cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of halide in homogeneous Cr(III)/PNP/MAO catalytic systems for ethylene tetramerization toward 1-octene

Abstract In homogeneous Cr(III)/methylaluminoxane/cyclopentyl-bisphosphineamine (PNP)/halide ethylene tetramerization catalyst systems, the effects of halide on the 1-octene formation selectivity and the catalytic activity were investigated. The comparative studies showed that both 1-octene formation selectivity and catalytic activity of the four-member catalytic systems containing dichloromethane were higher than those of containing trichloromethane and tetrachoromethane. 1,1,2-Trichloroethane showed much higher 1-octene formation selectivity improvement than 1,1,1-trichloroethane. The improvement of chloride on 1-octene formation selectivity and catalytic activity was much better than that of a corresponding bromide. So we can draw a conclusion that the steric hindrance, the molecular stability, the halides group configuration, and the types of the halides are important factors for ethylene tetramerization toward 1-octene. Some specific interaction modes of halogen groups with active Cr species in the catalytic cycle are proposed to explain the 1-octene selectivity improvement effects of halide in the ethylene tetramerization reaction.
W → τν at the Tevatron

Abstract We present resultsfrom the CDF and DO detectors on the production of W-bosons decaying to τντ at the FNAL Tevatron from data taken between 1992 and 1996. From CDF comes the first observation of W charge asymmetry in W → τν final states, and from DO a new measurement of gWτ/gWe, 1.003 ± 0.032.
RISK, ESPECIALLY RISK OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENT

This paper discusses various definitions of risk, risk compensation, subjective risk, and compares risk with exposure and accident proneness.
Is that your final answer

The purpose of this research is to test the efficacy of applying automated evaluation techniques, originally devised for the evaluation of human language learners, to the output of machine translation (MT) systems. We believe that these evaluation techniques will provide information about both the human language learning process, the translation process and the development of machine translation systems. This, the first experiment in a series of experiments, looks at the intelligibility of MT output. A language learning experiment showed that assessors can differentiate native from non-native language essays in less than 100 words. Even more illuminating was the factors on which the assessors made their decisions. We tested this to see if similar criteria could be elicited from duplicating the experiment using machine translation output. Subjects were given a set of up to six extracts of translated newswire text. Some of the extracts were expert human translations, others were machine translation outputs. The subjects were given three minutes per extract to determine whether they believed the sample output to be an expert human translation or a machine translation. Additionally, they were asked to mark the word at which they made this decision. The results of this experiment, along with a preliminary analysis of the factors involved in the decision making process will be presented here.
Magnetic amplifiers with inductive D-C load

The occurrence of instabilities in magnetic amplifiers with inductive d-c load is well known. Less known, however, is the mechanism causing the instability, of which a published analysis is believed nonexistent. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the mechanics of instability qualitatively and quantitatively and to explain some of the means by which this instability can be averted.
Increase in NF-κB-sensitive miRNA-146a and miRNA-155 in multiple sclerosis (MS) and pro-inflammatory neurodegeneration

Deidre J. Devier, Jesus F. Lovera and Walter J. Lukiw* 1 Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA 2 Department of Neurology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA 3 Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA 4 Department of Ophthalmology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA *Correspondence: wlukiw@lsuhsc.edu
In Vitro and Modelling Approaches to Risk Assessment from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ToxCast Programme

A significant challenge in toxicology is the 'too many chemicals' problem. Human beings and environmental species are exposed to tens of thousands of chemicals, only a small percentage of which have been tested thoroughly using standard in vivo test methods. This study reviews several approaches that are being developed to deal with this problem by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under the umbrella of the ToxCast programme (http://epa.gov/ncct/toxcast/). The overall approach is broken into seven tasks: (i) identifying biological pathways that, when perturbed, can lead to toxicity; (ii) developing high-throughput in vitro assays to test chemical perturbations of these pathways; (iii) identifying the universe of chemicals with likely human or ecological exposure; (iv) testing as many of these chemicals as possible in the relevant in vitro assays; (v) developing hazard models that take the results of these tests and identify chemicals as being potential toxicants; (vi) generating toxicokinetics data on these chemicals to predict the doses at which these hazard pathways would be activated; and (vii) developing exposure models to identify chemicals for which these hazardous dose levels could be achieved. This overall strategy is described and briefly illustrated with recent examples from the ToxCast programme.
Ca 2+ -dependent and -independent activities of neural and non-neural synaptotagmins

SYNAPTOTAGMINS (Syts) are brain-specific Ca2+/phospholipidbinding proteins1–5. In hippocampal synapses, Syt I is essential for fast Ca2+-dependent synaptic vesicle exocytosis but not for Ca2 +- independent exocytosis3. In vertebrates and invertebrates6–9, Syt may therefore participate in Ca22 +–dependent synaptic membrane fusion, either by serving as the Ca2 + sensor in the last step of fast Ca2 +-triggered neurotransmitter release, or by collaborating with an additional Ca2 + sensor. While Syt I binds Ca2 +(refs 10,11), its phospholipid binding is triggered at lower calcium concentrations (EC50 = 3–6µM) than those required for exocytosis12. Furthermore, Syts bind clathrin–AP2 with high affinity, indicating that they may play a general role in endocytosis4,5 rather than being confined to a specialized function in regulated exocytosis3. Here we resolve this apparent contradiction by describing four Syts, three of which (Syt VI, VII and VIII) are widely expressed in non-neural tissues. All Syts tested share a common domain structure, with a cytoplasmic region composed of two C2 domains that interacts with clathrin–AP2 (Kd = 0.1–1.0nM) and with neural and non-neural syntaxins. The first C2 domains of Syt I, II, III, V and VII, but not of IV, VI or VIII, bind phospholipids with a similar Ca2+–concentration dependence (EC50 = 3–6µM). The same C2 domains also bind syntaxin as a function of Ca2 + but the Ca2 +–concentration dependence of Syt I, II and V (>200 µM) differs from that of Syt III and VII (<10 µM). Syts therefore appear to be ubiquitous proteins with a role in exocytosis mediated by syntaxin binding. The Ca2 +levels needed to trigger syntaxin binding by the different Syts suggest that they play distinct roles in membrane fusion; the level required by Syt I approximates those required for synaptic exocytosis.
Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of mesna-mediated plasma cysteine depletion

Cellular glutathione (GSH) levels are related to the resistance of tumor cells to platinum and alkylating agents, and depletion of GSH may enhance the activity of these drugs. The pharmacodynamic effects of mesna on depleting plasma cysteine, a GSH precursor, were evaluated in 22 patients as part of a Phase I study. Escalating doses of ifosfamide and mesna were administered; carboplatin was administered to achieve an AUC of 4 mg x min/mL. Plasma samples were collected and assayed by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for total mesna and total cysteine concentrations at 0, 1, 3, 6, 24, 25, 28, and 48 hours. A one-compartment pharmacokinetic model was fit to the mesna plasma concentrations, using M.A.P. Bayesian estimation (ADAPT II). Pharmacodynamics were evaluated by fitting an inhibitory Emax model to the cysteine concentration data. Both the pharmacokinetic (median R2 = 0.95; range = 0.85-0.98) and pharmacodynamic (median R2 = 0.96; range = 0.74-1.0) models fit the data well. Mean (coefficient of variation [CV%]) mesna pharmacokinetic parameter estimates were as follows: Vss of 15.3 (29) L/m2, CL of 4.6 (29) L/h/m2, and half-life of 2.2 (37) hours. Mean (CV%) pharmacodynamic parameter estimates were as follows: Emax of 31.7 (19) microg/mL and EC50 of 10.3 (52) microg/mL. Mesna produced a rapid, concentration-dependent reduction in plasma cysteine concentrations that could be adequately characterized by an inhibitory Emax pharmacodynamic model. The depletion of plasma cysteine was facilitated by ifosfamide, suggesting a pharmacodynamic interaction between these two agents. Further increases in mesna doses beyond those administered in this study would be unlikely to provide additional benefit.
Chicano Lite: Mexican-American consumer culture on the border

This article is an ethnography of working-class, Mexican-American consumer patterns on the US-Mexico border. Through a study of locally-owned grocery stores, family parties and fast-food restaurants in El Paso, Texas, I examine the double-edged nature of border consumerism. Minority consumers, such as Mexican-Americans, often modify mainstream consumer products and processes to suit their own needs and values. The resultant consumer styles embody a considerable degree of creativity, contradiction and hybridity, especially for immigrant minorities. I show how, despite their subordinated class and status positions in US society, Mexican-Americans create spaces of resistant cultural meaning within consumer spheres normally treated as generically (Anglo-) American. I conclude that US consumer culture is both a source of self-fulfilment and a means through which Mexican-Americans become further enmeshed in a system of vastly unequal political and economic power.
A classification theorem for diagrams of simplicial sets

1.1 Summary THE AIM of this paper is to prove a rather general classification theorem for diagrams of simplicial sets, which encompasses the classification results for Postnikov conjugates of [15] and [3] and those for simplicialfibrations of [1] and [4]. This theorem will be applied in [10] to analyze the category of topological spaces on which a topological group G acts. It leads to a classification of these G-spaces with respect to weak equivariant homotopy equivalences, i.e. with respect to equivariant maps which restrict to weak homotopy equivalences on the fixed point sets of a given collection of subgroups of G. 1.2 Motivation To motivate our result we start with recalling the essence of the two classification results mentioned above:
Comment on "Effect of fractons and magnons on the resistivity of dilute ferromagnets"

The double-time Green's-function decoupling scheme used by Li, Tian, and Jiang [Phys. Rev. B 47, 11 905 (1993)] is non-self-consistent and non-moment-preserving. When replaced by a self-consistent, moment-preserving decoupling scheme, important differences arise. In particular, the results presented by Li et al. for a system of spin S and spin coupling constant ${\mathit{J}}_{\mathit{i}\mathit{j}}$ are, instead, appropriate for a system with spin S/2 and spin coupling constant 2${\mathit{J}}_{\mathit{i}\mathit{j}}$.
Removable singularities for generalized Prüfer transformations

Abstract A recent generalization of the classical Prufer transformation to fourth order differential equations encountered singularities which limited such transformations to specific classes of self-adjoint boundary value problems. This paper shows that these singularities are removable and extends such transformations to the general self-adjoint equation of order 2n.
1307 HEARING LOSS AND NEUROLOGIC IMPAIRMENT: TIMING OF SYSTEMIC INSULT AS INDICATED BY TOOTH DEFECTS

Hearing loss and primary tooth defects have been separately associated with neurological impairment, but have not been systematically examined in the same population. To investigate the association of these defects and to explore their potential use as prenatal biological markers, 18 children presenting for hearing evaluation were examined. 11 had enamel defects. 5 had defects consistent with a systemic insult occurring in the 2nd trimester, 2 between 29-33 wks gestation, and 4 near term. Hearing loss was more severe in the 5 with enamel defects occurring in the mid-trimester x=70 dB), than in the 4 subjects with defects occurring around term x=23 dB) (t=3.1; p<.05). Of tne remaining two subjects, one had normal hearing and the other had a moderate loss. A correlation was found between the average degree of hearing loss (in dB) vs. the estimated time of systemic insult (in wks gestational age) as indicated by position of tooth defect (r=-.78; p<.01). Neurological profiles also differed. Developmental delay was more prevalent and more marked in the group with defects occurring in the mid-trimester vs. term; 4/5 children in the former group had visual/occulomotor defects compared to none in the latter group. These findings suggest a differential susceptibility for developing neurologic structures such that a given systemic insult occurring in the mid-trimester of pregnancy appears to have more serious ramifications regarding subsequent auditory and neurologic function, than those occurring late in gestation.
Misidentifications in the arc spectra of the rare earths

Abstract The MIT Wavelength Tables contain a number of errors in the listing of the emission lines of the rare-earth elements. These errors consist of either misidentifications of the spectral lines or discrepancies in the assigned intensities. Both types of errors apparently arose from the unrecognized presence of rare-earth impurities in the rare earths whose spectra were investigated. These misidentifications are listed in tabular form along with the correct assignments as determined by a careful examination of the spectra of highly purified rare earths.
Series expansions of multiple Lévy integrals

Multiple stochastic integrals with respect to an infinitely divisible symmetric random measure without a Gaussian component admit LePage-type representations by means of certain multiple random series.
A Partial Coefficient for Goodman and Kruskal's Gamma

Abstract Following Goodman and Kruskal's interpretation of their coefficient, γA,B, a partial coefficient, γA, B|C is defined as “how much more probable it is to get like than unlike orders in measures A and B when pairs of individuals differing on A and on B and tied on C but unselected on any other measure are chosen at random from the population.” It is shown that this coefficient is a weighted sum of the values of γ in the various strata defined by categories of C, where the weight in stratum i is its proportion of the total pairs which differ on A and B and are tied on C. An empirical example illustrates the calculation of the co-efficient.
Analysis of Asperity−Asperity Adhesion Forces Utilizing Statistical Analysis Techniques and the Force Selectivity of the Scanning Probe Microscope

A statistical analysis technique, developed by Beebe and co-workers (Han, T.; Williams, J. M.; Beebe, T. P., Jr. Anal. Chim. Acta 1995, 307, 365. Williams, J. M.; Han, T.; Beebe, T. P., Jr. Langmui...
Effect of neodymium, copper and aluminum on the hydriding characteristics of CeNi5

Abstract The hydrides of Ce0.7Nd0.3Ni2.5Cu2.5 and the CeNi5−x−yCuxAly quaternaries with 2
Baclofen has opposite effects on escalation of cocaine self-administration: Increased intake in rats selectively bred for high (HiS) saccharin intake and decreased intake in those selected for low (LoS) saccharin intake

Rats selectively bred for high saccharin intake (HiS) self-administer more cocaine, escalate their cocaine intake during long access, and reinstate cocaine seeking at higher levels than those bred for low saccharin intake (LoS). The present study was conducted to determine if baclofen, an agonist at the GABA(b) receptor, has differential effects on the escalation of i.v. cocaine intake and reinstatement of cocaine-seeking in HiS and LoS rats. HiS and LoS rats self-administered cocaine during a 2-h daily short-access (ShA) phase for 3 days and then long-access (LgA) sessions for 21 days followed by a second ShA phase. One group of HiS and LoS rats received i.p. injections of 2.5 mg/kg baclofen (HiS+B and LoS+B, respectively), and other groups of HiS and LoS rats received saline (HiS+Sal and LoS+Sal) before each daily session. In a second experiment, HiS and LoS rats self-administered i.v. cocaine during 2-h sessions for 14 days followed by a 21-day extinction period. Baclofen (2.5 mg/kg, i.p.) or saline was administered before saline- or cocaine-primed reinstatement sessions. The HiS+B group escalated their cocaine self-administration and had increased cocaine infusions in the post-LgA ShA phase. The LoS+B group self-administered less cocaine throughout the entire LgA period compared to the LoS+Sal or HiS groups. Baclofen attenuated reinstatement of cocaine seeking in both the HiS and LoS rats with no phenotype differences. Thus, baclofen had opposite effects on cocaine intake in HiS and LoS rats during escalation; but similar effects during reinstatement. These results suggest that treatment effects might vary with individual differences (HiS vs. LoS) and the phase of drug-motivated behavior that is modeled.
Jews and Judaism in Luke–Acts: Reading as a Godfearer

It is difficult to find a more vigorously debated topic in NT studies today than the issue of anti-Judaism in early Christian documents in general and in Luke–Acts in particular. In regard to Luke–Acts, the range of viewpoints to be found among scholars is truly bewildering. In order to set the context for explicating my own position, I will outline my understanding of the contributions of Jacob Jervell and Jack T. Sanders, whose approaches appear to stand at opposite poles from one another and establish the limits within which other scholars customarily work.
Siding Spacing and the Incremental Capacity of the Transition From Single to Double Track

The North American freight railroad network is projected to experience rising transportation demand in the coming decades, leading to increased congestion along many rail corridors. Increased interest in expanded passenger service on shared rail corridors will also create additional capacity demand. However, the nation’s rail lines are still predominantly single track with passing sidings, making double track installation a vital capacity upgrade measure to sustain future volumes. Since increasing capacity through double track installation requires significant capital investment, the second main track must be allocated along a line in an optimal manner to provide maximum return on investment. An approach of investing in the least costly segments first may yield good results, but only if the benefits for each segment are equal. This research seeks to identify if the benefit of double track varies between bottleneck segments, and if there are compounding benefits of double track between adjacent passing sidings. Previous research has explored the allocation of double track on an idealized line with evenly spaced passing sidings. Due to numerous physical and engineering constraints, existing lines often exhibit a mixture of siding spacing with single-track bottleneck sections of varying length. To investigate the incremental capacity of adding double-track segments to a route with variable siding spacing, several build-out strategies are tested on a representative subdivision under random, mixed freight and passenger traffic via Rail Traffic Controller simulation software. The presented results highlight the most effective method, based on train delay, of incremental single to double track expansion and the potential differences in benefit between strategies. The linear delay reduction characteristics of single-to-double track mainlines vary based on the initial spatial arrangement of passing sidings and amount of second main track installed. These results further the understanding of relationships between infrastructure location and freight delay, thereby serving as a guideline for the sustainable expansion of existing rail corridors in anticipation of future demands. While railroads must consider many factors in selecting capital expansion projects, these guidelines can streamline the decision process by helping to quickly identify the projects with the most potential for more detailed engineering evaluation. The methodology presented can eventually be incorporated into analyzing the progressions from double to triple track lines.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Natural photonic crystals: Formation, structure, function

The structure and properties of natural photonic crystals are discussed using the colored scales of the beetle Lamprocyphus augustus as an example. While the exact mechanism behind the formation of these biopolymeric photonic structures has yet to be fully explored, similarities of these structures to intracellular cubic membrane architectures are introduced. Some crucial parameters behind the formation of cubic membranes are discussed. Using these insights, intracellular cubic membrane structures are transformed into an extracellular environment.
Near‐total surface melt detected on the Greenland Ice Sheet

On 12 July 2012, 98.6% of the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet melted, an event so expansive that a similar episode had not previously been seen in the satellite era. Ice core records indicate that the most recent melting event of this scale was 123 years ago. The one before that occurred another 7 centuries prior, during the Medieval Warm Period. Just 2 weeks following the near-total melt of the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet, after the surface ice had refrozen to seasonal levels, a second episode pushed the melt area back up to 79.2%. Compiling measurements from three different satellite systems and from in-the-field observations, Nghiem et al. describe the extent of the melt. The authors suggest that warm air ridges stagnating over Greenland, coincident with the melt episodes, may have underlain the extensive melting.
The Early American Qur'an: Islamic Scripture and US Canon

Although considerable scholarly attention has been paid to US Orientalism in the nineteenth century, there remains no targeted study of the formative influence exercised by the Qur'an upon the canon of early American literature. The present paper surveys receptions, adaptations and translations of the Qur'an during the ‘American Renaissance’, identifying the Qur'anic echoes which permeate the seminal works of literary patriarchs such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe. Examining the literary and religious tensions raised by antebellum importations of Islamic scripture, the essay interrogates how the aesthetic contours of the Qur'an in particular serve both to attract and obstruct early US readings, mapping the diverse responses to the Muslim sacred generated by American Romantics and Transcendentalists.
Book Review: An Assay of Biochips [review of two books: Design Automation Methods and Tools for Microfluidics-Based Biochips (Chakrabarty, K. and Zeng, J., eds.) and BioMEMS (Urban, G.A., ed.)

This is an integrated review of two related books, Design Automation Methods and Tools for Microfluidics-Based Biochips (edited by Krishnendu Chakrabarty and Jun Zeng) and BioMEMS (edited by Gerald A. Urban). Both books include contributions from several authors on topics related to their areas of expertise. Together, they provide a good introduction to the field of biochips. All in all, both books are well written and constitute excellent sources for a first, or second, look at this field.
Genetic Factors and Host Traits Predict Spore Morphology for a Butterfly Pathogen

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) throughout the world are commonly infected by the specialist pathogen Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE). This protozoan is transmitted when larvae ingest infectious stages (spores) scattered onto host plant leaves by infected adults. Parasites replicate internally during larval and pupal stages, and adult monarchs emerge covered with millions of dormant spores on the outsides of their bodies. Across multiple monarch populations, OE varies in prevalence and virulence. Here, we examined geographic and genetic variation in OE spore morphology using clonal parasite lineages derived from each of four host populations (eastern and western North America, South Florida and Hawaii). Spores were harvested from experimentally inoculated, captive-reared adult monarchs. Using light microscopy and digital image analysis, we measured the size, shape and color of 30 replicate spores per host. Analyses examined predictors of spore morphology, including parasite source population and clone, parasite load, and the following host traits: family line, sex, wing area, and wing color (orange and black pigmentation). Results showed significant differences in spore size and shape among parasite clones, suggesting genetic determinants of morphological variation. Spore size also increased with monarch wing size, and monarchs with larger and darker orange wings tended to have darker colored spores, consistent with the idea that parasite development depends on variation in host quality and resources. We found no evidence for effects of source population on variation in spore morphology. Collectively, these results provide support for heritable variation in spore morphology and a role for host traits in affecting parasite development.
Finding the convex hull facet by facet

Abstract Finding the convex hull of a finite set of points in Euclidean space was one of the first problems explored in the field of computational geometry. In two dimensions a variety of algorithms have been developed and analyzed. For higher dimensions the problems are less well understood. Several “convex hull” problems are defined, solved, and analyzed here in terms of the size of the input and output. In all cases these solutions are the best of the known algorthms. The problems include enumerating the facets of the convex hull, computing the facial lattice of the convex hull and producing a new compact structure representing the combinatorial type of the convex hull. In addition, deciding the combinatorial equivalence of two polytopes is shown to be coNP-hard.
Altered Neutrophil Migration during Bacterial Infection Associated with a Serum Modulator of Cellular Motility

The motility of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) from 25 patients with bacterial infection was assessed by using the migration-under-agarose assay. A spectrum of responses was observed. Random and directional motility stimulated by C5a or N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP) were enhanced, normal, or suppressed in parallel. These responses contrasted with those of normal PMNLs preincubated with either FMLP or C5a; preincubation with one chemotaxin inhibited a subsequent response to the same stimulus but did not inhibit the response to the other. The parallel responses of patient PMNLs to C5a and FMLP suggest that the altered motility reflects a perturbation independent of a specific chemotactic receptor. Heat-inactivated serum from patients with bacterial infection, when preincubated with normal PMNLs, resulted in significant enhancement of both random and directional migration. The data indicate that bacterial infection is associated with appearance of a modulator of neutrophil motility.
Quasi-relativistic local spin density functional calculations of dipole oscillator strengths in alkali isoelectronic series

Abstract Quasi-relativistic local spin density functional with correlation energy has been used in conjunction with the concept of Slater transition state to calculate the ( n s→ n p) dipole oscillator strength in the isoelectronic series corresponding to Li(n = 2), Na(n = 3), K(n = 4), Rb(n = 5), Cs(n = 6) and Fr(n = 7) respectively. Up to three positive ions have been included in each series . A comparison with experimental and other theoretical values including correlation, relativistic and core polarization effects suggest that LSD approximation leads to reliable estimates of the dipole oscillator strengths.
Ozone Uptake by Bean Leaves

The removal of ozone from the air by bean leaves is regulated by the same factors that control the exchange of water vapor between leaves and the atmosphere.
The entropy maximum of protein

Abstract This work points out certain inaccuracies in the paper by Temple F. Smith which first described the maximum in the entropy function of protein within the base composition range of vertebrates. The significance of this maximum is discussed.
IR permittivities for silicides and doped silicon

The complex permittivity for Pt, Pd, Ni, and Ti-silicide films as well as heavily doped p- and n-type silicon were determined by ellipsometry over the energy range 0.031 eV to 4.0 eV. Fits to the Drude model gave bulk plasma and relaxation frequencies. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and four-point probe measurements complemented the optical characterization. Calculations from measured permittivities of waveguide loss and mode confinement suggest that the considered materials are better suited for long-wavelength surface-plasmon-polariton waveguide applications than metal films.
Mechanistic modeling of interfacial area transport in large diameter pipes

Abstract Flow in large pipes is important in a wide variety of applications. In the nuclear industry in particular, understanding of flow in large diameter pipes is essential in predicting the behavior of reactor systems. This is especially true of natural circulation Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) designs, where a large-diameter chimney above the core provides the gravity head to drive circulation of the coolant through the reactor. The behavior of such reactors during transients and during normal operation will be predicted using advanced thermal-hydraulics analysis codes utilizing the two-fluid model. Essential to accurate two-fluid model calculations is reliable and accurate computation of the interfacial transfer terms. These interfacial transfer terms can be expressed as the product of one term describing the potential driving the transfer and a second term describing the available surface area for transfer, or interfacial area concentration. Currently, the interfacial area is predicted using flow regime-dependent semi-empirical correlations; however the interfacial area concentration is best computed through the use of the one-dimensional interfacial area transport equation (IATE). To be useful in practical applications the IATE requires mechanistic models for the change in interfacial area concentration due to interactions between bubbles. Therefore using previously collected data and proper scaling methods, current models for bubble interactions for the IATE are briefly discussed and new models applicable to large pipes are developed and compared with the existing data.
The Sokal Affair in Context

The failure to consider the Sokal affair in light of other, related episodes has contributed to a wholesale misreading of its significance. The episode has often been offered as evidence for the bankruptcy of a broad and diverse collection offields, variously referred to as cultural studies of science, sociology of science, history of science, and science and technology studies. However, when viewed in context, the Sokal affair illustrates pre cisely why social scientific and humanistic studies of science are necessary. To develop this argument, the author explicitly compares Alan Sokal's experiment with a similar experiment, performed by William M. Epstein and published in this very journal. Comparing the research questions, methods, ethics, and reception of these two experi ments not only reveals the limitations of Sokal's critique but also shows that Sokal has unwittingly endorsed one of the central lines of research in science and technology studies.
Expression of holo and apo forms of spinach acyl carrier protein-I in leaves of transgenic tobacco plants.

Acyl carrier protein (ACP) is a chloroplast-localized cofactor of fatty acid synthesis, desaturation, and acyl transfer. We have transformed tobacco with a chimeric gene consisting of the tobacco ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase promoter and transit peptide and the sequence encoding the mature spinach ACP-I. Spinach ACP-I was expressed in the transformed plants at levels twofold to threefold higher than the endogenous tobacco ACPs as determined by protein immunoblots and assays of ACP in leaf extracts. In addition to these elevated levels of the holo form, there were high levels of apoACP-I, a form lacking the 49-phosphopantetheine prosthetic group and not previously detected in vivo. The mature forms of both apoACP-I and holoACP-I were located in the chloroplasts, indicating that the transit peptide was cleaved and that attachment of the prosthetic group was not required for uptake into the plastid. There were also significant levels of spinach acyl-ACP-I, demonstrating that spinach ACP-I participated in tobacco fatty acid metabolism. Lipid analyses of the transformed plants indicated that the increased ACP levels caused no significant alterations in leaf lipid biosynthesis.
ICOS-Induced B7h Shedding on B Cells Is Inhibited by TLR7/8 and TLR9

We report in this study that B7h, the ligand for the ICOS costimulatory receptor, is rapidly shed from mouse B cells following either ICOS binding or BCR engagement. Shedding occurs through proteolytic cleavage that releases the extracellular ICOS-binding region of B7h. Prior exposure of B7h-expressing APCs to ICOS-expressing cells inhibits their subsequent ability to costimulate IFN-gamma and IL-4 production from CD4+ T cells. Shedding is regulated as TLR7/8 and TLR9 ligands inhibit B7h shedding. A shedding-resistant B7h mutant elicits greater costimulation of IFN-gamma production from CD4+ T cells than does wild-type B7h. These data define shedding of B7h as a novel mechanism for controlling costimulatory signaling by B7-CD28 family members that is regulated on B cells by TLR signaling.
X-ray moire pattern in defect-free silicon-on-insulator wafers prepared by oxygen ion implantation

Summary form only given. The powerful capabilities of Lang transmission X-ray topography (XRT) in characterizing the crystallographic perfection of the substrate silicon and the top of superficial silicon layer in separation by implantation of oxygen (SIMOX) wafers is discussed. Moire patterns formed by the two superimposed lattices of substrate silicon and top silicon layer in SIMOX wafers have been imaged under a variety of diffraction conditions and used to provide an extensive evaluation of the SIMOX process conditions. >
Top-down and bottom-up diversity cascades in detrital vs. living food webs

Apex predators and plant resources are both critical for maintaining diversity in biotic communities, but the indirect (cascading) effects of top-down and bottom-up forces on diversity at different trophic levels are not well resolved in terrestrial systems. Manipulations of predators or resources can cause direct changes of diversity at one trophic level, which in turn can affect diversity at other trophic levels. The indirect diversity effects of resource and consumer variation should be strongest in aquatic systems, moderate in terrestrial systems, and weakest in decomposer food webs. We measured effects of top predators and plant resources on the diversity of endophytic animals in an understorey shrub Piper cenocladum (Piperaceae). Predators and resource availability had significant direct and indirect effects on the diversity of the endophytic animal community, but the effects were not interactive, nor were they consistent between living vs. detrital food webs. The addition of fourth trophic level beetle predators increased diversity of consumers supported by living plant tissue, whereas balanced plant resources (light and nutrients) increased the diversity of primary through tertiary consumers in the detrital resources food web. These results support the hypotheses that top-down and bottom-up diversity cascades occur in terrestrial systems, and that diversity is affected by different factors in living vs. detrital food webs.
Sparse Estimation Using General Likelihoods and Non-Factorial Priors

Finding maximally sparse representations from overcomplete feature dictionaries frequently involves minimizing a cost function composed of a likelihood (or data fit) term and a prior (or penalty function) that favors sparsity. While typically the prior is factorial, here we examine non-factorial alternatives that have a number of desirable properties relevant to sparse estimation and are easily implemented using an efficient and globally-convergent, reweighted l1-norm minimization procedure. The first method under consideration arises from the sparse Bayesian learning (SBL) framework. Although based on a highly non-convex underlying cost function, in the context of canonical sparse estimation problems, we prove uniform superiority of this method over the Lasso in that, (i) it can never do worse, and (ii) for any dictionary and sparsity profile, there will always exist cases where it does better. These results challenge the prevailing reliance on strictly convex penalty functions for finding sparse solutions. We then derive a new non-factorial variant with similar properties that exhibits further performance improvements in some empirical tests. For both of these methods, as well as traditional factorial analogs, we demonstrate the effectiveness of reweighted l1-norm algorithms in handling more general sparse estimation problems involving classification, group feature selection, and non-negativity constraints. As a byproduct of this development, a rigorous reformulation of sparse Bayesian classification (e.g., the relevance vector machine) is derived that, unlike the original, involves no approximation steps and descends a well-defined objective function.
Literacy and Language: Relationships during the Preschool Years

Drawing upon recent research findings and upon a case study of a child learning to talk and to read, Catherine Snow outlines the important similarities in the development of both language and literacy. The characteristics of parent-child interaction which support language acquisition—semantic contingency, scaffolding, accountability procedures, and the use of routines—also facilitate early reading and writing development. The author dismisses the explanation that variations in the level of literacy in the home are responsible for social class differences in school achievement. To explain such differences, Snow emphasizes distinctive ways in which middle-class families prepare preschoolers to understand and produce decontextualized language.
Interstitial lung disease in antisynthetase syndrome without clinical myositis

Antisynthetase syndrome (ASS) is a lesser recognised idiopathic inflammatory myopathy with nearly 89% showing interstitial lung disease (ILD).1 However, in a small subpopulation without evidence of myositis, the diagnosis may be critically delayed, hindering management of this rapidly progressive disease. A 58-year-old Caucasian man presented with polyarthritis involving bilateral knees, shoulders, wrists and hand joints. He reported a history of questionable asthma with progressive dyspnoea despite optimal therapy. Examination revealed coarse pulmonary crepitations and diffuse small-joint swelling with rhagadiform skin changes …
Synthesis and properties of nano zeolitic imidazolate frameworks

Nanosized zeolitic imidazolate frameworks [nZIF-8] with excellent chemical and thermal stability have been synthesized at room temperature by simple mixing of 2-methylimidazole and zinc nitrate hexahydrate in methanol/1% high molecular weight poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) solution for 24 h.
Zur Vergiftung von Nickel‐Hydrierungskatalysatoren durch Sauerstoff

Es werden die Ergebnisse von Versuchen zur Vergiftung von Nickelkatalysatoren bei der Hydrierung in flussiger Phase durch dosierte Mengen von Sauerstoff und H2O2 mitgeteilt. The poisoning effects caused by dosed amounts of O2 and H2O2 on liquid-phase hydrogenation Ni-catalysts have been investigated.
Towards further understanding of the co-morbidity between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder: a MRI study of brain volumes.

Background. Although attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder (BPD) co-occur frequently and represent a particularly morbid clinical form of both disorders, neuroimaging research addressing this co-morbidity is scarce. Our aim was to evaluate the morphometric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) underpinnings of the co-morbidity of ADHD with BPD, testing the hypothesis that subjects with this co-morbidity would have neuroanatomical correlates of both disorders. Method. Morphometric MRI findings were compared between 31 adults with ADHD and BPD and with those of 18 with BPD, 26 with ADHD, and 23 healthy controls. The volumes (cm 3 ) of our regions of interest (ROIs) were estimated as a function of ADHD status, BPD status, age, sex, and omnibus brain volume using linear regression models. Results. When BPD was associated with a significantly smaller orbital prefrontal cortex and larger right thalamus, this pattern was found in co-morbid subjects with ADHD plus BPD. Likewise, when ADHD was associated with significantly less neocortical gray matter, less overall frontal lobe and superior prefrontal cortex volumes, a smaller right anterior cingulate cortex and less cerebellar gray matter, so did co-morbid ADHD plus BPD subjects. Conclusions. Our results support the hypothesis that ADHD and BPD independently contribute to volumetric alterations of selective and distinct brain structures. In the co-morbid state of ADHD plus BPD, the profile of brain volumetric abnormalities consists of structures that are altered in both disorders individually. Attention to co-morbidity is necessary to help clarify the heterogeneous neuroanatomy of both BPD and ADHD.
Unexpected Positive Events Do Not Result in Flashbulb Memories

Summary: The study of flashbulb memories has typically been confined to negative events such as the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Previous studies that investigated the role of affect on memory formation have produced conflicting results, making it difficult to ascertain the properties of positive flashbulb memories. In the current study, we employ previously established methods to investigate flashbulb memory formation for the assassination of Osama bin Laden. This resonated as a highly positive event for many Americans evidenced by the thousands of people flooding the streets of Washington, D.C., and New York City to celebrate. Results confirm the fading of memory details over time and further suggest that positive events do not result in the heightened vividness and confidence seen innegatively valenced flashbulb memories. Weargue thatthese findings are additional evidence against a special memory mechanism in flashbulb memory formation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Learning of historical events that occurred prior to one’s birth is a different experience than learning of historical events that have recently occurred (or are currently unfolding) as a firsthand experience. Berntsen (2009) has proposed that an individual will have an emotional reaction when learning of a public event if that event is relevant to some aspect of the individual’s social identity. The resulting emotional salience will then encourage rehearsal, which results in a memory that is detailed, is believed to be accurate, and can last a lifetime. These vivid, confidently held, long-lasting memories of learning about important, emotional events are described as flashbulb memories. Typical examples of flashbulb memories
The Elections Cartel in Regierungsbezirk Bromberg (Bydgoszcz), 1898–1903: Ethnic Rivalry, Agrarianism, and “Practicing Democracy”

In debates on the nature and degree of democratization in the Kaiserreich, the dynamics of rural politics have received perhaps less attention than they merit. Indeed, though the picture is more nuanced now, for a long period the ability of rural elites to dominate nonelites (a core aspect of these dynamics) was simply assumed, as was the relationship of this dominance to Germany's troubled democratization. In his 1943 work Bread and Democracy in Germany , for example, Alexander Gerschenkron blamed Germany's entrenched and elitist aristocracy for this trait of bullying voters into antidemocratic politics spanning from the Kaiserreich to the Third Reich. More subtly, the landmark 1966 study of Barrington Moore, Jr. noted the potential for an alliance between entrenched aristocracies and small peasantries, with each as reservoirs for antidemocratic (and potentially fascist) sentiment in several countries, with obvious application to the German case as well.
Glycemic Treatment in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

This is the second in a series of articles on presentations at the American Diabetes Association’s 66th Scientific Sessions, Washington, DC, 9–13 June 2006. A pilot project is underway to offer the Perspectives on the News commentaries as a monthly Web-based CME activity. Please access www.ada.procampus.net to view our initial efforts. We look forward to your comments. At the meeting of the Council on Nutritional Science and Metabolism, Joan V.C. Hill (Natick, MA) introduced a session addressing the implications of postprandial blood glucose monitoring by reminding the audience that the American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends a target HbA1c (A1C) of ≤7% but that the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey suggests that >60% of persons with diabetes fail to meet this goal. In a Quest laboratories analysis of 14.3 million A1C tests performed for diabetes diagnosis codes, half were shown to be above goal, although the average decreased from 7.8% in 2001 to 7.2% in 2005. An important question is the contribution of postprandial blood glucose to A1C, with the corollary being the determination of reasonable postprandial blood glucose targets, with Hill asking whether targeting postprandial blood glucose can improve metabolic control or, more importantly, improve outcome, recognizing the difficulty of determining the relationship between postprandial blood glucose and outcome. “The clear message,” Hill concluded, is that “achieving A1C close to goal [will require] monitoring postprandial glucose.” Martin Abrahamson (Boston, MA) reminded the audience, “Most of our lives are spent in the postprandial state,” with the preprandial state not beginning until 10 h after ingestion of food, perhaps in most persons only from 4:00 to 8:00 a.m. Thus, measurement of fasting glucose may represent a state not particularly representative of that encountered through the day. To achieve the target goal of A1C as close to normal …