cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Physical Modeling and Analysis of Site Liquefaction Subjected Biaxial Dynamic Excitations

The paper presents a series of centrifuge tests of level sites consisting of a granular soil deposits subjected to various bi-axial and uniaxial base excitations. The tests were conducted at RPI NEES centrifuge facility to assess the dynamic response characteristics of level deposits under multidimensional conditions. Synthetic sinusoidal waves were used as base excitations to test dense models under biaxial and uniaxial shaking. A dense array of accelerometers was used to monitor the deposit response along with pore water pressure transducers. One uniaxial test and one biaxial shaking test were conducted on two similar soil models to study the effect of multidirectional shaking on the generation of soil liquefaction for dense deposits. The observed acceleration and pore pressure are used along with non-parametric identification procedures to estimate the corresponding dynamic shear stress-strain histories. The measured results along with the obtained time histories are used to shed the light on the mechanisms of liquefaction occurring through the stratum under uniaxial shaking. It also shows the effect of soil relative density on soil behavior when subjected to biaxial shaking. This difference is evident in the coupling in stress-strain loops compared to the more known uniaxial soil behavior.
Topics in CDMA Multiuser Signal Separation

CDMA is predicted to become an important method for the third generation wireless communication systems. However, for CDMA to satisfy the need for an increased number of simultaneous users, multiuser interference must be effectively combatted. Many methods for handling this problem were suggested — of particular interest are those which are adaptive. In this paper, we summarize some of the recent results of research performed at CCSPR, NJIT, on multiuser signal separation and detection in CDMA systems.
The sound source distance dependence of the acoustical cues to location and their encoding by neurons in the inferior colliculus: implications for the Duplex theory.

For over a century, the Duplex theory has posited that low- and ­high-frequency sounds are localized using two different acoustical cues, interaural time (ITDs) and level (ILDs) differences, respectively. Psychophysical data have generally supported the theory for pure tones. Anatomically, ITDs and ILDs are separately encoded in two parallel brainstem pathways. Acoustically ILDs are a function of location and frequency such that lower and higher frequencies exhibit smaller and larger ILDs, respectively. It is well established that neurons throughout the auditory neuraxis encode high-frequency ILDs. Acoustically, low-frequency ILDs are negligible (∼1–2 dB); however, humans are still sensitive to them and physiological studies often report low-frequency ILD-sensitive neurons. These ­latter findings are at odds with the Duplex theory. We suggest that these discrepancies arise from an inadequate characterization of the acoustical environment. We hypothesize that low-frequency ILDs become large and useful when sources are located near the head. We tested this hypothesis by making measurements of the ILDs in chinchillas as a function of source distance and the sensitivity to ILDs in 103 neurons in the inferior colliculus (IC). The ILD sensitivity of IC neurons was found to be frequency ­independent even though far-field acoustical ILDs were frequency dependent. However, as source distance was decreased, the magnitudes of low-frequency ILDs increased. Using information theoretic methods, we ­demonstrate that a population of IC neurons can encode the full range of acoustic ILDs across frequency that would be experienced as a joint function of source location and distance.
T-Lymphocyte Subsets of Rhesus Macaque as Determined by Monoclonal Antibodies: Tγ, Tμ T-Null, and Histamine Receptor Bearing T-Lymphocytes

The distribution of helper (OKT4+) and suppressor/cytotoxic (OKT8+) cells was determined for rhesus monkey (Maeaca mulatta) peripheral T-lymphocyte subpopulations using human T-lymphocyte specific monoclonal antibodies. Highly purified rhesus T-lymphocytes (> 90% E-rosetted) were spearated into subpopulations by Fc-receptors using IgG (Tγ) and IgM (Tγ) coated bovine red blood cells or by adsoption with insolubilzed histamine. Rhesus monkey T-lymphocytes were found to express cell-surface determinants recognized by OKT4 and OKT8 antibodies. Helper and suppressor/cytotoxic T-cells were found to be in approximately the same frequency as humans (50% OKT4 and 33% OKT8). The Tγ subpopulation was found to be comprised of 30% OKT4 type cells and to be depleted of suppressor cells (2% OKT8). The Tγ subpopulation, previously shown to have suppressor activity, consisted of 9% OKT4 and 2% OKT8 type cells. Our results suggest Tγ may represent an undifferentiated suppressor population. T-cells depleted of cells with Fc-IgG and Fc-IgM receptors, T-null, contained 47% OKT4 and 12% OKT8 type cells. T-cells adsorbed with insolubilized histamine had a reduced frequency of OKT8 type cells (70% reduction), while the frequency of OKT4 type cells was unaffected by histamine adsorption. These results suggested that the majority of suppressor cells (OKT8) express cell-surface receptors for histamine.
17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity in human thymus

Abstract Radioactive estrone, 17β-estradiol and androstenedione were incubated with human thymus homogenates. After isolation of the radioactive metabolites, estrone, 17β-estradiol, androstenedione and testosterone were characterized by isotope dilution, by chromatography on paper and silica gel, by the formation of derivatives, and by crystallization to constant specific activity. The findings show that human thymus homogenates are able to oxidize and reduce the 17-oxygen function in estrone, 17β-estradiol and androstenedione.
Assessing fidelity: balancing methodology and reality in jail interventions.

While fidelity to research protocols is important to ensure generalizable outcomes, interventions in criminal justice settings present unique challenges to uniform implementation. The goal of this paper is to describe the fidelity methods and outcomes for a sexual health intervention implemented in three local county jails. As part of a longitudinal cohort study, four trained fidelity assessors observed 25 of the 230 sessions presented (including both intervention and comparison groups) at three separate times during the 29 months of the intervention. Assessment methods included the assessors’ field notes, a nine-item facilitator quality scale and a content inclusion scale with 6–13 items specific for each of the five sessions. Facilitator quality score ranged from 87.6 to 99.2%. Content inclusion scores ranged from 77.3 to 88%. Specific challenges to fidelity were found in two areas: the jail environment and the participants’ response to content. The realities of conducting research in jails and prisons must be addressed in real time by adjusting program content to fit both unexpected facility and participant situations. Skilled facilitators are essential to this effort.
Reducing Elopement in a Preschooler with Autism Using Differential Reinforcement

Elopement is a behavior that occurs in many children with autism spectrum disorder as well as other developmental disorders that often places them at risk of injury or death from traffic or drowning. A multiple baseline design across three targeted transitions was used in this study to evaluate the effectiveness of a differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI) intervention implemented by the child’s classroom teacher and paraeducator during the school day. The behavioral skills training (BST) model was followed to train the classroom teacher and paraprofessional staff to implement DRI to eliminate the elopement of the preschool student with ASD. The BST model of training resulted in staff quickly acquiring the data collection and DRI skills and maintaining mastery of the procedures without further training. The student’s straying and elopement behaviors were eliminated across transitions as well as during the fading of reinforcement phase. The school staff reported a positive perception on the use of the DRI intervention.
Modulating the expression of long non‐coding RNAs for functional studies

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as important regulators of cell biology. The mechanisms by which lncRNAs function are likely numerous, and most are poorly understood. Currently, the mechanisms of functional lncRNAs include those that directly involve the lncRNA transcript, the process of their own transcription and splicing, and even underlying transcriptional regulatory elements within the genomic DNA that encodes the lncRNA As our understanding of lncRNA biology evolves, so have the methods that are utilized to elucidate their functions. In this review, we survey a collection of different methods used to modulate lncRNA expression levels for the assessment of biological function. From RNA-targeted strategies, genetic deletions, to engineered gene regulatory systems, the advantages and caveats of each method will be discussed. Ultimately, the selection of tools will be guided by which potential lncRNA mechanisms are being investigated, and no single method alone will likely be sufficient to reveal the function of any particular lncRNA.
Wrestling with Retention in the CS Major: Report from the ACM Retention Committee

This panel focuses on the challenges of collecting and analyzing data relating to retention of students in undergraduate computer science education programs. The panelists will share learnings and recommendations from the final report of the ACM Retention Committee and share their individual perspectives on data collection challenges, promising interventions, and recommendations for actively addressing retention for all students.
Between the Error Bars: How Modern Theory, Design, and Methodology Enrich the Personality-Health Tradition

The study of relationships between personality traits and health has a long history in psychosomatic research. However, personality science has evolved from an understanding of personality as fixed traits to one that acknowledges that personality is dynamic. Dynamic approaches to conceptualizing and measuring personality and individual differences can enrich personality-health research. In this Presidential Address (American Psychosomatic Society, 2018), I consider how different formulations of personality-stable traits, stable signals in a noisy or variable measure, within-person changes, and intraindividual variability-can be implemented to better understand how personality is related to health and particularly to immune function. These approaches recognize and, in some cases, capitalize on the fact that personality factors can display variability as well as stability over time. They also require repeated measurement and therefore greater methodological sophistication that considers reliability and generalizability, Simpson's paradox, and the difference between variability and flexibility. Dynamic qualities of personality and individual differences potentially influence health, and designs and methodology that incorporate them can illuminate the important processes that occur inside the error bars.
The Examined Life is Wise Living: The Relationship Between Mindfulness, Wisdom, and the Moral Foundations

This correlational study of two independent samples (260 college students and 173 Mechanical Turk workers aged 21–74) examined whether and how mindfulness (broadly construed as a manifold of self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence), influences wisdom about the self (Adult Self-Transcendence Inventory and Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale) and wisdom about the (social) world (Three-Dimensional Wisdom Scale), and how mindfulness and wisdom impact ethical sensitivities (the five moral foundations). Mindfulness predicted wisdom about the self, and wisdom about the self was linked to an emphasis on the individualizing moral foundations of care/harm avoidance and fairness and, to a lesser degree, on the binding moral foundations of loyalty, authority, and purity. Wisdom about the (social) world was not associated with either mindfulness or the moral foundations. Age was a significant positive predictor for wisdom about the self once the self-awareness component of mindfulness was taken into account.
Hysterosalpingography in endometriosis: performance and interpretation

Endometriosis is often seen and sometimes initially diagnosed on hysterosalpingography (HSG), an imaging exam routinely performed on patients with infertility. Here we discuss the role of HSG in the evaluation of patients with infertility with a focus on patients with endometriosis. The HSG technique, including patient preparation as well as potential risks and complications, is detailed. Imaging findings in patients with endometriosis are illustrated and a template for exam reporting is presented. Common imaging pitfalls are described with examples.
Analysis of survey results of iodine deficiency disorders in Huai'an City Jiangsu Province in 2011

Objective To evaluate the status of iodine deficiency disorders(IDD) in Huai'an City in 2011 and to provide a scientific basis for adopting target prevention strategies timely and adjusting the intervention policy scientifically.Methods According to "The National Project of Surveillance on IDD",probability sampling method (PPS) was used to select 30 counties in Huai'an City,and one primary school was selected randomly from each county,then 40 children aged 8 to 10 were randomly selected in each school.Children's thyroids were examined by palpation and the iodine in salt samples collected in their home was tested by direct titration.At the same time,urine samples from 12 children of the 40 selected children were collected and urinary iodine was tested by As(Ⅲ)-Ce4+ catalytic spectrophotometry.Questionnaire survey of IDD was conducted among 30 students of grade 5 and 5 housewives around that school.Results A total of 1200 children aged 8 to 10 were examined,and the goiter rate was 1.3％(15/1200).All the goiters were level Ⅰ.The goiters of each age group was 0.8％(3/390),1.8％(7/390) and 1.3％(5/420),respectively.The 360 urine samples were collected from children aged 8-10,and the median of urinary iodine was 171.5 μg/L with the proportions of ＜ 20 μg/L,＜ 50 μg/L and ＜ 100 μg/L were 0(0/360),1.1％ (4/360) and 5.6％ (20/360),respectively.A total of 1200 salt samples were tested in children's family.The coverage rate of iodized salt was 99.4％ (1193/1200) and the qualified rate of iodized salt was 97.7％ (1165/1193).The consuming rate of qualified iodized salt was 97.1％(1165/1200),and non iodized salt rate was 0.6％(7/1200).The knowledge rates of IDD were 82.7％ (2234/2700) and 69.8％ (314/450) in 900 students and 150 housewives,respectively.Conclusions In Huai'an City,except the knowledge rate of IDD,the goiter rate and urinary iodine of children aged 8-10,iodized salt consumption maintain at the stage of the target level.In addition to strengthen the monitoring of iodized salt and to supply qualified iodized salt,it should also increase the focus on health education propaganda in the future. Key words: Iodine ; Goiter; Urine ; Salts
Climatology of diablo winds in Northern California and their relationships with large-scale climate variabilities

The most destructive wildfires recently in Northern California have been linked to the occurrences of Diablo Winds (DWs). This study investigates the climatology of DWs during September–December 1979–2018, and their relationships with various climate modes using observations and two high-resolution reanalysis datasets. Our finding shows that DWs do not have a long-term trend in terms of the annual total number, total duration, and associated maximum wind speeds of DWs over the past 4 decades. However, their associated minimum relative humidity (RH) has decreased significantly, especially in October, which suggests that the dryness during DWs has become more severe with time, possibly leading to an increased chance of fires, and their destructive potential. We also find that the annual total number and duration of DWs have exhibited an quasi-periodic variation, with intervals ranging from 2 to 4 years. The periodic variability of DWs might be attributed to the teleconnections between DWs and climate oscillations, specifically the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), through their modulation of pressure systems near California and the location of the Pacific jet stream. It is suggested that when La Nina and the QBO westerly phases co-occur in the spring, DWs in the following fall and winter tend to occur more frequently, and are associated with more intense high winds and dryness as compared to other springtime QBO and ENSO phases. This relationship may be used to predict the seasonal outlook of DWs.
When Learning Disabilities Mask ADHD

Learning disorders can mask ADHD symptoms. When learning is challenging, more attention is required. Alternately, when attention is vulnerable, learning becomes harder. The purpose of this chapter is to provide information on the association between learning disorders and ADHD for families, teachers, and clinicians. Starting with an explanation of the overlapping symptoms of the disorders, readers are then provided with practical steps toward clarifying the disorders. Several case examples provide context for common—but sometimes confusing—presentations.
Mimicking the surface mechanical properties of rice (Oryzae sativa) leaf using PDMS soft lithography

Rice, Oryzae sativa, is a staple crop produced around the world. Despite the various physical structures that the plant employs to protect itself from pathogens, the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae breaks through these barriers and devastates rice crops. Although ongoing research is being conducted to determine how the fungus interacts with the surface of the rice leaf, more research into the mechanical stimuli present on the rice leaf surface is necessary to better understand appressoria formation. As a comparison material to the rice leaf surface, the copolymer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was chosen to mimic the surface mechanical properties of the rice leaf for its biocompatibility and tunable mechanical properties. Selected surface properties of stiffness, surface wettability, and topography were measured for both the rice leaf surface and PDMS replicas. The results of this study determined that PDMS properties can be modified to closely mimic those of the rice leaf surface, but drawbacks were noted in some areas, such as stiffness. These areas would require further modification to PDMS and are topics of future research.
Application of MCAT Questions as a Testing Tool and Evaluation Metric for Knowledge Graph-based Reasoning Systems

"Knowledge graphs" (KGs) have become a common approach for representing biomedical knowledge. In a KG, multiple biomedical data sets can be linked together as a graph representation, with nodes representing entities, such as "chemical substance" or "genes," and edges representing predicates, such as "causes" or "treats." Reasoning and inference algorithms can then be applied to the KG and used to generate new knowledge. We developed three KG-based question-answering systems as part of the Biomedical Data Translator program. These systems are typically tested and evaluated using traditional software engineering tools and approaches. In this study, we explored a team-based approach to test and evaluate the prototype "Translator Reasoners" through the application of Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) questions. Specifically, we describe three "hackathons," in which the developers of each of the three systems worked together with a moderator to determine whether the applications could be used to solve MCAT questions. The results demonstrate progressive improvement in system performance, with 0% (0/5) correct answers during the first hackathon, 75% (3/4) correct during the second hackathon, and 100% (5/5) correct during the final hackathon. We discuss the technical and sociologic lessons learned and conclude that MCAT questions can be applied successfully in the context of moderated hackathons to test and evaluate prototype KG-based question-answering systems, identify gaps in current capabilities, and improve performance. Finally, we highlight several published clinical and translational science applications of the Translator Reasoners.
How Good (really) are Grammatical Error Correction Systems

Standard evaluations of Grammatical Error Correction (GEC) systems make use of a fixed reference text generated relative to the original text; they show, even when using multiple references, that we have a long way to go. This analysis paper studies the performance of GEC systems relative to closest-gold – a gold reference text created relative to the output of a system. Surprisingly, we show that the real performance is 20-40 points better than standard evaluations show. Moreover, the performance remains high even when considering any of the top-10 hypotheses produced by a system. Importantly, the type of mistakes corrected by lower-ranked hypotheses differs in interesting ways from the top one, providing an opportunity to focus on a range of errors – local spelling and grammar edits vs. more complex lexical improvements. Our study shows these results in English and Russian, and thus provides a preliminary proposal for a more realistic evaluation of GEC systems.
Coaching Students and Teams to Listen to Customer Needs

The objective of this article is to support student and faculty researchers who endeavor to commercialize their technology. We share our experiences as evidence-based lean start-up instructors who coach fledgling start-ups as they attempt to spin out intellectual property from within research institutions. Our instruction is deeprooted in customer discovery-the act of talking with and observing customers to ensure that the solution provided best fits their needs and, as a result, will more likely bear the fruit of a successful commercialization effort.
Frequency of Hazardous and Binge Drinking Alcohol Among Hospitalized Cardiovascular Patients.

Excessive alcohol use is a risk factor for most cardiac diseases. The prevalence of unhealthy alcohol use among hospitalized cardiac patients is uncertain as is the frequency with which it is addressed. We performed a single center, patient-level anonymous survey among hospitalized cardiac patients eligible for cardiac rehabilitation. Hazardous drinking was defined as an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score of 8 or greater. Binge drinking was defined as 5+ drinks for men or 4+ for women on ≥1 occasion within the past 30 days. Unhealthy drinking was defined as either hazardous or binge drinking. Of 300 patients approached, 290 (96.7%) completed the survey. Mean ( ± SD) age was 69 ± 11 years; 70% were male and 31% were cardiac surgical patients. The proportion (95% CI) of hazardous, binge, and unhealthy drinking was 12% (9 to 16), 16% (12 to 20), and 18% (14-23), respectively. Overall, 58% of subjects reported being screened for alcohol use, mostly by nurses (56%). Those with unhealthy drinking reported being counseled more frequently about their alcohol use compared to non-unhealthy drinkers (11% versus 3%, p = 0.03), but the large majority (89%) of unhealthy drinkers reported receiving no advice about their alcohol use while admitted. In conclusion, almost one-fifth of hospitalized cardiac patients reported unhealthy drinking, these patients were only screened about half of the time, and were rarely counseled about their alcohol use.
Reliability and Validity of the American Heart Association's Workplace Health Achievement Index.

Objective:To test the validity and reliability of the American Heart Association’s (AHA) updated Workplace Health Achievement Index (WHAI).Methods:We piloted the updated WHAI with respondent pairs ...
Nonulcer dyspepsia

Nonulcer dyspepsia is a common condition in clinical practice. It is a heterogeneous disorder, and no single therapeutic agent is effective in all patients. The treatment of nonulcer dyspepsia is still dissatisfactory. Eradication of Helicobacter pylori organisms has a limited role and little effect. Antisecretory therapy has a modest effect in alleviating symptoms. Prokinetic agents may be effective, but selection bias in the trials performed to date may exaggerate their benefit. Partial 5-HT4 agonists stimulate gastric emptying and may also affect gastric accommodation. They are promising but need further study. Data are limited on 5-HT3 antagonists and hypnotherapy. New treatment approaches are necessary for this common and often chronic condition.
Adsorbate chemical environment-based machine learning framework for heterogeneous catalysis

Heterogeneous catalytic reactions are influenced by a subtle interplay of atomic-scale factors, ranging from the catalysts’ local morphology to the presence of high adsorbate coverages. Describing such phenomena via computational models requires generation and analysis of a large space of surface atomic configurations. To address this challenge, we present the Adsorbate Chemical Environment-based Graph Convolution Neural Network (ACE-GCN), a screening workflow that can account for atomistic configurations comprising diverse adsorbates, binding locations, coordination environments, and substrate morphologies. Using this workflow, we develop catalyst surface models for two illustrative systems: (i) NO adsorbed on a Pt3Sn(111) alloy surface, of interest for nitrate electroreduction processes, where high adsorbate coverages combine with the low symmetry of the alloy substrate to produce a large configurational space, and (ii) OH* adsorbed on a stepped Pt(221) facet, of relevance to the Oxygen Reduction Reaction, wherein the presence of irregular crystal surfaces, high adsorbate coverages, and directionally-dependent adsorbate-adsorbate interactions result in the configurational complexity. In both cases, the ACE-GCN model, having trained on a fraction (~10%) of the total DFT-relaxed configurations, successfully ranks the relative stabilities of unrelaxed atomic configurations sampled from a large configurational space. This approach is expected to accelerate development of rigorous descriptions of catalyst surfaces under in-situ conditions.
Minimal Model-Derived Insulin Sensitivity Index Underestimates Insulin Sensitivity in Black Americans.

OBJECTIVE To examine the ethnic differences in insulin sensitivity (SI) as measured by the minimal model approach (SI-MM) and the reference method, the euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp (EHC). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In a prospective study design, thirty black Americans (BA) were age, sex, and BMI matched with non-Hispanic whites (NHW). Participants underwent frequently sampled intravenous tolerance test (FSIVGTT) and EHC on 2 separate days during a single visit. RESULTS SI-MM values were significantly lower in BA when compared with NHW (0.035 ± 0.025 vs. 0.058 ± 0.036 [dL/min]/[μU/mL]; P = 0.003). However, there were no ethnic differences in SI measured by EHC (0.028 ± 0.012 vs. 0.035 ± 0.019 [dL/min]/[μU/mL]; P = 0.18). CONCLUSIONS SI-MM systematically underestimates SI in BA when compared with NHW. These findings suggest that studies inferring lower SI in BA based on FSIVGTT and SI-MM should be interpreted cautiously.
‘You just do it:’ A snapshot of teaching during a pandemic

This paper examines the experiences of 18 teachers in Wisconsin during the COVID-19 pandemic to address two questions: 1) What do teaching conditions look like during the COVID-19 pandemic? 2) How ...
Infertility and In Vitro Fertilization

Publisher Summary The desire to procreate and have one's own genetically descended offspring is an extremely visceral desire. Understanding of reproductive physiology is essential to the treatment of such patients. Assisted reproduction has evolved immensely during the past decade. The development of GnRH antagonists, sequential media for blastocyst culture, assisted fertilization (especially ICSI), and advances in cryopreservation have contributed to the increased success rates of IVF. Additionally, ancillary techniques such as preimplantation genetic diagnosis allow us not only to “cure” infertility, but also to prevent potentially devastating and tragic diseases. Oocyte donation allows couples who cannot conceive with their own oocytes to gestate and deliver a pregnancy. Multiple births from IVF are a significant issue. One problem is that in a capitalistic society where medicine is a private and competitive industry, success rates are reported by pregnancy rate per transfer procedure or retrieval. A second problem is that patients, often anxious for success and perhaps because of misinformation or lack of patient education, feel that multiple birth is a more palatable option than a negative pregnancy test. With advances in the successes of blastocyst transfer, embryo cryopreservation, physician and patient education about the complications of multiple births, and hopefully a more responsible reporting system that accounts for all pregnancies achieved from a single IVF cycle (either by fresh or frozen embryo transfer), high-order multiple pregnancies can be prevented. In fact, in some countries, the governments limit the number of pre-embryos to be transferred to one or two with the remainder of concepti frozen for later cycles.
Multiuser detection with joint channel estimation for asynchronous CDMA flat Rayleigh channels

In our previous work with asynchronous CDMA flat Rayleigh fading channels, multiuser detection was coupled with a disjoint channel estimation approach where each user employed a separate Kalman filter to estimate its complex-valued fading coefficients. In this paper, we turn our attention towards joint estimation where a single Kalman filter is utilized to estimate the channel coefficients of all users in the system. Due to the high dimension of the Kalman filter, there is an increased computational cost associated with joint estimation. However, the primary interest here is in evaluating any performance gains that may be achieved from a joint estimation strategy. In this paper, we consider two joint estimation strategies: decision-directed and stochastic. For multiuser detection, the Kalman channel estimators are combined with either the decorrelating decision feedback (DDF) detector or the probabilistic data association (PDA) detector. Simulation results show that in most cases, the performance of the joint schemes are comparable to the disjoint approach; however, when the system is overloaded, the joint schemes provide improved performance.
An Automated Teamwork Infrastructure for Heterogeneous Software Agents and Humans

Agent integration architectures enable a heterogeneous, distributed set of agents to work together to address problems of greater complexity than those addressed by the individual agents themselves. Unfortunately, integrating software agents and humans to perform real-world tasks in a large-scale system remains difficult, especially due to three main challenges: ensuring robust execution in the face of a dynamic environment, providing abstract task specifications without all the low-level coordination details, and finding appropriate agents for inclusion in the overall system. To address these challenges, our Teamcore project provides the integration architecture with general-purpose teamwork coordination capabilities. We make each agent team-ready by providing it with a proxy capable of general teamwork reasoning. Thus, a key novelty and strength of our framework is that powerful teamwork capabilities are built into its foundations by providing the proxies themselves with a teamwork model. Given this teamwork model, the Teamcore proxies addresses the first agent integration challenge, robust execution, by automatically generating the required coordination actions for the agents they represent. We can also exploit the proxies' reusable general teamwork knowledge to address the second agent integration challenge. Through team- oriented programming, a developer specifies a hierarchical organization and its goals and plans, abstracting away from coordination details. Finally, KARMA, our Knowledgeable Agent Resources Manager Assistant, can aid the developer in conquering the third agent integration challenge by locating agents that match the specified organization's requirements. Our integration architecture enables teamwork among agents with no coordination capabilities, and it establishes and automates consistent teamwork among agents with some coordination capabilities. Thus, team-oriented programming provides a level of abstraction that can be used on top of previous approaches to agent-oriented programming. We illustrate how the Teamcore architecture successfully addressed the challenges of agent integration in two application domains: simulated rehearsal of a military evacuation mission and facilitation of human collaboration.
The Embattled Metropolis: Big Cities in American State Legislatures

We use a new historical dataset to explore the contention of a century’s worth of scholarship that a state’s largest city faces discrimination in its legislature. Looking at thirteen states over a 120-year period, we show that this charge is justified: Bills introduced by members of the big city delegation to govern their local affairs are defeated at much higher rates than similar bills emanating from other parts of the state. We then test four explanations of this bias against big cities. Surprisingly, we find little evidence that bills from a state’s largest metropolis lose more often when the big city delegation differs from the rest of the state along partisan lines. Instead, demographic differences matter, with cities that have many foreign-born residents, compared with the state as a whole, facing particularly high rates of discrimination. Our analysis also shows that the larger the metropolis grows, the more hostility it faces, both because outstate legislators are threatened by its sheer size and because a larger delegation is likely to have more internal divisions.
Sur la théorie des alternancesconsonantiques et vocaliques,surtout en finno-ougrien

Abstract On a ecrit de nombreuses etudes de detail sur des questions de l'alternance consonantique enfinno-ougrien. Mais la controverse concernant la chronologie de telles alternances empeche evidemment de trouver une solution reelle. Il ne serait donc pas superflu d'examiner plus etroitement les bases theoriques d'une telle controverse au moins dans un petit essai comme le present.
From the Margins to the Center

Abstract How can research data about gender role strain in gay fathers improve clinical work with all men? This article describes a qualitative research study of 25 primarily White, middle to upper middle class gay fathers who had children in the context of a heterosexual marriage, and later established a gay identity. The fathers were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire in a focus group format. The data were analyzed using a grounded theory methodology. The narrative data chronicles the men's efforts to integrate their fathering identity and their gay identity. The findings are discussed using the theoretical framework of gender role strain. The authors propose that research on gay fathers has the potential both to challenge stereotypes about gay men and also to expand the fathering role for all men. The authors use clinical examples to illustrate how research findings from minority groups can expand knowledge about mainstream populations.
Numerical Simulation of a Subsonic Jet in a Crossflow

The aerodynamic/propulsive interaction between a subsonic jet exhausting perpendicularly through a flat plate into a crossflow is investigated numerically using an approximately factored, partially flux-split, implicit solver for the three-dimensional, thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations. This algorithm is applied to flows with a range of jet-to-crossflow velocity ratios between 4 and 8. The computations model the jet trajectory, the contrarotating vortex pair and the wake region near the plate downstream of the jet orifice. Both qualitative and quantitative agreement with the existing experimental database are demonstrated. Flow visualization is instructive for understanding the physics of this flowfield.
Management of the severely affected Rh-isoimmunized patient.

Abstract Two hundred thirty-five isoimmunized patients were evaluated over a six-year, period. Of these, 53 (22.5 per cent) were considered to be severely affected, having an observed ΔO.D. at 450 μm of greater than 0.15. Twenty-nine were given 41 intrauterine transfusions, resulting in the delivery of 9 babies that survived, 7 neonatal deaths, and 13 stillbirths. Twenty-four patients were not treated with intrauterine transfusion for various reasons. Of these, 14 babies survived. Six stillbirths and four neonatal deaths occurred. Our policy is to treat energetically those patients who exhibit a ΔO.D. of greater than 0.25 and to observe those with ΔO.D. of less than 0.25. An attempt is made to prolong gestation to 35 to 36 weeks to avoid the problems of prematurity.
Hobbes on ‘The Woman Question’1

The classical social contract tradition of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries has come under significant scrutiny from those interested in the place of women in the philosophical canon, and Thomas Hobbes has been indicted along with John Locke, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. These philosophers have been accused of holding misogynistic beliefs and, more damningly, founding their theories on sexist and patriarchal assumptions. This paper explores the extent to which Hobbes deserves his place on the list of the condemned.
Instability of s male-sterile cytoplasm in maize.

A number of S male-sterile plants from several shrunken-2 inbred lines were crossed initially with an R138-TR inbred line pollinator carrying the nonrestoring genotype for S sterile cytoplasm. One such cross, involving a male-sterile female parent from inbred line M825, produced, unexpectedly, a number of male-fertile F1 progeny, along with the expected male-sterile off-spring. Pollen records of plants in F2, F3 and F4 progenies in the exceptional pedigree, and of a variety of testcross and backcross progenies from these male-fertile exceptions, indicate that the exceptional male fertility is not attributable to the action of either dominant or recessive nuclear restorer genes. They are, however, consistent with the hypothesis that the event responsible for the appearance of exceptional male-fertile offspring among progeny of the original cross involved a change from male-sterile to male-fertile condition in the cytoplasm of the male-sterile M825 plant involved as the female parent in this cross. It appears that this plant bore an ear in which there was a relatively early mutational event at the cytoplasmic level resulting in a chimera involving some kernels which carried S male-sterile cytoplasm, and others which carried the mutated fertile cytoplasmic condition. The finding of a number of additional ear chimeras supports this contention.—The evidence suggests that the change from sterile to fertile cytoplasm has occurred in a number of other instances. The male-sterile line M825 is especially prone to this change. These findings are of particular interest because it has heretofore been considered that both S and T types of male-sterile cytoplasm are highly stable.—The data presented here are not sufficient to support the notion that the exceptional event involves a qualitative change, analogous to gene mutation, in a cytoplasmic entity governing the expression of male fertility. It is equally plausible that the exceptional male fertility is the result of occasional transfer of normal cytoplasm through the male germ cells of maintainer parents.
Assessment of lesion detectability of Monte Carlo modeling of digital radiography systems

Previously we used a simple 2-D model to evaluate the imaging performance of a digital radiographic system while varying input parameters such as transducer blur and signal size. We extend this work using a realistic phosphor simulation to explore the effect of the incident x-ray spectrum and the depth dependence of the point spread function and optical collection efficiency. Initially we investigate one Swank screen type representative of modern powder phosphor design. Images resulting from these simulations are used to get an estimate of the impact of these factors on lesion detectability. Results show that the simple 2-D model gives optimistic estimates of detectability.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Pituitary progesterone 5α-reductase: Solubilization and partial characterization

Abstract The microsomal progesterone 5α-reductase activity from female rat anterior pituitary has been solubilized and partially characterized with regard to some of its kinetic and physical properties. The solubilization of progesterone 5α-reductase has been achieved through the use of either an n -octyl glucoside (OG)-KC1- or a digitonin-KCl-extraction. The total yield and specific activity of solubilized enzyme activity is greater using the OG-KC1 method. Kinetic analyses of microsomal and OG-KCl-solubilized progesterone 5α-reductase have indicated that both of these preparations exhibit a similar apparent K m for progesterone (microsomal K m = 117 ± 12 nM; solubilized K m = 123 ± 11 nM), suggesting that the solubilization procedure does not appreciably alter the kinetic behavior of this enzyme activity. The OG-KCl-extracted progesterone 5α-reductase activity also appears quite stable, since essentially no enzyme activity is lost following dialysis at 4°C for 22 h. In addition, the activity of the solubilized-dialyzed enzyme preparation can be slightly stimulated via the addition of phospholipids. Studies on the properties of the microsomal enzyme activity have indicated that this preparation is unaffected by metal chelators (EDTA or EGTA) but can be completely inhibited by the powerful sulfhydryl blocking agent p -chloromercuribenzoic acid. An evaluation of the possible role of flavins (as a hydride carrier between NADPH and the steroid) has shown that progesterone 5α-reduction is inhibited by high levels of flavins and flavin analogs.
A higher-order finite element scheme for incompressible lubrication calculations

Abstract A higher-order finite element scheme is formulated for incompressible lubrication calculations, based on the energy functional of the lubricating system (derived from the variational technique) and the hierarchical approximation concept. The current formulation ensures the pressure continuity across inter-element mating boundaries. Since this is a hierarchical formulation, it facilitates convergence studies of results. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed method, the simplicity of modeling, applications, and the convergence characteristics of numerical solutions.
Harvesting of peripheral blood The International Journal of Cell Cloning with the fenwal CS3000 PLUS® cell separator and a small volume collection chamber

Harvesting of peripheral blood The International Journal of Cell Cloning (PBSC) using the Fenwal CS3000 plus® and a small volume collection chamber (SVCC) that provides a product volume of 50 ml, was evaluated at three institutions on 21 normal individuals and 47 patients undergoing either steady state harvests or chemotherapy mobilized PBSC harvests. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (MNC) were collected using “procedure #1” with a threshold setting of 100. With steady state harvests the volume of blood processed averaged 6.8 1 (range = 4.5–9.5) at an average whole blood flow rate of 64ml/min (range = 54–76). MNC were harvested at 62 ± 16% (mean ± 1 S.D.) collection efficiency with a 93 ± 5% purity. Erythrocyte contamination was 1.0 ± 0.3ml/l blood processed and platelet contamination was half that obtained using the A-35 (Granulocyte) collection chamber with an average yield of 2.6 × 1011 platelets and a collection efficiency of 20%. Average plasma flow rates also varied between institutions from 25–45 ml/min and an enhanced collection of monocytes was suggested when higher flow rates were used. Harvesting of MNC and CD34 + cells from leukopenic patients recovering from cyclophosphamide therapy indicated similar purities and harvesting efficiencies. These data demonstrate the utility of the CS3000 plus® for harvesting peripheral blood mononuclear cells for transplantation and validate the use of a SVCC that reduces platelet contamination and processing time by providing a 50 ml product volume for storage by cryopreservation.
A Note on Stock-Flow Models of Consumer Behavior

Since problems of stock-flow analysis have appeared repeatedly in recent discussions in monetary and consumer behavior theory,1 it may be appropriate at this time to formulate a fairly general stockflow model of consumer behavior, and to examine briefly some of its characteristic properties. Such investigation seems justified in view of the fact that certain aspects of stock-flow models have not been studied at all in the literature, including the only systematic work published in this area.2 The distinctive characteristics of consumer stock-flow models can be said to derive from the fact that in such models the consumer's market behavior in any period of time determines not only his level of consumption in the current period, but also the size of his stock holdings at the end of that period. Thus the consumer's behavior in the current period bears directly on his asset position as he enters the market in the following period, and this establishes a functional relationship between the consumer's actions in different periods of time. In the formulation presented below this intertemporal relationship is represented by a simple dynamic model. We examine the consumption pattern within the consumer's planning horizon, as well as the behavior of consumption over time as the consumer moves from one horizon to another. With respect to the latter it is shown that the assumption of superior goods guarantees the stability of the model. This result is shown to hold even if the consumer is allowed to revise his plans as time passes. The basic postulate of stock-flow consumer theory is, of course, the assumption that the consumer may derive utility from consum-
Sedimentation velocity and equilibrium characteristics of ovine follicle-stimulating hormone

Abstract The sedimentation velocity and molecular weight characteristics of ovine follicle-stimulating hormone have been studied in relation to their dependence on buffer pH and protein concentration. Apparent sedimentation coefficients are shown to be a function of protein concentration and buffer pH. The calculated s° 20,w values are 3.13, 3.50, 2.86 and 2.12 in buffers of pH 7.0, 5.0, 4.2 and 3.2, respectively. Weight average molecular weights as determined by sedimentation equilibrium techniques are also pH- and concentration dependent. The apparent weight average molecular weight decreases from 39 100 at pH 7.0 to 16 800 at pH 3.2. Extrapolation of apparent molecular weight to zero protein concentration yields a true molecular weight of 35 700 in a buffer system of pH 5.0.