cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hydrogen speciation in hydrated layers on nuclear waste glass

The hydration of an outer layer on nuclear waste glasses is known to occur during leaching, but the actual speciation of hydrogen (as water or hydroxyl groups) in these layers has not been determined. As part of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations Project, we have used infrared spectroscopy to determine hydrogen speciations in three nuclear waste glass compositions (SRL-131 & 165, and PNL 76-68), which were leached at 90{sup 0}C (all glasses) or hydrated in a vapor-saturated atmosphere at 202{sup 0}C (SRL-131 only). Hydroxyl groups were found in the surface layers of all the glasses. Molecular water was found in the surface of SRL-131 and PNL 76-68 glasses that had been leached for several months in deionized water, and in the vapor-hydrated sample. The water/hydroxyl ratio increases with increasing reaction time; molecular water makes up most of the hydrogen in the thick reaction layers on vapor-phase hydrated glass while only hydroxyl occurs in the least reacted samples. Using the known molar absorptivities of water and hydroxyl in silica-rich glass the vapor-phase layer contained 4.8 moles/liter of molecular water, and 0.6 moles water in the form hydroxyl. A 15 {mu}m layer on SRL-131 glass formed by leaching at 90{sup 0}C contained a total of 4.9 moles/liter of water, 2/3 of which was as hydroxyl. The unreacted bulk glass contains about 0.018 moles/liter water, all as hydroxyl. The amount of hydrogen added to the SRL-131 glass was about 70% of the original Na + Li content, not the 300% that would result from alkali=hydronium ion interdiffusion. If all the hydrogen is then assumed to be added as the result of alkali-H{sup +} interdiffusion, the molecular water observed may have formed from condensation of the original hydroxyl groups.
Hospital experience and mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: which patients benefit most from treatment at highly experienced hospitals?

OBJECTIVE: To determine if hospitalization at a hospital experienced in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), compared to hospitalization at a less experienced hospital, is associated with decreased in-hospital mortality in all subsets of patients with SLE, or if the decrease in mortality is greater for patients with particular demographic characteristics, manifestations of SLE, or reasons for hospitalization. METHODS: Data on in-hospital mortality were available for 9989 patients with SLE hospitalized in acute care hospitals in California from 1991 to 1994. Differences in in-hospital mortality between patients hospitalized at highly experienced hospitals (those hospitals with more than 50 urgent or emergent hospitalizations of patients with SLE per year) and those hospitalized at less experienced hospitals were compared in patient subgroups defined by age, sex, ethnicity, type of medical insurance, the presence of common SLE manifestations, and each of the 10 most common principal reasons for hospitalization. RESULTS: In univariate analyses, in-hospital mortality was lower among those hospitalized at a highly experienced hospital for women, blacks, and Hispanics, and those with public medical insurance or no insurance. The risk of in-hospital mortality was similar between highly experienced and less experienced hospitals for men, whites, and those with private insurance. Patients with nephritis also had lower risks of in-hospital mortality if they were hospitalized at highly experienced hospitals, but this risk did not differ in subgroups with other SLE manifestations or subgroups with different principal reasons for hospitalization. In multivariate analyses, only the interaction between medical insurance and hospitalization at a highly experienced hospital was significant. Results were similar in the subgroup of patients with an emergency hospitalization (n = 2,372), but more consistent benefits of hospitalization at a highly experienced hospital were found across subgroups of patients with an emergency hospitalization due to SLE (n = 405). CONCLUSION: Risks of in-hospital mortality for patients with SLE were similar between highly experienced hospitals and less experienced hospitals for patients with private medical insurance, but patients without private insurance had much lower risks of mortality if hospitalized at highly experienced hospitals. The benefit of hospitalization at highly experienced hospitals was more consistent across subgroups of patients with a hospitalization due to SLE, suggesting that differences specifically in the treatment of SLE, rather than differences in the general quality of medical care, account for the lower mortality among patients with SLE hospitalized at highly experienced hospitals.
Additions to the Spider Fauna of Northwestern Louisiana

Abstract The spider fauna of Louisiana tabulated here is based only on precise localities for species named in the scientific literature or on specimens in the scientific collections of the Museum of Life Sciences of Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Collections of spiders from northwestern Louisiana during the last 40 years or so have resulted in the recognition of several new records of spiders for the state of Louisiana (34 species), northern Louisiana (14), and northwestern Louisiana (15). Other species (22) are discussed because of major additions to their geographic distributions. Of the 319 species of spiders expected in northwestern Louisiana, 120 (38%) have been collected and verified. Three are under study as possibly representing undescribed species.
Real-Time Error Monitoring for Hybrid Simulation. Part I: Methodology and Experimental Verification

The hybrid simulation test method is a versatile technique for evaluating the seismic performance of structures by seamlessly integrating both physical and numerical simulations of substructures into a single test model. Hybrid simulation results have been shown to be reliable by comparison to shake-table simulations when propagation of experimental errors is successfully mitigated. Techniques have been proposed to assess the severity of experimental errors prior to or after tests have been completed. In this paper, an error monitoring method is presented that predicts the reliability of the test results in real time using data that is readily available. Two error monitors are derived based on estimates of energy added to the hybrid simulation as a result of errors in the experimental setup. The proposed method can provide valuable decision-making information by generating early warnings of unacceptable levels of experimental errors. The warning signals can serve as an indicator to pause the simulation, examine the source of error, and correct the problem, preferably before the specimen is irreparably damaged. Use of the proposed hybrid simulation error monitors to provide a measure of confidence of the quality of the test results is verified in two hybrid simulations.
Compositional symbolic execution with memoized replay

Symbolic execution is a powerful, systematic analysis that has received much visibility in the last decade. Scalability however remains a major challenge for symbolic execution. Compositional analysis is a well-known general purpose methodology for increasing scalability. This paper introduces a new approach for compositional symbolic execution. Our key insight is that we can summarize each analyzed method as a memoization tree that captures the crucial elements of symbolic execution, and leverage these memoization trees to efficiently replay the symbolic execution of the corresponding methods with respect to their calling contexts. Memoization trees offer a natural way to compose in the presence of heap operations, which cannot be dealt with by previous work that uses logical formulas as summaries for compositional symbolic execution. Our approach also enables efficient target oriented symbolic execution for error detection or program coverage. Initial experimental evaluation based on a prototype implementation in Symbolic Path Finder shows that our approach can be up to an order of magnitude faster than traditional non-compositional symbolic execution.
An FTIR study of the bonding of methoxy on Ni(100): effects of coadsorbed sulfur, carbon monoxide and hydrogen

The vibrational spectra of CH3O(a), CD3O(a), CDH2O(a) and CD2HO(a) on Ni(100) are analyzed and interpreted in terms of resonances between fundamental modes and either combinations or overtones. Analysis of the symmetry of the modes observed suggests that methoxy binds normal to the surface with Cs symmetry, at least at low coverages. Two distinct vibrational bands emerge in the vibrational spectrum of methoxy in the v(CO) region as the coverage increases which are attributed to bonding in four-fold hollow sites and bridging sites. These bands exhibit blue shifts of about 25 cm−1 with increasing coverage up to the saturation coverage. The vibrational bands in the v(CH) region appear concomitantly at all coverages and shift down 12 cm−1 as the coverage is increased. These shifts are attributed to changes in the metal-oxygen bond which are reflected in changes in the strength of the CO and CH bonds. Affects on the bonding also appear to occur with the coadsorption of hydrogen or CO with methoxy. Coadsorption of 0.36 ML hydrogen with 0.04 ML methoxy induces blue shifts of 15 and 7 cm−1 for the v(CO) bands at 949 and 984 cm−1, respectively. Adsorbing 0.43 ML of CO with 0.04 ML methoxy (and 0.04 ML hydrogen) causes a red shift of 20 and 12 cm−1 for these bands. A drastic drop in mode intensities for methoxy when CO is coadsorbed suggests that the methoxy tilts away from the surface normal. Pre-adsorbing sulfur on the Ni(100) surface reduces the amount of methoxy formed from methanol, but the v(CO) methoxy bands are unshifted in frequencies relative to their position for the same methoxy coverage on the clean surface.
The effect of electric field on superfluid 3He-A☆

Abstract The effect of an electric field on the l vector in the A phase of 3 He is reexamined. The effect appears roughly by a factor 5 smaller than that predicted by Delrieu previously.
SPONTANEOUS IONIZATION OF A HYDROGEN ATOM IN AN ELECTRIC FIELD. I.

Numerical integration of Schroedinger equation for spontaneous ionization of hydrogen atom in electric field
The Use of Non-Dimensional Parameters to Study Stress in Lithium-Ion Battery Electrode Storage Particles

Mechanical degradation is thought to be one of the causes of capacity fade within Lithium-Ion batteries. In this work we develop a coupled stress-diffusion model for idealized spherical storage particles, which is analogous to the development of thermal strains. We then non-dimensionalize the model and identify three important parameters that control the development of stress within these particles. We can therefore use a wide number of values for these parameters to make predictions about the stress responses of different materials. The maximum stress developed within the particle for different values of these parameters are plotted as stress maps. A two dimensional model of a battery was then developed, in order to study the effect of particle morphology.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Optimal inventory cycle counting

Abstract The heart of inventory transactions management involves obtaining an accurate count of on-hand inventories employing different procedures. Among such procedures cycle counting is said to provide better inventory record accuracy for financial control and production planning. However, these procedures use rather arbitrary basis for classifying items and for setting the count frequency within each strata. This paper develops a simple optimization model of inventory cycle counting based on traditional stratified sampling theory. Such a model allows the inventory manager to make statistically supported statements regarding inventory record accuracy so as to meet financial control requirements with a minimum of cycle counting effort. A numerical example is included to illustrate the model.
Flexure creep properties of E-glass reinforced polymers

Abstract The long-term creep behavior and creep-rupture properties were investigated for two systems of E-glass reinforced polymer composites: E-glass/polyurethane composite and E-glass/epoxy composite. The two composite systems showed similar short-term mechanical properties, however their long-term creep properties were quite different. The E-glass/polyurethane system exhibited tertiary creep leading to rupture within a few hours when subjected to about 60% of its flexural strength while the E-glass/epoxy endured months of loading at 60% of its flexural strength before rupture at 50 °C. The findings in this study indicate that creep testing is essential in material characterization and material selection, that the three-point flexure test can be used as a quick test method to determine creep-rupture properties, and that creep-rupture is highly influenced by the type of matrix and the fiber/matrix interface.
An intestinal arsonist: pathobiont ignites IBD and flees the scene

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are chronic conditions characterised by recurrent episodes of intestinal inflammation. It is widely accepted that genetic predisposition and environmental factors contribute to the onset and the development of IBD. Many host factors that influence the onset of IBD have been identified and mainly include genes that are involved in microbial recognition, like NOD2 , or in the immune response to infection, like interleukin-23. By contrast, the search for a microbial cause of IBD has not led to definitive answers. Trillions of microbes constitute the intestinal microbiota of healthy individuals. This ‘healthy microbiota’ is comprised of mostly anaerobes of the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla and maintains a healthy gut by boosting mucosal immunity and providing colonisation resistance to pathogens. By contrast, patients with IBD exhibit a marked dysbiosis characterised by an expansion of Proteobacteria, though it is not clear if bacteria of this phylum cause intestinal inflammation or if their proliferation is a consequence of inflammation.1 Evidence for Proteobacteria as a potential trigger of IBD has been deduced by cohort studies showing that inflammatory diarrhoea caused by either Salmonella species or Campylobacter species predisposes genetically susceptible individuals to developing IBD.2 One possible scenario is that in …
8-Hydroxyquinoline Derivatives as Fluorescent Sensors for Magnesium in Living Cells

Despite the key role of magnesium in many fundamental biological processes, knowledge about its intracellular regulation is still scarce, due to the lack of appropriate detection methods. Here, we report the spectroscopic and photochemical characterization of two diaza-18-crown-6 hydroxyquinoline derivatives (DCHQ) and we propose their application in total Mg2+ assessment and in confocal imaging as effective Mg2+ indicators. DCHQ derivatives 1 and 2 bind Mg2+ with much higher affinity than other available probes (Kd = 44 and 73 μM, respectively) and show a strong fluorescence increase upon binding. Remarkably, fluorescence output is not significantly affected by other divalent cations, most importantly Ca2+, or by pH changes within the physiological range. Evidence is provided on the use of fluorometric data to derive total cellular Mg2+ content, which is consistent with atomic absorption data. Furthermore, we show that DCHQ compounds can be effectively employed to map intracellular ion distribution and m...
Branchial anomalies: A review of 52 cases

Fifty-two patients with branchial anomalies (BA) treated at the Children's National Medical Center between 1983 and 1993 were reviewed to determine the incidence of different types of anomalies and to analyze the authors' method of diagnosis and management. First BA was seen in 25%, second in 40%, third in 8%, and fourth in 2%. In 25%, the origin of the anomaly was undetermined. Our incidence of first BA was significantly higher than the incidence reported in other series. Of the anomalies, sinuses were more common than cysts or fistulae. Sinuses tend to present at an earlier age than cysts, which take time to enlarge and present clinically. Repeated incision and drainage and incomplete excisions were frequently seen with first, third, and fourth anomalies due to misdiagnosis. Recent trend has been to utilize radiographic studies more frequently, and they have been found to be helpful in guiding surgical therapy, particularly with the more complicated cases.
Stochastic receding horizon control: application to an octopedal robot

Miniature autonomous systems are being developed under ARL's Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST). These systems can only be fitted with a small-size processor, and their motion behavior is inherently uncertain due to manufacturing and platform-ground interactions. One way to capture this uncertainty is through a stochastic model. This paper deals with stochastic motion control design and implementation for MAST- specific eight-legged miniature crawling robots, which have been kinematically modeled as systems exhibiting the behavior of a Dubin's car with stochastic noise. The control design takes the form of stochastic receding horizon control, and is implemented on a Gumstix Overo Fire COM with 720 MHz processor and 512 MB RAM, weighing 5.5 g. The experimental results show the effectiveness of this control law for miniature autonomous systems perturbed by stochastic noise.
MIPP Plastic Ball electronics upgrade

An upgrade electronics design for Plastic Ball detector is described. The Plastic Ball detector was a part of several experiments in the past and its back portion (proposed to be used in MIPP) consists of 340 photomultipliers equipped with a sandwich scintillator. The scintillator sandwich has fast and slow signal component with decay times 10 ns and 1 {micro}s respectively. The upgraded MIPP experiment will collect up to 12,000 events during each 4 second spill and read them out in {approx}50 seconds between spills. The MIPP data acquisition system will employ deadtime-less concept successfully implemented in Muon Electronics of Dzero experiment at Fermilab. An 8-channel prototype design of the Plastic Ball Front End (PBFE) implementing these requirements is discussed. Details of the schematic design, simulation and prototype test results are discussed.
Differance, deference, and the question of proper reading

In the last decade the notion of propriety has again become problematic for literary theory. The problem is not merely that twentieth-century developments in phenomenology undermined projects that describe truth in terms of representation, or that extensions from structural linguistics to semiotics have forced philosophers of language to contest the idea of the text upon which these projects depend. The problem is more far-reaching because modern thought has simply forgotten the meaning of prepon altogether.
Developments in Titanium Metal Matrix Composites

A review is given of developments in the titanium metal matrix composites (MMC) area over the past two decades. Particular topics of discussion include: fibers, matrices, fabrication techniques, mechanical properties of both the fiber and composite, and fractography. It is demonstrated that the increased metallurgical understanding of the composite has led to a product with significantly improved mechanical properties. Conclusions regarding the status of the titanium MMC technology are presented along with suggestions for further metallurgical work necessary to fully realize the potential of these materials.
Longitudinal relationships of religion with posttreatment depression severity in older psychiatric patients: Evidence of direct and indirect effects

Psychiatric patients (age 59+) were assessed before study treatment for major depressive disorder, and again after 3 months. Measures taken before study treatment included facets of religiousness (subjective religiosity, private prayer, worship attendance, and religious media use), social support, and perceived stress. Clinician-rated depression severity was assessed both before and after treatment using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Structural equation modeling was used to test a path model of direct and indirect effects of religious factors via psychosocial pathways. Subjective religiousness was directly related to worse initial MADRS, but indirectly related to better posttreatment MADRS via the pathway of more private prayer. Worship attendance was directly related to better initial MADRS, and indirectly related to better post-treatment MADRS via pathways of lower stress, more social support, and more private prayer. Private prayer was directly related to better post-treatment MADRS. Religious media use was related to more private prayer, but had no direct relationship with MADRS.
Correlation of the rates of reaction of arenesulfonate ions with the trimethyloxonium ion in acetonitrile

Abstract The kinetics of the reactions between trimethyloxonium hexafluorophosphate and a series of tetra-n-butylammonium arenesulfonates have been studied in acetonitrile at −23.4°. With the oxonium salt concentration at about 0.01 M, two series of runs were carried out; Hammett plots of the second-order rate coefficients led to ϱ values of −1.18±0.04 for 0.04 M arenesulfonate salt and −1.07±0.02 for 0.16 M arenesulfonate salt. Solvolysis kinetics for the trimethyloxonium ion in acetonitrile are also reported.
Laparoscopic Ovarian Cystectomy in Children

Objectives To present our technique and experience with laparoscopic treatment of ovarian cysts in pediatric patients. Ovarian cysts are rare but important in the consideration of pelvic cystic masses in patients of all ages. The laparoscopic management of these cysts in young girls has been slow to gain popularity despite the well-known advantages of this surgical approach for other abdominal and pelvic pathologic findings. Methods We present our technique and experience with 2 pediatric patients who underwent laparoscopic treatment of pelvic cystic masses that were found to be ovarian cysts. Results One patient presented with a large cyst in adolescence, and the other with a complex cyst as a neonate. The final pathologic examination revealed the presence of a simple, benign ovarian cyst in both cases. Neither patient had any complications. Conclusions The laparoscopic approach to the simple benign ovarian cyst is safe and effective in all pediatric age groups.
trans Regulation: Do mRNAs Have a Herd Mentality?

Control of mRNA translation and localization plays an important role in many developmental contexts. In this issue of Developmental Cell , Reveal et al. show through analysis of the oskar mRNA in Drosophila embryos that regulatory elements within mRNAs can act in trans to influence the behavior of other mRNA molecules.
TU-F-18A-06: Dual Energy CT Using One Full Scan and a Second Scan with Very Few Projections

Purpose: The conventional dual energy CT (DECT) requires two full CT scans at different energy levels, resulting in dose increase as well as imaging errors from patient motion between the two scans. To shorten the scan time of DECT and thus overcome these drawbacks, we propose a new DECT algorithm using one full scan and a second scan with very few projections by preserving structural information. Methods: We first reconstruct a CT image on the full scan using a standard filtered-backprojection (FBP) algorithm. We then use a compressed sensing (CS) based iterative algorithm on the second scan for reconstruction from very few projections. The edges extracted from the first scan are used as weights in the Objectives: function of the CS-based reconstruction to substantially improve the image quality of CT reconstruction. The basis material images are then obtained by an iterative image-domain decomposition method and an electron density map is finally calculated. The proposed method is evaluated on phantoms. Results: On the Catphan 600 phantom, the CT reconstruction mean error using the proposed method on 20 and 5 projections are 4.76% and 5.02%, respectively. Compared with conventional iterative reconstruction, the proposed edge weighting preserves object structures and achieves a better spatial resolution. With basis materials of Iodine and Teflon, our method on 20 projections obtains similar quality of decomposed material images compared with FBP on a full scan and the mean error of electron density in the selected regions of interest is 0.29%. Conclusion: We propose an effective method for reducing projections and therefore scan time in DECT. We show that a full scan plus a 20-projection scan are sufficient to provide DECT images and electron density with similar quality compared with two full scans. Our future work includes more phantom studies to validate the performance of our method.
The effect of pair-feeding on blood pressure and growth in young-adult female rats with ventromedial hypothalamic lesions

Sixty day old Holtzman rats received electrolytic lesions in the ventromedial hypothalamic nuclei. One group of rats was pair-fed with sham-operated controls, a second group of lesioned rats was allowed to eat “ad libitum”. Blood pressure and body weight and length were measured weekly for four weeks after which time the animals were sacrificed. Pair-fed rats with lesions, despite a sodium intake identical with that of the controls, showed a significantly lower mean terminal blood pressure. On the other hand, lesioned rats fed “ad libitum” had a terminal blood pressure almost identical with that of the controls but ate significantly more sodium than intact controls and the lesioned pair-fed rats. Growth as assessed by body length, tail length and pituitary acidophil count was reduced equally in both lesioned groups. Relative weights of pituitary, adrenals, thyroid and ovaries were smaller in the “ad libitum”-fed rats than in the pair-fed animals which in turn had smaller organs than the controls. The thyroids showed no gross changes from the normal. The data suggest that ventromedial lesions in young-adult rats cause a disruption of the neuroendocrine milieu as they do in weanling rats. Howeve, the increased sodium intake accompanying hypothalamic hyperphagia appears to maintain blood pressure in the range of control rats. When sodium intake of lesioned rats is kept the same as that of unlesioned animals the blood pressure actually falls. Thus, ventromedial lesions in both weanling and young-adult rats produce a fall in blood pressure which is masked, apparently, in the adult rats by the increased sodium consumption incident to the accompanying hyperphagia in the adult animals. The mechanism of this hypotensive effect of ventromedial lesions is not known.
Ammonium silicates associated with sedimentary exhalative ore deposits: A geochemical exploration tool

Abstract The fixed-ammonium (NH 4 + ) concentration in sediments hosting sedimentary exhalative Zn-Pb-(Ag) sulfide deposits was examined at the Howards Pass, Clear Lake, Tom and Jason deposits in the Selwyn Basin, Yukon Territory, Canada. A few samples from the McArthur River deposit, Australia, were examined for comparison. Infrared spectrophotometry shows that NH 4 + concentrations in alkali-bearing mineral phases increase near ore bodies not diluted by the influx of abundant detrital material. In whole-rock samples from the Selwyn Basin, NH 4 + concentrations reach as high as 2000 ppm above ore, against a background of approximately 467 ± 70 ppm. In McArthur River's Emu Basin, the concentration of NH 4 + in two samples located adjacent to sulfides reaches over 2000 ppm whereas no NH 4 + was detected in any other samples taken from one core through the deposit. All samples for this study were taken from well below the weathered zone. X-ray diffraction of clay minerals does not indicate NH 4 + substitution for K + in interlayer sites. Instead, a comparison of NH 4 + concentrations with X-ray diffraction estimates of major mineral constituents of the samples suggests that NH 4 + substitutes for K + and Na + in feldspars. The substitution is highest in the stratigraphic hanging wall at both the Howards Pass and Clear Lake deposits. At Clear Lake, high NH 4 + values (up to 1800 ppm) are found near stringer mineralization, presumably where the venting of hydrothermal fluids occurred. The Tom and Jason deposits contain low or background NH 4 + concentrations throughout the stratigraphic section, probably as a result of detrital dilution of the host sediments from slumping within a local graben coincident with mineralization. High concentrations of ammonia (NH 3 ) may be incorporated in hydrothermal solutions by breakdown of organic matter in the sedimentary pile. As hot, mineralizing fluids rise into a starved, stagnant basin of low pH and reducing conditions, NH 4 + would become the dominant nitrogen species at low temperature and may substitute for K + or Na + in authigenic minerals.
The Use of Nematode-Trapping Fungi To Control Root-Knot Nematodes

A series of experiments was conducted to determine whether root-knot disease of tomato and okra (Hibiscus esculentus) could be controlled by the use of nematode-trapping fungi. The fungi did not reduce disease severity; however, three species significantly affected survival of plants in a greenhouse experiment. Immediate protection of crops highly susceptible to root-knot nematodes by the application of predacious fungi does not seem possible.
Are diamond nanoparticles cytotoxic

Finely divided carbon particles, including charcoal, lampblack, and diamond particles, have been used for ornamental and official tattoos since ancient times. With the recent development in nanoscience and nanotechnology, carbon-based nanomaterials (e.g., fullerenes, nanotubes, nanodiamonds) attract a great deal of interest. Owing to their low chemical reactivity and unique physical properties, nanodiamonds could be useful in a variety of biological applications such as carriers for drugs, genes, or proteins; novel imaging techniques; coatings for implantable materials; and biosensors and biomedical nanorobots. Therefore, it is essential to ascertain the possible hazards of nanodiamonds to humans and other biological systems. We have, for the first time, assessed the cytotoxicity of nanodiamonds ranging in size from 2 to 10 nm. Assays of cell viability such as mitochondrial function (MTT) and luminescent ATP production showed that nanodiamonds were not toxic to a variety of cell types. Furthermore, nanodiamonds did not produce significant reactive oxygen species. Cells can grow on nanodiamond-coated substrates without morphological changes compared to controls. These results suggest that nanodiamonds could be ideal for many biological applications in a diverse range of cell types.
An analytical technique for 3-dimensional interpolation

Given the values of a 3-dimensional function at unevenly spaced grid points on the grid structure of a channel, we describe a new analytical algorithm to determine the function value at an arbitrary point inside the channel. This algorithm has been implemented on a Univac 1100/81 computer in PL/I.
ChainMail: a configurable multimodal lining to enable sensate surfaces and interactive objects

The ChainMail system is a scalable electronic sensate skin that is designed as a dense sensor network. ChainMail is built from small (1"x1") rigid circuit boards attached to their neighbors with flexible interconnects that allow the skin to be conformally arranged and manipulated. Each board contains an embedded processor together with a suite of thirteen sensors, providing dense, multimodal capture of proximate and contact phenomena. This system forms a sensate lining that can be applied to an object, device, or surface to enable interactivity. Under extended testing, we demonstrate a flexible skin to detect and respond to a variety of stimuli while running quickly and efficiently.
Negotiating identity in raced and gendered workplace interactions: The use of strategic communication by African American women senior executives within dominant culture organizations

This research examines African American women executives’ communicative strategies for negotiating workplace interactions perceived as problematic. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 15 African American women senior executives employed in public and private sector U.S. organizations. Results of a thematic analysis reveales that the executives perceived challenges related to their identity as Black women in two salient interaction contexts: interacting with their White male colleagues, and interacting with African American coworkers and clients. Data analysis reveales a combination of direct and indirect or avoidance strategies that the executives used to adapt to, resist, or transform perceived challenges in their workplace interactions.
Application of Microsoft's ActiveX and DirectX technologies to the visulization of physical system dynamics

This paper discusses a specific implementation of a web and complement based simulation systems. The overall simulation container is implemented within a web page viewed with Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0 web browser. Microsoft's ActiveX/Distributed Component Object Model object interfaces are used in conjunction with the Microsoft DirectX graphics APIs to provide visualization functionality for the simulation. The MathWorks' Matlab computer aided control system design program is used as an ActiveX automation server to provide the compute engine for the simulations.
Teaching Religion in Its Contemporary Contexts: A Case Study

. After the disheartening results of an informal investigation of content knowledge and reading comprehension among her students, the author ponders the implications for her teaching objectives. What are we, as educators in religious studies, really teaching and how are we doing it? How are we accommodating students with less traditionally honed academic skills without diminishing content? She describes her experiments with several new teaching strategies for enhancing student learning by helping them improve basic skills, develop cultural literacy, and relate course content to their personal experience.
The Strain Gradient Effects in Micro-Indentation Hardness Experiments

Micro-indentation experiments have shown very strong size dependence of the indentation hardness, a phenomenon that cannot be explained by classical plasticity theories. A theory of mechanism-based strain gradient (MSG) plasticity has been developed based on the Taylor model in dislocation theories, and is intended for materials and structures whose dimension controlling plastic deformation falls roughly between 0.1 to 10 microns. The MSG plasticity theory is used in the present study to investigate the size effects observed in micro-indentation experiments. It is shown that the theory can indeed reproduce micro-indentation experimental data, thus providing an important self-consistent check of the MSG plasticity theory.
The Quality of Earnings in the Information Age

Critics complain that the current accounting model is inadequate for measuring the performance and resources of knowledge‐based companies because (1) expenses are not matched properly with related revenues, and (2) many important “assets” (e.g., patents, copyrights, brand names, employee expertise) are omitted from corporate balance sheets or, if reported, are valued at nominal amounts. The purpose of this exercise is to examine whether these criticisms are valid and discuss whether the current accounting model can be improved to better measure the performance and resources of information‐age companies.
Cost-effective conservation when eco-entrepreneurs have market power

International conservation investments are often made in the form of subsidies to purportedly eco-friendly enterprises rather than as payments conditional on habitat protection. Previous research demonstrated that direct payments for habitat protection are more cost effective than indirect subsidies for the acquisition of com-plementary inputs used in eco-friendly enterprises. In contrast to this earlier research, we assume in this paper that an ‘eco-entrepreneur’ may have market power. Market power is shown to compound the advantage of direct payments. Through a simple numerical example, we show that subsidies intended to achieve habitat conservation by encouraging the acquisition of complementary inputs can be spectacularly inefficient. In some cases it would be cheaper simply to buy the land outright. In other plausible cases, the indirect subsidy approach would simply be unable to achieve habitat conservation objectives no matter how much funding were available.
A metatheorem for deriving fuzzy theorems from crisp versions

A metatheorem is developed that allows theorems containing references to crisp substructures to be reformulated to refer to fuzzy substructures. Theorems concerning fuzzy substructures in semigroups, rings, and lattices are derived in concise fashion from analogous theorems that concern crisp substructures. The modularity of the lattice of fuzzy normal subgroups of a group is concisely derived from the modularity of its lattice of crisp normal subgroups. The fundamental tool used is a function that represents the algebra of fuzzy subsets of a set as a subdirect product of copies of the algebra of crisp subsets.
Screen Pedagogy: Challenging Perceptions of Digital Reading Practice

Zines, blogs and memes represent just a sample of text genres that are a part of students' literacy landscapes. Many teens, adolescents and tweens feel quite at ease within diverse, intertextual, m...
Automatic Annotation of Spatial Expression Patterns via Sparse Bayesian Factor Models

Advances in reporters for gene expression have made it possible to document and quantify expression patterns in 2D-4D. In contrast to microarrays, which provide data for many genes but averaged and/or at low resolution, images reveal the high spatial dynamics of gene expression. Developing computational methods to compare, annotate, and model gene expression based on images is imperative, considering that available data are rapidly increasing. We have developed a sparse Bayesian factor analysis model in which the observed expression diversity of among a large set of high-dimensional images is modeled by a small number of hidden common factors. We apply this approach on embryonic expression patterns from a Drosophila RNA in situ image database, and show that the automatically inferred factors provide for a meaningful decomposition and represent common co-regulation or biological functions. The low-dimensional set of factor mixing weights is further used as features by a classifier to annotate expression patterns with functional categories. On human-curated annotations, our sparse approach reaches similar or better classification of expression patterns at different developmental stages, when compared to other automatic image annotation methods using thousands of hard-to-interpret features. Our study therefore outlines a general framework for large microscopy data sets, in which both the generative model itself, as well as its application for analysis tasks such as automated annotation, can provide insight into biological questions.
Advances in burn care.

Purpose of reviewThis article reviews and critiques new developments in the critical care of burn patients.Recent findingsThe practice of restrictive transfusion is slowly gaining traction. Abdominal compartment syndrome is associated with resuscitation volumes of 300 ml/kg per 24 h, and percutaneou
Protein concentration in the arterial and venous renal blood serum of the rabbit

Abstract In normal rabbits, under Nembutal anesthesia, the total protein and albumin content of the arterial blood serum are significantly higher than the same fractions of the renal venous blood serum. This condition is reversed in the rabbits after removal of more than 15 ml. blood/kg. Renal innervation plays a role in the regulation of the protein concentration in the renal venous blood, after hemorrhage. No significant difference of protein fractions in the arterial and renal venous blood sera has been observed in a series of rabbits with experimental renal hypertension. Parallel estimations of color intensity of previously injected Evans Blue, and of the protein fractions (by electrophoretic and turbidimetric methods) in the arterial and renal venous blood specimens of normal rabbits corroborate the possibility of a renal mechanism of albumin storage.
Evaluation of High-Speed Profilers for Measurement of Asphalt Pavement Smoothness in Florida:

The Florida Department of Transportation initiated a field study to assess the feasibility and appropriateness of implementing the use of laser-based high-speed profilers to automate its process of determination of ride acceptance. If a high-speed profiler is to be considered for determination of ride acceptance, it is essential that its level of accuracy and precision be assessed. For such a purpose, profile measurements were acquired by using five profilers concurrently on a large number of asphalt pavement sections. Also, to evaluate the effects of surface texture on these measurements, the test sections were randomly selected to include both open- and dense-graded surface mixtures. The profile data collected were first analyzed to determine the profile indices in terms of the ride number and the international roughness index at each test site. The results were then used as a basis for an evaluation of the repeatability and reproducibility of the profiling units. In addition, the effects of a profiler operating speed gradient as well as those of the pavement surface texture on roughness measurements were assessed.
Large-order perturbation theory in infrared-unstable superrenormalizable field theories

We study the factorial divergences of Euclidean {phi}{sub 5}{sup 3}, a problem with connections both to high-energy multiparticle scattering in d=4 and to d=3 (or high-temperature) gauge theory, which like {phi}{sub 5}{sup 3} is infrared unstable and superrenormalizable. At large external momentum p (or small mass M) and large-order N one might expect perturbative bare skeleton graphs to behave roughly like N!(ag{sup 2}/p){sup N} with a{gt}0, so that no matter how large p is there is an N{approximately}p/g{sup 2} giving rise to strong perturbative amplitudes. The semiclassical Lipatov technique (which only works in the presence of a mass) is blind to this momentum dependence, so we proceed by direct summation of bare skeleton graphs. We find that the various limits of large-N, large-p, and small mass M do not commute, and that when N{gt}p{sup 2}/M{sup 2} there is a Borel singularity associated with g{sup 2}/M, not g{sup 2}/p. This is described by the zero-momentum Lipatov technique, and we find the necessary soliton for {phi}{sub 5}{sup 3}; the corresponding sphaleronlike solution for unbroken Yang-Mills theory has long been known. We also show that the massless theories have no classical solitons. We discuss nonperturbative effects based partly on known physical arguments concerningmore » the cancellation by solitons of imaginary parts due to the perturbative Borel singularity, and partly on the dressing of bare skeleton graphs by dressed propagators showing nonperturbative mass generation, as happens in d=3 gauge theory. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}« less
Developing Diversity Dispositions for White Culturally Responsive Teachers

As teacher education programs continue to search for ways to prepare future educators for the challenges and the joys of urban schools, this research seeks to provide specific ways for teacher candidates to build on their professional dispositions to build strong relationships through specific culturally appropriate teaching strategies. The author suggests a key starting place is for teacher educators to define and describe the critical elements necessary to develop relationships that are essential to successful schooling. Themes such as interaction, ownership, and accommodation provide the basis for teacher candidates to develop relationships through professional dispositions of culturally responsive teaching.
Emergency department documentation templates: variability in template selection and association with physical examination and test ordering in dizziness presentations

Clinical documentation systems, such as templates, have been associated with process utilization. The T-System emergency department (ED) templates are widely used but lacking are analyses of the templates association with processes. This system is also unique because of the many different template options available, and thus the selection of the template may also be important. We aimed to describe the selection of templates in ED dizziness presentations and to investigate the association between items on templates and process utilization. Dizziness visits were captured from a population-based study of EDs that use documentation templates. Two relevant process outcomes were assessed: head computerized tomography (CT) scan and nystagmus examination. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the probability of each outcome for patients who did or did not receive a relevant-item template. Propensity scores were also used to adjust for selection effects. The final cohort was 1,485 visits. Thirty-one different templates were used. Use of a template with a head CT item was associated with an increase in the adjusted probability of head CT utilization from 12.2% (95% CI, 8.9%-16.6%) to 29.3% (95% CI, 26.0%-32.9%). The adjusted probability of documentation of a nystagmus assessment increased from 12.0% (95%CI, 8.8%-16.2%) when a nystagmus-item template was not used to 95.0% (95% CI, 92.8%-96.6%) when a nystagmus-item template was used. The associations remained significant after propensity score adjustments. Providers use many different templates in dizziness presentations. Important differences exist in the various templates and the template that is used likely impacts process utilization, even though selection may be arbitrary. The optimal design and selection of templates may offer a feasible and effective opportunity to improve care delivery.
Frequency entrainment of squid axon membrane

Sinusoidally varying stimulating currents were applied to space-clamped squid giant axon membranes in a double sucrose gap apparatus. Stimulus parameters varied were peak-to-peak current amplitude, frequency, and DC offset bias. In response to these stimuli, the membranes produced action potentials in varying patterns, according to variation of input stimulus parameters. For some stimulus parameters the output patterns were stable and obviously periodic with the periods being simple multiples of the input period; for other stimulus parameters no obvious periodicity was manifest in the output. The experimental results were compared with simulations using a computer model which was modified in several ways from the Hodgkin-Huxley model to make it more representative of our preparation. The model takes into account K+ accumulation in the periaxonal space, features of Na+ inactivation which are anomalous to the Hodgkin-Huxley model, sucrose gap hyperpolarization current, and membrane current noise. Many aspects of the experiments are successfully simulated but some are not, possibly because some very slow process present in the preparation is not included in the model.
Extraction of heavy metals by 2-mercaptoethoxy groups attached to silica gel.

Abstract Silica gel is currently being used as a support for various straight chain mono- and bifunctional compounds such as amines, thiols (mercaptans), and mercaptoalochols. The current study reports the results of an investigation of a 2-mercaptoethoxy moiety covalently attached to silica gel. The condensation was effected by acid-catalyzed condensation of toluene solution of 2-mercaptoethanol and silica gel and azeotropically removing the water using a Dean-Stark tube. As a coordinating agent, this bifunctional compound was used in the removal of copper(II), cadmium(II), and lead(II) from standard aqueous solutions. Using silica gel support, the removal percentages were 91–93% for the three metals.