cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the Energy Efficiency of Wireless Transceivers

Battery life-time is an important performance metric for many wireless networks and there is a growing need to improve the life-time of these networks. However, system analysis is complicated by the fact that the transceiver electronics energy cost is non-negligible and often has a major impact on the battery life. This paper develops a simple metric to evaluate the energy cost of both communication protocols and circuit electronics. This metric treats the electronics energy as an overhead cost on top of the Eb/No requirement. This enables the joint optimization of system and circuit parameters for energy limited wireless transceivers with arbitrary communication protocols.
Introduced T cell receptor variable region gene segments recombine in pre-B cells: Evidence that B and T cells use a common recombinase

Abstract We have recently proposed that a common recombinase performs all of the many variable region gene assembly events in B and T cells, and that the specificity of these joining events is mediated by regulating the "accessibility" of the involved gene segments. To test this possibility, we have introduced "accessible" T cell receptor (TCR) variable region gene segments into a pre-B cell line capable of recombining endogenous and transfected immunoglobulin (Ig) variable region gene segments. Although the corresponding "inaccessible" endogenous TCR gene segments do not rearrange in this line or in B cells in general, the introduced TCR gene segments join very frequently and, in fact, closely resemble introduced Ig gene segments in their recombination characteristics. These observations suggest a new role for conventional Ig transcriptional enhancers — recombinational enhancement. Our studies provide insight into additional aspects of the joining mechanism such as N region insertion, aberrant joining, and recombination-recognition sequence requirements for joining.
Thermoconvective instability in a bounded cylindrical fluid layer

Abstract The onset of axisymmetric convection in cylindrical layers of fluid heated from beneath is investigated for various radius-to-height ratios. Upper as well as lower bounds on the critical Rayleigh number for such flows are computed, and the structure of the convective flow is investigated. The latter is in good agreement with the observation of Koschmieder.
A prospective randomized trial comparing somatostatin, balloon tamponade and the combination of both methods in the management of acute variceal haemorrhage

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of: (i) somatostatin infusion, (ii) balloon tamponade with the Sengstaken-Blakemore tube and (iii) the combination of both methods, in the management of acute variceal haemorrhage. Ninety-two consecutive patients with liver cirrhosis who proved to have active variceal bleeding on emergency endoscopy were studied. Thirty-one patients were randomly assigned to an intravenous infusion of 250 micrograms/h of somatostatin (Group I), 30 to the Sengstaken-Blakemore tube (Group II) and 31 to the combination of both methods (Group III). Somatostatin was administered for 24 h, while the gastric and esophageal balloons remained inflated for 48 and 24 h, respectively, then deflated. Patients were under observation for a further 24-h period after withdrawal of treatment. If bleeding recurred, the same treatment was repeated in each group. Following treatment the bleeding was controlled initially in 22 patients (71%) in Group I, in 24 (80%) in Group II and in 25 (80.6%) in Group III. In Group II a significantly (p less than 0.05) higher proportion of patients (14/24) rebled as compared to Groups I (5/22) and III (6/25). Bleeding was controlled following retreatment in four, ten and five patients of the three respective groups. There were marked differences, in the number of complications noticed with each form of therapy. Only three patients (9.7%) in Group I developed complications (p less than 0.05) as compared to ten (33%) in Group II and ten (32%) in Group III. Hospital mortality in all three treatment groups was not significantly different.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Response of cyanobacterial mats to nutrient and salinity changes

Abstract Cyanobacterial mats (CBM), complex assemblages of cyanobacteria, bacteria and algae, are important ecosystem components of oligotrophic marshes in limestone-based regions of the Caribbean. We conducted a mesocosm experiment and evaluated the response of CBM to factorial combinations of low, medium and high phosphorus, nitrogen and salinity. Changes in composition of the main species groups of cyanobacteria and algae, primary production, cellular nutrients and enzymatic activities were recorded as response variables. The redundancy analysis with concentrations of P, N and salinity as explanatory variables showed that the primary production of CBM and the amount of phytoplankton expressed as Chl a were best explained by concentration of P, with less significant positive effect of N and a negative effect of salinity. Abundance of green algae and Chroococcales was positively correlated with increasing concentrations of P and N and reached 27.6% and 21.9%, respectively, in high P and high N treatment at the end of experiment. N 2 -fixation averaged 75 and 175 nmol C 2 H 4 cm −2 min −1 , at low nitrogen and medium or high P, respectively, and it was negatively correlated with nitrogen concentration and positively correlated with abundance of a group of heterocytous cyanobacteria from genus Nostoc . At low N concentrations, increasing P concentrations supported higher N 2 -fixation. Activity of the alkaline phosphatase, APA, was negatively correlated with P and salinity and positively with N. We also found a significant negative correlation between the APA activity and the P content of the mat. At high P and N concentrations, the mats were impacted by grazing, had a tendency to disintegrate and become shaded out by a massive growth of phytoplankton. We confirmed an overall negative effect of nutrient increase on CBM.
Management of the Anemia of Prematurity Using Human Recombinant Erythropoietin

SUMMARY The evolution of clinical practice in the care of extremely low birth weight infants continues to affect their number of transfusions. Advancements such as improved ventilation and treatment of preterm lung disease, the development of pediatric laboratory equipment and microsampling techniques, and the use of alternatives to blood products such as human recombinant erythropoietin (rHuEPO) have all improved transfusion practices in neonatology. EPO has been studied extensively as treatment for a variety of anemias in adults and children. Following in vitro studies of the anemia of prematurity that showed the primary etiology to be decreased EPO concentrations, clinical trials evaluated the administration of EPO to preterm infants to treat the anemia of prematurity. Recent studies have focused on the administration of EPO in the first weeks of life to alleviate the anemia caused by excessive phlebotomy losses, and to prevent the anemia of prematurity. It is likely that EPO administration in combination with instituting rigorous transfusion guidelines and decreasing phlebotomy losses will have the greatest impact in decreasing transfusion requirements in all preterm and term neonates, regardless of the etiology of their anemia.
Nutritional practices associated with low energy availability in Division I female soccer players.

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine macronutrient intake, energy density and energy intake distribution that may be associated with low energy availability (EA) in Division I female soccer players. The energy intake, exercise energy expenditure and EA of 19 participants (18–21 years) was assessed during the pre-, mid- and postseasons. Repeated measures analysis of variance was performed to examine the changes across the season. Chi-square analysis was performed to examine the distribution of participants meeting the American College of Sports Medicine recommendations for carbohydrate and protein consumption. Independent t-tests were used to compare differences between groups. The proportion of athletes who did not meet the American College of Sports Medicine recommendations for carbohydrate intake (6–10 g . kg–1 BW) was significantly greater in the low (<30 kcal . kg–1 LBM) than higher (≥30 kcal . kg–1 LBM) EA group (χ2 (1) = 7.5; P = 0.006). Participants with low compared to higher EA consum...
Pneumatosis intestinalis: a clinical classification.

Review of our experience with pneumatosis intestinalis has allowed identification of three major clinical groups of patients. In each of these groups, the etiology of pneumatosis intestinalis usually can be identified, and it frequently has an ominous prognosis. Treatment should be directed to the underlying condition when possible, and hence must be individualized. Those patients who would be categorized as Group I can simply be kept under observation. Patients in Group II might obtain relief from breathing increased concentrations of oxygen. For patients in Group III vigorous therapeutic measures generally are necessary to ensure survival. The increasing use of mechanically controlled ventilation and positive end-expiratory pressure may be contributing to the incidence of pneumatosis intestinalis. The ileus sometimes observed in these patients may accompany or precede the development of intramural air, a condition identifiable on roentgenographic examination. Awareness of the possible presence of intramural air may help in identifying patients who may not need operation. But even when roentgenographic examination has confirmed the presence of intramural air, abdominal exploration still may be necessary to rule out a diagnosis of perforated viscus. We hope that these concepts and our emphasis upon individualization of treatment may improve the prognoment patients who have pneumatosis intestinalis.
Multidimensional perfectionism in a sample of middle school students: An exploratory investigation

In this exploratory study, 185 middle school students were administered the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised and the Behavioral Assessment System for Children-Self Report. Self-reported grade-point average was also obtained. Students who established high personal standards but nonetheless recognize their limitations (adaptive perfectionists) reported significantly higher (i.e., more positive) scores on a number of academic, intrapersonal, and interpersonal variables. However, the perceived inability for some students to consistently meet their high standards (maladaptive perfectionists) was significantly and negatively related to perceptions of school and family relationships, and greater emotional distress. Implications of these findings and future research and clinical suggestions are provided. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 40: 677–689, 2003.
On the abundance of Earth-like planets

Abstract A Moon-like satellite may be essential in the evolution of an Earth-like planet.
Chlorophyll- a photovoltaic cells

ALTHOUGH the properties of an organic photovoltaic cell in which the photoactive material is microcrystalline chlorophyll-a (Chl-a). In a sandwich configuration having chromium and mercury as the electrodes, the Chl-a cell, (Cr|Chl-a|Hg), achieves a power conversion efficiency of the order of 10−2%, which is among the highest ever reported for organic photovoltaic cells1,2. In contrast to the usual methods for preparing thin films (such as vapour deposition), a thin microcrystalline Chl-a film is prepared on a Cr electrode surface by the simple method of electrodeposition3. Such a film is fairly uniform and is uniquely efficient in the photocharge generation. The microcrystalline form of Chl-a differs from the aggregated form of monomer Chl-a in that it has an ordered structure and has a strong absorption band in the far red, peaking at 740–745 nm. A water–Chl-a adduct structure has been proposed for this type of Chl-a (ref. 4).
Range of Excited Electrons in Metals

The energy of interaction of a single excited electron with the sea of conduction electrons in a metal has been calculated by a self-energy approach. The imaginary part of the self-energy of the excited electron can be interpreted in terms of a total rate of real collisions with the sea of conduction electrons. By weighting the differential scattering rate by the amount of energy lost in each scattering event, one obtains an expression for the instantaneous rate of energy loss of the excited electron as a function of its initial energy. The extremely strong dependence of this rate on the initial energy is the main result of this paper. For slow electrons, by which we mean those of initial energy smaller than the sum of the Fermi energy and the plasma energy of the electron gas, the rate of energy loss is determined by the small imaginary part of the dielectric constant. For electrons close to the Fermi surface this rate is proportional to ${(p\ensuremath{-}{p}_{0})}^{3}$, where $p$ is the momentum of the excited electron and ${p}_{0}$ the Fermi momentum; therefore in this range the rate of energy loss is very sensitive to the initial energy. For fast electrons, a new contribution to the rate of energy loss arises due to a pole of the inverse dielectric constant. This new process corresponds to the excitation of plasma oscillations by the excited electron, and causes fast electrons to lose energy very rapidly.
Computational Modeling Of Magnetized Target Fusion Experiments

The advent of 100-MJ-class flux compression generators has made it possible to consider driving fusion targets by direct magnetic implosion, with implosion kinetic energies far beyond those available with conventional fusion drivers. Computational studies have suggested that the optimal use of such energy is in a magnetized target fusion (MTF) system. An MTF system requires a means of preheating and magnetizing the thermonuclear fuel within the target prior to implosion. One means of obtaining a preheating and magnetized plasma is the recently reported ``MAGO`` concept. In ``MAGO``, an inverse pinch is followed by axial flow through a ``nozzle`` and is subsequently magnetically compressed and ohmically heated. D-T neutron yields in excess of 10{sup 13} have been reported. The authors have begun computational modeling of the ``MAGO`` experiment, using a number of different multi-dimensional MHD codes. In addition, other MTF concepts are being computationally and theoretically evaluated. The status of the modeling efforts will be reported.
SORI: a secure and objective reputation-based incentive scheme for ad-hoc networks

In an ad-hoc network, intermediate nodes on a communication path are expected to forward packets of other nodes so that the mobile nodes can communicate beyond their wireless transmission range. However, because wireless mobile nodes are usually constrained by limited power and computation resources, a selfish node may be unwilling to spend its resources in forwarding packets which are not of its direct interest, even though it expects other nodes to forward its packets to the destination. It has been shown that the presence of such selfish nodes degrades the overall performance of a non-cooperative ad hoc network. To address this problem, we propose a secure and objective reputation-based incentive (SORI) scheme to encourage packet forwarding and discipline selfish behavior. Different from the existing schemes, under our approach, the reputation of a node is quantified by objective measures, and the propagation of reputation is efficiently secured by a one-way-hash-chain-based authentication scheme. Armed with the reputation-based mechanism, we design a punishment scheme to penalize selfish nodes. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme can successfully identify selfish nodes and punish them accordingly.
On incremental processing of continual range queries for location-aware services and applications

A set of continual range queries, each defining the geographical region of interest, can be periodically re-evaluated to locate moving objects. Processing these continual queries efficiently and incrementally hence becomes important for location-aware services and applications. In this paper, we study a new query indexing method, called CES-based indexing, for incremental processing of continual range queries over moving objects. A set of containment-encoded squares (CES) are predefined, each with a unique ID. CES's are virtual constructs (VC) used to decompose query regions and to store indirectly pre-computed search results. Compared with a prior VC-based approach, the number of VC's visited in an index search in CES-based indexing is reduced from (4L/sup 2/-1)/3 to log(L)+1, where L is the maximal side length of a VC. Search time is hence significantly lowered. Moreover, containment encoding among the CES's makes it easy to identify all those VC's that need not be visited during an incremental query reevaluation. We study the performance of CES-based indexing and compare it with a prior VC-based approach.
Developments in Large Turbo-Type Generators

The construction of the modern large turbogenerator has been made possible by developments in the manufacture of large forgings, techniques of construction, and design progress maintained by continued reappraisal of known and careful analysis of new problems. The present paper reviews the progress which leads to construction of the direct liquid-cooled generator and discusses a number of major problems which have become prominent with the increase in maximum output. These include negative sequence heating, asynchronous operation, current collection, and short-circuit torques.
An investigation of the growth of turbulence in a uniform-mean-shear flow

A uniform-mean-gradient shear flow was produced using a ten-layer closed-loop water channel, providing long enough dimensionless flow development times (τ = (x/Ū) (∂ Ū/∂z)) for the turbulence to grow. The rate of growth of the turbulence compares well with similar measurements in wind-tunnel-generated uniform shear flows for which the mean shears and centreline velocities are larger by an order of magnitude. Preliminary investigations were undertaken to study the growth of the turbulent intensity as functions of the mean shear, centreline velocity, and initial disturbance lengthscales. Initial disturbance lengthscales were varied by using grids of different mesh sizes.Turbulent intensities were found to increase nearly linearly with τ. Differences in grid mesh size produce different offsets in the turbulent intensity level, with a larger grid mesh producing a higher positive offset. This offset persists throughout the growth of the turbulent intensity. These observations provide valuable insight in interpreting previous wind-tunnel measurements, in particular the high-shear experiments of Karnik & Tavoularis (1983). Comparison with the theoretical predictions of Tavoularis (1985) allows for an improved universal characterization of evolving turbulence in a uniform mean shear.
Optimizing multicompression approaches to elasticity imaging

Breast lesion visibility in static strain imaging ultimately is noise limited. When correlation and related techniques are applied to estimate local displacements between two echo frames recorded before and after a small deformation, target contrast increases linearly with the amount of deformation applied. However, above some deformation threshold, decorrelation noise increases more than contrast such that lesion visibility is severely reduced. Multicompression methods avoid this problem by accumulating displacements from many small deformations to provide the same net increase in lesion contrast as one large deformation but with minimal decorrelation noise. Unfortunately, multicompression approaches accumulate echo noise (electronic and sampling) with each deformation step as contrast builds so that lesion visibility can be reduced again if the applied deformation increment is too small. This paper uses signal models and analysis techniques to develop multicompression strategies that minimize strain image noise. The analysis predicts that displacement variance is minimal in elastically homogeneous media when the applied strain increment is 0.0035. Predictions are verified experimentally with gelatin phantoms. For in vivo breast imaging, a strain increment as low as 0.0015 is recommended for minimum noise because of the greater elastic heterogeneity of breast tissue.
Neural network hardware: what does the future hold?

Neural network technology has reached the stage where practical applications are appearing. However, the computational resources required to perform the data manipulation are large and complex. Hardware to perform neural network computations has been slow to appear. The causes for these limitations are reviewed, along with the state-of-the-art in neural network hardware. Novel methods to circumvent these limitations are suggested: hybrid optical/electronic systems neural network algorithms specifically formatted to match to digital semiconductor chips; fine grained parallel simulators using a novel neuron value transfer; and massive analog semiconductor chips. >
Domain compression of incompletely specified Boolean functions

In the design automation of combinational switching circuits, the task of synthesis and optimization of Boolean functions with greater than 30 variables is computationally infeasible with conventional techniques. This paper presents a transform function that can compress the domain of any arbitrarily sized, incompletely-specified Boolean function into a new domain with significantly fewer variables. A statistical analysis illustrates the compression. >
A Graphical Technique and Penalized Likelihood Method for Identifying and Estimating Infant Failures

Field failure data often exhibit extra heterogeneity as early failure data may have quite different distribution characteristics from later failure data. These infant failures may come from a defective subpopulation instead of the normal product population. Many exiting methods for field failure analyses focus only on the estimation for a hypothesized mixture model, while the model identification is ignored. This paper aims to develop efficient, accurate methods for both detecting data heterogeneity, and estimating mixture model parameters. Mixture distribution detection is achieved by applying a mixture detection plot (MDP) on field failure observations. The penalized likelihood method, and the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm are then used for estimating the components in the mixture model. Two field datasets are employed to demonstrate and validate the proposed approach.
Therapist influence on client language during motivational interviewing sessions

Client language in favor of change is hypothesized to be a causal mechanism for motivational interviewing (MI), and specific therapist behaviors are prescribed to elicit such speech. This project examined 38 motivational enhancement therapy sessions from Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity), using a sequential behavioral coding system to investigate the relationship between therapist behaviors and client speech. Conditional probabilities were calculated between MI-consistent (MICO) therapist behaviors, MI-inconsistent (MIIN) therapist behaviors, and immediately subsequent client speech. MICO behaviors were more likely to be followed by self-motivational statements, whereas MIIN behaviors were more likely to be followed by client resistance. These results lend support to the importance of therapist behaviors in shaping client speech during MI sessions.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and effects of L-dopa on visual function in normal and amblyopic subjects.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of a single dose of levodopa on visual cortex, based on functional MRI (fMRI), and on visual function, based on psychophysical tests, in amblyopic and normal subjects. METHOD: A prospective, randomized trial of a single dose of levodopa (2 mg/kg body weight) was undertaken in an institutional setting in nine normal and six amblyopic subjects, who were assessed at baseline and 90 minutes after levodopa ingestion. fMRI of occipital visual cortex was undertaken with a 1.5T GE MRI scanner utilizing the BOLD contrast technique. fMRI stimuli were two gratings (0.5, 2.0 cycles/degree of visual angle) that counterphased at 4 Hz. fMRI parameters for analysis included AREA and LEVEL of activation and a SUMMED score (AREA x LEVEL). Psychophysical tests included visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, stereoacuity, and binocular fusion. RESULTS: At baseline, AREA of activation (P = .05) and SUMMED score (P = .05) were significantly less in the amblyopic compared to the dominant eyes. Psychophysically, visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were significantly worse in the amblyopic eye. Following levodopa ingestion, there was significant decrease in LEVEL of activation in the amblyopic eye, even though visual acuity showed significant improvement (P = .03). Also, amblyopes showed a significant increase and normals showed some decrease in interocular difference in LEVEL of activation (P = .04). CONCLUSION: Unique information was obtained when fMRI was utilized to assess visual cortical function. While levodopa improved visual acuity in the amblyopic eye, it decreased the LEVEL of activation based on fMRI, a counterintuitive finding. The results highlight the value of utilizing fMRI to assess amblyopia and provide new directions for research.
Expression of Melanoma Antigens in Epithelioid Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: A Potential Diagnostic Pitfall

Abstract Context.—Most gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) express CD117/c-kit, as do a subset of metastatic melanomas, leading to a diagnostic dilemma in some cases. Objective.—To further differentiate GISTs from melanoma, we investigated expression of melanoma markers in GISTs using a well-characterized set of gastric lesions on tissue microarrays. Design.—Tissue microarrays from paraffin-embedded tissue cores from 38 patients were stained with S100 protein, HMB-45, and Melan-A antibodies. All cases had been previously stained with CD117/c-kit and CD34 antibodies. All were reactive with CD117/c-kit, and 88.2% expressed CD34. Results.—S100 protein was focally expressed in 2 (5.3%) of 38 GISTs; these lesions lacked HMB-45 and Melan-A labeling. No tumor labeled with HMB-45, but 4 (10.6%) of 38 cases labeled with Melan-A antibodies. The Melan-A–reactive cases were all S100 negative and CD34 positive. The S100-reactive cases were spindle cell neoplasms, whereas the Melan-A–reactive cases were epi...
Environmental policy in the European Union: Fostering the development of pollution havens?

Abstract A pollution haven occurs when dirty industries from developed nations relocate to developing nations in order to avoid strict environmental standards or developed nations imports of dirty industries expand replacing domestic production. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the European Union (EU) has increased its imports of “dirty” goods from poorer, less democratic countries during a period of more stringent environmental standards. Previous empirical studies such as those by Levinson and Taylor [Levinson, A., and Taylor, M.S., in press. Unmasking the Pollution Haven Effect. International Economic Review.], Ederington, Levinson and Minier [Ederington, J., Levinson, A., and Minier, J., 2005. Footloose and Pollution-Free. Review of Economics and Statistics., 87: 92–99.], Kahn and Yoshino (2004), and Ederington and Minier [Ederington, J., and Minier. J., 2003. Is Environmental Policy a Secondary Trade Barrier? An Empirical Analysis. Canadian Journal of Economics., 36: 137–54.] find evidence that United States imports are responsive to changes in environmental stringency, but the effects of EU policy have not been examined as thoroughly. Our study follows Kahn [Kahn, M.E., 2003. The Geography of Us Pollution Intensive Trade: Evidence from 1958 to 1994. Regional Science and Urban Economics., 33: 383–400.] and examines the impact of industry energy intensity and toxicity, measured by an energy index and a Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) index, on imports into the EU, at the 2-digit industry level from 1970 to 1999. We use the signing of the Maastricht Treaty to signify a period of more uniform and stringent community wide environmental standards (1993–1999), and identify the level of per capita GDP within an EU trading partner. We find an increased amount of EU energy intensive trade with poorer countries during the period with more stringent EU environmental standards. This result is not robust, however, when poorer countries are defined by OECD membership and geographic region. We do not find an increased amount of EU toxic intensive trade with poorer countries although there is some evidence of increased EU imports of toxic goods from poorer OECD and non-EU European countries. For our full sample of trading partners in all regions, the evidence supports the PHH for EU energy intensive trade, but not for toxic intensive trade. Results for regional trade analysis are less clear.
Der Mechanismus der Claisen‐Umlagerung – ein Déjà‐vu

“Deja-vu all over again”. So beschrieb der beruhmte Baseballspieler Yogi Berra kurz und knapp die Erfahrung, etwas zu lernen, das andere lange vorher begriffen haben. Der Mechanismus, nach dem das Enzym Chorismat-Mutase die Claisen-Umlagerung von Chorisminsaure beschleunigt, hat Chemiker und Biochemiker viele Jahre verblufft und gefesselt. Klassische Losungsmittel- und Katalysatoreffekte, die jedoch von der chemischen Fachwelt zum grosten Teil ignoriert wurden, lieferten nicht nur wichtige Anhaltspunkte hinsichtlich des Mechanismus der enzymkatalysierten Reaktion, sondern stellten die Claisen-Umlagerung in ein neues Licht. Fruher schien Chorisminsaure eine Ausnahme zu sein, da sie sich so schnell unter physiologischen Bedingungen umlagerte. Inzwischen ist klar, das sich sogar Allylvinylether bei Raumtemperatur in wasriger Losung umlagert. Die Fahigkeit des Enzyms, die Umlagerung von Chorismat-Ionen um den Faktor 106 zu beschleunigen, wurde damals als ausergewohnlich angesehen. Die Katalyse mit trivalenten Aluminiumverbindungen erreicht jedoch ebenfalls diese Geschwindigkeitserhohungen und ubertrifft sie in einigen Fallen sogar. Es sollte deshalb wirklich nicht uberraschen, das es in der Natur mehrere strukturell verschiedene Losungen zum Aufbau von Enzymkatalysatoren fur die Umlagerung von Chorisminsaure gibt.
Quality Assessment with National Institutional Rankings and Performance Funding: The Australian Experiment, 1993–1995

This paper provides a case-study of the Australian quality assurance or quality assessment program which ran for three years from 1993 to 1995. The program was somewhat unusual among recent experiments with quality assurance in OECD countries in that, while it was based on annual academic audits of participating institutions, it also included publication of detailed annual reports on each institution, national rankings of institutions, and performance funding with additional funds coming from a special additional government allocation. In each of the first two years of the program, the most highly rated universities received an amount of additional funding equal to three per cent of their annual government operating grant.
DEVS formalism: a framework for hierarchical model development

A methodology is being developed to map hierarchical, modular discrete event models onto distributed simulator architectures. Concept developed for the first step of the methodology concerning model representation are discussed. The DEVS (Discrete Event System Specification) is extended to facilitate modular, hierarchical model specification. Procedures for top-down model development are expressed with the extended formalism and illustrated with a computer system model design. >
‘Race isn't what defines me’: exploring identity choices in transracial, biracial, and monoracial families

Transracial adoption [TRA], particularly the adoption of black children by white parents, has been a controversial issue in the United States for more than half a century. Much of the criticism surrounding transracial adoption has dealt with concerns that black children raised in white homes will fail to develop a positive black identity. Such critiques are often based on assumptions about the identity of black children raised by their biological parents, yet studies of transracial adoption rarely address identity development struggles experienced by black children raised in black homes. Moreover, while the race of parents in relation to children is at the center of the transracial adoption debate, TRA studies rarely delve into socialization practices of biracial families headed by one white and one black parent. This study addresses a void in the literature by examining the experiences of young black adults whose parents may or may not be of the same race. The impact of varying racialized family structur...
Long‐term study of minerogenic particle optics in Cayuga Lake, New York

The dynamics of light scattering by minerogenic particles in the upper waters of Cayuga Lake, New York, were characterized for the spring–autumn interval of 8 yr (1999–2006) at pelagic and nearshore sites with a scanning electron microscope interfaced with automated image and x-ray analyses (SAX). SAX results were used to estimate the minerogenic scattering coefficient (bm) through Mie theory calculations. SAX–Mie supported a twocomponent model for particulate scattering (bp) that included an organic component of scattering (bo), estimated from a bio-optical model. The credibility of the bm estimates and the two-component modeling approach was demonstrated through good closure of the modeling results with bulk values of bp (estimated from measurements of the beam attenuation coefficient at 660 nm). The average of the ratio bp:(bm + bo) was 1.03 (average relative error 19.4%). Two minerogenic particle types were important in regulating the dynamics of bm—clay minerals that increased in concentration in response to runoff events, and calcium carbonate precipitated mostly on small organic particles during short-term late-summer whiting events. bm was attributed to particles in the size range of 1–10 mm. Variations in bm dominated the overall variations in bp and Secchi disk depth; differences in bo explained well those observed in bp during dry weather intervals of low bm. Higher bm values, mainly associated with clay mineral particles, were observed at the nearshore site as opposed to the pelagic location; there was a positive linkage between these levels and tributary flow rate. Light scattering by particles, a fundamental process regulating radiative transfer in water (Kirk 2011), is important in determining apparent optical properties (AOPs, depend on geometry of the light field) of interest, including clarity (Preisendorfer 1986) and the remote )
Conditions of accumulation and preservation of iodine and bromine in underground waters of Meso-Cenozoic deposits, eastern Cis-Caucasus

The importance of organic matter and the present and paleohydrodynamic conditions are stressed for accumulation and preservation of iodine and bromine in underground waters. The authors indicate th...
MRPF: An Architectural Transformation for Synthesis of High-Performance and Low-Power Digital Filters

We present a graph theoretical methodology that reduces the implementation complexity of a vector multiplied by a scalar The proposed approach is called MRP (minimally redundant parallel) optimization and is presented in FIR filtering framework to obtain a low-complexity multiplierless implementation. The key idea is to expand the design space using shift inclusive differential coefficients together with computation reordering using a graph theoretic approach to obtain maximal computation sharing. The transformed architecture of a filter is obtained by solving a set cover problem of the graph. A simple algorithm based on a greedy approach is presented. The proposed approach is merged with common sub-expression elimination. The simulation results show that 70% and 16% improvement in terms of computational complexity over simple implementation (transposed direct form) and common sub-expression, respectively, when using carry, lookahead adder synthesized from Synopsys designware library in 0.25 /spl mu/m technology.
Distal median neuropathies.

Distal median neuropathy is the most common entrapment neuropathy affecting the upper extremity. Usually, the site of compression occurs in the wrist as the nerve passes under the flexor reticulatinum in the carpal tunnel. Rarely, pathology can occur more distally in the palm. Patients who have distal median neuropathy most often develop carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), one of the most characteristic nerve entrapment syndromes. However, lesions of the proximal median nerve, brachial plexus, or C6-C7 may occasionally be confused clinically with the symptoms and signs of distal median neuropathy. In this regard, electrophysiologic testing plays an important role in the evaluation of suspected distal median neuropathy. A large variety of electrophysiologic tests are available, enabling the physician to study the median nerve. 7, 10, 14, 22 Electrophysiology not only can establish localization but can usually help assess severity and prognosis and help guide subsequent treatment.
Optimal Planning of Storage in Power Systems Integrated With Wind Power Generation

This paper proposes an approach for determining the optimal location and size of an energy storage system (ESS) in a power system network integrated with uncertain wind power generation. The uncertainty of wind power output is represented by a scenario tree model, so that the nonanticipative behavior of operating decisions under system uncertainties can be properly addressed. The proposed formulation is too huge to be solved directly, so a Benders decomposition algorithm is applied to reduce the computational burden. Case studies are conducted to illustrate the influence of ESS on power system operation. It is shown that increasing the capital investment on ESS can reduce the daily operating cost of the power system. A capital/operating cost frontier is presented in this paper to demonstrate the tradeoff between ESS capital investment and daily operating cost, and to show how ESS planning decisions are affected by the budget for investment.
Effects of Voltage-Dependent Ion-Conduction Processes on the Complex Admittance of Single Skeletal Muscle Fibers

The analysis of the conductance properties of the skeletal muscle membrane has proven to be considerably more difficult than earlier investigations of axon excitability. The principal reason for this difficulty is the unique internal membrane structure of muscle, consisting of an infolding of the surface membrane to form a transverse tubular membrane structure, as well as the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which appears to be electrically coupled to the tubular system. A voltage-clamp measurement of this complex system is always beset with the difficulty of charging the tubular membrane in a uniform manner so as to allow measurement of the associated membrane currents. The voltage-clamp analyses that have been done probably have had varying amounts of uncontrolled tubular membrane current. As a result, the quantitative analyses of these experiments may not be entirely valid.
Nosocomial infection in surgical site wounds caused by staphylococcus aureus and pseudomonas aeruginosa: case study of four major hospitals in Benue State

Surgical sites wound swab specimens were collected from four major hospitals in Benue State Nigeria namely; Federal Medical Centre Makurdi, General hospital Gboko, General hospital Otukpo and General hospital North bank, Makurdi over a period of seven months and were examined bacteriologically.. Out of a total of 300 samples examined, 170 had bacterial isolates and of these 61(35.9%) were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 39(22.9%) Staphylococcus aureus and 25(14.7%) co-infection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Other bacterial isolates were Klebsiella species 12(7.1%), Escherichia coli 10(5.9%), atypical coliform 8(4.7%), Proteus species 7(4.1%), Enterococcus faecalis 4(2.4%) and Streptococcus pyogenes 4(2.4%). The incidence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was higher at Federal Medical Centre Makurdi (33; 25.3%) than at other hospitals namely General Hospital Gboko (24; 34.3%), General Hospital Otukpo (14; 20.6%) and General Hospital North Bank Makurdi (15; 23.8%). Staphylococcus aureus occurred also more at the Federal Medical Centre Makurdi (24; 24.2%) than at General Hospital Gboko (16; 22.9%), General Hospital Otukpo (12; 17.6%) and General Hospital North Bank Makurdi (12; 19.0%). There were no significant differences between the hospital facilities and the microbial infections at significance level of (p>0.05). The findings in this study suggest that patients, patient’s caregivers and health workers should adhere strictly to guidelines and policies on nosocomial infection preventions and control.
Dietary behaviors of adults born prematurely may explain future risk for cardiovascular disease.

Being born prematurely associates with greater cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in adulthood. Less understood are the unique and joint associations of dietary patterns and behaviors to this elevated risk among adults who are born prematurely. We aimed to model the associations between term status, dietary and lifestyle behaviors with CVD risk factors while accounting for the longitudinal effects of family protection, and medical or environmental risks. In wave-VIII of a longitudinal study, 23-year olds born prematurely (PT-adults, n = 129) and full term (FT-adults, n = 38) survey-reported liking for foods/beverages and activities, constructed into indexes of dietary quality and sensation-seeking, dietary restraint and physical activity. Measured CVD risk factors included fasting serum lipids and glucose, blood pressure and adiposity. In bivariate relationships, PT-adults reported lower dietary quality (including less affinity for protein-rich foods and higher affinity for sweets), less liking for sensation-seeking foods/activities, and less restrained eating than did FT-adults. In comparison to nationally-representative values and the FT-adults, PT-adults showed greater level of CVD risk factors for blood pressure and serum lipids. In structural equation modeling, dietary quality completely mediated the association between term status and HDL-cholesterol (higher quality, lower HDL-cholesterol) yet joined term status to explain variability in systolic blood pressure (PT-adults with lowest dietary quality had highest blood pressures). Through lower dietary quality, being born prematurely was indirectly linked to higher cholesterol/HDL, higher LDL/HDL and elevated waist/hip ratios. The relationship between dietary quality and CVD risk was strongest for PT-adults who had developed greater cumulative medical risk. Protective environments failed to attenuate relationships between dietary quality and elevated CVD risk among PT-adults. In summary, less healthy dietary behaviors contribute to elevated CVD risk among young adults who are born prematurely.
Were Information Intermediaries Sensitive to the Financial Statement‐Based Leading Indicators of Bank Distress Prior to the Financial Crisis?

In this paper, we address two questions that emerged in the aftermath of the 2008 financial/banking crisis. First, did the financial statements of bank holding companies provide an early warning of their impending distress? Second, were the actions of four key financial intermediaries (short sellers, equity analysts, Standard and Poor's credit ratings, and auditors) sensitive to the information in the banks’ financial statements about their increased risk and potential distress? We find a significant cross-sectional association between banks’ 2006 Q4 financial information and bank failures over 2008–2010, suggesting that the financial statements reflected at least some of the increased risk of bank distress in advance. The mean abnormal short interest in our sample of banks increased from 0.66 percent in March 2005 to 2.4 percent in March 2007 and the association between short interest and leading financial statement indicators also increased. In contrast, we observe neither a meaningful change in analysts’ recommendations, Standard and Poor's credit ratings, and audit fees nor an increased sensitivity of these actions to financial indicators of bank distress over this time period. Our results suggest that actions of short sellers likely provided an early warning of the banks’ upcoming distress prior to the 2008 financial crisis.
An Evaluation of AccessBraille: A Tablet-Based Braille Keyboard for Individuals with Visual Impairments

Braille is a different symbolic alphabet that is used by people with visual impairments to communicate. Since the use of smartphones has become an essential part of peoples’ lives, we should benefit from this connection and use smartphones as a training tool. AccessBraille is an iPad application that helps users practice Braille in different interactive ways. The goal of AccessBraille is to provide training for novice Braille individuals who want to practice Braille. A usability test was conducted to evaluate the usability of the app, validate the app’s capability of facilitating the practicing of Braille characters and discover ways to enhance the app design and use. Data was collected and later analyzed to assess the difficulty involved with task completion.
Role of positron-emission tomography scan in the diagnosis and management of breast cancer.

In 2008, more than 184,000 new patients were diagnosed with breast cancer, the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in women in the United States. Despite great advances over the past few years in screening, detection, and treatment, more than 40,000 women died from the disease in 2008.[1] Early breast cancer is considered a curable disease, but the curative potential of patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease is limited.
Renal Dysplasia and Congenital Cystic Diseases of the Kidney

Renal dysplasia and congenital cystic diseases of the kidney encompass a wide variety of conditions with varying presentations. They can be sporadic or inherited disorders and can be isolated to the kidney or can be a part of a condition affecting many organ systems. The clinical significance of these conditions can vary widely, with some patients having incidental discovery of a lesion that may have little to no impact on their lives and other patients having conditions that result in end-stage renal disease or death as a neonate. In this chapter, the clinical presentation, evaluation, and treatment are discussed for each disorder.
My IEP: A Student-Directed Individualized Education Program Model

ABSTRACTStudents with disabilities need to be more involved in planning and presenting individualized education program (IEP) meetings, and teachers need an effective, efficient curriculum to teach students how. My IEP curriculum uses folding graphic organizers to teach students to self-direct IEP meetings, targeting self-advocacy and self-determination to combat student apathy toward and passive participation in IEPs. Students who received My IEP (n = 25) spoke on average for 36.78% of IEP meeting time, while comparison group students (n = 14) spoke on average 2.15%. My IEP students recalled significantly more IEP knowledge and had shorter meetings. School faculty and staff were significantly more satisfied with My IEP meetings.
Max-Plus Methods for Nonlinear H∞ Control: Operating in the Transform Space

Abstract The solution of some forms of nonlinear H ∞ / L 2 -gain problems can be obtained via solution of the corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) partial differential equations (PDEs). Alternatively, the solution of some classes of HJB PDEs have representations as solutions of L 2 -gain problems. Both can be obtained through solution of corresponding fixed-point problems - where the operators are the semigroups associated with the PDEs. In the linear/quadratic case, the solutions of these problems can be obtained simply by solution of associated Riccati equations. Here, an exploration of a way in which the operators for linear/quadratic problems can be combined (in the semiconvex dual space) to obtain operators, and hence solutions, for more general problems is begun.