cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multipath Parameter Extraction and Correction from Frequency Dependent Amplitude Fading

Multipath interference can be a challenging problem in the determination of accurate outdoor and indoor localization. There are methods that exist to mitigate this problem by extracting the multipath parameters, namely, differential attenuation, carrier phase shift, and differential time-delay. One method is to transmit a narrow pulse and extract these parameters from the impulse response of the channel. Another well-established method is to use frequency dependent amplitude fading of a swept sinusoid for multipath parameters extraction. In this paper, we used the second technique for the suppression of multipath distortion. We implemented this scheme with an Ettus B120 software defined radio (SDR) and observed more than a factor of 8 (18 dB) reduction of multipath distortion under different indoor environments; our findings are supported by both simulation as well as experimental results.
Bibliometric analysis of piosphere research: implications for conservation and scientific collaboration

The concept of the piosphere is important in rangeland management, wildlife management, desertification. Piosphere research describes the changes in soil, biota and fauna as a function of distance ...
Presence of Uterine Leiomyomas Has No Significant Impact on Gene Expression Profile in the Scalp of Patients with Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia

Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) is associated with increased expression of genes implicated in fibroproliferative disorders and a higher prevalence of uterine leiomyomas (ULs) among affected individuals. We sought to examine the effect of UL status on the gene expression profile of the lesional scalp in patients with CCCA. Scalp biopsy was obtained from 16 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of CCCA between 2017 and 2020. Microarray analysis was used to identify differential gene expression between patients with CCCA with a history of UL and those without the history. Of more than 20,000 genes analyzed, 23 of 25 genes with the highest expression in patients with CCCA with UL held no statistical significance. No genes previously implicated in fibroproliferative disorders were found among the upregulated transcripts. Of all genes analyzed, only eight upregulated genes and zero downregulated genes had a fold change in expression >2 in patients with CCCA with UL compared with those in patients with CCCA without UL. Our findings highlight similar gene expression patterns in the lesional scalp of patients with CCCA with and without a history of UL. This analysis is key in highlighting no evidence of causational or linked mechanobiology that accounts for the increased prevalence of UL seen in patients with CCCA that previous studies have not addressed.
Verifying Controllers with Convolutional Neural Network-based Perception: A Case for Intelligible, Safe, and Precise Abstractions.

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for object detection, lane detection, and segmentation now sit at the head of most autonomy pipelines, and yet, their safety analysis remains an important challenge. Formal analysis of perception models is fundamentally difficult because their correctness is hard if not impossible to specify. We present a technique for inferring intelligible and safe abstractions for perception models from system-level safety requirements, data, and program analysis of the modules that are downstream from perception. The technique can help tradeoff safety, size, and precision, in creating abstractions and the subsequent verification. We apply the method to two significant case studies based on high-fidelity simulations (a) a vision-based lane keeping controller for an autonomous vehicle and (b) a controller for an agricultural robot. We show how the generated abstractions can be composed with the downstream modules and then the resulting abstract system can be verified using program analysis tools like CBMC. Detailed evaluations of the impacts of size, safety requirements, and the environmental parameters (e.g., lighting, road surface, plant type) on the precision of the generated abstractions suggest that the approach can help guide the search for corner cases and safe operating envelops.
The Ortho Effect on the Acidic and Alkaline Hydrolysis of Substituted Formanilides

The kinetics of formanilides hydrolysis were determined under first-order conditions in hydrochloric acid (0.01–8 M, 20–60°C) and in hydroxide solutions (0.01–3 M, 25 and 40°C). Under acidic conditions, second-order specific acid catalytic constants were used to construct Hammett plots. The ortho effect was analyzed using the Fujita–Nishioka method. In alkaline solutions, hydrolysis displayed both first- and second-order dependence in the hydroxide concentration. The specific base catalytic constants were used to construct Hammett plots. Ortho effects were evaluated for the first-order dependence on the hydroxide concentration. Formanilide hydrolyzes in acidic solutions by specific acid catalysis, and the kinetic study results were consistent with the AAC2 mechanism. Ortho substitution led to a decrease in the rates of reaction due to steric inhibition of resonance, retardation due to steric bulk, and through space interactions. The primary hydrolytic pathway in alkaline solutions was consistent with a modified BAC2 mechanism. The Hammett plots for hydrolysis of meta- and para-substituted formanilides in 0.10 M sodium hydroxide solutions did not show substituent effects; however, ortho substitution led to a decrease in rate constants proportional to the steric bulk of the substituent.
Belief space planning assuming maximum likelihood observations

We cast the partially observable control problem as a fully observable underactuated stochastic control problem in belief space and apply standard planning and control techniques. One of the difficulties of belief space planning is modeling the stochastic dynamics resulting from unknown future observations. The core of our proposal is to define deterministic beliefsystem dynamics based on an assumption that the maximum likelihood observation (calculated just prior to the observation) is always obtained. The stochastic effects of future observations are modeled as Gaussian noise. Given this model of the dynamics, two planning and control methods are applied. In the first, linear quadratic regulation (LQR) is applied to generate policies in the belief space. This approach is shown to be optimal for linearGaussian systems. In the second, a planner is used to find locally optimal plans in the belief space. We propose a replanning approach that is shown to converge to the belief space goal in a finite number of replanning steps. These approaches are characterized in the context of a simple nonlinear manipulation problem where a planar robot simultaneously locates and grasps an object.
Lateral inhibition and pattern formation in Dictyostelium.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses lateral inhibition and pattern formation in Dictyostelium amoebas that start to differentiate into either prespore cells or prestalk cells about 8 hrs after the initiation of development. The pattern of differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum presents direct evidence that the initial proportioning of cell types occurs in a spatially independent manner. Localization of prespore cells to the posterior of slugs is a subsequent event that results from the prespore-specific differentiations themselves. The initial differentiation of the amoebas into prespore cells appears to depend only on temporal progression along the developmental pathway to the proper stage. It is the laggards that are kept from prespore differentiations and induced to follow the prestalk pathway. Pattern formation has often been analyzed in terms of long-range positional information, provided by the gradients of morphogens. The “French flag” model suggests that cells respond to different thresholds of a morphogen, by following different developmental pathways. Despite the considerable efforts to define molecular mechanisms that might mediate responses to graded positional information, convincing support for the model has been found only during the early development of Drosophila, in which a gradient of bicoid protein sets the polarity of the embryo. Short-range interactions, rather than field-wide positional signals, appear to regulate divergent patterns of differentiation in many developing systems, including Dictyostelium.
Vector Color Transparency

Color transparency (CT) in high momentum transfer $(e,e' \vec p)$ reactions is explored. The spin of the proton and photon are treated explicitly, hence the name ``Vector CT". The Dirac distorted wave impulse approximation is used as a starting point; then CT effects are embedded. A hadronic basis is used to describe the struck proton as a wavepacket of physical baryon resonances. The effects of the wavepacket expansion on the normal component of the ejectile polarization, which vanishes in the limit of full CT, are investigated. This formalism is also applied to study CT effects in total cross sections, individual separated nuclear response functions, Fermi motion of the initial nucleon, non-zero size of the initial wavepacket and the effects of relativistic lower components. We show that including CT reduces the violations of current conservation (CC), a typical problem in calculations of this kind. The energy dependence of the normal polarization in $(e,e' \vec p)$ reactions is found to be slow. However, a measurement of the normal transverse response in a heavy nucleus, such as $^{208}Pb$ seems to afford the opportunity to see CT at quite low momentum transfers. The effects of Fermi motion are investigated, and choosing the momentum of the struck nucleon to be large leads to significant violations of CC.
No Joke: A Comparison of Substance in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Broadcast Network Television Coverage of the 2004 Presidential Election Campaign

This study examined substantive political coverage of the first presidential debate and the political conventions in 2004 on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the broadcast television networks' nightly newscasts. The study found the networks' coverage to be more hype than substance and coverage on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to be more humor than substance. The amount of substantive information in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the broadcast network newscasts was the same, regardless of whether the unit of analysis was news stories about the presidential election campaign or the entire half-hour program.
Interoperability of XBRL Financial Statements in the U.S.

In the wake of the global financial crisis, a pressing need exists for improving investor friendliness, especially the transparency and interoperability of the financial statements of public companies. eXtensible Business Reporting Language XBRL and XBRL taxonomies can accomplish this objective. In the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC has mandated that all public companies must file their financial statements using XBRL and the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles GAAP taxonomy according to a phased-in schedule. Are the XBRL-based financial statements interoperable? This question is addressed by analyzing all of the annual XBRL financial statements filed to the SEC as of February 26, 2010. On average, 63% of data elements are not comparable between a pair of statements. The incomparability is partly caused by issues related to the GAAP taxonomy and misuse of the taxonomy by companies. The results have practical implications that will help improve the quality of financial data.
GM1 ganglioside reduces glutamate toxicity to cortical cells. Lowered LDH release and preserved membrane integrity.

As an in vitro model of CNS excitatory amino acid (EAA) injury, rat cortical neuronal cultures were challenged with glutamate (0.5 or 10 mM) and the levels of released lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were monitored at 1 h, 1, 2, and 7 d. LDH release is correlated with levels of plasma membrane damage. GM1 has been shown to be continuously distributed on the outer surface of CNS cellular membranes. By staining for the distribution of endogenous GM1 ganglioside using cholera toxin/antitoxin immunohistochemistry, we were able to assess morphologically cellular plasma membrane integrity after damage. We used these two measures (LDH and GM1 localization) to study the neuroprotective effects of exogenous GM1 ganglioside to further elucidate its mechanism. Cortical cultures derived from 15-d rat fetuses were subjected to the glutamate challenge for 30 min. Parallel cultures were either pre- or posttreated with 80 μM of GM1. Exposure to 10 mM glutamate caused a highly significant increase in LDH release at 1–48 h. Pretreatment with GM1 reduced the release, whereas post-treatment reduced the LDH release even more. Plasma membrane changes observed by the GM1 immunohistochemistry reflected the LDH release data. All cultures treated with GM1 evidenced substantial structural integrity (continuous staining of GM1 along perykarya and processes) as compared to untreated cultures. These data support our hypothesis that GM1 treatment (pre- and post-) reduces plasma membrane damage.
Tracking Control of a 2-DOF Arm Actuated by Pneumatic Muscle Actuators Using Adaptive Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control

Pneumatic muscle actuators (PMAs) have the highest power/weight ratio and power/volume ratio of any actuator. Therefore, they can be used not only in the rehabilitation engineering, but also as an actuator in robots, including industrial robots and therapy robots. It is difficult to achieve excellent tracking performance using classical control methods because the compressibility of gas and the nonlinear elasticity of bladder container causes parameter variations. An adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control is developed in this study. The fuzzy sliding surface can be used to reduce fuzzy rule numbers, and the adaptive control law is used to modify fuzzy rules on-line. A model matching technique is then adopted to adjust scaling factors. The experimental results show that this control strategy can attain excellent tracking performance.
A Local Support-Operators Diffusion Discretization Scheme for Quadrilateralr-zMeshes

We derive a cell-centered 2-D diffusion differencing scheme for arbitrary quadrilateral meshes inr-zgeometry using a local support-operators method. Our method is said to be local because it yields a sparse matrix representation for the diffusion equation, whereas the traditional support-operators method yields a dense matrix representation. The diffusion discretization scheme that we have developed offers several advantages relative to existing schemes. Most importantly, it offers second-order accuracy even on meshes that are not smooth, rigorously treats material discontinuities, and has a symmetric positive-definite coefficient matrix. The only disadvantage of the method is that it has both cell-center and face-center scalar unknowns as opposed to just cell-center scalar unknowns. Computational examples are given which demonstrate the accuracy and cost of the new scheme relative to existing schemes.
Wave propagation and scattering in random media and rough surfaces

The author presents a comprehensive review highlighting historical as well as new developments in the area of random media. Both discrete and continuous media are considered as well as rough surfaces. The author discusses wave propagation in turbulence and in a random continuum where the refractive index is a random function of space and time. Examples are optical propagation in the atmosphere, microwaves in the troposphere, ionosphere, planetary atmosphere, and solar wind, and acoustic scattering in ocean turbulence. The author describes multiple scattering by random distributions of discrete scatterers. Examples are optical and microwave scattering by rain, fog, smog, snow, ice particles, and vegetation, optical and ultrasound scattering by tissues and blood, optical and acoustic scattering in the ocean, and scattering in composite materials. Scattering by rough surfaces and interfaces is discussed. Examples are acoustic scattering by ocean surfaces, microwave and optical scattering by vegetation, terrain, and snow cover, and ultrasound scattering by rough interfaces in biological media. >
Local context and the comparator hypothesis

“Comparator” accounts of associative conditioning (e.g., Gibbon & Balsam, 1981; Miller & Matzel, 1988) suggest that performance to a Pavlovian CS is determined, by a comparison of the US expectancy of the CS with the US expectancy of general background cues. Recent research indicates that variation in the excitatory value of cues in the local temporal context of a CS may have a profound impact on conditioned responding to the CS (e.g., Kaplan & Hearst, 1982), implicating US expectancy based on local, rather than overall, background cues as the critical comparator term for a CS. In two experiments, an excitatory training context attenuated responding to a target CS. In Experiment 1, the context was made excitatory by interspersing unsignaled USs with target CS-US trials. In this case, posttraining extinction of the conditioning context restored responding to the target CS. In Experiment 2, the target CS’s local context was made excitatory by the placement of excitatory “cover” stimuli in the immediate temporal proximity of each target CS-US trial. In this experiment, posttraining extinction of the proximal cover stimuli, not extinction of the conditioning context alone, restored responding to the target CS. An observation from both experiments was that signaling the otherwise unsignaled USs did not appear to influence the associative value of the conditioning context. The results are discussed in relation to a local context version of the comparator hypothesis and serve to emphasize the importance of local context cues in the modulation of acquired behavior. Taken together with other recent reports (e.g., Cooper, Aronson, Balsam, & Gibbon, 1990; Schachtman & Reilly, 1987), the present observations encourage contemporary comparator theories to reevaluate which aspects of the conditioning situation comprise the CS’s comparator term.
Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) following type I thyroplasty for unilateral vocal fold paralysis

Unilateral vocal fold paralysis is a common clinical problem which frequently causes severe dysphonia. Various treatment options exist for this condition, with the type I thyroplasty being one of the more commonly performed surgical procedures for vocal rehabilitation. The Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) Measure is a validated outcomes instrument for voice disorders. This study measured the V-RQOL of patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis who had undergone a type I thyroplasty and compared these scores to those of patients with untreated and uncompensated unilateral vocal fold paralysis and to normals. Treated patients had significantly higher domain and overall V-RQOL scores than untreated patients, but also scored lower than normals. These differences were true across gender and age. Patients who were more distant from surgery had lower V-RQOL scores than those who had more recently been treated. It is concluded that type I thyroplasty leads to a significantly higher V-RQOL for patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis. This study also demonstrates further the utility of patient-oriented measures of treatment outcome.
Characterization of a 130,000-dalton glycoprotein isolated from pulmonary secretions of patients with alveolar proteinosis

A new glycoprotein with an apparent molecular weight of 130,000 was isolated, purified, and partially characterized from the pulmonary secretions which accumulate so massively in the lungs of patients suffering from pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. The amino acid analysis of the glycoprotein showed the presence of relatively high amounts of glycine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, leucine, and valine, and small amounts of hydroxyproline, but no hydroxylysine. It contains approximately 6% hexose, 3% sialic acid, and 4% glucosamine. The neutral sugars are galactose, mannose, and fucose. This alveolar glycoprotein cross-reacted with an antiserum prepared in rabbits against a larger glycoprotein (250,000 mol wt) isolated from the same source, suggesting that the larger alveolar glycoprotein may be the precursor of the smaller one.
Fever after a pulmonary embolism: Dressler-like syndrome

Pulmonary embolism and its complications remain important diagnostic challenges, in particular in older individuals in whom atypical symptoms may occur. About 14 to 22% of patients with acute pulmonary embolism present with low grade fever, usually below 38.5 8C [1,2]. Little is known about the incidence of fever in the days following pulmonary embolism and such fever could depend on comorbidities.We report the case of a personwith fever starting ten days after acute pulmonary embolism and severe inflammatory syndrome, but without evidence of infectious disease.
Exchange transport and amino acid charge as the basis for Na + -independent lysine uptake by isolated intestinal epithelial cells.

Abstract 1. 1. The properties of the Na+-independent stimulation of lysine uptake by intracellular alanine in isolated intestinal epithelial cells from the rat were determined and compared to the properties of Na+-independent lysine uptake previously established in order to ascertain whether these two transport processes were related. 2. 2. Dinitrophenol, anaerobiosis and ouabain did not inhibit the Na+-independent stimulation of lysine uptake by alanine while ethacrynic acid, N-ethylmaleimide ATP, arginine and incubation in the cold produced a wide range of inhibitions. These inhibitors similary influencend Na+-independent lysine uptake. 3. 3. Na+-independent, alanine-stimulated lysine uptake was independent of extracellular K+ but was decreased 10–17% by the replacement of the Ca2+ and/or Mg2+ of the incubation medium thus producing a pattern similar to that observed with Na+-independent lysine uptake. 4. 4. The diverse effects of pH on the stimulation of lysine uptake by alanine-preloaded cells very closely approximated that found for Na+-independent lysine uptake by non-preloaded cells. 5. 5. These results show that the properties of alanine-stimulated lysine uptake are similar to the properties of the Na+-independent uptake of this amino acid, suggesting that both systems are mediated by the same or related transport processes. 6. 6. A study of the relationship between the net positive charge of histidine and the magnitude of Na+-independent histidine uptake revealed that Na+-independent histidine uptake was increased by 17–24% at pH 4.5 where the cationic form of histidine is the primary molecular species. 7. 7. However, alanine-stimulated histidine uptake showed a 40% increase at pH 4.5.
The stability of solar coronal loops.

We have examined the stability of the ''quasi-static'' models of coronal loops. We find that all models in which the heat flux at the base of the loop is assumed to vanish are unstable to the growth of thermal perturbations. The growth rates and the profiles of the unstable modes indicate that the instability involves primarily the low-temperature, transition-region plasma. The models can be made stable only by assuming that the heat flux at the base of the loop is large, of the order of 13% of the maximum flux in the loop. Our results imply that the transition region must be intrinsically dynamic.
Modeling Partial Agency Autonomy in Public-Health Policymaking

This Article considers the conditions under which administrative agencies — particularly those with public health-related missions — may obtain partial autonomy from external interests or politicians. In the process, it critiques the proposition that administrative agencies in advanced industrialized countries such as the United States are routinely “captured” by external economic interests. Through case studies and the application of relevant theory from law and the study of political organization, the Article describes how agencies can produce a measure of autonomy by forging coalitions of stakeholders both internal and external to the agency, and considers how partial autonomy may be modeled as a strategic process involving decisions under uncertainty. The Article then investigates how American public-health agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, the Food Safety Inspection Service, and the Centers for Disease Control have been able to use their partial autonomy to develop significant health policy innovations. Although agencies are by no means guaranteed even a partial degree of autonomy, they are nonetheless capable of affecting their political and legal environment, with consequences not only for public-health policy but also for the legitimacy of the nation-state.
In utero Electroporation followed by Primary Neuronal Culture for Studying Gene Function in Subset of Cortical Neurons

In vitro study of primary neuronal cultures allows for quantitative analyses of neurite outgrowth. In order to study how genetic alterations affect neuronal process outgrowth, shRNA or cDNA constructs can be introduced into primary neurons via chemical transfection or viral transduction. However, with primary cortical cells, a heterogeneous pool of cell types (glutamatergic neurons from different layers, inhibitory neurons, glial cells) are transfected using these methods. The use of in utero electroporation to introduce DNA constructs in the embryonic rodent cortex allows for certain subsets of cells to be targeted: while electroporation of early embryonic cortex targets deep layers of the cortex, electroporation at late embryonic timepoints targets more superficial layers. Further, differential placement of electrodes across the heads of individual embryos results in the targeting of dorsal-medial versus ventral-lateral regions of the cortex. Following electroporation, transfected cells can be dissected out, dissociated, and plated in vitro for quantitative analysis of neurite outgrowth. Here, we provide a step-by-step method to quantitatively measure neuronal process outgrowth in subsets of cortical cells. The basic protocol for in utero electroporation has been described in detail in two other JoVE articles from the Kriegstein lab. We will provide an overview of our protocol for in utero electroporation, focusing on the most important details, followed by a description of our protocol that applies in utero electroporation to the study of gene function in neuronal process outgrowth.
Scaling behavior of radiative recombination cross sections and rate coefficients

Direct radiative recombination (RR) cross sections ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\sigma}}}^{\mathrm{RR}}$ and rate coefficients ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}^{\mathrm{RR}}$ are presented for all ions using the scaling property of the cross section in the parameter \ensuremath{\eta}=${\mathit{Z}}_{\mathrm{eff}}$/(${\mathit{ka}}_{0}$). The RR cross section is defined simply in terms of two parameters, \ensuremath{\eta} and the number of electrons N in the target ion. The RR rate coefficient ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}^{\mathrm{RR}}$/${\mathit{Z}}_{\mathrm{eff}}$ in turn depends on two parameters, the scaled temperature (FTHETA=${\mathit{k}}_{\mathit{B}}$T/${\mathit{Z}}_{\mathrm{eff}}^{2}$) and N. An empirical formula for the effective charge ${\mathit{Z}}_{\mathrm{eff}}$ is constructed, which is weakly dependent on the electron energy ${\mathit{k}}^{2}$. The cross-section values can also be used in analyzing high-energy ion-atom collisions with radiative electron capture.
Discourse Analysis of Curriculum on Sexuality Education: FLASH for Special Education

Family life and sexual health (FLASH) is the chosen sexuality education curriculum for special education in both King County (Washington) and Multnomah County (Oregon), the most populous in the two states. FLASH is currently undergoing a longitudinal, randomized, behavioral evaluation by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for which the results will be available in 2015 (King County, n.d.). Using discourse analysis to examine the FLASH curriculum, I deconstruct and highlight the dominant discourse(s) and discursive frameworks that construct and maintain the concept of intellectual/developmental disability (I/DD) as it has historically been understood. I argue that FLASH, similar to other sexuality education curricula for special education, highlights the discourse of I/DD over sexuality. As social workers, we work closely with not only schools and support services, but also the I/DD labeled community, including family members and caregivers. Social workers have an ethical duty, per the National Association of Social Workers’ (NASW) Code of Ethics, to advocate for social justice, respect the inherent dignity and worth of persons, and recognize the importance of human relationships. However, the dominant discourse maintained and supported by this curriculum is in direct opposition to the NASW ethics, leading to a call for social workers to advocate for a change in sexuality education curricula.
Calibration of ground radars during the Mid latitude Continental Convective Cloud Experiment (MC3E)

This work provides a consistent table of the operational calibration biases of the primary ground radars in operation during the Mid Latitude Continental Convective Cloud Experiment (MC3E) in central Oklahoma. Inevitably, when operating radars small biases in the measurements get introduced from drifting performance of each of the many components that comprises the system, as well as from several different environmental variables. MC3E was a large joint campaign between the US Department of Energy and NASA consisting of many ground and airborne instruments working cooperatively to study mid latitude convective storms as part of the GPM Ground Validation field experiments. The primary ground radars have overlapping fields of view and are located nearby many other passive instruments such as disdrometers. Many of the ground radars have documented biases in their measurements that can have severe effects on derived products such as rainfall and attenuation corrected fields.
Cooled-CCD and amorphous silicon-based neutron imaging systems for low-fluence neutron sources

We have developed a neutron detection system for accelerator based neutron radiography and tomography based on a combination of scintillation screen and large aperture optics combined with a cooled CCD camera. The system is capable of detecting single neutron events and can therefore be considered as a possible detector for neutron scattering as well as conventional imaging. The system has a resolution of 0.1 mm or 1242 by 1152 pixels. The limit of image size is set by the light output of the scintillator, the light collection of the optical system, the size of the CCD and the desired signal to noise ratio. The lower limit on neutron flux is determined by the dark current of the chip. Equations for these limits have been derived and can be used to predict and optimize performance. The scintillation light output per incident neutron is large enough to permit the use of lens coupled systems with their increased flexibility and ease of implementation. The system can approach a quantum limited noise level, depending on the particular geometry used. For our current system, based on the use of NE 426 scintillator, 3 a 1242 by 1152 pixel EEV CCD operating at -50C, and using a 100 mm focal length, F/0.9 lens, the maximum size for the imaging screen is 0.5 m, and the lower limit for flux is 1 n/pixel/s based on this size screen and a typical dark current of 10 e/pixel/s. We are now investigating a new type of imaging technology based on large amorphous silicon sensor arrays being developed by Xerox and others. A typical device is 200 by 250 mm with a pixel size of 127 micrometers and the entire array with all electronics is in a 400 mm by 37 mm package. Major advantages of this device are the high light coupling between scintillator screen and the sensor as well as the more compact nature of such an array, since no lens systems is required and, potentially, a much lower cost. Currently, the noise performance is worse than that of CCDs, largely due to the current electronic readout but should be adequate to produce quantum limited images if electronics can be improved.
Grassroots leadership: encounters with power dynamics and oppression

This article focuses on the nature of power dynamics that faculty and staff grassroots leaders encounter as they attempt to create change. I identified five distinctive types of power dynamics – oppression, silencing, controlling, inertia, and micro‐aggressions from the most overt to more subtle and covert forms. Staff experience multiple forms of power dynamics that are extremely difficult to overcome; faculty experience less intense forms of power dynamics. The severe forms of oppression and silencing that staff face lead to turnover and lack of leadership for initiatives, and impact the resiliency of individuals involved in change. I also describe ways that grassroots leaders navigate power dynamics through networks, accountability structures, or flying under the radar.
Minimal metabolism, summit metabolism and plasma thyroxine in rodents from different environments.

Abstract 1. 1. Rodents were live-trapped in three environments (desert, intermediate and coastal) in Southern California, USA, chosen because of the taxonomic overlap of species. Upon capture, blood samples were taken and plasma thyroxine concentrations were measured. 2. 2. Four species ( Dipodomys merriami, Perognathus fallax, Peromyscus eremicus and Peromyscus californiens ) were returned to the laboratory for measurement of minimal and summit rates of metabolism. 3. 3. Heteromyid rodents had significantly lower plasma thyroxine concentrations (14–44 nmoll −1 ) than cricetid rodents (18–93 nmoll −1 ). 4. 4. Although there was significant habitat difference in plasma thyroxine levels, this influence was not constant between heteromyid and cricetid rodents. 5. 5. In most species, the desert individuals had the lowest plasma thyroxine concentration. 6. 6. Minimal metabolic rates were lower than expected in all four species, as well as in the tropical heteromyid Liomys salvini and summit metabolic rates were similarly reduced in all species. 7. 7. Upon capture there was considerable variation in plasma thyroxine concentration of different species (23–93 nmoll −1 ). However, following 10 weeks in captivity, the range and variability of plasma thyroxine levels in these species was considerably reduced (32–64 nmoll −1 ).
Analysis of individual foods for the validation of sugars and starch contents of composited diets

Abstract Two similar total daily diets were collected for each of three caloric levels. From these, six diet composites and the 21 commonly eaten individual foods which made up the composites were analyzed for their sugar and starch contents. Sugars were extracted into 80% methanol. Extracts were dried, derivatized, and analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). The residue after methanol extraction was incubated with an enzyme/buffer solution for starch hydrolysis and the resulting glucose was again determined by GLC. From the data, the sum of all sugars (i.e., fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose) and the amount of starch as calculated from the analyzed values for each individual food are comparable to values obtained simply by analyzing the composited total diets. This finding validates the analyzed “available carbohydrate” data of composites. However, a large variation was found between analyzed “available carbohydrate” and calculated “total carbohydrate” values from food tables.
Resilience in Infancy: A Relational Approach

In this article, the authors consider issues relevant to the study of resilience in infancy using a relational approach. They begin by addressing the challenge of defining the construct of resilience in the developmental context of infancy. The authors then examine how risks experienced by infants, such as maternal depression, may influence individual development. Particular attention is given to neuroplasticity in infant development. They suggest that knowledge about the social contexts in which infants are embedded may contribute to our understanding of resilience processes in the early years. Specifically, the authors hypothesized that the infant–parent relationship is a potential locus of resilient functioning. This hypothesis was investigated using a study of young mothers and their infants, exploring how an indicator of positive infant functioning (optimal emotional availability with mothers) was associated with maternal resilient functioning in parenting. In the context of significant threats to de...
Human Rad54 protein stimulates DNA strand exchange activity of hRad51 protein in the presence of Ca2

Rad51 and Rad54 proteins play a key role in homologous recombination in eukaryotes. Recently, we reported that Ca2+ is required in vitro for human Rad51 protein to form an active nucleoprotein filament that is important for the search of homologous DNA and for DNA strand exchange, two critical steps of homologous recombination. Here we find that Ca2+ is also required for hRad54 protein to effectively stimulate DNA strand exchange activity of hRad51 protein. This finding identifies Ca2+ as a universal cofactor of DNA strand exchange promoted by mammalian homologous recombination proteins in vitro. We further investigated the hRad54-dependent stimulation of DNA strand exchange. The mechanism of stimulation appeared to include specific interaction of hRad54 protein with the hRad51 nucleoprotein filament. Our results show that hRad54 protein significantly stimulates homology-independent coaggregation of dsDNA with the filament, which represents an essential step of the search for homologous DNA. The results obtained indicate that hRad54 protein serves as a dsDNA gateway for the hRad51-ssDNA filament, promoting binding and an ATP hydrolysis-dependent translocation of dsDNA during the search for homologous sequences.
Al and F codoped ZnO by a novel co-spray deposition technique for solar cells applications

ZnO was successfully synthesized by a novel co-spray deposition technique. Two solutions were prepared and sprayed through two spray heads. In one solution, Zn(O2CCH3)2 (Zn precursor) and AlCl3 (Al precursor) were dissolved in a mixture of deionized water and ethanol. In another solution, NH4F (F precursor) was dissolved in the same mixture. The deposition was carried out at 500°C on soda-lime glass in air. Compared to Al-doped or F-doped ZnO, Al and F codoped ZnO resulted in much lower sheet resistance. The lowest sheet resistance obtained so far is below 55 Ω/sq from solutions with 0.6 at.% Al and 55 at.% F, respectively, after vacuum annealing at 400°C for 1 h. The average transmittance of Al and F codoped ZnO is above 80% in the visible range. The effects of dopant concentrations in the starting solutions on the electrical, structural, and optical properties of Al and F codoped ZnO were also investigated.
Effect of temperature and pressure on equilibrium constant involving metal ions

The effect of temperature and pressure on the Gibbs standard free energy formation of ionic species, hence the equilibrium constant involving these ions has been reviewed and discussed. The role of the partial molal volume on the equilibrium constant was reviewed first. It was found that the effect of pressure is negligible unless the pressure applied is excessive, say over 200 atmospheres. The Gibbs standard free energy formation of various metal ions in water at various temperatures has also been calculated using a conventional method as well as the correspondence principles. The temperatures considered were 60, 100. 150 and 200 C. The results obtained for these temperatures based on these methods have been compared and discussed. It has been found that the results by these two methods do not differ much, mostly within 596, which is contrary lo what has been believed by many.
Bayesian Belief Network-based approach for diagnostics and prognostics of semiconductor manufacturing systems

Semiconductor manufacturing is a complex process in that it requires different types of equipments (also referred to as tools in semiconductor industry) with various control variables under monitoring. As the number of sensors grows, a huge amount of data are collected from the production; and yet, the relations among these control variables and their effects on finished wafer are to be fully understood for both equipment monitoring and quality assurance. Meanwhile, as the wafer goes through multiple periods with different recipes, failure that occurs during the process can both cause tremendous loss to manufacturer and compromise product quality. Therefore, occurred failure should be detected as soon as possible, and root cause need to be identified so that corrections can be made in time to avoid further loss. In this paper, we propose to apply Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) to investigate the causal relationship among process variables on the tool and evaluate their influence on wafer quality. By building BBN models at different periods of the process, the causal relation between control parameters, and their influence on wafer can be both qualitatively indicated by the network structure and quantitatively measured by the conditional probabilities in the model. In addition, with the BBN probability propagation, one can diagnose root causes when bad wafer is produced; or predict the wafer quality when abnormal is observed during the process. Our tests on a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) tool show that the BBN model achieves high classification rate for wafer quality, and accurately identifies problematic sensors when bad wafer is found.
Union campaign activities and voter preferences

The impact of campaign activity on voting preferences in union representation elections is investigated using a panel study approach. The context of this study is a four-year, multicampus, university system, in which two faculty unions competed vigorously for representation rights for several years. We propose a multivariate model of individual voting intentions which, we argue, depend on the precampaign expected consequences of collective bargaining, recent changes in institutional conditions, various normative and value constraints, and union campaign activity. Both self-reports of exposure to campaign activity and exogenous measures of campus-specific organizing efforts are used in the analysis. The use of exogenous indicators of campaign activity, which we argue is more appropriate, suggests that campaign activity exerts no appreciable effect on the manner in which individuals vote in such elections. Policy implications of these findings are discussed.
The mechanisms of morph determination in the amphipod Jassa: implications for the evolution of alternative male phenotypes

The proximal basis for and the maintenance of alternative male reproductive strategies and tactics are generally not understood in most species, despite the occurrence of male polymorphism across many taxa. In the marine amphipod Jassa marmorata, males differ in morphology as well as behaviour. This dimorphism corresponds to two contrasting reproductive strategies: small sneaker males or 'minors', and large fighter males or 'majors'. This study uses quantitative genetic analyses in conjunction with experimental manipulations to assess the relative importance of genetic versus environmental factors in the determination and maintenance of these alternative mating strategies. Heritability analyses indicated the reproductive phenotypes do not reflect genetic differences between dimorphic males. By contrast, morph determination was significantly affected by diet quality. Majors essentially only developed on high-protein diets. Field studies also identified a strong correlation between seasonal shifts in the relative proportions of morphs and changes in food (i.e. phytoplankton) quantity and composition, corroborating that diet cues the switch between alternative reproductive tactics. Moreover, the comparison of major and minor growth trajectories identified a heterochronic shift in maturation times between morphs, indicating that ecological selective pressures, rather than just sexual selection, may be involved in the maintenance of this conditional strategy.
Killing horizons around a uniformly accelerating and rotating particle

The structure of the Killing horizon surrounding a uniformly accelerating and rotating particle which is emitting gravitational radiation is investigated. When expressed in terms of a coordinate system which is rigidly fixed to the particle undergoing uniform acceleration, the two inner horizons and ergoregion are similar to the horizons and ergoregion in the Kerr solution. These compact surfaces are distorted by the acceleration, being elongated in the forward direction and contracted in the backward direction. In addition to the two horizons that are similar to the Kerr solution, there is an additional noncompact horizon and an additional ergoregion which are caused by the acceleration. In general, the two ergoregions are disjoint, but as the acceleration parameter is sufficiently increased these ergoregions coalesce. A further increase of the acceleration will cause the two outer horizons to become degenerate and the ergoregion to vanish. An increase in the rotation parameter causes effects similar to those in the Kerr metric.
Social capital, trust, and the use of financial institutions in Mexico

Motivated by the link between financial development and economic growth, this article considers the relationship between individuals' trust levels and their participation in Mexico's financial system. Regression estimates show that high trust individuals are more likely to open an account, and this correlation is stronger among people with low education. Also, people tend to rely less on loans from family and friends once they open accounts, especially high trust individuals. Additionally, people who open accounts are not less likely to participate in other informal savings mechanisms, which suggest there is no crowding out between formal and informal savings. Resume S'inspirant du lien entre le developpement financier et la croissance economique, ce travail analyse la relation entre les degres de confiance des individus et leur participation au systeme financier mexicain. Les estimations econometriques montrent que les individus ayant une forte confiance dans les systemes financiers sont plus enclins a o...
LINEARIZATION OF THE RADIATION TERMS FOR IMPROVED CONVERGENCE BY USE OF THE ZONE METHOD

(1983). LINEARIZATION OF THE RADIATION TERMS FOR IMPROVED CONVERGENCE BY USE OF THE ZONE METHOD. Numerical Heat Transfer: Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 377-382.
Electrophoretic analysis of young alligator serum.

Serum from 30 young alligators was examined by free boundary, starch block, and cellulose acetate strip electrophoresis. The patterns obtained showed that the alligator serum proteins differ significantly from those of other chordates in that an α-globulin is the major component. The average ratio of α-globulin to albumin in the serum is 3.4. In this respect it resembles serum of human beings with renal disease in which the α-globulin ratio to albumin ratio reaches 3.0.