cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Resolution of the discrepancy between temperature indicated interface and radiographically determined interface in a vertical Bridgman furnace

Abstract The melt-solid interface position was measured during the Bridgman growth of germanium both by X-ray imaging and by temperature measurements. X-ray imaging displayed an interface location through a change in image intensity representing the difference in density between liquid and solid germanium. The temperature measurements were obtained with thermocouples inserted into a centerline capillary tube in the germanium sample and translated to varying positions. The temperature profile indicated an interface location at the change in slope of temperature representing the difference in thermal conductivity between liquid and solid germanium. Comparisons between these measurement techniques showed a 3 mm difference in position of the interface. The position measured via radiography was lower (i.e. colder) than that measured by the temperature profile. The measured temperature was expected to be lower due to conduction of heat along the thermocouples but a spatial shift of the gradient discontinuity was not anticipated. The temperature field of the ampoule, growth material and measurement thermocouples was analyzed via numerical analysis. It was found that both the lower temperature and the spatial shift of the discontinuity in temperature gradient were a result of an end effect in the thermocouples. This end effect is caused by the low heat flux to the thermocouples which causes the temperature gradient at the tip of the thermocouples to be significantly lower than the temperature gradient of the environment. With this insight, a simple extension was made to the heat equation for a thin cylindrical rod in a temperature gradient. This analytical solution provided a good fit to both the numerical solution and the radiography data. This work provides a new insight into temperature measurement in a high gradient region.
RANGES AND ENERGY-LOSS PROCESSES OF HEAVY IONS IN EMULSION

The range-energy relations for C, N, O, Ne, and A ions in nuclear-track emulsion have been measured for energies up to 10 Mev/nucleon. The ions, accelerated by the heavy-ion linear accelerator, were suitably degraded and subsequently analyzed by a 180\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} double-focusing magnetic spectrometer. The heavy-ion ranges were measured relative to those of alpha particles which were employed to calibrate the instrument. Within the energy interval studied, it has been found that a general expression for the range of a heavy ion is $R=(\frac{M}{{z}^{2}})\ensuremath{\lambda}(\ensuremath{\beta})+M{z}^{\frac{2}{3}}{C}_{z}(\frac{\ensuremath{\beta}}{z})$, where $\ensuremath{\lambda}(\ensuremath{\beta})$ is the range of a particle of proton mass and charge at velocity $\ensuremath{\beta}c$, ${C}_{z}(\frac{\ensuremath{\beta}}{z})$ is an empirical function that corrects for the extension in range caused by neutralization of the ionic charge as electrons are captured at low velocities, and $M$ and $z$ are the ionic mass and charge in units of the proton. The range data are sufficiently complete and accurate to allow detailed analyses of rates of energy loss and effective charge of the heavy ions as they come to rest. The relative importance of primary and secondary ionization processes in producing the taper in the track of a multicharged ion has been studied by examining the ions in emulsions of various sensitivities. Buckling-type distortions of heavily ionizing tracks in strongly developed emulsions are also discussed. The range-energy relation for low-velocity protons is re-examined and an improved range point at 0.585 Mev is reported.
PCBs in transformer oils.

Due to the suspected carcinogenic nature of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a high degree of interest in the analysis and identification of these compounds in transformer oil has developed. The paper reports the identification of Aroclors 1242, 1254, and 1260 in transformer oil samples brought to the laboratory for analysis. One sample contained approximately 450,000 ppm PCB as Aroclor 1260, and required a one to 10 million dilution in order to be analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection. (JMT)
Button battery ingestion: Assessment of therapeutic modalities and battery discharge state

Button batteries immersed in a simulated gastric environment (0.1N hydrochloric acid) demonstrated less crimp dissolution (corrosion of the metal can) after the addition of neutralizing doses of eight of nine antacids tested. Of 64 ingestion episodes in dogs, clinical manifestations of button battery-induced injury were limited to a single animal developing guaiac-positive stools. Endoscopic lesions included only mild gastritis, occurring with a frequency comparable to that observed in dogs prior to battery ingestion. After ingestion blood mercury levels were not significantly elevated. Crimp dissolution was absent in discharged cells, implying a decreased risk of electrolyte leakage or subsequent tissue injury in patients who ingest spent cells. No protective effect of metoclopramide, cimetidine, or magnesium citrate could be demonstrated in the canine model.
Electromyographic analysis of reverse total shoulder arthroplasties.

Background Understanding how reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) affects muscle activation may help refine it. This study evaluated deltoid and upper trapezius activity during shoulder abduction, flexion, and external rotation in RTSA recipients. Methods Fifty individuals were recruited for this study: 33 were ≥6 months postunilateral RSTA, and 17 comprised our control group. Control individuals easily performed all functional tasks and had no history of shoulder pathology or pain. RTSA participants were divided into 3 groups according to implant design. Participants performed weighted and unweighted abduction in the coronal plane, forward flexion in the sagittal plane, and unweighted external rotation. Electromyography activation of the anterior, lateral, and posterior aspects of the deltoid and the upper trapezius muscles was recorded bilaterally. Motion capture using passive reflective markers quantified 3-dimensional motions of both shoulders. Results During abduction and flexion, deltoid and upper trapezius activity was significantly increased in RTSA shoulders. Posterior deltoid activation was highest in shoulders with the medial glenosphere/lateral humerus implant. Medial glenosphere/medial humerus shoulders were most similar to the control group's anterior, lateral, and posterior deltoid muscle activation during weighted flexion. Conclusions RTSA increases muscle activation compared with normal shoulders. RTSA often restores stability and motion but not normal deltoid or upper trapezius activation. Increased muscle activation in shoulders with RTSA suggests less efficiency. RTSAs with lateral or medial glenosphere centers of rotation had mostly similar muscle activation. Average posterior deltoid activation did not exceed 20% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction for any group during unweighted external rotation, and differences between groups were
Physics-based simulation of the modulation transfer function in HgCdTe infrared detector arrays

We have developed a numerical technique for performing physics-based simulations of the modulation transfer function (MTF) of infrared detector focal plane arrays. The finite-difference time-domain and finite element methods are employed to determine the electromagnetic and electrical response, respectively. We show how the total MTF can be decomposed to analyze the effect of lateral diffusion of charge carriers and present several methods for mitigation of such effects. We employ our numerical technique to analyze the MTF of a HgCdTe two-color bias-selectable infrared detector array.
Pyrolysis-GC Analysis as an Identification Method of Fats and Oils

Pyrolysis at 700°C for 10 set under N2 gas and 360 mm Hg partial pressure of 18 fats and oils (including oils of the same type but from different sources or varieties), and subsequent GC analysis of the pyrolyzates, revealed differences in both the number and quantities of compounds produced. Statistical analysis of the data showed that all of these fats and oils were distinguishable from one another; moreover, varieties of the same lipid could also be differentiated. This technique requires only microgram quantities of the oil or fat to be analyzed, and the direct pyrolysis and GC analysis gives a “fingerprint” program that differentiates the lipid from others.
Customer Satisfaction and the Services Marketing Mix

ABSTRACT As the U.S. economy continues to shift from a manufacturing to a service orientation, it is important for marketers to understand the importance of reactively adapting to customers through the marketing concept. This manuscript deals with one aspect of that adaptive process: customer service satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to develop a model (see Figure 1) that suggests the possible effect of each individual element of the services marketing mix on the customer's perception of the service. The customer experiences the service through the marketing mix; the critical elements in the services marketing mix that influence customer expectations being place, physical evidence, participants, and process. The customer's experience of the service, the feelings and perceptions, have a pervasive influence on attracting new customers and retaining existing customers. The proposed model is formulated on the basis of propositions that relate marketing mix variables to the customer's perception of se...
Crystallization and preliminary analysis of xenobiotic reductase A and ligand complexes from Pseudomonas putida II-B.

Diffraction-quality crystals have been obtained of the xenobiotic reductase A (XenA) from Pseudomonas II-B, which was originally cultured from the contaminated soil of a World War II era munitions-manufacturing plant. Several complete X-ray diffraction data sets have been collected and analyzed. The native XenA data set includes reflections between 35 and 1.65 A. Four-wavelength MAD data sets from selenomethionine-enriched XenA and from three different ligand complexes are also reported. The XenA crystals belong to space group P21212, with unit-cell parameters a = 84, b = 158, c = 57 A. Experimental phasing from analysis of the MAD data from selenomethionine-enriched XenA reveals the presence of two molecules in the asymmetric unit. They are related by a non-crystallographic 21 screw axis nearly parallel to the c axis, but offset by a quarter unit-cell translation. Thus, the local symmetry produces approximate systematic absences along the (00l) principal axis and complicates the space-group determination.
Behavior and corpus callosum morphology relationships in velocardiofacial syndrome (22q11.2 deletion syndrome)

Velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a microdeletion on chromosome 22q11.2 that predisposes affected individuals to learning disabilities and psychiatric conditions. Previous research has indicated that compared with comparison children, children with VCFS have larger corpus callosal areas. Children with VCFS are often diagnosed with comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and previous research has indicated that children with ADHD often have smaller corpus callosal areas than controls. The present study investigated two hypotheses: children with VCFS would have larger callosal areas than controls, and children with VCFS+ADHD would have smaller callosal areas than children with VCFS. Corpus callosum area was obtained from the mid-sagittal slice and was assessed in children with VCFS (n=60) and age- and gender-matched control participants (n=52). Results indicated that all of the corpus callosum measures were significantly different between the two groups except for the genu. Across all measures, children with VCFS demonstrated a larger corpus callosum area. Within the VCFS sample, children with VCFS+ADHD (n=30) had smaller total callosal, splenium, and genu areas than children with VCFS alone. Although children with VCFS+ADHD had smaller total callosal areas than children with VCFS, relative to control participants, these children had larger total callosal and subregion areas except for the genu. In addition to other anatomic anomalies, corpus callosal abnormalities appear to be another variable to consider when analyzing brain/behavior relations in this population.
Refinement of EM (expectation maximization) restored images

A new iterative algorithm for restoring noisy blurred images with unknown point spread function (PSF) is presented. The method initially estimates the PSF and the original image with the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm. The resulting image estimate is then refined by using the adaptive Row Action Projection (RAP) algorithm which is based on the theory of Projection Onto Convex Sets (POCS). The new implementation of the RAP can be performed efficiently in parallel and facilitates locally adaptive constraints and cycling strategies. Computer simulations illustrate the new method to be very competitive in restoring degrading images from noisy blurred images with unknown PSF.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Enantioselection in bilirubin analogs with only one propionic acid group

Abstract Enantiopure synthetic bilirubin analogs (1 and 2) with only a single β-methyl propionic acid group adopt a folded, ridge-tile conformation stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen bonding. The β-methyl group forces the pigment to adopt a left-handed (M) helical conformation, as evidenced by exciton circular dichroism spectra and indicating that one propionic acid group is sufficient to control the pigment's conformation.
Role of interface phonons in quantum cascade terahertz emitters

Abstract We present evidence of terahertz emission from electrically injected GaAs/AlGaAs quantum cascade structures employing interface phonons for depopulation. Electroluminescence is observed at 17.5 meV (4.2 THz or 71 μm) with full-width at half-maximum of 1.6 meV at T =10 K. In our three-level cascade structures, the lower two electronic levels are designed to be in resonance with the higher energy AlAs-like interface phonon modes. Theoretical simulations indicate that the possibility of achieving population inversion between the upper two electronic states is enhanced by the utilization of the extremely fast interface phonon-mediated depopulation scheme. We also experimentally verify the presence of hybrid phonons in the cascade structure.
Dual-basis-material decomposition for dual-kVp cone-beam CT breast imaging

The image contrast among tumor tissue and non-tumor tissue in a breast volume reconstructed by cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) breast imaging is usually very small. Striving for contrast enhancement by exploiting the energy dependent x-ray attenuation, we herein report a dual-kVp CBCT breast imaging modality. Based on dual-kVp conebeam scan and dual-basis-material decomposition, we represent breast tissues in a two-feature space that is spanned by two basis material functions. Though linear independent, the basis material functions are partially correlated or nonorthogonal. Therefore, the dual-material-equivalent decomposition is essentially a sort of non-orthogonal expansion, which is more useful for material classification than for quantitative measurement. On the other hand, the curse of dimensionality discourages high-dimensional feature space that may be spanned by using more basis material functions. For optimizing the material space, we suggest the use of two material spaces (different in basis functions). The first material space is spanned by {bone, polyethene}, which covers a wide range of x-ray attenuation, from calcification to soft tissue. The second material space is spanned by {teflon, fat}, which covers a small range, suitable for low-contrast soft tissue discrimination. Based on x-ray energy-dependent attenuation of materials and x-ray spectra, we simulated the dual-kVp CBCT breast imaging modality with pre-reconstruction scheme, thereby showing the feasibility for image contrast enhancement by dual-kVp technique. With the test materials: breast tissue, water, and soft tissue, the simulation showed that the dual-kVp technique could double the image contrast in this particular case. Through experiment with our CBCT prototype, we demonstrated dual-kVp volume subtraction, showing the energy-dependent x-ray attenuation.
Phase transitions in the Ising model with transverse field

We show the existence of a phase transition in the Ising model with transverse field for dimensionsv ≥ 2 provided the transverse term is sufficiently small. This is done by proving long-range order occurs using the reflection positivity of the Hamiltonian and localization of eigenvectors.
Total tract and rumen digestibility of mulberry foliage (Morus alba), alfalfa hay and oat hay in sheep

Mulberry (Morus alba) trees are present in many regions of the world and are a potential source of protein for ruminant livestock. Foliage from mulberry trees, alfalfa hay and oat hay were fed to wethers in two feeding trials to determine the whole tract digestibilities of main feed components, and the extent of rumen degradation and passage of dietary protein from these feeds. In Trial 1, each of five treatment diets was fed to five wethers (average 55 kg BW) to determine digestible energy (DE) and the digestibilities of the feeds and feed constituents using Cr2O3 as a feed marker. Intake was restricted to approximately 20 g DM/kg BW per day. The five diets consisted of alfalfa hay (AA), 1:1 alfalfa hay and oat hay mix (AO), dry mulberry foliage (MM), 1:1 mulberry foliage and oat hay mix (MO), and oat hay (OO). Each diet was fed individually to five wethers in a completely randomized design. Univariate analyses showed differences (P<0.05) among diets in digestible energy (DE), crude protein (CP) digestibility, and digestible crude protein (DCP). MM had DE and DCP values closer to AA than OO. Multivariate analyses detected significant differences between all five diets (P<0.0001) primarily due to acid detergent fiber (ADF) and CP digestibilities and DE. Although all diets were significantly different from each other, MM was closer to AA than OO in multi-dimensional space. Positive associative effects occurred in aNDF digestibility for MO (P<0.05), and in CP digestibility for MO (P<0.05) and AO (P<0.01). Negative associative effects occurred in DCP for AO (P<0.10) and MO (P<0.05), and in DE for AO (P<0.10). In Trial 2, AA, MM, and OO were each fed to four wethers in a completely randomized design. Daily rations were divided into 12 equal portions and fed every 2 h for 4 days to approximate steady-state conditions in the digestive tract. On day 4, the wethers were euthanized and their digestive tracts removed. Ruminal and abomasal digesta were collected and analyzed to determine extent of dietary protein degradation in the reticulo-rumen. Undegradable intake protein (UIP, g/kg CP) was similar in AA (260) and MM (242) but tended (P=0.06) to be higher in OO (352). Mulberry appears to be an excellent forage with many qualities comparable and in some cases superior to alfalfa. These results demonstrate the potential for mulberry as a strategic forage source in temperate as well as tropical regions of the world.
Environmental factors that impact the eating behaviors of low-income African American adolescents in Baltimore City

Abstract Objective To understand environmental factors influencing the food-related habits of low-income urban African American adolescents. Design Qualitative research was conducted between February and April, 2010, using in-depth interviews, focus groups, and direct observation. Setting The study was conducted in low-income, predominantly African American neighborhoods of Baltimore City. Participants A total of 20 adolescents were interviewed in 18 in-depth interviews (n = 13) and 2 focus groups (n = 7). Participants were recruited from Baltimore City recreation centers and were eligible if they were African American and aged 10–16 years. Phenomenon of Interest The food-related habits of low-income, African American, urban adolescents and reported perceptions of their food environments. Analysis Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed for emerging themes. Results Six thematic categories emerged and were organized into 4 environmental contexts: the neighborhood context (accessibility of food and safety of neighborhood), the school context (school food environment), the family context (family health history, role modeling, and monitoring) and the peer context (peer behaviors). Conclusions and Implications Future efforts to reduce the obesity epidemic among low-income African American adolescents should address the social environment of the family; however, positive behavior change may not be sustainable without neighborhood or school food environment modifications.
Determinations of known respirator leakage using controlled negative pressure and ambient aerosol QNFT systems

During comparative studies, controlled negative-pressure fittest systems have consistently reported lower fit factors and more respirator leakage than aerosol-based systems. This study was designed to assess how well a controlled negative pressure and an ambient aerosol fit test system could measure known sources of leakage introduced into respirators worn by human subjects. The basic study design involved conducting a sequential pair of fit tests with the same system. A fixed source of leakage (leak needle) was uncapped after the first test, so that the difference between the pair of fit tests reflected the introduction of the known leak source into the respirator. A second pair of fit tests was then completed with the second fittest system in the same manner. In repeated (N=15) measurements of respirator fit for five subjects, the controlled negative pressure system's measurements of known leak sources averaged 105% of the known leakage rate, with a mean coefficient of variation of 10%. The ambient aero...
Mechanics of particle motion in three-phase flow

Abstract Flow behavior of three-phase flow was studied using a two-dimensional draft-tube fluidized bed operating with air, water and alginate particles ( d s = 2.5 mm, ϱ s = 1040 kg/m 3 ). Momentum transfer between a particle and three-phase flow was assessed from settling velocities of tracer particles with diameters of 2.5 and 5 mm, and densities 1100–2500 kg/m 3 . The settling velocities of tracer particles were systematically lower than the corresponding free-settling velocities, as a result of additional momentum transfer with air bubbles and fluidized bed particles. These effects were separated by comparative studies of particle settling in two-phase and three-phase flow. Mechanics of particle motion in three-phase flow was modeled in terms of the effective particle buoyancy and the effective drag coefficients.
Etiology and natural history of primary sclerosing cholangitis

The etiology of primary sclerosing cholangitis remains unknown. Bacteria, toxins, viral infections, and immunological and genetic factors have all been proposed as etiological agents. Portal bacteremia, toxins absorbed from the diseased colon in inflammatory bowel disease, and cytomegalovirus and reovirus infections have been implicated by various investigators but there is little evidence to support these hypotheses. The close association between primary sclerosing cholangitis and various human leukocyte antigen haplotypes is now well established and lends support to the theory that immunologic and genetic mechanisms may be involved in its pathogenesis. Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis may have elevated levels of circulating immune complexes, immunoglobulins, and non-organ specific autoantibodies. The association between ulcerative colitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis remains unexplained and both groups of patients have a high prevalence of antibodies to the perinuclear cytoplasmic antigen. The long-term prognosis in primary sclerosing cholangitis is tempered by the development of cholangiocarcinoma in 6%-30% of patients when followed over long periods of time. Detecting cholangiocarcinoma early in a patient with primary sclerosing cholangitis is one of the most frustrating problems faced by a clinician while caring for these patients. The long-term outlook for patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis and cholangiocarcinoma remains dismal, whatever the treatment modality employed. However, the development of a multivariate statistical survival model from long-term survival data from the Mayo Clinic and other centers has been a major step in identifying individual primary sclerosing cholangitis patients at low, moderate, and high risk of dying. Such models have been useful for stratifying patients in therapeutic trials, for in patient counseling, and in patient selection and timing of liver transplantation.
CORR Insights®: Meniscal Injury After Adolescent Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: How Long Are Patients at Risk?

This CORR Insights® is a commentary on the article “Meniscal Injury After Adolescent Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: How Long Are Patients at Risk?” by Guenther and colleagues available at: DOI: 10.1007/s11999-013-3369-9. The author certifies that he, or a member of his immediate family, has no funding or commercial associations (eg, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article. All ICMJE Conflict of Interest Forms for authors and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research ® editors and board members are on file with the publication and can be viewed on request. The opinions expressed are those of the writers, and do not reflect the opinion or policy of CORR ® or the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons®. This CORR Insights® comment refers to the article available at DOI: 10.1007/s11999-013-3369-9.
Have the potential benefits of CBT for severe mental disorders been undersold

Thase et al's useful review and update on cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for severe mental disorders (1) highlights the recurrent debate about the magnitude of the impact of CBT on persons with psychosis, including the question raised by some as to whether the effectiveness of CBT for this population has been “oversold” (2,3). We would like to take this opportunity to adopt the opposite position, and to suggest that rather than the benefits of CBT being oversold, the potential benefits have actually been undersold. We argue our point by discussing three issues related to the evaluation and application of CBT for persons with severe mental disorders, including inattention in meta-analyses to critical study variables, over-emphasis on comparing CBT to so-called non-specific therapy controls, and the relative lack of use of CBT in persons with psychosis to address the most conventional treatment targets for which CBT has been established in the general population.
Human fibroblasts accelerate the inhibition of thrombin by protease nexin.

Abstract Protease nexin (PN) is a protein protease inhibitor secreted by human fibroblasts in culture that complexes and inhibits certain regulatory serine proteases. The PN-protease complexes then bind to these cells and are rapidly internalized and degraded. This report shows that the fibroblast surface accelerates the formation of PN-thrombin complexes. In contrast, it did not accelerate the formation of complexes between thrombin and antithrombin III, a closely related protease inhibitor found in plasma. These results support a role for PN in the regulation of certain proteases in the extravascular compartment at and near the surface of tissue cells. The activity that accelerated PN-thrombin complex formation was membrane-associated, since fixed cells, purified membranes, and extracellular matrix preparations all contained this activity. The ability of cells to accelerate the reaction between PN and thrombin was inhibited by protamine, suggesting that the activity was similar to that of heparin. Heparitinase digestion of plasma membranes prior to assay reduced the activity by about 80%, suggesting that heparan sulfate may account for most of the accelerative activity.
Feedback in pulse rate change and divergent affective reactions for high and low sensation-seekers

The present investigation examined the relationship between affect and pulse rate (PR) change for individuals with different sensation-seeking preferences. Based on their scores on the Sensation-Seeking Scale (Zuckerman, Kolin, Price, & Zoob, 1964), high (HSS) and low (LSS) sensation-seekers were assigned randomly to either 40 minutes of feedback or nofeedback in PR. Subjects were instructed either to decrease or to increase PR. Measures of affect were administered after the 40-minute period. The results indicated that while feedback caused subjects to change PR in either direction, HSS subjects were more successful at increasing, while LSS subjects were more successful at decreasing. Moreover, negative affect resulted only when HSS subjects decreased and LSS subjects increased PR. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of considering individual differences in preference for activation in order to clarify the relationship between physiological and affective responses.
Preliminary X‐ray studies of the tetra‐heme cytochrome c3 and the octa‐heme cytochrome c3 from Desulfovibrio gigas

Abstract A tetra-heme and an octa-heme cytochrome c 3 from the sulfate bacterium Desulfovibrio gigas have been crystallized. Diffraction quality crystals of the tetra-heme cytochrome are obtained from solution by the addition of polyethylene glycol at pH 6.5. The crystals are orthorhombic, space group P2 1 2 1 2 with unit cell parameters a = 42.27 A, b = 52.54 A and c = 52.83 A. The octa-heme cytochrome crystals develop from low ionic strength solutions of phosphate or Tris-Cl in the pH range 6.2–7.6. The crystals belong to the trigonal system, space group P3 1 or the enantiomorph P3 2 , with unit cell parameters a = b = 57.4 A, c = 97.3 A, γ = 120°. Single crystal diffraction studies of the structures of these two low-potential cytochromes are in progress.
Demonstration of MEMS-based differential scanning calorimetry for determining thermodynamic properties of biomolecules

Abstract We demonstrate microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for characterizing thermodynamic properties of biomolecules. The MEMS device consists of a pair of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) calorimetric microchambers and fluid handling microchannels, with each chamber 1.2 μl in volume and based on a freestanding SU-8 diaphragm. A nickel–chromium thermopile, and nickel heaters and temperature sensors, are integrated on the diaphragms to allow thermal measurement and control. During DSC measurements, the chambers are filled with a biomolecular solution and reference buffer, respectively. As the solution temperatures are varied continuously over a range of interest, the biomolecular thermal power is measured via the thermopile output, and then used to compute the thermodynamic parameters of the biomolecule. We present results from applying the device to DSC measurements of the unfolding of the proteins lysozyme and ribonuclease A. The enthalpy of unfolding and melting temperature of the proteins obtained are in agreement with published data.
The Structure Of Vision Modules On A Fine-Grained Machine

Integrating the modules of early vision, such as color, motion, texture, and stereo, is necessary to make a machine see. Parallel machines offer an Opportunity to realize existing modules in a near real-time system; this makes system, hence integration, issues crucial. Effective use of parallel machines requires analysis of control and communication patterns among modules. Integration combines the products of early vision modules into intermediate level structures to generate semantically meaningful aggregates. Successful integration requires identifying critical linkages among modules and between stages. "I he Connection Machinet is a fine-grained parallel machine, on which many early and middle vision algorit hms have been implemented. Schemes for integrating vision modules on fine-grained macliines are described. These techniques elucidate the critical information t hat must be communicated in early and middle vision to create a robust, integrated system.
Electroporation and Shock-Induced Transmembrane Potential in a Cardiac Fiber During Defibrillation Strength Shocks

Experimental studies have shown that the magnitude of the shock-induced transmembrane potential (Vm) saturates with increasing electric field strength. This study uses a mathematical model to investigate the effects of electroporation and membrane kinetics on Vm in a cardiac fiber. The model consists of the core conductor equation for a one-dimensional fiber, where excitability is represented by the Luo-Rudy dynamic model (1994-1995) and electroporation is described by a membrane conductance that increases exponentially with Vm squared. For shocks delivered during the plateau of an action potential, the model reproduces the experimentally observed saturation of Vm with a root mean square error of 4.27% and a correlation coefficient of 0.9992. For shocks delivered during diastole, the saturation of Vm is qualitatively reproduced even when the sodium and calcium channels are inactivated. Quantitative replication of the response to diastolic shocks is hindered by the choice of electroporation parameters (optimized for shocks delivered during the plateau) and differences in the membrane kinetics between model and experiment. The complex behavior of Vm during large shocks is due to a combination of electroporation, electrotonus, propagation, and active membrane kinetics. The modeling results imply that the experimentally observed saturation of Vm is due to electroporation of the lipid bilayer.
Negative magnetic shear modes of operation in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak near the beta limit

The stability properties of non-inductively driven, reversed-shear type current profiles that may be achieved for Alcator C-Mod tokamak-like parameters (aspect ratio R/a = 3) are examined. It is found that without a conducting wall, the best stability results ( up to 3.7) are achieved for highly triangular plasmas at , for relatively broad pressure profiles and large values of . For elliptical or circular cross-sectional plasmas with little triangularity, the stability limits are significantly lower ). Finally, more-peaked pressure profiles have lower beta limits than broader profiles.
Automatic acquisition of hyponyms from large text corpora

We describe a method for the automatic acquisition of the hyponymy lexical relation from unrestricted text. Two goals motivate the approach: (i) avoidance of the need for pre-encoded knowledge and (ii) applicability across a wide range of text. We identify a set of lexico-syntactic patterns that are easily recognizable, that occur frequently and across text genre boundaries, and that indisputably indicate the lexical relation of interest. We describe a method for discovering these patterns and suggest that other lexical relations will also be acquirable in this way. A subset of the acquisition algorithm is implemented and the results are used to augment and critique the structure of a large hand-built thesaurus. Extensions and applications to areas such as information retrieval are suggested.
A thermogravimetric system for corrosive environments at high pressures and temperatures

Abstract A high-pressure thermogravimetric analysis system based on the duPont 951 Thermogravimetric Analyzer and the duPont 990 Thermal Analyzer has been constructed. There are two components in the system, a reactor and a gas feed system. The reactor consists of a stainless steel high-pressure enclosure, which houses the balance mechanism from the duPont 951 TGA, and an externally heated vertical reactor tube. This design provides spatial separation between the housing and the reaction zone to protect the balance mechanism from thermal and chemical attack. The gas feed system provides for blending, feeding, and metering of up to seven different gases. The system is designed to have an operating capability of 60 atm and 1100°C with corrosive gases such as hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide. It was proved to operate successfully with aluminide-coated stainless steel reactor tubes for studies of the calcination of dolomite in CO 2 /N 2 atmospheres and sulfidation in H 2 S/N 2 mixtures up to 30 atm and 850°C.
Division of labor and cooperation between dendritic cells.

Cooperation between dendritic cell subtypes and a newly identified function for interleukin 15 demonstrate the complexity surrounding the initial events required for effective antipathogen immunity.
Collegiate faculty expectations regarding students’ epistemic and ontological cognition and the likelihood of academic success

Abstract Personal epistemology researchers assert that collegiate faculty expect their students to have sophisticated beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing, and are likely to give low grades to students whose work reflects naive beliefs. To test whether these assertions were accurate, 282 college faculty completed an online survey where they read descriptions of hypothetical students who displayed differing kinds of epistemic and ontological cognition. Faculty were asked to rank these students in terms of their likelihood of being successful in the faculty member’s class, and were also asked to give each hypothetical student a predicted grade. Results showed that, on average, faculty do believe that students with sophisticated beliefs about knowledge and knowing are more likely to receive higher grades than those with naive beliefs. These findings provide support for continued investigation into students’ personal epistemologies and how they can be fostered to align with collegiate faculty’s expectations.
A note on termination in optimal control problems

Attention is called to the possibility of optimal trajectories terminating at a time that is larger than the first time of reaching the target set. An example is given.
Regularity of solutions to the perturbed conservation laws

A kind of regularity for the mild solution of perturbed conservation laws is proposed. This regularity is described in term of variations measured in the L1-norm. A dissipativity condition from the semigroup approach is used to show that the mild solution stays within a class of bounded variation in this sense of regularity. This shows that this class of functions is an invariant of the semigroup. The same analysis carries over to the periodic problem. The class of boundedL1-variation functions used here can be normed to give a Banach space structure. It also has an analogue with the space of Lipschitz functions
The 3 R's of optimizing constraint logic programs: refinement, removal and reordering

Central to constraint logic programming (CLP) languages is the notion of a global constraint solver which is queried to direct execution and to which constraints are monotonically added. We present a methodology for use in the compilation of CLP languages which is designed to reduce the overhead of the global constraint solver. This methododology is based on three optimizations. The first, refinement, involves adding new constraints, which in effect make information available earlier in the computation, guiding subsequent execution away from unprofitable choices. The second, removal, involves eliminating constraints from the solver when they are redundant. The last, reordering, involves moving constraint addition later and constraint removal earlier in the computation. Determining the applicability of each optimization requires sophisticated global analysis. These analyses are based on abstract interpretation and provide information about potential and definite interaction between constraints.
Teaching holography in an art school environment: the program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

The philosophy of the holography department The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is discussed along with a fine arts curriculum designed to take into account the learning styles of art school students. A description of the facilities follow ending with a survey of artwork by the best students. Introduct ion Holography is almost unheard of in the art world when it is mentioned it is apt to be used as a metaphor for the ultimate in tastelessness. Occasionally a ''recognized'' artist will dabble in holography using the facilities of a commercial lab translating his concept into a hologram1. The results usually raise objections from the clique of handson holographic artists who feel that they are213 on the other hand are being discriminated against by the art world because they practice in a technical medium. As a way of improving the situation art school students must be better educated in the fine arts aspect of holography laboratory techniques and how to set up their own studios. For it will be only through the efforts of the " hands-on" workers will the medium fully realize its creative potential. This then is the major goal of this teacher: to help the students realize their full potential creating artful holograms with inexpensive equipment. Not only is it necessary that the holographic artist learn to work within the constraints of equipment at hand© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Automatic target recognition using a feature-based optical neural network

An optical neural network based upon the Neocognitron paradigm (K. Fukushima et al. 1983) is introduced. A novel aspect of the architectural design is shift-invariant multichannel Fourier optical correlation within each processing layer. Multilayer processing is achieved by iteratively feeding back the output of the feature correlator to the input spatial light modulator and updating the Fourier filters. By training the neural net with characteristic features extracted from the target images, successful pattern recognition with intra-class fault tolerance and inter-class discrimination is achieved. A detailed system description is provided. Experimental demonstration of a two-layer neural network for space objects discrimination is also presented.
What Critical Care Nurses Need to Know About Health Care Access When Caring for Elders in Acute Care Settings

Health care system issues, in general, and access to care, in particular, are not problems typically studied by critical care nurses. Rather, initial and continuing education focuses on clinical aspects of care. This focus is necessary to assure that critical care nurses have the expertise to care for patients who need astute surveillance for complicated physical problems and their emotional sequelae, as well as in-depth knowledge and skills related to care coordination for patient stabilization and transfer. However, evidence is growing that patients benefit when critical care nurses expand their knowledge about access to care. This article provides insights regarding access to health care and how it relates to many of the admission and readmission patterns that critical care nurses observe.
Constructing a model of change: Clinical commentary on a complex case

In this clinical case commentary, attention was placed on the selection of the optimal targets and order of interventions for a 51-year-old male who meets criteria for four Axis I disorders: posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression, somatization disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A theoretical model of what was learned in the context of trauma was developed to aid conceptualization of the interrelationship among the patient's symptoms. A model of change was presented, emphasizing cognitive-behavior therapy delivered in the context of a well-being therapy approach.
The role of the buoyancy layer in determining the structure of salt fingers

An initial state consisting of sugar solution lying above a denser salt solution in a Hele-Shaw cell is unstable to disturbances that evolve into long, slender fingers. An analysis of the structure of fully evolved (infinitely long) fingers that are independent of the vertical coordinate concludes that fingers with a width of the order of the buoyancy-layer thickness have maximum growth rate. Since effective gravity can be altered by inclining the Hele-Shaw cell toward the horizontal, fingers of different preferred widths can be established. An abrupt change of the angle of inclination changes the preferred width. A stability analysis of the resulting initial-value problem shows that perturbations with a vertical scale of the order of the buoyancy-layer thickness grow, and fluid from each finger penetrates laterally into the two adjacent fingers. The unstable modes resemble those observed experimentally by Taylor & Veronis (1986). It turns out that all vertically uniform fingers, even ones with the preferred width of the basic state, are unstable to a non-oscillatory peturbation that changes straight fingers to ones that have a vertically wavy structure. In all cases the vertical scale of the most unstable disturbance is of the order of the buoyancy-layer thickness. Also included is a discussion of the need for a model describing the transient evolution of fingers and particularly one that contains an analysis of the role of the transition region between the salt-finger zone and the reservoirs above and below.
Anxiety response patterns: A comparison of clinical and analogue populations

Abstract A review of 41 clinical and 54 analogue studies was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between anxiety response channels—physiological, behavioral and cognitive. The results indicated that congruence among response channels tended to be higher for the clinical populations than for the analogue populations. The data tend best to support Hodgson and Rachman's (1974) theory that anxiety channel congruence increases as a function of intensity of the anxiety. Tentative support was found for Bernstein and Paul's (1971) assertion that analogue and clinical subjects are sufficiently dissimilar as to obstruct the generalization of findings from one population to the other. Lastly, the congruence patterns suggest that behavioral and cognitive measures are less reliable indices of anxiety than physiological measures, especially in analogue samples.
Theoretical time‐temperature relationships of magnetization for distributions of single domain magnetite grains

Experimental studies have demonstrated that demagnetization temperatures for removing thermoviscous magnetizations (TVRMs) in rocks are often higher than predicted by Pullaiah et al.'s time-temperature (t-T) nomogram based on Neel's single domain (SD) theory. Better agreement has been found for t-T relationships based on Walton's calculations invoking volume distributions. It has been pointed out, however, that Walton's formula applies for t-T conditions for acquisition of magnetization only, not to demagnetization. We applied numerical methods for assessing the true influence of distributions in SD volume. As it turns out, for reasonable volume distributions, the differences between our results and Pullaiah et al.'s simpler approach are marginal; the differences in demagnetization temperature are significant only for moderate-term low-temperature acquisition. Discrepancies between experiments and theory appear because rocks contain predominantly pseudo-single and multi-domain grains to which SD theory does not apply.
Behavior theory and identificatory learning.

The results of a series of experiments indicate that much of a child's social behavior is acquired through imitation of adult models, and that a model's nurturance and power status facilitate such learning. Exposure of children to real-life and film-mediated aggressive models not only increased children's aggressive behavior to subsequent frustration but also shaped the form of their aggression. The implication of these studies for a social learning theory of aggression and personality development are discussed.