cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Determinants in CaV1 channels that regulate the Ca2+ sensitivity of bound calmodulin.

Calmodulin binds to IQ motifs in the α1 subunit of CaV1.1 and CaV1.2, but the affinities of calmodulin for the motif and for Ca2+ are higher when bound to CaV1.2 IQ. The CaV1.1 IQ and CaV1.2 IQ sequences differ by four amino acids. We determined the structure of calmodulin bound to CaV1.1 IQ and compared it with that of calmodulin bound to CaV1.2 IQ. Four methionines in Ca2+-calmodulin form a hydrophobic binding pocket for the peptide, but only one of the four nonconserved amino acids (His-1532 of CaV1.1 and Tyr-1675 of CaV1.2) contacts this calmodulin pocket. However, Tyr-1675 in CaV1.2 contributes only modestly to the higher affinity of this peptide for calmodulin; the other three amino acids in CaV1.2 contribute significantly to the difference in the Ca2+ affinity of the bound calmodulin despite having no direct contact with calmodulin. Those residues appear to allow an interaction with calmodulin with one lobe Ca2+-bound and one lobe Ca2+-free. Our data also provide evidence for lobe-lobe interactions in calmodulin bound to CaV1.2.
A method for determining faculty preferences for monographs

Methodologies for determining patron preferences for monographs are a neglected area in library literature. This article describes a method for determining faculty preferences for monographs using subject headings from a print bibliography. Faculty members from the colleges of business at three public universities in Iowa (Iowa State University, University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa) were asked to rank 100 subject areas in business administration based on their perceived importance to programs of study within their colleges or departments. A total of 58 percent of the surveys were returned and 46 percent were included in the analysis. Faculties were grouped by department, and subject areas were grouped into categories by discipline. The survey results show that, with some exceptions, faculty ranked subject groups corresponding to their departments higher than other areas. The implications of this study for collection development librarians are noted.
Crystal structures of diastereomeric styrene complexes of the chiral rhenium fragment [(η5-C5H5)Re(NO)(PPh3)]+: effect of ligating enantioface upon bonding and conformation

The styrene complex [(η5-C5H5)Re(NO)(PPh3(H2C = CHC6H5)]+BF4−1 (1) can exist as two configurational diastereomers, RS,SR and RR,SS, that differ in the C = C enantioface bound to rhenium. Crystal structures show that the eleven atom (η5-C5H5)Re(NO)-(P)(C-C) units of each are virtually superimposable ((RS,SR)-1; triclinic, P1, a = 11.438(2) A, b = 12.449(3) A, c = 10.712(2) A, α = 99.86 (1)°, β = 105.01(1)°, γ = 99.43(1)°, Z = 2; (RR,SS)-1; monoclinic, P21/n (No. 14), a = 9.673(1) A, b = 9.517(1) A, c = 30.928(2) A,, β = 94.98(1)°, Z = 4). Steric interactions between the styrene phenyl group and cyclopentadienyl ligand in the less stable diastereomer (RR,SS)-1 are apparent. These and other structural features are analyzeed in detail.
CD Control Issues In Submicron Optical Lithography

Two CD control issues are discussed in this paper. One is on the subject of defocus caused by the local flatness variations of a silicon wafer. The second deals with the optical proximity effects. The use of high NA lenses to achieve submicron resolution has resulted in much diminished available depth of focus. The local wafer flatness variation, which was considered to be a negligible source of defocus for older technologies, now accounts for a significant part of the total available error budget. A method of characterizing wafer flatness using the auto-focus system of a stepper is described. Data from a comparison of wafer samples from two vendors are presented. The implication of edge exclusion and wafer leveling is discussed, and the impact on CD control is demonstrated. In order to address this issue, the participation of the stepper and wafer manufacturers is absolutely essential. The optical proximity effects, which were also negligible for Minimum Feature Size of greater than 1 micron, are becoming an important consideration for achieving CD control, as the lithographic tools are being operated at closer to the resolution limit. Both simulation and experimental data are presented, and their impact on devices is discussed. A co-ordinated effort between several engineering disciplines is required to effectively resolve this issue and achieve optimum device yield.
Decreased mitogenic response to epidermal growth factor in human squamous cell carcinoma lines overexpressing epidermal growth factor receptor owing to limiting amounts of the adaptor protein Grb2: rescue by retinoic acid treatment.

Growth factor receptors of the tyrosine kinase family regulate proliferation of a variety of cell types. In some human cancers, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its ligands often are overexpressed, leading to both constitutive and autocrine activation. Intracellular signaling via this receptor takes place through several mechanisms of action, including activation of ras and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Our previous studies have shown that human squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) lines overexpress EGFR and do not increase proliferation in response to exogenous epidermal growth factor (EGF). The vitamin A metabolite retinoic acid (RA) has been used as a chemotherapeutic drug in the treatment of SCC. RA decreases proliferation of SCC lines, in part owing to inhibition of EGFR expression. However, we previously found that treatment of SCC lines with inhibitory doses of RA sensitized cells to the proliferative effects of EGF. We now present a mechanism of action for this effect. RA inhibited expression of EGFR and proteins in the MAPK signaling pathway. Expression of these molecules returned to basal levels within 24 h after RA withdrawal. RA also inhibited autocrine secretion of EGF, which returned to basal levels with slower kinetics. During this time, addition of exogenous EGF stimulated mitosis in SCC lines. These data suggested that signaling proteins downstream of overexpressed EGFR may have limited the mitotic response in SCC lines. In support of this hypothesis, overexpression of the EGFR adaptor protein Grb2 increased cell proliferation and restored EGF-induced mitosis.
Gold nanoparticles : enhanced optical trapping and sensitivity coupled with significant heating

Gold nanoparticles appear to be superior handles in optical trapping assays. We demonstrate that relatively large gold particles (R(b)=50 nm) indeed yield a sixfold enhancement in trapping efficiency and detection sensitivity as compared to similar-sized polystyrene particles. However, optical absorption by gold at the most common trapping wavelength (1064 nm) induces dramatic heating (266 degrees C/W). We determined this heating by comparing trap stiffness from three different methods in conjunction with detailed modeling. Due to this heating, gold nanoparticles are not useful for temperature-sensitive optical-trapping experiments, but may serve as local molecular heaters. Also, such particles, with their increased detection sensitivity, make excellent probes for certain zero-force biophysical assays.
Conceptual Change, Productive Practices, and Themata: Supporting Chemistry Classroom Talk

Vygotsky described the distinction between the “appearance and essence of things” as generating the need for science; he also discussed how this difference is responsible for the fundamental challenge faced by science teachers, as it often requires them to have to build bridges between students’ ideas and those of science. Those bridges are often constructed in the conversation around activities designed to help students explore scientific (and in the current context, chemical) phenomena. This article provides suggestions about how a teacher might facilitate such conversations by overviewing two frameworks, Stein and colleagues’ practices for orchestrating productive disciplinary discussions and Holton’s notion of thematic origins of scientific thought, and considering how those two frameworks might be integrated. To make the ideas being advocated more concrete, they are applied to an actual lesson that occurred in an introductory high school chemistry class. Through this example, the authors attempt to m...
Generalized sampling theorems for Bessel-type transforms of bandlimited functions and distributions

This paper adapts the ideas of Helms and Thomas [Proc, IRE, 50 (1962), pp. 179–184] and Jerri [Applicable Anal., 14 (1982), pp. 11–25] to derive Bessel-type sampling expansions, and determine upper bounds on the truncation errors. In deriving these expansions, it is shown that the Fourier transform property of additivity of supports under convolution also holds for $H_0 $-Hankel transforms under certain conditions.
[FeIII(SR)4]1− Complexes Can Be Synthesized By the Direct Reaction of Thiolates With FeCl3

Abstract It is shown that the previously characterized [Fe III (SR) 4 ] 1− (R = Et, i -Pr, Ph) complexes can be synthesized by the direct reaction of 4 equiv. of LiSR with FeCl 3 in DMF solution. [Fe III (SR) 4 ] 1− complexes are synthetic analogs for the [Fe III ( S -Cys) 4 ] center in rubredoxin proteins.
SU-FF-T-108: Computing the Regularization Parameter for Inverse Treatment Planning Using the L-Curve Method

Purpose: Regularization of inverse treatment planning can improve dose uniformity and decrease delivery time of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) thus improving the radiobiological effect. We attempt to select an optimal value of the regularization parameter which improves the smoothness of beam intensity functions without deterioration of accuracy of fit in the IMRT optimization problem. Method and Materials: We apply to inverse treatment planning the L-curve method which was developed to determine an optimal value of regularization parameter in the discrete ill-posed problems. The method is based on finding the regularization parameter which minimizes the residual norm which is a measure of accuracy of fit and the solution norm which is a measure of smoothness of solution. The main idea of the L-curve method is to plot the smoothing norm as a function of the residual norm for all values of the regularization parameter. Remarkably, this characteristic curve has an L-shaped dependence. The optimal value of regularization parameter can be found at the “corner” of the L-curve. Results: We apply the L-curve criterion to the optimization problem of the prostate radiotherapy cancer treatment with intensity-modulated beams. We show the distinctive L-shaped dependence of the smoothing norm as a function of the residual norm. Of great practical importance is the vertical part of the L-curve because the smoothing norm is decreasing and the residual norm remains approximately of the same value. The corner of the L-curve is located using criteria of 1) maximum curvature and 2) minimum total of the residual and smoothing norm. Conclusion: The L-curve method can be an important graphical tool for selection of the regularization parameter in inverse treatment planning. The regularization parameter determined using the L-curve provides the optimal trade-off between the smoothness of beam intensity functions and the accuracy of fit.
On the differences in the magnitude of the observed solvent effect in the kinetics of simple heterogeneous electron transfer reactions

Abstract Solvent effects have been examined for 18 simple heterogeneous redox reactions involving one-electron oxidation of a molecule to form a monocation or one-electron reduction to form a monoanion. It is shown that the degree of dependence of the rate constant on the longitudinal relaxation time of the solvent decreases with the experimental value of the standard rate constant. This observation is discussed within the context of contemporary theory for the effect of the solvent on the pre-exponential factor for the rate constant. It is concluded that, as the importance of solvent fluctuations on the frequency of crossing the Gibbs activation energy barrier for electron transfer decreases, there is a corresponding decrease in the electron transmission coefficient.
A simplified technique for the analysis of tissue acid mucopolysaccharides.

Abstract A method is described for the isolation, fractionation, and assay of acid mucopolysaccharides. It is usable for quantities of tissue containing as little as 5 μg uronic acid as mucopolysaccharide, and offers a considerable improvement in simplicity and speed over existing techniques. Although developed in this laboratory for the analysis of skin biopsies, it appears probable that this method will prove of value in the study of pathological changes in other tissues.
Metal complexes in solvent extraction—IV synergism and destruction of synergism with thenoyltrifluoroacetone and hexafluoroacetylacetone

Abstract Tracer extraction studies have been carried out on the system 65 Zn/HA/S, where HA = thenoyltrifluoroacetone (HTTA), hexafluoroacetylacetone (HHFA); S = tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (TOPO), 2-ethyl-n-hexyl alcohol, methyl-n-hexyl ketone and chloroform. Equilibrium constants have been determined for the formation of the extracted species Zn(TTA) 2 ·TOPO, Zn(HFA) 2 · TOPO and Zn(HFA) 2 (TOPO) 2 . Ultra-violet spectral studies and proton magnetic resonance studies were carried out in order to gain information on the decomposition of Zn(HFA) 2 ·(TOPO) 2 . This work supports the proposal that synergism involves both the stability and solubility of binary and ternary complexes. It is suggested that the term “antisynergism” is a misnomer, in that the phenomenon is merely the destruction of synergism. The proposal is made that in the destruction of synergism in the HHFA system by excess TOPO from an aqueous HClO 4 solution, the over-all reaction may be written: Zn(HFA) 2 ·(TOPO) 2 + 2TOPO + 2H + + 4H 2 O = Zn 2+ + 2 HHFA·2H 2 O(TOPO) 2 . When the aqueous medium is a buffer of pH 5, the over-all reaction becomes: Zn(HFA) 2 ·(TOPO) 2 + 2H 2 O + 2S = Zn(HFA) 2 ·2H 2 O + 2 TOPO-S. Here S = 2-ethylhexyl alcohol and chloroform, which are capable of hydrogen bonding with TOPO. When S = TOPO or methyl-n-hexyl ketone, no hydrogen bonding with TOPO occurs and there is no destruction of synergism from an aqueous buffer solution of pH 5.
Decomposition of Toxic Environmental Contaminants by Recyclable Catalytic, Superparamagnetic Nanoparticles

Catalytic hydrolysis of toxic organic environmental contaminants such as organophosphates by inorganic nanocrystals or polymeric latexes is emerging as a promising alternative to other remediation approaches. We have recently developed a novel catalytic medium, an inorganic nanoparticle surface-modified by a reactive polymer that can be considered a hybrid between nanocrystals and latexes. In the present work, a model warfare agent, diisopropyl fluorophosphate, is hydrolyzed catalytically in aqueous media by suspensions of magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles modified with poly(1-vinylimidazole-co-acrolein oxime-co-acrylic acid) that acts in an enzyme-like fashion. The oxime- and imidazole-modified magnetite particle serves as a nanosized particulate carrier with nucleophilic groups immobilized on its surface. The oxime-modified magnetite nanoparticles are colloidally stable within a wide pH range and are readily recovered for reuse from the aqueous milieu by high-gradient magnetic separation methods with no l...
Isolation and characterization of cholesterol-5B,6B-oxide from an aerated aqueous dispersion of cholesterol.

An unknown autoxidation product in an aerated cholesterol sol was isolated by preparative thin layer chromatography. This compound was identified as cholesterol-5β,6β-oxide by gas liquid chromatography along with infrared and mass spectrometry.
Limit-cycle and small-signal dynamics of self-excited synchronous reluctance generator

This paper deals with the transient, dynamic and steady-state performance of self-excited synchronous reluctance generator. Computer simulations of the voltage build-up and voltage collapse due to generator overloading are presented. The study of the static bifurcation phenomena due to changing load and airgap flux linkage forms the balance of this paper. >
Clinical Care and the Factory Floor

The purpose of this article is to provide the author's perspective on whether it is likely or feasible that those working in the health care domain will adapt and use lessons learned by those in the industrial domain. This article provides some historical perspective on the changes brought about in the industrial domain through the introduction of new technologies, including information technologies. The author discusses how industrialization catalyzed changes in health care delivery that paralleled but lagged behind those of the broader U.S. economy. The article concludes that there is ample reason for those interested in improving the quality and effectiveness of health informatics to systematically evaluate information technology strategies used in the industrial domain. Finally, it outlines some challenges for health informaticians and a number of factors that should be considered in adapting lessons from industry to the health care domain.
The specificity of surface membrane immunofluorescence in human malignant melanoma.

A study of membrane immunofluorescence on human malignant melanoma cells confirms previous preliminary reports indicating lack of significant cross-reactivity with other melanoma sera, similar to that described in chemical carcinogen induced tumours. The importance of careful and critical appraisal of this technique is emphasized, and is supported by several other test systems, including cytotoxicity, demonstrating lack of cross-reactivity. Multiple cross-reactions with EB3 virus-infected Burkitt lymphoma cells and glandular fever sera were clearly seen using the same methods of immunofluorescence and interpretation. La specificite de l'immunofluorescence de la membrane de surface dans le melanome malin chez l'homme Une etude de l'immunofluorescence de la membrane effectuee sur des cellules de melanome malin humain confirme les observations preliminaires deja communiquees, qui indiquent une absence de reactivite croisee importante avec d'autres serums de melanome, phenomene qui a deja ete observe dans les tumeurs induites par un carcinogene chimique. Les auteurs soulignent l'importance d'une evaluation soigneuse et critique de cette technique, evaluation qui doit ětre renforcee par plusieurs autres tests–dont celui qui porte sur la cytotoxicite–qui demontrent l'absence de reactivite croisee. En utilisant les měmes methodes d'immunofluorescence et d'interpretation, les auteurs ont nettement observe de multiples reactions croisees avec des cellules de lymphome de Burkitt infectees par le virus EB3 et des serums de sujets atteints de fievre glandulaire.
House officer procedure documentation using a personal digital assistant: a longitudinal study

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) have been integrated into daily practice for many emergency physicians and house officers. Few objective data exist that quantify the effect of PDAs on documentation. The objective of this study was to determine whether use of a PDA would improve emergency medicine house officer documentation of procedures and patient resuscitations. Twelve first-year Emergency Medicine (EM) residents were provided a Palm V (Palm, Inc., Santa Clara, California, USA) PDA. A customizable patient procedure and encounter program was constructed and loaded into each PDA. Residents were instructed to enter information on patients who had any of 20 procedures performed, were deemed clinically unstable, or on whom follow-up was obtained. These data were downloaded to the residency coordinator's desktop computer on a weekly basis for 36 months. The mean number of procedures and encounters performed per resident over a three year period were then compared with those of 12 historical controls from a previous residency class that had recorded the same information using a handwritten card system for 36 months. Means of both groups were compared a two-tailed Student's t test with a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. One hundred randomly selected entries from both the PDA and handwritten groups were reviewed for completeness. Another group of 11 residents who had used both handwritten and PDA procedure logs for one year each were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their satisfaction with the PDA system. Mean documentation of three procedures significantly increased in the PDA vs handwritten groups: conscious sedation 24.0 vs 0.03 (p = 0.001); thoracentesis 3.0 vs 0.0 (p = 0.001); and ED ultrasound 24.5 vs. 0.0 (p = 0.001). In the handwritten cohort, only the number of cardioversions/defibrillations (26.5 vs 11.5) was statistically increased (p = 0.001). Of the PDA entries, 100% were entered completely, compared to only 91% of the handwritten group, including 4% that were illegible. 10 of 11 questioned residents preferred the PDA procedure log to a handwritten log (mean ± SD Likert-scale score of 1.6 ± 0.9). Overall use of a PDA did not significantly change EM resident procedure or patient resuscitation documentation when used over a three-year period. Statistically significant differences between the handwritten and PDA groups likely represent alterations in the standard of ED care over time. Residents overwhelmingly preferred the PDA procedure log to a handwritten log and more entries are complete using the PDA. These favorable comparisons and the numerous other uses of PDAs may make them an attractive alternative for resident documentation.
Stress, stress response, and health

Components of stress and the stress response differ between men and women. The tend-and-befriend response, mediated by oxytocin and endogenous opioids, may be more applicable to women than the fight-or-flight response, which was based largely on studies of men. Even within the flight-or-flight response pattern there are sex-based differences. The HPA axis interacts with reproductive function, such as menstruation. For immune function there are sex differences as well as differences within the menstrual phase. Inclusion of men and women in stress response studies is critical. Further study is needed to clarify the influence of ovarian hormones on the stress and immune responses during the reproductive stages in women's lives, including menarche. pregnancy, and perimenopause.
Automatic touring in a hypertext system

A hypertext system connects information into a graph structure were related nodes of information are connected by links. The user browses through this network of links to gain knowledge. The authors propose an autonomous information gathering process which monitors the user's progress through the network, and a data structure for storing information about the user's activities in a form that can be used to aid this user, and other users of the hypertext. This information can be used to suggest anchors to the user; enhance local and global views; allow the hypertext author or user to easily create guided tours, and create a global body of information making hypertexts stored across multiple sites more efficient. An implementation of this process is shown which gathers the information, and gives suggestions to the user on which link to use based on the previously collected information. >
Gastric Digestion In Vivo and In Vitro: How the Structural Aspects of Food Influence the Digestion Process

Food digestion is crucial for sustaining life. Although it has been examined for more than 300 years, the basic principles are not entirely understood. Antral motility is well characterized, and current research is seeking to determine flow patterns generated by the stomach's peristaltic contractions. The rate of gastric emptying for solid and liquid meals has been determined according to variations in meal composition, energy content, and subject characteristics. The glycemic response has been measured for many carbohydrate foods and is altered by factors such as amount of processing, particle size, and starch structure. Similarly, ileal starch digestibility is altered by food and starch properties. Even though many foods have been studied according to their glycemic response, starch digestibility, and in vitro digestion kinetics, the rate-determining processes and underlying mechanisms remain to be established. The link between food properties, digestion processes, and final health outcomes must be strengthened for functional food optimization.
Sex-Dependent Gene Expression and Evolution of the Drosophila Transcriptome

Comparison of the gene-expression profiles between adults of Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans has uncovered the evolution of genes that exhibit sex-dependent regulation. Approximately half the genes showed differences in expression between the species, and among these, ∼83% involved a gain, loss, increase, decrease, or reversal of sex-biased expression. Most of the interspecific differences in messenger RNA abundance affect male-biased genes. Genes that differ in expression between the species showed functional clustering only if they were sex-biased. Our results suggest that sex-dependent selection may drive changes in expression of many of the most rapidly evolving genes in the Drosophila transcriptome.
Precreation Discourse and the Nicene Creed: Christianity Finds its Voice in the Roman Empire

AbstractExploring the emergence of creedal statements in Christianity about non-time before creation, called precreation rhetorolect, this essay begins with the baptismal creed called the Roman Symbol and its expansion into the Apostles’ Creed. These early creeds contain wisdom, apocalyptic, and priestly rhetorolect, but no precreation rhetorolect. When the twelve statements in the Apostles’ Creed were expanded into the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, the first three statements added precreation rhetorolect. God the Father Almighty not only creates heaven and earth, but God creates all things visible and invisible. Jesus Christ is not only God’s only Son, our Lord, but the Son is begotten from the Father before all time, Light from Light, and true God from true God. Being of the same substance as the Father, all things were made through the Son before he came down from heaven, the Son was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human. With these creedal additions, a precreation storyline became the context for a lengthy chain of argumentation about belief among fourth century Christian leaders.
Laminated bus bars for power system interconnects

This paper demonstrates the effects of a laminated busbar on power electronics circuits, and compares its characteristics to those of other power distribution topologies. Included in the discussion are physical as well as electrical characteristics, along with the manufacturing implications that need to be considered.
Genetic Structure of Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) Populations: Physiographic Influences and Conservation Implications

The distribution and genetic structure of wildlife populations may be impacted by landscape features and anthropogenic factors. The role of these factors in the genetic relationships among Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) from 21 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia was investigated using microsatellite genetic markers. Evidence for null alleles was found in 8 of the 21 populations studied, with frequencies ranging from 0.018 to 0.185. However, the presence of null alleles appeared to have no effect on the interpretation of the patterns of genetic relationships among the populations studied. The analyses showed that the overall extent of genetic differentiation was consistent with isolation by distance; however, a substantial amount of among-groups variation could not be accounted for by geographic distance alone. Bayesian analysis (STRUCTURE), genetic distance analysis, and factorial correspondence analysis (FCA) all indicated that the sampled populations represented three genetic g...
Pectin-based biodegradable water insoluble films

Aqueous solutions of pectin, an acidic polysaccharide which occurs in various natural products, was cast into clear films. While the films were flexible enough to be used as wrapping materials, their strength and resistance to water were inferior to presently used commercial films. However, precast films immersed into aqueous solutions of multivalent cations became insoluble in water and depending on the ions became stronger in tension. Tensile strength increased to levels comparable to, or in the case of calcium, copper(II) and zinc, greater than those of some commercial wrapping materials.
Starch Catabolism by a Prominent Human Gut Symbiont Is Directed by the Recognition of Amylose Helices

The human gut microbiota performs functions that are not encoded in our Homo sapiens genome, including the processing of otherwise undigestible dietary polysaccharides. Defining the structures of proteins involved in the import and degradation of specific glycans by saccharolytic bacteria complements genomic analysis of the nutrient-processing capabilities of gut communities. Here, we describe the atomic structure of one such protein, SusD, required for starch binding and utilization by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, a prominent adaptive forager of glycans in the distal human gut microbiota. The binding pocket of this unique alpha-helical protein contains an arc of aromatic residues that complements the natural helical structure of starch and imposes this conformation on bound maltoheptaose. Furthermore, SusD binds cyclic oligosaccharides with higher affinity than linear forms. The structures of several SusD/oligosaccharide complexes reveal an inherent ligand recognition plasticity dominated by the three-dimensional conformation of the oligosaccharides rather than specific interactions with the composite sugars.
The U.S. Army, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and Leadership for World War II, 1933—1942

Prior to World War II, the U.S. Army numbered 187,000 soldiers. Its growth to more than 8 million was a significant accomplishment. Little known to most, the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration’s ...
A direct comparison between the historical record of lake level and the δ18O signal in carbonate sediments from Lake Turkana, Kenya

We compared oxygen isotopic profiles from authigenic calcite in nine freeze cores from Lake Turkana, Kenya, with the historical record of lake levels for the past 105 years. 210Pb dating of the cores indicates that sediment in two of the cores spans the complete historical record. We observed spatial variability in 6180 and 617C values between cores and an offset from expected isotopic equilibrium values in several of the cores. Both of these characteristics can be explained by proximity to river input. In model calculations of lake level, we muted the spatial variability of the S1*O dataset by using a normalized and stacked record. There is good agreement between the lake level history modeled using the normalized and stacked record and the historical record of lake level. The lake level record derived from the S180 data indicates that lake level fluctuated by 15 m during the last century. Our model calculations indicate that S’*O records can be used to generate quantitative lake level curves even using datasets with significant spatial variability. The isotopic composition of carbonates has been used in numerous lacustrine studies to determine paleoclimatic information. Fluctuations in the isotopic record preserved in carbonates are created mainly by variations in the temperature and composition of the water in which the carbonate formed. In turn, these variations can be caused by climatic changes in the lake basin. Carbonates are therefore potentially an archive of the paleoenvironment of a lake basin. In tropical or closed-basin settings, shifts in the oxygenstable isotopic composition (S180) of carbonates are often attributed to shifts in the evaporation-to-input (E : Z) ratio of a lake. Previous workers have used the relationship between changes in the S180 value of carbonates and the E: Z ratio of a lake basin to discuss qualitative changes in paleo-lake levels. Although the relationship between the &*O composition of lake water and the various inputs and outputs to a basin has been described quantitatively (Gat 1984; Phillips et al. 1986; Benson and White 1994), only one quantitative comparison between a historical lake level record and lake level determined from the aI80 composition of carbonates has been attempted (Li 1995).
On regularity conditions for maximum likelihood estimators

Summary A theorem by Cramer concerning the asymptotic properties of maximum likelihood estimators is considered here. It is shown that the properties of consistency and asymptotic efficiency can be proved by assuming some uniformity properties of the second order partial derivative of the logarithm of the probability density function. There are no restrictions used in the theorem which require derivatives of higher order than the second.
Cirrus Cloud Properties from a Cloud-Resolving Model Simulation Compared to Cloud Radar Observations

Abstract Cloud radar data collected at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program's Southern Great Plains site were used to evaluate the properties of cirrus clouds that occurred in a cloud-resolving model (CRM) simulation of the 29-day summer 1997 intensive observation period (IOP). The simulation was “forced” by the large-scale advective temperature and water vapor tendencies, horizontal wind velocity, and turbulent surface fluxes observed at the Southern Great Plains site. The large-scale advective condensate tendency was not observed. The correlation of CRM cirrus amount with Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) high cloud amount was 0.70 for the subperiods during which cirrus formation and decay occurred primarily locally, but only 0.30 for the entire IOP. This suggests that neglecting condensate advection has a detrimental impact on the ability of a model (CRM or single-column model) to properly simulate cirrus cloud occurrence. The occurrence, vertical location, and thi...
The Jaw Adductor Musculature in Notharctine Primates

The dimensions of the jaw adductor muscles provide a complement to dental morphology in reconstructing diets of fossil primates. A dataset of jaw adductor dimensions and related osteological measurements in extant strepsirrhine primates provided the basis for jaw muscle reconstruction in European Eocene adapoids and Malagasy subfossil lemurs. Here, the same method is applied to North American Eocene adapoids. I used caliper measurements, along with areas and distances from digital 3D scans to estimate muscle size, leverage, and bite force in Smilodectes and Notharctus (Notharctinae). Notharctines plot among extant strepsirrhines for most masticatory variables relative to skull size. In general, their muscle size is modest compared to that of European adapoids and subfossil lemurs. Molar morphology suggests that Smilodectes and Notharctus were adapted to processing tough foods such as leaves. Condyle height in these genera suggests that they were not adapted for wide gapes. Chewing muscle leverage is poore...
Shape-Morphing Space Frame (SMSF) Using Linear Bistable Elements

This paper presents a new concept: a Shape-Morphing Space Frame (SMSF), which is a novel application utilizing the Linear Bistable Compliant Crank-Slider Mechanism (LBCCSM). The frame’s initial shape is constructed from a single-layer grid of flexures, rigid links and LBCCSMs. The grid is bent into the space frame’s initial cylindrical shape, which can morph because of the inclusion of LBCCSMs in its structure. The design parameters consist of the frame’s initial height, its tessellation pattern (including bistable elements’ placement), its initial diameter, and the final desired shape. The method used in placing the bistable elements is a novel contribution to this work as it considers the principle stress trajectories. This paper will present two different examples of Shape-Morphing Space Frames, each starting from a cylindrical-shell space frame and morphing, one to a hyperbolic-shell space frame and the other to a spherical-shell space frame, both morphing by applying moments, which shear the cylindrical shell, and forces, which change the cylinder’s radius using Poisson’s effect.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: striving for individualized therapy

ABSTRACTDisease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug (DMARD) use in the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) has experienced a dramatic evolution since the early introduction of methotrexate in the 1970’s. This renaissance has been primarily driven by innovation in drug discovery and development that has resulted in the approval of a number of protein-based therapeutics targeting disease-specific pathways. Despite the expansion in the number of drugs available in the treatment of JIA, interindividual variation in therapeutic response and drug-associated toxicities continue to be a major concern and has driven efforts towards individualized therapy. Recent advances in pediatric drug development and innovative approaches to identifying a priori predictors of drug response hold the promise for an individualized approach to therapy that will yield the highest efficacy and safety potential for each JIA patient.
Complement Fixation in Variola and Vaccinia

Conclusions1. A rapid method for determining lactic acid in stools is presented. 2. Only a few milligrams of sulphite binding material was found in the study of the stools of 2 normal adults. 3. Evidence is presented that lactic acid is destroyed by intestinal bacteria.
Free Space Optical Multicast Crossbar Switch with Non-Movable Switching Elements

We propose a multicast-capable free-space optical switch using tri-state switching elements (SEs) and investigate its complexity and loss. We also show that an N-input M-output multicast-capable switch requires only N · M non-movable tri-state SEs.
Avoiding the Contribution 'Catch 22': CERCLA Administrative Orders for Cleanup Are Civil Actions

EPA contends that its CERCLA administrative cleanup orders (AOs) can have an effective date that triggers contribution rights and protection upon the signing of the order. In essence, EPA and non-settling PRPs thus advocate an interpretation of CERCLA that permits the contribution right of an AO recipient to be extinguished by CERCLA’s statute of limitations before it is possible to determine the prerequisites of that right, the total liability to the plaintiff and the proportionate shares of the various PRPs. This is a “Catch 22.” But EPA’s declarations in its model settlement documents that administrative orders on consent (AOCs), constitute “administrative settlements” should have no force and effect. Courts must interpret the provisions of CERCLA in light of established principles of statutory interpretation, such as the Whole Text Canon, the Presumption Against Change in Common Law, and the Absurdity Doctrine. The references to administrative settlement in Section 113(f) should be read as referring to the two administrative settlement provisions in Section 122 (de minimis and small cost recovery), which are also cross-referenced in the statute of limitations provision, Section 113(g)(3). In other words, AOCs for cleanup under Section 106 are not the administrative settlements to which these three provisions (113(f), 113(g)(3), and 122) refer. EPA’s creating of a new acronym (ASAOC) for AOCs does not change the text of the statute. In addition, liability under CERCLA to reimburse cleanup costs under Section 107 cannot be finally “resolved” until those costs are “incurred” under CERCLA’s multiple lawsuits scheme. Provisions of Section 122 and canons of statutory interpretation forbid this. The better statutory gloss is to read the term “civil action” under Section 113(f)(1) to include all administrative cleanup orders under Section 106, including both unilateral administrative orders (UAOs) and AOCs. Once an AO recipient receives and complies with an AO, the statute intends that the recipient have an immediate right of contribution against other PRPs. The contribution action is “during” the “civil action” of EPA’s imposition of obligations on the PRP through the administrative order. The statute of limitations on such contribution claims does not expire until three years after the date of the judgment in the court’s disposition of an action to enforce the order or after a judicially-approved settlement. In the absence of an EPA action to enforce the order or a judicially-approved settlement, the complying AO recipient has a right of contribution under Section 113(f), but the statute of limitations on that cause of action does not begin to run until after judicial review of the order, completion of the response, or incurrence of costs called for in the order.
Effect of pair-housing on operant behavior task performance by rhesus monkeys

This study evaluated the effects of pair-housing on several operant (trained) behaviors in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Sixteen young, male, individually housed rhesus monkeys (age, 2.5 to 5.5 years) performed a battery of behaviors consisting of motivation (progressive ratio, PR), short-term memory and attention (delayed matching-to-sample, DMTS), color and position discrimination (conditioned position responding, CPR), and learning (incremental repeated acquisition, IRA) tasks. Behavioral assessments occurred 5 days/week, with the PR, IRA, and CPR tasks presented on one test day, and the DMTS task presented on the next test day. Thus, each task was performed two or three days/week. Eight subjects then were pair-housed, while eight age-matched controls remained individually housed. Pair-housed monkeys were separated for behavior testing and feeding but allowed access to each other approximately 20 h/day. The performance of the two groups of monkeys were compared for the 2 months prior to pairing, for a 2-month transition period as the pairs adjusted to the new housing situation, and for a 2-month period after the pairs had been established. Performance of the CPR and IRA tasks did not change over time in either group. For the PR and DMTS tasks, the number of trials completed increased over the course of the study in the controls but not in the pair-housed monkeys. In conclusion, pair-housing monkeys is feasible for studies involving operant behavior testing as a model for a variety of complex brain functions. However, housing condition may affect some test parameters, and this must be taken into consideration during experimental design.
Mapping Tenureland: A Researcher Stalled

(2015). Mapping Tenureland: A Researcher Stalled. Studies in Art Education: Vol. 57, No. 1, pp. 76-87.
Use of 5-mm Laparoscopic Stapler to Perform Open Small Bowel Anastomosis in a Neonatal Animal Model.

Abstract Purpose: While adult bowel anastomoses are typically performed with staplers, neonatal small bowel anastomoses have traditionally been performed in a hand-sewn manner due to the large size of surgical staplers. The purpose of this study was to compare stapled anastomosis using a newly available, 5-mm laparoscopic stapler to a hand-sewn anastomosis in an open animal model. Methods: Twenty anastomoses were performed by two general surgery residents (10 stapled and 10 hand-sewn) in an adult New Zealand white rabbit. The small bowel was divided with a scalpel. Surgical technique was alternated between single-layer hand-sewn and stapled anastomoses. Each anastomosis was resected for ex vivo testing. Measurements collected were outer diameter of the bowel before division, time to perform the anastomosis, anastomosis inner diameter (ID), and leak test. IDs were measured by cutting the anastomosis in cross-section, taking a photograph, and measuring the diameter by computer software. In addition, the sur...
Our model of models in the Anthropocene

This contribution will consider our contemporary models of architectural reasoning and imagination in the context of the Anthropocene. In this context, architects habitually defer to a technocratic, scientistic posture to validate a range of design strategies and agendas, often through simulation techniques. But as the contemporary philosophy of science establishes, the ontology of projective simulations for buildings, cities and climates exists to simulate dynamics in contexts for which data are necessarily scarce (otherwise an experiment would provide more reliable knowledge). This scarcity of data, in turn, makes the process of validation a compromised, at best, proposition.Whilst the scientism of contemporary architecture is ostensibly secular in its disposition, its models of faith-based simulation suggest otherwise. However, in contexts for which data are scarce, as the philosopher Eric Winsberg observes, fables offer an alternative, dissimulating mode of knowledge production and transmission that i...
Automatic Verification of Finite Precision Implementations of Linear Controllers

We consider the problem of verifying finite precision implementation of linear time-invariant controllers against mathematical specifications. A specification may have multiple correct implementations which are different from each other in controller state representation, but equivalent from a perspective of input-output behavior (e.g., due to optimization in a code generator). The implementations may use finite precision computations (e.g. floating-point arithmetic) which cause quantization (i.e., roundoff) errors. To address these challenges, we first extract a controller’s mathematical model from the implementation via symbolic execution and floating-point error analysis, and then check approximate input-output equivalence between the extracted model and the specification by similarity checking. We show how to automatically verify the correctness of floating-point controller implementation in C language using the combination of techniques such as symbolic execution and convex optimization problem solving. We demonstrate the scalability of our approach through evaluation with randomly generated controller specifications of realistic size.
A communitarian critique of the child Protective system

Child Protective Services (CPS) has been defined as an ineffective system. Common criticisms are that the system is overburdened and that family preservation policy pressures CPS to reunite families that can't be repaired. However, empirical analyses that identify the deficiencies of this organization are limited. This study utilizes case files and in-depth interviews with interventionists within and outside of CPS to explore the issue. Results reveal that the most common criticisms of the system do have merit. However, it reveals additional system limitations. Results suggest that the child protective system is characterized by an individualistic approach and that this focus hinders its ability to protect children. Specific problems associated with this individualistic focus are identified and a communitarian framework is proposed as a way of reconceptualizing CPS deficiencies and needed solutions
From Textbooks to Knowledge: A Case Study in Harvesting Axiomatic Knowledge from Textbooks to Solve Geometry Problems

Textbooks are rich sources of information. Harvesting structured knowledge from textbooks is a key challenge in many educational applications. As a case study, we present an approach for harvesting structured axiomatic knowledge from math textbooks. Our approach uses rich contextual and typographical features extracted from raw textbooks. It leverages the redundancy and shared ordering across multiple textbooks to further refine the harvested axioms. These axioms are then parsed into rules that are used to improve the state-of-the-art in solving geometry problems.