cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Turbulent flow in a channel with transverse rib heat transfer augmentation

Turbulent flow in a 2D channel with repeated rectangular rib roughness was numerically simulated using a low Reynolds number form of the k-epsilon turbulence model. Friction factors and average Stanton numbers were calculated for various pitch to rib height ratios and bulk Reynolds numbers. Comparisons with experiment were generally adequate, with the predictions of friction superior to those for heat transfer. The effect of variable properties for channel flow was investigated, and the results showed a greater effect for friction than for heat transfer. Comparison with experiment yielded no clear conclusions. The turbulence model was also validated for a related problem, that of flow downstream of an abrupt pipe expansion.
Ovarian thecal cells produce transforming growth factor-β which can regulate granulosa cell growth

Ovarian thecal cells in culture were found to synthesize and secrete transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ). A component in thecal cell-conditioned medium was immunologically similar to TGFβ, as assessed with a RIA, and inhibited specific binding of TGFβ to its cell surface receptors. Thecal cell-secreted proteins also contained TGFβ biological activity, which was determined by stimulation of soft agar colony formation by AKR-2B indicator cells. Specific TGFβ antibodies precipitated a 25 K protein from radiolabeled thecal cell-secreted protein that comigrated with purified platelet-derived TGFβ. Both bovine thecal cell and rat thecal/interstitial cell preparations produced TGFβ, which required acid treatment to obtain fully active samples. The physiological significance of TGFβ production by thecal cells was addressed through an analysis of the effects of TGFβ on bovine granulosa cell growth. TGFβ inhibited epidermal growth factor stimulation of granulosa cell growth, but alone it had no apparent influence. ...
Performance Budgeting in American States: A Framework of Integrating Performance with Budgeting

The past 20 years have witnessed ongoing endeavors researching the factors that influence the implementation of performance budgeting. While various factors have been identified, the effort to build frameworks is still lacking. This research proposes a framework to study the nature of relationships among various political, economic, legal, and organizational factors with performance budgeting, as evidenced in US state governments. We found that the presence and the characteristics of the legal foundation, managing for performance, shared responsibilities with the legislature, and capacity building are the most important factors. The environmental factors, however, are not statistically significant.
Spectral unmixing of multicolored bioluminescence emitted from heterogeneous biological sources.

A wide variety of bioluminescent luciferase proteins are available for use in transcriptional or biochemical reporter assays. However, spectral overlap normally prevents them from being monitored simultaneously. To address this problem, a Java plug-in for ImageJ was written to deconvolute bioluminescent images composed of signals from multiple luciferases. The methodology was validated by testing the program with both simulated and real luciferase images. Bioluminescent images were acquired using a CCD camera equipped with optical filters, and the images were deconvoluted using the ImageJ plug-in. HeLa cells were transfected with either click beetle red luciferase (CBR), click beetle green luciferase (CBG99), or Renilla luciferase (Rluc), and mixed lysates were imaged in varying proportions in a 96-well plate to biochemically validate the methodology. After spectral deconvolution, the predicted, pure luciferase signals could be recovered with maximal cross-talk errors of ±1.5%. In addition, live cells exp...
Shallow Impurity States in Wurtzite and Zinc Blende Structure GaN

Calculations of shallow donor states for wurtzite and zincblende structure GaN, and acceptor states for zincblende GaN in an effective mass approximation are presented. Band parameters were taken from experiment or determined from band structure calculations. The effect of wavevector dependent screening is examined, based on dielectric functions calculated from empirical pseudopotential band structures. For donor states, the effects of electron-phonon coupling and free carrier screening in the Thomas-Fermi and Debye approximations are discussed briefly.
Onions Are My Husband: Survival and Accumulation by West African Market Women

Onions Are My Husband: Survival and Accumulation by West African Market Women. GRACIA CLARK. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1995. xxiv + 464 pp., maps, photographs, tables, references, Index.
The testicular sperm ducts and genital kidney of male Ambystoma maculatum (Amphibia, Urodela, Ambystomatidae)

The ducts associated with sperm transport from the testicular lobules to the Wolffian ducts in Ambystoma maculatum were examined with transmis- sion electron microscopy. Based on the ultrastructure and historical precedence, new terminology for this net- work of ducts is proposed that better represents primary hypotheses of homology. Furthermore, the terminology proposed better characterizes the distinct regions of the sperm transport ducts in salamanders based on anatomy and should, therefore, lead to more accurate comparisons in the future. While developing the above ontology, we also tested the hypothesis that nephrons from the genital kidney are modified from those of the pelvic kidney due to the fact that the former nephrons function in sperm trans- port. Our ultrastructural analysis of the genital kidney supports this hypothesis, as the basal plasma membrane of distinct functional regions of the nephron (proximal convoluted tubule, distal convoluted tubule, and collecting tubule) appear less folded (indicating decreased surface area and reduced reabsorption efficiency) and the proxi- mal convoluted tubule possesses ciliated epithelial cells along its entire length. Furthermore, visible luminal fil- trate is absent from the nephrons of the genital kidney throughout their entire length. Thus, it appears that the nephrons of the genital kidney have reduced reabsorptive capacity and ciliated cells of the proximal convoluted tubule may increase the movement of immature sperm through the sperm transport ducts or aid in the mixing of seminal fluids within the ducts. J. Morphol. 274:344-360,
Approaches to Asthma Management: Realities and Recommendations

As asthma prevalence continues to increase, so does its impact on public health and on health care systems. Despite the prescription of more antiasthma medications than ever before, morbidity and mortality associated with asthma continue to increase. The focus of asthma therapy is changing, with a greater emphasis on control of the inflammatory rather than the bronchoconstrictive component. Several sets of guidelines recently developed by groups of asthma specialists clearly reflect this new focus. While such recommendations are intended to help physicians more accurately diagnose asthma by severity and better manage its symptoms, uniformity in both areas is lacking. Disparities are seen not only among physicians overall but also among primary care physicians compared with subspecialists. New survey data help to illustrate how reality--the clinical approaches of these physician subgroups--differs from current recommendations. Physicians who treat patients with asthma may find that their approaches are in agreement with those of their peers. Nonetheless, they may also find that they deviate from guidelines that could improve clinical outcome for a substantial number of patients with asthma.
Refining 3D reconstruction: a theoretical and experimental study of the effect of cross-correlations

Abstract In robot navigation a model of the environment needs to be reconstructed for various applications, including path planning, obstacle avoidance, and determining where the robot is located. Traditionally, the model was acquired using two images (two-frame structure from motion) but the acquired models were unreliable and inaccurate. Recently, research has shifted to using several frames (multiframe structure from motion) instead of just two frames. However, almost none of the reported multiframe algorithms have produced accurate and stable reconstructions for general robot motion. The main reason seems to be that the primary source of error in the reconstruction-the error in the underlying motion-has been mostly ignored. Intuitively, if a reconstruction of the scene is made up of points, this motion error affects each reconstructed point in a systematic way. For example, if the translation of the robot is erroneous in a certain direction, all the reconstructed points would be shifted along the same direction. The contributions of this paper include mathematically isolating the effect of the motion error (as correlations in the structure error) and showing theoretically that these correlations can improve existing multiframe structure from motion techniques. Finally it is shown that new experimental results and previously reported work confirm the theoretical predictions.
TRINETR: an intrusion detection alert management systems

In response to the daunting threats of cyber attacks, a promising approach is computer and network forensics. Intrusion detection system is an indispensable part of computer and network forensics. It is deployed to monitor network and host activities including dataflows and information accesses etc. But current intrusion detection products presents many flaws including alert flooding, too many false alerts and isolated alerts etc. We describe an ongoing project to develop an intrusion alert management system $TRINETR. We present a collaborative architecture design for multiple intrusion detection systems to work together to detect real-time network intrusions. The architecture is composed of three parts: alert aggregation, knowledge-based alert evaluation and alert correlation. The architecture is aimed at reducing the alert overload by aggregating alerts from multiple sensors to generate condensed views, reducing false positives by integrating network and host system information into alert evaluation process and correlating events based on logical relations to generate global and synthesized alert report. The first two parts of the architecture have been implemented and the implementation results are presented.
Microscale extraction of perchlorate in drinking water with low level detection by electrospray-mass spectrometry

Abstract Improper treatment and disposal of perchlorate can be an environmental hazard in regions where solid rocket motors are used, tested, or stored. The solubility and mobility of perchlorate lends itself to ground water contamination, and some of these sources are used for drinking water. Perchlorate in drinking water has been determined at sub-μg l−1 levels by extraction of the ion-pair formed between the perchlorate ion and a cationic surfactant with electrospray-mass spectrometry detection. Confidence in the selective quantification of the perchlorate ion is increased through both the use of the mass based detection as well as the selectivity of the ion pair. This study investigates several extraction solvents and experimental work-up procedures in order to achieve high sample throughput. The method detection limit for perchlorate based on 3.14σn−1 of seven replicate injections was 300 ng l−1 (parts-per-trillion) for methylene chloride extraction and 270 ng l−1 for methyl isobutyl ketone extraction. Extraction with methylene chloride produces linear calibration curves, enabling standard addition to be used to quantify perchlorate in drinking water. Perchlorate determination of a contaminated water compared favorably with results determined by ion chromatography.
Hope and Hopelessness at the End of Life

Efforts to improve end-of-life care have been hindered by widespread delays in discussing and initiating this care. The dynamics of hope and hopelessness may be crucial in these delays. The author reviews recent literature concerning hope and hopelessness at the end of life. Modern dying is more prolonged and more shaped by human choice than ever before. Therefore, hope and hopelessness play a more active role in the dying process. Hopelessness is not a simple product of prognosis, but is shaped by state and trait psychological factors. Hope at the end of life can come in various forms: for cure, for survival, for comfort, for dignity, for intimacy, or for salvation. Hopelessness at the end of life is therefore not simply the absence of hope, but attachment to a form of hope that is lost. The concept of anticipatory grief may help us interpret hope and hopelessness at the end of life. Improving end-of-life care will require looking beyond prognosis and preferences to understand the dynamics of hope and hopelessness. To be successful at diversifying hope at the end of life, we must foster the trusting interpersonal environment where this is possible.
Heterogeneity in the entire genome for three genotypes of peach [Prunus persica(L.) Batsch] as distinguished from sequence analysis of genomic variants

Background: Peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] is an economically important fruit crop that has become a genetic-genomic model for all Prunus species in the family Rosaceae. A doubled haploid reference genome sequence length of 227.3 Mb, a narrow genetic base contrasted by a wide phenotypic variability, the generation of cultivars through hybridization with subsequent clonal propagation, and the current accessibility of many founder genotypes, as well as the pedigree of modern commercial cultivars make peach a model for the study of inter-cultivar genomic heterogeneity and its shaping by artificial selection. Results: The quantitative genomic differences among the three genotypes studied as genomic variants, included small variants (SNPs and InDels) and structural variants (SV) (duplications, inversions and translocations). The heirloom cultivar ‘Georgia Belle’ and an almond by peach introgression breeding line ‘F8,1-42’ are more heterogeneous than is the modern cultivar ‘Dr. Davis’ when compared to the peach reference genome (‘Lovell’). A pair-wise comparison of consensus genome sequences with ‘Lovell’ showed that ‘F8,1-42’ and ‘Georgia Belle’ were more divergent than were ‘Dr. Davis’ and ‘Lovell’. Conclusions: A novel application of emerging bioinformatics tools to the analysis of ongoing genome sequencing project outputs has led to the identification of a range of genomic variants. Results can be used to delineate the genomic and phenotypic differences among peach genotypes. For crops such as fruit trees, the availability of old cultivars, breeding selections and their pedigrees, make them suitable models for the study of genome shaping by artificial selection. The findings from the study of such genomic variants can then elucidate the control of pomological traits and the characterization of metabolic pathways, thus facilitating the development of protocols for the improvement of Prunus crops.
Pharmacoeconomic research--facilitating collaboration among academic institutions, managed-care organizations, and the pharmaceutical industry: a conference report.

Abstract To provide a venue to allow for the exchange of information among parties interested in pharmacoeconoic research opportunities within managed-care organizations, an invitational conference was conducted by The University of Arizona's Center for Pharmaceutical Economics on January 20 and 21, 1994, in Tucson, Arizona. The purpose of the conference was to bring together representative from managed-care organizations, academic institutions, and the pharmaceutical industry to discuss opportunities for collaboration, as well as consider the barriers to conducting pharmacoeconomic research in the managed-care setting. Challenges to collaboration include database development, the need for an integrated perspective, sensitivity to marketing matters, and a variety of technical and organizational barriers. To overcome these barriers, the interested groups must develop trust, recognize common ground, share risk, and communicate effectively. This article describes the emerging themes of the conference based on transcripts of formal presentations and participants' comments.
Regression of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy with 1 Year of Antihypertensive Treatment in Type 1 Diabetic Patients with Early Nephropathy

M-mode echocardiograms were recorded in 22 Type 1 diabetic patients with microalbuminuria (n = 10) or early persistent proteinuria (n = 12). Eight (36%) had both an increased left ventricular mass (males greater than 131 g m-2; females greater than 100 g m-2) and a systolic blood pressure above the 75th centile of the normal blood pressure distribution. These eight patients were treated with antihypertensive drugs, predominantly enalapril, for 1 year. Echocardiograms were repeated after 3 and 12 months. Systolic blood pressure at recruitment was 155 +/- 14 (+/- SD) mmHg, and was significantly lower after 3 months (146 +/- 12 mmHg; p less than 0.05) and 12 months (139 +/- 8 mmHg; p less than 0.005). Diastolic blood pressure did not change significantly. Both intraventricular septal width and left ventricular posterior wall thickness fell progressively and were significantly lower after 12 months treatment (15.0 +/- 2.7 vs 13.0 +/- 2.6 mm, and 10.3 +/- 1.9 vs 8.8 +/- 1.3 mm; both p less than 0.05). Left ventricular mass index was 148 +/- 29 g m-2 at recruitment, but lower after 3 months (131 +/- 25 g m-2; p less than 0.05) and 12 months (132 +/- 26 g m-2; p less than 0.005) antihypertensive therapy.
Distance-driven projection and backprojection

Projection and backprojection are important processes in computed tomography (CT). They are used in iterative reconstruction, simulation, and artifact correction, as well as routine (filtered-backprojection based) reconstruction. Existing methods either have poor performance or result in artifacts. A new method for projecting and backprojecting rays through pixels is presented that has good performance and eliminates artifacts, and could potentially enable routine iterative reconstruction in clinical CT systems. The new method, which we call distance-driven, reconciles the advantages of the common pixel-driven and ray-driven methods. It avoids an artifact-inducing approximation made by the previous methods and has very favorable computational properties. The method is applicable to parallel-beam, fanbeam, and cone-beam geometries. Its performance and artifact behavior are evaluated on a two-dimensional fan-beam geometry with flat detector and compared to the pixel-driven and ray-driven approaches. The distance-driven method prevents the artifacts that are generated in the pixel-driven projection and in the ray-driven backprojection. It outperforms pixel-driven and ray-driven methods from a computational standpoint and is amenable to hardware implementation.
A replenishment model for the supply-uncertainty problem

Abstract We consider a continuous-review inventory system with compound Poisson demand, hyperexponentially distributed lead time, and lost sales where the supply process may be randomly interrupted depending on the availability of a supplier. It is assumed that the supplier's availability can be modeled as an alternating renewal process in which the on and off periods are independent random variables following general and hyperexponential distributions, respectively. We present an exact formulation of the long-run average cost rate function based on deriving the stationary distribution of the on-hand inventory, and provide some numerical results.
Pacman and Hangman Metal Tetraazamacrocycles

Metal complexes of derivatized 2,12-dimethyl-3,7,11,17-tetraazabicyclo[11.3.1]heptadeca-1(17),2,11,13,15-pentane (bapa) ligands were prepared from 4-substituted diacetylpyridine derivatives by templated condensation with 3,3′-diaminodipropylamine in the presence of a metal halide or nitrate. The diacetylpyridine derivatives with Pacman and Hangman scaffolds are delivered from borylation of the 4-postion of diacetylpyridine and subsequent Suzuki coupling with the appropriate Hangman or Pacman backbone. Electrochemical examination of the parent [Co(bapa)]^(2+) scaffold reveals it to be a catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acetonitrile. Similar studies of the Hangman complex appear to be obscured by trace amounts of residual palladium remaining from the Suzuki coupling reaction to provide a cautionary note for the use of such cross-coupling methodologies in the preparation of HER catalysts.
Observed versus Simulated Second-Moment Climate Statistics in GCM Verification

Abstract The observed and simulated (by the Hamburg GCM) Northern Hemisphere monthly surface air temperatures, averaged within different latitude bands, are statistically analyzed and compared. The objects used for the analysis are the two-dimensional spatial–temporal spectral and correlation characteristics, the multivariate autoregressive and linear regression model parameters, and the diffusion equation coefficients. A qualitative comparison shows that, generally, the shapes of the corresponding spectra and correlation functions are quite similar but that their numerical values and some features differ markedly, especially for the tropical regions. The spectra reveal a few randomly distributed maxima (along the frequency axis), the periods of which were not identical for both types of data. A comparative study of the estimates of the diffusion equation coefficients shows a significant distinction between the character of the meridional circulations of the observed and simulated systems. The approach de...
Exploring Heterogeneous Molecular Biology Databases in the Context of the Object-Protocol Model

Solutions currently promoted for exploring heterogeneous molecular biology databases (MBDs) include providing Web links between MBDs or constructing MBDs consisting of links, physically integrating MBDs into data warehouses, and accessing MBDs using multidatabase query systems. Arguably the most difficult tasks in exploring heterogeneous MBDs are understanding the semantics of component MBDs and their connections, and specifying and interpreting queries expressed over MBDs. However, most existing solutions address only superficially these problems.
“No mother nor nothing to me”: Excavating the Maternal Figure in Kissing the Witch

“We want courageous mothering.” (Rich 246)One crucial factor in the terror (potentially) generated by fairy tales is their power to rupture the mother–child bond. Fairy tales are replete with wicke...
The membrane control of bone potassium.

SummaryAn attempt was made to define, at least in an approximate way, the mechanism by which potassium is selectively concentrated in the fluid compartment of cortical bone. Equilibration of nonvital powdered bone revealed that potassium does not interact significantly with any of the solid phase constituents of formed bone. Therefore, the concentrating mechanism is attributable to cellular activity not to some physicochemical property of bone. Incubation of living bone preparations in vitro revealed that the integrity of the vital concentrating processes was very sensitive to manipulation of the specimens and to culture conditions. Cultured in serum (bovine or rat), calvaria of newborn rat pups retained their potassium content without significant loss for periods up to 6 hr.
Hydrophobicity and Helicity Regulate the Antifungal Activity of 14-Helical β-Peptides

Candida albicans is one of the most prevalent fungal pathogens, causing both mucosal candidiasis and invasive candidemia. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), part of the human innate immune system, have been shown to exhibit antifungal activity but have not been effective as pharmaceuticals because of low activity and selectivity in physiologically relevant environments. Nevertheless, studies on α-peptide AMPs have revealed key features that can be designed into more stable structures, such as the 14-helix of β-peptide-based oligomers. Here, we report on the ways in which two of those features, hydrophobicity and helicity, govern the activity and selectivity of 14-helical β-peptides against C. albicans and human red blood cells. Our results reveal both antifungal activity and hemolysis to correlate to hydrophobicity, with intermediate levels of hydrophobicity leading to high antifungal activity and high selectivity toward C. albicans. Helical structure-forming propensity further influenced this window of selec...
A COMPARISON OF DROSOPHILA HABITATS ACCORDING TO THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES OF THE ASSOCIATED YEAST COMMUNITIES.

The diversity of Drosophila habitats attests to the evolutionary success of species in the genus. Drosophilae have been bred from a variety of substrates which include decaying plant tissue (fruits, stems, bark, wood, leaves and flowers), slime fluxes and exudates of trees and mushrooms (Carson, 197 1). Most of these habitats share the common characteristic of an abundant yeast microflora. The yeasts are saprophytic and serve to process the raw materials of the habitat into important dietary factors of the larval and adult stages of the Drosophila which feed on the decomposing substrate. In this paper, the yeast communities of various Drosophila habitats are compared. Such a comparison should tell us if evolution and diversification by the yeasts has any relevance to the evolution and speciation in the drosophilae. The rationale is as follows. First, it is postulated that the physiological abilities of a yeast community partially characterize the habitat of that community. Traditionally yeast taxa are described and identified by studying purified strains for a number of metabolic and physiological attributes as well as other traits (van der Walt, 1970). Thus, the information available from the taxonomy can be used directly to characterize the yeast community of a particular habitat. Second, if the yeast community characteristics are indicators of habitat characteristics, then a comparison of different yeast communities is a comparison of different habitats which contain them. A comparison of a wide variety of yeast communities could then be used to construct a classification (e.g., phenogram) of the habitats according to the characteristics of their respective yeast communities. This classification of the habitats would then relate habitats in accordance with their nutritional state of utilization by the drosophilae. Third, the classification of the habitats could then be utilized to follow and study the evolutionary pathways of groups of Drosophila for which phylogenetic arguments have been made. As H. L. Carson (1971) states: "The time now appears ripe to exploit the knowledge of breeding sites for an understanding of the genetic events which occur in natural populations and which are responsible for changes leading to adaptation and speciation."
Unified polymer erosion model for pulsatile drug delivery

By stacking individual drug layers between degradable polymer membranes, unique individual drug doses may be delivered in pulsatile fashion from a simple polymer laminate. This strategy may be limited, however, by the bulk-eroding nature of most hydrolytically degradable polymer membranes. Current models classify polymer films as either bulk- or surface-eroding and are not suited for modeling intermediate erosion behaviors, though many polymer coatings demonstrate erosion behavior between these extremes. Moreover, no metric exists for quantifying the bulk- vs. surface-eroding behavior of a membrane. This paper introduces a stochastic, Monte-Carlo style model which calculates the erosion profile of a degradable polymer membrane based on its moisture diffusion coefficient, membrane thickness, and a modified degradation rate constant, generating erosion profiles spanning the continuum from strongly bulk-eroding to strongly surface eroding based on the membrane's Damkohler number. The nature of this erosion is quantified by the Bulk Erosion Factor (BEF), the factor by which the polymer's mean erosion time exceeds the surface-eroding ideal. The model is compared against experimental examples of intermediate erosion behavior and used to correlate the Damkohler number to BEF, the relative membrane percolation time, and the resulting pulsatility of drug release.
Toward distributed computing

In the last fifteen years, software systems have dramatically changed. Especially, as computer networks have been widely used, as well as applications have become more and more complex, software systems are toward highly distributed computing instead of strongly coupled and centralized systems. Distributed architectures have initially been realized by decomposing software systems into modules to implement required functions; however, such highly coupled modules were difficult to deploy on physically distributed computers and had to use remote procedure calls as communication mechanism. The new distributed computing architectures, such as Java RMI and web services, allow software systems running on different computers and platforms to collaboratively work on one computing task. This paper discusses different distributed computing technologies from low level to high level.
Automatic phoneme recognition with Segmental Hidden Markov Models

A new technique is presented for the joint recognition and segmentation task formulated for a speaker independent continuous phoneme recognition and segmentation system. We investigate a strictly probabilistic approach for simultaneous phoneme sequence segmentation and recognition. The implemented automatic phoneme recognition system integrates phoneme length statistics as well as phoneme transition statistics into the Segmental Hidden Markov Model (SHMM). A variation of the Viterbi Search algorithm is employed for estimating the most likely sequence of phonetic symbols as well as their corresponding segment boundaries. The Segmental HMM topology essentially models a phonetic symbol string with a double layer Hidden Markov Model (HMM), with each phonetic symbol in the Segmental HMM modeled with a left-to-right HMM. Our approach lays the groundwork for further expansion of Segmental HMM design to context dependent continuous phoneme recognition systems.
Laudato si’: sobre o cuidado da casa comum – um guia de leitura –

This article presents some guidelines for reading Pope Francis’ encyclical letter, who is regarded here as a moral as well as intellectual leader, one that possesses the courage of a prophet. Furthermore, it offers both a map to orientate the reader and an overview of its central concerns and arguments to those who may not be able to read it. The paper follows the steps of the text itself and highlights what appears to be most important in each chapter. At the end, the author attempts a personal interpretation of the document.
Implications of Sentinel Lymph Node Drainage to Multiple Basins in Head and Neck Melanoma

Background Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for head and neck melanoma is challenging due to unpredictable drainage. We sought to determine the frequency of drainage to multiple lymphatic basins and asked if this was associated with prognosis in a large, single-center cohort.
Examining extended dynamic scripting in a tactical game framework

Dynamic scripting is a reinforcement learning algorithm designed specifically to learn appropriate tactics for an agent in a modern computer game, such as Neverwinter Nights. This reinforcement learning algorithm has previously been extended to support the automatic construction of new abstract states to improve its context sensitivity and integrated with a graphical behavior modeling architecture to allow for hierarchical dynamic scripting and task decomposition. In this paper, we describe a tactical abstract game representation language that was designed specifically to make it easier to define abstract games that include the large amount of uncertainty found in modern computer games. We then use this framework to examine the effectiveness of the extended version of the dynamic scripting algorithm, using Q-learning and the original dynamic scripting algorithms as benchmarks. Results and discussion are provided for three different abstract games: one based on combat in role-playing games and two based on different aspects of real-time strategy games.
Introduction: Experiments from Nineteenth-Century Aesthetics to Digital Humanities

This Introduction quickly surveys the history of Queen Victoria’s garden pavilion as well as the contemporary project at North Carolina State University to renovate it in digital space. It provides an overview for each of the book’s chapters, arguing for the significance of the pavilion across several historical and contemporary frameworks. Finally, it suggests how the project gets its very rationale from Victorian contexts, including nineteenth-century notions of virtuality and the legacy of historical architecture which the Victoria’s Lost Pavilion project remediates.
Parasitoid Wasps (Hymenoptera: Apocrita) Associated with Sagittaria latifolia Willd. and Sagittaria platyphylla (Engelm.) J. G. sm. (Alismatales: Alismataceae) in the Nearctic Region

The results of a survey of parasitoid wasps associated with herbivorous insects on Sagittaria latifolia Willd. and Sagittaria platyphylla (Engelm.) J. G. Sm. (Alismatales: Alismataceae) in the Nearctic Region are reported. The following 10 wasp species were reared from insects on S. platyphylla: Gonatocerus sp., Mestocharis tropicalis Yoshimoto, Syntomopus americanus Ashmead (all Chalcidoidea), Hexacola websteri (Crawford), Rhoptromeris sp. (both Cynipoidea), Alabagrus texanus (Cresson), Bracon sp. nr. mellitor Say, Cotesia diacrisiae (Gahan), Enicospilus glabratus (Say), and Opius (Tolbia) hoffmanni (Fischer) (all Ichneumonoidea). Three wasp species, S. americanus, Chaenusa psillosae Kula (Ichneumonoidea), and B. sp. nr. mellitor, were reared from insects on S. latifolia. All species except C. psillosae are reported as associated with a species of Sagittaria for the first time. Mesochorus discitergus Say is reported as a hyperparasitoid of C. diacrisiae for the first time and is also reported as associated with a species of Sagittaria for the first time. Opius (Tolbia) hoffmanni is reported as a parasitoid of Hydrellia sp. prob. nobilis (Loew); this is the first record of O. (T.) hoffmanni from a species of Hydrellia Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Ephydridae). Mestocharis tropicalis, S. americanus, and O. (T.) hoffmanni are reported from Louisiana for the first time. Syntomopus americanus and O. (T.) hoffmanni are reported from Texas for the first time.
Design of an enhanced defect identification system for commercial building construction

Fairfax County of Virginia enforces the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code which contains the building regulations that must be complied with when constructing commercial buildings. Current inspection methods consist of inspectors physically searching for building defects with human vision while many defects ranging from structural cracks and loose nuts and bolts to inadequate sealant application and water damage go unnoticed due to varying factors such as limited line of sight and unavailability of safe access equipment. Human vision inspection procedures are also subject to additional deficiencies and complications during inspections of exterior defects as inspectors are often limited to inspect defects from the interior perimeter of the building, consequently compromising their safety and inspection quality. With an annual forecasted growth of 500,000 square feet of new construction each year, an enhanced commercial building inspection system for identifying exterior defects is in need. A stochastic simulation model was developed using distributions derived from time and motion studies to compare the time, safety, and accuracy of three design alternatives to collect, process, and analyze inspection data: (a) human vision inspection system, (b) manual use of automated defect identification system, and (c) aerial-based automated defect identification system. The design alternatives were ranked using a Multi-Attribute Utility Analysis as follows: (1) aerial-based automated defect identification system - 0.664, (2) manual use of automated defect identification system - 0.567, and (2) human vision inspection system - 0.443; the aerial-based automated defect identification system achieved a high utility score based on its improvements in inspection time, safety, and accuracy.
Variables Influencing the Choice of a Psychiatry Residency Program

This survey of U.S. senior students evaluated the relative importance of a number of variables in influencing the choice of a particular psychiatry residency program. Three program aspects were endorsed by greater than 90% of respondents as vital or fairly important: 1) resident satisfaction, 2) eclecticism, and 3) geographic location. A “significant other” had some influence over the applicants choice in 71.1% of respondents. Students are also concerned with the quality of training offered in Internal Medicine and Neurology. Attention to these findings may improve the effectiveness of efforts to increase recruitment of students into psychiatry.
Representation Theory of Semisimple Algebraic Groups

In this chapter, we discuss the representation theory of semisimple algebraic groups. We also sketch the construction of finite dimensional irreducible representations of semisimple algebraic groups. We further discuss the geometric realization of finite dimensional irreducible representations of a semisimple algebraic group (over ℂ).
Human Capital, Organizational Orientations and Performance: Evidence From the Restaurant Industry

ABSTRACTThe study examines how human capital combines with and influences organizational orientations to determine performance. Specifically, this study investigates small restaurant businesses’ ability to effectively exploit intangible resources and capabilities, rather than tangible resources, in order to produce sustainable competitive advantage. A structured questionnaire was used to survey owners/managers of small independent restaurants in the United States. The results demonstrate that human capital, market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation serve as intangible resources and capabilities that can augment the competitive position of independent restaurants, and thereby improve performance. Human capital also combines with and influences the adoption of market orientation and subsequent performance.
Multi-attribute Decision-making is Best Characterized by an Attribute-Wise Reinforcement Learning Model

Choice alternatives often consist of multiple attributes that vary in how successfully they predict reward. Some standard theoretical models assert that decision makers evaluate choices either by weighting those attribute optimally in light of previous experience (so-called rational models), or adopting heuristics that use attributes suboptimally but in a manner that yields reasonable performance at minimal cost (e.g., the take-the-best heuristic). However, these models ignore both the possibility that decision makers might learn to associate reward with whole stimuli (a particular combination of attributes) rather than individual attributes and the common finding that decisions can be overly influenced by recent experiences and exhibit cue competition effects. Participants completed a two-alternative choice task where each stimulus consisted of three binary attributes that were predictive of reward, albeit with different degrees of reliability. Their choices revealed that, rather than using only the "best" attribute, they made use of all attributes but in manner that reflected the classic cue competition effect known as overshadowing. The time needed to make decisions increased as the number of relevant attributes increased, suggesting that reward was associated with attributes rather than whole stimuli. Fitting a family of computational models formed by crossing attribute use (optimal vs. only the best), representation (attribute vs. whole stimuli), and recency (biased or not), revealed that models that performed better when they made use of all information, represented attributes, and incorporated recency effects and cue competition. We also discuss the need to incorporate selective attention and hypothesis-testing like processes to account for results with multiple-attribute stimuli.
Touring Fantasyland: The “Maps of Imaginary Places” Collection and Exhibit at Cushing Memorial Library and Archives

The Maps of Imaginary Places Collection at Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, Texas A&M University (TAMU) is a singular collaborative effort between two library departments at creating a collec...
Evaluation of a Novel Eddy-Current Probe for Detecting Cracks Inside and at the Edges of Holes

Preliminary studies performed during a previous investigation at SRI showed that a modified floppy-disk tape head operating at 100 kHz is a very sensitive crack detector. For example, tests on 0.25-in.-long fatigue cracks in aluminum produced signals an order of magnitude larger than those obtained using a commercial 100-kHz coil probe. The floppy-disk probe contains ferrite material, but its construction is different from other ferrite-containing eddy-current probes.
Influence of NIH Policy Past and Present on the University Health Education Complex

NIH is a mission-oriented agency whose mission is health. The Institutes have a particular responsibility for the health implications of the biomedical research they support. However, it is also useful to consider other aspects of this research. First, a significant contribution is made to science generally. Second, most would agree that biomedical science constitutes one of the most dynamic of the scientific areas today. Then, there is the significant relationship of biomedical research to the university.
Mechanization of Digital Signal Processors

Publisher Summary Digital signal processors (DSPs) are the digital machines that differ from the more pervasive digital data processors in some ways. DSPs are primarily involved in computationally intensive operations where the same arithmetic operations are applied to large data streams. The processors are vector-like and are data-independent for the most part. DSPs often operate under real-time requirements, that is, they are data-driven. This chapter provides an overview of mechanization of DSPs. It describes the fundamentals underlying all digital machines and the way by which the sum of products that is basic to many important signal processing algorithms is mechanized. The chapter explores machine behavior at fundamentals levels, which is important for efficient mechanization, and microprogramming, which can offer both flexibility and efficiency. The first consideration in the mechanization of digital processors is available components. The chapter discusses adders, multipliers, registers and memory, and serial-to-parallel forms. It presents some hardware concepts that are fundamental and invariant under any future changes.
A Fefferman-Phong Type Inequality and Applications to Quasilinear Subelliptic Equations

We establish a nonlocal generalization of a well-known inequality by C. Fefferman and D. H. Phong $$\smallint _{\mathbb{R}^n } Vu^2 {\text{d}}x \leqslant C\smallint _{\mathbb{R}^n } \left| {Du} \right|^2 dx,$$ for u∈C 0 ∞ (ℝn) and V belonging to the Morrey space M with 1<s≤n/2, when the gradient in the right-hand side is replaced by the energy associated to an arbitrary system of Lipschitz continuous vector fields. Accordingly, the multiplier V is taken in an appropriate Morrey space defined using the Carnot–Caratheodory metric generated by the vector fields. As an application, we prove the Harnack inequality and the Holder continuity of solutions for a wide class of second order quasilinear subelliptic equations.
Isolation of Postsynaptic Densities from Cerebral Cortex

The first observations of a thickened region of the postsynaptic membrane at the synapse site were made by Palade (1954), who compared these “thickenings” to desmosomes, and by de Robertis (1955, 1956). Palay (1956) confirmed these observations, but he cautioned against the interpretation that the function of the thickening is only as part of a rigid structure connecting the two neuronal endings (Palay, 1958). Gray (1959) used phosphotungstic acid to enhance the electron density of the thickening, a method further advanced by the use of alcoholic phosphotungstic acid (Bloom and Aghajanian, 1966, 1968). Whereas Gray described the thickening as granular in nature, de Robertis (1962) thought it to be more filamentous in character, particularly the material lying just below the thickening, and he named the whole postsynaptic region the “sub-synaptic web.” Gray (1959) also divided synapses into Type I and II categories, the former having a postsynaptic thickening larger in depth than the presynaptic thickening, whereas those of Type II appeared equal in thickness. Colonnier (1968) called these types “asymmetric” and “symmetric.” While there are indications that Type I synapses may be excitatory and Type II inhibitory, this physiological correlation to morphological structure has not been firmly established. Recent studies (Peters and Kaiserman-Abramof, 1969; Cohen and Siekevitz, 1978) have indicated that in many cases—how many is not known—the density has the form of torus with a hole in the center, and there is an indication (Greenough et al.,1978) that this type of structure may have physiological significance.
Laennec y la creación de signos auscultatorios

A finales del siglo XVIII fueron cambiando los fundamentos del diagnostico clinico. Los sintomas, reflejo de la experiencia subjetiva del enfermo, pasaron a un segundo plano y la evocacion de signos, manifestaciones objetivas de cambios patologicos, adquirio una mayor importancia. En la practica clinica cotidiana se comenzaron a utilizar diversas tecnicas para evocar estos signos. Laennec se entreno en esta manera de pensar y percutia y palpaba a sus pacientes en su practica clinica. Tambien aplicaba su oreja directamente sobre el pecho de sus pacientes para escuchar el latido de su corazon. En una ocasion, Laennec no pudo valerse de las tecnicas usuales y tuvo la feliz ocurrencia de enrollar un cuaderno para escuchar el torax de una paciente. Descubrio asi un gran numero de sonidos nuevos. A traves de una detallada labor auscultatoria pudo describir estos sonidos cardiacos y pulmonares en sujetos sanos y enfermos. Al correlacionarlos con sus hallazgos de autopsia pudo crear una nueva semiologia. En este ensayo se explora la manera como Laennec creo su instrumento y su sistema de signos de enfermedades del torax, y como pudo transmitir sus inventos a otros medicos. Palabras clave: Semiologia, historia de la medicina, siglo XIX
Transfusion support and post-transplant complications in autologous transplant patients receiving hyperbaric oxygen.

e19004Background: High-dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (Auto-HCT) is associated with neutropenia, anemia and thrombocytopenia in the post-transplant period. The ...