cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Semantic program alignment for equivalence checking

We introduce a robust semantics-driven technique for program equivalence checking. Given two functions we find a trace alignment over a set of concrete executions of both programs and construct a product program particularly amenable to checking equivalence. We demonstrate that our algorithm is applicable to challenging equivalence problems beyond the scope of existing techniques. For example, we verify the correctness of the hand-optimized vector implementation of strlen that ships as part of the GNU C Library, as well as the correctness of vectorization optimizations for 56 benchmarks derived from the Test Suite for Vectorizing Compilers.
Juxtapoetics: Aesthetic Uncovering of Racist Logics Within a Crisis Intervention Team Training’s Instructional Arc:

Through Educational Criticism, I composed narratives and poems around a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training for police officers through its intended, enacted, and received curriculum. Within an...
Hotspots of aberrant enhancer activity in fibrolamellar carcinoma reveal molecular mechanisms of oncogenesis and intrinsic drug resistance

Fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC) is a rare, therapeutically intractable liver cancer that disproportionately affects youth. Although FLC tumors exhibit a distinct gene expression profile, the causative transcriptional mechanisms remain unclear. Here we used chromatin run-on sequencing to discover approximately 7,000 enhancers and 141 enhancer hotspots activated in FLC relative to non-malignant liver. Detailed bioinformatic analyses revealed aberrant ERK/MEK signaling and candidate master transcriptional regulators. We also defined the genes most strongly associated with aberrant FLC enhancer activity, including CA12 and SLC16A14. Treatment of FLC cell models with inhibitors of CA12 or SLC16A14 independently reduced cell viability and/or significantly enhanced the effect of MEK inhibitor cobimetinib. These findings highlight new molecular targets for drug development as well as novel drug combination approaches.
Parent adoption and implementation of obesity prevention practices through building children's asking skills at family child care homes.

Abstract Background Early childhood education programs provide a setting to reach children and parents to modify home environments to prevent obesity. The Healthy Opportunities for Physical Activity and Nutrition Home (HOP’N) Home project was a novel approach that linked Family Child Care Homes (FCCH) to home environments by developing children’s asking skills for healthful home environmental change through curricular activities. Objective To evaluate the feasibility of engaging parents in obesity prevention practices through building children's asking skills at FCCH. Methods FCCHs (n = 5 settings) and children (n = 25; aged 3−5 years; female = 36 %; non-Hispanic white = 91 %; low socioeconomic status = 28 %; overweight/obese = 52 %) and parents (n = 25) participated in a pre-post cohort design. We assessed children's body mass index and self-report variables at three time points. HOP'N Home included continuous staff training, group time, dramatic play, meal prompts, songs, and home activities. Results FCCH providers implemented 83%–100% of intervention activities. All parents (100 %) adopted the program, most (87 %) returned completed homework activities to FCCHs, and over 90 % implemented changes in the home. Percent of overweight/obese children decreased from pre-intervention (50 %) to post-intervention (29 %,p = 0.06) and follow-up (38 %,p = 0.06). Conclusions It is feasible to build children's asking skills and pair this strategy with home activities to engage parents to prevent obesity.
Laser fabrication of structural bone: surface morphology and biomineralization assessment

The current work explores the surface morphology of the laser-ablated bone using Yb-fiber coupled Nd:YAG laser (λ = 1064 nm) in continuous wave mode. As the laser-ablated region contains physiochemically modified carbonized and nonstructural region, it becomes unknown material for the body. Thus, biomineralization on such a laser-ablated region was assessed by in vitro immersion test in noncellular simulated body fluid. The presence of hydroxyapatite was detected in the precipitated mineral product using scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. The effect of varying laser parameters on distribution of surface morphology features was identified and its corresponding effect on biomineralization was studied.
Basolateral amygdala CB1 receptors modulate HPA axis activation and context-cocaine memory strength during reconsolidation

Re-exposure to a cocaine-associated context triggers craving and relapse through the retrieval of salient context-drug memories. Upon retrieval, context-drug memories become labile and temporarily sensitive to modification before they are reconsolidated into long-term memory stores. Cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1R) signaling is necessary for cocaine-memory reconsolidation and associated glutamatergic plasticity in the basolateral amygdala (BLA); however, it remains unclear whether CB1Rs in the BLA mediate this phenomenon. To investigate this question, we examined whether CB1R antagonist or agonist administration into the BLA immediately after cocaine-memory retrieval (i.e., during memory reconsolidation) alters cocaine-memory strength and subsequent drug context-induced cocaine-seeking behavior in an instrumental rodent model of cocaine relapse. Intra-BLA administration of the CB1R antagonist, AM251 (0.3 {micro}g/hemisphere) - during, but not after, memory reconsolidation - increased drug context-induced cocaine-seeking behavior three days later, while the CB1R agonist, WIN55,212-2 (0.5 {micro}g/hemisphere) failed to alter this behavior. Furthermore, AM251 administration into the posterior caudate putamen (anatomical control region) during memory reconsolidation did not alter subsequent context-induced cocaine-seeking behavior. In a follow-up experiment, cocaine-memory retrieval elicited robust hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation, as indicated by an increase in blood serum corticosterone concentration, and this response was selectively extended by intra-BLA AM251 administration during the putative time of memory reconsolidation relative to all control conditions. Together, these findings suggest that CB1R populations in the BLA gate memory strength or interfere with memory maintenance, possibly by diminishing the impact of cue-induced arousal on the integrity of the reconsolidating memory trace or on the efficiency of the memory reconsolidation process.
A Soft X-ray Polarimeter Designed for Broad-band X-ray Telescopes

A novel approach for measuring linear X-ray polarization over a broad-band using conventional imaging optics and cameras is described. A new type of high efficiency grating, called the critical angle transmission grating is used to disperse soft X-rays radially from the telescope axis. A set of multilayer-coated paraboloids re-image the dispersed X-rays to rings in the focal plane. The intensity variation around these rings is measured to determine three Stokes parameters: I, Q, and U. By laterally grading the multilayer optics and matching the dispersion of the gratings, one may take advantage of high multilayer reflectivities and achieve modulation factors over 50% over the entire 0.2 to 0.8 keV band. A sample design is shown that could be used with the Constellation-X optics.
An integrated land-use/transportation forecasting and planning model: A metropolitan planning support system

Over the last several decades, land-use/transport interaction models have evolved. Although these models have the potential to become primary demographic forecasting and planning vehicles in metropolitan transportation planning for most large US urban regions, some gaps and improvements must be addressed. This paper briefly discusses a newly developed and refined integrated land-use/transportation model. It also introduces innovative approaches to modeling an urban area including a variant of a geographic information system-based land-use and environmental suitability analysis, as main components in deriving development potential for a small-cell grid of the study region. This approach enables the inclusion of public and stakeholder input into the modeling process, facilitates micro-level consideration of trip generation, trip distribution, and mode-choice inside the land-use demographic model, thus furthering the integration of transportation and land use in the modeling process. Such considerations and utilization of rule-based approaches and concerns of economic development and environmental and sustainability factors help close some existing gaps of operational models designed for real world practical applications. All of these features contribute toward further improvement of these models.
Regional Perspectives of Women Entrepreneurs: Similarities, Differences, and Contributing Forces

Cultures and traditions which defined the African woman’s status and gendered roles on the surface indicate more similarities than differences among women status across the regions. The tendencies for the first-generation women entrepreneurs and their multiple roles have more in common regarding the type of industries or businesses they operate. The potential impact of the culture-induced social structures in the five key regions of the continent and the implications for women entrepreneurial activities are explored in relations to the generally identified traditional characteristics of the African woman including limited access to education, marginalized, early marriage, family caregiver, denied property inheritance, and in most cases become vegetable farmers, small retail traders, with domestic skills.
Re-Reading Charlotte Smith’s Emmeline and Celestina in Mary Tighe’s Selena

This essay explores the ways in which Mary Tighe's manuscript novel Selena restages characters and situations from Charlotte Smith's novels Emmeline and Celestina to advance the courtship novel's p...
Discovering and Applying the Urban Rules of Life to Design Sustainable and Healthy Cities

The city and its urban biome provides an extreme laboratory for studying fundamental biological questions and developing best practices for sustaining biodiverse and well-functioning ecological communities within anthropogenic built environments. We propose by studying urban organisms, urban biotic communities, the urban biome, and the interactions between the urban biome and peri-urban built and natural environments, we can (1) discover new "rules of life" for the structure, function, interaction, and evolution of organisms; (2) use these discoveries to understand how novel emerging biotic communities affect and are affected by anthropogenic environmental changes in climate and other environmental factors; and (3) apply what we have learned to engage residents of the urban biome, and design cities that are more biologically diverse, are provided with more and better ecosystem services, and are more equitable and healthier places to live. The built environment of the urban biome is a place that reflects history, economics, technology, governance, culture, and values of the human residents; research on and applications of the rules of life in the urban biome can be used by all residents in making choices about the design of the cities where they live. Because inhabitants are directly invested in the environmental quality of their neighborhoods, research conducted in and about the urban environment provides a great opportunity to engage wide and diverse communities of people. Given the opportunity to engage a broad constituency-from basic researchers to teachers, civil engineers, landscape planners, and concerned citizens-studying the translation of the rules of life onto the urban environment will result in an integrative and cross-cutting set of questions and hypotheses, and will foster a dialog among citizens about the focus of urban biome research and its application toward making more equitable, healthy, livable, sustainable, and biodiverse cities.
Infection and Mechanical Complications Are Risk Factors for New Diagnosis of a Mental Health Disorder After Total Joint Arthroplasty.

Abstract Background Prior studies have demonstrated that depression is an independent risk factor for developing a prosthetic joint infection (PJI) after total joint arthroplasty (TJA). To our knowledge, there is no literature examining whether PJI or aseptic failure increases the risk of developing a new mental health diagnosis. Methods PearlDiver Patient Database (Colorado Springs, CO) was used to identify 80,826 patients who underwent TJA without a pre-existing diagnosis of depression, anxiety, a stress and/or adjustment disorder, and/or current use of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor within the year prior to surgery. The odds of developing a new mental health issue or being prescribed a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor within 1 year of an uncomplicated TJA was compared to those who developed PJI or mechanical failure within 90 days after TJA as well as to those who subsequently underwent revision surgery within 30 days of either complication using Fisher’s exact test and Baptista-Pike. Results A total of 6474 (8%) patients were diagnosed with a new mental health issue after TJA. PJI or mechanical failure led to significantly higher odds of new diagnoses with an odds ratio of 1.67 (95% confidence interval = 1.26, 2.22) and 1.57 (1.24, 2.00), respectively. Undergoing revision surgery for PJI or mechanical failure increased the odds of developing a new mental health diagnosis to 2.10 (1.29, 3.42) and 2.24 (1.36, 3.72), respectively. There was no significant difference comparing those who developed PJI vs those who sustained mechanical complications. Conclusion Patients who sustain complications after TJA are at increased odds of receiving a new mental health diagnosis, an effect further amplified if revision surgery is required.
ProvCaRe: A Large-Scale Semantic Provenance Resource for Scientific Reproducibility

Reproducibility is a critical component for scientific advancement, because it is essential to ensure that new research is based on sound experimental results, considering that increasingly limited funding resources are allocated to rigorously designed research studies. Scientific reproducibility is particularly important in the biomedical sciences that involve patient safety and the broader domain of human health. We present our semantic provenance resource called Provenance for Clinical and Health Research (ProvCaRe) that has extracted provenance information, which is a core component of scientific reproducibility, from all 1.6 million biomedical full-text articles available in the PubMed database. To the best of our knowledge, the ProvCaRe is the largest repository of real-world provenance metadata with terms mapped to a unique provenance ontology that extends the W3C PROV Ontology (PROV-O) for biomedical sciences. To extract the provenance metadata from unstructured text in published articles, we developed a novel ontology-driven natural language processing (NLP) pipeline that identifies and extracts structured provenance information. The ProvCaRe tool features an intuitive search and query interface with a new provenance-based ranking dashboard that enables users to assign custom weights to query results. The ProvCaRe semantic provenance resource is enabling us to systematically evaluate the reproducibility of biomedical research studies in a comprehensive manner that was not possible earlier for the biomedical research community.
Aerobic granulation of single culture protist

Abstract Thraustochytrium striatum was selected as a model protist to test the possibility of protist granulation for its good potential of organic waste valorization. Initially, only a selective settling velocity of 9 m h−1 was applied in a sequential batch reactor (SBR) with minimal granulation progress after three months. After the famine condition was introduced into the SBR with a feast-to-famine duration ratio of 0.2 by extending the cycle time and lowering the initial substrate concentration while keeping the selective settling velocity unchanged, protist granules with spherical shape and smooth surface formed and were dominated in the reactor after another month. The average particle size of protist granules was 728 μm, 90 times greater than its planktonic counterpart. This study evidenced the culture-independent phenomenon of aerobic granulation. Also, the combination of a low feast-to-famine duration ratio with a selective settling velocity was found to be required for inducing successful protist granulation.
High-pressure microbial physiology.

Publisher Summary This particular chapter focuses on the barophysiology of micro-organisms, primarily bacteria, with the aim of developing some feeling for the molecular aspects of the pressure responses. The vacuoles of blue-green algae proved to be somewhat more resistant to collapse, but still one can envisage a situation in which these vacuoles would be collapsed by pressure in relatively shallow waters, and that this collapse would decrease the tendency of the organisms to raise to the surface where the light for photosynthesis is most intense. The effects of pressure on some specific microbial cell functions such as permeability and transport reactions, catabolic processes, biopolymer synthesis, cell division and morphological differentiation, regulatory functions, and motility are discussed in this chapter. Much of the current perspective of the molecular aspects of barophysiology is because of their efforts, particularly their application of the theory of absolute reaction rates to pressure–temperature studies of biological processes. The long-term survival of any organism depends on its adaptive capacities. Free-living bacteria have highly developed adaptive mechanisms, many of which are related to the need of small unicellular organisms to cope with limited and varying nutrient supply in highly competitive natural situations. Many bacteria grow under pressure to become elongate forms, and so it appears that cell division of these organisms are slowed by pressure more than is cell growth. However, other bacteria undergo no such change in morphology and division does not appear to be more barosensitive than is growth. There is a general feeling in the field of microbial barophysiology that the inhibitory effects of pressure on the growth of microorganisms are because of the pressure inhibition of polymer synthesis.
The Filter Browser Defining Interfaces Graphically

We describe a new approach to constructing user Interfaces by declaratively specifying the relationships between objects via filters. A filter is a package of constraints dynamically enforced between a source object and a view object. For example, the relationship between an employee object in a database and a bitmap object represented on a display screen can be modelled as a filter. The object in the database can then be modified by manipulating the object on the screen, and changes made to the employee object by other programs are Instantly reflected on the screen.This paper describes a specification language for filters, an Implementation of filters with the aid of a constraint-satisfaction system, and a graphical interface for designing filters. We illustrate the power and flexibility of the filter paradigm with an Interface example and show that it stimulates and supports the re-use of existing components and gives a design methodology for constructing interfaces.
ON SOME OPTIMAL SAMPLING PROCEDURES FOR SELECTION PROBLEMS

Abstract. Let II i , i = 1,…,k, be k populations with associated continuous distribution functions F(x,θ i ) = F(x-θ i ), i = 1,…,k, where θ i are unknown. We select the population associated with the largest θ i by employing the ‘natural’ rule which selects the population that yields the largest sample mean based on n independent observations from each population. The problem of optimal allocation of the sample size is studied using the Γ-minimax criterion, which minimizes the expected risk over a class Γ of prior distributions. The loss function is set up taking into account the sampling cost as well as the cost of making a wrong decision. Similar investigation is carried out when F(x-θ i ) = F(x/θ i ), x ≥ 0, θ i > 0.
Signs and tools of algebraic reasoning: A study of models among fifth grade students.

This study focuses on the types of models created by students during algebraic pattern finding tasks. Attention is also given to the change in models over time. This is an important area of study because a closer look is needed to better understand the models created during mathematical activity, especially in the elementary classroom. It is reported here how fifth grade students used given concrete models and created new representations of models to reason algebraically about pattern finding tasks. Twenty-five fifth grade students participated in the three-day teaching experiment. Results indicate that students' recursive models were abandoned and then transformed to explicit models, and finally adopted from others during whole class discussions. These adopted models in most cases were enduring over a six-week period.
High-resolution lighting of 3D reliefs using a network of projectors and cameras

Vibrant lighting of relief maps via high-resolution dynamic projected imagery can be a powerful tool for simulation, augmented reality, and visualization, enabling several scientific, educational and entertainment applications. This is usually achieved via multiple projectors lighting the relief map, which are then sensed by multiple cameras for geometric and color calibration. However, cumbersome semi-automatic calibration techniques have limited the applicability of such systems. In this paper we present the first fully-automatic lighting system that registers high-resolution images on arbitrarily-shaped relief maps using a network of projectors and cameras. The devices are uncalibrated and casually aligned with the only constraint that every surface point of the relief is seen by at least two of the cameras. Our method achieves precise geometric registration followed by seamless edge blending. Quick recalibration allows changes in the position and number of the devices, as well as the surface geometry. Thus, our work can enable easy deployment of spatially augmented reality environments in various scales playing a fundamental role in increasing their popularity in several applications like geospatial analysis, architectural lighting, cultural heritage restoration, theatrical lighting and visualization. It can also be applied to any immersive VR environments on non-planar surfaces like domes or cylinders.
Plural Superlatives and Distributivity

In this paper we propose a unified semantics for singular and plural superlative expressions that makes use of the ‘**’ (“double star”) distributivity operator (an operator whose role is to pluralize 2-place predicates). The analysis aims to solve two problems: (a) the distributivity problem (the fact that a superlative expression doesn’t distribute over the atomic parts of the plural individual it is predicated of); and (b) the cut-off problem (the fact that a plural superlative expression cannot simultaneously be predicated of two distinct yet overlapping plural individuals). We argue that any solution to these problems that posits two distinct superlative morphemes, one corresponding to a superlative operator for singular individuals and one corresponding to a superlative operator for plural individuals, is challenged by the lack of cross-linguistic morphological evidence. We provide a unified analysis, and account for the differences between plural and singular superlative expressions by appealing to pragmatic principles.
Experimental bowel shock in rats. II. Liver nucleotide changes.

Abstract Rats were subjected to a standardized bowel strangulation procedure, and their livers removed, frozen and homogenized in cold perchloric acid. An aliquot of neutralized acid-supernatant fluid was adjusted to pH 8.4 and chromatographed on Dowex-1 chloride. Nucleotide fractions were identified by their ultraviolet absorption spectra. As compared to control animals, the amount of adenosine triphosphate was found to be decreased in liver homogenates of untreated shocked rats, and, in addition, three unusual peaks were detected. One peak was shown to be hypoxanthine, whereas the other two were chromatographically similar to inosine monophosphate. Medication with neomycin sulfate prevented the formation of these products of catabolism in shocked animals. Unshocked animals medicated with neomycin sulfate had significantly greater quantities of liver adenosine triphosphate than did similarly treated controls.
A review of turbomachinery tip gap effects: Part 2: Rotating machinery

Abstract This two part review covers experiments examining the effects of blade tip gaps encountered in turbomachines and the methods by which the synthesised data are currentl used in turbomachine design and analysis. Data gained since the 1930's are subdivided for convenience into cascade (Part 1) and rotating machinery (Part 2) data, with a further subdivision into diffusing, or compressor type flows and accelerating, or turbine type flows. The overall trend is that an increasing tip gap, whose effect can reach over most or all of the blade height, reduces turbomachine performance. There is some evidence among the compressor and compressor cascade data that an optimum gap exists when the opposing effects of secondary flows and tip leakage with rotor/wall relative movement tend to balance. Turbine data are, in general, more regular than the body of compressor data, possibly because of the enhanced effect of, usually, undefined boundary layers in diffusing flow in the latter. Comment is made in Part 2 on the predictive and design models reported in the liturature
An analysis of gradient-induced distortion in dual beam ati systems for vector surface current mapping

Abstract : This paper summarizes an analysis of gradient-induced distortions in the vector surface current estimates generated by dual-beam, along-track interferometric SAR systems. In such systems, interferograms from two squinted beams, one squinted forward of broadside and the other aft, are combined to measure the full surface current vector with only a single aircraft pass. However, in the presence of significant current gradients, an effect akin to velocity-bunching can cause distortion in the measured current estimates. Up to a point, these distortions can be removed by a straightforward, spatial remapping of the interferogram pixels based upon their phase values. However, there is a critical current gradient beyond which the true surface current field is not recoverable. In addition, the along-track component of the surface current introduces unequal azimuthal displacements in the fore- and aft-squinted interferograms. As a result, when along-track currents are present, the two interferograms will not be spatially registered. If appreciable along-track current gradients are also present, the resulting current vector estimates in and around the gradient region will undergo further distortion. These effects are explored through an approximate, linear analysis as well as through a full interferometric SAR model, using the current gradients present in rivers as an example.
Generalizations of Markov model to characterize biological sequences

The currently used k th order Markov models estimate the probability of generating a single nucleotide conditional upon the immediately preceding (gap = 0) k units. However, this neither takes into account the joint dependency of multiple neighboring nucleotides, nor does it consider the long range dependency with gap>0. We describe a configurable tool to explore generalizations of the standard Markov model. We evaluated whether the sequence classification accuracy can be improved by using an alternative set of model parameters. The evaluation was done on four classes of biological sequences – CpG-poor promoters, all promoters, exons and nucleosome positioning sequences. Using di- and tri-nucleotide as the model unit significantly improved the sequence classification accuracy relative to the standard single nucleotide model. In the case of nucleosome positioning sequences, optimal accuracy was achieved at a gap length of 4. Furthermore in the plot of classification accuracy versus the gap, a periodicity of 10–11 bps was observed which might indicate structural preferences in the nucleosome positioning sequence. The tool is implemented in Java and is available for download at ftp://ftp.pcbi.upenn.edu/GMM/ . Markov modeling is an important component of many sequence analysis tools. We have extended the standard Markov model to incorporate joint and long range dependencies between the sequence elements. The proposed generalizations of the Markov model are likely to improve the overall accuracy of sequence analysis tools.
Pure exogenous singlet oxygen: nonmutagenicity in bacteria.

Abstract Singlet oxygen (1ΔgO2) is the lowest energy-excited state of molecular oxygen, and more reactive than the triplet ground-state molecule. Although singlet oxygen has been implicated in a variety of biological effects, including reactions with DNA or some of its components, evidence for mutagenesis by singlet oxygen has remained unclear. We have previously described a system for bacterial exposure to pure exogenous singlet oxygen that eliminates ambiguity regarding the identity of the reactive species responsible for observed results. Despite the potent toxicity of pure singlet oxygen for several different strains of bacteria, we have found no evidence for mutagenicity of singlet oxygen in 26 Salmonella typhimurium histidine-auxotrophic strains killed to 35% survival. These strains included a variety of base-pair substitution or frameshift target sequences for reversion, including targets responsive to oxidative damage and targets rich in GC base pairs. Some strains combined histidine mutations with one or more mutations affecting DNA-repair capacity. 4 strains possessing the hisG46 mutation also were not mutated when exposed to dose ranges killing less than 28% and up to 99% of the bacteria. The relative frequency of small inphase deletions was assayed in hisG428 bacteria exposed to single oxygen and found to be the same as the spontaneous level. In addition to lack of induction of mutation in these strains, the 8-azaguanine forward mutation assay yielded no evidence of mutagenesis by singlet oxygen in strains killed to 15% survival. No induction of genetic changes by singlet oxygen was seen in an assay for duplication of ∼ 1 3 of the bacterial chromosome. Tests for the ability of singlet oxygen to induce lambda prophage in E. coli K12 also proved negative. These studies collectively indicate that pure singlet oxygen generated outside the bacterial cell does not react significantly with the bacterial chromosome in ways leading to base-pair substitutions, frameshift mutations, small or large deletions, large duplications, or damage that interferes with DNA replication and induces the SOS system.
Exchange factor model for radiative heat transfer analysis in rocket engines

Numerical models based on the discrete exchange factor (DEF) and the zonal methods for radiative analysis of rocket engines containing a gray radiatively participating medium have been developed. These models implement a new technique for calculating the direct exchange factors to account for possible blockage by the nozzle throat. Given the gas and surface temperature distributions, engine geometry, and radiative properties, the models compute the wall radiative heat fluxes at different axial positions. The results of sample calculations for a typical rocket engine (engine 700 at NASA), which uses RP-1 (a kerosene-type propellant), are presented for a wide range of surface and gas properties. It is found that heat transfer by radiation can reach up to 50% of that due to convection. The maximum radiative heat flux is at the inner side of the engine, where the gas temperature is the highest. Although the results of both models are in excellent agreement, the computation time of the DEF method is found to be much smaller. Dimensionless radiative heat fluxes were calculated via a nonhomogeneous medium model using the DEF method.
Efficacy and mechanism of anticonvulsant drugs in migraine

Anticonvulsants represent one of the main substance classes used for the preventive treatment of migraine. Efficacy has been demonstrated in randomized placebo-controlled trials for topiramate and valproic acid including divalproex sodium. In the case of topiramate, efficacy has recently been proven for chronic migraine and even medication overuse headache, questioning the established concept of medication withdrawal. However, preventive treatment with anticonvulsants is frequently hampered by side effects that occasionally require treatment discontinuation. In addition, these data indicate that some anticonvulsant drugs are effective in migraine, while a number are clearly not useful. Effective anticonvulsants, such as topiramate and valproate, target nociceptive trigeminovascular and trigeminothalamic dural pathways or mechanisms involved in cortical spreading depression. Dissecting out how the anticonvulsants that do not work differ mechanistically from those that do will almost certainly provide avenues through which one can develop new treatments to bring to patients with migraine.
Analysis of ZLC desorption curves for gaseous systems

The theoretical model and underlying assumptions used in the analysis of ZLC (zero length column) desorption curves are examined in detail. It is shown that the long time analysis generally yields reliable diffusivity values although, if the initial equilibrium condition is not properly established there will be significant error in the apparent equilibrium constant. The short time analysis is much more sensitive to such errors and a modified way of data analysis is suggested to overcome this problem. Varying the initial equilibration time provides an alternative ZLC experiment that can be used to establish the nature of the rate controlling mass transfer resistance. The utility of this approach is illustrated experimentally for the system C3H8-13X zeolite.
Disseminating Evidence-Based Practices in Secondary Transition:

As educators move into a new era of educational reform, it becomes imperative that teachers use evidence-based instructional practices shown to be effective for students with disabilities. One area that plays a role in this process is secondary transition. The National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center has identified 63 evidence-based practices for teaching secondary students with disabilities. One critical component in this process is the dissemination and implementation of these practices with high fidelity. Methods for disseminating and implementing these practices with high fidelity are discussed.
Geophysics with Hawaiian Anti-neutrino Observatory (Hanohano)

The design studies are under way for the deep ocean anti-neutrino observatory located in the vicinity of the Big Island (Hawaii) with the main goal of measuring geo-neutrino flux from the mantle and core which can exclusively be done in a location far from the continental plates such is Hawaiian Islands chain. Hanohano will also accomplish the definitive measurement of the electron anti-neutrino signal from the core to observe or eliminate a hypothetical natural reactor in the Earthʼs core.
An equilibrium model of a second economy market in a centrally planned economy

Abstract We study a CPE in which an identical good is sold on the official market (OM) and a “second economy” market (SEM ). Planners set parameters. Managers divide inputs between markets to maximize expected utility of wealth. Consumers are expected utility maximizers who purchase the good on the OM or SEM. On the OM, excess demand exists at the non-Walrasian price; delivery date is stochastic. The SEM offers immediate availability. Our solution concept involves the rational expectations of managers, the consistency of consumers' decisions, and a market-clearing SEM. We solve for SEM price and supply and investigate various comparative statics.
THE SEQUENTIAL BOOTSTRAP: A COMPARISON WITH REGULAR BOOTSTRAP

Based on Bradley Efron's observation that individual resamples in the regular bootstrap have support on approximately 63% of the original observations, C. R. Rao, P. K. Pathak and V. I. Koltchinskii [1]have proposed a sequential resampling scheme. This sequential bootstrap stabilizes the information content of each resample by fixing the number of unique observations and letting N, the number of observatons in each resample, vary. The Rao-Pathak-Koltchinskii paper establishes the asymptotic correctness (consistency) of the sequential bootstrap. The main object of our investigation is to study the empirical properties of the Rao-Pathak-Koltchinskii sequential bootstrap as compared to the regular bootstrap. In all our settings, sequential bootstrap performs as well or better than regular bootstrap. In the particular case where we estimate standard errors of sample medians, we find that sequential bootstrap outperforms regular bootstrap by reducing variability in the final bootstrap estimates.
Psychotropic drugs as behavioral teratogens

Three psychotropic drugs were administered to pregnant rats and were then evaluated for their behavioral and reproductive effects in the offspring. Control rats received either saline or vitamin A. Prochlorperazine had the most disruptive effects on reproduction and growth, but had the least effect on behavior. Propoxyphene had no apparent effects on reproduction or growth, but produced a variety of behavioral changes. Fenfluramine was intermediate in its effects on reproduction and growth and had behavioral effects that were revealed in tests of preweaning development. The data suggest that systematic tests of behavior add important information to evaluations of reproductive toxicity that cannot, at present, be obtained by other means.
A Maximum Likelihood Estimator for Shape Parameters of S‐Distributions

The S-distribution is a four-parameter distribution that is defined in terms of a differential equation, in which the cumulative is represented as the dependent variable: f = dF/dX = αF R . (1 - F k ) F(X 0 ) = 0.5. The article proposes a maximum likelihood estimator for the shape parameters of this distribution.
New image-compression algorithm using wavelet analysis

The conventional approach of using DCT (discrete cosine transform) which is Fourier based has been most popular in industry. The advantages and potentials of image compression using wavelet analysis are now being explored. In this paper a new image compression algorithm based on wavelet analysis is presented that makes use of a lifting scheme and a modification of the 3-D subband coding. The exploitation of contexts in both space-time and space-space brings out an improved algorithm that is both performance effective and computationally efficient. The software system using this algorithm has the advantage that it is much more flexible and less costly than hardware systems. The new algorithm has been tested with the compression of traffic scene video with satisfactory results.
Rapid identification of lectin receptors and their possible function in sea urchin cell systems

Summary An assay using lectin derivatized agarose beads to rapidly and inexpensively identifycell surface lectin receptors was recently described by Latham et al. (1995). In this earlier study, the assay was tested on large, early stage sea urchin embryo cells. In this study this assay was used to examine lectin receptors on small, later stage sea urchin embryo cells that are more typical of cells that most investigators deal with, to ascertain if cell size is a determining factor in the assay's validity. The results indicated that the assay is a valid method to identify lectin receptors on small as well as large cells. Twenty-three hour Strongylocentrotus purpuratus embryo cells strongly bound Triticum vulgaris , concanavalin A, Artocarpus integrifolia and Vicia villosa using both the agarose bead and fluorescence assays, while three other lectins, Ulex europaeus I , Lotus tetragonolobus and Lens culinaris did not strongly bind to the cells using these two assays. As in earlier studies agglutinability results did not correlate well with results using the two other assays. In all cases where lectin bead binding, fluorescent lectin binding or lectin-mediated agglutination occurred, specific sugars reduced the observed binding. The second part of this study examined the putative role of concanavalin A receptors in a specific cellular interaction: sperm-egg binding. Concanavalin A inhibited fertilization of dejellied sea urchin eggs when their vitelline layers were intact and to a lesser extent when their vitelline layers were removed. This effect was counteracted by alpha methyl glucose. The major differences between these studies and previous work is that here concanavalin A was washed out after incubation with eggs, making it more likely that results reflect binding to cell surface lectin receptors rather than toxicity. In addition, performing the experiments on eggs with or without vitelline layers provided information on the location of concanavalin A receptors that may function in sperm-egg interaction.
Host country reforms and FDI inflows: How much difference do they make?

Summary This study examines the effects of various policies on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows from the perspective of the “eclectic theory” of international investment, and hence the advantages of foreign ownership, host country location, and internationalization. Host country policies can influence FDI flows primarily through their influence on the advantages of location in the host country. Pooled cross-section and time-series data for 49 less-developed countries (LDCs) over 1970–95 are used to examine the effects of several different types of policy/institutional variables, including corporate tax rates, tariff rates, the degree of openness to international capital flows, exchange rate distortions, contract enforcement, nationalization risk, bureaucratic delay and corruption. A multivariate analysis of the effects on FDI flows of each type of policy, with and without controls for other relevant determinants is conducted. Two different sources of FDI data are employed as well as two different measures of capital controls. Although there are methodological problems in estimation, and especially collinearity problems, and relatively severe availability constraints for some of the relevant measures, the results demonstrate the relevance and importance for FDI flows of many of the policy/institutional variables under study. They also indicate that the results from panel methods yield results that differ rather significantly from those obtained from pure cross-section analysis. Because of complementarity between the various elements of a healthy investment climate, the effects of some policy reforms estimated from models which do not control for changes in other policies may overstate the effectiveness of individual policy reforms.
Survival of Claviceps Purpurea and C. Paspali Sclerotia

Claviceps purpurea sclerotia did not survive longer than 6 mo regardless of the time of year sclerotia were placed outdoors in soil in Georgia. Sclerotia were rapidly deteriorated by soil microorga...
Emergency department bedside echocardiography diagnosis of massive pulmonary embolism with direct visualization of thrombus in the pulmonary artery

A 62-year-old woman presented to the emergency department (ED) with a chief complaint of 3 weeks of progressively worsening shortness of breath. Her physical examination was normal, except for tachypnea. Her lungs were clear, and no murmurs, gallops or rubs were heard on the cardiac examination. ED bedside echocardiography with color, continuous wave and tissue Doppler ultrasound imaging and lower extremity ultrasonography performed by an ED attending physician revealed a massive pulmonary embolism with right ventricle pressure overload, tricuspid and pulmonic regurgitation, right atrial thrombus and a right popliteal thrombus. The right ventricular outflow tract view allowed for the direct visualization of thrombus in the pulmonary artery. Bedside echocardiography with color, continuous wave and tissue Doppler ultrasound imaging and lower extremity compression ultrasonography can assist the emergency physician and the critical care physician in the diagnosis of massive pulmonary embolism and deep venous thrombosis. Direct visualization of embolic thrombus in the pulmonary artery can help the ED physician accelerate both medical intensive care consultation and therapy and surgical consultation for possible thromboembolectomy and inferior vena cava filter placement.
Synthesis and hybridization properties of oligonucleotides modified with 5-(1-aryl-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-2′-deoxyuridines

Oligonucleotides modified with consecutive incorporations of 5-(1-aryl-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-2′-deoxyuridine monomers X–Z display strong thermal affinity and binding specificity toward RNA targets, due to formation of chromophore arrays in the major groove.
Enumeration of human B lymphocytes in stained blood smears by their binding of bacteria.

Abstract Human B lymphocytes were enumerated in stained blood smears by two methods. In one method, the surface Ig of B cells was detected by the antibody-mediated binding of anti-light chain antibody-coated Escherichia coli (anti-Ig Ab- E. coli ). By using only anti-κ or anti-λ antibody-coated E. coli or a mixture of both, the number of κ-bearing, λ-bearing, and total Ig-bearing lymphocytes was determined. Lymphocytes were found to bear only κ or λ light chains (but not both), indicating that B cells do not normally have passively adsorbed Ig on their surface. The second method was based on the property of a strain of Brucella melitensis (Bm) to bind to human B lymphocytes. This was shown by the fact that Bm and anti-Ig Ab- E. coli bind to the same cells, i.e., B cells. Competition experiments suggested that the binding of Bm to the B cells was not via the surface Ig of the B cells. The number of B cells in the peripheral blood of several normal donors and several patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia is presented. The use of bacteria to label the B cells in blood smears allows for the morphological identification of lymphocytes and eliminates the need to purify the lymphocytes, thereby also eliminating the problem of the selective loss of T or B cells during the purification. By using this method the enumeration of the κ-bearing, λ-bearing, and total number of human B cells may become a routine diagnostic procedure.
Exploiting the directional features in MPEG-2 for H.264 intra transcoding

This paper presents an MPEG-2 to H.264 intra frame video transcoder. The DCT coefficients gathered from the MPEG-2 process are used to estimate the directional features in a picture. The estimated directional features are then used to compute the intra prediction modes in the H.264 encoding stage. The INTRA 16/spl times/16 vs. INTRA4/spl times/4 MB coding mode decision is made based on the variance of the DC coefficients of the 8/spl times/8 DCT blocks in the input MPEG-2 video. The proposed approach completely avoids the MB mode and prediction mode computations in the H.264 encoding stage, there by reducing the transcoder complexity substantially. The results show that our approach results in over 30% drop in the intra frame encoding time with a negligible drop in PSNR. A comparison with a cascaded reference transcoder is presented.