cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Elucidating the active sites for CO2 electroreduction on ligand-protected Au25 nanoclusters

Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we investigated the electrochemical reduction of CO2 and the competing H2 evolution reaction on ligand-protected Au25 nanoclusters (NCs) of different charge states, Au25(SR)18q (q = −1, 0, +1). Our results showed that regardless of charge state, CO2 electroreduction over Au25(SR)18q NCs was not feasible because of the extreme endothermicity to stabilize the carboxyl (COOH) intermediate. When we accounted for the removal of a ligand (both –SR and –R) from Au25(SR)18q under electrochemical conditions, surprisingly we found that this is a thermodynamically feasible process at the experimentally applied potentials with the generated surface sites becoming active centers for electrocatalysis. In every case, the negatively charged NCs, losing a ligand from their surface during electrochemical conditions, were found to significantly stabilize the COOH intermediate, resulting in dramatically enhanced CO2 reduction. The generated sites for CO2 reduction were also found to be active for H2 evolution, which agrees with experimental observations that these two processes compete. Interestingly, we found that the removal of an –R ligand from the negatively charged NC, resulted in a catalyst that was both active and selective for CO2 reduction. This work highlights the importance of both the overall charge state and generation of catalytically active surface sites on ligand-protected NCs, while elucidating the CO2 electroreduction mechanisms. Overall, our work rationalizes a series of experimental observations and demonstrates pathways to convert a very stable and catalytically inactive NC to an active electrocatalyst.
The Large Time Asymptotics of the Entropy

In this note we supply the detailed proof of the entropy asymptotics on manifolds with nonnegative Ricci curvature. We also discuss the possible connections between the large time behavior of the entropy and the existence of harmonic functions.
Leptomeningeal metastases: A review of evaluation and treatment

Leptomeningeal metastases (LM) is a common problem in neuro-oncology occurring in approximately 5% of all patients with cancer. Notwithstanding frequent focal signs and symptoms in LM, LM is a disease affecting the entire neuraxis and therefore staging and treatment need encompass all cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compartments. Central nervous system (CNS) staging of LM includes contrast enhanced cranial computerized tomography (CE-CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MR-Gd), contrast enhanced spine magnetic resonance imaging (MR-S) or computerized tomographic myelography (CT-M) and radionuclide CSF flow study (FS). Treatment of LM involves involved-field radiotherapy of bulky or symptomatic disease sites and intra-CSF drug therapy. The inclusion of concomitant systemic therapy may benefit patients with LM and may obviate the need for intra-CSF chemotherapy. At present, intra CSF drug therapy is confined to three chemotherapeutic agents (i.e. methotrexate, cytosine arabinoside and thio-TEPA) administered by a variety of schedules either by intralumbar or intraventricular drug delivery. Although treatment of LM is palliative with an expected median patient survival of 6 months, it often affords stabilization and protection from further neurologic deterioration in patients with LM.
How to Kill Spoofing

In this chapter, we describe a novel approach to reduce the impact of spoofing by a subtle change in the login process. At the heart of the technique is the understanding that current anti-spoof technologies fail largely as a result of the difficulties to communicate security and risk to typical users. Accordingly, the approach is oblivious to whether the user was tricked by a fraudster or not. This is achieved by modifying the user login process and letting the browser or operating system cause different results of user login requests based on whether the site is trusted or not. Experimental results indicate that the approach, which is dubbed “SpoofKiller,” will address approximately 80 % of spoofing attempts.
Assessing medical student documentation using simulated charts in emergency medicine.

The 1995 Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) guidelines stated that providers may only use the review of systems and past medical, family, social history in student documentation for billing purposes; therefore, many providers viewed the student documentation as an extraneous step and chose not to allow medical students to document patient visits. This workflow negatively affected medical student education in documentation skills. Although the negative impact on students’ documentation skills is obvious, areas of deficits are unknown. Understanding the area of deficits will benefit future curriculums to prepare prospective resident physicians for proper documentation. We aimed to assess areas of deficits in documentation of fourth-year medical students according to HCFA billing guidelines. We conducted a prospective study of fourth-year medical students’ simulated chart documentations at a United States medical school from May 2014 to May 2015. We evaluated students’ simulated charts from an online learning tool using simulated cases for completeness according to HCFA guidelines and analyzed data using descriptive statistics. We found that 98.9% (n = 90) of the charts were downcoded. Of these charts, 33.0% (n = 30) had incomplete history of present illness, 90.1% (n = 82) had incomplete review of systems, 73.6% (n = 67) had incomplete past medical, family, social history and 88.8% (n = 80) had incomplete physical exams. New curriculum should include billing guideline information and emphasize the completeness of charts according to acuity.
The Security Syntheses and the Transformation of the Other into a Deadly Existential Threat

In this chapter, I show how in the prolonged process of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Kosova became the battleground and the coveted land for security syntheses of both the Albanians and the Serbs. The crucial event is the emergence of Serbia as an autonomous entity and its gradual transformation in a state. Subsequently, with the strengthening of the Serb state after the Eastern Crisis of 1875–1878 the Albanians rapidly focused on Serbia, the new nation-state, as the existential threat to them. By the same token, the Serb state security synthesis focused on the Albanians as their existential threat. The Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 and the horrendous experiences of the Albanians during that year and afterward radically and definitively transformed Serbia as the deadly existential threat in the security synthesis of the Albanians in Kosova. From that time on, the Serbs and the Albanians have been engaged in an uncompromising struggle over Kosova. These are the times when the national consciousness is consolidated and both start acting as compact entities. The Serb-Albanian conflict culminated with the war of 1998–1999. It was a process, gradual and convulsive, but inexorable. By the beginning of the conflict in 1999, the Albanians and the Serbs were deadly existential enemies of one another, nations with consolidated security synthesis, with incompatible identities, and with highly cohesive national consciousness. The chapter covers the period of the Serb-Albanian relations to 1990. This is the time when we discover them transform from irrelevance to a deadly existential threat in a highly evolved security synthesis. Without a proper understanding of the transformation of the two existential entities into a deadly existential threat in the respective security synthesis, and of their understanding of the national consciousness, it is not possible to make proper sense of the subsequent events including the inglorious failure of the international administration after 1999.
Chapter 7 – Viral Vaccines

The purpose of a vaccine is to provide protection against a specific pathogen (in our case a specific virus). Early attempts at vaccine development were based on observation that persons surviving a disease (i.e., smallpox) were protected against further bouts of that particular disease. Natural protection against repeated bouts of disease is provided by the development of “specialized” or “adaptive” immune responses that inhibit virus replication or kill virus-infected cells. Thus the goal of vaccination is to provide the body with the antigens necessary to mount a specific response, without causing disease. Some viral vaccines provide only specific protein antigens (they contain no virus capable of replication), while other viral vaccines contained weakened or attenuated viruses that must replicate in the host to induce a protective response. (The “perfect” attenuated vaccine replicates enough to stimulate protective responses but not enough to cause harm.) This chapter describes some basic strategies for vaccine design and presents the relative merits of different types of vaccines.
Need satisfaction and need dissatisfaction: A comparative study of online and face-to-face learning contexts

Abstract The distinction between the bright and the dark sides of basic psychological needs has been documented in face-to-face contexts. However, no one has examined the distinctive effects of need satisfaction and need dissatisfaction in online learning contexts. First, we validated the Basic Psychological Needs Scale among 693 undergraduates in online courses. However, we found one autonomy item and two relatedness items might need modifications to fit the online learning contexts. Second, we tested a motivation and learning model with both online (495 undergraduates) and face-to-face (519 undergraduates) samples. Consistent with previous findings in face-to-face contexts, need satisfaction and need dissatisfaction demonstrated distinctive effects on students' motivation and learning outcomes in online learning contexts. The current research contributes to the developing field of online learning by applying BPN into the online courses and comparing the motivation model between online and face-to-face learning contexts.
A Proposed Mechanism for Texture Property of Woody Breast in Broilers

ObjectivesWoody breast is a myopathy observed in chicken breast meat (Pectoralis major) characterized by its tough and rubbery texture. However, the exact causation of woody breast texture is still unknown. We hypothesize that sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) dysfunctionality early postmortem results in rapid leakage of intracellular calcium may partially contribute to the abnormal meat texture observed in woody breast meat. The objective of this preliminary study was to investigate this hypothesis.Materials and MethodsFourteen Ross line broiler breast fillets (7 severe woody breast and 7 normal) were collected at 3 h postmortem from a commercial processing plant located in the southeast United States. The 7 woody breast samples also exhibited moderate to severe white striping. The 7 normal samples did not exhibit any signs of white striping or woody breast. Each sample was trimmed, weighed, vacuum packaged and frozen at –20°C at approximately 8 h postmortem. One 1.9 cm strip across the cranial end of each fillet was fabricated and pulverized in liquid nitrogen to measure sarcomere length (Laser Scan Confocal Microscope with a 100x/NA 1.4 objective), calpain activity (immunoblotting for µ-calpain autolysis), proteolysis (immunoblotting for troponin-T degradation) and collagen content (hydroxyproline content). Purge was also collected from each sample to evaluate protein (bicinchoninic acid assay) and free calcium concentration (atomic absorption).ResultsWoody breast fillets were heavier than normal chicken breast fillets (522.9 vs. 446.9g; P < 0.05). Woody breast samples tended to have shorter sarcomeres (1.70 vs. 2.02 µm; P = 0.0543) and less intact troponin-T compared to normal breast samples (relative intact troponin-T band density: 49.98 vs. 56.97%; P = 0.0515) at 8 h postmortem. It was interesting to note that no µ-calpain band was detected through immunoblotting for both the woody breast and normal samples at 8 h postmortem. Other studies have found similar results as poultry µ-calpain autolyzed at a much rapid rate than µ-calpain in mammalian species. In addition, the purge from woody breast samples also had higher levels of free calcium compared to normal samples (6.2 vs. 4.2 nmol calcium/mg protein; P < 0.05). Lastly, there was more collagen present in the woody breast samples compared to normal chicken breast samples (3.89 vs. 2.08 mg collagen/g muscle tissue; P < 0.05).ConclusionThe results indicated that the cause of texture abnormality of woody breast may be the combined effects of more calcium being released from the SR early postmortem resulting in shorter sarcomere length and more collagen being deposited in the chicken breast meat. Additional research with the focus on SR integrity and functionality as well as collagen crosslinks are needed to further elucidate the basic mechanism of woody breast texture formation.
Diversity in Academic Otolaryngology: An Update and Recommendations for Moving From Words to Action

Objectives:(1) To investigate the state of diversity and inclusion initiatives in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (OHNS) as compared to general surgery and (2) assess their effects on female r...
Increasing Situational Awareness in Vehicular Networks: Passive Traffic Sensing Based on Machine Learning

Traffic monitoring is still a major challenge for traffic management systems. Traffic monitoring services are nowadays performed with traditionally wired systems that have high installation costs. Therefore, they are not adequate for dense deployment. In this paper, we propose a traffic monitoring approach that is passive and exploits wireless signals sent in a vehicular ad hoc network. We utilize machine learning techniques to make inferences on traffic conditions, directly based on raw samples observed at the receiver. To verify the feasibility of this approach, we first created simulation data, using a ray-tracing simulator and a traffic simulator. The data contain wireless channel realizations under realistic traffic conditions created by the traffic simulator. Next, we collected data in the form of dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) signals transmitted from a roadside unit (RSU) deployed at an intersection and replicated the same experiments with real data. The results show that our approach successfully distinguishes different traffic intensities with an accuracy of 91.6%, 86.4% on simulation and real-world data, respectively. It also tracks the number of vehicles on the road with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 1.3 on both datasets. The proposed approach can be employed alongside the current monitoring systems to increase the situational awareness in a vehicular network without requiring additional investment in infrastructure.
Understanding How Polyphosphoric Acid Changes Bitumen’s Response to Water Exposure

Polyphosphoric acid (PPA) has commonly been added to bitumen to increase bitumen’s stiffness and elasticity. However, the effect of PPA on bitumen properties is highly affected by the environment a...
Sexuality, Sports-Related Mistreatment, and U.S. Adults’ Sports Involvement

This study employs descriptive and regression analyses of the National Sports and Society Survey (N = 3,993) to examine the patterns and implications of sexual stigma and prejudice in sports contex...
Deciphering transcriptional and functional heterogeneity in hematopoiesis with single-cell genomics.

Purpose of review Single-cell genomic approaches have uncovered cell fate biases and heterogeneity within hematopoietic subpopulations. However, standard single-cell transcriptomics suffers from high sampling noise, which particularly skews the distribution of lowly expressed genes, such as transcription factors (TFs). This might preclude the identification of rare transcripts that define cell identity and demarcate cell fate biases. Moreover, these studies need to go hand in hand with relevant functional assays to ensure that observed gene expression changes represent biologically meaningful alterations. Recent findings Single-cell lineage tracing and functional validation studies have uncovered cell fate bias within transcriptionally distinct hematopoietic stem and progenitor subpopulations. Novel markers identified using these strategies have been proposed to prospectively isolate functionally distinct subpopulations, including long-term hematopoietic stem cells for ex vivo applications. Furthermore, the continuous nature of hematopoiesis has prompted the study of the relationship between stochastic transcriptional noise in hematopoietic TFs and cell fate determination. Summary An understanding of the limitations of single-cell genomic approaches and follow-up functional assays is critical to discern the technical and biological contribution of noise in hematopoietic heterogeneity, to identify rare gene expression states, and to uncover functionally distinct subpopulations within hematopoiesis. Supplementary video http://links.lww.com/COH/A23.
Factors Predicting Migraine in Pediatrics Patients with Asthma: A National Perspective

Background: Migraines have been associated with various atopic conditions, such as asthma, in adults, and, limited data suggests migraine may be associated with asthma in children. Approximately 6% of the pediatric population experiences migraine yearly. Understanding the association between migraines and asthma can help to identify those at risk of developing migraines while also reducing the prevalence and frequency of episodes. …
Contemporary Issues Shaping China’s Civil Aviation Policy: Balancing International with Domestic Priorities

Contents: Preface Introduction The evolutionary path of market reform in China 1949a "2008 China's continuing search for an efficient multimodal transport system The roles of civil aviation industry in the Great Western Development Strategy National administrative reform and its consequences for civil aviation The reform and modernization of the domestic airline market The entry by Chinese airlines into the international passenger market The growing strategic importance of air cargo services The golden triangle: the leading edge of Chinese aviation The national quest for a viable broad spectrum aerospace industry Some organizational problems and competitive market uncertainties ASEAN, open skies, and the search for new market opportunities Some major issues shaping the future for China's aviation industry Bibliography Index.
Bridging the Gap between Medical Ethics and Environmental Ethics

The article is a condensation of an illustrated lecture opening the symposium “Putting Global Bioethics into Practice” presented to honor Professor Dade Moeller on the occasion of his retirement from the Harvard School of Public Health, April 20, 1993. Figures are not included but sources are cited. Public Health professionals are concerned with environmental benefits as well as hazards in relation to medical problems. They are therefore aware of ethical problems in both areas. They operate across international borders in cooperation with their counterparts in other countries. Thus they could be agents for a Global Bioethics.
Digitally assisted low IF architecture for noncontact vital sign detection

Noncontact Doppler vital sign sensor uses the phase modulated signal backscattered by the subjects to estimate their life sign information. Due to the characteristics of vital sign signal, the homodyne architecture has some obvious disadvantages in this application scenario. In this paper, we present a digitally assisted low IF transceiver system. The presented system provides a 15 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement comparing to the homodyne architecture with the same transmitting power. The system is able to tolerate the IF frequency offset and the phase noise of the IF carrier.
Densification of single-grain vs. multi-grain zirconia powders

To study hot-pressing densification rates of single-grain and multi-grain zirconia powders, spray-dried granules of ZrO 2 -3%Y 2 0 3 (D(10-90) = 35-90 μm) were densified at 1400 °C. Ball milling was utilized to break up the inter-agglomerate bridges. The resulting powder represented the multi-grain particle (MGP). Single-grain particle (SGP) of comparable grain size was obtained by intensive ball milling of the dense granules to the grain size (-0.35 μm diameter). To compare the densification behavior of these powders, specimens of each powder were hot-pressed in a SiC die at 1350 °C for 1 hour. The highest density was achieved by hot pressing MGP screened to +75 pm. The MGP densities by particle creep of the polycrystalline powder controlled by the diffusion distance on the order of the grain size while the SGP is thought to densify primarily by pressure-assisted sintering, i.e., diffusion along the neck between particles. The difference in final density reflects the initially higher packing density of the MGP powder.
Supersymmetric flavor-changing sum rules as a tool for b → s γ

The search for supersymmetry and other classes of new physics will be tackled on two fronts, with high energy, direct detection machines, and in high-precision experiments searching for indirect signatures. While each of these methods has its own strengths, even more can be gained by finding ways to combine their results. In this paper, we examine one way of bridging these two types of experiments by calculating sum rules which link physical squark masses to the flavor-violating squark mixings. These sum rules are calculated for minimally flavor-violating supersymmetry theories at both high and low $\mathrm{tan}﻿\ensuremath{\beta}$. We also explore how the sum rules could help to disentangle the relative strength of the gluino contributions to $b\ensuremath{\rightarrow}s\ensuremath{\gamma}$, a favored channel for indirect searches of new physics.
Immigrant Neighborhood Concentration, Acculturation and Obesity among Young Adults

Researchers repeatedly find that immigrants are healthier than their native-born counterparts. Among immigrant children, however, findings are mixed. Moreover, the effect of neighborhood context on obesity has not been fully examined. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adult Health, this study investigates the linkages between acculturation, neighborhood characteristics, and obesity among young adults, including the potential for residing in an immigrant neighborhood, to mediate the adverse effects of low neighborhood socioeconomic conditions on obesity. Consistent with the unhealthy assimilation model, an immigrant health advantage is found for first generation Asians. Conversely, a greater likelihood of being obese is found for second and third and higher generation Hispanics relative to third and higher generation Whites. Further, a high concentration of immigrants and linguistically isolated households appear to work as a buffer against health risks that relate to obesity, particularly in poor neighborhoods.
A Review of “From Blogs to Bombs: The Future of Digital Technologies in Education”

Whether apps, “new media,” and networked collaborations will soon be controlling forces in education is no longer a question of if, but how, where, and by whom. From Blogs to Bombs: The Future of D...
Asynchrony and concurrency

The problem of synchrony versus asynchrony in concurrent computation falls neatly along the lines of granularity level in parallel computers. We discuss both SIMD and MIMD architectures, provide some examples, and discuss the asynchrony of open systems, a most advanced form of concurrent computation which is now emerging.
Rectifying Antennas (Rectennas)

Rectifying antennas, commonly referred to as rectennas, are integral parts of microwave power transmission or wireless power transmission (WPT ) systems. In WPT systems, RF power is transmitted from one location and captured at another location. The term rectenna consists of parts of the words “rectifier” and “antenna” since its function is to absorb incoming radiofrequency (RF ) energy and convert this energy to usable DC power. Advanced concepts for WPT , in which rectennas play a vital role, include the ground–space applications of powering aircraft and high-altitude platforms remotely as well as space solar power where the sun's energy is transmitted from space in the form of microwaves to Earth's surface. WPT can also be useful in several ground–ground applications, including supplying power to remote locations such as islands where the infrastructure to generate power is either absent or not cost-effective to build. However, the main future use for WPT is seen in a myriad of space–space applications. These include supplying power to space colonies and space shuttles from nuclear powered satellites. This will enable space explorers to obtain the necessary power needed, at locations far from Earth, to further explore the depths of space. Keywords: rectifier; rectenna; antenna; wireless; power; transmission
Endogenous Brain Catechol Thioethers in Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration

Pathological and biochemical studies have consistently associated endogenous catechol oxidation with dopaminergic neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Recently it has been proposed that products of catechol oxidation, the catechol thioethers, may contribute to dopaminergic neurodegeneration. In other organ systems, thioether cytotoxicity is influenced profoundly by the mercapturic acid pathway. We have pursued the hypothesis that endogenous catechol thioethers produced in the mercapturic acid pathway contribute to dopaminergic neurodegeneration. Our results showed that in vitro metal-catalyzed oxidative damage by catechol thioethers varied with the structures of the parent catechol and thioether adduct. Catechol mercapturates were unique in producing more oxidative damage than their parent catechols. In dopaminergic cell cultures, dopamine induced apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner from 5 to 50 µM. The apoptotic effect of dopamine was greatly enhanced by subcytotoxic concentrations of he mitochondrial inhibitor, N-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+). Similarly, subcytotoxic levels of the mercapturate or homocysteine conjugate of dopamine significantly augmented dopamineinduced apoptosis. Finally, microsomal fractions of substantia nigra from PD patients and age-matched controls had comparable cysteine-S-conjugate N-acetyltransferase activity. These data indicate that the mercapturate conjugate of dopamine may augment dopaminergic neurodegeneration and that the mercapturate pathway exists in human substantia nigra.
Hydrological cycle in the upper Mississippi River basin: 20th century simulations by multiple GCMs

[1] We used 20th century simulations by nine global climate models (GCMs) to provide input for a streamflow model to simulate baseline hydrologic conditions in the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB). Statistical tests revealed that streamflow data produced by members of the GCM multi-model ensemble were serially uncorrelated at all lags and formed unimodal distributions and that GCM multi-model results may be used to assess annual streamflow in the UMRB. Although all low-resolution GCMs produced large differences from observations of streamflow and hydrological components simulated by the streamflow model, the nine-member ensemble performed quite well. Results of statistical tests indicate that, of all models used, the high-resolution GCM – the only high-resolution model tested – gives simulated streamflows much closer to observed values, despite the fact that its low-resolution sister model has no advantage over the other seven low-resolution models.
Efficacy of Three-Dimensional Endoscopy for Ventral Skull Base Pathology: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Objective The three-dimensional (3D) endoscope is a novel tool that provides stereoscopic vision and may allow for improved dexterity and safety during surgical resection of ventral skull base lesions. We describe here the cumulative experience available in the neurosurgical literature. Methods A PubMed literature review was performed to identify and analyze all studies pertaining to 3D endoscopic endonasal skull base surgery. Results We identified 26 articles: 14 clinical articles, 5 simulated environment studies, 5 human cadaveric studies, and 2 expert opinions. In all the clinical studies, 262 patients were treated for the following 257 pathologies listed in the articles: 190 suprasellar/parasellar lesions (73.9%), 41 ventral skull base lesions (16.0%), 19 sinonasal pathologies (7.4%), and 7 cerebrospinal fluid leak repairs (2.7%). Complication rates, operative time, length of hospital stay, and extent of tumor resection were equivalent between two-dimensional (2D) and 3D endoscopy. However, all studies reported that subjective depth perception and spatial orientation were markedly improved with 3D technology. In 3 studies (11.5%), it was concluded that there was no clinically significant surgical benefit in switching from 2D to 3D endoscopy. All cadaveric studies and expert opinions concluded that 3D endoscopy improved the identification of key anatomical structures and was superior to 2D endoscopy. Simulated environment studies demonstrated that 3D endoscopy improved speed and accuracy of endonasal tasks, more so in novice surgeons. Conclusions Our findings suggest that 3D endoscopy provides improved surgical dexterity by affording the surgeon with depth perception when manipulating tissue and maneuvering the endoscope in the endonasal corridor.
Same-Sex Adoption as a Welfare Alternative? Conservatism, Neoliberal Values, and Support for Adoption by Same-Sex Couples

Despite conservatives' long-term opposition to gay and lesbian parenting, scholars theorize that a strong commitment to neoliberalism may influence conservative Americans to become more tolerant of same-sex adoption as a way to relieve the government from subsidizing poor families. Drawing on national survey data (2010 Baylor Religion Survey), we test whether holding neoliberal values is associated with greater support for same-sex adoption in general and across political or religious conservatives. We find no support for either theory-emphatically the opposite, in fact. Neoliberal values are negatively associated with support for same-sex adoption for Americans in general and among political and religious conservatives. We find little evidence of a tension among conservatives regarding same-sex adoption as both their neoliberal values and moral beliefs incline them to oppose same-sex adoption along with other same-sex family relationships.
Predicting coating durability using chemical methods

Abstract This paper describes recent advances in the analysis of chemical degradation that occur during weathering which allow for improvements in the prediction of the durability of coatings. The basic weatherability test protocol involves the use of actual outdoor exposures and mildly accelerating ‘near-ambient’ laboratory exposures. Physical property changes are combined with FT-IR measurements of coating chemical degradation to evaluate the acceleration factor for a given test and coating. Measurements of hydroperoxide concentration are used to evaluate coating formulation changes and to control coating quality. These measurements are also shown to be useful for understanding degradation mechanisms and developing improved coatings.
Vapor pressure and thermodynamics of selenium dioxide. The enthalpy of atomization of SeO2(g)

Abstract Knudsen effusion measurements using a recording vacuum microbalance have been performed on powdered selenium dioxide over the temperature range 374 to 427 K. The vapor pressure of selenium dioxide over this range is ( R cal th K −1 mol −1 ) ln ( p atm = −(26471±826) K T +(43.66±2.06) . The second-law sublimation enthalpy obtained is ΔHo(298.15 K) = (26.83±0.82) kcalth mol−1 and the third-law enthalpy is ΔHo(298.15 K) = (27.66±0.18) kcalth mol−1. The results are consistent with recent high-temperature static vapor-pressure measurements. The enthalpy of formation of SeO2(g) is computed to be ΔHfo(298.15 K) = −26.20 kcalth mol−1. This leads to a value of 199.6 kcalth mol−1 for the atomization enthalpy of SeO2(g) and an average bond energy of 99.80 kcalth mol−1, comparable with the spectroscopic dissociation energy of SeO(g), Do(298.15 K) = (101±15) kcalth mol−1.
Frontoparietal Correlation Dynamics Reveal Interplay between Integration and Segregation during Visual Working Memory

Working memory requires large-scale cooperation among widespread cortical and subcortical brain regions. Importantly, these processes must achieve an appropriate balance between functional integration and segregation, which are thought to be mediated by task-dependent spatiotemporal patterns of correlated activity. Here, we used cross-correlation analysis to estimate the incidence, magnitude, and relative phase angle of temporally correlated activity from simultaneous local field potential recordings in a network of prefrontal and posterior parietal cortical areas in monkeys performing an oculomotor, delayed match-to-sample task. We found long-range intraparietal and frontoparietal correlations that display a bimodal distribution of relative phase values, centered near 0° and 180°, suggesting a possible basis for functional segregation among distributed networks. Both short- and long-range correlations display striking task-dependent transitions in strength and relative phase, indicating that cognitive events are accompanied by robust changes in the pattern of temporal coordination across the frontoparietal network.
Showdown at Truth-Value Gap: Burton-Roberts on presupposition

The family of ghosts haunting the house of semantic and logical theory at least since Frege (i892), whose members include semantic presupposition, truth-value gaps, and multivalued logic, has not yet been exorcised.1 Nor have the best efforts of philosophers and linguists, working in tandem or at loggerheads, succeeded in determining just which members of the family are the black sheep. Noel Burton-Roberts has undertaken an ambitious programme to defend semantic presupposition against both its enemies (the 'anti-presuppositionalist lobby' of Wilson, Kempson, Atlas, Boer, Lycan, et al.) and its friends not to mention its godparents, Frege (i 892) and Strawson (I950). The points he seeks to establish in his comprehensive and closely (if not always convincingly) argued study include:
Optical absorption and catalytic activity of molybdenum sulfide edge surfaces

Abstract The optical and catalytic properties of molybdenum sulfide edge planes have been studied in single crystals and disordered powders. We observe an infrared optical absorption due to the edge planes in the single crystal platelets. This absorption is proportional to the hydrodesulfurization catalytic activity in unsupported powders which were annealed at various temperatures to change their degree of crystallinity. This provides a direct correlation between the electronic structure of these materials as measured by optical absorption and their catalytic activity. This result shows that the optical and catalytic properties of the edge sites are similar in the amorphous and crystalline materials and we derive turnover numbers and absorption cross sections for these sites.
Deuteron magnetic resonance in tantalum, niobium, and vanadium deuterides

Deuteron magnetic resonance has been used to measure line shapes and relaxation rates in a series of Ta, Nb, and V deuterides between 190 and 580 K. Results are compared with corresponding data in hydrides to reveal dipolar, quadrupolar, and electronic rate contributions in various phases. Korringa constants, diffusion activation energies, and the effects of magnetic and electric field inhomogeneities are examined. Deuteron relaxation associated with hopping among tetrahedral interstitial sites in ..cap alpha.. phases is primarily quadrupolar. In the warm portions of the ..beta.. phase, the dominant relaxation is dipolar because the deuteron hopping occurs only among an ordered subset of interstitial sites. At lower temperatures quadrupolar relaxation again dominates, before decreasing around 200 K.
Pathological hypersexuality predominantly linked to adjuvant dopamine agonist therapy in Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy

Pathological hypersexuality developed in 13 patients with PD and two patients ultimately diagnosed clinically with MSA. Hypersexuality began within 8 months after starting dopamine agonist therapy in 14 of 15 cases, including four on agonist monotherapy. It resolved in the four cases where the agonist was stopped, despite continued levodopa therapy. This was not an isolated behavioral problem in most, with additional compulsive or addictive behaviors coinciding in nine patients (60%). A systematic literature review of pathological hypersexuality in PD revealed similar medication histories; combining these cases with our series, 26 of 29 patients (90%) were on adjuvant dopamine agonists.
The magnetic mirror approach to fusion

The magnetic mirror approach to fusion is reviewed in depth. Starting with a brief chronological history of the development of the basic mirror concept, its subsequent evolution into the tandem mirror, the field reversed mirror and other variants is described. Also discussed are the many-faceted aspects of mirror theory, including adiabatic invariants, MHD equilibrium and stability, collisional processes, transport theory and micro-instability theory. The review concludes with an updating of experimental results, a discussion of mirror-related technology, including neutral beam injection and direct conversion, and a brief description of design studies of mirror fusion power plants.
Register assignment in tree-structured programs

Abstract Much complex decision-making is performed routinely by the software of a computer system. It is appropriate to study more thoroughly the performance of this built-in decision-making, because it can strongly influence the efficiency of the entire system. One objective of compilers is to produce a reasonably efficient machine-language version of a user's program. Traditionally, one of the best opportunities for improving the compiler-produced machine-language program has been in devising efficient policies for assigning quantities to the computer's registers. The programs of interest here involve flow of control which can be represented by a tree structure. The problem of assigning index registers in such programs is formulated as a (nonserial) dynamic-programming problem. Following the resulting recursion equations leads to a policy which the compiler could follow to minimize costs. The policy decisions specify those steps in the program where particular quantities should be loaded or stored into registers. An example involving a branching program is solved by this method.
Functional and Structural Alterations With 24-Hour Myocardial Hibernation and Recovery After Reperfusion A Pig Model of Myocardial Hibernation

Background Short-term myocardial hibernation of 3 hours resulting from a moderate resting coronary flow reduction has been reproduced in pigs. This study was designed to determine whether any structural changes accompany short-term hibernation caused by a moderate flow reduction maintained for 24 hours and whether any such structural alterations are reversible after reperfusion. Methods and Results A severe left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) stenosis was created with a reduction of resting flow to ≈60% of baseline and maintained for 24 hours. Regional coronary flow was measured by a flowmeter; wall thickening was determined by echocardiography, and local metabolic changes were measured. Of 17 pigs, 11 completed the study protocol of 24 hours. The LAD flow was reduced from 0.91±0.11 to 0.52±0.13 mL·min−1·g−1, a 43% mean decrease, at 15 minutes after the LAD stenosis and was maintained at 0.56±0.11 mL·min−1·g−1 at 24 hours. The reduction of regional coronary flow initially produced acute myocard...
Evaluation of the stability and animal biodistribution of gadolinium (III) benzylamine-derivatized diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid.

The need for a readily available Gd(III) bifunctional chelate for protein conjugation has led to the development of LDTPA (N,N-bis[2-[N‘,N‘-bis(carboxymethyl)amino]ethyl]-4-amino-l-phenylalanine). The benzylamine group is readily converted to the isothiocyanato group (SCN-LDTPA) by treatment of the lithium salt of LDTPA with thiophosgene. SCN-LDTPA was successfully conjugated to three proteins, BSA (bovine serum albumin), mannose BSA, and galactose BSA. All protein conjugates were labeled with 111In3+ or 153Gd3+. Competition of Gd-LDTPA with DTPA (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid) resulted in a log stability constant of 21.2. The thermodynamic stability constant of Gd-LDTPA was also measured. The log Gd(III) stability constant (log K) is 21.99, and the log protonation constants (pKa's) are 10.16, 8.92, 5.35, 3.93, 2.71, and 1.89. Comparison of the thermodynamic stability constants for Gd(LDTPA)2- with other DTPA derivatives indicates that the stability of Gd(LDTPA)2- is similar to Gd(DTPA)2- (log K = 22...
Phosphorus geochemistry of equatorial Pacific sediments

Understanding phosphorus (P) geochemistry and burial in oceanic sediments is important because of the role of P for modulating oceanic productivity on long timescales. We investigated P geochemistry in seven equatorial Pacific sites over the last 53 m.y., using a sequential extraction technique to elucidate sedimentary P composition and P diagenesis within the sediments. The dominant P-bearing component in these sediments is authigenic P (61–86% of total P), followed in order of relative dominance by iron-bound P (7–17%), organic P (3–12%), adsorbed P (2–9%), and detrital P (0– 1 %). Clear temporal trends in P component composition exist. Organic P decreases rapidly in younger sediments in the eastern Pacific (the only sites with high sample resolution in the younger intervals), from a mean concentration of 2.3 μmol P/g sediment in the 0–1 Ma interval to 0.4 μmol/g in the 5– 6 Ma interval. Over this same time interval, decreases are also observed for iron-bound P (from 2.1 to 1.1 μmol P/g) and adsorbed P (from 1.5 to 0.7 μmol P/g). These decreases are in contrast to increases in authigenic P (from 6.0–9.6 μmol P/g) and no significant changes in detrital P (0.1 μmol P/g) and total P (12 μmol P/g). These temporal trends in P geochemistry suggest that (1) organic matter, the principal shuttle of P to the seafloor, is regenerated in sediments and releases associated P to interstitial waters, (2) P associated with iron-rich oxyhydroxides is released to interstitial waters upon microbial iron reduction, (3) the decrease in adsorbed P with age and depth probably indicates a similar decrease in interstitial water P concentrations, and (4) carbonate fluorapatite (CFA), or another authigenic P-bearing phase, precipitates due to the release of P from organic matter and iron oxyhydroxides and becomes an increasingly significant P sink with age and depth. The reorganization of P between various sedimentary pools, and its eventual incorporation in CFA, has been recognized in a variety of continental margin environments, but this is the first time these processes have been revealed in deep-sea sediments. Phosphorus accumulation rate data from this study and others indicates that the global pre-anthropogenic input rate of P to the ocean (20 × 1010 mol P/yr) is about a factor of four times higher than previously thought, supporting recent suggestions that the residence time of P in the oceans may be as short as 10,000–20,000 years.
Adsorption Equilibrium and Kinetics of Water Vapor in Carbon Nanotubes and Its Comparison with Activated Carbon

We are reporting gravimetric measurements of adsorption isotherms and kinetics of water vapor in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Adsorption was facilitated in an open configuration. Adsorption capacities of SWNTs were found to be approximately one-half of those of activated carbon and activated carbon fiber. The water adsorption isotherms of SWNTs followed type V characteristics, which are typical for a surface chemistry mediated adsorption of water. The isotherm models, the Dubinin−Serpinski equation and the Do equation, were fitted to the SWNT isotherms. The information about the SWNT surface chemistry could be extracted from data fitting to these equations and was found to be consistent with the same observed from Raman scattering of the SWNTs. The adsorption and desorption rate constants were calculated for all SWNT samples as a function of relative pressure using the linear-driving force model commonly used for activated carbons. The rate constants for both carbon types were in the general ra...
Combination of Cancer Data in Quantitative Risk Assessments: Case Study Using Bromodichloromethane

There are often several data sets that may be used in developing a quantitative risk estimate for a carcinogen. These estimates are usually based, however, on the dose-response data for tumor incidences from a single sex/strain/species of animal. When appropriate, the use of more data should result in a higher level of confidence in the risk estimate. The decision to use more than one data set (e.g., representing different animal sexes, strains, species, or tumor sites) can be made following biological and statistical analyses of the compatibility of the these data sets. Biological analysis involves consideration of factors such as the relevance of the animal models, study design and execution, dose selection and route of administration, the mechanism of action of the agent, its pharmacokinetics, any species- and/or sex-specific effects, and tumor site specificity. If the biological analysis does not prohibit combining data sets, statistical compatibility of the data sets is then investigated. A generalized likelihood ratio test is proposed for determining the compatibility of different data sets with respect to a common dose-response model, such as the linearized multistage model. The biological and statistical factors influencing the decision to combine data sets are described, followed by a case study of bromodichloromethane.
Airway Protection and the Laryngeal Mask Airway in Sinus and Nasal Surgery

Objectives/Hypothesis The objective was to compare the laryngeal mask airway and endotracheal tube for airway protection from blood during sinonasal surgery. Study Design Nonrandomized, controlled, prospective clinical trial. Methods Patients scheduled to undergo sinonasal surgery (septoplasty and/or endoscopic sinus surgery) were prospectively enrolled and grouped according to type of airway during general anesthesia with choice of airway device based on the anesthesiologist's preference. Clinical data were tabulated by case including airway device, patient age, weight, estimated blood loss, airway pop-off pressure, and emergence quality. At the conclusion of surgery, the airway was examined through the laryngeal mask airway or endotracheal tube with a flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope to determine the amount of blood present on the vocal cords or in the trachea. The airway device was also evaluated postoperatively for the presence of blood. Results Seventy-six adult patients were initially enrolled; two were excluded because fiberoptic evaluation of the airway could not be completed. Of the remaining 74 patients, an endotracheal tube and laryngeal mask airway were used in 31 and 43 patients, respectively. The two groups did not differ with respect to age, weight, estimated blood loss during surgery, pop-off pressure, or emergence quality (all P > .05). Patients managed with an laryngeal mask airway were significantly less likely to have blood staining the airway (glottis or trachea) than patients with an endotracheal tube (19.5% vs. 84.8%, χ2 test [P < .001]). However, the endotracheal tube provided better protection than the laryngeal mask airway against distal tracheal blood contamination (3.2% vs. 14.6%, respectively [P = .110]). Conclusion The laryngeal mask airway provides better protection of the upper airway from blood contamination during sinonasal surgery than a standard endotracheal tube, but there is a higher incidence of distal tracheal contamination. The laryngeal mask airway is a reasonable alternative to endotracheal intubation for airway management in sinonasal surgery.