cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Selection for High Gamete Encounter Rates Explains the Evolution of Anisogamy Using Plausible Assumptions About Size Relationships of Swimming Speed and Duration

A previous general model describing physical constraints on gamete encounter rates was modified to incorporate assumptions that increased size causes decreased swimming speed and increased fertile period (or other proportional enhancement to gamete fertility). The analysis indicates that with moderately strong size dependence of fertile period and a range of speed dependencies, selection for high encounter rates pressures mating systems that develop any heritable difference in size between the gametes of different mating types to exaggerate the difference and evolve from isogamy to anisogamy. The smaller gamete has an optimal size, but the larger faces continuing selection for increased size. This continues to a size that is estimated to be sufficient to make pheromone production of sperm attractants practical. This mechanism then bridges the missing link between isogametes and oogamy in a previous analysis of the effectiveness of pheromones in explaining the success of male-female mating systems. The evolution and success of anisogamy and oogamy can be explained solely on the basis of physical effects on the encounter process.
Molecular design through spectroscopic insights

Vibrational spectroscopy has provided significant insights into both the organization and order of long chain molecules in thin film geometries. Understanding the role of molecular architecture in determining orientation is also essential if the ultimate goal of establishing a design protocol for thin film structures is to be achieved. For more than a decade our work has focused on the use of chemistry to design novel molecules which can organize into unique morphologies on a surface and at interfaces. Rigid and flexible side chains and spacer groups, intermolecular bonding moieties and functional end groups have all been incorporated into long chain molecules and their effect on the structural organization studied by polarized IR and Raman spectroscopy as well as other surface sensitive techniques (XPS, neutron reflectivity, NEXAFS, ellipsometry and wetting).
Subsurface fault geometries and crustal extension in the eastern Basin and Range Province, western U.S.

Abstract We provide the first synthesis of seismic reflection data and active present-day crustal deformation for the greater Wasatch fault zone. We analyzed a number of previously unpublished seismic reflection lines, horizontal and vertical crustal velocities from continuous GPS, and surface geology to investigate the relationships between interseismic strain accumulation, subsurface fault geometry, and geologic slip rates on seismogenic faults across the eastern third of the northern Basin and Range Province. The seismic reflection data show recent activity along high-angle normal faults that become listric with depth and appear to sole into preexisting decollements, possibly reactivating them. We interpret these listric normal faults as reactivated Sevier-age structures that are connected at depth with a regionally extensive detachment horizon. These observations of subsurface structure are consistent with the mapped geology in areas that have experienced significant extension. We modeled the crustal deformation data using a buried dislocation source in a homogeneous elastic half space. The estimated model results include a low-angle dislocation (~ 8–20°) at a locking depth of ~ 7–10 km and slipping at 3.2 ± 0.2 mm/yr. Despite the model's relative simplicity, we find that the predicted location of the dislocation is consistent with the interpreted seismic reflection data, and suggests an active regionally extensive sub-horizontal surface in the eastern Basin and Range. This result may imply that this surface represents aseismic creep across a reactivated low-angle fault plane or the onset of ductile flow in the lower crust at or beneath the brittle–ductile transition zone under the present-day Basin and Range extensional regime. This result may also have implications for crustal rheology, and suggests that geodesy might, under some circumstances, serve as an appropriate tool for inferring deeper crustal structure.
CHOLESTEROL, CHOLESTEROL ESTERS AND CHOLESTEROL ESTERASE IN THE SCIATIC NERVE DURING DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHICK

Abstract— Changes in the contents of cholesterol and cholesterol ester and in the activity of cholesterol esterase (EC 3.1.1.13) in the sciatic nerve of the chick during development were measured. The ratio of cholesterol ester/cholesterol was an inverse function of the activity of the esterase (i.e. when the ratio was high, the activity of the enzyme was low, and vice versa). The synthesis of cholesterol esterase was inhibited after addition of actinomycin D both in ovo and in vitro.
Prediction of retention in micellar electrokinetic chromatography from solute structure. 1. Sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles.

Like other chromatographic techniques, retention factor, k, in micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) is directly related to solute partition coefficient and the chromatographic phase ratio as k = Kφ. Unlike conventional chromatography, however, the phase ratio and partition coefficient can be accurately determined in MEKC for a given micellar pseudostationary phase. This means that retention factor in MEKC can be predicted for solutes with known micelle−water partition coefficients without any prior experimentation. In this paper, the use of this simple relationship for prediction of retention behavior in MEKC is examined. The principle of additivity of functional group contribution to partitioning is used to calculate the micelle−water partition coefficient, Kmw, for SDS micellar pseudophase. The micellar substituent constants for 20 functional groups (training set) were determined. Using these substituent constants, the Kmw and retention factors for a group of 80 neutral solutes (test set) were ...
Substrate specificity studies on the malonyl-CoA-dependent chain elongation of all-cis polyunsaturated fatty acids by rat liver microsomes.

Abstract Close agreement between rates of condensation and overall chain elongation have been observed with eight octadecadienoic isomers in which the double bonds were moved from the 4,7- to the 11,14-positions. The specific activities for overall chain elongation of 7,10-and 6,9-octadecadienoic acids were, respectively, 5.20 and 2.89 nmol product min −1 mg −1 rat liver microsomal protein, while the specific activities for the other six isomers were all below 0.84. The specific activities for both the β-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrase and 2- trans -enoyl-CoA reductase reactions were measured using the appropriate substrates required in chain elongating 5,8-, 7,10-, and 8,11-octadecadienoic acids. Although these rates were not as markedly influenced by structural modification, they were all much greater than the initial reaction thus implicating condensation as rate limiting. Both 7- and 9-octadecenoic acids were poor substrates for overall chain elongation even though both 6,9- and 7,10-octadecadienoic acids readily condensed with malonyl-CoA. The rate of overall elongation increased for 7,10-unsaturated acids as the chain length of the primer was extended from 14- to 18-carbons, however, 7,10-eicosadienoic acid was virtually inactive. When rates of overall chain elongation were measured with an isomeric series of six octadecatrienoic acids in which the double bonds were shifted from the 4,7,10- to the 9,12,15-positions, only the 5,8,11-, 6,9,12-, and 7,10,13-isomers were readily chain elongated. Again, as with the octadecadienoic acid isomers the best substrate had the first double bond at position 7. Again the rate of chain elongation was chain length dependent since both 5,8,11- and 7,10,13-eicosatrienoic acid were chain elongated at lower rates than were their 18 carbon analogs. When the substrates were grouped according to common terminal structures no single feature was identifiable which dictated whether a primer would readily be chain elongated. Our findings are thus most consistent with a high degree of substrate specificity for condensation which involves carboxyl recognition but is also dictated both by chain length, double-bond positions, and degree of unsaturation.
Designing immunotoxins for cancer therapy

Immunotoxins are therapeutic agents with a high degree of specificity and unique mechanism of action. An immunotoxin is a chimeric protein consisting of a targeting moiety linked to a toxin. The targeting moiety selectively binds to a tumor cell and targets it for death via the attached toxin. Generally, immunotoxins are specifically potent against cancer cells in vitro and in animal models of human malignancies. However, immunotoxins can be limited clinically by immunogenicity, toxicity, and instability. In this review, we offer ways to overcome these limitations to create "ideal immunotoxins" for cancer therapy. These include producing single chain targeting/toxin fusion proteins of fully human origin that are extracellularly stable but once internalized, can be cleaved by intracellular proteases to free the toxin and facilitate its translocation to the cytosol.
Comparison of the Membrane Proteome of Virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the Attenuated Mycobacterium bovis BCG Vaccine Strain by Label-Free Quantitative Proteomics

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis membrane is rich in antigens that are potential targets for diagnostics and the development of new vaccines. To better understand the mechanisms underlying MTB virulence and identify new targets for therapeutic intervention, we investigated the differential composition of membrane proteomes between virulent M. tuberculosis H37Rv (MTB) and the Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccine strain. To compare the membrane proteomes, we used LC–MS/MS analysis in combination with label-free quantitative proteomics, utilizing the area under the curve of the extracted ion chromatograms of peptides obtained from m/z and retention time alignment of MS1 features. With this approach, we obtained relative abundance ratios for 2203 identified membrane-associated proteins in high confidence. Of these proteins, 294 showed statistically significant differences of at least two fold in relative abundance between MTB and BCG membrane fractions. Our comparative analysis detected several proteins associated w...
Cycling cells in the adult rat neocortex preferentially generate oligodendroglia

Gliogenesis in the mammalian central nervous system does not cease abruptly like neurogenesis. Instead, glia accumulate over a time period that extends into adulthood. To determine whether new glial cells in the adult cortex arise from resident progenitors and to determine the glial types to which these progenitors give rise to, cells in the perinatal subventricular zone (SVZ) were labeled with replication-deficient retroviral vectors, and clonal clusters of glia in the neocortex were examined from 1 week to 8 months of age. The average clonal cluster size increased during the first month of life. Interestingly, clusters containing oligodendrocyte lineage cells preferentially expanded with age, on average doubling every 3 months. Unexpectedly, the number of cells in astrocyte clusters decreased over time. In heterogeneous clusters, the numbers of oligodendroglia increased, whereas the number of astrocytes did not. Moreover, clonal clusters containing mature glia also contained less mature cells, indicating that clonally related progenitors do not differentiate synchronously in vivo. Thus, progenitors from the SVZ continue to cycle, resulting in an accumulation of oligodendroglia in the neocortex. These slowly cycling cells likely express the NG2 proteoglycan because a subset of the clonal clusters contained NG2+ cells and these NG2+ cells accumulated with time. J. Neurosci. Res. 57:435–446, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Behavior-Genetic Analyses and Poultry Husbandry

Abstract Domestication, one of the great innovations in human history, has had a profound effect on agriculture and the development of urban societies. Domestication is a continuing genetic process through which anatomy, behavior, and physiology are modified to suit specific needs. In poultry, the process has accelerated during the past several decades because of increased selection pressure and development of specialized male and female lines in breeding programs. Large changes have also occurred in the intensification of environments in which poultry are maintained. Such intensification is a function of escalation of land, energy, and labor costs. Whether the rate of change of these nongenetic factors is faster than biological change is an important issue in the consideration of behavior-genetic analyses and poultry husbandry. Complex behavioral, genetic, and physiological responses are involved in the buffering necessary for animals to cope with changes in their physical and social environments. Knowledge of behavioral range and genetic variation of short- and long-term responses is essential to understanding how poultry adapt. Although innate behaviors and habituation can prevent some stimuli from causing manifestations that detract from well-being, husbandry conditions should optimize behavioral responses with biological advantages to individuals and populations.
Role of endothelium-derived nitric oxide in the regulation of cardiac oxygen metabolism: implications in health and disease.

Abstract—Endothelium-derived NO is considered to be primarily an important determinant of vascular tone and platelet activity; however, the modulation of myocardial metabolism by NO may be one of i...
A Test of the Circumvention-of-Limits Hypothesis in Scientific Problem Solving: The Case of Geological Bedrock Mapping

Sources of individual differences in scientific problem solving were investigated. Participants representing a wide range of experience in geology completed tests of visuospatial ability and geological knowledge, and performed a geological bedrock mapping task, in which they attempted to infer the geological structure of an area in the Tobacco Root Mountains of Montana. A Visuospatial Ability × Geological Knowledge interaction was found, such that visuospatial ability positively predicted mapping performance at low, but not high, levels of geological knowledge. This finding suggests that high levels of domain knowledge may sometimes enable circumvention of performance limitations associated with cognitive abilities.
Opportunistic large array concentric routing algorithm (OLACRA) for upstream routing in wireless sensor networks

An opportunistic large array (OLA) is a form of cooperative diversity in which a large group of relays or forwarding nodes operate without any mutual coordination, but naturally fire together in response to energy received from a single source or another OLA. When used for broadcast, OLAs form concentric rings around the source, and have been shown to use less transmit energy than conventional multi-hop protocols during broadcasting. The OLA concentric routing algorithm (OLACRA) and its variants, the main contributions of this paper, leverage the concentric ring structure of the OLAs during the initialization phase to limit the node participation on the upstream connection. For the simulation scenarios considered in this paper, OLACRA is shown to save over 80% of the transmit energy relative to other OLA-based schemes. This paper analyzes the performance of OLACRA over 'deterministic channels' or non-faded orthogonal channels and on 'diversity' or Rayleigh flat-fading channels with limited orthogonality. Enhancements to OLACRA to further improve its energy efficiency by limited broadcasting in the initial upstream level and limiting the downlink 'step-sizes' are also considered. A simple contention avoidance scheme for WSNs with multiple flows is also proposed. In addition to this, the robustness of OLACRA over mobile channels is also studied. The protocols are tested using Monte Carlo evaluation.
Optimal ISP subscription for Internet multihoming: algorithm design and implication analysis

Multihoming is a popular method used by large enterprises and stub ISPs to connect to the Internet to reduce cost and improve performance. Recently researchers have studied the potential benefits of multihoming and proposed protocols and algorithms to realize these benefits. They focus on how to dynamically select which ISPs to use for forwarding and receiving packets, and assume that the set of subscribed ISPs is given a priori. In practice, a user often has the freedom to choose which subset of ISPs among all available ISPs to subscribe to. We call the problem of how to choose the optimal set of ISPs the ISP subscription problem. In this paper, We design a dynamic programming algorithm to solve the ISP subscription problem optimally. We also design a more efficient algorithm for a large class of common pricing functions. Using real traffic traces and realistic pricing data, we show that our algorithm reduces users' cost. Next we study how ISPs respond to users' optimal ISP subscription by adjusting their pricing strategies. We call this problem the ISP pricing problem. Using a realistic charging model, we formulate the problem as a non-cooperative game. We first prove that if cost is the only criterion used by a user to determine which subset of ISPs to subscribe to, at any equilibrium all ISPs receive zero revenue. We then study a more practical formulation in which different ISPs provide different levels of reliability and users choose ISPs to both improve reliability and reduce cost. We analyze this problem and show that at any equilibrium an ISP's revenue is positive and determined by its reliability.
Facial expression recognition using Gabor motion energy filters

Spatial Gabor energy filters (GE) are one of the most successful approaches to represent facial expressions in computer vision applications, including face recognition and expression analysis. It is well known that these filters approximate the response of complex cells in primary visual cortex. However these neurons are modulated by the temporal, not just spatial, properties of the visual signal. This suggests that spatio-temporal Gabor filters may provide useful representations for applications that involve video sequences. In this paper we explore Gabor motion energy filters (GME) as a biologically inspired representation for dynamic facial expressions. Experiments on the Cohn-Kanade expression dataset show that GME outperforms GE, particularly on difficult low intensity expression discrimination.
Nodal metastasis and elective nodal level treatment in sinonasal small-cell and sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma: a surveillance, epidemiology and end results analysis

Objective:Risk of nodal involvement in patients with sinonasal small-cell carcinoma and sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma (SNUC) has not been well defined because of their rarity. We describe a population-based assessment of specific nodal level involvement in this group of rare neuroectodermal tumours.Methods:The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database from 2004 to 2011 identified patients with SNUC and sinonasal small-cell carcinoma. Overall neck involvement and individual nodal level involvement at presentation were assessed, and comparison was made with a contemporaneous cohort of patients with a borderline clinically significant risk of nodal involvement and recurrence.Results:Of 141 patients, 31 (22%) had gross nodal involvement at presentation (range 14–33% by site and histology). Non-nasal, non-ethmoid site with SNUC histology has the highest rates of initial nodal involvement, whereas higher stage and size do not predict for higher nodal involvement rates. Bilateral Levels 2...
Soil Biological Fertility: Foundation for the Next Revolution in Agriculture?

Feeding the world’s population in 40 years will require improved efficiency in the use of plant nutrients and enhancement of soil resources. Over the past 60 years, agricultural production has rapidly increased; however, continued degradation of soil may limit further increases. Improving the soil through enhanced soil biological activity has been proposed as a method of increasing the capacity of the soil to produce crops. Ongoing evaluations of one soil biological fertilizer with a patented process to convert and complex manure into stable finished products (AgroBiotic fertilizers) have been conducted in research plots and producer fields and have shown positive effects on grain yield and potato production. These effects are larger in soils with limited biological activity, suggesting that adding this unique AgroBiotic fertilizer helps restore the biological nutrient cycling in the soil. New developments and innovations that improve nutrient availability and the efficacy of soil biological fertilizers h...
Retrograde activation of the his bundle in the human heart

Abstract The catheter technique of His bundle (HBE) recordings proved to be useful in the analysis of retrograde conduction in the human heart. Retrograde activation of the His bundle was more easily detected in bipolar HBE leads with interelectrode distances of 1 mm (or less) than in leads with an interelectrode distance of 10 mm. A high bipolar atrial electrogram (BAE) simultaneously recorded with the HBE was essential to differentiate between superoinferior (sinoventricular) or inferosuperior (retrograde) activation of the atria. V-A delays occurred both above (nodal region) and below (Purkinjebundle branch specialized tissues) the His bundle. The greatest area of delay was seen in the A-H (nodal) region. Ventricular echoes were observed during continuous and intermittent paired ventricular pacing. The atria appeared to be a necessary link in the production of echoes. The echoes, which passed through the His bundle during their forward and retrograde propagation, were best explained by a functional (longitudinal) intranodal dissociation. The reciprocating circuit was represented as follows: V → H → FCP → α → A → β → FCP → H → V. The study of His bundle recordings has enhanced our knowledge of cardiac electrophysiology.
Sensor based localization for multiple mobile robots using virtual link

An approach for multiple mobile robot localization using inexpensive infrared sensors and CMOS cameras is presented. A multiple robot system is treated as a virtual linked robot. Using the virtual link length and the relative heading information in conjunction with sensor scan data for each robot in the system, the entire system can effectively be localized without investing heavily in sensors. In order to facilitate collaboration and exploit geometry, a team must be able to extract salient information from the collective sensing of all its members. By collecting and fusing sensor information from multiple, distinct positions, the effective resolution of the space can be improved beyond that of the individual measurements. The proposed localization method is verified via both simulation and experiment.
‘Structural Substantivism’: A Critical Review of Marshall Sahlins’ Stone Age Economics

Stone Age Economics is the most important book in the field of economic anthropology produced by an American cultural anthropologist since M. J. Herskovits published The Economic Life of Primitive Peoples in 1940. Its theoretical and analytical superiority to that earlier book should cheer those of us who feel depressed because of the slow and tortuous course of progress in this sub-field of anthropological inquiry. While Sahlins’ book is original and provocative, however, it is not likely to revolutionize thinking in the field as much as the recent work by Godelier (1967). Even though it lacks the theoretical scope and scholarly judiciousness of the latter work, it should nevertheless become a minor classic in the literature dealing with ‘primitive’ (or tribal) economic life.
Reynolds number effects on supersonic asymmetrical flows over a cone at high angle of attack

The supersonic viscous flow over a 5-degree halfangle cone at an angle of attack of four times the cone half-angle is studied computationally using both the conical and the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations. The numerical solutions were obtained with an implicit, upwind-biased algorithm. Asymmetrical flowfields of the absolute-instability type are found using the conical-flow equations which agree with published results. However, the absolute instabilities of the origmally symmetric flow found with the conical equations do not occur in the threedimensional simulations, although spurious asymmetric three-dimensional flows for symmetric bodies arise if the grid resolution is insufficient in the nose region. The asymmetric flows computed with the three-dimensional equations are convective instabilities and are possible if the local Reynolds number exceeds a critical value and a fixed geometric asymmetry is imposed. A continuous range of asymmetries can be developed, depending on the size of the disturbance and the Reynolds number. As the Reynolds number is increased, the asymmetries demonstrate a bistable behavior at levels of side force consistent with those predicted using the conical equations. Below a certain critical Reynolds number, any flow asymmetries arising from a geometrical asymmetry are damped with increasing distance downstream from the geometrical asymmetry.
On the influence of food quality in consumer–resource interactions

While nutrients are an important regulating factor in food webs, no theoretical studies have examined limits to consumer growth imposed by nutrient concentrations (i.e. food quality) of their prey. Empirical studies have suggested that nutrients may play a role in limiting assimilation efficiencies of herbivores. Using a simple food chain model, I find that prey nutrient concentration does directly influence the growth rate of consumers and potentially increase the stability of consumer–resource interactions. This suggests that the strength of trophic cascades and the relative importance of top–down versus bottom–up control in food webs is significantly influenced by nutrient availability in food resources of consumers. Additionally, the results imply that increases in resource input may cause a change in which resource is limiting and thereby negate any potential “paradox of enrichment”.
Effects of line-narrowing of amplified spontaneous emission analyzed by a Monte Carlo model

Abstract This work focuses on the effects caused by line-narrowing of the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) encountered in two-photon laser-induced fluorescence (TPLIF) processes. The line-narrowing effects complicate the TPLIF problem significantly, but are important for the quantitative interpretation of the TPLIF measurements. Past models are predominately developed for one-dimensional (1D) problem under ideal conditions. Therefore, this work develops a Monte Carlo (MC) method to robustly and flexibly incorporate non-ideal conditions including arbitrary temporal, spatial, and spectral beam profiles in multi-dimension practical problems. The MC model was the applied to analyze the TPLIF processes, both in 1D and 2D. The results show that the ASE radiation is more effectively amplified when the line-narrowing effects are considered than not. Because the ASE serves as a depopulation mechanism in TPLIF, such enhanced amplification has direct implications to the quantification of signals typically measured in practice. For example, our results show that neglecting the line-narrowing effects can cause significant error in the interpretation of the LIF and ASE signals. These results are hence expected to be useful for the design and analysis of experiments.
Chiral symmetry restoration at nonzero temperature in the SU ( 3 ) r × SU ( 3 ) l linear sigma model

We study patterns of chiral symmetry breaking at zero temperature and its subsequent restoration at nonzero temperature within the $\mathrm{SU}{(3)}_{r}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\mathrm{SU}{(3)}_{l}$ linear sigma model. Gap equations for the masses of the scalar and pseudoscalar mesons and the non-strange and strange quark condensates are systematically derived in the Hartree approximation via the Cornwall-Jackiw-Tomboulis formalism. In the chiral limit, the chiral symmetry restoring transition is found to be first order, as predicted by universality arguments. Taking the experimental values for the meson masses, however, the transition is crossover. The absence of the $\mathrm{U}{(1)}_{A}$ anomaly is found to drive this transition closer to being first order. At large temperatures, the mixing angles between octet and singlet states approach ideal flavor mixing.
MOVEMENTS AND SURVIVAL OF LARK BUNTING FLEDGLINGS

Abstract We quantified post-fledging pre-independence behavior and survival in Lark Buntings (Calamospiza melanocorys) using radio-telemetry. Brood division was recorded in six broods and was maintained throughout the observed fledgling care period. Chicks were capable of short flights (up to 25 m) by fledgling day 6 and longer flights (to 100 m) by fledgling day 13. During the first three weeks after fledging, juveniles moved as far as 800 m from nests. Nine of 23 (39%) monitored fledglings died within 15 days of fledging, primarily due to predation by raptors. Daily survival rates were 0.953 ± 0.019 for fledgling days 0–9, 0.955 ± 0.038 for fledgling days 10–20, and 0.953 ± 0.015 for fledgling days 0–20. The probability of surviving fledgling days 0–20 was 0.367. More quantification of juvenile survival is clearly needed to understand the role of post-fledging mortality in source-sink dynamics. Los Movimientos y Supervivencia de los Volantones de Calamospiza melanocorys Resumen. Cuantificamos la conduct...
Deciding to Move: Pastoral Mobility as a Social Process

Pastoral mobility is often explained in terms of ecological, political and economic conditions. In these approaches, the pastoral household is (implicitly) considered a homogeneous unit in which the patriarch makes rational decisions. However, some studies have hinted that the decision-making process is more complex. I therefore studied the decision-making process within a nomadic pastoral Fulbe group during an eight-month focal follow in the Far North Province of Cameroon, during which I observed - and participated in daily interactions between the different members of the camp. Decision making in matters of mobility was messy because household members pursued different, often conflicting goals. Decisions were not made in the public meetings between the elder men, but negotiated backstage in daily interactions, for example between a herd owner and his wife, a father and his son, or brothers. The importance of the young herders (low in age hierarchy, but great responsibility in terms of care for the herds) and women (low in gender hierarchy, but great responsibility for the household) has generally been overlooked in literature, but proved to be essential in the understanding of pastoral mobility. I will discuss the theoretical and methodological implications of these findings for studies of pastoral mobility.
Nature of Charged Metastable Defects in Network Rebonding Model

We recently developed an atomistic model of metastability of a-Si:H, where defect creation is driven by the breaking of weak silicon bonds. The kinetics of degradation in this model is simulated with coupled rate equations that show t1/3 kinetics of defect creation and saturation behavior similar to experiment. Saturated defect densities of neutral dangling bonds are accompanied by a much smaller density of negatively charged floating bonds and positively charged dangling bonds (D+). We propose a two-step annealing mechanism where the positively charged D+ dangling bonds are annealed at low temperature and the D0 at higher temperature -which accounts for hysteresis in mobility lifetime products.
Ecospeak in Transnational Environmental Tort Proceedings

Scholars have proposed numerous solutions to the procedural hurdles facing non-U.S. claimants like forum non conveniens and non-recognition of foreign money judgments, including allowing an arbitration forum as part of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs). This Article explains and applies environmental rhetoric to examine the positions taken by Chevron-Texaco and the Republic of Ecuador in an ongoing environmental dispute involving indigenous Ecuadorans to show how they continually reduce the complex and intersecting interests of the stakeholders into simplistic us-versus-them binaries to gain strategic advantage. While the rhetorical analysis concludes that the proffered solutions may not be viable, it also suggests ways in which the shared interests of the parties could lead to alternative solutions.
Dynamic Modeling of the Interaction between Urban Transportation and Urban Landuse Change

One major cause to urban sprawl can be attributed to the urban transportation system. The building of new highways and roads tends to bring about new traffic and thus reduces the expected increase in efficiency. In this model an effort has been made to model the mutual interaction between urban transportation system and the urban landuse pattern and its change with time. The major factor influencing the location of the middle-class population is the travel time to their places of interest and the state of the transportation facilities available for this travel. The impacts of transportation viz., environmental impact, social impact and economic impact have been considered while coming up with this model. An existing layout of transportation network and policies can be easily studied for their most likely impact in the region over a few decades under different economic scenarios to help envisage the pattern of future growth. Such a tool could be very useful in regional policy decision-making and transportation planning. This model has been applied as part of the LEAM model in the Peoria region, the results of which been briefly discussed. An improved model is being applied in the greater St. Louis region.
Data & Model Conditioning for Multivariate Systematic Uncertainty in Model Calibration, Validation, and Extrapolation 1

This paper discusses implications and appropriate treatment of systematic uncertainty in experiments and modeling. Systematic uncertainty exists when experimental conditions, and/or measurement bias errors, and/or bias contributed by post-processing the data, are constant over the set of experiments but the particular values of the conditions and/or biases are unknown to within some specified uncertainty. Systematic uncertainties in experiments do not automatically show up in the output data, unlike random uncertainty which is revealed when multiple experiments are performed. Therefore, the output data must be properly "conditioned" to reflect important sources of systematic uncertainty in the experiments. In industrial scale experiments the systematic uncertainty in experimental conditions (especially boundary conditions) is often large enough that the inference error on how the experimental system maps inputs to outputs is often quite substantial. Any such inference error and uncertainty thereof also has implications in model validation and calibration/conditioning; ignoring systematic uncertainty in experiments can lead to “Type X” error in these procedures. Apart from any considerations of modeling and simulation, reporting of uncertainty associated with experimental results should include the effects of any significant systematic uncertainties in the experiments. This paper describes and illustrates the treatment of multivariate systematic uncertainties of interval and/or probabilistic natures, and combined cases. The paper also outlines a practical and versatile “real-space” framework and methodology within which experimental and modeling uncertainties (correlated and uncorrelated, systematic and random, aleatory and epistemic) are treated to mitigate risk in model validation, calibration/conditioning, hierarchical modeling, and extrapolative prediction.
UV filaments:great potential for long distance waveguides in air

We report studies on UV filaments regarding length, energy, spectrum, and conductivity. They show no energy loss in form of conical emission and their high conductivity makes them excellent candidates for waveguides in air.
Photosensory transduction in the flagellated alga, Euglena gracilis

Euglena were cultured under 3 W m-2 constant white light. In culture medium, cells show immediate and long lasting step-down photophobic responses and photoaccumulation behavior to blue light if dim red light-adapted for 30 min. However, if cells are suspended in buffered, saltcontaining solutions (adaptation buffers), strong step-down photobehavior and photoaccumulation responses are not observed for several hours. These behaviors gradually increase in strength to reach a maximum after 6–12 h; after which a stable response is maintained. The relative rates of appearance and the relative strengths of the responses are influenced by the concentrations of Ca2+ and K+, but not H+ or Na+ ions, in the adaptation buffers. Expression of the stepdown photobehavior thus requires that the cells adapt to the chemical environment in which they are suspended.
Accumulation effect of film damage under repetitive laser pulses

In order to study the accumulation effect of film damage under repetitive laser pulses,experimental observations and thermodynamic analysis were carried out. The morphologies damaged by single and multiple laser pulses were observed under a 5000×microscope,then the thermodynamic process between the interaction of laser and plasma was analyzed. Finally the evolution rule of the film damage was found. Both of these two damaged morphologies can be explained by the thermodynamic interactions between laser and laser plasmas. The research results show that: the rough surface of thin film is induced by the laser pulses,which will absorb more laser energy than the beginning. The melt will be removed by the stronger ablation and will be accumulated outside of the laser working area. Since the laser energy is Gaussian distributed,the damaged of multiple laser pulses is centralized and the ablation is limited at the center of laser beam only. This result is a preference for study about film ablation under repetitive laser pulses.
Isolation and fatty acid composition of the plant sulfolipid and galactolipids

The plant sulfolipid has been isolated from Chlorella pyrenoidosa cells and from alfalfa leaves by chromatography on Florisil and DEAE cellulose columns. The galactolipids, galactosyl diglyceride and digalactosyl diglyceride were isolated by further chromatography on silicic acid columns. The galactolipids from alfalfa leaves were highly unsaturated and contained 87–94% linolenic acid, while the sulfolipid contained approximately equal amounts of palmitic and linolenic acids.
New Horizons at Pluto

The New Horizons mission has revealed Pluto and its moon Charon to be geologically active worlds. The familiar, yet exotic, landforms suggest that geologic processes operate similarly across the Solar System, even in its cold outer reaches.
Effect of a combined exposure to cytosine arabinoside, bryostatin 1, and recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor on the clonogenic growth in vitro of normal and leukemic human hematopoietic progenitor cells

We have examined the effect of a combined 24 h exposure to cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) and the protein kinase C activator bryostatin 1, either alone or in conjunction with recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rGM-CSF), on the clonogenic growth of 14 primary samples from acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients, as well as normal human committed and early hematopoietic progenitors. Incubation of blasts with 1 microM ara-C and 12.5 nM bryostatin 1(+/- 1.25 ng/ml rGM-CSF) resulted in a heterogeneous pattern of inhibitory effects toward primary leukemic colonies, ranging from 32-98%, and subadditive to synergistic drug interactions. However, exposure of blasts to ara-C and bryostatin 1, either with or without rGM-CSF, eliminated leukemic cell self-renewal in 80-93% of samples, and very substantially reduced growth in the remainder. Exposure of normal human bone marrow mononuclear cells to identical concentrations of ara-C and byostatin 1 permitted the survival of 23% of committed myeloid progenitors (granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units), and greater than 50% when rGM-CSF was included. Finally, exposure of bone marrow populations highly enriched for progenitor cells (CD34+, DR-, CD71-) to ara-C and bryostatin 1 +/- rGM-CSF for 24 h led to minimal reductions (e.g. 10-15%) in the survival of early hematopoietic progenitors (high proliferative potential colony-forming cells). Together, these findings indicate that combined exposure in vitro to ara-C and bryostatin 1, both with and without rGM-CSF, effectively inhibits the growth of leukemic cells with self-renewal capacity, while sparing a significant fraction of normal committed and primitive hematopoietic progenitors.
Algo-Ritmo: More-Than-Human Performative Acts and the Racializing Assemblages of Algorithmic Architectures

What happens when more-than-human digital acts tell us something about ourselves? This article examines the ways in which the algorithms of data analytics function in relation to other ontologies a...
Thermodynamics with time: Exergy and passivity

Abstract In this paper we continue the exploration started in the joint paper Brockett and Willems (1978) with a view toward the further development of models for characterizing the limits on energy flow in mixed thermal–mechanical systems. We put the thermodynamic concept of exergy 1 (available energy) in system theoretic terms and discuss its use as a storage function in the context of input–output models. In important cases the reachable sets for the systems considered here are not closed and of course this complicates any discussion of optimality. Only through the consideration of the closure of the reachable sets can the connection between optimal trajectories of dynamical systems and the basic results of classical thermodynamics be made tight.
Experimental and numerical study of a printed circuit heat exchanger

Abstract Printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs) are promising to be employed in very-high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (VHTRs) due to their high robustness for high-temperature, high-pressure applications and high compactness. PCHEs typically serve as intermediate heat exchangers (IHXs) that isolate the secondary loop from the reactor’s primary system and hence must be sufficiently robust to maintain the system integrity during normal and off-normal conditions. In addition, the performance of the PCHE-type IHX could considerably affect the nuclear power plant overall operation since any transients on the secondary side would be propagated back to the reactor’s primary coolant system via the IHX. It is therefore imperative to understand how the PCHE would dynamically respond to a variety of transients. In the current study, experiments were first conducted to examine the steady-state thermal performance of a reduced-scale straight-channel PCHE. A dynamic model benchmarked in a previous study was then used to predict the steady-state and transient behavior of the PCHE. The steady-state temperature profiles of the working fluids on both the hot and cold sides and in the solid plates of the heat exchanger were obtained, which served as the initial condition for the transient simulations. The detailed dynamic response of the straight-channel PCHE, subject to inlet temperature variations, helium mass flow variations, and combinations of the two, was simulated and analyzed. In addition, two sets of transient tests, one for helium inlet temperature increase and the other for helium inlet temperature decrease, were experimentally carried out to assess the applicability of the dynamic model. Comparisons of the numerical results with the experimental data show that the dynamic model is successful in predicting the experimental transient scenarios. Although difference was observed between the numerical results and experimental data, the comparisons suggest that the numerical solutions are sufficiently accurate and conservative and that the applicability of the dynamic model proposed for predicting the steady-state and transient performance of the straight-channel PCHE has been confirmed. Furthermore, both the numerical and experimental studies provide insights into the dynamic performance of the PCHE.
ALOPEX Algorithm for Supervised Learning in Layer Networks

We describe the use of ALOPEX algorithm for solving non-linear learning tasks by multi-layer feed-forward networks. ALOPEX is a stochastic parallel process which has been previously applied in a theory of perception [1,2,3]. It has also been applied to several non-linear optimization problems such as the Travelling Salesman Problem [4] . It estimates the weight changes by using only a scalar cost function which is a measure of global performance. We present the results of computer simulations for learning tasks involving the parity problem and compare them to the back-propagation method of Rumelhart et al. [5].
Extension of the Hot-Switching Reliability of RF-MEMS Switches Using a Series Contact Protection Technique

This paper presents a design methodology to drastically improve the hot-switching reliability of contact-type radio frequency microelectromechanical system (RF-MEMS) switches. In the proposed design, sacrificial contacts are placed in parallel with low-resistance contacts to significantly reduce the electric field across the latter. The lower field strength drastically reduces the contact degradation associated with field-induced material transfer. Theoretical and numerical modeling shows that the proposed protection scheme introduces minimal, if any, impact on the RF performance of the switch. To realize the protection scheme, we introduce a novel mechanical design that allows the correct protection actuation sequence to be realized using a single actuator and bias electrode. As a demonstration, several 0–40-GHz RF-MEMS switches are fabricated using a robust copper sacrificial layer technique. Compared with unprotected switches, the protected switch design exhibits over 100 times improvement in the hot-switching lifetime. In particular, we demonstrate a 100–150 million cycle lifetime at 1-W hot switching and 50 million cycles at 2-W hot switching before catastrophic failure, measured in an open-air lab environment. Further optimization of the structural design and contact materials is likely to further increase the hot-switching lifetime.
Minding the Gap: Synthetic Strategies for Tuning the Energy Gap in Conjugated Molecules

While structure–property relationships are commonly developed in applications of physical organic chemistry to real-world problems at the graduate level, they have not been generally emphasized in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. For instance, the ability to modify the energy gap between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) in π-conjugated small molecules and polymers is of particular interest in the fields of polymer chemistry and materials science, where small-gap systems can function as semiconductors in electronic devices. In order to demonstrate a general strategy for tuning the HOMO–LUMO energy gap for π-conjugated materials, a new experiment was designed for the undergraduate organic laboratory course that combines synthesis with theoretical calculations for π-conjugated biphenyl systems with differing electronic properties to generate a simple structure–property study of functional group substitution on the biphenyl core. The synth...
ThinkPad low-power evolution

Over the last three years ThinkPad development has both significantly reduced power consumption and increased battery capacity. This paper will examine three generations of ThinkPad computers and show how the reduced power consumption has been achieved by technology improvement and better understanding customer usage.