cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CATION-LIGAND HYBRIDIZATION FOR STOICHIOMETRIC AND REDUCED TIO2(110) SURFACES DETERMINED BY RESONANT PHOTOEMISSION

We have performed a resonant photoemission study on both stoichiometric and reduced TiO{sub 2} (110) surfaces using synchrotron radiation. A resonant enhancement of the O 2{ital p} valence-band photoemission intensity is observed for both stoichiometric and reduced TiO{sub 2} surfaces as the photon energy is swept through the Ti 3{ital p}{r arrow}3{ital d} optical transition energy, which indicates a strong hybridization between the oxygen and titanium ions. Compared to the stoichiometric surface, the amplitude of the resonance is smaller for the reduced surface. In addition, the reduced surface has higher emission intensity from the O 2{ital p} bonding orbitals and lower emission intensity from the nonbonding orbitals. For both stoichiometric and reduced surfaces, the intensity of emission from the O 2{ital p} bonding orbitals resonates more than that from the O 2{ital p} nonbonding orbitals, and the resonance profile for the nonbonding orbitals maximizes at a higher photon energy than that for the bonding orbitals. The resonant enhancement of the O 2{ital p} bonding orbitals is consistent with theoretical calculations, which predict that the O 2{ital p}--Ti 3{ital d} hybridization involves primarily those O 2{ital p} orbitals. The energy dependence of the resonant enhancement for the O 2{ital p} nonbondingmore » orbitals suggests that it results predominantly from resonant processes involving Ti 3{ital p}{r arrow}4{ital s} excitation at the surface.« less
Attributional Reversal: Kelley's Cube, Consistency, and Repeated Measures:

Treating attributional consistency as repeated measures, attributional reversals were produced when subjects were given a second opportunity to attribute to behavior whose duration exceeded appropr...
Properties of carbohydrate-free recombinant glycogenin expressed in an Escherichia coli mutant lacking UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase activity.

Glycogenin, the self-glucosylating primer for glycogen synthesis is expressed in wild-type E. coli as a recombinant protein in an already partly glucosylated form owing to the presence of its substrate UDP-glucose. By using an E. coli mutant strain lacking in UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase activity, we have succeeded in expressing carbohydrate-free glycogenin (apo-glycogenin) in good yield. When provided with UDPxy-lose, it autocatalytically adds 1 xylose residue. With UDP-glucose, an average of 8 glucose residues are added. However release of the self-synthesized maltosaccharide chains with isoamylase reveals them to be a mixture. Chains as long as 11 glucose residues (maltoundecaose) are present. The ability of recombinant apo-glycogenin to self-glucosylate is further proof that a separate enzyme is not needed for the addition of the first glucose residue to Tyr-194 of the protein.
Electro-Optic Modulators and Modulation for Enhanced LIGO and Beyond

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is currently undergoing an upgrade to improve its sensitivity. The laser power will increase to 30W, leading to stronger requirements on the modulators for avoiding losses and thermal lensing.
Congress requests report on NSF ranking and management of large projects

At a time when many scientists and politicians are calling for substantially increasing the budget for the National Science Foundation (NSF), some influential U.S.senators who are generally supportive of the NSF are insisting on improvements in its method for prioritizing major science projects and in NSF's management and oversight of these projects. This Congressional concern likely will lead to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) agreeing to prepare a report on this issue.
A logic programming environment for teaching mathematical concepts of computer science

In the undergraduate curriculum, key mathematical principles of computer science are generally presented by either defining an algorithm for construction or by giving a static mathematical definition. Simple constructive definitions may be programmed or worked through by students, but when rigor demands that an abstract mathematical definition be given, there is no analogous learning experience, and students may consider the concepts too difficult or “theoretical”. Students need an environment in which they can easily experiment with specific, concrete examples of abstract concepts. In this paper we describe use of complete Horn Clause logic programming as a laboratory activity for mathematically unsophisticated computer science majors. Section 2 describes the ideal environment, and existing practical and theoretical limitations. Section 3 describes our Prologb environment, and reports on student reaction. Section 4 covers termination analysis and programming for efficiency, and directions for future work are discussed in Section 5.
Dispositional Mindfulness Moderates the Effect of a Brief Mindfulness Induction on Physiological Stress Responses

This study investigated the effects of a brief mindfulness intervention on romantic partners’ physiological responses to conflict stress moderated by trait mindfulness. Young adult couples (n = 101 dyads) completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) to assess trait mindfulness approximately 1 week prior to a laboratory session involving a conflict discussion task. One third of partners were randomly assigned to a mindfulness induction condition before the conflict (remaining participants were assigned to a perspective taking or control condition). All participants gave five saliva samples over the course of the session to measure autonomic (salivary alpha-amylase, sAA) and neuroendocrine (cortisol) stress responses. There were no main effects of participation in the mindfulness condition, but analyses revealed differing intervention impacts for partners with high vs. low dispositional mindfulness. According to region of significance testing, partners with high FFMQ scores (top 23 % of men, 12 % of women) showed better stress regulation in the mindfulness condition, i.e., more dynamic sAA reactivity/recovery curves for men and quicker post-stress cortisol recovery for women, whereas those with low FFMQ scores (bottom 5 % of men, 11 % of women) showed poorer regulation, i.e., flatter sAA responses. Implications for using mindfulness to foster stress regulation are discussed.
The Nature of Apodization in Fourier Transform Spectroscopy

Since the introduction of commercially available rapid scan Fourier transform IR (FT-IR) interferometers there has been a dramatic increase in both the number of laboratories which utilize FT-IR instruments on a routine basis and the number of scientific applications in which FT-IR interferometry offers advantages over conventional dispersion spectroscopy. As a result many who have come to use Fourier transform interferometers in their studies because of its throughput (Jacquinot) and multiplex (Fellgett) advantages are less familiar with the more subtle points which must be considered when a Fourier transformation of digitized information is performed. To this end a study of the effects of apodization on bandshape and resolution is presented with particular attention on intensity considerations in the computed spectrum. In particular, problems related to (1) the detection of weak bands in the vicinity of strong ones and (2) false intensities due to artificial overlap of two bands which are in near proximity are addressed.
Quantum decay in a dissipative system

In view of recent interest in the problem of macroscopic quantum tunneling in systems involving the Josephson effect, we present an accurate numerical calculation of the tunneling rate of a system from a metastable well, at zero temperature, in the presence of dissipative coupling to the environment. Although we concentrate on a specific form of dissipation, as discussed by Caldeira and Leggett, we believe that such a numerical method can be extended to other forms of dissipation as well. Our method is based on the framework recently described by Caldeira and Leggett, and requires (a) a novel treatment of a nonlinear integro-differential equation and (b) an extension of the usual Fredholm scattering theory so as to be applicable to the present dissipative problem. We present explicit results for wide ranges of dissipation and estimate our error in the calculation of the exponent to be no larger than 0.1% and of the prefactor to be no larger than 2%.
Ketoconazole susceptibility of yeasts by the FCST method

The flow cytofluorometric susceptibility test (FCST) was extended fromCandida albicans to additional clinically relevant yeasts.Candida tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, C. lusitaniae, C. krusei, C. guilliermondii, Torulopsis glabrata, andRhodotorula rubra were also amenable to the FCST. Of the most frequently encountered yeasts,C. albicans andC. tropicalis exhibited the Emax response, which is believed to be an in vitro indicator of ketoconazole susceptibility with potential clinical relevance.Torulopsis glabrata, for which ketoconazole therapy is less effective, did not exhibit the Emax response; rather it exhibited an MIC effect, but usually at ketoconazole concentrations greater than those therapeutically achievable.
Anisotropic superconducting parameters from reversible magnetization measurements: The dramatic effects of a distribution of Tc's in ideal vs modified single-crystal YBa2Cu3O7−δ

Abstract We report the effects of a distribution of T c 's on the measurements of the anisotropic superconducting thermodynamic parameters from reversible dc magnetization. We first present new results on a fully-oxygenated YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 crystal with H ⊥ c and find that dH c / dT =−211 Oe/K and κ = 280. Then, for H ‖ c, we examine the effects of introducing oxygen defects through an annealing process and find that the same analysis produces dH c / dT = −86 Oe/K and κ∼20. Attempts to use the distribution of T c 's to extract intrinsic, bulk parameters from this broad-transition crystal are discussed. Such analysis, here applied to an ideal system, will be especially relevant for the randomly-doped cuprates.
Variable length coding for binary sources and applications in video compression

This article introduces a lossless encoding scheme for interleaved input from a fixed number of binary sources, each one characterized by a known probability value. The algorithm achieves compression performance close to the entropy, providing very fast encoding and decoding speed. The algorithm can efficiently benefit from independent parallel decoding units, and it is demonstrated to have significant advantages in hardware implementations over previous technologies.
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: THE ENDOCRINE SOCIETY--ITS ACTIVITIES AND ITS FUTURE.

It is a pleasure to call to order the Forty-fifth Annual Meeting of The Endocrine Society and to welcome all of you to participate in its program and discussions. I appreciate deeply the great honor which you have bestowed in selecting me as the forty-second president of your society. For any accomplishments which may have occurred during my tenure, I am indebted to the fine organization turned over to me by my predecessor, Dr. Astwood, to the continued efforts of our hard-working and devoted Secretary-Treasurer, Henry H. Turner, and his very effective and efficient secretary, Mrs. Mattox. The subjects and participants comprising our scientific program are the result of the considered deliberations of our Vice-President, Lewis L. Engel, and his committee. For their efforts in behalf of the Society we are indeed grateful.
Impurity‐induced disorder‐delineated optical waveguides in GaAs‐AlGaAs superlattices

Layer intermixing in GaAs‐AlGaAs superlattices achieved by Zn thermal diffusion has been used to fabricate buried channel optical waveguides. Linear waveguides with small, abrupt bends were made and light was seen to be transmitted through these for bend angles up to 7.5 degrees corresponding to an effective index of refraction difference of 0.9% for a 50% average Al composition of the layers bounding the superlattice. For radiation between the band gap of bulk GaAs (870 nm) and the effective band gap of a 10‐nm GaAs quantum well (840 nm), the 3‐mm‐long waveguides appeared to be semitransparent suggesting a possible use in planar, buried channel all‐semiconductor integrated optoelectronics.
THE SERUM GLYCOPROTEIN RESPONSE FOLLOWING X-IRRADIATION AND PRIMARY IMMUNIZATION IN THE RABBIT.

Serial determinations of total serum glycoprotein, seromucoid hexose, total serum protein and antibody levels were carried out in four groups of adult, male albino rabbits subjected to the followin...
An objective method for determining the generalized transport tensor for two-dimensional Eulerian models

An objective method for deriving the components of a generalized transport tensor for a two-dimensional model is presented. Representative meridional and vertical velocities and thermodynamic scalars at a uniform grid are used to reduce the problem to the solution of two flux equations for two unknowns. One unknown is the stream-function, coefficient of an antisymmetric tensor, which corrects the Eulerian mean motions for Stokes drift; the other is a time constant, which converts the deviatory velocity tensor to a symmetric transport tensor. The complete asymmetric tensor, called a transport tensor, has a divergence which yields both advection and diffusion by the deviatory velocities. Advantages and disadvantages of Lagrangian and Eulerian averages are discussed, and meridional-vertical velocity correlations are provided.
A War on Obesity, Not the Obese

In their efforts to lose weight, obese individuals may be fighting a powerful set of evolutionary forces honed in an environment drastically different from that of today.
Zero-frequency behavior of thermodynamic green's functions☆

Abstract In thermodynamic systems (as contrasted with zero-temperature quantum systems) all correlation functions must decouple in the long-time limit: 〈A(t) B(0)〉 → 〈A〉 〈B〉 as t → ∞. We propose this property to resolve the zero-frequency problem discussed by Stevens and Toombs and by Fernandez and Gersch.
Near-infrared spectroscopy: What we know and what we need to know—A systematic review of the congenital heart disease literature

Objectives Neurologic dysfunction is a problem in patients with congenital heart disease. Near-infrared spectroscopy may provide a real-time window into cerebral oxygenation. Enthusiasm for near-infrared spectroscopy has increased hopes of reducing neurologic dysfunction. However, potential gains need to be evaluated relative to cost before routine implementation. Responding to data in ways that seem intuitively beneficial can be risky when the long-term impact is unknown. Thus, we performed a systematic review of the literature on near-infrared spectroscopy in congenital heart disease. Methods A literature search from 1950 to April 2007 for near-infrared spectroscopy in congenital heart disease was undertaken. We identified 54 manuscripts and\ 13 reviews. Results There were 47 case series, 4 randomized trials, and 3 retrospective studies. Two studies had postdischarge follow-up, one incorporating neurologic testing. Neither of these studies demonstrated a benefit. One retrospective study, which included near-infrared spectroscopy and other intraoperative measures of cerebral perfusion, demonstrated a decrease in neurologic dysfunction using this combination of monitors. Three small studies were able to correlate near-infrared spectroscopy with other clinical and radiologic findings. Conclusions Many centers, and even entire countries, have adopted near-infrared spectroscopy as standard of care. The available data suggest that multimodality monitoring, including near-infrared spectroscopy, may be a useful adjunct. The current literature on the use of near-infrared spectroscopy alone, however, does not demonstrate improvement in neurologic outcome. The data correlating near-infrared spectroscopy findings with indirect measures of neurologic outcome or mortality are limited. Although near-infrared spectroscopy has promise for measuring regional tissue oxygen saturation, the lack of data demonstrating improved outcomes limits the support for widespread implementation.
RUPTURE OF A SINUS OF VALSALVA ANEURYSM.

Abstract Rupture of an aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva into the right atrium followed by successful surgical repair is described. The clinical aspects of the case are emphasized, and the phonocardiographic and angiocardiographic findings are presented.
Ionones and beta-ionylideneacetic acids: their influence on abscisic acid biosynthesis by Cercospora rosicola.

Several ionones and β-ionylideneacetic acids inhibited absicisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis in Cercospora rosicola at 100 μm. At lower concentrations, α-ionone, 1′,2′-dihydroxy-l′,2′-dihydro-β-ionone and 4′-keto-α-ionone enhanced ABA biosynthesis. Conversions of ionones by C. rosicola were identified by GC-MS as: α-ionone to 4′-keto-α-ionone, 4′-keto-α-ionol and dehydrovomifoliol; and 1′-hydroxy-α-ionone to dehydrovomifoliol. The oxidations of α-ionone and its analogs parallel those of the α-ionylideneacetic acids. The β-ionylideneacetic acids were generally oxidized to more polar forms. Metabolites identified by GC-MS were 3′-hydroxy-, 3′-keto- and 1′,2′-epoxy-1′,2′-dihydro-β-ionylideneacetic acids. The fungus rapidly metabolized most exogenous materials to more polar forms.
Attitudes toward others and components of intenal-external locus of control.

In Study I, 42 undergraduates responded to the Machiavellianism scale and to Levenson's Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance scales. Results indicated that, for females, increases in Machiavellian...
Osteogenesis imperfecta congenita

O STEOGENESIS Imperfects is a rare developmental defect of the mesenehyme Unusual fragility of bone is the most characteristic clinical finding in this interesting syndrome, which may include blue seleras, deafness, and relaxation of the ligaments. The condition has been variously described in the literature as fragilitas ossium, osteopsathyrosis, and Lobstein's disease. According to the time of appearance of symptoms, the disease may be separated into prenatal and postnatal types. The former is termed osteogenesis imperfects eongenita, and multiple fractures are usually evident at birth. In the postnatal varieties, fractures first occur in infancy (osteogenesis imperfecta infantilis) or later childhood (osteogenesis imperfecta tarda, osteopsathyrosis). A dominant mendelian hereditary trait has been observed in the late type; however, the exact etiology of the disease is unknown. More cases have been reported in female than in male children. The influences of race is apparently unknown. Leading pediatric textbooks 1 and comprehensive articles ~ in the English literature make little or no reference to the occurrence of the condition in the Negro. Only one case of osteogenesis imperfeeta congenita has been observed among" the Ii,818 Negro newborn infants'delivered at Freedmen's Hospital during the ten-year period from 1938 to 19482 The following case is reported because of the apparent great rarity of this disease, particularly in the Negro race.
Inter-partner Credible Threat in International Joint Ventures: An Infinitely Repeated Prisoner's Dilemma Model

We use an infinitely repeated prisoner's dilemma model to examine the role of inter-partner credible threat in international joint ventures (IJVs). Inter-partner credible threat refers to the certainty of either partner's retaliation given the other partner's earlier cheating. We argue that inter-partner credible threat represents the first order determinant and partners’ management control represents the second order determinant of partner payoffs. When inter-partner credible threat is present, both partners achieve balanced payoffs whereas when it is absent, partners’ relative control will determine their relative payoffs. In-depth interview data from four IJVs in China provide preliminary support for our theoretical arguments.
Yeast Oxa1 interacts with mitochondrial ribosomes: the importance of the C-terminal region of Oxa1

The yeast mitochondrial Oxa1 protein is a member of the conserved Oxa1/YidC/Alb3 protein family involved in the membrane insertion of proteins. Oxa1 mediates the insertion of proteins (nuclearly and mitochondrially encoded) into the inner membrane. The mitochondrially encoded substrates interact directly with Oxa1 during their synthesis as nascent chains and in a manner that is supported by the associated ribosome. We have investigated if the Oxa1 complex interacts with the mitochondrial ribosome. Evidence to support a physical association between Oxa1 and the large ribosomal subunit is presented. Our data indicate that the matrix-exposed C-terminal region of Oxa1 plays an important role supporting the ribosomal–Oxa1 interaction. Truncation of this C-terminal segment compromises the ability of Oxa1 to support insertion of substrate proteins into the inner membrane. Oxa1 can be cross-linked to Mrp20, a component of the large ribosomal subunit. Mrp20 is homologous to L23, a subunit located next to the peptide exit tunnel of the ribosome. We propose that the interaction of Oxa1 with the ribosome serves to enhance a coupling of translation and membrane insertion events.
The on-line degree Ramsey number of cycles

Abstract On-line Ramsey theory studies a graph-building game between two players. The player called Builder builds edges one at a time, and the player called Painter paints each new edge red or blue after it is built. The graph constructed is the host graph . Builder wins the game if the host graph at some point contains a monochromatic copy of a given goal graph . In the S k - game variant of the typical game, the host graph is constrained to have maximum degree no greater than k . The on-line degree Ramsey number R Δ ( G ) of a graph G is the minimum k such that Builder wins an S k -game in which G is the goal graph. In this paper, we complete the investigation begun by Butterfield et al. into the on-line degree Ramsey numbers of n -cycles. Namely, we show that R Δ ( C n ) = 4 for n ≥ 3 .
On the feedback of stratospheric clouds on polar climate

[1] Past climates, such as the Eocene (55 - 38 Ma), experienced dramatically warmer polar winters. Global climate models run with Eocene-like boundary conditions have under-predicted polar temperatures, a discrepancy which has stimulated a recent hypothesis that polar stratospheric clouds may have been important. We propose that such clouds form in response to higher CO 2 via changes in stratospheric circulation and water content. We show that the absence of this mechanism from models of Eocene climate may be attributable to poor vertical resolution in the neighborhood of the tropical tropopause. This may cause the models to underestimate future greenhouse warming.
Effect of Thermal Annealing on Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes Utilizing Cationic Conjugated Polyelectrolytes as Electron Injection Layers

The effect of thermal annealing on the performance of polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) with a cationic conjugated polyelectrolyte as an electron injection layer is investigated. Thermal annealing at 180 °C leads to the loss of ionic content via Hofmann elimination and, hence, increases the device turn-on voltage. The ability to reduce the ionic charge density opens opportunities to design experiments for disentangling the operating mechanism for the reduction of electron injection barriers in PLEDs.
Money supply growth, stock returns and the direction of causality

Abstract This paper employs the Granger direct test to assess the causal relationship between stock returns and growth in the money supply in the U.S. over the period May 1974–December 1983. The test results support the notion that the stock market is efficient in the sense that current and past information with regard to the money supply is fully reflected in current security prices. Hence, investors are not able to develop profitable trading rules with information on changes in the money supply. Moreover, the results here suggest that the stock market in fact anticipates future monetary growth.
Compressive sensing optical coherence tomography using randomly accessible lasers

We propose and demonstrate a novel a compressive sensing swept source optical coherence tomography (SSOCT) system that enables high speed images to be taken while maintaining the high resolution offered from a large bandwidth sweep. Conventional SSOCT systems sweep the optical frequency of a laser ω(t) to determine the depth of the reflectors at a given lateral location. A scatterer located at delay τ appears as a sinusoid cos (ω(t)τ ) at the photodetector. The finite optical chirp rate and the speed of analog to digital and digital to analog converters limit the acquisition rate of an axial scan. The proposed acquisition modality enables much faster image acquisition rates by interrogating the beat signal at randomly selected optical frequencies while preserving resolution and depth of field. The system utilizes a randomly accessible laser, a modulated grating Y-branch laser, to sample the interference pattern from a scene at randomly selected optical frequencies over an optical bandwidth of 5 THz , corresponding to a resolution of 30 μm in air. The depth profile is then reconstructed using an l_1 minimization algorithm with a LASSO constraint. Signal-dependent noise sources, shot noise and phase noise, are analyzed and taken into consideration during the recovery. Redundant dictionaries are used to improve the reconstruction of the depth profile. A compression by a factor of 10 for sparse targets up to a depth of 15 mm in noisy environments is shown.
Creating meaningful cut-scores for Neuro-QOL measures of fatigue, physical functioning, and sleep disturbance using standard setting with patients and providers

To establish clinically relevant classifications of health outcome scores for four Neuro-QOL measures (lower extremity function, upper extremity function, fatigue, and sleep disturbance). We employed a modified educational standard-setting methodology to identify cut-scores for symptom severity. Clinical vignettes were developed to represent graduated levels of symptom severity. A clinician panel and a panel of persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) were recruited, and, in separate, 1-day meetings, the panelists identified adjacent vignettes they judged to represent the threshold between two levels of severity for a given domain (e.g., threshold between a vignette that indicated “no problems” with sleep and the adjacent one that represented “mild problems” with sleep). Working independently, each panel (PwMS and clinicians) reached consensus on its recommended thresholds for each of the four targeted measures. Cut-scores were defined as the mean location for each pair of threshold vignettes. PwMS and clinician panels derived identical thresholds for severity levels of lower extremity function and sleep disturbance, but slightly different ones for upper extremity function and fatigue. In every case of divergence, PwMS set higher thresholds for more severe classifications of symptoms (by 0.5 SDs) than did clinicians. The modified bookmarking method is effective for defining thresholds for symptom severity based on self-reported outcome scores and consensus judgments. Derived cut-scores and severity levels provide an interpretative context for Neuro-QOL scores. Future studies should explore whether these findings can be replicated and evaluate the validity of the classifications compared to external criteria.
Designing Hydrogel Adhesives for Corneal Wound Repair

Today, corneal wounds are repaired using nylon sutures. Yet there are a number of complications associated with suturing the cornea, and thus there is interest in an adhesive to replace or supplement sutures in the repair of corneal wounds. We are designing and evaluating corneal adhesives prepared from dendrimers--single molecular weight and highly branched polymers. We have explored two strategies to form these ocular adhesives. The first involves a photocrosslinking reaction and the second uses a peptide ligation reaction to couple the individual dendrimers together to form the adhesive. These adhesives were successfully used to repair corneal perforations, close the flap produced in a LASIK procedure, and secure a corneal transplant.
Sampled‐data H2 optimal output feedback control for civil structures

An optimal control method involving sampled data is considered for use in earthquake and wind engineering applications. The structure is modelled as a continuous system attached to a discrete-time controller using zero-order sample-and-hold devices. Examples of two buildings with active base isolators and a 163 m tall planar frame with an active mass damper are considered. The buildings with the base isolators are subjected to excitation input using the 1940 El Centro earthquake (NS component) as an example, while the planar frame is subjected to assumed sinusoidal gusts with a period close to that of the frame. The controlled responses (with and without time delays) are studied. To further analyze the features of the control designs, the building examples with base isolators are subjected to five other different earthquake excitation records. Trends in control performance and effectiveness are presented and discussed. The results suggest that such systems are potentially suited for implementation in the vibration control of civil infrastructures; such potentiality becomes more realistic with the current trends in software development and the increased use of digital computers. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A set of color-graphics routines for studying perceptual learning on the IBM PC

We describe a set of color-graphics routines that permit implementing perceptual learning studies onIBM PCs. Stimulus items may be presented in 320×200 graphics mode, using 4 colors from a 16-color palette. There are 256 levels of stimulus clarification that may be either subject-paced, in which case the subject makes keypresses until the stimulus can be identified, or program-paced. The perceptual learning task may involve either mask clarification or dot clarification. A description of the present level of development of the procedures, and of several demonstration experiments, is presented.
Assessing School Supports for ELL students Using the ECLS-K.

Abstract Using a large and nationally representative sample of children, this study examined the association between the school resources available to English Language Learners and their academic trajectories from kindergarten through fifth grade. Particular attention was paid to the differences in services provided by schools with high, low, or no ELL student concentrations. Growth-curve modeling results indicated that ELL children started kindergarten with significantly lower reading and math scores compared to their English-speaking peers. However, ELL children improved their math scores fast enough that they were able to narrow the initial gap in math scores with their English-speaking peers by fifth grade. This was particularly true for ELL children in schools with either a high- or low ELL student concentration. In contrast, ELL children still had lower reading scores by fifth grade compared to their English-speaking peers. The results highlight the importance of school resources and services in improving ELL students’ academic trajectories. Directions for future studies are discussed.
Using effusive molecular beams and microcanonical unimolecular rate theory to characterize CH4 dissociation on Pt(111).

The dissociative sticking coefficient for CH4 on Pt(111) has been measured as a function of both gas temperature (Tg) and surface temperature (Ts) using effusive molecular beam and angle-integrated ambient gas dosing methods. The experimental results are used to optimize the three parameters of a microcanonical unimolecular rate theory (MURT) model of the reactive system. The MURT calculations allow us to extract transition state properties from the data as well as to compare our data directly to other molecular beam and thermal equilibrium sticking measurements. We find a threshold energy for dissociation of E0 = 52.5 ± 3.5 kJ mol-1. Furthermore, the MURT with an optimized parameter set provides for a predictive understanding of the kinetics of this C−H bond activation reaction, that is, it allows us to predict the dissociative sticking coefficient of CH4 on Pt(111) for any combination of Ts and Tg even if the two are not equal to one another, indeed, the distribution of molecular energy need not even be...
Understanding microstructural effects on long term electrical fatigue in multilayer PZT actuators

In this study, multilayered PbZr x Ti 1-x O 3 (PZT) samples were produced by tape-casting and subsequent sintering at temperatures in the range of 1175 °C to 1325 °C. Sintering times were 6 minutes and 24 minutes. Samples were poled and also electrically fatigued by long-term exposure (≈10 6 cycles) to cyclic electric fields. The parameters of initial and remnant polarization were estimated from hysteresis loops. Changes in the crystallographic microstructure as a function of sintering temperature T S and sintering time were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to gain insight on fatigue mechanisms and their prevention. The microstructural results, such as domain reorientation and amount of secondary phases, explained the results of electrical observations. We found that grain sizes and internal strains were major influence factors on device performance. Domain sizes were about two orders of magnitude smaller than grain sizes. Therefore, domain-grain wall interaction did not influence domain switching. Domain wall movement was facilitated in samples processed at T S less than 1250 °C, and such samples were more resistant to electrical fatigue. Samples degraded faster at T S above 1250 °C, but here a higher device performance power was found due to an increased unit cell tetragonality that yielded higher polarization values.
Parallel Algorithms for Forward and Back Substitution in Direct Solution of Sparse Linear Systems

A few parallel algorithms for solving triangular systems resulting from parallel factorization of sparse linear systems have been proposed and implemented recently. We present a detailed analysis of parallel complexity and scalability of the best of these algorithms and the results of its implementation on up to 256 processors of the Cray T3D parallel computer. It has been a common belief that parallel sparse triangular solvers are quite unscalable due to a high communication to computation ratio. Our analysis and experiments show that, although not as scalable as the best parallel sparse Cholesky factorization algorithms, parallel sparse triangular solvers can yield reasonable speedups in runtime on hundreds of processors. We also show that for a wide class of problems, the sparse triangular solvers described in this paper are optimal and are asymptotically as scalable as a dense triangular solver.
Attributions Based on Managers' Self-Presentation, Sex, and Weight

Attributions based on written accounts of self-presentations by hypothetical managers were studied. Contrary to prior research, college students did not rate managers sharing credit with subordinates less favorably than managers merely disclosing personal obstacles overcome. A critical difference between this study and the prior one seemed to be that performance was portrayed as strictly a team effort, whereas in the prior study the manager made a significant individual contribution. Credit-sharing, male managers, who were average in weight, were rated more favorably than other men or any women. The present and prior research seem to have confounded information disclosed and degree of modesty.
Efficiency, flexibility, or both? Evidence linking strategy to performance in small firms

This paper analyzes small firm performance in relation to efficiency and flexibility strategies. Using configuration theory, the authors propose that small firms that pursue efficiency strategies or flexibility strategies outperform those that attempt to pursue both. Additionally, size is used as a configurational attribute to develop competing hypotheses on whether efficiency strategies or flexibility strategies are better suited for small firm performance. In two samples of 200 and 144 privately-held small firms, firms that mixed efficiency and flexibility strategies significantly underperformed. No significant performance differences were found between firms utilizing only efficiency strategies and those utilizing only flexibility strategies. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Biogeochemical Investigation of Big Creek Marsh, Lake Erie, Ontario

Abstract Geochemical composition of sediment, uptake of nutrients and metals by macrophytes, and nutrient and metal concentration in the water was investigated at six selected stations in Big Creek Marsh, Ontario. The maximum concentrations of Pb, Ni, Cu, Cr, and Zn in marsh sediment (86, 48, 38,119, and 383 μg/g dry weight, respectively), were lower than the concentration of these metals found in fine-grained surficial sediments of Lake Erie, and maximum concentration of As and Hg in marsh sediment (112 and 0.930 μg/g dry weight, respectively) were higher than As and Hg concentration in most of Lake Erie surficial sediments. Occurrence of DDT metabolites in marsh sediment reflects extensive use of DDT in the Big Creek drainage basin prior to 1970. Increase of total Kjeldahl Nitrogen and NH 4 -N in marshwater was observed at a few sampling stations in November. Submerged macrophytes Myriophyllum, Chara , and Elodea sps. accumulated larger quantities of Pb, Cu, Ni, Cd, and Cr than emergent macrophytes at the stage of maximum development. Correlation between Ca and Pb, Cu, Ni, and Cr concentration in sampled macrophytes was observed; however, there was no correlation between Ca and Zn in these plants.
Gas-fluidized density separation for char enrichment in coal combustion

Abstract Char solids withdrawn from a coal combustor possess a wide range of densities. The lower density, carbonrich fraction, however, contains a slightly disporportionate amount of unburned carbon or heating value. This study investigates the enrichment of coal combustion chars by dry density separation in gas fluidized systems. Two types of experiments are performed. First, mainly for solids 250 μ m, the test solids are separated in a fluidized host medium. Second, mainly for solids μ m, the test solids are fluidized directly and segregated into various density fractions. Positive resolutions have been obtained in both types of experiments. Good density separations with the highest density, most burned, chars collected at the bottom of the test vessels are observed. These separations can be achieved at a low level of gas flow rate (mostly ≈ 1.5 cm/s) in a short period of time (≈ 3 min).
HIV/AIDS Education in Harlem, New York: Needs and Recommendations

ABSTRACT Although there have been national advances in HIV prevention, early detection of HIV, and early treatment of HIV, urban communities in the United States remain disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. Urban communities with populations over 500,000 in the United States account for 84.6% of cumulative AIDS cases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2006). Certain communities in New York, such as Harlem and Washington Heights, are an example of an urban community that continues to experience disproportionately high HIV transmission rates (New York State Department of Health [NYS DOH], 2006). What are the unique sociocultural challenges that have obstructed recent HIV education efforts (CDC, 2006)? This article reports on the findings of a pilot study (n = 46) that sought to identify the sociocultural challenges to HIV education and prevention among clients at numerous inner city HIV/AIDS community-based organizations in New York City. Critical findings include why clients selected cer...
Private Information: To Reveal or not to Reveal

This article studies the notion of quantitative policies for trust management and gives protocols for realizing them in a disclosure-minimizing fashion. Specifically, Bob values each credential with a certain number of points, and requires a minimum total threshold of points before granting Alice access to a resource. In turn, Alice values each of her credentials with a privacy score that indicates her degree of reluctance to reveal that credential. Bob's valuation of credentials and his threshold are private. Alice's privacy-valuation of her credentials is also private. Alice wants to find a subset of her credentials that achieves Bob's required threshold for access, yet is of as small a value to her as possible. We give protocols for computing such a subset of Alice's credentials without revealing any of the two parties' above-mentioned private information. Furthermore, we develop a fingerprint method that allows Alice to independently and easily recover the optimal knapsack solution, once the computed optimal value is given, but also enables verification of the integrity of the optimal value. The fingerprint method is useful beyond the specific authorization problem studied, and can be applied to any integer knapsack dynamic programming in a private setting.
Destabilized clay suspensions: Flow curves and dry film properties

Abstract The addition of inorganic electrolytes or of cationic, low-molecular-mass, high-charge or high-molecular-mass, low-charge polymers to a well-dispersed clay suspension creates particle interactions leading to increased viscosity of the suspension and higher void fraction, light scattering, and fluid absorption in the dry film, but reduced gloss. The flow curves are interpreted using Hunter's approach to flow of flocculated systems. The concept of critical concentration is reviewed.
Active Component Lower Limb Prosthetic Device Research: Concept and Design

This paper presents a possible prosthetic solution to excessive metabolic energy expended by transtibial (below the knee) amputees. This solution uses a four bar mechanism in conjunction with a spring, a motor, and a prosthetic foot as a lower limb prosthetic device. An optimization was previously performed on the mechanism parameters to mimic human ankle moments during normal walking. The cost function has been refined with the intent to reduce the required peak power input as well as to keep the link lengths of the four bar mechanism within an order of magnitude of each other. Design complications of the prototype that have arisen and likely resolutions are also included in this paper. Parts have been sized and justified based on likely size of the wearer, potential full-production costs of parts, and cost constraints.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
LuxR homolog-independent gene regulation by acyl-homoserine lactones in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum control of gene expression involves three LuxR-type signal receptors LasR, RhlR, and QscR that respond to the LasI- and RhlI-generated acyl-homoserine lactone (acyl-HSL) signals 3OC12-HSL and C4-HSL. We found that a LasR-RhlR-QscR triple mutant responds to acyl-HSLs by regulating at least 37 genes. LuxR homolog-independent activation of the representative genes antA and catB also occurs in the wild type. Expression of antA was influenced the most by C10-HSL and to a lesser extent by other acyl-HSLs, including the P. aeruginosa 3OC12-HSL and C4-HSL signals. The ant and cat operons encode enzymes for the degradation of anthranilate to tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates. Our results indicate that LuxR homolog-independent acyl-HSL control of the ant and cat operons occurs via regulation of antR, which codes for the transcriptional activator of the ant operon. Although P. aeruginosa has multiple pathways for anthranilate synthesis, one pathway—the kynurenine pathway for tryptophan degradation—is required for acyl-HSL activation of the ant operon. The kynurenine pathway is also the critical source of anthranilate for energy metabolism via the antABC gene products, as well as the source of anthranilate for synthesis of the P. aeruginosa quinolone signal. Our discovery of LuxR homolog-independent responses to acyl-HSLs provides insight into acyl-HSL signaling.
The Effect of Temperature and Pressure on Ag-Sn-Hg Alloys

Studies have been conducted to evaluate the influence of temperature and pressure on Hg loss and structural transitions in Ag-Sn-Hg alloys containing varying amounts of Sn. Hg loss and structural transitions in the alloys that were subjected to heat (100°C) and pressure (193 MN/m2) show that Sn atoms from the γz (Sn7–8Hg) phase can be forced into and accommodated by the γ1 (AgzHg3) and β1 (AgHg) lattices, leaving no γ2 as a unique phase in the alloy. Samples heated to 100°C at atmospheric pressure exhibited virtually no Hg loss for the Sn-containing alloys. However, in the absence of applied pressure, the γ1 amalgam was seen to transform to the β1 and γZ phases. This implies that Hg liberated by γ1 decomposition is not given off by the sample as free Hg but reacts with excess Ag3 to force a self-perpetuating reaction.
Estimates and Standard Errors for Ratios of Normalizing Constants from Multiple Markov Chains via Regeneration.

In the classical biased sampling problem, we have k densities π1(·), …, πk (·), each known up to a normalizing constant, i.e. for l = 1, …, k, πl (·) = νl (·)/ml , where νl (·) is a known function and ml is an unknown constant. For each l, we have an iid sample from πl ,·and the problem is to estimate the ratios ml/ms for all l and all s. This problem arises frequently in several situations in both frequentist and Bayesian inference. An estimate of the ratios was developed and studied by Vardi and his co-workers over two decades ago, and there has been much subsequent work on this problem from many different perspectives. In spite of this, there are no rigorous results in the literature on how to estimate the standard error of the estimate. We present a class of estimates of the ratios of normalizing constants that are appropriate for the case where the samples from the πl 's are not necessarily iid sequences, but are Markov chains. We also develop an approach based on regenerative simulation for obtaining standard errors for the estimates of ratios of normalizing constants. These standard error estimates are valid for both the iid case and the Markov chain case.
Routing in a rectangle with k-ary overlap

A layout for the k-ary overlap rectangle routing problem (k-RRP) is a set of paths connecting pairs of terminals on the boundary such that each edge hosts at most k distinct nets. The authors give necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of such a layout, and present an algorithm that constructs a layout, if one exists, in time O(kN), where N is the number of gridpoints in the rectangle. Extensions to more general problems are also discussed. >
James F. Crow and the Stochastic Theory of Population Genetics

Research in population genetics theory has two main strands. The first is deterministic theory, where random changes in allelic frequencies are ignored and attention focuses on the evolutionary effects of selection and mutation. The second strand, stochastic theory, takes account of these random changes and thus is more complete than deterministic theory. This essay is one in the series of Perspectives and Reviews honoring James F. Crow on the occasion of his 95th birthday. It concerns his contributions to, and involvement with, the stochastic theory of evolutionary population genetics.