cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Brief on Husserl and Bayesian Perceptual Updating

I aim to provide some evidence that Husserl’s description of perceptual updating actually fits very nicely into the Bayesian Brain paradigm, articulated by Karl Friston and others, and that that paradigm, in turn, can be taken as an excellent example of “Neurophenomenology”. The apparently un-phenomenological Helmholtzian component of the Bayesian Brain paradigm, according to which what one consciously seems to see is a product of unconscious causal reasoning to the best explanation of one’s sensory stimulations, can be finessed, I claim, in a way that makes it compatible with a phenomenological orientation. I begin by roughly characterizing the Bayesian Brain paradigm as it relates to perceptual cognition. I then show how Husserl’s descriptions of the conscious perceptual process relate to the paradigm. I conclude with some considerations about how to understand the relation between conscious and unconscious brain process in the present case and in relation to Neurophenomenology generally.
mpibind: a memory-centric affinity algorithm for hybrid applications

Because of technology and capital cost limitations, supercomputer systems are becoming increasingly complex. These systems provide the expected compute capability at the cost of deeper memory hierarchies, heterogeneous compute elements, and heterogeneous memories. Users of these systems need to determine the mapping of MPI tasks, OpenMP/POSIX threads, and OpenMP/CUDA kernels to the underlying hardware resources. Not only this can be challenging but when executing the same application on a different system, the mapping will likely change to attain reasonable performance. This work presents a memory-centric algorithm to map a parallel hybrid application to the underlying hardware resources transparently, efficiently, and portably from an application's point of view. There are two fundamental aspects of this algorithm. First, unlike existing mappings, its primary design point is the memory system. Compute elements are selected based on the identified memory components and not viceversa. Second, it embodies a global awareness of hybrid programming abstractions as well as heterogeneous devices.
Validating a shortened form of the ARC for special populations

ABSTRACTAutonomy describes cognition or behavior that is self-directed, according to personal interests, and free from external influence. This construct is of importance to students who are deaf because it has been shown to be positively related to their post-school transition outcomes, and this population faces unique challenges in this area. To conduct research with this construct, it is necessary to use measures that are valid and reliable for the population of interest. Therefore, a set of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses validated the unidimensionality of a shortened form of the ARC Self-Determination Scale’s autonomy dimension. A three-factor solution, including a social skills dimension, was measurement-invariant across many groups of students, including those with learning disabilities, emotional disturbances, speech and language impairments, and other health impairments. Although the shortened form of this scale was not unidimensional, as hypothesized, the generalizability of its mea...
Orthography in social media: Pragmatic and prosodic interpretations of caps lock

Orthography in social media is largely understudied, but rich in pragmatic potential. This study examines the use of "caps lock" on Twitter, which has been claimed to function as an emotive strengthener. In a survey asking participants to rate tweets on gradient scales of emotion, I show that this claim does not account for all the data. I instead propose that caps lock should be understood as an indicator of prosody in text. I support this theory by drawing on Twitter corpus data to show how users employ single-word capitalization in positions indicative of emphatic stress and semantic focus. A prosodic interpretation of capitalization accounts for all the data in a unified way.
A cultural approach to patriotism

This study explores an under-researched phenomenon of how African Americans communicate about patriotism via ordinary political conversation. We conducted two studies that offer a critical-qualitat...
Clinical Policy Recommendations from the VHA State-of-the-Art Conference on Non-Pharmacological Approaches to Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

As a large national healthcare system, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is ideally suited to build on its work to date and develop a safe, evidence-based, and comprehensive approach to the care of chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions that de-emphasizes opioid use and emphasizes non-pharmacological strategies. The VHA Office of Health Services Research and Development (HSRD supporting and funding further research to determine optimal dosage, duration, sequencing, combination, and frequency of treatment; emphasizing multimodal care with rigorous evaluation grounded in team-based approaches to test integrated models of delivery and stepped-care approaches; and working to address socioeconomic and cultural barriers to veterans’ access to non-pharmacological approaches.
Sequence Pattern Discovery with Applications to Understanding Gene Regulation and Vaccine Design

Abstract Pattern discovery in sequences is an important unsolved problem in biology, with many applications, including detecting regulation of genes by transcription factors, and differentiating proteins of infecting organisms such as viruses from an animal’s own genome. In this article we describe some of the recent statistical approaches developed to address these problems, and some possible future directions for progress in this field.
The Chemical and Immune Mediators of the Inflammatory Response

In the allergic reaction the critical cells are the basophils, the circulating granulocytes that contains histamine, and the tissue mast cells as shown in Fig. 1. The antibody that we deal with is Immunoglobulin E(IgE) which is the least plentiful of the immunoglobulins in plasma (the normal level being between 25 and 600 ng per milliliter).
Distribution Problems in Stochastic and Chance-Constrained Programming

The problems of statistical distribution of the maximand are here analyzed under stochastic and chance-constrained linear programming. Uses of non-central Chi-square, truncated normal, non-central F and other non-negative distributions of statistical reliability theory are indicated. This analysis would be useful for economic models involving input-output coefficients which are usually required to be non-negative.
A Nonconservative Kronecker Based Theory for Robust Root Clustering of Linear State Space Models with Real Norm Bounded Uncertainty

In this paper, the problem of matrix root clustering in sub-regions of complex plane for linear state space models with real norm bounded parameter uncertainty is considered. The nominal matrix root clustering theory of [1] using Kronecker Matrix Theory is extended to the perturbed matrix case and bounds are derived on the perturbation norm to maintain root clustering inside a given region. The theory allows us to get an explicit relationship between the parameters of the root clustering region and the uncertainty radius of the parameter space. The current literature available for robust stability becomes a special case of this unified theory. The proposed analysis is nonconservative because it is tailored to real parameter uncertainty.
Effect of residual sulfur content on the degradation behavior of cellulose acetate

Four unplasticized, commercially available cellulose acetate (CA) powders were artificially aged for up to 30 weeks in a humid oven at 70°C and 50% relative humidity (RH) to see if higher levels of...
Intra-Articular Catheter Placement: A Novel Approach for Simulating Ankle Effusions in Cadaver Models.

Author(s): Ross, Graeme A.; Ashenburg, Nicholas G.; Wynn, W. David; McCarthy, Jordan J.; Clendening, Alexander M.; Presley, Bradley C.; Kubalak, Steven W.; Barnes, Ryan M.
Narrative Medicine and the Treatment-Resistant Patient

Narrative medicine is applied to the understanding and technique of psychodynamic psychotherapy with nonadherent, treatment-resistant psychiatric patients. Narrative medicine’s efficacy in aiding differential diagnosis of the illness etiologies of ego dysfunctions and self-synthesis problems in these patients is discussed. The narrative medicine technique of elaborating self-narratives to resolve characteristic transference and countertransference stalemates is shown. Narrative medicine may provide crucial enhancement of adherence for the nonadherent patient. A case illustration is given.
Language-capable robots may inadvertently weaken human moral norms

Previous research in moral psychology and human-robot interaction has shown that technology shapes human morality, and research in human-robot interaction has shown that humans naturally perceive robots as moral agents. Accordingly, we propose that language-capable autonomous robots are uniquely positioned among technologies to significantly impact human morality. We therefore argue that it is imperative that language-capable robots behave according to human moral norms and communicate in such a way that their intention to adhere to those norms is clear. Unfortunately, the design of current natural language oriented robot architectures enables certain architectural components to circumvent or preempt those architectures' moral reasoning capabilities. In this paper, we show how this may occur, using clarification request generation in current dialog systems as a motivating example. Furthermore, we present experimental evidence that the types of behavior exhibited by current approaches to clarification request generation can cause robots to (1) miscommunicate their moral intentions and (2) weaken humans' perceptions of moral norms within the current context. This work strengthens previous preliminary findings, and does so within an experimental paradigm that provides increased external and ecological validity over earlier approaches.
FDA-ARGOS is a database with public quality-controlled reference genomes for diagnostic use and regulatory science

FDA proactively invests in tools to support innovation of emerging technologies, such as infectious disease next generation sequencing (ID-NGS). Here, we introduce FDA-ARGOS quality-controlled reference genomes as a public database for diagnostic purposes and demonstrate its utility on the example of two use cases. We provide quality control metrics for the FDA-ARGOS genomic database resource and outline the need for genome quality gap filling in the public domain. In the first use case, we show more accurate microbial identification of Enterococcus avium from metagenomic samples with FDA-ARGOS reference genomes compared to non-curated GenBank genomes. In the second use case, we demonstrate the utility of FDA-ARGOS reference genomes for Ebola virus target sequence comparison as part of a composite validation strategy for ID-NGS diagnostic tests. The use of FDA-ARGOS as an in silico target sequence comparator tool combined with representative clinical testing could reduce the burden for completing ID-NGS clinical trials. To be able to use infectious disease next generation sequencing as a diagnostic tool, appropriate reference datasets are required. Here, Sichtig et al. describe FDA-ARGOS, a reference database for high-quality microbial reference genomes, and demonstrate its utility on the example of two use cases.
Larger female brains do not reduce male sexual coercion

Sexual conflict generates a reproductive arms race that often involves behavioural adaptations of females to avoid male sexual coercion. Given the cognitive demands underlying behavioural adaptations, it is surprising that there has been little exploration of whether sexual conflict plays an important role in the evolution of female brain size. Here we used a livebearing fish, Gambusia holbrooki, from a natural population to examine the influence of female and male traits, including female brain size, on mating behaviours. Female body size was the best predictor of avoidance of attempted copulations, and the primary result suggesting an effect of female brain size indicated that females with smaller, not larger, brains displayed greater avoidance. Male coloration (silver or melanic) and female approaches to males were the primary determinants of interactions between the sexes. Melanic males directed more attention to females than did silver males. The positive association between female and male attention highlights the intriguing possibility that females may exert more control on male mating behaviour than previously acknowledged in this species. Overall, our results indicate that female brain size may have little impact on reducing male sexual coercion. Additional studies across taxonomic groups are needed to understand the generality of this pattern.
Shedding light on venous thromboembolism

A preclinical deep vein thrombosis model was developed in mice using blood flow restriction and illumination.
Exercise effects on the size and metabolic properties of soleus fibers in hindlimb-suspended rats.

The soleus atrophies rapidly when a rat is subjected to hindlimb suspension (HS), probably as a result of a decrease in the force encountered by the muscle. To test this premise, adult female rats were HS and half the rats were exercised (HS-EX) on a treadmill for 1.5 h.d-1 at 20 m.min-1 and a 30% grade. After 4 weeks, the midbelly of the soleus was prepared for histochemical analysis. Fibers were typed as dark or light staining for myosin ATPase, alkaline preincubation. Fiber size and quantitative histochemical enzyme activities of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) were determined using a computer enhanced image processing system. In comparison to age-matched controls, the soleus wet weight was 69 and 30% smaller in HS and HS-EX rats. The mean cross sectional area of the dark ATPase fibers was reduced by 46 and 18% and light ATPase fibers by 69 and 48% in the HS and HS-EX, respectively. The percent dark ATPase fibers increased from 10% in the control rats to 19 and 17% in the HS and HS-EX. In both suspended groups, SDH activities in light ATPase fibers were 40% higher than control. The SDH activity of the dark ATPase fibers of HS-EX was 20% higher than control, while the dark ATPase fibers of HS were similar to control. To determine the degree to which these increases in SDH could be related to reductions in fiber size rather than increases in the actual amount of protein, integrated activity (activity/min x area) was calculated per fiber.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Neuroimaging Outcomes of Cognitively Oriented Treatments in Older Adults Across the Alzheimer’s Disease Spectrum

Non-pharmacologic interventions, such as cognitively oriented treatments (COTs), are increasingly considered as frontline interventions to maximize cognition in those suffering from neurologic injuries and diseases. Evidence of neurophysiological change, such as functional or structural brain changes, following COTs further enhances support for these methods. The current chapter reviews the literature to compile evidence supporting or refuting such COT- induced neurophysiological change in older adults across the dementia spectrum. Particular attention is paid to the cognitive mechanisms of action underlying the interventions, since this appears to dictate the nature of the physiologic response. Taken as a whole, there is growing evidence that COTs can both increase and decrease brain activity, but considerably more work is needed to fully elucidate these effects and identify patient-specific factors associated with success.
Epithelial Malignant Tumors of the Cervix: Squamous Carcinoma

Squamous carcinoma, the most common malignancy of the uterine cervix, is almost always associated with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. It assumes a variety of morphologies, including keratinizing, non-keratinizing, basaloid, warty, and lymphoepithelioma-like variants. Grade and histotype have no bearing on prognosis, and staging remains the single most important factor in determining patient outcome. Diagnosis may be challenging because of difficulties assessing invasion and the variety of benign and malignant mimickers.
Cardiopulmonary Arrest and Resuscitation in the Prone Patient: An Adult Simulation Case for Internal Medicine Residents.

Introduction Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is present in approximately 10% of ICU admissions and is associated with great morbidity and mortality. Prone ventilation has been shown to i...
Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery for Leiomyoma in the Adolescent Patient: A Case Report.

ABSTRACT Background Single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) is an exciting new modality in the field of minimal access surgery. This case illustrates the feasibility of single-incision laparoscopic surgery for uterine pathology in the pediatric and adolescent population. Case A 19-year-old girl presented with pelvic pain. Transabdominal pelvic ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging revealed multiple fibroids with rapid enlargement over a year. In collaboration with the Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery team, single incision laparoscopic myomectomy was performed with satisfactory results. Summary and Conclusion Complex uterine pathology can be managed with minimally invasive surgery with excellent clinical outcomes. SILS is a rapidly developing field that may represent the future of laparoscopic surgery and can be used to treat reproductive pathology in the pediatric and adolescent population.
Phenotypic Analysis of Microalgae Populations Using Label-Free Imaging Flow Cytometry and Deep Learning

Environmental factors such as temperature, nutrients, and pollutants affect the growth rates and physical characteristics of microalgae populations. As algae play a vital role in marine ecosystems,...
Understanding attitudes and norms of dog walkers to reduce disturbances to shorebirds

Dog walking can disturb shorebirds. To inform disturbance reduction campaigns, we conducted a survey of dog walkers in Maine, New York, and South Carolina to understand beach recreationists’ attitu...
SNAP: Supportive noninvasive ventilation for acute chest syndrome prevention in children with sickle cell disease

Background Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children with sickle cell disease (SCD). Preventing hypoxemia by optimizing lung aeration during sleep remains a challenge. Objectives To explore safety, feasibility, and tolerability of noninvasive, bi-level positive airway pressure ventilation (BiPAP) as preventative, supportive care for hospitalized, medically stable children with SCD on a general pediatric inpatient unit. Methods Retrospective chart review of patients ≤22 years of age with SCD admitted to the general pediatric inpatient unit from February 1, 2017 to March 1, 2020 for whom BiPAP was recommended as supportive care. Hospitalizations were excluded if patients were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), required BiPAP for respiratory failure, or used BiPAP at home for obstructive sleep apnea. Results Twenty-three patients had 53 hospitalizations in which BiPAP was recommended. Fifty-two (98%) hospitalizations included acute SCD pain. Indications for BiPAP included prior ACS (94%), chest or back pain (79%), and/or oxygen desaturation (66%). On 17 occasions, patients already had mild to moderate ACS but were stable when BiPAP was recommended. BiPAP was used successfully during 75% of hospitalizations for a median of two nights. There were no adverse effects associated with BiPAP. PICU transfer for respiratory support occurred during three hospitalizations. In 26 hospitalizations of children at risk for ACS who tolerated BiPAP, 23 (88%) did not develop ACS. Conclusions BiPAP is safe, feasible, and well tolerated as supportive care for hospitalized children with SCD. Next steps include an intervention trial to further assess the efficacy of BiPAP on ACS prevention.
Overview of Ferroelectric Memory Devices and Reliability Aware Design Optimization

Since the discovery of CMOS-compatible and highly scalable ferroelectric HfO2, there has been a significant revival of interest in developing ferroelectric devices for high performance and energy-efficient embedded nonvolatile memories. Multiple ferroelectric memory devices are under investigation by harnessing the nonvolatile polarization states. These devices include the ferroelectric FET (FeFET), ferroelectric capacitor based random access memory (FeRAM), and ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ). Though the underlying memory storage mechanisms are the same in these devices, their memory sensing mechanisms are different. This difference leads to fundamentally different, and even opposite ferroelectric optimization directions. Given their different characteristics and individual advantages, it is likely that all these devices will co-exist to meet varying needs. Therefore, it is important to establish and compare the design guidelines for the three different ferroelectric memory devices. The design optimization will also be constrained by the reliability limit, which is critical to guarantee the success of the ferroelectric memory devices.
“A New Moonshot:” Exploring the Metaphoric Shift in American Cancer Discourse

In this essay, I contend that American cancer discourse is in the midst of a metaphoric shift away from war and its metaphors towards metaphors of space and space exploration. To better understand ...
Abstract 2377: microRNA expression profile in urinary exosomes is dependent on non-invasive lymphoma induction in mice

Lymphoma accounts for approximately 4% of cancers in the United States, with an estimated 20,910 number of deaths per year. The standard method of diagnosis and staging of lymphoma involves surgical biopsy of the tumor - a procedure that has many negative associated risks. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles secreted in biological fluids that can serve as “liquid biomarkers”. Identification of unique cancer-related biomarkers in urinary exosomes may provide a novel non-invasive and cost-effective tool for lymphoma diagnosis. Analyses of biomarkers obtained from urinary exosomes have been used to evaluate urological cancers, however, these methods have not yet been translated to non-urological pathologies, such as lymphomas. The objective for this study was to determine the profile of microRNAs (miRNAs) expressed in urinary exosomes of mice challenged with lymphoma and compare it to miRNAs identified in urinary exosomes of control mice. Male and female C57BL/6 mice, (tumor (+), n=12), were injected with either 2.5x105 mouse EL-4 lymphoma cells or phosphate-buffered saline (tumor (-), n=12). Tumor growth was monitored for 20 days. Urine was collected for 48 hours starting on day 17 and serum, tumor tissues, and organs were collected on day 20. Extraction of urinary exosomes was followed by total RNA isolation and RT-qPCR for which a set of PCR arrays consisting of 709 mouse-specific miRNA primers was used. Fold changes in miRNA expression were quantified using the ΔΔCt method. Mice developed tumors by day 13 with initial tumor appearance around day seven. There were no statistically significant differences between final tumor mass, body weight, or food and water intake in tumor (+) versus tumor (-) mice. RT-qPCR arrays of miRNAs extracted from urinary exosomes revealed 464 miRNAs that were differentially expressed between tumor (+) and tumor (-). 215 miRNAs were up-regulated, while 249 miRNAs were down-regulated in tumor (+) mice. These results will be compared to miRNAs from serum and tumor tissues to identify tumor-specific miRNAs that can be used for potential application in the clinical setting. Citation Format: Brittany Wilson, Rebekah Betar, Alexander Martin, Zackaria Niazi, Michael Boyer, Lori Winter, Victor Babich, Francesca Di Sole, Elitsa Ananieva. microRNA expression profile in urinary exosomes is dependent on non-invasive lymphoma induction in mice [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2377.
Copying in Patent Law

Patent law is virtually alone in intellectual property (IP) in punishing independent development. To infringe a copyright or trade secret, defendants must copy the protected IP from the plaintiff, directly or indirectly. But patent infringement requires only that the defendant's product falls within the scope of the patent claims. Not only doesn't the defendant need to intend to infringe, but the defendant may be entirely unaware of the patent or the patentee and still face liability.Nonetheless, copying does play a role in some subsidiary patent doctrines. For example, the question of whether patent damages should be set in order to deter infringement depends critically on whether infringers are in fact aware they are infringing, or at least that they are using the plaintiff's technology. Copying - or at least intent to infringe - is also an element of claims for indirect infringement. The definition of "willful infringement" also turns on the question of culpability, at least in the popular understanding of that term. More significantly, the rhetoric of patent law (and of IP law more generally) often seems to presuppose that defendants in patent cases are in fact engaged in copying. Similarly, the outcome of public policy debates over patent reform may well turn on the perception of patent infringers as either bad actors or as innocent businesspeople who accidentally ran afoul of a patent. Unfortunately, no one seems to know whether patent infringement defendants are in fact unscrupulous copyists or independent developers. In this paper, we seek to answer that question. Because copying is not an element of any patent cause of action, courts do not normally make explicit findings as to whether defendants have copied. Instead, we turn to a variety of proxies to try to identify the subset of cases in which copying is alleged or proven. We look both at the allegations made in a random sample of complaints and at the treatment of copying in recent reported decisions. We find that a surprisingly small percentage of patent cases involve even allegations of copying, much less proof of copying. Copying in patent law seems to be the exception, not the rule.
Medical Interpreting and Cross-cultural Communication

List of figures List of tables Acknowledgements List of abbreviations Prologue 1. Questioning invisibility 2. Communication in the medical encounter 3. A different set of lenses 4. California Hope: a public hospital in changing times 5. Putting it all together 6. Finding visibility 7. Interpreters' voices 8. Emerging metaphors and final words References Index.
Cell Cycle Regulation of Flagellar Genes

The expression of the flagellar master operon, flhDC, peaked in the middle of three consecutive cell cycles. The level of expression was lowest at the time of cell division. The expression of the second-level operon, flhB, peaked at cell division. The swimming speed of individual cells was also highest at the time of cell division.
The Impact of Preference Erosion on Middle-Income Developing Countries

Preference erosion has become an obstacle to multilateral trade liberalization, as beneficiaries of trade preferences have an incentive to resist reductions in most-favored-nation (MFN) tariffs. This study identifies middle-income developing countries that are vulnerable to export revenue loss from preference erosion. It concludes that the problem is heavily concentrated in a sub-set of preference beneficiariesprimarily small island economies dependent on sugar, banana, andto a lesser extenttextile exports. Accordingly, measures to help mitigate the impact of preference erosion can be closely targeted at the countries at risk.
Health Belief Model

The health belief model became one of the most widely recognized conceptual frameworks of health behavior, focusing on behavioral change at the individual level. The model suggests that decision-makers make a mental calculus about whether the benefits of a promoted behavior change outweigh its practical and psychological costs or obstacles. That is, individuals conduct an internal assessment of the net benefits of changing their behavior, and decide whether or not to act. The model identifies four aspects of this assessment: perceived susceptibility to ill-health (risk perception), perceived severity of ill-health, perceived benefits of behavior change, and perceived barriers to taking action. The concept of self-efficacy, or the perceived ability to actually take a recommended action, was later recognized as an important component or factor. Keywords: health; health communication; health management
Studies on the mode of action of 3-deazapyrimidines. 1. Metabolism of 3-deazauridine and 3-deazacytidine in microbial and tumor cells.

Abstract The pyrimidine analogs 3-deazauridine and 3-deazacytidine are effective inhibitors of the growth of various microbial and tumor cell lines in culture, and of some experimental tumors in vivo . As part of a study on their modes of action, the metabolic conversion of the analogs by intact Escherichia coli , leukemia L-1210 and Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells, or by cell-free extracts derived from these or from Streptococcus faecium cells, was examined. Neither analog underwent cleavage of its glycosidic bond in the bacterial or tumor cell extracts, which catalyzed the cleavage of uridine but not of cytidine. Deazacytidine was not deaminated by extracts of E.coli , which effected the rapid deamination of cytidine. Both analogs were phosphorylated to the nucleoside triphosphate stage, as determined with Ehrlich ascites extracts, and Ehrlich ascites, L-1210 and E. coli cells. The possible formation of 2′-deoxyribonucleoside phosphate derivatives was examined with 3-deazacytidine, and a 2′-deoxyribonucleotide derivative of this analog was found in the acid-soluble fraction of E. coli cells. Neither 3-deazauridine nor 3-deazacytidine was incorporated into the RNA or DNA of Ehrlich ascites cells in vivo .
A Memory Fuzzy Learning for Uncertainty Management in Disassembly

Disassembly is of increasing importance in material and product recovery. However, this process is fraught with many uncertainties (e.g., variations in product structure and condition). In our previous work [11], such dynamics in disassembly process planning were addressed through an adaptive fuzzy system and associated algorithms. Building upon the work, this paper presents an enhanced fuzzy learning algorithm with variable memory length to ensure the robustness of the adaptation procedure. The proposed methodology and algorithm are illustrated via the disassembly of a batch of flashlights in a prototypical disassembly system.
Advances in synthesized superlattices

Semiconductor superlattices — one dimensional periodic structures, consisting of alternating thin layers, provide unique characteristics where electronic quantum states,possess the quasi-two-dimensional character. Summarized are the recent results of our investigations on InAs-GaSb superlattices, including theoretical treatments, optical absorption, semiconductor-semimetal transitions, Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, far-infrared magneto-absorption, and cyclotron resonance. In addition, polytype superlattices and multi-heterojunctions are discussed.
Combining systems engineering with Technology and Manufacturing Readiness Levels to advance research and development

The Nuclear Explosion and Monitoring Program (NEMP) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) performs R& D to develop gas processing and nuclear detection systems that can monitor and detect atmospheric signatures that indicate a nuclear test has occurred. Since the program is multidisciplinary and diverse, a graded systematic approach for how technology is developed and transferred is needed. This approach would standardize the technology development process across the program for consistent product delivery and facilitate technology transfer to outside entities. This process would be made available to other research and development (R&D) projects within PNNL to standardize their technology development processes. Since the NEMP has a strong record of successful laboratory system development, there was not a need to design a new R&D and technology development process, rather to refine it with systems engineering principles. An analysis was performed that compared the existing NEMP technology development process to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRLs). A gap analysis was performed that identified the areas in which more rigor could help to transition R&D to the community and where the systems engineering principles could be applied. Based on the analysis, processes surrounding requirements and testing, manufacturing preparedness, and verification and validation were strengthened.
Ferredoxin-thioredoxin reductase: properties of its complex with ferredoxin

Abstract Ferredoxin-thioredoxin reductase formed an electrostatically stabilized 1:1 complex with ferredoxin. Complex formation could be detected, following mixing of the two proteins, either by changes in optical absorbance and circular dichroism spectra or by co-chromatography during gel filtration. Chemical modification of three or four carboxyl groups on ferredoxin, which had previously been shown to inhibit the binding of ferredoxin to several ferredoxin-dependent chloroplast enzymes, had little effect on its interaction with ferredoxin-thioredoxin reductase. The results suggest that the ferredoxin domain that binds ferredoxin-thioredoxin reductase is not completely identical to that involved in binding other ferredoxin-dependent enzymes.
Electrochemical Study on the Mechanism of Lanthanide Ion Extraction with Methylene Bis(diphenylphosphine oxide) at Ascending Water Electrode

A current scan polarographic and chronopotentiometric examination of transfer processes involving tervalent lanthanides, Ln, and methylene bis (diphenylphosphine oxide), P, in a dichloroethane/aqueous phase pair has resulted in the finding that the ligand diffuses into the aqueous phase and reacts with an Ln(SO4)+ ion to give a singly charged complex Ln(SO4)Pn+, where n is 1 or 2, which then transfers under the influence of the electrical field into the organic phase.
Loess record of dry climate and aeolian activity in the early-to mid-Holocene, central Great Plains, North America

Thick Holocene Bignell Loess sections provide new evidence for the timing of early to middle Holocene aridity in the central Great Plains. The immediate source of loess in these sections was dune fields just upwind, based on thickness trends and grain size data. Thus, periods of rapid loess accumulation indicate episodes of extensive dune activity under drier-than-present climate. In typical Bignell Loess sections, a thick zone of coarse-textured loess with minimal pedogenic alteration is interpreted as a record of the most rapid, sustained Holocene loess accumulation. Optical ages indicate that loess in this zone was deposited beginning about 9000-10000 years ago at five study sites. Accumulation ended shortly after 6500 years ago at three sites, but possibly earlier at the other two. In two well-dated sections, the average rate of loess accumulation between 9000-10000 and 6500 years ago was about 1.6-3.5 times greater than in the late Holocene. Thus, we infer that the most extensive, sustained Holocene ...
Syndecans, Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans, Maintain the Proteolytic Balance of Acute Wound Fluids

Abstract An imbalance between proteases and antiproteases is thought to play a role in the inflammatory injury that regulates wound healing. The activities of some proteases and antiproteases found in inflammatory fluids can be modified in vitro by heparin, a mast cell-derived glycosaminoglycan. Because syndecans, a family of cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans, are the major cellular source of heparin-like glycosaminoglycan, we asked whether syndecans modify protease activities in vivo. Syndecan-1 and syndecan-4 ectodomains are shed into acute human dermal wound fluids (Subramanian, S. V., Fitzgerald, M. L., and Bernfield, M. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 14713–14720). Moreover, purified syndecan-1 ectodomain binds cathepsin G (K d = 56 nm) and elastase (K d = 35 nm) tightly and reduces the affinity of these proteases for their physiological inhibitors. Purified syndecan-1 ectodomain protects cathepsin G from inhibition by α1-antichymotrypsin and squamous cell carcinoma antigen 2 and elastase from inhibition by α1-proteinase inhibitor by decreasing second order rate constants for protease-antiprotease associations (k ass) by 3700-, 32-, and 60-fold, respectively. Both enzymatic degradation of heparan sulfate and immunodepletion of the syndecan-1 and -4 in wound fluid reduce these proteolytic activities in the fluid, indicating that the proteases in the wound environment are regulated by interactions with syndecan ectodomains. Thus, syndecans are shed into acute wound fluids, where they can modify the proteolytic balance of the fluid. This suggests a novel physiological role for these soluble heparan sulfate proteoglycans.
Screening for Abnormal Hemoglobins in the Middle East: New Data on Hemoglobin S and the Presence of Hemoglobin C in Saudi Arabia

48 of 391 apparently healthy adult Saudi males had an AS hemoglobin pattern on electrophoresis, four subjects had an S pattern, and two subjects AC. A dithionite screening test lacked sensitivity and specificity in detecting hemoglobin S under the conditions of this study. A sickle cell trait frequency of 0.123 evidenced by hemoglobin electrophoresis correlates closely with previous studies of hemoglobinopathies in Saudi Arabs. The presence of four subjects with sickle cell disease in the study group provides further evidence of the "benign" nature of sickle cell disease in Saudi Arabia.
Titanosilicate ETS-10 thin film preparation on fused silica optical fibers

Thin ETS-10 films have been prepared for the first time on fused silica optical fibers by dip coating followed by secondary growth. Nearly continuous films were obtained by a single dip coating of the optical fiber surface modified by partially hydrolyzed tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). These films were composed of a monolayer of ETS-10 seeds (crystal distribution mode 0.84 ± 0.02 μm). Only modified fibers yielded intact films after exposure to flowing water for 24 h. Film thickness increased to 1.8 ± 0.3 μm when the number of dip coating steps increased from one to three. Hydrothermal treatment of single dip coated films resulted in seed crystal removal from the fibers. Secondary growth of crystals deposited by triple dip coating promoted intergrowth of seed crystals and resulted in continuous films attached to the fibers. Film thickness increased from 2.0 ± 0.3 to 4.4 ± 0.3 μm upon increasing the secondary growth step duration from 2 to 24 h. Secondary growth for 6 h or longer resulted in separation of the films from the fibers; this was likely due to partial dissolution of the fibers in the growth solutions. Analysis of the microstructure of films obtained in the secondary growth step indicates the films grew via epitaxial growth of the seed crystals.
Constrained MPCI: A weak persistent excitation approach

Model-predictive control and identification (MPCI) introduced by Genceli and Nikolaou in 1996 is a novel approach to the identification of processes under constrained model-predictive control. MPCI solves an on-line optimization problem that involves (a) a standard MPC objective; (b) standard MPC constraints; and (c) persistent excitation (PE) constraints. The on-line optimization problem is computationally demanding. To alleviate that problem, we take a frequency-domain approach to formulating the PE constraints. This approach relies on the following fact: a signal is persistently exciting of order n, if its two-sided power spectrum is nonzero at no fewer than n points. Therefore, persistently exciting input signals can be parametrized over a finite horizon as a sum of sinusoid terms with nonzero coefficients. Used in the MPCI framework, the last requirement generates a set of completely decoupled reverse-convex constraints that are combinatorially tractable from a computational point of view. The effectiveness of the proposed MPCI method is demonstrated through simulations. For the SISO systems studied, computation of the global optimum could be handled combinatorially in real-time using PC hardware.
Toward Understanding Collaborative Design Center Trade Study Software Upgrade and Migration Risks

Collaborative design centers often employ software tools to conduct trade studies. Commonly, this takes the form of a software program to aggregate and pass data between multiple computer workstations. This allows multiple people to concurrently create a conceptual design. Trade study software continues to evolve to meet the demands of modern collaborative design centers. However, the risks associated with moving from one trade study software tool to another are not well understood. Additionally, little is known about the software preferences of Collaborative Design Center (CDC) staff. This paper determines software preferences of two user groups consisting of graduate and undergraduate mechanical engineering students. This paper then explores the risks in deploying new trade study software in a collaborative design center. A method for estimating and mitigating risks with changing trade study software is presented. Recommendations for a smooth transition between software packages are given. The risk model developed in this paper offers a quick way of estimating and mitigating conversion risk for collaborative design centers.© 2010 ASME
The "rib syndrome".

1. It is suggested that the numerous chest-wall syndromes involving painful costal cartilage be identified by the term "Rib syndrome," to indicate a single entity or process. 2. Selections from 50 cases of the "Rib syndrome" are presented, some of which illustrate the interrelationships of the numerous acute types of chest wall conditions as one entity. Nine cases of the acute type of rib junction pain showed eventual transition into the chronic nodular type previously known as "Tietze's syndrome," suggesting an origin for this previously baffling condition. 3. The etiology of the "rib syndrome" appears to be occupational and due to a sprain or strain of the rib junction in many cases. The patient is usually unaware of local tenderness until it is found by the examiner. Biopsies and x-ray films are usually normal and unrevealing. 4. Treatment consists of local splinting, local heat and oral salicylates. The more severe cases respond best to local injections of procaine and cortisone mixtures. 5. The "Rib syndrome" appears to be a common condition that is frequently confused with diseases of heart or lungs. The diagnosis is easily confirmed when point compression over the involved costochondral junction or other painful cartilage exactly reproduces the patient's complaints.
Spectroscopic and density functional studies of the dinitrosyl metalloporphyrin complexes Fe(P)(NO)2 and Ru(P)(NO)2.

Experimental evidence including infrared spectra for the formation of the dinitrosyl metalloporphyrin complexes M(P)(NO)2 (M = Ru or Fe, P = tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP), octaethylporphyrin (OEP), or tetra-m-tolylporphryin (TmTP)) is described. Although observation of a single NO stretching band in the IR spectrum of each M(P)(NO)2 complex first suggested a centrosymmetric (D4h or C2h) structure, DFT geometry optimizations and frequency calculations of model complexes indicate that the trans-syn (C2v) conformation should be more stable. The frequency calculations resolve the apparent ambiguity in the IR spectra in terms of the relative oscillator strengths of the predicted IR bands.
The intermediate and high-frequency noise of probes immersed in gas discharges

Abstract It is shown that the noise current flowing to probes immersed in gas discharges can at intermediate frequencies be explained in terms of the noise of the space-charge sheath surrounding the probe and of the noise of the bulk plasma. At larger probe currents the latter noise source predominates. It is suggested that the same process is responsible for the high-frequency noise observed by Galbraith and van der Ziel.
Prediction of the binding energy for small molecules, peptides and proteins.

A fast and reliable evaluation of the binding energy from a single conformation of a molecular complex is an important practical task. Knowledge-based scoring schemes may not be sufficiently general and transferable, while molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo calculations with explicit solvent are too computationally expensive for many applications. Recently, several empirical schemes using finite difference Poisson-Boltzmann electrostatics to predict energies for particular types of complexes were proposed. Here, an improved empirical binding energy function has been derived and validated on three different types of complexes: protein-small ligand, protein-peptide and protein-protein. The function uses the boundary element algorithm to evaluate the electrostatic solvation energy. We show that a single set of parameters can predict the relative binding energies of the heterogeneous validation set of complexes with 2.5 kcal/mol accuracy. We also demonstrate that global optimization of the ligand and of the flexible side-chains of the receptor improves the accuracy of the evaluation.
On the nucleic acids of green and colorless Euglena gracilis: Isolation and composition of deoxyribonucleic acid and of transfer ribonucleic acid

Abstract The isolation and composition of two species of nucleic acid, DNA and transfer RNA, from Euglena gracilis are described. Preparations from green and colorless cells of this organism did not differ in nucleotide composition. Several minor componentswere identified in hydrolysates of the transfer RNA. The DNA was found to contain more than 2 mole per cent of 5-methylcytosine and nearly equimolar amounts of the 4 major nitrogenous constituents. The sugar component of the DNA appears to be 2-deoxyribose.
Role of acetylcholine on plant root-shoot signal transduction

The role of acetylcholine (ACh) on plant rootshoot communication was investigated using the root-split system of Vicia faba L. In the experiments, slight osmotic stress caused the decrease of ACh content in root tips and the xylem sap transported up per time unit from root tip to the shoot when the water potential of the shoot was kept unchanged. It also caused the decrease of ACh content in the abaxial epidermis. The decrease was highly correlative to the changes of transpiration rate, suggesting that the decrease of ACh content probably functions as a signal to regulate stomatal behavior. The effect of osmotic stress might be mainly through the inhibition of the ACh synthesis in root tip; thus further influences the ACh content in root tip, xylem sap and abaxial epidermis and resulting in the changes of stomatal behavior. These results provide new evidence that plants transduce positive and negative signals among roots and shoots to coordinate stomatal behavior and adapt to variable environments.