cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Biogenic Impurities on Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds Analysis by Fluorimetry

Abstract Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC) are ubiquitous in nature. The International Oceanographic Commission (IOC) has recommended their analysis in environmental samples, by ultra-violet/fluorescence (uv/f) spectrophotometry. In the present investigation, the effect caused by the presence of biogenic impurities on the perceived PAC concentration of anthropogenic solutions was examined. Lipid extracts of the foot of the clam, Mya arenaria, the muscle tissue of cod, Gadus morhua and of the harbour porpoise, Phoceana phoceana, as well as squalene represented the biogenic material. Venezuelan crude, no.2 fuel oil and chrysene were chosen as the PAC solutions, representing environmental extracts. Results indicate that more than 30–100 ng/μl or 0.045–0.150 mg/g (dry weight) of lipid extracts are needed to start to affect (>5–10%) the perceived PAC concentrations, while the amount of squalene needed is over 370 ng/μgl or 0.555 mg/g (dry weight). The latter is above levels reported in tissues of most marine...
Perturbation of Radial Oscillations in Superconducting Cyclotrons Due to Asymmetric Dee Voltages or Phases

Like many other cyclotrons, the new superconducting cyclotrons frequently operate with ?r close to unity, and must actually accelerate the beam through the ?r = 1 resonance in the central region and again just prior to extraction. The spiral shaped dees in these machines are designed to operate with equal voltages and prescribed relative phases, and deviations from these values significantly perturb the radial oscillations. An analysis of these effects, including those produced by the spiral electric gaps, is outlined here and the results compared with those from a magnetic field bump. Possible applications to the control of orbit centering are discussed and illustrated with data from detailed orbit computations.
Almost every curve in R3 bounds a unique area minimizing surface

Curiously enough, such a surface need not be unique. Examples of this nonuniqueness abound. Nitsche [17] thoroughly develops a family of examples by taking intersections of Enneper's minimal surface (Fig. 1) with ellipsoids x 2 +y2 +~z2 = a 2. (See Fig. 2.) The intersection with small ellipsoids is nearly planar (Fig. 2b), and the enclosed portion of Enneper's surface gives the unique area minimizing surface. As the ellipsoids become larger, eventually (Fig.2f) the enclosed portion of Enneper's surface is no longer area minimizing and there are at least two different area minimizing surfaces, which presumably look like Figure 3. This example provides a one parameter family of nonsimilar curves bounding more than one area minimizing surface. By symmetrically adding small, smooth bumps to these examples, one can obtain a large space of curves bounding more than one area minimizing surface, a space in some sense of the same dimension as the entire space of curves we shall consider in this paper. Nevertheless, we shall prove that the probability of picking such a curve at random is zero. Nitsche [16, pp. 396-398] refers to many other examples. The author [13] gives an example of an analytic curve in R 4 that bounds a whole continuum of distinct area minimizing surfaces. (See also Fleming [9], L6vy [12, p.29], Courant [5, pp. 119-122].)
Optimization of direct conversion of wet algae to biodiesel under supercritical methanol conditions

This study demonstrated a one-step process for direct liquefaction and conversion of wet algal biomass containing about 90% of water to biodiesel under supercritical methanol conditions. This one-step process enables simultaneous extraction and transesterification of wet algal biomass. The process conditions are milder than those required for pyrolysis and prevent the formation of by-products. In the proposed process, fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) can be produced from polar phospholipids, free fatty acids, and triglycerides. A response surface methodology (RSM) was used to analyze the influence of the three process variables, namely, the wet algae to methanol (wt./vol.) ratio, the reaction temperature, and the reaction time, on the FAMEs conversion. Algal biodiesel samples were analyzed by ATR-FTIR and GC-MS. Based on the experimental analysis and RSM study, optimal conditions for this process are reported as: wet algae to methanol (wt./vol.) ratio of around 1:9, reaction temperature and time of about 255 °C, and 25 min respectively. This single-step process can potentially be an energy efficient and economical route for algal biodiesel production.
Preservice teachers' thinking about classroom events

Abstract Recent inquiry about the role that experience plays in learning to teach is prevalent in a number of expert-novice studies. This study explored variations in preservice teachers' thinking about classroom events. Comparisons of interview data from 36 preservice teachers revealed differences in the way they recalled, interpreted, and made judgements about classroom events. Results suggest differences and similarities in the way teachers at different stages of a preservice program view the class environment. Results challenge the unitary view of preservice teachers and the way many teachers are currently prepared for the profession.
Elastic constants of NbC and MoN: Instability of B 1 -MoN

Total energies of MoN have been calculated for small strains from the cubic ${B}_{1}$ structure to orthorhombic and trigonal structures, and ${B}_{1}$-MoN was found to be unstable. To check the reliability of the calculations, we have also calculated the elastic constants for ${B}_{1}$-NbC and obtained good agreement with experimental results.
SOLID-STATE BIOCONVERSION OF PHENOLIC ANTIOXIDANTS FROM DEFATTED SOYBEAN POWDERS BY RHIZOPUS OLIGOSPORUS: ROLE OF CARBOHYDRATE-CLEAVING ENZYMES

Consumption of soybeans has been linked to a reduction in risk of numerous chronic diseases. The health benefits of soybean consumption have been linked to nutritionally functional phenolic compounds known as isoflavones. As the majority of plant phenolics exist naturally as glucoside-bound moieties, we investigated the efficacy of increasing phenolic content in defatted soybean powder by fermentation with a glucosidase-excreting fungus, Rhizopus oligosporus, and further investigated the involvement of carbohydrate-cleaving enzymes (a-amylase, α-/β-glucosidase) in phenolic antioxidant mobilization. Phenolic content increased 41% in water extracts and 255% in ethanol extracts after 10 days of fermentation, and associated with β-glucosidase activity. The results suggest that solid-state fermentation with R. oligosporus is an excellent strategy for increasing phenolic content in defatted soybean powder and that β-glucosidase is the main carbohydrate-cleaving enzyme that is required for efficient phenolic mobilization from powdered soybean. The results have potential importance for the commercial development of enzymatic strategies for utilizing the maximal phenolic potential of soybean substrates for use as nutritionally functional food ingredients.
Optically generated terahertz comb radio frequencies

Optical frequency comb generator have many practical applications including difference frequency measurement, optical frequency division multiplexing, and heterodyne optical phase locking.
Fluid Therapy in Vomiting and Diarrhea

Fluid therapy in the patient with vomiting and diarrhea is essential to correct hypovolemia, dehydration, acid-base imbalance, and serum electrolyte abnormalities. Prediction of acid-base or electrolyte disturbances is difficult; therefore, point of care testing is beneficial to optimize therapy. This article focuses on the pathophysiology and treatment of hypovolemia, dehydration, electrolyte disturbances, and acid-base derangements resulting from and associated with vomiting and diarrhea.
Evidentialism, circularity, and grounding

This paper explores what happens if we construe evidentialism as a thesis about the metaphysical grounds of justification. According to grounding evidentialism, facts about what a subject is justified in believing are grounded in facts about that subject’s evidence. At first blush, grounding evidentialism appears to enjoy advantages over a more traditional construal of evidentialism as a piece of conceptual analysis. However, appearances are deceiving. I argue that grounding evidentialists are unable to provide a satisfactory story about what grounds the evidential facts, and that this provides good reason to reject grounding evidentialism.
Women state legislators and the ERA: Dimensions of support and opposition

Abstract Attitudes of women state legislators toward ERA are explored in terms of social, institutional‐political and cultural correlates. Data base is a mail survey of the 688 women serving in state legislatures in 1977. As a group, women state legislators were heavily in support of ERA. Opposition to ERA is significantly higher among female legislators with lower education, less legislative seniority, who are Republican, from states with legislative party leadership opposed to ERA, in states which elect relatively large percentages of women legislators, and who are from states with moralistic as opposed to traditionalisme political cultures. Group size, psychological and political security, and personal experience of sex discrimination are suggested as explanations.
Effects of endogenous esterases and an allatostatin on the products of Manduca sexta larval corpora allata in vitro

A rapid and simple method has been developed for the simultaneous measurement of juvenile hormone (JH) and JH acid synthesized in vitro by larval corpora allata (CA) of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta. An organic solvent partition of incubation medium efficiently separates JH acid from JH, and a radioimmunoassay which recognizes the two moieties equivalently is then employed to quantify each. The change in the biosynthetic product of the CA from JH to JH acid appears to begin slowly at the time of ecdysis to the last (fifth) larval stadium and is not complete until just prior to wandering (day 4). The inclusion of the JH esterase inhibitor S-benzoyl-O-ethyl phosphoramidothiolate in incubations of corpora allata revealed that the activity of JH esterases from the gland parallels gland activity and that significant hydrolysis of newly synthesized JH by these esterases occurs in incubations of glands taken at the beginnings of the fourth and fifth larval stadia. An allatostatin, which is proposed to inhibit the corpus allatum during the time of the change in its product, inhibits both JH I and JH I acid synthesis.
Recycle Gas Chromatography Using Coarse Packings

Abstract The use of coated 1 mm glass beads is shown to be promising for recycle gas chromatography. In the case of an SE-30 column, the glass beads generate plates faster than porous packings as fine as 48/60 mesh. Although packings coated with SE-30 produce nearly 400,000 plates, they are unable to fractionate a mixture of benzene and perdeuterobenzene. However, a much less efficient squalane column successfully fractionates that mixture after approximately 60,000 plates, confirming earlier work in which squalane was used. Coated beads appear to be especially useful when large numbers of plates are required and milligram amounts of product are needed.
Sightless has homology to transmembrane acyltransferases and is required to generate active Hedgehog protein

Proteins of the Hedgehog (Hh) family act as important developmental signals in a variety of species [1]. Hh proteins are synthesized as full-length precursors that are autocatalytically cleaved by their C-terminal domains to release the signaling N-terminal domains [2]. The addition of a cholesterol molecule to the C terminus of the signaling domain is concomitant with cleavage [3]. Vertebrate Sonic hedgehog (Shh) proteins have also been shown to acquire a fatty acid chain on the N-terminal cysteine of this domain [4], which is required for a subset of their in vivo functions [5, 6]. A mutation of the corresponding cysteine in Drosophila Hh transforms it into a dominant-negative protein [6]. We have identified a novel gene, sightless (sit), which is required for the activity of Drosophila Hh in the eye and wing imaginal discs and in embryonic segmentation. sit acts in the cells that produce Hh, but does not affect hh transcription, Hh cleavage, or the accumulation of Hh protein. sit encodes a conserved transmembrane protein with homology to a family of membrane-bound acyltransferases. The Sit protein could act by acylating Hh or by promoting other modifications or trafficking events necessary for its function.
Communications Understanding Ourselves and Others: A Systems View

A structural approach to human personality, which helps to unify the key concepts of the major theories of personality with particular reference to Freudian and Jungian philosophy, is proposed.
Epinephrine-induced cardiac arrhythmias in rabbits exposed to tetrachloroethylene.

Abstract Control rabbits or those treated with 2,4-dichloro-6-phenylphenoxyethyldiethylamine-HBr (Lilly 18947), an inhibitor of microsomal mixed-function oxidases, were exposed to 5200 ppm tetrachloroethylene in an inhalation chamber under dynamic airflow conditions for 1 h. Even at this high concentratio, tetrachloroethylene was only weakly arrhythmogenic when animals were challenged with up to 3 μg/kg epinephrine i.v. Unlike trichloroethylene and methylchloroform, the arrhythmogenicity of tetrachloroethylene was not potentiated by treatment with Lilly 18947.
Strong metal-support interactions for Pt and Rh on Al2O3 and TiO2: Application of nuclear backscattering spectrometry

Abstract The phenomenon of Strong Metal-Support Interactions (SMSI) has been explained previously in terms of a chemical bonding between dispersed metal atoms and cations of certain supports. In this study, planar specimens of Pt Al 2 O 3 , Rh Al 2 O 3 , Pt TiO 2 , and Rh TiO 2 were heated in hydrogen or oxygen and the resulting changes were observed by the technique of Nuclear Backscattering Spectrometry (together with electron microscopy). Significant and complex diffusion effects were found to occur, being dependent on the particular metal/support combination plus the environment and temperature to which it is exposed. This goes beyond the original mechanistic concept and the results suggest a much wider range of SMSI processes.
Rapid granular flows on a rough incline: Phase diagram, gas transition, and effects of air drag

We report experiments on the overall phase diagram of granular flows on an incline with emphasis on high inclination angles where the mean layer velocity approaches the terminal velocity of a single particle free falling in air. The granular flow was characterized by measurements of the surface velocity, the average layer height, and the mean density of the layer as functions of the hopper opening, the plane inclination angle, and the downstream distance x of the flow. At high inclination angles the flow does not reach an x -invariant steady state over the length of the inclined plane. For low volume flow rates, a transition was detected between dense and very dilute (gas) flow regimes. We show using a vacuum flow channel that air did not qualitatively change the phase diagram and did not quantitatively modify mean flow velocities of the granular layer except for small changes in the very dilute gaslike phase.
Enhancing nanoscale SEM image segmentation and reconstruction with crystallographic orientation data and machine learning

Abstract Current methods of image segmentation and reconstructions from scanning electron micrographs can be inadequate for resolving nanoscale gaps in composite materials (1–20 nm). Such information is critical to both accurate material characterizations and models of piezoresistive response. The current work proposes the use of crystallographic orientation data and machine learning for enhancing this process. It is first shown how a machine learning algorithm can be used to predict the connectivity of nanoscale grains in a Nickel nanostrand/epoxy composite. This results in 71.9% accuracy for a 2D algorithm and 62.4% accuracy in 3D. Finally, it is demonstrated how these algorithms can be used to predict the location of gaps between distinct nanostrands — gaps which would otherwise not be detected with the sole use of a scanning electron microscope.
Fate of infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome listed for cardiac transplantation: a multicenter study.

Background Infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) commonly undergo cardiac transplantation as primary management. Methods We examined outcomes of primary transplantation for unpalliated HLHS. We analyzed data from the 20 institutions of the Pediatric Heart Transplant Study Group, from January 1, 1993, through December 31, 1998, using actuarial and parametric survival analysis and competing outcomes analysis. Results During the 6 years studied, 1,234 patients were listed for cardiac transplantation; 262 patients (21.2%) had unpalliated HLHS. The number (and percentage) of patients with HLHS decreased from 58 (27% of patients listed) in 1993 to 30 (14%) in 1998. Overall, 25% of infants with HLHS died while waiting; primary cause of death was cardiac failure (50%). Of the remaining patients awaiting transplantation, 23 (9%) underwent Norwood/Fontan-type surgeries as interim palliation: 52% died. Ultimately, 175 patients underwent cardiac transplantation (67%); 50% received organs by 2 months after listing. Post-transplant actuarial survival was 72% at 5 years, with 76% of deaths (35/46) occurring within 3 months; early mortality was caused primarily by graft failure within the first 30 days after transplantation (in 54%). Among 1-month survivors, survival at 1 and at 5 years was 92% and 85%, respectively. Of the 262 patients listed with unpalliated HLHS, overall survival, taking into account mortality after listing and after transplantation, was 68% at 3 months and 54% at 5 years. Conclusions Cardiac transplantation offers good intermediate survival for infants with unpalliated HLHS.
Articular Hypermobility and Chondral Injury in Patients With Acute Patellar Dislocation

Thirty adolescents with acute, primary patellar dislocation were assessed for a relationship between articular hypermobility and chondral injury. The 15 patients without articular hypermobility had a 2.5 times increased frequency of articular lesions when compared with 15 patients with hypermobility. Assessment of articular hypermobility should be part of the examination in patients with patellar dislocation.
Biological Specializations for Speech: What Can the Animals Tell Us?

Language research over the past 40 years converges on the speech-is-special hypothesis (SiS), according to which speech perception and production are uniquely human adaptations. SiS is grounded in a variety of biological, developmental, and behavioral evidence. In some comparative studies, speechlike stimuli have seemed to cause nonhuman animals to exhibit humanlike performance functions. Auditorists—who believe that spoken language processing is executed by, and is explicable in terms of, general auditory mechanisms—have seized upon such studies as evidence that SiS is incorrect. However, it is difficult to identify biological and functional similarities across different species on the basis of behavior alone, and the elaborate training regimen that nonhuman animals require to achieve human performance levels undermines the significance of certain comparative studies. Both comparative and human behavioral research, including brain-imaging studies of functional localization, electrophysiological recording...
Development of Low Moisture Absorbing SMC

In this work, the role of SMC constituent components in controlling the moisture absorption of the final molded panels is discussed. A variety of polyester resins, low profile additives, and filler...
Does maternal exposure to an environmental stressor affect offspring response to predators

There is growing recognition of the ways in which maternal effects can influence offspring size, physiological performance, and survival. Additionally, environmental contaminants increasingly act as stressors in maternal environments, possibly leading to maternal effects on subsequent offspring. Thus, it is important to determine whether contaminants and other stressors can contribute to maternal effects, particularly under varied ecological conditions that encompass the range under which offspring develop. We used aquatic mesocosms to determine whether maternal effects of mercury (Hg) exposure shape offspring phenotype in the American toad (Bufo americanus) in the presence or absence of larval predators (dragonfly naiads). We found significant maternal effects of Hg exposure and significant effects of predators on several offspring traits, but there was little evidence that maternal effects altered offspring interactions with predators. Offspring from Hg-exposed mothers were 18% smaller than those of reference mothers. Offspring reared with predators were 23% smaller at metamorphosis than those reared without predators. There was also evidence of reduced larval survival when larvae were reared with predators, but this was independent of maternal effects. Additionally, 5 times more larvae had spinal malformations when reared without predators, suggesting selective predation of malformed larvae by predators. Lastly, we found a significant negative correlation between offspring survival and algal density in mesocosms, indicating a role for top-down effects of predators on periphyton communities. Our results demonstrate that maternal exposure to an environmental stressor can induce phenotypic responses in offspring in a direction similar to that produced by direct exposure of offspring to predators.
Isolation, characterization and expression of the maize Cat2 catalase gene.

The maize Cat2 gene was isolated by direct cloning and PCR. The clones were mapped and sequenced. The start site of transcription was determined by primer extension. Computer analysis of the 1.6 kb Cat2 promoter sequence has revealed an obvious TATA box, two GC boxes, a putative GA response element, and several ACGT core sequences known to have diverse regulatory functions in plants. Several other protein binding motifs were also identified within 800 bp upstream from the transcriptional start site. Five introns were identified in the Cat2 coding region. All five Cat2 introns are located in exactly the same position as five of the six introns in Cat1. Two of the Cat2 introns are located in the same position as the two Cat3 introns. The identical positioning of these introns suggests an evolutionary link between all three maize catalase genes. The response of the Cat2 gene to plant growth regulators was examined. Results clearly showed that the response of Cat2 to several environmental factors are developmental stage-dependent. Thus, complex regulatory mechanisms appear to be involved in the regulation of Cat2 expression in maize.
Distribution analysis of the photon correlation spectroscopy of discrete numbers of dye molecules conjugated to DNA

The formation of protein complexes with other proteins and nucleic acids is critical to biological function. Although it is relatively easy to identify the components present in these complexes, it is often difficult to determine their exact stoichiometry and obtain information about the homogeneity of the sample from bulk measurements. We demonstrate the use of single molecule photon-pair correlation spectroscopy to distinguish between discrete numbers of molecules in biological complexes. Fluorescence photon antibunching is observed from a single molecule by employing time-correlated single photon counting in combination with a Hanbury-Brown and Twiss coincidence setup. In addition, pulsed laser excitation and time-tagged time-resolved data collection allow for the measurement of photon arrival times with nanosecond time resolution. The interphoton time distribution between consecutively arriving photons can be calculated and provides a measure of the second-order temporal correlation function. Analysis of this function yields an absolute measure of the number of molecules, N, present in a given complex. It is this ability to measure N that renders this technique powerful for determining stoichiometries in complex biological systems at the single molecule level. We investigate the counting efficiency and statistics of photon antibunching of specifically designed biological samples labeled with multiple copies of the same fluorescent dye and derive conclusions about its use in the analytical evaluation of complex biological samples.
Healthcare information architecture: elements of a new paradigm

An Electronic Medical Record (EMR) must provide a secure, permanent archive for an individual's medical records and also function as a multi-purpose database that supports the complex, varied activities of patient care. Meeting these objectives requires unusual flexibility in how data are retrieved and processed. Semantic and referential integrity must preserved both over time and as chunks of information are exchanged with other systems. Relationships between data entries must determined dynamically based on actual events, rather than statically through application design. Distributed data requires that new forms of system security be incorporated into an EMR at a structural level, with an emphasis on the labeling of elements to be secured behind a security barrier, with audit trails to document necessary overrides and monitor for suspicious use. A modular information architecture is proposed that integrates requirements for structure, content, processing and security.
Estrogen inhibition of periosteal bone formation in rat long bones: down-regulation of gene expression for bone matrix proteins.

Estrogen is important for both the sexual dimorphism of the skeleton during growth and the maintenance of bone balance in adults. This report describes the in vivo effects of estrogen on bone formation and gene expression in the tibial diaphysis of ovariectomized rats. Rats were ovariectomized at 8 weeks of age and were given diethylstilbestrol (DES) or placebo 1 week later as sc sustained release pellets. Histomorphometry revealed that that the periosteal bone formation and apposition rates were reduced at the tibial diaphysis 1 week after beginning estrogen treatment and further reduced after 2 weeks. Interestingly, DES treatment had no effect on endosteal bone formation, but suppressed endosteal bone resorption. Northern analysis of freshly isolated periosteal cells from tibiae and femora revealed that DES treatment resulted in dramatic decreases in steady state mRNA levels for the bone matrix proteins osteocalcin, prepro 2(I) chain of type 1 collagen, osteonectin, and osteopontin as well as the osteob...
Sexual Activity During Menstruation: A Qualitative Study

This study utilized a grounded theory method to analyze qualitative narratives about sexuality and menstruation from 108 young women (ages 18-23; M = 19.8, SD = 1.07) and 12 young men (ages 18-24; M = 20.4, SD = 1.46). Five patterns were found: Sixteen women identified themselves as virgins and had not faced the issue of negotiating sex during menstruation. Among the 92 women who said they were sexually active, 37 women said they would never have intercourse during menstruation, eight women said they tried it once but never would again, and seven women said they rarely would and only under certain conditions. The largest group, 40 women, said they do have menstrual sex. Compared to the other groups, more of the women who do have sex during menstruation were in committed relationships, and none espoused a discourse of disgust. Considering the 12 men, three were virgins. Among the nine sexually experienced men, seven said they did have sex with a menstruating partner. Young adults who were comfortable with menstrual sex saw it as just another part of a committed intimate relationship.
Comparison of high dynamic range near-neighbor detection approaches for TPF

While observations of stellar Doppler shifts have recently uncovered a population of massive planets orbiting nearby stars, the direct detection of radiation from Earth-like planets is still well beyond reach, because of the high contrast ratios and small angular separations involved. However, a number of high-contrast near-neighbor detection techniques have the potential to enable the direct detection of planets as faint as the Earth from space-borne platforms. Several concepts, ranging from large-aperture visible wavelength coronagraphs to multi-spacecraft infrared interferometers, are currently being considered in the context of NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder program. Because of their demanding requirements, identification of the most feasible near-term approach calls for careful consideration of the possibilities. This paper compares the optical requirements inherent in two of the primary candidate architectures: nulling interferometry and coronagraphy. At a given wavelength, both approaches share similarly challenging wavefront phasing requirements, but nulling has the advantage that it is sensitive closer to the optical axis. The phasing and dynamic range requirements are eased significantly in the thermal infrared as compared to the visible, but longer baselines and cryogenic cooling are then required. Thus, all of the options are rather complex.
Production and temperature sensitivity of long chain alkenones in the cultured haptophyte Pseudoisochrysis paradoxa

The alkenone unsaturation index (U37K or U37K′) serves as a critical tool for reconstructing temperature in marine environments. Lacustrine haptophyte algae are genetically distinct from their ubiquitous and well studied marine counterparts, and the unknown species-specific genetic imprints on long chain alkenone production by lacustrine species have hindered the widespread application of the U37K temperature proxy to lake sediment records. The haptophyte Pseudoisochrysis paradoxa produces alkenones but its U37K calibration has never been determined. It has an alkenone fingerprint abundant in tetraunsaturated alkenones, a hallmark of lacustrine environments. We present here the first calibration of the U37K index to temperature for a culture of P. paradoxa. We found that the U37K index accurately captured the alkenone response to temperature whereas the U37K′ index failed to do so, with U37K′ values below 0.08 projecting to two different temperature values. Our results add a fifth species-specific U37K calibration and provide another line of evidence that different haptophyte species require different U37K calibrations. The findings also highlight the necessary inclusion of the C37:4 alkenone when reconstructing temperatures from P. paradoxa-derived alkenone records.
In Vitro Activity of Newer Fluoroquinolones for Respiratory Tract Infections and Emerging Patterns of Antimicrobial Resistance: Data from the SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program

In 1997, an international surveillance program, SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program, was initiated with the aim of tracking the emergence of antimicrobial resistance worldwide. Results from reference antimicrobial susceptibility testing of bacterial pathogens (from bloodstream, inpatient and outpatient lower respiratory tract, urinary tract, and skin and soft-tissue infections) were included in an extensive database used to define antimicrobial resistance patterns throughout the world. On the basis of 1997-1999 test results from the Americas, fluoroquinolones continue to demonstrate potent in vitro activity against Enterobacteriaceae and important pathogens (Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and atypicals) that cause community-acquired respiratory tract infections. At published breakpoint concentrations, gatifloxacin, levofloxacin, sparfloxacin, grepafloxacin, trovafloxacin, and ciprofloxacin inhibited approximately 100% of H. influenzae isolates, including those that demonstrated resistance to beta-lactams and macrolides. Fluoroquinolones were also active against numerous other gram-negative bacilli and demonstrated high activity against S. pneumoniae and beta-hemolytic or viridans group streptococci. New fluoroquinolones maintain activity against penicillin-resistant strains of S. pneumoniae, with a low overall resistance in this species, even among the most recent (1999) clinical isolates. The SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program will continue to monitor the antibacterial activity of these newer agents throughout the world, to identify emerging resistant strains and to facilitate possible intervention strategies as these newer compounds are used in the clinic setting.
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand: New Administrations, New Policies, New Performance?

Abstract The administrations in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand have all put in place economic policies designed to increase growth, reduce poverty, and improve governance. In Thailand, the government is taking a more activist role, a change from the previous, more hands-off approach. In both Indonesia and Malaysia, new policies reduce the activist role of the state, creating greater predictability and transparency. Better governance remains a key to growth, with many reforms within governments' reach. While many of the policies focus on the medium term, there is an acceptance of the need for prudent short-term management. The open question is whether progress on structural changes can persist when the short-term macroeconomic picture becomes more challenging.
Pathways of Dominance and Displacement: The Varying Fates of Legacy Unions in New Democracies

Legacy unions—formerly state-backed unions that survived democratic transitions—are one of the most persistent legacies of authoritarian rule. While usually successful in maintaining their preeminent position, legacy unions have in some cases been overtaken by competing unions. Deploying a set of paired comparisons of legacy unions that entered the transition with similar legacies but experienced different fates—Indonesia with South Korea and Poland with Russia—this article examines why some legacy unions continued to dominate (Indonesia and Russia) and others did not (South Korea and Poland). The author identifies four pathways of change: endurance (Indonesia), attrition (South Korea), hegemony (Russia), and rupture (Poland). Several features of the transition context propelled legacy unions down distinct pathways of change—the widespread mobilization of workers outside of state-sponsored unions early in the transition, partisan links, and the structure of union competition.
The Internal Promotion Of Ideas

This chapter specifically addresses internal marketing of tacit knowledge. Internal marketing is the promotional activities within knowledge services wherein employees work to “sell” knowledge which is “bought” by others.The implementation of internal marketing campaigns for developing value- added solutions within knowledge services is explored. The promotion of component private knowledge within the organization to increase the internal awareness of trading partners and the expansion of human capital assets for the building of knowledge stocks for organization competitive sustainability are presented.
Dynamics of a Catalina Eddy Revealed by Numerical Simulation

Abstract Through numerical simulations with the Pennsylvania State University–NCAR Mesoscale Model the dynamics of a Catalina Eddy event that formed during the period 26–30 June 1988 off the coast of southern California is examined. A strengthening and veering of the low-level synoptic-scale winds, from climatological northwesterlies to northerlies, results in a more pronounced effect of the coastal orography around the California bight region. In particular, relative vorticity formed by flow over the coastal terrain remains offshore. Prior to the formation of a quasi-steady eddy within the bight, the northerlies are strong enough to advect anomalously high vorticity out of the region. The formation of a mature Catalina eddy relies on a rapid deceleration of the synoptic-scale northerlies on 30 June, such that vorticity, once formed, remains in the bight. The eddy is also strongly modulated by the diurnal cycle. Northwesterly flow around 500 m above mean sea level impinging on the mountains north of the b...
Thickness distribution for gold and copper electroformed hohlraums

Some preliminary experiments have been performed to determine the effect of mandrel geometry and plating both composition on the thickness uniformity of gold and copper electroformed hohlraums. It was observed that for gold plating, the edge radius has a dramatic influence on uniformity in a direction opposite that expected (i.e., uniformity worsened with larger radius) and that extension of the front small-diameter cylinder gave a slight improvement in hohlraum symmetry. In the case of copper plating it was found that, as expected, reduced metal concentration improved uniformity, however, it was also found that the selection of additives has an even more pronounced effect.
Patient Experience Assessment is a Requisite for Quality Evaluation: A Discussion of the In‐Center Hemodialysis Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers and Systems (ICH CAHPS) Survey

Patient experience surveys provide a critical and unique perspective on the quality of patient-centered healthcare delivery. These surveys provide a mechanism to systematically express patients' voice on topics valued by patients to make decisions about choices in care. They also provide an assessment to healthcare organizations about their service that cannot be obtained from any other source. Regulatory agencies have mandated the assessment of patients' experience as part of healthcare value based purchasing programs and weighted the results to account for up to 30% of the total scoring. This is a testimony to the accepted importance of this metric as a fundamental assessment of quality. After more than a decade of rigorous research, there is a significant body of growing evidence supporting specifically the validity and use of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys, including a version specific to in-center hemodialysis (ICH CAHPS). This review will focus on the ICH CAHPS survey including a review of its development, content, administration, and also a discussion of common criticisms. Although it is suggested that the survey assesses activities and experiences that are not modifiable by the healthcare organization (or the dialysis facility in our case) emerging evidence suggests otherwise. Dialysis providers have an exclusive opportunity to lead the advancement of understanding the implications and serviceability of the evaluation of the patient experience in health care.
Cash Flow Replication with Mismatch Constraints

The replication of a portfolio of cashflow instruments with another set of cashflow instruments is frequently used for pricing and hedging. For example, replication of deposits with tradable bonds allows the treasurer to determine an approximate fair value of deposits and implement hedging schemes. In these applications the replication of deposits with tradable instruments is crucial as this re-states the problem of pricing and hedging deposits into, for the treasury trader well-known, standard market instrument valuation and hedging. In an insurance context replicating portfolio is also used to replace non-tradable policies such as life annuities with a best hedging tradable cashflow portfolio. In the application of replicating portfolio a key issue is what asset instruments should be used for replication in order to achieve a minimal cashflow deviation. Having determined the set of assets to use in replication the next key step is to determine a model for replication error measurement and other features of the replicating portfolio such as the cost. In this paper we describe an efficient linear program approach to cashflow replication. This program explicitly controls the replication error as mismatch constraints with user defined tolerance levels for absolute and tail mismatch. By controlling the cashflow mismatch as constraints the non-feasibility of any given asset portfolio simply indicates a bad choice of replicating instruments, or, a bad choice of constraints. For feasible problems the linear optimization finds the minimum cost portfolio of the feasible set. The cashflow optimization approach with cashflow mismatch as constraints has significant advantages over naive approaches to cashflow replication that directly minimize the cashflow deviation between the portfolios.
The PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2015: Reducing false arrhythmia alarms in the ICU

High false alarm rates in the ICU decrease quality of care by slowing staff response times while increasing patient delirium through noise pollution. The 2015 Physio-Net/Computing in Cardiology Challenge provides a set of 1,250 multi-parameter ICU data segments associated with critical arrhythmia alarms, and challenges the general research community to address the issue of false alarm suppression using all available signals. Each data segment was 5 minutes long (for real time analysis), ending at the time of the alarm. For retrospective analysis, we provided a further 30 seconds of data after the alarm was triggered.
Contrasting Hemodynamic Effects of High Oral Calcium in Genetic Models of Salt-Sensitive Hypertension

Interest in effects of oral calcium (Ca) on blood pressure is now generally focused on salt-induced hypertension. In this study hemodynamic effects of long-term high oral Ca were examined in two different genetic models of salt-sensitive hypertension, stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (spSHR) and Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) hypertensive rats. High vs low oral Ca (2.0 vs 0.4% Ca . 8-13 rats/diet) significantly (p<0.05) attenuated salt-induced hypertension (7% NaCl Intake) in female spSHR (mean arterial pressure - 137 vs 175 mmHg) but aggravated such hypertension in female DS rats (141 vs 124 mmHg) . Pressor responsiveness to norepinephrine (NE) and angiotensin (A) II were examined in the same rats. High oral Ca decreased pressor responses to graded intravenous injections of NE and AII In spSHR and increased such responses in DS rats. In spSHR, the decreased pressor responsiveness preceded the antihypertensive effect of high oral Ca. In summary, 2.0 vs 0.4% oral Ca produces contrasting effects on bl...
Particle Structure Evolution in Micro Flow of Electrorheological Suspensions in Nonuniform Electric Fields

A modified version of the distributed Lagrange multiplier method (DLM) [11] is used to study the dynamics of particle scale structure in electrorheological (ER) liquids subjected to spatially non-uniform electric field (also see [7, 18]). The time duration in which the particles are collected, near the electric field magnitude minimums or maximums, depends on a parameter defined by the ratio of the dielectrophoretic and viscous forces. Another parameter defined by the ratio of the electrostatic particle-particle interaction and dielectrophoretic forces also influences the time duration in which the particles are collected, as when this parameter is greater than one the particles to organize in chains which decreases their speed. The numerical results agree qualitatively with experiments which show that when the electrostatic particle-particle forces dominate the particles form chains that collect near the electrode edges.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Turbulent High Reynolds Number Flows in a Square Duct With 90-Degree Streamwise Curvature: Part 1 — Experiment

This study was aimed at obtaining a better understanding of turbulent flows in a square duct with a 90° bend, using both experimental and numerical techniques. Turbulent flows that are subjected to streamwise curvature occur in numerical engineering applications. These flows are known to experience extra rates of strain in the plane of mean shear in comparison to plane flows. Hence the gross parameters, such as the mean flow velocities, turbulence intensities and Reynolds stresses are altered dramatically from the plane flow characteristics. The flows examined are specified by the free-stream entry velocities of 12.3 m/s and 20.4 m/s measured at 1.01 duct height upstream of the bend entry plane. These velocities correspond to Reynolds numbers 3.56 × 105 and 6.43 × 105 respectively. The duct has a cross-section of 0.457 × 0.457 m 2 and the mean radius of curvature to duct height ratio is 1:21. Airflow from a wind tunnel passes through an upstream tangent of 1.31 duct height before entering the bend. The flow then exits the bend into a 7.0 duct height downstream tangent before discharging into the atmosphere. The experimental part involved hot-wire measurements. Flow visualisation was performed by smoke in a region close to the convex wall at the bend exit to confirm the numerical prediction of recirculating flow in that area. The numerical part of the investigation was based on the solution of the governing differential equations for turbulent flows in conjunction with a number of turbulence models. The discretisation of the equations was achieved using a finite-volume technique and different discretisation schemes. The main turbulence model used for the study was the Reynolds Stress Model, but the comparisons of the results were also made with those from the standard κ-e and the RNG-κ-e turbulence models. The boundary conditions for these simulations were obtained as part of the experimental investigations. Numerical calculations with the Reynolds stress models show a separated flow near the convex wall starting at the bend exit, which was confirmed by experiment using flow visualisation by smoke. The Reynolds stress models are observed to be superior in comparison with the standard κ-e and the RNG-κ-e turbulence models in terms of accuracy. Further conclusions from this work can be summarised as: 1. The proper numerical resolution of this type of flow is dependent on the turbulence model formulations as well as numerical procedures. The results highlight the limitations of the generality of turbulence models when used to model more intricate features of complex flows. 2. The need for more accurate experimental techniques in support of improvement of turbulence models is thus underlined.© 2003 ASME
Role of Side Chains in β-Sheet Self-Assembly into Peptide Fibrils. IR and VCD Spectroscopic Studies of Glutamic Acid-Containing Peptides

Poly(glutamic acid) at low pH self-assembles after incubation at higher temperature into fibrils composed of antiparallel sheets that are stacked in a β2-type structure whose amide carbonyls have bifurcated H-bonds involving the side chains from the next sheet. Oligomers of Glu can also form such structures, and isotope labeling has provided insight into their out-of-register antiparallel structure [Biomacromolecules 2013, 14, 3880−3891]. In this paper we report IR and VCD spectra and transmission electron micrograph (TEM) images for a series of alternately sequenced oligomers, Lys-(Aaa-Glu)5-Lys-NH2, where Aaa was varied over a variety of polar, aliphatic, or aromatic residues. Their spectral and TEM data show that these oligopeptides self-assemble into different structures, both local and morphological, that are dependent on both the nature of the Aaa side chains and growth conditions employed. Such alternate peptides substituted with small or polar residues, Ala and Thr, do not yield fibrils; but with ...
Preface: Remote Sensing of Biodiversity

Since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the importance of biological diversity insupporting and maintaining ecosystem functions and processes has become increasingly understood [1].