cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The rational defect of a plane domain

Let K be a compact subset of the plane, @, such that C\K has only a finite number of components, 0,, , 0, ,.... 0, ; 0,, being the unbounded one. Choose zi E Oi, for i p: 1, 2,..., II. A theorem of Walsh [4] states that if u is a continuous real valued function on K which is harmonic on the interior of K and if E > 0 is given, then there is a rational function f, which is holomorphic on K, and real numbers -Y, . . . . . Y,, , such that
Experiences of economic transition in complex contexts

This paper focuses on nonlinear properties of economic transformation and provides illustrations from nearly a decade of economic transition experience of the formerly planned economies. A particular argument is that policies that move a system along “the edge of chaos” may have the best chance of succeeding. This paper also highlights various difficulties and possible complexities that have not been pointed out by earlier analysts. It suggests that policy makers should keep a watchful eye on smaller incremental changes in the economic and institutional environments critical for their general effectiveness, as some may have enormous impacts at certain points in a dynamically complex environment.
A long-pulse amplifier for solar-pumped iodine lasers

The characteristics of a photodissociation iodine-laser amplifier pumped with a solar-simulating radiation were studied. Under long-pulse energy extraction, an energy amplification of about three and an energy storage time of longer than 500 microseconds were observed for a one meter long, 10 mm i.d. amplifier tube. The effects of elevated temperatures resulted in little reduction of the amplifier gain. These results confirm that developing an efficient chain of oscillator-amplifiers for a high-power solar-pumped iodine laser is indeed feasible.
Glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase and carbonic anhydrase activities in oligodendrocytes and myelin: comparisons between species and CNS regions.

Abstract Oligodendrocytes isolated from bovine white matter had higher specific activities of glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) than were observed in homogenates of white matter or gray matter from bovine brains, whereas the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was lower in the cells than in the homogenates. These observations suggest that G6PDH, as well as GPDH, is an oligodendrocyte-enriched enzyme. The 3 enzymes were also measured in myelin from bovine brains, rat spinal cords, and mouse brains, and, for each enzyme, the relative specific activity (RSA) in myelin was calculated by dividing the specific activity in myelin by the specific activity in the respective homogenate. Of the 3 enzymes, GPDH, G6PDH and LDH, the RSA of G6PDH was highest, at 0.26, in the bovine myelin, whereas the RSAs of GPDH were highest, at ∼0.20, in the myelin from rat spinal cords and mouse brains. Carbonic anhydrase was also measured in the myelin from the rodent tissues, and significantly higher RSAs, at 0.43–1.06, were obtained. The finding that carbonic anhydrase consistently has higher concentrations than either G6PDH or GPDH in myelin suggests that the latter are restricted, in the myelin sheath, to regions in which oligodendroglial cytoplasm is enclosed, whereas carbonic anhydrase is distributed more broadly in the myelin membranes. A developmental increase in GPDH in the rat spinal cord is also reported.
Effects of positive and negative requests on compliance following transgression

Fifty Ss were assigned randomly to four cells of a 2 by 2 factorial design. Half the Ss were induced to transgress by cheating on a multiple-choice psychology test, while half the Ss did not transgress. Following the transgression manipulation, 28 of the Ss from each of the above conditions were asked to circulate a petition
Curvilinear Motion in the Absence of External Forces: Naïve Beliefs About the Motion of Objects

University students were asked to draw the path a moving object would follow in several different situations. Over half of the students, including many who had taken physics courses, evidenced striking misconceptions about the motion of objects. In particular, many students believed that even in the absence of external forces, objects would move in curved paths.
Hemolytic plaque formation by mouse spleen cells producing antibodies to ovalbumin.

Abstract Immunoglobulin G obtained from hemolysin (rabbit anti-sheep erythrocytes serum) was conjugated with hen's ovalbumin by means of the bivalent reagent, glutaraldehyde. Sheep erythrocytes treated with this preparation were specifically lysed by antiovalbumin and complement. Hemolytic plaques were found in agar plates containing erythrocytes, spleen cells from mice immunized with ovalbumin, and complement.
A study of IMRT planning parameters on planning efficiency, delivery efficiency, and plan quality

Purpose: To improve planning and delivery efficiency of head and neck IMRT without compromising planning quality through the evaluation of inverse planning parameters.Methods: Eleven head and neck patients with pre-existing IMRT treatment plans were selected for this retrospective study. The Pinnacle treatment planning system (TPS) was used to compute new treatment plans for each patient by varying the individual or the combined parameters of dose/fluence grid resolution, minimum MU per segment, and minimum segment area. Forty-five plans per patient were generated with the following variations: 4 dose/fluence grid resolution plans, 12 minimum segment area plans, 9 minimum MU plans, and 20 combined minimum segment area/minimum MU plans. Each plan was evaluated and compared to others based on dose volume histograms (DVHs) (i.e., plan quality), planning time, and delivery time. To evaluate delivery efficiency, a model was developed that estimated the delivery time of a treatment plan, and validated through measurements on an Elekta Synergy linear accelerator. Results: The uncertainty (i.e., variation) of the dose-volume index due to dose calculation grid variation was as high as 8.2% (5.5 Gy in absolute dose) for planning target volumes (PTVs) and 13.3% (2.1 Gy in absolute dose) for planning at risk volumes (PRVs). Comparisonmore » results of dose distributions indicated that smaller volumes were more susceptible to uncertainties. The grid resolution of a 4 mm dose grid with a 2 mm fluence grid was recommended, since it can reduce the final dose calculation time by 63% compared to the accepted standard (2 mm dose grid with a 2 mm fluence grid resolution) while maintaining a similar level of dose-volume index variation. Threshold values that maintained adequate plan quality (DVH results of the PTVs and PRVs remained satisfied for their dose objectives) were 5 cm{sup 2} for minimum segment area and 5 MU for minimum MU. As the minimum MU parameter was increased, the number of segments and delivery time were decreased. Increasing the minimum segment area parameter decreased the plan MU, but had less of an effect on the number of segments and delivery time. Our delivery time model predicted delivery time to within 1.8%. Conclusions: Increasing the dose grid while maintaining a small fluence grid allows for improved planning efficiency without compromising plan quality. Delivery efficiency can be improved by increasing the minimum MU, but not the minimum segment area. However, increasing the respective minimum MU and/or the minimum segment area to any value greater than 5 MU and 5 cm{sup 2} is not recommended because it degrades plan quality.« less
Adenovirus recombination in normal and repair-deficient human fibroblasts

Abstract The ability of adenovirus to recombine in fibroblasts derived from several of the human cancer-prone syndromes has been examined. Cells deficient in uv-repair, namely Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) and XP variant, are recombinant-proficient and yield 10 3 –10 4 infectious virus per infected cell, as do the control fibroblasts, GM17. Similarly, Fanconi's anemia fibroblasts which are sensitive to DNA crosslinking agents and display elevated levels of karyological changes are recombination-proficient. Bloom's syndrome fibroblasts on the other hand, generally yield lower quantities of virus but the adenovirus recombination frequency is elevated some twofold, compared with values obtained in parallel experiments with GM17. The DNA structures of heterotypic Ad5 × Ad2ND1 recombinants obtained from Bloom's and from GM17 fibroblasts are similar, suggesting that the adenovirus recombination mechanism(s) in the two cell types are also similar.
Magnetic Field Generator Design for Magneto-Optic Switching Applications

In optical communications, magneto-optic switching technologies are emerging alternatives, as well as complimentary solutions to their electro-optic counterpart. Their main attractions include low-power and low-cost solutions for signal routing used in fiber-based and all-optical circuits needed in fast dynamic communications systems. However, design of the magnetic field generator system required for these devices is a challenge that has limited their performance and integration onto silicon-based technologies. In this work, a novel approach to designing magnetic field generators for magneto-optic switching systems is provided. This practical field generation design method for magneto-optical interferometers highlights important trade-offs specific to different needs and applications. Example usage of this design process is provided in the application of a magneto-optic switch of ring resonator configuration. Optical and electrical results are also provided and discussed.
Direct observation of new antimony-containing anions: SbH2O−, Sb3−, and monomeric Sb3O5−

Abstract The new anions SbH2O−, Sb3O5−, and Sb3− were produced under negative chemical ionization conditions from Sb(On-Bu)3 in the source of a mass spectrometer and their compositions confirmed by isotopic composition and high resolution tandem mass spectrometry. STO-3G-level calculations indicate that the isomer H2SbO− is more stable than HSbOH−.
Optimizing VLHC single-particle performance

Abstract Since the sine qua non of building the Very Large Hadron Collider (VLHC) is the ability to bend 50 TeV particles in a circle stably and cheaply, we concentrate on the “arcs” of the VLHC, excluding all other problems. Considering only single-particle stability, the arcs are analyzsed using scaling considerations to choose the guide field B that minimizes cost. The extent to which the arcs can act as “achromatic optical fibers” for the beams is studied, in hopes of reducing the need for correction elements and spool pieces. Prescriptions are given to ameliorate the effects of resonance by choosing the best tunes and other parameters. For the (admittedly uncertain) parameters adopted in the paper the optimal value for B seems to be about 3 T, if NbTi superconductor is used. Possible cost savings through the use of iron at low field or superconductor other than NbTi at high field are not analyzsed.
Effects of Welding-Induced Imperfections on Behavior of Space Shuttle Superlightweight Tank

Results of linear-bifurcation buckling and nonlinear analyses of the Space Shuttle superlightweight external liquid-oxygen tank are presented for an important prelaunch loading condition. These results show the effects of actual, measured welding-induced initial geometric imperfections on an important response mode for thin-walled shellsthataresubjectedtocombinedmechanicalandthermalloads.Thistypeofinitialgeometricimperfectionmay be encountered in the design of other liquid-fuel launch vehicles. Results are presented that show that the liquidoxygen tank will buckle in the barrel section, but at load levels nearly four times the magnitude of the operational load level, and will exhibit stable postbuckling behavior. The actual measured imperfections are located in this sectionofthetank. Resultsofimperfection sensitivity analysesarepresented thatshowthat thelargestdegradation in the apparent membrane stiffnesses of the liquid-oxygen tank barrel section is caused by an imperfection shape that is in the form of the linear-bifurcation buckling mode with a relatively small amplitude. These results also show that the effect of the relatively large-amplitude measured imperfection is benign.
NMR Based Metabonomics Study of DAG Treatment in a C2C12 Mouse Skeletal Muscle Cell Line Myotube Model of Burn-Injury

After severe burn injury, proinflammatory cytokine levels are elevated in serum and skeletal muscle, which in turn increases protein breakdown and decreases protein synthesis. In this study, C2C12 mouse skeletal muscle cell line myotubes were exposed to proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) as an in vitro cell-line model of catabolic response to burn injury and then treated with des-acyl ghrelin (DAG), a 28 amino acid polypeptide hormone thought to inhibit protein breakdown and increase protein synthesis, to assess its therapeutic potential. Nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabonomics was used to monitor metabolic activity of C2C12 myotubes under four treatment conditions: (1) control, (2) TNF-α/IFN-γ (TI), (3) DAG (DA), and (4) TNF-α/IFN-γ followed by DAG (TIDA) to assess the effect of DAG treatment on cellular metabolic response during basal or catabolic conditions. Twelve metabolites showed significant changes in concentrations following treatments in the hydrophilic cell extracts. Lactate (P < 10−4) and citrulline (P < 10−9) increased with TNF-α/IFN-γ treatment, indicating increased protein degradation, and returned to control levels in the TIDA group. Adenosine nucleotide levels had decreased trends in TI myotubes that returned to baseline levels after DAG treatment (P < 10−4). Guanidinoacetate and pantothenate, metabolites involved in protein synthesis and cell proliferation, had increased concentration trends following DAG treatment in both the DA and TIDA groups. Our metabonomics analysis provides further evidence that DAG counteracts the catabolic response caused by elevated muscle TNF-α/IFN-γ cytokine levels following severe burns and can play a potential therapeutic role in treatment of burn injury.
Plantar flexor moment arm and muscle volume predict torque-generating capacity in young men

Muscle volume is known to correlate with maximal joint torque in humans, but the role of muscle moment arm in determining maximal torque is less clear. Moderate correlations have been reported betw...
An experimental comparison of cache-oblivious and cache-conscious programs

Cache-oblivious algorithms have been advanced as a way of circumventing some of the difficulties of optimizing applications to take advantage of the memory hierarchy of modern microprocessors. These algorithms are based on the divide-and-conquer paradigm -- each division step creates sub-problems of smaller size, and when the working set of a sub-problem fits in some level of the memory hierarchy, the computations in that sub-problem can be executed without suffering capacity misses at that level. In this way, divide-and-conquer algorithms adapt automatically to all levels of the memory hierarchy; in fact, for problems like matrix multiplication, matrix transpose, and FFT, these recursive algorithms are optimal to within constant factors for some theoretical models of the memory hierarchy.An important question is the following: how well do carefully tuned cache-oblivious programs perform compared to carefully tuned cache-conscious programs for the same problem? Is there a price for obliviousness, and if so, how much performance do we lose? Somewhat surprisingly, there are few studies in the literature that have addressed this question.This paper reports the results of such a study in the domain of dense linear algebra. Our main finding is that in this domain, even highly optimized cache-oblivious programs perform significantly worse than corresponding cacheconscious programs. We provide insights into why this is so, and suggest research directions for making cache-oblivious algorithms more competitive.
Evidence of subclinical blastomycosis in forestry workers in Northern Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin

Abstract purpose: To investigate the incidence of remote subclinical blastomycosis in a high-risk population of forestry workers. patients and methods: The study consisted of 39 male forestry workers from northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, areas endemic for blastomycosis but not for histoplasmosis. All subjects were histoplasmin skin test-negative, and none had ever been diagnosed with blastomycosis or pneumonia. An antigen-specific lymphocyte stimulation assay was performed to determine the presence of blastomycosis. results: Peripheral blood lymphocytes from 12 of 39 subjects demonstrated specific antigen-induced proliferation when stimulated with a purified alkali- and water-soluble antigen derived from the cell wall of Blastomyces dermatitidis . conclusion: The finding that 30% of these men had evidence of previous blastomycosis suggests that subclinical cases do occur sporadically, and are probably more common than diagnosed symptomatic cases. This is similar to histoplasmosis, in which the majority of infections are subclinical. However, the reservoir of persons with previous undiagnosed blastomycosis is probably small compared to the huge number of persons (perhaps 30 million) with prior histoplasmosis.
Multiphase Modular Permanent Magnet Drive System Design and Realization

Modular permanent magnet machines are gaining popularity for their ease in assembling the stator pieces and phase windings. In this paper, a multiphase modular permanent magnet machine with a corresponding drive topology is proposed as a high performance drive system. The machine stator modules are fabricated by soft magnetic composite (SMC) material, which benefits large scale machine fabrications by the one punch fabrication process for the modules. Moreover, its isotropic material property can be exploited for various machine structure design compared with the 2D flux distribution of typical iron laminations. By making use of a concentric winding configuration, the stator structure is simplified with the benefit of less end winding loss. With a multiphase design, the system can survive under major fault conditions. A fault tolerant capability for up to two phase open and several switch failure combinations have been validated by an actual five phase motor drive system realization.
Developmental and Cognitive Perspectives on Humans' Sense of the Times of Past and Future Events.

Abstract Mental time travel in human adults includes a sense of when past events occurred and future events are expected to occur. Studies with adults and children reveal that a number of distinct psychological processes contribute to a temporally differentiated sense of the past and future. Adults possess representations of multiple time patterns, and these representations take several different forms. Memory for the times of past events is built upon reconstruction of temporal locations, impressions of distances in the past, and order-codes. The times of future events are understood primarily as locations in represented time patterns, but propositions active in memory contain information that particular events are coming soon. Young children have difficulty distinguishing the past–future status of some events, showing that basic memory processes do not make the distinction clear. Concepts of the past and future may be required for differentiating these two categories of experience.
Effect of adsorbent on the adsorbed structure of poly (methyl methacrylate)

Isotherms and infrared bound fraction values (p) have been obtained for atactic poly-(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) adsorbed from trichloroethylene (24°C) on four adsorbents: aluminum oxide (γ-AI2O3) formed by flame hydrolysis, micro-fine reprecipi-tated silica, silica formed by flame hydrolysis, and silica formed by flame hydrolysis and then reacted on the surface with dimethyl dichlorosilane. Differences in PMMA adsorbance values obtained with these adsorbents may be attributed in part to differences in surface area available for adsorption per gram adsorbent. However, variations in surface area do not account for variations in adsorbed structure indicated by the infrared bound fraction data. PMMA adsorbed on silica treated with dimethyl dichlorosilane had a value of p ≈0.10; p increased to 0.32–0.39 when untreated flame hydrolyzed silica was the adsorbent, and ranged from 0.46 to 0.49 for micro-fine reprecipitated silica. PMMA adsorbed on γ-AI2O3 had p = 0.32–0.28. This was the only adsorbent where values of p tended to decrease with increasing surface coverage. The variations in bound fraction data found in this study are interpreted in light of known differences in surface structure of the four adsorbents used. Drying the reprecipitated silica and γ-AI2O3 at 310°C (in vacuo) caused a slight decrease in values of p which can also be explained in terms of known changes in surface structure caused by heat treatments.
Heat Transfer Correlation for Flow in a Parallel-Plate Channel With Staggered Fins

In a recent paper, Kelkar and Patankar presented a mathematical analysis of the laminar flow heat transfer in a parallel-plate channel whose walls were fitted with a series of equidistant staggered fins placed transversely to the flow direction. Kelkar and Patankar presented their results in a combined graphic and tabular form, and discussed the flow behavior and heat transfer characteristics on the basis of how they were affected by each of the pertinent parameters. Specifically, the effect of each parameter on the overall Nusselt number was discussed based on the changes observed as the parameter was varied through a range of numbers while all the other variables were kept constant. Although this is a perfect way to evaluate the relative importance of these parameters on the Nusselt number, graphic results such as these are hardily useful to a designer, who expects to have a correlation between the Nusselt number and all the other parameters in one expression. This note fulfills that need.
The Four-Domain Development Diagram: A Guide for Holistic Design of Effective Learning Experiences for the Twenty-first Century Engineer

The twenty-first century challenges engineering educators to design learning experiences to strategically and holistically target students' development, including cognitive, psychomotor, social and affective domains. We propose a guide for the design process. The Four-Domain Development Diagram (4DDD) is a synthesis of learning theory and empirical data. This guide maps the relationships among the major factors that influence learning and presents them in the form of a causal loop diagram, a tool used by systems dynamicists to show how changes in important factors affect other factors within the system. In this paper, we present the theoretical and empirical basis of the 4DDD. We also describe how the 4DDD can be used as a design guide for instructional changes that promote more effective learning experiences for the broader cognitive, social, affective, and psychomotor development required of today's engineering graduate.
Model Hamiltonian Description of Ag-Au Alloys in the Coherent-Potential Approximation

A simple model Hamiltonian relevant to binary noble-metal alloys is introduced. The model, which is easily treated in the coherent-potential approximation (CPA), contains one $s$ band of finite width and one $d$ level of zero width which hybridizes with the $s$ band. The Hamiltonian is examined using the CPA in two ways: first, purely as a model whose properties can be simply investigated, and second, as a Hamiltonian which may be considered to approximate that appropriate to noble-metal alloys. In regard to the first aspect of the model, interest is centered on special limiting cases such as the dilute-alloy and split-$d$-band limits. It is shown as a result of $s\ensuremath{-}d$ hybridization that the criterion for the split-$d$-band limit in the two-band model is considerably more severe than in a one-band model investigated previously. In regard to the second aspect, interest is focused on some electronic properties of Au-Ag alloys. It is not expected that Wigner-Seitz cells within these alloys will be neutral. In order to explain the observed concentration dependence of the optical-absorption edge, it is necessary to assume that electrons are transferred from Au to Ag sites, rather than from Ag to Au as has been commonly supposed. The concentration dependence of the $d$-level positions is obtained from a "renormalized atom" theory and the charge transfer, which is assumed to arise from $s$ electrons. The optical-absorption edge as a function of concentration is estimated from parameters appropriate to Ag-Au. Good qualitative agreement with experiment is obtained when the transfer of $s$ electrons from Au to Ag atoms is taken into account. By contrast, the predicted behavior is qualitatively incorrect if charge-transfer effects are neglected or assumed to go in the opposite direction.
The distribution of radiocesium and plutonium in sea ice-entrained arctic sediments in relation to potential sources and sinks

Gamma counting of a range of grain size fractions of sediments entrained in Arctic Ocean sea ice indicate that the wide range of radiocesium activities that are observed in bulk samples are primarily a function of the geographical origin of the sediment, rather than mineral composition, or physical processes that increase the content of fine clays in sediments. Plutonium isotope ratios (240Pu:239Pu) of sea ice sediments are consistent with an ultimate origin of the plutonium from bomb fallout (240Pu:239Pu=∼0·18), and these sediment ratios differ significantly in plutonium isotope ratios from deep sea sediments of the Arctic Ocean. Much lower plutonium activities were observed in deep sea sediments relative to the sea ice entrained sediments. These differences in isotopic ratios indicate that on decadal scales, sedimentation of bomb fallout plutonium is not the sole source of plutonium to deep Arctic Ocean sediments. The large differences in total plutonium activity between some of the sea ice entrained sediments and all of the deep Arctic Ocean sediments also suggest that the total flux of plutonium from sea ice entrained sediments to the deep sea may be relatively small. Radiocesium activity in the sea ice entrained sediments is well correlated with total plutonium abundance, but the best-fit regression line does not pass through the origin, indicating that a small secondary source of cesium (3 to 9 Bq kg-1 dry weight) that is free of plutonium may contribute to the radiocesium activity observed in sediments entrained in Arctic Ocean sea ice. Based upon observations of carbon:nitrogen weight/weight ratios in excess of 20 in the organic carbon fraction, together with δ13C values less than −23%, several of the sea ice entrained sediments show indications of estuarine origin. However, these specific samples typically have low radionuclide burdens. Consideration of the low smectite content (<∼20% by weight) in all of the sea ice sediments and prevailing sea ice transport patterns suggest that a Siberian shelf origin west of the Lena River is improbable for any of the sea ice sediment samples. Nevertheless, in the absence of clear mechanisms for significantly increasing the radionuclide burden in sediments incorporated into sea ice, the radioactivity in the sediment source area appears to be the most crucial determinant of the ultimate radionuclide burden in sea ice sediments.
Intrinsic vesicular glutamate transporter 2-immunoreactive input to septohippocampal parvalbumin-containing neurons: Novel glutamatergic local circuit cells

Glutamatergic influence on the medial septum diagonal band of Broca complex (MSDB) is a crucial and powerful driver of hippocampal theta rhythm and associated memory processes, in the rat. The recent discovery of vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUT) provided a specific marker for glutamatergic neuronal elements. Therefore, this study aimed to address two specific questions: (1) do glutamatergic axons innervate MSDB gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic, parvalbumin (PV)-containing septohippocampal neurons that are known to have a great influence on the electric activity of the hippocampus; and (2) is the origin of these glutamatergic axons extrinsic and/or intrinsic to the septum. The results of the correlated light and electron microscopic double-labeling immunohistochemistry for VGLUT2 and PV, and single immunostaining for VGLUT2 in colchicine-treated animals, showed that (1) VGLUT2-containing boutons establish asymmetric synaptic contacts with PV-positive perikarya and dendrites; (2) a large population of VGLUT2-immunoreactive neurons is located primarily in the posterior division of the septum; and (3) following surgical fimbria/fornix transection and septal undercut, most VGLUT2-containing axons, including those terminating on MSDB PV cells, remains intact. The latter two observations suggest that the major portion of MSDB glutamate axons have an intraseptal origin and raise a novel functional aspect of glutamatergic cells as local circuit neurons. A constant impulse flow in the septohippocampal GABA pathway is essential for the generation of theta rhythm. Thus, the heavy glutamatergic innervation of these septohippocampal GABA cells establishes the morphological basis for the powerful glutamatergic influence upon theta rhythm and hippocampus-associated memory processes.
Improving Revenue Adequacy by Indexing the Gas Tax to Indicators of Need A Simulation Analysis

The current crisis in highway finance in the United States is mostly driven by greater vehicle fuel efficiency, substantial rises in construction costs and automobile use, and fixed per gallon fuel tax rates that do not increase with inflation. These factors give rise to questions about the adequacy of the gasoline tax (or gas tax) structure to generate sufficient revenue. We argue that the public will be more willing to increase the gas tax if it is restructured to be directly connected to measures of need and is adjusted upward in small, regular increments. We examine how state variable-rate fuel taxes, by incrementally adjusting the gas tax rate on a regular basis, would affect gas tax revenues. This is done by simulating gas tax revenues given different adjustment formulas for the gas tax rate (based on changes in construction costs, general inflation, and improvements in fuel efficiency), and comparing gas tax revenues to determine revenue-generating capacity of variable-rate approaches.
Cancer: Discrepancies in drug sensitivity

Large panels of human cancer cell lines have been profiled at the DNA, RNA and pharmacological levels to accelerate the search for cancer therapies. But two of those large data sets show only partial concordance. See Analysis p.389 Two large-scale data sets recently catalogued the sensitivity of a large number of cancer cell lines to pharmacological drugs, and integrated the drug-response data with genomic features, such as mutations and gene expression profiles. This Analysis by John Quackenbush and colleagues compares the two studies and finds that although the gene expression data are largely concordant between them, the reported drug-sensitivity measures and subsequently their association with genomic features are highly discordant. The authors call for standardization of drug-response measurements, to aid the discovery of robust biomarkers and mechanisms of drug response and hence progress in personalized cancer medicine.
Candidates, Issues, Horse Races, and Hoopla: Presidential Campaign Coverage, 1888-1988

The rise of television as Americans' primary news source has often been decried as a blight on representative democracy. In this article the authors outline three interpretations of media coverage of presidential campaigns. The authors dismiss the first of these (the "vast wasteland" interpretation) because it assumes, contrary to much existing evidence, that there is a fundamental difference between television and the print media in campaign coverage. The authors then undertake a content analysis of newspaper coverage of the presidential campaigns of 1888,1908, 1928, 1948, 1968, and 1988 as a test of the two remaining interpretations. According to the "videostyle" interpretation, television has revolutionized presidential campaigns and the way campaigns are covered. By contrast, the "the more things change ... " interpretation holds that, while television may have altered the style of presidential campaigns, it has not changed the substance of campaign coverage, which focused on hoopla and the horse race...
Diffusional properties of zein membranes and matrices.

Introduction: Zein is a hydrophobic corn protein, rich in leucine, proline, and alanine, that has been investigated as an excipient in pharmaceutical formulations, maybe used as a biodegradable/biocompatible material for controlled release formulations. Zein's swelling behaviors under different conditions (e.g., pH, ionic strength, and permeant's charge) were investigated in a previous study and it showed that swelling indeed influenced zein's permeation. Methods: The diffusional behavior of model drugs through or from zein systems was investigated. Diffusional parameters such as effective diffusion coefficients, porosities, and tortuosities were calculated from release and membrane diffusion profiles for zein matrices and membranes. In addition, an alternative method of calculating porosity and tortuosity was proposed. Results: The diffusional properties of zein systems appear to be primarily through aqueous channels that form during hydration and swelling in aqueous media. Permeation and release results...
Intuitions about consciousness: Experimental studies

When people are trying to determine whether an entity is capable of having certain kinds of mental states, they can think of it either from a functional standpoint or from a physical standpoint. We conducted a series of studies to determine how each of these standpoints impact people’s mental state ascriptions. The results point to a striking difference between two kinds of states—those that involve phenomenal consciousness and those that do not. Specifically, it appears that ascriptions of states that involve phenomenal consciousness show a special sort of sensitivity to purely physical factors.
Advanced prostate cancer - patient survival and potential impact of enzalutamide and other emerging therapies

The advent of exponential growth of novel agents tested and approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) has brought about a need for understanding of the mechanism of action, side-effects, and clinical efficacy of these drugs as they relate to these patients. This review will provide a synopsis of the treatment landscape in mCRPC as varying agents such as abiraterone acetate, cabazitaxel, sipuleucel-T, radium, and selected emerging agents are presented. A distinct focus on the utilization of enzalutamide, its mechanism of action, key pivotal trials that brought about its US Food and Drug Administration approval, as well as patient-focused perspectives and clinical implications are discussed herein.
Bayesian estimation of hourly exposure functions by crash type and time of day

The study describes an investigation of the relationship between crash occurrence and hourly volume counts for small samples of highway segments from two states: Michigan and Connecticut. We used a hierarchical Bayesian framework to fit binary regression models for predicting crash occurrence for each of four crash types: (1) single-vehicle, (2) multi-vehicle same direction, (3) multi-vehicle opposite direction, and (4) multi-vehicle intersecting direction, as a function of the hourly volume, segment length, speed limit and pavement width. The results reveal how the relationship between crashes and hourly volume varies by time of day, thus improving the accuracy of crash occurrence predictions. The results show that even accounting for time of day, the disaggregate exposure measure – hourly volume – is indeed non-linear for each of the four crash types. This implies that at any time of day, the crash occurrence is not proportional to the hourly volume. These findings help us to further understand the relationship between crash occurrence and hourly volume, segment length and other risk factors, and facilitate more meaningful comparisons of the safety record of seemingly similar highway locations.
Cystic fibrosis chronic rhinosinusitis: a comprehensive review.

BackgroundAdvances in the care of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have improved pulmonary outcomes and survival. In addition, rapid developments regarding the underlying genetic and molecular ba...
A gyre in a non-uniformly heated rotating fluid

Abstract Convection in a rotating square basin is studied in a laboratory experiment in which the convection is driven by non-uniform heating from below. This experimental configuration is thought to be analogous to large-scale convection in the ocean, driven by non-uniform heating at the surface. As in the non-rotating case, the upper region shows relatively small temperature variation. With rotation, this region has cyclonic circulation. Fluid moves from the upper region into the thermal boundary layer near the bottom, and then moves toward and enters the rising region at the warm end of the basin.
Patterns of care among patients undergoing hepatic resection: A query of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-targeted hepatectomy database

Abstract Background The American College of Surgeons recently added liver-specific variables to the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP). We sought to use these variables to define patterns of care, as well as characterize perioperative outcomes among patients undergoing hepatic resection. Methods The American College of Surgeons-NSQIP database was queried for all patients undergoing hepatic resection between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013 (n = 2448). Liver-specific variables were summarized. Results Preoperatively, 11.3% of patients had hepatitis B or C or both, whereas 9.2% had cirrhosis. The indication for hepatic resection was benign (20.8%) or malignant (74.2%) disease. Among patients with a malignant indication, metastatic disease (47.3%) was more common than primary liver cancer (26.9%). Preoperative treatment included neoadjuvant chemotherapy (25.5%), portal vein embolization (2.1%), and intra-arterial therapy (0.9%). At surgery, most patients underwent an open hepatic resection (70.7%), whereas 21.4% and 1.1% underwent a laparoscopic or robotic procedure. The Pringle maneuver was used in 27.7% of patients. Although 6.5% of patients had a concomitant hepaticojejunostomy, 10.1% had a concurrent ablation. An operative drain was placed in half of patients (46.5%, minor resection: 42.0% versus major resection: 53.4%; P Conclusions In addition to standard variables, the new inclusion of liver-specific variables provides a unique opportunity to study NSQIP outcomes and practice patterns among patients undergoing hepatic resection.
The synthesis of oxygen‐18 enriched phenol and naphthol from 18O2

Phenols enriched with oxygen-18 can be synthesized using an acid exchange reaction in H218O at elevated temperature, however, to obtain highly enriched products very large quantities of water must be used and recycled. Grignard reagents will react readily with oxygen gas with almost no isotopic dilution to produce the 18O enriched alcohol or phenol. Aromatic Grignards do not produce as high a yield as the aliphatic Grignards, however, both provide convenient routes to labeled products. The yield of naphthol from an aryl halide can be improved by the addition of an aliphatic halide (which produces the alcohol as a by product), however, the yield of naphthol from 18O2 gas is not improved by this approach. Either 1-bromo-naphthalene or bromobenzene was converted into the Grignard reagent and reacted with oxygen-18 enriched gas at 0° in a sealed reaction system. The reaction was worked up in the conventional manner and the yields from 18O2 were 34% for [18O] phenol and 23% for 1-[18O]naphthol.
Cyber security of the electric power grid

Economic security and quality of life in modern society depend on the reliable supply and delivery of electric power. New cyber security vulnerabilities are emerging that introduce new risks to the Nation's electric power grid. This presentation will describe issues, trends, and research opportunities for enhancing the cyber security of control systems associated with electric power system operations.
The Home Meal Replacement Opportunity: A Marketing Perspective

Many food retailers perceive home meal replacements (HMR) or meal solutions as major opportunities for sales growth. These fully- or partially-prepared foods appear to solve growing consumer needs: lack of time, lack of skill, and lack of desire to prepare food. However, a recent financial review of the foodservice operations at 10 large supermarket chains found that the average store's prepared food operation was losing money. The study identified three important areas that supermarkets need to improve: product shrink, employee training, and promotion. These three areas are closely linked with the design and marketing of the HMR concept. To increase the profitability of their HMR programs, supermarkets and restaurants need to address the seven key "Ps" of HMR marketing: positioning, product, package, place, price, promotion, and people. This paper reviews these seven marketing issues and summarizes the lessons learned by early HMR providers.
Multimodal image-guidance for noninvasive surgery: registration, segmentation, and statistical imaging models

Summary form only given, as follows. Image-guided noninvasive and minimally invasive therapeutic procedures are becoming increasingly attractive in the practice of surgery in modern medicine. The last decade has witnessed significant efforts to develop therapeutic devices employing various forms of non-ionizing radiation to produce localized tissue necrosis and/or ablation to achieve a desired therapeutic end point. However, image guidance is one of the major challenges common to all noninvasive and minimally invasive procedures including biopsy, thermal ablation, endoscopy, and laparoscopy. Interactive image guidance paradigms increasingly utilize complimentary information from image data from two different modalities. In thermal ablation, for example, 3D MR patient data sets are utilized for treatment planning and target delineation while 2D real-time ultrasound is utilized for visualization of the ablated region. In this case, successful registration of images from the two modalities is key to the eventual success of this kind of noninvasive surgery in the future. The general area of multimodality image registration is currently receiving significant attention from the medical image processing community. Interactive image guidance requires intramodality as well as intermodality registration of time varying images of the region of interest. The time varying nature of the problem is due to tissue motion and deformation as well as changes in tissue properties due to the therapeutic agents, e.g., heat. Here, the current status of image registration in medical image processing is described. Examples of frame based, point landmark based, and voxel based image registration algorithms are given. Some of the special considerations for successful registration of time varying imagery undergoing motion and deformation are described. Optical flow techniques for motion analysis and target tracking are discussed. In addition, statistical imaging models for treatment monitoring and damage assessment are addressed and illustrated with examples. Signal processing aspects of the outstanding problems are highlighted.
Distributed hydrological modelling of total dissolved phosphorus transport in an agricultural landscape, part I: distributed runoff generation

Abstract. Successful implementation of best management practices for reducing non-point source (NPS) pollution requires knowledge of the location of saturated areas that produce runoff. A physically-based, fully-distributed, GIS-integrated model, the Soil Moisture Distribution and Routing (SMDR) model was developed to simulate the hydrologic behavior of small rural upland watersheds with shallow soils and steep to moderate slopes. The model assumes that gravity is the only driving force of water and that most overland flow occurs as saturation excess. The model uses available soil and climatic data, and requires little calibration. The SMDR model was used to simulate runoff production on a 164-ha farm watershed in Delaware County, New York, in the headwaters of New York City water supply. Apart from land use, distributed input parameters were derived from readily available data. Simulated hydrographs compared reasonably with observed flows at the watershed outlet over a eight year simulation period, and peak timing and intensities were well reproduced. Using off-site weather input data produced occasional missed event peaks. Simulated soil moisture distribution agreed well with observed hydrological features and followed the same spatial trend as observed soil moisture contents sampled on four transects. Model accuracy improved when input variables were calibrated within the range of SSURGO-available parameters. The model will be a useful planning tool for reducing NPS pollution from farms in landscapes similar to the Northeastern US.
Chemoenzymatic synthesis of 4-diphosphocytidyl-2-C-methyl-d-erythritol: a substrate for IspE

Enantiomerically pure 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate 1 (MEP) is synthesized from 1,2-O-isopropylidene-α-D-xylofuranose via facile benzylation in good yield. Subsequently, 1 is used for enzymatic synthesis of 4-diphosphocytidyl-2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 2 (CDP-ME) using 4-diphosphocytidyl-2-C-methyl-D-erythritol synthase (IspD). The chemoenzymatically synthesized 2 can be used as substrate for assay of IspE and for high throughput screening to identify IspE inhibitors.
Magnetopause structure during the magnetic storm of September 24, 1961

Explorer-12 magnetic-field observations of the magnetopause current layer were made on the inbound pass of September 24, 1961, which occurred during the main phase of a moderately strong magnetic storm. The satellite was located near the subsolar point. The accuracy of the Explorer-12 data reported here has been increased by use of an improved filtering procedure. Five magnetopause penetrations were observed in a time period of about 20 min and for each of these the data were used to calculate the vector normal to the current layer, the magnetic-field component along that vector, and the polarization of the current layer. Normal magnetic-field components significantly different from zero were obtained, and it is suggested that the observations during this pass in general are consistent with the so-called open magnetosphere model. In fact, it appears that the first and last of the boundary penetrations may have occurred on opposite sides of, but very near, the X-type magnetic null line, which is located on the front side of the open magnetosphere model. The direction of the normal magnetic-field component as well as the sense of rotation of the tangential magnetic-field component in the current layer were found to be opposite for these two boundaries.