cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bonded mounts for small cryogenic optics

Adhesive bonded mounting of small optics for use at cryogenic temperatures provides improved heat transfer, low optical surface distortion, and reduced cost in comparison with conventional flexural mounts. A design methodology based on the thermo-elastic properties of the adhesive and its interaction with the mounted optic is presented. Key factors in the selection of the appropriate adhesive are high thermal conductivity, a low elastic modulus, a low glass-transition temperature, good adhesion characteristics to optic and substrate, and low outgassing. A design example of 17-mm diameter, 2-mm thick circular polycrystalline germanium window used at a temperature of below 100 K is discussed. During cooling at a rate of more than 3 K/sec the temperature at the center of the window mounted in this way lags behind the mount by no more than 20 K at any instant, and reaches equilibrium with the mount in about 50 sec. Maximum optical surface deformation of the mounted optic is less than 0.031 waves RMS differential (1 wave equals 633 nm) for a temperature change of 300 K to 102 K. Predicted peak tensile stress is less than 17 MPa. The adhesive bonded mount is also simple and economical in comparison with the complex flexural mounts often used for cryogenic optics.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The other side of the needle: a patient's perspective.

Cytopathology laboratories monitor the analytical processes that have an impact on patient care through sound, quality assurance programs. What often frustrates pathologists is their relative inability to influence pre-analytical variables, those processes that are health-care-provider driven. The performance of fine-needle aspirates (FNAs) is a unique opportunity for the pathologist to become directly involved in the pre-analytical phase of patient care. We formulated a patient satisfaction survey, to assess the care provided by the FNA team, as it is related to patient safety, satisfaction and complications related to the FNA procedure. The application of patient surveys is a valuable tool to identify, track and monitor complications related to the performance of FNAs and as an ongoing monitor of direct involvement of the pathologist in the pre-analytical process. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2006;34:303–306. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The story of mycodiesel

Recently, a number of endophytic fungi have been discovered that produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) whilst growing on agricultural waste substrates, whose chemistry is best defined as hydrocarbon and hydrocarbon-like. These compounds have potential use as both 'green chemicals' and fuels. This report discusses the discovery of the first fungus proposed as a producer of 'Mycodiesel'. Also mentioned are many examples of fungi making these VOCs and some of the novel methods that have been specifically developed and used to study the fungal production of hydrocarbons. Finally, the report concludes with a discussion of commercial scale up and feasibility of this approach in helping to solve the world's need for liquid fuels.
Cytokinin activity in Citrus jambhiri seedlings colonized by mycorrhizal fungi.

Abstract The influence of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis on cytokinin activity in Citrus jambhiri Lush. seedlings was investigated. Citrus jambhiri inoculated with cultures of Glomus caledonium, Glomus epigaeum, Glomus etunicatum, Glomus fasciculatum or Glomus mosseae were grown from seed for 105 days in a glasshouse. Cytokinin activity in roots and leaves of seedlings was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. Seedling leaf tissue had greater cytokinin activity than root tissue. Cytokinin activity in roots and leaves were associated with differences in seedling total dry weight and vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization.
Study on a memory gradient method for the minimization of functions

A new accelerated gradient method for finding the minimum of a functionf(x) whose variables are unconstrained is investigated. The new algorithm can be stated as follows:\(\tilde x = x + \delta x,\delta x = - \alpha g(x) + \beta \delta \hat x\) where δx is the change in the position vectorx, g(x) is the gradient of the functionf(x), and α and β are scalars chosen at each step so as to yield the greatest decrease in the function. The symbol\(\delta \hat x\) denotes the change in the position vector for the iteration preceding that under consideration.
Evidence for Interaction in vitro of Morphine with Glutathione

THE significance of glutathione in the metabolic activity and structural integrity of cells, in the maintenance of protein SH groups, and its function in electron-transferring systems, as a coenzyme or as part of prosthetic group of other enzymes, is well known. The cerebral tissue of several mammalian species contains a fairly high concentration of reduced glutathione1. Drugs which cause an alteration in the level of reduced glutathione in brain or in its interaction with essential sulphydryl groups are known to influence the activity of neurones in the central nervous system2. Evidence for possible interaction in vitro of morphine with glutathione to form a peptide-conjugate is presented in this communication.
Seafood intake and blood cadmium in a cohort of adult avid seafood consumers.

Abstract Although the benefits of fish consumption are widely recognized, seafood may also be a source of exposure to heavy metals such as cadmium. Many types of seafood are rich in cadmium, but bioavailability and potential for toxicity after consumption is less clear. This study investigates the relationship between seafood intake and the level of cadmium (Cd) in the blood in a 252 person cohort of avid seafood consumers in the Long Island Study of Seafood Consumption (New York). Blood cadmium is an established biomarker of cadmium exposure, reflecting both recent and decade-long exposure. Data on the amounts and frequency of eating various types of seafood were self-reported by avid seafood consumers recruited in 2011–2012. After adjusting for age, BMI, sex, current smoking status, and income in a linear regression model, we found no association between regular seafood intake ( β = −0.01; p = 0.11) but did identify an association between salmon intake in cups/week (ln transformed) ( β = 0.20; p = 0.001) and blood cadmium. After accounting for salmon, no other types of seafood were meaningfully associated with blood cadmium. No association was found between rice intake, blood zinc, or dietary iron or calcium and blood cadmium. Results suggest that seafood is not a major source of cadmium exposure, but that salmon intake does marginally increase blood cadmium levels. Given that cadmium levels in salmon are not higher than those in many other seafood species, the association with salmon intake is likely attributed to higher consumption of salmon in this population.
A Retrospective on Cruzan

In 1990, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the Cruzan case, the first "right-to-die case" to reach that Court. Prior to the Court's decision, there was wide-spread speculation as to what it would decide and what the impact of the decision would be. Speculation about the impact of the decision intensified after it was announced, with many suggesting that it would prove to be a serious setback to the consensus about the legality of terminating life-sustaining medical treatment that had evolved in the state courts since the Karen Quinlan case ushered in the era of right-to-die litigation in 1976. This article examines a number of aspects of the legal consensus about forgoing life-sustaining treatment that emerged prior to Cruzan and discusses their viability in light both of what Cruzan did and did not decide and in light of subsequent judicial decisions in right-to-die cases. Two years after the Supreme Court's decision, it is apparent that the pre-Cruzan legal consensus is stronger than ever.
An Expository Paper on Optimal Design

There are many situations in which the requirements of a standard experimental design do not fit the research requirements of the problem. This article provides an introduction to optimal design.
Localization to chromosome 10 of a locus influencing morphine analgesia in crosses derived from C57BL/ and DBA/2 strains

A quantitative trait locus (QTL) was detected and mapped to proximal chromosome 10 near the markers Mpmv5 and D10Mit51 with a strong influence on morphine-induced analgesia in the BXD recombinant inbred (Rl) strains and in an F2 cross (B6D2F2) between the BXD progenitor strains, C57BL/6 and DBA/2. A LOD score of 3.9 (p <. 00002) was seen for analgesia using the hot plate assay. Naloxone Bmax was also associated with this chromosome region in BXD RI mice. The mu opioid receptor gene (Oprm) has recently been mapped to this same chromosome region. The observation that several morphine-related traits and naloxone Bmax appear to be partly determined by this presumed single locus is consistent with the hypothesis that the mu opioid receptor gene, or one of its modulators, is the basis for the QTL.
Site of action of growth hormone on adrenocortical steroidogenesis in rats.

Studies were carried out to define the mechanism of action of growth hormone on adrenocortical steroidogenesis in hypophysectomized female rats. ACTH administration for 7 days increased corticosterone secretion in vivo and corticosterone production by adrenal tissue in vitro. Adrenal mitochondrial and microsomal cytochrome P-450 concentrations as well as the activities of cytochrome P-450-dependent enzymes (cholesterol sidechain cleavage, 11β-hydroxylase, 21-hydroxylase) were also increased by ACTH. Administration of bovine growth hormone alone to hypophysectomized rats had no effect on any of the parameters evaluated. However, when given in combination with ACTH, growth hormone synergistically enhanced the effects of ACTH on cholesterol sidechain cleavage activity and corticosterone secretion. The magnitude of the pregnenolone-induced difference spectrum in adrenal mitochondria, indicative of cholesterol binding to cytochrome P-450, was also increased by growth hormone, but neither cytochrome P-450 conte...
Sound From Flow Over a Rough Surface

The mechanism for sound production from flow over a rough surface is not well understood. Measurements of radiated noise and low-wavenumber unsteady surface pressures were carried out in order to better understand the sound production mechanism. The initial results of an ongoing experimental investigation of the sound produced by flow over a rough surface are presented. In order to investigate scaling relationships, the flow speed, roughness height, and roughness element distribution were varied. Previous investigations have reported roughness noise levels that scale on flow velocity, roughness height, and fetch area and have indicated that the sound production may be dipole or quadrupole in nature. Prevailing analytical models assume that both types of sources are present. The scaling of roughness noise for large roughness height (k+ = uτ k/ν of order 1000) has not been investigated previously and is part of the current study. The scaling behavior of low-wavenumber surface pressures is discussed, in addition to the comparison of radiated noise spectra obtained by phased microphone array measurements.
Evaluating particle hardness of pharmaceutical solids using AFM nanoindentation.

Abstract Understanding mechanical properties of pharmaceutical solids at the submicron scale can be very important to pharmaceutical research & development. In this paper, the hardness of individual particles of various pharmaceutical solids including sucrose, lactose, ascorbic acid, and ibuprofen was quantified using the atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation. Effects of data variation and indentation size or peak load on hardness are evaluated. The results show acceptable reproducibility and indicate that data variation may be primarily from the inhomogeneous nature of the samples. Different extents of indentation size or peak load effect on hardness were observed for the samples. With consideration of both data variation and indentation size effects, the hardness values of different samples were compared at similar contact depths or peak loads. The hardness ranked as: ascorbic acid > sucrose > lactose ≈ ibuprofen, at contact depths from ∼40 to 400 nm or peak loads ranging from ∼16 to 70 μN. Additionally, the potential implication of particle hardness to compact hardness and tableting performance was discussed.
The Dilemma of Case Studies Resolved: The Virtues of Using Case Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science

Philosophers of science turned to historical case studies in part in response to Thomas Kuhn's insistence that such studies can transform the philosophy of science. In this issue Joseph Pitt argues that the power of case studies to instruct us about scientific methodology and epistemology depends on prior philosophical commitments, without which case studies are not philosophically useful. Here I reply to Pitt, demonstrating that case studies, properly deployed, illustrate styles of scientific work and modes of argumentation that are not well handled by currently standard philosophical analyses. I illustrate these claims with exemplary findings from case studies dealing with exploratory experimentation and with interdisciplinary cooperation across sciences to yield multiple independent means of access to theoretical entities. The latter cases provide examples of ways that scientists support claims about theoretical entities that are not available in work performed within a single discipline. They also ill...
The interrelationship between guanosine triphosphatase and amino acid polymerization.

Abstract The purified complement, the G factor of Nishizuka and Lipmann (1), and salt-washed ribosomes were, by themselves, virtually free of guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) activity. By saturation with one component, GTP hydrolysis was linearly dependent upon the amount added of the other. The K m for GTP for the maximally active system was 2 × 10 −6 m , and the K i for guanosine diphosphate was 7.6 × 10 −6 m . Addition of poly U and other polynucleotides and of sRNA stimulated GTPase. The GTPase was inhibited by sulfhydryl-blocking agents. The amino acid polymerization and GTPase functions of the ribosome were dissociated by brief heating to 55 °, which “uncoupled” by abolishing the synthetic but enhancing the hydrolytic effect. The function of GTP in amino acid polymerization is discussed.
Flouting Faith? Religious Hostility and the American Left, 1977-2000

Recent scholarship has outlined and debated theories of a culture war taking place within the United States, with religious traditionalists pitted against nonorthodox religious believers and nonbelievers. Some scholars and commentators contend that the American Left has contributed to this culture war through its hostility toward Americans of faith. This theory, which I call the Irreverent Left thesis, purports that such hostility has caused religious traditionalists to abandon the Democratic Party for the Republican Party, leading to Republican victories in national politics. This article examines whether the Left has become more hostile to religion. Using content analysis of American Left publications— The Nation, In These Times, and Mother Jones— I examine the attitudes of progressive elites from 1977 to 2000. Findings indicate that although the American Left has become more hostile toward religious faith, this hostility is more likely a result of the shifting partisan loyalties than a cause.
Evaluation of bepridil, a new antianginal agent: Clinical and hemodynamic alterations during the treatment of stable angina pectoris

The antianginal effects of bepridil, a new calcium entry blocker, were evaluated in 20 patients with chronic stable angina in a single-blind trial that was placebo-controlled within patients. Of the 20 patients, 13 also underwent rest and exercise gated blood pool scintigraphy to assess the effects of the agent on left ventricular (LV) performance. Mean anginal frequency was significantly reduced, from 7.3 to 3.1 episodes/week (p less than 0.01). Total work performed increased from 410 to 581 kpm (p less than 0.005), and exercise time increased from 5.3 to 6.6 minutes (p less than 0.005). Supine resting LV end-diastolic volume index, end-systolic volume index, stroke volume index, cardiac index and ejection fraction (EF) were not altered by bepridil. During supine exercise, EF decreased from 60 to 55% during placebo therapy. Despite an increase in total work, the mean EF increased from 60 to 62% (p less than 0.05 vs exercise placebo) during exercise with bepridil therapy. Maximal exercise stroke volume index and cardiac index were significantly greater during bepridil therapy. Exercise resulted in new or increased LV wall motion abnormalities in 7 of 13 patients during placebo therapy. During bepridil therapy, only 4 new or increased wall motion abnormalities were noted despite the increase in total work performed. Thus, bepridil is an effective antianginal agent. The drug allows an increase in exercise work load and preserves LV performance.
Measurement of internal strain in cast-concrete structures

A practical method for experimentally measuring strain profiles inside cast-concrete structures is presented. The technique employs micro-embedment strain gages which are oriented along paths of interest inside the structural element prior to casting. Tests of numerous post-tensioned concrete-box-girder anchorage elements, and of large-scale pullout test specimens instrumented with micro-embedment gages have shown good agreement between the measured strains and those predicted by means of detailed finite-element analyses within the linear-elastic region of the material.
Congenital coloboma of the upper eyelid

Summary Three cases of congenital coloboma of the upper eyelid are presented. A method of surgical repair is suggested.
Electric field effects on the structure and dynamics at a liquid | liquid interface

Abstract The structure and dynamics of the water | 1,2-dichloroethane interface under the influence of a static electric field are studied using molecular dynamics computer simulation. By calculating global structural features such as density profiles, interface width, total energies and interfacial tension, we show that the electric field tends to broaden the interface and decrease the surface tension by increasing the amplitude of finger-like distortions without strongly affecting the local microscopic structure or dynamics.
The Effects of a Practice Change in The Umbilical Arterial Catheter Regimen for Less Than 800-Gram Infants.

Background: We have previously demonstrated through a randomized study that in comparison to a hyptonic regimen, an isotonic amino acid (IAA) umbilical arterial catheter (UAC) solution/flush regimen is associated with less hemolysis, improved nutrition and alterations in fluid/electrolyte balance. We hypothesized that the difference in fluid/electrolyte balance was contributed to by differences in renal function in the 2 groups in relation to the generation of plasma free hemoglobin secondary to hemolysis. Since implementation of findings from a controlled study may be met with unpredictable obstacles and results, we have continued to monitor data as the isotonic regimen was introduced into practice.
Cenozoic Expansion of Grasslands and Climatic Cooling

Abstract Mountains, ocean currents, forests, and swamps have played an important role in regulating global climate for hundreds of millions of years, but the truly novel event of the Cenozoic was the evolution and expansion of grasslands, with their uniquely coevolved grasses and grazers. Neogene expansion of the climatic and geographic range of grasslands at the expense of woodlands is now revealed by recent studies of paleosols, fossils, and their stable isotopic compositions. Grasslands and their soils can be considered sinks for atmospheric CO2, CH4, and water vapor, and their Cenozoic evolution a contribution to long‐term global climatic cooling. Grassland soils are richer in organic matter than are woodland and desert soils of comparable climates, and when eroded, their crumb clods form sediment unusually rich in organic matter. Grasslands also promote export of bicarbonate and nutrient cations to lakes and to the oceans where they stimulate productivity and C burial; this increased productivity and...
Some Further Notes on the OCDQ

Although there is some support for the use of the OCDQ in secondary schools, more recent studies of organizational climate have raised doubts as to the validity of the instrument in such a situation—particularly in “large” secondary schools. From his study of 45 “large” secondary schools in New Jersey (mean number of teachers 80; mean student enrollment 1240) the author concludes that (I) the prototypic profile method of designating discrete climates among secondary schools is not useful, (II) the subtests of the OCDQ tap and measure important aspects of the organizational climate of secondary schools.
EVIDENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF INCONSISTENCIES IN OBJECT-ORIENTED DESIGNS

This paper presents a diagnostic framework for assessing the significance of inconsistencies (i.e., violations of consistency rules) in software design models expressed in the Unified Modeling Language (UML). The assessment is based on significance criteria that software designers can specify and associate with specific consistency rules. These criteria define characteristics that the model elements involved in the violation of a rule should have for the inconsistency to be significant, and they are specified in a formal language derived from the Object Constraint Language (OCL). The satisfiability of the criteria by individual model elements is measured by belief functions defined by the framework. The measures generated by these functions are used to rank the inconsistencies caused by different model elements. The presented framework has been evaluated through a set of experiments. The results of these experiments show that criteria definable in the framework can be used to produce relatively elaborate significance-rankings of inconsistencies.
On the origin of globular clusters in elliptical galaxies

Multivariate statistical analysis is used to correlate the estimated total numbers of globular clusters in elliptical galaxies (N sub gc), and the numbers per unit luminosity (S sub N), with a variety of observed properties of the host galaxies. Both N sub gc and S sub N are correlated with the so-called fundamental plane of elliptical galaxies, suggesting that the processes which determine global properties of ellipticals also largely determine their globular cluster content, although a considerable residual scatter remians. The redder (presumably more metal-rich) galaxies were found to have more globular clusters, implying that a dissipative formation mechanism was involved. Galaxies which have more anisotropic velocity distributions were also found to have more clusters, suggesting that mergers may have been important in the production of globular systems.
Optic Nerve Radiation Recall Associated With Prior Pemetrexed

Radiation recall is an inflammatory response which presents in previously radiated tissue after administration of chemotherapy. We present a case of radiation recall involving the bilateral optic nerves after administration of pemetrexed in a patient who received prior whole brain radiation therapy. Optical coherence tomography imaging revealed significant thinning of the retinal nerve fiber layer. This is the first case of central nervous system radiation recall reported in association with pemetrexed. These are also the first published optical coherence tomography images of radiation recall optic neuropathy. J Neurol Res. 2013;3(5):155-158 doi: https://doi.org/10.4021/jnr239e
Analysis of parainfluenza virus-5 hemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein mutants that are blocked in internalization and degradation

The PIV-5 hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein is a multifunctional protein with sialic acid binding, neuraminidase and fusion promotion activity. HN is internalized by clathrin-mediated endocytosis and degraded. HN lacks internalization signals in its cytoplasmic tail but a single glutamic acid present at residue 37 at the putative transmembrane/ectodomain boundary is critical. We rescued rPIV-5 with mutations E37D or E37K, which have been shown to impair or abolish HN internalization, respectively. These viruses exhibited growth properties similar to wild-type (wt) virus but are impaired for fitness in tissue culture. Biochemical analysis of HN activities showed differences between HN E37D and HN E37K in fusion promotion and incorporation of HN and F into virions. Furthermore, oligomeric analyses indicate that HN E37 mutants perturb the tetrameric organization of HN, probably by destabilizing the dimer-of-dimers interface.
Charging colloidal quantum dots by electrochemistry

The combination of electrochemistry and spectroscopy has allowed to establish novel charge induced phenomena in colloidal quantum dots thin films, including tuning the optical bandgap, modifying the fluorescence properties, and achieving conductivity. This is a brief review on the topic of charging colloidal quantum dots by electrochemistry.
Hopping in the electron-transfer photocycle of the 1:1 complex of Zn-cytochrome c peroxidase with cytochrome c.

The physiological electron-transfer (ET) partners, cytochrome c peroxidase (CcP) and cytochrome c (Cc)1, can be modified to exhibit photoinitiated ET through substitution of Zn (or Mg) for Fe in either partner. Laser excitation of the Zn−porphyrin (ZnP) to its triplet excited state (3ZnP) initiates direct heme−heme ET to the ferriheme center of its partner across the protein−protein interface. This photoinitiated ET produces the charge-separated intermediate, I = [ZnP+CcP, Fe2+Cc], with a metalloporphyrin π-cation radical (ZnP+) in the donor protein and a ferroheme acceptor protein. I, in general, is thought to return to the ground state by a thermal ET process that involves direct heme−heme back-ET to complete a simple photocycle. We here contrast intracomplex ET between yeast iso-1 Cc and ZnCcP(WT) (wild-type) with that for two ZnCcP(X) variants: X = W191F, with redox-active W191 replaced by Phe; WYM4, a W191F mutant with further replacement of four other potentially redox-active sites (W51F, Y187F, Y2...
Digital multi-image analysis: application to the quantification of rock microfractography

The microfissuration of a rock sample is analyzed using a multi-image formed of micrographs which were obtained under fluorescence and polarizing microscopy of the same sample area. Image analysis methods are applied to obtain description of each type of picture, one showing the microfissure network and the other the texture of the rock. Descriptions in the form of tables of coordinates are used to quantify the features contained in the pictures. Finally, it is shown that relationships between these descriptions can result in the integration of the available information, providing more knowledge about microfissuration in the sample, including characterization and quantification of microcrack types according to their position with respect to the texture of the rock.
Primary, secondary, and return migration in the United States, 1955–60

Las datos tomados de una tablo especial delcenso de 1960 en la cual se clasifican en forma cruzada lo sestados de nacimiento y de residencia en 1955 y el estado de residencia en 1960, permiten examinar las inferencias relacionadas con el papely las caracteristicas de las migraciones de retorno y su in fluencia en las tasas de migracion neta. Estas inferencias se desarrollan a base de analisis anteriores de las series historicas de las migraciones interestatales durante el periodo comprendido entre 1870 y 1950 y de las estadisticas sobre la migracion bruta durante ciertos periodos recientes. Los nuevos datos, la mayoria de los cuales debe analizarse por divisiones, indican que: 1. Los migrantes primarios (personas que en 1955 residian en su estado de nacimento y en cualquiera otra parte en 1960), forman el grueso de las migraciones interestatales e intraestatales y constituyen el principal elemento determinante de la direccion dominante de los corrientes migratorias. 2. Los migrantes de retorno (personas que en 1955 vivian fuera de su estado de nacimiento, pero que en 1960 residian en el), tienden a moverse en contra de la direccion dominante o prevaleciente de las corrientes migratorias. 3. Las migraciones de retorno constituyen una proporcion mayor de las migraciones de sentido contrario que de las migraciones dominantes. 4. Los migrantes secundarios (personas queen 1955 vivian fuera de su estado de nacimiento y en un estado distinto en 1960), se mueven preponderantemente siguiendo las corrientes migratorias dominantes, pero, al igual que los migrantes de retorno, pesan mas en las migraciones de sentido contrario que en las migraciones dominantes. 5. Los migrantes secundarios y de retorno son mas viejos que los primarios. Un migrante no puede ser un migrante de retorno o un migrante secundario sino deepues de haber sido un migrante primario. 6. Debido a queen conjunto los migrantes de retorno y los migrantes secundarios constituyen una mayor proporcion de las migraciones en sentido contrario que de la migraciones dominantes, las migraciones en sentido contrario presentan una edad media algo mas elevada que las migraciones dominantes y las tasas alcanzan su apice en un grupo de edad mas avanzada, siendo el diferencial de los maximos resultado directo de las migraciones de retorno. 7. La diferencia entre las tasas de migracion dominante y de migracion de retorno, tasas de corriente neta en el sentido de las corrientes dominantes, muestra un maximo acentuado en la edad de movilidad maxima (20–24 anos en 1960) y una depresion en la edad en que las tasas de retorno alcanzan su maximo (25–29 an en 1960).
Pay attention!: designing adaptive agents that monitor and improve user engagement

Embodied agents hold great promise as educational assistants, exercise coaches, and team members in collaborative work. These roles require agents to closely monitor the behavioral, emotional, and mental states of their users and provide appropriate, effective responses. Educational agents, for example, will have to monitor student attention and seek to improve it when student engagement decreases. In this paper, we draw on techniques from brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and knowledge from educational psychology to design adaptive agents that monitor student attention in real time using measurements from electroencephalography (EEG) and recapture diminishing attention levels using verbal and nonverbal cues. An experimental evaluation of our approach showed that an adaptive robotic agent employing behavioral techniques to regain attention during drops in engagement improved student recall abilities 43% over the baseline regardless of student gender and significantly improved female motivation and rapport. Our findings offer guidelines for developing effective adaptive agents, particularly for educational settings.
Determination of metal-hydrogen bond dissociation energies by the deprotonation of transition metal hydride ions: application to MnH +

Abstract ICR trapped ion techniques are used to examine the kinetics of proton transfer from MnH+ (formed as a fragment ion from HMn (CO)5 by electron impact) to bases of varying strength. Deprotonation is rapid with bases whose proton affinity exceeds 196±3 kcal mol−1. This value for PA (Mn) yields the homolytic bond dissociation energy D0(Mn+-H) = 53±5 kcal mol−1.
Pickup oxygen ion velocity space and spatial distribution around Mars

[1] We report a newly created highly parallelized global test particle model for resolving the pickup oxygen ion distribution around Mars. The background magnetic and convection electric fields are calculated using a three-dimensional multispecies magnetohydrodynamic model, which includes the effect of the Martian crustal magnetic field. In addition to photo-ionization, charge exchange collisions and solar wind electron impact ionization are included for the pickup ion generation. The most novel feature of our model is that more than one billion test particles are launched in the simulation domain in total. This corresponds to a profound enhancement by at least 3 orders of magnitude in the total number, compared to all existing test particle models. This substantial improvement enables an unprecedented examination of the pickup ion flux distribution in velocity space, which is not achievable in previous simulation studies due to the insufficient statistics arising from the limited number of test particles. Using the velocity space distribution of pickup O + ions as a tool, the Mars-solar wind interaction can be investigated in a unique way. It is shown that the velocity space distribution is highly non-Maxwellian, exhibiting non-gyrotropic and non-symmetric distributions, including many beam-like features. In the tail region, pickup ions have a prominent outflowing component in the whole energy range. The energy examination of particles traveling across the tail region shows that the acceleration highly depends on the source region where the particles originate. The strong convection electric field in the magnetosheath region is favorable to the pickup ion acceleration.
Central effects of adenosine analogs on locomotor activity in mice and antagonism of caffeine.

Abstract Mice implanted with chronic indwelling cannulas were injected in the lateral cerebral ventricle with a series of adenosine analogs and the effects on spontaneous locomotor activity were recorded. All analogs produced dose-related decreases in locomotor activity. The relative order of potency for locomotor depression was: NECA > l -PIA > CADO > d -PIA. Caffeine at the lowest dose produced a significant decrease in locomotor activity. At higher doses caffeine had no effect on locomotor activity but it did antagonize the depressant effects of NECA, a finding consistent with the notion that the central stimulant action of methylxanthines is due to their antagonism of central adenosine receptors.
Streamlined approach to creating yeast artificial chromosome libraries from specialized cell sources.

Abstract The study of tumor-specific chromosomal abnormalities has been severely impeded by an inability to link cytogenetic to molecular data. Restriction fragment length polymorphism mapping of any particular chromosomal rearrangement to the resolution limit of genetic methodology generates sets of probes that frequently are still too widely spaced to render the rearrangement breakpoints accessible to molecular isolation. The stable propagation of genomic fragments of up to one million base pairs in size as yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) represents an important development in this regard. However, existing YAC libraries have been made from karyotypically normal sources making the localization and cloning of specific rearrangement breakpoints much more difficult. As a solution to this problem, we present an improved method for creating YAC libraries that can utilize specialized tumor-derived materials and that can be executed effectively in a small laboratory setting. Procedures that enabled more consistent DNA insert size selection and enhanced yeast transformation frequency were employed to generate a human YAC library from a neuroepithelioma cell line containing a characteristic t(11;22) chromosomal translocation. Approximately 40,000 colonies with an average insert size of 330 kilobase pairs were created. This library was screened with two single-copy probes that bracket the translocation breakpoint. YAC clones ranging from 370 to 550 kilobase pairs that were specific for each single-copy probe were identified. Specialized YAC libraries will make many more tumor-specific chromosomal abnormalities accessible to molecular isolation.
Orientational dependence of trimethyl ammonium signal in human muscles by 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging

1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) was used to investigate the effect of orientation on spectral characteristics of trimethyl ammonium (TMA) in human muscle at rest. Four different muscles in the healthy calf were studied: soleus, gastrocnemius, tibial posterior and anterior. The data demonstrate that muscle orientation can profoundly change apparent spectral characteristics of proton metabolites. In particular, muscle orientation can cause concerted changes in the spectral pattern of TMA/methyl (tCr) and methylene (Cr2) protons of creatine for a given muscle, a switch of TMA/tCr spectral patterns among different muscles and changes in the T2 of TMA. A significant correlation was detected between TMA/tCr peaks and the Cr2 peak splitting (r=.62, P<.001). In vivo 1H MRSI has the potential to simultaneously evaluate the orientation of muscle fibers and biochemical changes induced by a disease process or physiological activity.
Neurohumoral control of ionic pumping in molluscan muscle. II: Evidence for an electrogenic sodium pump in radular protractor muscle of Busycon canaliculatum

Abstract 1. A sucrose gap technique was used to study the effects of brief periods of superfusion with solutions in which the potassium content of artificial sea water was reduced or omitted. 2. Stepwise reduction in bath potassium had a complex effect, culminating in the response to potassium-free solution. This was composed of a rapid initial hyperpolarizing phase, overtaken by a slower depolarizing phase, which was accompanied by force. 3. Readmission of bath potassium induced a transient after-hyperpolarization. 4. There was a high degree of individual variability in RPM preparations from different animals. This was particularly evident in cases in which either the hyperpolarizing phase or the depolarizing phase predominated, in the response to zero-potassium, but the muscles from any one animal showed reproducible responses. 5. The RPM behaved as predicted on Nernst equation grounds, to the extent that initial hyperpolarization showed stepwise increases with stepwise reduction in [K + ] 0 , but as the steps approached zero-potassium there was a stepwise increase in the slower depolarizing response, suggesting reduction in electrogenic Na-K exchange. 6. In Na-free solution the depolarizing phase of the response to zero-K was abolished, leaving only an enhanced hyperpolarizing phase. 7. Abrupt chilling had a depolarizing effect. 8. There was only a slight increase in resistance during the action of zero K.
Digital fruit ripening: Data mining in the TIGR tomato gene index

Many sequences of genes now are contained in databases available to the public. These databases will be the foundation and starting points of research in the future. Extracting information from these databases is useful to all forms of genetic, biochemical, and molecular biological research. We are interested in improving the nutrition of the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) through an understanding of the fundamentals of the molecular biological and biochemical processes that occur during tomato fruit development. The TIGR Tomato Gene Index has been of much use to our laboratory in determining new areas of molecular analysis for this research. We have examined this database for genes involved in ripening by using the nucleic acid and protein sequence searching software, BLAST, and by comparing gene expression information contained within the database. In this article, we report a number of previously unobserved genes that possibly are involved in tomato fruit development. Transcripts for MADS Box genes, zinc-finger genes, homeobox genes, and polycomb genes are among the transcripts that reveal upregulation during tomato fruit ripening. We believe that the information contained in this article will be valuable in considering approaches to analyzing the developmental processes involved in tomato fruit ripening.
Genetic evaluation of American minority pediatric cochlear implant recipients

Summary Objective To review the results of genetic evaluation of American minority pediatric cochlear implant recipients over a 5-year period. Methods Case series review of pediatric cochlear implant recipients of Caribbean Hispanic and African American admixture descent with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss at a tertiary care children's hospital. Results Out of 28 patients receiving cochlear implants, 14 were of Caribbean Hispanic or African American admixture ancestry. Six (43%) had environmental risk factors for sensorineural hearing loss. Eight (57%) patients had presumed genetic sensorineural hearing loss; two of whom were syndromic and six non-syndromic. Patients with no clear etiology for hearing loss were tested for Gap Junction Beta 2 (GJB2) mutations. Within this admixture group, we found no biallelic mutations in GJB2, while two patients, both with environmental risk factors for sensorineural hearing loss, had monoallelic GJB2 variants. One patient of mixed ethnicity (Caribbean Hispanic, Turkish, Macedonian), not included as part of the 14, had the common Caucasian founder mutation, 35delG, along with a heterozygous polymorphism in the GJB2 gene. This extends previous data showing a paucity of GJB2 mutations in these admixture populations. Conclusions We found no biallelic GJB2 mutations in our admixture cochlear implant population, and two sequence variants of the gene, only one of which was disease causing. This suggests that the incidence of GJB2 mutations in these admixture populations is low. Hence, there may be low cost–benefit of GJB2 mutation analysis in these admixture populations with severe to profound non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss.
WHY COOPERATE? PUBLIC GOODS, ECONOMIC POWER, AND THE MONTREAL PROTOCOL

This paper develops a correlated probit model to describe dichotomous choices that may contain a public-goods component or some other forms of interdependency. The key contribution of the paper is to formulate tests for interdependent behavior among agents. In particular, we examine the decisions by nations whether or not to ratify the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Specifically, we reject free riding as a motive for not ratifying the Protocol, and we find little evidence that individual nations were influenced by the behavior of their largest trading partners. Hence, the data suggest that, with respect to the Montreal Protocol, most nations acted without regard for the actions of other nations.
Interplay between molecular conformation and intermolecular interactions in conformational polymorphism: A molecular perspective from electronic calculations of tolfenamic acid

Tolfenamic acid exhibits conformational polymorphism. The molecules in its two commonly occurred crystal structures form similar hydrogen-bonded dimers but differ in conformation. The conformational variance was analyzed by electronic calculation methods with the aim to unravel intrinsic connection between the conformational flexibility and intermolecular interactions in the polymorphs. The study was conducted mainly by conceptual density functional theory (DFT) and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. It is found that the conformational polymorphism is resulted from the energy competition between intramolecular π-conjugation and intermolecular hydrogen bonding. By adapting conformation that departs from being the most energetically stable, tolfenamic acid molecules can strengthen the intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions in the crystals. The study illustrates how the molecule's electronic properties are influenced by conformational variation and, inherently, how the intermolecular interactions become regulated. Moreover, understanding molecular interaction and crystal packing necessitates electronic structure calculation and analysis, which can be further facilitated by utilizing DFT and NBO concepts.
Synthesis of tritium labelled 7-dehydrocholesterol 5β,6β-oxide

We report the synthesis of tritiated 7-dehydrocholesterol 5β,6β-oxide in high specific activity. Oxidation of 7α-bromo-cholesterol 5β,6β-oxide to the 3-keto epoxide followed by borotritide reduction, in a special buffer-organic solvent system to minimize undesired rearrangement, regenerated the 3β-hydroxyl group. Base-assisted elimination produced the title compound.
Effects of strain cycling on buckling, cracking and spalling of a thermally grown alumina on a nickel-based bond coat

Abstract Strain cycling has been used to study various events that occur in association with an alumina thin layer thermally grown on a Ni-based bond coat. There are three main findings. (i) Buckles propagate with a growth per cycle suggestive of effects of cycling on the friction acting at the separated interfaces. (ii) Cracking of the thermally grown oxide (TGO) occurs within buckles having high ellipticity, subject to a flexural strength typical of fine-grained Al 2 O 3 , with small stressed volume. Such cracking has implications for oxygen ingress and rapid degradation. (iii) Spalling occurs preferentially in those buckles that previously crack. The measurements are analyzed using the mechanics of buckle propagation, bending and kinking.
Ensemble-representable reduced density matrices suggested by the Xα transition state

Abstract The transition state for the calculation of excitation energies in the Xα method is considered in terms of the exact reduced density matrices. It is shown that the occupation numbers which define the transition state correspond, in the exact case, not to a configuration interaction but to an ensemble of two single determinants.
INCREASING PARENT INVOLVEMENT KNOWLEDGE AND STRATEGIES AT THE PRESERVICE LEVEL: THE POWER IN USING A SYSTEMATIC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT APPROACH

This study describes various strategies used by a university educator to integrate parent involvement curriculum into pre-existing teacher preparation courses. This curriculum infusion was not only effective in increasing preservice teacher knowledge but also in raising course instructors' level of awareness about the importance and necessity of parent involvement in student learning.