cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Organic nonlinear optical materials and their device applications for frequency doubling, modulation, and switching

Increased interest and activity in optoelectronics has resulted from anticipated applications of optics to communication, electronic interconnections, information storage and possibly even logic. Current nonlinear optical (NLO) devices today employ inorganic crystals, such as lithium niobate for electrooptic modulation and switching and KDP or KNbO3 for frequency doubling. Organic nonlinear optical materials, that is, poled organic polymeric films and organic crystals, have the potential to replace some of these inorganic crystals.1 Key advantages include the high intrinsic nonlinearities of some organic molecules, the ability to optimize the molecular structure for specific applications, low dc dielectric constant, and low temperature processing. Current progress has also been made in improving the long term stability of these materials. Here we wish to report on some of our recent results on measurements of the order parameter, new crosslinked polymeric materials which exhibit more stability and some device applications with polymeric materials and organic crystals.
Erratum: Neural correlates of auditory stream segregation in primary auditory cortex of the awake monkey (Hearing Research 151 (2001) (167-187) PII: S0378595500002240)

Erratum to ``Neural correlates of auditory stream segregation in primary auditory cortex of the awake monkey'' [Hear. Res. 151 (2001) 167^187)C Yonatan I. Fishman a;*, David H. Reser a, Joseph C. Arezzo a;b, Mitchell Steinschneider a;b a Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Rose F. Kennedy Center, Room 322, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA b Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Rose F. Kennedy Center, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA The date of receipt of this paper was 31 August 2000.
Role of conformational and linear epitopes in the achievement of tolerance in cow's milk allergy.

BACKGROUND: Cow's milk (CM) is one of the leading causes of food allergy in children. However, approximately 85% of milk-allergic children become clinically tolerant to CM within the first 3 years of life. The mechanisms involved in the achievement of tolerance remain unknown. OBJECTIVE: To study whether IgE antibodies from children with persistent cow's milk allergy (CMA) differ from children who become clinically tolerant in their ability to recognize linear and conformational epitopes of alpha(s1)- and beta-casein. METHODS: Thirty-six milk-allergic children were included in the study: 11 of the children became clinically tolerant, and 25 had persistent CMA. Blood was obtained from all patients during the time they showed clinical reactions to milk challenge. Six non-milk-allergic children served as controls. Specific IgE antibodies against linear (denatured) as well as conformational (native) milk proteins were determined by probing dot-blots with patients' sera. In addition, selected decapeptides from alpha(s1)- and beta-casein, previously found to be suggestive of persistent CMA, were synthesized on a cellulose-derivatized membrane and probed with individual sera from 10 patients who outgrew CMA and from 10 patients with persistent CMA. RESULTS: Analysis of immunodot-blots showed that, in comparison to tolerant patients, milk-allergic children with persistent symptoms had a significantly higher ratio of specific IgE antibodies to linearized than to native alpha- and beta-casein (P < 0.005 and P < 0.02, respectively). Comparing the selected decapeptides, six of the 10 patients with persistent allergy recognized the peptide corresponding to amino acids 69-78 from alpha(s1)-casein while none of the patients who outgrew CMA had IgE binding to this epitope. CONCLUSION: Patients with persistent milk allergy possess higher detectable levels of IgE antibodies to linear epitopes from alpha(s1)- and beta-casein than children who have achieved tolerance. Specific IgE binding to particular linear epitopes in alpha(s1)-casein may be a predictive factor for persistence of CMA.
A Social Work Perspective: Attitudes Toward End-of-Life Planning

This research examined social workers' attitudes toward end-of-life planning and related factors in a cross-sectional study (N = 844). Data were gathered on completion of a health care proxy, personal comfort, training experiences of social workers, and demographics. Attitudes toward end-of-life planning were related to personal completion of the health care proxy, personal comfort, and years of social work experience. These measures remained significant in all steps of the regression, regardless of practice grouping (health and aging or other than health and aging), suggesting the relative importance of personal rather than professional aspects. Respondents in the health and aging fields are older than those in other than health and aging, underscoring concerns about workforce issues in the field of aging.
Notes on the elasticity of the Lloyd sand on Long Island, New York

The Lloyd sand is a productive artesian aquifer underlying all of Long Island except the westernmost part. It rests unconformably upon a floor of crystalline rock that slopes toward the southeast at about 100 feet to the mile. Locally the bed-rock surface has a relief of more than 100 feet. The Lloyd sand consists of white quartz-sand and gravel, with some layers of clay. It is considered to be part of the Raritan—the basal formation of the Upper Cretaceous series. At Rockaway Park, on the south shore of the Island, the Lloyd is about 200 feet thick and is overlain by 300 feet of clays of Raritan age. The Raritan clays are in turn overlain by about 150 feet of sands, believed to be of Magothy age, and about 315 feet of Pleistocene sediments.
Stiffness, not inertial coupling, determines path curvature of wrist motions

When humans rotate their wrist in flexion-extension, radial-ulnar deviation, and combinations, the resulting paths (like the path of a laser pointer on a screen) exhibit a distinctive pattern of curvature. In this report we show that the passive stiffness of the wrist is sufficient to account for this pattern. Simulating the dynamics of wrist rotations using a demonstrably realistic model under a variety of conditions, we show that wrist stiffness can explain all characteristics of the observed pattern of curvature. We also provide evidence against other possible causes. We further demonstrate that the phenomenon is robust against variations in human wrist parameters (inertia, damping, and stiffness) and choice of model inputs. Our findings explain two previously observed phenomena: why faster wrist rotations exhibit more curvature and why path curvature rotates with pronation-supination of the forearm. Our results imply that, as in reaching, path straightness is a goal in the planning and control of wrist rotations. This requires humans to predict and compensate for wrist dynamics, but, unlike reaching, nonlinear inertial coupling (e.g., Coriolis acceleration) is insignificant. The dominant term to be compensated is wrist stiffness.
Interventions that induce modifications in the tumor microenvironment

Non-surgical cancer therapeutic strategies have focused primarily on direct killing of cancer cells by chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the efficacy of these therapies can be significantly influenced by the tumor microenvironment. The microenvironment poses both obstacles and opportunities for new therapeutic interventions. New developments in this area are the topic of this review.
SO2 adsorption products on Pt nanoparticles as a function of electrode potential and oxidative properties of carrier gas: In situ sulfur K-edge XANES approach

Abstract In situ sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy is used to determine the nature of adsorbed SO 2 species from a SO 2 /O 2 gas mixture on carbon-supported Pt nanoparticles (Pt/VC). SO 2 was adsorbed onto electrodes held at 0.1, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode while flowing 1000 ppm SO 2 in O 2 through the working electrode (WE) compartment. SO 2 adsorption products from SO 2 /O 2 are compared to those from SO 2 /N 2 gas mixtures [Baturina, et al., Langmuir, 27 (2011) 14930]. The SO 2 adsorption products are found to be essentially the same at electrodes held at 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 V. A major difference is observed at 0.1 V, where (bi)sulfate ions are generated in the presence of SO 2 in O 2 likely due to a reaction between SO 2 and H 2 O 2 formed as a byproduct of the oxygen reduction reaction in the hydrogen adsorption region. (Bi)sulfate generation on Pt/VC catalysts held at 0.1 V suggests that SO 2 may act as a peroxide radical scavenger at the PEM fuel cell cathode. Although impurities such as SO 2 and H 2 S usually promote hydrogen peroxide generation at the fuel cell cathodes, their detrimental effect may be diminished by their reaction with H 2 O 2 .
Effect of altered neuronal activity on cell size in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body and ventral cochlear nucleus of the gerbil

Activity-dependent transneuronal regulation of neuronal soma size has been studied in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body and ventral cochlear nucleus of adolescent gerbils. Cochlear ablation or tetrodotoxin has been used to eliminate afferent electrical activity in auditory nerve fibers permanently or for 24 or 48 hours. Previous studies have shown that the cross-sectional area of spherical cell somata in the ipsilateral anteroventral cochlear nucleus decreases within 24 hours of electrical activity blockade with tetrodotoxin, which is fully reversible when activity is restored. The present findings extend this work by directly comparing the results of unilateral blockade of auditory nerve action potentials or unilateral cochlear ablation on the size of spherical and globular cell bodies in the ventral cochlear nucleus with changes produced by the same manipulations in third-order cells, principal neurons in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body. Soma size in both ventral cochlear nucleus cell types decreases reliably by 24 hours after cochlear removal or eighth nerve activity blockade by tetrodotoxin. Soma size of neurons in the contralateral medial nucleus of the trapezoid body decreases 48 hours, but not 24 hours, after either manipulation. When activity in auditory nerve fibers is allowed to resume for 7 days following a 48-hour activity blockade, soma size fully recovers in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body as well as in ventral cochlear nucleus neurons. We also report that the cross-sectional area of neuronal soma in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body is larger in lateral regions of medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (low-frequency representation) than in the medial regions of the nucleus (high-frequency representation). We conclude that cell body size changes in brainstem auditory neurons are reversible and that the signals associated with the loss and subsequent recovery of soma size are activity related. However, the delayed effect of activity deprivation in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body suggests that trophic substances released by afferent axons may contribute to the maintenance of anatomical characteristics.
OPTIMUM DESIGN OF TRANSITIONS IN CLIMB/CRUISE/DESCENT FOR HYPERSONIC CRUISE VEHICLES

A simple and efficient performance analysis and optimization method is developed for finding optimum flight-path trajectories between fixed endpoints. A methodology based on the energy method is derived for optimizing transitions between climb/cruise and cruise/descent for a hypersonic reconnaissance vehicle (Mach 6). Powered hypersonic flight produces some unique performance characteristics for which the methodology satisfies mission, flight, and vehicle-related design requirements and constraints. The transitions are optimized for minimum fuel burned between end points. Results from the optimization study on transitional trajectories are presented to illustrate the methodology
The Concept of Intrinsic Motivation: Implications for Practice and Research with the Learning Disabled:

Many children and youth with learning disabilities manifest behavior problems in addition to various learning disorders. Historically, the major focus in the learning disability field has been on behavior modification while largely ignoring the construct of intrinsic motivation. A basic assumption of intrinsic motivation is the student's innate need for feeling competent and self-determining. Adelman reviews the basic constructs underlying intrinsic motivation and discusses their implications for assessment, intervention, and research activities in learning disabilities.
African Tick-Bite Fever in a Returning Traveler

Abstract Background African tick bite fever (ATBF) is an emerging infection endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and increasingly noted in travelers to the region. Case Report We present a case of ATBF in a 63-year-old man who presented with complaints of a rash and fever to the emergency department. Why Should an Emergency Physician be Aware of This? Rickettsial diseases are increasingly common and are seen on every continent except Antarctica. Many factors are contributing to their prevalence, and they have become the second most common cause of fever behind malaria in the traveler returning from Africa. Due to the global distribution of rickettsial diseases, as well as increasing international travel, emergency physicians might encounter ill and febrile travelers. A careful travel history and examination will enable the emergency physician to consider spotted fever group rickettsial diseases in their differential diagnosis for single and multiple eschars.
Effects of enhanced UV-B radiation on secondary metabolites in forage plants and potential consequences for multiple trophic responses involving mammalian herbivores

Herbivores represent the interface between primary production and higher trophic levels. The effects of enhanced UV-B radiation on microbes, invertebrate herbivores, and detritivores has received limited study in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, although direct effects (e.g. melanoma, cataracts) on mammals have been documented, indirect effects (e.g., resulting from changes in plant chemistry) of enhanced UV-B on mammalian herbivores have not been evaluated. Although the diet of mammalian herbivores has little effect on nutritional quality for their associated predators, to the extent changes in plant chemistry affect aspects of population dynamics (e.g., growth, fecundity, densities), higher trophic levels can be affected. In this study, different forage species of varying inherent levels of key secondary metabolites are being grown in the field under either ambient or ambient plus supplemental UV-B radiation simulating a 15% stratospheric ozone depletion for Pullman, Washington. At various time intervals, foliage is being sampled and analyzed for changes in secondary metabolites and other attributes. Using controlled feeding trials, changes in plant secondary metabolites are being related to preference and digestibility in specialist and generalist mammalian hindgut herbivores, digestion in ruminants and non-ruminants, and to selected aspects of population dynamics in mammalian herbivores. Results suggest how UV-B-induced changes in plant secondary chemistry affect animal nutrition, and thus animal productivity in a range of mammalian herbivores. Reductions in palatability and digestibility of plant material along with reductions in fecundity and other aspects of population dynamics could have significant economic ramifications for farmers, ranchers and wildlife biologists.
Molecular Vibration Spectra by Inelastic Electron Tunneling

An experimental and theoretical study has been carried out on the process of inelastic tunneling between metal films. The experimental results show that this process gives rise to the observation of vibrational spectra for molecules contained in the junction region. The phenomena have been studied for a number of molecular species and at temperatures ranging from 1 to 300\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. The principal effect of temperature is to broaden the observed spectral lines which can be accounted for quantitatively by considering the thermal smearing of the electron distribution in metals. Two detailed interaction mechanisms are discussed which can give rise to infrared dipole or Raman selection rules. None of the experiments carried out thus far can distinguish between these two processes, because of the low symmetry of the molecules used. In addition to the vibrational spectra, it appears that it should be possible to observe electronic transitions as well.
Christina's Worlds: Negotiating Childhood in the City.

This article focuses on the ways that one individual child, Christina, experienced urban life in and outside of a diversely populated elementary school with a multicultural curriculum. Labeled by the school and her parents as white, Christina identified as Latina, and used specific spaces in the city to support this claim. Drawing on data from a year-long ethnographic study, I show how Christina navigated her life in the city and explore the ways that she consciously represented herself over time, in multiple social spaces, as non-white. Three particular spaces are explored here: the city bus ride to school, Christina's neighborhood, and classroom discussions. Christina used a variety of resources to negotiate each space, in effect drawing a map of her racial identity as she lived in the city. Her case offers ideas about how such a curriculum might influence the senses of self of children in diversely populated classrooms.
Examination of Wind Turbine Blade Dynamics Considering Large Deformation and Including All Aeroelastic Load Couplings

A number of approximate theories have been developed by different researchers to study the dynamic behavior of the blade of a horizontal axis wind turbine that reacts due to axial, torsional and flexural aerodynamic loadings and to the coupling interactions among all of these loadings. Some researchers include warping, but they do not include the blade’s pretwisting. Others include the axial and torsional loadings and the coupling among these loadings but they ignore the bending loading. In a previous study, the authors considered all the extensional, torsional and flexural loadings acting on the blade with their couplings, variable airfoil cross sections with warping effects, shear deflection, rotary inertia and with or without blade’s pretwist. That previous study was performed for the linear small displacement case. In the present study, the new contribution is considering all the inclusions of the previous study but for the nonlinear large deformation case instead of the small deformation case. To the best knowledge of the authors the simultaneous inclusion of all these factors has not been done so far. The external work that acting on the blade, the total strain energy and total kinetic energy for all the different load couplings were defined (all the important strain higher order terms are kept since large deformation is considered) and used to obtain the Lagrange equations of motion. Then the load vector R, mass and linear and nonlinear stiffness matrices were deduced from the derived Lagrange equations of motion to build the nonlinear dynamic equations of motion that was solved for the three unknown displacements in the directions of x, y and z axes and the three unknown rotations about the x, y and z axes at the required stations along the length of the given blade using the Newmark implicit iteration scheme for a 14m long pretwisted blade that has a linearly decreasing NACA4415 airfoil cross section from hub to tip. Keywords: Finite elements method, nonlinear dynamics, Lagrange equations, dynamic of structures, nonlinear Newmark method, wind turbine blade aerodynamic loadings, gust of wind, Bezier surfaces
Solid + liquid phase equilibria and solid-compound formation in halobenzenes + aromatic hydrocarbons

Abstract Solid + liquid phase diagrams have been obtained from time-against-temperature warming curves for eight binary mixtures: p -xylene + C 6 H 5 F, + C 6 H 5 Cl, + C 6 H 5 Br, and + p -C 6 H 4 Cl 2 ; and for mesitylene + C 6 H 5 F, + C 6 H 5 Cl, + C 6 H 5 Br, and + p -C 6 H 4 F 2 . Mixtures consisting of all binary combinations of one of the six halobenzenes C 6 H 5 F, C 6 H 5 Cl, C 6 H 5 Br, p -C 6 H 4 F 2 , p -C 6 H 4 Cl 2 , and p -C 6 H 4 Br 2 with one of the four aromatic hydrocarbons C 6 H 6 , C 6 H 5 CH 3 , p -xylene, and mesitylene were checked for solid-compound formation. None of the mixtures containing monohalobenzenes formed compounds. Each of the dihalobenzenes formed at least one compound, p -C 6 H 4 F 2 with mesitylene, p -C 6 H 4 Br 2 with p -xylene, and p -C 6 H 4 Cl 2 with p -xylene.
THE ASTROGLIAL RESPONSE TO STABBING. IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE STUDIES WITH ANTIBODIES TO ASTROCYTE-SPECIFIC PROTEIN (GFA) IN MAMMALIAN AND SUBMAMMALIAN VERTEBRATES

The astroglial response t o stabbing. Immunofluorescence studies with antibodies to astrocyte-specific protein (GFA) in mammalian and sub-mammalian vertebrates The astroglial response to stabbing was studied by immunofluorescence with GFA protein antisera in adult and newborn rats, chickens and goldfish. In the adult normal rat most astrocytes of the isocortex and corpus striatum are protoplasmic and do not stain by immunofluorescence. Two days after injury many astrocytes became brightly fluorescent in the stabbed hemisphere and were still fluorescent 2 months later. In the newborn rat the astroglial response was more limited. Reactive glial cells in the medial frontal cortex and pyramidal layer of the hippocampus had a radial appearance with thin immunofluorescent processes crossing at right angles to the surface of the cortex. In rats stabbed at birth and killed 1 month later many immunofluorescent astrocytes were present in the frontal cortex of both cerebral hemispheres. Radial glia were no longer observed. In the normal adult rat radial glial processes were seen by immunofluorescence extending at right angles from the lateral wall of the third ventricle into the hypothalamus. In the chicken cerebellum the astroglial response to stabbing was limited, with few immunofluorescent fibers in the vicinity of the wound. No changes were observed in the goldfish optic tectum by immunofluorescence.
Mouse olfactory sensory neurons express 10,000 genes.

Olfactory epithelial cells from olfactory marker protein-green fluorescent protein (OMP-GFP) mice were separated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting into a GFP+ sample enriched in mature olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) and a GFP– sample enriched in all other cells. GeneChip expression profiling of these samples provided a predictive measure of expression in OSNs. Validation tests comparing the ratio of GFP+/GFP– signal intensity against expression patterns from in situ hybridization for 189 mRNAs proved statistically significant and provided probabilities of expression in OSNs scaled according to the signal intensity ratios. These probabilities predict that, among 11,596 mRNAs detected in the GFP+ sample, more than 10,000 are expressed in OSNs. Transcripts and overrepresented categories of mRNAs detected in the GFP+ sample agreed with known properties of OSNs and predict additional properties. For example, ciliogenesis and spermatogenesis were overrepresented, consistent with similarities between OSN cilia and sperm flagella. Chromatin assembly mRNAs were expressed throughout the OSN cell lineage, consistent with the hypothesis that chromatin remodeling plays a role in OSN differentiation. We detected numerous signaling proteins and receptors, such as 30 nonchemosensory G-protein-coupled receptors, including the presynaptic glutamate receptor mGlur4 and the Wnt receptor Fzd3. The largest group of mRNAs, however, was the hundreds of transcriptional regulators that presumably determine the OSN phenotype. The absence of OMP protein in OMP-GFP mice had no detectable effect on mRNA abundance. Within limits prescribed by the nature of microarray data and the in situ hybridization validation, these data should be useful in directing further experiments on OSN function. J. Comp. Neurol. 502:1138–1156, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Developing early childhood programs for children and families at risk: Research-based principles to promote long-term effectiveness

Abstract Early childhood programs for economically disadvantaged children are comprehensive interventions designed to help prevent school failure and social difficulties by promoting healthy child and family development. Eight principles of early childhood interventions were reviewed to highlight the research-based characteristics of programs that promote long-term effects on children's development. Effective programs not only enhance children's scholastic development but also can reduce the need for later remedial education and human welfare services. The effects of the Chicago Child-Parent Center, a large-scale early intervention program, were described to illustrate the importance of designing and implementing programs that have all the features of programs demonstrating long-term success for children and families.
Barrier contraceptive practice and male infertility as related factors to breast cancer in married women

A case-control study was conducted in order to test the hypothesis that a reduced exposure to human seminal factors in the early reproductive life of women is a risk factor in breast cancer. The relat
A comparative analysis of alcohol in fatal and nonfatal bicycling injuries.

Bicycling is the leading cause of recreational injury, resulting in more than half a million emergency department visits and about 900 deaths each year in the United States. Previous research on bicycling injury was conducted predominantly in children and focused on the effectiveness of safety helmets. Few studies have examined the role of alcohol in bicycling injuries. This study examined the magnitude of and factors related to alcohol involvement in fatal and nonfatal bicycling injuries, and tested the hypothesis that alcohol intoxication is associated with significantly increased likelihood of fatality given a serious bicycling injury. Medical examiner data on all fatally injured bicyclists aged 10 years or older from 1987 to 1994 in Maryland (fatal cases, n = 63) were compared with trauma registry data on all injured bicyclists who were treated at a regional trauma center during the same time period (nonfatal cases, n = 253) on variables related to blood alcohol concentrations (BACs), demographic characteristics, and injury circumstances. The fatal cases were more likely than the nonfatal cases to have positive BACs (30% vs. 16%, p or = 0.10%) (22% vs. 13%, p < 0.01). For both fatal and nonfatal cases, intoxication was more prevalent among victims who were male, aged 20 to 39 years, or who were injured at nighttime (7:00 PM to 6:59 AM). Bicyclists who died at the scene were four times as likely as those who died at hospitals to be legally intoxicated (35% vs. 9%, p < 0.02). Given a serious bicycling injury, intoxication was associated with significantly increased likelihood of fatality, with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.8 (95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 6.3). This increased likelihood of fatality was probably due in part to the fact that the rate of helmet use at the time of injury among the intoxicated was much lower than among the sober (6% vs. 31%, p < 0.05). Results indicate that alcohol plays an important role in fatal and serious bicycling injuries. Preventing intoxicated biking should be incorporated into helmet campaigns and other bicycle safety programs.
Photodynamic effects of silicon phthalocyanines in model cells and tumors (Invited Paper)

A series of silicon and aluminum phthalocyanines is being investigated in this laboratory for their potential as photosensitizers for photodynamic tumor therapy (PDT). Of these, one of the silicon phthalocyanines [SiPc(OH)OSi(CH3)2(CH2)3N(CH3)2] (Pc IV) has proven to be highly efficient in a series of in vitro assays and in PDT in vivo. When compared to sulfonated or non-sulfonated aluminum phthalocyanine and/or Photofrin II, Pc IV produced greater effects at lower concentrations in a clonogenic assay with V79 cells, and in photoenhancement of lipid peroxidation in human erythrocyte membranes. Physiological responses of treated cells in vitro appeared similar to those produced by PDT with other sensitizers; however, the responses, such as the induction of apoptosis in murine lymphoma, occurred with greater efficiency when Pc IV served as photosensitizer. In order to evaluate the efficacy of Pc IV in vivo, the dye was suspended in corn oil or incorporated into liposomes and injected intraperitoneally into C3H mice bearing RIF-1 tumors. Pharmacokinetic studies showed efficient uptake of Pc IV into the tumor, as well as into liver and kidney. For PDT, tumors were irradiated with 675 nm light from an argon-pumped dye laser. Treatment of tumors up to 100 mm3 with 1.0 mg/kg Pc IV and 135 J/cm2 produced ablation of the tumor within 48 hours. Tumors > 200 mm3 could be ablated with 2.0 mg/kg Pc IV. The data suggest that Pc IV may be a highly efficient photosensitizer for tumor PDT.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The relative effect of solar altitude on surface temperatures and energy budget components on two contrasting landscapes

A solar radiation attenuation model has been combined with a steady-state surface energy budget model. The combined model was programmed to investigate the resultant surface temperatures and associated, causal energy budget components to changes in solar altitudes and air temperatures. Two contrasting landscape scenarios were investigated: a barren and a grassy plain, under cloudless skies. Solutions to these many computations are presented in graphical form in order to gain an improved perspective of the varied responses of changing surface temperatures and energy budgets as complex functions of different solar angles and air temperature regimes. The grassy landscape was much more conservative in its reaction to the forcing by these two environmental parameters. It is believed that the portrayed trends encompass the possible extremes encountered in a continuum of landscapes in the real world.
Reduction of U(VI) incorporated in the structure of hematite.

U(VI) doped hematite was synthesized and exposed to two different organic reductants with E0 of 0.23 and 0.70 V. A combination of HAADF-TEM and EXAFS provided evidence that uranium was incorporated in hematite in uranate, likely octahedral coordination. XPS indicated that structurally incorporated U(VI) was reduced to U(V), whereas non-incorporated U(VI) was reduced to U(IV). Specifically, the experiments indicate that U(V) was the dominant oxidation state of uranium in hematite around Eh −0.24 to −0.28 V and pH 7.7–8.6 for at least up to 5 weeks of reaction time. U(V), but not U(IV), was also detected in hematite at Eh +0.21 V (pH 7.1–7.3). The results support the hypothesis, based on previous experimental and theoretical work, that the stability field of U(V) is widened relative to U(IV) and U(VI) in uranate coordination environments where the coordination number of U is less than 8.
N-Substituted 2-aminoimidazole inhibitors of MRSA biofilm formation accessed through direct 1,3-bis(tert-butoxycarbonyl)guanidine cyclization

Antibiotic resistance is a significant problem and is compounded by the ability of many pathogenic bacteria to form biofilms. A library of N-substituted derivatives of a previously reported 2-aminoimidazole/triazole (2-AIT) biofilm modulator was constructed via α-bromoketone cyclization with 1,3-bis(tert-butoxycarbonyl)guanidine, followed by selective substitution. Several compounds exhibited the ability to inhibit biofilm formation by three strong biofilm forming strains of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Additionally, a number of members of this library exhibited synergistic activity with oxacillin against planktonic MRSA. Compounds with this type of dual activity have the potential to be used as adjuvants with conventional antibiotics.
Coherent UWB Ranging in the Presence of Multiuser Interference

Roundtrip time-of-arrival (ToA) measurements employing ultra-wideband (UWB) signals can provide high-precision ranging information. However, the accuracy is degraded by multiuser interference (MUI), in particular in the presence of multipath propagation. While the processing gain of time-hopping impulse radio (TH-IR) can be used to suppress the MUI, this is often insufficient. We propose instead a nonlinear processing scheme of TH-IR that effectively suppresses MUI without requiring knowledge of the time-hopping sequences of the interfering users. The principle is that multipath components (MPCs) of interferers do not align closely, for the majority of transmission frames, with the MPCs of the desired signal. Through a judicious choice of algorithm parameters we show that our algorithm is superior to existing (realizable) thresholding and median filter algorithms, and in some cases can even beat genie-aided thresholding algorithms. The performance is robust to both strength and number of the interferers. The results are validated with both standardized 802.15.4a channel models and measured outdoor UWB channels.
Single particle effects in precompound reactions

Double differential cross sections have been measured with time of flight techniques at 16 angles between 3.5/sup 0/ and 159/sup 0/ (lab) for the inclusive production of neutrons from reactions of 25 MeV protons with /sup 50,52,53/Cr, /sup 54,56,58/Fe, /sup 59/Co, /sup 60/Ni, /sup 63/Cu, /sup 89/Y, /sup 90,91,92,94/Zr, /sup 92,94,95,96,97,98,100/Mo, /sup 110/Pd, and /sup 159/Tb and of 18 MeV protons with /sup 90,91,92,94/Zr. The spectra from /sup 90,91,92,94/Zr targets are compared with qualitative and quantitative predictions based on proton-particle--neutron-hole state densities generated from different sets of single particle states using the recursion method of Williams et al. An end point gap of nearly 4 MeV in the /sup 91/Zr(p,n) spectrum may be understood quantitatively in terms of such an extreme single particle model argument. The experimental peak structure shows reasonably good agreement with the calculated results. It is shown that precompound spectra exhibit pronounced structure which is dependent upon nuclear structure effects for near closed shell nuclei, and that these effects should and do disappear rapidly with nuclear deformation, as predicted earlier by Williams et al.
PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE PROTEOLYTIC ENZYME FROM THE LATEX OF THE MILKWEED, ASCLEPIAS SPECIOSA TORR. SOME COMPARISONS WITH OTHER PROTEASES : I. CHEMICAL PROPERTIES, ACTIVATION-INHIBITION, pH-ACTIVITY, AND TEMPERATURE-ACTIVITY CURVES

1. A study has been made of the properties of a hitherto unreported proteolytic enzyme from the latex of the milkweed, Asclepias speciosa. The new protease has been named asclepain by the authors. 2. The results of chemical, diffusion, and denaturation tests indicate that asclepain is a protein. 3. Like papain, asclepain dots milk and digests most proteins, particularly if they are dissolved in concentrated urea solution. Unlike papain, asclepain did not clot blood. 4. The activation and inhibition phenomena of asclepain resemble those of papain, and seem best explained on the assumption that free sulfhydryl in the enzyme is necessary for proteolytic activity. The sulfhydryl of asclepain appears more labile than that of papain. 5. The measurement of pH-activity curves of asclepain on casein, ovalbumin, hemoglobin, edestin, and ovovitellin showed no definite digestion maxima for most of the undenatured proteins, while in urea solution there were well defined maxima near pH 7.0. Native hemoglobin and ovovitellin were especially undigestible, while native casein was rapidly attacked. 6. Temperature-activity curves were determined for asclepain on hemoglobin, casein, and milk solutions. The optimum temperature was shown to increase with decreasing time of digestion.
Effect of knee musculature on anterior cruciate ligament strain in vivo.

Abstract Squatting is a commonly prescribed exercise following reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The objective of this paper was to measure the in vivo strain patterns of the normal ACL and the load at the knee for the simple squat and for squatting with a “sport cord”. A sport cord is a large elastic rubber tube used for added resistance. Strain patterns were deduced using displacement data from a Hall Effect Strain Transducer (HEST), while joint loads were determined by a mathematical model with inputs from a force plate and electrogoniometers. ACL strain for the free squat in one subject had a maximum of ∼2% at a knee angle of 10° and was slack for knee angles >17°. In squatting with a sport cord, peak strain was ∼1% at 10° and was slack at knee angles >14°. Since these peak strains are low, squatting appears to be a safe exercise for conservative rehabilitation of ACL reconstruction patients. In addition, the sport cord is a recommended augmentation to the activity. We believe that the decrease in strain with the sport cord results from added joint stiffness due to greater compressive forces at the tibiofemoral joint. This greater compressive force results from the approximately 10% increase in quadriceps activity. From shear force data predicted by the mathematical model, the maximum anterior drawer force for free squatting (50 N) was considerably less than for sport cord squatting (430 N). Therefore, the value of shear force at the tibiofemoral joint only partially determines the load placed on the ACL.
Installing the communities that care prevention system: implementation progress and fidelity in a randomized controlled trial

This article describes the degree to which high fidelity implementation of the Communities That Care (CTC) prevention operating system was reached during the first 18 months of intervention in 12 communities in the Community Youth Development Study, a 5-year group randomized controlled trial designed to test the efficacy of the CTC system. CTC installation in these communities included the delivery of six CTC trainings from certified CTC trainers at each site, the active involvement of locally selected and community-based CTC community coordinators, ongoing monitoring of progress using the CTC milestones and benchmarks, and proactive technical assistance and coaching. CTC implementation fidelity ratings averaged across three groups of raters show that between 89% and 100% of the CTC milestones in the first four phases of CTC implementation were “completely met” or “majority met” in the 12 intervention communities, indicating that the first four phases of the CTC system have been well implemented in the communities in this trial. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cumulative chemical composition of atmospheric cloud condensation nuclei

Abstract Condensation nuclei (CN) separated during winter 1982–1983 in Colorado consisted mostly of sulfates and chlorides, with nitrates practically absent. Nitrates were present in all precipitation (rain and snow). CN condensate collected in the presence of haze contained the largest amounts of SO 4 2− (1.7 × 10 −7 moles/ml), Cl (> 1.4 × 10 −7 ), and NO 3 − (2.1 × 10 −8 ) recorded; the concentrations of the cations were > 2.2 × 10 −7 moles/ml of Na + , > 1.1 × 10 −7 of NH 4 + , and > 2.6 × 10 −7 of K + . Nitrates were present in low concentrations in CN separated in the presence of fogs. The pH of the separated CN varied from 5.2 to 6.6; the pH of rain samples was between 4.6 and 5.3, and that of the snow samples was between 3.9 and 4.9. Analysis of single aerosol particles collected since 1979 showed the predominant anion to be sulfate. Nitrate ion-bearing aerosol particles were not detected on some days.
Inferring effective connectivity in the brain from EEG time series using dynamic bayesian networks

Effective connectivity, defined as the influence of a neuronal population on another, is known to have great significance for understanding the organization of the brain. Disruptions in the effective connectivity patterns occur in the case of neurological and psychopathological diseases. Therefore, it is important to develop models of effective brain connectivity from non-invasive neuroimaging data. In this paper, we propose to use dynamic Bayesian networks (DBN) to learn effective brain connectivity from electroencephalogram (EEG) data. DBNs use first order Markov chain to model EEG time series obtained from multiple electrodes. We explore effective brain connectivity in healthy and schizophrenic subjects using this framework. Fourier bootstrapping technique is used to identify the statistically significant pairs of interactions among electrodes.
Working with Communities to Explore and Personalize Culturally Relevant Pedagogies: Push, Double Images, and Raced Talk

Within this article I describe, with the help of my masters in education (MEd) students who are also my coresearchers, the results of a year-long, cooperative inquiry aimed at exploring and making concrete the ways in which cultural and political knowledge can be explored, understood, and personalized as prospective teachers begin to develop culturally relevant approaches. This work is not intended to describe a model or define a single style, nor do we make any claims that what is described can be linked to improved achievement. What we do attempt to communicate is how a group of prospective teachers, as participants and students of a particular African American community context, begin to develop bicultural competency and personalize cultural and political knowledge in an effort to develop culturally relevant pedagogies.
AGU cosponsors hurricane briefings

Two briefings cosponsored by AGU on 10 July 2007 helped to inform U.S. congressional staff about the effects of hurricanes. The briefings—one each in the House and the Senate—were timed to inform staff about legislation before Congress that would implement the recommendations of the January 2007 National Science Board Report, Hurricane Warning, by creating a National Hurricane Research Initiative. Speakers addressed different aspects of hurricanes, including improved forecasting, reducing coastal vulnerability, and developing better warnings and emergency responses in hurricane-prone areas. Craig Fugate, director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management, emphasized that eight of the top 10 costliest disasters in U.S. history have been hurricanes. He also stressed that improved emergency response and preparedness can reduce loss of life and aid in reducing property damage.
The piloting expert system : transition from off-line prototype to on-line decision support

Piloting large vessels in congested waterways is a complex task and an inherently judgmental activity that involves decision making under conditions of uncertainty. This article describes an approach to providing improved onboard decision support to masters, mates on watch and pilots navigating in restricted waters. It discusses the use of cognitive decision aids in piloting; the design and development of such a decision aid for use in New York Harbor; and the transition of the system from an offline prototype to an operational shipboard expert system for tankers transiting the Gulf of Alaska.
Preparing Community College Leaders: The AACC Core Competencies for Effective Leadership & Doctoral Education

Community colleges in the United States face shortages of leaders prepared to assume administrative positions in the 21st century. To respond to this shortage, graduate programs are emerging with a specific emphasis on community college leadership; other graduate programs offer broader curricula focused on educational leadership, policy, or higher education. The community college environment is distinct from other types of higher education and requires specific leadership skills. The American Association of Community Colleges has identified six core competencies for essential leadership in today's community college. Using the core competencies as a framework, this study analyzed California community college leaders' perceptions of these competencies, including those which they believe can be acquired and developed through doctoral studies. Respondents also identified additional competencies that could be addressed in doctoral programs.
Transparent ceramics for armor and EM window applications

Recently, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has focused increased attention on the development of transparent armor material systems for a variety of applications. Future combat and non-combat environments will require lightweight, threat adjustable, multifunctional, and affordable armor. Current glass/polycarbonate technologies are not expected to meet the increased requirements. Results over the past few years indicate that the use of transparent crystalline ceramics greatly improve the performance of a system. These results coupled with recent processing and manufacturing advances have revitalized the interest in using transparent ceramics for armor systems. The materials currently under investigation at ARL are magnesium aluminate spinel (MgAl2O4), aluminum oxynitride spinel (AlON), single crystal sapphire (Al2O3), glasses, and glass-ceramics. The polymers under investigation are polycarbonate (PC) and polyurethane (PU). An overview of current ARL efforts in these areas, including the motivation for using transparent ceramics, the requirements, the potential applications, and the ongoing processing research will be reviewed.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Digital image interpolation using adaptive Gaussian basis functions

Digital image interpolation using Gaussian radial basis functions has been implemented by several investigators, and promising results have been obtained; however, determining the basis function variance has been problematic. Here, adaptive Gaussian basis functions fit the mean vector and covariance matrix of a non-radial Gaussian function to each pixel and its neighbors, which enables edges and other image characteristics to be more effectively represented. The interpolation is constrained to reproduce the original image mean gray level, and the mean basis function variance is determined using the expected image smoothness for the increased resolution. Test outputs from the resulting Adaptive Gaussian Interpolation algorithm are presented and compared with classical interpolation techniques.
Impact of dynamic voltage and frequency scaling on the architectural vulnerability of GALS architectures

Aggressive technology scaling is increasing the impact of soft errors on microprocessor reliability. Dynamic Voltage Frequency Scaling (DFVS) algorithms are conventionally studied from a performance per watt basis. But applying DVFS impacts reliability as well. Since DVFS affects the occupancy of different pipeline structures, they impact the soft error masking seen at the architectural level. Architectural Vulnerability Factors (AVF) captures this masking and in this work we study the impact of DVFS on AVF in a GALS environment. We show that the AVF of pipeline structures could vary by as much as 80% between different DVFS algorithms. Since AVF has a significant impact on the Mean Time To Failure (MTTF) of a system, these results indicate that when choosing a particular DVFS algorithm their reliability impact cannot be ignored. Hence we provide the Vulnerability Efficiency for the DVFS algorithms which captures their ability to optimize performance, power and reliability. Our results show that a Non-DVFS environment optimizes vulnerability efficiency better than any of the DVFS algorithms.