cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bloch Electrons in a Uniform Magnetic Field

The physical periodicity of a space lattice is not destroyed by the presence of a uniform magnetic field. It is shown that a ray group of unitary operators, isomorphic to pure translations, commutes with the Hamiltonian in this case. Such a group has the characteristic property that $AB=\mathrm{exp}[i\ensuremath{\varphi}(A,B)]C$, where $A$, $B$, and $C$ are elements of the group and $\ensuremath{\varphi}$ is a numerical factor. Representation theory applied to this group yields the characteristic degeneracies of levels in magnetic fields, as well as the transformation properties of eigenfunctions. By means of these it is possible to construct an effective Hamiltonian appropriate to finite magnetic fields in crystals.
Quantum capacitance in scaled down III–V FETs

We have built a physical gate capacitance model for III–V FETs that incorporates quantum capacitance and centroid capacitance in the channel. We verified its validity with simulations (Nextnano) and experimental measurements on High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) with InAs and InGaAs channels down to 30 nm in gate length. Our model confirms that in the operational range of these devices, the quantum capacitance significantly lowers the overall gate capacitance. In addition, the channel centroid capacitance is also found to have a significant impact on gate capacitance. Our model provides a number of suggestions for capacitance scaling in future III–V FETs.
Strength and Ductility in Electrodeposited Nanocrystalline Nickel

Electrodeposited nanocrystalline (nc) Ni having an average grain size of 20 nm was annealed at 443 K for different holding times. An examination of the microstructure following annealing showed three important features. First, all annealed samples exhibited abnormal grain growth, which was manifested by the presence of large grains that were surrounded by regions of small grains (bimodal grain distributions). Second, annealing twins existed in the large grains of the samples that showed a bimodal grain distribution. Third, by estimating the density of annealing twin, it was found that annealing nc-Ni at 443 K resulted in a maximum twin density after 5h. Following annealing treatment, specimens with different volume fractions of twins were tested under uniaxial tension at 393 K and a strain rate of 10-4 s-1. The results showed that both strength and ductility in nc-Ni attained maximum values after annealing for 5h. The role of both bimodal grain distributions and annealing twins in enhancing ductility and strength was discussed.
Transformational leadership among grassroots social service organizations

Community development organizations, including grassroots social service organizations, are being looked to increasingly address community needs in the face of shrinking government programs. The objective of this study was to assess the extent to which leaders of some of these grassroots social service organizations use transactional and transformational leadership styles, and whether these styles were related to leadership outcomes. Grassroots organizations were defined as those providing services to meet basic human needs in the immediate community and with annual budgets under $200,000. Twenty-three leaders were rated using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Form 5X . It was hypothesized that the leaders would be transformational in nature and transformational leadership would be related to positive outcomes. Findings confirmed the hypothesis and implications are presented.
Interactions of point defects with dislocations in silver chloride crystals

Abstract Internal friction techniques at 35 kHz were used to study the interactions between point defects and dislocations in crystals of silver chloride. The Granato-Lucke plots of the amplitude-dependent decrement were not linear, but were concave upward. Various analyses of these data all gave pin-dislocation binding energies of approximately 0·2 eV. An extensive study was made of the decay of the amplitude-independent decrement after “excitation” by high-amplitude oscillation; the Granato-Lucke L4 law was found valid, but the arrival of pins proceeded as t1/3, rather than the usual t2/3 found in deformed specimens. A first-order model of the response of a slightly perturbed Maxwell atmosphere about the dislocation is presented. The model quantitatively describes the experimental results. The activation energy of the rate constant was found to be 0·42 eV, consistent with data on solute diffusion and strain-aging.
Field and laboratory performance characteristics of a new protocol for sampling riverine macroinvertebrate assemblages

Measurement and estimation of performance characteristics (i.e. precision, bias, performance range, interferences and sensitivity) are often neglected in the development and use of biological sampling methods. However, knowledge of this information is critical in enabling potential users to assess data quality and make comparisons among different sampling methods. In this study, the performance characteristics were evaluated for both the field and laboratory components of a new large river macroinvertebrate bioassessment protocol (mLR-BP) for non-wadeable streams. We sampled 19 sites across two depth classes, collecting three replicate samples at each site and sorting three 300-organism subsamples from each sample. The replicate samples provided data for estimates of precision in the laboratory and field, and abiotic variables allowed for measurements of overall sensitivity. Precision and performance range differed between shallow and deep sites, particularly for the field component. As compared with precision measured in other studies of bioassessment methods, the field component of the mLR-BP performed similarly, particularly in shallow sites. Based on the measures of combined field and laboratory sensitivity, this protocol should be able to detect differences of approximately 20–25% in the metrics evaluated in this study, if used for bioassessment in similar types of rivers. With all sites and the field and laboratory components combined, metrics were most responsive to a gradient of urban land cover but also showed some relationship with agricultural land cover. However, metric responsiveness does not necessarily correlate with precision, and metric selection can influence the performance characteristics of the method. Overall, the sampling protocol shows great utility for bioassessment and monitoring of non-wadeable rivers, as well as for measuring the success of restoration efforts. In addition, the design of this study provides a template for estimating performance characteristics in other non-wadeable systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Neuron array with plastic synapses and programmable dendrites

We describe a novel neuromorphic chip that models neurons for efficient computation. Traditional architectures of neuron array chips consist of large scale systems that are interfaced with AER for implementing intra- or inter-chip connectivity. We present a chip that uses AER for inter-chip communication but uses fast, reconfigurable FPGA-style routing with local memory for intra-chip connectivity. We model neurons with biologically realistic channel models, synapses and dendrites. This chip is suitable for small-scale network simulations and can also be used for sequence detection, utilizing directional selectivity properties of dendrites, ultimately for use in word recognition.
Gas-Phase Ion Chemistry of Azides. The Generation of CH2=N- and Ch2=Nch2—

Le trimethylsilylmethylazide permet de preparer l'anion methyleneamidure (CH 2 =N − ). On etudie les proprietes chimiques et la reactivite de cet anion
Potential Role for Peptidylarginine Deiminase 2 (PAD2) in Citrullination of Canine Mammary Epithelial Cell Histones

Peptidylarginine Deiminases (PADs) convert arginine residues on substrate proteins to citrulline. Previous reports have documented that PAD2 expression and activity varies across the estrous cycle in the rodent uterus and pituitary gland, however, the expression and function of PAD2 in mammary tissue has not been previously reported. To gain more insight into potential reproductive roles for PAD2, in this study we evaluated PAD2 expression and localization throughout the estrous cycle in canine mammary tissue and then identified possible PAD2 enzymatic targets. Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence analysis found PAD2 expression is low in anestrus, limited to a distinct, yet sparse, subset of epithelial cells within ductal alveoli during estrus/early diestrus, and encompasses the entire epithelium of the mammary duct in late diestrus. At the subcellular level, PAD2 is expressed in the cytoplasm, and to a lesser extent, the nucleus of these epithelial cells. Surprisingly, stimulation of canine mammary tumor cells (CMT25) shows that EGF, but not estrogen or progesterone, upregulates PAD2 transcription and translation suggesting EGF regulation of PAD2 and possibly citrullination in vivo. To identify potential PAD2 targets, anti-pan citrulline western blots were performed and results showed that citrullination activity is limited to diestrus with histones appearing to represent major enzymatic targets. Use of site-specific anti-citrullinated histone antibodies found that the N-terminus of histone H3, but not H4, appears to be the primary target of PAD activity in mammary epithelium. This observation supports the hypothesis that PAD2 may play a regulatory role in the expression of lactation related genes via histone citrullination during diestrus.
Mitigating the effects of interference through coding, interleaving and signal editing

Based on the fact that the performance of random error-correction decoding is insensitive to code symbols erased before its decoding process, a new approach to mitigate the effects of interference is derived. This approach consists of three basic functions: it modifies conventional interleaving, detects and deletes burst errors, and corrects random errors. Therefore this approach minimises the effects of jamming, antenna switching and nuclear deep fading. In the paper we first describe a tactic for integrating coding and interleaving. The derivation and application of a special rate-1/4 convolutional code are then illustrated, and, finally, some preliminary computer simulation results are utilised to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique.
Selective Myelotoxicity of Propanil.

Abstract Selective Myelotoxicity of Propanil, Blyler, G., Landreth, K. S., Lillis, T., Schafer, S., Theus, S. A., Gandy, J., and Barnett, J. B. (1994). Fundam. Appl. Toxicol. 22, 505-510. Propanil, a commonly used herbicide, has been previously shown to be immunotoxic for selected immune functions as well as specific cell types, such as the macrophage. Propanil has also been shown to cause a methemoglobulinemia and anemia through direct action on the erythrocyte. Demonstrated toxicity to both macrophages and erythrocytes raised concern for the possible myelotoxicity of propanil which could contribute to the observed effects of exposure. Therefore, the effect of propanil on several stem and progenitor cell types was assessed 7 days after acute propanil exposure. The results described herein show that propanil, at doses of 50-200 mg/kg body wt, resulted in reduction in the number of myeloid stem cells and early myeloid and erythroid progenitor cells. No reduction in the numbers of more differentiated myeloid and erythroid progenitor cells was noted at even the highest dose used (200 mg/kg). In addition, no statistically significant difference in number of leukocytes per femur was noted. These data suggest that propanil is myelotoxic to early hemapoietic stem cells, but that this reduction is apparently compensated by proliferation of more differentiated progenitor cells for the myeloid and erythroid lineages. It remains unknown whether chronic exposure leads to progressive depletion of additional myeloid and erythroid cells.
Genesis of active sand-filled polygons in lower and Central Beacon Valley, Antarctica.

Nonsorted polygons with sand-filled wedges were investigated in Beacon Valley, Antarctica (77.82°S, 160.67°E) using field observations coupled with 2-m resolution aerial photography. A gasoline-powered concrete breaker was employed to expose the sediments of four polygon centres and six wedges from geomorphic surfaces containing tills of two different ages. The excavated polygons ranged from 9 to 16 m in diameter; the sand-filled wedges ranged from 0.2 to 2.5 m in width. The top of ice-bonded permafrost ranged from 12 to 62 cm in depth in the polygon centres and from 64 to >90 cm in wedges. One active thermal-contraction fissure generally was apparent at the surface, but excavations revealed numerous inactive fissures. The wedges contain sand laminations averaging 3 mm in width when viewed in cross-section. Although most of the polygons were of the sand-wedge type, some contained ice veins up to 1 cm in width and could be classed as composite wedges. Three stages of polygon development were observed, including well-developed polygons on Taylor II surfaces (ca. 117 ka), moderately developed polygons on Taylor III surfaces (ca. 200 ka) and poorly expressed polygons on Taylor IVa and older (ca. >1.1 Ma) surfaces. This retrogressive development may be due to sublimation of ice-bonded permafrost following thermal cracking. With the drop in ice content, the thermal coefficient of expansion of the permafrost may be lowered, which would result in a reduction in tensile stresses. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Lymphocyte called home: β2-adreneric neurotransmission confines T cells to lymph nodes to suppress inflammation.

![Figure][1] Insight from Kevin Tracey The immune and nervous systems sense changes in the environment, mobilize host responses, and establish memories of threatening events. In this issue, an important study by [Nakai et al.][2] using experimental models of T cell inflammation shows that
Capacity Deficit in Mobile Wireless Ad Hoc Networks Due to Geographic Routing Overheads

Overheads incurred by routing protocols diminish the capacity available for relaying useful data over a mobile wireless ad hoc network. Discovering and understanding the lower bounds on the amount of protocol overhead incurred for routing data packets is important for development of efficient routing protocols, and for understanding the actual (effective) capacity available for network users. In this paper we use an information-theoretic approach for characterizing the minimum routing overheads of geographic routing in a mobile network. We formulate the minimum overhead problem as a rate-distortion problem. The formulation may be applied to networks with arbitrary traffic arrival and location service schemes. We evaluate lower bounds on the minimum overheads incurred for maintaining the location of destination nodes and consistent neighborhood information in terms of node mobility and packet arrival process. We also characterize the deficit caused by the routing overheads in the overall transport capacity of a mobile network.
Functional states of kinetochores revealed by laser microsurgery and fluorescent speckle microscopy

The impact of mechanical forces on kinetochore motility was investigated using laser microsurgery to detach kinetochores with associated chromatin (K fragment) from meiotic chromosomes in spermatocytes from the crane fly Nephrotoma suturalis. In spermatocytes, elastic tethers connect telomeres of homologues during anaphase A of meiosis I, thus preventing complete disjunction until mid- to late anaphase A. K fragments liberated from tethered arms moved at twice the normal velocity toward their connected poles. To assess functional states of detached and control kinetochores, we loaded cells with fluorescently labeled tubulin for fluorescent speckle microscopy on kinetochore microtubules. Control kinetochores added fluorescent speckles at the kinetochore during anaphase A, whereas kinetochores of K fragments generally did not. In cases in which speckles reappeared in K-fragment K fibers, speckles and K fragments moved poleward at similar velocities. Thus detached kinetochores convert from their normal polymerization (reverse pac-man) state to a different state, in which polymerization is not evident. We suggest that the converted state is “park,” in which kinetochores are anchored to plus ends of kinetochore microtubules that shorten exclusively at their polar ends.
A model for flash analog-to-digital converters with bit-extended error table linearization

This paper provides a fundamental overview of important metrics and concepts regarding A/D nonlinear distortion. Once reviewed, a sub-bit compensation technique is presented, analyzed, and simulated in the context of a high-speed flash converter. A model is presented to represent the compensator as well as the pre-compensated converter. It is shown that the BEET method of error compensation creates a greater SFDR and SINAD for a converter than traditional error-table compensation. Yet, the BEET method has only a slight increase in hardware complexity compared to traditional error tables.
On achieving software diversity for improved network security using distributed coloring algorithms

It is widely believed that diversity in operating systems, software packages, and hardware platforms will decrease the virulence of worms and the effectiveness of repeated applications of single attacks. Research efforts in the field have focused on introducing diversity using a variety of techniques on a system-by-system basis. This paper, on the other hand, assumes the availability of diverse software packages for each system and then seeks to increase the intrinsic value of available diversity by considering the entire computer network. We present several distributed algorithms for the assignment of distinct software packages to individual systems and analyze their performance. Our goal is to limit the ability of a malicious node to use a single attack to compromise its neighboring nodes, and by extension, the rest of the nodes in the network. The algorithms themselves are analyzed for attack tolerance, and strategies for improving the security of the individual software assignment schemes are presented. We present a comparative analysis of our algorithms using simulation results on a topology obtained from e-mail traffic logs between users at our institution. We find that hybrid versions of our algorithms incorporating multiple assignment strategies achieve better attack tolerance than any given assignment strategy. Our work thus shows that diversity must be introduced at all levels of system design, including any scheme that is used to introduce diversity itself.
Sexual History Documentation in Adolescent Emergency Department Patients

OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency of physician-documented sexual histories in female adolescents who presented to an emergency department (ED) with symptoms suggestive of a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Our secondary objectives were to determine if physician-documented sexual history is associated with increased STI testing and to compare the concordance of physician-elicited sexual histories with patient-documented sexual histories by using confidential questionnaires. METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of a prospective study of female adolescents who presented to a pediatric ED with chief complaints of lower abdominal pain and/or genitourinary complaints. Patient charts were abstracted for the presence or absence of documented sexual histories and demographics. A subset of patients completed a questionnaire pertaining to sexual health. RESULTS: The study population comprised 327 patients; 269 (82%) patients had a physician-documented sexual history, of which 204 (76%) reported being sexually active to the physician. Patient age (odds ratio [OR]: 2.6 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3–5.3]) and black race (OR: 2.0 [95% CI: 1.1–3.7]) were associated with physician-documented sexual history. The documentation of a sexual history was associated with increased STI testing (OR: 3.9 [95% CI: 2.0–7.6]). In the patients ( n = 109) who completed the questionnaire, physician-elicited sexual histories were highly concordant with patient-documented sexual histories on questionnaire (Spearman r = 0.90; P < .001). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that ED physicians should obtain sexual histories from symptomatic patients, because it may increase STI testing and subsequent detection. In future studies factors should be evaluated that affect physicians' willingness to assess sexual history in the ED patient.
A Novel Rheometer Design for Yield Stress Fluids

An inexpensive, rapid method for measuring the rheological properties of yield stress fluids is described and tested. The method uses an auger that does not rotate during measurements, and avoids material and instrument-related difficulties, for example, wall slip and the presence of large particles, associated with yield stress fluids. The method can be used for many types of yield stress fluids, including concentrated lignocellulosic biomass. Sample preparation prior to measurement is minimal, reducing, or eliminating disruption of the sample. We show that measurements using this technique compare well with measurements obtained with a vane rheometer. A variation of the described method is proposed that would make it easier to measure time-dependent rheological properties. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 1523–1528, 2014
Solution-processed copper-nickel nanowire anodes for organic solar cells.

This work describes a process to make anodes for organic solar cells from copper–nickel nanowires with solution-phase processing. Copper nanowire films were coated from solution onto glass and made conductive by dipping them in acetic acid. Acetic acid removes the passivating oxide from the surface of copper nanowires, thereby reducing the contact resistance between nanowires to nearly the same extent as hydrogen annealing. Films of copper nanowires were made as oxidation resistant as silver nanowires under dry and humid conditions by dipping them in an electroless nickel plating solution. Organic solar cells utilizing these completely solution-processed copper–nickel nanowire films exhibited efficiencies of 4.9%.
Power and performance evaluation of globally asynchronous locally synchronous processors

Due to shrinking technologies and increasing design sizes, it is becoming more difficult and expensive to distribute a global clock signal with low skew throughout a processor die. Asynchronous processor designs do not suffer from this problem since they do not have a global clock. However, a paradigm shift from synchronous to asynchronous is unlikely to happen in the processor industry in the near future. Hence the study of Globally Asynchronous Locally Synchronous (or GALS) systems is relevant. In this paper we use a cycle-accurate simulation environment to study the impact of asynchrony in a superscalar processor architecture. Our results show that as expected, going from a synchronous to a GALS design causes a drop in performance, but elimination of the global clock does not lead to drastic power reductions. From a power perspective, GALS designs are inherently less efficient when compared to synchronous architectures. However, the flexibility offered by the independently controllable local clocks enables the effective use of other energy conservation techniques like dynamic voltage scaling. Our results show that for a 5-clock domain GALS processor, the drop in performance ranges between 5-15%, while power consumption is reduced by 10% on the average. Fine-grained voltage scaling reduces the gap between fully synchronous and GALS implementations, allowing for better power efficiency.
Voter Turnout in the 2010 Congressional Midterm Elections

Against the backdrop of the 2008 presidential election, a watershed event in terms of electoral participation, many speculated that renewed interest in voting would spill over into the 2010 cycle, resulting in a meaningful uptick in voter turnout in the midterm elections overall. Turnout was expected to be especially robust among Republicans eager to regain their numbers in 2010, capitalizing on Democratic withdrawal fueled by voters' frustration with President Obama, congressional Democrats, and the struggling economy. In 2008, an electorate energized around an historic contest and unprecedented levels of voter mobilization helped to drive more citizens to the polls on Election Day than ever before (Panagopoulos and Francia 2009). An estimated 131.1 million Americans voted for president, representing 61.6% of the eligible voting population (McDonald 2009). Voter turnout among eligible voters in 2008 was 1.5 percentage points higher than in 2004, when 122.3 million voters participated in the presidential election (Bergan et al. 2005). The 2008 election thus marked the third consecutive presidential election cycle in which voter turnout increased, reversing a trend of declining participation that began in the 1960s (McDonald 2009). In fact, national turnout in recent presidential elections has rivaled modern highs in the level of electoral participation that occurred in the 1950s and 1960s.
Design of Raptor codes for parallel AWGN channels and slow-fading MIMO channels

We develop accurate one-dimensional Extrinsic Information Transfer (EXIT) chart methods for the design of Raptor codes over arbitrary parallel AWGN channels and slow-fading MIMO channels with CSIR. The code design is optimized over any desired finite set of operating points, each of which is specified by a channel matrix. We develop techniques to minimize the number of constraining channel matrices required for the design. We simulate Raptor codes on MIMO channels using designed code distributions and achieve throughputs that are consistently above 82% of Shannon capacity.
Red blood cell transfusions for thalassemia: results of a survey assessing current practice and proposal of evidence‐based guidelines

Background In the absence of curative treatment, such as stem cell transplant, regular transfusions remain the mainstay of therapy for individuals with thalassemia major, a syndrome that results from marked ineffective erythropoiesis and the resultant anemia. The primary objectives of transfusion therapy are twofold: to suppress ineffective erythropoiesis and to ensure appropriate growth and development through childhood. In practice, a number of different transfusion protocols are in use across the developed world, with on-demand transfusion still being the paradigm in most of the developing world with limited resources. Study Design and Methods To investigate perceived differences in transfusion practice, a self-reported electronic survey was disseminated to eight US thalassemia treatment centers in February 2011. The survey was divided into sections ranging from laboratory and clinical practices to emerging transfusion-transmitted diseases. Results The survey response rate was 100%. The total number of transfused patients was 411. One-hundred percent of institutions used leukoreduced blood. No centers routinely provided cytomegalovirus-seronegative red blood cells (RBCs). Half the centers provided irradiated RBCs; only one routinely provided washed RBCs, and none transfused RBCs of defined storage age. Seventy-five percent of centers routinely phenotyped thalassemia patients' RBC antigens; 50% prophylactically matched for Rh and K antigens. The frequency of antibody investigations varied widely, and 25% of centers routinely medicated patients before transfusion. Conclusion Eight thalassemia centers in the United States were surveyed to determine the uniformity of transfusion practice. The variability of the results was surprising. Consequently, we performed a literature review and propose an evidence-based protocol for routine transfusion therapy for patients with thalassemia.
Sex differences in resting hemodynamics and arterial stiffness following 4 weeks of resistance versus aerobic exercise training in individuals with pre-hypertension to stage 1 hypertension

Hypertension (HTN) exhibits sexual dimorphism; the incidence for women surpasses men during the sixth decade of life, while the pharmacological treatments are less effective and produce more side-effects in women than in men. Aerobic exercise (AE) has been shown to prevent and treat HTN; however, resistance exercise (RE) is not recommended as a strategy to treat HTN. In this study, we investigated the potential sex differences of AE versus RE in a cohort of unmedicated patients with hypertension. In total, 40 moderately active, pre-hypertensive or stage 1 essential hypertensive male (M) and female (F) participants aged 40 to 60 years were randomly divided into four groups: M AE, M RE, F AE, and F. Each group exercised at moderate intensity, 3 days/week for 4 weeks. Hemodynamic, vascular and blood-flow data were collected before and after exercise training. Men showed a significant increase in central pulse wave velocity following RE while females showed no significant changes (12 ± to 13.9 ± vs. 9.2 ± to 9.6 ± m/s, respectively). RE showed significantly greater increases in peak blood flow when compared to AE (F RE 15 ± to 20 ± vs. F AE 17.5 ± to19.5 ±, M RE 19 ± to 24 ± vs M AE 21 ± to 25 ± ml* 100 ml*min, respectively). In addition, systolic and diastolic BP decreased greater for women following RE when compared to AE whereas men showed comparable decreases in BP following either exercise mode. Moderate-intensity RE training may be a more favorable for women as a treatment option for hypertension because of greater decreases in diastolic BP and significant increases in flow-mediated dilation without concomitant increases in arterial stiffness, compared with their male counterparts.
Correction for non-compliance in equivalence trials

In randomized trials comparing a new therapy to standard therapy, the sharp null hypothesis of equivalent therapeutic efficacy does not imply the intent-to-treat null hypothesis of equal outcome distributions in the two-treatment arm if non-compliance is present. As a consequence, the development of analytic methods that adjust for non-compliance is of particular importance in equivalence trials comparing a new therapy to standard therapy. This paper provides, in the context of equivalence trial, a unified overview of various analytic approaches to correct for non-compliance in randomized trials. The overview focuses on comparing and contrasting the plausibility, robustness, and strength of assumptions required by each method and their programming and computational burdens. In addition, several new structural (causal) models are introduced: the coarse structural nested models, the non-nested marginal structural models and the continuous-time structural nested models, and their properties are compared with those of previously proposed structural nested models. The fundamental assumption that allows us to correct for non-compliance is that the decision whether or not to continue to comply with assigned therapy at time t is random (that is, ignorable or explainable) conditional on the history up to t of measured pre- and time-dependent post-randomization prognostic factors. In the final sections of the paper, we consider how the consequences of violations of our assumption of conditionally ignorable non-compliance can be explored through a sensitivity analysis. Finally, the analytic methods described in this paper can also be used to estimate the causal effect of a time-varying treatment from observational data.
Is the Intergenerational Transmission of Smoking From Mother to Child Mediated by Children’s Behavior Problems?

INTRODUCTION A previous paper used latent class analysis to assign individuals to 1 of 4 adolescent/young adult smoking trajectory classes and then established an association between maternal smoking before, during, and after pregnancy and these classes. In this paper, we examine one possible pathway for this relationship: that maternal smoking during pregnancy may set off a behavioral trajectory which increases the likelihood of problem behaviors generally, of which smoking is one manifestation. METHODS We used the Behavior Problems Index measure from age 8 through age 12 as a potential mediator. We used a path analysis modeling approach within a multinomial logistic regression (using Mplus) to estimate direct and indirect effects (via behavioral problems) between maternal smoking pattern and child trajectory class. RESULTS We found small but statistically significant indirect effects via behavioral problems from maternal smoking to child smoking trajectory for membership in all 3 smoking classes, relative to the nonsmoking trajectory, indicating partial mediation. Mediated effects were associated with maternal smoking after pregnancy, no statistically significant mediated effects were found for smoking before or during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS The results provided no evidence that the effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on child smoking trajectory are mediated by problem behavior. Effects from smoking after birth to child smoking trajectory appear to be partially mediated by problem behavior, supporting a behavioral rather than physiological effect of smoking during pregnancy but not ruling out more complex physiological pathways.
Multiphoton interactions in lepton photoproduction on nuclei at high energies

We study multiphoton effects in quantum electrodynamics in lepton photoproduction on heavy nuclei and nuclear medium at high energies. We are interested in energy, charge density, and nuclear geometry dependence of the cross sections. We use the impact parameter representation that allows us to reduce the problem of photoproduction to the problem of propagation of electric dipoles in the nuclear Coulomb field. In the framework of the Glauber model we resum an infinite series of multiphoton amplitudes corresponding to multiple rescattering of the electric dipole on the nucleus. We find that unitarity effects arising due to multiphoton interactions are small and energy independent for scattering on a single nucleus, whereas in the case of macroscopic nuclear medium they saturate the geometric limit of the total cross section. We discuss an analogy between nuclear medium and intense laser beams.
Infective dose of foodborne pathogens in volunteers : A Review

Risk assessment and impact of foodborne pathogens on the health of different populations was one of the goals identified in the Presidential Food Safety Initiative three-year plan. This entailed estimation of dose-response relationship for foodborne pathogens to humans, either by feeding studies or from outbreaks. For certain pathogens, such as Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7, there are no feeding studies due to ethical reasons, and the results from outbreaks are normally used to estimate the infectious dose. The focus of this review is to compile dose-response information in volunteers for several foodborne pathogens including Salmonella, Shigella spp., Campylobacter jejuni, Vibrio spp., Escherichia coli, Cryptosporidium parvum and Entamoeba coli. The infectious dose for different serovars of Salmonella and strains of E. coli was quite large (> 105 organisms), while the infectious dose for some Shigella spp. seemed to be as low as less than 10 organisms. Toxigenic V. cholerae (O1 and O139 serotypes) were infective at a dose of 104 organisms; a non-O1 strain was infective at a much higher dose (106 organisms). C. jejuni, C. parvum and Entamoeba coli appeared to have infectious doses as low as 500 organisms, 10 oocysts, and 1 cyst, respectively. The infectious dose and the dose response are dependent upon the strains used, and the age and physical condition of the individuals, and can therefore show wide variations. In addition, since many of the volunteer studies are carried out by feeding the organisms in a nonfood matrix after neutralizing the stomach acidity, results obtained may not reflect the true dose response.
Three exploratory studies of college theme parties

Introduction and Aims. The objectives of this exploratory research were to (1) explore the characteristics and risks associated with college theme parties, (2) assess differences in risk associated with college theme parties compared to non-theme parties and (3) to assess differences in risk associated with risque theme parties as compared to non-risque theme parties. Design and methods. We used a mixed methods design. Results are presented from three exploratory studies of alcohol consumption in college theme parties: (1) four qualitative focus groups of students who have attended such events, (2) a web-based survey and (3) a multi-level (observational, survey, breath blood alcohol samples) study of 226 college parties, 29 of which were themed events. Focus group participants included a convenience sample of 17 college students aged 18–24 years; participants for the web survey included a convenience sample of 407 college students; participants for the multi-level study of college parties included 1725 ra...
The Consequences of India’s Male Surplus for Women’s Partnering and Sexual Experiences

Data from the third wave of India’s 2005-2006 National Family and Health Survey are used to examine the influence of the community-level sex ratio on several dimensions of women’s partnering behavior and sexual experiences. Multilevel logistic regression models that control for individual demographic attributes and community-level characteristics reveal that the local male-to-female sex ratio is positively and significantly associated with the likelihood that women marry prior to age 16 and have experienced forced sex. These associations are modest in magnitude. However, no significant associations are observed between the sex ratio and whether women have had two or more lifetime sexual partners or women’s risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. Birth cohort, education, religion, caste, region, urban residence, and several community-level measures of women’s status also emerge as significant predictors of Indian women’s partnering and sexual experiences. The implications of our results for Ind...
Dynamic modeling and analysis of pitch motion of a basilisk lizard inspired quadruped robot running on water

A quadrupedal robot inspired by the basilisk lizard was developed and modeled with a 3-D real time simulation. Due to the robot's geometry, leg motion, and water interactions, the net pitch moment at the center of mass is not zero making pitch motion unstable. This paper introduces two types of tails, passive and active, to stabilize pitch motion and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of each. It is shown in simulation that a purely passive tail can stabilize pitch motion and lead to a steady state robot pitch angle in the absence of disturbances. It is further shown that an active tail can compensate for disturbances and correct any drift in the robot body pitch angle due to changes in robot running speed.
DNA-gold triangular nanoprism conjugates.

Over the past two decades, there has been an enormous effort to understand, control, and use the relationship between the morphology of nanomaterials and their physical and chemical properties.[1,2] Indeed, a great deal of effort has focused on controlling the size, shape, and composition of nanostructures. However, equally important is the surface chemistry of such structures, especially when one considers that the ratio of surface to bulk atoms is much higher than that in micro- or macroscopic systems. For example, the surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) of nanoparticles are highly dependent upon the dielectric medium that surrounds them, including adlayers of molecules and solvent.[3,4] Catalytic activity of a nanoparticle is also highly dependent upon adsorbate.[5,6] Indeed, the development of ways to control the structure and chemical functionalization of a nanoparticle surface is a major area of research, and has led to the discovery of new properties and applications for this important class of materials.[7] In the case of isotropic metal nanoparticles, functionalization has led to a variety of exciting scientific insights and applications, including the use of nanoparticles for spectroscopic labels,[8] gene-regulation agents,[9] and ultrasensitive biodiagnostic tools.[10] In general, less has been done with anisotropic structures, but there have been some important observations and advances made for nanorod and nanoshell structures.[11–14] For example, Gole and Murphy have reported that gold nanorods functionalized with biotin-disulfide will assemble in an end-to-end manner when interconnecting streptavidin proteins are added to a colloid containing them. The authors concluded that such assembly behavior was indicative of end-selective functionalization.[12] Mann and co-workers described a similar example with oligonucleotide-modified nanorods, but in contrast with the Murphy system, they observe sheet-like assembly of nanorods along their long axes.[11] These results present a challenge to both understand and establish control over the face-selective functionalization of anisotropic nanoparticles.
A New Wireless Sensor System for Smart Diapers

This letter presents a new wireless sensor system for smart diaper application, which consists of an interrogator circuit, an antenna, and a passive LC resonating sensor tag. The wireless link between the interrogator circuit and the sensor tag is established through the inductive coupling. The wetting of the diaper shifts the resonating frequency of the sensor tag, changing the inductive link, and thus trigger an ldquoonrdquo or ldquooffrdquo condition reflected at the interrogator circuit. With suitable sensor tags, smart diapers can be achieved in a straightforward and low cost approach.
Investigation into the physiologies of Aeromonas veronii in vitro and inside the digestive tract of the medicinal leech using RNA-seq.

Host-associated microbial communities are widespread in nature and vital to the health and fitness of the host. Deciphering the physiology of the microbiome in vivo is critical to understanding the molecular basis of the symbiosis. Recently, the development and application of high-throughput sequencing techniques, particularly RNA-seq, for studying microbial communities has enabled researchers to address not only which microbes are present in a given community but also how the community functions. For microbes that can also be cultivated in the laboratory, RNA-seq provides the opportunity to identify genes that are differentially expressed during symbiosis by comparing in vitro to in vivo transcriptomes. In the current study, we used RNA-seq to identify genes expressed by the digestive-tract microbiome of the medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, and by one of the two dominant symbionts, Aeromonas veronii, in a rich medium. We used a comparative approach to identify genes differentially expressed during symbio...
Comment on Kaplan's critique of masters, Johnson and Kolodny

In an article in the August 1988 issue of The Journal of Sex Research, Edward H. Kaplan (1988) concludes that the data presented by Masters, Johnson, and Kolodny are consistent with a heterosexual epidemic only if new partnership formation rates exceed 5.28 per year. There is an erroneous assumption in his calculations. His estimation of this critical number is based upon per partnership risks of transmission between an infected and a susceptible of 2 and 2.8% for transmission from an infected female and male respectively. These estimates are in turn based upon 11.88 and 11.23 sex acts per partnership. There is no adjustment in his critical number for the fact that as new partnership formation rates go down, the number of sex acts per partnership will go up. If the duration of a partnership is four years, let us assume that there will be 500 sex acts per partnership. Then, using Kaplan's equation 1, the probability of transmission from male to female will not be 2.8% but rather 71%, and the probability of transmission from female to male will be 57%.
Fick’s Diffusion Experiments Revisited —Part I

In this paper, we revisit Fick’s original diffusion experiments and reconstruct the geometry of his inverted funnel. Part I demonstrates that Fick’s experimental approach was sound and measurements were accurate despite his own claims to the contrary. Using the standard modern approach, we predict Fick’s cylindrical tube measurements with a high degree of accuracy. We calculate that the salt reservoir at the bottom of the inverted funnel must have been about 5 cm in height and the unreported depth of the deepest salt concentration measurement by Fick was yet another 3 cm above the reservoir top. We verify the latter calculation by using Fick’s own calculated concentration profiles and show that the modern diffusion theory predicts the inverted funnel measurements almost as well as those in the cylindrical tube. Part II is a translation of Fick’s discussion of diffusion in liquids in the first edition of his three-volume monograph on Medical Physics published in 1856, one year after his seminal Pogendorff Annalen paper On Diffusion.
Laboratory Simulation of Atmospheric Motions in the Vicinity of Antarctica

Abstract Laboratory experiments concerned with surface cooling, were conducted to simulate the surface wind patterns and the free atmosphere general circulation in the vicinity of Antarctica. The principal dynamical similarity parameter is shown to be ROT/S, where RoT is the thermal Rossby number and S the Burger number. At parameter values appropriate to the atmosphere, the physical model experiments led to a surface drainage flow and an accompanying polar cyclone that had characteristics similar to atmospheric observations. The simulated polar cyclone contained two low centers and planetary wavelike structures. The interior streamlines near the cyclone centers tended to follow the continental height contours. In the laboratory simulations, eastward-propagating wave troughs were periodically generated in the vicinity of 110°E and developed maximum strengths in the vicinity of the Ross Ice Shelf at 160°W before dissipating by 70°W. Jets in the polar cyclone were observed over regions of the model Antarcti...
Sensitivity of auditory cortical neurons to locations of signals and competing noise sources.

The present study examined cortical parallels to psychophysical signal detection and sound localization in the presence of background noise. The activity of single units or of small clusters of uni...
Supportive coevolution

Automatically configuring and dynamically controlling an Evolutionary Algorithm's (EA's) parameters is a complex task, yet doing so allows EAs to become more powerful and require less problem specific tuning to become effective. Supportive Coevolution is a new form of Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) that uses multiple populations to overcome the limitations of other automatic configuration techniques like self-adaptation, giving it the potential to concurrently evolve all of the parameters and operators in an EA. As a proof of concept experimentation comparing self-adaptation of n uncorrelated mutation step sizes with Supportive Coevolution for mutation step sizes was performed on the Rastrigin and Shifted Rastrigin benchmark functions. Statistical analysis showed Supportive Coevolution outperforming self-adaptation on all but one of the problem instances tested. Furthermore, analysis of instantaneous mutation success rate showed that this new technique is better able to adapt to the changes in the population fitness. Further study using multiple evolving parameters is needed to fully test Supportive Coevolution, but the results presented here show a promising outlook.