cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Applications of fourier transform mass spectrometry to investigation of polar or non-volatile molecules

Abstract In this paper, recent progress toward the application of Fourier transform mass spectrometry to the related problems of mass spectral investigation of polar or high mass nonvolatile molecules is described. Resolution of 9,000–10,000 is demonstrated for both laser desorption and collision induced dissociation analysis of a number of samples.
Some Statistical Properties of Pulses from Photomultipliers

An examination of the integrated counts from 9502S and 9558A photomultipliers suggests that the statistical distribution is closely Poisson. An examination of the time intervals between consecutive pulses has shown an interesting effect: with a 9502S tube, a highly significant, although small, number of intervals are much longer than expected on a random hypothesis. This effect is explicable in terms of a loss of electrons between cathode and anode. Data on the variation of the signal/noise ratio with differing discriminator bias levels, are also presented.
Stabilizing the carrier-envelope phase of a 30 fs, 1 kHz, 6 mJ Ti: sapphire regenerative amplifier

Carrier-envelope phase stabilization of a two-stage chirped pulse amplifier laser system with regenerative amplification as the preamplifier is demonstrated with a 90 mrad rms error for a locking period of 4.5 h.
A simple urban dispersion model tested with tracer data from Oklahoma City and Manhattan

Abstract A simple urban dispersion model is tested that is based on the Gaussian plume model and modifications to the Briggs urban dispersion curves. An initial dispersion coefficient (σo) of 40 m is assumed to apply in built-up downtown areas, and the stability is assumed to be slightly unstable during the day and slightly stable during the night. Observations from tracer experiments during the Joint Urban 2003 (JU2003) field study in Oklahoma City and the Madison Square Garden 2005 (MSG05) field study in Manhattan are used for model testing. The tracer SF6 was released during JU2003 near ground level in the downtown area and concentrations were observed at over 100 locations within 4 km from the source. Six perfluorocarbon tracer (PFT) gases were released near ground level during MSG05 and sampled by about 20 samplers at the surface and on building roofs. The evaluations compare concentrations normalized by source release rate, C/Q, for each sampler location and each tracer release, where data were used only if both the observed and predicted concentrations exceeded threshold levels. At JU2003, for all samplers and release times, the fractional mean bias (FB) is about 0.2 during the day (20% mean underprediction) and 0.0 during the night. About 45 –50% of the predictions are within a factor of two (FAC2) of the observations day and night at JU2003. The maximum observed C/Q is about two times the maximum predicted C/Q both day and night. At MSG05, for all PFTs, surface samplers, and release times, FB is 0.14 and FAC2 is about 45%. The overall 60 min-averaged maximum C/Q is underpredicted by about 40% for the surface samplers and is overpredicted by about 25% for the building-roof samplers.
The tumor suppressor Cdc73 functionally associates with CPSF and CstF 3′ mRNA processing factors

The CDC73 tumor suppressor gene is mutationally inactivated in hereditary and sporadic parathyroid tumors. Its product, the Cdc73 protein, is a component of the RNA polymerase II and chromatin-associated human Paf1 complex (Paf1C). Here, we show that Cdc73 physically associates with the cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor (CPSF) and cleavage stimulation factor (CstF) complexes that are required for the maturation of mRNA 3′ ends in the cell nucleus. Immunodepletion experiments indicate that the Cdc73–CPSF–CstF complex is necessary for 3′ mRNA processing in vitro. Microarray analysis of CDC73 siRNA-treated cells revealed INTS6, a gene encoding a subunit of the Integrator complex, as an in vivo Cdc73 target. Cdc73 depletion by siRNA resulted in decreased INTS6 mRNA abundance, and decreased association of CPSF and CstF subunits with the INTS6 locus. Our results suggest that Cdc73 facilitates association of 3′ mRNA processing factors with actively-transcribed chromatin and support the importance of links between tumor suppression and mRNA maturation.
Flexible carrier–forwarder contracts for air cargo business

Passenger airlines (carriers), who carry nearly two-thirds of the worldwide airfreight, sell a significant portion of their cargo space through intermediaries called freight forwarders. Carriers also sell directly to shippers. In a typical carrier–forwarder contract, which can remain in effect anywhere from a few months to a year, a certain amount of capacity on specific recurring flights is preallocated (guaranteed) to the forwarder at a negotiated price per unit of capacity. Carriers often find it difficult to obtain full payment from the forwarders who typically pay freight charges only for the space actually used. Guaranteed allocations provide an incentive to forwarders to exert a greater effort on attracting demand. They, however, limit a carrier's ability to realise the highest possible revenue from cargo capacity. In this paper, we propose two flexible schemes that fall within the general contracting framework prevalent in the air cargo business. In the first scheme, the carrier determines an upfront fixed fee for reserving capacity but the freight rate is exogenous, whereas in the second scheme, there is no reservation fee, but the carrier chooses the freight rate. In both instances, we allow the carrier to adjust contract parameters, based on realised demand, a short time before the flight departs. Only those contract parameter adjustments that do not make the forwarder financially worse off are permitted. We show that this flexibility allows the carrier to achieve an efficient capacity allocation to the forwarder and the direct-ship demand streams under both mechanisms. Moreover, a carrier that charges a deposit for guaranteed allocation can induce the forwarder to simultaneously choose the optimal effort level and earn maximum profit.
Teratologic Evaluation of Hexabrominated Naphthalenes in C57BL/6N Mice

Hexabrominated naphthalenes (HBNs) have been identified as contaminants in the commercial PBB mixture, Firemaster. Similarities between polyhalogenated naphthalenes and polyhalogenated biphenyls, dibenzofurans, and dibenzo-p-dioxins with regards to structure and capacity to elicit certain toxicological responses in laboratory animals have previously been evaluated. In this study, teratogenicity and embryo/fetal toxicity, which have been associated with maternal exposure to other toxic polyhalogenated aromatics, was characterized for a synthetic mixture of HBNs in C57BL/6N mice. Pregnant adult mice were treated on gestation Days 6 through 15 with 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 mg HBN/kg body wt/day and sacrificed on gestation Day 18. Maternal toxicity as evidenced by decreased body weight gain or actual weight loss was observed at 7.5 and 10.0 mg/kg/day. Maternal liver-to-body weight ratios were increased relative to controls at all exposure levels. Dose-related increases were recorded in fetal mortality at 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 mg/kg/day, and in the incidence of various teratogenic effects at all dose levels. Kidney lesions, best described as apparent hydronephrosis, were the most sensitive fetal abnormality observed, followed by a reduction in the size of lymphatic organs (thymus and spleen), cleft palate, subcutaneous edema, sternebral anomalies, and delayed cranial ossification. HBNs are concluded to be potent fetotoxic and teratogenic agents producing similar effects to TCDD and other toxic polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons.
Analytical study of temperature oscillations in living tissues

A nonlinear, time-delay differential equation is postulated as a possible structure to describe the temperature dynamics at a point inside living tissue. The presented analysis explains how this differential equation can lead to four different temperature response types that have been previously observed in vivo. >
Corn Alkaline Cooking Properties Related to Grain Characteristics and Viscosity (RVA)

The relationship between kernel properties and alkaline cooking characteristics of 14 corn cultivars with different kernel characteristics was evaluated. Corn hardness was measured by abrasion (TADD), flotation, subjective ratings and a viscometric technique (RVA). Hard corn required longer time for cooking as both cooking and steeping hydration rates were lower compared to soft corn. RVA viscosity measurements were correlated with hardness from TADD, flotation and subjective tests, and alkaline cooking parameters. The rate of water uptake during simmering was correlated with RVA viscosity slope. Hard corn endosperm particles consistently required longer time for hydration and gelatinization of starch to develop viscosity. RVA data complemented flotation hardness data to predict cooking properties. RVA could be used as a model to predict cooking properties of corn.
P2P consistency support for large-scale interactive applications

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) systems have been widely used by networked interactive applications to relieve the drawback and reduce the reliance on well-provisioned servers. A core challenge is to provide consistency maintenance for a massive number of users in a P2P manner. This requires propagating updates on time by only using the uplink bandwidth from individual users instead of relying on dedicated servers. In this paper, we present a P2P system called PPAct to provide consistency maintenance for large-scale fast-interactive applications. We use massive multi-player online games as example applications to illustrate PPAct. The design can be directly applied to other interactive applications. We adopt the Area-of-Interest (AOI) filtering method, which is proposed in prior works [1,2], to reduce bandwidth consumption of update delivery. We solve the AOI's critical problem of bandwidth shortage in hot regions by dynamically balancing the workload of each region in a distributed way. We separate the roles of view discovery from consistency maintenance by assigning players as ''region hosts'' and ''object holders.'' A region host is responsible for tracking objects and players within a region, and an object holder is responsible for sending updates about an object to interested players. Lookup queries for view discovery are processed by region hosts, while consistency maintenance of objects is taken by object holders. Separating the roles not only alleviates the workload overflow in hot regions, but also speeds up view discovery and update delivery. Another key idea is that peers contribute spare bandwidth in a fully distributed way to forwarding updates about objects of interest. Thus popular, high-demand objects will have more peers forward updates. We also present how to select capable and reliable players for region hosts and object holders. A P2P network simulator is developed to evaluate PPAct on two major types of online games: role-playing games (RPGs) and first-person shooter (FPS) games. The results demonstrate that PPAct successfully supports 10,000 players in RPGs and 1500 players in FPS games. PPAct outperforms SimMud [2] in RPGs and Donnybrook [3] in FPS games by 40% and 30% higher successful update rates respectively.
Evaluation and Treatment of Chronic Cough

Chronic cough is a frustrating and common problem, resulting in significant psychological and physical sequelae as well as enormous financial costs in terms of health care expense and time lost from work. Decreased QoL and depression are common. However, using a systematic approach, including assessing whether the patient uses ACE-I and cigarettes, excluding the presence of red flags and risk factors for life-threatening diseases, and obtaining and normal chest radiograph, more than 90% of cases of chronic cough are diagnosed as being caused by UACS, asthma, or GERD. It is recommended to address these conditions sequentially, starting with UACS. Nonasthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis and pertussis infections are unrecognized by primary care providers and should be considered after UACS, asthma, and GERD have been addressed. Finally, cough hypersensitivity syndrome is a new area of research and has been hypothesized to be the underlying factor in many cases of chronic cough, regardless of the inciting factor. More clinical research is needed to further elucidate the cough reflex pathway and the factors involved in modulating its sensitivity, which may eventually lead to new antitussive therapeutics.
Nanoplankton mixotrophy in the eastern equatorial Pacific

Heterotrophic bacteria, cyanobacteria, and picoeukaryotic algae dominate the plankton community of high nutrient-low chlorophyll (HNLC) areas of the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP). While grazing on these picoplankton is often attributed to aplastidic zooflagellates, mixotrophic nanoflagellates (phagotrophic phototrophs) may also exert a large grazing pressure. We assessed the relative contributions of mixotrophic nanoplankton and obligate heterotrophs to picoplankton phagotrophy in mixed-layer water of the EEP using 0.8-μm Fluorescently-Labeled Bacteria (FLB). Obligate heterotrophs and phototrophs were distinguished from their ratios of microscopically measured red (chlorophyll a) to green (proflavin-stained protein) fluorescence. Sampling sites were located along a nutrient gradient formed by a tropical instability wave at 0.5°N between 123.5°W and 128°W and at 1.75°N, 125°W. The majority of ingested particles were found within 3-5 μm flagellates, with 54% of the demonstrated phagotrophs belonging to the high-pigment putatively phototrophic population and obligate heterotrophs responsible for 51% of the demonstrated phagotrophy due to their greater propensity to ingest multiple prey. The importance of mixotrophy as a means of alleviating nutrient stress is indicated by a strong inverse relationship between the proportion of community FLB uptake by mixotrophs and ambient nutrient concentration. Low ambient Fe concentration and a demonstrated community response to Fe-addition in shipboard grow-out experiments suggest that mixotrophs were primarily engaging in phagotrophy to offset Fe-deficiencies.
Points of control in inflammation

Inflammation is a complex set of interactions among soluble factors and cells that can arise in any tissue in response to traumatic, infectious, post-ischaemic, toxic or autoimmune injury. The process normally leads to recovery from infection and to healing, However, if targeted destruction and assisted repair are not properly phased, inflammation can lead to persistent tissue damage by leukocytes, lymphocytes or collagen. Inflammation may be considered in terms of its checkpoints, where binary or higher-order signals drive each commitment to escalate, go signals trigger stop signals, and molecules responsible for mediating the inflammatory response also suppress it, depending on timing and context. The non-inflammatory state does not arise passively from an absence of inflammatory stimuli; rather, maintenance of health requires the positive actions of specific gene products to suppress reactions to potentially inflammatory stimuli that do not warrant a full response.
Infrared and Raman spectroscopy of carbohydrates. Part VI: Normal coordinate analysis of V-amylose

A normal coordinate analysis of V-amylose has been performed for an isolated 61 helical chain. Negligible splitting from interactions of vibrations of successive residues is expected between A and E vibrational species due to the large size of the monomer unit. As a result, calculation of only the totally symmetric A modes represents an adequate approximation to the vibrational spectrum of helical polysaccharides. Using this method together with a valence force field we have obtained good agreement between the observed and calculated frequencies. In addition, the computed potential energy distribution and Cartesian displacement coordinates match previous experimental assignments, based on deuterium exchange. The analysis also supports the proposed mechanism for conversion of V-amylose to the more extended B-form. This conversion results in an observed frequency shift for the Raman line at 946 cm−1 which is predicted by the calculations.
Magnetic Ordering and the Electronic Properties of the Heavy Rare-Earth Metals

The magnetic perturbation of the conduction-electron bands due to the periodic (and ferromagnetic) arrays of $4f$ moments, occurring in the heavy rare-earth metals, has been estimated from nonrelativistic augmented-plane-wave energy-band results for Tm. The relationship between these perturbations, the ordering period, and other observables, such as the $c$-axis resistance anomalies, are inspected. Important to these considerations and to an understanding of the ordering of the $4f$ moments is the magnitude of the perturbation effects which result in sizable gaps relative to the bandwidth in the $5d$ bands, destroy large segments of Fermi surface (primarily normal to the $c$ axis), and force appreciable redistributions of the populated conduction-electron states.
A graph representation for management of logic models

Abstract This paper addresses the problem of managing logic models, which are characterized as formal representations, in logic, of particular systems of interest. The paper presents a new, graph-based representation scheme for logic models. The scheme produces logic graphs and these graphs are useful for management of logic models. Logic graphs not only provide the full deductive capabilities of logic, but they facilitate the gaining of insight into the structure of the logic model. As such, logic graphs are an attractive alternative to other automatic theorem-proving techniques in logic. The discussion is illustrated throughout with an example problem in policy analysis and planning that has appeared in the management literature.
Isotope Geochemistry of Ankerite-Bearing Veins Associated with the Coeur d’Alene Mining District, Idaho

Ankerite-bearing veins are common and widespread throughout and adjacent to the Coeur d’Alene mining district. Oxygen isotope ratios for quartz from the calcite-dominant and ankerite-dominant veins overlap and range from 12 to 18 per mil, and average 16.2 and 15.5 per mil, respectively. Previous studies of quartz from the Ag-producing veins give average ratios of 14.5 to 14.7 per mil. Ankerite oxygen and carbon isotope ratios range from 11.0 to 15.8 per mil and from –11.8 to +0.1 per mil, respectively. All but one of the calcite oxygen and carbon ratios lie in the ranges 13.0 to 16.0 per mil and –6.9 to –2.8 per mil. Quartz-ankerite fractionations lie between 1.1 and 2.9 per mil, except for samples from four massive ankerite veins, suggesting equilibrium at moderate temperatures (perhaps 270° to 320°C). Quartz-calcite oxygen fractionations are scattered, as are the quartz-ankerite fractionations from the massive ankerite veins, and clearly represent disequilibrium. The high oxygen ratios suggest that the hydrothermal fluids were strongly buffered, prior to entering the veins, by isotope exchange with the sedimentary Belt Supergroup rocks that form the vein walls, and perhaps by deeper Archean rocks. The 40Ar/39Ar age of fluorphlogopite from a calcite-dominant vein is Ž1014 Ma while an ankerite-dominant vein yielded a minimum age of 963 Ma; the latter sample shows partial resetting at 100 to 120 Ma. These ages fall within the bimodal distribution of hydrothermal ages previously reported for the Coeur d’Alene district, one Proterozoic age near 1 Ga and a younger age in Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary time. Initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios in the range 0.738 to 0.787 for several of the carbonate minerals require derivation from an old source. Local Belt wall rocks or deeper Archean schists and gneisses are likely possibilities.
Religion and society: A selected, annotated bibliography of U.S. periodicals

Berndt is social science and humanities librarian, and Kruger is catalog librarian, at Colorado State University Libraries, Fort Collins. This bibliography identifies and describes U.S. periodicals devoted to exploring the relationship between religion and society. It grew out of an interest in the current debate over the separation of church and state and expanded to include the role of religion as a response to a wide range of social problems. The variety of titles we discovered indicates the variety of religious responses to contemporary problems. This bibliography consists of two parts: journals of thought and opinion and journals of social action.
Anti-HIV therapy and the placenta workshop

Summary Knowledge is limited regarding the relative importance of the multiple factors involved in the vertical transmission of HIV infection; it will be many years before the intricacies of transmission are unraveled. A multifaceted approach to the scientific investigation of the factors involved as well as to therapeutic interventions to interrupt the transmission of maternal-fetal transmission of HIV are needed. Multiple agents will need to be investigated in parallel or in combination because of urgency of the problem is so great that developing potentially efficacious interventions cannot be postponed until all scientific questions have been researched. If any of the clinical trials are proven successful, the specimens accumulated from these trials, including samples on the mother, placental samples, and samples on the infant, should be analyzed intensively. These investigations may provide a key to unlocking the answers to the factors subserving protection from maternal-fetal transfer of the HIV infection.
Pattern and process in a narrow hybrid zone

This paper examines variation in morphology and allozymes in a hybrid zone between two closely related eastern North American species of field cricket (genus Gryllus). I show that patterns of variation across the zone do not conform to a simple model of monotonie clinal variation. In fact, the hybrid zone is a mosaic of populations. Pockets of “pure” parental forms are found within the hybrid zone, and striking reversals in mean character index score occur along transects across the zone. Treating hybrid zones as mosaics has important consequences for thinking about the dynamics of such zones. Patterns of variation in morphology and allozymes are not concordant across the hybrid zone. Rather, there is strong evidence for differential and asymmetric introgression, with morphological integrity maintained despite considerable introgression of alleles at allozyme loci. Species boundaries must be thought of as semipermeable, the permeability varying with the genetic marker used. I also show that there is strong positive assortative mating at one site within the hybrid zone and that assortative mating persists despite introgression at allozyme loci. Habitat isolation and behavioural differences may both affect the extent of assortative mating.
Porphyrin π-stacking in a heme protein scaffold tunes gas ligand affinity.

Abstract The role of π-stacking in controlling redox and ligand binding properties of porphyrins has been of interest for many years. The recent discovery of H-NOX domains has provided a model system to investigate the role of porphyrin π-stacking within a heme protein scaffold. Removal of a phenylalanine-porphyrin π-stack dramatically increased O2, NO, and CO affinities and caused changes in redox potential (~ 40 mV) without any structural changes. These results suggest that small changes in redox potential affect ligand affinity and that π-stacking may provide a novel route to engineer heme protein properties for new functions.
Isolation and properties of nucleic acids from soybean leaf tissue

Abstract RNA is quantitatively hydrolyzed from extracted soybean leaf tissue by treatment with 0·33 N KOH for 7 hr at 37°. Subsequent neutralization and precipitation with ethanol is necessary to remove a DNA fraction and other unidentified interfering substances. Sixty to seventy per cent of the total DNA is hydrolyzed by this mild alkaline treatment and is partly eluted with the RNA fraction. Total DNA may be quantitatively hydrolyzed from extracted leaf tissue with 5% trichloracetic acid (TCA), without prior treatment with alkali and estimated colorimetrically.
Gastrointestinal Involvement in Neurologic Disorders: Stiff-Man and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Syndromes

Many neurologic conditions can affect the striated muscle of the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in dysphagia. In this article, two patients with rare neurologic disorders are reported (Stiff-man syndrome and Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome). Both patients had pharyngeal dysphagia. In addition, there was evidence of smooth muscle involvement in other areas of the gastrointestinal tract, specifically abnormal esophageal motility and delayed gastric emptying. In the English literature, there are only two reports of Stiff-man syndrome and dysphagia, and there are no reports of Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome. These represent the first accounts of smooth muscle dysfunction in those uncommon neurologic disorders.
Contractible edges in longest cycles in non-Hamiltonian graphs

Abstract An edge of a 3-connected graph is contractible if its contraction results in a graph which is still 3-connected. All 3-connected graphs with seven or more vertices are known to have at least three contractible edges on any longest cycle. Recently, it has been conjectured that any non-Hamiltonian 3-connected graph has at least six contractible edges on any longest cycle. We prove this conjecture and provide a construction to show that it is best possible.
Independent Effects of Human Platelet Growth Factor and Hydrocortisone on Acetate Incorporation by GM-237 Human Fibroblasts

SummaryIn studying the metabolic effects of human platelet growth factor (HPGF), cellular [1–14C]acetate incorporation was investigated among GM-237 human diploid fibroblasts. When cultured in 0.5% fetal calf serum, cells doubled in the presence of 18 ng/ml HPGF during 72 hours, and a 138.4% increase on a per cell basis in total [1–14C]-acetate incorporation was found. Seventy-eight percent of the label was in cell lipid. Pharmacological doses of hydrocortisone (HC) at 1–200 μg/ml had no effect on cell division in the presence or absence of HPGF. However, a 40–76% reduction in total [1–14C]-acetate incorporation was found when HC was present. When HPGF and HC were added to cells simultaneously, analysis of the data revealed that HPGF and HC acted independently. Thus, HPGF can cause GM-237 human diploid fibroblasts to increase exogenous acetate incorporation and its conversion into lipids in a manner circumventing modulation by HC.
In situ hydrothermal reduction of neptunium(VI) as a route to neptunium(IV) phosphonates.

A lamellar neptunium(IV) methylphosphonate, Np(CH3PO3)(CH3PO3H)(NO3)(H2O)·H2O, has been prepared under hydrothermal conditions via the in situ reduction of NpVI to NpIV. The single crystal structure of this compound shows polar layers that are joined to one another via a hydrogen-bonding network involving interlayer water molecules. Magnetic susceptibility measurements demonstrate that the NpIV ions are magnetically isolated from one another.
Production System Changes in the Korean Consumer Electronics Sector

: This paper establishes the concept of production system as an analytical framework to embrace recent industrial changes. Five dimensions of production system changes are posited. A case study of the Korean consumer electronics sector shows that the companies have experienced diverse patterns of changes, but these changes are generally related to plant location, ownership, export orientation, and company size.
Structural and optical properties of semiconductor heterojunctions and superlattices grown by pulsed-laser evaporation and epitaxy

Basic mechanisms of laser ablation and the most recent results of laser ablation research are discussed here with a focus on semiconductor materials. The pulsed laser evaporation and epitaxy (PLEE) method, which has been developed for epitaxial growth of Cd1-xMnxTe (CMT) thin films and CdTe-CMT multiple quantum wells and superlattices, is reviewed. This method of deposition is based on the application of Nd:YAG and XeCl excimer lasers which are exclusively used for the ablation of solid targets: no other vapor generation devices, such as Knudsen cells, are used in PLEE. Microstructures of CdTe- Cd1-xMnxTe (0 < x < 0.70) have been grown by the ablation of CdTe, Cd1-xMnxTe and Cd targets.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Faster Betweenness Centrality Based on Data Structure Experimentation

Abstract Betweenness centrality is a graph analytic that states the importance of a vertex based on the number of shortest paths that it is on. As such, betweenness centrality is a building block for graph analysis tools and is used by many applications, including finding bottlenecks in communication networks and community detection. Computing betweenness centrality is computation- ally demanding, O(V2 + V · E) (for the best known algorithm), which motivates the use of parallelism. Parallelism is especially needed for large graphs with millions of vertices and billions of edges. While the the memory requirements for computing be- tweenness are not as demanding, O(V + E) (for the best known sequential algorithm), these bound increase for different parallel algorithms. We show that is possible to reduce the memory requirements for computing betweenness centrality from O(V + E) to O(V) at the expense of doing additional traversals. We show that not only does this not hurt performance it actually improves performance for coarse grain parallelism. Further, we show that using the new approach allows parallel scaling that previously was not possible. One example is that the new approach is able to scale to 40 x86 cores for a graph with 32 M vertices and 2B edges, whereas the previous approach is only able to scale upto 6 cores because of memory requirements. We also do analysis of fine-grain parallel betweenness centrality on both the x86 and the Cray XMT.
On the interpretation of white star events in emulsion

It is shown that events in emulsion which have no heavily ionizing tracks and which are sometimes assumed to be associated with hydrogen nuclei are in fact dominated by coherent production from heavy nuclei in the emulsion. This mechanism explains the dramatic increase of such events with energy.
Tempering Optimism about Nuclear Deterrence in South Asia

This article tempers the argument of deterrence optimists, who make the case that nuclear deterrence has maintained the peace between regional nuclear rivals. In particular, it challenges the assertion by Kenneth Waltz that “nuclear deterrence has passed all of the many tests it has faced” among regional rivals in South Asia. Examining two major regional military crises, this article notes that, first, nuclear deterrence was not the key factor ending these crises. Instead, nonnuclear factors involving American diplomacy, which provided the participants with timely exit strategies, ended the crises. Second, if these crisis-ending factors had not been present, there was a strong possibility of significant military escalation, and nuclear deterrence would not have averted such an escalation. The article concludes by noting that, in regions where deterrence optimism is not well supported, Washington may continue intervening in crises between nuclear rivals, and, anticipating such a U.S. approach, regional riv...
Ethics of qualitative interviewing with grieving families.

Abstract Qualitative research interviews in grieving families provide researchers with helpful information far making ethical decisions and for evaluating the outcomes of those decisions. At the same time, such research presents researchers with many ethical challenges. Illustrations from a recent study of farm families who had lost a family member in a fatal farm accident are used to illuminate some of the ethical challenges in qualitative bereavement research. Included in these challenges are the ethics of recruiting people to be interviewed, the ethics of causing pain, the ethics of informed consent, ethical issues at the boundary between research and therapy, ethical problems in supporting family dysfunction, and the ethics of revealing family members' secrets to one another.
Cutaneous Plasmacytomas with Amyloid in Six Dogs

Cutaneous plasmacytomas associated with local deposition of amyloid were diagnosed by light microscopy in a series of six older dogs (mean age 10.7 years) consisting of two Cocker Spaniels, a Poodle, a Weimeraner, and two mixed-breed dogs. The neoplasms occurred on the digits (2 dogs), forelimb (2 dogs), lip (1 dog), and ear (1 dog). In most cases, groups of neoplastic plasma cells were widely separated by large homogeneous islands of amyloid. The neoplastic cells had characteristic plasmacytoid features, but the degree of pleomorphism varied greatly between different neoplasms. In four of the six tumors, the diagnosis of plasmacytoma was confirmed by the demonstration of a monoclonal plasma cell population using immunofluorescent staining for anti-canine immunoglobulins. In these tumors, the neoplastic cells reacted with only one class of immunoglobulins (IgG). The amyloid did not react with any of the reagents used. The suspicion that the amyloid was of immunoglobulin origin (primary amyloid) was supported by its retention of birefringence under polarized light after treatment with potassium permanganate and staining with Congo red.
No accession-specific effect of rhizosphere soil communities on the growth and competition of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions.

Soil communities associated with specific plant species affect individual plants’ growth and competitive ability. Limited evidence suggests that unique soil communities can also differentially influence growth and competition at the ecotype level. Previous work with Arabidopsis thaliana has shown that accessions produce distinct and reproducible rhizosphere bacterial communities, with significant differences in both species composition and relative abundance. We tested the hypothesis that soil communities uniquely affect the growth and reproduction of the plant accessions with which they are associated. Specifically, we examined the growth of four accessions when exposed to their own soil communities and the communities generated by each of the other three accessions. To do this we planted focal accessions inside a ring of six plants that created a ‘‘background’’ soil community. We grew focal plants in this design in three separate soil treatments: non-sterile soil, sterilized soil, and ‘‘preconditioned’’ soil. We preconditioned soil by growing accessions in non-sterile soil for six weeks before the start of the experiment. The main experiment was harvested after seven weeks of growth and we recorded height, silique number, and dry weight of each focal plant. Plants grown in the preconditioned soil treatment showed less growth relative to the non-sterile and sterile soil treatments. In addition, plants in the sterile soil grew larger than those in non-sterile soil. However, we saw no interaction between soil treatment and background accession. We conclude that the soil communities have a negative net impact on Arabidopsis thaliana growth, and that the unique soil communities associated with each accession do not differentially affect growth and competition of study species.
Ground-motion modeling of Hayward fault scenario earthquakes, part II: Simulation of long-period and broadband ground motions

Abstract We simulate long-period ( T >1.0–2.0 s) and broadband ( T >0.1 s) ground motions for 39 scenario earthquakes ( M w 6.7–7.2) involving the Hayward, Calaveras, and Rodgers Creek faults. For rupture on the Hayward fault, we consider the effects of creep on coseismic slip using two different approaches, both of which reduce the ground motions, compared with neglecting the influence of creep. Nevertheless, the scenario earthquakes generate strong shaking throughout the San Francisco Bay area, with about 50% of the urban area experiencing modified Mercalli intensity VII or greater for the magnitude 7.0 scenario events. Long-period simulations of the 2007 M w 4.18 Oakland earthquake and the 2007 M w 5.45 Alum Rock earthquake show that the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bay Area Velocity Model version 08.3.0 permits simulation of the amplitude and duration of shaking throughout the San Francisco Bay area for Hayward fault earthquakes, with the greatest accuracy in the Santa Clara Valley (San Jose area). The ground motions for the suite of scenarios exhibit a strong sensitivity to the rupture length (or magnitude), hypocenter (or rupture directivity), and slip distribution. The ground motions display a much weaker sensitivity to the rise time and rupture speed. Peak velocities, peak accelerations, and spectral accelerations from the synthetic broadband ground motions are, on average, slightly higher than the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) ground-motion prediction equations. We attribute much of this difference to the seismic velocity structure in the San Francisco Bay area and how the NGA models account for basin amplification; the NGA relations may underpredict amplification in shallow sedimentary basins. The simulations also suggest that the Spudich and Chiou (2008) directivity corrections to the NGA relations could be improved by increasing the areal extent of rupture directivity with period.
MORPHOMETRIC DIFFERENTIATION AMONG EXPERIMENTAL LINES OF THE HOUSEFLY IN RELATION TO A BOTTLENECK

Differentiation in morphometric traits among experimental populations of the housefly subjected to an experimental bottleneck was examined for replicate lines founded with one, four or 16 pairs of flies. Differentiation among lines within a bottleneck size was significantly greater than predicted by drift in relation to the additive genetic variation for these traits within the founding population. Two models of nonadditive genetic variance were investigated to interpret these results, one involving dominance of allelic effects within loci and another incorporating multiplicative epistasis. Both models generated more variation among lines as a direct result of sampling during the bottleneck than predicted by a model with additive gene action. The pattern of differentiation among our experimental lines in relation to these models conformed more to the model incorporating epistasis. Nevertheless, it may be difficult to distinguish differentiation among lines occurring during a bottleneck as a result of nonadditive gene action from that caused by diversifying selection among lines after the bottleneck.
A new drain-current injection technique for the measurement of off-state breakdown voltage in FETs

A simple three-terminal technique for measuring the off-state breakdown voltage of FETs is presented. With the source grounded, current is injected into the drain of the on-state device. The gate is then ramped down to shut the device off. In this process, the drain-source voltage rises to a peak and then drops. This peak represents an unambiguous definition of three-terminal breakdown voltage. In the same scan, a measurement of the two-terminal gate-drain breakdown voltage is also obtained. The method offers potential for use in a manufacturing environment, as it is fully automatable. It also enables easy measurement of breakdown voltage in unstable and fragile devices. >
Validation of a population coronary disease predictive system: the CASSANDRA model

Accurate prediction allows us to plan. This prediction capability has been made possible through the understanding of epidemiological principles of causation, while relying on statistical tools, or models, using an unbiased sample from a representative population in order to make an accurate claim. In the research work of Grau et al , an attempt had been undertaken to validate a prediction tool to estimate the disease burden, or risk, of coronary heart disease (CHD) should certain and known modifiable risk factors be altered given a public health initiative aimed at disease reduction. The risk factors identified include those that are non-modifiable (age, gender) and those that may be modified (smoking, hypertension, diabetes, blood pressure). These had been originally defined in the Framingham Heart Study with 10-year risk of CHD contingent on the role of each of these factors. Risk of disease had been determined …
Functionalized Synthetic Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

Scaffolds (artificial ECMs) play a pivotal role in the process of regenerating tissues in 3D. Biodegradable synthetic polymers are the most widely used scaffolding materials. However, synthetic polymers usually lack the biological cues found in the natural extracellular matrix. Significant efforts have been made to synthesize biodegradable polymers with functional groups that are used to couple bioactive agents. Presenting bioactive agents on scaffolding surfaces is the most efficient way to elicit desired cell/material interactions. This paper reviews recent advancements in the development of functionalized biodegradable polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering, emphasizing the syntheses of functional biodegradable polymers, and surface modification of polymeric scaffolds.
Radiation therapy for benign central nervous system disease

The most common indication for the use of radiation therapy in the treatment of benign central nervous system disease is for the treatment of benign brain tumors, such as meningioma, pituitary adenoma, acoustic neuroma, arteriovenous malformation, and craniopharyngioma. Other less common benign intracranial tumors treated with radiation include chordoma, pilocytic astrocytoma, pineocytoma, choroid-plexus papilloma, hemangioblastoma, and temporal bone chemodectomas. Benign conditions, such as histiocytosis X trigeminal neuralgia, and epilepsy, are also amenable to radiation treatment. There have also been reports of radiosurgery being used for the treatment of movement disorders and psychiatric disturbances, such as obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders. For benign brain tumors, radiation therapy as either primary or adjuvant therapy plays an integral role in improving local control. In the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, epilepsy, tremor, and some psychiatric disturbances, radiosurgery may help ameliorate or eliminate some symptoms. Patients with benign central nervous system disease are expected to live a long time. As such, treatment should be highly conformal and based on three-dimensional planning using magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, or both. It is critical that damage to normal brain be minimized.
Direction Selectivity Mediated by Adaptation in the Owl's Inferior Colliculus

Motion direction is a crucial cue for predicting future states in natural scenes. In the auditory system, the mechanisms that confer direction selectivity to neurons are not well understood. Neither is it known whether sound motion is encoded independently of stationary sound location. Here we investigated these questions in neurons of the owl's external nucleus of the inferior colliculus, where auditory space is represented in a map. Using a high-density speaker array, we show that the preferred direction and the degree of direction selectivity can be predicted by response adaptation to sounds moving over asymmetric spatial receptive fields. At the population level, we found that preference for sounds moving toward frontal space increased with eccentricity in spatial tuning. This distribution was consistent with larger receptive-field asymmetry in neurons tuned to more peripheral auditory space. A model of suppression based on spatiotemporal summation predicted the observations. Thus, response adaptation and receptive-field shape can explain direction selectivity to acoustic motion and an orderly distribution of preferred direction.
Role Engineering via Prioritized Subset Enumeration

Today, role-based access control (RBAC) has become a well-accepted paradigm for implementing access control because of its convenience and ease of administration. However, in order to realize the full benefits of the RBAC paradigm, one must first define the roles accurately. This task of defining roles and associating permissions with them, also known as role engineering, is typically accomplished either in a top-down or in a bottom-up manner. Under the top-down approach, a careful analysis of the business processes is done to first define job functions and then to specify appropriate roles from them. While this approach can help in defining roles more accurately, it is tedious and time consuming since it requires that the semantics of the business processes be well understood. Moreover, it ignores existing permissions within an organization and does not utilize them. On the other hand, under the bottom-up approach, existing permissions are used to derive roles from them. As a result, it may help automate the process of role definition. In this paper, we present an unsupervised approach, called RoleMiner, for mining roles from existing user-permission assignments. Since a role, when semantics are unavailable, is nothing but a set of permissions, the task of role mining is essentially that of clustering users having the same (or similar) permissions. However, unlike the traditional applications of data mining that ideally require identification of nonoverlapping clusters, roles will have overlapping permissions and thus permission sets that define roles should be allowed to overlap. It is this distinction from traditional clustering that makes the problem of role mining nontrivial. Our experiments with real and simulated data sets indicate that our role mining process is quite accurate and efficient. Since our role mining approach is based on subset enumeration, it is fairly robust to reasonable levels of noise.
Handbook of Chinese Mythology

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Lihui Yang and Deming An (with Anderson Turner) Year: 2005 Pages: 293 Publisher: ABC-CLIO ISBN: 1-57607-806-X Prices: $75.00 US
Geometric constraint solver

Abstract The paper reports on the development of a 2D geometric constraint solver. The solver is a major component of a new generation of cad systems based on a high-level geometry representation. The solver uses a graph-reduction directed algebraic approach, and achieves interactive speed. The paper describes the architecture of the solver and its basic capabilities. Then, it discusses in detail how to extend the scope of the solver, with particular emphasis on the theoretical and human factors involved in finding a solution, in an exponentially large search space, so that the solution is appropriate to the application, and so that the way of finding it is intuitive for an untrained user.
Local Sensory Cues and Place Cell Directionality: Additional Evidence of Prospective Coding in the Hippocampus

In tasks involving goal-directed, stereotyped trajectories on uniform tracks, the spatially selective activity of hippocampal principal cells depends on the animal's direction of motion. Principal cell ensemble activity while the rat moves in opposite directions through a given location is typically uncorrelated. It is shown here, with data from three experiments, that multimodal, local sensory cues can change the directional properties of CA1 pyramidal cells, inducing bidirectionality in a significant proportion of place cells. For a majority of these bidirectional place cells, place field centers in the two directions of motion were displaced relative to one another, as would be the case if the cells were representing a position in space ∼5-10 cm ahead of the rat or if place cells were subject to strong accommodation or inhibition in the latter half of their input fields. However, place field density was not affected by the presence of local cues, but in the experimental condition with the most salient sensory cues, the CA1 population vectors in the “cue-rich” condition were sparser and changed more quickly in space than in the “cue-poor” condition. These results suggest that “view-invariant” object representations are projected to the hippocampus from lower cortical areas and can have the effect of increasing the correlation of the hippocampal input vectors in the two directions, hence decreasing the orthogonality of hippocampal output.