cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Guidelines for Bioinformatics and the Statistical Analysis of Omic Data

This chapter is a resource for those designing omics experiments and those analyzing the data from such experiments. It is organized into two parts, one with a focus on bioinformatics tools and techniques, and the other with a focus on statistical analyses. It is intended to be a high-level instructional chapter for those who are interested in performing their own analyses, not a comprehensive discussion of either area. The first section discusses the bioinformatics tools and algorithms used in genomics and transcriptomics. It describes typical workflows and the tools available for performing an omic experiment and underscores the importance of both the tools being used and a clear understanding of the underlying algorithm. The second section describes general study design principles that should be taken into account before an experiment is begun. It describes some basic principles of statistical analysis and commonly used methods. It is not a comprehensive discussion of statistical theory nor does it describe more complex statistical models. The guidance of a statistician is advised for complex study designs, hypotheses, or statistical models.
Crosstalk Mitigation for Enabling DDR4 3.2Gbps External Memory Interface in FPGA with Optimized Package-Board Co-Design

Crosstalk mitigation with package-board co-design enhancements is needed for enabling DDR4 3.2Gbps. The proposed optimized 4:1 IO:GND package ball arrangement with alternated deep-shallow board vias can be used as an optimal solution for enabling DDR4 3.2 Gbps without cost adder. This scheme effectively reduces the signals coupling of horizontal and vertical routing structure in package and board design. The results show that we able to gain 50% of channel margin with the proposed solution.
Outcomes for reverse total shoulder arthroplasty after failed open reduction internal fixation versus primary reverse total shoulder arthroplasty for proximal humerus fractures

Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to determine the clinical and radiographic outcomes of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) after failed open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) for proximal humerus fracture (PHF) and compare them to outcomes of primary RTSA for PHF. Methods We performed a retrospective comparative study of patients who underwent RTSA between 2008 and 2015 at our institution by one of two fellowship-trained shoulder and elbow surgeons for an acute PHF or for continued pain or functional limitations following ORIF of a PHF. We compared the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) scores, Simple Shoulder Test (SST) scores, range-of-motion, and radiographic measurements between cohorts. Results In total, there were 20 patients treated with RTSA after failed ORIF and 30 patients treated acutely with RTSA for PHF. The average ASES score was significantly greater for primary RTSA (82.0±13.5) than for delayed RTSA (64.0±27.2, P=0.016). The average SST score for primary RTSA (69.4%±19.1%) was significantly higher than the average for delayed RTSA (49.1%±8.9%, P=0.020). Forward elevation achieved postoperatively was significantly greater for patients treated with primary RTSA versus those with delayed RTSA (130±31° vs 107±31°, P=0.035). No difference was detected between groups in postoperative external rotation (P=0.152) or internal rotation (P=0.872). In patients with primary RTSA the tuberosities healed in an anatomic position in 70% of the fractures, which was significantly less than for delayed RTSA in which 100% of fractures had anatomic healing of the tuberosities (P=0.007). Conclusions In an elderly population, primary RTSA for PHF resulted in better clinical outcomes compared to RTSA following failed ORIF in this retrospective cohort study. Level of Evidence Level III; Retrospective Comparative Study
Straddling the Boundary between Contribution and Solution Driven Science

Advancing the state of the art in the context of products and services used by hundreds of millions of customers poses challenges that go beyond those associated with advancing the state of the art in customer-free settings. In this talk, I will highlight some of these challenges and discuss approaches to overcoming them in the context of two Amazon services: Amazon Translate and Alexa.
Gate-Tunable Kerr Nonlinearity of Graphene in the Mid-Infrared

We measure the nonlinear refractive index n 2 , two-photon absorption coefficient, and hot-electron nonlinearity of gated graphene in the mid-IR regime. Our results show that both the magnitude and sign of n 2 can be voltage-controlled.
Random Sequential Adsorption of Discs on Surfaces of Constant Curvature: Plane, Sphere, Hyperboloid, and Projective Plane

We present an algorithm to simulate random sequential adsorption (random “parking”) of discs on constant curvature surfaces: the plane, sphere, hyperboloid, and projective plane, all embedded in three-dimensional space. We simulate complete parkings efficiently by explicitly calculating the boundary of the available area in which discs can park and concentrating new points in this area. We use our algorithm to study the number distribution and density of discs parked in each space, where for the plane and hyperboloid we consider two different periodic tilings each. We make several notable observations: (1) on the sphere, there is a critical disc radius such the number of discs parked is always exactly four: the random parking is deterministic. We prove this statement and also show that random parking on the surface of a d-dimensional sphere would have deterministic behaviour at the same critical radius. (2) The average number of parked discs does not always monotonically increase as the disc radius decreases: on the plane (square with periodic boundary conditions), there is an interval of decreasing radius over which the average decreases. We give a heuristic explanation for this counterintuitive finding. (3) As the disc radius shrinks to zero, the density (average fraction of area covered by parked discs) appears to converge to the same constant for all spaces, though it is always slightly larger for a sphere and slightly smaller for a hyperboloid. Therefore, for parkings on a general curved surface we would expect higher local densities in regions of positive curvature and lower local densities in regions of negative curvature.
The Outcome Effect and Professional Skepticism: A Replication and an Attempt at Mitigation

In this research note, we replicate Brazel, Jackson, Schaefer, and Stewart’s (2016) study of how auditors evaluate skeptical behavior. Like the original study, we find that evaluators reward audit staff who exercise appropriate levels of skepticism and identify a misstatement (positive outcome). However, when no misstatement is identified (negative outcome), evaluators penalize staff who exercise appropriate levels of skepticism. One factor causing this outcome effect may be that exercising skepticism typically causes budget overages due to additional testing. Hence, we examine whether formally attributing the budget overage to skeptical judgments and actions in the audit budget file reduces outcome effects. However, while replicating the initial effect across three separate studies, we have been unable to reduce this effect. Thus, it is clear that the outcome effect in this context is very robust.
New strategies toward high-performance and low-temperature processing of solution-based metal oxide TFTs

Abstract Solution-based synthesis of metal oxides has been attracting a lot of attention due to the low-cost, high-throughput, and efficient control over chemical composition. These materials also have outstanding properties such as high optical transparency, chemical and thermal stability, and mechanical toughness. In addition, facile tailoring of physical and chemical attributes of these materials leads to multifunctionality that allows their applications in different areas, like sensing, energy, and flexible displays. Particularly for large-area electronics, the exploration of crucial components, the thin film transistor (TFT) and their key material constituents, e.g., the semiconductor, the dielectric, the conductor as well as substrates opens up enormous opportunity to bring forth next generation devices. This chapter focuses on recent low-temperature approaches, such as combustion synthesis and (UV, NIR) irradiation treatments which allow realization of printable flexible TFTs. Moreover, special attention is given to solution-based preparation of high-к oxide dielectrics that play a critical role to achieve efficient TFTs. Finally, a detailed discussion on emerging printing techniques and current challenges is undertaken.
Function Trumps Form in Two Sugar Symporters, LacY and vSGLT.

Active transport of sugars into bacteria occurs through symporters driven by ion gradients. LacY is the most well-studied proton sugar symporter, whereas vSGLT is the most characterized sodium sugar symporter. These are members of the major facilitator (MFS) and the amino acid-Polyamine organocation (APS) transporter superfamilies. While there is no structural homology between these transporters, they operate by a similar mechanism. They are nano-machines driven by their respective ion electrochemical potential gradients across the membrane. LacY has 12 transmembrane helices (TMs) organized in two 6-TM bundles, each containing two 3-helix TM repeats. vSGLT has a core structure of 10 TM helices organized in two inverted repeats (TM 1-5 and TM 6-10). In each case, a single sugar is bound in a central cavity and sugar selectivity is determined by hydrogen- and hydrophobic- bonding with side chains in the binding site. In vSGLT, the sodium-binding site is formed through coordination with carbonyl- and hydroxyl-oxygens from neighboring side chains, whereas in LacY the proton (H3O+) site is thought to be a single glutamate residue (Glu325). The remaining challenge for both transporters is to determine how ion electrochemical potential gradients drive uphill sugar transport.
Connecting Ideas Across Courses: Relating Energy, Bonds & How ATP Hydrolysis Powers a Molecular Motor

Core chemistry ideas can be useful tools for explaining biological phenomena, but students often have difficulty understanding these core ideas within general chemistry. Connecting these ideas to biologically relevant situations is even more difficult. These difficulties arise, in part, from a lack of explicit opportunities in relevant courses for students to practice connecting ideas across disciplines. We are developing activities that examine students' abilities to connect core chemistry ideas with biological phenomena, the overall goal being to develop a set of assessments that ask students to connect their knowledge across introductory chemistry and biology courses. Here, we describe the development and testing of an activity that focuses on concepts about energy in bond breaking, bond forming, and ATP coupling. The activity was completed by 195 students in an introductory cell and molecular biology course at Michigan State University; students were either co-enrolled or previously enrolled in General Chemistry I. Follow-up interviews to assess the validity of the activity (among others) showed that students interpreted the questions as intended and that they valued the activity as an opportunity to connect ideas across courses.
Utilisation of an infant sweating thermal manikin to determine clo values for infant clothing: a comparison of predictive formulas

Baby clothing refers to a product category for infants and toddlers aged 0–36 months. For the babywear designer, consideration of the thermal insulation provided by the garment is key to creating w...
A Systematic Assessment of YouTube Content on Femoroacetabular Impingement: An Updated Review:

Background:Online video-sharing platforms such as YouTube have become popular sources of medical information for patients. However, concern exists regarding the quality of such non–peer reviewed co...
Euthermic Endocarditis

Background Most patients with infective endocarditis (IE) manifest fever. Comparison of endocarditis patients with and without fever, and whether the lack of fever in IE is a marker for poorer outcomes, such as demonstrated in other severe infectious diseases, have not been defined. Methods and Results Cases from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, Division of Infectious Diseases IE registry, a single-center database that contains all cases of IE treated at our center. Diagnosis date between 1970 and 2006, which met the modified Duke criteria for definite endocarditis, without fever was included. There were 240 euthermic endocarditis cases included in this analysis, with 282 febrile controls selected by frequency matching on gender and decade of diagnosis. Euthermic patients had a median age of 63.6 years (±16.1) as compared to 59.0 years (±16.4) in the febrile control group (p=0.001). Median (IQR) symptom duration prior to diagnosis was 4.0 (1.0, 12.0) weeks in the euthermic group compared to 3.0 (1.0, 8.0) weeks in the febrile controls (p= 0.006). From unadjusted analyses, survival rates were 87% in euthermic cases versus 83% in febrile controls across 28-day follow-up (p=0.164), and 72% in euthermic group cases versus 69% in febrile controls across 1-year follow-up (p=0.345). Also unadjusted, the 1-year cumulative incidence rate of valve surgery was higher in euthermic cases versus febrile controls (50% vs. 39%, p= 0.004). Conclusions Patients with euthermic endocarditis are older, and lack of fever was associated with longer symptom duration and delayed diagnosis prior to IE diagnosis. Despite a higher unadjusted rate of valve surgery in euthermic patients, the result was not significant when adjusting for baseline confounders. Differences in survival rates at both 28-days and 365-days were not statistically significant between the two groups.
A Wideband Method of Moments Target Modeling and Feature Extraction Approach for GPR Imaging

In this paper, a wideband direct modeling and feature extraction method for two dimensional geometric objects with arbitrary local coordinate rotations is considered. In particular we focus on the problem of performing feature extraction for the case of electrically small objects which is particularly applicable to ground penetrating radar (GPR) applications. We first derive low frequency surface current density solutions for a class of simple two dimensional scatterers buried below a rough stochastic surface in a lossy half-space. Then for the inverse problem, a novel methodology is developed for pose and location invariant feature extraction derived from basis sets emerging from our proposed modeling framework. Our modeling and feature extraction algorithms are validated for different target shapes buried in lossy soil profiles.
An Efficient GPU Implementation and Scaling for Higher-Order 3D Stencils

Abstract Stencil computation patterns are the backbone of many scientific and engineering simulations. The stencil computation is known to be constrained by its high demand of memory bandwidth, which limits performance on accelerators such as GPUs. Prior GPU-based approaches concentrated on stencils with only axis-aligned grid points with 2D caching schemes. However, for stencils with non-axis grid points, prior approaches use 3D caching or multi-pass 2D caching schemes. These methods suffer from either large number of global memory accesses or required large size of the shared memory. In this work, we present an efficient GPU implementation scheme “Scatter Without Write Conflict” (SWiC) for large advanced 3D stencil patterns involving non-axis-aligned grid points. Unlike other 3D caching schemes, SWiC only needs 2D caching and a single pass over the stencil per iteration. SWiC achieves, significant reductions in the global memory accesses, without increasing the size of shared memory. SWiC can also be applied to simple axis-aligned stencils without any performance loss. Moreover, we propose a scalable implementation for the halo region exchange of 3D stencils on multi-GPU nodes. For evaluation, we test SWiC on three Nvidia GPU generations and show that our approach significantly outperforms existing state-of-the-art GPU implementations with a speedup ranging from 1.6x to 5.75x. We also provide a detailed scaling analysis in multi-node and multi-GPU environments.
The object-oriented paradigm: more natural or less familiar?

It is commonly claimed by proponents of object-oriented programming that because objects exist all around us object-oriented programming is "more natural" than procedural programming. This paper purports that humans are predisposed to think procedurally and hierarchically, making the object-oriented paradigm less intuitive and somewhat more challenging to teach. Teaching strategies and future research are suggested.
Studies in medical education: career choice consistency of medical students.

Abstract The data consist of the specialty preferences of 176 medical students at the end of their sophomore and senior years of medical school together with extensive psychometric and cognitive measurements obtained from each student. The study group was enrolled at the Rochester School of Medicine whose curriculum at the time of data collection provided a relatively traditional 2 years of basic science study with at least one assigned rotation of 6 to 8 weeks' duration in each major medical discipline during the last 2 years of medical school. The data reveal that during this educational experience: (1) 69 students exhibited a consistency of specialty choice while 107 students experienced a major change in specialty preference, (2) no significant differences between the “consistent” and “inconsistent” students are evident from retrospective analysis of the psychometric, cognitive, and other student data described in the paper, (3) an appreciable increase in the number of students attacted to the disciplines of Obstetrics-Gynecology, Psychiatry, and Surgery. The significance of the findings is discussed with special reference to the so-called multiple-track curriculum.
Flow visualization experiments with a pusher-plate vortex blood pump

A pusher-plate vortex blood pump has been developed with the objective to prevent thrombus formation on blood-contacting surfaces. Flow visualization experiments with an in-vitro model indicates strong vortex motions throughout the cardiac cycle induced with the use of a hemofoil inlet valve. >
European Commission Officials' Policy Attitudes†

European Commission officials are usually thought to prefer more to less supranational authority. A large body of work assumes that they maximize the power of their organization. This study suspends a priori preference attribution and empirically investigates variation in support for supranational authority over five policy areas. The analysis uses Kassim et al.'s survey data from 2008 (N = 1,901). The first finding in this article is that Commission officials do not systematically prefer more supranational decision-making. Following the logic of fiscal federalism, they support changes in EU policy scope to the extent that this would improve public good provision. The second finding, taking a political psychology perspective, is that individual calculations of efficiency are mediated by ideological beliefs. Because issues are complex and information is costly, Commission officials rely on heuristics to assess what the European Union should do. They are biased information-processors.
Polarization in K-nucleon scattering

We consider constraints on polarization due tos-channel unitarity. We find that polarizations may persist to all energies but that, if the amplitudes are exponentially peaked the spin flip peak must be at least half as wide as the nonflip peak.
Ionization of NF3 by electron impact

Abstract The ionization and dissociative ionization of NF 3 by electron impact has been measured by Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS). The total ionization cross-section rises to a maximum value of 2.4±0.4×10 −16 cm 2 at 140 eV. Estimates of the total single ionization cross-section using ab initio energies with the binary encounter Bethe (BEB) [Y.K. Kim, M.E. Rudd, Phys. Rev. A 50 (1994) 3594] or Deutsch–Mark [Int. J. Mass Spec. 197 (2000) 37] models are roughly twice the measured values. The partial cross-sections creating NF x + ( x =0, 1, 2, 3), F + , and NF x 2+ ( x =1, 2, 3) are reported. Differences between the FTMS results and quadrupole data and fast atom beam results of Tarnovsky et al. [Int. J. Mass Spectrom. Ion Processes 133 (1994) 175] are discussed.
Cell type-specific proteins which interact with the 5' nontranslated region of hepatitis A virus RNA.

Abstract The 5' nontranslated region (5'NTR) of hepatitis A virus (HAV) RNA contains structural elements which facilitate 5' cap-independent initiation of virus translation and are likely to interact with cellular proteins functioning as translation initiation factors. To define these interactions, we characterized the binding of ribosome-associated proteins from several cell types to synthetic RNAs representing segments of the 5'NTR by using a UV cross-linking/label transfer assay. Four major proteins (p30, p39, p57, and p110) were identified. p30 and p39 were present in ribosomal salt washes prepared only from HAV-permissive BS-C-1 and FRhK-4 cells, while p57 was found only in HeLa cells and rabbit reticulocyte lysates. p110 was present in all cell types. Both p30 and p39 bound to multiple sites within the 5'NTR. Efficient transfer of label to p30 occurred with minimal RNA probes representing nucleotides (nt) 96 to 155, 151 to 354, and, to a much lesser extent, 634 to 744, while label transfer to p39 occurred with probes representing nt 96 to 155 and 634 to 744. All of these probes represent regions of the 5'NTR which are rich in pyrimidines. Competitive inhibition studies indicated that both p30 and p39 bound with greater affinity to sites in the 5' half of the NTR (a probe representing nt 1 to 354) than to the more 3' site (nt 634 to 744). Binding of p39 to the probe representing nt 96 to 155 was inhibited in the presence of an equal amount of proteins derived from HeLa cells, suggesting that p39 shares binding site specificity with one or more HeLa cell proteins. A 57-kDa protein in HeLa cell protein extracts reacted with antibody to polypyrimidine tract-binding protein in immunoblots, but no immunoreactive protein was identified in a similar BS-C-1 protein fraction. These results demonstrate that ribosome-associated proteins which bind to the 5'NTR of HAV vary substantially among different mammalian cell types, possibly accounting for differences in the extent to which individual cell types support growth of the virus. Mutations in the 5'NTR which enhance the growth of HAV in certain cell types may reflect specific adaptive responses to these or other proteins.
Cost-aware caching algorithms for distributed storage servers

We study replacement algorithms for non-uniform access caches that are used in distributed storage systems. Considering access latencies as major costs of data management in such a system, we show that the total cost of any replacement algorithm is bounded by the total costs of evicted blocks plus the total cost of the optimal off-line algorithm (OPT). We propose two off-line heuristics: MIN-d and MIN-cod, as well as an on-line algorithm: HD-cod, which can be run efficiently and perform well at the same time. Our simulation results with Storage Performance Council (SPC)'s storage server traces show that: (1) for off-line workloads, MIN-cod performs as well as OPT in some cases, all is atmost three times worse in all test case; (2) for on-line workloads, HD-cod performs closely to the best algorithms in all cases, and is the single algorithm that performs well in all test cases, including the optimal on-line algorithm (Landlord). Our study suggests that the essential issue to be considered be the trade-off between the costs of victim blocks and the total number of evictions in order to effectively optimize both efficiency and performance of distributed storage cache replacement algorithms.
Spinal infusion of opiate and alpha-2 agonists in rats: tolerance and cross-tolerance studies.

Intrathecal morphine or ST-91, an alpha-2 agonist, produce potent antinociception in a number of animal models. Using osmotic minipumps and a new Y-catheter technique, we show that chronic intrathecal (i.t.) infusion of morphine (2, 6 or 20 nmol/microliter/hr) or ST-91 (3, 10 or 30 nmol/microliter/hr) in rats produces a dose-dependent increase in hot-plate latency 1 day after pump implant. By 4 to 5 days after initiation of chronic infusion of either drug, hot-plate latencies do not differ from saline-infused controls. Rats rendered tolerant to one of the three chronic i.t. morphine doses (2, 6 or 20 nmol/microliter/hr) and tested at 7 days after initiation of infusion with a bolus i.t. dose of morphine, show a dose-dependent rightward shift in hot-plate dose-response curves. The two lower doses of chronic i.t. infusions of morphine produce parallel shifts of the subsequent i.t. administered morphine dose-response curves, but the highest chronic i.t. dose of morphine (20 nmol/microliter/hr) produces a significantly greater slope of the subsequent i.t. administered morphine dose-response curve. Animals exposed to chronic i.t. infusion of one of three doses of ST-91 (3, 10 or 30 nmol/microliter/hr) display a parallel, dose-dependent rightward shift to a subsequent bolus i.t. injection of ST-91. Rats rendered tolerant to chronic i.t. infusions of ST-91 showed no difference in the response to i.t. administered morphine hot-plate dose-response curves as compared to saline infused controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Three new species of Bunchosia (Malpighiaceae): B. cuscana , B. hedraiophylla , and B. neillii

Three new species of Bunchosia are described and illustrated. Bunchosia cuscana from Andean Peru bears two pseudoracemes per leaf axil, instead of the more common single inflorescence, and is compared with B. argentea with which it shares abaxially densely sericeous leaf blades and a 2-carpellate ovary. The 3-carpellate Mexican B. hedraiophylla has nearly sessile leaves and a paniculate inflorescence, an unusual character in Bunchosia that separates it from the B. macrophylla complex. Bunchosia neillii from Amazonian Ecuador is 3-carpellate and has glabrous leaves and petals with a glandular margin. A key is provided to separate B. neillii from similar species of western Amazonia and the Andes and of eastern Brazil.
Low Noise Figure Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers with Gain Adjustment by Pump Power Control

Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) are expected to be used in a broad range of applications. One of the applications of great interest is line amplifiers in long distance communication systems(1) Such line amplifiers are generally characterized by moderate signal gain and moderate output signal power. Noise figure (NF) of those amplifiers should be kept as low as possible.
Theoretical studies on cosolvation of Li ion and solvent reductive decomposition in binary mixtures of aliphatic carbonates

We use density functional theory to investigate the interactions of Li+ and aliphatic carbonates such as ethylene carbonate and three linear carbonates (dimethyl, diethyl, and ethyl methyl), and the reductive decomposition mechanisms of these carbonates. On the basis of theoretical results and analyses, some phenomena relevant to the formation of a solid electrolyte interphase layer at the electrode surface of lithium ion batteries are well explained. This study also illustrates that theoretical analyses and calculations are able to provide useful insights into the design of components for modern power systems. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005
Robot deception: Recognizing when a robot should deceive

This article explores the possibility of developing robot control software capable of discerning when and if a robot should deceive. Exploration of this problem is critical for developing robots with deception capabilities and may lend valuable insight into the phenomena of deception itself. In this paper we explore deception from an interdependence/game theoretic perspective. Further, we develop and experimentally investigate an algorithm capable of indicating whether or not a particular social situation warrants deception on the part of the robot. Our qualitative and quantitative results provide evidence that, indeed, our algorithm recognizes situations which justify deception and that a robot capable of discerning these situations is better suited to act than one that does not.
Laser acceleration in novel media

With newly available compact laser technology [1] we are capable of producing 100 PW-class laser pulses with a single-cycle duration on the femtosecond timescale. With this fs intense laser we can produce a coherent X-ray pulse that is also compressed, well into the hard X-ray regime (∼10 keV) and with a power up to as much as 10 Exawatts. We suggest utilizing these coherent X-rays to drive the acceleration of particles. Such X-rays are focusable far beyond the diffraction limit of the original laser wavelength and when injected into a crystal it forms a metallic-density electron plasma ideally suited for laser wakefield acceleration. If the X-ray field is limited by the Schwinger field at the focal size of ∼100 nm, the achievable energy is 1 PeV over 50 m. (If the X-rays are focused further, much higher energies beyond this are possible). These processes are not limited to only electron acceleration, and if ions are pre-accelerated to beyond GeV they are capable of being further accelerated using a LWFA scheme [2] to similar energies as electrons over the same distance-scales. Such high energy proton (and ion) beams can induce copious neutrons, which can also give rise to intense compact muon beams and neutrino beams that may be portable. High-energy gamma rays can also be efficiently emitted with a bril- liance many orders of magnitude above the brightest X-ray sources by this accelerating process, from both the betatron radiation as well as the dominant radiative-damping dynamics. With the exceptional conditions enabled by this technology we envision a whole scope of new physical phenomena, including: the possibility of laser self-focus in the vacuum, neutron manipulation by the beat of such lasers, zeptosecond spectroscopy of nuclei, etc. Further, we now introduce along with the idea of vacuum as a nonlinear medium, the Schwinger Fiber Accelerator. This is a self-organized vacuum fiber acceleration concept, in which the repeated process of self-focusing and defocusing for the X-ray pulse in vacuum forms a modulated fiber that guides the intense X-rays.
PET study of visually and non-visually guided finger movements in patients with severe pan-sensory neuropathies and healthy controls.

Although patients with sensory neuropathies and normal muscle power are rare, they have been extensively studied because they are a model for dissociating the sensory and motor components of movement. We have examined these patients to determine the cerebral functional anatomy of movement in the absence of proprioceptive input. In addition, the disabling symptoms of these patients can be substantially improved by visually monitoring their movements. We hypothesized that, during visually guided movements, these patients would show overactivity of regions specialized for visuomotor control with the possible additional involvement of areas that normally process somatosensory information. We used positron emission tomography (PET) and the tracer H2 15O to determine the functional anatomy of visually and non-visually guided finger movements in three patients with long-standing pan-sensory neuropathies and normal muscle power and six healthy controls. Five conditions were performed with the right hand: a sequential finger movement task under visual guidance, the same motor task without observation of the hand, monitoring a video of the same sequential finger movement, a passive visual task observing a reversing checkerboard, and an unconstrained rest condition. Data were analyzed using conventional subtraction techniques with a statistical threshold of z>2.33 with corrections for multiple comparisons. When compared with the control group, activation was not deficient in any brain areas of the patient cohort in any of the contrasts tested. In particular, in the non-visually guided movement task, in which meaningful visual and proprioceptive input was absent, the patient group activated primary motor, premotor, and cerebellar regions. This suggests that these areas are involved in motor processing independent of sensory input. In all conditions involving visual observation of hand movements, there was highly significant overactivity of the left parietal operculum (SII) and right parieto-occipital cortex (PO) in the patient group. Recent non-human primate studies have suggested that the PO region contains a visual representation of hand movements. Overactivity of this area and the activation of SII by visual input appear to indicate that compensatory overactivity of visual areas and cross-modal plasticity of somatosensory areas occur in deafferented patients. These processes may underlie their ability to compensate for their proprioceptive deficits.
Cysteine-Activated Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) Donors

H2S, the newly discovered gasotransmitter, plays important roles in biological systems. However, the research on H2S has been hindered by the lack of controllable H2S donors that could mimic the slow and continuous H2S generation process in vivo. Herein we report a series of cysteine-activated H2S donors. Structural modifications of these molecules can regulate the rates of H2S generation. These compounds can be useful tools in H2S research.
Review of utility home-energy-audit programs

Abstract Evaluation efforts of utilities with active home energy audit programs were reviewed to provide insights into the operations and effectiveness of existing utility home energy audit programs. About half the utilities contacted had little or no evaluation activity. Of those with evaluation activity, most conducted only informal evaluations for in-house use. A few utilities had conducted fully documented formal evaluations. On the basis mainly of written reports received from the utilities, findings about customer response to programs are summarized. The topics discussed include: determinants of program participation rates, use of financing, attitudes toward programs, actions taken, characteristics of participants and energy savings due to programs.
Modeling of reaustenitization of hypoeutectoid steels with cellular automaton method

Abstract A model for simulating reaustenitization of hypoeutectoid Fe–C steel has been developed using a cellular automaton approach (CA). The prior microstructure state for quenching can be predicted through grain size, fraction of austenite, and distribution of carbon concentration. The kinetics of austenitization are simulated by simultaneously considering continuous nucleation, grain growth and grain coarsening. In the current CA model, carbon distribution in ferrite (α), austenite (γ) and α/γ interface is calculated without identifying the state of each cell. The competition between the nucleation and early stage grain growth in the pearlite is revealed, and the simultaneous phase transformation from ferrite to austenite and the austenitic grain coarsening in the austenitic region are also shown. A simple approach is proposed to eliminate the artificial anisotropy problem in representing microstructure evolution in CA method. The simulated results are in good agreement with the available experimental data.
Laser‐induced‐fluorescence spectroscopy of jet‐cooled C3

We present a spectroscopic study of jet‐cooled C3 in which laser‐induced‐fluorescence (LIF) excitation spectra and dispersed‐fluorescence (DF) spectra are taken for a new, vibronically induced band system (1Πg and/or 1Δu)−X 1Σ+g in the ultraviolet. In addition, DF spectra are taken for the well‐known cometary band system, A 1Πu–X 1Σ+g. The DF spectra of the new system are very rich and display strong fluorescence bands in stretch–bend progressions that reach as high as 17 000 cm−1 in the 1Σ+g ground state. The data from the DF spectra of both systems is used to assign vibrational term energies to 144 ground‐state levels that cover the range: 0≤v1≤8, 0≤v2≤37, and 0≤v3≤4. The observed level structure clearly demonstrates the highly anharmonic nature of the potential energy surface of C3 and the unusual internal dynamics that occurs upon it. These include pronounced barriers to linearity in the v3=2 and v3=4 states and an increase in molecular rigidity as the symmetric stretch is excited.
Selection dynamics and adaptive behavior without much information

This paper uses the experimental method to investigate behavior in a coordination game when the information available to subjects is limited to their feasible choices and their experienced payoffs. In the experiment subjects converge to an absorbing state at rates that are orders of magnitude faster than reinforcement learning algorithms, but slower than under complete information. This state is very close to a mutual best response outcome. All cohorts converged to the market statistic predicted by the interior equilibrium regardless of the information conditions or the stability conditions.
Magnification renal scintigraphy in the differential diagnosis of septa of Bertin.

Eight consecutive patients, referred because intravenous urography (IVP) raised the question of hypertrophied septum of Bertin versus a pathologic mass, were examined using99mTc labeled radiopharmaceuticals with magnification renal scintigraphy. The areas of concern showed a spectrum of activity, from normal to markedly increased, as compared to surrounding tissue. The activity correlated with the size of the mass effect on IVP. Increased resolution provided by pinhole magnification was important in evaluating these patients. We feel that magnification renal scintigraphy is valuable in the evaluation of intrarenal masses.
Effects of epinephrine, glucagon and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide on chloride secretion by teleost opercular membrane

The effects of epinephrine, glucagon and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide on chloride secretion by chloride cell-containing isolated opercular membranes from the seawater-adapted euryhaline teleost, the tilapiaSarotherodon mossambicus, have been examined. Epinephrine inhibits chloride secretion, measured as the short-circuit current (I sc), via α-receptors, in a dose-dependent fashion. The minimum effective dose is 10−9 M, ED50 equals 2×10−7 M and maximal inhibition at 10−5 M is nearly 80%. Inhibition of phosphodiesterase by isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX; 10−4 M), does not alterI sc in untreated tissues, but it completely reverses the epinephrine inhibition ofI sc, suggesting that hormones which modulate cAMP in chloride cells may alter chloride secretion. Glucagon and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide also stimulateI sc in epinephrine-inhibited tissues, an effect potentiated by IBMX. The effect of glucagon is dose-dependent with a minimum effective dose of 10−9 M, ED50 equal to 8×10−8 M and a maximum stimulation of 72% at 10−5 M. Analysis of the effects of epinephrine and IBMX onI sc and tissue conductance suggests that these agents act antagonistically on a nonconductive transport mechanism. It is proposed that IBMX and hormones which increase intracellular cAMP levels stimulate chloride secretion in epinephrine-inhibited tissues by stimulating a neutral sodium chloride cellular entry-step mechanism.
AKAP7γ is a nuclear RI-binding AKAP

Spatial regulation of protein kinase A (PKA) is accomplished by its sequestration via A-kinase anchor proteins (AKAPs). PKA activity is critical for mammalian oocyte development, suggesting that PKA must be appropriately positioned in these large cells. A screen for AKAPs in oocytes identified AKAP7γ, an AKAP originally found in pancreas. Yeast two-hybrid analysis and co-immunoprecipitation studies showed that AKAP7γ bound the type I PKA regulatory subunit (RI) and that the RI-binding domain overlapped the previously identified type II PKA regulatory subunit (RII) binding domain. Overexpressed AKAP7γ localized to the nuclei of HEK 293 cells via a nuclear localization signal. In addition, endogenous AKAP7γ protein was found in both the nucleus and cytoplasm of oocytes. This work identifies AKAP7γ as the first nuclear AKAP to bind RI and suggests that AKAP7γ may be responsible for positioning PKA via RI and/or RII to regulate PKA-mediated gene transcription in both somatic cells and oocytes.
Ni Pardo, Ni Prieto: The Influence of Parental Skin Color Messaging on Heterosexual Emerging Adult White-Hispanic Women's Dating Beliefs

The influence of Hispanic parental processes on daughters' intimate relationships have been widely studied in the psychology literature. However, although skin color values have been found to directly inform dating preferences, research examining the influence of parental skin color beliefs is non-existent. Thirty-four emerging adult Hispanic women participated in this qualitative study which examined their beliefs about parental skin color beliefs on dating preference decision-making processes. The study revealed that parents encouraged daughters to select partners with lighter skin. Significant differences between the ways parents and daughters constructed skin color meanings were noted, although daughters' potential partner skin color preferences were mixed. Results indicate that cultural competency training for clinicians should include understandings of meanings and values given to skin color. Therapeutic considerations for addressing skin color concerns with Hispanic female clients, including parent...
Studies of Growth Factors of Embryo Extract

The life activities of cells in vitro in regard to growth may assume three forms: 1. Survival of cells without cell proliferation. 2. Cell multiplication without increase in protoplasmic matter, due to the presence of substances stimulating mitosis and the absence of the proper nutritive elements in the culture medium. 3. Proliferation of cells with new formation of protoplasmic matter through utilization of nutritive substances contained in the culture medium under conditions which allow either ( a ) a restricted continuation of life and growth or ( b ) an unlimited continuation of life and growth. These variations in growth types are due to the effect of numerous endogenous (vitality, texture, type, age, quantity, synergism, and antagonism of tissues explanted) and exogenous factors of various physico-chemical nature (consistency, osmotic pressure, gas pressure, surface tension, dispersion status, chemical composition of medium, position of the explant in the medium, effect of various rays, temperature, and many other factors of more or less known and unknown character) upon the explanted cells. Among the many agents used in the culture medium for the promotion of cell multiplication and sustenance of unlimited life, embryo extract holds a preeminent and almost unique position, since it contains not only substances for the stimulation of cell division, but also nutritive material which can be assimilated by the explanted cells and used for the synthesis of new protoplasmic matter. The identification of these growth-promoting factors present in embryo extract and a study of their relations to various exogenous and endogenous factors affecting cell growth are evidently of great importance for a clearer understanding of the causes and the mechanism not only of normal growth, but also of pathological and especially blastomatous growth. Increased information on this subject should aid in improvement of existing and development of new therapeutic measures against malignant blastomas.
Eastern Atlantic Continental Margin: Some Results of the 1972 Cruise of the R.V. Atlantis II

A geophysical survey of the southeastern Atlantic Ocean has been made as one of the programs of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration. A large ancient delta of the Orange River and a diapiric field off Angola were mapped. Both features were initiated during early stages of the separation of Africa and South America, and both may be potential sources of oil.
Interfacial free energies and solute diffusivities from data on Ostwald ripening

Using recent theoretical modifications of the kinetic constants characterizing Ostwald ripening, it is demonstrated that accurate values of the interfacial free energy, λ, and solute diffusivities, D, can be obtained from experimental data when the kinetics of particle growth are measured in conjunction with independent measurements of either the decrease of the matrix supersaturation or the increase in volume fraction with aging time. The accuracy of λ is limited only by the assumption that the matrix phase is an ideal solid solution, and is effectively independent of the influence of equilibrium volume fraction, Φe, on the kinetics of coarsening. Analyses of the available data on the coarsening of γ′-type (Ni3X) precipitates in binary Ni−Al, Ni−Si and Ni−Ti alloys yield values of λ=6.9±0.3, 10.2±3.0 and 13.0 mJ/m2, respectively, assuming ideal solution thermodynamics; a more realistic thermodynamic model for the Ni−Al solid solution raises the value of λ in Ni−Al alloys to 8.1±0.2 mJ/m2. Proportional increases probably obtain in the other two alloys. The accuracy with which D can be evaluated from comparable data depends theoretically on Φe. However, analyses of the same data yield values of D in very good agreement with the results of conventional diffusion experiments. This is consistent with the absence of an effect of Φe on the kinetics of Ostwald ripening in these alloys over the ranges of Φe investigated.
The History of CALL: The Intertwining Paths of Technology and Second/Foreign Language Teaching

It has been over 50 years since the emergence of computer-assisted language learning CALL that would forever change how second/foreign languages are taught. This article presents a historical overview of the evolution of CALL from the early years of the mainframe computer to the integrative technologies of the 21st century. It examines the evolution of the dual fields of educational technology and second/foreign language teaching as they intertwined over the last half of the 20th century into present day CALL. The paper describes the paradigm shifts experienced along this journey and the current state of CALL as new technologies rapidly advance language teaching capabilities and challenge practitioners to provide optimum learning environments for the future.
Elastic interaction stresses: Part II. The influence of orientation on stresses generated in iso-axial bicrystals

The effects of four types of incompability on stresses generated in seven iso-axial bicrystals of 70-30 alpha brass subjected to tension were examined by finite element methods. The distribution of applied stress and resolved shear stresses was determined. The applied stress, {\(\sigma _{zz}\)}, was higher at the interior than at the surface, while the resolved shear stresses were generally higher at the surface. For both applied {\(\sigma _{zz}\)} and resolved shear stresses, the largest stresses occurred at the bicrystal boundaries. The effect of end constraints on a [213] oriented single crystal was found to create nonuniform stresses and strains, and an explanation for this behavior was proposed. The effect of orientation on the magnitude of grain boundary resolved shear stress, {\(\sigma _{gb} \)}, and the relative extent (volume fraction) of enhanced grain boundary resolved shear stress,V gb, were determined. The highest values of {\(\sigma _{gb} \)} andV gb were reached in different portions of the stereographic triangle. The elastic interactions producing this behavior were too complex to permit a simple interpretation.