cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Solvent Quality on Laminar Slip Flow Penetration of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) Films with an Exploration of the Mass Transport Mechanism.

The effect of solvent quality on the slip flow penetration of polymer films was evaluated by monitoring small-molecule mass transport under varying laminar flow rates using Forster resonance energy transfer in combination with total internal reflectance fluorescence microscopy (FRET-TIRFM). For thin films of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM), solvents with solvent quality ranging from good to poor were studied. The solvents used were composed of varying mole ratios of methanol and water in order to take advantage of the unique cononsolvency phenomenon of pNIPAM such that differences in the physicochemical properties of these solvents were insignificant for fluorescence detection. FRET quenching of a donor fluorophore covalently tethered on the substrate surface at the bottom of the pNIPAM film by a solution-confined acceptor was monitored as a function of time. Quenching curves were fit to a combined Taylor–Aris–Fickian mass transport model for the acceptor, rhodamine B (RhB) or 2-nitrobenzylaclohol (2...
A new shielding analysis method for used fuel transport and storage casks

To provide a cask with the largest possible loading capacity of spent fuel assemblies with the largest practicable burnup and shortest cooling time within all safety requirements, AREVA TN has adapted its design process and developed a more elaborated shielding analysis method. Taking advantage of the potential heterogeneities between sources of fuel assemblies to be loaded, and the self-shielding of assemblies loaded at the basket centre by the assemblies loaded at the basket periphery, the result of this method is expressed under the shape of a linear inequalities system allowing to optimize the cask capacity and performance.
Ensemble Kalman Filter for Dynamic State Estimation of Power Grids Stochastically Driven by Time-Correlated Mechanical Input Power

State and parameter estimation of power transmission networks is important for monitoring power grid operating conditions and analyzing transient stability. Wind power generation depends on fluctuating input power levels, which are correlated in time and contribute to uncertainty in turbine dynamical models. The ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF), a standard state estimation technique, uses a deterministic forecast and does not explicitly model time-correlated noise in parameters such as mechanical input power. However, this uncertainty affects the probability of fault-induced transient instability and increased prediction bias. A novel approach is to model input power noise with time-correlated stochastic fluctuations and integrate them with the network dynamics during the forecast. While the EnKF has been used to calibrate constant parameters in turbine dynamical models, the calibration of a statistical model for a time-correlated parameter has not been investigated. In this study, twin experiments on a standard transmission network test case are used to validate our time-correlated noise model framework for state estimation of unsteady operating conditions and transient stability analysis, and a methodology is proposed for the inference of the mechanical input power time-correlation length parameter using time-series data from PMUs monitoring power dynamics at generator buses.
Examination of space-based bulk atmospheric temperatures used in climate research

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report 5 (IPCC AR5, 2013) discussed bulk atmospheric temperatures as indicators of climate variability and change. We examine four satellite...
STE20 kinases and cation-chloride cotransporters.

In yeast, STE20p is a protein kinase that transmits pheromone signals from G proteins , to downstream components of the signaling pathway. Ste20p can be regarded as a MAP4K because it activates a signaling cascade by direct phosphorylation of a MAP3K. Over thirty Ste20-related protein kinases have been identified in mammalian cells. Most of these kinases serve as upstream activators of MAP kinase cascades. The group of Ste20 kinases was subdivided into 10 subfamilies in mammals, based on their phylogenetic relationships. Ste20-related kinases are characterized by a large regulatory domain fused to the kinase domain. In two subfamilies, in which the prototype member is PAK1, the regulatory domain is located upstream from the kinase domain (N-terminal regulatory domain). In contrast, the eight additional mammalian Ste20 kinase subfamilies have regulatory domains which are located downstream from the kinase domain (C-terminal regulatory domain). The prototype member of these eight subfamilies is the germinal center kinase, or GCK. SPAK (or PASK) and OSR1 belong to the GCK subfamily VI, which also comprises Fray, a Drosophila homologue, and Y59A8B.23, a C. elegans homologue.
The enhancement of interaction for people with severe speech and physical impairment through the computer recognition of gesture and manipulation

The research involves using drama and mime to elicit Intentional behaviors such as gesture and manipulation from people who cannot access a keyboard directly due to severe speech and physical impairment due to cerebral palsy. Although the resulting movements are often imprecise and idiosyncratic, attempts are being made to recognize them by computer. Sensors are being used to monitor continuous signals from the body. Feature extraction and classification techniques involving artificial neural networks are being developed to recognize intention. As part of an early intervention strategy, the system could create the opportunity for children with disabilities to learn through physical interaction and exploration. It is envisioned that the final system could be used to facilitate interaction with a selection of multisensory real and virtual worlds.
Ferromagnetic Semiconductors and Their Nanostructures: New Opportunities and Challenges

Research on magnetic semiconductors has for the last two decades been largely focused on II-VI semiconductor alloys containing Mn. These materials (e.g. HgMnTe, ZnMnSe) have served to firmly establish the potential role of electron spin in semiconductor physics. Giant Faraday rotation in CdMnTe, enormously large negative magnetoresistance in p-type HgMnTe [1] and - in the case of multilayers - the achievement of spatial segregation of electrons with opposite spin in so-called “spin superlattices” [2,3] are examples of the many new and exciting effects which are made possible by these materials. Although the phenomena just illustrated are of a magnitude that readily suggests a number of spin-based device applications (such as optical isolators [4]), the realisation of such devices has been very limited because all the effects mentioned above are determined by the magnetisation of the magnetic sublattice, which rapidly decreases as one approaches room temperature. Increasing the concentration of magnetic ions to enhance these effects in II-VI-Mn alloys is ineffective (and in fact counterproductive), because the dominant Mn-Mn interaction in these materials is antiferromagnetic, limiting the magnetisation - and thus also the spin-dependent effects just described.
Novel KRIT1/CCM1 heterozygous nonsense mutation (c.715 C>T) associated with cerebral and cerebellar cavernous malformations in a paediatric patient.

A 4-year-old Hispanic boy with no significant history presented to the emergency room with 4 days of headache, nausea, vomiting and gait abnormality. Physical exam was significant for cerebellar symptoms. MRI of the brain showed multiple foci of susceptibility, which are suggestive of cavernous malformations with evidence of recent haemorrhagic in the largest cerebellar lesion (figure 1). Magnetic resonance angiogram and MRI of the spine did not show additional lesions. Genetic sequencing revealed a novel heterozygous nonsense nucleotide transition (c.715C>T;pQ239X) of …
Software fairness

A goal of software engineering research is advancing software quality and the success of the software engineering process. However, while recent studies have demonstrated a new kind of defect in software related to its ability to operate in fair and unbiased manner, software engineering has not yet wholeheartedly tackled these new kinds of defects, thus leaving software vulnerable. This paper outlines a vision for how software engineering research can help reduce fairness defects and represents a call to action by the software engineering research community to reify that vision. Modern software is riddled with examples of biased behavior, from automated translation injecting gender stereotypes, to vision systems failing to see faces of certain races, to the US criminal justice sytem relying on biased computational assessments of crime recidivism. While systems may learn bias from biased data, bias can also emerge from ambiguous or incomplete requirement specification, poor design, implementation bugs, and unintended component interactions. We argue that software fairness is analogous to software quality, and that numerous software engineering challenges in the areas of requirements, specification, design, testing, and verification need to be tackled to solve this problem.
Novel Percutaneous Dual Lumen Cannula Right Ventricular Assist Device Provides Effective Support for Patients after Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation

Purpose The indications, efficacy, and safety profile of temporary, percutaneous dual lumen cannula-based right ventricular assist devices (RVAD) [TandemLife ProtekDuo] after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) placement have not been well characterized. We describe our experience with the largest series of patients reported to date. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of 24 patients who received ProtekDuo RVAD support from January 2016 through July 2018. Outcomes of interest included indications for support, procedural success, complications, and clinical outcomes. Results Patients were 79% male (n=19) with a median age of 66 (IQR 58-72). ProtekDuo RVAD support was initiated a median of 1 day (IQR 0-2) after LVAD implantation. Indications for RVAD placement included pure RV failure (n=14, 58%), vasoplegia (n=2, 8%), or mixed syndrome (n=8, 33%). Procedural success was 100% without any complications. Initial median flow was 4.1 L/min (IQR 3.8-4.5) with a median indexed flow of 2.0 L/min/m2 (IQR 1.8-2.3). During a median support of 11 days (IQR 7-14), major complications included cannula thrombosis (n=1), cannula migration into the RV requiring repositioning (n=2), and hemolysis, as defined by progressively rising LDH and plasma free hemoglobin levels (n=4). A total of 18 patients (75%) were weaned from the ProtekDuo RVAD with cannulas removed at the bedside in all patients. Three patients died while on ProtekDuo support and three were converted to central RVAD support. Overall survival to discharge was 78% (n=18/23) with one patient remaining in-hospital. Survival post-discharge was 100% at the time of most recent follow-up, with a median duration of 211 days (IQR 98-523). Conclusion The ProtekDuo RVAD affords a safe and reliable bridge to right ventricular recovery as a less invasive percutaneous option after LVAD placement.
Learning to Reason: An Encouragement of Learning (Gakumon no susume)

Hwang analyzes Fukuzawa’s bestseller, An Encouragement of Learning, in this chapter. This popular work was intended primarily as a self-help book that sought to open the minds of bellicose samurais to bourgeois rationalism. Given the threat of Western imperialism, Fukuzawa encouraged the samurai class to transform itself into a class of modern bourgeois citizens committed to liberal nationalism. This, he felt, would result in a new and responsible citizen army a la Machiavelli. Moreover, Fukuzawa tried to sever the symbiotic relationship between Confucian literati and the despotic government by calling for an independent civil society beyond the boundaries of the state. Fukuzawa’s vision of a bourgeois class was prescient; it anticipated the real emergence of the bourgeois class in Japan decades later.
Transistor Doping Experiments on Superconducting CaCuO2 and C60 Interpreted on a Bond Ordering Model

The curve shape of Tc vs. holes injected by fields (transistor doping) of CaCuO2 and C60 are interpreted on a charge or bond ordering [BO] model. For CaCuO2 both the magnitude of optimal Tc (89 K vs. a calculated 83 K) and the linear portions around a “sharp” Tc peak at h ∼ 0.17 = 1/6 are in accord with a universal algorithm for cuprates, in which Tc scales linearly with radical bond density to an optimal BO. These linear regions extrapolate to h = 0 and 1/3 respectively. Small trends to electronic freezing are observed at h = 1/8. A second linear region extends from h ∼ 1/12 to 1/16 with 4 times the slope of the first linear region, indicating a second mode of BO filling. A surprisingly similar behavior is observed for transistor doped C60 type materials with characteristic sequence of BO dictated hole concentrations for Tc onset, rise, a linear region extrapolating to Tc = 0 at h = 0, indications for electronic freezing, a sharp peak and linear decrease thereafter. This suggests that a common phenomenology obtains for all high Tc materials, representing generally an ordering phenomenon of doped covalent radical bonds.
Bridging bio-nano interactions with photoactive biohybrid energy systems

Understanding how proteins interface with synthetic nanomaterials has become increasingly important for a range of applications from nanomedicine to fuel generation. The nature of these bio-nano interactions is dynamic and specific to both the properties of the nanomaterial and protein. Here, we highlight recent work focused on understanding the general molecular forces responsible for initiating these bio-nano interactions and their effect on the protein's structural conformation with a variety of different nanomaterial properties, specifically, composition, size, shape, and different surface functionalities. Building from this, we will then discuss redox active biohybrid systems, where electron transfer occurs across the bio-nano interface, that incorporate semiconductor nanomaterials for energy generation applications and provide insights on how to improve our understanding of these photoactive bio-nano interfaces.
Leadership perceptions, gender, and dominant personality: The role of normality evaluations

Abstract Individuals with dominant personality tend to be perceived as leaders, but theory suggests the dominance advantage for leadership might depend upon gender. Role congruity theory (Eagly & Karau, 2002) holds that gender role-incongruence (i.e., dominant personality traits among women) can be a liability, which we propose produces a dominance-gender interaction effect on leadership perceptions. We extend this theory by proposing and testing a novel conceptual mediator of the role congruity effect—perceived normality. Results show dominance predicts perceived transformational leadership, but only for men. This role congruity interaction effect is then explained by perceived normality (mediated moderation). The conditional indirect effect of dominance on leadership through perceived normality is positive for men, but negative for women—consistent with role congruity theory.
Open Anatomic Reconstruction of the Posterolateral Corner: The Arciero Technique.

Abstract The posterolateral corner (PLC) is an important stabilizer of the knee. This complex of ligaments and tendons functions as the primary restraint to varus and posterolateral rotation of the knee. Injury to the PLC can result in chronic instability, a varus-thrust gait, and early arthrosis of the medial compartment of the knee if left untreated. Several techniques have been designed to address injuries of the PLC. Over the last 30 years, our understanding of the posterolateral corner as well as its operative reconstruction evolved. This evolution has attempted to refine what is an “anatomic” reconstruction. With more improved techniques and new, innovative fixation devices, we hope to make a more favorable repair for recreating the native stability of the posterolateral corner.
Managing residential solar photovoltaic-battery systems for grid and life cycle economic and environmental co-benefits under time-of-use rate design

Abstract The residential time-of-use (TOU) rates have been increasingly discussed or implemented by the US power utilities. The TOU rate design can potentially promote residential battery installations targeting increased selling or utilization of solar energy during the on-peak hours. However, our understanding in terms of the design and management of solar photovoltaic (PV)-battery systems for economic, environmental, and grid co-benefits under the TOU design remains limited. This study integrated system dynamics modeling with life cycle assessment to investigate the peak load reduction, life cycle cost, as well as life cycle climate change, water depletion, and fossil fuel depletion effects of residential grid-connected PV-battery systems under a TOU rate design. A residential prototype house in the Boston-Logan area, MA was selected for model simulation. Our study found solar PV-battery systems that maximize the on-peak grid selling can achieve the highest on-peak load reduction and economic benefits. However, they may not result in the highest environmental benefits, as on-peak hours have lower carbon emission and fossil fuel depletion factors as compared with the mid-peak hours in the New England grid. This suggests a potential tradeoff between the need of on-peak load reduction, economic saving, and environmental protection. Installing a PV system alone presents relatively strong economic and environmental performances, but its on-peak load reduction is limited. Installing a battery system but without an effective control strategy might result in relatively weak peak-load reduction, economic, and environmental outcomes. This highlights the importance of effective battery control in the implementation of solar PV-battery systems.
Percutaneous Thoracic Spinal Cord Stimulator Placement.

Spinal cord stimulation is a safe, effective, and reversible method for the management of chronic neuropathic pain. Spinal cord stimulation was found to be superior to traditional conservative management in recent clinical trials. The superiority of this therapeutic strategy is in part due to the many benefits, such as decreased use of prescription pain medications, cost-effectiveness, and improvement in patient quality of life. With appropriate patient consent for photography during the operation per hospital policy, the technical description for percutaneous placement of a spinal cord stimulator was documented at the authors home institution. The percutaneous technique allows for decreased operative times and thus reduced anesthesia, as well as decreased post-operative pain due to less tissue and muscle dissection. Additionally, the percutaneous leads have a smaller footprint in the epidural space, allowing more patients with mild spinal canal stenosis to receive this therapeutic device, which generally precludes paddle placement. These features make the percutaneous method an appealing alternative to the traditional laminotomy technique. The traditional laminotomy approach for paddle lead placement has been well described in the literature. However, detailed and indexed techniques of the percutaneous alternative are lacking. This technical description provides the first, easily accessible technical guide for the percutaneous placement of thoracic spinal cord stimulators. The operative technique was documented with images and detailed descriptions at the authors home institution.
Political Philosophy as Love of Wisdom

The traditional view holds that political philosophy should aim at the truth. By contrast, Avner de Shalit argues that political philosophers should do something different. According to him, they s...
An instruction-level power and energy model for the rocket chip generator

As digital systems become more power and energy constrained, the need for optimizing these quantities early in the design process grows ever more important. Fast and accurate power and energy models are needed for complex hardware blocks, such as processor cores, in order to optimize systems that contain these blocks. Today accurate energy/power estimation can be achieved only after physical design is complete, which is too late to affect the system architecture. This paper demonstrates the development of a fast instruction-level model for the Rocket Chip Generator to facilitate power- and energy-efficient software optimization. We first discuss an event-based power modeling methodology which is the foundation of our model and is compatible with emerging power- and energy-modeling standards such as IEEE-2416. Detailed energy characterization for basic events is explained along with an evaluation of a model with and without cache-fill events. The validation results show that the proposed instruction-level power model achieves less than 3% error on simple C program benchmarks.
Free-Living Nematode Removal by Rapid Sand Filters

Flow rates of 2, 4, and 6 gpm per sq ft gave approximately 98% removal of nonmotile Diplogasteroides sp., one of the predominate species found in waste treatment plant effluents, whereas only 25% of the motile worms were removed. The motility of the worms was observed to be the most important single factor in the removal of worms by filtration. Smaller, less motile worms were removed more effectively than larger, more motile worms. Percentage worm removal with filter influents having high concentrations of nematodes, predominantly non-motile, was higher than with water having low concentrations of nematodes, predominantly motile. Examination of the sand showed worm retention throughout the entire depth but with the highest concentrations near the top of the sand.
Pre-revolutionary Iranian economic policy making: An optimal control based assessment

Abstract An optimal control macroeconomic model of the Iranian economic is developed in order to evaluate the government's economic policies over the 1972–1977 period. The main results of the study indicate that, after 1973, Iranian planners should have focused on shorter-run stabilization issues and contributed more actively to the budgetary decision-making process. This conclusion is true with regard not only to the longer-run supply effects of the government's programmes, but also to the shorter-run stabilization difficulties posed by the rapidly accelerating level of expenditures.
Chapter 2.2 The use of conditioning tasks to model fear and anxiety

Abstract Pavlovian fear conditioning is a process that normally plays an adaptive role in generating defensive behaviors in threatening situations. Since this learning process is powerful, rapid and lasts indefinitely, it renders neutral stimuli reminiscent of a threatening situation capable of generating inappropriate fear reactions in non-threatening situations. Here we describe some of the normal functions of Pavlovian fear conditioning and then review how it was used as a model to generate several breakthroughs in our understanding of learning processes and mechanisms. Pavlovian conditioning is not only a model of fear acquisition but also a model of the loss of fear called extinction. We review the processes responsible for extinction, emphasizing recovery of fear following extinction. We describe the long history of translating fear acquisition and extinction to humans and the clinic. We end with a discussion of the use of fear conditioning to understand individual differences in anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Epistemological Beliefs and Knowledge Sharing in Work Teams: A New Model and Research Questions.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a knowledge-sharing model that explains individual members’ motivation to share knowledge (knowledge donation and knowledge collection). Design/methodology/approach – The model is based on social-constructivist theories of epistemological beliefs, learning and distributed cognition, and is organized via the mechanism of propositional control, which suggests that attitudes or beliefs largely drive one’s behaviors. This paper also explores how epistemological belief systems may influence behavior processes at work. Findings – The model presented consists of five epistemological belief dimensions consistent with previous theorization about personal epistemologies. This paper demonstrates how sophisticated (as opposed to naive) beliefs on each of these five dimensions can stimulate one’s intrinsic desire to engage in knowledge-sharing behaviors. Research limitations/implications – The model is constrained by the assumptions that learning takes place socially a...
Consistent accuracy of the Australian weed risk assessment system across varied geographies

The ecological and economic advantages of preventing introduction of species likely to become invasive have increased interest in implementing effective screening tools. We compared the accuracy of the Australian Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) system with that across the six geographies in which it has been tested (New Zealand, Hawaii, Hawaii and Pacific Islands, Czech Republic, Bonin Islands and Florida). Inclusion in four of the tests of a secondary screening tool, developed to reduce the number of species requiring further evaluation, decreased the number of species with that outcome by over 60% on average. Averaging across all tests demonstrated that the WRA system accurately identified major invaders 90%, and non-invaders 70%, of the time. Examined differently, a species of unknown invasive potential is on average likely to be correctly accepted or rejected over 80% of the time for all of these geographies when minor invaders are categorized as invasive. Whereas increasing consistency in definitions and implementation would facilitate understanding of the general application of the WRA system, we believe that this tool functions similarly across islands and continents in tropical and temperate climates and has been sufficiently tested to be adopted as an initial screen for plant species proposed for introduction to a new geography.
Teaching Case on SOA and Web Services in a System Analysis and Design Course

This teaching case is part of a MBA/Graduate elective course titled “System Analysis and Design” offered by the Department of Accounting and MIS at the University of Delaware. Target Audience: MBA/Business Graduate Students Pre-requisite Knowledge: basic concepts of system analysis and design and knowledge of using business process management systems The learning objectives are: • Understand the basic concepts of SOA and Web Services • Understand how system integration can be easily implemented by leveraging SOA and web services techniques • Learn how to orchestrate web services using process engine to provide added business value • Learn how to browse web service repository (or web service catalog) to understand the basic functionalities of services (WSDL address, inputs, outputs, data types, etc.) Teaching Note: • The first part of the lecture should be using the lecture slides to introduce the basic concepts in SOA and Web Services, which should be about 45 minutes. • The second part of the lecture is a lab session, where the students complete an exercise on service orchestration using process management systems. This lab offers students hands-on experience with Web Services and helps them understand how SOA and Web Services can provide added-value to businesses with minimal programming effort. This lab can be completed in 45 minutes. • The deliverables from the lab are evaluated as a graded assignment.
DnaA protein is not essential for replication of IncFII plasmid NR1.

Abstract By transformation of dnaA null mutant host cells that are suppressed either by an rnh mutation or by chromosomal integration of a mini-R1 plasmid, it was shown that replication of miniplasmids composed of the NR1 minimal replicon had no absolute dependence upon DnaA protein. In addition, the suppression of the dnaA null mutation by the integrated mini-R1, which is an IncFII relative of NR1, was found to be sensitive to the expression of IncFII-specific plasmid incompatibility. This suggests that the integrative suppression by mini-R1 is under the control of the normal IncFII plasmid replication circuitry. Although NR1 replication had no absolute requirement for DnaA, the copy numbers of NR1-derived miniplasmids were lower in dnaA null mutants, and the plasmids exhibited a much reduced stability of inheritance during subculture in the absence of selection. This suggests that DnaA protein may participate in IncFII plasmid replication in some auxiliary way, such as by increasing the efficiency of formation of an open initiation complex at the plasmid replication origin. Such an auxiliary role for DnaA in IncFII replication would be different from that for replication of most other plasmids examined, for which DnaA has been found to be either essential or unimportant.
Planet-finding performance of the TPF-I Emma architecture

The NASA Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer (TPF-I) and ESA Darwin missions are designed to directly detect mid-infrared photons from earth-like planets around nearby stars. Until recently, the baseline TPF-I design was the planar stretched X-Array, in which the four collectors spacecraft lie on the corners of a rectangle with the combiner spacecraft at the center, all in the plane normal to the direction to the target star. The stretched X-Array has two major advantages over other configurations: the angular resolution is very high, and the ability to eliminate instability noise. A direct consequence of the latter is that the null depth requirement is relaxed from 10-6 to 10-5. Implementation of the planar configuration requires a significant number of deployments, however, including large sunshades and secondary mirror supports. ESA had been pursuing a non-planar configuration with 3 collector telescopes. Dubbed the 'Emma' architecture (after the wife of Charles Darwin), this approach brings the combiner spacecraft up out of the plane of the collectors, and offers significant simplifications in the collector design with minimal deployments. The Emma X-Array combines the best aspects of each design, bringing together the 4-collector stretched X-Array collector configuration with the out-of-plane combiner of the Emma geometry. Both the TPF-I and Darwin missions have now adopted the Emma X-Array as the baseline design, moving a step closer to a single, joint TPF/Darwin mission. In this paper we assess the planet-finding performance of the Emma X-Array. An optimized completeness algorithm is used to estimate the number of Earths that can be found as a function of collector diameter. Other key parameters − the inner and outer working angles and the angular resolution − are also addressed.
Intravesical resiniferatoxin for the treatment of interstitial cystitis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial.

ABSTRACTPurpose: Interstitial cystitis is a painful bladder condition of unknown etiology and poorly understood pathophysiology. Current therapies have met with limited success. Vanilloid receptor ...
Normal variations in habitual pitch

Summary The term “habitual pitch” is frequently used to indicate the average pitch or speaking fundamental frequency (SFF) that is used by an individual. Relatively little attention has been given to the amount of SFF variation that might be expected in a series of samples taken over an extended period of time. Three sets of data were utilized for this study, representing both short- and long-term sampling. A SFF range of ±3 semitones encompassed 90% of the SFFs for all subjects.
Dynamic Radiography A New Imaging Technique Using Penetrating Radiation

One of the authors (ESK) and his students (Refs. 1-4) have, for several years, investigated system dynamics information contained in the gamma ray field emerging from an operating nuclear reactor core. Early experiments were directed along the lines of obtaining the sys-tem transfer function (frequency response). Either a driven perturbation or the natural noise generated in a neutron chain reaction represented the input to the system. The emerging gamma rays represented the system output. In later experiments, two highly collimated detectors were used to respond to the gamma rays generated in two narrow, intersecting channels through the reactor core. As with the earlier experiments, either a driven perturbation or natural noise phenomena can be used as dynamic system input. Selectivity in gamma ray energy detection and correlation of the two detector outputs yield information regarding the fission rate in the volume of intersection of the two channels under surveilance provided that the input process correlation is of dimensions on the order of (or smaller than) the volume of intersection.© (1972) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Assessment of the sunk-cost effect in clinical decision-making

Despite the current push toward the practice of evidence-based medicine and comparative effectiveness research, clinicians' decisions may be influenced not only by evidence, but also by cognitive biases. A cognitive bias describes a tendency to make systematic errors in certain circumstances based on cognitive factors rather than evidence. Though health care providers have been shown in several studies to be susceptible to a variety of types of cognitive biases, research on the role of the sunk-cost bias in clinical decision-making is extremely limited. The sunk-cost bias is the tendency to pursue a course of action, even after it has proved to be suboptimal, because resources have been invested in that course of action. This study explores whether health care providers' medical treatment recommendations are affected by prior investments in a course of treatment. Specifically, we surveyed 389 health care providers in a large urban medical center in the United States during August 2009. We asked participants to make a treatment recommendation based on one of four hypothetical clinical scenarios that varied in the source and type of prior investment described. By comparing recommendations across scenarios, we found that providers did not demonstrate a sunk-cost effect; rather, they demonstrated a significant tendency to over-compensate for the effect. In addition, we found that more than one in ten health care providers recommended continuation of an ineffective treatment.
Molecular motion in solid p-nitrophenol inclusion compounds of cyclomalto-hexaose and -heptaose: N.M.R. and dielectric studies

Abstract 13 C-C.p.-m.a.s. n.m.r. spectra are reported for two polymorphs of p -nitrophenol and its hydrated inclusion compounds with cyclomalto-hexaose (αCD) and -heptaose (βCD). From temperature-dependent 13 C-n.m.r. line-widths an activation energy of 50 kJ/mol was obtained for the motion of p -nitrophenol in the cavity of αCD. The motion was confirmed to be a two-fold flip of the p -nitrophenol molecule about the C-1-C-4 axis by 2 H-n.m.r. spectroscopy. Dielectric measurements were used to define a dipole reorientation process with an activation energy of 56.8 kJ/mol for p -nitrophenol-αCD, which was attributed to reorientation of the water molecules. The motion of p -nitrophenol is faster and less restricted in the βCD complex than in that of αCD and depends strongly on the degree of hydration of the complex.
Calcineurin signaling in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: how yeast go crazy in response to stress

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Ca(2+) signaling mediated by the Ca(2+)/calmodulin dependent phosphatase, calcineurin, is required for survival during environmental stress. One role of the phosphatase under these conditions is to activate gene expression through its regulation of the Crz1p ("crazy") transcription factor. Calcineurin dephosphorylates Crz1p and causes its rapid translocation from the cytosol to the nucleus. Crz1p then activates the transcription of genes whose products promote cell survival. Recent studies concerning the regulation of Crz1p by calcineurin are discussed in this review and the mechanisms by which calcineurin controls gene expression in yeast and mammalian cells are compared.
EFFECT OF VITAMIN D3 ON LIVER FATTY ACIDS IN THE CHICK

The effect of vitamin D on the metabolism of Ca and P has been studied in-tensively for many years, and is still under active investigation (1). There is the possibility, however, that it may affect, directly or indirectly, aspects of metabolism other than mineral. For example, since ergocalciferol is known to influence citrate metabolism (2) it may affect the metabolism of other substances such as fatty acids. It has been shown recently (3-5) in fact, that the administration of ergocalciferol to rachitic rats increases the uptake of 32P-orthophosphate by the phospholipids of the intestinal mucosa, liver, and kidney, and that it increases the triglyceride content of bone (6). Although toxic doses of vitamin D do not influence the proportions of the various fatty acids in the livers of rachitic rats (7), it would be of interest to know whether nontoxic levels of vitamin D would influence fatty acid distribution in the triglycerides significantly, and thus perhaps indirectly influence the structure of the cell membranes in areas critical for Ca absorption (8).
Preparations and properties of low loss Sr 1-x Ba x Nb 2 O 6 ferroelectric single crystals

The growth parameters and ferroelectric properties of SBN and lead-modified SBN single crystals grown by the Czochralski method have been investigated. All crystals were grown in the [001] direction in air. It was observed that the degree of difficulty of growth increased as the diameter and Ba content of the crystal increased. Crack-free single crystals ~ 1. cm in diameter have been grown. The temperature dependence of pyroelectric properties have been studied. Poled SBN (x=0.5) with the very low loss factor of 0.003 has been obtained. High detectivity pyroelectric infrared detectors have been made from these low loss crystals.
Increased anaesthesia duration increases venous thromboembolism risk in plastic surgery: A 6-year analysis of over 19,000 cases using the NSQIP dataset.

AbstractBackground: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in the postoperative setting. Various risk stratification schema exist in the plastic surgery literature, but do not take into account variations in procedure length. The putative risk of VTE conferred by increased length of time under anaesthesia has never been rigorously explored. Aim: The goal of this study is to assess this relationship and to benchmark VTE rates in plastic surgery. Methods: A large, multi-institutional quality-improvement database was queried for plastic and reconstructive surgery procedures performed under general anaesthesia between 2005–2011. In total, 19,276 cases were abstracted from the database. Z-scores were calculated based on procedure-specific mean surgical durations, to assess each case’s length in comparison to the mean for that procedure. A total of 70 patients (0.36%) experienced a post-operative VTE. Patients with and without post-operative VTE were compare...
A proposed ultra-sensitive miniature temperature sensor

A proposed temperature sensor is described which consists of a pyroelectric material on the gate of an MOS transistor. Analysis of the device shows a sensitivity of 6.6 × 10-9°C is possible.
Polymeric Electrode for Sodium Borohydride Fuel Cell

Reported here is the first example of sodium borohydride fuel cell constructed with electro-active conducting Polycarbazole (Pcz) and oxygen cathode. A Pcz electrode is made by depositing a thin film of the polymer on Stainless Steel (SS) substrate. The multistage oxidation process of borohydride is expected to involve 8e− with borate as the end product. The oxidative process at the Pcz electrode has been examined by Cyclic Voltametry (CV). The direct oxidation of borohydride on SS was not observed in CV; however it is distinctly visible at the Pcz electrode. The borohydride oxidation at the Pcz electrode occurs at Ep = −0.29 V vs. saturated calomel electrode (SCE). The process was studied using scan rates of 10 mV/s to 100 mV/s. The anodic peak current increases linearly with the sweep rate and also with concentration of borohydride, suggesting that the oxidative process is diffusion controlled. The mechanism of borohydride oxidation has been investigated and compared with the oxidation on platinum or gold electrode. The results suggest that the borohydride fuel cell as operating efficiently with the Pcz anode or cathode. Preliminary results will be reported.© 2004 ASME
New means of spatially manipulating molecules with light

We develop a general framework for describing the interaction of molecules with a nonperturbative intensity gradient and note several limits, including the two-level Hamiltonian of atom trapping and the quasistatic Hamiltonian of molecular optics. The theory is used to propose a new molecular optics scheme which complements previous work in the area of spatial manipulation of molecules in intense fields by introducing the possibility of reflecting molecules with light. Repulsive interaction obtains in the limit of small level spacings as compared to the field frequency, attained by exciting the molecules to high Rydberg states. Some of the potential applications of the repulsive interaction are illustrated and others are noted. We address the problem of molecular alignment in intense laser fields and describe the possibility of simultaneously focussing the center-of-mass motion of molecules and aligning their figure axis after exit from the laser focus, under field-free conditions.
Image processing using approximate datapath units

In this paper we present approximate adders and multipliers to reduce the datapath complexity of image processing systems with only a small degradation in PSNR performance. We build upon the approximate circuits proposed in [8] and [9]. We show that selective application of accurate and approximate adders can significantly improve the accuracy of a 2D DCT system. For instance, our implementation of 2D DCT has comparable PSNR performance compared to [8] with 34-50% reduction in area. We also propose an approximate multiplier where the partial products have varying degrees of approximation. Such a multiplier helps improve the accuracy of the system as demonstrated through FFT and Gaussian filter case studies.
Effect of Local Conformational Transition on Craze Initiation in Polyestercarbonates Containing Cyclohexylene Linkages

Measurements of craze stresses and impact strengths have been performed on specially designed polyestercarbonates with 1,4-cyclohexylene linkages synthesized in our laboratory. The copolymers becam...
Studies of the susceptibility of Pneumocystis carinii to clindamycin/primaquine in rats.

Studies in rat models showed that the combination of primaquine plus clindamycin was effective in the therapy and prophylaxis ofPneumocystis carinii pneumonia and that the combination was more effective than either drug alone. These studies formed the basis of ongoing clinical therapy studies and provide a basis for clinical studies of prophylactic efficacy.
Controlled Laboratory Investigations of Wellbore Concentration Response to Pumping

The relationship between the ground water sample and the surrounding ground water environment is controlled by wellborn flow and mixing that carry ground water to the sampling device. Controlled laboratory conditions and uniform inflow and inflowing concentration allowed detailed investigations of wellbore concentration responses to pump-induced flow and mixing independent of external complicating influences. During pumping from the top of the screen, the results agreed with wellbore flow theory except for high-frequency, high-amplitude concentration fluctuations and mixing with the blank casing due to slight density contrasts (∼0.005%). Concentration fluctuations indicated partial mixing of ground water with well water and declining concentrations in the blank casing indicated that convection due to the slight density contrast overcame pump-induced velocities. During pumping from the bottom of the well, opposing forces of buoyancy and pumping produced small-scale cumulative mixing as the ground water from different portions of the screen approached the pump. Even during low-flow pumping (i.e., 220 mL/min), 5% of the water was prepurge well water after five well volumes were pumped. In the field the density contrasts that resulted in these mixing processes might be caused by a slight cooling of the wellhead or a slight increase in temperature with depth (>0.2°C/m). If the temperature gradient was more pronounced, the convective mixing of screen water with the potentially altered casing water would be more thorough and sampling without mixing would not be possible. If the temperature gradient is stable or if the water in the blank casing is not significantly altered, casing water mixing will not present a problem.
Tetracycline, III. Aufbau des Ringsystems von 6‐Desoxy‐tetracyclinen

Eine ausgehend von 3-Methoxy-acetophenon insgesamt 14-stufige, stereospezifische Synthese des (±)-Desdimethylamino-6.12a-didesoxy-descarboxamido-tetracyclins (III) wird beschrieben.
An empirical explanation of boiling temperatures for nonpolar liquids including noble gases and selected tetrahedrals

A variation of the London equation was derived for liquids. The function S 2 = IR m 2 /V b 2 is proportional to the cohesive energy, and also to the boiling point, T b. In the current article the function S 2 is plotted against boiling temperatures for four groups of substances: the rare gases, group 18, the group 14 tetrahydrides, some diatomic substances, and the group 14 symmetrical tetrahalides. Linear relationships were then drawn via closest fit. The line at the lowest boiling points contained the rare gases and the group 14 tetrahydrides. Of note, it is known that the rare gases are spherical. From this assertion we infer through empirical reasoning that central atoms with their substituent bulk deviate from the overall spherical shape of rare gases and may encounter greater rotational barriers. This short paper does not attempt to calculate such values quantitatively, but derives empirical evidence to such by the function S 2 versus the boiling point plot. We surmise that the group 14 tetrahydrides are also close to spherical in nature. This assertion is supported by a neutron study and electron density maps. The diatomic molecules are also found to be close to spherical, which may explain their low boiling points. However, the group 14 tetrahalides boil much higher (as much as 160 K) than expected from London forces. It is suggested here that restricted rotation of the individual neighboring molecules occurs because of the protruding halogen atoms on a central atom. Rotation is therefore interfered with by neighboring molecules. In addition to cohesive energy of molecules, there is an amount of energy added to place the molecules into free rotation within a gas.
Effective-medium theory of nonlinear ellipsoidal composites

We develop an effective-medium theory for nonlinear, ellipsoidal particles embedded in a host medium. Specifically, we treat spheroidal-shaped particles and give results for oriented and random configurations of the particles. We discuss metallic particles embedded in a linear dielectric medium and examine the enhancement of their nonlinear response at the surface-plasmon resonances.