cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantitative comparison between sub-millisecond time resolution single-molecule FRET measurements and 10-second molecular simulations of a biosensor protein.

Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations seek to provide atomic-level insights into conformationally dynamic biological systems at experimentally relevant time resolutions, such as those afforded by single-molecule fluorescence measurements. However, limitations in the time scales of MD simulations and the time resolution of single-molecule measurements have challenged efforts to obtain overlapping temporal regimes required for close quantitative comparisons. Achieving such overlap has the potential to provide novel theories, hypotheses, and interpretations that can inform idealized experimental designs that maximize the detection of the desired reaction coordinate. Here, we report MD simulations at time scales overlapping with in vitro single-molecule Forster (fluorescence) resonance energy transfer (smFRET) measurements of the amino acid binding protein LIV-BPSS at sub-millisecond resolution. Computationally efficient all-atom structure-based simulations, calibrated against explicit solvent simulations, were employed for sampling multiple cycles of LIV-BPSS clamshell-like conformational changes on the time scale of seconds, examining the relationship between these events and those observed by smFRET. The MD simulations agree with the smFRET measurements and provide valuable information on local dynamics of fluorophores at their sites of attachment on LIV-BPSS and the correlations between fluorophore motions and large-scale conformational changes between LIV-BPSS domains. We further utilize the MD simulations to inform the interpretation of smFRET data, including Forster radius (R0) and fluorophore orientation factor (κ2) determinations. The approach we describe can be readily extended to distinct biochemical systems, allowing for the interpretation of any FRET system conjugated to protein or ribonucleoprotein complexes, including those with more conformational processes, as well as those implementing multi-color smFRET.
The introduction of gas warfare and its medical response in world war one.

Abstract The introduction of gas warfare in World War One was impactful, as it both expanded the breadth of warfare and fueled the invention of techniques required to treat these new injuries. Gas injuries were responsible for 91,000 of 1.3 million deaths in World War One. Gassed soldiers had wounds which the world had never seen. They presented in large scale to medical tents and base hospitals across Europe. As gas casualties poured in, doctors and nurses had to treat these conditions in the best way they knew. Gas warfare changed how war was performed and how casualties of this attack were treated. The techniques learned from treating the multitudes of men with gas burns led to advances in the field of burn care, which have helped to improve mortality and reduce morbidity in hospitals across the world.
Social Value of Public Information: Comment: Morris and Shin (2002) Is Actually Pro-Transparency, Not Con

The main result of Morris and Shin (2002)–restated in papers by Amato, Morris, and Shin (2002) and Amato and Shin (2003) and commented upon by the Economist (2004)–has been presented and interpreted as an anti-transparency result: more public information can be bad. However, some scrutiny of the result shows that it is actually pro transparency: except in very special circumstances, more public information is good. Furthermore, for a conservative benchmark of equal precision in public and privateinformation, social welfare is higher than in as ituation without public information.
Educational and economic returns to cognitive ability in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review

Abstract There is growing interest to use early cognitive ability to predict schooling and employment outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Rather than using educational attainment and school enrollment as predictors of future economic growth or of improving an individual’s earning potential, mounting evidence suggests that cognitive ability may be a better predictor. The relationship between cognitive ability, education, and employment are essential to predict future development in LMICs. We performed a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of the evidence regarding the relationship between cognitive ability and educational outcomes, and between cognitive ability and economic outcomes across LMICs. We searched peer-reviewed studies since 2000 that quantitatively measured these relationships. Based on an initial search of 3,766 records, we identified 14 studies, including 8 studies that examined the cognition-education link and 8 studies that assessed cognition-employment returns in LMICs. Identified studies showed that higher cognitive ability increased the probability of school enrollment, academic achievement, and educational attainment across LMICs. A meta-analysis of returns to wages from cognitive ability suggested that a standard deviation increase in cognitive test scores was associated with a 4.5% (95% CI 2.6%–9.6%) increase in wages. Investments into early cognitive development could play a critical role in improving educational and economic outcomes in LMICs. Further research should focus particularly in low-income countries with the least evidence, and examine the impact on education and economic outcomes by cognitive domains to provide more robust evidence for policy makers to take action.
Erratum to: Coalescence estimates for the corner growth model with exponential weights

We fix a mistake in the previously published paper Electron. J. Probab. 25: 1–31 (2020). The corrected version of the paper can also be found at 1911.03792.
Potentiation of anti-cancer effect of beta-lapachone by increasing cellular NQO1 expression

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 45, 2004 4133 Beta-Lapachone (B-lap), an extract from Lapacho trees, is a cytotoxic quinone against cancer cells. It has been proposed that NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) catalyzes two-electrons reduction of B -lap using either NADH or NAD(P)H as electron donor. The resultant hydroquinone is unstable and oxidized to the original form of B- -lap in the presence of oxygen resulting in a futile cycling between the quinone and hydroquinone. The resultant depletion of NADH or NAD(P)H and ATP levels leads to massive release of Ca2+ from endoplasmic reticulum, depolarizing mictochondrial membrane and release of cytochrome C, which then triggers signal transduction for cell death. Therefore, the cytotoxicity of B-lap is closely related to constitutive NQO1 level in various cancer cells. Importantly, it has been observed that the cellular level of NQO1 can be increased by exposing cells to ionizing radiation. In our studies, ionizing radiation increased the NQO1 level in various animal as well as human cancer cells, thereby potentiating the response of cancer cells to B-lap in vitro. The combined effect of X-irradiation and B-lap treatment was synergistic in to suppressing the growth of FSaII tumors grown in C3H mice and various human tumor xenografts. Our recent experiments revealed that NQO1 level in cancer cells can be significantly upregulated by acidic environment at pH 6.6, heating at 42°C for 1 h or reoxygenation following an exposure to hypoxic environment. The intrinsic NQO1 content in malignant tissues has been observed to be much greater than that in adjacent normal tissues. In conclusion, it is feasible to further increase the NQO1 level in tumors by pre-exposing the tumors to various stresses in order to increase the effect of B-lap preferentially against malignant tumors. Genetic manipulation of NQO1 level in cancer cells may be another approach to enhance the anti-cancer effect of B-lap. This work is supported by Korean National Cancer Center Grant
Liberal exclusions and sex between men in the modern era: speculations on a framework.

In 2006 Pal g rave Mac m ill an published Palgrave Advances in the Modern History of Sexuality, drawing together a range of scholars to explore the diverse fields of interest within the study of the history of sexuality. This comprehensive and well-researched overview of the current state of the field draws attention to the many ways it has advanced and matured over the past decades, but in the process it also highlights one central idea that is still regularly reproduced as it was first written a generation ago. In tracing the history of the field, the introductory essay by editors H. G. Cocks and Matt Houlbrook soon arrives at the point in the second half of the nineteenth century when "psychologists, sexologists and other experts began to regard homosexuality not merely as a set of illicit or unnatural acts but as the symptom of a psychological state which governed the rest of the personality. In Foucault's famous words, the homosexual described at this time was 'a personage, a past, a case history . . . and a morphology, with an indiscreet anatomy and a mysterious physiology.'"1 Cocks and Houlbrook are not alone in reproducing this passage, as it is cited in dozens of books and articles published within the last decade alone.2
Debating a Proposed Moratorium on Synthetic Biology Research

This essay explores the ethical issues surrounding the public policy debate of imposing a moratorium on synthetic biology research. In particular, this article explores the risks of synthetic biology research, including those of safety, intellectual property rights, and a shift in the global economy, while assessing whether these risks are dangerous enough to call for a moratorium.
Presteady state kinetics of phosphorothioate hydrolysis by alkaline phosphatase. Rate-limiting dephosphorylation at alkaline pH.

Abstract The hydrolysis of O-p-phenylazophenylphosphorothioate by Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase was studied by the stopped-flow technique. "Burst" kinetics is observed at both acid and basic pH, suggesting that a step following thiophosphorylation is rate-limiting at all pH values. At pH 8.5, activation of a second active site on the enzyme dimer is observed in the transient phase as substrate concentration is increased. The rate of the transient phase, however, decreases at high substrate concentration, suggesting that negative cooperativity exists between the two active sites. The implications of these results for the mechanism of hydrolysis of both O-phosphorothioate and phosphate monoesters by alkaline phosphatase are discussed.
A Day Late and a Dollar Short: A National Survey of the Teaching of Financial Management in Schools of Social Work

Abstract Social work administrators in social service organizations face an increasingly hostile environment with changing demands. The curricula in schools of social work attempt to keep pace with the need for administrative content but not for much-needed content in financial management. The national survey described here found a gap in the extent to which schools respond to this need, the content that is being taught, and how it is being taught. The continuing gap in the curriculum is of concern to social work educators and practitioners alike.
An imperfect refuge:: life in an ‘old folk's home’ for younger residents with psychiatric disorders

Residents under age 65 comprise a small, but not insignificant, segment of the US nursing home population--a segment about which very little is known. This article explores the meaningful constitution of nursing home experience among younger, psychiatrically disabled residents of an urban nursing home. Residents' "behavior problems", the difficulties imposed by institutional life, and American age norms emerged as key dynamics in residents' understandings of nursing home life. In addition to these factors, the nursing home was evaluated in relation to previous life experiences, perceived alternatives, and expectations of personal freedom. Ultimately, most younger residents found the nursing home to be a refuge, albeit an imperfect one.
Morality in the Philosophy of Thomas Hobbes: The Law of Nature: Definition and Function

[I]f they sin against right, they do, as much as in them lies, abolish human society and the civil life of the present world. (EW II, 152) An account of Hobbes's Laws of Nature adequate to explain how agents can be motivated to adhere to the normatively inescapable requirements Hobbes speaks of as the Laws of Nature will ideally provide plausible answers to five distinct questions: First: What is the definition of a Law of Nature? Second: What function ultimately unifies the particular rules Hobbes enumerates under the term “the Laws of Nature”? Third: How are the Laws of Nature normative for agents? That is, what makes their demands binding on us? Fourth: What can be expected to motivate our compliance with the normative demands of the Laws of Nature? Fifth: What is the metaphysical status of the Laws of Nature? Are they divine commands, precepts of individual prudence, rule-egoistic principles, freestanding natural duties, or yet something else? And are they literally laws? Most discussions of Hobbes's Laws of Nature have tended to conflate these questions, particularly the first with the second, the second with both the third and fourth, and the third with both the fourth and the fifth. I suspect that what explains much of this eliding of useful distinctions is that it has seemed obvious to many commentators that the Laws of Nature are, essentially or by definition, instructions for promoting the agent's own preservation or profit, and it is their serving that function that grounds their normativity and motivational efficacy.
Supervised Learning from Microarray Data

Gene expression arrays pose challenging problems for most traditional supervised learning techniques. We present a discussion of some of the issues involved. We then propose a simple approach to class prediction for DNA microarrays, based on a enhancement of the nearest centroid classifier. Our technique uses soft-thresholded class centroids as prototypes for each class. The shrinkage improves significantly prediction performance, and identifies a subset of the genes most responsible for class separation. The method performs as well or better than competitors from the literature, and is easy to understand and interpret. We illustrate the technique on data from three studies: small round blue cell tumors, leukemia and breast cancer.
Physical Phenomena Induced by Passage of Intense Electromagnetic Pulses (Including CO2 Lasers) through the Atmosphere

The electron fluid equations are combined with Maxwell’s equations to investigate the physical phenomena that occurs when short, intense electromagnetic pulses (including the CO2 laser pulse) interact with the atmosphere. The phenomena of “tailed erosion” occurs when the pulse intensity exceeds the air-breakdown threshold. In some cases, the erosion of the pulse occurs first in the middle of the pulse and then occurs in the tail of the pulse. In addition, we discovered that the amount of the energy that a pulse carries through the atmosphere is independent of whether it is propagating vertically upward from the Earth’s surface or vertically downward toward the Earth’s surface, provided the distance the pulse travels is the same for both directions of the propagation.
High-performance systems for in silico microscopy imaging studies

High-resolution medical images from advanced instruments provide rich information about morphological and functional characteristics of biological systems. However, most of the information available in biomedical images remains underutilized in research projects. In this paper, we discuss the requirements and design of system support for composing, executing, and exploring in silico experiments involving microscopy images. This framework aims to provide building blocks for large scale, high-performance analytical image exploration systems, through rich metadata models, comprehensive query and data access capabilities, and efficient database and HPC support.
Perceptions of answer quality in an online technical question and answer forum

Software developers are used to seeking information from authoritative texts, such as a technical manuals, or from experts with whom they are familiar. Increasingly, developers seek information in online question and answer forums, where the quality of the information is variable. To a novice, it may be challenging to filter good information from bad. Stack Overflow is a Q&A forum that introduces a social reputation element: users rate the quality of post-ed answers, and answerers can accrue points and rewards for writing answers that are rated highly by their peers. A user that consistently authors good answers will develop a good ‘reputation’ as recorded by these points. While this system was designed with the intent to incentivize high-quality answers, it has been suggested that information seekers—and particularly technical novices—may rely on the social reputation of the answerer as a proxy for answer quality. In this paper, we investigate the role that this social factor—as well as other answer characteristics—plays in the information filtering process of technical novices in the context of Stack Over-flow. The results of our survey conducted on Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk indicate that technical novices assess information quality based on the intrinsic qualities of the answer, such as presentation and content, suggesting that novices are wary to rely on social cues in the Q&A context.
Evidence on Risk Changes Around Audit Qualification and Qualification Withdrawal Announcements

Qualifications to an audit report may provide the basis for an auditor's claim that the user was warned about an unusual risk. If audit qualifications highlight changes in firm risk that are material, then the announcement of a qualification should be associated with an increase in the risk of the affected firm. In this paper, we test this proposition. Our initial tests do not detect a shift in systematic risk around qualification announcements; however, subsequent analysis shows that firms announcing recurring material uncertainties have higher levels of systematic risk than firms announcing initial qualifications. Furthermore, we document a significant decrease in systematic risk for firms publicly announcing qualification withdrawals. These results are consistent with announcements of qualification withdrawals providing more timely information to capital market participants than announcements of qualification issuances, which are more likely to have been pre-empted by alternative sources of information. Our findings also indicate that unsystematic, or firm-specific, risk changes significantly around qualification and withdrawal announcement dates. Although systematic risk is of primary importance to investors, information regarding company-specific risk may assist other outside users (i.e., lenders, regulators, employees, rating agencies, etc.) in evaluating a given firm's ability to satisfy its existing contracts. In total, this paper provides evidence that may be useful to many external parties regarding the association between the material uncertainties that are highlighted in audit reports and changes in firm risk.
Rigor development and meat quality of large and small broilers and the use of Allo-Kramer shear, needle puncture, and razor blade shear to measure texture.

In each of 2 trials, 75 female and 75 male broilers of different sizes (large and small) were obtained from a commercial grower and were commercially processed. Breast fillets were deboned at 0.25, 1.5, 3, 6, and 24 h postmortem (total n = 15 per treatment per time point). Muscle pH and L* value were determined for each deboning time. Breast fillets were subjected to texture analysis using Allo-Kramer (10-blade), needle puncture (2 mm diameter), or razor blade shear (8.9 mm wide) methods. Allo-Kramer tests were performed on a strip (40 x 20 x 7 mm); needle puncture and razor blade shear were performed on intact muscles. Body size and sex had no effect on rigor development or color as indicated by no significant difference in breast muscle pH, R-value, or L* value. Allo-Kramer and razor blade tests exhibited significant shear value differences among samples deboned early ( 6 h) PM. Allo-Kramer shear and razor blade tests performed similarly for differentiating breast meat of different toughness though Allo-Kramer shear force and razor blade energy were only moderately correlated (r = 0.72). Although both instrumental tests were performed in the same approximate area on each breast, it is possible that variation within the breast would have caused this marginal correlation. Although further studies would be necessary to compare the performance of both tests for assessing poultry meat toughness, the proposed razor blade test has the advantage of requiring no sample preparation (i.e., cutting a strip of constant dimensions) other than cooking.
Convective heat transfer in a triple-cavity structure near turbine blade trailing edge

The present study explores the internal heat transfer in a triple-cavity cooling structure with a ribbed lip for a turbine blade trailing edge. The design consists of two impingement cavities, two sets of crossover holes, a third cavity and an exit slot with eleven ribs attached to it. Local heat transfer in each subregion is determined. Results indicate that the highest heat transfer occurs in the second impingement cavity. The exit slot area between the ribs is identified as a region of low heat transfer in the overall design. A comparison with enhancement induced by arrays of pin fins and fins of other geometries reveals that the triple-cavity design represents a lesser quality cooling scheme in the range of Reynolds numbers tested. Further improvement of the convective heat transfer at the exit slot with either film cooling, or different rib geometries appears to be essential to make the triple-cavity strategy superior to those of the traditional approaches for cooling of blade trailing edge.© 2002 ASME
Automated Measurements of Road Cracks Using Line-Scan Imaging

This paper presents a new line-scan imaging system for automated measurements of road crack. The system consists of off-the-shelf hardware for real-time image acquisition and the customized image-analysis software for crack detection. A line-scan camera with 2 k pixels, a GigE interface, and a line rate up to 36 kHz was used to scan 3.6-m wide pavements at highway speeds, and a laser line projector was used to cast a transverse beam that overlays the scanline of the camera to eliminate shadows of vehicles and roadside objects and to maintain consistent lighting conditions. In the crack detection algorithms, a pavement image was first divided into grids of 8×8 pixels, and each grid was classified either as a non-crack or crack grid (called seed) using the pixel information of the grid and the overall background. Then, seeds in the vicinity were connected based on geometrical and intensity constrains. The connected seeds served as a candidate for a crack, which were further verified by using the contrast to the pixels along its trace. The paper also reports the experimental results on a designated pavement that was manually rated by an expert, and scanned three-times by the system. The statistic analysis showed that the difference in crack length between the manual and automatic measurements was less than 10 %, and no significant difference among the multiple scans by the system.
Far infrared CIA spectra of N2-CH4 pairs for modeling of Titan's atmosphere

We present a simple model which allows for the computation of the rototranslational band of the collision induced absorption spectra of N2-CH4 pairs at temperatures between 70 and 300 K and at frequencies of up to ∼550 cm-1. The agreement with current experimental data has been obtained by adjusting the classical, multipole induced dipolar components by adding semiempirical quantum corrections. We have included a Q6-induction term, never considered before, which we believe is essential for the agreement we have obtained. With the set of temperature-independent parameters derived from fitting the experimental data, our model reproduces recent laboratory measurements within 124-300 K temperature and the 10-600 cm-1 frequency range, within few percent root mean square. The method provides reliable temperature dependence of the absorption coefficient as a function of frequency at temperatures as low as 70 K, which are much lower than those at which laboratory measurements are taken. The work is of significance for modeling the infrared opacity of Titan's atmosphere.
Prepulse inhibition of startle and the neurobiology of primary nocturnal enuresis

Abstract Background: Children with primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) wet the bed during all stages of sleep and irrespective of state of arousal, suggesting that during sleep, when voluntary, i.e., cortical control, is not available, the signal from the distended bladder is not registered in the subcortical centers inhibiting micturition. Deficient prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle has been reported in PNE. This study evaluates the association of this PPI deficit in PNE with comorbidity with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and with intelligence. Methods: Prepulse modulation of startle was studied in 96 boys with PNE and 105 nonenuretic boys using intervals of 60, 120, and 4000 msec between the onset of a 75-dB 1000-Hz tone and a 104-dB noise burst. Thirty-one percent of the enuretic and 36% of the nonenuretic boys were diagnosed with ADHD. Results: After adjustment for presence or absence of ADHD, lower or higher IQ, age, and unmodulated startle amplitude, there was a significant association between PNE and deficient PPI of startle following the 120-msec prepulse interval. Those enuretic boys who also were ADHD or had higher performance IQs (≥110) showed the greatest PPI deficit. Conclusions: A common deficiency of inhibitory signal processing in the brain stem may underlie both deficient PPI and the inability to inhibit micturition in PNE. Strong familiarity for PNE, ADHD, and intelligence suggests a possible genetic mediation of these effects.
Fluidity of normal and epileptogenic freeze-lesioned synaptic membranes in the cat

Abstract Electron paramagnetic resonance spectra obtained with a 5-Nitroxylstearate spin label indicate that inhomogeneous lipid domains exist naturally in the bulk lipid matrix of cat synaptic plasma membranes at physiological temperatures, associated with non-cooperative phase transitions spanning broad temperature intervals between about 10 °C and 40 °C. hese properties are qualitatively similar in normal membranes and in membranes isolated from epileptogenic freeze-lesioned brain cortex. The fluidity of matrix lipids isolated from cortex adjacent to such lesions appears to be abnormally increased at physiological temperatures, but membrane polarity, partially reflecting water penetration of the surface of the bilayer, remains normal in membranes from lesioned areas. Both fluidity and polarity of membranes isolated from ‘mirror’ sites contralateral to lesions appear to remain normal, and thus unaffected by seizure activity per se in these preparations, in which independent ‘mirror’ foci did not develop. These findings demonstrate that lipid phase inhomogeneities are present and thus may play a role in normal and abnormal functions of synaptic membranes, and that abnormalities of membrane fluidity are in fact closely associated with epileptogenesis in the freeze-lesion model.
Characteristics of firms electing early adoption of SFAS 52

Abstract In 1981 the FASB issued a new standard for accounting for foreign currency translation, SFAS 52. The standard provided a gradual transition period, allowing firms to select from several possible adoption dates. This study extends the research on the positive theory of accounting choice to examine the factors associated with a management's choice of adoption date. The comparison reveals that early adopters were smaller, typically decreased in pre-charge earnings the year before adoption, had less stock owned by directors and officers, and were more constrained on dividend payouts and interest coverage ratios than later adopters.
Effects of D-aspartate on excitatory amino acid-induced release of [3H]GABA from goldfish retina.

Abstract The rate of release of [3H]GABA from isolated intact goldfish retinas was studied. Release of [3H]GABA is markedly stimulated by the inclusion in the incubation medium of the photoreceptor neurotransmitter candidates l -glutamate ( l -Glu) and l -aspartate ( l -Asp), and the glutamate analogs, kainate and quisqualate. At micromolar concentrations, kainate and quisqualate are effective releasers of [3H]GABA, whereas millimolar concentrations of l -Glu and l -Asp are required to release comparable amounts of [3H]GABA. The d -isomers of aspartate ( d -Asp) and glutamate ( d -Glu) are able to release [3H]GABA, but only when applied at high concentrations (3–30 mM). In the presence of 5 mM d -Asp, the effect of l -Glu in releasing [3H]GABA was markedly potentiated. This dose-response curve of l -Glu was shifted to the left in the presence of d -Asp, although the maximal amount of release was unchanged. d -Asp at 5 mM only slightly increased the GABA release induced by quisqualate, and it did not increase the GABA release induced by kainate. Finally, low concentrations of l -Asp were potentiated by d -Asp, but higher concentrations of l -Asp (3–10 mM) were clearly inhibited by this agent. This biphasic effect of d -Asp on l -Asp-induced release of [3H]GABA is a possible explanation for previously conflicting reports of d -Asp's effect on l -Asp action2,8,29. Our data suggest that d -Asp has both pre- and postsynaptic sites of action.
Recovering photometric properties of architectural scenes from photographs

In this paper, we present a new approach to producing photorealistic computer renderings of real architectural scenes under novel lighting conditions, such as at different times of day, starting from a small set of photographs of the real scene. Traditional texture mapping approaches to image-based modeling and rendering are unable to do this because texture maps are the product of the interaction between lighting and surface reflectance and one cannot deal with novel lighting without dissecting their respective contributions. To obtain this decomposition into lighting and reflectance, our basic approach is to solve a series of optimization problems to find the parameters of appropriate lighting and reflectance models that best explain the measured values in the various photographs of the scene. The lighting models include the radiance distributions from the sun and the sky, as well as the landscape to consider the effect of secondary illumination from the environment. The reflectance models are for the surfaces of the architecture. Photographs are taken for the sun, the sky, the landscape, as well as the architecture at a few different times of day to collect enough data for recovering the various lighting and reflectance models. We can predict novel illumination conditions with the recovered lighting models and use these together with the recovered reflectance values to produce renderings of the scene. Our results show that our goal of generating photorealistic renderings of real architectural scenes under novel lighting conditions has been achieved. CR Categories: I.2.10 [Artificial Intelligence]: Vision and Scene Understanding—modeling and recovery of physical attributes I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-dimensional Graphics and Realism—color, shading, shadowing, and texture , visible line/surface algorithms I.4.8 [Image Processing]: Scene Analysis—color, photometry, shading
BILATERAL LOCALIZED LESIONS IN THE HYPOTHALAMUS WITH COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF THE NEUROHYPOPHYSIS IN A PITUITARY DWARF WITH SEVERE PERMANENT DIABETES INSIPIDUS

OCCASIONALLY there occur unexplained isolated lesions of the brain which, if investigated carefully from a clinical and pathological point of view, often aid materially in the understanding and the augmenting of the current knowledge concerning certain important functions of the human nervous system. Such discrete, well-placed lesions are often difficult or even impossible to reproduce experimentally because of their location and because of the associated tissue reac tions which usually accompany surgical procedures. Investigation of such human cases often allows for a better understanding and interpretation of the results ob-tained from experimental studies. C. L. (H. N. 611653) was an 18-year-old female. Her history indicated that her birth was attended with little difficulty. She had been healthy when born, began to walk at 10 months and talk at one year of age. She developed fairly normally, although it was noticed even in early childhood that the child was small in stature and had a moderate polyuria...
Incapacitation and crime control: Does a “Lock 'em up” strategy reduce crime?

Research on the use of incapacitation strategies to reduce crime has increased rapidly in the last decade. Estimates of the crime reduction potential are numerous and variable, reflecting different assumptions by researchers. This paper reviews and synthesizes studies of collective and selective incapacitation. Sentencing practices in the 1970s and early 1980s prevented an estimated 10 to 30 percent of potential crimes through collective incapacitation strategies. Greater use of incarceration, such as through mandatory minimum sentences, would prevent additional crimes, but prison populations would increase substantially. Selective incapacitation strategies target a small group of convicted offenders, those who are predicted to commit serious crimes at high rates, for incarceration. These high-rate serious offenders, however, are difficult to identify accurately with information currently available in official criminal history records. Preliminary research, assuming moderate accuracy, suggests that select...
Offline compression for on-chip ram

We present offline RAM compression, an automated source-to-source transformation that reduces a program's data size. Statically allocated scalars, pointers, structures, and arrays are encoded and packed based on the results of a whole-program analysis in the value set and pointer set domains. We target embedded software written in C that relies heavily on static memory allocation and runs on Harvard-architecture microcontrollers supporting just a few KB of on-chip RAM. On a collection of embedded applications for AVR microcontrollers, our transformation reduces RAM usage by an average of 12%, in addition to a 10% reduction through a dead-data elimination pass that is also driven by our whole-program analysis, for a total RAM savings of 22%. We also developeda technique for giving developers access to a flexible spectrum of tradeoffs between RAM consumption, ROM consumption, and CPU efficiency. This technique is based on a model for estimating the cost/benefit ratio of compressing each variable and then selectively compressing only those variables that present a good value proposition in terms of the desired tradeoffs.
CONSUMER SHORTAGES IN POLAND: LOOKING BEYOND THE QUEUE INTO A WORLD OF MAKING DO*

This is a participant-observation study of shopping in Poland during severe consumer shortages. Field work was done in November and December of 1982 in three Polish cities. The focus was to observe shopping queues, behavior in those queues, and to interview shoppers about their shopping tactics within and outside of the queues. One-hundred and forty queues were observed and 158 people were interviewed. Observations of queues included their size, composition, organization over long waits, and the behavior of queue participants. Shopping tactics are actions meant to locate scarce goods and save time with shopping. Some shopping tactics were done alone, but more likely these tactics involved others in shopping and distribution teams. This study is placed in the sociological context of response to scarcity and disruption.
Use of δ-(α-aminoadipoyl) chromogenic amides in screening for aminoadipoyl amidohydrolases

Abstract The synthesis of δ-(α-aminoadipoyl) aromatic amides and their use in screening for enzymes able to cleave δ-(α-aminoadipoyl) residues off the synthetic amides and cephalosporin C are described. A number of commercially available proteases and peptidases were not active with δ-(α-aminoadipoyl) chromogenic amides. Also, most tested microbial strains known to produce acylases did not hydrolyze these compounds. Only one microbial strain, Xanthomonas maltophila , had an appreciable activity toward the racemic form of chromogenic substrates. Activity measured in crude extracts from Xanthomonas cells indicated that this bacterium produces predominantly l -specific aminoadipoyl amidohydrolase and γ-glutamyl hydrolase. A low level of cephalosporin C and glutaryl-cephalosporin acylase activities was also found.
Stimulus specificity in avoidance learning

Abstract The present experiments address the issue of stimulus specificity in fear and avoidance learning. First, it was established that light stimuli are effective warning signals (WS) in shuttle avoidance. Then light stimuli were shown to produce conditioned suppression in the conditioned emotional response situation comparable to that produced by noise conditioned stimuli. Finally, the effectiveness of noise onset and noise offset as feedback signals was tested. This was assessed under conditions of immediate and delayed termination of a light WS. Delayed termination of a light WS interfered with avoidance learning and the introduction of noise offset as a feedback signal enhanced it. The only demonstration of stimulus specificity was the failure of noise onset to function as a feedback signal.
Sampling-based estimators for subset-based queries

We consider the problem of using sampling to estimate the result of an aggregation operation over a subset-based SQL query, where a subquery is correlated to an outer query by a NOT EXISTS, NOT IN, EXISTS or IN clause. We design an unbiased estimator for our query and prove that it is indeed unbiased. We then provide a second, biased estimator that makes use of the superpopulation concept from statistics to minimize the mean squared error of the resulting estimate. The two estimators are tested over an extensive set of experiments.
Determination of Mercury in Surface Waters Using an Optimized Cold Vapor Spectrophotometric Technique

Abstract An analytical method to measure mercury in environmental samples was optimized based upon amalgamation of mercury on gold-coated sand and subsequent ultraviolet absorption measurement of the mercury vapor driven off the sand upon heating. Sample handling and storage methods were employed that were virtually free from mercury loss or contamination. Analytical procedures were tested on standard reference materials obtained from the USEPA and USGS and at concentration levels in the range anticipated for the environmental samples. Stream samples, collected over a seven-month period, were filtered (0.45 μm) in the field, and the mercury in dissolved and particulate fractions was determined. Dissolved mercury concentrations ranged from 24.1 ng/1 to 116.9ng/1 (N = 120) while particulate mercury concentrations ranged from 0.2 μg/g to 33.4 μg/g (N = 120). The method has been found useful for analyzing environmental samples and has been shown to be very sensitive and free of interferences.
Holomorphic quantum mechanics with a quadratic Hamiltonian constraint.

A finite-dimensional system with a quadratic Hamiltonian constraint is Dirac quantized in holomorphic, antiholomorphic, and mixed representations. A unique inner product is found by imposing Hermitian conjugacy relations on an operator algebra. The different representations yield drastically different Hilbert spaces. In particular, all the spaces obtained in the antiholomorphic representation violate classical expectations for the spectra of certain operators, whereas no such violation occurs in the holomorphic representation. A subset of these Hilbert spaces is also recovered in a configuration space representation. A propagation amplitude obtained from an (anti)holomorphic path integral is shown to give the matrix elements of the identity operators in the relevant Hilbert spaces with respect to an overcomplete basis of representation-dependent generalized coherent states. The relation to quantization of spatially homogeneous cosmologies is discussed in view of the no-boundary proposal of Hartle and Hawking and the new variables of Ashtekar.
The wavelength dependence of ultraviolet enhanced reactivation in a mammalian cell-virus system.

— The effect of UV radiation in the wavelength region 230 nm to 302 nm on the ability of an irradiated mammalian cell to reactivate UV-irradiated mammalian virus was tested. An action spectrum for radiation enhanced reactivation (RER) is presented. The shape of the action spectrum points to a combined nucleic acid-protein target for UV radiation effects on this cellular parameter. An analysis of the results of others involving the biochemical and photobiological events involved in RER does not allow us to distinguish which macromolecule is the major contributor to this effect. Studies involving an analogous phenomenon in bacteria (Weigle reactivation) imply that RER and WR may involve similar mechanisms.
Maternal factors related to parenting practices, developmental expectations, and perceptions of child behavior problems.

Abstract Parenting practices of a representative sample of 1,056 urban mothers with very young children were studied via the Parent Behavior Checklist (Fox, 1994) and the Behavior Screening Questionnaire (Richman & Graham, 1971). Potential determinants of parenting practices were also addressed, including maternal age, marital status, education level, number of children living at home, and family socioeconomic status. Less positive parenting practices concerning nurturing and discipline were found among mothers who were younger, had more than one child living at home, were single, had a lower income level, and had lower educational attainment. These mothers also tended to perceive their children as demonstrating more difficult behavior problems. However, the negative influence of some determinants of parenting practices, such as low income, was found to be moderated by the presence of other determinants, such as more education. The present results provide evidence that multiple determinants influence pare...
Classification of video events using 4-dimensional time-compressed motion features

Among the various types of semantic concepts modeled, events pose the greatest challenge in terms of computational power needed to represent the event and accuracy that can be achieved in modeling it. We introduce a novel low-level visual feature that summarizes motion in a shot. This feature leverages motion vectors from MPEG-encoded video, and aggregates local motion vectors over time in a matrix, which we refer to as a motion image. The resulting motion image is representative of the overall motion in a video shot, having compressed the temporal dimension while preserving spatial ordering. Building motion models using this feature permits us to combine the power of discriminant modeling with the dynamics of the motion in video shots that cannot be accomplished by building generative models over a time series of motion features from multiple frames in the video shot. Evaluation of models built using several motion image features in the TRECVID 2005 dataset shows that use of this novel motion feature results an average improvement in concept detection performance by 140% over existing motion features. Furthermore, experiments also reveal that when this motion feature is combined with static feature representations of a single keyframe from the shot such as color and texture features, the fused detection results in an improvement between 4 to 12% over the fusion across the static features alone.
Unusually large spin polarization and magnetoresistance in a FeMg8–FeMg8 superatomic dimer

Electronic transport across a FeMg8 magnetic superatom and its dimer has been investigated using a density functional theory combined with Keldysh nonequilibrium Green's-function formalism. For a single cluster, our studies for the cluster supported in various orientations on a Au(100) surface show that the transport is sensitive to the contact geometry. Investigations covering the cases where the axes of Mg square antiprism are 45°, perpendicular, and parallel to the transport direction, show that the equilibrium conductance, transferred charge, and current polarizations can all change significantly with orientation. Our studies on the transport across a magnetic superatom dimer FeMg8–FeMg8 focus on the effect of electrode contact distance and the support. The calculated I-V curves show negative differential resistance behavior at larger electrode-cluster contact distances. Further, the equilibrium conductance in ferromagnetic state shows an unusually high spin polarization that is about 81.48% for specific contact distance, and a large magnetoresistance ratio exceeding 500% is also found. The results show that the superatom assemblies can provide unusual transport characteristics, and that the spin polarization and magnetoresistance can be controlled via the contact geometry.
The excretion of taurine during deoxypyridoxine administration in Downs' syndrome patients and controls.

SummaryDeoxypyridoxine, a vitamin B6 antagonist, was administered to 4 patients with Downs' syndrome and controls matched for age and weight. Taurine excretion was measured in 24-hour urine samples collected before and during the period of deoxypyri-doxine administration. Taurine excretion in the Downs' syndrome patients before deoxy-pyridoxine was significantly less than their controls (p<0.01). During deoxypyridoxine administration, average taurine excretion of both groups increased on Day 1, decreased on Day 2, then increased significantly above base line levels by Day 10. There was no significant difference in taurine excretion between Downs' syndrome patients and their controls. Trend analysis for a quadratic component showed that the decrease and subsequent increased excretion of taurine was of statistical significance. Possible reasons for the observed changes were discussed. Taurine excretion during deoxypyridoxine administration differs from that found during vit B6 depletion in man.
The Explanatory Power of the Substance View of Persons

The purpose of this essay is to offer support for the substance view of persons, the philosophical anthropology defended by Patrick Lee in his essay. In order to accomplish this the author (1) presents a brief definition of the substance view; (2) argues that the substance view has more explanatory power in accounting for why we believe that human persons are intrinsically valuable even when they are not functioning as such (e.g., when on is temporarily comatose), why human persons remain identical to themselves over time, and why it follows from these points that the unborn are human persons; and (3) responds to two arguments that attempt to establish the claim that the early human being is not a unified substance until at least fourteen days after conception.
The point of normative models in judgment and decision making

In this comment, I shall try to summarize arguments that I have made before (Baron, 1985, 1994, 2004, 2006, 2008). These arguments are my attempt to state the standard view in the field of judgment and decision making (JDM).