cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design Optimization of High Voltage NPN ESD Protection Device in 130nm Power SOI Technology

A HV NPN ESD devices is evaluated in a 130nm Power SOI technology. Current flow and temperature distribution under ESD stress is investigated by TCAD and a new device architecture without STI is proposed. Non-uniform triggering issue is also investigated. Segment type layout design shows uniform triggering of multi-finger devices.
Causal Inference in Network Economics.

Network economics is the study of a rich class of equilibrium problems that occur in the real world, from traffic management to supply chains and two-sided online marketplaces. In this paper we explore causal inference in network economics, building on the mathematical framework of variational inequalities, which is a generalization of classical optimization. Our framework can be viewed as a synthesis of the well-known variational inequality formalism with the broad principles of causal inference
Bayesian variable selection for high-dimensional data with an ordinal response: identifying genes associated with prognostic risk group in acute myeloid leukemia.

BACKGROUND Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous cancer of the blood, though specific recurring cytogenetic abnormalities in AML are strongly associated with attaining complete response after induction chemotherapy, remission duration, and survival. Therefore recurring cytogenetic abnormalities have been used to segregate patients into favorable, intermediate, and adverse prognostic risk groups. However, it is unclear how expression of genes is associated with these prognostic risk groups. We postulate that expression of genes monotonically associated with these prognostic risk groups may yield important insights into leukemogenesis. Therefore, in this paper we propose penalized Bayesian ordinal response models to predict prognostic risk group using gene expression data. We consider a double exponential prior, a spike-and-slab normal prior, a spike-and-slab double exponential prior, and a regression-based approach with variable inclusion indicators for modeling our high-dimensional ordinal response, prognostic risk group, and identify genes through hypothesis tests using Bayes factor. RESULTS Gene expression was ascertained using Affymetrix HG-U133Plus2.0 GeneChips for 97 favorable, 259 intermediate, and 97 adverse risk AML patients. When applying our penalized Bayesian ordinal response models, genes identified for model inclusion were consistent among the four different models. Additionally, the genes included in the models were biologically plausible, as most have been previously associated with either AML or other types of cancer. CONCLUSION These findings demonstrate that our proposed penalized Bayesian ordinal response models are useful for performing variable selection for high-dimensional genomic data and have the potential to identify genes relevantly associated with an ordinal phenotype.
Strong consistency of the distribution estimator in the nonlinear autoregressive time series

This paper considers the uniform strong consistency of the error cumulative distribution function (CDF) estimator. Under appropriate assumptions, the classical Glivenko-Cantelli Theorem is obtained for the residual based empirical error CDF in the nonlinear autoregressive time series.
Abstract P368: N-Terminal Pro Brain Natriuretic Peptide and Microsize Myocardial Infarctions in the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study

Background: N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) has been associated with myocardial infarctions (MI), but less is known about the relationship between NT-proBNP and very small non ST-elevation MIs now routinely detectable with modern troponin assays. Since these “microsize MIs” confer high long-term coronary heart disease (CHD) risks, we examined the association of NT-proBNP with incident acute CHD events, total MIs, and two MI subtypes: microsize and typical MIs. Methods: REGARDS is a national cohort of 30,237 US community-dwelling black and white adults aged ≥45 recruited from 2003 to 2007. Expert-adjudicated outcomes included incident typical MIs (definite/probable MI with peak troponin ≥0.5 μg/L), incident microsize MIs (definite/probable MI with peak troponin Results: Over a median of 5.9 years follow-up, 139 microsize MIs, 315 typical MIs, and 146 non-MI CHD deaths occurred. NT-proBNP was associated with all CHD outcomes examined (Table). Conclusions: Above-median NT-proBNP was independently and strongly associated with all CHD endpoints with a suggestion of greater risks of incident microsize MI. A better understanding of the pathophysiologic differences between typical and microsize MIs is needed.
2D/3D registration for measurement of implant alignment after total hip replacement

Measurements of cup alignment after total hip replacement (THR) surgery are typically performed on postoperative pelvic radiographs. Radiographic measurement of cup orientation depends on the position and orientation of the pelvis on the X-ray table, and its variability could introduce significant measurement errors. We have developed a tool to accurately measure 3D implant orientation from postoperative antero-posterior radiographs by registering to preoperative CT scans. The purpose of this study is to experimentally and clinically validate the automatic CT/X-ray matching algorithm by comparing the X-ray based measurements of cup orientation with direct 3D measurements from postoperative CT scans. The mean measurement errors (± stdev) found in this study were 0.4°±0.8° for abduction and 0.6°±0.8° for version. In addition, radiographic pelvic orientation measurements demonstrated a wide range of inter-subject variability, with pelvic flexion ranging from –5.9° to 11.2°.
Performance of higher order modulations under different impairments

Use of higher order modulations (HOMs) improves the spectral efficiency and hence allows to achieve higher throughput. This paper investigates factors that influence the performance of HOMs, such as 256-QAM and 1024-QAM, which are being considered for next-generation wireless technologies. In particular, impairments, such as phase noise, frequency offset, error vector magnitude (EVM) are investigated through extensive computer simulations, in relation to the considered HOMs.
Scheduling Parallel Communication: The h-relation Problem

This paper is concerned with the efficient scheduling and routing of point-to-point messages in a distributed computing system with n processors. We examine the h-relation problem, a routing problem where each processor has at most h messages to send and at most h messages to receive. Communication is carried out in rounds. Direct communication is possible from any processor to any other, and in each round a processor can send one message and receive one message. The off-line version of the problem arises when every processor knows the source and destination of every message. In this case the messages can be routed in at most h rounds. More interesting, and more typical, is the on-line version, in which each processor has knowledge only of h and of the destinations of those messages which it must send. The on-line version of the problem is the focus of this paper.
Mount St. Helens, the 1980 Re-awakening and Continuing Seismic Activity

Mount St. Helens has been seismically monitored since the summer of 1972. Seismic activity recorded during the 1970s by a single station located on the west flank of the volcano was limited to small swarms of high-frequency earthquakes and low-frequency transient signals usually attributed to glacier motion. The first seismic activity that was recognized as being unusual and with possible volcanic significance was a magnitude 4.2 earthquake on the afternoon of March 20, 1980. In retrospect, the initial unusual seismic activity began several days earlier as small, low-frequency earthquakes with seismogram character similar to, but not exactly the same as, the glacier events. Following the March 20 event, earthquake activity rapidly increased over the next five days until on March 26 as many as eight magnitude 4+ earthquakes per hour were occurring. On the next day, phreatic eruptions began. From then until the climactic eruption on May 18, seismic energy release rates remained fairly constant though the number of earthquakes per unit time decreased. During this period, intermittent phreatic eruptions took place as well as continuous deformation of the north flank. The earthquakes were located in a limited volume directly under the volcano at shallow depths and now are interpreted to have been caused by the fracturing and faulting of shallow volcanic rocks as magma was injected into the base of the volcano. The major eruption on May 18 was triggered by one of these earthquakes, which caused a slope failure of the north flank. As this eruption progressed, shallow earthquake activity declined and deeper activity began. These deeper earthquakes outline the magma conduit system indicating the presence of a small crustal magma reservoir at a depth of 7 to 12 km. Shallow seismicity preceding subsequent eruptions provided data to help with the prediction of most of these eruptions. Deeper seismicity has not been as obviously related to individual eruptions. We speculate that it reflects adjustments in the magma chamber and conduit system, due, in different cases, to a reduction or increase in magma pressure.
Knowledge assets and their scheduling of use within organizations

Knowledge management is playing an increasing role in transforming today's organizations into "knowledge organizations". Organizations are starting to realize the importance of intellectual capital assets (i.e. knowledge resources) used in their organizations. An important element is how best to schedule these knowledge resources for use in an organization. An intelligent scheduling tool called GUESS is described to address this concern.
Hemocyanins from Arthropods and Molluscs

Keywords: oxygen binding and transport; cooperativity; dicopper proteins; arthropods and molluscs; multisubunit complexes
Dynamics and planning of collisions in robotic manipulation

The author treats the problem of collision between a robot end-effector and the manipulated object in robot catching. By applying rigid-body impact mechanics, intermittent dynamics involving a sequence of collisions is modeled by a difference-algebraic system. Through a stability analysis, the author presents open-loop strategies to perform a task using a paddlelike end-effector to catch a circular object in two-dimensional space. Computer simulation results have shown that the strategies are reliable and effective. The generalization of the method to more general robotic manipulation in dynamical environments is also discussed. >
Natural Language Processing, Statistical Approaches to

Statistical approaches to natural language processing use large text corpora to allow rapid, robust, and accurate handling of the ambiguities in human languages. Keywords: statistical methods; corpora; natural language processing; parsing; tagging
The Sialic Acid Component of the β1 Subunit Modulates Voltage-gated Sodium Channel Function

Voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav) are responsible for initiation and propagation of nerve, skeletal muscle, and cardiac action potentials. Nav are composed of a pore-forming alpha subunit and often one to several modulating beta subunits. Previous work showed that terminal sialic acid residues attached to alpha subunits affect channel gating. Here we show that the fully sialylated beta1 subunit induces a uniform, hyperpolarizing shift in steady state and kinetic gating of the cardiac and two neuronal alpha subunit isoforms. Under conditions of reduced sialylation, the beta1-induced gating effect was eliminated. Consistent with this, mutation of beta1 N-glycosylation sites abolished all effects of beta1 on channel gating. Data also suggest an interaction between the cis effect of alpha sialic acids and the trans effect of beta1 sialic acids on channel gating. Thus, beta1 sialic acids had no effect gating on the of the heavily glycosylated skeletal muscle alpha subunit. However, when glycosylation of the skeletal muscle alpha subunit was reduced through chimeragenesis such that alpha sialic acids did not impact gating, beta1 sialic acids caused a significant hyperpolarizing shift in channel gating. Together, the data indicate that beta1 N-linked sialic acids can modulate Nav gating through an apparent saturating electrostatic mechanism. A model is proposed in which a spectrum of differentially sialylated Nav can directly modulate channel gating, thereby impacting cardiac, skeletal muscle, and neuronal excitability.
The role of glycosylation in the enzymatic conversion of procollagen to collagen: studies using tunicamycin and concanavalin A.

Abstract The enzymatic conversion of chick embryo cranial bone procollagen was studied in vitro using procollagen proteases isolated from the culture medium of chick tendon fibroblasts. During the normal conversion process, chains intermediate in length between proα and α chains, as well as the COOH-terminal extension peptides, can be identified. Underglycosylated procollagen, synthesized by bones treated with an inhibitor of protein glycosylation (tunicamycin), was processed by these proteases in a manner similar to that of intact procollagen. However, medium from cells cultured with tunicamycin lacked the COOH-terminal procollagen protease activity; this did not result from a direct inhibition of the protease by the drug. Concanavalin A also inhibited the conversion of procollagen to collagen by fibroblasts in culture. In an in vitro system, Concanavalin A inhibited the COOH-terminal procollagen protease, and this inhibition was reversed by methyl-α- d -glucopyranoside. These data suggest that the COOH-terminal procollagen protease contains oligosaccharide side chains that are recognized by concanavalin A and that tunicamycin affects the secretion, activity, or activation of the enzyme.
Reshaping China’s Urban Citizenship: Street Vendors, Chengguan and Struggles over the Right to the City:

This article examines spatial politics involved with the remaking of urban citizenship across Chinese cities. China’s emerging urban citizenship is shaped by its hukou system, which not only spatially and socially segregates rural migrants and urban natives in the cities, but also creates a large group of unregistered or ‘illegal’ migrants. This case study of unregistered migrant street venders looks at the implications of their unregistered status and how it has changed over time, shifting from creating benefits to becoming a burden. I capture how unregistered migrants’ lack of status has increasingly become an important basis of exclusion, and a burden, as they are denied access to new legitimate avenues of claims-making such as NGOs, courts and arbitration. This helps explain the increasingly common, and intensifying, clashes between migrant street vendors who are struggling for a right to the city and the chengguan, public security officers who are charged with regulating the streets.
Longitudinal relationship between the alcohol warning label and alcohol consumption.

Objective: The present study reports the longitudinal relationship between alcohol warning label exposure and alcohol consumption among adolescents. Method: In-school surveys assessed adolescents at three annual time points beginning in tenth grade. There were 649 participants measured at all three time points; 51% were female. Four effects were the focus of the covariance structure, latent growth analysis of these data: (1) an exposure effect, whereby earlier alcohol use leads to more exposure to the warning label; (2) a deterrent effect, whereby earlier alcohol warning label exposure reduces subsequent alcohol consumption; (3) a harmful effect, corresponding to a positive relationship between early exposure and subsequent consumption; and (4) both exposure and deterrent effects operating at the same time. Results: There was a statistically significant exposure effect such that earlier alcohol use was associated with later exposure to the warning. The association between earlier alcohol warning label exp...
Choice behavior in a sequential decision-making task☆☆☆

Abstract Many day-to-day decisions involving risk are based on a person's memory for the past sequence of outcomes. The study of sequential decision making investigates how individuals use information about the past sequence of outcomes in order to make risky decisions. In this article, a random walk decision model called the confidence strength model is evaluated which was designed to describe the cognitive processes individuals use to combine sequential information provided by event patterns with payoff information in a sequential decision-making task. Two related experiments are reported which were designed to test various assumptions of the confidence strength model. The particular task used to study sequential decision making was the differential payoff paradigm in which the decision maker was required to predict which of two uncertain events would occur on each trial. Following each choice, feedback was presented in the form of differential monetary payoffs which were contingent on the alternative-event combination occurring on that trial. Payoffs were manipulated by varying the loss for incorrect decisions associated with each alternative, and sequential information was manipulated by constructing event sequences with a fixed distribution of run lengths within each block of trials. The response measures included the proportion of trials one alternative was chosen over another and also the average choice speed for each alternative. The main theoretical result was that the confidence strength model provided a good overall fit to the pattern of results for the choice proportion measure, and also accounted for a majority fo the findings obtained from the choice speed measures, although there were some minor exceptions. The confidence strength model provided a better account of the present results and previous research than several alternative choice models that were considered.
Anisotropic state filling in semiconductors

Picosecond self-diffraction measurements in germanium indicate that, for excitation levels in excess of 1 GW/cm2, we observe the effects of anisotropic state-filling. A new theoretical model is outlined and agreement is found with all aspects of the data.
Simultaneous congruence representations: a special case

We study the problem of representing a pair of algebraic lattices, L1 and L0, as Con(A1) and Con(A0), respectively, with A1 an algebra and A0 a subalgebra of A1, and we provide such a representation in a special case.
Photoluminescence properties of Er-doped Y 2 O 3 thin films by radical-enhanced atomic layer deposition

Erbium-doped Y 2 O 3 thin films were synthesized by combining radical-enhanced atomic layer deposition (RE-ALD) of Y 2 O 3 and Er 2 O 3 in an alternating fashion at 350°C. The Er doping level was precisely controlled to range from 6 to 14 at.% by varying the ratio of Y 2 O 3 :Er 2 O 3 cycles during deposition. At 350°C, the films were found to be polycrystalline, showing a preferential growth direction in the [111] direction. Room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) at 1.54 μm, characteristic of the Er 3+ intra 4 f transition, was observed in a 500-a Er-doped (6 at.%) Y 2 O 3 film, showing well resolved Stark features indicating the proper incorporation of Er in the Y 2 O 3 host. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis revealed a six-fold coordination of Er by O in all samples, suggesting that the PL quenching observed at high Er concentration (>8 at.%) is likely dominated by Er ion-ion interaction and not by Er immiscibility in the Y 2 O 3 host. The effective absorption cross section for Er 3+ ions incorporated in Y 2 O 3 was determined to be ~10 -18 cm 2 , about three orders of magnitude larger than the direct optical absorption cross section reported for Er 3+ ions in a stoichiometric SiO 2 host.
Assessment of the mixed discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol in a three-choice ethanol-dizocilpine-water discrimination in rats.

Previous drug discrimination studies have elucidated the importance of the NMDA, GABA(A) and 5-HT(1) receptor systems in mediating the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol. The present study used a three-choice drug discrimination paradigm in an attempt to determine whether the salient NMDA antagonistic effects were separable from other stimulus effects of ethanol. Adult Long-Evans rats (n = 7) were trained to discriminate ethanol (1.5g/kg, intragastric (i.g.)), the uncompetitive NMDA antagonist dizocilpine (0.17mg/kg, i.g.) or water (3.5ml, i.g.) under a food-reinforced fixed-ratio 15 (FR15) schedule of reinforcement. Following training, substitution tests were conducted with the GABA(A)/benzodiazepine (GABA(A)/BDZ) positive modulator pentobarbital (PB, 5.6-17mg/kg, i.g.), the uncompetitive NMDA antagonist phenycldine (PCP, 0.1-5.6mg/kg, i.p.) and the 5-HT(1) agonist RU 24969 (0.1-3.0mg/kg, i.p.). Complete substitution of PCP (ED(50), 0.9mg/kg) for dizocilpine was found in all animals. Conversely, PB (ED(50), 10mg/kg) substituted fully for ethanol in five of seven animals, whereas RU 24969 (ED(50), 1.4mg/kg) completely substituted for ethanol in only three of seven animals tested. The result demonstrate that a three-choice discrimination using dizocilpine, ethanol and water as training conditions can be established in rats. By contrasting the discriminative stimulus effects of an uncompetitive NMDA antagonist to ethanol, the ethanol-like effects of pentobarbital and RU 24969 are attenuated compared to previous studies of two-choice ethanol water discrimination.
Hitchhiking to speciation.

The modern evolutionary synthesis codified the idea that species exist as distinct entities because intrinsic reproductive barriers prevent them from merging together. Understanding the origin of species therefore requires understanding the evolution and genetics of reproductive barriers between species. In most cases, speciation is an accident that happens as different populations adapt to different environments and, incidentally, come to differ in ways that render them reproductively incompatible. As with other reproductive barriers, the evolution and genetics of interspecific hybrid sterility and lethality were once also thought to evolve as pleiotripic side effects of adaptation. Recent work on the molecular genetics of speciation has raised an altogether different possibility—the genes that cause hybrid sterility and lethality often come to differ between species not because of adaptation to the external ecological environment but because of internal evolutionary arms races between selfish genetic elements and the genes of the host genome. Arguably one of the best examples supporting a role of ecological adaptation comes from a population of yellow monkey flowers, Mimulus guttatus, in Copperopolis, California, which recently evolved tolerance to soil contaminants from copper mines and simultaneously, as an incidental by-product, hybrid lethality in crosses with some off-mine populations. However, in new work, Wright and colleagues show that hybrid lethality is not a pleiotropic consequence of copper tolerance. Rather, the genetic factor causing hybrid lethality is tightly linked to copper tolerance and spread to fixation in Copperopolis by genetic hitchhiking.
Information load, proportion of relevance, and relevance perception

The effect of experimentally induced relevance on subjective relevance perception was investigated. Ss participated in a complex decision-making task. In Condition A, Ss received 1, 2, 3, or 4 relevant messages out of a total of 10 messages for any one of four (randomized) playing periods. Condition B exposed Ss to 1, 2, 3, or 4 relevant messages out of 20, and Condition C exposed Ss to 4, 8, 12, or 16 relevant messages out of 20. All other messages received by the Ss were irrelevant to their task. Messages had been prerated by a parallel population who did not participate in the complex task. It was found that subjective perceptions of relevance in complex tasks tended to be overestimates of actual relevance levels, particularly when the proportion of relevant information to total information was low. Further, Ss tended to underestimate actual relevance levels when information load of relevant items greatly exceeded the optimum established by complexity theory research.
Focus Issue: Measurement on a Small Scale

This week’s issues of Science and Science ’s STKE focus on how instrumentation is advancing investigation of biological questions. Science highlights how advances in detection methods are revealing the chemical aspects of biology, and STKE addresses techniques for single-molecule tracking and approaches to better understanding the interaction of cells with nanoparticles.
Infant birth weight and maltreatment of adolescent mothers.

Background: Emerging literature suggests that maternal exposure to stress and adversity throughout the life course may have health consequences for offspring. Purpose: To examine the maltreatment history of adolescent mothers as an independent predictor of infant birth weight. Methods: Birth records for all infants born between 2007 and 2009 to mothers aged 12–19 years were extracted from California’s vital statistics files. Maternal information from the birth record was linked to child protection data (1999–2009) to identify young mothers with substantiated maltreatment. Generalized linear models run in 2012 were used to estimate the relationship between maternal maltreatment and infant birth weight, after adjusting for maternal sociodemographic risk factors and health behaviors. Results: Among the 153,762 singleton infants born to adolescent mothers, 7.1% (n¼10,886) weighed o2500 g at birth. Of all adolescent mothers, 13.6% had been substantiated as victims of maltreatment after age 10 years and before giving birth. After adjusting for known factors predictive of negative birth outcomes, maltreatment history was associated with a slight yet significantly increased risk of low birth weight among infants (risk ratio¼1.06, 95% CI¼1.01, 1.12). Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that maltreatment history of adolescent mothers is associated with infant low birth weight (o2500 g). Although the increased risk was small and the mechanism unclear, these data indicate that maternal maltreatment not only may have consequences for the victim but also may contribute to intergenerational health disparities. (Am J Prev Med 2013;45(2):197–201) & 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Sex Prejudice Among White Protestants: Like or Unlike Ethnic Prejudice?

Analysis of attitudes about female participation in politics from two recent national polls reveals divergence between white Protestant prejudice toward women and white Protestant prejudice toward race and ethnic groups documented by previous research. Like ethnic prejudice, political sex prejudice is higher among white Protestants than among unaffiliated whites. Unlike ethnic prejudice, (1) persons affiliated with fundamentalist Protestant groups do not display greater sex prejudice than those affiliated with nonfundamentalist groups; (2) among the sample as a whole and among nonfundamentalists, the less religious are not more prejudiced toward women than the more religious; and (3) within fundamentalist groups the more religious exhibit higher levels of sex prejudice, an association that does not appear due to variations in localism. This divergence seems more a result of a biblical bias against women pervasive among Protestant groups (unlike the absence of biblical statements about most current race and ethnic groups) rather than of women's in-group status (unlike the usual out-group status of race and ethnic groups). Among white Protestants, the relationship of denominational affiliation and religiosity to prejudice toward blacks, Jews, and Catholics is reasonably well documented. Gorsuch and Aleshire conclude from their review of 112 studies on Christian faith and ethnic prejudice that white Protestants associated with groups possessing fundamentalist belief systems are generally more prejudiced than members of nonfundamentalist groups, with unchurched whites exhibiting the least prejudice. High religiosity, however, seems to mitigate ethnic prejudice: highly active members of both *Revision of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, 1978. We would like to thank the Texas Tech Secondary Analysis Research Institute for making available the data for this analysis from Roper Public Opinion Center; the Texas Tech Computer Center for use of their facilities to analyze these data; and several colleagues-Jack Balswick, Paul Chalfant, Margaret Farnworth, George Lowe, Marietta Morrissey, and Joe Ventimiglia-as well as anonymous referees for helpful comments. ? 1980 The University of North Carolina Press. 0037-7732/80/010169-85$01.70
Phanerozoic Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs), HEATT (Haline Euxinic Acidic Thermal Transgression) episodes, and mass extinctions

Abstract The Phanerozoic consists of three mutually exclusive climate states: Icehouse, Greenhouse, and Hothouse. The Greenhouse is the default state, representing > 70% of the Phanerozoic. It is characterized by a weak thermal mode (pole-driven deep-water formation), with little or no continental sea ice, and weakly oxic cool-water sinking near the poles. Nitrogen limitation characterizes Greenhouse oceans in which ammonium may be the dominant bioavailable form of nitrogen. The steady-state Greenhouse default must be forced to produce either of the other two states. Continent–continent collision produces the intense chemical weathering that draws down atmospheric CO2 and results in the Icehouse state that comprises 20–25% of the Phanerozoic. Icehouses have ice caps in contact with the ocean that produce icebergs and foster sea-ice formation. Sea-ice formation fills the ocean with highly oxic phosphorus-limited icewater except for a thin layer of warm surface water in the tropics. Of the 23 most conspicuous mass extinctions of the Phanerozoic (including the late Ediacaran), 4 are associated with ice-volume-related regressions, and 3 are problematic. We suggest that the other 16 mass extinctions occurred when Greenhouse climate was forced to Hothouse climate. Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) can trigger the HEATT (Haline Euxinic Acidic Thermal Transgression) mechanism, which can force Greenhouse climate to a Hothouse climate state. The rapid, voluminous CO2 emissions of LIPs cause a series of events that result in very slow but pronounced haline-mode circulation (mid-latitude-driven deep-water formation) that produces warm saline bottom water at very dry, hot subtropical and middle latitudes. This water upwells at the poles, causing warm and moist equable climate. Hothouse development promotes deep-sea anoxia that is generated in concert with CO2 buildup and warming. The spread of anoxia favors reduced nitrogen over nitrate, and limited iron dust curtails nitrogen fixation. This leads to dominance of primary productivity by primitive green algae and/or cyanobacteria. Progression to euxinia that reaches the photic zone severely curtails primary productivity via poisoning, even as availability of usable nitrogen plummets. The result is eukaryotic mass extinction. We suggest that the 16 Phanerozoic mass extinctions referred to above resulted at least in part from the HEATT process. Evidence for this relationship at 11 of the most severe extinctions is convincing. Data sets for the other 5 are strongly suggestive of HEATT-related mass extinction, but do not yet have enough documentation to reliably characterize them as HEATT episodes.
Eye tracking performance and the boundaries of the schizophrenia spectrum

Abstract In order to investigate the nature of the eye tracking impairment in schizophrenia spectrum we measured pursuit gain with a constant velocity target using a quantitative (RMS error in pursuit gain) and, on an exploratory basis, a qualitative (quality of tracking) measure. We utilized a sample consisting of three clinically characterized groups: patients with schizophrenia (SZ), their first degree non-psychotic relatives, subjects with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD), and healthy volunteers (HV). Thirty three SZ patients, 19 SPD subjects, 66 non-psychotic relatives (all clinically assessed for schizophrenia spectrum psychopathology—DSM-IIIR) and 18 HV were evaluated using an infrared eye tracking system. Targets were constant velocity trapezoids at 5°/s (slow) and 16°/s (fast). The quality of the eye tracking was independently evaluated by at least two raters (ICC: 0.92). The RMS measures at the two velocities (quantitative measure) and the quality of the tracking obtained for each velocity were entered separately into a two factor repeated measures ANOVA, with velocity and diagnosis as the independent measures. For the quantitative ratings (RMS error), a significant effect for velocity was found, with all subjects performing worse at the higher velocity, but there was no significant velocity by diagnosis interaction. In addition, an overall significant effect for diagnosis was found in the four-group ANOVA. In post hoc multiple comparison tests, SZ subjects performed significantly worse from the HV and the relatives. SPD subjects were not different from patients with schizophrenia (or from any group—and their performance was intermediate between the HV and the SZ). Relatives of the patients with schizophrenia were different from SZ subjects, but not different from SPD or HV subjects. Similar results were obtained in the exploratory qualitative ratings. Clinical symptoms did not correlate significantly with quantitative or qualitative performance in any group. We have found that the performance of SPD subjects is intermediate between that of patients with schizophrenia and the healthy volunteers in both qualitative and quantitative (exploratory) measures. Indeed, SPD subjects comprise the only group not statistically different from schizophrenic patients in quantitative or qualitative ratings.
Microtektites: a chemical comparison of bottle-green microtektites, normal microtektites and tektites

Abstract Trace element abundances in Ivory Coast normal microtektites and Australasian bottle-green microtektites confirm that microtektites are genetically related to tektites in the associated strewn field. Although major and compatible trace element abundances imply that bottle-green microtektites are members of a fractional crystallization sequence, the similar rare earth element distributions in Australasian normal and bottle-green microtektites and tektites cannot be explained by a simple fractionation model. The similar REE abundances in tektites and microtektites of widely different major element composition also preclude simple models calling for sedimentary rock precursors.
Productivity shocks, the real exchange rate, and the euro puzzle

Abstract This paper utilizes a large country open economy intertemporal model to obtain the effects of alternative types of productivity shocks on the real exchange rate. It then explores the conditions under which the model is consistent with the large swings in the real value of the euro. The main theoretical conclusion is that the effect of a productivity shock on the real exchange rate can change signs, depending on whether the shock applies to the productivity of new capital or old (existing) capital. The growth accounting literature suggests that the underlying reason(s) for US productivity growth changed abruptly between the 1995–2001 and 2002–2004 intervals. In the earlier period increases in the productivity of new capital were relatively more important, while increases in the productivity of old capital completely dominated in the later period. Thus, the model appears to be consistent with the abrupt switch (from negative to positive) around 2002 in the correlation between the real value of the euro (vis-a-vis the dollar) and the US minus EU productivity growth differential.
Bootstrapping the photon

A nontechnical review is given of a topological bootstrap theory, with emphasis on theraison d'etre for an electromagnetism whose fine-structure constant is of order10 −2.
A Collaborative Approach to Lean Laboratory Workstation Design Reduces Wasted Technologist Travel

Lean methodologies have been applied in many industries to reduce waste. We applied Lean techniques to redesign laboratory workstations with the aim of reducing the number of times employees must leave their workstations to complete their tasks. At baseline in 68 workflows (aggregates or sequence of process steps) studied, 251 (38%) of 664 tasks required workers to walk away from their workstations. After analysis and redesign, only 59 (9%) of the 664 tasks required technologists to leave their workstations to complete these tasks. On average, 3.4 travel events were removed for each workstation. Time studies in a single laboratory section demonstrated that workers spend 8 to 70 seconds in travel each time they step away from the workstation. The redesigned workstations will allow employees to spend less time travelling around the laboratory. Additional benefits include employee training in waste identification, improved overall laboratory layout, and identification of other process improvement opportunities in our laboratory.
A NEW CLASS OF FILTERS FOR PULSE APPLICATIONS.

Abstract This paper presents the results of an investigation on the steady-state and transient response characteristics of a new class of low-pass filters. The natural frequencies of the proposed filters all lie on catenary contours and the transmission zeros are all at infinity. This class of ladder filters has some useful transmission properties when both time and frequency domain considerations are important. The response characteristics of this class of filters are compared with, those of the Butterworth and Thomson filters and the recent class of filters due to Mullick. We show that this class has some advantages when the rise-time, overshoot, and 3db frequency of the magnitude response (with no frequency peaking) are all of importance simultaneously.
Optical frequency standards based on mercury and aluminum ions

Single-trapped-ion frequency standards based on a 282 nm transition in 199 Hg + and on a 267 nm transition in 27 Al + have been developed at NIST over the past several years. Their frequencies are measured relative to each other and to the NIST primary frequency standard, the NIST-F1 cesium fountain, by means of a self-referenced femtosecond laser frequency comb. Both ion standards have demonstrated instabilities and inaccuracies of less than 1 × 10 −16 .
SPH simulation of river ice dynamics

Abstract This paper describes a two-dimensional numerical model for dynamic transport and jamming of surface ice in rivers. The hydrodynamic component of the model uses an Eulerian finite-element method, while the ice dynamic component uses the smoothed particle hydrodynamics method. The model considers the moving surface ice as a continuum. The internal ice resistance is formulated with a viscous–plastic constitutive law, in which the pressure term is formulated by modifying the Coulomb-type constitutive relationship for static ice jams. The partial-slip boundary condition for ice along solid boundaries is treated by the method of images. The model is verified with an analytical solution and used to examine the feasibility of using ice booms to reduce the jamming potential in the Mississippi–Missouri River confluence.
Induction of micronuclei and sister chromatid exchanges by polycyclic and N-heterocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cultured human lymphocytes

Many natural environments are contaminated with carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and N-heterocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NHAs) as complex mixtures of coal tar, petroleum, and shale oil. These potentially hazardous substances are prevalent at many former tar production and coal gasification sites. Three polycyclic [benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), benz(a)anthracene (BAA), and 7, 12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)] and two N-heterocyclic [7H-dibenzo(c,g)carbazole (DBC), and dibenz(a,j)acridine (DBA)] aromatic hydrocarbons were analyzed for cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on human lymphocytes. All of these polyaromatic compounds are normally present in the environment, except for DMBA. Lymphocytes from healthy donors were isolated from whole blood. The 5-ring polycyclic aromatic BaP consistently induced micronuclei in a linear dose-dependent manner with doses from 0.1-10.0 {mu}g/ml, whereas the 4-ring compounds (BAA and DMBA) had no effect on the induction of micronuclei above controls except at 5 and 10 {mu}g/ml. Of the two N-heterocyclic compounds DBC produced a significant increase in micronuclei in lymphocytes, but the dose response tended to plateau above 0.1 {mu}g/ml. DBA showed an effect on the frequency of micronuclei above controls only at high doses of 5 and 10 {mu}g/ml. The average background frequency of micronuclei for 7 lymphocyte donors averaged 3.1 per 1,000 stimulated cells, whereas the average frequency ofmore » micronuclei at 10 {mu}g/ml BaP was 36.8 per 1,000 stimulated cells. The lowest effective dose in 2 donors for BaP occurred at 0.1 {mu}g/ml. 61 refs., 2 figs., 6 tabs.« less
Coraje, nervios, and susto: Culture-bound syndromes and mental health among Mexican migrants in the United States

PurposeThis study explored inter-relationships among three culture-bound syndromes, coraje, nervios, or susto, commonly found among Latino populations. Associations of each syndrome to a range of i...
Composition and pH changes during freezing of solutions containing calcium and magnesium phosphate

Summary Freezing tests with solutions of calcium and magnesium phosphate, with or without potassium phosphate, citrate, and chloride, showed that alkaline calcium and magnesium phosphate precipitated early during freezing when ice formation markedly increased their concentration. This precipitation caused a decrease in pH. The amounts of precipitating calcium and magnesium phosphate and the consequent pH shifts depended on initial pH and the type and concentration of other salts present. The data obtained extend earlier results on phase relations and pH changes in buffer-salt solutions during freezing and are useful in understanding pH and composition changes in the unfrozen phase of frozen biological materials.
Inhibition of neutrophil adherence to endothelial cells by 3-deazaadenosine.

Treatment of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVE) with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) increases their capacity to adhere human neutrophils. We have found that 3-deazaadenosine (c3Ado), when added in conjunction with TNF-α, inhibited this increase in neutrophil adherence. This activity of c3Ado was potentiated by the addition ofl-homocysteine thiolactone (Hcy). The ability of c3Ado to inhibit neutrophil adherence to HUVE may contribute to the anti-inflammatory activity of this nucleoside analogue.
Impact Of Ultrafast Optics In High-Speed Electronics

Short optical pulses have been involved in a number of areas of science and technology. It is now possible to generate optical pulses of less than 10 fs duration corresponding to only a few optical cycles. One of the most important applications of these short optical pulses is in electronics, where, in conjunction with the electro-optic effect, electrical waveforms now can be characterized with a few hundred femtosecond resolution - corresponding to 1 THz in bandwidth. This technique makes possible the characterization in situ of high-speed optoelectronic and electronic devices as well as circuits operating in the picosecond time scale or 100 GHz frequency domain.
INTRACAVERNOSAL FORSKOLIN: ROLE IN MANAGEMENT OF VASCULOGENIC IMPOTENCE RESISTANT TO STANDARD 3-AGENT PHARMACOTHERAPY

AbstractPurpose: We investigated forskolin, a direct adenylate cyclase activator, as an intracavernosal vasoactive agent in management of vasculogenic impotence.Materials and Methods: Concentration responses for forskolin and prostaglandin E1 induced relaxation of phenylephrine precontracted strips of human corpus cavernosum smooth muscle were constructed in vitro. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) synthesis was determined with papaverine, phentolamine, prostaglandin E1 and forskolin in human corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cell cultures. Dose-dependent hemodynamic responses to intracavernosal forskolin (5 to 20 micro g.) were evaluated in a New Zealand White rabbit model. Safety and efficacy outcome data were obtained in vasculogenically impotent patients who signed informed consent and met strict inclusion and exclusion criteria that included having had standard self-injection therapies fail.Results: In vitro forskolin and prostaglandin E1 alone caused concentration dependent relaxation with an EC50...
Generalized preisach model for hysteresis nonlinearity of piezoceramic actuators

This paper presents a new approach for modeling the hysteresis nonlinearity of a piezoceramic actuator using a modified generalized Preisach model, and the use of this model in a linearizing control scheme. The developed generalized Preisach model relaxes the congruency requirement on the hysteresis loops of a piezoceramic actuator, which must be satisfied when using the classical Preisach model. The congruency property is experimentally proved to not hold when running the actuator on a minor hysteresis loop. A numerical expression of the model is derived in terms of first- and second-order reversal curve experimental datasets. Output prediction using this model is performed on both an exponentially decayed sinusoidal input signal and an arbitrary input signal, and the results show that the model can accurately reproduce the hysteresis response with an error of less than 2.7%. A tracking control system for a piezoceramic actuator is also developed by combining a PID feedback controller with a hysteresis linearizing scheme in a feed-forward loop. The results show that this new control system can achieve 0.25 μm tracking control accuracy, which is 80 and 50% less than that obtained when using an open-loop controller and a regular feedback control system, respectively.
Diffusion-Weighted MRI as a Biomarker of Tumor Radiation Treatment Response Heterogeneity: A Comparative Study of Whole-Volume Histogram Analysis versus Voxel-Based Functional Diffusion Map Analysis

RATIONALE: Treatment of glioblastoma (GBM) remains challenging due in part to its histologic intratumoral heterogeneity that contributes to its overall poor treatment response. Our goal was to evaluate a voxel-based biomarker, the functional diffusion map (fDM), as an imaging biomarker to detect heterogeneity of tumor response in a radiation dose escalation protocol using a genetically engineered murine GBM model. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Twenty-four genetically engineered murine GBM models [Ink4a-Arf-/-/Ptenloxp/loxp/Ntv-a RCAS/PDGF(+)/Cre(+)] were randomized in four treatment groups (n = 6 per group) consisting of daily doses of 0, 1, 2, and 4 Gy delivered for 5 days. Contrast-enhanced T1-weighted and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were acquired for tumor delineation and quantification of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps, respectively. MRI experiments were performed daily for a week and every 2 days thereafter. For each animal, the area under the curve (AUC) of the percentage change of the ADC (AUCADC) and that of the increase in fDM values (AUCfDM+) were determined within the first 5 days following therapy initiation. RESULTS: Animal survival increased with increasing radiation dose. Treatment induced a dose-dependent increase in tumor ADC values. The strongest correlation between survival and ADC measurements was observed using the AUCfDM+ metric (R2 = 0.88). CONCLUSION: This study showed that the efficacy of a voxel-based imaging biomarker (fDM) was able to detect spatially varying changes in tumors, which were determined to be a more sensitive predictor of overall response versus whole-volume tumor measurements (AUCADC). Finally, fDM provided for visualization of treatment-associated spatial heterogeneity within the tumor.