cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differential regulation of ceramide in lipid‐rich microdomains (rafts): Antagonistic role of palmitoyl:protein thioesterase and neutral sphingomyelinase 2

Cell differentiation and myelination involve a fine balance between stasis and programmed cell death, yet the genes that regulate this have not been clearly defined. We therefore studied two key gene products involved in oligodendrocyte plasma membrane lipid metabolism and their antagonistic role in ceramide-mediated cell death signaling. Overexpression of palmitoyl:protein thioesterase (PPT1; verified by Western blot of the V5-tagged protein and increased enzyme activity) resulted in decreased ceramide in the detergent-resistant microdomain (DRM, or raft) relative to cholesterol and sphingomyelin (SM). This PPT1 overexpression also resulted in protection against cell death induced by either staurosporine or C2-ceramide. In contrast, overexpression of neutral sphingomyelinase 2 (NSMase2; verified by Western blot of the FLAG-tagged protein and increased enzyme activity) resulted in increased membrane NSMase and increased ceramide in rafts relative to cholesterol and SM. The difference in SM and ceramide turnover was quantitated by [3H]palmitate pulse-chase labeling. Furthermore, when NBD-SM was added to cells, it was hydrolyzed by NSMase-transfected cells at more than twofold the rate in untransfected cells. NSMase2 overexpression enhanced cell death induced by staurosporine or C2-ceramide, in contrast to the protective effect of PPT1 overexpression. The presence of a fraction of both PPT1 and NSMase2 in rafts together with their substrates (palmitoylated proteins and SM, respectively) suggests a mechanism for dynamic palmitoylation/depalmitoylation of certain proteins in controlling cell death via NSMase activation. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Nitric oxide facilitates N-methyl-D-aspartate-induced burst firing in dopamine neurons from rat midbrain slices.

Abstract Dopamine (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra pars compacta were induced to fire in bursts with application of N-methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA, 20 μM) and apamin (100 nM) while recording intracellularly in the rat brain slice. l -Arginine (300 μM), a substrate for nitric oxide (NO) production, increased both the number of spikes per burst and the magnitude of interburst hyperpolarizations. Nitric oxide synthase inhibitors N-nitro- l -arginine methyl ester ( l -NAME, 100 μM), N-nitro- l -arginine, and 7-nitroindazole inhibited NMDA-induced burst firing by reducing the number of spikes per burst. Moreover, l -arginine (100 μM) reversed the inhibition of burst firing produced by l -NAME. These findings suggest that NO facilitates NMDA-induced burst firing in DA neurons.
Should the United States adopt a national substantive criminal code for serious offenses

This article addresses the policy question: should the United States adopt a national substantive criminal code for serious offenses? Strangely enough, this issue has never been thoroughly considered. The author suggests that the current mobility of Americans requires a fresh look at the many issues involved, a number of which are raised and discussed. His conclusion is that careful consideration of the desirability and feasibility of a national code is now overdue.
Some data and observations on research publication in the areas of numerical computation and programming languages and systems

This report contains extensive data on the level of research publications in refereed journals for two areas in Computer Science: Numerical Computation and Programming Languages and Systems. It is concluded that the research output in Numerical Computation is about 5 times that in Programming Languages and Systems (as measured by refereed research articles). Some less complete data on the number of conferences is also presented which suggests the number of conferences in numerical computations substantially exceeds that of Programming Languages and Systems. Some comparisons are made with data derived from Computing Reviews. The data is for 1973 and 1974.
Cosmic‐ray produced neon in Antarctic rocks

We studied three Antarctic rocks and quartz separates thereof for their records of cosmic-ray produced 21Ne. All three samples reveal an excess of 21Ne and in two of them a cosmic-ray origin is documented by the spallation ratios 22Ne/21Ne. 3He is shown to be incompletely retained in quartz (<10%). Previous studies have shown the suitability of quartz as a monitor for cosmic-ray produced radionuclides 10Be and 26Al, and therefore as a tracer for geological processes. 26Al/10Be ratios allow the calculation of minimum exposure ages and maximum erosion rates, and measured ratios 21Ne/10Be and 21Ne/26Al add significant information to exposure histories, especially in the case of a complex exposure. This information is necessary for an evaluation of erosion rates and to define geological processes, such as uplift and variations in the Antarctic ice cover.
Natural and radiation-induced chromosomal polymorphism in Drosophila☆

Abstract This report deals with the retention of radiation-induced inversions in small populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura whose parental flies were from different geographic origins. 50 populations were studied; 5 were found to be polymorphic for newly-induced autosomal inversions 6 months to one year later. 3 of these polymorphisms persisted for another 2 years when the experiment was terminated. 3 of the 5 original polymorphisms involved chromosome-two, a chromosome that is generally monomorphic in natural populations. The restriction of naturally-occurring polymorphisms in this species to chromosome-three cannot be explained, then, by the absence of fitness heterosis in individuals heterozygous for genes on other chromosomes. Nor can such a lack of fitness heterosis explain the tendency for closely related species (such as D. pseudoobscura and D. persimilis) to utilize homologous chromosomes for adaptive polymorphisms. Alternative possibilities are discussed.
Flash and continuous photolysis studies of Roussin’s red salt dianion Fe2S2(NO)42− in solution

Abstract Flash photolysis studies of Roussin’s red salt dianion, Fe 2 S 2 (NO) 4 2− ( RRS ) demonstrated high quantum yield formation of an intermediate believed to be Fe 2 S 2 (NO) 3 2− formed by photodissociation of NO. This species reacts competitively with nitric oxide via second-order kinetics ( k NO =9.1×10 8 M −1 s −1 ) to reform RRS and with dioxygen ( k Ox =5.6×10 7 M −1 s −1 ) to give a secondary intermediate. The latter species is the likely precursor of the eventual photoproduct, Roussin’s black salt anion, Fe 4 S 3 (NO) 7 − ( RBS ). In deaerated aqueous solution, photolysis of the red salt also leads to formation of RBS but with a quantum yield (0.0039) much smaller than that in aerated solution (0.14). Notably, under these conditions N 2 O is also found to be a product. In deoxygenated aprotic media, a different photoproduct, the black salt dianion Fe 4 S 3 (NO) 7 2− is formed in low yield. The independently prepared dianion Fe 4 S 3 (NO) 7 2− was shown to reduce NO to N 2 O in the presence of a proton source. A scheme for the observed photochemistry of RRS based on these observations is proposed.
Propulsion and Aerodynamic Performance Evaluation of Jet-Wing Distributed Propulsion

Distributed propulsion is the idea of redistributing the thrust across the drag producing elements of a vehicle. Our configuration has a modest number of engines with part of the exhaust flow vented from thick trailing edges of the wings to cancel the local profile drag and the rest of the exhaust flow providing thrust to cancel the induced drag and drag of the fuselage and tails. CFD studies were performed on two-dimensional wing sections in transonic, viscous flow to (1) investigate the effect of jet-wing on propulsion efficiency and the flow field (2) determine design changes for achieving efficient distributed propulsion, and (3) investigate the effect of jet-flaps with small jet deflection angles on aerodynamic parameters. The jet-wing distributed propulsion can give propulsive efficiencies on the order of turbofan engine aircraft and if the trailing edge of a conventional Outboard airfoil is expanded, efficiency can be increased by 7.5%. An increase in propulsion efficiency was achieved without expanding the trailing edge for a thicker Inboard airfoil. The results of the Outboard airfoil jet-flap cases support the idea of using deflected exhaust jets from trailing edges as control surfaces.
Phase shifts and the square-wave illusion

When observers view a vertical triangle-wave luminance profile, they often report a square-wave illusion with a depth component, resembling a corrugated surface. Alternate bars seem to be in front of or behind adjacent bars and the surface appears to be illuminated from the right or left. These perspectives alternate with continuous viewing. One explanation for this illusion stems from the notion of instability among phase-selective mechanisms. Two experiments (1 and 3) were designed to determine whether systematic phase shifts introduced between the fundamental and the odd harmonics of the waveform would lead to a systematic bias of the illusion. The results indicated that a significant bias occurred when a phase shift as small as 9 deg was introduced, and that the bias from the phase shifts was more powerful than previous reports of drift-induced bias. There was a highly significant effect of direction of phase shift and the corresponding perceived direction of illumination. Another experiment (2) was designed to determine if illusional cues within the phase-shifted profiles aided phase discrimination. The results indicated that experienced subjects, presumably using cues within the profiles, discriminated between the stimuli significantly better than did naive subjects. These data support the role of phase in the square-wave illusion, but they also raise questions about the role of contrast changes in local regions of the stimulus.
The State of the Art in Credit Evaluation

have grown dramatically during the last two decades in the United States. The resultant high levels of indebtedness have contributed to a higher incidence of default and bankruptcies, thus significantly increasing the risks involved in lending. At the same time, in response to concerns regarding discriminatory lending practices, the U.S. Congress passed the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1975 and amended it in 1976 to prohibit the use of race, national origin, sex, marital status, and age as factors in credit-granting decisions. Deregulation, international debt problems, and globalization of the financial markets have combined in the 1980s to create a financial environment
Thermal electron energy distribution measurements in the ionosphere

A recoverable payload instrumented for twilight airglow studies was launched by an Aerobee 150 from the White Sands Test Range on Feb. 8, 1971 at 13.56 UT. The payload included a low energy electron spectrometer (HARP) and a cylindrical Langmuir probe. The HARP electron spectrometer is a new device designed to make high resolution differential electron flux measurements. Measurements of ionospheric electron energy distribution in the range from about 0.2 to 4.0 eV are presented.
Complex segregation analysis of day-neutrality in domestic strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch.)

Thirty bi-parental progenies were generated using 45 genotypes from the University of California (UC) strawberry breeding population as parents. Both parent genotypes and their offspring were classified for photoperiod insensitivity, or day-neutrality, for flowering using a late-season flowering score and the number of inflorescences per plant recorded during late summer. Complex Segregation Analysis of these traits indicated that their distributions were best explained by a genetic model that postulates a single major locus with partial dominance for day-neutrality in combination with a background of polygenic and environmental variation. The frequency of the allele conferring day-neutrality was estimated as p = 0.59–0.62 in this experimental population. Genotypic values for the inferred major locus were estimated as a = 1.12 and d = −0.81 for the flowering score, and a = 4.93 and d = 2.41 for inflorescence number. Further resolution of inheritance patterns were obtained by comparing the phenotypic variance for each trait with estimates obtained by insertion of these genotypic class values and allele frequencies into standard quantitative genetic models, and by the comparing variance components estimated using a mixed model analysis with and without inferred genotypic classes as a fixed effect. These comparisons suggest that the major gene determines 80.5% and 73.9% of the additive genetic variance for flowering score and inflorescence number respectively. One complicating feature of the results obtained here is that a non-Mendelian model of segregation fit statistically better than a fixed Mendelian model. The genetic parameters estimated using this non-Mendelian model were essentially identical to those obtained with fixed segregation; hybrid and octoploid ancestry, selection affecting flowering response, and limited number of generations in the analysis are discussed as possible explanations of this result.
Rhetoric, failure, and the presidency: The case of Vietnam

Scholars have largely dismissed the postwar Vietnam rhetoric of American presidents. Rhetorical analysis of this discourse, however, reveals recurrent failure topoi used by Nixon, Ford, and Carter to console and compensate the nation after Vietnam. This study explores the limitations of these topoi in postwar situations. It argues that even as they purge the nation of wartime failure and reassert foundational myths and ideology, these topoi restrict historical judgments about the wartime experience and perhaps even perpetuate climates that make future confrontations likely. This essay concludes by locating the constraints upon presidential discoursing about failure within the culture and within the institution of the Presidency itself.
Exploring the relationship between development and road traffic injuries: a case study from India.

Background: Road traffic injuries (RTI) are a major cause of mortality and disability in the world. Only after significant losses have communities in developed nations taken necessary steps to prevent crashes and their consequences. Increase in road safety is related to increasing socio-economic development. We aim to study the trends in injury and death rates in a developing country, India, define sub-national variations, and analyse these trends in relation to economic and population growth. Methods: Public sector data from India were used to develop a standardized database on traffic injuries and indicator of economic development. The data were analysed using linear regression models to test the a priori hypothesis of a positive relationship between net domestic product (NDP), and injury and death rates from road crashes across states. Results: The absolute burden of RTI in India has been consistently rising over the past three decades. The reported rates are lower than those estimated by global health agencies and may reflect under-reporting. Population-based rates provide a better assessment of the public health burden of RTI than vehicle-based rates. There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between NDP and injury and death rates. Even with the limited data, Kuznets phenomenon is evident for within-country level comparisons. Conclusions: India and other developing countries could learn from the experience of highly motorized nations to avoid the expected rise in RTI and deaths with economic development, by currently investing in road safety and prevention measures.
Geometry-aware metric learning

In this paper, we introduce a generic framework for semi-supervised kernel learning. Given pair-wise (dis-)similarity constraints, we learn a kernel matrix over the data that respects the provided side-information as well as the local geometry of the data. Our framework is based on metric learning methods, where we jointly model the metric/kernel over the data along with the underlying manifold. Furthermore, we show that for some important parameterized forms of the underlying manifold model, we can estimate the model parameters and the kernel matrix efficiently. Our resulting algorithm is able to incorporate local geometry into the metric learning task; at the same time it can handle a wide class of constraints. Finally, our algorithm is fast and scalable -- unlike most of the existing methods, it is able to exploit the low dimensional manifold structure and does not require semi-definite programming. We demonstrate wide applicability and effectiveness of our framework by applying to various machine learning tasks such as semi-supervised classification, colored dimensionality reduction, manifold alignment etc. On each of the tasks our method performs competitively or better than the respective state-of-the-art method.
RNA polymerase activity in germinating onion seeds

Abstract Frozen sections of endosperm cut from dry unimbibed onion seed were immersed in an aqueous solution of tritium labelled triphosphate; nucleolar RNA polymerase (ribonucleoside triphosphate: RNA nucleotidyltransferase E.C. 2.7.7.6) activity was detected by autoradiography after soaking for 10–15 min in the solution of the radioactive nucleotide. Throughout germination, activity appears to be mainly confined to the nucleolus with chromatin incorporation being very low or non-existent. In the embryo, in contrast to the endosperm, chromatin activity is initiated after 1 hr presoaking, while the nucleolus displays a lag of several hours. No incorporation could be detected in vivo before 18 hr.
Practical Considerations in the Selection and use of Continuous Flight Auger and Drilled Displacement Piles

The use of continuous flight auger (CFA) and drilled displacement (DD) piles in the U.S. market has increased significantly in recent years. This paper describes some of the advantages and limitations of these drilling systems compared to other deep foundation systems. Geotechnical and project considerations are described which favor the use of CFA and DD piling. In addition, conditions are discussed which may be problematic for this type of construction or which may limit the practicality and competitive advantages of CFA and DD piles.
Cytochalasins Protect Hippocampal Neurons Against Amyloid β‐Peptide Toxicity: Evidence that Actin Depolymerization Suppresses Ca2+ Influx

Increasing data suggest that the amyloid beta-peptide (A beta), which accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer's victims, plays a role in promoting neuronal degeneration. Cell culture studies have shown that A beta can be neurotoxic and recent findings suggest that the mechanism involves destabilization of cellular calcium homeostasis. We now report that cytochalasin D, a compound that depolymerizes actin microfilaments selectively, protects cultured rat hippocampal neurons against A beta neurotoxicity. Cytochalasin D was effective at concentrations that depolymerized actin (10-100 nM). The elevation of [Ca2+]i induced by A beta, and the enhancement of [Ca2+]i responses to glutamate in neurons exposed to A beta, were markedly attenuated in neurons pretreated with cytochalasin D. The protective effect of cytochalasin D appeared to result from a specific effect on actin filaments and reduction in calcium influx, because cytochalasin E, another actin filament-disrupting agent, also protected neurons against A beta toxicity; the microtubule-disrupting agent colchicine was ineffective; cytochalasin D did not protect neurons against the toxicity of hydrogen peroxide. These findings suggest that actin filaments play a role in modulating [Ca2+]i responses to neurotoxic insults and that depolymerization of actin can protect neurons against insults relevant to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.
Inter-State, Intra-State, and Extra-State Wars: A Comprehensive Look at Their Distribution over Time, 1816–1997

Students of world politics disagree about the approaching outlook for war. Are we in the midst of an era of peace with a declining prospect of war, or are we facing a future characterized by increasing “ethnic” conflicts? This puzzle has led scholars to call for a more comprehensive examination of the phenomenon of war. A discussion concerning this need for a new look at war had also arisen within the Correlates of War Project. For more than three decades the Correlates of War Project's database has served the research needs of most of the quantitative world politics community, especially in identifying and trying to account for several classes of war (inter-state, extra-systemic, and civil) throughout the international system since 1816. However, a number of the disagreements in the literature concerning the prospects of war derive from the tendency of many researchers to rely on only one of our data sets (e.g., inter-state war). Here we wish to stimulate a broader view of war by examining the interplay among the three major types of war. Historical developments of the past half-century, and especially since the end of the Cold War, have rendered the original COW war typology increasingly incomplete. Consequently, we developed a modified typology of war and attempted to format the descriptive variables in ways that would facilitate a more comparative and comprehensive analysis of warfare. While the reader should be reassured that Inter-state Wars remain as previously defined, we introduce the term “Intra-state War” in place of our original Civil War category, and the term “Extra-state War” in place of our initial Extra-systemic War category, allowing us to reclassify several such wars. This revised typology coupled with an update of the data allows us to take a fresh look at the question whether, from the perspective of the past two centuries, war is in fact becoming less common. The article concludes with a series of analyses that describe the patterns and trends of all types of war—reflecting the new typology—since the Congress of Vienna. These analyses reflect a disquieting constancy in warfare and hint at patterns of interchangeability or substitutability among the types of war.
Dissolution mechanism of semicrystalline poly(vinyl alcohol) in water

Changes occurring in the degree of crystallinity and lamellar thickness distribution of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) samples during dissolution in water were investigated. PVA samples of three different molecular weights were crystallized by annealing at 90, 110, and 120°C. The initial degrees of crystallinity measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) varied from 43 to 60% and the average lamellar thicknesses measured by DSC ranged from 50 to 400 A. PVA dissolution was followed at 25, 35, and 45°C from 30 s up to 195 min. Lamellar thicknesses were determined as a function of dissolution time using DSC. There was an initial drastic decrease in the degree of crystallinity, which leveled off to a fairly constant value before reaching zero by the time the polymer dissolved completely. Increase in molecular weight led to lesser number of crystals, but with larger average lamellar thickness, which were more stable in the presence of water. Increase in crystallization temperature or decrease in dissolution temperature led to larger average lamellar thickness. Based on these findings, a dissolution mechanism involving unfolding of the polymer chains of the crystal was proposed.
Time critical isosurface refinement and smoothing

Multi-resolution data-structures and algorithms are key in Visualization to achieve real-time interaction with large data-sets. Research has been primarily focused on the off-line construction of such representations mostly using decimation schemes. Drawbacks of this class of approaches include: (i) the inability to maintain interactivity when the displayed surface changes frequently, (ii) inability to control the global geometry of the embedding (no self-intersections) of any approximated level of detail of the output surface. In this paper we introduce a technique for on-line construction and smoothing of progressive isosurfaces (see Figure 1). Our hybrid approach combines the flexibility of a progressive multi-resolution representation with the advantages of a recursive subdivision scheme. Our main contributions are: (i) a progressive algorithm that builds a multi-resolution surface by successive refinements so that a coarse representation of the output is generated as soon as a coarse representation of the input is provided, (ii) application of the same scheme to smooth the surface by means of a 3D recursive subdivision rule, (iii) a multi-resolution representation where any adaptively selected level of detail surface is guaranteed to be free of self-intersections.
Responses of soil and water chemistry to mountain pine beetle induced tree mortality in Grand County, Colorado, USA

Abstract Pine forest in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming, USA, are experiencing the most severe mountain pine beetle epidemic in recorded history, and possible degradation of drinking-water quality is a major concern. The objective of this study was to investigate possible changes in soil and water chemistry in Grand County, Colorado in response to the epidemic, and to identify major controlling influences on stream-water nutrients and C in areas affected by the mountain pine beetle. Soil moisture and soil N increased in soils beneath trees killed by the mountain pine beetle, reflecting reduced evapotranspiration and litter accumulation and decay. No significant changes in stream-water NO 3 - or dissolved organic C were observed; however, total N and total P increased, possibly due to litter breakdown or increased productivity related to warming air temperatures. Multiple-regression analyses indicated that % of basin affected by mountain pine beetles had minimal influence on stream-water NO 3 - and dissolved organic C; instead, other basin characteristics, such as percent of the basin classified as forest, were much more important.
A Collaborative Portal for Ocean Observatories

A Collaborative Ocean Observatory Portal (COOP) has been developed to enable distributed investigators to collaboratively operate ocean observatory systems. COOP is being created within the Autonomous Ocean Sampling Network program to support the Adaptive Sampling and Prediction (ASAP) field experiment that occurred in Monterey Bay in the summer of 2006. ASAP involved the day-to-day participation of a large group of researchers with ties to geographically diverse institutions throughout North America. These investigators had to interact on a continual basis to optimize data collection and analysis. While some investigators needed to be physically present to launch and retrieve their assets, the long duration of the observatory made sustained co-location of researchers difficult. Likewise, future ocean observatories and observing systems (such as moored arrays and cabled observatories) will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week over many years or even decades. Since sustained co-location of researchers for situational awareness and decision-making will be impractical, there is a need for collaborative data distribution and situational awareness tools appropriate for the ASAP experiment, and eventually, for all ocean observatories. As implemented for the ASAP team, the COOP tool set consists of several components, starting with a publicly viewable, web-based tool for reviewing the day's progress and proposed actions. Registered scientists are able to discuss the day's progress (and attach illustrative data), propose actions (and back-up those proposed actions with supporting data), and discuss and vote upon proposed actions. The tool provides links to other system components, such as a database of data collections in both original and common formats, interactive data access and manipulation tools, and pages of automatically generated graphical summaries of observational results and model forecasts
Use of cardiocerebral resuscitation or AHA/ERC 2005 Guidelines is associated with improved survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective To determine whether the use of cardiocerebral resuscitation (CCR) or AHA/ERC 2005 Resuscitation Guidelines improved patient outcomes from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) compared to older guidelines. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library databases. We also hand-searched study references and consulted experts. Study selection Design: randomised controlled trials and observational studies. Population OHCA patients, age >17 years. Comparators ‘Control’ protocol versus ‘Study’ protocol. ‘Control’ protocol defined as AHA/ERC 2000 Guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). ‘Study’ protocol defined as AHA/ERC 2005 Guidelines for CPR, or a CCR protocol. Outcome Survival to hospital discharge. Quality High-quality or medium-quality studies, as measured by the Newcastle Ottawa Scale using predefined categories. Results Twelve observational studies met inclusion criteria. All the three studies using CCR demonstrated significantly improved survival compared to use of AHA 2000 Guidelines, as did five of the nine studies using AHA/ERC 2005 Guidelines. Pooled data demonstrate that use of a CCR protocol has an unadjusted OR of 2.26 (95% CI 1.64 to 3.12) for survival to hospital discharge among all cardiac arrest patients. Among witnessed ventricular fibrillation/ventricular tachycardia (VF/VT) patients, CCR increased survival by an OR of 2.98 (95% CI 1.92 to 4.62). Studies using AHA/ERC 2005 Guidelines showed an overall trend towards increased survival, but significant heterogeneity existed among these studies. Conclusions We demonstrate an association with improved survival from OHCA when CCR protocols or AHA/ERC 2005 Guidelines are compared to use of older guidelines. In the subgroup of patients with witnessed VF/VT, there was a threefold increase in OHCA survival when CCR was used. CCR appears to be a promising resuscitation protocol for Emergency Medical Services providers in increasing survival from OHCA. Future research will need to be conducted to directly compare AHA/ERC 2010 Guidelines with the CCR approach.
Logistic regression for disease classification using microarray data

Motivation: Logistic regression is a standard method for building prediction models for a binary outcome and has been extended for disease classification with microarray data by many authors. A feature (gene) selection step, however, must be added to penalized logistic modeling due to a large number of genes and a small number of subjects. Model selection for this two-step approach requires new statistical tools because prediction error estimation ignoring the feature selection step can be severely downward biased. Generic methods such as cross-validation and non-parametric bootstrap can be very ineffective due to the big variability in the prediction error estimate. Results: We propose a parametric bootstrap model for more accurate estimation of the prediction error that is tailored to the microarray data by borrowing from the extensive research in identifying differentially expressed genes, especially the local false discovery rate. The proposed method provides guidance on the two critical issues in model selection: the number of genes to include in the model and the optimal shrinkage for the penalized logistic regression. We show that selecting more than 20 genes usually helps little in further reducing the prediction error. Application to Golub's leukemia data and our own cervical cancer data leads to highly accurate prediction models. Availability: R library GeneLogit at http://geocities.com/jg_liao Contact: [email protected]
X-ray fluoroscopy spatio-temporal filtering with object detection

One potential way to reduce patient and staff X-ray fluoroscopy dose is to reduce the quantum exposure to the detector and compensate the additional noise with digital filtering. A new filtering method, spatio-temporal filtering with object detection, is described that reduces noise while minimizing motion and spatial blur. As compared to some conventional motion-detection filtering schemes, this object-detection method incorporates additional a priori knowledge of image content; i.e. much of the motion occurs in isolated long thin objects (catheters, guide wires, etc.). We create object-likelihood images and use these to control spatial and recursive temporal filtering such as to reduce blurring the objects of interest. We use automatically computed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to optimize the object-likelihood enhancement method and determine that oriented matched filter kernels with 4 orientations are appropriate. The matched filter kernels are simple projected cylinders. We demonstrate the method on several representative X-ray fluoroscopy sequences to which noise is added to simulate very low dose acquisitions. With processing, we find that noise variance is significantly reduced with slightly less noise reduction near moving objects. We estimate an effective exposure reduction greater than 80%.
Severity of Upper and Lower Extremity Functional Limitation Scale Development and Validation With Self-Report and Performance-Based Measures of Physical Function

Objectives. To better understand disablement and transitions from impairment to disability, discrete valid measures of functional limitation are needed. This study reports the development and criterion-related validity of scales that quantify severity of upper and lower extremity functional limitation. Methods. Data are from 3,635 cognitively intact community-dwelling women aged 65 years and older and 1,002 moderately to severely disabled participants in the Women’s Health and Aging Study. Scales assessing severity of upper and lower extremity functional limitation were constructed from commonly available questions on functional difficulty. Criterion-related validity was evaluated with self-report and performance-based measures. Results. The upper and lower extremity scales range from 0 to 6 and 0 to 9, respectively. Scale scores were well distributed in the disabled group and discriminated limitations in the broader community. For both scales, rates of difficulty for all ADL and IADL increased ( p , .001) with increasing severity score, and percent able and mean performance on respective upper and lower extremity tasks decreased ( p , .01).
Identification of sorption processes and parameters for radionuclide transport in fractured rock

summary Identification of chemical reaction processes in subsurface environments is a key issue for reactive transport modeling because simulating different processes requires developing different chemical–mathematical models. In this paper, two sorption processes (equilibrium and kinetics) are considered for modeling neptunium and uranium sorption in fractured rock. Based on different conceptualizations of the two processes occurring in fracture and/or matrix media, seven dual-porosity, multi-component reactive transport models are developed. The process models are identified with a stepwise strategy by using multitracer concentration data obtained from a series of transport experiments. In the first step, breakthrough data of a conservative tracer (tritium) obtained from four experiments are used to estimate the flow and non-reactive transport parameters (i.e., mean fluid residence time in fracture, fracture aperture, and matrix tortuosity) common to all the reactive transport models. In the second and third steps, by fixing the common non-reactive flow and transport parameters, the sorption parameters (retardation factor, sorption coefficient, and kinetic rate constant) of each model are estimated using the breakthrough data of reactive tracers, neptunium and uranium, respectively. Based on the inverse modeling results, the seven sorption-process models are discriminated using four model discrimination (or selection) criteria, Akaike information criterion (AIC), modified Akaike information criterion (AICc), Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and Kashyap information criterion (KIC). These criteria suggest the kinetic sorption process for modeling reactive transport of neptunium and uranium transport in both fracture and matrix. This conclusion is confirmed by two chemical criteria, the half reaction time and Damkohler number criterion. 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Cohort Group Effectiveness and the Educational Achievement of Adult Undergraduate Students

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between cohort group functioning and educational outcomes of student members participating in an adult, accelerated degree completio...
Blog Analysis with Fuzzy TFIDF

These days blogs are becoming increasingly popular because it allows anyone to share their personal diary, opinions, and comments on the World Wide Wed. Many blogs contain valuable information, but it is a difficult task to extract this information from a high number of blog comments. The goal is to analyze a high number of blog comments by clustering all blog comments by their similarity based on keyword relevance into smaller groups. TF-IDF weight has been used in classifying documents by measuring appearance frequency of each keyword in a document, but it is not effective in differentiating semantic similarities between words. By applying fuzzy semantic to TF-IDF, TF-IDF becomes fuzzy TF-IDF and has the ability to rank semantic relevancy. Fuzzy VSM can be effective in exploring hidden relationship between blog comments by adapting fuzzy TF-IDF and fuzzy semantic for extending Vector Space Model to fuzzy VSM. Therefore, fuzzy VSM can cluster a high number of blog comments into small number of groups based on document similarity and semantic relevancy.
A Decision Model for Social Skills Curriculum Analysis

Social skills instruction provides a proactive, positive methodology for increasing appropriate social behaviors and reducing inappropriate behaviors. This paper describes a decision-making model for comparing, choosing, and implementing social skills curricula that would be appropriate for specific students and settings. The decision model is structured around a systematic decision-making model that addresses three curriculum areas: (a) background, (b) assessment, and (c) instruction. The model also uses a cost-benefit analysis to assist in making modification decisions. The model has been developed to enable curriculum decision makers, teachers, and other users of social skills instructional materials (e.g., curriculum specialists, program coordinators, researchers, teacher trainers) to select a social skills curriculum that is appropriate for their specific needs and that utilizes empirically proven best practices. Flowcharts are used to direct the decision-making process.
HIV infection and avascular necrosis.

presented at the 6th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Chicago. Wolfe, C. J., & Taylor-Butler, K. L. (2000). Avascular necrosis: a case history and literature review. Archives of Family Medicine, 9, 291-294. Savini, James / HIV and Avascular Necrosis 85
CA7-02: The Extent and Impact of Consistent Primary Care.

Background/Aims Clinical practice systems are an important component of a high functioning Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). Here, the relationships between PCMH clinical practice systems and healthcare costs and utilization are examined using a retrospectively constructed longitudinal cohort receiving consistent primary care from the same medical group over a 5-year period.
Experimental Study on the Genesis of Cerebral Vasospasm

The cerebral vasospasm produced by blood, fractions of blood, and blood-borne agents administered intracisternally was studied arteriographically to attain a better understanding of the genesis of vasospasm. The results indicate this phenomenon is multifarious in origin, involving a number of spasmogens. Whole blood, platelets, platelet extracts, some isolated components of platelets, plasma, thrombin, histamine, serotonin and prostaglandins F1α, E2 and F2α produced a significant incidence and duration of spasm. Norepinephrine and prostaglandin E1 were inactive. Spasm produced by arachidonic acid and red blood cells was of questionable significance. Compared to whole blood, thrombin usually produced spasm which was more delayed in onset while most other active substances produced a shorter-lived spasm. However, among the pure substances tested, serotonin, prostaglandin E2 and prostaglandin F2α induced spasm in small doses which most nearly resembled that observed with whole blood. The hypothesis that the ...
The host-parasite interface and associated structures of the cercaria and adult Neophasis lageniformis (Lebour, 1910)

Abstract Tail-bearing and tailless intraredial cercariae of Neophasis lageniformis were studied in the transmission and stereoscan electron microscopes, and the adult stages were studied in the stereoscan electron microscope. All developmental stages are provided with flattened, serrated spines which gradually diminish in size towards the posterior end. They also possess a few sensory structures, composed of an apical cilium and a bulbous base in connection with nerve tissue. Only one cell type, the tegumentary cells of previous authors, connects with the syncytial tegument. Vesicles synthetized in the tegumentary cells enter the tegument through the cytoplasmic connections. In the tegument the most apically located vesicles apparently release their contents into the surrounding medium. Several layers of muscle fibres rich in beta glycogen particles are found below the basal lamina of the tegument. In young tail-bearing cercariae processes of supposed parenchymal cells look nearly empty, whereas in taille...
Student Expectations of Collegiate Internship Programs in Business: A 10-Year Update

Abstract The findings of this research indicate that students have adopted a significantly more pragmatic orientation to college internship programs in business. Students are increasingly seeing the internship less as a vehicle for augmenting their education, and more as a means of gaining a competitive edge in the marketplace for new jobs. Business schools should accordingly ensure that the strategic focus of their internship programs reflects the reality of today's employment market and what students expect from such programs. They should strongly consider allocating additional resources to internship programs, improving program flexibility, and further encouraging student participation.
An Investigation of Fast-Reactor Fuel Testing in a Thermal Reactor Core

This paper investigates the feasibility of testing fast-reactor fuel elements in the core of a thermal reactor. A fast-reactor environment is approximated by placing an assembly of fast-reactor fue...
The FY 2006 budget request

This presentation provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's FY 2006 budget request to Congress.
PGANE News

Automatic testing can be economically applied in the military electronic equipment business even though it is characterized by small production quantities, complexity of product, and rapid evolution of design changes. It has been the experience of the Light Military Electronic Equipment Department (LMEED) of General Electric that it is possible to determine an automatic test program of long range significance and still see immediate benefits, if the program is tailored to a sound understanding of the needs of the particular business involved. This article discusses the approach to automatic testing at LMEED, some of the equipment concepts involved, and the plans to further the program toward the goal of full automation of the test operation.
A Photographic Study of Flash-Boiling Atomization

To gain an insight into the mechanisms of flash-boiling atomization, heated water was injected from a single-hole orifice into heated air (steady injections, liquid pressure 697 kPa, air pressure ambient, test temperatures from 300 to 426 K, orifice diameter 0.34 mm, length 1.37 mm). The breakup regime of interest in the study was that where the spray divergence starts at the nozzle exit. Short-duration backlit photographs and laser diffraction dropsize measurements showed that these flashing jets comprise an inner intact core which is surrounded by the diverging fine spray. These details about the spray structure are not visible in conventional photographs of flashing sprays that use scattered light illumination. The present results cast doubt on a previously proposed theory of flash-boiling atomization that attributes the divergence of the spray cone to the expansion processes that occur in an underex-panded compressible flow, since that theory implies that the liquid is already atomized upon leaving th...
Unfalsified Adaptive Control: The Benefit of Bandpass Filters

Unfalsified adaptive control theory forgoes the traditional analysis of modeling the plants of a system in favor of using only input and output data to decide which controller to use. Valuable criticism regarding the limitations of the traditional cost function used in deciding the controller was raised by Dehghani et al. To deal with these limitations, in this paper, an improvement of filtering the signals in the cost function with a series of bandpass filters is proposed. This enhancement takes inspiration from Saeki et al. Simulations using the unfiltered and filtered cost functions are compared. Results show that the system with the filtered cost function settles on the final controller sooner, but the total number of switches before settling is indeterminate.
Stretched, Twisted, Supercoiled and Braided DNA

The DNA double helix is a semi-flexible polymer with twist rigidity. Its bending elasticity gives rise to entropie polymer elasticity, which can be precisely studied in single-molecule experiments. DNA’s twist rigidity causes it to wrap around itself, or ‘supercoil’, when it is sufficiently twisted; thermal fluctuations destabilize supercoiling for DNAs twisted fewer than once per twist persistence length. Twisted DNAs under tension, braided DNAs, and the internal dynamics of supercoiled DNAs are discussed. The interplay between braiding and supercoiling free energy is argued to be important for the decatenation of duplicated DNAs in prokaryote cells.
Movement of First-instar Western Corn Rootworms (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Soil

Horizontal and vertical movements of first-instar western corn rootworms, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, were studied in a 30-cm soil chamber filled with silt loam, sandy loam, or sand at various bulk densities. Larvae were released in one end of the chamber with a carbon dioxide (CO2) source present in the far end of the chamber in half of the uncompacted and all of the compacted tests. Horizontal larval distributions were determined after 6 h in uncompacted and 20 h in compacted soils. In all uncompacted soils, larvae became evenly distributed in the absence of CO2 within 6 h; in the presence of CO2, >66% of the larvae moved at least 25 cm toward the CO2 source. Increases in soil bulk density inhibited larval movement to varying degrees. Vertical distributions were measured after 20 h in uncompacted soil in the absence of the CO2 source. Significantly more upward rather than downward movement occurred.
Economics of Controlling Ammonia Emission from Commercial Layer Farms

Abstract This article presents a model to calculate the level of ammonia emission from commercial layer houses. The first part of the model calculates nitrogen excretion; the second part gives the total ammonia emission from layer houses, manure storage, and manure application. The results show that improved application methods can reduce the ammonia emission in a region at a lower cost than low-nitrogen feed or manure belt drying systems. Results of the separate measures for reducing ammonia emission are not additive. As there are no direct revenues from lowering ammonia emission, governmental regulations requiring such measures, as implemented in the Netherlands, will increase costs for U.S. poultry producers.