconstructing a large number of 3D architectural models

Abstract An effective 3D method incorporating user assistance for modeling complex buildings is described. This method utilizes the connectivity and similar structure information among unit blocks in a multi-component building structure, to enable the user to incrementally construct models of many types of buildings. The system attempts to minimize the complexity and the number of user interactions needed to assist an existing automatic system in this task. Several examples are presented that demonstrate significant improvement and efficiency, compared with other approaches and with purely manual systems.
Fibrinogen and β-Amyloid Association Alters Thrombosis and Fibrinolysis: A Possible Contributing Factor to Alzheimer's Disease

Summary Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder in which vascular pathology plays an important role. Since the β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) is a critical factor in this disease, we examined its relationship to fibrin clot formation in AD. In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that fibrin clots formed in the presence of Aβ are structurally abnormal and resistant to degradation. Fibrin(ogen) was observed in blood vessels positive for amyloid in mouse and human AD samples, and intravital brain imaging of clot formation and dissolution revealed abnormal thrombosis and fibrinolysis in AD mice. Moreover, depletion of fibrinogen lessened cerebral amyloid angiopathy pathology and reduced cognitive impairment in AD mice. These experiments suggest that one important contribution of Aβ to AD is via its effects on fibrin clots, implicating fibrin(ogen) as a potential critical factor in this disease.
Statistical analysis of process variation induced SRAM electromigration degradation

Electromigration (EM) greatly affects the long term reliability of VLSI chips. Not only power/ground (P/G) lines, but also bit-lines of SRAM arrays may be damaged by EM. In this work, we demonstrate that the EM reliability of an SRAM array can be dramatically worsened by process variation due to a significant increase of sub-threshold leakage current on the bit-line. We statistically model the effects of process variation and offer a procedure for preventing EM failure by modifying the width of bit-lines and P/G lines. Taking into account the effect of bit-line width modification on cell stability and performance, we propose a trade-off between functional and EM failures and indicate an optimal bit line width that maximizes the yield of SRAM arrays.
Neutral-To-Earth Voltage and Ground Current Effects in Livestock Facilities

Problems of animal health and production attributed to voltages between the grounded-neutral system and true earth have risen sharply in rural areas. Animal production problems, particularly with dairy cows, have been observed at voltage levels of 0.75 to 1.0 V ac. A number of possible sources of excessive voltage have been identified from both on-farm and off-farm sources. The two principal voltage sources in non-faulty systems are discussed. The importance of impedance and current flow through various system components is demonstrated. Methods of mitigation related to the principal source are discussed. Safety considerations for farmstead neutral isolation are presented.
Clustering using multilayer perceptrons

Abstract In this paper we present a multilayer perceptron-based approach for data clustering. Traditionally, data clustering is performed using either exemplar-based methods that employ some form of similarity or distance measure, discriminatory function-based methods that attempt to identify one or several cluster-dividing hyper-surfaces, point-by-point associative methods that attempt to form groups of points in a pyramidal manner by directly examining the proximity between pairs of points or groups of points, and probabilistic methods which assume that data are sampled from mixture distributions. Commonly, in exemplar-based methods, each cluster is represented by a multi-dimensional centroid. In this paper, we explore the function approximation capabilities of multilayer perceptron neural networks in order to build exemplars which are not simply points but curves or surfaces. The proposed technique aims to group data points into arbitrary-shaped point clouds. The proposed approach may exhibit problems similar to other traditional exemplar-based clustering techniques such as k -means, including convergence to local minimum solutions with respect to the cost function. However, it is illustrated in this work that approaches such as split-and-merge can be appropriately adjusted and employed in the proposed technique, in order to alleviate the problem of reaching poor local minimum solutions.
Effect of palatoplasty and cleft extent on facial and dental relations

Clinical evaluation and lateral cephalometric films were made of 88 Caucasian females, in three age groups and all with isolated clefts of the palate, to evaluate the effect of palatoplasty and the extent of the cleft in the palate on facial and dental relations. From the findings in this investigation it can be concluded that modifications of the Wardill-Kilner palatoplasty necessitated by the extent of the cleft in the palate did not result in any consistently significant changes in the skeletal-facial relationships. Dentally, on the other hand, there was an increased incidence of malocclusion in the group with severe palatal clefts.
Micromagnetics on high-performance workstation and mobile computational platforms

The feasibility of using high-performance desktop and embedded mobile computational platforms is presented, including multi-core Intel central processing unit, Nvidia desktop graphics processing units, and Nvidia Jetson TK1 Platform. FastMag finite element method-based micromagnetic simulator is used as a testbed, showing high efficiency on all the platforms. Optimization aspects of improving the performance of the mobile systems are discussed. The high performance, low cost, low power consumption, and rapid performance increase of the embedded mobile systems make them a promising candidate for micromagnetic simulations. Such architectures can be used as standalone systems or can be built as low-power computing clusters.
Fast Parallel Tree Codes for Gravitational and Fluid Dynamical N-Body Problems

Abstract : We discuss two physical systems from separate disciplines that make use of the same algorithmic and mathematical structures to reduce the number of operations necessary to complete a realistic simulation. In the gravitational N- body problem, the acceleration of an object is given by the familiar Newtonian laws of motion and gravitation. The computational load is reduced by treating groups of bodies as single multipole sources rather than individual bodies. In the simulation of incompressible flows, the flow may be modeled by the dynamics of a set of N interacting vortices. Vortices are vector objects in three dimensions, but their interactions are mathematically similar to that of gravitating masses. The multipole approximation can be used to greatly reduce the time needed to compute the interactions between vortices. Both types of simulations were carried out on the Intel Touchstone Delta, a parallel MIMD computer with 512 processors. Timings are reported for systems of up to 10 million bodies, and demonstrate that the implementation scales well on massively parallel systems. The majority of the code is common between the two applications, which differ only in certain physics modules. In particular, the code for parallel tree construction and traversal is shared.
Ion-Selective Electrodes for Thiocyanate Based on the Dinuclear Zinc(II) Complex of a Bis-N,O-bidentate Schiff Base

An ion selective electrode based on the dinuclear complex formed by two zinc(II) ions and two molecules of the bis-N,O-bidentate Schiff base 2,2′-[methylenebis(4,1-phenylenenitrilomethylidyne)]bisphenol exhibits thiocyanate selectivity with a good discrimination of nitrite, nitrate, and azide. The selectivities of electrode membranes with various compositions indicate that this potentiometric selectivity is based on the formation of a 1 : 1 complex between the thiocyanate anion and the dinuclear ionophore. The 2 : 1 ratio of thiocyanate ions and the dinuclear ionophore that results from higher ratios of cationic sites and ionophore worsens the selectivity, suggesting that binding of a thiocyanate to both zinc(II) centers of the dinuclear ionophore is not favorable. Interestingly, the selectivity patterns of these electrodes differ radically from that of a highly sulfate selective electrode based on a compound reported previously to be the analogous mononuclear 1 : 1 complex of zinc(II) and the same Schiff base. It is suggested that the previously reported 1 : 1 complex with zinc(II) may indeed have been a polymer of the same elemental composition.
Using a focus group methodology to gain input from people who use home and community based services

Gaining input from people who use home and community based services is important for determining the usefulness of services and clarifying future direction. Many of the commonly used methods have drawbacks when gaining input from people served. The current paper describes a focus group process that has been used to gain input from people who use home and community based services. The focus group process included designing the focus groups, their implementation, and feedback to stakeholders. Insights are presented and have implications for home and community based administrators, providers, and health care specialists.
Rational Design of a Functional Metalloenzyme: Introduction of a Site for Manganese Binding and Oxidation into a Heme Peroxidase†

The design of a series of functionally active models for manganese peroxidase (MnP) is described. Artificial metal binding sites were created near the heme of cytochrome c peroxidase (CCP) such that one of the heme propionates could serve as a metal ligand. At least two of these designs, MP6.1 and MP6.8, bind Mn2+ with Kd ≅ 0.2 mM, react with H2O2 to form stable ferryl heme species, and catalyze the steady-state oxidation of Mn2+ at enhanced rates relative to WT CCP. The kinetic parameters for this activity vary considerably in the presence of various dicarboxylic acid chelators, suggesting that the similar features displayed by native MnP are largely intrinsic to the manganese oxidation reaction rather than due to a specific interaction between the chelator and enzyme. Analysis of pre-steady-state data shows that electron transfer from Mn2+ to both the Trp-191 radical and the ferryl heme center of compound ES is enhanced by the metal site mutations, with transfer to the ferryl center showing the greatest...
From Abuse to Violence: Psychophysiological Consequences of Maltreatment

This paper reviews the psychophysiological literature related to violent behaviors. It explores the interactions of environmental influences, pain, stressors, hormones, and neurotransmitters. It presents ways in which maltreatment in the form of abuse or neglect exacerbates preexisting psychobiological vulnerabilities. It proposes that whatever forces increase impulsivity and irritability, engender hypervigilence and paranoia, diminish judgment and verbal competence, and curtail the recognition of pain in the self and others, will enhance violence, and presents evidence that maltreatment has all of these effects.
Nonlinear fourth sound

Abstract The two-fluid model for He II is used to derive the Mach number dependence on shock strength for weak fourth sound shock waves. The shock structure profile is found to be a hyperbolic tangent with shock thickness proportional to shock strength. The steepening coefficient is evaluated, and methods for producing nonlinear fourth sound are discussed.
Inhomogeneities near the core-mantle boundary evidenced from scattered waves: A review

Statistical properties of small-scale inhomogeneities (wavelengths between 20 and 70 km) near the core-mantle boundary are inferred from scattered core waves. Observations of scattered core waves at large seismic arrays and worldwide networks indicate that the inhomogeneities have a global nature with similar characteristics. However, there may exist a few regions having markedly stronger or weaker strengths. Scattering by volumetric inhomogeneities of about 1% inP-wave velocity in the lower mantle or by about 300 m of topographic relief of the core-mantle boundary can explain the observations. At present it is not possible to rule out either of these two alternatives, or a combination of both.
The Growth Promoting Ability of Fluid Egg Yolk

Abstract Denton et al. (1954) made the interesting observation that supplementing a corn-soya type ration with egg yolk resulted in an 18 percent growth improvement. It seemed desirable to examine the response from egg yolk in relation to those from other crude sources of unidentified factors. This report embodies the results obtained from a series of trials with this point in mind. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Male chicks originating from a mating of New Hampshire males to Columbian females were used in ail phases of the work. The chicks were first placed on their respective basal diets for 7 days, weighed and allocated to experimental groups on the basis of the weight on the seventh day. Lots of 10 chicks each were assigned at random to the compartments of electrically heated batteries. Each experimental treatment was replicated from three to four times (Table 2). Feed and water was offered on an ad libitum …
Portal hypertension enhances endotoxin-induced intercellular adhesion molecule 1 up-regulation in the rat

Abstract BACKGROUND & AIMS: Liver disease or portosystemic shunting enhances th e sensitivity to endotoxin. The aim of this study was to investigate whether intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) expression in response to endotoxin may be dysregulated in an animal model of portal hypertension. METHODS: Portal hypertension was induced by partial portal vein ligation. Sham-operated animals served as controls. ICAM-1 expression was measured using radiolabeled antibodies under baseline conditions or 5 hours after treatment with either endotoxin or recombinant tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Immunoreactive plasma TNF was also measured. RESULTS: Under baseline conditions, ICAM-1 expression in all organs studied was similar in portal-hypertensive and sham-operated rats. ICAM-1 up-regulation after a high dose of endotoxin (5 mg/kg) was similar in both groups of animals. However, portal-hypertensive animals showed a significantly higher ICAM-1 expression in response to low doses of endotoxin (0.1-10 microgram/kg). The response to a low (but not a high) dose of recombinant TNF was also significantly enhanced in portal-hypertensive animals. In addition, portal-hypertensive rats had higher plasma TNF levels after treatment with endotoxin or recombinant TNF. CONCLUSIONS: Portal hypertension induces an exaggerated ICAM-1 up- regulation in response to endotoxin, which is related to an increased production and decreased clearance of the cytokine. (Gastroenterology 1996 Mar;110(3):866-74)
Transforming growth factor-β modulation of glycosaminoglycan production by mesenchymal cells of the developing murine secondary palate

Abstract Development of the mammalian secondary palate requires proper production of the extracellular matrix, particularly glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and collagen. Endogenous factors that regulate the metabolism of these molecules are largely undefined. A candidate for a locally derived molecule would be transforming growth factor β1(TGFβ1) by virtue of its potency as a modulator of extracellular matrix metabolism by several cell lines. We have thus attempted to assign a regulatory role for TGFβ1 in modulation of GAG production and degradation by mesenchymal cells of the murine embryonic palate (MEPM). Treatment with TGFβ1 or TGFβ2, but not IGF-II, resulted in a stimulation of total GAG synthesis. Furthermore, cells treated with bothTGFβ1 and TGFα showed a synergistic increase in GAG synthesis if pretreated with TGFβ1 but not TGFα. Simultaneous stimulation with TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 did not elicit a synergistic response. These studies demonstrate the ability of TGFβ, synthesized by embryonic palatal cells, to specifically stimulate GAG synthesis by MEPM cells. Other growth factors present in the developing craniofacial region may also modulate TGFβ-induced GAG synthesis, a biosynthetic process critical to normal development of the embryonic palate.
Spinal cord injury in forty-four patients with cervical spondylosis.

Within a 12-year period, 44 (9-4%) of 466 patients had spinal cord injury complicating cervical spondylosis. A history of alcoholic use preceding the accident was obtained in 12 (54-5%) of 22 patients whose cord injury was due to a minor fall. The initial myelopathy was complete in 10 patients and incomplete in 34. Although neurological recovery was seen in the majority of the patients with incomplete cord lesion, complete recovery was unusual and most of the patients were partly or completely wheelchair dependent. No patient developed acute neurological deterioration after injury but seven expired. The mortality rate was much higher in the patients whose initial cord lesion was complete (50%> or 5/10) than in those with incomplete myelopathy (5.9% or 2/34). There was no delayed neurological deterioration due to progressive spondylosis of the spine but three patients developed post-traumatic syringomyelia several months to several years after the injury.
THE ROLES OF THE CAMP-RESPONSE ELEMENT AND TATA BOX IN EXPRESSION OF THE HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS TYPE 1 LATENCY-ASSOCIATED TRANSCRIPTS

A quantitative ribonuclease protection assay (RPA) was developed in order to rapidly and accurately measure the levels and timing of latency-associated transcript (LAT) expression in ganglia latently infected with wild-type and mutant herpes simplex virus (HSV). Use of this assay in parallel with measurement of viral titers in murine trigeminal ganglia demonstrated that the peak of viral replication precedes the peak and subsequent plateau of LAT expression. This plateau of LAT expression was unaltered from Day 7 through the end of the experimental period on Day 28, suggesting that LAT does not further accumulate during latency of wild-type virus. RPA analyses of trigeminal ganglia latently infected with HSV-1 mutants containing specific alterations in the LAT TATA box, cyclic AMP-response element (CRE), and both TATA and CRE were performed. Mutation of the upstream TATA box reduced LAT expression to 25% of wild-type or marker-rescued virus levels, whereas mutation of the CRE did not significantly affect LAT expression in vivo whether in the presence or absence of the TATA box. These experiments demonstrate a specific requirement for the upstream promoter TATA box for wild-type LAT expression. Further examination of the role of the CRE and the TATA box by transient expression assays suggests that the CRE is important for inducible activity and that its interaction with the TATA box requires stereospecific alignment.
Potential flow of segmental jet deflectors

A solution is developed for the deflexion of an inviscid, incompressible, twodimensional jet by a series of segments of arbitrary number, lengths, and angles. The Schwarz–Christoffel transformation and free-streamline theory are used. Results are calculated for a number of configurations, using an IBM 360 computer. Excellent comparison is found with several previous calculations for special cases.
Laboratory assessment of HLA antibodies circa 2006: making sense of sensitivity

Abstract For recipients of solid organs, such as kidneys and hearts, a major risk factor for graft rejection/graft loss is the presence of donor-directed HLA antibodies. The pre-transplant selection of donor:recipient pairs and the course of therapy posttransplant are influenced by the patients' antibody status. In the past, antibody assignments were performed exclusively with lymphocyte targets in complement dependent cytotoxicity assays. However, these assays were relatively nonspecific (positive reactions could be due to non-HLA antibodies) and insensitive (false-negative reactions). The recent development of solid-phase antibody detection assays, coupled with the application of flow-cytometric technology, has revolutionized our ability to sensitively and specifically define HLA antibodies. In this review, we chronicle the evolution of antibody detection assays and discuss the clinical relevance of HLA antibodies defined by current approaches.
Ocean subsurface studies with the CALIPSO spaceborne lidar

The primary objective of the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission is to study the climate impact of clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere. However, recent studies have demonstrated that CALIPSO also collects information about the ocean subsurface. The objective of this study is to estimate the ocean subsurface backscatter from CALIPSO lidar measurements. The effects of the lidar receiver's transient response on the attenuated backscatter were first removed in order to obtain the correct attenuated backscatter profile. The empirical relationship between sea surface lidar backscatter and wind speed was used to estimate the theoretical ocean surface backscatter. Then the two-way atmospheric transmittance was estimated as the ratio between the corrected ocean surface backscatter and the theoretical one. The ocean subsurface backscatter was finally derived from the subsurface attenuated backscatter divided by the two-way atmospheric transmittance. Significant relationships between integrated subsurface backscatter and chlorophyll-a concentration and between integrated subsurface backscatter and particulate organic carbon were found, which indicate a potential use of CALIPSO lidar to estimate global chlorophyll-a and particulate organic carbon concentrations.
Wetfall Deposition and Precipitation Chemistry for a Central Appalachian Forest.

Abstract Although extensive research on acidic deposition has been directed toward spruce-fir forests, less research has been done on the impacts of air pollution on eastern montane hardwood forests. The purpose of this study was to describe precipitation chemistry for several Appalachian hardwood forest sites at or near the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF) to assess the potential for problems associated with acidic deposition. Emphasis was placed on seasonal patterns of ionic concentrations (H+, Ca++, NH4+; NO3-, and SO4=) and spatial variability of ionic concentrations and deposition among sites. Seasonal patterns of most ions showed highest concentrations during the summer months and deposition of H+ was especially pronounced during this time. Deposition of all ions was generally greater (related to greater precipitation) at three montane forested sample sites compared to a nonforested riverbottom site. Precipitation chemistry at FEF was similar to other sites throughout the eastern United States and c...
Carbon concentration of standing and downed woody detritus: Effects of tree taxa, decay class, position, and tissue type

The degree to which carbon concentration (CC) of woody detritus varies by tree taxa, stage of decay, tissue type (i.e., bark versus wood), and vertical orientation was examined in samples of 60 tree species from the Northern Hemisphere. The mean CC of 257 study samples was 49.3% with a range of 43.4– 56.8%. Angiosperms had a significantly lower CC than gymnosperms, with means of 47.8% and 50.6%, respectively. For whole-stems (i.e., wood and bark), the CC of gymnosperms significantly increased from 49.3% to 53.5% with decomposition, while angiosperms had no significant change. The CC of bark was higher than wood across all stages of decay by an average of � 1.0%. A similar magnitude of difference was found for standing versus downed dead wood in the later stages of decay, with the former having a higher CC than the latter. Differences between angiosperms and gymnosperms are hypothesized to be associated with initial lignin concentrations as well as subsequent decomposition by white- versus brown-rot fungal functional groups. The higher abundance of brown-rots in decomposing gymnosperms may lead to an increase in lignin concentrations, a compound that has higher CC than cellulose. As a result of these findings, uncertainties associated with forest carbon inventories may be reduced by using detrital CC specific to general taxa (angiosperms versus gymnosperms) and stage of decay rather than a single assumed value of 50% as commonly practiced.
Risk factors for childhood burns: a case-control study of Ghanaian children.

STUDY OBJECTIVE--To study risk factors for childhood burns in order to identify possible preventive strategies. DESIGN--Case-control design with pair matching of controls to cases in relation to age, sex, and area of residence. The cases and controls were identified by a community based, multisite survey. The effects of host and socioenvironmental variables reported by mothers were investigated in a multivariate analysis using conditional logistic regression. SETTING--A developing country setting the Ashanti Region in Ghana. PARTICIPANTS--These comprised 610 cases aged 0-5 years who had been burned (as evidenced by a visible scar) and 610 controls with no burn history. MAIN RESULTS--The presence of a pre-existing impairment in a child was the strongest risk factor in this population (OR = 6.71; 95% CI 2.78, 16.16). Other significant risk factor included: sibling death from a burn (OR = 4.41; 95% CI 1.16, 16.68); history of burn in a sibling (OR = 1.79; 95% CI 1.24, 2.58); and storage of a flammable substance in the home (OR = 1.51; 95% CI 1.03; 2.21). Maternal education had a protective effect against childhood burns, although this effect was not strong (OR = 0.76; 95% CI 0.55, 1.05). CONCLUSIONS--Community programmes to ensure adequate child supervision and general child wellbeing, particularly for those with impairments, as well as parental education about burns are recommended, to reduce childhood burns in this region of Ghana. The public should bed advised against storing flammable substances in the home.
Endosonics--the ultrasonic synergistic system of endodontics.

Abstract Endosonics is an ultrasonic synergistic system of root canal instrumentation and disinfection. Specially made endosonic dies and diamond instruments are energized by means of a Cavitron ultrasound generator (above 20 kHz frequency). An endosonic insert is designed to allow the traditional endodontic irrigant, sodium hypochlorite, to pass through and along the endo-sonic files. The irrigant is activated by the ultrasonic energy imparted from the energized instruments and the root canal becomes an ultrasonic bath. Thus, endosonics is a synergistic system. The ultrasonic energy makes the files vibrate and oscillate, facilitating the instrumentation of the root canal and, in addition, activates the irrigant for canal disinfection.
Endoscopic repair of bile leaks after laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has quickly eclipsed open cholecystectomy as the standard approach to symptomatic gallstones and acalculous biliary disease. Procedure-related morbidity and mortality continue to be defined, but a higher incidence of bile duct injuries has been reported to date using present technology and procedures. Key principles in the management of these problems include definition of the anatomy, relief of any impedance to biliary-enteric flow, and drainage of significant extrahepatic fluid collections. A cooperative, multispecialty approach involving surgeons, radiologists, and gastroenterologists is critical to successful outcomes. Future studies will help streamline the management of bile duct injuries and aid physicians, in their selection of the best approach for each individual patient.
Reducing Average Power in Wireless Sensor Networks through Data Rate Adaptation

The use of variable data rate can reduce network latency and average power consumption, and automatic rate selection is critical for improving scalability and minimizing network overhead. In the IEEE 802.15.4 standard the SNR can be inferred through the radio reported link quality or received signal strength, and an extension to the standard leads to highly dynamic and accurate rate selection. Using data from an experimental study of 44 IEEE 802.15.4 nodes in an industrial mesh network, SNR is extracted to show sufficient margin exists for higher data rate communication. A variable rate signaling scheme with automatic rate selection is proposed to provide links at the standard 250kb/s as well as 500kb/s, 1000kb/s and 2000kb/s with a minimum of hardware changes. Using the experimental data to generate a model of the real world system, total network energy is compared using legacy and variable rate signaling showing over 40% savings.
Predictors of Violent and Nonviolent Victimization Behind Bars: An Exploration of Women Inmates

There is a substantial lack of information identifying the risk factors associated with victimization among women inmates. The current study seeks to remedy that by testing variables from 2 competing theories of inmate violence/victimization: importation and deprivation. Drawing from self-report data from more than 300 women in a midwestern prison, I uniquely analyze 4 types of inmate victimization (i.e., violent, property, sexual, and verbal). The results reveal that 2 importation variables, age and prior education, and only 1 deprivation variable, receipt of disciplinary tickets, are significant across all 4 types of victimization. Policy implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Analysis of stress distribution around pin loaded holes in orthotropic plates

An analysis was performed to evaluate the stress distribution in composite pin loaded joints. The analysis involves specification of displacement expressions in the form of a trigonometric series that satisfy the boundary conditions for the contact region in terms of a set of undetermined coefficients. Based on this assumed distribution, the Lekhnitskii complex variable approach is used to obtain the stress functions needed to evaluate the contact stresses within the joint. Unknown coefficients in the displacement expression were obtained by assuming coulomb friction within the contact region and evaluating the displacement at discrete points within this region. Material properties of carbon fiber reinforced plastic laminates were used for this study and the stress distribution for different values of coefficient of friction analyzed. The analysis revealed that friction affects the stress distribution around the hole boundary with, in general, the peak stresses varying with increasing values of frictional coefficient.
Acid-fast Smear and Histopathology Results Provide Guidance for the Appropriate Use of Broad-Range Polymerase Chain Reaction and Sequencing for Mycobacteria

� Context.—New molecular diagnostic tests are attractive because of the potential they hold for improving diagnostics in microbiology. The value of these tests, which is often assumed, should be investigated to determine the best use of these potentially powerful tools. Objective.—To investigate the usefulness of broad-range polymerase chain reaction (PCR), followed by sequencing, in mycobacterial infections. Design.—We reviewed the test performance of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) PCR and traditional diagnostic methods (histopathology, AFB smear, and culture). We assessed the diagnostic effect and cost of the unrestricted ordering of broad-range PCR for the detection and identification of mycobacteria in clinical specimens. Results.—The AFB PCR was less sensitive than culture and histopathology and was less specific than culture, AFB smear, and histopathology. During 18 months, $93063 was spent on 183 patient specimens for broad-range PCR and DNA sequencing for mycobacteria to confirm one culture-proven Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection that was also known to be positive by AFB smear and histopathology. In this cohort, there was a false-negative AFB PCR for M tuberculosis and a false-positive AFB PCR for Mycobacterium lentiflavum. Conclusion.—Testing of AFB smear–negative specimens from patients without an inflammatory response supportive of a mycobacterial infection is costly and has not been proven to improve patient care. Traditional diagnostics (histopathology, AFB smear, and culture) should remain the primary methods for the detection of mycobacteria in clinical specimens. (Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2015;139:1020–1023; doi: 10.5858/arpa.2013-0705-OA)
Geometrical analysis of LC quadrature oscillator

By applying basic geometrical rules we analyze an LC quadrature oscillator. Various oscillation modes and their stabilities are investigated and impacts of mismatches on the quadrature accuracy are calculated.
1-D and 2-D minimum and non-minimum phase retrieval by solving linear systems of equations

The discrete phase retrieval problem is to reconstruct a discrete-time signal whose support is known and compact from the magnitude of its discrete Fourier transform. We assume knowledge of some values of the signal, e.g. bands of zeros or known values, and solve the problem by solving linear systems of equations. No rooting of polynomials or tracking zero curves of algebraic functions (both very expensive computationally and unstable numerically) is required. Not only is our method much simpler computationally than previous methods, but it also allows the use of total least squares type techniques to be applied to the linear systems of equations, so that noisy data can be handled.
Evolution of the holozoan ribosome biogenesis regulon

The ribosome biogenesis (RiBi) genes encode a highly-conserved eukaryotic set of nucleolar proteins involved in rRNA transcription, assembly, processing, and export from the nucleus. While the mode of regulation of this suite of genes has been studied in the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, how this gene set is coordinately regulated in the larger and more complex metazoan genomes is not understood. Here we present genome-wide analyses indicating that a distinct mode of RiBi regulation co-evolved with the E(CG)-binding, Myc:Max bHLH heterodimer complex in a stem-holozoan, the ancestor of both Metazoa and Choanoflagellata, the protozoan group most closely related to animals. These results show that this mode of regulation, characterized by an E(CG)-bearing core-promoter, is specific to almost all of the known genes involved in ribosome biogenesis in these genomes. Interestingly, this holozoan RiBi promoter signature is absent in nematode genomes, which have not only secondarily lost Myc but are marked by invariant cell lineages typically producing small body plans of 1000 somatic cells. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of 10 fungal genomes shows that this holozoan signature in RiBi genes is not found in hemiascomycete fungi, which evolved their own unique regulatory signature for the RiBi regulon. These results indicate that a Myc regulon, which is activated in proliferating cells during normal development as well as during tumor progression, has primordial roots in the evolution of an inducible growth regime in a protozoan ancestor of animals. Furthermore, by comparing divergent bHLH repertoires, we conclude that regulation by Myc but not by other bHLH genes is responsible for the evolutionary maintenance of E(CG) sites across the RiBi suite of genes.
A Reinforcement Learning Model to Assess Market Power Under Auction-Based Energy Pricing

Auctions serve as a primary pricing mechanism in various market segments of a deregulated power industry. In day-ahead (DA) energy markets, strategies such as uniform price, discriminatory, and second-price uniform auctions result in different price settlements and thus offer different levels of market power. In this paper, we present a nonzero sum stochastic game theoretic model and a reinforcement learning (RL)-based solution framework that allow assessment of market power in DA markets. Since there are no available methods to obtain exact analytical solutions of stochastic games, an RL-based approach is utilized, which offers a computationally viable tool to obtain approximate solutions. These solutions provide effective bidding strategies for the DA market participants. The market powers associated with the bidding strategies are calculated using well-known indexes like Herfindahl-Hirschmann index and Lerner index and two new indices, quantity modulated price index (QMPI) and revenue-based market power index (RMPI), which are developed in this paper. The proposed RL-based methodology is tested on a sample network
Flying rocks and flying clocks: disparity in fossil and molecular dates for birds

Major disparities are recognized between molecular divergence dates and fossil ages for critical nodes in the Tree of Life, but broad patterns and underlying drivers remain elusive. We harvested 458 molecular age estimates for the stem and crown divergences of 67 avian clades to explore empirical patterns between these alternate sources of temporal information. These divergence estimates were, on average, over twice the age of the oldest fossil in these clades. Mitochondrial studies yielded older ages than nuclear studies for the vast majority of clades. Unexpectedly, disparity between molecular estimates and the fossil record was higher for divergences within major clades (crown divergences) than divergences between major clades (stem divergences). Comparisons of dates from studies classed by analytical methods revealed few significant differences. Because true divergence ages can never be known with certainty, our study does not answer the question of whether fossil gaps or molecular dating error account for a greater proportion of observed disparity. However, empirical patterns observed here suggest systemic overestimates for shallow nodes in existing molecular divergence dates for birds. We discuss underlying biases that may drive these patterns.
Selective slow start: a simple algorithm for improving TCP performance in wireless ATM environment

Mobile computing has emerged as an area of significant research and development activities. To support this computing on move, one approach taken by several researchers involves the introduction of the ATM technology in the wireless environment (termed wireless ATM) and the use a suitable transport protocol to support various applications. It is likely that initial implementations will employ TCP (or a modified version of it) as the transport protocol due to the tremendous support it enjoys in the research community. However the problem with existing versions of TCP is a lack of differentiation between segment loss due to the network congestion and due to the handoff in the wireless network. After a segment loss, TCP would initiate a slow start phase to reduce its offered traffic assuming that the network is going through congestion. This may reduce the TCP throughput significantly and will lead to unacceptable performance specially if the underlying wireless ATM network is capable of supporting high data rates. This paper proposes a new algorithm called 'selective slow start', where TCP will attempt to differentiate between segment losses due to the network congestion and due to the handoffs based on the pattern of losses (timeouts). It will initiate the slow start phase in the former case and it will continue to transmit at its current speed in the latter case. Based on the simulation results presented, the SSS algorithm improves the transport layer throughput significantly in a wireless ATM environment.
Erectile Dysfunction is a Signal of Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: a Primary Care View

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a multisystemic disorder with symptoms most commonly caused by vascular insufficiency. Multiple comorbidities occur frequently among men who have ED; thus ED may signal disorders with similar etiologies, including psycho-social problems, endocrine imbalances, neurologic disorders, and particularly cardiovascular risk or frank disease. Evidence is accumulating that vascular ED signals endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease risk. ED may be a strong signal of increased risk of silent myocardial ischemia in men who have uncomplicated type-2 diabetes mellitus and of future symptomatic cardiovascular disease in men who do not have diabetes. ED patients should be evaluated for cardiovascular risk and frank disease because early detection may allow early treatment and decreased morbidity. The best method for evaluating men with ED for cardiovascular risk, and the role of ED as a screening test for increased cardiovascular disease risk need further study.