cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Automation of Competency & Training Management using Machine Learning Models

With the emerging intelligent technology and larger talent gaps training and development are the need of the hour. Organizations use competencies to remain adaptable and competitive in their respective fields. In this paper, we propose a technique to manage competency across a business unit to keep up with the want of the customers and ever-changing technology. The solution is powered by Artificial Intelligence and E-learning. We propose a technique to customize a learning roadmap for an individual by using a machine learning-based hybrid recommendation system. By using the technique managers can identify and optimize the skills required to deliver on an organization’s business strategy. The last section of the paper discusses a technique to auto-rank the algorithms used within a hybrid recommendation system based accuracy of predictions that help reduce the training time of the machine learning model itself. The solution indirectly boosts innovation, job satisfaction, and morale among employees resulting in higher levels of engagement, thus enabling a better productive workforce.
From veritas to caritas , or how nihilism yields to democracy

"Veritatem facientes in caritate, a Pauline expression that echoes, and perhaps not so very distantly, the aletheuein [truthing, disclosing] of the Aristotelian Nicomachean Ethics, means, in terms of today's philosophy, that the truth is born in consent and from consent, and not, vice versa, that agreement is reached when we have all discovered the same objective truth" (xxvi). These few lines condense the principal thesis supporting Nihilism and Emancipation by Gianni Vattimo, the Turin philosopher renowned worldwide especially for his daring proposal of a pensiero debole, or weak thought. Vattimo describes weak thought as "a weak ontology, or better, an ontology of the weakening of Being" (19), capable of recognizing "the vocation of the west for decline and the weakening of strong identities" and helping "us to conceive the inevitable westernization of the world in terms that we may venture to call light, mellow, and soft" (34). Vattimo, who studied with Heidegger and Gadamer and whose majors philosophical works include The Adventure of Difference, The End of Modernity, and Beyond Interpretation, is also a prominent social democratic politician, a public intellectual regularly writing in leading Italian and Euro pean newspapers and magazines, and a former member of the European Parliament. As Richard Rorty remarks in his foreword to the volume that places Vattimo into a philosophical context more familiar to the English speaking readership, in this work Vattimo exhibits himself as "an imaginative philosopher who is also a vigorous campaigner for social change" (xx). In Rorty's view, Vattimo joins leftist thinkers such as John Dewey, but also Ronald Dworkin, J?rgen Habermas, and the tradition of analytic philosophy. In this sense, Vattimo reveals himself as an excellent representative of the position for which philosophy "ceases to be ancillary either to theology or to natural science. Instead, it takes the form of historical narrative and Utopian
Erratum for "Aberrantly Expressed Genes in HaCaT Keratinocytes Chronically Exposed to Arsenic Trioxide".

This erratum concerns Udensi K. Udensi, Hari H.P. Cohly, Barbara E. Graham-Evans, Kenneth Ndebele, Natalia Garcia-Reyero, BinduNanduri, Paul B. Tchounwou and Raphael D. Isokpehi, Aberrantly Expressed Genes in HaCaT Keratinocytes Chronically Exposed to Arsenic Trioxide, Biomarker Insights 2011:6 7–16. There was an error in dosage on pages 9 and 12. Page 9, The treatment groups were exposed to 5 mg/L As2O3 (equivalent to Lethal Concentration, LC 0.5%), and passaged at 90% confluent. This should read: The treatment groups were exposed to 0.5 mg/L As2O3 (equivalent to Lethal Concentration, LC 0.5%), and passaged at 90% confluent. Page 12, In our investigation, HaCaT cells were chronically exposed to low arsenic trioxide dose of 5 mg/L up to 22 passages. This should read: In our investigation, HaCaT cells were chronically exposed to low arsenic trioxide dose of 0.5 mg/L up to 22 passages.
K-1 Antigen Content and the Presence of an Additional Sialic Acid-Containing Antigen Among Bacteremic K-1 Escherichia coli: Correlation with Susceptibility to Opsonophagocytosis

Eighty percent of blood culture isolates of Escherichia coli K-1 are resistant to in vitro opsonophagocytosis by normal human granulocytes and fresh serum. To determine the basis for susceptibility to phagocytosis in 20% of bacteremic K-1 E. coli, we investigated possible quantitative and qualitative immunochemical differences in the K-1 antigen content among resistant and sensitive isolates. We prepared extracts of blood culture K-1 E. coli by sonication and determined the K-1 polysaccharide content per dry weight of bacteria by rocket immunoelectrophoresis using cross-reactive equine anti-group B meningococcal sera. We assessed qualitative differences in the antigen content by crossed immunoelectrophoresis, using an immune globulin fraction and isolated immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM from the group B antisera. Three different resistant K-1 isolates contained a mean K-1 content of 48.5 +/- 7.6 mug/mg +/- standard deviation of dry bacteria, and three sensitive isolates contained 23.2 +/- 5.6 mug/mg (P < 0.005). Crossed immunoelectrophoresis of extracts from both sensitive and resistant strains revealed a secondary sialic acid-containing antigen that was electrophoretically different from both the major K-1 antigen and a reference group B meningococcal antigen. This negatively charged secondary antigen was susceptible to Clostridium perfringens neuraminidase degradation and reacted only with IgG whereas the major K-1 antigen reacted only with IgM. This antigen was detected in the extracts of resistant isolates only at 10(10) but not at 10(9) colony-forming units per milliliter. This study demonstrates that (i) the degree of phagocytosis of bacteremic E. coli K-1 isolates is inversely associated with K-1 content, and (ii) more easily phagocytosed (sensitive) K-1 isolates have greater amounts of an additional sialic acid-containing antigen that appears to be unrelated to the previously described O acetyl K-1 antigen.
PROGRAM RELATED LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS OF ADULT STUDENTS IN ART PRODUCTION COURSES

This paper presents a model for characterizing adult art learners and associates it with four art program types: professional, avocational, recreational and production‐line. They represent different levels of instructional formality, student involvement, risk, and integration with nonart objectives. Voluntary and continuing student affiliation with these programs is related to levels of participant confidence stemming from experiences with health and aging, education, and art. The confidence/program model presented here permits a finer focus in the description and analysis of adult art learning characteristics and art program types and is of potential benefit in both research and application.
Distributed shared virtual memory on RISC System/6000 clusters and large scale computations: two case studies

Abstract Many of today's moderately parallel and massively parallel multicomputers are non-shared memory systems, using the message passing programming paradigm for parallel applications. This is significant, since the shared memory paradigm is a well established programming paradigm on high performance computers, like the vector multiprocessors (vmp). Distributed shared virtual memory (dsvm) provides a way of using the shared memory programming paradigm on a set of loosely coupled computer systems. The work to date suggests that one can implement some moderately parallel applications on dsvm loosely coupled systems and achieve performances comparable to those on message passing non-shared memory systems. This paper reports first on DSVM6K, a dsvm system implemented in the AIX version 3 operating system on IBM's RISC System/6000, and then describes MTF6K, a prototypal implementation of MultiTasking Fortran on a cluster of RISC/6000 engines: MTF is a component of the IBM VS FORTRAN library which provides FORTRAN programmers with coarse grain, explicit multitasking primitives. In the last two sections of the paper two large scale applications are analyzed, a large scale 2D seismic modeling application and a 3D aerodynamic simulation.
Anharmonic corrections in unimolecular theory: a monte carlo approach

Abstract The effects of anharmonicity on the integrated state densities required by RRKM formulations are examined. A PitzerGwinn-like approximation is developed in which the desired state densities are related to those for a solvable reference system by an energy-dependent, classical correction factor. A Monte Carlo calculation procedure is outlined.
Aggression and Moral Development: Integrating Social Information Processing and Moral Domain Models

Social information processing and moral domain theories have developed in relative isolation from each other despite their common focus on intentional harm and victimization, and mutual emphasis on social cognitive processes in explaining aggressive, morally relevant behaviors. This article presents a selective summary of these literatures with the goal of showing how they can be integrated into a single, coherent model. An essential aspect of this integration is Crick and Dodge's (1994) distinction between latent mental structures and online processing. It is argued that moral domain theory is relevant for describing underlying mental structures regarding the nature and boundaries of what is moral, whereas the social information processing model describes the online information processing that affects application of moral structures during peer interactions.
Household energy consumption: Community context and the fuelwood transition.

We examine the influence of community context on change over time in households’ use of non-wood fuels. Our theoretical framework builds on sociological concepts in order to study energy consumption at the micro-level. The framework emphasizes the importance of nonfamily organizations and services in the local community as determinants of the transition from use of fuelwood to use of alternative fuels. We use multilevel longitudinal data on household fuel choice and community context from rural Nepal to provide empirical tests of our theoretical model. Results reveal that increased exposure to nonfamily organizations in the local community increases the use of alternative fuels. The findings illustrate key features of human impacts on the local environment and motivate greater incorporation of social organization into research on environmental change.
Osteopontin stimulates gelsolin-associated phosphoinositide levels and phosphatidylinositol triphosphate-hydroxyl kinase.

Abstract Based on previous studies demonstrating activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-hydroxyl kinase (PI3-kinase) and stimulation of a change in cell shape, we examined the effect of osteopontin on the association of phospholipids with gelsolin, an actin-capping/severing protein. Osteopontin stimulated a rapid increase in phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol triphosphate levels associated with gelsolin in Triton-soluble fractions of cell lysates. The increased levels of phosphatidylinositol triphosphate associated with gelsolin were due to stimulation of PI3-kinase activity associated with gelsolin in the Triton-soluble fractions, and they were blocked by the PI3-kinase inhibitor wortmannin. Osteopontin stimulated translocation of PI3-kinase from the Triton-insoluble to Triton-soluble gelsolin. Osteopontin also decreased Triton-soluble gelsolin/actin complexes consistent with actin uncapping, and increased F-actin levels, which were also blocked by wortmannin. The osteopontin effects were mediated through binding to the alpha(v)beta 3 integrin. Taken together, our studies indicate that osteopontin/alpha(v)beta 3-mediated changes in gelsolin-associated phosphoinositide levels and PI3-kinase activity are related to stimulation of F-actin formation in osteoclasts.
DETERMINATION OF RESIDUAL-STRESS IN COATINGS BY A MEMBRANE DEFLECTION TECHNIQUE

Abstract A membrane deflection technique has been developed to measure the isotropic residual stress in biaxially-constrained coatings. The technique has been demonstrated on various materials, including polyimide, latex rubber and photoresist coatings. Stress values obtained from membrane deflection compared well with results obtained from time-averaged vibrational holographic interferometry except for values obtained from samples where rigidity effects were found to be important. A criterion based on the thickness, rigidity, stress and sample radius is also discussed, establishing the applicability of the technique to samples of low rigidity.
PATTERNS OF ACETYLCHOLINE RECEPTOR ANTIBODY FLUCTUATION IN MY ASTHENIA GRAVIS

Serial acetylcholine receptor antibody (AChR-ab) titers have been followed in 32 patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) for an average of 43 months (range 12-81 months). Seventeen patients became asymptomatic or markedly improved during the study, 12 of whom showed AChR-ab decreases of greater than 50% sustained for 12 months. Only three of 15 patients showing no substantial clinical improvement had AChR-ab decreases greater than 50%. Steroids were more often associated with AChR-ab suppression than was thymectomy. The differences in AChR-ab suppressibility among identically treated patients were not predictable by any clinical characteristics studied. The study indicates a strong relationship between clinical course and AChR-ab in the individual patient when sustained improvement over 12 months and AChR-ab decreases greater than 50% are examined.
A computational model for the dynamic stabilization of Rayleigh-Bénard convection in a cubic cavity.

The dynamic stability of Rayleigh-Benard convection with vertical vibration in a cubic container is computationally modeled. Two parametric drives are considered (sinusoidal and rectangular), as well as two thermal boundary conditions on the sidewalls (insulating and conducting). The linearized equations are solved using a spectral Galerkin method and Floquet analysis. Both the synchronous and the subharmonic regions of instability are recovered. The conditions necessary for dynamic stability are reported for a range of Rayleigh numbers from critical to 107 and for Prandtl numbers in the range of 0.1–7. The linear model is compared to the data set available in the literature where the performance of an inverted pulse tube cryocooler is measured.
Performance Studies of Photomutipliers Having Dynodes with GaP(Cs) Secondary Emitting Surface

Characteristics of photomultipliers having dynodes with cesium-activated gallium phosphide secondary emitting surfaces have been investigated. We present measurements of characteristics, generally not available from manufacturers data sheets, for several 8850's, C70133B's, 8852's, and C31024's. The transit-time difference, the single-electron transit-time spread, and the collection and quantum efficiency uniformity as a function of the position of the photocathode sensing area are measured and discussed. Measurement techniques and descriptions of measuring systems are given in detail. Ephasis is put on the determination of optinum photamultiplier operating conditions, particularly concerning the collection efficiency, and minimum transit-time spread.
Systematic approach to axial gradient lens design

For a given homogeneous optical syswn, potential axial gradient configurations are identified.. A sysrematic approach is propose.cl for localing the most useful axial gradient configuration that reduces the homogeneous syswn's Seidel aberrations. The design of a linear axial gradient Coote aiplet using the proposed method is discussed.
Cross-linguistic generalization in the treatment of two sequential Spanish–English bilingual children with speech sound disorders

AbstractPurpose. The effect of bilingual service delivery on treatment of speech sound disorders (SSDs) in bilingual children is largely unknown. Bilingual children with SSDs are typically provided intervention in only one language, although research suggests dual-language instruction for language disorders is best practice for bilinguals. This study examined cross-linguistic generalization of bilingual intervention in treatment of two 5-year-old sequential bilingual boys with SSDs (one with Childhood Apraxia of Speech), hypothesizing that selecting and treating targets in both languages would result in significant overall change in their English and Spanish speech systems.Method. A multiple baseline across behaviours design was used to measure treatment effectiveness for two targets per child. Children received treatment 2–3 times per week for 8 weeks and in Spanish for at least 2 of every 3 days. Ongoing treatment performance was measured in probes in both languages; overall speech skills were compared ...
JavaML: a markup language for Java source code

Abstract The classical plain-text representation of source code is convenient for programmers but requires parsing to uncover the deep structure of the program. While sophisticated software tools parse source code to gain access to the program's structure, many lightweight programming aids such as grep rely instead on only the lexical structure of source code. I describe a new XML application that provides an alternative representation of Java source code. This XML-based representation, called JavaML, is more natural for tools and permits easy specification of numerous software-engineering analyses by leveraging the abundance of XML tools and techniques. A robust converter built with the Jikes Java compiler framework translates from the classical Java source code representation to JavaML, and an XSLT stylesheet converts from JavaML back into the classical textual form.
An Analytical Description of the Consequences of Abandoning the Principles of Detailed Balance and Microscopic Reversibility in Semiconductor Photoelectrochemistry

Key differences between the conventional and «irreversible» models of semiconductor photoelectrochemistry are identified and discussed within the framework of experimental observations. Conceptual differences between these two models appear to lie in the treatment of interfacial charge-transfer processes for photogenerated charge carriers. The conventional model utilizes detailed balance principles for obtaining rate constant relationships for all interfacial charge-transfer events at semiconductor/liquid contacts and uses the principle of microscopic reversibility to evaluate these rate constants for situations away from equilibrium. In contrast, the irreversible model postulates that local statistical detailed balance does not apply to charge-transfer events in photoelectrolysis, and that such charge-transfer events are highly irreversible, like photoemission into a vacuum. It is shown analytically that the two models predict differences in the behavior of the available free energy produced by a photoelectrochemical cell at a fixed incident light intensity. The conceptual implications of these differences are evaluated analytically and are also compared to experimental results for semiconductor/liquid junctions
Fortran IV programs for the penultimate copolymerization model

Three programs have been written for calculations involving use of the penultimate copolymerization model. The first computes the penultimate reactivity ratios from composition-conversion data, without constraints, at any conversion. A nonlinear leastsquares technique using Marquardt's algorithm is employed. The second program computes the four optimum starting monomer feed ratios, M10/M20 which should be used by the experimenter from the penultimate reactivity ratios. These optimum feed ratios are obtained by choosing the conditions necessary to minimize the determinant of the variance-covariance matrix. The input for the first program includes estimates of known values of the penultimate reactivity ratios. By using these two programs sequentially the experimenter has an optimized experimental approach toward evaluating penultimate reactivity ratios at any conversion. Finally, a program has been provided to calculate composition–conversion data, given penultimate reactivity ratios.
Consumer ethics: an application and empirical testing of the Hunt‐Vitell theory of ethics

Analyzes how consumers make decisions involving ethical issues. In particular, investigates the extent to which consumers rely on ethical norms (deontology) versus the perceived consequences of behaviors (teleology) in forming their ethical judgments and in determining behavioral intentions in situations involving ethical issues. The results based upon three studies, including a national sample of adult consumers, reveal that consumers tend to rely primarily on ethical norms and less on perceived consequences in forming ethical judgments. Results also indicate that consumers, to a large degree, rely primarily on ethical norms in determining their behavioral intentions in situations involving ethical issues. Finally, a number of personal characteristics were tested as moderating variables, but results were generally inconclusive, despite some evidence that education and religiosity may be moderators.
Probing the Secondary Structure of Membrane Protein using Bacterial Expression System and Electron Spin Echo Envelope Modulation (ESEEM) Spectroscopy

Membrane proteins possess a variety of functions essential to the survival of organisms. However, due to the inherent hydrophobic property, it is extremely difficult to gain the structural information. Previously, we probed the structure of an α-helical component of a small model membrane peptide, AchR M2δ, by detecting 2H modulation from a 2H-labeled Val side chain that was 3 or 4 residues away from a nitroxide spin label using ESEEM spectroscopy. In this study, for the first time, ESEEM technique was applied to determine the local secondary structure of a biological membrane protein system using bacterial expression method for incorporating the 2H-labeled Val side chain both in micelle and lipid bilayer environment. An integral membrane protein, KCNE1 with known 3D structure, was utilized as a model membrane protein to test the feasibility and validity of this ESSEM technique. The side chain of valine at position 21 (outside domain), 50 (transmembrane domain), and 95 (cytoplasmic domain) was 2H labeled (denoted as ith position). An MTSL nitroxide spin label was positioned at 2, 3, and 4 residues away (denoted i+2 to i+4, respectively) from 2H-labeled Val residue of each domain. Our results indicated that i+3 and i+4 positions have a significant 2H modulation while 2H modulation is absent at i+2 position, which is consistent with the 3.6 residue/turn periodicity of the α-helix. These results are also consistent with the micelle structure of KCNE1. This ESEEM technique was further validated using the protein incorporated into lipid bilayer of DMPC/DPC bicelle and the transmembrane domain was probed to be α-helical as well. This ESEEM technique is very powerful, efficient, and quick to examine the local secondary structure of any protein system without size limitation.
Seed value of potatoes grown in different crop rotations with irrigation

This experiment appears to warrant the conclusion that potatoes grown in a highly productive irrigated field are entirely satisfactory for seed purposes, providing, of course, that disease-free seed stock is used.
Telescope Designs For Precision Astrometry

In this paper a design study is described for telescopes to be used in precision astrometry. Specifically, the application is the search for planets outside the solar system. The requirements are stringent because of the need to be spectrally independent, have low distortion, and be free of coma and other asymmetric aberration. The image requirements for astrometry are defined along with two mirror telescope designs for the application. Effects of misalignment and long term stability are considered.
Comparison Between Two Detection Systems for Fiber-Optic Chemical Sensor Applications

Two optical detection system designs are compared for fiber-optic chemical sensor applications. A single grating spectrograph with fiber-optic input and photodiodes at three different wavelengths is compared to 1x3 fiber-optic splitters and photodiode detectors with integrated interference filters. The splitters are used to direct the optical power to the filter photodiodes. Three types of 1x3 commercially available splitters were tested: a 400 microm fused glass fiber-optic coupler, a 1000 microm fused plastic fiber-optic coupler, and a 1000 microm glass fiber-optic bundle. This study finds that the fiber-splitter-based detection systems have similar stray light, signal-to-noise ratio, and long-term absorbance stability compared to the spectrograph detection system with a modest improvement in spectral resolution (from approximately 12 nm to approximately 6 nm). It is also much smaller in size and lower in cost. Applications of the two systems in a colorimetric CO2 partial pressure sensor are compared and similar accuracy and precision are achieved.
Organic photodiodes for biosensor miniaturization.

Biosensors have successfully demonstrated the capability to detect multiple pathogens simultaneously at very low levels. Miniaturization of biosensors is essential for use in the field or at the point of care. While microfluidic systems reduce the footprint for biochemical processing devices and electronic components are continually becoming smaller, optical components suitable for integration-such as LEDs and CMOS chips-are generally still too expensive for disposable components. This paper describes the integration of polymer diodes onto a biosensor chip to create a disposable device that includes both the detector and the sensing surface coated with immobilized capture antibody. We performed a chemiluminescence immunoassay on the OPD substrate and measured the results using a hand-held reader attached to a laptop computer. The miniaturized biosensor with the disposable slide including the organic photodiode detected Staphylococcal enterotoxin B at concentrations as low as 0.5 ng/mL.
Enhanced Chaperone Clustering Facilitates Protein Folding in the Endoplasmic Reticulum of Yeast

The chaperone BiP plays several roles in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER): translocation, protein folding, ER-associated degradation, and a modulating function in Ire1p-regulated ER stress. Experimental evidence has suggested the existence of BiP heterogeneity in the ER. A cooperative mechanism known as entropic pulling has been proposed to explain how the molecular interaction of multiple BiP molecules on unfolded proteins occurs. We have developed a model to explore the potential advantages of the binding of multiple BiP molecules in the facilitation of protein folding in the ER to explain the heterogeneity, and take advantage of entropic pulling.Simulation scenarios were enacted to gauge the effectiveness of multiple chaperone binding in protein folding. Using two metrics: folding efficiency and chaperone cost, we determined that the single binding site model had a higher efficiency than multiple binding models, in the absence of cooperativity. Through entropic pulling, however, multiple chaperones do work in concert to facilitate the resolubilization and ultimate yield of folded proteins. Under a cooperative scenario, multiple binding models used fewer chaperones and enjoyed a higher folding efficiency than the single binding site model.In conclusion, our in-silico experiments reveal that clusters of BiP molecules bound to unfolded proteins could enhance folding efficiency through cooperative action via entropic pulling.
Antidepressant-like activity of the melatonin receptor antagonist, luzindole (N-0774), in the mouse behavioral despair test.

Abstract The anti-immobility effect of the selective melatonin receptor antagonist, luzindole, was investigated in the behavioral despair test using three different strains (C3H/HeN, C57BL/6J and albino ND/4) of mice. The time of immobility of the C3H/HeN during the 240 s swimming period measured at noon (12:00 to 14:00 h) was 47.8 ± 3.0 s(n = 63) and at midnight (00:00 to 02:00 h) was 67.7 ± 2.8 s(n = 68) (P
Histologic and hormonal documentation of the luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome

Abstract Histologic and hormonal documentation of a luteinized unruptured follicle that occurred during a spontaneous menstrual cycle in a rhesus monkey is presented. Frequent (every 2 hours) blood sampling to assess midcycle hormonal dynamics in the monkey with the luteinized unruptured follicle and in five monkeys with an ovulatory stigma revealed significant aberrations in the gonadotropin and steroid hormone profiles associated with a luteinized unruptured follicle. Although the midcycle 17β-estradiol surge was normal, the monkey with the luteinized unruptured follicle demonstrated (1) blunted midcycle bioassayable luteinizing hormone, immunoassayable luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone surges; (2) absence of disparity in the bioassayable luteinizing hormone: immunoassayable luteinizing hormone ratio during the gonadotropin surge; (3) absence of progesterone and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone secretion during the gonadotropin surge; and (4) delayed and blunted rise in progesterone and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone after the gonadotropin surge. These findings suggest that an impaired luteinizing hormone surge, perhaps mediated by insufficient midcycle progestin secretion, is one possible cause of the luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome.
Assessment of genotype imputation performance using 1000 Genomes in African American studies.

Genotype imputation, used in genome-wide association studies to expand coverage of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), has performed poorly in African Americans compared to less admixed populations. Overall, imputation has typically relied on HapMap reference haplotype panels from Africans (YRI), European Americans (CEU), and Asians (CHB/JPT). The 1000 Genomes project offers a wider range of reference populations, such as African Americans (ASW), but their imputation performance has had limited evaluation. Using 595 African Americans genotyped on Illumina’s HumanHap550v3 BeadChip, we compared imputation results from four software programs (IMPUTE2, BEAGLE, MaCH, and MaCH-Admix) and three reference panels consisting of different combinations of 1000 Genomes populations (February 2012 release): (1) 3 specifically selected populations (YRI, CEU, and ASW); (2) 8 populations of diverse African (AFR) or European (AFR) descent; and (3) all 14 available populations (ALL). Based on chromosome 22, we calculated three performance metrics: (1) concordance (percentage of masked genotyped SNPs with imputed and true genotype agreement); (2) imputation quality score (IQS; concordance adjusted for chance agreement, which is particularly informative for low minor allele frequency [MAF] SNPs); and (3) average r2hat (estimated correlation between the imputed and true genotypes, for all imputed SNPs). Across the reference panels, IMPUTE2 and MaCH had the highest concordance (91%–93%), but IMPUTE2 had the highest IQS (81%–83%) and average r2hat (0.68 using YRI+ASW+CEU, 0.62 using AFR+EUR, and 0.55 using ALL). Imputation quality for most programs was reduced by the addition of more distantly related reference populations, due entirely to the introduction of low frequency SNPs (MAF≤2%) that are monomorphic in the more closely related panels. While imputation was optimized by using IMPUTE2 with reference to the ALL panel (average r2hat = 0.86 for SNPs with MAF>2%), use of the ALL panel for African American studies requires careful interpretation of the population specificity and imputation quality of low frequency SNPs.
Avoidance Response By Adult Newts (Cynops Pyrrhogaster and Notophthalmus Viridescens) To Chemical Alarm Cues

Many fishes and aquatic invertebrates use chemical alarm cues to avoid predation, however relatively little is known about the occurrence of chemical alarm cues in amphibians. We tested the response of adult fire-bellied newts (Cynops pyrrhogaster) and red-spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) to chemical cues from damaged tissues of newts and other salamanders. Both species avoided chemical cues from a conspecific skin extract. Notophthalmus viridescens also avoided chemical cues from C. pyrrhogaster skin extract, but the converse was not true. Neither species avoided chemical cues from a conspecific viscera extract, plethodontid salamander (Desmognathus and Plethodon) skin extracts, or a conspecific skin extract which had been heated. These results indicate that the avoidance behaviour is an alarm response to chemical cues released from damaged newt skin and is not a general response to chemical cues from damaged salamander tissue. This study provides the best evidence to date for an avoidance response by caudate amphibians to chemical alarm cues.
Squeezed light generated by a microcavity laser

Photon-number fluctuations 1.3 dB below the semiclassical shot-noise limit are observed in the output of a semiconductor microcavity laser. Although the laser oscillates in a single longitudinal mode, photon-number squeezed light is realized through nonclassical correlations between two orthogonally polarized, transverse laser modes. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
Dosing of adult pigeons with as little as one #9 lead pellet caused severe δ-ALAD depression, suggesting potential adverse effects in wild populations

Avian wildlife species commonly ingest lead (Pb) spent shot or bullet fragments as grit or mistakenly as food. In previous studies in our laboratory and others, the toxicity varied based on the diet as well as type and quantity of Pb ingested. In the current study, domestic pigeons were gavaged with 1, 2, or 3 Pb pellets and then followed with weekly radiographs and blood physiologic endpoints for 28 days. Pellet retention decreased by roughly 50 % per week as pellets were either absorbed or excreted, except for week 4 where pellet number no longer was diminished. Size of retained pellets visually decreased over retention time. Birds dosed with a single #9 pellet showed mean blood Pb levels over 80 times higher than those of the controls, verifying Pb pellet absorption from the gut. A single Pb pellet also reduced plasma δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (δ-ALAD) activity by over 80 % compared to controls, suggesting the potential for population injury in Pb pellet-exposed pigeons.
SU-FF-T-193: Effect of Headscatter for IMRT Fields

Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of headscatter for IMRT fields. Methods and material In air measurements were made for two types of fields. For the first type of fields, a series of offset fields with field sizes ranging between 10 and 21.5cm were used. The offset changed between 0 and 10cm depending on the field size. The detector was always placed on the central axis (CAX). For the second type of fields, headscatter factors were measured for a series of 10×10cm2 fields composed of slits 0.3, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0cm in width. In‐air output ratio, Sc , for a series of clinical IMRT fields was also measured. Sc is defined as dose per MU measured in a water‐equivalent miniphantom between IMRT field and a 10×10 cm2 open field. The measurements are compared with calculation using a two‐source headscatter model1. Results Sc on CAX for the same open beam with different offset changed by up to 4% for the Siemens accelerators. For stop‐and‐shoot method, Sc for 10×10cm2 fields composed of slit fields of different widths changes with the slit width to within 8% and 6.4% for 6 and 15MV, respectively. The 8% uncertainty is completely due to delivery error and does not seem to correlate with the slit width. The two‐source model predicts Sc for all cases including IMRT fields to within 1%. Conclusion In‐air output ratio changes with field shaping by up to 4%, even when the point of measurement is within the radiation field. Thus, it is important to model the headscatter in order to predict Sc for IMRT fields. Our two‐source model can accurately predict the headscatter for points within radiation field.
Limit theorems for empirical processes

The empirical measure P n for iid sampling on a distribution P is formed by placing mass n −1 at each of the first n observations. Generalizations of the classical Glivenko-Cantelli theorem for empirical measures have been proved by Vapnik and cervonenkis using combinatorial methods. They found simple conditions on a class C to ensure that sup {|P n (C) − P(C)|: C ∈ C} converges in probability to zero. They used a randomization device that reduced the problem to finding exponential bounds on the tails of a hypergeometric distribution. In this paper an alternative randomization is proposed. The role of the hypergeometric distribution is thereby taken over by the binomial distribution, for which the elementary Bernstein inequalities provide exponential boundson the tails. This leads to easier proofs of both the basic results of Vapnik-cervonenkis and the extensions due to Steele. A similar simplification is made in the proof of Dudley's central limit theorem forn 1/2(P P n −P)— a result that generalizes Donsker's functional central limit theorem for empirical distribution functions.
Building an inter-IDS central analysis platform in the network center of China's Central Bank

In this paper, we present a new model that makes use of currently-separate intrusion detection systems (IDS) to share intersystem alarm information between homogeneous protected systems. The goal is to improve the overall intrusion detection performance provided by the IDSs used in China's commercial banking system. This model focuses mainly on improving the average intrusion detection performance of the collection of IDSs by making the subscribed IDSs cooperate. The estimates presented in this paper show that this proposal results in a valuable improvement of the whole banking system's security compared to the cost and overhead to the network
Using topic models to understand the evolution of a software ecosystem

The development of a software system is now ever more frequently a part of a larger development effort, including multiple software systems that co-exist in the same environment: a software ecosystem. Though most studies of the evolution of software have focused on a single software system, there is much that we can learn from the analysis of a set of interrelated systems. Topic modeling techniques show promise for mining the data stored in software repositories to understand the evolution of a system. In my research I seek to explore how topic modeling techniques can aid in understanding the evolution of a software ecosystem. The results of this research have the potential to improve how topic modeling techniques are used to predict, plan, and understand the evolution of software, and will inform the design of tools that support software engineering activities such as feature location, expertise identification, and bug detection.
Lower extremity muscle force measures and functional ambulation in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Abstract Objective: To examine the relation between lower extremity muscle force production and functional ambulation in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Design: Retrospective analysis of data collected from 1979 to 1995. Patients: Two hundred forty ALS patients referred to the New England Medical Center Neuromuscular Research Unit. Main Outcome Measures: Muscle force production during a maximum, voluntary isometric contraction of ankle dorsiflexors, knee flexors, knee extensors, hip flexors, and hip extensors was calculated as percent predicted maximal force (PPMF). Functional ambulation status was classified as unable, home, or community. Results: The probability of community ambulation compared with home increased with progressively higher PPMF for all muscle groups. Subjects with knee flexion strength greater than 75% PPMF were 395 times more likely to ambulate in the community. Subjects with hip extension strength over 50% PPMF showed improved chance of ambulation at home. Conclusion: Lower extremity PPMF is a critical factor determining functional ambulation in patients with ALS. Knee flexors play an important role in community ambulation while the hip extensors are important for home ambulation.
MarkovBin: An Algorithm to Cluster Metagenomic Reads Using a Mixture Modeling of Hierarchical Distributions

Metagenomics is the study of genomic content of microorganisms from environmental samples without isolation and cultivation. Recently developed next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies efficiently generate vast amounts of metagenomic DNA sequences. However, the ultra-high throughput and short read lengths make the separation of reads from different species more challenging. Among the existing computational tools for NGS data, there are supervised methods that use reference databases to classify reads and unsupervised methods that use oligonucleotide patterns to cluster reads. The former may leave a large fraction of reads unclassified due to the absence of closely related references. The latter often rely on long oligonucleotide frequencies and are sensitive to species abundance levels. In this work, we present MarkovBin, a new unsupervised method that can accurately cluster metagenomic reads across various species abundance ratios. We first model the nucleotide sequences as a fixed-order Markov chain. We then propose a hierarchical distribution to model the dependency between paired-end reads. Finally, we employ the mixture model framework to separate reads from different genomes in a metagenomic dataset. Using extensive simulation data, we demonstrate a high accuracy and precision by comparing to selected unsupervised read clustering tools. The software is freely available at http://orleans.cs.wayne.edu/MarkovBin.
R Values of fiber-textured tantalum plates

Computations have been made of the effect of crystallographic texture on the R values in sheets of bcc metals with an upper-bound model based on t pencil glide. Sheets having [111] and [100] textural components with rotational symmetry about the sheet normal were considered. The predicted R values increase with the fraction [111] component up to a maximum of about 3 for pure [111]. Experiments were made on disks of tantalum produced by upsetting of rods, which produced textures having rotational symmetry about the disk normal. X-ray diffraction showed mixed [111] and [100] textures, with the fraction of [111] varying from about 34 to 96 pct. R values were measured in tension and compression tests on these sheets, and their dependence on fraction [111] agrees very well with the theoretical predictions.
Convenient syntheses of iso-methyl-branched long-chain aliphatic aldehydes, known to contribute signiﬁcantly to meat ﬂavour

Convenient syntheses of iso-methyl-branched long-chain aliphatic aldehydes, which are common meat ﬂavour compounds, are described. The Grignard reaction of isoamyl or isobutylmagnesium bromide and ω-bromo-α-alkanols in the presence of a catalytic amount of dilithium tetrachlorocuprate gave iso-methylalkanols. The oxidation of the alkanols using sodium hypochlorite in the presence of a catalytic amount of 4-benzoyloxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxide (BzOTEMPO) gave the corresponding iso-methylalkanals in high yield. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Infant lesions effect: I. Development of motor behavior following neonatal spinal cord damage in cats

This study was undertaken to determine the effect of spinal cord damage on motor development, and to determine whether there is greater survival of motor function in those motor patterns with a later onset of function than in those which are present at birth. The postnatal development of postural reflexes and locomotion was examined during the first 4 months of life in normal kittens and in those which had received a spinal cord lesion (at high cervical or low thoracic levels) at birth. The results suggest that there are some similarities in normal development, recovery of function after adult lesions and recovery and/or development of function after neonatal lesions. After neonatal lesions, just as after lesions in adults, reflex recovery appears to underlie recovery of locomotion. After spinal lesions, the pattern and sequence of motor development was identical to that seen in normal animals. Hindlimb motor development was normal for some time after the spinal lesion, but deficits appeared later. These observations suggest that postural reflexes and locomotion are not dependent upon ipsilateral descending input for their onset, but only for their maturation. Unexpectedly, tactile placing developed after neonatal spinal cord lesions. This represents sparing of function, for tactile placing is abolished and does not recover after the same lesion sustained in adulthood. Tactile placing is the last of the series of postural reflexes to develop. It depends on the last of the spinal pathways to develop, the corticospinal tract. Two aspects of this study support the hypothesis that later developing motor patterns will have a greater chance for survival and subsequent development than those which are present at birth. First, the immediate effects of spinal cord lesions on postural reflexes are more severe on those reflexes that are more mature at birth. Second, the spinal cord lesions produce more severe impairment of the more mature forelimb motor function than of the less mature hindlimb motor function. The hypothesis is not supported, however, when the long-term effect of spinal cord lesions on the maturation of motor behavior is considered. All postural reflexes and locomotion fail to mature fully, i.e. they retain characteristics of the immature responses.
A fracture mechanics analysis of multiple cracking in coatings

Abstract Recent variational mechanics analysis of composite microcracking [J. A. Nairn, J. compos. Mater.23, 1106 (1989)] has been modified to predict the onset and propagation of multiple cracking in brittle coatings. In the modified analysis, we derived an expression for the total energy released due to the formation of a new crack across the entire cross-section of the coating. Under the assumption that the next coating crack will occur when the energy released on forming that crack reaches the critical energy release rate of the coating (the coating fracture toughness), the new analysis can be used to predict the strain required to form the first coating crack and to predict the coating crack density as a function of increasing applied strain. The predictions were compared to literature results on brittle stress analysis coatings and to experimental results on poly(methyl methacrylate) coatings applied to General Electric Lexan® polycarbonate substrates. The agreement between theory and experiment was good.
Integrated safety stock optimization for multiple sourced stockpoints facing variable demand and lead time

Abstract The safety stock placement problem of a multi-stage supply chain comprising multiple sourced stockpoints is addressed in this paper. Each stockpoint faces variability in its downstream demand and suppliers' lead time. The maximum among these suppliers' lead time is determined by employing concepts of order statistics. It is required to find the fill rate and safety stocks at each stockpoint that leads to satisfying the end customer service level at minimum safety stock placement cost. Hence, the fill rates and the safety amounts are decided from a global supply chain perspective. Two models are proposed; a decentralized safety stock placement model and a centralized consolidation model. The decentralized model finds the safety amounts at each stockpoint required to face its underlying lead time demand variability. The consolidation model finds the consolidated safety amounts that will be kept in the relevant consolidation center at each stage. A Benders decomposition technique is developed to handle the nonlinearity and binary restrictions involved in the safety stock consolidation model. Strategies proposed by the consolidation model achieve 45.2–62% reduction in safety amounts that results in a cost savings ranging between 22.2–44.2% as compared to the strategies proposed by the decentralized model.