cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A CLASS OF GRAPHS WHICH HAS EFFICIENT RANKING AND UNRANKING ALGORITHMS FOR SPANNING TREES AND FORESTS

Remmel and Williamson recently defined a class of directed graphs, called filtered digraphs, and described a natural class of bijections between oriented spanning forests of these digraphs and associated classes of functions [12]. Filtered digraphs include many specialized graphs such as complete k-partite graphs. The Remmel-Williamson bijections provide explicit formulas for various multivariate generating functions for the oriented spanning forests which arise in this context. In this paper, we prove another important property of these bijections, namely, that it allows one to construct efficient algorithms for ranking and unranking spanning trees or spanning forests of filtered digraphs G. For example, we show that if G=(V,E) is a filtered digraph and SP(G) is the collection of spanning trees of G, then our algorithm requires O(|V|) operations of sum, difference, product, quotient, and comparison of numbers less than or equal |SP(G)| to rank or unrank spanning trees of G.
Pregnancy with Friedreich ataxia: a retrospective review of medical risks and psychosocial implications

Objective Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal recessive, neurodegenerative disease. Recent medical advances have improved the average life expectancy, and as such, many female patients are contemplating pregnancy. However, little research exists exploring the medical or psychosocial complications that arise from pregnancy with this disease. Study Design In this study, we retrospectively examined 31 women with FRDA who had 65 pregnancies, resulting in 56 live offspring. Results FRDA did not appear to increase the risk of spontaneous abortion, preeclampsia, or preterm birth. Despite the sensory and proprioceptive loss that occurs in FRDA, nearly four fifths of births were vaginal. Of babies, 94.4% were discharged home with their mothers. Equal numbers of women reported that pregnancy made their disease symptoms worse, better, or unchanged. Conclusion This study demonstrates that women with FRDA can have uncomplicated pregnancies that do not uniformly complicate disease symptomatology.
Effects of Processing Conditions and Antioxidants on the Oxidative Stability and Carbon Dioxide Formation in Low Fat Dry Milk

The effects of different processing methods and antioxidants on the oxidative stability and carbon dioxide formation in low fat dry milk at 65°C for 8 days were determined by measuring volatile compound formation, oxygen disappearance, and carbon dioxide formation in the gas-tight sample bottle by gas chromatography. Foam spray dried or steam jacketed centrifugal wheel atomization dried milks had significantly less (P < 0.05) volatile compound formation, oxygen depletion, and carbon dioxide formation than conventional spray dried milks. Dry milks containing 100 ppm propyl gallate showed significantly less (P <0.05) oxygen disappearance, volatile compound formation, and carbon dioxide formation than dry milks containing 100 ppm butylated hydroxyanisole or tertiarybutyl hydroquinone during storage.
Timing of mid-trimester cervical length shortening in high-risk women

Objective To examine the natural history of cervical length shortening in women who had experienced at least one prior spontaneous preterm birth at between 17 + 0 and 33 + 6 weeks' gestation. Methods This was an analysis of prerandomization data from the multicenter Vaginal Ultrasound Cerclage Trial. Serial cervical length was measured by transvaginal sonography in 1014 high-risk women at 16 + 0 to 22 + 6 weeks. We performed survival analyses in which the outcome was cervical length shortening < 25 mm and data were censored if this did not occur before 22 + 6 weeks' gestation. The incidence of cervical length shortening and the time to shortening were compared for women whose earliest prior preterm birth was in the mid-trimester, defined as < 24 weeks, vs. those at weeks 24–33. Similar comparisons were performed based on each patient's most recent birth history. Results Time to cervical length shortening by survival analysis was significantly shorter (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.2, P < 0.0001) and the relative risk (RR) of shortening significantly higher (RR = 1.8, P < 0.0001) for women whose earliest prior spontaneous preterm birth was at < 24 weeks. A larger effect was observed for women whose most recent birth was at < 24 weeks (HR = 2.8, P < 0.0001; RR = 2.1, P < 0.0001). The observed hazard ratios remained significant after adjusting for confounders in a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model. Conclusion Women with a prior spontaneous preterm birth at < 24 weeks are at a higher risk of cervical shortening, and do so at a higher rate and at an earlier gestational age, than do women with a later preterm birth history. Copyright © 2008 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Fayette County, Texas, meteorites

— We report the first petrologic examination of all stone meteorites of Fayette County, Texas. The 10 stones represent four or five different fall events. The three recovered Bluff stones represent two falls. Bluff (a), which includes the 145.5-kg Bluff #1 stone, is classified as L5(S4), whereas Bluff (b) is classified as L4(S3) and is represented by a single stone. The studied Cedar stones are classified as H4(S3), and all four Cedar stones appear to define a strewnfield. Round Top (a), classified as L5(S3) and represented by two stones, is unrelated to either Bluff or Cedar. Round Top (b) [H4(S3); 1 stone], whose exact provenance is unknown, might be a transported fragment of the Cedar shower.
Modeling and simulation of a soil-based microbial treatment process

Abstract A numerical model incorporating axial dispersion, first-order reversible adsorption, and several forms of a biological reaction term was developed to simulate experimental responses of microbially active soil columns. A first-order biological reaction term performs adequately after a microbial community has been developed fully. However, first-order kinetics does not adequately describe reactor responses during development of the microbial population. The applicability of Monod kinetics has also been examined. The use of a Monod-type biological reaction term adequately represented the behavior throughout bioreactor operation. In addition, organic solutes have been divided into two fractions, utilizable and non-utilizable as microbial substrate, on a percentage basis. Calibration and verification of the model was accomplished by utilizing data from three experiments.
The Moderating Effect of Salesperson Reward Orientation on the Relative Effectiveness of Alternative Compensation Plans

Abstract Effectiveness of alternative sales compensation plans under different job environments has not been systematically researched in recent marketing literature. This study experimentally investigated how salespeople’s intrinsic and extrinsic reward orientations moderate the relative effectiveness of alternative compensation plans under different levels of task challenge. The results indicate that the salary-based plan was more effective in motivating the intrinsic reward-oriented (IRO) salespeople, in that they intended to work more for the challenging task than for the nonchallenging one. The commission-based plan was more effective in motivating the extrinsic reward-oriented (ERO) in the same context. Managerial implications for designing and implementing sales compensation plans, which are optimally tailored to motivate individual salespeople, are discussed.
All American Messiah: The Death of Captain America and the Symbolism of American Messianic Aspiration

Approaches the recent death of Captain America sideline of Marvel Comics from the perspective of political theology and philosophical messianism as these ideas appear in the works of Giorgio Agamben, Rene Girard, Walter Benjamin, and Carl Schmitt.
Data storage and extraction in engineering software using XML

Most engineering analysis programs rely on customized procedures for storing and accessing scientific data. The size of the data set needed to characterize an engineering problem can be substantial, particularly as the problem increases in complexity. This paper presents a methodology for greatly improving the accessibility of scientific data using the Extensible Markup Language (XML) to define a consistent procedure for data storage and retrieval. When the data is expressed in an XML format, any portion of the data set can be easily accessed by interfacing with an XML parser. Examples are provided for automating design calculations and CAD drawings.
Pointing Control Design for a High Precision Flight Telescope Using Quantitative Feedback Theory

A pointing control system is developed and tested for a flying gimbaled telescope. The two-axis pointing system is capable of sub-microradian pointing stability and high accuracy in the presence of large host vehicle jitter. The telescope also has high agility — it is capable of a 50° retarget (in both axes simultaneously) in less than 2 s. To achieve the design specifications, high-accuracy, high-resolution, two-speed resolvers were used, resulting in gimbal-angle measurements stable to 1.5 µrad. In addition, on-axis inertial angle displacement sensors were mounted on the telescope to provide host-vehicle jitter cancellation. The inertial angle sensors are accurate to about 100 nrad, but do not measure low-frequency displacements below 2 Hz. The gimbal command signal includes host-vehicle attitude information, which is band-limited. This provides jitter data below 20 Hz, but includes a variable latency between 15 and 25 ms. One of the most challenging aspects of this design was to combine the inertial-angle-sensor data with the less perfect information in the command signal to achieve maximum jitter reduction. The optimum blending of these two signals, along with the feedback compensation were designed using Quantitative Feedback Theory. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Unstable Resonator Considerations For Spaceborne Coherent Lidar Applications

We summarize the results of an investigation into the relative merits of diffractive and radially-variable unstable resonator couplers for use in heterodyne-detection lidar systems, emphasizing overall lidar system efficiency.
Closed-Loop Gate Drive for High Power IGBTs

To overcome the drawbacks of the conventional gate drive, in this paper a closed-loop gate control method is proposed. In this novel method, the switching speed, specifically di/dt, is measured from the voltage across the parasitic inductance of the IGBT module and a closed-loop control is employed to adaptively adjust the gate drive voltage to control the switching speed according to a preset control reference. As a result, both the voltage overshoot and current overshoot can be effectively controlled. This new gate drive method enables programmable control of switching speed and allows full use of the capability of the power devices. The oscillations during IGBT switching are also reduced and associated EMI problems can be mitigated. The relationships between the controlled voltage overshoot, current overshoot and associated energy losses are derived and can provide guidelines for practical design. Also, the proposed gate drive fully utilizes gate drive signal information of amplitude and duty cycle, and provides a new capability for the system modulator to effectively control both the power electronic circuit's steady-state and transient behaviors simultaneously.
Serial Killers and Mass Murderers: Engineered T Cells Are up to the Task

> It's my job as best friend to make sure he's not a serial killer. Or an English major, not sure which one's worse . > —Shelly Crane See related articles by Liadi et al., [p. 473][1], and Davenport et al., [p. 483][2] Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) has gained increasing traction based on
Massively parallel Wang Landau sampling on multiple GPUs

Abstract Wang–Landau sampling is implemented on the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) with the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). Performances on three different GPU cards, including the new generation Fermi architecture card, are compared with that on a Central Processing Unit (CPU). The parameters for massively parallel Wang–Landau sampling are tuned in order to achieve fast convergence. For simulations of the water cluster systems, we obtain an average of over 50 times speedup for a given workload.
Feedback concepts of driver behavior and the highway information system

Tins paper represents an effort to conceptualize human factors in dynamic driving behavior and to discuss within a systems framework the possible use of multi-channel sensory input for highway information design. Most safety research in the past has suffered from a lack of theoretical orientation which led to the isolation of systems components for experimental manipulation and observation. The background for the systems concepts and analyses of driver performance presented here is a systems integration of findings in the neuropsychology of motion and perception, human tracking behavior, biocybernetics and communication science. The individual is considered as a closed-loop feedback control system which generates a course of action and corrects the consequences by means of sensory feedback information. Within this context, driving is viewed as a closed-loop, feedback-regulated driver vehicle road tracking system with well-organized signal, force, spatial, temporal, and motion properties. Highway information display is an integral part of this tracking system. Exploration of sensory modes other than vision, which are presently under-utilized, could contribute to the improvement of highway information display and driver performance.
The impact of race on the dissociative experiences scale

Abstract Scores on the Dissociative Experiences Scale were compared between a group of 48 white and 48 black veterans being treated for alcohol or polysubstance abuse in a V.A. Medical Center. Groups were matched for age, education, number of previous treatments, IQ, marital status, employment status, history of childhood abuse, and psychological discomfort. Blacks achieved significantly higher scores than whites. Hypotheses were discussed to explain these findings from psycho-diagnostic and cross-cultural perspectives.
The pole expansion in normalized QED

We present a pole expansion for the propagators in the framework of normalized quantum electrodynamics and compare it with the more canonical results from S-matrix theory.
Prior Head Injury Accounts for the Heterogeneity of the Alcohol-Epilepsy Relationship

Fifty-five adult male patients with alcoholism and seizures were divided into three groups. In group I, all seizures were consistently produced by alcohol withdrawal (N = 16); in group II, some seizures were clearly precipitated by alcohol withdrawal and others were not (n = 18); and in group III none of the seizures had a consistent relationship with drinking (N = 21). The three groups were compared for age, frequency of seizures, compliance, Bear-Fedio and Boston-Naming scores, those for memory of words and faces, and finger-tapping scores, and neuropsychological impairment ratings as well as EEG background frequencies. The incidence of severe head injury preceding the onset of seizure disorder was significantly higher in groups II and III. This was further supported by a greater prevalence of asymmetric alpha rhythm, abnormal CT scans and multiple seizure types in those two groups. These data indicate that a prior head injury is a major variable accounting for the heterogeneity of the alcohol-epilepsy relationship.
Microscopic theory of third-harmonic generation and electro-absorption in conjugated polymers

Abstract We develop a physical, intuitive description of optical nonlinearity in conjugated polymers within a completely general microscopic theoretical model. It is shown that third-harmonic generation and electro-absorption give complimentary information on the electronic structures of π-conjugated systems.
Factor Structure of Planning and Problem-solving: A Behavioral Genetic Analysis of the Tower of London Task in Middle-aged Twins

We examined the genetic architecture of a Tower of London test of planning and problem-solving in 690 middle-aged male twins. Phenotypic analyses revealed only one general factor, but the best-fitting genetic model indicated two correlated genetic factors: speed and efficiency. One variable-number of attempts required to mentally figure the puzzles-loaded on both factors. Shared environmental effects could be dropped with virtually no reduction in model fit. Despite significant nonshared environmental correlations across measures, there was no discernable nonshared environmental factor structure. The correlation between genetic factors (r = 0.46) and the variable loading on both factors could reflect modulation of planning, testing alternatives, and working memory that are required to perform the test. Such coordinated activity is consistent with the notion of a supervisory attentional system, a central executive, or metacognitive ability. The different phenotypic and genetic factor results suggest that relying solely on the former could obscure genetic associations.
Prescriptive Approach to the Performance-Based Seismic Design of Low-Rise Wood-Frame Residential Buildings

Performance-based seismic design (PBSD) is considered by many to be the next generation of design philosophy that focuses on the system performance of a structure during earthquake loading. For steel and concrete structures, this design philosophy is being used by a select group of practitioners. However, application to wood-frame buildings is still in the research stages; several approaches for PBSD are proposed with rehabilitation concepts available in ASCE 41. Currently, most of the PBSD methods for wood-frame buildings require designers to utilize a level of approach that is far more detailed than current design approaches. This increases the cost of any engineering for the design of wood-frame buildings. Therefore, in this study, a simplified design approach is developed that allows a designer to employ the PBSD methodology without complex analysis. Different from most existing PBSD procedures, this prescriptive approach was developed based on a significant number of numerical simulations using a sim...
Miniature Low-Power Inertial Sensors: Promising Technology for Implantable Motion Capture Systems

Inertial and magnetic sensors are valuable for untethered, self-contained human movement analysis. Very recently, complete integration of inertial sensors, magnetic sensors, and processing into single packages, has resulted in miniature, low power devices that could feasibly be employed in an implantable motion capture system. We developed a wearable sensor system based on a commercially available system-in-package inertial and magnetic sensor. We characterized the accuracy of the system in measuring 3-D orientation—with and without magnetometer-based heading compensation—relative to a research grade optical motion capture system. The root mean square error was less than 4 $^{\circ}$ in dynamic and static conditions about all axes. Using four sensors, recording from seven degrees-of-freedom of the upper limb (shoulder, elbow, wrist) was demonstrated in one subject during reaching motions. Very high correlation and low error was found across all joints relative to the optical motion capture system. Findings were similar to previous publications using inertial sensors, but at a fraction of the power consumption and size of the sensors. Such ultra-small, low power sensors provide exciting new avenues for movement monitoring for various movement disorders, movement-based command interfaces for assistive devices, and implementation of kinematic feedback systems for assistive interventions like functional electrical stimulation.
MO-D-351-07: A System to Dynamically Balance Dose Sparing Between Critical Structures in Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)

Purpose: The IMRTtreatment planning optimization process typically follows one, somewhat arbitrary, path, based on the manner in which the planner changes the optimization constraints/weights during planning. Thus, the planner usually never fully understands the trade‐off in doses between structures and, thereby, can not optimally distribute critical structuredose sparing. We present a system that enables the planner to generate an optimally balanced plan in real‐time by fully exploiting dose exchange between critical structures.Method and Materials: The system uses pre‐optimized fluences that are generated automatically. An initial baseline optimization is generated by “restricting” doses out of all critical structures equally. From this baseline, optimizations are generated for each critical structure further restricted, with all other critical structures completely relaxed to absorb excess dose (the optimizations explicitly respect target constraints) The fluences during the restricting process are stored, providing a history of the pathway taken by the optimization. A fast strategy is used to generate these optimizations prior to planning. At the time of planning, the system enables the planner to dynamically combine the pre‐computed dose distributions corresponding to the extent that they would like each critical structure to be spared. The results are displayed in histogram‐like form, allowing the planner to evaluate and dynamically balance critical structuredose sparing. Results: The system is illustrated for prostate and paranasal sinus cancer cases. In the prostate case, below a certain extent of rectal and bladder dose sparing, decreasing dose to one structure leads to increasing dose to the other structure. In the paranasal sinus cancer case, lowering the dose below the baseline optimization results in dose trade‐off between the the left eye/optic nerve, chiasm, right optic nerve, and left/right temporal lobes. Conclusion: The system presented here enables maximized dose sparing by optimally balancing IMRTdoses between critical structures in real‐time.
Quantitative computed tomography of the lumbar spine, not dual x-ray absorptiometry, is an independent predictor of prevalent vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women with osteopenia receiving long-term glucocorticoid and hormone-replacement therapy.

Objective To determine which measurement of bone mineral density (BMD) predicts vertebral fractures in a cohort of postmenopausal women with glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. Methods We recruited 114 subjects into the study. All had osteopenia of the lumbar spine or hip, as demonstrated by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and were receiving long-term glucocorticoids and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Measurements of BMD by DXA of the lumbar spine, hip (and subregions), and forearm (and subregions), quantitative computed tomography (QCT) of the spine and hip (n = 59), and radiographs of the thoracolumbar spine were performed on all subjects to assess prevalent vertebral fractures. Vertebral fracture prevalence, as determined by morphometry, required a ≥20% (or ≥4-mm) loss of vertebral body height. Demographic information was obtained by questionnaire. Multiple regression and classification and regression trees (CART) analyses were used to assess predictors of vertebral fracture. Results Twenty-six percent of the study subjects had prevalent fractures. BMD of the lumbar spine, total hip and hip subregions, as measured by QCT, but only the lumbar spine and total hip, as measured by DXA, were significantly associated with prevalent vertebral fractures. However, only lumbar spine BMD as measured by QCT was a significant predictor of vertebral fractures. CART analysis showed that a BMD value <0.065 gm/cm3 was associated with a 7-fold higher risk of fracture than a BMD value ≥0.065 gm/cm3. Conclusion In postmenopausal women with osteoporosis induced by long-term glucocorticoid treatment who are also receiving HRT, BMD of the lumbar spine as measured by QCT, but not DXA, is an independent predictor of vertebral fractures.
High-resolution transient-double-resonance spectroscopy in SF 6

Four distinct collisionless excitation processes are observed when SF(6) molecules are illuminated simultaneously by "weak" continuously tunable cw probe radiation and by "strong" pulsed-pump radiation. These processes are identified by studying the line shape, frequency, and temporal decay of the change in transmitted probe intensity induced by the pump pulse. The significance of this work for the spectroscopy of high vibrational levels and for collisionless dissociation is discussed briefly.
Expression of aquaporin-8 in human placenta and chorioamniotic membranes: evidence of molecular mechanism for intramembranous amniotic fluid resorption.

OBJECTIVE: The intramembranous pathway of amniotic fluid absorption has recently been recognized as a critical regulatory path for amniotic fluid resorption, which contributes importantly to amniotic fluid volume homeostasis. Yet, the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms for water absorption across the amniotic membranes remain unknown. We hypothesize that amniotic fluid water is absorbed across aquaporin water channels in the chorioamniotic membranes. Recently the water channel aquaporin-8 complementary DNAs for mice, rats, and humans have been cloned; and aquaporin-8 has been found to be expressed in the placenta and in other organs. The objective of the present study was to determine whether aquaporin-8 is expressed in human chorioamniotic membranes. STUDY DESIGN: Freshly frozen human amnion, chorion, placenta, and umbilical cord of a normal term pregnancy were used in this study. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the aquaporin-8 gene expression. In situ hybridization with biotin-labeled aquaporin-8 riboprobe was undertaken to localize the cellular expression of aquaporin-8 gene in these human fetal membranes. RESULTS: Using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, we have demonstrated that aquaporin-8 is expressed in human amnion, chorion, and placenta. Further studies of in situ hybridization of aquaporin-8 identified aquaporin-8 gene expression in epithelial cells of chorion and amnion and of the syncytiotrophoblasts and outer layer trophoblasts of placenta. CONCLUSION: This is the first study that demonstrates the expression of aquaporin-8 water channel in human chorioamniotic membranes. These results suggest that aquaporin-8 may be a water channel that mediates amniotic fluid resorption by way of the intramembranous pathway.
Probabilistic frame-based systems

Two of the most important threads of work in knowledge representation today are frame-based representation systems (FRS's) and Bayesian networks (BNs). FRS's provide an excellent representation for the organizational structure of large complex domains, but their applicability is limited because of their inability to deal with uncertainty and noise. BNs provide an intuitive and coherent probabilistic representation of our uncertainty, but are very limited in their ability to handle complex structured domains. In this paper, we provide a language that cleanly integrates these approaches, preserving the advantages of both. Our approach allows us to provide natural and compact definitions of probability models for a class, in a way that is local to the class frame. These models can be instantiated for any set of interconnected instances, resulting in a coherent probability distribution over the instance properties. Our language also allows us to represent important types of uncertainty that cannot be accomodated within the framework of traditional BNs: uncertainty over the set of entities present in our model, and uncertainty about the relationships between these entities. We provide an inference algorithm for our language via a reduction to inference in standard Bayesian networks. We describe an implemented system that allows most of the main frame systems in existence today to annotate their knowledge bases with probabilistic information, and to use that information in answering probabilistic queries.
A Comparison of Four Potential Agents for Reducing Necrosis after Prolonged Coronary Occlusion

In anesthetized closed-chest dogs, four vasodilators were compared after prolonged coronary occlusion induced by catheter wedging in a coronary branch. With treatment given between 1 hour and 2 hours of occlusion, five groups were studied: no treatment, isosorbide dinitrate, nitroprusside, dipyridamole, and methylprednisolone. Measured were heart rate, cardiac pressures and blood flow (with 85Kr); and cardiac index, left ventricular ejection fraction with vascular resistance, left ventricular minute work index, and an oxygen consumption index were calculated. At sacrifice, ischemic inner/outer wall isotope distribution and myocardial K+, Na+, and H2O were determined. With no treatment, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and vascular resistances rose while cardiac index, ejection fraction, minute work index, and index of myocardial oxygen consumption fell, with no further change between 1 and 2 hours. Vasodilators did not affect coronary hemodynamics or isotope distribution. Hemodynamic effects of isosorbide dinitrate and nitroprusside differed qualitatively from dipyridamole and methylprednisolone. The latter drugs caused increases in ejection fraction, and dipyridamole also significantly increased cardiac index and minute work index. Only nitroprusside decreased minute work index and O2 consumption index. Only nitroprusside and dipyridamole, despite differing hemodynamics, tended to reduce K+ loss and Na+ and H2O gain in ischemic tissue. Further extended studies with these agents are warranted.
Modernization and Reform From Above: The Case of Iran

Social scientists have recently become deeply involved in the study of modernization, and theoreticians from a wide variety of disciplines are now seeking to formulate meaningful theoretical statements about this issue. Several points have already become clear. First, it is more fruitful to examine the challenge of modernization in terms of social forces such as groups, classes, and elites than to concentrate on formal-legal structures and institutions. Second, the varying intensities and levels of change indicate a need for comparative analysis. Third, development must be defined not only in economic and physical terms but in political, social, and human terms as well. Fourth, development is best viewed as a continuing process and not as an end point or fixed goal. No society, including the United States and the Soviet Union, ever finally achieves this goal. Modernization requires that a society possess the enduring capacity to generate and absorb persistent transformation. Modernization implies transformation, i.e., a deep, fundamental, and continuing change in all systems by which man organizes his life.' For the purposes of this paper, it concerns particularly the transformation of the socio-power structure so that genuine social and political
Myeloproliferative neoplasms 2012: The John M. Bennett 80th birthday anniversary lecture

Polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia and primary myelofibrosis constitute the BCR-ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. In this communication, I will provide an overview on their histopathology, cytogenetic findings and associated mutations, as well as summarize recent advances that have changed our approach to their diagnosis and treatment. Also included in the current review are (i) indications for ordering JAK2 or MPL mutation analysis and result interpretation, (ii) new international prognostic scoring systems, and (iii) risk-adapted therapy including the therapeutic role of immunomodulatory drugs and JAK inhibitors.
Measurement of the B hadron lifetime from Mark II at PEP

Using data taken by the Mark II detector at PEP, the decays of B hadrons are tagged by identifying leptons at high transverse momentum. By means of a precision inner drift chamber, the impact parameters of these leptons are measured with respect to the B production point. From this impact parameter distribution, the B hadron lifetime is found to be 0.98 f 0.12 f 0.13 ps. This measurement can be used to place constraints models of quark mixing.
Plasma and breast milk vitamin A as indicators of vitamin A status in pregnant women.

Breast milk vitamin A is not well characterized as an indicator of vitamin A status in women with infections. A controlled trial of vitamin A, 3 mg retinol equivalent/day, was conducted among 697 p...
Being Sticker Rich: Numerical Context Influences Children’s Sharing Behavior

Young children spontaneously share resources with anonymous recipients, but little is known about the specific circumstances that promote or hinder these prosocial tendencies. Children (ages 3–11) received a small (12) or large (30) number of stickers, and were then given the opportunity to share their windfall with either one or multiple anonymous recipients (Dictator Game). Whether a child chose to share or not varied as a function of age, but was uninfluenced by numerical context. Moreover, children’s giving was consistent with a proportion-based account, such that children typically donated a similar proportion (but different absolute number) of the resources given to them, regardless of whether they originally received a small or large windfall. The proportion of resources donated, however, did vary based on the number of recipients with whom they were allowed to share, such that on average, children shared more when there were more recipients available, particularly when they had more resources, suggesting they take others into consideration when making prosocial decisions. Finally, results indicated that a child’s gender also predicted sharing behavior, with males generally sharing more resources than females. Together, findings suggest that the numerical contexts under which children are asked to share, as well as the quantity of resources that they have to share, may interact to promote (or hinder) altruistic behaviors throughout childhood.
Factors affecting hemoglobin measurement

A review of the literature shows that current “standard” laboratory measurements for hemoglobin are subject to numerous factors that affect both accuracy and reliability. In addition, total hemoglobin concentration measurements are subject to numerous factors that affect the “true” hemoglobin value. This article discusses both the physiologic factors that influence hemoglobin levels and the technical aspects and variability among the different measurement methodologies currently available.
Reconstruct: a free editor for serial section microscopy

Many microscopy studies require reconstruction from serial sections, a method of analysis that is sometimes difficult and time-consuming. When each section is cut, mounted and imaged separately, section images must be montaged and realigned to accurately analyse and visualize the three-dimensional (3D) structure. Reconstruct is a free editor designed to facilitate montaging, alignment, analysis and visualization of serial sections. The methods used by Reconstruct for organizing, transforming and displaying data enable the analysis of series with large numbers of sections and images over a large range of magnifications by making efficient use of computer memory. Alignments can correct for some types of non-linear deformations, including cracks and folds, as often encountered in serial electron microscopy. A large number of different structures can be easily traced and placed together in a single 3D scene that can be animated or saved. As a flexible editor, Reconstruct can reduce the time and resources expended for serial section studies and allows a larger tissue volume to be analysed more quickly.
Heuristics in Job Shop Scheduling

The problem is that of scheduling jobs with diverse routings on the productive facilities in a shop such that the respective due dates are met, or failing this, the sum of lateness times is minimized. The approach is simulative in that the operation of the shop is simulated in a Fortran program, but in addition to the straightforward use of priority rules for determining sequences of jobs on the machines, a number of heuristics or rules of thumb are incorporated. Both the static and dynamic problems are investigated. The efficacy of a small number of heuristics in combination with certain priority rules is demonstrated.
An optimized weighting algorithm for variations in PCM energy levels

The advantages of optimum weighted PCM for speech signals has been demonstrated by Sundberg [2]. Since the symbols in a PCM word have different sensitivities to digital transmission errors the relative signal energy used by each PCM word is matched accordingly. A near optimum performance may be achieved by transmitting groups of PCM symbols at the same energy level where the number of groups is less than the number of bits in the PCM word. A new dimension of the optimization problem is the determination as to which symbols should be allocated to a particular energy level for any given PCM word length while minimizing the digital noise. In this correspondence a general algorithm is developed for the judicious distribution of symbol energy which is optimum at every level.
SIMULATION AND FLIGHT CONTROL OF AN AEROELASTIC FIXED WING MICRO AERIAL VEHICLE

Micro aerial vehicles have been the subject of continued interest and development over the last several years. The majority of current vehicle concepts rely on rigid fixed wings or rotors. An alternate design based on an aeroelastic membrane wing has also been developed that exhibits desired characteristics in flight test demonstrations, competition, and in prior aerodynamics studies. This paper presents a simulation model and an assessment of flight control characteristics of the vehicle. Linear state space models of the vehicle associated with typical trimmed level flight conditions and which are suitable for control system design are presented as well. The simulation is used as the basis for the design of a measurement based nonlinear dynamic inversion control system and outer loop guidance system. The vehicle/controller system is the subject of ongoing investigations of autonomous and collaborative control schemes. The results indicate that the design represents a good basis for further development of the micro aerial vehicle for autonomous and collaborative controls research.
The chronicles of Porphyromonas gingivalis: the microbium, the human oral epithelium and their interplay

The microbiota of the human oral mucosa consists of a myriad of bacterial species that normally exist in commensal harmony with the host. Porphyromonas gingivalis, an aetiological agent in severe forms of periodontitis (a chronic inflammatory disease), is a prominent component of the oral microbiome and a successful colonizer of the oral epithelium. This Gram-negative anaerobe can also exist within the host epithelium without the existence of overt disease. Gingival epithelial cells, the outer lining of the gingival mucosa, which function as an important part of the innate immune system, are among the first host cells colonized by P. gingivalis. This review describes recent studies implicating the co-existence and intracellular adaptation of the organism in these target host cells. Specifically, recent findings on the putative mechanisms of persistence, intercellular dissemination and opportunism are highlighted. These new findings may also represent an original and valuable model for mechanistic characterization of other successful host-adapted, self-limiting, persistent intracellular bacteria in human epithelial tissues.
A study of gluten extractability from doughs made from fresh and stored wheat flours

In contrast to the increase in protein extractability which normally occurs in making a dough from a flour, on overmixing dough from a freshly milled flour of good bread-baking quality, a progressive reduction occurs in the amount of acetic acid soluble proteins whereas the protein solubility shows little change in equivalent doughs made from similar flours stored for several years. Addition of artificially aged flour lipid, addition of oleic acid or defatting all tend to make the fresh flour imitate the behaviour of stored flour. Addition of diacetyl tartaric acid ester of mixed monoglyceride (which improves baking properties) to a stored flour makes the protein extractability move towards that of a fresh flour. It is suggested that in making dough from a fresh flour, there is a progressive binding of fresh flour lipid by the high molecular weight flour protein, which subsequently causes insolubility of this protein and that this binding like other lipid-protein interactions is a major factor influencing flour baking performance.
Sex-biased dispersal in African wild dogs, Lycaon pictus

Sex differences in African wild dog dispersal behaviour have been described variously as strongly female biased to unbiased. Dispersal from natal home ranges to reproductive home ranges was recorded over 5 years from eight study packs in a free-ranging population of wild dogs in northern Botswana. Analysis of sex differences in natal dispersal was based on (1) age of natal dispersers, (2) dispersing group size, and (3) natal dispersal distance. Dispersal distance was measured by (i) the distance between arithmetic centres of range locations, (ii) spatial association of reproductive and natal home ranges (contiguous versus disjunct), and (iii) pair-wise comparison of dispersal distances between males and females establishing a reproductive home range together. Males in this population dispersed later, in larger groups and further than females. These results contrast with earlier reports for wild dogs and show that females are the more spatially philopatric sex. This pattern of sex-biased dispersal is evaluated in relation to two current, alternative but not mutually exclusive hypotheses: inbreeding avoidance and competition for mating opportunities. All wild dogs of both sexes emigrated when in the presence of their opposite sex parent. Despite frequent opportunities, no dogs mated with close relatives (r≥0.5). The consequences of sex-biased dispersal in wild dogs are consistent with both hypotheses, but the competition for mating opportunities hypothesis is supported only within the context of dispersal behaviour indicative of close inbreeding avoidance.
Grooming and RWA in translucent dynamic mixed-line-rate WDM networks with impairments

This paper develops a scheme to dynamically make grooming, regenerator placement, and routing and wavelength assignment (RWA) decisions for translucent mixed-line-rate optical networks. We consider physical impairments and compare to the no-grooming case.
Highly Sensitive Capacitive Gas Sensing at Ionic Liquid–Electrode Interfaces

We have developed an ultrasensitive gas-detection method based on the measurement of a differential capacitance of electrified ionic liquid (IL) electrode interfaces in the presence and absence of adsorbed gas molecules. The observed change of differential capacitance has a local maximum at a certain potential that is unique for each type of gas, and its amplitude is related to the concentration of the gas molecules. We establish and validate this gas-sensing method by characterizing SO2 detection at ppb levels with less than 1.8% signal from other interfering species (i.e., CO2, O2, NO2, NO, SO2, H2O, H2, and cyclohexane, tested at the same concentration as SO2). This study opens a new avenue of utilizing tunable electrified IL-electrode interfaces for selective sensing of molecules with a kinetic size resolution of 0.1 A.
Timing of umbilical cord clamping among infants born at 22 through 27 weeks' gestation.

To investigate the safety, feasibility and efficacy of delayed cord clamping (DCC) compared with immediate cord clamping (ICC) at delivery among infants born at 22 to 27 weeks’ gestation. This was a pilot, randomized, controlled trial in which women in labor with singleton pregnancies at 22 to 27 weeks’ gestation were randomly assigned to ICC (cord clamped at 5 to 10 s) or DCC (30 to 45 s). Forty mother–infant pairs were randomized. Infants in the ICC and DCC groups had mean gestational ages (GA) of 24.6 and 24.4 weeks, respectively. No differences were observed between the groups across all available safety measures, although infants in the DCC group had higher admission temperatures than infants in the ICC group (97.4 vs 96.2 °F, P=0.04). During the first 24 h of life, blood pressures were lower in the ICC group than in the DCC group (P<0.05), despite a threefold greater incidence of treatment for hypotension (45% vs 12%, P<0.01). Infants in the ICC group had increased numbers of red blood transfusions (in first 28 days of life) than infants in DCC group (4.1±3.9 vs 2.8±2.2, P=0.04). Among infants born at an average GA of 24 weeks’, DCC appears safe, logistically feasible, and offers hematological and circulatory advantages compared with ICC. A more comprehensive appraisal of this practice is needed.
ASYMPTOTIC PROPERTIES OF MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATORS FOR SPATIAL NONHOMOGENEOUS POISSON PROCESS MODELS

Techniques have been developed for estimating the parameters of spatial point processes, given data at either the aggregate or point levels. However, it remains unclear how to model aggregate data with a subset of point data (i.e., exact locations of some events). For a sample region A � < d , Wu and Kaiser (26) propose an aggregate-point combined model for a mixture of an aggregate and point data to accommodate both aggregate level and point level information. In this paper, we show that the maximum likelihood estimator is consistent, asymptotically normal, and asymptotically efficient asA " < d . These results extend the findings of Rathbun and Cressie (20), where they study the asymptotic properties based on point data.
Audible Coronary Artery Stenosis

Abstract Objective Hemodynamically significant coronary artery stenoses generate turbulent blood flow patterns that manifest as intracoronary murmurs. This study aims to evaluate the performance of modern acoustic detection of these murmurs by acoustic signals captured from patients undergoing gold standard comparative coronary angiography. Methods We prospectively studied 156 patients undergoing elective coronary angiography, excluding those with acute coronary syndrome, prior chest surgery, or significant valvular disease. Acoustic signals were captured before arterial access. Angiographic degree of stenosis in each coronary artery was graded blinded to clinical and acoustic data. Acoustic data were analyzed blinded to clinical and angiographic data, categorizing subjects as "normal," "diseased," or "inconclusive." Of 156 patients examined, 123 generated analyzable data. Results Angiographically significant stenosis (≥50%) prevalence was 52% (18%, 23%, 11% with 1-, 2-, 3-vessel disease, respectively). Acoustic detection sensitivity and specificity for stenosis ≥50% in any vessel were 0.70 and 0.80, respectively (negative predictive value, 0.71; positive predictive value, 0.79). Acoustic detection optimally identified stenosis ≥50% with an area under the curve of 0.75. For stenosis ≥50% in major vessels only (left main, proximal-mid left anterior descending, proximal-mid circumflex, proximal-mid right coronary), prevalence was 46%; sensitivity and specificity were 0.72 and 0.76, respectively (negative predictive value, 0.76; positive predictive value, 0.72; area under the curve, 0.76). Conclusions Acoustic signal patterns and modern analysis techniques may be used to identify intracoronary murmurs generated by hemodynamically significant coronary artery stenoses in all major vessels. Further investigation is warranted to compare the clinical performance of this modality with current noninvasive approaches that evaluate patients at risk for atherosclerotic and obstructive coronary artery disease.