cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Young people with Down syndrome: Transition from childhood to adulthood

The transition from childhood to adulthood is a challenging period in the lives of youngsters with Down syndrome. In this paper, I provide a comprehensive overview of the transition period, including relevant biomedical, behavioral, educational, vocational, recreational, and other developmental issues. The specific medical concerns include weight gain, atlantoaxial instability, thyroid dysfunction, skin disorders, cardiac conditions, sleep apnea, and psychiatric disorders, all of which occur at increased frequency during the transition period. Of utmost importance is the preparation of young people with Down syndrome during their school years for the world of work and their optimal participation in community life. This gives rise to issues such as the development of healthy self-esteem, becoming increasingly more independent, and involvement in various leisure or recreational activities. The ultimate goal for people with Down syndrome who progress through a well-planned transition period is to live well-adjusted and happy adult lives. These individuals should be offered a status that observes their rights and privileges as full citizens in a democratic society and that, in a real sense, preserves their human dignity. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Betaine supplementation enhances anabolic endocrine and Akt signaling in response to acute bouts of exercise

Our aim was to examine the effect of betaine supplementation on selected circulating hormonal measures and Akt muscle signaling proteins after an acute exercise session. Twelve trained men (age 19.7 ± 1.23 years) underwent 2 weeks of supplementation with either betaine (B) (1.25 g BID) or placebo (P). Following a 2-week washout period, subjects underwent supplementation with the other treatment (B or P). Before and after each 2-week period, subjects performed an acute exercise session (AES). Circulating GH, IGF-1, cortisol, and insulin were measured. Vastus lateralis samples were analyzed for signaling proteins (Akt, p70 S6k, AMPK). B (vs. P) supplementation approached a significant increase in GH (mean ± SD (Area under the curve, AUC), B: 40.72 ± 6.14, P: 38.28 ± 5.54, p = 0.060) and significantly increased IGF-1 (mean ± SD (AUC), B: 106.19 ± 13.45, P: 95.10 ± 14.23, p = 0.010), but significantly decreased cortisol (mean ± SD (AUC), B: 1,079.18 ± 110.02, P: 1,228.53 ± 130.32, p = 0.007). There was no difference in insulin (AUC). B increased resting Total muscle Akt (p = 0.003). B potentiated phosphorylation (relative to P) of Akt (Ser473) and p70 S6 k (Thr389) (p = 0.016 and p = 0.005, respectively). Phosphorylation of AMPK (Thr172) decreased during both treatments (both p = 0.001). Betaine (vs. placebo) supplementation enhanced both the anabolic endocrine profile and the corresponding anabolic signaling environment, suggesting increased protein synthesis.
Northern Hemisphere circumpolar vortex trends and climate change implications

[1] Trends in the Northern Hemisphere circumpolar vortex at 700, 500, and 300 hPa are examined to assess the relationship between circulation variability and air temperature. A vortex climatology is developed for the period 1949–2000. At each pressure level, three geopotential height contours are used to quantify the size and position of the vortex at 5° longitude resolution within and both north and south of the primary hemispheric baroclinic zone. This combination of spatial specificity and the long temporal record makes this the most comprehensive vortex climatology to date. The overall and seasonal vortex time series for the Northern Hemisphere are created for northern, middle, and southern contours at each of the three levels in the atmosphere. From the beginning of the record until 1970, the vortex exhibits a statistically significant expansion, but the vortex has been contracting significantly since then at all levels. The pre-1970 expansion and subsequent contraction is strongest in the lower latitudes and weakest in the higher latitudes. The trends are also stronger in the upper troposphere than in the lower troposphere. Spatial examination of the vortex indicates that the pre-1970 expansion and post-1970 contraction were driven primarily by expansion/contraction over Asia, Europe, and North America with little change over the Northern Hemisphere oceans. Although significant climate change debate focuses on the discrepancy between positive trends in surface air temperature and little or no trends in Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) satellite temperatures, contraction of the circumpolar vortex at every level of the atmosphere implies that the atmosphere is warming at depth since 1970. Comparisons with the MSU temperature history indicate that the Northern Hemisphere circulation as a whole, as represented by the circumpolar vortex, accounts for almost two thirds of the interannual variability in midlatitude MSU temperature, indicating that vortex size and position are coupled strongly to atmospheric temperature and could be a good indicator of climate change. On a latitude-by-latitude and level-by-level basis, the lower latitudes are associated most strongly with MSU temperature in the midtroposphere while the middle and higher latitudes are more closely associated with MSU temperature in the upper troposphere. The vortex trends are also similar to observed surface warming trends.
The near optimality of adaptive expectations

Abstract Rational expectations require more information than adaptive expectations and thus must be more costly. In a standard macro model the losses associated with adaptive expectations are shown to be very small indeed, even for quite large monetary disturbances. As a result adaptive expectations may be close to optimal, as long as the monetary regime is relatively stable. Further, with adaptive expectations, fully anticipated monetary changes lead to large and persistent fluctuations in aggregate output. This is true even if only a very small percentage of firms behave adaptively.
Treatment adherence: A contemporary overview

Abstract A review of recent research and developing concepts in treatment adherence makes clear that, since many factors contribute to poor adherence, there is no simple recipe for routine management. Some suggestions for detecting the problem are discussed, as are three goals for obtaining improved adherence—better patient comprehension, adequate supervision and, ultimately, the patient's independent involvement in treatment without supervision.
Frequency tuning of the optical delay in cesium D 2 line including hyperfine structure

The frequency dependence of optical delays in both the wings and core of the cesium $6 {}^{2}{S}_{1/2}\ensuremath{-}6 {}^{2}{P}_{3/2}$ transition have been observed and modeled with a Voigt line shape convolved with the six hyperfine components. Tunable delays of $0\ensuremath{-}37$ ns are achieved by tuning the laser frequency through resonance at various vapor pressures of $0.15\ensuremath{-}5.28$ mTorr.
NIDDK encourages technology research in diabetes.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) actively supports technology-related research directed at development of new therapies for prevention and treatment of diabetes and its complications. Identification of the genetic and environmental contributors to diabetes and the molecular mechanisms through which they act will yield new targets for therapeutic development. Major efforts are also directed at development of β-cell replacement therapy; improved methods for sensing glucose and delivering insulin; imaging technologies and other surrogate markers to detect disease progression; improved animal models for study of diabetes and its complications; and clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new therapies. Application of genomic, proteomic and other new technologies to diabetes research, collaborations between diabetes researchers and researchers with technologies relevant to diabetes, and bench to bedside translational research are particularly encouraged...
Intelligent monitoring and control of semiconductor manufacturing equipment

The use of AI methods to monitor and control semiconductor fabrication in a state-of-the-art manufacturing environment called the Rapid Thermal Multiprocessor is described. Semiconductor fabrication involves many complex processing steps with limited opportunities to measure process and product properties. By applying additional process and product knowledge to that limited data, AI methods augment classical control methods by detecting abnormalities and trends, predicting failures, diagnosing, planning corrective action sequences, explaining diagnoses or predictions, and reacting to anomalous conditions that classical control systems typically would not correct. Research methodology and issues are discussed, and two diagnosis scenarios are examined. >
Primary Care Physicians’ Awareness, Experience and Opinions of Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing

The purpose of this study was to assess primary care physicians’ awareness, experience, opinions and preparedness to answer patients’ questions regarding direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing. An anonymous survey was mailed to 2,402 family and internal medicine providers in North Carolina. Of the 382 respondents, 38.7% (n?=?148) were aware of and 15% (n?=?59) felt prepared to answer questions about DTC genetic tests. Respondents aged 50 or older were more likely to be aware of DTC genetic testing than those less than 40 years old (OR?=?2.42). Male providers were more likely to feel prepared to answer questions than female providers (OR?=?2.65). Among respondents who reportedly were aware, family practitioners were more likely than internists (OR?=?3.30) to think DTC testing was clinically useful, and 18.9% had patients ask questions or bring in test results. The small percent of physicians who were aware of DTC genetic testing or felt prepared to answer questions about it suggests that education of providers will be necessary if testing becomes more widespread.
Improved inference of mutation rates: II. Generalization of the Luria-Delbrück distribution for realistic cell-cycle time distributions.

In the first paper of this series (Kepler and Oprea, Theor. Popul. Biol. 2001) we found a continuum approximation of the Luria-Delbruck distribution in terms of a scaled variable related to the proportion of mutants in the culture. Here we show that the Luria-Delbruck distribution is inaccurate when realistic division processes are being considered due to the non-Markovian character of the cell cycle. We derive the expectation of the proportion of mutants in the culture for arbitrary cell-cycle time distributions. We then introduce a two-parameter generalization of the continuum Luria-Delbruck distribution for two of the more commonly used cell-cycle time distributions: gamma and shifted exponential. We obtain the generalized distribution by defining a map from the actual parameters to "effective" parameters. The effective mutation rate is obtained analytically, while the effective population size is obtained by fitting simulation data. Our simulations show that the second parameter depend mostly on the coefficient of variation of the cell-cycle time distribution.
The effect of age desegregation on environmental quality for elderly living in public/publicly subsidized housing.

A random sample of elderly living in age-desegregated public housing for the elderly is compared with a random sample of elderly living in age-homogeneous Section 202 housing in the same urban area. Findings suggest that the current trend of mixing young handicapped persons with elderly tenants is associated wifh a decline in environmental quality on three dimensions-social networks, territoriality, and global measures of satisfaction. The differences are not explained away by preexisting factors, such as social and economic resources and service provision.
Advanced adsorbents for the separation of the ortho - and para -hydrogen spin isomers at cryogenic temperatures

Improved adsorbent types and compositions have been developed for the challenging separation of the ortho- and para-hydrogen spin isomers at 77 K. From a systematic study of commercially available adsorbent types, it has been found that zeolites of type X offer the largest capacity and selectivity towards ortho-hydrogen and that performance is significantly impacted by the cation type and the number of cations present in the zeolite. For the present separation improved performance was obtained with larger Group I cations, especially K and Cs. Another key property of the adsorbents addressed in the present work is the need to control the adsorbent composition to avoid unwanted catalytic conversion of the para- to ortho-hydrogen. A common source of unwanted catalytic activity in many adsorbent compositions was identified as the presence of unwanted transition metal impurities, especially iron associated with the natural clays, commonly employed as binding agents in the commercial agglomerated zeolite products. To avoid this, equivalent adsorbent compositions were agglomerated instead using colloidal silica binding agents which successfully minimize back conversion of the para- to ortho-hydrogen and produced adsorbents with higher capacities and selectivities for the ortho component at the test temperature of 77 K. These advanced adsorbents can be applied in more efficient hydrogen liquefaction processes.
Adaptive control for a class of direct drive robot manipulators

Direct drive robot technology has received considerable attention by the robotics research community given its potential for developing robots with superior positioning accuracy and repeatability characteristics. Direct drive robots do not have the compliance and backlash problems typically associated with geared robots. With the absence of gearing, however, the motors in direct drive robots must be able to produce considerably larger torques than the motors in a geared robot. As a result, the inductances of the motor windings are much larger, thereby making the electrical motor dynamics no longer negligible. In addition, many motors that are ideal for use in direct drive robots are highly non-linear and consequently their dynamics must be included in the overall control design if the benefits of direct drive technologies are to be fully realized. In this paper we design adaptive controllers for a class of direct drive robot manipulators whose actuators consist of Brushed Direct Current (BDC), and Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) and switched reluctance (SR) motors. In particular, the controllers presented handle the multilink dynamics of a rigid link robot and the multiple-input non-linear electrical dynamics of BLDC and SR motors. The result is a class of adaptive controllers that achieve global asymptotic convergence of the link position tracking error in spite of parametric uncertainty throughout the entire electromechanical robot model. In addition, the controllers only require measurements of link position, link velocity and electrical currents.
Reconfigurable models for scene recognition

We propose a new latent variable model for scene recognition. Our approach represents a scene as a collection of region models (“parts”) arranged in a reconfigurable pattern. We partition an image into a predefined set of regions and use a latent variable to specify which region model is assigned to each image region. In our current implementation we use a bag of words representation to capture the appearance of an image region. The resulting method generalizes a spatial bag of words approach that relies on a fixed model for the bag of words in each image region. Our models can be trained using both generative and discriminative methods. In the generative setting we use the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm to estimate model parameters from a collection of images with category labels. In the discriminative setting we use a latent structural SVM (LSSVM). We note that LSSVMs can be very sensitive to initialization and demonstrate that generative training with EM provides a good initialization for discriminative training with LSSVM.
Micro pattern evolution

When analyzing the evolution history of a software project, we wish to develop results that generalize across projects. One approach is to analyze design patterns, permitting characteristics of the evolution to be associated with patterns, instead of source code. Traditional design patterns are generally not amenable to reliable automatic extraction from source code, yet automation is crucial for scalable evolution analysis. Instead, we analyze "micro pattern" evolution; patterns whose abstraction level is closer to source code, and designed to be automatically extractable from Java source code or bytecode. We perform micro-pattern evolution analysis on three open source projects, ArgoUML, Columba, and jEdit to identify micro pattern frequencies, common kinds of pattern evolution, and bug-prone patterns. In all analyzed projects, we found that the micro patterns of Java classes do not change often. Common bug-prone pattern evolution kinds are 'Pool → Pool', 'Implementor → NONE', and 'Sampler → Sampler'. Among all pattern evolution kinds, 'Box', 'CompoundBox', 'Pool', 'CommonState', and 'Outline' micro patterns have high bug rates, but they have low frequencies and a small number of changes. The pattern evolution kinds that are bug-prone are somewhat similar across projects. The bug-prone pattern evolution kinds of two different periods of the same project are almost identical.
A study of renewable energy system harmonic resonance based on a DG test-bed

Harmonic resonance involving grid-parallel inverters is becoming a critical issue in power systems with increasing amount of renewable energy and other distributed generation (DG) resources. Such harmonic resonance can occur at the grid interconnect point of individual or multiple grid-parallel solar or wind inverters, and is usually the result of impedance mismatch between the grid and the inverters. The problem typically appears as a sustained resonance dominated by certain frequency component(s). This paper presents an impedance-based approach to detecting and characterizing renewable energy system harmonic resonance, and use it to evaluate various harmonic resonance behaviors observed on a distributed generation system test-bed with controllable grid impedance. Design and capabilities of the DG test-bed are presented along with measurement results involving single-phase solar inverters and a three-phase wind inverter. The impedance-based system stability analysis technique is applied to quantify the observed harmonic resonance problems and to explain their origins.
Social Prestige and Assortive Mating: A Comparison of Students from 1956 and 1988:

The current patterns and trends in assortive mating among college students were examined in a replication and extension of Rogers & Havens' (1960) study of campus prestige and mate selection. Loglinear models of association were used to consider the effects of prestige, sex-ratio and propinquity on assortive mating. The tendency to date within group was found to have increased within the past 30 years. After adjusting for the over-time shifts in sex-ratio and propinquity, the pattern of assortive mating was found to be most consistent with interpretations of the increasing salience of prestige for assortive mating among college students.
Integrated surface modification of fully polymeric microfluidic devices using living radical photopolymerization chemistry

Surface modification using living radical polymerization (LRP) chemistry is a powerful technique for surface modification of polymeric substrates. This research demonstrates the ability to use LRP as a polymer substrate surface-modification plat- form for covalently grafting polymer chains in a spatially and temporally controlled fashion. Specifically, dithiocarbamate functionalities are introduced onto polymer sur- faces using tetraethylthiuram disulfide. This technique enables integration of LRP- based grafting for the development of an integrated, covalent surface-modification method for microfluidic device construction. The unique photolithographic method ena- bles construction of devices that are not substrate-limited. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, both controlled fluid flow and cell patterning applications were demon- strated upon modification with various chemical functionalities. Specifically, poly(ethy- lene glycol) (375) monoacrylate and trifluoroethyl acrylate were grafted to control flu- idic flow on a microfluidic device. Before patterning, surface-functionalized samples were characterized with both goniometric and infrared spectroscopy to ensure that pho- tografting was occurring through pendant dithiocarbamate functionalities. Near-infra- red results demonstrated conversion of grafted monomers when dithiocarbamate-func- tionalized surfaces were used, as compared to dormant control surfaces. Furthermore, attenuated total reflectance/infrared spectroscopy results verified the presence of dithiocarbamate functionalities on the substrate surfaces, which were useful in grafting chains of various functionalities whose contact angles ranged from 7 to 868. V C 2006
A protocol modeling and verification approach based on a specification language and Petri nets

An approach for automated modeling and verification of communication protocols is presented. A language that specifies the input/output behavior of protocol entities is introduced as the starting point of the approach, and verification of the linguistic specifications is discussed. Rules for conversion of the specifications into a Petri net model (based on a timed Petri net) are presented and illustrated by examples. This leads to a second level of verification on the net model. The approach is illustrated by its application to a part of the LAPD protocol. >
Lower autolytic activity in a homogeneous methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain compared to derived heterogeneous-resistant and susceptible strains.

It has been proposed that in addition to production of a penicillin-binding protein with low affinity for β-lactam antibiotics, control of autolysin activity is involved in the mechanism of staphylococcal methicillin resistance. A homogeneous methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain (DU4916) had lower rates of unstimulated, NaCl- and Triton X-100-stimulated autolysis, and daptomycin (LY146032)-induced lysis than a heterogeneous methicillin-resistant strain (DU4916-K7) and a methicillin-susceptible strain (DU4916S) derived from DU4916.
Functional morphology of lingual protrusion in marine toads (Bufo marinus)

Bufo marinus catches its prey by stiffening the intrinsic muscles of the tongue, rapidly flipping the tongue out of the mouth. High-speed cine- matography synchronized with computer-analyzed electromyograms (EMGs) shows that during the flip the tongue is supported by the M. genioglossus medialis and that this muscle stiffens into a rod when stimulated. Coincident stiffening of the transversely arranged M. genioglossus basalis provides a wedge under the anterior tip of this rod. Stiffening of the M. submentalis depresses the mandibular symphysis and brings the dentary tips together. The M. submentalis also acts on the wedge of the basalis to raise and rotate the rigid rod of the medialis over the symphysial attachment. The tip of this lingual rod carries along the pad and soft tissues of the tongue. The lingual pad, positioned in the posterodorsal portion of the resting tongue, rotates during eversion so that its dorsal surface impacts onto the prey object. Retraction starts by contraction of the elongate, parallel fibers of the M. hyoglossus; this retracts the medial sulcus of the pad and holds the prey by a suction cup-like effect. The extensibility of the buccal membranes allows the pad to be retracted first; it reaches the posterior portion of the buccal cavity before the still-rigid, backward rotating M. genioglossus has reached the level of the symphysis. Protraction of the hyoid facilitates the extension of the M. hyoglossus. The M. sternohyoideus only retracts the hyoid and stabilizes it when the tongue starts to pull posteriorly; it does not assist tongue protrusion. The Mm. petrohyoideus and omohyoideus show only incidental activity, and the M. depressor mandibulae participates in mouth opening but is not otherwise involved in the flip. Previous hypotheses of the flipping mechanism are reviewed and evaluated. It is well known that many frogs catch their prey with a rapid flip of the tongue, that the anterior end of this tongue is fixed and the posterior free in most species, and that the emerging tongue rotates over the mandibular symphysis. The system is curious in that the tongue of most anurans is anchored anterior to the hyoid and lacks a hard-tissue skeleton that could induce and support this rapid pro- trusion. The mechanism generating rotation of the tongue, as well as the manner in which the tongue grips the prey, were long accorded minimal attention, although the retrolingual surface of the frog tongue has been used in the resolution of some basic questions in muscle physiology (Biesladecki and Herzig, 1859; Fischl and Kahn, 1928; Gelfan, 1930; Pratt and Reid, 1930; Fulton and Lutz, 1940). Such
Systemic and Pulmonary Effects of Vasopressors and Inotropes in the Neonate

This paper briefly reviews the systemic and pulmonary hemodynamic actions of the most frequently used vasopressor-inotropes and inotropes in the preterm and term neonate. It is important to note that very little is known about the medium- and long-term cardiovascular and neurodevelopmental benefits of the use of these medications in the neonate.
Double overrelaxation thresholding methods for sparse signal reconstruction

We propose double overrelaxation (DORE) and automatic double overrelaxation (ADORE) thresholding methods for sparse signal reconstruction. The measurements follow an underdetermined linear model, where the regression-coefficient vector is a sum of an unknown deterministic sparse signal component and a zero-mean white Gaussian component with an unknown variance. We first introduce an expectation-conditional maximization either (ECME) algorithm for estimating the sparse signal and variance of the random signal component and then describe our DORE thresholding scheme. The DORE scheme interleaves two successive overrelaxation steps and ECME steps, with goal to accelerate the convergence of the ECME algorithm. Both ECME and DORE algorithms aim at finding the maximum likelihood (ML) estimates of the unknown parameters assuming that the signal sparsity level is known. If the signal sparsity level is unknown, we propose an unconstrained sparsity selection (USS) criterion and show that, under certain conditions, maximizing the USS objective function with respect to the signal sparsity level is equivalent to finding the sparsest solution of the underlying underdetermined linear system. Our ADORE scheme demands no prior knowledge about the signal sparsity level and estimates this level by applying a golden-section search to maximize the USS objective function. We employ the proposed methods to reconstruct images from sparse tomographic projections and compare them with existing approaches that are feasible for large-scale data. Our numerical examples show that DORE is significantly faster than the ECME and related iterative hard thresholding (IHT) algorithms.
The role of antimicrobial peptides in innate immunity.

SYNOPSIS. Production of antimicrobial peptides and proteins is an important means of host defense in eukaryotes. The larger antimicrobial proteins, containing more than 100 amino acids, are often lytic enzymes, nutrient-binding proteins or contain sites that target specific microbial macromolecules. The smaller antimicrobial peptides act largely by disrupting the structure or function of microbial cell membranes. Hundreds of antimicrobial peptides have been found in the epithelial layers, phagocytic cells and body fluids of multicellular animals, from mollusks to humans. Some antimicrobial peptides are produced constitutively, others are induced in response to infection or inflammation. Studies of the regulation of antimicrobial peptide synthesis in Drosophila have been particularly fruitful, and have provided a new paradigm for the analysis of mammalian host defense responses. It now appears that the general patterns of antimicrobial responses of invertebrates have been preserved in vertebrates (‘‘innate immunity’’) where they contribute to host defense both independently and in complex interplay with adaptive immunity. ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDES—B ACKGROUND AND DEFINITION Multicellular organisms continually defend themselves against parasitization by potentially harmful microbes. In the absence of penetrating injury, the most common sites of initial encounter with microbes are the epithelial surfaces (skin, the moist surfaces of the eyes, nose, airways and the lungs, mouth and the digestive tract, and the urinary and reproductive systems). Because mechanisms requiring specific antigen recognition depend on clonal proliferation of immunocytes, and therefore take days to weeks to develop fully, the initial host resistance mechanisms must recognize or target microbe-specific class characteristics and employ mechanisms that are either constitutive or rapidly inducible. Some unique microbial molecular features are recognized by complementary receptors that trigger localized effector mechanisms (‘‘pattern recognition’’) while other structural or metabolic characteristics make the microbes selectively susceptible to the action of injurious antimicrobial substances including chemically highly reactive molecules, lytic enzymes, pore-forming molecules, or substances that sequester essential nutrients. Certain antimicrobial substances may be present constitutively; the local synthesis or release of others is provoked by invading microbes; and yet other antimicrobial substances can be brought into the area of invasion by mobile cells. Unlike innate immunity, adaptive immunity (antibodies and antigen-recognizing cytotoxic lymphocytes) is a late evolutionary development developed fully only in higher vertebrates. Specific antigen recognition by lymphocytes probably plays a limited role during the initial encounter but it is especially effective against 1 From the Symposium Comparative Immunologypresented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Bi
Uncertainty-aware sensor deployment algorithms for surveillance applications

We consider the sensor deployment problem in the context of uncertainty in sensor locations subsequent to airdropping. Sensor deployment in such scenarios is inherently non-deterministic and there is a certain degree of randomness associated with the location of a sensor in the sensor field. We present two algorithms for the efficient placement of sensors in a sensor field when the exact locations of the sensors are not known. These algorithms are targeted at average coverage as well as at maximizing the coverage of the most vulnerable regions in the sensor field. Experimental results for an example sensor field demonstrate the application of our approach.
The second largest eigenvalue upper bound for the canonical genetic algorithms

We provide an analysis of a Markov chain model that explains the convergence properties of canonical genetic algorithms with proportional selection, single point crossover and bit mutation with a mutation rate between 0 and 1. Specifically, we provide a second largest eigenvalue upper bound for canonical genetic algorithms (CGA). We show that, when mutation rate for CGA is 0.5, the second largest eigenvalue for the CGA is zero and the CGA converges to a stationary distribution in the first step after the initial random population initialization.
Analysis and implementation of hierarchical real-time architectures

Multiprocessor architectures for real-time applications in signal processing and control are described. An investigation of these architectures to determine their performance under a variety of applications and task mixes is presented. The goal is to develop tools for configuring applications on multiple processor systems so that real-time constraints are met. The approach used is to solve queueing models that have been verified by empirical measurement of critical parameters taken during actual operation of the systems. Results relating to contention for bus use in the system are shown. >
Experiments With Sensor Motes and Java-DSP

Distributed wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are being proposed for various applications including defense, security, and smart stages. The introduction of hardware wireless sensors in a signal processing education setting can serve as a paradigm for data acquisition, collaborative signal processing, or simply as a platform for obtaining, processing, and analyzing real-life real-time data. In this paper, a software interface that enables the Java-digital signal processing (J-DSP) visual programming environment to communicate in a two-way manner with a wireless sensor network is presented. This interface was developed by writing nesC (an extension to the C programming language for sensors) code that enables J-DSP to issue commands to multiple wireless sensor motes, activate specific transducers, and analyze data using any of the existing J-DSP signal processing functions in real time. A series of exercises were developed and disseminated to provide hardware experiences to signals and systems and signal processing undergraduate students. The hardware with the J-DSP software has been used for two semesters in the senior level digital signal processing (DSP) course at Arizona State University. The interface, the exercises, and their assessment (instruments and results) are described in the paper.
Design of a delay-insensitive multiply-accumulate unit

The design and implementation of a serial-parallel multiply-accumulate unit using a method and tools developed for design of delay-insensitive circuits are described. In the class of asynchronous circuits the functional correctness is independent of any delays in circuit elements and wires, except for certain known isochronic wire forks. An objective in asynchronous design is to attain the best possible average performance and to use this potential performance advantage already at the architectural level. The authors have designed the multiply-accumulate unit to exploit this objective. The full course of design from a high-level description to fabrication is illustrated. This includes the optimization considerations at each level of abstraction from the top to the bottom. >
Physicochemical Changes in Cassava Starch and Flour Associated With Fermentation: Effect on Textural Properties

Physicochochemical changes in cassava starch and flour associated with fermentation were investigated and related to textural properties of its flour pastes. Cyanide and pH decreased, while crude protein, acidity, and apparent amylose content increased in the fermented products. Average starch granule diameter, solubility, and swelling power were depressed, while gelatinization enthalpy increased. Amylograph of starch showed increased peak visocity temperature, reduced peak, breakdown, and setback viscosities, while Texture Profile Analysis showed a decreased in hardness, cohesiveness, elasticity, and gumminess of the fermented flour paste. The altered textural properties were attributed to greater starch granule stability due to short amylose-like fragments formed by enzymatic hydrolysis of amylopectin. Physikalisch-chemische Veranderungen in Cassavastarke und -mehl in Verbindung mit der Fermentation: Einflus auf die texturalen Eigenschaften. Die physikalisch-chemischen Veranderungen in Cassavastarke und -mehl, verbunden mit Fermentation, wurden untersucht und mit den texturalen Eigenschaften ihrer Mehlpaste in Verbindung gebracht. Cyanid und pH-Wert verringerte sie, wahrend Rohprotein, Aziditat und scheinbarer Amylosegehalt die fermentierten Produkte erhohten. Der durchschnittliche Starkekorn-Durchmesser, die Loslichkeit und das Quellvermogen wurden herabgesetzt, wahrend die Verkleisterungsenthalpie erhoht wurde. Die Amylographie der Starke zeigte erhohte Peakviskositats-Temperatur, einen reduzierten Peak, Zusammenbruch uns Setback-Viskositaten, wahrend die Textur-Profil-Analyse eine Verringerung der Harte, Kohasivitat, Elastizitat und Gummiartigkeit der fermentierten Mehlpaste zeigte. Die veranderten texturalen Eigenschaften wurden groserer Starkekorn-Stabilitat zugeschrieben infolge kurzer amyloseartiger Bruchstucke, gebildet durch enzymatische Hydrolyse von Amylopektin.
Effects of gamma radiation on high-power infrared and visible laser diodes

The effects of gamma radiation on high-power semiconductor laser diodes were measured. While operating, five commercial near-infrared (785 nm, 60 mW) and six visible laser diodes (670 nm, 30 mW) were exposed to approximately 10 kGy at a relatively high dose rate (/spl ap/5 kGy/h). The far-field, output beam patterns were monitored during radiation and recovery, as well as the overall intensity (constant current mode) and the internal monitor photodiode current. The linear dimensions of the far-field beam patterns shrank in size by the end of radiation by 3%-20% for the IR lasers and 15%-20% for the visible. The ellipticity of the beams changed by -16% for the IR and +8% for the visible case. The intensity, as measured with an external camera, decreased during irradiation by a maximum of 2.7 dB for the visible laser and 2.5 dB for the infrared; however, the photodiode photocurrents changed by less than 1 dB. Both types of lasers recovered completely over several days. The near- and far-field patterns were examined both below and above threshold before and after radiation/recovery, with no evidence of defects or other gross changes.
Is Weight-Based Adjustment of Automatic Exposure Control Necessary for the Reduction of Chest CT Radiation Dose?

OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of radiation dose reduction in the chest CT using a weight-based adjustment of the automatic exposure control (AEC) technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS With Institutional Review Board Approval, 60 patients (mean age, 59.1 years; M:F = 35:25) and 57 weight-matched patients (mean age, 52.3 years, M:F = 25:32) were scanned using a weight-adjusted AEC and non-weight-adjusted AEC, respectively on a 64-slice multidetector CT with a 0.984:1 pitch, 0.5 second rotation time, 40 mm table feed/rotation, and 2.5 mm section thickness. Patients were categorized into 3 weight categories; 90 kg (n = 48). Patient weights, scanning parameters, CT dose index volumes (CTDIvol) and dose length product (DLP) were recorded, while effective dose (ED) was estimated. Image noise was measured in the descending thoracic aorta. Data were analyzed using a standard statistical package (SAS/STAT) (Version 9.1, SAS institute Inc, Cary, NC). RESULTS Compared to the non-weight-adjusted AEC, the weight-adjusted AEC technique resulted in an average decrease of 29% in CTDIvol and a 27% effective dose reduction (p 91 kg weight groups, respectively, compared to 20.3, 27.9 and 32.8 mGy, with non-weight-adjusted AEC. No significant difference was observed for objective image noise between the chest CT acquired with the non-weight-adjusted (15.0 +/- 3.1) and weight-adjusted (16.1 +/- 5.6) AEC techniques (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that AEC should be tailored according to patient weight. Without weight-based adjustment of AEC, patients are exposed to a 17 - 43% higher radiation-dose from a chest CT.
Improvement of a Human-Machine Interface (HMI) for Driver Assistance Using an Event-Driven Prompting Display

Visual display systems showing lateral roadway position of a vehicle have been used in advanced vehicle control and safety systems for driver assistance in hazardous conditions, e.g., in snowplowing operations. A simple simulation of lateral control stability of the vehicle indicates the adverse effect of dead-time resulting from the driver glancing back and forth between windshield and display. An event-driven prompting display is presented to reduce the effect of the dead-time and improve the safety of the driver assistance system. Test results in actual driving provide a comparison of the performance of the new display versus the original display system, and clearly indicate the improvement in lateral stability in driving a vehicle.
Cardiac CT beyond coronary angiography: current and emerging non-coronary cardiac applications

Within the last decade, non-invasive assessment of the coronary arteries using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) has emerged as the newest application in diagnostic cardiology, leading to many technological advancements and substantial improvements in image acquisition and analysis.1 The early enthusiasm and rapid advancement has been tempered by concerns regarding increased radiation exposure, especially the wide range of radiation doses that a patient gets exposed to, for the same clinical indication.2 3 However, in the last couple of years, the field of cardiac CT has made significant technological strides in areas of radiation reduction4 5 (prospective imaging, high pitch 100 kVp imaging, and electrocardiographic dose modulation), improved temporal resolution with dual source scanning6 (significantly improving cine imaging), increased supero-inferior coveragew1 (enabling single-beat imaging), improved injection protocols, and dual energy imaging (potentially enabling plaque characterisation).w2 As a result, the utility of MDCT can now be broadened to answer a multitude of clinical questions within cardiovascular medicine, albeit in conjunction with other non-invasive techniques such as echocardiography, myocardial perfusion scintigraphy, and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. Of course, the fundamental tenet of a new diagnostic modality is that its utilisation has to be matched with careful evaluation of appropriateness of a given indication, coupled with the knowledge that one diagnostic modality might be more appropriate than the other.1 This review of the current state-of-the art discusses the various non-coronary cardiac applications of MDCT, along with some of the emerging applications (box 1). Box 1 ### Box 1 Various non-coronary cardiac indications of CT Current applications Emerging …
Methods for Accessing Pitting Damage in Carbon Steel Exposed to Alkaline Chloride Waste Environments

Abstract Several laboratory methods for accelerated testing have been evaluated and their abilities to access pitting damage during immersion in environments that simulate high-level radioactive waste have been compared. Specifically, we examine and compare corrosion current density, open-circuit potential (OCP), metastable pitting data, and electrochemical noise (EN) data. In our work, a novel method for evaluating EN data has been analyzed. In this method, generalized extreme value (GEV) statistics is used to evaluate the distribution of current transient events greater than 10 μC. We show how the GEV cumulative distribution function from these EN events can be used to access relative pitting damage. Specifically, we demonstrate that the GEV distribution of EN events that exceed a 10-μC threshold correlates well with actual surface damage. However, EN experiments do not appear to predict future damage when compared to 3-month immersion testing. Therefore, while short-term changes in EN data may be good ...
Inappropriate Use of Gastric Acid Suppression Therapy in Hospitalized Patients with Clostridium difficile—Associated Diarrhea: A Ten-Year Retrospective Analysis

Purpose. The incidence of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) has steadily increased over the past decade. A multitude of factors for this rise in incidence of CDAD have been postulated, including the increased use of gastric acid suppression therapy (GAST). Despite the presence of practice guidelines for use of GAST, studies have demonstrated widespread inappropriate use of GAST in hospitalized patients. We performed a retrospective analysis of inpatients with CDAD, with special emphasis placed on determining the appropriateness of GAST. Methods. A retrospective analysis was conducted at a multidisciplinary teaching hospital on inpatients with CDAD over a 10-year period. We assessed the use of GAST in the cases of CDAD. Data collection focused on the appropriate administration of GAST as defined by standard practice guidelines. Results. An inappropriate indication for GAST was not apparent in a majority (69.4%) of patients with CDAD. The inappropriate use of GAST was more prevalent in medical (86.1%) than on surgical services (13.9%) (𝑃<0.001). There were more cases (67.6%) of inappropriate use of GAST in noncritical care than in critical care areas (37.4%) (𝑃<0.001). Conclusion. Our study found that an inappropriate use of inpatient GAST in patients with CDAD was nearly 70 percent. Reduction of inappropriate use of GAST may be an additional approach to reduce the risk of CDAD and significantly decrease patient morbidity and healthcare costs.
Improved Model Output Statistics Forecasts through Model Consensus

Consensus forecasts are computed by averaging model output statistics (MOS) forecasts based on the limited-area fine-mesh (LFM) model and the nested grid model (NGM) for the three-year period 1990–...
Radar Observations of Updrafts, Downdrafts, and Turbulence in Fair-Weather Cumuli

Abstract Observations from a 94-GHz radar are used to define the vertical structure of marine fair-weather cumuli. Doppler spectra obtained from the radar provide mean vertical velocities as well as detailed spectral shapes that can be used to infer small-scale vertical velocity shear, illuminate cloud microphysical processes, and provide estimates of turbulence dissipation rates. These new observations facilitate the analysis and understanding of in-cloud circulations and the physical processes involved, since the cloud boundaries and dimensions are mapped along with the internal structure of the clouds. Coincident observations from a 915-MHz radar (wind profiler) were used to further define the turbulence structure in and around the clouds. The observations document the detailed vertical and horizontal dimensions of updraft and downdraft circulations in the clouds observed. The two cumuli studied in detail have similar circulation patterns—an updraft core surrounded by downdrafts. Although the clouds ha...
Endoscopic nasal exam

The rapid advancements in technology have allowed great advances in the techniques for performing nasal and paranasal sinus exams. The original use of surgical microscopes, and now endoscopes, has contributed to the great detail of analysis of the physiology of the structures, as well as to be able to evaluate diverse nasal pathologies and to do precise surgical procedures (Fig. 1).
On proportionality of punishments and the economic theory of crime

Practitioners of the modern economic theory of crime acknowledge the influence of the eighteenth century writers Montesquieu, Beccaria, and Bentham, whose theories of crime and punishment clearly presaged the economic approach. An important value espoused by all of these writers is proportionality between punishments and crimes, both as an end in itself and as a means of achieving marginal deterrence. This essay asks how closely the concept of proportionality is reflected in the prescriptions of the economic theory. The answer turns out to depend both on how proportionality is defined and on the assumptions underlying the enforcement regime.