cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Specific ion effects on membrane potential and the permselectivity of ion exchange membranes

Membrane potential and permselectivity are critical parameters for a variety of electrochemically-driven separation and energy technologies. An electric potential is developed when a membrane separates electrolyte solutions of different concentrations, and a permselective membrane allows specific species to be transported while restricting the passage of other species. Ion exchange membranes are commonly used in applications that require advanced ionic electrolytes and span technologies such as alkaline batteries to ammonium bicarbonate reverse electrodialysis, but membranes are often only characterized in sodium chloride solutions. Our goal in this work was to better understand membrane behaviour in aqueous ammonium bicarbonate, which is of interest for closed-loop energy generation processes. Here we characterized the permselectivity of four commercial ion exchange membranes in aqueous solutions of sodium chloride, ammonium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and ammonium bicarbonate. This stepwise approach, using four different ions in aqueous solution, was used to better understand how these specific ions affect ion transport in ion exchange membranes. Characterization of cation and anion exchange membrane permselectivity, using these ions, is discussed from the perspective of the difference in the physical chemistry of the hydrated ions, along with an accompanying re-derivation and examination of the basic equations that describe membrane potential. In general, permselectivity was highest in sodium chloride and lowest in ammonium bicarbonate solutions, and the nature of both the counter- and co-ions appeared to influence measured permselectivity. The counter-ion type influences the binding affinity between counter-ions and polymer fixed charge groups, and higher binding affinity between fixed charge sites and counter-ions within the membrane decreases the effective membrane charge density. As a result permselectivity decreases. The charge density and polarizability of the co-ions also appeared to influence permselectivity leading to ion-specific effects; co-ions that are charge dense and have low polarizability tended to result in high membrane permselectivity.
Evaluation of a peaceful conflict resolution and violence prevention curriculum for sixth-grade students.

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate a Social Cognitive Theory–based violence prevention curriculum among sixth-grade students. Methods: The evaluation was conducted using a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design. Students were pretested 2 weeks before the intervention started and were posttested 2 weeks after it ended. The study was conducted in four middle schools serving children and adolescents living in or around public housing in a southeastern city. The participants included all sixth-grade students who were predominantly African-American (88.7%), 41% lived in public housing, and 80% lived in homes with an employed head of household. The intervention schools had 292 students, and the control schools 412 students. The Peaceful Conflict Resolution and Violence Prevention Curriculum is a 13-module skills-building curriculum based on Social Cognitive Theory. It taught identification of situations that could result in violence; avoidance, confrontation, problem-solving, and communication skills; conflict resolution skills; the conflict cycle; the dynamics of a fight; and how to express anger without fighting. Main Measures: The primary outcome variable was a five-item scale assessing the frequency of fighting and weapon carrying behaviors (α = .72) and a scale measuring intentions to use violence in 11 hypothetical situations (α = .81). Levels of exposure to violence and victimization (α = .82) and depression (α = .86) were also assessed. The data were analyzed with general linear modeling with repeated measures. Results: At pretest, the intervention and control groups did not differ in gender, age, depression, exposure to violence, or any other demographic variable. A group × time interaction effect ( p = .029) was found in the use of violence scale. From pretest to posttest there was a decrease in the use of violence by students in the intervention group and an increase in the use of violence in the control group. Most of the changes were accounted for by changes in the frequencies of carrying concealed guns and fighting resulting in injuries requiring medical treatment. A group × time interaction effect ( p = .002) was also found for the intention to use violence scale. Students in the intervention group did not change their mean scores from pretest to posttest, whereas students in the control group increased in their mean intention to use violence scale scores. Neither interaction effect was influenced by gender, exposure to violence, or level of depression. Conclusion: The Peaceful Conflict Resolution and Violence Prevention curriculum appears to have positive short-term effects on self-reported use of violence and intentions to use violence by these middle-school students.
Foaming in Glass Melts Produced by Sodium Sulfate Decomposition under Isothermal Conditions

The factors controlling the behavior of foam produced in molten glass by sulfate decomposition are sulfate oversaturation (determined by the initial sulfate concentration, fraction of sulfate dissolved, and melting temperature), bubble nucleation (occurring predominantly on the residual silica grains), and film stability. The connection between the foam generation and variation in melting temperature and silica grain size has been experimentally investigated by observing the melting process in a transparent silica crucible. A generation/release model for the time variation of gas-phase volume retained in molten glass has been developed. The analysis of experimental data using this approach suggests that two forms of sulfate produce foam during melting: (1) sulfate dissolved in melt and (2) sulfate from sulfate-rich melt surrounding sand grains.
GCIM: A New Global Migration Facility

The 19-member Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM) released a six-chapter consensus report on 5 October 2005 calling on all nations to respect the human rights of migrants and recommending a new Interagency Global Migration Facility to help coordinate migration policies at the regional and eventually global level. The GCIM mandate was to put migration on the global agenda to highlight gaps in policy responses to people crossing national borders and to examine links between migration and other global issues. The report includes six principles and 33 more specific recommendations aimed at creating a comprehensive global framework in six broad areas: migrants in a globalizing labour market migration and development irregular migration migrants in society the human rights of migrants and the governance of migration. Of the 33 recommendations 25 are directed primarily at developed or receiving countries 15 to sending countries and eight to the international community. Many of these recommendations have been made previously and some are included in earlier United Nations system reports and declarations. (excerpt)
Art and Alzheimer dementia: A museum experience for patients may benefit medical students

In this issue of Neurology® , Roberts and Noble1 describe a pilot study of an intervention designed to change medical students' perceptions of dementia by having students participate in a museum-based arts program for persons with dementia and their caregivers in New York City. In a single 90-minute session, preclerkship students joined 6–10 pairs of patients with dementia and caregivers (one student per group) for their activities, including responding to art works in galleries and creating art in the studio. On pretests and post-tests using the Dementia Attitude Scale (DAS), the 20 students in this study experienced positive changes in their attitudes toward dementia, with greatest gains in their comfort level.
Novel Dynamic Quasi-3-Dimensional High Temperature Fuel Cell Model With Internal Manifolding

High temperature fuel cells have demonstrated potential for a wide array of energy applications while meeting future efficiency and emission targets. Earlier works captured either steady state performance of stacks or transient behavior of single cells. This work develops a model that can simulate and spatially resolve transient temperature, pressure and species distributions for a simulated fuel cell stack in a computationally efficient manner. The novel model accounts for internal manifolding of fuel and oxidant streams and predicts two dimensional fields associated with the dynamic operation of a single high temperature fuel cell. The MatLab-Simulink® model calculates dynamic performance for both solid oxide and molten carbonate fuel cells that utilize both direct and indirect internal reforming. This paper presents dynamic response characteristics to perturbations in power, fuel utilization and composition, and investigates control strategies that minimize PEN temperature variations and fluctuations during the transient responses. Air flow and inlet temperature controls are sufficient to control average PEN temperature, but internal heat transfer dynamics substantially change the spatial temperature distribution dynamics at different operational power densities.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Programmable analog front-end system for ultrasonic SoC hardware

This study presents a scheme for enhancing the capabilities of an ultrasonic hardware platform leading to a fully reconfigurable system allowing for dynamic control over the analog front-end. This system presents a robust approach for nondestructive testing, data analysis and imaging applications. The fully programmable analog front-end system proposed in this paper supports up to 8 ultrasonic sensors. The components of this system are dynamically configurable by a Zynq system-on-chip (SoC) module for real-time ultrasonic data acquisition and analysis. This reconfigurable system enables ultrasonic researchers to efficiently prototype different experiments and to incorporate high performance ultrasonic signal and image processing algorithms.
An Integrated Cathodoluminescence Video-Capture Microsampling System

A new system is described that permits real-time microdrilling of sedimentary grains and crystals within cathodoluminescence zonations. Low-light cathodoluminescence photomicrograph images are captured with a thermoelectrically cooled color video camera and saved on a computer. These cathodoluminescence images are then transparently superimposed on a standard color video image of the sample being microdrilled on a 20 μm scale using a video mixer. This integrated system can be applied to a wide variety of sedimentary rocks and minerals.
High guanidinium permeability reveals dehydration-dependent ion selectivity in the plasmodial surface anion channel.

Malaria parasites grow within vertebrate erythrocytes and increase host cell permeability to access nutrients from plasma. This increase is mediated by the plasmodial surface anion channel (PSAC), an unusual ion channel linked to the conserved clag gene family. Although PSAC recognizes and transports a broad range of uncharged and charged solutes, it must efficiently exclude the small Na+ ion to maintain infected cell osmotic stability. Here, we examine possible mechanisms for this remarkable solute selectivity. We identify guanidinium as an organic cation with high permeability into human erythrocytes infected with Plasmodium falciparum, but negligible uptake by uninfected cells. Transport characteristics and pharmacology indicate that this uptake is specifically mediated by PSAC. The rank order of organic and inorganic cation permeabilities suggests cation dehydration as the rate-limiting step in transport through the channel. The high guanidinium permeability of infected cells also allows rapid and stringent synchronization of parasite cultures, as required for molecular and cellular studies of this pathogen. These studies provide important insights into how nutrients and ions are transported via PSAC, an established target for antimalarial drug development.
Applications of vibration reduction of flexible space structure using command shaping technique

This paper presents applications of command shaping techniques to space docking and slewing maneuvers of space vehicles with flexible appendages to eliminate mechanical vibration with large amplitude. The command shaping approach has been evaluated on slowly varying computer model of the Space Shuttle Remote Manipulator system. For application of the technique to docking operation the elementary requirement is that the relative velocity of space vehicles be brought to zero. As a second application, the slewing maneuver is accounted for sequential docking maneuvers. The actual time history of the input can be designed to exclude energy at natural frequencies and leave flexible structures unexcited. A discussion of problems with practical application of this technique is prescribed with possible solution methods. >
Empirical Mode Decomposition–Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average: Hybrid Short-Term Traffic Speed Prediction Model

Short-term freeway traffic speed prediction is essential to improving mobility and roadway safety. It has been a challenging and unresolved issue. Traffic speed prediction can be applied to enhance the intelligent freeway traffic management and control for applications such as operational and regulation planning. For example, with more reliable traffic speed prediction, the advanced traveler information system can provide travelers with predictive travel time information and optimal routing, which allows them to arrange their schedules accordingly. Moreover, traffic managers can use the predicted information to deploy various traffic management strategies to increase system efficiency. In this paper, a hybrid empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) (or EMD-ARIMA) approach was developed to predict the short-term traffic speed on freeways. In general, there were three stages in the hybrid EMD-ARIMA forecasting framework. The first was the EMD stage, which deco...
High‐Temperature Na2SO4 Deposit‐Assisted Corrosion of Silicon Carbide – I: Temperature and Time Dependence

Time and temperature dependence of Na2SO4-induced hot corrosion were studied for sintered-α (Hexoloy) as well as CVD-SiC at temperatures between 900°C and 1100°C and at times from 0.75 to 96 h. The extent of corrosion was quantified using mass change measurements, removal of corrosion products using sequential water, HCl, and HF dissolution steps followed by ICP-OES analysis, and by optical profilometry of corroded materials to characterize pitting on the sample surface. In addition, SEM, EDS, and XRD were used to better understand the morphology, distribution, and phase composition of corrosion products. It was found that hot corrosion of Hexoloy was more severe than that of high-purity CVD-SiC. Hot corrosion is initially rapid until a continuous silica layer is formed underneath the mixed silicate layer. Once a continuous silica layer was formed the temperature dependence of the corrosion rate was consistent with diffusion of oxygen through the silica layer.
Touch-screen tablet user configurations and case-supported tilt affect head and neck flexion angles.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine how head and neck postures vary when using two media tablet (slate) computers in four common user configurations. Methods: Fifteen experienced media tablet users completed a set of simulated tasks with two media tablets in four typical user configurations. The four configurations were: on the lap and held with the user's hands, on the lap and in a case, on a table and in a case, and on a table and in a case set at a high angle for watching movies. An infra-red LED marker based motion analysis system measured head/neck postures. Results: Head and neck flexion significantly varied across the four configurations and across the two tablets tested. Head and neck flexion angles during tablet use were greater, in general, than angles previously reported for desktop and notebook computing. Postural differences between tablets were driven by case designs, which provided significantly different tilt angles, while postural differences between configurations were driven by gaze and viewing angles. Conclusion: Head and neck posture during tablet computing can be improved by placing the tablet higher to avoid low gaze angles (i.e. on a table rather than on the lap) and through the use of a case that provides optimal viewing angles.
Suppression of TNF-α and IL-1 Signaling Identifies a Mechanism of Homeostatic Regulation of Macrophages by IL-27

IL-27 is a pleiotropic cytokine with both activating and inhibitory functions on innate and acquired immunity. IL-27 is expressed at sites of inflammation in cytokine-driven autoimmune/inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and sarcoidosis. However, its role in modulating disease pathogenesis is still unknown. In this study, we found that IL-27 production is induced by TNF-α in human macrophages (MΦ) and investigated the effects of IL-27 on the responses of primary human MΦ to the endogenous inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1. In striking contrast to IL-27-mediated augmentation of TLR-induced cytokine production, we found that IL-27 suppressed MΦ responses to TNF-α and IL-1β, thus identifying an anti-inflammatory function of IL-27. IL-27 blocked the proximal steps of TNF-α signaling by downregulating cell-surface expression of the signaling receptors p55 and p75. The mechanism of inhibition of IL-1 signaling was downregulation of the ligand-binding IL-1RI concomitant with increased expression of the receptor antagonist IL-1Ra and the decoy receptor IL-1RII. These findings provide a mechanism for suppressive effects of IL-27 on innate immune cells and suggest that IL-27 regulates inflammation by limiting activation of MΦ by inflammatory cytokines while preserving initial steps in host defense by augmenting responses to microbial products.
In vitro model of acute esophagitis in the cat.

We have shown that IL-1β and IL-6, possibly originating from the mucosa in response to injury, inhibit neurally mediated contraction of esophageal circular muscle but do not affect ACh-induced cont...
Device/circuit interactions at 22nm technology node

As transition is being made into 22nm node, technology considerations and device architectures suitable for such scaled technologies are being explored. To design circuits and systems at scaled nodes, we believe there is a need for technology aware circuit and system design methodology that considers device architecture, and technology challenges to achieve design optimality. In this paper, we discuss the challenges of device-circuit-system design at the 22 nm node and present techniques at different levels of design abstraction to meet these challenges. In particular, we discuss different device options for multi-gate FETs. Logic and memory design using multi-gate FETs is also considered. Finally, we briefly discuss process variation tolerant system design methodologies for such scaled technologies.
Hepatitis C infection in Alaska Natives with persistently normal, persistently elevated or fluctuating alanine aminotransferase levels.

Background/Aims: An estimated one-third of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have persistently normal alanine transaminase (PNALT); however, in many previous studies alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were followed for � 12 months. Methods: We analyzed data from a population-based cohort of 935 Alaska Natives with HCV, recruited from 1994 to 2005, to determine the proportion of persons with PNALT, persistently elevated ALT (PEALT), and fluctuating ALT (FLUXALT) to determine factors for each ALT state. We selected persons with two positive HCV RNA results � 1 year apart and � 6 ALT levels measured over the subsequent 3 years with at least 1 month between ALT measurements (n 5 265). We defined a person as having PNALT, PEALT, or FLUXALT when all six ALT levels were normal, elevated, or did not fit either of the above two categories, respectively, during the 3-year follow-up period. Results: Among 208 persistently HCV RNA-positive persons, 13 had PNALT, 121 PEALT, 74 FLUXALT. Among 77 persons who underwent liver biopsy, those with PEALT were more likely to have Ishak fibrosis scores 42 compared with persons with FLUXALT (44% vs. 10%, OR 7.0, 95% CI: 1.5-33.2). No statistically significant differences were found in ALT classification by age, gender, infection duration, median body mass index, alcohol consumption, residence, risk behavior, RNA level, or genotype. Conclusions: Only 6% of persons with chronic HCV had PNALT. Persons with PEALT were significantly more likely to have higher fibrosis scores on liver biopsy than those with FLUXALT. Previous studies with short follow-up periods may have overestimated the proportion of persons with normal ALT levels.
Building a Picture of the Braina

The brain is among the most complicated material objects in the known universe. Even before the advent of modern neuroscience, it was a commonplace that the brain is necessary for perception, feelings, and thoughts; today this is considered a truism.1 What is the connection? Can we build a picture of the structure and dynamics of this extraordinary ob ject that can account for the origin of the mind? This is in fact the main goal of modern neuroscience, and, when reached, it will have large consequences for humankind. In this essay, I want to touch upon some features of the brain that make it special, features that challenge the picture of the brain as a machine. In doing so, I shall suggest alternative views to such a picture and shall range over various levels of organiza tion of the brain, from its most microscopic structural aspects to its most abstract functions. My position shall be that the human brain is special both as an object and as a system?its connectiv ity, dynamics, mode of functioning, and relation to the body and the world is like nothing else science has yet encountered. This, of course, makes building a picture of the brain an extraordinary challenge. Although we are far from a complete view of that picture, a partial view is better than none at all. Before attempt ing a synopsis, an examination of some key features and proper ties of the brain is required.
Dissociation of human caudate nucleus activity in spatial and nonspatial working memory : an event-related fMRI study

We employed a novel event-related fMRI design and analysis technique to explore caudate nucleus contributions to spatial and nonspatial working memory. The spatial condition of a delayed-response task revealed greater mnemonic activation in four of six subjects when the delay period preceded immediately a probe stimulus requiring an overt motor response, as contrasted with a probe requiring no response. This effect was not seen in frontal or parietal cortical areas, and was seen in the caudate nucleus in a formally identical object condition in just one of six subjects. We hypothesized that this pattern of activity represented spatially dependent motor preparation. A second experiment confirmed this hypothesis: delay-period activity of the caudate nucleus showed greater time dependence in a task that featured spatial and motoric memory demands than in a comparable nonspatial task that featured the same response contingencies. These results suggest an important subcortical locus of the dissociation between spatial and nonspatial working memory, and a role for the human caudate nucleus in the integration of spatially coded mnemonic information with motor preparation to guide behavior.
Lampião, Luiz and Padim Ciço: Three icons of the Brazilian Northeast

This article focuses on the collective memory within the Brazilian Northeast of three iconic figures, a renowned bandit, a miracle-working priest and a famous singer, identifying and analyzing the attributes that account for their status as regional heroes. It suggests that these attributes form a counter-narrative that casts them as champions of the powerless and victims of injustice, themes that resonate among and reflect the lived experience of the northeast’s masses. This element of resistance later served as a regional counter-narrative to a dominant national history that derogated the Northeast.
The Cumulative Consensus of Cognitive Agents in Scenarios: A Framework for Evolutionary Processes in Semantic Memory

The Pathfinder paradigm utilizes pairwise estimates or measures of proximity to form a family of networks intended to model aspects of human semantic memory. This model supports clustering of similar concepts, higher levels of abstraction, and minimum-cost paths, thus providing a reasonably well-defined structure to the concepts within a domain. Recently, a method of modeling a dynamic phenomenon by incrementally constructing a Pathfinder network based upon counting co-occurring concepts at each sampling time has been developed, utilizing a canonical scenario. This procedure can be viewed as computing the cumulative consensus over a set of adaptive agents, in which each agent has certain responsibilities for the storage of memories. An extension of this procedure allows the adaptive agents to participate in evolutionary processes in the representation and exchange of their memories of present and past events, by the concurrent application of operations to the agents at each time step. This generates a population of agents within each scenario which differ from those in the canonical scenario. These scenarios yield cumulative consensus and Pathfinder networks which are different from those of the canonical network. Candidate operators and measures of fitness are proposed, and potential advantages and difficulties are discussed.
Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide modulates the estradiol-induced prolactin surge by entraining oxytocin neuronal activity

In female rats, estradiol is responsible for a circadian secretory prolactin (PRL) pattern which requires an intact suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). SCN outputs involved in this secretory profile remain elusive. Because oxytocin has been proposed to stimulate PRL secretion, we investigated whether the projections of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) from the SCN to neurons producing oxytocin in the paraventricular and periventricular nuclei (PVN and PeVN, respectively) are responsible for timing PRL surges induced by estradiol (E(2)). E(2)-treated ovariectomized rats received an injection of antisense or random-sequence oligodeoxynucleotide for VIP in the SCN and blood samples were taken for PRL measurements by radioimmunoassay. Additionally, the percentage of oxytocin-positive neurons immunoreactive to FOS-related antigens was determined in the PVN and PeVN, as an index of neuronal activity. In the PVN, oxytocinergic neuronal activity increased in the early evening regardless of E(2) treatment, whereas E(2) induced an increase of activity in the PeVN. VIP antisense attenuated this increase observed in both neuronal populations. Additionally, in the PeVN, VIP antisense advanced this increase by 2 h (from 19:00 h to 17:00 h). This same effect was observed in the PRL surge that occurred at 17:00 h in the VIP antisense injected animals. Thus, the SCN influences the precise timing of the E(2)-induced PRL surge via VIP projections to oxytocinergic neurons of the PVN and PeVN.
Engineered nanoparticles: safer substitutes for toxic materials, or a new hazard?

Nanotechnology has the potential for the development of new materials and processes that can substitute for toxic materials now used in industry. Excitement over this possibility is tempered, however, by the potential adverse environmental health and safety aspects of the new nanomaterials. Although a few examples from the literature are encouraging, e.g., wire and cable insulation, great care must be taken to perform complete alternatives assessment evaluations of any new nanotechnology- enabled product before its adoption. 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Misplaced Fears in the Battle Over Affordable Biotech Drugs

Much like tort reform, the debate over recently enacted legislation on biotech drugs — and particularly regulatory supplements to patent protection — has taken on a significance that dwarfs its impact on prescription drug expenditures. Under the Health Care Reform legislation, Congress enacted two major reforms: First, creation of an abbreviated Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process for follow-on biologics (FOBs), which are the analogues of generics for biotech drugs. Second, establishment of a twelve-year “data exclusivity” period in which clinical testing data collected by brand-name innovators cannot be used by producers of FOBs to satisfy FDA testing requirements. While the abbreviated FDA approval process enjoys broad support, the data-exclusivity provision has been hotly contested, including strong opposition from the Federal Trade Commission. We argue that the debate over the duration of regulatory data exclusivity is a sideshow. Current estimates suggest that the differences in duration of the data exclusivity period that were debated, essentially between seven and twelve years, would not materially affect aggregate expenditures on prescription drugs. For this and other reasons, any potential benefit to patients that might result from a shorter period of data exclusivity are likely to be outweighed by the financial risks to the biotech industry, and particularly the negative effects on investments in research and development.
Charles Beard and Three Barbie Dolls

In his famous Economic Interpretation, Charles Beard inappropriately imposed a progressive critique of politics and the Supreme Court of his own times upon the adoption of the Constitution. First, Beard argued that the Constitution in apportionment of tax tried to prevent an assault on wealth, whereas the founders were trying to reach wealth by tax under their apportionment formula. Secondly, the Constitution is predominantly a debtor document to restore the ability to borrow and not a suppression of debtors. Federalist 10, finally, is not anti-democratic, but is a proof that the national government would better protect individual rights than the states had, within the ideals of the Revolution.
Teachers' self-efficacy in Belize and experimentation with teacher-led math inquiry ☆

Abstract The present study first examined teacher characteristics in the nation of Belize hypothesized to correlate with teacher self-efficacy, then after controlling for those variables examines increases in teacher self-efficacy following exposure to “teacher-led mathematics inquiry” using a randomized trial (N = 332). Pre-service teacher preparation and Openness to Experience from the Big Five measure of personality contribute to teachers' self-efficacy within the context of Belize. Statistical and practical significance is discussed for teachers' self-efficacy when professional development was provided to enhance teacher content knowledge in combination with inquiry-based student centered instruction with manipulatives.
Adsorption, Desorption, and Displacement Kinetics of H2O and CO2 on Forsterite, Mg2SiO4(011)

We have examined the adsorbate–substrate interaction kinetics of CO2 and H2O on a natural forsterite crystal surface, Mg2SiO4(011), with 10–15% Fe2+ substituted for Mg2+. We used temperature-programmed desorption and molecular beam techniques to determine the adsorption, desorption, and displacement kinetics for H2O and CO2. Neither CO2 nor H2O has distinct submonolayer desorption peaks, but instead both have a broad continuous desorption feature that evolves smoothly into multilayer desorption. Inversion of the monolayer coverage spectra for both molecules reveals that the corresponding binding energies for H2O are greater than those for CO2 on all sites. The relative strength of these interactions is the dominant factor in the competitive adsorption and displacement kinetics. In experiments in which the two adsorbates are codosed, H2O preferentially binds to the highest-energy binding sites available and displaces CO2. The onset of significant CO2 displacement by H2O occurs between 65 and 75 K.
A Cellulose Acetate Membrane Technique for the Determination of Adenylate Kinase Types in Bloodstains

The genetically determined isoenzyme blood group system of adenylate kinase (AK) has been demonstrated in lysates of human erythrocytes [1,2] and in bloodstains [3]. The technique employed was horizontal starch gel electrophoresis using either a discontinuous histidine-citrate [1], a phosphate [2], or a succinate [4] buffer system. Since then, electrophoresis on cellulose acetate membrane (CAM) has been introduced as a rapid technique for the determination of AK types in fresh lysates [5,6]. We decided to investigate the use of CAM for determining AK types in bloodstains. In preliminary tests with CAM, we found the discontinuous histidine-citrate buffer system [1,5] gave clear results with lysates, but unsatisfactory results with even fresh bloodstain material. The phosphate buffer [6,7] seemed more promising and this paper describes our evaluation and adaptation of the phosphate system for bloodstain samples.
Synthesis and Structure–Activity Relationship Studies of Conformationally Flexible Tetrahydroisoquinolinyl Triazole Carboxamide and Triazole Substituted Benzamide Analogues as σ2 Receptor Ligands

Two novel classes of compounds targeting the sigma-2 (σ2) receptor were synthesized, and their bioactivities to binding σ1 and σ2 receptors were measured. Four novel triazole carboxamide analogues, 24d, 24e, 24f, and 39c, demonstrated high affinity and selectivity for the σ2 receptor. These data suggest 11C-labeled versions of these compounds may be potential σ2-selective radiotracers for imaging the proliferative status of solid tumors.
Kerr and Carrier Based Nonlinearities in Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Waveguides

We experimentally measure the optical nonlinearities in hydrogenated-amorphous silicon waveguides through the transmission of ultra-short pulses. Enhanced nonlinear coefficients are reported in submicron waveguides with a free carrier lifetime of ~ 400 ps.
Between Pleasure and Contentment: Evolutionary Dynamics of Some Possible Parameters of Happiness

We offer and test a simple operationalization of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being (“happiness”) as mediating variables that link outcomes to motivation. In six evolutionary agent-based simulation experiments, we compared the relative performance of agents endowed with different combinations of happiness-related traits (parameter values), under four types of environmental conditions. We found (i) that the effects of attaching more weight to longer-term than to momentary happiness and of extending the memory for past happiness are both stronger in an environment where food is scarce; (ii) that in such an environment “relative consumption,” in which the agent’s well-being is negatively affected by that of its neighbors, is more detrimental to survival when food is scarce; and (iii) that having a positive outlook, under which agents’ longer-term happiness is increased by positive events more than it is decreased by negative ones, is generally advantageous.
Investigating the Impact of Accelerated Testing Variables on the Exfoliation Corrosion of AA2060

Aluminum-lithium alloys are attractive for aerospace applications because of their improved strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios, fracture toughness, and corrosion resistance compared to legacy alloys such as AA2024 and AA7075. Many standardized accelerated tests are used to evaluate the corrosion resistance of high-strength aluminum alloys, but these tests can produce drastically different results for the same alloy. The purpose of this study is to provide a quantitative, technical understanding of the roles of key testing variables in two accelerated tests for exfoliation corrosion, EXCO and ANCIT. Accelerated testing was performed on under-aged and near peak-aged tempers of aluminum-lithium alloy AA2060, and a five-factor design of experiments was used to determine the impact of key testing variables on the corrosion potential and polarization resistance of AA2060. It was found that ANCIT testing produced exfoliation in the susceptible temper (T36) in a much shorter time than EXCO testing ...
Thermoelectric properties of copper chalcogenide alloys deposited via the solution-phase using a thiol–amine solvent mixture

There has been a growing interest in solution-phase routes to thermoelectric materials due to the decreased costs and novel device architectures that these methods enable. Many excellent thermoelectric materials are metal chalcogenide semiconductors and the ability to create soluble metal chalcogenide semiconductor precursors using thiol–amine solvent mixtures was recently demonstrated by others. In this paper, we report the first thermoelectric property measurements on metal chalcogenide thin films made in this manner. We create Cu2−xSeyS1−y and Ag-doped Cu2−xSeyS1−y thin films and study the interrelationship between their composition and room temperature thermoelectric properties. We find that the precursor annealing temperature affects the metal : chalcogen ratio, and leads to charge carrier concentration changes that affect the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity. Increasing the Se : S ratio increases electrical conductivity and decreases the Seebeck coefficient. We also find that incorporating Ag into the Cu2−xSeyS1−y film leads to appreciable improvements in thermoelectric performance by increasing the Seebeck coefficient and decreasing thermal conductivity. Overall, we find that the room temperature thermoelectric properties of these solution-processed materials are comparable to measurements on Cu2−xSe alloys made via conventional thermoelectric material processing methods. Achieving parity between solution-phase processing and conventional processing is an important milestone and demonstrates the promise of this binary solvent approach as a solution-phase route to thermoelectric materials.
Fast neutron sensitivity with HPGe

In addition to being excellent gamma-ray detectors, germanium detectors are also sensitive to fast neutrons. Incident neutrons undergo inelastic scattering {Ge(n,n')Ge*} off germanium nuclei and the resulting excited states emit gamma rays or conversion electrons. The response of a standard 140% high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector with a bismuth germanate (BGO) anti-coincidence shield was measured for several neutron sources to characterize the ability of the HPGe detector to detect fast neutrons. For a sensitivity calculation performed using the characteristic fast neutron response peak that occurs at 692 keV, the 140% germanium detector system exhibited a sensitivity of ~175 counts / kg of WGPumetal in 1000 seconds at a source-detector distance of 1 meter with 4 in. of lead shielding between source and detector. Theoretical work also indicates that it might be possible to use the shape of the fast-neutron inelastic scattering signatures (specifically, the end-point energy of the long high energy tail of the resulting asymmetric peak) to gain additional information about the energy distribution of the incident neutron spectrum. However, the experimentally observed end-point energies appear to be almost identical for each of the fast neutron sources counted. Detailed MCNP calculations show that the neutron energy distributions impingent on the detector for these sources are very similar in this experimental configuration, due to neutron scattering in a lead shield (placed between the neutron source and HPGe detector to reduce the gamma ray flux), the BGO anticoincidence detector, and the concrete floor.
Pengaruh Desain Pesan Video Instruksional terhadap Peningkatan Pengetahuan Petani tentang Pupuk Agrodyke

English This research was conducted in Kendari City; Southeast Sulawesi on 60 cacao farmers selected using simple random method. The objective is to find the effect of video used and packaging messages to farmer’s knowledge on agrodyke fertilizer application. Experimental design used is one pre-test group and one post-test group. Pre-test and post-test were examined using Paired Sample t-Test; The effect of video packaging was analyzed by multiple regression technique. Results show that using video as learning media is an effective way would by the higher post-test scores than pre-test scores. Visual, audio, material, and show time factors in video were significantly give positive contribution to farmer’s knowledge, which significantly increase the knowledge of farmers on agrodyke application. Indonesian Penelitian ini dilakukan di Kota Kendari, Sulawesi Tenggara terhadap 60 orang petani kakao yang dipilih secara acak sederhana. Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh penggunaan video dan unsur-unsur kemasan pesan dalam video terhadap peningkatan pengetahuan petani tentang penggunaan pupuk agrodyke. Desain penelitian adalah one group pre-test and design. Hasil skor pre-test dan post-test diuji dengan Paired Sample t-Test; Pengaruh unsur kemasan video dianalisis dengan uji statistik regresi berganda. Hasil studi menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan media video sebagai media pembelajaran peningkatkan pengetahuan petani tentang penggunaan pupuk agrodyke adalah efektif yang ditunjukkan dengan skor post-test yang lebih tinggi dari skor pre-test. Unsur visual, audio, materi, dan penggunaan waktu dalam penayangan penggunaan pupuk agrodyke melalui video sangat berpengaruh secara signifikan terhadap peningkatan pengetahuan petani yang ditunjukkan oleh skor post-test yang lebih tinggi dari skor pre-test. Unsur visual, audio, materi, dan penggunaan waktu dalam penayangan penggunaan pupuk agrodyke melalui video sangat berpengaruh secara signifikan terhadap peningkatan pengetahuan petani.
Structural Features in the Dow Chemical No. 1 B.L. Garrigan Well, Mississippi County, Arkansas, and their Paleotectonic Implications

New structural data in the southwestern extension of the New Madrid seismic zone show that the Upper Cambrian strata of the Blytheville arch recorded at least three episodes of deformation following initial rift formation. The earliest deformation is represented by a phase of uplift and tilting of deepwater, anoxic mudstone truncated by a prograding sandstone that precedes the formation of the Blytheville arch. This episode is followed by progressive deepening and filling of the graben by late Cambrian time. Two sets of carbonate-filled veins identify subsequent deformational episodes. The older set, observed in three cores over a vertical distance of about 1000 m, strikes N35 °W ± 8° and dips 80°SW and probably formed during deformation of regional extent. The younger set is observed only in the top-most core and is typically stratabound, doubly terminated, and nearly vertical. This set probably developed in response to local faulting. The average orientation of the younger set is N41 °E ± 14°.
Near point convergence and other measures of vestibulo-ocular dysfunction are associated with protracted neurological recovery after sports concussion

Objective To characterise specific measures of neurologic dysfunction and recovery associated with concussion in student-athletes using the clinical examination and Cleveland Clinic Concussion application (C3 app). Design Retrospective observational study Setting Tertiary sports concussion clinic Participants 181 student-athletes aged 14-20 diagnosed with concussion by a Cleveland Clinic physician were included. Interventions C3 data were collected pre-season, and at least once post-injury, along with a physician clinical examination. Individuals were stratified into two groups based on recovery time: typical Outcome measures Near point convergence (NPC) and the following modules of the C3 app were administered: 1) Graded symptom checklist (GSC); 2) Standardised Assessment of Concussion (SAC); 3) Trail Making Test (TMT); 4) Simple and Choice Reaction Time; 5) Processing Speed Test (PST); 6) Biomechanical quantification of balance during the BESS. Main results At baseline, both groups performed similarly on all C3 modules. Significant differences in NPC were seen among the typical versus protracted group (mean 7.62 cm versus 13.57 cm, p=0.0002). Also, significantly worse performance among the protracted group was seen in GSC (p=0.0001), and measures affected by vestibulo-ocular dysfunction including biomechanical quantification of BESS (p Conclusions Abnormal NPC or convergence insufficiency is associated with protracted recovery and should be included in the assessment of student-athletes at baseline and post-injury. Identification of vestibulo-ocular dysfunction helps guide post-concussion assessment, treatment, and return-to-play decision-making. Competing interests Bob Gray, Rick Figler, Jason Cruickshank, Maureen Lally, Tanujit Day: None. Susan Linder and Jay Alberts have authored intellectual property associated with the mobile application presented in this study.
POSTER: AFL-based Fuzzing for Java with Kelinci

Grey-box fuzzing is a random testing technique that has been shown to be effective at finding security vulnerabilities in software. The technique leverages program instrumentation to gather information about the program with the goal of increasing the code coverage during fuzzing, which makes gray-box fuzzers extremely efficient vulnerability detection tools. One such tool is AFL, a grey-box fuzzer for C programs that has been used successfully to find security vulnerabilities and other critical defects in countless software products. We present Kelinci, a tool that interfaces AFL with instrumented Java programs. The tool does not require modifications to AFL and is easily parallelizable. Applying AFL-type fuzzing to Java programs opens up the possibility of testing Java based applications using this powerful technique. We show the effectiveness of Kelinci by applying it on the image processing library Apache Commons Imaging, in which it identified a bug within one hour.
Complex Case: Rotational Atherectomy Involving the Left Main Coronary Artery

An 88-year-old man with high-risk NSTEMI was referred for angiography. He was found to have critical left main disease with a 99 % stenosis involving the proximal left anterior descending (LAD) artery and the proximal circumflex (LCX) stenosis consistent with Medina 1,1,1. Due to his co-morbid conditions, he was ultimately turned down for surgical intervention, and referred for PCI. He underwent successful interventional under ECMO support of the left main, proximal LAD and left circumflex coronary arteries, illustrating an example of complex and high-risk PCI involving bifurcation disease.
Bluefin tuna science remains vague

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) spent the past 8 years and more than US$15 million to improve scientists' understanding of Atlantic bluefin and their management ([ 1 ][1]). Unfortunately, this year's long-awaited stock assessment produced more questions
Risk-Averse Access Point Selection in Wireless Communication Networks

This paper considers the problem of selecting the optimal set of access points and routing decisions in wireless communication networks. We consider networks that are subject to uncertainty in the wireless channel, for example, due to multipath fading effects, and formulate the problem as a risk-averse network flow problem with binary variables corresponding to the status of the sinks, namely, selected or not. Risk measures capture low-probability but high-cost events and, when used for stochastic optimization, they produce solutions that are more reliable compared to mean-value formulations and less conservative than worst-case approaches. By relaxing the integer constraints, we reformulate the problem as a linear optimization problem, which we solve in a distributed way using the accelerated distributed augmented Lagrangian method that was recently developed by the authors to solve optimization problems with convex separable objectives and linear coupling constraints. We present numerical simulations and experimental results using low-power wireless radios that demonstrate the ability of the proposed method to effectively deal with large variations in the quality of the wireless channel.