cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experimental investigation on control methods and strategies for off-design operation of the transcritical R744 two-phase ejector cycle.

Abstract Numerous recent studies have demonstrated the significant opportunity to enhance vapor-compression cycle COP by integration of a two-phase ejector, especially for transcritical CO2 cycles. However, this significant improvement in performance relies on proper control of the ejector cycle. This paper investigates different methods for controlling the high-side pressure of a transcritical CO2 ejector cycle. The use of an ejector with an adjustable motive nozzle throat area as well as a simple expansion valve in series or parallel with a fixed-geometry ejector to actively control high-side pressure are investigated over a range of conditions. Additionally, proper control of evaporator flow rate, which is often overlooked in studies addressing ejector cycle control, for different conditions is also investigated. Ejector cycle control is investigated over a range of capacities and ambient temperatures in order to see the performance penalties to a transcritical CO2 ejector cycle when it is not controlled properly.
Effect of density control and undercutting on root morphology of 1+0 bareroot hardwood seedlings: five-year field performance of root-graded stock in the central USA

The Hardwood Quality Nursery Cooperative (bareroot forest nurseries in 5 midwestern states) initiated a series of studies in 1987 to evaluate red oak (Quercus rubra L.), and black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) seedling performance as a function of cultural treatments and seedling root system morphology. Seedlings were grown at three densities (32, 64, and 128 stems m-2for red oak; 32, 64, and 96 stems m-2for black walnut), and half of the density plots were undercut. Seedlings received fertilizer, weeding, and irrigation treatments customary to their respective nurseries. Seedlings were lifted, measured, and outplanted in their respective states as completely random individual tree plots during spring 1988. Survival, height, and diameter were evaluated annually through 1992. Seedling height, diameter, and number of permanent first-order lateral roots (FOLR) decreased with increasing bed density. At a given density, undercutting produced smaller seedlings (for both height and diameter) that had greater numbers of FOLR. Numbers of FOLR influenced seedling performance after outplanting. Red oak seedlings with at least 5 FOLR and black walnut with at least 7 FOLR had better survival and growth than seedlings with fewer roots.
Characterising the throat diameter of through-pores in network structures using a percolation criterion

We present a method for measuring the pore throat diameter of a simulated porous material. The pore throat diameter is the size of the narrowest pore that has both an entrance and an exit in a netw...
Dynamic Hierarchical Aggregation, Selection Bias Tracking, and Detailed Subset Comparison for High-Dimensional Event Sequence Data

With the increase in collection of temporal event data, especially electronic health record (EHR) data, numerous different visualization and analysis techniques have been developed to assist with the interpretation of such data. As datasets grow increasingly large in both number of event sequences and number of event types, two problems arise: how to group event types, and how to describe selection bias that can occur when selecting cohorts. This poster summarizes two papers, conditionally accepted to VAST, that introduce a dynamic and interactive algorithm for hierarchical event grouping, a scented scatter-plus-focus visualization that supports hierarchical exploration, a tree-based cohort provenance visualization, and a set of visualizations that provide per-dimension selection bias information for pairs of cohorts [2, 4]. These methods are integrated into the web-based interactive medical analysis tool Cadence
Driving blind: instituting SEP-1 without high quality outcomes data

In 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) instituted an all-or-none sepsis performance measure bundle (SEP-1) to promote high-quality, cost-effective care. Systematic reviews demonstrated only low-quality evidence supporting most of SEP-1’s interventions. CMS has removed some but not all of these unproven components. The current SEP-1 version requires patients with suspected sepsis have a lactate level, blood cultures, broad-spectrum antibiotics and, if hypotensive, a fixed 30 mL/kg fluid infusion within 3 hours, and a repeat lactate if initially elevated within 6 hours. Experts have continued to raise concerns that SEP-1 remains overly prescriptive, lacks a sound scientific basis and presents risks (overuse of antibiotics and inappropriate fluids not titrated to need). To incentivize compliance with SEP-1, CMS now publicly publishes how often hospitals complete all interventions in individual patients. However, compliance measured across hospitals (5 studies, 48–2,851 hospitals) or patients (three studies, 110–851 patients) has been low (approximately 50%) which is not surprising given SEP-1’s lack of scientific basis. The largest observational study (1,738 patients) reporting survival rates employing SEP-1 found they were not significantly improved with the measure (P=0.53) as did the next largest study (851 patients, adjusted survival odds ratio 1.36, 95% CI, 0.85 to 2.18). Two smaller observational studies (158 and 450 patients) reported SEP-1 improved unadjusted survival (P≤0.05) but were confounded either by baseline imbalances or by simultaneous introduction of a code sepsis protocol to improve compliance. Regardless, retrospective studies have well known biases related to non-randomized designs, uncontrolled data collection and failure to adjust for unrecognized influential variables. Such low-quality science should not be the basis for a national mandate compelling care for a rapidly lethal disease with a high mortality rate. Instead, SEP-1 should be based on high quality reproducible evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCT) demonstrating its benefit and thereby safety. Otherwise we risk not only doing harm but standardizing it.
Indigenous Peoples in the United States: The Challenge of Balancing Inclusion and Sovereignty

Native Americans are members of sovereign nations that pre-date colonial settler societies. In settler societies, inclusion has often meant assimilation, a form of forced or coerced participation i...
Robotic hepaticojejunostomy: surgical technique and risk factor analysis for anastomotic leak and stenosis.

Abstract Background A variety of techniques have been described for the construction of the HJ (hepaticojejunostomy). Due to its technical challenges, HJ is rarely performed in a pure laparoscopic setting. In stark contrast, the increasing availability of the robotic platform has sparked new interest in pursuing this procedure in a minimally invasive fashion. The aim of our study was to describe our surgical technique and to identify risk factors for anastomotic leak and stenosis following robotic surgery. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database, including all consecutive HJ carried out for different indications over a 10 year period. Results One hundred fifty-two patients undergoing robotic HJ performed by the same surgeon were analyzed. Bile leak occurred in 2.6% of the patients. Stricture rate was 3.3%. The median follow up was 25.5 months. There was no mortality related to anastomotic complications. On univariate analysis, patient's age less than 65 years was the only risk factor for anastomotic stricture. On multivariate analysis, no predictor factors for leak or stenosis were identified. Conclusion HJs carried out in a robotic fashion allow highly satisfactory results. No independent risk factors for bile leak of stenosis were identified on multivariate analysis.
African Americans have a distinct clinical and histologic profile with lower prevalence of NASH and advanced fibrosis relative to Caucasians.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Racial/ethnic disparities have been reported in the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Thus, we aimed to understand the inter-ethnic clinical, biochemical, and histological differences in a large cohort of Caucasians and African-Americans (AA). METHODS Laboratory and liver biopsy data of 942 NAFLD patients were retrospectively analyzed. Nine hundred seven patients were included in the analysis: 677 (74.6%) Caucasians and 230 (25.3%) AA. RESULTS AA had higher mean BMI compared to Caucasians (42.6 ± 9.5 vs. 39 ± 8.6 kg/m2). The prevalence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), defined by NAFLD activity score (NAS . 5), was higher in the Caucasians (n = 67) compared to AA (n = 7) (9.8% vs. 3%, P = 0.0007). One hundred fifteen patients (12.8%) had advanced fibrosis: 109 (16.2%) Caucasians and six (2.6%) AA. No AA patients had stage 4 fibrosis or cirrhosis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed advanced fibrosis was significantly associated with age at liver biopsy (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.0.1.1, P = 0.017, lower platelet count (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.98.0.99, P = <0.0001), AST/ALT ratio (OR 5.19, 95% CI 2.9.9.2, P <0.0001) and Caucasian race (OR 7.49, 95% CI 2.53.22.2, P = 0.0003). Advanced fibrosis in AA was predicted by lower platelet count and AST/ALT ratio. Whereas Advanced fibrosis in Caucasians was predicted by age at biopsy, lower platelet count and AST/ALT ratio. CONCLUSION The AA have a distinct clinical and histologic phenotype. Caucasians have a significantly greater proportion of NASH and are eight times more likely to develop advanced fibrosis than AA.
COVID-19 in Children With Cancer in New York City.

This cross-sectional study assesses the risk associated with Coronavirus Disease 2019 for pediatric patients with cancer.
Limbal Metabolic Support Reduces Peripheral Corneal Edema with Contact-Lens Wear.

Author(s): Kim, Young Hyun; Lin, Meng C; Radke, Clayton J | Abstract: PurposeTo assess the influence of limbal metabolic support on corneal edema during scleral-lens (SL) and soft-contact-lens (SCL) wear for healthy lens wearers.MethodsA two-dimensional (2D) model of the cornea and sclera was designed on Comsol Multiphysics 5.4 along with SL and SCL architectures to mimic lens-wear induced hypoxia. The cornea is suffused with oxygen and metabolites from the limbus and aqueous humor. Air oxygen is supplied from and carbon dioxide is expelled to the atmosphere. Lens-oxygen permeability (Dk) was adjusted to investigate lens-wear safety against edema in different wear conditions. The 2D concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide, bicarbonate, lactate, sodium, chloride, glucose, and pH are quantified. Central-to-peripheral swelling of the cornea is determined by the change in stromal hydration caused by changing metabolite concentrations at the endothelium during hypoxia.ResultsThe metabolic model assesses central-to-peripheral corneal swelling with different types of lenses, and oxygen Dks. Limbal metabolic support reduces edema from the periphery to approximately 1 mm away from the central cornea. Despite thicker lens designs, the peripheral cornea exhibits practically zero swelling due to limbal metabolic support.ConclusionsThe metabolic model accurately predicts central-to-peripheral corneal edema with various contact-lens designs, post-lens tear-film thicknesses, and lens oxygen Dk values. Despite the thicker periphery of most contact-lens designs, lactate and bicarbonate support from the limbus significantly reduces peripheral and mid-peripheral corneal edema, whereas oxygen has a lesser effect.Translational relevanceBy utilizing metabolic kinetics, we provide a 2D computational tool to predict oxygenation safety across the entire cornea with various types and designs of contact lenses.
The Metamorphosis of a Periplaneta Americana

The author presents her ongoing artistic research and practice at the intersection of neuroscience and radio astronomy that connects two of her current projects: COGITO in Space and The Metamorphos...
Age and Parity Effects in the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis’ Response to Multimodal Stress in Female Mice

The hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis responds to environmental perturbations to maintain homeostasis. Pregnancy demands extensive modifications in HPA axis function to prepare for increased energy and metabolic demands required to meet the needs of mother and offspring. Short-term effects of pregnancy on the HPA axis have been shown, but data is lacking regarding the long-term effects in middle-aged female mice no longer breeding. Since changes of the HPA axis are further found with age, in this study, we examined both parity- and age-related interactions on the HPA axis in female mice. Wildtype C57bl/6N females were divided into nulliparous young (NY) (3-6 mo) and nulliparous middle-aged (NM) or multiparous retired-breeder middle-aged (RBM) (8-10 mo) groups. RBM mice were killed at least 4 weeks after their last litter was weaned. Control mice were euthanized directly out of the home cage and experimental groups were euthanized at 0 min, 30 min, or 90 min recovery (n=8-10/ group) after 2h of multi-modal stress (MMS; restraint, noise, shaker, light). (Paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) neuronal activity was quantified by c-FOS immunoreactivity (-ir), and plasma corticosterone (CORT) levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. Corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) mRNA was assayed by in situ hybridization. Two-way ANOVA showed effects of age (p<0.0248), parity (p<0.0021), time (p<0.0001), and interaction (p<0.0009) on CORT levels. Specifically, basal CORT levels were reduced in NM/RBM versus NY mice. In all groups, CORT levels were significantly elevated by MMS. There was no difference between CORT levels immediately after MMS in NY or NM groups, but CORT levels after 30- and 90- min recovery from MMS remained elevated in NM, indicating reduced negative feedback with age. Additionally, RBM plasma CORT was further reduced in all time groups versus NM, accompanied by a return to baseline CORT after 90 min recovery, suggesting a parity-dependent effect on the HPA axis. Changes in CORT levels were correlated with c-FOS-ir. MMS increased PVN c-FOS-ir in all groups compared to controls and c-FOS-ir in NM was significantly greater than PVN c-FOS of RBM. Further, while c-FOS-ir in the NY females was reduced to baseline 30 min after MMS, the return to baseline was more gradual in NM. No effect of parity or age was seen in Crh mRNA. Collectively, our findings show that activation of the HPA axis in females involves interactions between age- and parity- dependent function. Our findings further show activation and inhibition of the HPA axis in females involving long-term changes that occur after pregnancy, which may increase risk for stress- or postpartum- related disorders. Supported by NIDDK 1-R01 DK105826
In Vitro and In Vivo Comparison of Hemoglobin and Electrolytes Following the Collection of Cell Saver Blood Washed with Either Normal Saline or Plasma-Lyte A.

Cell saver blood is typically washed with normal saline (NS); however, recent studies have reported decreased red blood cell hemolysis and increased platelet function when a more physiologic washing solution, such as Plasma-Lyte A (PL-A) is used. We evaluated the in vitro and in vivo effects of NS compared to PL-A as washing solutions for cell saver blood in pediatric cardiac surgery. Cell saver blood was re-infused for up to 24 hours post-collection. Laboratory and clinical data were collected from infants receiving cell saver washed with either NS (n = 20) or PL-A (n = 21). Compositions of the cell saver blood were compared between groups at 5 in vitro time points and in vivo patient blood at 24 hours post-bypass. Although there were differences in in vitro laboratory values between groups; 24 hours post-bypass, in vivo results were similar. Our data supports 24-hour reinfusion of cell saver washed with either NS versus PL-A in pediatric cardiac surgery patients, and provides data on the differences in cell saver composition to guide future studies.
Examining the Effects of Integrating Anxiety Management Instruction Within a Reading Intervention for Upper Elementary Students With Reading Difficulties.

We present findings from the first cohort of third- and fourth-grade students with reading difficulties (128 students from 31 classrooms) who participated in a 2-year intervention examining the effects of a reading intervention with and without anxiety management. Using a randomized controlled trial, students were assigned to one of three conditions: (a) small-group reading intervention with anxiety management instruction (RANX), (b) small-group reading intervention with math fact practice (RMATH), and (c) business-as-usual (BAU) comparison condition (no researcher provided treatment). Personnel from the research team provided participants in the RANX and RMATH the same reading intervention with the variation in the two treatments being whether the same amount of time per lesson was allocated to anxiety management (RANX) or practicing math facts (RMATH). Students in the RANX significantly outperformed students in the BAU on reading comprehension (effect size [ES] = 1.22) and students in the RMATH outperformed BAU on reading comprehension (ES = 0.77). Groups did not differ significantly on other reading outcomes. Reading anxiety moderated the main effect of the RANX intervention on Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE) word reading when contrasted against the BAU group indicating a significant difference favoring RANX where treatment's effect decreased by 0.94 units (about 1 point on the outcome) on word reading for each additional point increase in reading anxiety.
Crisis in Iceland: Deposit-Guarantee Scheme Failure and State Liability

On January 28, 2013, the Court of Justice of the European Free Trade Association States held that Iceland was not required to compensate foreign depositors of Landsbanki, an Icelandic bank, when the depositguarantee scheme failed to reimburse depositors following the 2008 financial crisis. The court supported its conclusion with the text of the Directive that established deposit-guarantee schemes as well as policy arguments regarding consumer protection and moral hazard. The court also found that Iceland’s failure to repay foreign depositors did not constitute an act of discrimination. Although the court correctly interpreted both the text and policy goals of the Directive, the precedential value of the court’s decision may be limited due to the severity of the 2008 crisis.
Impact Studies of a 2 C Global Warming on the Arctic Sea Ice Cover

The possible impact of an increase in global temperatures of about 2 C, as may be caused by a doubling of atmospheric CO2, is studied using historical satellite records of surface temperatures and sea ice from late 1970s to 2003. Updated satellite data indicate that the perennial ice continued to decline at an even faster rate of 9.2 % per decade than previously reported while concurrently, the surface temperatures have steadily been going up in most places except for some parts of northern Russia. Surface temperature is shown to be highly correlated with sea ice concentration in the seasonal sea ice regions. Results of regression analysis indicates that for every 1 C increase in temperature, the perennial ice area decreases by about 1.48 x 10(exp 6) square kilometers with the correlation coefficient being significant but only -0.57. Arctic warming is estimated to be about 0.46 C per decade on average in the Arctic but is shown to be off center with respect to the North Pole, and is prominent mainly in the Western Arctic and North America. The length of melt has been increasing by 13 days per decade over sea ice covered areas suggesting a thinning in the ice cover. The length of melt also increased by 5 days per decade over Greenland, 7 days per decade over the permafrost areas of North America but practically no change in Eurasia. Statistically derived projections indicate that the perennial sea ice cover would decline considerably in 2025, 2035, and 2060 when temperatures are predicted by models to reach the 2 C global increase.
Selection Index Theory

Previous chapters have emphasized the prediction of breeding values of parents based on the performance of their offspring. In practice these predicted breeding values are used to select the very best parents to carry forward in a breeding program and to select parents to retain in the production population (e.g. by roguing parents with low predicted breeding values from seed orchards). It is also often necessary to select among the individual offspring resulting from the matings among many parents. Here the objective is to select among individual plants or animals. These forward selections are then retained in the breeding program and possibly put into a production population (e.g. grafted into a seed orchard). The task is to rank all individuals available for selection according to some selection criterion so that those with the highest values of the criterion can be selected.
Effects of conventional immunosuppressive therapy on functional and pathological features of CNS lupus in NZB/W mice

Neurological involvement is one of the most devastating complications of the disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). To understand the effect of the drugs, cyclophosphamide (CY) and prednisolone (PD) on CNS manifestations, the New Zealand Black/White (NZB/W) lupus mice, were given a cocktail of both drugs by intraperitoneal injections daily from 22 to 44 weeks of age. The treatment prolonged survival (10% of the treated 20 NZB/W mice died compared to 50% of the 30 NZB/W mice, with no mortality in the control NZW mice). Real-time PCR analysis showed a three- to fifteen-fold increase in the expression of GFAP, vimentin and syndecan4 in the cerebral cortex of 44 week NZB/W mice. These alterations were prevented by CY and PD treatment. Immunostaining revealed increased GFAP expression in NZB/W mice compared to congenic, nondiseased NZW mice, which was prevented by treatment. In addition, concomitant changes were observed in the expression of extracellular matrix proteins, collagen IV and fibronectin. To determine the impact of these alterations on the neurological manifestations of SLE, behavior was studied in these mice. The NZB/W mice were spontaneously less active in the open field and exhibited a decrease in distance traveled (58% of control, p<0.01) and ambulatory measurements (52% of control, p<0.01). They took more time (8.8 + 1.2min) to escape from the maze compared to the control NZW mice (2.6 + 0.8min). Even more striking was that the behavioral deficits were alleviated in these mice by CY and PD treatment. These results support the hypothesis that increased astrogliosis and altered extracellular matrix proteins may be two of the critical factors that mediate lupus brain disease.
Cone Cluster Labeling for Support Vector Clustering.

Clustering forms natural groupings of data points that maximize intra-cluster similarity and minimize intercluster similarity. Support Vector Clustering (SVC) is a clustering algorithm that can handle arbitrary cluster shapes. One of the major SVC challenges is a cluster labeling performance bottleneck. We propose a novel cluster labeling algorithm that relies on approximate coverings both in feature space and data space. Comparison with existing cluster labeling approaches suggests that our strategy improves efficiency without sacrificing clustering quality.
Redesigned Stroke Care for A Value Based World: Better Outcomes, Lower Spending (S49.002)

OBJECTIVE: The Stanford Clinical Excellence Research Center desired to redesign the delivery process for stroke prevention and care with the aim of attaining the lowest cost care to the best clinical outcomes. BACKGROUND: Stroke is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. with over $20 billion in direct medical spending. Biomedical advancements continue, but stroke care delivery has not kept apace. DESIGN/METHODS: Our systematic design method included: (1) A literature review of major guidelines, stroke care delivery methods, and cost effectiveness studies to identify the best practices and how to achieve them at the lowest cost; (2) Site visits with centers with high quality care delivered at the lowest cost; (3) Observations of patients and providers to identify their most vexing unmet needs; (4) Development of a new model using design thinking and all sources of evidence; (5) Estimation of the model’s cost-saving potential, using risk factor prevalence, stroke incidence, and costs of conditions and interventions. RESULTS: The high-value stroke care model: (1) Prevents strokes through maximal use of preventative medications using direct interactions between high risk patients and a team of proactive nurses and certified nursing assistants; (2) Stratifies patients who present with a TIA but low near term recurrent stroke risk to outpatient care, while patients with a non-disabling stroke will be evaluated under observation status; and (3) Delivers tPA with a globally exemplary time frame, (4) strengthened transition to community programs for those at high risk for readmissions. Combined, cost modeling projects patient outcome improvements and and reduction in healthcare spending in cerebrovascular disease by 11%. CONCLUSIONS: Through a multi-source health care delivery redesign process, we developed a high-value stroke care model. We are piloting this model in various sites across the U.S. to verify its impact on clinical outcomes and net spending. Study Supported by: Disclosure: Dr. Kalanithi has nothing to disclose. Dr. Conley has nothing to disclose. Dr. Milstein has nothing to disclose.
Peeling the Chinese onion

There are many explanations for the technological decline of China at the end of the mediaeval period, and the coincident technological rise of Europe. One, in a word, is geography.
Prophylactic indomethacin in extremely premature infants between 23 and 24 weeks gestation

Background: In extremely premature infants, the presence of a left-to-right shunt through a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) increases the risks of pulmonary hemorrhage, intraventricular hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis, renal failure, and chronic lung disease. Conservative management induces spontaneous ductus closure in <20% of extremely premature infants (infants born at <25 weeks of gestation). The aim of the present study was to determine the efficacy and safety of prophylactic indomethacin (INDO) administration for PDA closure in extremely premature infants born between 23 and 24 weeks of gestation. Methods: A historical case–control study of 30 infants born between 23 and 24 weeks of gestation was carried out. In the prophylactic INDO group, a 12 h-long, 0.01 mg/kg per h dose of INDO was administered within 6 h of life. During the historical control period, only infants with symptomatic PDA were treated with INDO for 1 h. The incidence of symptomatic PDA, mortality and early neonatal morbidity was compared between the two groups on Fisher's exact test and Mann–Whitney rank–sum test. Results: None of the infants in the prophylactic INDO group had symptomatic PDA, while 11 of the 15 infants in the control group showed symptomatic PDA (P < 0.001). There were no significant differences between the mortality rates and the early neonatal morbidities in the two groups. Conclusions: Prophylactic INDO administration to extremely premature infants born between 23 and 24 weeks of gestation decreased the incidence of symptomatic PDA without increasing the incidence of adverse effects.
Reactivity of oxytyrosinase toward substrates.

Abstract An oxygenated tyrosinase (T'') is formed by addition of H2O2 to resting mushroom enzyme (Jolley, R. L., Jr., Evans, L. H. & Mason, H. S. (1971) The Second International Symposium on Oxidases and Redox Systems, Memphis, Tennessee, in press; (1972) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 46, 878). The reactivity of T'' toward monophenolic tyrosinase substrates was investigated by the stopped flow method. The first-order rate constants for T'' disappearance in the presence of p-hydroxybenzaldehyde and p-hydroxybenzoate were about 0.5 and 0.3 s-1, respectively. These rates were sufficiently large to support the over-all enzyme-catalyzed reactions and were not affected by H2O2 concentrations within the concentration ranges examined. T'' appears to be the first oxygenated intermediate detected with a copper oxidase.
Start-up simulations of the PULSAR pulsed tokamak reactor

Start-up conditions are examined for a pulsed tokamak reactor that uses only inductively driven plasma current (and bootstrap current). A zero-dimensional (profile-averaged) model containing plasma power and particle balance equations is used to study several aspects of plasma start-up, including: (1) optimization of the start-up pathway; (2) tradeoffs of auxiliary start-up heating power versus start-up time; (3) volt-second consumption; (4) thermal stability of the operating point; (5) estimates of the divertor heat flux and temperature during the start-up transient; (6) the sensitivity of the available operating space to allowed values of the H confinement factor; and (7) partial-power operations.
A Criterion for Stability in Random Boolean Cellular Automata

Random boolean cellular automata are investigated, where each gate has two randomly chosen inputs and is randomly assigned a boolean function of its inputs. The effect of non-uniform distributions on the choice of the boolean functions is considered. The main results are that if the gates are more likely to be assigned constant functions than non-canalyzing functions, then with very high probability, the automaton will exhibit very stable behavior: most of the gates will stabilize, and the state cycles will be bounded in size.
Informal Networks and Access to Power to Obtain Housing in Urban Slums in Ghana

Scholarship that examines obtaining housing in urban Ghana focuses on the role of state planning or access to financial markets, yet most housing in Ghana is provided outside these official channels, often in urban slums, where residents turn to nonstate providers (NSPs) to find housing. NSPs are local social networks led by political entrepreneurs motivated by informal norms and incentives, which shape the quality of housing and security of tenure. Their logic is best represented by treating the governance of housing as a collective action problem. This article introduces a typology of slums based on settlement patterns, including extralegal, indigenous, and purchased settlements. Ethnographic research and survey data illustrate the governance of housing across these types of Ghanaian informal settlements.
Purification of the creatine kinase isozymes of the green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) with Blue Sepharose CL-6B.

Abstract Three homodimeric creatine kinase isozymes (A 2 , B 2 , and C 2 ) of the green sunfish ( Lepomis cyanellus ) were purified by a combination of affinity chromatography, gel filtration, and preparative starch gel electrophoresis. The final preparations were isozymically pure and were used to elicit antibodies in rabbits. The use of the group-specific adsorbant Blue Sepharose CL-6B (Pharmacia) and specific elution conditions for creatine kinase facilitated purification. Fish creatine kinase isozymes are sensitive to denaturation and cannot be readily purified by procedures routinely used for mammalian creatine kinase isozymes.
Frustration: Theory and practice.

Frustration is often dismissed as a transient by-product of thwarted aspirations, a disruptive and uncivilized mark of Cain. Amsel’s work, however, shows the creative and enabling role that frustration can play in the behavior of organisms. The book epitomized here first clarifies the basic phenomenon and its causes, and then extends it by mapping its development, along with that of other behavioral markers, against the development of brain structures. One may take exception to the particulars: Are the chosen variables the best ones to measure? Is frustration an autonomous motive or is it the liberation of the arousal normally focused on the instrumental response? Is the best reading always given to the large and heterogeneous literature? But the whole of Amsel’s work transcends these particulars and exemplifies, as do few other curriculum vitae, the ideal of systematic scientific inquiry that is praised more often than practiced.
An eigenvector proof of fatou’s lemma for continuous functions

In a first course on analysis, we typically teach students that continuous functions on a compact interval are bounded and attain their bounds. We also teach them about the Riemann integral and that the Riemann integral "works" under uniform convergence. In a second ~ourse on analysis, we typically teach students about measure theory and prove the Bounded Convergence Theorem for the Lebesgue integral. We also prove that a Riemann integrable function is Lebesgue integrable; consequently, the Bounded Convergence Theorem is true for the Riemann integral. So the Bounded Convergence Theorem for Riemann integration can be stated entirely in first-course-in-analysis terms, but we typically give a second-course-in-analysis proof of it. In fact, the Bounded Convergence Theorem for the Riemann integral was known many years before the arrival on the scene of measure theory (it was established by Arzela in 1885), and, even after the arrival of measure theory, a number of authors considered the problem of finding a measure-free proof of it and various generalizations of it. The problem is discussed in great detail by Luxemburg [14]. That article contains an extensive bibliography, going back to Arzelh's original proof. Measure-free proofs of the Bounded Convergence Theorem for continuous functions were obtained by E Riesz [16] (using Dini's Theorem), Eberlein [2] (using innerproduct techniques), and Simons [18, 19] (using vector lattice techniques and using a precursor of the techniques discussed in this article, respectively). Other elementary proofs, some of which apply to Riemann integrable functions with Riemann in tegrable limit, are Cunningham [ 1],
Female treefrogs do not avoid heterospecific calls as they approach conspecific calls : implications for mechanisms of mate choice

Abstract Abstract. Because male treefrogs indiscriminately try to mate with other frogs of comparable size that move close to them, a major cause of heterospecific matings is thought to be inadvertent contact between a female of one species and a vocalizing male of another species. It follows that the probability of such mismatings would be reduced if females recognized the calls of sympatric, heterospecific males and avoided moving near those males during phonotactic approaches to vocalizing conspecific males. Gravid female treefrogs of three species were tested in situations in which they could avoid a source of heterospecific calls as they responded to conspecific calls. The results of these experiments provide no evidence that females avoid sources of heterospecific calls. Because females of all three species sometimes show positive phonotactic responses in 'no-choice' situations to the same kinds of heterospecific calls used in this study, these results suggest that the mechanisms responsible for homospecific pairing are qualitatively no different than those mediating intraspecific mate choice. The implications of these results for current debates about processes underlying mate choice are discussed.
The absence of coronary calcium: clinical and therapeutic implications for the clinical lipidologist.

Background Cardiac computed tomography for coronary artery calcium scoring, a diagnostic test associated with relatively low radiation exposure, provides incremental coronary risk stratification above that provided by Framingham risk scoring in asymptomatic, intermediate-risk patients. Knowledge of the appropriate use of coronary calcium scoring enables the clinician to more appropriately match the intensity of preventive cardiovascular care to the individual's absolute risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods A Medline search was used for original articles pertinent to coronary artery calcium scoring from 2000 to 2010. Results Despite the presence of coronary risk factors, up to 45% of asymptomatic, presumed intermediate-risk patients referred for coronary calcium scoring have no detectable coronary calcium, a finding associated with a 1 to 2% 10-year risk of CHD death or nonfatal myocardial infarction. Such patients could logically be given a more prolonged opportunity to respond to therapeutic lifestyle change and, if necessary, generic lipid-altering medication before more expensive treatment strategies are implemented. Conclusions Because coronary calcium scoring is usually a self-pay test, the test should be ordered only in those circumstances in which knowledge of the results will change coronary risk management. This review addresses these issues and attempts to place the clinical utility of this important diagnostic test in perspecitive for the clinician.
Basaltic rocks from the Pinacate Volcanic Field yield notably young 40Ar/39Ar ages

Determining the 40Ar/39Ar ages of young basaltic volcanic rocks is complicated by many factors, including the possible presence of excess argon and low potassium content. A recent investigation indicates that 40Ar/39Ar ages for basalts from the Pinacate volcanic field (PVF) in northwestern Sonora, Mexico, are as young as 12±4 ka, a very young age determination for a basaltic rock with excess argon. Further, these basalts represent three of the youngest volcanic centers in the PVF Two of these volcanic centers appear almost as if they “formed only yesterday,” and the ages determined, while young for 40Ar/39Ar methodology on basalts, nevertheless indicate the extremely slow rate of geomorphic change of volcanic rocks in such arid environments. Anthropogenic scars on the land surface here will last for millennia.
Orientation of a Nanocylinder at a Fluid Interface

A nanocylinder placed on a fluid interface can assume an end-on or side-on orientation, or it can immerse itself in the surrounding bulk phases. Any of these orientations can satisfy a mechanical force balance when the particle is small enough that gravitational effects are negligible. The orientation is determined by the surface energies of the fluid-solid, fluid-vapor, and vapor-solid surfaces. A comparison of the energy of each state allows phase diagrams to be defined in terms of the scaled aspect ratio x=2L/pir and the contact angle thetao, where L and r denote the nanocylinder length and radius, respectively. Line tension can also influence the orientations by changing the equilibrium contact angle theta and by increasing the energetic cost of the contact line. Phase diagrams accounting for positive line tensions Sigma are also constructed. These phase diagrams can be divided into two classes. In the first, over some range of x and Sigma, nanocylinders can be driven from side-on to end-on orientations with increasing Sigma. This transition terminates at a triple point where the side-on, end-on, and immersed energies are the same. In the second class, there is no triple point and, for a range of Sigma values, nanocylinders of all aspect ratios x prefer an end-on orientation. In all cases, for high enough Sigma, line tension drives a wetting transition similar to that already noted in the literature for spherical particles. The zero line tension predictions are compared favorably to experiment, in which functionalized gold nanowires made by template synthesis are spread at aqueous-gas interfaces, immobilized using a gel-fixation technique, and observed by scanning electron microscopy. The small aspect ratio particles (disks) were in an end-on configuration, while the longer nanowires were in a side-on orientation, in agreement with the theory.
Reversible changes of the optical and electrical properties of amorphous InOx by photoreduction and oxidation

The conductivity σ of amorphous InOx films can be increased to more than 500 Ω−1 cm−1 by exposure to ultraviolet light. This occurs even at 100 K and in sealed samples, and is caused by photoreduction. The conductivity can be decreased to less than 10−9Ω−1 cm−1 at 300 K by reoxidizing the sample in ozone or an oxygen plasma. The conducting samples exhibit free carrier absorption below hν = 0.2 eV and a Burstein shift of the optical absorption edge by about 0.4 eV. Photoreduction and oxidation can change the optical and electrical properties of one and the same film in a reproducible manner. The temperature dependence of the conductivity of different oxidation stages of a sample can be explained between 150 K and 300 K by conduction in the extended states of the amorphous semiconductor.
Amino Acid Dependent Formation of Phosphate Anhydrides in Water Mediated by Carbonyl Sulfide

Carbonyl sulfide (COS), a component of volcanic gas emissions and interstellar gas clouds, is shown to be an efficient condensing agent in the context of phosphate chemistry in aqueous solutions. We report that high-energy aminoacyl−phosphate anhydrides and aminoacyl adenylates are generated in solutions containing amino acids, COS, and the corresponding phosphate molecule. We further show that the mixed anhydrides of amino acids and inorganic phosphate are phosphorylating agents, producing pyrophosphate in better than 30% yield in the presence of Ca2+ precipitates. The amino acid dependent activations of phosphate reported here, which occur in parallel with the production of peptides, suggest that these two reactions may have shared a common intermediate on the prebiotic Earth.
Peroxynitrite-induced tyrosine nitration and phosphorylation in human platelets

Peroxynitrite (ONOO-) induces nitration of tyrosine residues and inhibits tyrosine phosphorylation in cell free systems. We investigated the effect of peroxynitrite on protein tyrosine nitration and phosphorylation in resting or thrombin-activated platelets. Peroxynitrite (150 microM) rapidly induced tyrosine nitration of 187, 164, 113, 89, and 61 kDa proteins in gel-filtered platelets which persisted up to 4.5 h. Repeated exposure of platelets to peroxynitrite produced increasing levels of nitration. Peroxynitrite also rapidly increased tyrosine phosphorylation of 120, 117, 95, 80-85, and 70 kDa platelet proteins, but this decreased by 5 min. The same pattern of tyrosine phosphorylation, but with higher intensity, was induced by thrombin in control platelets. Pretreatment of platelets with peroxynitrite decreased thrombin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation at 0.05 and 1 U/ml thrombin but not at 2 U/ml thrombin. Platelet activation responses such as P-selectin expression, serotonin secretion, and aggregation were also decreased by peroxynitrite treatment at low thrombin concentrations. Peroxynitrite exposure and tyrosine nitration decreased platelet sensitivity to thrombin but did not absolutely prevent tyrosine phosphorylation and other platelet responses.
Joint estimation of object and aberrations by using phase diversity

The joint estimation of an object and the aberrations of an incoherent imaging system from multiple images incorporating phase diversity is investigated. Maximum-likelihood estimation is considered under additive Gaussian and Poisson noise models. Expressions for an aberration-only objective function that accommodates an arbitrary number of diversity images and its gradient are derived for the case of a Gaussian noise model. Expressions for the log-likelihood function and its gradient are presented for the case of Poisson noise. An expectation-maximization algorithm that enforces a nonnegativity constraint in a natural fashion is constructed for use in the Poisson noise case.
Variation and systematics in calcareous nannofossils of the genus Sphenolithus

A quantitative and qualitative study of within-sample variation in the genus Sphenolithus Deflandre indicates the existence of significant polymorphism in this group of nannofossils. Qualitative comparison between two samples of different ages from different localities reveals two distinct ultrastructural morphologies indistinguishable in the light microscope. Statistical treatment of the quantitative data shows that the same variation exists in both samples. A number of heretofore distinct taxa are interpreted to be variants of only two species
Optical alignment of the Global Precipitation Measurements (GPM) star trackers

The optical alignment of the star trackers on the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) core spacecraft at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) was challenging due to the layout and structural design of the GPM Lower Bus Structure (LBS) in which the star trackers are mounted as well as the presence of the star tracker shades that blocked line-of-sight to the primary star tracker optical references. The initial solution was to negotiate minor changes in the original LBS design to allow for the installation of a removable item of ground support equipment (GSE) that could be installed whenever measurements of the star tracker optical references were needed. However, this GSE could only be used to measure secondary optical reference cube faces not used by the star tracker vendor to obtain the relationship information and matrix transformations necessary to determine star tracker alignment. Unfortunately, due to unexpectedly large orthogonality errors between the measured secondary adjacent cube faces and the lack of cube calibration data, we required a method that could be used to measure the same reference cube faces as originally measured by the vendor. We describe an alternative technique to theodolite auto-collimation for measurement of an optical reference mirror pointing direction when normal incidence measurements are not possible. This technique was used to successfully align the GPM star trackers and has been used on a number of other NASA flight projects. We also discuss alignment theory as well as a GSFC-developed theodolite data analysis package used to analyze angular metrology data.
Temperature-Dependent Electro-Optic Performance Of Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal Films

Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films, consisting of micrometer-sized liquid crystal (LC) droplets dispersed in a polymer matrix, have considerable promise for a variety of electro-optic applications. VVe report the first measurements of the electro-optic performance of PDLC films over an extended temperature range. These properties are strongly sensitive to the liquid crystal microdroplet size. Calorimetric studies have shown that the droplet size is controlled by the rate at which the film is cured while the operating temperature range is determined, not by cure rate, but by the choice of liquid crystal and polymer matrix material. We have measured transmittance vs voltage and response time characteristics of PDLC films for temperatures from -10°C to 60°C. For thin (≈ 17.5 μm) films, transmittance of 70% or greater is achieved over this entire temperature range for driving voltages below 60 Vrms. Off-state transmittance of collimated light) is typically about 17o. The threshold voltage, at which transmittance begins to increase from its off-state value, and the voltage needed to achieve maximum transmittance both decrease with increasing temperature. Response times are rapid compared to those of conventional nematic liquid crystal devices. At a 60 Vrms driving voltage, rise time decreases from about 250 μs to 500 μs as temperature increases from -10°C to 60°C; even shorter rise times are measured at higher driving voltages. Decay times are nearly independent of voltage at temperatures above 0°C; at subzero temperatures, decay time increases with increasing voltage. This behavior can be explained in terms of molecular reorientation within the PDLC film. Decay times at -10°C range from 300 ms to 600 ms for voltages between 60 and 120 Vrms ; at temperatures above 15°C, decay times are below 50 ms for all voltages in this range. These results suggest that PDLC films of 12-25µm thickness are promising systems for future automotive displays.