cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Non-equilibrium isotopic and elemental fractionation during diffusion-controlled crystal growth under static and dynamic conditions

Abstract Rapid crystal growth can lead to disequilibrium uptake of growth-medium components whose diffusivities limit their dispersal near an advancing crystal interface. The recent documentation of an isotope mass effect on diffusion raises the possibility that even isotope ratios in crystals may be subject to this effect. Building upon existing 1-dimensional treatments, we describe a numerical modeling approach in which a spherical grain grows at the center of an infinite spherical medium of predetermined composition. Local equilibrium at the interface between the crystal and the growth medium is assumed, but the concentration of the species of interest in the growth medium is allowed to vary near the interface as a consequence of slow diffusion combined with rejection from (or incorporation within) the growing crystal. The disequilibrium uptake of elements and isotopes depends upon the ratio of crystal growth rate (R) to diffusivity in the growth medium (D). Conditions of fast mineral growth in a viscous magma—e.g., in lava lakes or small igneous bodies—result in accumulation of elements with K > 1) near the growing mineral interface, forming a compositional boundary layer in the growth medium. In a static system, the magnitude of this compositional perturbation depends critically upon the diffusivity of the element or isotope of interest in the growth medium. If the system is dynamic—i.e., experiencing free or forced convection—then the vigor of convection also affects behavior. Significant fractionation of elements and isotopes is predicted to occur within the boundary layer during progressive crystal growth because diffusion rates of individual elements vary with size and charge and those of isotopes of the same element depend on their masses. Local equilibrium at the interface between the crystal and its growth medium means that a fast-growing crystal will record this fractionation in its resulting radial concentration profile. If the boundary-layer thickness, BL, is small (say, δ ( ‰ ) = 1000 ⋅ ( 1 − D A D B ) ⋅ ( R ⋅ B L D A ) ⋅ ( 1 − K ) , where DA and DB are the diffusivities of the faster and slower species in the growth medium and δ is the deviation from the equilibrium isotope ratio in parts per thousand. For isotopes of a single element, DA and DB will generally differ by
Developmental morphology of calcium oxalate foreign body stones in rats

Calcium oxalate bladder stones were induced in male rats by implanting plastic foreign bodies and by adding ethylene glycol to their drinking water. The foreign body surface was first coated with cellular debris and some amorphous material. Encrustation with crystals of calcium oxalate started on the third day of implantation. Within 2 weeks the entire surface of a foreign body was covered with crystals and some noncrystalline material. Calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals consisted of platelike crystallites arranged in hemispherulitic or spherulitic habit. Calcium oxalate dihydrate crystals were basically dipyramidal, a majority of them showing interpenetrant twinning. The stone grew by confluent crystal growth and crystal aggregation. A transformation of calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals to calcium oxalate dihydrate also occurred. The matrix consisting of cellular debris and urinary macromolecules was universally distributed in the stone including the inside of crystal bodies.
Notes on the second international workshop on development and evolution of software architectures for product families

Abstract : In February 1998, the European Architectural Reasoning for Embedded Software (ARES) project sponsored the Second International Workshop on Development and Evolution of Software Architectures for Product Families. The workshop brought together practitioners and academics from Europe and the United States who are working in the area of software product families; that is, the production of related software systems from a common set of core assets. Chief among those assets is a shared software and/or system architecture. This workshop explored problems of architecture creation, description, evaluation, recovery, and architecture-based process in the context of building a product family. This report summarizes the discussions and outcomes of the workshop.
Learning to live with patency of the ductus arteriosus in preterm infants

Treatment of persistent patency of the ductus arteriosus in preterm infants remains heterogeneous and controversial. Routine early treatment to induce ductal closure is not beneficial, but the potential criteria for, timing of, methods for and benefits of later ductal closure have not been determined. Management strategies for infants awaiting spontaneous closure or meeting criteria for treatment may be based on pathophysiological considerations but require evaluation in clinical trials. Better diagnostic tools allowing the identification of infants who might benefit from ductal closure, supplemented by data from clinical trials confirming realization of that potential, are urgently needed.
Manipulating two-spin coherences and qubit pairs

A compact derivation is given for propagators of a wide class of time-dependent Hamiltonians that describe coupled spin (``qubit'') pairs. As many as eight of the 16 operators in the system, each with its own time-dependent coefficient, can be handled with no more difficulty than a single spin in a magnetic field. A single first-order (in time), quadratically nonlinear differential equation for a classical function is the only nontrivial ingredient in constructing the full quantum propagator for a wide variety of magnetic coherences and qubit interactions.
Conserving Conservation: Field Notes from an Animal Archive

In 1997 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) opened a museum, archive, and history office at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. FWS staff have tried simultaneously to chronicle the history of the agency in an education program and a new archive/museum. Working with artifacts from the history of wildlife biology has reinforced the connections between conserving creatures and conserving history. Both the history of the FWS and the value in sharing this history are slowly coming into focus.
Perceived Sexual-Orientation-Based Harassment in Military and Civilian Contexts

The Office of the Inspector General's (2000) Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue Survey was the Department of Defense's first assessment of perceived sexual-orientation-based harassment in the mili...
The independent and combined risk of diabetes and non-endstage renal impairment in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes

Abstract Objectives To assess the effect of renal impairment (RI) and diabetes (DM) on outcomes in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS). Methods Data were pooled from 13,126 patients in five NSTE-ACS TIMI trials (TIMI 11A and B, TIMI 12, OPUS-TIMI 16, and TACTICS-TIMI 18). Patients were divided based on DM status and RI (none, mild, or moderate if the glomerular filtration rate (GFR, ml/min/1.73 m 2 ) was ≥90, 60–89 and 30–59 respectively). Results Patients with DM and moderate RI ( n =609) were older and had more prior MI ( p n =3,832), the 12-month adjusted risks of death, MI, and death/MI increased with advancing RI and were highest with DM and moderate RI (H.R. 1.7, (1.2–2.4), p =0.002; H.R. 2.0 (1.5–2.6), p p p =0.06, H.R. 1.4 (1.1–1.8), p =0.006 and H.R. 1.3 (1.1–1.7), p =0.007 respectively) but not with 1) mild or moderate RI without DM or 2) DM without RI. The interaction terms for RI and DM in their association with MI and death/MI were significant. Conclusions In the absence of DM, RI and in the absence of RI, DM did not increase the risk of MI or death/MI. However, the combination of RI and DM was associated with a particularly high risk of MI and death/MI suggesting that attention to preserving renal function may be of particular benefit for reducing cardiovascular risk in diabetic patients.
Pre-analytical stability of adrenocorticotrophic hormone from healthy horses in whole blood, plasma and frozen plasma samples

Abstract The stability of equine adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) in blood samples is not fully known. The study objectives were to determine ACTH stability (1) in whole blood and plasma over 72 h at either 4 or 21 °C, and (2) in plasma frozen at either −20 or −80 °C over 30 days. Nine horses were sampled and ACTH concentration were measured after storage as whole blood or plasma, at 4, 21, −20 and −80 °C for up to 30 days. The ACTH concentration was significantly reduced at 24 h but remained stable when plasma was frozen at −20 and −80 °C for 30 days. Beyond 24 h, samples stored at 21 °C showed a greater reduction in ACTH concentrations than those stored at 4 °C. Therefore, samples can be stored for 8 h without centrifugation, or frozen for 30 days without appreciable reductions in ACTH concentrations.
Global airline networks and nodal regions

Transportation infrastructure has always played an important role in the economic fate of regions. In particular, airline networks have dramati- cally decreased the geographic and temporal constraints of moving people, goods and information; all of which are increasingly crucial inputs for the information economy. As a result, regions have become more concerned with both the quantity and quality of airline connections. The purpose of this paper is to examine the emerging global hierarchy of airline network connectivity. Using a proprietary database of nearly 900 airline carrier schedules from 2006, we examine regional connectivity between 4,650 worldwide origins and destinations. Through the use of network analysis and graph theoretical techniques, results indicate an increasingly complex web of nodal hierarchies in North America, Europe and Asia.
Comments on “The absence of genotypic diversity in a successful parthenogenetic invader” by Mark Dybdahl and Devin Drown [Biological Invasions 13 (2011), 1663–1672]

We contend that a recent study of microsatellite variation in invasive populations of the New Zealand mudsnail in the United States (Dybdahl and Drown 2011) underestimated genotypic diversity because it inappropriately focused on allelic size ranges that were previously documented for (invasive) British populations. The authors ignored peaks that were “far outside” of these size ranges, thus precluding recognition of additional alleles, including those that have been reported in other populations of this species. We are also concerned about the lack of reproducibility in the scoring methods utilized because the authors did not define a threshold for deciding when peaks should be ignored. The extent to which genotypic diversity consequently has been underestimated and otherwise inaccurately described cannot be ascertained based on the data provided in this study.
In vitro characterization of human salivary lubrication

The friction coefficients for parotid and submandibular-sublingual salivas of 7 subjects were measured. At the load and speeds used, the lubricatory properties of the secretions followed the McKee-Petroff's curve. The friction coefficients for both secretions approximated those reported for boundary and thin film lubrication.
Evaluation of reconstruction accuracy of cone beam volume CT breast imaging for different scanning orbits

Conventional screen film mammography is the most effective tool for the early detection of breast cancer currently available. However, conventional mammography has relatively low sensitivity for detecting small breast cancers (under several millimeters). Specificity and the positive predictive value of mammography remain limited owing to an overlap in the appearance of benign and malignant lesions, and surrounding structure. We propose to address the limitations accompanying conventional mammography by incorporating a cone beam volume CT (CBVCT) reconstruction technique with a recently developed flat panel detector. In this study, we present the results obtained from a computer simulation study and a breast-imaging phantom experimental study to find out the reconstruction accuracy of different cone beam volume scanning orbits for CBVCTBI, and to determine if different partial scan protocols (less than 360°) are appropriate for breast cancer detection. Three types of CBVCTBI scanning orbits were simulated using an uncompressed breast phantom. The reconstruction accuracy was evaluated as a function of different scanning orbits assuming reconstruction with 360° was the gold standard. The results indicate that with 180° plus cone angle orbit, the reconstruction error is below 4% that is in the acceptable range. In addition, a preliminary phantom study using both 360° and 180° plus cone angle orbits, was conducted on the current flat panel detector-based CBVCT prototype scanner. The companion CBVCT reconstruction images of an uncompressed breast-image phantom are presented.
Background Correction in Multicomponent Spectroscopic Analysis Using Target Transformation Factor Analysis

A principal components regression (PCR) is used to construct a calibration matrix for multicomponent spectroscopic analysis which corrects for background absorption due to variable concentrations of unknown species in a sample matrix. Mixed standards are used in the method, and spectra of the pure background components are not needed. The background correction capability of the method is demonstrated with the use of the UV spectra of aqueous standards prepared from cobalt (II) nitrate and nickel (II) nitrate. Known concentrations of chromium (III) nitrate were added to simulate a background which gave rise to relative concentration errors as high as 70% without the background correction capabilities of the method. With the background correction capabilities of the method, the relative concentration errors were reduced to less than one percent. Preliminary results are presented from an application of PCR to determine the concentration of two active ingredients in a pharmaceutical product in the presence of weakly absorbing tablet excipient materials.
Experimental Determination of the Disintegration Curve of Mesotrons

The disintegration curve of mesotrons has been experimentally determined by investigating the delayed emission of disintegration electrons which takes place after the absorption of mesotrons by matter. Within the experimental errors, the disintegration curve is exponential and corresponds to a mean lifetime of 2.3\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2 microseconds.
Nonlinear Schrödinger and korteweg-de Vries are reductions of self-dual Yang-Mills

Abstract The nonlinear Schrodinger (NS) and KdV equations are shown to be reductions of the self-dual Yang-Mills (SDYM) equations. A correspondence between solutions of the NS and KdV equations and certain holomorphic vector bundles on a complex line bundle over the Riemann sphere is derived from Ward's SDYM twistor correspondence. Remarkably the twistor correspondence generalizes to the NS and KdV hierarchies when complex line bundles of higher Chern class are used. We discuss solitons and inverse scattering.
Reactions of hydrogen vermiculite

Abstract Single crystals of hydrogen vermiculite were synthesized at room temperature by ion-exchange from Na-vermiculite using 1 molar acetic acid for one week. The protonic transference number has been determined as unity in concentration cells. The protonic species in the interlayer region can undergo acid-base reactions as well as ion exchange reactions. Amines such as aniline and pyrrole can be readily intercalated and in the presence of oxidizing cations as Cu 2+ will undergo polymerization even in large single crystals.
Structure of an Aspergillus fumigatus old yellow enzyme (EasA) involved in ergot alkaloid biosynthesis.

The Aspergillus fumigatus old yellow enzyme (OYE) EasA reduces chano­clavine-I aldehyde to dihydrochanoclavine aldehyde and works in conjunction with festuclavine synthase at the branchpoint for ergot alkaloid pathways. The crystal structure of the FMN-loaded EasA was determined to 1.8 A resolution. The active-site amino acids of OYE are conserved, supporting a similar mechanism for reduction of the α/β-unsaturated aldehyde. The C-terminal tail of one monomer packs into the active site of a monomer in the next asymmetric unit, which is most likely to be a crystallization artifact and not a mechanism of self-regulation.
A phototriggered molecular spring for aerobic catalytic oxidation reactions.

The first catalytic oxidation reactions with cofacial bisporphyrins using molecular oxygen as the terminal oxidant are presented. The photocatalytic reactions proceed under mild conditions (ambient...
Mutation of chloroplasts in ageratum, following treatment with 5-bromodeoxyuridine

Abstract Observations with the electron microscope were made on sections of leaves of the M 5 generation of Ageratum plants whose ancestral seeds had been incubated for 18 hr in 0.01 M 5-bromodeoxyuridine. Severe defects in chloroplast structure were observed in some cells, while in other cells the chloroplasts appeared normal. Within a single cell a variety of degrees of imperfection in chloroplast structure was present. The electron microscopic picture could be correlated with the finding of chlorophyll-deficient mottling of leaves in the descendants of the 5-bromodeoxyuridine treated seeds. These lesions were not observed in control plants. It appears that 5-bromodeoxyuridine has induced mutations in the genetic machinery involved in chloroplast development. Thus in a higher plant transition of bases and possibly other alterations in the DNA molecule set off a chain of events which, in subsequent generations, results in persistent damage to steps involved in construction of chloroplasts.
Potential Health and Economic Consequences of Misplaced Priorities

Northfield, Ill: College of American Pathologists; 2006. 19. Hsu J, Price M, Huang J, et al. Unintended consequences of caps on Medicare drug benefits. N Engl J Med. 2006;354:2349-2359. 20. Brown AF, Gregg EW, Stevens MR, et al. Race, ethnicity, socioeconomic position, and quality of care for adults with diabetes enrolled in managed care: the Translating Research Into Action for Diabetes (TRIAD) study. Diabetes Care. 2005; 28:2864-2870. 21. Huang ES, Shook M, Jin L, Chin MH, Meltzer DO. The impact of patient preferences on the cost-effectiveness of intensive glucose control in older patients with new-onset diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2006;29:259-264. 22. National Committee for Quality Assurance. Bridges to Excellence. http://www .bridgestoexcellence.org/physicians/dcl.htm. Accessed November 12, 2006. 23. Vijan S, Hofer TP, Hayward RA. Estimated benefits of glycemic control in microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes. Ann Intern Med. 1997;127:788795. 24. Pogach LM, Rajan M, Aron DC. Comparison of weighted performance measurement and dichotomous thresholds for glycemic control in the Veterans Health Administration. Diabetes Care. 2006;29:241-246. 25. Engelgau MM. Trying to predict the future for people with diabetes: a tough but important task. Ann Intern Med. 2005;143:301-302.
Elimination of direct derivative along source trajectory for accurate image reconstruction in helical cone-beam CT

An important breakthrough in helical cone-beam reconstruction is the development of Katsevich's algorithms, which appear to have numerous advantages over the algorithms developed previously. The original algorithm proposed by Katsevich has a simple form and requires only once the computation of the data filtering. It, however, invokes a derivative of the data function with respect to the rotation angle along the helical trajectory and thus makes the algorithm numerically susceptible to the sample aliasing along the helical trajectory. A modified version of the algorithm later developed by Katsevich that avoids the explicit computation of the derivative of the data function along the helical trajectory. However, this modified algorithm contains more terms than does the original algorithm and involves two different filtering of the data function. Therefore, this modified algorithm is computationally more complex and demanding than does the original Katsevich's algorithm. In this work, based upon the original Katsevich's algorithm, we present a new algorithm that not only avoids explicit computation of the derivative of the data function along the helical trajectory but also requires only one filtering of the data function. Therefore, in general, our algorithm is quantitatively more accurate than the original Katsevich's algorithm and is computationally more efficient than the modified Katsevich's algorithm.
Comparative immunochemical behavior of acid polysaccharides of Cryptococcus laurentii, Tremella mesenterica and of oxidized cellulose with a type II antipneumococcal serum

Abstract The immunochemical behavior of native and partially dexylosylated glucuronic acid-containing polysaccharides of Cryptococcus laurentii (NRRL Y-1401) and of haploid cells of Tremella mesenterica (Y-6151) was examined with Type II anti-pneumococcal horse serum. Cryptococcal polysaccharide and its derivatives cross reacted while the corresponding Tremella preparations did not. The specificity of cross reactive antibodies precipitating with C. laurentii polysaccharide and oxidized cellulose (Oxycel) was examined by quantitative hapten inhibition and compared with the homologous S II-anti-S II system. Differences were found in the relative ability of sodium glucuronate and p-nitrophenyl-β- d -glucuronide to inhibit precipitation of anti-S II antibodies of C. laurentii, Oxycel and Type II pneumococcal polysaccharide.
The Editor in Chief Position in Transition

This issue marks the assumption of Edward A. Fisher as editor in chief of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology . Ed has been an associate editor under Mark Taubman, who has put in a productive 4 years as editor in chief but whose recent appointment as dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry and university vice president for health sciences of the University of Rochester Medical Center has made …
Automatic check synchronizing equipment using static relaying principles

The paper describes circuit arrangements for automatic check synchronizing equipment using static relaying principles which have already been used with success in the field of protective gear. Existing commercial equipment is not entirely static, nor is any attempt being made so far to utilize the properties of transistors in this particular field. It is shown in the paper that all the necessary functions of voltage regulation, phase and slip measuements can be carried out successfully using these elements and principles. The paper includes representative test results and a summary of performance.
The polyoma virus T antigen interferes with interferon-inducible gene expression.

Murine polyoma virus (MPyV) is a small DNA virus that induces tumors in multiple tissues of infected host. In this investigation, we show that cell lines derived from wild type virus-induced breast tumors are resistant to the growth inhibitory action of interferon β (IFN-β). Furthermore, replication of heterologous viruses such as vesicular stomatitis virus and encephalomyocarditis virus was not inhibited by IFN-β in these cells. This effect was due to inhibition of IFN-stimulated gene expression by viral T antigen. Activation of IFN-stimulated gene factor 3 was inhibited in cells derived from a tumor induced by wild-type MPyV but not those from a mutant that lacks the pRB binding site of the large T antigen. Similarly IFN-γ-inducible gene expression was also inhibited in cells transformed by wild-type virus. The levels of components of IFN-stimulated gene factor 3 and signal transducing Janus tyrosine kinases were comparable between the cells transformed by the wild-type and mutant viruses. The viral large T antigen bound to Janus tyrosine kinase 1 and inactivated signaling through IFN receptors. Thus, these studies identify a mechanism of viral resistance to IFN action.
Health Care Sharing Ministries and Their Exemption From the Individual Mandate of the Affordable Care Act.

The U.S. 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) exempts members of health care sharing ministries (HCSMs) from the individual mandate to have minimum essential insurance coverage. Little is generally known about these religious organizations and even less critical attention has been brought to bear on them and their ACA exemption. Both deserve close scrutiny due to the exemption’s less than clear legislative justification, their potential influence on the ACA’s policy and ethical success, and their salience to current religious liberty debates surrounding the expansion of religious exemptions from ACA responsibilities for both individuals and corporations. Analyzing documents of the United States’ three largest health care sharing ministries and related material, I examine these organizations and their ACA exemption with particular consideration of their ethical dimensions. Here a thick description of the nature and workings of health care sharing ministries precedes a similar account of the ACA exemption. From these empirical analyses, five ethical and policy concerns emerge: (1) the charity versus insurance status of these ministries; (2) the conflation of two ACA religious exemptions; (3) the tension between the values of religious liberty and of justice; (4) the potential undermining of ACA policy goals; and (5) the questionable compliance of health care sharing ministries with ACA exemption requirements. An accurate and informed understanding of HCSMs is required for policymakers and others to justify the ACA exemption of health care sharing ministry members. A sufficient justification would address at least the five ethical and policy concerns raised here.
Galvanic Cells and the Determination of Equilibrium Constants

Readily assembled mini-galvanic cells can be employed to compare their observed voltages with those predicted from the Nernst equation and to determine solubility products for silver halides and overall formation constants for metal–ammonia complexes. Results obtained by students in both an honors-level first-year course in general chemistry and an intermediate-level course for students majoring in chemistry, biochemistry, and biology agree well with data reported in the literature. In addition, these mini-galvanic cells can be used as concentration cells, together with a computer-generated calibration curve based on the Nernst equation, to determine the silver ion concentration in a dilute unknown solution of silver nitrate.
The relationships of Coastal Ndau to the Shona dialects of the interior

(1972). The relationships of Coastal Ndau to the Shona dialects of the interior. African Studies: Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 111-138.
A generalized Eulerian two=surface cyclic plasticity model for finite strains

A cyclic theory of plasticity is formulated for finite deformation in the Eulerian reference system. A new kinematic hardening rule is proposed based on the experimental observations made by Phillips et al. [11]–[15]. The Tseng-Lee model [9] is also obtained as a special case of the proposed model.
Role of divalent cations on deposition of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts on natural organic matter surfaces.

A Radial Stagnation Point Flow (RSPF) system coupled with a microscope was used to study deposition of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts on quartz and Suwannee River Natural Organic Matter (SRNOM)-coated surfaces in solutions with different Ca2+ or Mg2+ concentrations. Both untreated and proteinase K-treated oocysts were used. Deposition of oocysts on a SRNOM surface in Ca2+ solution was higher than in Mg2+ solution, even though the energy barriers calculated from Derjaguin−Landau−Verwey−Overbeek (DLVO) theory for Ca2+ solution were higher than for Mg2+ solution. On the other hand, the attachment of oocysts on a quartz surface was the same in both Ca2+ and Mg2+ solution and in qualitative agreement with the DLVO energy profiles. Inductive coupled plasma (ICP) was employed to measure the free divalent cation concentration in solutions containing oocysts. ICP data showed more Ca2+ bound to oocyst surface than Mg2+. Moreover, proteinase K treatment of oocysts led to a significant decrease in deposition rate due...
Novel tetrahydro-β-carboline-1-carboxylic acids as inhibitors of mitogen activated protein kinase-activated protein kinase 2 (MK-2)

A structure-activity relationship study was conducted on a series of tetrahydro-beta-carboline-1-carboxylic acid analogs in order to identify the key functionality responsible for activity against the mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated protein kinase 2 enzyme (MK-2). The compounds were further evaluated for their ability to inhibit TNFalpha production in U937 cells and in vivo. These compounds represent a novel structural class of compounds capable of inhibiting MK-2 with remarkable selectivity.
Seasonal variations in fatty acids of a migratory bird with and without a controlled diet

Abstract 1. 1. Seasonal changes in carcass fatty acids occurred in free-living migratory white-crowned sparrows. Particularly noticeable was an increase in myristic acid and a decrease in linoleic acid at the time the birds were exhibiting premigratory fattening. This was probably due to a seasonal shift in diet from seeds to insects, particularly to hemipterans. 2. 2. Captives fed a constant diet did not show fluctuations in their fatty acids during the season. 3. 3. It seems likely that most seasonal changes in depot fatty acids are due to diet but there are indications that some fatty acids are preferentially stored or synthesized.
A three-dimensional transient model to predict interfacial phenomena during chemical mechanical polishing using computational fluid dynamics

Interfacial phenomena between the wafer and the polishing pad during chemical mechanical polishing are an area of great interest as they affect post-chemical mechanical polishing wafer topographies. Traditionally, the Reynolds equation has been used to predict the fluid pressure between the wafer and the polishing pad. However, with computational fluid dynamics it is possible to predict the fluid pressure and obtain insight into the fluid motion at the leading edge and trailing edge of the wafer. Additionally, computational fluid dynamics allows for the added ability to increase the resolution of the fluid physics to the asperity scale. In this study, a model is developed to predict phenomena related to mixed lubrication chemical mechanical polishing using computational fluid dynamics. Contact mechanics between the wafer and the pad are resolved through a Winkler elastic foundation formulation. The wafer is mounted on a ball joint which allows free rotation to occur. Friction between the wafer and the pol...
Response of grain sorghum to enhanced-ammonium supply

Two greenhouse experiments were conducted to examine the effects of increased levels of soil NH4+ on the growth and yield of grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench). Nitrogen was supplied as urea plus the nitrification inhibitor nitrapyrin (enhanced-NH4+ supply) or as a 4∶1 molar ratio of CA(NO3)2 and Mg(NO3)2 at rates of 0 to 450 mg N kg−1 soil in 37.5 mg N increments. Enhanced-NH4+ supply, in comparison to the NO3 treatment, increased grain yield 15 and 18% in the two experiments. In one experiment this yield increase occurred through increased number of kernels and in a second experiment, through increased weight of kernels. During the first 28 days after plant emergence, the number of leaves, stalk width, plant weight, and plant N content were greater with enhanced-NH4+ supply than with NO3−. However, at harvest total plant weight and plant N content were minimally affected by enhanced-NH4+ supply.
General electromechanical reciprocity relations applied to the calculation of elastic wave scattering coefficients

Abstract General electromechanical reciprocity relations are applied to the calculation of elastic wave scattering coefficients observed at the electrical terminals of the transducer used in performing an experiment. Both direct backscatter and two transducer geometries are considered. The general formulation is applicable to anisotropic media, but is applied as an example to Rayleigh wave scattering from a surface-breaking crack on an isotropic substrate. This method of analysis is applicable to both the Born and quasistatic approximations and is valid for bulk, Rayleigh and plate wave transducers using any single transduction mechanism.
Applications of a theory of ferromagnetic hysteresis

The differential equation that underlies the theory of rate-independent hysteresis for isoperm ferromagnetic materials is modified and extended to rate-dependent nonisoperm materials. The theory and its extension exhibit all of the important features of ferromagnetic hysteresis, including the existence and stability of minor loops. Both are well suited for use in numerical field-solving codes. Examples in which the material functions are simple combinations of analytic functions are presented for MnZn ferrite, NiZn ferrite, NiFe tape, and CoCr thin film. Also presented is a procedure for constructing a two-dimensional vector model that yields bell-shaped and M-shaped curves for graphs of the angular variation of the coercive field. >
NON-LINEAR VIBRATION OF POWER TRANSMISSION BELTS

Abstract Non-linear vibration of a prototypical power transmission belt system, which is excited by pulleys having slight eccentricity, is investigated through experimental and analytical methods. Laboratory measurements demonstrate the role of non-linearity in setting the belt's response, particularly in the near-resonance region, and at high running speeds. The belt is coated with a retroreflective medium so as to improve displacement and velocity measurements made through non-contact laser interferometry. A frequency crossing diagram relates the belt's speed-dependent excitation and natural frequencies, and is shown to be useful for identifying those speeds at which resonance is expected. Distinctive jump and hysteresis phenomena in the near-resonant response are observed experimentally, and are also studied with a model that includes non-linear stretching of the belt. In that regard, a modal perturbation solution is developed in the context of the asymptotic method of Krylov, Bogoliubov and Mitropolsky for a general, continuous, non-autonomous, gyroscopic system with weakly non-linear stiffness. The solution is subsequently specialized to the belt vibration problem at hand. Near- and exact-resonant response amplitudes are predicted by the perturbation method, and they are compared with those obtained by laboratory tests and by direct numerical simulation of the non-linear model.
Long-Term Tillage, Cover Crop, and Nitrogen Rate Effects on Cotton: Yield and Fiber Properties

Loess soils of the Midsouth USA are easily eroded, contain little organic matter, and are drought susceptible. Conservation tillage and cover crops may increase cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) yields on these soils. A field study was conducted from 1995 through 2001 on Gigger silt loam (fine-silty, mixed, thermic Typic Fragiudalfs) to study effects of tillage, cover crops, and N rates on yield and fiber properties. Cotton was grown without tillage (no-till) and with surface tillage (surface till) following annual winter cover crops of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth), or volunteer winter vegetation (native) and with fertilizer N rates of 0, 39, 78, 118, or 159 kg ha -1 . Tillage, cover crop, and N rate affected cotton yield. The till × N rate, till × cover crop, and cover crop x N rate interactions were significant. Yields of cotton receiving zero fertilizer N were 28 to 49% higher under surface till than under no-till. In contrast, cotton receiving optimum N produced 5 to 11% higher yields with no-till than with surface till. Following native cover, 118 kg N ha -1 optimized cotton lint yields under no-till (1249 kg ha -1 ) whereas only 78 kg N ha -1 was necessary to optimize yields under surface till (1117 kg ha -1 ). Following wheat, 118 kg N ha -1 optimized lint yields under both no-till (1246 kg ha -1 ) and surface till (1185 kg ha -1 ). Following hairy vetch, no fertilizer N was needed to optimize yields under no-till (1238 kg ha -1 ) and surface till (1160 kg ha -1 ). Tillage, cover crop, and N rate did not appreciably compromise or improve fiber quality. After 7 yr, lint yields did not decrease in systems employing no-till and cover crops, and combined with optimal fertilizer N, these conservation practices increased cotton yields.
Technical note: Robust cascading of operations on polyhedra

We present a geometric rounding algorithm for robustly implementing cascaded operations on polyhedra where the output of each operation is an input to the next operation. The rounding algorithm reduces the bit-precision of the input and eliminates degeneracy. To do so, it rounds coordinates to floating point and randomly perturbs them, then prunes away invalid portions of the resulting polyhedron. We demonstrate the rounding algorithm on a packing algorithm with ten cascaded Minkowski sums and set operations.
Pregabalin for painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy: strategies for dosing, monotherapy vs. combination therapy, treatment-refractory patients, and adverse events.

AbstractObjective:Primary care physicians face significant challenges when treating painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (pDPN). The physician must determine the best dosing strategy, consider the use of combination therapy, and decide how best to treat patients who have responded poorly to other treatment options in the past. With a focus on these issues, this paper will review the use of pregabalin for the treatment of pDPN in order to provide physicians with clinical data needed to develop, in combination with real-world prescribing data, effective treatment strategies for this common but challenging type of pain.Research design and methods:A formal PubMed search, along with a search of unpublished data from the Pfizer clinical trial database, was used to identify papers describing results from clinical trials of pregabalin in patients with pDPN. Papers were selected for inclusion in the review if they addressed the use of pregabalin in the context of a head-to-head treatment comparison, use in refra...
Surface Active Behavior of Hopanoid Lipids: Bacteriohopanetetrol and Phenylacetate Monoester Bacteriohopanetetrol

The hopanoid lipids, bacteriohopanetetrol (tetrol) and phenyl acetate monoester bacteriohopanetetrol (pa-tetrol), were extracted from vesicles of Frankia (actinomycetes) and purified using solvent extraction and high performance liquid chromatography. Surface pressure versus specific area equilibrium isotherms of monolayers of tetrol, pa-tetrol, and mixtures of the two hopanoids were obtained. The collapse pressure for tetrol is about 36 mN m-1, while for pa-tetrol it is about 18 mN m-1. Pa-tetrol has a much more expanded isotherm than tetrol due to the presence of the phenyl acetate group at the interface. Mixtures of tetrol and pa-tetrol are miscible and show an area condensation effect that is most pronounced around 30−70 wt % pa-tetrol as determined from the isotherm data. Langmuir−Blodgett films of tetrol and pa-tetrol were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Transmission and grazing-angle absorption−reflection spectra show that tetrol is oriented nearly perpendicular to the interface.
Determination of plastic strains at notches by image-proceessing methods

An image-processing method was developed to quantitatively extract the level of plastic deformation in metal specimen made of 304 stainless steel under remote tensile loading. The effective strain distribution around the notch tip was obtained and compared with the finite-element results. An exponential decay of the plastic strain concentration with distance from the notch tip was observed.
Global-local finite element-spectral-boundary element techniques for failure analysis

Abstract Techniques consisting of combinations of boundary elements, finite elements, and spectral overlays are described. These techniques are then applied to problems of material failure characterized by localization.
Effect of Milling Parameters on the Dehydrogenation Properties of the Mg—Ti—H System

Magnesium-based alloys are promising candidates as potential hydrogen storage materials due to their inherent high hydrogen contents. Small particle size which can be achieved by milling and small amounts of transition-metal compounds as catalysts result in increased hydrogen release/uptake kinetics. In this work, we examined the effects of various milling parameters and TiH2 content on the dehydrogenation properties of the Mg−Ti−H system. The samples were prepared with different amounts of TiH2 using various milling methods and conditions. The activation energy and the enthalpy change of dehydrogenation of the milled samples were determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The results indicated that, among a variety of MgH2/TiH2 ratios and milling conditions, samples with 9.1 mol % TiH2 milled in a dual-planetary high energy mill for 4 h under 15 MPa hydrogen pressure were found to be the optimal materials, displaying a substantially reduced activation energy a...
Rat platelet phospholipase A2 activity and thromboxane synthesis are concomitantly affected by dietary linoleic acid

Abstract Platelet thromboxane synthesis requires the release of arachidonic acid from the membrane phospholipids by phospholipase A2. Regulation of thromboxane synthesis is by regulation of phospholipase A2 which may be affected by the fatty acid composition of the membrane in which phospholipase resides. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets supplying 30% of energy (en%) as fat composed of corn oil and beef tallow to provide 3.0, 4.5, 6.0, 7.5, or 9.0 en% linoleate, with cholesterol added to provide equal cholesterol in all diets. Rats were fed for 30 days with eight rats/diet. Isolated platelets were assayed for fatty acid composition, net phospholipase A2 activity, and thromboxane synthesis. Liver was analyzed for fatty acid composition. The percentage of linoleic acid in platelet and liver fatty acids rose linearly with increasing dietary linoleic acid. Phospholipase A2 activity and thromboxane synthesis were correlated; both decreased as dietary linoleate rose. The concomitant changes in platelet fatty acid composition, phospholipase A2 activity, and thromboxane synthesis suggest that membrane fatty acid composition is one site of control of phospholipase A2 activity and thromboxane synthesis in rat platelets when diets provide from 4.5 to 9.0 en% linoleate. Other factors may be operative at lower linoleate concentrations.
Antibody Response to Capsular Polysaccharide Vaccine of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Patients with Nephrotic Syndrome

Twenty-three normal subjects and 19 patients with nephrotic syndrome were vaccinated with tridecavalent pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide vaccine of Streptococcus pneumoniae. The antibody response of the nephrotic patients to pneumococcal capsular antigens was equal to that of the control subjects. These findings indicate that patients with nephrotic syndrome, despite hypogammaglobulinemia, can mount an adequate antibody response to pneumococcal polysaccharides and that there is no evidence of suppressor thymus-derived (T) cells or dysfunctioning bone marrow-derived (B) cells in these patients. Nephrotic syndrome, or lipoid nephrosis, is a disease of unknown etiology and pathogenesis particularly affecting young infants and children of preschool age [1]. Evidence for cell-mediated immunity to human renal antigen(s) has been suggested [2], and lymphocytes from patients with lipoid nephrosis compared with lymphocytes from normal control subjects were shown to have significantly greater lymphocytotoxicity against human kidney epithelial cell cultures [3]. Recently, Shalhoub [4] proposed that lipoid nephrosis is produced by a systemic abnormality in thymus-derived (T) cells, suppressor T cells, that results in reduced immunoglobulin synthesis by bone marrow-derived (B) cells and in secretion of chemical mediators toxic to glomerular basement membranes.
Highly Excited Hydrogen in Strong D.C. Electric Fields: Atomic Engineering

Abstract We excite atomic hydrogen from the ground state via a three-photon process to high-lying excited states in the presence of strong d.c. electric fields. The external field is used to manipulate, control, and design specific atomic structures. We can construct nearly ‘one-dimensional’ atoms whose electronic distributions are highly extended along the field, and which may have enormous electric dipole moments (‘giant-dipole atoms’).
Validation of Online Administration of the Sexual Health Inventory for Men

Purpose: Previously we reported the development of a novel, inexpensive, online method to collect health related quality of life information to facilitate responses among patients and decrease loss to followup. We validated the practice by comparing responses to the SHIM (Sexual Health Inventory for Men), a representative validated instrument, when administered on line and in the traditional paper form.Materials and Methods: Consented patients were administered validated health related quality of life instruments, including the SHIM, in office and via e-mail. Responses to the SHIM were compared between the administration formats. Paired sample testing was done to analyze test-retest reliability, concordance was assessed by intraclass analysis and a Bland-Altman plot, and the Cronbach α was used to examine internal reliability. Criterion validity was measured using SHIM defined erectile function categories and a dichotomized potency definition (SHIM 17 or greater).Results: Of the 508 men who consented to p...
Field emission and field ion microscope study of Ga, In and Sn on W: Structure, work function, diffusion and binding energy

Abstract Gallium, indium and tin were deposited on a tungsten tip by making a contact between the tip and these metals in the liquid state. The activation energies of diffusion of the adsorbates on tungsten were found to be 0.29 eV for Ga, 0.35 eV for In and 0.71 eV for Sn. The adsorbates were field-evaporated by gradually increasing a positive tip voltage by a small increment each time and the variation of the work function with the decreasing coverage was examined for each evaporation stage. The result indicates that the adatoms assume one of two different adsorption states. The adatoms bound as strongly as in a bulk crystal were field-evaporated at a low evaporation field. The remaining adatoms form a more strongly bound covering layer which maximizes the average work function of the covered surfaces, 4.75 eV for Ga, 4.63 eV for In and 5.10 eV for Sn, and are field-evaporated at a significantly higher field. The covering layer of the strongly bound adatoms were observed on the areas from the {001} to {114} planes and were hardly noticed on the {011} and 112 areas. The arrangement of the strongly bound adatoms, particularly on the {114} planes, is found to be a precise replica of the substrate arrangement. Thus, the surface density of the adatoms is exactly the surface density of the substrate atoms. The observed results suggest that an adatom occupying a tungsten lattice site and contacting four substrate tungsten atoms can establish unusually strong bonding with the substrate.
Translating in vivo diagnostics into clinical reality.

Challenges abound when academic institutions try to bring new in vivo diagnostic agents to the clinic.
Parliamentary weakness in the French national assemblies, 1789–1792

This article examines various causes for the spectacular floundering and consequent weakness of the nascent French democracy's first two parlimentary bodies. Although the representatives were totally inexperienced, they scorned all rules of parliamentary procedure offered from abroad. This essay describes the unfortunate circumstances which account for much of the chaos and violence in the ostensibly powerful assemblies.