cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the Role of Labour Market Reform for the Enlargement of a Monetary Union

This paper studies the incentives to join a monetary union, and the incentives to reform within a monetary union and within the candidate countries, respectively. We present some "orders of magnitude" evidence on the size and balance of the incentive effects for joining and being joined, and on the desirability of reform in and out of the existing EMU in Europe. It is found that countries will only want to join a monetary union where there has been sufficient labour market reform, and where labour markets are more flexible than their own. But existing members will want the same properties of their new partners as well. (JEL F02, F15, F33, F 42)
Community dominance patterns, not colonizer genetic diversity, drive colonization success in a test using grassland species

Successful colonization and/or invasion depend on characteristics of the invaded community and of the colonizer itself. Although many studies have documented a negative relationship between invasibility and biodiversity, the importance of community evenness is rarely examined and thus poorly understood. However, colonizer characteristics, including population genetic diversity, can also be important determinants of colonization success. We conducted a greenhouse experiment to assess the relative importance of community evenness and colonizer population genetic diversity using the weed Arabidopsis thaliana. We added seeds of A. thaliana (varying genetic diversity while keeping propagule pressure constant) to four types of constructed plant communities: those dominated by legumes, grasses or forbs, or with equal abundances of all three functional groups. We selected community members from a large pool of species to avoid the confounding effects of species identity. We also assessed the success of multiple seedbank colonizers to assess generality in the effects of our evenness treatments. Equal-abundance communities were no better at suppressing colonization than communities dominated by a single functional group. Forb-dominated communities suppressed A. thaliana colonization better than grass-dominated communities and suppressed seedbank colonizers better than legume-dominated communities. Equal-abundance communities were similar to forb-dominated ones in their eventual composition and in their invasibility, suggesting that forbs drove colonizer suppression in that treatment rather than high evenness itself. Most of our forbs grew quickly, yielding productive forb-dominated communities; this points to the importance of growth and colonization phenology in our system. A. thaliana genetic diversity did not affect colonization success, perhaps because strong interspecific competition substantially limited A. thaliana seedling emergence.
Regulation of the cycling of timeless (tim) RNA

Circadian rhythms in Drosophila depend upon expression of the timeless (tim) and period (per) genes, which encode interacting components of the endogenous clock. These two clock genes show a robust circadian oscillation in transcription rate as well as RNA and protein levels. Transcriptional activation of both genes requires the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) PAS transcription factors dCLOCK (dCLK) and CYCLE (CYC), which bind E-box elements. We investigated the role of E-box elements in regulating behavioral rhythmicity and tim gene expression. We show that mutation of the upstream E-box in the tim gene prevents the rescue by tim cDNA sequences of the arrhythmic tim(01) phenotype. RNA encoded by this mutated tim transgene fails to cycle and is expressed at low levels. While a tim transgene carrying a wild-type E-box restores behavioral rhythms, tim RNA levels are intermediate to those of the mutant E-box transgenic lines and wild type, and do not display high amplitude cycling. On the other hand, high-amplitude RNA cycling was consistently obtained with a tim transgene that contains genomic, rather than cDNA, sequences. To identify additional sequences that may be required for tim cycling, we investigated the role of an E-box in the first intron of the tim gene through cell culture experiments. In these experiments, the presence of this intron did not have any effect on the activation of tim transcription by dCLK/CYC. As the upstream E-box was implicated in activation by dCLK/CYC in cell culture, we assayed sequences containing this E-box for association with proteins in fly head extracts. These studies provide the first biochemical evidence for an in vivo complex containing dCLK and CYC that binds the tim upstream sequence and is detected at all times of day. Together, these data highlight molecular mechanisms that are critical for behavioral rhythms.
Subnormal heart period variability in heart failure: Effect of cardiac transplantation

AbstractHeart period variability and arterial baroreceptor-cardiac reflex function were studied in cardiac transplant patients to determine if correction of heart failure restores parasympathetic c...
Pristine single-walled carbon nanotube purity evaluation by using 1H NMR spectroscopy

Proper purity characterization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is an increasingly hot topic in the area of carbon nanotechnology. There are inconsistencies in purity characterization of SWCNT from manufacturers and in the literature. Purity of “as received,” oven dried, and NaHCO3-washed SWCNTs of three commercially available brands (NanoLab, SWeNT, and HiPco) is explored by using a consistent methodology via proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy comparison, across three NMR solvents: DMSO-d 6, CDCl3, and D2O. Important insights into the purity of commercially available SWCNT and the importance of washing (cleaning) samples before use are offered.
A Central Theory of Biology

The history of physiologic cellular-molecular interrelationships can be traced all the way back to the unicellular state by following the pathway formed by lipids ubiquitously accommodating calcium homeostasis, and its consequent adaptive effects on oxygen uptake by cells, tissues and organs. As a result, a cohesive, mechanistically integrated view of physiology can be formulated by recognizing the continuum comprising conception, development, physiologic homeostasis and death mediated by soluble growth factor signaling. Seeing such seemingly disparate processes as embryogenesis, chronic disease and dying as the gain and subsequent loss of cell-cell signaling provides a novel perspective for physiology and medicine. It is emblematic of the self-organizing, self-referential nature of life, starting from its origins. Such organizing principles obviate the pitfalls of teleologic evolution, conversely providing a way of resolving such seeming dichotomies as holism and reductionism, genotype and phenotype, emergence and contingence, proximate and ultimate causation in evolution, cells and organisms. The proposed approach is scale-free and predictive, offering a Central Theory of Biology.
Effect of removal of duplicate isolates on cumulative susceptibility reports

Abstract The objective of our study is to assess the impact of different methods of duplicate isolate removal on cumulative susceptibility reports. Over a 1-year period, we studied the effect of 3 methods of duplicate isolate removal on the cumulative percentage susceptibility of 9 Gram-negative bacilli to 15 antimicrobials. Raw data from which no duplicate isolates were removed (NR) were generated by the Sensititre® breakpoint susceptibility testing system. D3 and D7 were methods of duplicate isolate removal defined as follows: same patient, bacterial species, irrespective of susceptibility within either three (D3) or seven (D7) calendar days of the date of the previous culture. The third method evaluated was an algorithm utilized by Cerner®, a laboratory management program that defines duplicate isolates as follows: same patient, bacterial species, and NCCLS susceptibility category to an individual antimicrobial. Differences in percentage susceptibility between the three methods of duplicate isolate removal and NR were assessed. The number of isolates studied ranged from 80 ( E. aerogenes ) to 681 ( P. aeruginosa ). Of the methods of duplicate isolate removal, the highest percentage susceptibility occurred most frequently with Cerner® followed by D7 and D3. Differences in percentage susceptibility between methods of removal and NR ranged from -11 to 25%, -5 to 8%, and -3 to 10%, with Cerner®, D3, and D7, respectively. The percentage susceptibility was at least 5% higher than NR with a method of removal for 15 individual organism/antimicrobial combinations in which susceptibility was ≥70% by at least one of the methods. These occurred most frequently with Enterobacter species and Cerner®. Although there is no consensus on the ideal method of duplicate isolate removal, one should be cognizant that these manipulations may produce different cumulative susceptibility reports.
Prevalence of domestic violence in an inpatient female population

Studies have evaluated the prevalence of domestic violence in populations of patients in emergency and primary care settings, but there are little data on patients admitted to hospitals. We undertook a study to evaluate the prevalence of domestic violence among female inpatients. Of 131 consecutive female patients between the ages of 18 and 60 admitted to a nontrauma urban teaching hospital asked to complete a self-administered survey about domestic violence, 101 completed the questionnaire. Twenty-six percent of the respondents reported being in an abusive relationship at one time. Two patients felt that domestic violence contributed to their current reason for admission. No respondents were asked about domestic violence by health care providers. Domestic violence is an uncommon but important precipitant to nontrauma hospital admissions. Physicians should query all female inpatients about domestic assault.
Overview of cardiovascular physiologic and pharmacologic aspects of selective phosphodiesterase peak III inhibitors.

Abstract In recent years several agents have been developed as selective inhibitors of the low Michaelis constant cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) phosphodiesterase (peak III), a fraction of the cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases that is specific for the metabolic breakdown of cAMP. These agents are often referred to as PDE III inhibitors and share similar pharmacologic profiles. The principal interest in these agents—the therapy of congestive heart failure—is based on the cardiovascular effects that result from sequential elevation of intracellular cAMP, cAMP-dependent protein kinase activation, phosphorylation of cellular proteins and change in cellular function. The selective PDE III inhibitors have a triad of cardiovascular activities that provide hemodynamic benefit to patients with congestive heart failure. As a representative drug from this class of compounds, milrinone increases myocardial contractility, increases the rate of ventricular relaxation, and unloads the heart by way of a peripheral vasodilator action. The selective PDE III inhibitors offer a new modality for oral therapy of congestive heart failure.
A thorough analysis and exposition of the four-index transformation

Abstract The nature of two-electron integral transformations as a major stumbling block to configuration interaction calculations is discussed. An N5 general procedure utilizing positional algorithms for all members of specially ordered lists of partial summations is presented. Theoretical analysis detailing sequencing and calculational algorithms is included, augmented by results of FORTRAN programmed versions of the method. Two program versions differing in the manner of dividing the partially summed integrals into blocks give practical orders N 5 .5±0.2 and N 6.23±0.05 , the former approaching theoretical order.
A biological and chemical comparison of various areas of a reservoir

Abstract A limnological survey was made of a Texas reservoir. Biological (heterotrophic and autotrophic uptake of carbon, chlorophyll a and oxygen utilization) studies and chemical (nitrate-N and phosphate-P) studies were made on various areas of the reservoir. The areas were physically different, i.e. coves, open water and near-shore water, and the testing program was designed to determine if differences did exist among the areas. The data indicated that a cove that had a marina located on it was not significantly different from one that did not have a marina but was very similar in other aspects. An open water area in which many trees had been left standing was shown to be more eutrophic than other areas near it. Another open water area with sediments rich in nutrients was shown to be less eutrophic than shallower areas near it.
Severe Nutritional Risk Predicts Decreased Long-Term Survival in Geriatric Patients Undergoing Pancreaticoduodenectomy for Benign Disease

Background Weight loss and malnutrition are poorly tolerated by geriatric patients, and pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) can result in chronic malabsorption and weight loss. We sought to determine how preoperative severe nutritional risk (SNR), as defined by the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program/American Geriatric Society Best Practice Guidelines, affects long-term survival after PD for benign disease among geriatric and nongeriatric patients. Study Design All patients undergoing PD for nonmalignant conditions at a single center between 1995 and 2013 were followed for survival, excluding patients who died within 90 days of surgery. Survival of geriatric (age ≥65 years) and nongeriatric (age Results There were 320 patients who underwent PD for benign disease. Over the course of the study, the proportion of geriatric patients undergoing PD for benign conditions increased from 25% to 46%. In addition to being older, geriatric patients undergoing PD for benign disease were significantly more likely to have coronary artery disease (CAD) and hypertension. Geriatric patients with preoperative SNR had significantly decreased long-term survival after PD for benign disease (p Conclusions Severe nutritional risk can be a useful predictor of long-term survival in geriatric patients undergoing PD, and could improve patient risk stratification preoperatively. Nonoperative management should be strongly considered in geriatric patients with SNR, when malignancy is not suspected.
Stem Cells and Molecular Advances in the Treatment of Facial Skin

Stem cell technology has been discussed chiefly in terms of organ replacement in end-stage diseases. However, improved understanding of adult stem cells and a more nuanced appreciation of aging skin as a disease state has focused greater attention on the potential for truly regenerative and rejuvenative skin therapy with autologous cells. Through enhanced understanding of the normal processes of wound healing, systems of treatment and avenues of therapy are emerging based on modulation and amplification of the natural processes of wound healing. This article presents skin-specific developments in stem cell and growth factor science and suggests further avenues of investigation.
HUMAN FOLLICLE STIMULATING HORMONE: FIRST PROPOSAL FOR THE AMINO ACID SEQUENCE OF THE HORMONE-SPECIFIC, β SUBUNIT (hFSHβ)

ABSTRACT Amino acid sequence of hFSHβ has been derived from the sequences of the tryptic and thermolytic peptides of the reduced and carboxymethylated subunit. hFSHβ consists of 115 residues. Two carbohydrate moieties are linked at positions 7 and 24. Heterogeneity exists at the NH2-terminus and COOH-terminus. hFSHβ exhibits surprisingly greater sequence homology with hTSHβ (49 identical positions) than with hLHβ (39 identical positions).
Analysis of radiation pressure induced nonlinear optofluidics.

We analyze two nonlinear optofluidic processes where nonlinearity is induced by the interplay between optical field and liquid interface. Specifically, guided optical waves generate radiation pressure on the liquid interface, which can in turn distort the liquid interface and modify the properties of the optical field. In the first example, we discuss the feasibility of nonlinear optofluidic solitons, where optical field is governed by the nonlinear Schrodinger equation and nonlinearity is effectively determined by liquid properties. Then, we analyze a nonlinear optofluidic process associated with a high quality (Q) factor whispering gallery mode (WGM) in a liquid droplet. Similar to Kerr effects, the WGM can produce a frequency shift proportional to the WGM power. Using liquid properties that are experimentally attainable, we find that it may only take a few photons to generate measurable WGM resonance shift. Such a possibility may eventually lead to nonlinear optics at single photon energy level.
Poverty, Race, and the Contexts of Achievement: Examining Educational Experiences of Children in the U.S. South

This article considers issues of educational inequality in the U.S. South from a social work/ social justice perspective. After a review of existing literature and discussion of cultural versus structural explanations for race and socioeconomic status gaps in academic achievement, findings are presented from a study examining child-, classroom-, and school-level factors that influence academic achievement among public school children in the South. Although a sizeable minority of southern children attend schools that are segregated along racial and socioeconomic lines, and although these schools are different in various aspects of educational environment, once family structure, parental characteristics, the use of ability grouping, and rural school location were taken into account, no influence of race on achievement remained. Implications for social work policy and practice are discussed.
Further Studies on Experimental Atherosclerosis and Dietary Pyrimidines: Orotic Acid, Thiouracil, and Uracil in Male and Female Rats

The comparative potencies of uracil nnd thiouracil in terms of thyroidal changes, hypercholesteremia, azotemia, and incipient atherosclerosis were determined in rats fed cholesterol and cholic acid. Higher dietary levels of uracil were required to produce changes similar to those seen with thiouracil. Certain dietary components related to uracil were also studied. Orotic acid was found to have a dramatic effect on female rats: it favored a markedly lower serum cholesterol level and less cardiovascular sudanophilia. When orotic acid was combined with uracil, the uracil-induced hypercholesteremia and atherogenesis were significantly inhibited, particularly in the females. Orotic acid also protected against the uracil-induced thyroid hyperplasia in these females.
Automatically generating universal attachments through compilation

Universal attachment is a general-purpose mechanism for integrating diverse representation structures and their associated inference programs into a framework built on logical representations and theorem proving. The integration is achieved by links, referred to as universal attachments, that connect logical expressions to these structures and programs. In this paper, we describe a compilation-based method for automatically generating new programs and new universal attachments to those programs given a base set of existing programs and universal attachments. The generation method provides the means to obtain large collections of attachments and attached programs without the traditional specification overhead. As well, the method simplifies the task of validating that a collection of attachments is correct.
Use of a Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitor to Suppress Inflammation and Neuronal Death After Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion

Background and Purpose— Most stroke patients do not present for medical treatment until several hours after onset of brain ischemia. Consequently, neuroprotective strategies are required with comparably long therapeutic windows. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors such as PJ34 are known to suppress microglial activation, a postischemic event that may contribute to neuronal death. We evaluated the effects of PJ34 administered 8 hours after transient forebrain ischemia. Methods— Rats were subjected to 10 minutes of forebrain ischemia and treated with PJ34 for 7 days beginning 8 hours after reperfusion. Activated microglia and infiltrating macrophages were evaluated at serial time points between zero and 14 days after ischemia by immunostaining for CD11b. CA1 neuronal survival was evaluated 7 days after ischemia. Results— Rats treated with PJ34 showed a near-complete inhibition of microglia/macrophage activation (evaluated on day 5) and an 84% reduction in CA1 neuronal death. Conclusions— Administration of PJ34 as late as 8 hours after transient ischemia–reperfusion has a large protective effect on CA1 survival. This effect may be mediated by suppression of the postischemic brain inflammatory response.
Automated monitoring of symptoms during ambulatory chemotherapy and oncology providers’ use of the information: a randomized controlled clinical trial

Purpose Monitoring patient-reported symptoms is necessary to adjust and improve supportive care during chemotherapy. Continuing advances in computerized approaches to symptom monitoring can enhance communication about unrelieved symptoms between patients and oncology providers and may facilitate intensified symptom treatment.
Detection of Bovine Herpesvirus Type 1 RNA in Trigeminal Ganglia of Latently Infected Rabbits by in situ Hybridization

Summary At times after conjunctival inoculation with bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1), representing the acute and latent phases of infection, rabbit trigeminal ganglia were examined for the presence of BHV-1 nucleic acids by in situ hybridization using a 3H-labelled BHV-1 DNA probe. During the acute phase of virus infection, both BHV-1 DNA and RNA were detected in ganglionic neurons and occasionally in adjacent satellite cells. However, during the latent phase of infection only viral RNA was detectable in involved neurons. Viral RNA appeared restricted to the nucleus of latently infected cells and was present in varying amounts in individual cells. These results indicate that the BHV-1 genome is transcriptionally active in ganglionic neurons during latent infection.
Iterative X-ray Cone-Beam Tomography for Metal Artifact Reduction and Local Region Reconstruction.

X-ray cone-beam reconstruction from incomplete projection data has important practical applications, especially in microtomography. We developed expectation maximization (EM)-type and algebraic reconstruction technique (ART)-type iterative cone-beam reconstruction algorithms for metal artifact reduction and local reconstruction from truncated data. These iterative algorithms are adapted from the emission computerized tomography (CT) EM formula and the ART. A key step in our iterative algorithms is introduction of a projection mask and computation of a 3-D spatially varying relaxation factor that allows compensation for beam divergence and data incompleteness. The algorithms are simulated with projection data synthesized from mathematical phantoms. In simulation, the EM-type and ART-type iterative algorithms are demonstrated to be effective for metal artifact reduction and local region reconstruction. They perform similarly in terms of visual quality, image noise, and discrepancy between measured and reprojected data. The EM-type and ARTtype iterative cone-beam reconstruction algorithms have potential for metal artifact reduction and local region reconstruction in X-ray CT.
Self-organization in bird flight formations using diffusion adaptation

Flocks of birds self-organize into V-formations when they need to travel long distances. It has been shown that this formation allows the birds to save energy, by taking advantage of the upwash generated by the neighboring birds. In this work we use a simple model for the upwash generated by a flying bird, and show that a flock of birds can self-organize into a V-formation if every bird were to employ a distributed LMS algorithm, known as diffusion LMS. The algorithm requires the birds to obtain measurements of the upwash, and also to communicate with neighboring birds. The result has interesting implications. First, a simple diffusion LMS-based algorithm can account for the self-organization of birds. The algorithm is fully distributed and runs in real time. Second, that birds can self-organize based on the air pressures generated by the other birds. Third, that some form of communication among birds is crucial to achieve the flight formation.
Damage-less sputter depositions by plasma charge trap for metal gate technologies

Damage-free sputter deposition process has been developed for metal gate complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology. A plasma charge trap (PCT) was introduced in order to eliminate high-energy particle bombardment during sputter deposition processes. Molybdenum (Mo)-gated PMOSFETs were fabricated using a conventional gate-first process. It is shown that the PCT technology yields excellent characteristics in current drivability, as well as in gate oxide integrity (GOI) such as gate leakage current and charge-to-breakdown (Q/sub BD/). The metal gate was also applied to a nonvolatile memory (NVM), which would require most stringent damage control, and good retention characteristics were demonstrated.
A new perspective to AWGN multi-access channels

We approach additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) multi-access channels from the perspective of studying the relationship among user specifications, and we establish an equivalence between a set of users with a certain characteristic and a single user. The consequence of this equivalence includes reduction of the complexity of achievability tests to between /spl Omega/(N) and O(N log(N)), a simpler and more insightful understanding that broadens the idea of successive decoding via user splitting, and other insights into such channels.
Moving against and away from the world: The adolescent legacy of peer victimization

Nicki Crick initiated a generative line of theory and research aimed at exploring the implications of exposure to overt and relational aggression for youth development. The present study aimed to continue and expand this research by examining whether early (second grade) and increasing (second-sixth grade) levels of victimization during elementary school contributed to youths' tendencies to move against, away from, or toward the world of peers following the transition to middle school. Youth (M age in second grade = 7.96 years, SD = 0.35; 338 girls, 298 boys) reported on their exposure to victimization and their social goals (performance-approach, performance-avoidance, or mastery). Teachers reported on youths' exposure to victimization and their engagement in antisocial, socially helpless, and prosocial behavior. Latent growth curve analyses revealed that early and increasing levels of both overt and relational victimization uniquely contributed to multifinality in adverse developmental outcomes, predicting all three social orientations (high conflictual engagement, high disengagement, and low positive engagement). The pattern of effects was robust across sex and after adjusting for youths' early social motivation. These findings confirm that both forms of victimization leave an enduring legacy on youths' social health in adolescence. Given that profiles of moving against and away from the world can contribute to subsequent psychopathology, understanding and preventing this legacy is pivotal for developing effective intervention programs aimed at minimizing the effects of peer adversity. Language: en
Multi-modality 3D breast imaging with X-Ray tomosynthesis and automated ultrasound

This study evaluated the utility of 3D automated ultrasound in conjunction with 3D digital X-ray tomosynthesis for breast cancer detection and assessment, to better localize and characterize lesions in the breast. Tomosynthesis image volumes and automated ultrasound image volumes were acquired in the same geometry and in the same view for 27 patients. 3 MQSA certified radiologists independently reviewed the image volumes, visually correlating the images from the two modalities with in-house software. More sophisticated software was used on a smaller set of 10 cases, which enabled the radiologist to draw a 3D box around the suspicious lesion in one image set and isolate an anatomically correlated, similarly boxed region in the other modality image set. In the primary study, correlation was found to be moderately useful to the readers. In the additional study, using improved software, the median usefulness rating increased and confidence in localizing and identifying the suspicious mass increased in more than half the cases. As automated scanning and reading software techniques advance, superior results are expected.
Three-Dimensional Numerical Evaluation of Thermal Performance of Uninsulated Wall Assemblies

Uninsulated wall assemblies are typical in older homes, as many were built before building codes required insulation. Building engineers need to understand the thermal performance of these assemblies as they consider home energy upgrades if they are to properly predict pre-upgrade performance and, consequently, prospective energy savings from the upgrade. Most whole-building energy simulation tools currently use simplified, 1D characterizations of building envelopes and assume a fixed thermal resistance that does not vary over a building’s temperature range. This study describes a detailed 3D computational fluid dynamics model that evaluates the thermal performance of uninsulated wall assemblies. It accounts for conduction through framing, convection, and radiation and allows for material property variations with temperature. Parameters that were varied include ambient outdoor temperature and cavity surface emissivity. The results may serve as input for building energy simulation tools that model the temperature-dependent energy performance of homes with uninsulated walls.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Hypothesis testing of equality between exponential distributions with matched sets

In matched design, if the unit cost from one comparison group is higher than the unit cost from the other group, then one can consider matching each unit randomly selected from the former with more than one unit from the latter, to increase power of the test. This paper extends the discussion on testing equality between exponential distributions for one-to-one paired design to that for K-to-one matched design, where K can be any finite positive integer. This paper considers the asymptotic test procedure using the central limit and Fieller's theorems (CLFT), the asymptotic test procedure using the marginal likelihood ratio test (MLRT), an exact parametric test (EXPT) and applies Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate the performance of these procedures. When the number of matched sets, n, is as small as 10, the estimated type-I error for the two asymptotic procedures can still agree well with the nominal level. When the number of matched units, K, exceeds 4, the effect due to an increase in K on power generally becomes minimal. When the intra-class correlation between failure times within matched sets is small, using the CLFT generally has larger power than using either the MLRT or EXPT in one-to-one paired design. On the other hand, when the intra-class correlation between failure times within matched sets is large, the power for the MLRT is higher than the power for both the CLFT and EXPT in almost all the situations considered in this paper. Hence the author recommends the MLRT.
An Emerging Technology and Pedagogical Tool: Text-to-Movie

Text-to-Movie (TTM) technology enables teachers to easily create multimedia learning objects. Typed dialog is converted into speech for animated characters in movies. As an emerging tech- nology that rarely appears in the literature, text-to-movie capability holds great promise for use in teaching and learning. Text-to-Movie technology enables rapid creation of animated speaking characters in movie format. This paper reports on a novel learning object that was created using text-to-movie technology for a senior-level Information Systems (IS) course. The resulting proof-of-concept movie was successfully used in class to help students consider communication between systems analysts and their clients. After the introduction, the paper will cover the peda- gogical constraints, design decisions, development and implementation of the learning object, as well as student response. Limitations and practical implications for educators will be discussed along with future directions.
The Ongoing Search for a Stratified Medicine Approach in Heart Failure

The mounting challenges to identify effective pharmacologic therapies for heart failure over the past decade have spurred the continued search for newer therapeutic targets ([1][1]). Oxidative stress has consistently been associated with poor outcomes in heart failure and cardiac dysfunction. Animal
An Optimized Correction Procedure via Reconstruction Formulation for Broadband Wave Computation

Recently, a new differential discontinuous formulation for conservation laws named the Correction Procedure via Reconstruction (CPR) is developed, which is in-spired by several other discontinuous methods such as the discontinuous Galerkin (DG), the spectral volume (SV)/spectral difference (SD) methods. All of them can be unified under the CPR formulation, which is relatively simple to implement due to its finite-difference-like framework. In this paper, a different discontinuous solution space including both polynomial and Fourier basis functions on each element is employed to compute broad-band waves. Free-parameters introduced in the Fourier bases are optimized to minimize both dispersion and dissipation errors through a wave propagation analysis. The optimization procedure is verified with a mesh resolution analysis. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the optimized CPR formulation.
Modeling and Simulation of Photovoltaic Maximum Power Point Tracking System

In order to analyze and understand dynamic characteristics of the maximum power point tracking(MPPT) system of photovoltaic(PV) cells to the full extent, mathematical model of the PV MPPT system was established, including PV cells model, MPPT controlling circuit model, PWM circuit model, and boost circuit model. Moreover, perturbation and observation method with fuzzy logic control was used in the MPPT controlling circuit, which accelerates the tracking speed and improves the controlling accuracy. At last, simulation software of the PV MPPT system was developed which simulates output power characteristic of the system when the weather changes. The simulation results show that the PV MPPT system can track the maximum power point quickly and accurately with the good steady-state characteristic and the dynamic characteristic when the weather changes.
Relationship between Chlamydia Pneumoniae Infection and Changes of Coronary Artery in Children

Objective To explore whether chlamydia pneumoniae(CP) infection causes the coronary artery morphology change in children and their reciprocity.Methods Serum immunoglobin M(IgM) and immunoglobin G(IgG) antibody to CP were detected by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) in 52 hospitalized children aged 1 month to 10 years and 5 months old in respiratory ward in our hospital,serum interleukin-6(IL-6),triglyceride(TG) and peripheral blood C-reactive protein(CRP) were also determined,morphology change of coronary artery of the patients were harvested by colored doppler echocardiogram.Results In the 52 cases,21 cases were positive of IgM,28 cases were positive of IgG,3 cases were positive both IgM and IgG.Twelve cases were high of CRP,5 cases were high of IL-6,9 cases were high of TG.In the 52 patients,the different levels of IgM,IgG,IL-6,CRP and TG had not coronary artery morphology change.Conclusion CP infection in the children does not cause the coronary artery to occur morphology change.
Demand or fixed-rate pacemakers? Eleven-year experience with 76 patients.

Seventy-six patients underwent pacemaker insertion from 1961 to 1971 at the San Diego Naval Hospital. A total of 149 pulse generators were implanted—73 fixed-rate and 76 demand, synchronous, or standby units. Forty-six epicardial and 48 transvenous electrodes were utilized. The hospital mortality rate was 4 per cent and the late mortality rate 26 per cent. Ten of the fourteen unexplained sudden deaths (71 per cent) occurred in those patients with fixed-rate units, even though this group represented only 54 per cent of the total pacing years. Thirty-two per cent of the units failed an average of 16 months after implantation. Epicardial wire fracture occurred in 22 per cent and transvenous electrode failure in 15 per cent. Competitive rhythm occurred in 12 per cent—all with fixed-rate generators. It is concluded that fixed-rate pacemakers should not be employed at the initial implantation for heart block, since the heart may revert to a lesser degree of block and then compete. The higher mortality rate in the fixed-rate group supports this view.
Asthma and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Clinical and Pathogenic Interactions

Asthma and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are among the most prevalent chronic human diseases of the 21st century. They share several risk and aggravating factors such as obesity, smoking, gastroesophageal reflux, sinonasal disease or upper airway involvement, systemic inflammation, etc. Although the association between OSA and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or “overlap syndrome” is better known and characterized, the association of asthma and OSA or “alternative overlap syndrome” is less clearly defined and understood. Nevertheless, their coexistence has synergistic effects on patient symptoms, response to therapy, and general outcomes. Taxonomically, asthma and OSA are syndromically defined entities that are quite heterogeneous, being characterized by a plethora of clinical phenotypes. The complex interactions between these conditions should take into account more specific etiopathogenic mechanisms or distinct disease endotypes. The potential clinical, pathogenic, and therapeutic significance of the disease endotypes is still emerging and needs further evaluation. We present here a review on the bidirectional relationships between asthma and OSA, including their clinical, pathophysiologic, and therapeutic connections. Furthermore, we propose here to look at these interactions beyond the development of comprehensive inventories of genotypes, clinical and pathophysiologic phenotypes, but in the larger context of obstructive lung and airway disorders, with the goal to reassess meaningful syndromes based on natural history and predictable patient outcomes, which will help us better stratify therapy in an era of personalized medicine.
Production of ovine chimeras by inner cell mass transplantation

Ovine chimeras were produced by micro-injection of isolated inner cell masses (ICM) into recipient blastocysts. Inner cell masses were isolated by immunosurgery. A total of 57 chimeric embryos was produced, 52 of which were transferred to recipient ewes. Thirty-seven live lambs were born, of which 15 were determined to be chimeric on the basis of blood type analysis. One lamb, although not a blood chimera, exhibited overt signs of chimerism. An additional six lambs were determined to have developed solely from the injected ICM. The rate of chimerism in live lambs was 43% (16/37) while the survival rate of injected ICM was 59% (22/37). The method presented allows the production of relatively large proportion of viable, chimeric embryos without the use of an intermediate recipient.
The 1984–85 Teleradiology Field Trial and Archive Study

A number of public and private organizations, including the Public Health Service, the Department of Defense, and the Mitre Corporation, have, for several years, collaborated on projects evaluating teleradiology systems. The most recent project is the 1984–85 Teleradiology Field Trial and its companion research, the Archive Study.
Biofeedback Treatment in Psychosomatic Illness

In spite of the fact that the field of biofeedback is now well into its second decade, few studies have documented the long-term effectiveness for reducing clinical symptomatology in psychosomatic illness. Integration of those that have been conducted is complicated by the varying treatment modalities, lengths of training, and lengths of follow-up periods employed by the investigators. Moreover, the definition of “success” is necessarily an arbitrary and subjective one, susceptible to the influence of both the patient’s and the evaluator’s expectations. Recognizing these potential sources of error exist, one can nevertheless make some statements regarding long-term effectiveness.
Phonon Optical Properties of Ca 1-x Sr x F 2

The phonon optical properties of the mixed fluorite system ${\mathrm{Ca}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Sr}}_{x}{\mathrm{F}}_{2}$ are treated theoretically using the "average-Green's-function" formalism. The calculations are based on a rigid-ion model for the pure Ca${\mathrm{F}}_{2}$ lattice, with a defect model for ${\mathrm{Sr}}^{++}$ impurities that includes both mass and force-constant changes. Results are compared with experimental observations on Raman scattering and far-infrared reflectivity spectra.
Isolating the impact of septic systems on fecal pollution in streams of suburban watersheds in Georgia, United States.

Abstract The presence of multiple sources of fecal pollution at the watershed level presents challenges to efforts aimed at identifying the influence of septic systems. In this study multiple approaches including targeted sampling and monitoring of host-specific Bacteroidales markers were used to identify the impact of septic systems on microbial water quality. Twenty four watersheds with septic density ranging from 8 to 373 septic units/km2 were monitored for water quality under baseflow conditions over a 3-year period. The levels of the human-associated HF183 marker, as well as total and ruminant Bacteroidales, were quantified using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Human-associated Bacteroidales yield was significantly higher in high density watersheds compared to low density areas and was negatively correlated (r = −0.64) with the average distance of septic systems to streams in the spring season. The human marker was also positively correlated with the total Bacteroidales marker, suggesting that the human source input was a significant contributor to total fecal pollution in the study area. Multivariable regression analysis indicates that septic systems, along with forest cover, impervious area and specific conductance could explain up to 74% of the variation in human fecal pollution in the spring season. The results suggest septic system impact through contributions to groundwater recharge during baseflow or failing septic system input, especially in areas with >87 septic units/km2. This study supports the use of microbial source tracking approaches along with traditional fecal indicator bacteria monitoring and land use characterization in a tiered approach to isolate the influence of septic systems on water quality in mixed-use watersheds.
Array excitation tracking via NLMS algorithm

Normalized least mean square (NLMS) algorithm is considered to adaptively correct the excitation coefficients of a linear phased array, which was previously studied with the standard least mean square (LMS) algorithm. The effects of receiver noise, element mutual coupling and of using the discrete dither states are also studied.
Keynote: The computer science behind the Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit: An open source large-scale deep learning toolkit for Windows and Linux

Deep Learning is redefining computing. Deep Neural Networks, or DNNs, have led to breakthrough accuracy improvements for tasks formerly considered AI, like speech recognition, image classification, and translation. Recurrent DNNs are differentiable universal computers. DNNs are layered structures of relatively simple functions with millions to billions of learnable model parameters. The challenge is that these model parameters are obtained by machine learning of sometimes billions of data samples, which often requires harnessing a farm of powerful multi-GPU servers. Microsoft's open source Cognitive Toolkit (CNTK) is used to create the DNNs that power many Microsoft services and products. It enables researchers and data scientists to easily code such neural networks at the right abstraction level, and to efficiently train and test them on production-scale data. This talk will discuss the Cognitive Toolkit and how it takes a functional-style, differentiable user program, compiles it into a computation graph for GPU execution, and distributes execution of its training across a GPU-server farm. This talk will explain how the toolkit's design intersects with several topics of interest to the three co-located conferences.
A peptide-based approach to evaluate the adaptability of influenza A virus to humans based on its hemagglutinin proteolytic cleavage site

Cleavage activation of the hemagglutinin (HA) protein by host proteases is a crucial step in the infection process of influenza A viruses (IAV). However, IAV exists in eighteen different HA subtypes in nature and their cleavage sites vary considerably. There is uncertainty regarding which specific proteases activate a given HA in the human respiratory tract. Understanding the relationship between different HA subtypes and human-specific proteases will be valuable in assessing the pandemic potential of circulating viruses. Here we utilized fluorogenic peptides mimicking the HA cleavage motif of representative IAV strains causing disease in humans or of zoonotic/pandemic potential and tested them with a range of proteases known to be present in the human respiratory tract. Our results show that peptides from the H1, H2 and H3 subtypes are cleaved efficiently by a wide range of proteases including trypsin, matriptase, human airway tryptase (HAT), kallikrein-related peptidases 5 (KLK5) and 12 (KLK12) and plasmin. Regarding IAVs currently of concern for human adaptation, cleavage site peptides from H10 viruses showed very limited cleavage by respiratory tract proteases. Peptide mimics from H6 viruses showed broader cleavage by respiratory tract proteases, while H5, H7 and H9 subtypes showed variable cleavage; particularly matriptase appeared to be a key protease capable of activating IAVs. We also tested HA substrate specificity of Factor Xa, a protease required for HA cleavage in chicken embryos and relevant for influenza virus production in eggs. Overall our data provide novel tool allowing the assessment of human adaptation of IAV HA subtypes.
Catalytic upgrading of fractionated microalgae bio-oil (Nannochloropsis oculata) using a noble metal (Pd/C) catalyst

Abstract Pyrolytic bio-oil was chemically upgraded after physically distilled upgrades to meet the petroleum transportation fuel substitute. A Pd/C catalyst was used to upgrade the microalgae pyrolytic bio-oil to determine the effect of different distillation fractions and catalytic upgrading conditions on the yields and properties. The middle distillation fraction (F2) was upgraded under various temperature (130 to 250 °C) and pressure (4.1 to 8.3 MPa) conditions based on response surface methodology (RSM). The light distillation fraction (F1) and raw bio-oil were also catalytically upgraded for the comparison. The distillation step prior to catalytic upgrading led to a better quality of upgraded bio-oil compared to the direct bio-oil upgrades. Both the oxygen and hydrogen contents of light and middle fraction upgrades were improved, while the upgraded raw bio-oil showed limited improvement. The other properties of HHV and TAN with the middle fraction upgrades were improved to 42.9 MJ/kg and 1.09 mg KOH/g, respectively, at the severe condition as most of the ketones in upgrades were removed. Also, paraffin and aromatic chemical groups were significantly produced at the expense of the olefin groups through hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation. Thus, the catalytic upgrading after a distillation stage enhanced the quality of biofuel that can be a petroleum fuels substitute or additives.