cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nanoscale granular boundaries in polycrystalline Pb0.75Sn0.25Te: an innovative approach to enhance the thermoelectric figure of merit

Pb0.75Sn0.25Te is an important PbTe-based thermoelectric material that has been extensively applied in thermoelectric power generation for intermediate-temperature use. Alkali metal (Na, K) hydrothermal treatments were performed on micro-sized Pb0.75Sn0.25Te particles. After treatment, numerous nanorods with diameters of ∼20 nm and lengths of up to 200 nm were found uniformly embedded onto the surface of bulk particles. These nanorods contained surfaces that were subsequently transformed into nanosized fractal granular grain boundaries upon hot pressing of the treated Pb0.75Sn0.25Te bulk particles. The presence of this nanoscaled grain boundary results in an improvement of the ratio of the electrical conductivity to the thermal conductivity, via significantly reducing the lattice thermal conductivity while without appreciably affecting the Seebeck coefficient or the electrical resistivity. As a result, a thermoelectric figure of merit Z ∼ 1.1 × 10–3 K–1 (∼0.8 × 10–3 K–1) is obtained in Na (K)-processed samples at ∼425 K (475 K), which is notably improved from Z ∼ 0.7 × 10–3 K–1 at ∼490 K in a bulk reference sample. The present work provides a new and novel avenue by which the lattice thermal conductivity of a polycrystalline system can be ‘essentially decoupled’ from the electronic properties and thus independently ‘tuned’ via controlling the micro-morphology of the inter-grain boundary. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The recombination epoch revisited

Previous studies of cosmological recombination have shown that this process produces as a by-product a highly superthermal population of Ly-alpha photons which retard completion of recombination. Cosmological redshifting was thought to determine the frequency distribution of the photons, while two-photon decay of hydrogen's 2s state was thought to control their numbers. It is shown here that frequency diffusion due to photon scattering dominate the cosmological redshift in the frequency range near line center which fixes the ratio of ground state to excited state population, while incoherent scattering into the far-red damping wing effectively destroys Ly-alpha photons as a rate which is competitive with two-photon decay. The former effect tends to hold back recombination, while the latter tends to accelerate it; the net results depends on cosmological parameters, particularly the combination Omega(b) h/sq rt (2q0), where Omega(b) is the fraction of the critical density provided by baryons.
THE FERTILIZING CAPACITY OF SEA URCHIN SPERM RAPIDLY DECREASES AFTER INDUCTION OF THE ACROSOME REACTION

When immotile, flagella-less sperm were added to acid-dejellied eggs of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus 11% of the eggs fertilized. Addition of soluble egg jelly increased the percentage fertilization to 90.5. Over 50% of the sperm exposed to egg jelly had undergone the acrosome reaction compared to only 3–5% in the absence of jelly. Egg jelly was added to flagella-less sperm to induce the acrosome reaction and dejellied eggs added at various times thereafter. The fertilizing capacity of the sperm decreased with first order kinetics with 50% loss by 23 sec after induction of the acrosome reaction. Intact, motile sperm bind to formaldehyde-fixed eggs with maximum binding occurring 40 sec after sperm addition. After 40 sec the sperm begin to detach from the fixed eggs and by 240 sec none remain attached. Sperm detachment from fixed eggs and loss of fertilizing capacity after the acrosome reaction show a close temporal correlation.
Accumulation and excretion of DDT by the terrestrial snail,Cepaea hortensis

Terrestrial gastropods (snails and slugs) have been shown to accumulate considerable quantities of the organochlorine insecticide DDT, with no noticeable toxic effect. These invertebrates serve as a source of this concentrated pesticide to vertebrate predators. Snails and slugs as non-target organisms accumulate DDT residues at concentrations equal to or considerably higher than the surrounding environment. Such information from the literature is summarized. Since little information is available on the site of residue accumulation in snails the present study was undertaken to determine the concentration and excretion of chlorine 36 DDT in the terrestrial pulmonate snail, Cepaea hortensis. Specific objectives of this study were as follows: (1) to determine the quantities of /sup 36/Cl DDT that are accumulated and excreted by the snail Cepaea hortensis, after a single feeding of DDT; (2) to determine the tissue concentration of the radioactive DDT; and (3) to determine the dynamics of DDT in the snail tissues at intervals of three and twenty-four hours, two, four, and eight days.
Line and slice selection for moving spins.

The Bloch equations are solved numerically for spins moving at constant velocity for the case of 90° slice selection, and for subsequent 180° spin‐echo line selection. The calculations use the comoving, rotating reference frame which is shown to be valid for general acceleratedmotions. Magnetization profiles and phase shifts are presented for slice selection for both plug and laminar flow. Line selection is studied for the case of plug flow, where a ‘‘local vector sum’’ is introduced to demonstrate effective localization of activated spins. In addition to local magnetization densities, the spatially integrated signals seen by a nonselective antenna are calculated. The relation between net phase shift and flow rate is examined and deviations from the predictions of simple analytic models are discussed.
Improvement of Inner Filter Effect Correction Based on Determination of Effective Geometric Parameters Using a Conventional Fluorimeter

The most widely used correction of fluorescence intensities for inner filter effects in conventional (90 degrees ) fluorimeters fails at high absorbance values. We have critically examined this failure, which is caused by the difference between the geometrical parameters (GPs) of the excitation and emission beams in the typical instrument (focused beams) and in the theoretical picture on which the correction is based (collimated beams). We provide two types of experimental measurement of GPs and show that their substitution in the correction equations leads to significant improvements in the linear range of corrected fluorescence. We also demonstrate that mathematical optimizations give greater improvements and that the optimizations yield GPs consistent with experimental measurements. For solutions exhibiting primary inner filter effect only, we have extended the range of linearity of corrected fluorescence to a(ex) (absorbance per cm) up to 5.3; for systems with both primary and secondary inner filter effects we have achieved linearity for a(ex) + a(em) = 6.7. In all cases linear fits have slopes which agree well with the dilute limit. Different series of one- and two-solute solutions were used to demonstrate effectiveness of our correction methods. We also provide a rationale for the unexpected independence of GPs on excitation and emission bandwidths.
Preliminary results of nonfluoroscopy-based 3D navigation for neurointerventional procedures.

Purpose To investigate the capabilities of a neurovascular navigation prototype in phantom experiments. Materials and methods The proposed navigation system integrates three-dimensional (3D) visualization of the anatomy and real-time electromagnetic localization of the endovascular tools. A 3D model of an endovascular phantom was reconstructed from thresholded preprocedural computed tomographic (CT) data. The vascular model was aligned with the reference frame of an electromagnetic tracker by using paired-point matching based on eight external fiducials. The robustness and accuracy of the registration were evaluated in 29 experiments. A magnetically tracked catheter was inserted into the carotid artery of the phantom, and the navigation system was used to reach five predefined vascular landmarks. The spatial accuracy of the prototype was evaluated during 50 endovascular targeting attempts. Results The navigation system achieved accurate co-registration of the location of a catheter inside a 3D reconstruction of a phantom vasculature. The experiments demonstrated the robustness of the registration, with a standard deviation for the translation and rotation components of 0.7 mm and 0.3°, respectively. The maximal average error on the fiducials was 3.2 mm. Endovascular navigation by using the 3D real-time display was successfully performed with a mean overall accuracy of 2.7 mm ± 0.7 and no projection limitation. Conclusion The authors developed a navigation system that provides real-time 3D visualization of the position of endovascular components in a neurovascular phantom. The preliminary in vitro experiments showed clinically acceptable accuracy.
Synchronization of noise-induced escape: how it starts and ends (Keynote Address)

We provide a complete solution of the problem of noise-induced escape in periodically driven systems. We show that both the exponent and the prefactor in the escape rate display scaling behavior with the field intensity. The corresponding scaling is related to synchronization of escape events by the modulating field. The onset of the synchronization with the increasing field and its loss as the field approaches a bifurcational value lead to a strongly nonmonotonic field dependence of the prefactor.
Identification of phosphorylated butyrylcholinesterase in human plasma using immunoaffinity purification and mass spectrometry

Paraoxon (diethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate) is an active metabolite of the common insecticide parathion and is acutely toxic due to the inhibition of cholinesterase (ChE) activity in the nervous systems. The inhibition of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity by paraoxon is due to the formation of phosphorylated BChE adduct, and the detection of the phosphorylated BChE adduct in human plasma can serve as an exposure biomarker of organophosphate pesticides and nerve agents. In this study, we developed an immunoaffinity purification and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) strategy for identifying phosphorylated BChE in human plasma treated by paraoxon. BChE was captured by biotinylated anti-BChE polyclonal antibodies conjugated to streptavidin magnetic beads. Western blot analysis showed that the antibody was effective to recognize both native and modified BChE with high specificity. Using a purified BChE protein, we initially identified the exact phosphorylation site on the serine residue (S198) with a 108 Da modification by both MS/MS and accurately measured parent ion masses and quantified the extent of phosphorylation on S198 following paraoxon treatment to be >99.9%. Then, the phosphorylated BChE peptide in paraoxon-treated human plasma following immunoaffinity purification was successfully identified based on the accurate measured mass and retention time information initially obtained from the purified BChE protein. Thus, immunoaffinity purification combined with LC-MS represents a viable approach for the detection and quantification of phosphorylated BChE as an exposure biomarker of organophosphates and nerve agents.
RUN-UP RESPONSE OF POLYPHASE PERMANENT MAGNET SYNCHRONOUS MOTORS

Abstract An analysis to predict the transient run-up response of permanent magnet synchronous motors is drived based on the d and q axes model. It is based on the segmental reluctance approach with the addition of permanent magnets in the rotor. The computed simulation of the run-up characteristics are provided for variations in the values of stator resistance and permanent magnet excitation. A series of test results of a 3-phase, 2-pole, 1 hp permanent magnet motor are presented In order to verify the theoretical analysis. Effects of stator resistance on the air gap flux are also recorded experimentally. A reasonably close agreement between the measured and calculated values is obtained
On the Toeplitz Lemma, Convergence in Probability, and Mean Convergence

Three examples are provided which demonstrate that “convergence in probability” versions of the Toeplitz lemma, the Cesaro mean convergence theorem, and the Kronecker lemma can fail. “Mean convergence” versions of the Toeplitz lemma, Cesaro mean convergence theorem, and the Kronecker lemma are presented and a general mean convergence theorem for a normed sum of independent random variables is established. Some additional problems are posed.
“Smoking” guns: Questions

A 17-year-old male presented to the hospital following a TASER (TASER International, Inc., Scottsdale, AZ, USA) encounter and arrest by law enforcement. The patient exhibited agitation and aggressive behavior. He admitted to smoking “synthetic marijuana” as well as taking two tablets of combination oxycodone and acetaminophen (Percocet). He complained of retrosternal and upper abdominal pain. He recently acquired a new supply of “Brain Freeze” and smoked it multiple times in the last couple of days including the day of admission. On exam he was tachycardic (heart rate 120 beats per minute) and hypertensive (151/73 mmHg). His abdomen was soft. He had mild non-localizing tenderness. He had bilateral costovertebral angle tenderness. Laboratory evaluation was remarkable for a serum bicarbonate of 8 mmol/l with an anion gap of 29; creatinine 1.7 mg/dl; potassium 3.3 mmol/l; an elevated creatinine kinase (CK) of 2,723 U/l with myoglobinemia 3974.5 ng/ml (Table 1). Urinalysis revealed a
Nuclear level densities in the static-path approximation: (II). Spin dependence

Abstract The static-path approximation (SPA) and mean-field approximation (MFA) for the partition function and level density are investigated with the inclusion of spin. The methods are studied within a solvable model, the nuclear SU(3) Elliot model. The SPA partition function is enhanced compared with the MFA partition function and is in good agreement with the exact result at all angular velocities (or spins) and at all but low temperatures. The error made in the SPA as well as in the saddle-point approximation used in the conversion from angular velocity to spin is only weakly dependent on the spin and is small at not too low temperatures (or excitation energies).
Late Oligocene-early Miocene unroofing in the Chinese Tian Shan: An early effect of the India-Asia collision

Apatite fission-track data indicate that Mesozoic strata exposed on the northern flank of the Chinese Tian Shan underwent ∼4-5 km of late Cenozoic unroofing, beginning at ∼24 Ma. This age apparently dates initial reactivation of the northern Tian Shan in response to the India-Asia collision, which continues to raise the mountain range today. Numerous studies of the Himalaya and Tibet suggest that a major shift from extrusion-dominated to crustal thickening-dominated tectonics occurred in latest Oligocene-early Miocene time, approximately coincident with the start of unroofing in the Tian Shan. This suggests that Tian Shan unroofing was a distant effect of that shift within the collision zone.
Endogenous Nitric Oxide Protects Bacteria Against a Wide Spectrum of Antibiotics

Bacterial nitric oxide synthases (bNOS) are present in many Gram-positive species and have been demonstrated to synthesize NO from arginine in vitro and in vivo. However, the physiological role of bNOS remains largely unknown. We show that NO generated by bNOS increases the resistance of bacteria to a broad spectrum of antibiotics, enabling the bacteria to survive and share habitats with antibiotic-producing microorganisms. NO-mediated resistance is achieved through both the chemical modification of toxic compounds and the alleviation of the oxidative stress imposed by many antibiotics. Our results suggest that the inhibition of NOS activity may increase the effectiveness of antimicrobial therapy.
Effects of vacancy defects on thermal conductivity in crystalline silicon: A nonequilibrium molecular dynamics study

We examine the effects of vacancy defects on thermal conductivity in bulk crystalline silicon ($c$-Si) using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. While most vacancies are thought to remain in the form of clusters in bulk $c$-Si, recent theoretical studies have predicted that small vacancy clusters energetically prefer to be fourfold coordinated by nullifying dangling bonds. Hence, in this work, we consider three different-sized fourfold vacancy clusters, tetra- (${V}_{4}$), hexa- (${V}_{6}$), and dodeca-vacancy (${V}_{12}$), with particular interest in studying how phonon transport is affected by vacancy concentration and cluster size in association with fourfold coordination-induced lattice distortions. Our simulations show that thermal conductivity (\ensuremath{\kappa}) rapidly drops with vacancy concentration (${n}_{v}$) with an inverse power-law relation ($\ensuremath{\kappa}\ensuremath{\propto}{n}_{v}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\alpha}}$, with $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ \ensuremath{\approx} 0.7--1.1 depending on cluster size); the presence of 1.5% vacancies leads to a 95% reduction in \ensuremath{\kappa} as compared to the defect free $c$-Si. When ${n}_{v}$ is low (1%), the reduction of \ensuremath{\kappa} with ${n}_{v}$ appears to be a function of cluster size, and the size effect becomes unimportant as ${n}_{v}$ increases above 1%. We discuss the correlation between phone scattering and cluster size, based on the relative rates of phonon-vacancy scattering associated with defect-induced strain fields. We also estimate the dependence of phonon mean free path on vacancy concentration and cluster size.
Isolation and characterization of (Na,K)-ATPase proteolipid

Summary We have isolated two proteolipid components (γ1 and γ2) of M r ∼ 12,000 from highly purified lamb kidney (Na,K)-ATPase by chromatography of the enzyme of Sepharose CL-6B, followed by extraction with a chloroform: methanol solvent and chromatography on Sephadex LH-60. The average recoveries are 0.6 mol of γ1 and 0.3 mol of γ2 per mol of catalytic subunit recovered, suggesting that proteolipid is present in stoichiometric amounts in the enzyme. γ1 and γ2 have similar amino acid compositions, with γ1 being higher in hydrophobic amino acids and lower in charged amino acids. Both components are similar to a M r ∼ 11,700 phosphorylated protein isolated from beef heart (Na,K)-ATPase.
Binding and degradation of [125I]human growth hormone in rat adipocytes.

Iodinated human GH ([125I]hGH) binds to both specific and nonspecific sites on the surface of adipocytes isolated from the epididymal fat of normal rats. When adipocytes were incubated at 37 C with 1 nm [125I]hGH, specific binding increased for 30−60 min and thereafter remained approximately constant as long as the hormone was present in the medium. When cells that had bound [125I]hGH were removed from the incubation medium and reincubated in hormone-free medium at 37 C, half of the specifically bound 125I was released into the medium about every 30 min, and about half of the nonspecifically bound 125I was released in about 60 min. These rates were seen regardless of whether the time allowed for hormone binding was 15, 30, or 60 min. About 90% of the 125I released was soluble in 5% trichloroacetic acid and was in the form of iodotyrosine. The rate of 125I release from specific binding sites decreased by a factor of 4 when the temperature was lowered from 37 to 17 C. Replacement of some of the sodium chlor...
Immune complexes as therapy for autoimmunity.

For several decades, intravenous Ig has been used as treatment for a variety of immune-related diseases, including immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), autoimmune neuropathies, systemic lupus erythematosus, myasthenia gravis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, skin blistering syndromes, and Kawasaki disease. Despite years of use, its mechanism of immunomodulation is still unclear. Recent studies using mouse models of ITP and arthritis, including one reported in this issue of the JCI, now provide some insights into this mechanism and the rationale for the development of Fcγ receptor–targeted therapeutics.
Influence of individual differences and chronic fluoxetine treatment on cocaine-seeking behavior in rats.

Rationale: Clinical studies examining the efficacy of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine, in decreasing craving and cocaine use have been inconsistent. Objective: To understand better the effects of fluoxetine treatment on incentive motivation for cocaine, the present study assessed the effects of chronic fluoxetine treatment on cocaine-seeking behavior in rats following exposure to a cocaine self-administration environment or a cocaine priming injection. Methods: Rats were trained to press a lever for a cocaine reinforcer (0.5 mg/kg per 0.1 ml, IV) or received yoked administration of saline. They were then withdrawn from this regimen and given 20 daily injections of saline or fluoxetine (3.0 mg/kg, IP). Twenty-four hours after the last injection, the rats were placed in the self-administration environment and cocaine-seeking behavior (i.e., non-reinforced lever pressing) was measured for 90 min. Reinstatement of extinguished cocaine-seeking behavior was then measured for 60 min following a saline injection and for 90 min following a cocaine priming injection (15 mg/kg, IP). Results: Chronic fluoxetine treatment attenuated cocaine-seeking behavior following exposure to the self-administration environment in most rats (n=16), but enhanced cocaine-seeking behavior in two rats. Furthermore, the treatment failed to alter cocaine-seeking behavior following a cocaine priming injection. Interestingly, the amount of cocaine intake during self-administration training correlated with cocaine-seeking behavior following the cocaine priming injection. In fact, the priming injection reinstated cocaine-seeking behavior only in rats with high, but not low, cocaine intake based on a median split. Conclusions: These results suggest that chronic fluoxetine treatment decreases motivation for cocaine when animals are in a cocaine-free state. Furthermore, individual differences in cocaine use are related to individual differences in sensitivity to the incentive motivational effects of cocaine priming.
DBDB: optimizing DMATransfer for the cell be architecture

In heterogeneous multi-core systems, such as the Cell BE or certain embedded systems, the accelerator core has its own fast local memory without hardware supported coherence. It is software's responsibility to dynamically transfer the working set when the total data set is too large to fit in the local memory. The data can be transferred through a software controlled cache which maintains correctness and exploits reuse among references, especially when complicated aliasing or data dependence exists. However, the software controlled cache introduces the extra overhead of cache lookup. In this paper we present the design and implementation of a Direct Blocking Data Buffer (DBDB) which combines compiler analysis and runtime management to optimize local memory utilization. We use compile time analysis to identify regular references in a loop body, block the innermost loop according to the access patterns and available local memory space, insert DMA operations for the blocked loop, and substitute references to local buffers. The runtime is responsible for allocating local memory for DBDB, especially for disambiguating aliased memory accesses which could not be resolved at compile time. We further optimize noncontiguous references by taking advantage of the DMA-list feature provided by the Cell BE. A practical performance model is presented to guide the DMA transfer scheme selection among single-DMA, multi-DMA and DMA-list. We have implemented DBDB in the IBM XL C/C++ for Multicore Acceleration for Linux, and have conducted experiments with selected test cases from the NAS OpenMP and SPEC benchmarks. The results show that our method performs well compared with traditional software cache approach. We have observed a speedup of up to 5.3x and 4x in average.
The Role of Metamaterials and Plasmons for Novel Sensing Applications

Summary form only given. The past ten years have seen a tremendous acceleration in the exploration of metals for photonic applications. This exploration has been common to both the metamaterials and the plasmonics fields, which leverage the strong resonances of structured metals to produce desired electromagnetic response. However, the unique electromagnetic properties of metal components and composite materials come at a price: while a seemingly limitless palette of electromagnetic behavior can be coaxed out of carefully designed metal structures-negative refractive index and optical magnetism being two striking examples-material losses and dispersion place heavy constraints on the ultimate usability of these properties. Despite their drawbacks, metamaterials based on metals and plasmonic structures also exhibit unique phenomena that are distinct from other systems and materials. Both structures possess the capability to localize electromagnetic fields to regions much smaller than the wavelength of light, and to strongly enhance the local fields. This focusing of light naturally brings about an extreme sensitivity to the local environment, which can be used to implement sensing or modulation functionality. By exploiting the benefits of metals-field localization, field enhancement and sensitivity to local environment - while minimizing their disadvantages, we hope to develop an array of unique and competitive devices across the electromagnetic spectrum In this talk we describe the amazing electromagnetic response that can be achieved in engineered metamaterial composites with metal inclusions, including negative index materials and the recently reported "invisibility" cloaks.
The analysis of interfacial waves

We present analytical results for stable stratified wavy two-phase flow and functional forms for the various interfacial force densities in a two-fluid model. In particular, we have derived analytically the components of the non-drag interfacial force density [Drew, D.A., Passman, S.L., 1998. Theory of Multicomponent Fluids. Springer-Verlag, New York; Nigmatulin, T.R., Drew, D.A., Lahey, R.T., Jr., 2000. An analysis of wavy annular flow. In: International Conference on Multiphase Systems, ICMS’2000, Ufa, Russia, June 15–17], Reynolds stress tensor, and the term, (p˜cli−p¯cl)∇αcl, where p˜cli is interfacial average pressure, p¯cl the average pressure, and αcl is the volume fraction of the continuous liquid phase. These functional forms should be useful for assessing two-fluid closure relations and Computational Multiphase Fluid Dynamics (CMFD) numerical models for stratified wavy flows. Moreover, it appears that this approach can be generalized to other flow regimes (e.g., annular flows).
Pathogenesis of nodular histiocytic hyperplasia in serous effusions.

Dear Dr. Bedrossian: I would like to offer an explanation as to how the nodules of so-called nodular histiocytic hyperplasia (NHH) form in some specimens of pleural, peritoneal, and pericardial fluid. Such nodules were well-illustrated by Drs. Choi and Song in their recently published article in Diagnostic Cytopathology.1 They demonstrated that these nodules are composed of compact aggregates of histiocytes, which may contain the occasional mesothelial cell. In cell block preparations, these tightly packed aggregates (nodules) of histiocytes are always bounded by a band of fibrin. The bands may be thin and scarcely visible as in Figure 4 of Drs. Choi and Song, or they may be thick, as in their Figure 3.1 Obviously, fluid manifesting NHH has to contain numerous histiocytes, and it must also contain fibrin, which may have formed spontaneously before or after the fluid was aspirated. In smears of serous fluids, histiocytes are often seen in irregularly shaped, loose aggregates, presumably because of their long microvilli. Such aggregates become enmeshed by fibrin in the fluid, which contracts around them to create densely packed, well-circumscribed nodules. Smear preparations do not exhibit the well-defined nodules of NHH, presumably because any histiocytic aggregates become disrupted by the smearing technique. In cell blocks, the dense and smoothly contoured aggregates of histiocytes may be mistaken for fragments of carcinoma. A superb example of this is featured in the chapter on cytology of serous fluids in both editions of Bibbo’s Comprehensive Cytopathology. The patient, a young woman, was referred to our hospital with a diagnosis of metastatic adenocarcinoma in her pleural effusion. And recently I reviewed a specimen in litigation that had been misdiagnosed as metastatic adenocarcinoma in pleural fluid; again, it was an example of NHH. Obviously, this morphologic entity is a most important pitfall of cytodiagnosis of serous fluids.
The effectiveness of aerosolized intraperitoneal bupivacaine in reducing postoperative pain in children undergoing robotic-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty

Abstract Objective To assess the effectiveness of aerosolized intraperitoneal bupivacaine in reducing postoperative pain in children. Laparoscopic surgery has decreased the severity of postoperative pain in children. However, children often experience abdominal and shoulder pain requiring significant amounts of opioids, potentially prolonging their hospitalization. Methods Forty-one consecutive patients undergoing unilateral robotic-assisted pyeloplasty between December 2005 and December 2007 were retrospectively reviewed to assess perioperative opioid requirements and length of hospitalization. Results In addition to standard-of-care perioperative analgesia, five patients received intraperitoneal aerosolized bupivacaine just prior to trocar removal, 17 patients received aerosolized bupivacaine just prior to incising the perirenal fascia, and 19 patients received no intervention. There was a significant reduction in postoperative opioid utilization when bupivacaine was administered at the beginning of the surgery (0.1 mg/kg vs 0.4 mg/kg, P = 0.04), but not at the end (0.3 mg/kg, P = 0.25), as compared to controls. All patients receiving aerosolized bupivacaine had a significantly shorter time in hospital (2.4 vs 1.4 days, P = Conclusions The administration of intraperitoneal aerosolized bupivacaine just prior to incising the perirenal fascia appears to be a simple, effective and low-cost method to reduce postoperative pain in children undergoing laparoscopic pyeloplasty.
Continental Margin of Northern and Central California: ABSTRACT

The geology of the continental margin offshore from northern and central California, though actively studied in recent years, still is very incompletely known. Much of the available data consists of measurements made at the ocean surface from which deductions have been made regarding the rocks and structures on the sea floor. The nature of the young sediments on the surface of the sea floor is moderately well known from dredge sampling, though not nearly End_Page 650------------------------------ so well known as in the broad shelf area off the coast of southern California. Bedrock that underlies these sediments has been sampled only by a few dredgings, but is, of course, exposed in a few islands and along the shore. Although the offshore geology is very complex, the continental margin of northern and central California is unusually youthful, and thus is particularly suited for the study of basic problems of the development of continental shelves and slopes, and of the transition between continental and oceanic crustal rocks and structures. End_of_Article - Last_Page 651------------
Effect of inhaled corticosteroid on pulmonary injury and inflammatory mediator production after cardiopulmonary bypass in children.

Objective:To determine whether inhaled steroid administration after cardiopulmonary bypass will attenuate pulmonary inflammation and improve lung compliance and oxygenation.Design:Randomized, prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.Setting:Children’s Hospital of Michigan, intens
A noninvasive method for delivering controlled doses of nicotine via cigarette smoke

A cigarette-smoke delivery system is described in which nicotine dosage was delimited by having the subject inhale a measured amount of smoke to a predetermined depth and duration of inhalation. A plastic syringe was used to “inject” a specified amount of cigarette smoke into the subject’s mouth, and an airbag containing 1 liter of air was used to provide a “chaser” with a fixed volume of inhalation for the smoke. Using plasma nicotine boost as an indicator, dose control was found to be nearly linear for the three dose levels employed; in the high-dose condition, plasma nicotine levels were moderately consistent within subjects over three successive administrations. Between-subject variability was considerably greater than within-subject variability, however, suggesting that each smoker obtained a characteristic nicotine boost that reflected individual differences in nicotine pharmacokinetics in addition to nicotine intake per se.
Non-linear analysis of disruptions in the JIPP T-II tokamak

A comparison is made between results of the profile control experiments on the JEPP T-II tokamak and those of the time evolution of tearing modes. Over a wide range of conditions, non-linear initial-value tearing-mode calculations are consistent with experimental results. In particular, the time scale of soft disruptions, as reflected in the negative Voltage spikes, given by the tearing-mode analysis, agrees with that obtained experimentally.
Peripheral and central mechanisms regulating food intake and macronutrient selection.

Food intake is regulated by a complex interaction of central and peripheral pathways. A range of neuropeptides affects feeding either through actions at the gastrointestinal/hepatic level or in the central nervous system. Circulating signals such as leptin and insulin modulate and interact with these neuropeptide systems to control energy balance. The roles of the melanocortin MC4 receptor pathway, agouti-related protein, melanocyte concentrating hormone, cocaine- amphetamine-regulated transport, neuropeptide Y, and enterostatin in the control of food intake and macronutrient selection are described.
Effects of glutathione depletion and age on skeletal muscle performance and morphology following chronic stretch-shortening contraction exposure

The involvement of glutathione in the response of skeletal muscle following repetitive, high-intensity mechanical loading is not known. We examined the influence of a glutathione antagonist [l-Buthionine Sulfoximine (BSO)] had on the adaptability of skeletal muscle during chronic mechanical loading via stretch-shortening contractions (SSCs) in young and old rats. Left dorsiflexor muscles of young (12 weeks, N = 16) and old (30 months, N = 16), vehicle- and BSO-treated rats were exposed three times per week for 4.5-weeks to a protocol of 80 maximal SSCs per exposure in vivo. Skeletal muscle response to the SSC exposure was characterized by muscle performance, as well as muscle wet-weight and quantitative morphological analyses following the exposure period. Results reveal that generally, muscle performance increased in the young rats only following chronic SSC exposure. BSO treatment had no effect on muscle performance or morphology following the chronic SSC exposure in old rats. Muscle wet-weight was increased following exposure compared with the contra-lateral control limb, irrespective of age (p < 0.05). Muscle cross-sectional area increased approximately 20% with SSC loading in the young, vehicle rats, while increasing approximately 10% with SSC loading in old, vehicle rats compared with control rat muscle. No degenerative myofibers were noted in either age group, but edema were increased as a result of aging (p < 0.05). We conclude that our results indicate that glutathione depletion does not adversely affect muscle performance or morphology in old rats. Nevertheless, we continue to show that aging negatively influences performance and morphology following chronic SSC exposure.
Optical Data Storage In Photorefractive Materials

The basic physical theory of the photorefractive effect will be presented. Methods will be discussed for utilizing the effect for the storage of information as well as optical display of information. The fundamental limits on writing time, access time and storage density will be related to the physical properties of the materials involved. Particularly promising materials, such as LiNb03 will be discussed in detail.© (1977) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Local genetic and clonal structure in the tropical terrestrial bromeliad, Aechmea magdalenae

The genetic structure of populations of the clone-forming tropical terrestrial bromeliad, Aechmea magdalenae, was examined by electrophoretic analyses in nine populations occurring on and near Barro Colorado Island, Republic of Panama. For the nine populations as a whole, 33% of the loci were polymorphic and the genetic diversity was 0. 121. Within populations, the mean percent of polymorphic loci was 24.1% and the mean genetic diversity was 0.084. About one-third of the total allozyme diversity resided among populations (mean GST = 0.356). The distribution of A. magdalenae was patchy in the study area. This, coupled with the relatively small effective population sizes and the possible founding of populations by few individuals may have contributed to the large among-population component of genetic diversity. The extent of clonal growth was inferred by examining the relationship between the proportion of rosettepairs sharing identical multilocus genotypes and distance between pairs. This method indicates that clonal spread is local; individuals sharing multilocus genotypes most often occur within 10 m of each other.
On the Naturalism of Hume's ‘Reconciling Project’

(i) Necessity, properly understood, is the regular succession of objects and the inference of the mind from one object to the other. Let us call the argument which seeks to establish this conclusion the necessity argument. (2) A liberty which means 'a negation of necessity and causes' has no existence and would make morality impossible. Let us call the argument which seeks to establish this conclusion the antilibertarian argument. (3) Actions liable to moral evaluations are not distinguished from those that are not by an absence of cause but rather by a different type of cause; responsible or morally free actions are caused by our willings whereas unfree actions are brought about by external forces (i.e. causes other than our willings). Let us call the argument that seeks to establish this conclusion the spontaneity argument.
Nonlinearities, harmonics, and trends in dynamic applications of Terfenol-D

We are working to understand Terfenol-D's behavior in dynamic applications. Experimental results demonstrate that the amplitudes of harmonics present in Terfenol-D transducer output displacement spectra increase with increasing drive-current amplitude. An empirical mathematical model which predicts harmonics is presented. The model approximates both the nonlinear strain versus magnetic flux density behavior (c vs B), and the magnetic hysteresis (B vs H) of the material. Trends are shown for displacement versus drive-current amplitude as a function of frequency. Generally, displacements increase with increasing drive-current amplitude, and decrease with increasing drive frequency (when operated away from mechanical resonance). Single frequency drive-current results are compared with the trends predicted by the mathematical model.
EQUATING SCORES ON NON-PARALLEL TESTS1

I have chosen to organize my discussion of the problem of equating non-parallel tests around a specific example, and to emphasize some of the practical, rather than theoretical, aspects of the problem. It seems to me that the theory involved is already in reasonably good shape so far as practical needs are concerned, and that the major need now is for more effective education of test users. Through this example, I hope not only to make a bit more evident some of the dimensions and complexities of the general educational problem involved, but also to make some direct contribution to a better understanding of the particular problem used in the illustration.
Totality and Infinity, Alterity, and Relation: From Levinas to Glissant

Totality and Infinity , the title of a well-known work by Emmanuel Levinas, takes up a word which readers of Poetic Intention and of many other texts of Edouard Glissant’s will easily recognize: a term sometimes used in a sense that is clearly positive, sometimes in a sense that is not quite as positive, such as when, for instance, he compares “totalizing Reason” to the “Montaigne’s tolerant relativism.” In his final collection of essays, Traite du tout-monde, Poetique IV , Glissant attempts one more time to clarify the sense in which the reader will have to understand his use of the word “totality,” thinking, and rightfully so, that this word might lead to some confusion: “To write is to say the world. The world as totality, which is so dangerously close to the totalitarian.” Of course, here, it will be necessary to try to ascertain whether or not Levinas’s totality and Glissant’s can peacefully coexist, or, rather, whether this word might, in Glissant, have opposite meanings. Where the second word is concerned, “infinity,” any reader of Glissant will know that he locates its source in those societies he calls atavistic, which are grounded in foundational texts that are the bearers of stories of filiation, of legitimacy, societies whose arrogance and whose errors the author never ceases to decry and whose decomposition, in the very times in which we live, he never ceases to announce (even as Glissant recognizes that there was a time when atavistic cultures undoubtedly must have experienced their own period of creolization, and that, conversely, composite cultures undoubtedly often tend to become atavistic). On this level, “totality” and “infinity,” for him, seem to belong to the same world. Thus, and still in Traite du tout-monde , he proposes that "Hebraism, Christianity, Islam are grounded in the same spirituality of the One and to the same belief in a revealed Truth… The thought of the One that has done so much to magnify, as well as to denature. How can one consent to this thought, which transfigures while neither offending nor de-routing the Diverse?" Moreover, it would be interesting, I think, to know how Levinas might react to these words of Glissant’s: “Totality is not that which has often been called the universal. It is the finite and realized quantity of the infinite detail of the real.” This word, “infinite,” is decidedly dangerous: what is an “infinite detail?” Does this word, “infinite,” not always lead to the unknown, to the non-totalizable, to what Levinas would call an “enigma,” to what Glissant would call an “opacity?”
Vector quantization of the side information in BTC image coding

One approach to reduce the bit rate required to encode the side information parameters in BTC image compression techniques is to employ joint vector quantization. The authors propose an alternative scheme which encodes with separate vector quantizers the arrays formed with each one of the parameters. Simulation results are presented and a comparative performance analysis shows the improvements achieved with the proposed quantization structure. >
Constructions of Educational Meaning in the Narratives of Four Deaf Women Teachers

Deaf teachers bring unique perspectives to the teaching of deaf and hard of hearing students, yet their "voices" have been recognized in neither sociological, psychological, nor philosophical accounts of education and deafness. In the present ethnographic study, narrative analysis is used to frame a description of how four deaf women make sense of their lives as teachers as they disclose their beliefs concerning teaching, their deafness, and their connection with the Deaf community.
In-Situ TEM Electrochemical Processes in Conversion-Based Li-Ion Battery Electrodes

Intercalation-based cathode materials such as LiCoO2 (~140 mAh/g) and LiFePO4 (~160 mAh/g) are predominantly used in lithium-ion batteries because they provide exceptional cycling reversibility [1]. However, these materials have low capacity as they are limited to single electron charge transfer reaction, and thus are unlikely candidates for use in electric vehicles (EVs). Conversion compounds such as iron fluorides (FeF2) are promising because of their high capacities (~570 mAh/g), 2-4 times higher than intercalation-based cathodes, by utilizing more than one Li ion per transition metals [2]. However, these materials suffer from issues such as slow kinetics, large cycling hysteresis (i.e. voltage gap between charge/discharge at certain charge-of-state), and insufficient charge reversibility preventing them from further commercial viability. We perform in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study to understand some of the key questions pertaining to conversion reaction mechanisms such as phase nucleation and evolution, electron and ion transport, reaction kinetics and reversibility during electrochemical charge and discharge.
Improving Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler Accuracy with Wide-Area Differential GPS and Adaptive Smoothing of Ship Velocity

Accurate ship velocity is important for determining absolute currents from acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements. In this paper, the authors describe the application of two methods to improve the quality of ship velocity estimates. The first uses wide-area differential global positioning system (WADGPS) navigation to improve ship positioning. During the cruise, raw global positioning system (GPS) pseudorange data are collected. The pseudorange measurement is the difference between satellite transmission time and receiver reception time of a GPS signal. A few days after the cruise, satellite clock corrections from the Canadian Active Control System and orbital parameters from the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center are used to derive WADGPS positions that remove the position degradation effects of selective availability. Two-dimensional root-meansquare (rms) position accuracies reduce from 634 to 69 m. The authors’ second method of improving the ship velocity applies an adaptive local third-order polynomial smoother to the raw ship velocities. This smoothing method is particularly effective at handling the nonstationary nature of the signal when the ship is starting, stopping, or turning, which is typical of oceanographic cruises. Application of the smoother in this case reduces overall rms noise in the ship velocity by 16%. The combination of both methods reduces the uncertainty due to navigation of a 20-min ADCP absolute velocity from 60.063 to 60.038 m s21—a 40% reduction. These methods also improve the calibration for sensitivity error and ADCP‐gyrocompass misalignment angle.
Architectural power models for SRAM and CAM structures based on hybrid analytical/empirical techniques

The need to perform power analysis in the early stages of the design process has become critical as power has become a major design constraint. Embedded and high-performance microprocessors incorporate large on-chip cache and similar SRAM-based or CAM-based structures, and these components can consume a significant fraction of the total chip power. Thus an accurate power modeling method for such structures is important in early architecture design studies. We present a unified architecture-level power modeling methodology for array structures which is highly-accurate, parameterizable, and technology scalable. We demonstrate the applicability of the model to different memory structures (SRAMs and CAMs) and include leakage-variability in advanced technologies. The power modeling approach is validated against HSPICE power simulation results, and we show power estimation accuracy within 5% of detailed circuit simulations.