cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Global exploratory analysis of massive neuroimaging collections using Microsoft Silverlight PivotViewer

Microsoft Silverlight PivotViewer is a web service architecture that provides fluid access to massive image databases using digital zoom image technology. The Pivot interface models some aspects of human vision, with the ability both to perform a global scan and to rapidly focus on the finest details. The inclusion of many levels of metadata in an XML file makes it possible for clients to rapidly re-sort and filter images on the web in ways that are powerful and highly informative. We have used Pivot to restructure a very large collection of histological images (2D) taken from the Mouse Brain Library (MBL, www.mbl.org). The new Pivot system (mbl.pivotcollections.org) can be subdivided, filtered, and sorted using a range of continuous and discrete metadata variables (sex, age, strain, genotype, behavior). The current implementation is optimized for visualization, but does not yet have analytic or annotation tiers that would enable facile quantitative dissection of image collections.
The commonly used β-actin-GFP transgenic mouse strain develops a distinct type of glomerulosclerosis

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic animals are widely used in biomedical research. We observed that the commonly used β-actin-GFP transgenic mouse has renal defects with proteinuria starting as early as 5 weeks of age. Histological analysis reveals a widespread increase in glomerular extracellular matrix, occasional mesangiolysis, and secondary tubulointerstitial injury. Electron microscopic (EM) analysis reveals dramatic thickening of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). Several other transgenic strains with GFP on ubiquitous promoters including β-actin (with insertion in a different location) and ubiquitin C show no renal abnormalities. Western blot analysis on crude glomerular preparations from several GFP transgenic strains revealed that higher levels of GFP expression might be responsible for the observed pathogenesis. Mapping of the transgene insertion site by inverse PCR indicates that the β-actin GFP transgene does not cause insertional mutagenesis nor does it modify the transcription level of adjacent genes. Taken together, this strain of β-actin-GFP transgenic mouse may be used to study the mechanism of GBM expansion. Moreover, experiments using this strain of GFP mouse should be hereafter carefully planned because its renal pathology may interfere with data interpretation.
EFFECTIVE FIELD THEORY OF SINGLE AND MULTILAYERED QUANTUM HALL FLUIDS

We review an effective field theory of the quantum Hall fluid, where electron currents are expressed in terms of multiple-component gauge fields, and develop further the case of two-component fields. The form of the effective action, a simple matrix Chern-Simons action, is dictated by the principles of current conservation, dimensional analysis, gauge invariance, and by the presence of a gap. The formalism naturally describes multiple-component systems such as coupled Hall fluids in layered geometries, in addition to describing more complicated single-fluid states. We provide a complete classification of fractional quantum Hall states describable by two-component Chern-Simons gauge fields.
Estimation of potential carcinogenic effects related to waterborne environmental contaminants

Described here is a computer program that provides estimates of theoretical cancer levels in a community following long-term exposure to contaminants found in domestic drinking water. The program employs one of three low-dose risk assessment models using dichotomous outcome data to derive a dose-response curve. Based on this curve, lifetime probabilities are determined, by dose, for acquiring selected types of cancer in a specified population. The program allows for sensitivity analyses of varying demographic, epidemiologic, and environmental factors, all of which could influence the occurrence of disease at the community level.
Optimizing Protein–Protein van der Waals Interactions for the AMBER ff9x/ff12 Force Field

The quality of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations relies heavily on the accuracy of the underlying force field. In recent years, considerable effort has been put into developing more accurate dihedral angle potentials for MD force fields, but relatively little work has focused on the nonbonded parameters, many of which are two decades old. In this work, we assess the accuracy of protein–protein van der Waals interactions in the AMBER ff9x/ff12 force field. Across a test set of 44 neat organic liquids containing the moieties present in proteins, we find root-mean-square (RMS) errors of 1.26 kcal/mol in enthalpy of vaporization and 0.36 g/cm3 in liquid densities. We then optimize the van der Waals radii and well depths for all of the relevant atom types using these observables, which lowers the RMS errors in enthalpy of vaporization and liquid density of our validation set to 0.59 kcal/mol (53% reduction) and 0.019 g/cm3 (46% reduction), respectively. Limitations in our parameter optimization were evident ...
Personality characteristics of delinquent subtypes.

A group of juvenile delinquents, classified as neuroticdisturbed, unsocialized-psychopathic, and socializedsubcultural, were compared on the MMPI. The results provided support for the initial classification and yielded MMPI profiles suggestive of two personality types: a conflicted, weakego delinquent with considerable intrapsychic conflict, and a more traditional psychopathic type, with little apparent anxiety or neurotic symptomatology. These results were replicated with a crossvalidation sample.
Logical Relationships of Questions to Issues in Verbal Conditioning Studies

Previous reviews of the literature on verbal learning have not shown the relevance of type of question asked Ss to the theoretical issues involved. The present paper classifies commonly used questions into four major types: purpose of the experiment, response-reinforcement contingency, intention to get the reinforcement or to give the correct response, and recall of behavior. It is argued that only the second and third types of questions are directly relevant to the automatic Law of Effect issue. It is pointed out, however, that many Es have used only the first and fourth types. Measurement of S's intention has been particularly neglected in verbal conditioning studies. The importance of specifying level of awareness, referent, and context when dealing with abstract concepts is emphasized.
Where there is smoke, there is fire.

The ankle-brachial index (ABI), a ratio of systolic blood pressure measured at the ankle and the brachial artery, is a simple noninvasive screening test used to diagnose peripheral arterial disease (PAD). PAD affects over 12 million people in the United States and its prevalence increases with
Insolubility of the Quantum Measurement Problem

The problem of whether a measurement interaction can leave the joint object-apparatus system in a mixture of states, in each state of which the apparatus's observable displays a definite value, is set within the most general quantum-theoretic framework for treating measurements. It is shown that the question posed by this problem admits only a negative answer. Some schemes for approximating the true object-apparatus state by means of such mixtures are examined. It is argued that such schemes constitute fundamental changes in the interpretation of quantum theory.
Gram-Schmidt Orthogonalization of Multinormal Variates: Applications in Genetics

The computation of an N-variate normal density function requires the inversion of an N × N co-variance matrix. Furthermore, if each mean depends on u unobservable factors, a mixture of uNN-variate normal densities must be computed, making likelihood calculations impractical even for moderate N. The Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization process is used to express a multinormal density as a product of univariate normal densities. When the pattern of the correlation matrix is taken into account the formulas may be considerably simplified. In some cases each of the orthogonal variates can be written as a linear combination of only a few of the original variates. Such results are crucial for applications of multinormal distributions and of mixtures of multinormal distributions. An intraclass correlation model and a genetic variance components model applicable to family data are discussed as examples.
Scale framing of scientific uncertainty in controversy over the Endangered Steller sea lion

Abstract Political debate about the endangered Steller sea lion turns on uncertainty about the cause of decline and lack of recovery of this marine mammal of the North Pacific Ocean. To shift the political terrain, different groups tried to shift the scale at which problems are framed. US regulators focused on localised interactions, environmental organisations highlighted the entire fishery management regime and the fishing industry focused on natural climate change within the North Pacific region. Because debate is about supposedly objective, scientific realities, these practices of scale framing take on particular significance in this case. Scientific understandings of individual problems are not outside the frame of scale practices, but instead there is a politics of scale around science. This case shows that using scale as a framing device is a powerful political strategy for dealing with uncertainty, because focusing on a particular scale presupposes certain kinds of solutions while foreclosing others.
Influence of oscillation-induced diffusion on heat transfer in a uniformly heated channel

An analysis of the effect of flow oscillations on laminar flow heat transfer in a channel with uniform heat addition is presented. It is shown that the effect of flow oscillations will be to reduce the channel heat transfer coefficient. This effect is due to the fact that the heat addition along the channel wall produces an increasing fluid temperature along the channel length. The flow oscillations interacting with this positive temperature gradient will induce a heat flow back toward the channel inlet. This will tend to inhibit the heat transfer process and will raise the wall temperature required to transfer away a given amount of heat at the channel wall.
Some computational aspects of large deformation, rate-dependent plasticity problems

Abstract The governing equations for a finite element formulation of boundary value problems for large deformation metal forming processes are derived using a principle of virtual work formulated in a Lagrangian reference system. The updated Lagrangian method is used to simplify the equations. The resulting nonlinear equilibrium equations are solved using Newton's method. A constitutive model for large deformation, rate-dependent plasticity is developed. The model incorporates a one parameter, implicit integration operator for stability and accuracy. The stressrate/strain-rate relation is written in terms of the Jaumann rate of stress. Numerous example problems are solved to demonstrate the effectiveness of the numerical algorithms.
Constrictive pericarditis—a curable diastolic heart failure

Constrictive pericarditis can result from a stiff pericardium that prevents satisfactory diastolic filling. The distinction between constrictive pericarditis and other causes of heart failure, such as restrictive cardiomyopathy, is important because pericardiectomy can cure constrictive pericarditis. Diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis is based on characteristic haemodynamic and anatomical features determined using echocardiography, cardiac catheterization, cardiac MRI, and CT. The Mayo Clinic echocardiography and cardiac catheterization haemodynamic diagnostic criteria for constrictive pericarditis are based on the unique features of ventricular interdependence and dissociation of intrathoracic and intracardiac pressures seen when the pericardium is constricted. A complete pericardiectomy can restore satisfactory diastolic filling by removing the constrictive pericardium in patients with constrictive pericarditis. However, if inflammation of the pericardium is the predominant constrictive mechanism, anti-inflammatory therapy might alleviate this transient condition without a need for surgery. Early diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis is, therefore, of paramount clinical importance. An improved understanding of how constrictive pericarditis develops after an initiating event is critical to prevent this diastolic heart failure. In this Review, we discuss the aetiology, pathophysiology, and diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis, with a specific emphasis on how to differentiate this disease from conditions with similar clinical presentations.
Effect of dissolved mineral species on the electrokinetic behaviour of sulfides

Abstract The effect of mineral species of selected sulphide minerals namely, synthetic covellite, millerite and pyrrhotite is investigated in this study using the electrokinetic technique. Tests in inorganic solutions showed that surface reactions and/or bulk precipitation could be responsible for the changes in the zeta potential of above mentioned minerals.
Relationship between texture and electromigration lifetime in sputtered Al-1% Si thin films

The relationship among the grain structure, texture, and electromigration lifetime of four Al-1% silicon metallizations produced under similar sputtering conditions was explored. The grain sizes and distributions were similar and the grain structure was near-bamboo for all metallizations. All metallizations exhibited a near-(111) fiber texture, as determined by the pole figure technique. Differences in electromigration behavior were noted. Three of the metallizations exhibited a bimodal failure distribution while the fourth was monomodal and had the longest electromigration lifetime. The electromigration lifetime was directly related to the strength of the (111) fiber texture in the metallization as anticipated. However, whereas the grain size distribution has an effect on the electromigration lifetime when metallization lines are several grains wide, the electromigration lifetime of these near-bamboo metallizations appeared independent of the grain structure. It was also observed that a number of failures occurred in the 8 μm interconnect supplying the 5 μm wide test lines. This apparently reflects an increased susceptibility of the wider interconnect lines to electromigration damage.
Magnetic resonance velocity vector mapping in aortic aneurysms

We used magnetic resonance imaging with cine velocity vector mapping to study blood flow patterns in the thoracic aorta of patients with aortic aneurysms. Spin-echo images of the thoracic aorta were acquired in orthogonal and oblique planes. Cine phase-shift velocity maps were then acquired in selected aortic planes, with velocity encoded in two orthogonal directions. The two-directional velocity data were processed to generate flow vector maps depicting flow distribution in the chosen plane. Diameter ratios between the aortic valves and aneurysmal ascending aortas were reduced, causing blood to enter as a relatively narrow stream with lateral vortical, recirculating flow. In atherosclerotic aneurysms, there was abnormal angulation between the left ventricular outflow tract and ascending aorta, causing the stream to attach to the anterior aortic wall, with recirculating flow posteriorly. In Marfan patients, the primary stream was central with vortices on either side. In patients with coarctation, the main stream attached to the posterior wall of the descending aorta, with recirculation anteriorly. Magnetic resonance imaging with cine velocity mapping allows comprehensive assessment of aortic anatomy and blood flow patterns. Sequential studies at early stages may provide new information about the natural history of aortic aneurysms.
Simulating Univariate and Multivariate Tukey g -and- h Distributions Based on the Method of Percentiles

This paper derives closed-form solutions for the -and- shape parameters associated with the Tukey family of distributions based on the method of percentiles (MOP). A proposed MOP univariate procedure is described and compared with the method of moments (MOM) in the context of distribution fitting and estimating skew and kurtosis functions. The MOP methodology is also extended from univariate to multivariate data generation. A procedure is described for simulating nonnormal distributions with specified Spearman correlations. The MOP procedure has an advantage over the MOM because it does not require numerical integration to compute intermediate correlations. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed MOP procedure is superior to the MOM in terms of distribution fitting, estimation, relative bias, and relative error.
The creativity classification system: An assessment theory

One approach to assessing creativity is to determine what one must do to be creative and then to measure the degree to which one successfully performs these activities. From a psychoeducational perspective, an assessment of creativity should provide information that is accurate and useful in facilitating creative functioning in the students being assessed. The Creativity Classification System (CCS), a taxonomy of creativity that integrates nine dimensions of creative activity, is used to categorize measures of creativity to help practitioners apply test results to a profile of creative functioning.
Acute Metabolic Effects of Exenatide in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes With and Without Residual Insulin to Oral and Intravenous Glucose Challenges

OBJECTIVE Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is an incretin hormone that is released from the gastrointestinal tract. Treatment with GLP-1 analogs has proven to be of clinical use for patients with type 2 diabetes. Patients with type 1 diabetes, particularly those with residual β-cell function, may also respond to treatment, but the acute metabolic effects of GLP-1 analogs on these patients in reaction to both oral and intravenous glucose challenges are not well understood. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Seventeen patients with type 1 diabetes, half of whom had residual insulin production, underwent two mixed-meal tolerance tests (MMTTs) and two intravenous glucose tolerance tests (IVGTTs), with and without pretreatment with exenatide. No exogenous bolus insulin was administered for the studies. Glucose excursions, insulin secretion rates (ISRs), and levels of glucagon, endogenous GLP-1, and gastric inhibitory polypeptide were measured after the meal or glucose loads. RESULTS During the MMTT, glucose levels were suppressed with exenatide in patients with or without residual insulin production (P = 0.0003). Exenatide treatment did not change the absolute ISR, but the ISR to glucose levels were increased (P = 0.0078). Gastric emptying was delayed (P = 0.0017), and glucagon was suppressed (P = 0.0015). None of these hormonal or glucose changes were detected during the IVGTT with exenatide administration. CONCLUSIONS Exenatide showed a significant antidiabetogenic effect prior to an oral meal in patients with type 1 diabetes involving glucagon suppression and gastric emptying, while preserving increased insulin secretion. GLP-1 analogs may be useful as an adjunctive treatment in type 1 diabetes.
A critical analysis of three near-infrared photometric methods of estimating distances to cataclysmic variables

Abstract A critical analysis of three methods of estimating distances to cataclysmic variables (CVs) is performed. These methods, by Ak et al., Beuermann, and Knigge, all use near-infrared (JHK or Ks) magnitudes and the Barnes–Evans relation. We compare all three methods to distances measured by trigonometric parallax by Thorstensen, with Hubble Space Telescope, and with the HIPPARCOS spacecraft. We find that the method of Ak et al. works best overall for all CVs, predicting distances on the average 4% less than those measured by trigonometric parallaxes. The method of Beuermann overestimates distances by 52%. The method of Knigge underestimates distances by 26%, although this was only ever meant as a lower limit, since it assumes all light comes from the secondary star.
Constructing a multilevel spatial approach in ethnic entrepreneurship studies

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to review and synthesize an interdisciplinary literature on ethnic entrepreneurship studies from a spatial perspective. The major goal is to develop an analytical framework for understanding how place plays a role in ethnic entrepreneurship processes at different geographic scales.Design/methodology/approach – The article starts with a review of perspectives on ethnic entrepreneurship from multiple disciplines in social sciences, mainly from a non‐spatial approach. It then critically discusses the spatial inquiries on ethnic entrepreneurship, with a focus on identifying the gaps across disciplines. Based on these discussions, a comprehensive, multilevel spatial framework is finally conceptualized. Following that, the concluding remarks highlight future directions and public policy significance by implementing this suggested social‐spatial approach.Findings – As the central social actors, ethnic entrepreneurs weave through multiscaled geographic contexts in the process of...
Density matrix theory of ABC ⇄ A′B′ + C′ chemical exchange: Application to 31P NMR spectra of interconverting enzyme-bound reactants and products of phosphoryl transfer enzymes

Abstract The density matrix theory of chemical exchange for the ABC ⇆ A′B′ + C′ system is presented. This theory provides a computational basis for the calculation of 31 P NMR spectra of equilibrium mixtures of enzyme-bound reactants and products of phosphoryl transfer enzymes. The theory places no restrictions on the exchange rates or strength of spin-spin couplings. Theoretical spectra are obtained for arginine kinase (MgATP + arginine ⇄ MgATP + phosphoarginine) and creatine kinase (MgATP + creatine ⇄ MgADP + phosphocreatine) reactions. Comparison of the calculated spectra with experimental spectra allows reliable determination of the exchange rates on the surface of the enzyme (interconversion rates). It is also possible, using the computer simulations, to extract information on the chemical shifts (in the absence of exchange) in the reaction complex for nuclei for which such data may be inaccessible from the spectrum. The complex nature of the spin-spin coupling and exchange effects is illustrated by presenting computer-simulated spectra over a wide range of exchange rates (10 to 600 sec −1 ) for the case of the 31 P NMR spectra of the equilibrium mixture (enzyme-bound) of the arginine kinase reaction.
Atomistic characterization of pseudoelasticity and shape memory in NiTi nanopillars

Abstract Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study the atomistic mechanisms governing the pseudoelasticity and shape memory in nickel–titanium (NiTi) nanostructures. For a 〈1 1 0〉 – oriented nanopillar subjected to compressive loading–unloading, we observe either a pseudoelastic or shape memory response, depending on the applied strain and temperature that control the reversibility of phase transformation and deformation twinning. We show that irreversible twinning arises owing to the dislocation pinning of twin boundaries, while hierarchically twinned microstructures facilitate the reversible twinning. The nanoscale size effects are manifested as the load serration, stress plateau and large hysteresis loop in stress–strain curves that result from the high stresses required to drive the nucleation-controlled phase transformation and deformation twinning in nanosized volumes. Our results underscore the importance of atomistically resolved modeling for understanding the phase and deformation reversibilities that dictate the pseudoelasticity and shape memory behavior in nanostructured shape memory alloys.
Converting a positive operator-valued measure to a design for a measuring instrument on the laboratory bench

A known positive operator-valued measure (POVM) describing a desired receiver of quantum light states is converted into a description of parts - including a prism, beam splitters and detectors - arranged to make a laboratory instrument. The conversion is made in two stages. The first is a transparent example of Neumark's theorem, in which a two-dimensional (non-projective) POVM is converted into a Hermitian operator on a space of three dimensions. The second uses a known factorization of the Hermitian operator into a product of simpler operators, each a conventional description of an optical component. If the components behave according to their conventional descriptions, the receiver behaves in accord with the given POVM.
Asbestiform Amphibole Minerals: Detection and Measurement of High Concentrations in Municipal Water Supplies

Ashestiform amphibole minerals, which have been demonstrated to be associated with human health problems, have been detected in substantial quantities in municipal water supplies taken from western Lake Superior Water. The total concentrationl of amphibole minerals in the Duluth, Minnesota, water supply, as measured by x-ray diffraction for daily samples of suspended solids averages 0.19 milligram per liter with large fluctuations due to seasonal and climatological effects on lake circulation. Electron microscopic examination of these water samples confirms the presence of asbestiform amphibole fibers. A conservatiue estimate of the fiber count for 1973 Duluth water supply samples is (1 to 30) x 106 amphibole fibers identifiable by electron diffraction per liter of water with a mass concentration of 1 to 30 micrograms per liter.
Hepatic lipase promoter C-514T polymorphism influences serial changes in HDL cholesterol levels since childhood: the Bogalusa Heart Study

Abstract Hepatic lipase (HL) is an important determinant of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentrations. A common C-to-T substitution at position −514 of the promoter region of the HL gene has been shown to be associated with HL activity and HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. The current study examines the influence of this polymorphism on both levels and serial changes of HDL-C from childhood to adulthood in a community-based sample of 707 white and 291 black unrelated individuals aged 4–38 years using a repeated measures analysis. The frequency of the −514T allele was lower in whites than in blacks (0.228 vs. 0.545, P P =0.003) in white males with values in the order of T/T>T/C>C/C. Although a similar trend was seen, the genotype effect was not significant in white females and blacks. Further, the slopes of the age trajectories of HDL-C were similar in three genotype groups in blacks and whites. A sex-genotype interaction effect ( P =0.043) on longitudinal profiles of HDL-C levels was found in whites, but not in blacks. White males showed a stronger genotype effect (3.6 mg/dl, P =0.003) than white females (0.5 mg/dl, P =0.601). Thus, the -514T variant of the HL gene is consistently associated with higher levels of HDL-C longitudinally since childhood, but not with rate of change over time. These results suggest that the HL gene may play an important role in the regulation of HDL-C levels from childhood to adulthood, especially in white males.
A near real-time, parallel and distributed adaptive object detection and retraining framework based on AdaBoost algorithm

Object detection (e.g., face detection) using supervised learning often requires extensive training, resulting in long execution times. If the system requires retraining to accommodate a missed detection, waiting several hours or even days in some cases before the system is ready, may not be acceptable in practical implementations. This paper presents a generalized object detection framework such that the system can efficiently adapt to misclassified data and be retrained within a few minutes. The methodology developed here is based on the popular AdaBoost algorithm for object detection. To reduce the learning time in object detection, we develop a highly efficient, parallel, and distributed AdaBoost algorithm that is able to achieve a training execution time of only 1.4 seconds per feature on 25 workstations. Further, we incorporate this parallel object detection algorithm into an adaptive framework such that a much smaller, optimized training subset is used to yield high detection rates while further reducing the retraining execution time. We demonstrate the usefulness of our adaptive framework on face and car detection.
Interaction of Coxsackievirus A21 with Its Cellular Receptor, ICAM-1

Coxsackievirus A21 (CAV21), like human rhinoviruses (HRVs), is a causative agent of the common cold. It uses the same cellular receptor, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), as does the major group of HRVs; unlike HRVs, however, it is stable at acid pH. The cryoelectron microscopy (cryoEM) image reconstruction of CAV21 is consistent with the highly homologous crystal structure of poliovirus 1; like other enteroviruses and HRVs, CAV21 has a canyon-like depression around each of the 12 fivefold vertices. A cryoEM reconstruction of CAV21 complexed with ICAM-1 shows all five domains of the extracellular component of ICAM-1. The known atomic structure of the ICAM-1 amino-terminal domains D1 and D2 has been fitted into the cryoEM density of the complex. The site of ICAM-1 binding within the canyon of CAV21 overlaps the site of receptor recognition utilized by rhinoviruses and polioviruses. Interactions within this common region may be essential for triggering viral destabilization after attachment to susceptible cells.
Combined topological and functionality based delay estimation using at layout-driven approach for high level applications

The problem of accurate delay estimation of cell-based designs, prior to any physical design tasks, is discussed. For this purpose, accurate wire-length estimates are required, since wire delays contribute significantly to the overall delay. A new technique is presented for wire-length estimation based on a combination of analytical and constructive approaches. Given these wire-length estimates and the cell delays, it is possible to provide worst case delay paths in the design based on the circuit topology. The technique is extended to consider false paths, which provides a more accurate functionality based estimate which takes into account the estimated layout information. The technique is validated using standard MCNC benchmarks. Results indicate a 7% or better accuracy in the worst case delay predictions for designs with up to 1800 cells. >
Multiple Mechanisms of Oncogene Activation in Viral and Nonviral Neoplasia

The oncogenic potential of a proto-oncogene can be “activated” by many different types of mutational events, including insertion of proviral control sequences, gene amplification, translocation, and point mutations within regulatory or coding sequences. The mechanisms by which a specific proto-oncogene can most readily be activated probably reflects unique structural and biological characteristics of the gene involved. The c-myc gene can be activated by a variety of mechanisms, but each appears to induce changes in expression of the gene. By contrast, members of the c-ras gene family appear to be preferentially activated by point mutations within coding sequences. Induction of a fully malignant state may require activation of more than one proto-oncogene and/or multiple mutational events within a single gene.
Pediatric Coccidioidomycosis Patients: Perceptions, Quality of Life and Psychosocial Factors

Research investigating the effects of coccidioidomycosis (valley fever) on children and the psychosocial implications of this disease in general is lacking. This study reviews what is known about pediatric coccidioidomycosis patients. It documents the psychological functioning, quality of life, and illness perceptions of a sample of coccidioidomycosis patient families. Primary caregivers of pediatric patients and patients from a major hospital in the San Joaquin Valley of California were interviewed regarding their perceptions of disease detection, access to care and the patient/family experience.
A Pareto-optimal refinement method for protein design scaffolds.

Computational design of protein function involves a search for amino acids with the lowest energy subject to a set of constraints specifying function. In many cases a set of natural protein backbone structures, or “scaffolds”, are searched to find regions where functional sites (an enzyme active site, ligand binding pocket, protein – protein interaction region, etc.) can be placed, and the identities of the surrounding amino acids are optimized to satisfy functional constraints. Input native protein structures almost invariably have regions that score very poorly with the design force field, and any design based on these unmodified structures may result in mutations away from the native sequence solely as a result of the energetic strain. Because the input structure is already a stable protein, it is desirable to keep the total number of mutations to a minimum and to avoid mutations resulting from poorly-scoring input structures. Here we describe a protocol using cycles of minimization with combined backbone/sidechain restraints that is Pareto-optimal with respect to RMSD to the native structure and energetic strain reduction. The protocol should be broadly useful in the preparation of scaffold libraries for functional site design.
HYBRIDIZATION IN SOME INDIAN BULBULS PYCNONOTUS CAFER X P. LEUCOGENYS

Summary. 1 Hybrids between the two bulbuls, Pycnonotus cafer and P. leucogenys, are described and analysed. 2 Significant correlations between colour pattern and size in the hybrids are demonstrated. 3 The two parental species are widely sympatric. Hybrids rarely occur except where one species is uncommon. 4 It is probable that the incidence of hybridization is decreasing and that the isolating mechanisms between the two species are being reinforced.
Minor loops in magnetization-dependent Preisach models

It is noted that the moving model and the product model have different variations in the height of minor loops and thus a means of differentiating between the models. Measurements show that, for particulate magnetic recording media, the moving model yields more realistic results and that previous reversible magnetization models are inadequate. Two new models for the reversible magnetization that are compatible with the moving model are analyzed. Both models give a symmetrical reversible susceptibility variation along the M-axis, which is not observed experimentally. >
The Determinants of Personal Wealth in Seventeenth-Century England and America

This article explores the determinants of wealth for seventeenth-century Englishmen living in three very different environments—Worcestershire, East London, and Tidewater, Virginia. Wealth differences among these regions can be described in terms of the particular mix of occupational status groups, age groups, and literates each possessed. When all of these variables are accounted for, region becomes an insignificant determinant of wealth. Occupational status, predictably, had the primary influence on wealth, but the system, through provisions for age and education, also made definite allowances for the ability to use and consume resources efficiently.
Harmonic Motion Imaging for Focused Ultrasound (HMIFU): Initial in vivo results

The capability of Harmonic Motion Imaging for Focused Ultrasound (HMIFU) for real-time monitoring of tissue stiffness changes during thermal therapy was previously demonstrated ex vivo. In this paper, initial feasibility of the HMIFU for thermal ablation generation and monitoring is shown in a transgenic mouse model of breast cancer in vivo. The HMIFU system consists of a 4.5-MHz focused ultrasound (FU) transducer and an ultrasound imaging transducer. The ultrasound imaging transducer can be a 3.3-MHz phased-array transducer for monitoring relative tissue stiffness changes during thermal treatment, or a 7.5-MHz single-element pulse echo transducer for tumor detection and post-treatment assessment. An Amplitude-modulated FUS beam was used to generate an oscillatory radiation force at the tumor region. The optimal AM frequency was determined using a linear chirp test (frequency range of 10 to 30 Hz. The acoustic intensity (Ispta) for ablation and probing were equal to 1050 W/cm2 and 236 W/cm2, respectively. The spectrum of the FUS beam and its harmonics from the acquired RF signals were filtered out prior to displacement estimation. 1D cross-correlation (window size = 1 mm and 85% overlap) was performed to estimate the resulting tissue axial displacement. The average peak-to-peak displacement amplitude before and after lesion formation were found to be equal to 27.34±1.34 µm and 20.98±1.82 µm, respectively. The result show statistically-significant difference (p-value ≪ 0.001). Cell death in the tumor area was confirmed by gross histopathology. The HMIFU was shown capable of monitoring and localizing thermal ablation of tumors in vivo. In conclusion, The HMIFU can be used as a guidance tool for visualization of the targeted region and monitoring of the relative tissue stiffness changes during thermal treatment so that the treatment procedure can be performed in both a cost- and time-efficient manner.
Advances in the treatment of depression

Depression is a highly prevalent and disabling condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Currently available treatments for depression include tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, various atypical antidepressants, and electroconvulsive therapy. Although these treatments are effective, a significant number of patients do not respond or achieve sustained remission despite aggressive management. Advances in the neurobiology of depression have suggested a number of novel targets for antidepressant treatment. Based on an improved understanding of the neurobiology of depression, several novel pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions are being developed. Pharmacologic developments include CRF antagonists, glucocorticoid receptor antagonists, substance P receptor antagonists, NMDA glutamate receptor antagonists, transdermal selegiline, so-called “triple” reuptake inhibitors, and augmentation of typical antidepressant medications with atypical antipsychotics. Nonpharmacologic advances have largely involved focal brain stimulation techniques including vagus nerve stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, magnetic seizure therapy, and deep brain stimulation. For the most part, the data on these treatments are preliminary, and more study is needed to clarify their potential clinical benefit. However, it is clear that further study of the neurobiology of depression will continue to provide a rationale for developing innovative targets for antidepressant therapies.
Average and marginal price changes and the demand for electricity: an econometric study

The empirical literature on the demand for electricity has, hitherto, failed to adequately deal with increasing block pricing. While it is desirable, in principle, to include the entire price schedule in the demand function, the convention has been to include, as an argument, either an average or a marginal price. Yet use of either to the exclusion of the other one leads, inter alia, to biased estimates of own-price elasticity. With this in mind, a residential demand function is estimated employing both average and marginal price. While a number of interesting results emerge, it is significant that the coefficient on marginal price is ‘right’; that is, the expected inverse relationship between the quantity of electricity demanded and the marginal price it obtains. On the other hand, the positive sign on average price is troubling. Because average price is in this case exactly the same concept as the intra-marginal payment, a change in average price is exactly the same concept as a change in real income. T...
Coursework in image computation for undergraduates

Motivation is given for undergraduate courses involving computing with images. Such courses should overlap with, but be significantly different from, existing courses in image processing or computer vision. Images have recently become much more important as a fundamental data type, primarily because multimedia computer power has become pervasive. Future computer scientists should know how to model and manipulate images. Image computation introduces students to highly motivating applications. Moreover, the intuitive human capability for image understanding is useful for reinforcing important mathematical concepts and application projects provide significant opportunities for capstone work which integrates wide areas of undergraduate computer science.
Wiener’s Excursion into the Religious Domain

As the study of transducers in the wide sense, cybernetics cuts across the traditional boundaries separating the sciences, cf. § 18B. The attitudes engendered by this scientific eclecticism, such as the view that we can learn about the human mind by studying an electrical network, or that the imprecise term “soul” must either be redefined or abandoned, conflicts with a religion which treats man as God’s favorite creature and the rest of creation as inferior, and so succumbs to its own misty conceptualizations. But the cybernetical attitude does not conflict with more cosmic religious attitudes, which seek the spiritual in the meanest of things, the attitudes exemplified for instance by St. Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer and others, and in the Leibnizian doctrine of monadic souls. It is in terms of the possibility of this harmony that Wiener’s musings of the 1950s and 1960s on the religious bearing of cybernetical thought has to be gauged. We have also to extrapolate, for his writings are scanty and his death has left us with several gaps in his train of thought.
Communication-Efficient Dynamic Task Scheduling for Heterogeneous Multi-Robot Systems

In this paper, a communication-efficient dynamic task scheduling algorithm for a heterogeneous multi-robot system is proposed. To make this task scheduling algorithm to be scalable for various robot teams, a distributed communication with shared global unit mechanism is applied to reduce the storage cost as well as communication overhead. Each robot makes its own decision through communicating with others as well as checking a global unit. This algorithm improves its efficiency by broadcasting specific information only to those who are capable and have interest in the current tasks. To improve the system robustness, an auction-based fitness function is applied to dynamically allocate the tasks among the robots if the pre-assigned robot can not handle the task or a robot fails under dynamic environment. The proposed approach is robust against communication failures and robot failures. Simulation results demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of the proposed approach.
Single-phase induction motor adjustable speed drive: direct phase angle control of the auxiliary winding supply

An adjustable-speed drive acting on the auxiliary winding of single-phase induction motors is described. Speed variations are obtained by adjusting the electromagnetic torque by controlling the auxiliary winding voltage magnitude and phase angle while the motor's main winding is directly connected to the local utility outlet. A variable auxiliary winding voltage phase angle is shown to yield significant torque control, providing starting and motoring torque as well as reversability and some braking torque. The analysis includes the determination of the relationship between the auxiliary winding voltage phase angle and the phase angle difference between the auxiliary winding currents. A control methodology for selecting an auxiliary winding voltage magnitude and phase angle is examined. Simulation results of the motor's torque-speed characteristics using the controlled auxiliary winding supply are shown and discussed. The drive is tested using a dynamometer to experimentally verify the results of the theory and simulations, and to explore the practicality of a simple, low-cost single-phase induction-motor drive using auxiliary winding voltage control. >
Vascular CO Counterbalances the Sensitizing Influence of 20-HETE on Agonist-Induced Vasoconstriction

We examined the influence of interactions between CO and 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) on vascular reactivity to phenylephrine and vasopressin. Renal interlobar arteries incubated in Krebs buffer released CO at a rate that is decreased (from 125.0+/-15.2 to 46.3+/-8.8 pmol/mg protein per hour, P<0.05) by the heme oxygenase inhibitor chromium mesoporphyrin (CrMP; 30 micromol/L). The level of 20-HETE in vessels was not affected by CrMP (74.3+/-6.1 versus 72.5+/-16.2 pmol/mg protein), but was decreased (P<0.05) by CO (1 micromol/L; 33.2+/-7.9 pmol/mg protein) or the cytochrome P450-4A inhibitor N-methylsulfonyl-12,12-dibromododec-11-enamide (DDMS; 30 micromol/L; 11.4+/-3.3 pmol/mg protein). Phenylephrine elicited development of isometric tension in vascular rings mounted on a wire-myograph (EC(50), 0.29+/-0.02 micromol/L; R(max), 3.78+/-0.19 mN/mm). The sensitivity to phenylephrine was decreased (P<0.05) by CO (1 micromol/L; EC(50), 0.60+/-0.04 micromol/L) or DDMS (EC(50), 0.71+/-0.12 micromol/L) and increased (P<0.05) by 20-HETE (10 micromol/L; EC(50), 0.08+/-0.02 micromol/L) or CrMP (EC(50), 0.11+/-0.02 micromol/L). Notably, neither CO nor CrMP changed the sensitivity to phenylephrine in vessels treated with DDMS. Refractoriness to CO and CrMP in such a setting was eliminated by inclusion of 20-HETE (1 micromol/L) in the bathing buffer. The aforementioned interventions affected the vascular reactivity to vasopressin in a similar manner. These data indicate that the reactivity of renal arteries to phenylephrine and vasopressin is reciprocally influenced by CO and 20-HETE of vascular origin and that CO desensitizes the vascular smooth muscle to constrictor agonists by interfering with the sensitizing influence of 20-HETE.
An adaptive nulling antenna system for space based radar with array element reuse

An adaptive nulling system has been designed for a space-based radar incorporating a phased array fed Cassegrain antenna. Auxiliaries are formed by reusing elements from the main antenna array feed together with an external horn antenna. Antenna patterns for the main antenna and for the auxiliaries are calculated using a physical optics-based reflector code. Nulling performance is calculated using an Applebaum array model, and results using array element reuse and external horn auxiliaries are compared. Using both types of auxiliaries together is considered. It is found that the array element reuse auxiliaries provide sufficient sidelobe coverage in most cases. Performance is found to degrade when jammers are at far-out sidelobe locations, and when multiple jammers are present. Optimal performance may be obtained with a combination of reuse and external horn auxiliaries. >
An Architecture for Application of Artificial Intelligence to Design

An architecture for application of artificial intelligence to engineering design is presented and discussed. The architecture places emphasis on evaluation and redesign, thus reflecting the iterative nature of the design process. Six independent knowledge sources are included having the following functions: initial design, evaluation, acceptability decisions, redesign, user-designer input, and flow of control. A "blackboard" is used to store and exchange information among the knowledge sources. The implementation of the architecture is illustrated with two examples from the mechanical design domain: v-belt drives and extruded aluminum shapes.