cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Focus on Synchrotron Education Initiatives

Those of us that work at synchrotron user facilities daily appreciate that education is a fundamental component of the scientific mission of our laboratories. While first-time synchrotron users are invariably excited about the research opportunities synchrotrons provide them, they are also often confronted with an initial sense of overwhelming technical complexity. This impression is a reminder to visiting researchers that there is a learning curve required for them to achieve scientific success using these tools.
Three-dimensional crack depth profile assessment using near-field surface acoustic wave signal response

Abstract : A method for determining the three-dimensional depth profile of a surface-breaking crack-like feature is presented based on near-field surface acoustic wave signal responses. Three-dimensional finite element models were used to study the forward problem, where the characteristic near-field scattering of a surface acoustic wave incident on a surface breaking crack was investigated. Experimental validation of the modeling predictions was accomplished using a wedge transducer for surface wave generation and a scanning laser vibrometry system for surface wave detection. The characteristic near-field amplitude response in reflection and in transmission was measured and modeled for flat-bottom, angled, and curved bottom localized notch features, where a simple linear inversion method was developed, which provided an effective means for characterizing and mapping the three-dimensional depth profile of surface-breaking crack-like features with depths in the micron to millimeter range.
Comparison of intraoperative subtraction pachymetry and postoperative anterior segment optical coherence tomography of laser in situ keratomileusis flaps

Purpose To prospectively compare intraoperative subtraction pachymetry flap thickness measurements and postoperative anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) flap thickness measurements in eyes that had laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) flap creation with a femtosecond laser or a mechanical microkeratome. Setting Stanford Eye Laser Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA. Design Comparative case series. Methods Each patient received wavefront-guided LASIK using an Intralase femtosecond laser in 1 eye and a Hansatome mechanical microkeratome in the fellow eye. Flap morphology was assessed with an ultrasound pachymeter intraoperatively and an AS-OCT system postoperatively at 1 year. Results Thirty-six eyes (18 patients) were enrolled. Intraoperative subtraction pachymetry consistently underestimated mechanical microkeratome flap thickness compared with postoperative AS-OCT ( P P =.38). The overall mean variation in flap thickness (ie, mean deviation from targeted flap thickness) was 2.6 μm (range 3 to 11 μm) with the femtosecond laser and 14.2 μm (range 17 to 52 μm) with the mechanical microkeratome ( P Conclusions The femtosecond laser created more uniformly planar flaps than the mechanical microkeratome as measured by intraoperative subtraction pachymetry and postoperative AS-OCT. Postoperative AS-OCT measurements varied less than intraoperative subtraction pachymetry measurements for mechanical microkeratome flaps. Financial Disclosure Neither author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.
Fe K Features as Probes of the Nuclear Reflection Region in Seyfert Galaxies

The warm electron scattering region posited in 1985 by Antonucci and Miller to exist in NGC 1068 may be a characteristic feature of Seyfert galaxies. Whenever it exists, it presents a unique signature in Fe X-ray features. Predictions of the strength of the Fe K-edge and K-alpha line in both type 1 and type 2 Seyfert galaxies are presented and interpreted.
Genotoxic mechanism of tamoxifen in developing endometrial cancer

Increased risk of developing endometrial cancers has been observed in women treated with tamoxifen (TAM), a widely used drug for breast cancer therapy and chemoprevention. The carcinogenic effect may be due to genotoxic DNA damage induced by TAM. In fact, TAM-DNA adducts were detected in the endometrium of women treated with this drug. TAM is alpha-hydroxylated by cytochrome P450 3A4 followed by O-sulfonation by hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase, and reacts with guanine residues in DNA, resulting in the formation of alpha-(N2-deoxyguanosinyl)tamoxifen adducts. During this metabolic process, short-lived carbocations are produced at the ethyl moiety of TAM as reactive intermediates. TAM-DNA adducts promote primarily G -->T transversions in mammalian cells. The same mutations have been frequently detected at codon 12 of the K-ras gene in the endometrial tissue of women treated with this drug. TAM-DNA adducts, if not readily repaired, may act as initiators, leading to development of endometrial cancers. The reactivity of TAM metabolites with DNA is inhibited in toremifene, where the hydrogen atom has been replaced by a chlorine atom at the ethyl moiety. Therefore, toremifene may be a safer alternative to TAM. This article describes an overview of the mechanism of TAM-DNA adduct formation, mutagenic events of this adduct, and detection of TAM-DNA adducts in the endometrium of women treated with TAM.
Како сделан Акакий: Letter as Hero in “The Overcoat”

Recent scholars have construed Gogol's “Overcoat,” along with its hero Akakii Akakievich, as pure literary performance. Popkin represents the inarticulate copy-clerk as “little more than a verbal artifact,” while Bernheimer describes Akakii as “a text … that can be deciphered not as a series of significant signs but only as a succession of discrete letters.” This article pursues a very literal extension of this line of critical investigation, presenting Akakii as an individual alphabetic character in search of context, difference and, ultimately, meaning. The 1820s and 1830s in Russia witnessed a marked revival of concern with the form and significance of the alphabet. During these years, orthographic issues were widely reported in the press and debated in scholarly circles. The old tradition of anthropomorphic alphabets, which had several well-known precedents in the eighteenth century, underwent a simultaneous renaissance in the years just preceding Gogol's composition of “Overcoat.” Indeed, according to Vaiskopf, the period in question saw a rebirth of a playful tradition allegorically associating the letters of the alphabet with the Russian bureaucratic hierarchy. Gogol would undoubtedly have been familiar with the issues and polemics surrounding the alphabet, and with the proliferation of literary responses to the orthographic question. The text of Gogol's “Overcoat” incorporates numerous hints about Akakii's familiar relationship with letters: he copies them lovingly, winks and laughs at his favorites, and sees them superimposed on the outer world. Earlier drafts of the story include the names of specific old Cyrillic letters, unambiguously suggesting their embodiment in the story's hero. Akakii's obsession with letters extends only as far as their form, however; unable to wield words to create meaning, he is interested solely in their outward shape and reproduction, rather than their content. This paper will explore “Overcoat” as Gogol's unique literary transformation of the alphabet question, in which Akakii represents a solitary, unsignifying signifier.
Genetic dissection of chromosome substitution lines of cotton to discover novel Gossypium barbadense L. alleles for improvement of agronomic traits.

We recently released a set of 17 chromosome substitution (CS-B) lines (2n = 52) that contain Gossypium barbadense L. doubled-haploid line ‘3-79’ germplasm systematically introgressed into the Upland inbred ‘TM-1’ of G. hirsutum (L.). TM-1 yields much more than 3-79, but cotton from the latter has superior fiber properties. To explore the use of these quasi-isogenic lines in studying gene interactions, we created a partial diallel among six CS-B lines and the inbred TM-1, and characterized their descendents for lint percentage, boll weight, seedcotton yield and lint yield across four environments. Phenotypic data on the traits were analyzed according to the ADAA genetic model to detect significant additive, dominance, and additive-by-additive epistasis effects at the chromosome and chromosome-by-chromosome levels of CS-B lines. For example, line 3-79 had the lowest boll weight, seedcotton yield and lint yield, but CS-B22Lo homozygous dominance genetic effects on seedcotton and lint yield were nearly four times those of TM-1, and its hybrids with TM-1 had the highest additive-by-additive epistatic effects on seedcotton and lint yield. CS-B14sh, 17, 22Lo and 25 produced positive homozygous dominance effects on lint yield, whereas doubly heterozygous combinations of CS-B14sh with CS-B17, 22Lo and 25 produced negative dominance effects, suggesting that epistatic effects between genes in these chromosomes strongly affect lint yield. The results underscore the opportunities to systematically identify genomic regions harboring genes that impart agronomically significant effects via epistatic interactions. The chromosome-by-chromosome approach significantly complements other strategies to detect and quantify epistatic interaction effects, and the quasi-isogenic nature of families and lines from CS-B intermatings will facilitate high-resolution localization, development of markers for selection and map-assisted identification of genes involved in strong epistatic effects.
Least squares estimation techniques for position tracking of radioactive sources

This paper describes least squares estimation algorithms used for tracking the physical location of radioactive sources in real time as they are moved around in a facility. We present both recursive and moving horizon nonlinear least squares estimation algorithms that consider both the change in the source location and the deviation between measurements and model predictions. The measurements used to estimate position consist of four count rates reported by four different gamma ray detectors. There is an uncertainty in the source location due to the large variance of the detected count rate, and the uncertainty in the background count rate. This work represents part of a suite of tools which will partially automate security and safety assessments, allow some assessments to be done remotely, and provide additional sensor modalities with which to make assessments.
Social Work, Marriage, and Ethnicity : Policy and Practice

This article provides a discussion about marriage with regard to social work policy and practice with cultural groups that experience life differently from predominantly White America. Marriage is influenced by culture, tradition, and economic reality supporting or hindering the success of marriages. Often, parenting is influenced by marriage, as roles are shared and meted through the resources provided by marriage. As an introduction, this article explains the unique contribution of each article in the special issue, showing the need for social work to respond more critically, urgently, and in threefold systemic fashion to create change in the lives of historically vulnerable populations in U.S. society.
Linear stability of solitary waves of the Green‐Naghdi equations

We investigate the eigenvalue problem obtained from linearizing the Green-Naghdi equations about solitary wave solutions. Unlike weakly nonlinear water wave models, the physical system considered here has nonlinearity in its highest derivative term. This results in more detailed asymptotic analysis of the eigenvalue problem in the presence of a large parameter. Combining the technique of singular perturbation with the Evans function, we show that for solitary waves of small amplitude, the problem has no eigenvalues of positive real part and the Evans function is nonvanishing everywhere except the origin. This fact then leads to the linear stability of these solitary waves. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Autoimmunity in systemic sclerosis: Current concepts

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by tissue fibrosis, obliterative microangiopathy, and immune abnormalities. The role of autoimmunity in generating the clinical and pathologic phenotype in SSc remains uncertain. Distinct subsets of antinuclear antibodies are selectively associated with unique disease manifestations but do not have a proven pathogenic role. A new class of autoantibodies recognizing cellular or extracellular matrix antigens has been recognized in SSc patients. They seem to directly activate pathways that may contribute to SSc-specific tissue and vascular damage. Data confirms that activation and polarization of T cells can contribute to a profibrotic environment. Also, activated immune effector cells can promote vascular obliterative damage through direct cytotoxic pathways targeting the endothelium or by inducing proinflammatory molecules. Technologies are emerging to accurately measure the autoantigen-specific T-cell response in SSc patients. Perturbed B-cell homeostasis has been reported in SSc. If confirmed in-vivo, these advances could lead to new disease-modifying therapeutic strategies directed at SSc-specific immune effector pathways.
Platelet-bound IgG in systematic lupus erythematosus with and without thrombocytopenia

A new assay for IgG bound to autologous platelets is described, in which IgG is dissociated from platelets washed at low pH, then measured by radioimmunoassay. Platelet-bound IgG was found to be elevated in thrombocytopenic patients with SLE and reduced in non-thrombocytopenic patients with this disease. There was a close inverse correlation of platelet-bound IgG and platelet count. Immune complexes did not interfere with the assay.
On a novel design of a new unified variational framework of discontinuous/continuous time operators of high order and equivalence

In this paper we present a novel design of a unified variational framework for both time continuous and discontinuous integration operators and also discuss in particular their equivalence via their respective spectral properties. As an added dimension, we also describe how the proposed approach enables the design of both time continuous/discontinuous high-order A -Stable schemes of order 2q, L-Stable schemes of order 2q- 1 and 2q- 2, and subsequently provide the requisite hierarchical computational structure of the resulting equations that is useful for time adaptive computations. In this regard, a new unified set of energy conserving and energy dissipating time discretized operators are described for both time continuous and discontinuous formulations for computational dynamics. Although the emphasis is placed on second-order systems, the developments also hold for first-order system representations.
Unilateral and bilateral lesions of the anteromedial cortex increase perseverative head movements of the rat

Lesions of the anteromedial cortex were made in rats trained to orient their heads to 9 positions located laterally and centrally in upper, middle and lower regions of space. The water-deprived subjects were tested in sessions of 20 trials in each of which all positions were baited once with a small amount of water. Training continued until no position was consistently missed and the number of returns to positions already selected on that trial (perseverative responses) was low and stable. In Expt. 1, rats with unilateral anteromedial lesions tested with 3 days recovery did not miss any position or significantly change the order in which correct positions were selected but they made more perseverative responses to all positions. Bilateral anteromedial lesions moderately increased misses but markedly increased perseverations. Visual cortex lesions comparable in size produced no changes. In Expt. 2, unilateral anteromedial lesions tested with 7 days' recovery did not increase misses and only slightly increased perseverations. In Expt. 3, unilateral anteromedial lesions tested within 1 day increased perseverations more than lesions tested with 6 days' recovery. Neither group increased misses or changed selection order. The perseverations appeared on a trial after 6 of the 9 correct selections and were directed to both recently and remotely selected positions. Lesions of the anteromedial cortex appear to produce a deficit in the suppressive control of head orienting.
Evaluating Participation in Small Groups: Stimulated Recall, Self-Ratings, and Their Effects on Task-Relevant Judgments

This article examines if different conditions of stimulated recall influence perceptions of task-related competence in small discussion groups. Although the validity of simulated recall has been assessed in educational and interpersonal contexts, it is not clear how features of the method influence the measurement of perceptions at different levels of analysis. Participants worked on a task in groups and then viewed a videotape of the interaction. The video was paused for participants to rate each other on several influence measures. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four viewing conditions based on whether participants could see themselves in the video and whether they made self-ratings regarding their participation. Findings revealed that self's visual presence in the video and providing self-ratings had only a minor impact on the distribution of influence ratings.
Latent class analysis of discordance between results of drug use assessments in the CATIE data.

Objective The primary aim is to examine concordant/discordant results of drug use assessments in adults with schizophrenia.
Flame sheet starting estimates for counterflow diffusion flame problems

Abstract We develop a flame sheet starting procedure for the detailed numerical modeling of counterflow diffusion flames. These flames are characterized by the presence of a narrow reaction zone stabilized between counterflowing jets of fuel and oxidizer. Despite the outwardly simple form of the governing equations, the determination of a good initial solution estimate can be difficult. Failure to obtain such an approximation can cause the numerical solution procedure to converge slowly or to diverge. The flame sheet model we consider couples the conservation of mass and momentum with a Shvab-Zeldovich equation to provide starting estimates for the mass flux in the transverse direction, the similarity function, the temperature, and the stable major species in the flame. Application of the model to two methane-air flames reveals the effectiveness of the procedure in generating starting estimates for such problems.
Quality Assurance and Standardization in Immunohistochemistry. A Proposal for the Annual Meeting of the Biological Stain Commission, June, 1991

Quality assurance, quality control, proficiency testing, reagent documentation and validation are standard parts of everyday practice in clinical laboratories throughout the United States. Immunohistochemical stains employ reagents and principles in common with immunoenzyme methods utilized in the clinical laboratory. However, immunohistochemistry has not routinely been subjected to similar standardization and quality assurance procedures that manufacturers and pathologists alike have applied to essentially the same techniques in the clinical laboratory environment. The current proposal was invited by the Biological Stain Commission with the charge of incorporating the findings of previous workshops on quality control in immunohistochemistry into a practical design for implementation. The status of quality assurance, quality control and standardization in immunohistochemistry is reviewed and a phased strategy for implementation is proposed.
Ingroup Rejection Among Women: The Role of Personal Inadequacy:

We examined predictors and outcomes of women's hostility toward other women. Based on a projection model, we hypothesized and tested the theory via structural equation modeling that women's sense of personal inadequacy, the tendency to stereotype, and general anger would predict hostility toward women, and hostility toward women would predict blaming victims of violence and poor relationships with a female friend. Participants were 464 college women with an average age of 28.08. All measures were pencil and paper. Women's hostility toward women served as an intervening variable between a personal sense of inadequacy, tendency to stereotype, blaming women victims of violence, and intimacy with one's best female friend.
Selecting an Enterprise Resource Planning System: An Active Learning Simulation

ABSTRACT: This case provides an opportunity for students to engage in an active learning simulation of a company's enterprise resource planning (ERP) software selection process. Groups of students are assigned to represent management, advisors, and ERP software vendors, each playing their role in the process of identifying requirements, generating and evaluating a request for proposal (RFP), responding to an RFP and making a reasoned recommendation to the CEO and board of directors. The case encourages active learning and provides students a chance to exercise professional business writing and presentation skills. It also provides a unique opportunity to practice persuasive communication skills.
Formation and distribution of coal balls in the Herrin Coal (Pennsylvanian), Franklin County, Illinois Basin, USA

Large areas of concentrated coal balls (permineralized peat) up to 4 m thick obstructed longwall mining in the Herrin Coal at the Old Ben No. 24 mine. The largest coal‐ball area mapped contained >1500 m 3 ; several areas contained >400 m 3 of coal balls. In‐mine mapping established that there were two types of roof (freshwater and marine), and that the coal balls were spatially correlated with the marine roof units. Regional studies and local data revealed that the younger, freshwater Energy Shale (mud) originally covered all of the peat deposited at the mine, but the mud was locally removed during a period of erosion. The great majority of coal balls are found within the coal seam, where they were permineralized in situ by carbonates. Some coal balls are found exposed on the eroded coal surface and others are within the channel fill associated with the erosion, which predates any marine sedimentation. Thus, the mineralization of the coal balls was synchronous with the erosion of the Energy Shale mud. Data from C‐and O‐isotope, geochemical, and mineralogical analyses of coal balls and associated materials were used to refine a depositional model of coal‐ball formation. The concentrated coal‐ball areas were created by the triggered degassing of CO 2 from partially decomposed peat in the presence of cations from fresh waters; 13 C/ 12 C ratios in these coal balls average −23.9‰. 13 C/ 12 C ratios as low as −34‰ occurring in the most concentrated coal balls are consistent with CO 2 produced by anaerobic oxidation of methane. Top‐of‐seam coal balls were formed later and show slight to strong marine influence; their 13 C/ 12 C ratios average −10.8‰.
Unconventional Low-Cost Fabrication and Patterning Techniques for Point of Care Diagnostics

The potential of rapid, quantitative, and sensitive diagnosis has led to many innovative ‘lab on chip’ technologies for point of care diagnostic applications. Because these chips must be designed within strict cost constraints to be widely deployable, recent research in this area has produced extremely novel non-conventional micro- and nano-fabrication innovations. These advances can be leveraged for other biological assays as well, including for custom assay development and academic prototyping. The technologies reviewed here leverage extremely low-cost substrates and easily adoptable ways to pattern both structural and biological materials at high resolution in unprecedented ways. These new approaches offer the promise of more rapid prototyping with less investment in capital equipment as well as greater flexibility in design. Though still in their infancy, these technologies hold potential to improve upon the resolution, sensitivity, flexibility, and cost-savings over more traditional approaches.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Causing Stridor

We describe an infant with stridor associated with gastroesophageal reflux (GER). This is the first report in which there is clear documentation by pH probe of a temporal association between individual episodes of GER and stridor. We review the literature and speculate on the relationship between these two phenomena. GER should be considered in patients with stridor.
Three-dimensional geologic modeling of the Santa Rosa Plain, California

New three-dimensional (3D) lithologic and stratigraphic models of the Santa Rosa Plain (California, USA) delineate the thickness, extent, and distribution of subsurface geologic units and allow integration of diverse data sets to produce a lithologic, stratigraphic, and structural architecture for the region. This framework can be used to predict pathways of groundwater flow beneath the Santa Rosa Plain and potential areas of enhanced or focused seismic shaking. Lithologic descriptions from 2683 wells were simplified to 19 internally consistent lithologic classes. These distinctive lithologic classes were used to construct a 3D model of lithologic variations within the basin by extrapolating data away from drill holes using a nearest-neighbor approach. Subsurface stratigraphy was defined through the identification of distinctive lithologic packages tied, where possible, to high-quality well control and to surface exposures. The 3D stratigraphic model consists of three bounding components: fault surfaces, stratigraphic surfaces, and a surface representing the top of pre-Cenozoic basement, derived from inversion of regional gravity data. The 3D lithologic model displays a west to east transition from dominantly marine sands to heterogeneous continental sediments. In contrast to previous stratigraphic studies, the new models emphasize the prevalence of the clay-rich Petaluma Formation and its heterogeneous nature. Isopach maps of the Glen Ellen Formation and the 3D stratigraphic model show the influence of the Trenton Ridge, a concealed basement ridge that bisects the plain, on sedimentation; the thickest deposits of the Glen Ellen Formation are confined to north of the Trenton Ridge.
Performance of multiversion concurrency control algorithms in maintaining temporal consistency

The authors present a model of typical hard real-time applications and the concepts of age and dispersion of data accessed by the real-time transactions. These are used to evaluate the performance of a class of multiversion lock-based concurrency control algorithms in maintaining temporal consistency of data in a real-time shared-data environment. It is shown that it is easier for such a concurrency control algorithm to maintain temporal consistency of shared data when the conflicting transactions are close in the lengths of their periods. The conflict pattern of the transactions has a more significant effect on the temporal inconsistency of data than the load level of the system. It is also desirable to have the transactions' periods within a small range. The best case was obtained when the faster transactions have higher utilizations. It was also shown that the use of the priority inheritance principle with the lock-based concurrency control algorithms can reduce transactions' blocking times and the number of transactions that access temporally inconsistent data as well as the worst-case age and dispersion of data. >
Evaluation of an isogenic major outer membrane protein-deficient mutant in the human model of Haemophilus ducreyi infection.

Haemophilus ducreyi expresses 2 OmpA homologs, designated MOMP and OmpA2, whose genes are arranged in tandem on the chromosome. Northern blot analysis indicated that momp and ompA2 are transcribed independently. Sequences of the momp open reading frame (ORF) lacking the transcriptional start site were amplified by PCR, and an Ω-Km2 cassette was ligated into the ORF. A plasmid containing this construction was electroporated into H. ducreyi 35000HP, and an isogenic MOMP-deficient mutant (35000HP-SMS2) was generated by allele exchange. In Southern blotting, 35000HP-SMS2 contained one copy of the Ω-Km2 cassette in momp. 35000HP and 35000HP-SMS2 had similar outer membrane protein (OMP) and lipooligosaccharide profiles and growth rates except for up-regulation of a putative porin protein in the mutant. Five subjects were inoculated with three doses of live 35000HP-SMS2 on one arm and two doses of live 35000HP and one dose of a heat-killed control on the other arm in a double-blind escalating dose-response trial. Pustules developed at 7 of 10 sites inoculated with 35000HP and at 6 of 15 sites inoculated with 35000HP-SMS2 (P = 0.14). 35000HP and 35000HP-SMS2 were recovered at similar rates from daily surface cultures and semiquantitative cultures. The data suggest that expression of MOMP is not required for pustule formation by H. ducreyi in the human model of infection.
Analysis of free drug fractions using near-infrared fluorescent labels and an ultrafast immunoextraction/displacement assay.

A chromatographic method was developed for measuring free drug fractions based on the use of an ultrafast immunoextraction/displacement assay (UFIDA) with near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent labels. This approach was evaluated by using it to determine the free fraction of phenytoin in serum or samples containing the binding protein human serum albumin (HSA). Items considered in the design of this method included the dissociation rate of HSA-bound phenytoin, the rate of capture of free phenytoin by immunoextraction microcolumns, the behavior of NIR fluorescent labels in a displacement format, and the overall response and stability of the resulting assay. In the final UFIDA method, the free fraction of phenytoin was extracted in ∼100 ms by a microcolumn containing a small layer of anti-phenytoin antibodies. This gave a displacement peak for a NIR-fluorescent-labeled analogue of phenytoin that appeared within 2−3 min of sample injection, creating a signal proportional to the amount of free phenytoin in the sampl...
Exporting and Productivity in the USA

Exporting is often touted as a way to increase economic growth. This paper examines the interaction between exporting and productivity growth in US manufacturing. While exporting plants have substantially higher productivity levels, there is no evidence that exporting increases plant productivity growth rates. The higher productivity of exporters largely predates their entry into exporting. However, within the same industry, exporters do grow faster than non-exporters in terms of both shipments and employment. Exporting is associated with the reallocation of resources from less efficient to more efficient plants. In the aggregate, these reallocation effects are quite large, making up over 40 per cent of total factor productivity growth in the manufacturing sector. Half of this reallocation to more productive plants occurs within industries and the direction of the reallocation is towards exporting plants. Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.
Environmental externality surcharges in power system planning: a case study of New England

In several states, public utility commissions have adopted surcharges for environmental externalities (adders) to be used in electric utility planning. The Massachusetts adder system applies major surcharges to emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide. The authors explore the implications in terms of cost and emissions of using the Massachusetts adders as shadow prices in dispatching the pooled electric power system in New England. The analysis has use of a probabilistic production cost simulation model to estimate the effects on the present system, and on a resource mix envisioned 15 years hence. The externality cost adders are used to influence the dispatch of a fixed configuration of power plants and are not used to affect the composition of the future resource mix. Compared to conventional dispatch, emissions of SO/sub 2/ and NO/sub x/ drop by 10% to 15%, while carbon emissions remain virtually unaffected. The production cost penalty is 3% to 4%. In each year, reductions are accomplished mainly by shifting generation away from New England's coal steam power plants. >
Packaging Determinants in the UL11 Tegument Protein of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1

The UL11 gene of herpes simplex virus type 1 encodes a 96-amino-acid tegument protein that is myristylated, palmitylated, and phosphorylated and is found on the cytoplasmic faces of nuclear, Golgi apparatus-derived, and plasma membranes of infected cells. Although this protein is thought to play a role in virus budding, its specific function is unknown. Purified virions were found to contain ∼700 copies of the UL11 protein per particle, making it an abundant component of the tegument. Moreover, comparisons of cell-associated and virion-associated UL11 showed that packaging is selective for underphosphorylated forms, as has been reported for several other tegument proteins. Although the mechanism by which UL11 is packaged is unknown, previous studies have identified several sequence motifs in the protein that are important for membrane binding, intracellular trafficking, and interaction with UL16, another tegument protein. To ascertain whether any of these motifs are needed for packaging, a transfection/infection-based assay was used in which mutant forms of the protein must compete with the wild type. In this assay, the entire C-terminal half of UL11 was found to be dispensable. In the N-terminal half, the sites of myristylation and palmitylation, which enable membrane-binding and Golgi apparatus-specific targeting, were found to be essential for efficient packaging. The acidic cluster motif, which is not needed for Golgi apparatus-specific targeting but is involved in recycling the protein from the plasma membrane and for the interaction with UL16, was found to be essential, too. Thus, something other than mere localization of UL11 to Golgi apparatus-derived membranes is needed for packaging. The critical factor is unlikely to be the interaction with UL16 because other mutants that fail to bind this protein (due to removal of the dileucine-like motif or substitutions with foreign acidic clusters) were efficiently packaged. Collectively, these results suggest that UL11 packaging is not driven by a passive mechanism but instead requires trafficking through a specific pathway.
A layout structure for matching many integrated resistors

A proposed mirrored shuffle layout pattern cancels systematic resistor gradient variations up to second order and allows monolithic integration of hundreds of matched resistors for precision analog circuits. A test circuit uses 15 000 subresistors and three levels of interconnect to form 150 main resistors in a 2.85/spl times/0.83 mm/sup 2/ area. It demonstrates better than 11-b matching. The dominant remaining error is related to a layout artifact external to the core resistor array, and after separation the resistor array itself achieves over 13-b matching. Wafer maps show significant first- and second-order resistor value gradients that are cancelled to within the measurement error.
Environmental Variation, Stochastic Extinction, and Competitive Coexistence

Understanding how environmental fluctuations affect population persistence is essential for predicting the ecological im- pacts of expected future increases in climate variability. However, two bodies of theory make opposite predictions about the effect of environmental variation on persistence. Single-species theory, com- mon in conservation biology and population viability analyses, sug- gests that environmental variation increases the risk of stochastic extinction. By contrast, coexistence theory has shown that environ- mental variation can buffer inferior competitors against competitive exclusion through a storage effect. We reconcile these two perspec- tives by showing that in the presence of demographic stochasticity, environmental variation can increase the chance of extinction while simultaneously stabilizing coexistence. Our stochastic simulations of a two-species storage effect model reveal a unimodal relationship between environmental variation and coexistence time, implying maximum coexistence at intermediate levels of environmental var- iation. The unimodal pattern reflects the fact that the stabilizing influence of the storage effect accumulates rapidly at low levels of environmental variation, whereas the risk of extinction due to the combined effects of environmental variation and demographic sto- chasticity increases most rapidly at higher levels of variation. Future increases in environmental variation could either increase or decrease an inferior competitor's expected persistence time, depending on the distance between the present level of environmental variation and the optimal level anticipated by this theory.
Lack of p75 receptor does not protect photoreceptors from light-induced cell death.

Rod photoreceptors are susceptible to light-induced cell death. Previous results have suggested that the neurotrophin receptor p75 in Muller cells controls photoreceptor cell death during light-exposure by suppressing trophic factor release; and consequently, if p75 is blocked or eliminated during light-exposure, apoptosis is delayed. We explored this question by examining photoreceptor cell survival in albino p75−/− mice as well as their heterozygous and homozygous littermates. Photoreceptor cell death was examined in semi-thin sections by counting the remaining rows of photoreceptors. No difference in the amount of cell death was found between p75+/+ and p75−/− animals, whereas the single copy of p75 in the heterozygous p75+/− mice provided significant neuroprotection. Cell death in the wild-type animals may indeed be mediated by p75, whereas other known apoptosis pathways may be activated in the p75−/− mice. The pro-apoptotic activity of the p75 receptor may have been partially suppressed in the heterozygous p75+/− mice by the silencing effect of the Trk receptor. Thus, our results suggest that p75 signaling does not mediate the main apoptosis pathway activated during light-damage.
The Teleost Dermomyotome

Recent work in teleosts has renewed interest in the dermomyotome, which was initially characterized in the late 19th century. We review the evidence for the teleost dermomyotome, comparing it to the more well-characterized amniote dermomyotome. We discuss primary myotome morphogenesis, the relationship between the primary myotome and the dermomyotome, the differentiation of axial muscle, appendicular muscle, and dermis from the dermomyotome, and the signaling molecules that regulate myotome growth from myogenic precursors within the dermomyotome. The recognition of a dermomyotome in teleosts provides a new perspective on teleost muscle growth, as well as a fruitful approach to understanding the vertebrate dermomyotome. Developmental Dynamics 236:2432–2443, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Extending digital repository architectures to support disk image preservation and access

Disk images (bitstreams extracted from physical media) can play an essential role in the acquisition and management of digital collections by serving as containers that support data integrity and chain of custody, while ensuring continued access to the underlying bits without depending on physical carriers. Widely used today by practitioners of digital forensics, disk images can serve as baselines for comparison for digital preservation activities, as they provide fail-safe mechanisms when curatorial actions make unexpected changes to data; enable access to potentially valuable data that resides below the file system level; and provide options for future analysis. We discuss established digital forensics techniques for acquiring, preserving and annotating disk images, provide examples from both research and educational collections, and describe specific forensic tools and techniques, including an object-oriented data packaging framework called the Advanced Forensic Format (AFF) and the Digital Forensics XML (DFXML) metadata representation.
Semen characteristics and sperm DNA fragmentation in infertile men with low and high levels of seminal reactive oxygen species

Objective To examine sperm motility, total antioxidant level (TAC), DNA fragmentation, and medical history in infertile men with high seminal high reactive oxygen species (ROS). Design Prospective study. Setting(s) Tertiary care hospital. Patient(s) Infertile men (n = 101). Intervention(s) Group I (n = 57) included men with seminal ROS ( 6 sperm) while group II (n = 44) included men with seminal ROS levels (≥250 relative light units/sec/×10 6 sperm). Main Outcome Measure(s) Seminal ROS, TAC, sperm DNA fragmentation, ROS/TAC score were measured. Result(s) Group II had a high incidence of sperm DNA fragmentation than group I. The odds ratio of 1.25 for elevated ROS levels corresponded to >10% greater DNA fragmentation in our patients (95% confidence interval 1.01–1.53). Group II showed poor motility, a higher incidence of leukocytospermia, and higher ROS-TAC scores compared with group I. ROS was negatively correlated with sperm curvilinear velocity ( r = −.24), linearity ( r = −.24), and sperm motility ( r = −.31). Sperm motility was correlated with %TUNEL +ve sperm ( r = −.39). Conclusion(s) An increase in seminal ROS levels by 25% was associated with a 10% increase in sperm DNA fragmentation. Sperm motility was affected by seminal ROS and sperm DNA fragmentation.
Ultraviolet photoabsorption spectra of silver and gold nanoclusters

Abstract It has been previously proposed that the behaviour of visible optical absorption spectra of silver and gold nanoclusters can be explained by a two-region model in which dielectric screening by the core d electrons is ineffective near the cluster surface. In this paper we investigate the implications of this model for the ultraviolet (UV) region of the cluster photoabsorption spectrum. We find that there should exist additional distinct resonances at high (20–30eV) as well as near-UV (e.g., 4–6eV for Ag n ) frequencies. The position of the near-UV peaks is shown to be a sensitive function of the cluster size and charge. This behaviour reflects an interplay between d-electron screening and valence-electron spill-out. The calculations show that measurements of the evolution of UV spectra of size-selected noble-metal clusters can provide stringent tests of the theory of surface structure and plasmon resonances of nanoparticles.
The role of two LEAFY paralogs from Idahoa scapigera (Brassicaceae) in the evolution of a derived plant architecture

†‡ Summary Idahoa scapigera produces solitary flowers in the axils of rosette leaves without elongation of the shoot axis, a rosette-flowering architecture. Previous work with one of the two I. scapigera LFY paralogs, IscLFY1, showed that this gene caused aerial flowering rosettes in Arabidopsis thaliana. In this paper, we report that after three generations IscLFY1 transgenic lines are phenotypically indistinguishable from wild-type Arabidopsis, indicating that IscLFY1 protein is able to replace normal LFY function. Additionally, we found that ectopic LFY expression late in development can phenocopy aspects of the aerial rosette phenotype, suggesting that shoot compression caused by IscLFY1 could be caused by localized overexpression of a functional IscLFY protein. We also characterized the expression and function of the second I. scapigera LFY paralog, IscLFY2 ,i n A. thaliana. In contrast to IscLFY1, this paralog was expressed in floral meristems and the shoot apical meristem (SAM). In I. scapigera, LFY-specific antibodies detected high protein levels in developing flowers but not in the apex, suggesting trans-regulatory differences between I. scapigera and A. thaliana. Most IscLFY2 transgenic A. thaliana plants were indistinguishable from wild type, but in a minority of lines the SAM was converted to a terminal flower as would be expected from the reporter-expression pattern. Taken together these results show that both I. scapigera paralogs have conserved LFY function, both proteins can rescue lfy and both can modify inflorescence architecture in an A. thaliana background: either by affecting internode elongation (IscLFY1) or by causing homeotic conversion of shoots into flowers (IscLFY2).
New Horizons for Ninhydrin: Colorimetric Determination of Gender from Fingerprints

In the past century, forensic investigators have universally accepted fingerprinting as a reliable identification method via pictorial comparison. One of the most traditional detection methods uses ninhydrin, a chemical that reacts with amino acids in the fingerprint content to produce the blue-purple color known as Ruhemann’s purple. It has recently been demonstrated that the amino acid content in fingerprints can be used to differentiate between male and female fingerprints. Here, we present a modified approach to the traditional ninhydrin method. This new approach for using ninhydrin is combined with an optimized extraction protocol and the concept of determining gender from fingerprints. In doing so, we are able to focus on the biochemical material rather than exclusively the physical image.
Formation of Cs-Ir3(CO)3(η5-C9H7)3. Interconversion of Cs and C3v Isomers

The cluster Ir 3 (CO) 3 (η 5 -C 9 H 7 ) 3 (1) reacts with HBF 4 .Et 2 O to form [Ir 3 (μ-H)(CO) 3 (η 5 -C 9 H 7 ) 3 ]-[BF 4 ] (2). Deprotonation of 2 with NEt 3 generates C s -Ir 3 (CO) 3 (η 5 -C 9 H 7 ) 3 (1c), which rapidly reverts to an equilibrium mixture containing C 3 v -Ir 3 (μ-CO) 3 (η 5 -C 9 H 7 ) 3 (la) as the major isomer. Activation parameters for the reversion are ΔH = 17.0(3) kcal mol - 1 and ΔS = -13(1) cal mol - 1 K - 1 , and K e q = [1a]/[1c] = 16.7(7) at 25 °C. Variable-temperature NMR experiments indicate that 1c undergoes a dynamic process, with T c = -30 °C and ΔG c = 12.4(3) kcal mol - 1 , which equilibrates the three indenyl ligands but does not equilibrate the two sets of CO ligands on opposite sides of the Ir 3 plane.
Sintering Time and Temperature for Ba2YCu3O7−x Superconductors

Sintering at temperatures in excess of the melting point for followed by soaking at 980 C for extended periods results in domain-type microstructure and grain orientation in samples that demonstrate zero resistivity and significant Meissner effect.
Mixture of Auto-Associative Neural Networks for Speaker Verification.

The paper introduces a mixture of auto-associative neural networks for speaker verification. A new objective function based on posterior probabilities of phoneme classes is used for training the mixture. This objective function allows each component of the mixture to model part of the acoustic space corresponding to a broad phonetic class. This paper also proposes how factor analysis can be applied in this setting. The proposed techniques show promising results on a subset of NIST08 speaker recognition evaluation (SRE) and yield about 10% relative improvement when combined with the state-of-the-art Gaussian Mixture Model i-vector system.
Hyponatremia, Hypokalemia, Hypochloremia, and Other Abnormalities

A 22-year-old man with superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome, an unusual cause of proximal intestinal obstruction, and recent unintentional weight loss of 35 pounds (body mass index 15.8) presented to the emergency department with weakness and constipation. Results from a comprehensive metabolic panel are shown in Table 1. Liver enzymes, …