cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biodiesel production from microalgae oil catalyzed by a recombinant lipase

Abstract A recombinant Rhizomucor miehei lipase was constructed and expressed in Pichia pastoris . The target enzyme was termed Lipase GH2 and it can be used as a free enzyme for catalytic conversion of microalgae oil mixed with methanol or ethanol for biodiesel production in an n-hexane solvent system. Conversion rates of two major types of biodiesel, fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE), reached maximal values (>90%) after 24 h. The process of FAME production is generally more simple and economical than that of FAEE production, even though the two processes show similar conversion rates. In spite of the damaging effect of ethanol on enzyme activity, we successfully obtained ethyl ester by the enzymatic method. Our findings indicate that Lipase GH2 is a useful catalyst for conversion of microalgae oil to FAME or FAEE, and this system provides efficiency and reduced costs in biodiesel production.
Calculations of Ca adsorption on a MgO(100) surface: Determination of the binding sites and growth mode

Density functional theory is used to calculate the adsorption of Ca adatoms on a MgO(100) surface. The Ca monomer binds preferentially to the oxygen site on the terrace with an adsorption energy of $0.84\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$ and diffuses by hopping to a nearest neighboring oxygen site with a barrier of $0.45\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$. The binding at F and ${\mathrm{F}}^{+}$ oxygen vacancy defects is weaker than on the terrace. Small Ca clusters on the surface are either unstable (dimers and trimers) or very mobile (tetramer). Therefore, a Ca adatom can diffuse around the surface until it reaches a strong-binding site such as a step $(2.1\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV})$, kink $(3.9\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV})$, divacancy $(5.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV})$, or even a Mg vacancy $(10\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV})$. When Ca binds to MgO(100), charge is transferred from Ca to the surface. The magnitude of the charge transfer is different between different binding sites, which can help explain the different adsorption energies. The oxygen bound to a step edge can provide a stronger binding for a Ca adatom $(7.0\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV})$, but its existence on MgO(100) still remains to be verified. Based on the adsorption energetics and kinetics, further growth of the Ca particles is expected to occur at strong-binding sites and spread onto the terrace in a three-dimensional growth mode. A two-state kinetic growth model is used to compare our density functional theory calculations with measured heats of adsorption by Zhu et al. [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 2314 (2008)]. This study shows that the defects on MgO(100) have different roles in the growth of alkaline earth metals, such as Ca, as compared to late transition metals, such as Pd.
Evaluation of disassemblability to enable design for disassembly in mass production

Abstract A comprehensive methodology to enhance disassemblability of products has been presented in this paper. Disassemblability of a product is a function of several parameters such as exertion of manual force for disassembly, degree of precision required for effective tool placement, weight, size, material and shape of components being disassembled, use of hand tools, etc. The study of relevant literature indicates the presence of disassembly evaluation criteria and methodologies that address the problem partially such as disassembly sequence planning or economic analysis. As far as design for disassembly is concerned, there is a plethora of literature on rules to improve recycling end-of-life components. A systematic methodology to incorporate disassembly considerations in product design and enable quantitative evaluation of the design is absent. The current methodology assigns time-based numeric indices to each design factor, which make for easy and quick determination of disassembly time. A higher score indicates anomalies in product design from the disassembly perspective. Addressing these anomalies can result in significant design modifications rendering an overall increase in disassemblability of the product. Decisions regarding design modifications are based on weighing several factors such as technical and economic feasibility, overall functionality and structural rigidity of the product as a whole. Relevance to industry A comprehensive Design for Disassembly methodology is developed which is intended to act as a tool in life cycle engineering.
Reactive intermediates and molecular beam mass spectra of the boranes [1]

Molecular beam mass spectrometric work on the lower boron hydrides is reported. Borane, BH3, and tetraborane (8), B4H8, were formed by reactions involving loss of BH3, CO, and, in the latter case, H2 from the appropriate molecules. This ensemble of reactions permitted unambiguous identification of each species. A route to B3H7 from B3H7PX3 is proposed. Investigation of the “stable” and “unstable” boranes and isotopically labelled molecules permits correlations of the mass spectra, determination of a structure ((B4H9)2), and identification of fragmentation pathways. Steady state pyrolysis in the ion source is particularly insidious. Because of it, previous appearance potential and theoretical fragmentation studies of e. g., B4H10 are virtually meaningless.
A disorder of habit.

A few years ago when I was assistant director of the Psychiatric Division of a large eastern university health service, I attempted to treat a young woman with a curious disorder of habit. I have since presented her case to a number of psychiatric audiences from whom it has inevitably prompted an enthusiastic response and lively discussion. So far, none of my colleagues or any other sources that I shall subsequently quote have been able to produce a comparable case or any definitive analysis of the findings. With appropriate regard for customary scientific style, I shall present the history in a narrative fashion for greater effect. I am certain that my title and the current interest in behavior modification have prepared the reader to understand the material I intend to present. I hope I shall be able to communicate the surprise I experienced in dealing with this young woman. The reader's surprise will be generated by a different content but a similar mechanism.
On non-uniform multicommodity buy-at-bulk network design

We study the multicommodity buy-at-bulk network design problem in which we seek to design a network that satisfies the demands between terminals from a given set of source-sink pairs. The key characteristic of this problem is the fact that the cost functions associated with the edges of the graph are sub-additive monotone and hence experience economies of scale. In the non-uniform case, each edge has its own cost function -- possibly different from other edges. Special cases of this problem have been studied extensively: there are approximation algorithms when the edge cost functions are identical or when all source-sink pairs share the same source. We present the first non-trivial approximation algorithm for the general case. Our algorithm is an extremely simple randomized greedy algorithm and has an approximation guarantee of exp(O√ln n ln ln n)) when the instance has at most n source-sink pairs with unit demands. In the case of general demands, this yields an approximation factor of exp(O √ln N ln ln N)), where N is the sum of all demands.
Peirce, Clifford, and Dirac

There is a clear line of progression from the “logic of relations” of Charles Sanders Peirce through the algebras of William Kingdon Clifford. Further, it has been shown how one can obtain the nonrelativistic quantum theory of spin one-half particles from Peirce logic. Continuing the hypothetical history, it is demonstrated here that the relativistic Dirac theory can also be related to Peirce logic. The most natural way to accomplish this is to represent the Dirac wave functions themselves as Clifford numbers rather than as spinors. The wave functions can thus appear as 4× 4 matrices. All quantities in this quantum theory can actually be expressed in terms of the Clifford basis, independent of a specific matrix representation.
FRED Navigator: An interactive system for visualizing results from large-scale epidemic simulations

Large-scale simulations are increasingly used to evaluate potential public health interventions in epidemics such as the H1N1 pandemic of 2009. Due to variations in both disease scenarios and in interventions, it is typical to run thousands of simulations as part of a given study. This paper addresses the challenge of visualizing the results from a large number of simulation runs. We describe a new tool called FRED Navigator that allows a user to interactively visualize results from the FRED agent-based modeling system.
Differential Activation of the Rat Phenylethanolamine N-Methyltransferase Gene by Sp1 and Egr-1 *

The rat phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) gene contains overlapping consensus elements for the Sp1 and Egr-1 transcription factors located at -45 bp and -165 bp in the PNMT promoter. In the present study, we show that Sp1 and Egr-1 can specifically bind to these overlapping elements, that this binding appears to be mutually exclusive, and that binding site occupancy is dependent upon the concentration of each factor and its binding affinity for each site. Egr-1 binds to the -165 bp site with relatively high affinity (IC50 = 14 nM) and to the -45 bp site with relatively low affinity (IC50 = 1360 nM), whereas Sp1 binds to both sites with intermediate affinities (IC50 = 210 and 140 nM, respectively). Consistent with the DNA-binding data, Egr-1 stimulates PNMT promoter activity primarily through interaction with the -165 bp site, while Sp1 stimulates PNMT promoter activity by interacting with both the -45 bp and the -165 bp sites. These results show that Sp1 and Egr-1 are capable of differentially activating PNMT gene expression, thereby suggesting that different stimuli may control the activity of the PNMT gene by selectively regulating Sp1 and/or Egr-1.
Ion-track reaction-rate model for hydrogen production from polymers

Abstract A theoretical model has been constructed to calculate the early time evolution of hydrogen radicals that form molecular hydrogen in a single track during the ion irradiation of polymers. The calculated G(H2)-values (number of H2 molecules formed per 100 eV of absorbed energy) were compared to those recently measured during various ion irradiations of polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), and polycarbonate (PC). In this model the LET (Linear Energy Transfer) of the energetic ion was distributed into two regions: (a) a Gaussian track-core of high energy-density which is caused primarily by atomic excitation, and (b) a long range, low energy-density distribution caused by electron scattering. Following the energy absorption, the interaction of a time dependent distribution of free hydrogen radicals, H·, originating within the initial track begins. This process is described by a set of chemical rate equations. The effect of radical diffusion out of the original track is also included. Using H· diffusion rates based upon an extrapolation of known values for H2 and He in polymers, the hydrogen ion reaction rates were estimated. The effective C-H bond (or radical pair) energy was determined to be approximately 10 eV, but varied somewhat with polymer and ion species. The model calculates the residual carbon density profile along the ion track. The implications of this profile for other properties of irradiated polymers are also discussed.
Response of the brain to oligemia: gene expression, c-Fos, and Nrf2 localization

Oligemia is blood flow reduction without acute tissue damage that occurs in shock, migraine, and stroke penumbra. We developed a mouse model of oligemia by lowering mean arterial pressure to 30-40 mm Hg, resulting in a 50% reduction in cerebral blood flow as measured by laser Doppler, and reperfusing the blood after 30 min. Control experiments included anesthesia-only and surgery without blood withdrawal. Using immunohistochemistry, we localized the transcription factors Nrf2, which regulates expression of antioxidant and detoxification protein, and c-Fos, a marker of neuronal activation. Nrf2 was found only in oligemia mice and was localized in neurons of the cingulate cortex and cerebellar Purkinje cells. By contrast, c-Fos was found widely expressed in both groups and was localized in neurons in regions associated with response to stress, immunomodulation, and fluid homeostasis, including the periaqueductal gray and periventricular nucleus. These data indicate that c-Fos expression occurs as a result of surgical stress, but Nrf-2 upregulation is specific to oligemia. The CLONTECH Atlas 1.2 Mouse Array was used to assess genes that were up or down-regulated in oligemia versus surgery controls. Of 1176 genes, 29 differed between oligemia and surgery groups. Upregulation of oxidative stress induced (OSI) protein, heat shock protein (HSP) 84 and transthyretin (TTR) precursor in the oligemia group was confirmed with RT-PCR. The expression of HSP 84, transthyretin precursor, and OSI genes adds further evidence that oligemia induces an oxidative stress response in the brain.
Characteristics associated with compliance to cholesterol lowering eating patterns

The achievement of high levels of adherence is the most important objective of nutrition intervention programs. In order to determine characteristics which were most highly related to adherence to a cholesterol lowering eating pattern, a group of 264 men were sampled. Participants had been enrolled for six years in a multi-risk reduction program for cardiovascular disease which included dietary intervention for blood cholesterol. They were asked to respond to 35 statements, each of which was designed to reflect one of seven characteristics: perception of threat of disease, cost-benefit of therapy, quality of care, social support, external environmental media, and internal as well as external health locus of control. There were seven possible responses to each statement, from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Using a reduced rank regression analysis the numerical answers to the items were treated as a set of predictors for the criterion measure, the food record rating (FRR) score which reflected compliance to a cholesterol lowering eating pattern. Overall the seven characteristics accounted for almost half of the variance in the FRR score (multiple R = 0.48). The most highly related characteristics were cost-benefit, quality of care and external environmental media. These results are highly consistent with those obtained in another population, and indicate the importance of minimizing the cost and increasing the benefits of cholesterol lowering programs by providing high quality treatment programs which emphasize tailoring the regimen to the individual. These results also support the importance of public information efforts such as the National Cholesterol Education Program.
Building an Organized Knowledge Base: Concept Mapping and Achievement in Secondary School Physics.

Direct teaching of problem-solving methods to high school physics students met with little success. Expert problem solving depended upon an organized knowledge base. Concept mapping was found to be a key to organizing an effective knowledge base. The investigation of the effect of the degree of concept mapping on achievement was the purpose of this study. Six intact high school physics classes, taught by this investigator, took part in the study. Two classes were control groups and received standard instruction. Four classes received six weeks of concept-mapping instruction prior to the unit under study. Two of these four classes were the low-level treatment group and were required to submit concept maps at the conclusion of the instruction. The other two classes were the high-level treatment group and were required to submit concept maps at the beginning and at the conclusion of the unit under study. One class from each treatment group took a pretest prior to instruction. An analysis of the posttest results revealed no pretest sensitization. A one-way analysis of covariance indicated a significant main effect for the treatment level at the p < 0.05 level. A pair of single-df comparisons of the adjusted treatment means resulted in significant differences (p < 0.05) between the control group and the average of the treatment means as well as between the two experimental groups. It can be concluded that for this sample (upper-middle-class high school physics students) mapping concepts prior to, during, and subsequent to instruction led to greater achievement as measured by posttest scores.
Partners in solutions to the nurse faculty shortage

The looming shortage of nurses, and the faculty to educate them, threatens Americans' access to quality health care across all settings. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Foundation, and the AARP are joining together to raise the level of awareness of this crisis and solutions to resolve it in a sustained way. These leaders in health and social change created the Center to Champion Nursing in America (the Center) to ensure that Americans have the highly skilled nurses needed to provide affordable, quality health care now and in a reformed health care system. Through national summits and technical assistance with states, the Center and the RWJF are collaborating with a broad range of partners to increase nursing education capacity. At the national level, the Champion Nursing Coalition represents the voice of consumers, purchasers, and providers of health care to support solutions to the nurse and nurse faculty shortage. Working with this broad constituency, the nursing community can better address the workforce concerns that affect the people we serve.
Resonance-enhanced, multiphoton-ionization spectroscopy of NH3

Abstract The multiphoton-ionization spectroscopy of NH 3 has been explored using three-photon ionization through a two-photon resonant intermediate state. This method provides greatly increased sensitivity when compared to three-photon excitation to the intermediate state.
The Role of Myc-Induced Protein Synthesis in Cancer

Deregulation in different steps of translational control is an emerging mechanism for cancer formation. One example of an oncogene with a direct role in control of translation is the Myc transcription factor. Myc directly increases protein synthesis rates by controlling the expression of multiple components of the protein synthetic machinery, including ribosomal proteins and initiation factors of translation, Pol III and rDNA. However, the contribution of Myc-dependent increases in protein synthesis toward the multistep process leading to cancer has remained unknown. Recent evidence strongly suggests that Myc oncogenic signaling may monopolize the translational machinery to elicit cooperative effects on cell growth, cell cycle progression, and genome instability as a mechanism for cancer initiation. Moreover, new genetic tools to restore aberrant increases in protein synthesis control are now available, which should enable the dissection of important mechanisms in cancer that rely on the translational machinery.
State Reform and the Local Economy: an Aspect of Industrialization in Late Victorian and Edwardian London

I T is commonly accepted that the long-term character of nineteenth-century industrialization was centripetal in nature; that is, the dominant tendency was to centralize production and labour within the factory. The factory has been seen not only as one of the most effective agencies in unifying the working people of the nation but also as representing the natural progression to greater and more sophisticated economic organization. Any deviation from the factory system is usually treated as a historical footnote and explained away as an abnormality. In the same sense the trend in unionism, as the Webbs emphasized many years ago, was towards greater organization of labour, a closing of the gap between skilled and unskilled labour, and an opening of the way for a working class which as a unit reaped the benefits of a higher standard of comfort. Likewise, it has been apparent that the state, over the long run at least, was an agent in the centripetal movement of labour and industry. Ostensibly, legislation regulating working conditions, hours of labour, and the like was important in homogenizing and unifying the labour force and in fostering the growth of the factory system. As a result, one of the most commonly accepted notions in the economic and social history of late Victorian and Edwardian England is that the working people were slowly but assuredly being moulded into a homogeneous working class which enjoyed a common work experience and outlook. But do these national trends stand the test of local history? Here there are some problems. In some regional and local economies (and London was perhaps chief among these) the centripetal movements of labour and industry were neither uniform nor self-sustaining but existed side by side with opposing centrifugal movements, namely, the decentralization of production and fragmentation of the working class. This centrifugal tendency often manifested itself in the spread and growth of non-factory "outwork" production of goods.2 As a result,
MAPK3/1 (ERK1/2) and Myosin Light Chain Kinase in Mammalian Eggs Affect Myosin-II Function and Regulate the Metaphase II State in a Calcium- and Zinc-Dependent Manner

Vertebrate eggs are arrested at metaphase of meiosis II, a state classically known as cytostatic factor arrest. Maintenance of this arrest until the time of fertilization and then fertilization-induced exit from metaphase II are crucial for reproductive success. Another key aspect of this meiotic arrest and exit is regulation of the metaphase II spindle, which must be appropriately localized adjacent to the egg cortex during metaphase II and then progress into successful asymmetric cytokinesis to produce the second polar body. This study examined the mitogen-activated protein kinases MAPK3 and MAPK1 (also known as ERK1/2) as regulators of these two related aspects of mammalian egg biology, specifically testing whether this MAPK pathway affected myosin-II function and whether myosin-II perturbation would produce some of the same effects as MAPK pathway perturbation. Inhibition of the MEK1/2-MAPK pathway with U0126 leads to reduced levels of phosphorylated myosin-regulatory light chain (pMRLC) and causes a reduction in cortical tension, effects that are mimicked by treatment with the myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) inhibitor ML-7. These data indicate that one mechanism by which the MAPK pathway acts in eggs is by affecting myosin-II function. We further show that MAPK or MLCK inhibition induces loss of normal cortical spindle localization or parthenogenetic egg activation. This parthenogenesis is dependent on cytosolic and extracellular calcium and can be rescued by hyperloading eggs with zinc, suggesting that these effects of inhibition of MLCK or the MAPK pathway are linked with dysregulation of ion homeostasis.
Optimization of control gate material and structure for enhancing 20nm 64Gb NAND flash reliability

We developed the new control gate (CG) material and structure in order to overcome scaling limitation beyond 20nm NAND flash cell. New CG material can achieve excellent gap-fill without void and improvement of the Gate CD Gap (GCG). And also, by using new CG material, CG depletion between floating gate (FG) can be improved. As a result, gate coupling ratio, bit-line (BL) interference and tail-cell Vt distribution are drastically improved. These technologies play an important role in the characteristic of scaled NAND flash memory cell and reliability.
An update on NIF pulsed power

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a 192-beam laser fusion driver operating at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. NIF relies on three large-scale pulsed power systems to achieve its goals: the Power Conditioning Unit (PCU), which provides flashlamp excitation for the laser's injection system; the Power Conditioning System (PCS), which provides the multi-megajoule pulsed excitation required to drive flashlamps in the laser's optical amplifiers; and the Plasma Electrode Pockels Cell (PEPC), which enables NIF to take advantage of a four-pass main amplifier. Years of production, installation, and commissioning of the three NIF pulsed power systems are now complete. Seven-day-per-week operation of the laser has commenced, with the three pulsed power systems providing routine support of laser operations. We present the details of the status and operational experience associated with the three systems along with a projection of the future for NIF pulsed power.
Subtotal Colectomy With Surgical Stapling Instruments Via a Trans‐cecal Approach for Treatment of Acquired Megacolon in Cats

Surgical stapling equipment was used to perform an end-to-end colonic anastomosis in 15 cats for the treatment of acquired megacolon. An end-to-end stapling device was passed to the anastomotic site by a trans-cecal approach. Subsequent closure of the cecal incision was accomplished with a thoracoabdominal stapling device. Two cats had hemorrhagic episodes immediately after surgery that required blood transfusions. All 15 cats have had good to excellent health after subtotal colectomy and colocolostomy performed using this stapling technique. Results of this study have demonstrated that "single surgical field" placement of the end-to-end stapling device has the primary advantage of simplicity and a lower chance of contamination compared with (dual field) rectal passage of similar devices. Closure of the cecal access incision is easily performed without reducing the diameter of the large intestinal lumen. The stapling technique provided an efficient and consistent method for anastomosis of the large bowel in cats.
Meta-analysis of clinical outcomes following surgical mitral valve repair or replacement.

Summary Although the use of mitral valve surgery has been successful at alleviating mitral valve disease, published studies on either replacement or repair have yielded mixed clinical outcomes regarding differences between repair and replacement. Meta-analysis of various outcomes from 29 published studies was conducted. Studies were separated into four groups by etiology of disease: ischemic; degenerative/myxomatous; rheumatic and mixed. The summary odds ratio for early mortality, comparing replacement to repair, was 2.24 (1.78—2.80), while the summary total survival hazard ratio was 1.58 (1.41—1.78), replacement compared to repair, indicating worse outcomes among those undergoing mitral valve replacement. The risk of thromboembolism was lower in the repair group (summary hazard ratio = 1.86, replacement vs. repair), while there was no statistical difference in time to re-operation between the two treatment groups (hazard ratio = 0.88 [95% confidence interval: 0.48, 1.62]). Analysis stratified by etiologic classification was able to detect strong evidence of differences in 30-day and total survival outcomes favoring repair for three disease groups (rheumatic, mixed and degenerative). Surgery for ischemic mitral valve had lower 30-day mortality for repairthanreplacement,butno statistically significantdifference intheoverallsurvivalwasdetected.Thereportedinformationinthepublished studies used in the current work lacks sufficient detail to allow summary determination of outcomes by mitral valve repair techniquesand by type of mitral valve replacement. # 2007 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
An adaptive "sleep" algorithm for efficient power management in WLANs

In an effort to conserve energy, standard protocols for WLANs (IEEE Computer Society, 1997) have the provision for wireless nodes to "sleep" periodically. In this paper we consider the problem of optimizing the timing and duration of sleep states of wireless nodes with the objective of minimizing power consumption with respect to a QoS constraint namely average packet delay. We study downlink traffic only. First, using a dynamic programming formulation coupled with a duality argument, we solve the optimization problem numerically for a two-node system served by a single wired transmitter (access point). Then, using the solutions from the numerical calculations as a guideline, we devise our own algorithm for scheduling the sleep time and duration of multiple wireless nodes operating in an infrastructure mode served by a single access point. Simulation results show that the power efficiency of our algorithm is comparable to the results obtained from the dynamic programming formulation.
The Psychometric Credibility of the Zelniker and Jeffrey Modification of the Matching Familiar Figures Test

One hundred sixty-nine college undergraduates were given Zelniker and Jeffrey's modification of the Matching Familiar Figures Test. One-half of the items requires analysis of detail, whereas varian...
Control techniques for improved high-speed performance of interior PM synchronous motor drives

A description is given of two control techniques to enhance the performance of the interior permanent magnet (IPM) drive over an extended speed range. The first technique is a feedforward compensation algorithm that improves the performance of current regulators operating in the stationary reference frame. Speed-dependent back-EMF (electromotive force) and inductive voltage drops are compensated, so that steady-state current errors are nulled at all speeds until current regulator saturation limits are encountered. The second technique is a flux-weakening control algorithm which uses stator current components to prevent premature current regulator saturation, thereby improving the machine's torque production capabilities at high speeds. Neither algorithms requires additional feedback signals from the motor beyond those already used in the preexisting controls, and they are relatively insensitive to variations in the machine parameters, despite their feedforward characteristics. >
Transfer of Tobacco Mosaic Virus Resistance by Asymmetric Protoplast Fusion

Protoplast fusion has been used successfully for organelle transfers (1), species reconstruction experiments (2) and genetic complementation studies (3). However, application of protoplast fusion to the interspecific transfer of nuclear genes for plant improvement, has been hampered by morphological abnormalities and sterility in the hybrids. Recent studies have shown that donor-recipient fusions can be used to form genetically asymmetric hybrids in both interspecific and intergeneric species combinations (4–8). These hybrids sometimes have improved fertility when compared with symmetric hybrids between the same species.
Performance analysis of a distributed question/answering system

The problem of question/answering (Q/A) is to find answers to open-domain questions by searching a large collection of documents. Unlike Internet search engines, Q/A systems provide short, relevant answers to questions. Due to the complex natural language processing involved that is CPU intensive, and the retrieval of large number of documents that is disk intensive, the time performance of sequential Q/A systems is rather slow. This paper presents the design and performance analysis of a distributed state-of-the-art Q/A system. The design is modular and parallelism is dynamically exploited at inter and intra-question levels. Several schedule points are used to balance the load. An analytical performance model is given backed up by experimental results.
Ground Truth Verification Games in Operational Meteorology

To gain occupational legitimacy, workers depend on claims of accuracy. How are these claims assessed? Organizations judge competence and effectiveness using metrics, which can be massaged. Using a case study of operational meteorology, the author examines the organizational and self-presentational politics whereby meteorologists verify their predictions. Forecasts of future events are central to occupational work in operational meteorology. However, assessing what really happened "on the ground" is not unproblematic. So, meteorologists and their employers construct measures for assessments, even though these assessments are social and organizational routines. Verification statistics are signals whereby local offices are judged on effectiveness, and as a result, workers develop strategies to increase their verification scores. The author examines the production of verification at three local offices of the National Weather Service using ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews. Similar strategies operate when workers are judged in accountability systems, leading to forms of organizational impression management to demonstrate competence.
Reconstructing Tritium Exposure Using Tree Rings at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California

Annual tritium exposures were reconstructed using tree cores from Pinus jeffreyi and Eucalyptus globulus near a tritiated water vapor release stack. Both tritium ( 3 H) and carbon-14 ( 14 C) from the wood were measured from milligram samples using accelerator mass spectrometry. Because the annual nature of the eucalyptus tree rings was in doubt, 14 C measurements provided growth rates used to estimate the age for 3 H determinations. A 30-yr comparison of organically bound tritium (OBT) levels to reported 3 H release data is achieved using OBT measurements from three trees near the stack. The annual average 3 H, determined from atmospheric water vapor monitoring stations, is comparable to the OBT in proximal trees. For situations without adequate historical monitoring data, this measurement-based historical assessment provides the only independent means of assessing exposure as compared to fate and transport models that require prior knowledge of environmental conditions and 3 H discharge patterns.
The effect of placement instability on adopted children's inhibitory control abilities and oppositional behavior.

This study assessed relations among placement instability, inhibitory control, and caregiver-rated child behavior. The sample included 33 adopted children who had experienced placement instability, 42 adopted children who had experienced 1 stable placement, and 27 children never placed in foster care. Five- and 6-year-old children completed the day-night task, which requires children to inhibit a prepotent response, and a control task that presents similar memory demands but does not require inhibition (C. L. Gerstadt, Y. J. Hong, & A. Diamond, 1994). Adopted children who had experienced placement instability performed worse on the inhibition task than did both other groups of children, when the authors controlled for age, verbal intelligence (as measured with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence--Revised; D. Wechsler, 1989; or the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test--Third Edition; L. M. Dunn & L. M. Dunn, 1997), and control task performance (p .05). These results suggest that placement instability may adversely affect the social-emotional development of adopted children.
A high performance scientific cloud computing environment for materials simulations

a b s t r a c t We describe the development of a scientific cloud computing (SCC) platform that offers high performance computation capability. The platform consists of a scientific virtual machine prototype containing a UNIX operating system and several materials science codes, together with essential interface tools (an SCC toolset) that offers functionality comparable to local compute clusters. In particular, our SCC toolset provides automatic creation of virtual clusters for parallel computing, including tools for execution and monitoring performance, as well as efficient I/O utilities that enable seamless connections to and from the cloud. Our SCC platform is optimized for the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). We present benchmarks for prototypical scientific applications and demonstrate performance comparable to local compute clusters. To facilitate code execution and provide user-friendly access, we have also integrated cloud computing capability in a JAVA-based GUI. Our SCC platform may be an alternative to traditional HPC resources for materials science or quantum chemistry applications.
Automating image processing for scientific data analysis of a large image database

Describes the Multimission VICAR Planner (MVP): an AI planning system which uses knowledge about image processing steps and their requirements to construct executable image processing scripts to support high-level science requests made to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Multimission Image Processing Subsystem (MIPS). This article describes a general AI planning approach to automation and application of the approach to a specific area of image processing for planetary science applications involving radiometric correction, color triplet reconstruction, and mosaicing in which the MVP system significantly reduces the amount of effort required by image processing experts to fill a typical request.
Genomic Actions of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3

Recent studies have identified a heterodimer of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and the retinoid X receptor (RXR) as the active complex for mediating positive transcriptional effects of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3], the active hormonal form of vitamin D. The VDR-RXR heterodimer has been shown to bind to direct repeat vitamin D-responsive elements (VDREs) upstream of positively controlled genes in the target tissues for vitamin D, including bone (osteocalcin, osteopontin, and beta 3 integrin), kidney (24-hydroxylase) and intestine (calbindin). Residues that participate in heterodimer formation have been identified in the C-terminal hormone-binding domain by analysis of VDR mutants. The role of the 1,25(OH)2D3 ligand in transcriptional activation by the VDR-RXR heterodimer is not entirely clear, but studies of two natural VDR mutants suggest that the binding of both hormone and RXR are required to induce a receptor conformation that is competent to activate transcription. A final level of complexity is added by recent observations that VDR is modified by phosphorylation. Thus, the VDR-mediated action of 1,25(OH)2D3 is now known to involve multiple factors that may provide a conceptual basis for future understanding of the tissue-specific genomic effects of 1,25(OH)2D3.
Applications of Nonlinear Optical Thin Films

Many approaches to fabrication of nonlinear optical and electro-optical thin-film materials are currently under investigation including: epitaxial inorganic films; polycrystalline inorganic materials; organic nonlinear moieties poled in polymer hosts; and poled amorphous inorganic materials. For each of these approaches there are a variety of characteristics and constraints that impact the ultimate uses. These are discussed in the context of signal processing and transmission applications such as optical interconnects and integrated optics. Almost universally, integration with the Si materials and processing that dominates current computer technology, or with the III-V materials that dominate optoelectronics technology, are major factors in the attractiveness of a technology direction. A relatively recent development is the observation of a strong nonlinearity in fused silica, χ(2) ∼ 1 pm/V, poled by modest temperature and electric-field stress. Temperature-dependent dynamic and spectroscopic measurements suggest that mobile-ion species such as Na+, as well as non-bridging oxygen bond re-orientation under a strong field, play a role in the nonlinearity.
Factors associated with antimicrobial use in nursing homes: a multilevel model.

OBJECTIVES: To describe antimicrobial prescribing patterns in nursing homes. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational study. SETTING: Total of 73 nursing homes in four U.S. states; study period was from September 1, 2001, through February 28, 2002. PARTICIPANTS: Four thousand seven hundred eighty nursing home residents. MEASUREMENTS: Number and type of antimicrobials, indication for their use, and resident and facility factors associated with antimicrobial use in nursing homes. RESULTS: Of 4,780 residents, 2,017 (42%) received one or more antibiotic courses. Overall, residents received a mean of 4.8 courses/1,000 resident-days (mean facility range 0.4–23.5). In multivariable analysis, higher probability of nursing home discharge and of being categorized in the rehabilitation, extensive services, special care, or clinically complex Resource Utilization Groups were associated with higher rates of antimicrobial usage. Three drug classes accounted for nearly 60% of antimicrobial courses—fluoroquinolones (38%), first-generation cephalosporins (11%), and macrolides (10%). The most common conditions for which antimicrobials were prescribed were respiratory tract (33%) and urinary tract (32%) infections. CONCLUSION: Antibiotic use is variable in nursing homes. Targeting educational and other antimicrobial use interventions to the treatment of certain clinical diagnoses and conditions may be an appropriate strategy for optimizing antimicrobial use in this setting.
Near-field microwave and mm-wave noninvasive diagnosis of human skin

Microwave and mm-wave reflectometry is one of the potential techniques for diagnosis of human skin for detection of diseases such as skin cancer. It is shown that using an open-ended waveguide probe, non-contact measurements of the reflection properties of skin may be conducted leading to distinction between dielectric properties of normal and diseased skin. This technique can then be extended into a differential technique which enables skin property differentiation independent of the location on the body. This paper discusses the basics of the method along with some preliminary results.
Discerning Form from Substance: Understanding Employer Litigation Prevention Strategies

Many commentators note that civil rights law is an increasingly ineffective tool for ferreting out bias in the American workplace. This article examines a previously unexplored factor that limits the efficacy of employment discrimination law: employers' litigation prevention tactics. Over the last three decades employers have adopted procedures to simultaneously eliminate bias and safeguard hiring, firing and promotion decisions from challenge. These policies, which aim to create evidentiary records that can be used defensively if necessary, ostensibly seek to vanquish employment discrimination. Yet, that they do so in all cases is far from clear. Drawing from a content analysis of litigation prevention literature, the article describes how the "bulletproofing" efforts of often well meaning employers can mask rather than eliminate discriminatory decision-making. It then argues that such tainted employment decisions may go undetected by agency personnel, plaintiffs' attorneys and judges, relying in part on the results of a survey of employee advocates to support this claim. The article concludes by exhorting attorneys and others to be mindful of the sophistication with which many employers act and offers suggestions, in appropriate cases, for turning litigation prevention against those who practice it.
IMPROVED ESTIMATES OF SURVIVAL PROBABILITIES VIA ISOSPECTRAL TRANSFORMATIONS

We consider open systems generated from one-dimensional maps that admit a finite Markov partition and use the recently developed theory of isospectral graph transformations to estimate a system’s survival probabilities. We show that these estimates are better than those obtained through a more direct approach.
Acute Inflammation Induces Hyporetinemia and Modifies the Plasma and Tissue Response to Vitamin A Supplementation in Marginally Vitamin A–Deficient Rats

Plasma retinol is reduced during numerous infections, and inflammation alters the hepatic synthesis of retinol-binding protein (RBP). In this study, we have investigated the effects of endotoxin-induced inflammation on vitamin A (VA) supplementation in a rat model of marginal VA deficiency. Marginally VA-deficient rats received an intraperitoneal dose of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, n = 14) or saline (n = 10); 6 h later, six LPS + VA and six saline + VA rats received 7.1 micromol VA orally. Twenty-four hours after endotoxin administration, rats with inflammation (LPS) had lower plasma retinol, RBP, and hepatic RBP than saline rats (37, 31 and 44%, respectively, P < 0.05). Inflammation did not affect VA concentrations in liver and perirenal adipose tissue, although kidney VA was reduced relative to saline rats. However, urinary VA was not detected. Eighteen hours after VA supplementation, inflammation reduced the plasma unesterified retinol response (P < 0. 05) in LPS + VA relative to saline + VA rats, although total VA increased as a result of the presence of retinyl esters in LPS + VA rats. Hepatic esterified retinol concentration was reduced (P < 0. 01) in LPS + VA compared with saline + VA rats; however, hepatic unesterified retinol did not differ. Renal total retinol increased in VA-supplemented rats, but urinary retinol excretion, when observed, was low, independently of inflammation. These findings indicate that inflammation-induced hyporetinemia does not necessarily imply a loss of VA, but rather represents a redistribution of tissue VA brought about by a reduced hepatic synthesis of RBP. Practical implications from these collective results are to recommend the determination of both unesterified and esterified retinol to fully assess the plasma response to VA supplementation and to caution the use of VA assessment methodologies that depend on the hepatic synthesis of RBP during acute inflammation.
Elder Law Issues in the Basic Real Property Course

The proverbial "graying of America" has given rise to a constant need to re-evaluate many core areas of substantive law to determine the degree to which they are intertwined with legal issues that are of great concern to senior citizens. This article focuses on the aspects of the basic real property course that intersect with the substantive area known as "Elder Law". Elder law is a diverse field that has grown geometrically in recent years as modern medicine continues to extend our life expectancy. Because we are all living longer elder law issues extend beyond mere concerns of property descent and distribution. While it is certainly true that any of us could pass away at any given moment, the elderly understandably think about death more often than others and are therefore more concerned about their property passing to the parties they choose. But as the elderly continue to press forward they are also anxious about their quality of life and the legal implications of having others assist in the daily legal issues surrounding acquisition, maintenance and transfers of property while they still have a strong body and mind.
A Boundary-Layer Diffusion Model of Fission-Product Release from Reactor Fuels

A mathematical model that predicts the extent of fission-product release and fuel evaporation during a loss-of-coolant accident has been developed for a specific set of conditions. Theories of boundary-layer diffusion have been applied. The composition and pressure of the cover gas; the time molten; the chemical forms of the fission products and fuel; and the temperature, surface area, and amount of molten fuel are related to the amount of fission product and fuel released.