cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
In Times of Uncertainty: The Great Recession, Immigration Enforcement, and Latino Immigrants in Alabama

This chapter explores the interconnected effects of the Great Recession and the escalation of immigration enforcement on the lives of Latino immigrants living in the United States. The Great Recession has disproportionately impacted Latinos, exacerbating preexisting economic inequalities across measures of employment, income, poverty, and wealth; these effects are intensified for Latino immigrants, who are concentrated in the construction and building trades that have been hit especially hard by the collapse of the US housing market. Still, the consequences of the Great Recession for Latino immigrants extend far beyond economic factors, as the downturn has been used as a rhetorical tool to advance anti-immigrant policies and practices. The resulting escalation in immigration enforcement is manifested through the steady devolution of immigration enforcement powers to state and local police officers as well as the proliferation of state-level immigration restrictionist legislation, which combine to produce uncertainty and vulnerability in the everyday lives of unauthorized immigrants and their families. Since the unauthorized are racialized as Latino in our popular consciousness, those of Latin American ancestry and origin are often targeted by anti-immigrant policies and practices. The southeastern state of Alabama, which boasts the most comprehensive and punitive immigration restrictionist law in the United States, offers a telling example of the ways that such legislation has impacted the lives of Latino immigrants.
An optimization technique for the design of multi-frequency radomes

An unconstrained least-squares optimization technique, first developed by Heavens and Liddel (1968) is used for the automatic synthesis of radome walls suitable for multifrequency radomes of complex shape. The utility of this optimization technique is illustrated by the design of radomes suitable for the 20/30 GHz commercial satellite communications band. Radomes suitable for both ground-based and airborne terminals with incidence angles of up to 70 degrees considered. The large 3500 MHz bandwidth of each frequency channel combined with the 70 degrees incidence angle requirement makes this a formidable problem for the radome designer; such radomes would be difficult to design through previously proposed methods. >
Keir receives 2011 Jason Morgan Early Career Award

Derek Keir received the 2011 Jason Morgan Early Career Award at the 2011 AGU Fall Meeting, held 5–9 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award is for significant early-career contributions in tectonophysics.
DNA Damage Action Spectroscopy and DNA Repair in Intact Organisms: Alfalfa Seedlings

Understanding the effects of UV, and increased levels of UV, on DNA in living organisms requires knowledge of both the frequency of damages induced by the quantities and quality (wavelength composition) of the damaging radiation, and of the capacity of the organisms to carry out efficient and accurate repair. The major levels of uncertainty in understanding the responses of intact organisms, both plant and animal, to UV indicates that we cannot assess accurately the impact of stratospheric ozone depletion without major increases in knowledge of DNA damage and repair. What repair paths does alfalfa use for dealing with UV damages? The rate of pyrimidine dimers induced at a low exposure of 280 nm radiation to alfalfa seedlings, was observed to be about 8 dimers/million bases. After UV exposure, the seedlings were kept in the dark or exposed to blue light filtered by a yellow. filter which excluded wavelengths shorter than about 405 nm. Seedlings so exposed carry out photorepair, but do not seem to remove dimers by excision.
Upper Extremity Fractures in Restrained Children Exposed to Passenger Airbags

This study provides a current population-based estimate of the risk if upper extremity fracture to restrained children exposed to passenger airbags (PABs) and detailed information about the types of injuries sustained and their mechanisms. The 3.5% rate of injury was similar for both children and adults. The data revealed that exposure to the airbag increased the risk of upper extremity fracture and highlighted the role of gender and rotational component of the crash in the injury mechanism. These data provide insight into the risk for child passengers as new airbag designs intended to improve the safety of young passengers are developed.
QTL-based association analyses reveal novel genes influencing pleiotropy of metabolic syndrome (MetS)

Objective: Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a phenotype cluster predisposing to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We conducted a study to elucidate the genetic basis underlying linkage signals for multiple representative traits of MetS that we had previously identified at two significant QTLs on chromosomes 3q27 and 17p12. Design and Methods: We performed QTL-specific genomic and transcriptomic analyses in 1,137 individuals from 85 extended families that contributed to the original linkage. We tested in SOLAR association of MetS phenotypes with QTL-specific haplotype-tagging SNPs as well as transcriptional profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Results: SNPs significantly associated with MetS phenotypes under the prior hypothesis of linkage mapped to seven genes at 3q27 and seven at 17p12. Prioritization based on biologic relevance, SNP association, and expression analyses identified two genes: insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 2 (IGF2BP2) at 3q27 and tumor necrosis factor receptor 13B (TNFRSF13B) at 17p12. Prioritized genes could influence cell-cell adhesion and adipocyte differentiation, insulin/glucose responsiveness, cytokine effectiveness, plasma lipid levels, and lipoprotein densities. Conclusions: Using an approach combining genomic, transcriptomic, and bioinformatic data we identified novel candidate genes for MetS.
Hand preference and developmental instability

The origins of individual variation in hand preference are unclear, with some theories emphasizing environmental factors, and others, genetic factors. In two studies, we investigated the hypothesis that developmental instability, leading to imprecise expression of a near-universal neural design, underlies phenotypic variation in hand preference and performance. In Study 1, a composite index of developmental instability was constructed from a checklist of minor physical anomalies and the left-right asymmetry in a specific dermatoglyphic characteristic of the palms, the atd angle. This composite measure possessed a linear relationship with a hand preference inventory and both linear and curvilinear relationships with a measure of relative hand skill. Study 2 replicated these results and extended them to a wider variety of physical left-right asymmetries. Three major implications of these results are discussed. First, variations in early fetal development may be important for individual variations in the neural substrate of handedness, leading to both left-handedness and extreme right-handedness. Second, as developmental instability likely results from polygenic homozygosity, the present results may be incompatible with single-gene theories of handedness. Third, the theoretical underpinnings of developmental instability offer a novel way to account for the association of left-handedness with some neurodevelopmental disorders.
False Alarms, Pseudoepidemics, and Reality: A Case Study with American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Practice Bulletins.

Objectives The objectives of this review are to (1) ascertain the frequency with which odd ratio (OR) and relative risk (RR) are in the zone of potential bias or interest in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) practice bulletins (PB); (2) the likelihood that false alarms have been linked to recommendations; and (3) if there are differences in obstetric versus gynecological PB, vis-a-vis OR and RR in the zone of bias or interest. Data Sources We reviewed all ACOG PBs published between May 1999 and March 2014. Methods Documents were searched for statements with mention of OR and RR. When the reported ORs fell between 0.33 and 3.0, it was categorized as “zone of potential bias”; if ORs fell outside the interval 0.25 to 4.0, it was “zone of potential interest.” With RRs, the zones of bias and interest were 0.5 to 2.0 and 0.33 to 3.0, respectively. Results Of the 79 PBs reviewed, 22% (n = 17) had 44 statements with OR, with 41% (n = 18) of the ORs being in the zone of bias and 54% (n = 24) in the zone of potential interest. Overall, 84% of the ORs did not lead to an actual recommendation by ACOG. In 28% (n = 22) of PBs, there were 67 statements with RRs, with 58% (n = 39) of them being in the zone of bias and 28% (n = 19) were in the zone of interest. In 73% of the PBs the RR citations did not lead to any recommendations. Across the 79 PBs, ACOG made 733 recommendations, and among them only 1 and 2% were linked with ORs and RRs, respectively. Conclusions Over 70% of ACOGPBs did not cite OR and RR. To better understand the evidence, ACOG should increase citation of OR and RR; whenever applicable OR and RR should be part of graded recommendations. Level of Evidence Level C. Precis Less than a third of ACOG practice bulletins mention odds ratios or relative risks and over 95% of recommendations in them remain unsubstantiated.
Tumor-associated Hyaluronic Acid: A New Sensitive and Specific Urine Marker for Bladder Cancer

Hyaluronic acid (HA), a glycosaminoglycan, is known to promote tumor cell adhesion and migration, and its small fragments stimulate angiogenesis. We compared levels of HA in the urine of normal individuals and patients with bladder cancer or other genitourinary conditions, using a sensitive ELISA-like assay. Among the 144 specimens analyzed, the urinary HA levels of bladder cancer patients with G1 (255 +/- 41.7 ng/mg), G2 (291.8 +/- 68.3 ng/mg) and G3 (428.4 +/- 67 ng/mg) tumors are 4-9-fold elevated as compared to those of normal individuals (44.7 +/- 6.2 ng/mg) and patients with other genitourinary conditions (69.5 +/- 6.8 ng/mg; P < 0.001). Urinary HA measurement by the ELISA-like assay shows a sensitivity of 91.9% and specificity of 92.8% to detect bladder cancer. Thus, urinary HA measurement is a simple, noninvasive yet highly sensitive and specific method for bladder cancer detection. The increase in urinary HA concentration is a direct correlate of the elevated tumor-associated HA levels, because the HA levels are also elevated (3-5-fold) in bladder tumor tissues (P < 0.001). The profiles of urinary HA species of normal individuals and bladder cancer patients are different. Although only the intermediate-size HA species are found in the urine of normal and low-grade bladder tumor patients, the urine of high-grade bladder cancer patients contains both the high molecular mass and the small angiogenic HA fragments. These urinary HA fragments stimulate a mitogenic response (2.4-fold) in primary human microvessel endothelial cells, suggesting that the small HA fragments may regulate tumor angiogenesis by modulating endothelial cell functions.
Determinants of serum 1,25(OH)2D levels in renal disease.

Abstract Determinants of serum 1,25(OH) 2 D levels in renal disease. Serum 1,25(OH) 2 D and factors related to its production were studied in 39 patients with various degrees of renal insufficiency. Serum 1,25(OH) 2 D levels correlated positively with 1/serum creatinine values (r = 0.54, P 2 D levels and serum calcium or calcitonin or PTH, although the logarithm of PTH correlated inversely with 1,25(OH) 2 D levels (r = -0.47, P 2 D levels despite low GFR tended to have low serum phosphorus values. Serum levels of bone Gla protein (BGP), a biochemical marker for bone metabolism, correlated negatively with 1/serum creatinine (r = -0.39, P 2 D should be considered in patients with significantly decreased serum 1,25(OH) 2 D levels, as seem to occur when serum creatinine is > 4.0 mg/dl. However, despite the statistically significant correlation between serum 1,25(OH) 2 D and 1/serum creatinine, direct measurement should be used to ascertain the serum concentration of 1,25(OH) 2 D in chronic renal insufficiency. Determinants des concentrations seriques de 1,25(OH) 2 D dans les maladies renales. La 1,25(OH) 2 D serique et les facteurs relies a sa production ont ete etudies chez 39 malades a differents degres d'insuffisance renale. Les concentrations de 1,25(OH) 2 D serique etaient positivement correlees avec 1/creatininemie (r = 0.54, P 2 D et le calcium, la calcitonine ou la PTH serique, bien que le logarithme de la PTH soit inversement correle avec les concentrations 1,25(OH) 2 D (r = -0.47, P 2 D normales ou au-dessus de la normale malgre une GFR basse avaient tendance a avoir des valeurs de phosphoremie basses. Les concentrations seriques de Gla proteine osseuse (BGP), un marqueur biochimique du metabolisme osseux, etaient correlees negativement avec 1/creatininemie (r = -0.39, P 2 D doit etre considere chez des malades avec une diminution significative des concentrations seriques de 1,25(OH) 2 D, qui semblent se produire lorsque la creatininemie est au-dessus de 40 mg/litre. Cependant, malgre la correlation statistiquement significative entre la 1,25(OH) 2 D serique et 1/creatininemie, des mesures directes doivent etre utilisees pour preciser la concentration serique de 1,25(OH) 2 D dans l'insuffisance renale chronique.
Polymorphisms in beta-adrenergic receptor genes in the acquired long QT syndrome.

Adrenergic Receptor Polymorphism and Arrhythmia. Introduction: Sympathetic activation is a trigger for life-threatening arrhythmias in many patients with the congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS), and an increase in heart rate has been reported just prior to torsades de pointes in patients with drug-associated (acquired) LQTS (aLQTS). We compared the frequencies of five recognized nonsynonymous coding region polymorphisms in genes encoding the β 1 -adrenergic and β 2 -adrenergic receptors (AR) in 93 patients with aLQTS and 3 control groups: an ethically diverse set of individuals from middle Tennessee (n = 71), a subset of the Polymorphism Discovery Resource obtained from National Human Genome Research Institute (n = 89), and patients who tolerated QT-prolonging drugs without aLQTS (non-aLQTS group; n = 66). Methods and Results: Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to screen for Ser49Gly and Gly389Arg (β 1 -AR) and Thr164Ile (β 2 -AR). For Argl6Gly and Gln27Glu, polymorphic sites 33 nucleotides apart in the β 2 -AR, single-stranded conformational polymorphism was used to distinguish among the 4 possible haplotypes and 10 possible genotypes. Allele frequencies were similar among the 4 groups at the 2 β 1 -AR sites. The uncommon Ile164 variant in β 2 -AR was slightly more frequent in patients (3.2%) than in any of the 3 control groups (0.6% to 2.3%). At the 16-27 neighboring sites in the β 2 -AR, one haplotype (Arg16/Glu27) was not detected, as in previous studies; hence, only 6 genotypes were present. There were fewer Gly16/Gln27 homozygotes in the non-aLQTS group (1.5%) than in two other control groups or the aLQTS group (8.5% to 10%). Conclusion: None of the five common nonsynonymous coding region polymorphisms in the β-AR genes predict drug-associated torsades de pointes, although the Gly16/Gln27 haplotype may be a risk factor.
Geographic Information System Implementation Plan for Pavement Management Information System: Texas Department of Transportation:

Integrating a geographic information system (GIS) with an existing pavement management system such as the Texas Department of Transportation Pavement Management Information System is not as simple as merely installing a new piece of software into the existing pavement management system and then operating it. A successful GIS implementation involves not only the information technologies themselves but also other elements, such as personnel and their GIS skills, the organizational structure within which they work, and the institutional relationships that govern the management of information flow. All of these elements need to be managed in an interactive manner. GIS can serve as a platform for integrating various types of data, systems, and technologies. Because of the nature of rapid changes in GIS and related information technology, a well-developed GIS implementation plan is essential. The development of a comprehensive and practical implementation plan using GIS to enhance the pavement management practi...
Dissociative adsorption and hydrodechlorination of CCl4 on Ir(1 1 0)

Abstract The dissociative adsorption and hydrodechlorination of CCl4 on a single crystal Ir(1 1 0) was investigated using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and molecular beam techniques. In order to better understand the behavior of CCl4, the adsorption and reactivity of less chlorinated methanes are compared to that of CCl4. CCl4 dissociates on the clean surface with near unity probability at low surface temperatures and decreases very slightly with increasing surface temperature. CHCl3, CH2Cl2, and CH3Cl also dissociate on the clean surface with near unity probability at low surface temperatures, however, the adsorption probability of these molecules are more sensitive to the surface temperature. As the molecule becomes less chlorinated, the adsorption probability falls more rapidly with increasing surface temperature. The preadsorption of hydrogen does not significantly affect the adsorption probability of CCl4 or CHCl3. However, with the β2 adsorption state of hydrogen saturated, CH2Cl2 and CH3Cl dissociatively adsorb with a small probability. Adsorption of CCl4 on the hydrogen precovered surface was found to produce mainly CHCl3 with trace amounts of CH2Cl2 and CH4 (detected as CD4). Similarly, adsorbed CHCl3 will hydrodechlorinate to mainly CH2Cl2. Hydrodechlorination of CCl4 is favored at lower surface temperatures and at higher surface coverages of dissociatively adsorbed CCl4.
Double-layer collector for heterojunction bipolar transistors

Abstract A double-layer collector with appropriate profiles has been shown to increase the maximum collector current without compromising the breakdown voltage. Power HBTs with emitter ballasting resistors were grown on Si and GaAs substrates and fabricated to test the various collector designs. A maximum collector current density of 3.5 × 10 4 A cm −2 and a collector-emitter breakdown voltage of 28 V were realized for a double-layer collector HBT with ten 5 × 25 μm 2 emitter fingers. This high current density obtained by the novel collector design represents a 60% improvement over the conventional HBT with slightly higher breakdown voltage which is in agreement with predictions.
Texture-region coding based on Boolean random sets

Region-based coding is applied to images composed of disjoint texture regions, where in each region the image is generated by a discrete random Boolean model. The image is segmented into regions by applying pixelwise granulometric classification and the region boundaries are chain encoded. Maximum-likelihood estimation based upon induced 1D Boolean models is used to estimate the parameters of the governing processes in each region. The regions are coded by these parameters. Decoding is accomplished by generating in each region a realization of the appropriate random set.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Mapping of Spectral Density Functions Using Heteronuclear NMR Relaxation Measurements

t wN. In this study, the longitudinal relaxation time T,( N,), the transverse relaxation times of in-phase coherence, T,( N,,Y), and of antiphase coherence, T2( 2H,N,,Y), the relaxation time of longitudinal two-spin order, T,(2H,N,), and the heteronuclear crossrelaxation rate bnN are measured for the heteronucleus N. These five relaxation parameters sample the spectral density function J(w) at the same five points where each measurement samples a subset of these frequencies with different weights. The five measurements permit an analytical calculation of J( w ) at these five frequencies. Since longitudinal proton relaxation plays a role in these relaxation parameters, a sixth measurement is necessary to determine this relaxation time. The theory and experimental techniques for measuring these relaxation parameters are discussed. Preliminary results of these techniques as applied to the 15N-enriched protein eglin care described. The proposed approach has the advantage that it does not rely on any a priori model assumptions about the shape of J(w); i.e., measurement of J(w) and interpretation can be separated.
Loss of inherited genomic imprints in mice leads to severe disruption in placental lipid metabolism.

Introduction Monoallelic expression of imprinted genes is necessary for placental development and normal fetal growth. Differentially methylated domains (DMDs) largely determine the parental-specific monoallelic expression of imprinted genes. Maternally derived DNA (cytosine-5-) -methyltransferase 1o (DNMT1o) maintains DMDs during the eight-cell stage of development. DNMT1o-deficient mouse placentas have a generalized disruption of genomic imprints. Previous studies have demonstrated that DNMT1o deficiency alters placental morphology and broadens the embryonic weight distribution in late gestation. Lipids are critical for fetal growth. Thus, we assessed the impact of disrupted imprinting on placental lipids.
Quasi-real-time x-ray microtomography system at the Advanced Photon Source

The combination of high-brilliance x-ray sources, fast detector systems, wide-bandwidth networks, and parallel computers can substantially reduce the time required to acquire, reconstruct, and visualize high-resolution three-dimensional tomographic datasets. A quasi-realtime computed x-ray microtomography system has been implemented at the 2-BM beamline at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. With this system, a complete tomographic data set can be collected in about 15 minutes. Immediately after each projection is obtained, it is rapidly transferred to the Mathematics and Computing Sciences Division where preprocessing and reconstruction calculations are performed concurrently with the data acquisition by a SGI parallel computer. The reconstruction results, once completed, are transferred to a visualization computer that performs the volume rendering calculations. Rendered images of the reconstructed data are available for viewing back at the beamline experiment station minutes after the data acquisition was complete. The fully pipelined data acquisition and reconstruction system also gives us the option to acquire the tomographic data set in several cycles, initially with coarse then with fine angular steps. At present the projections are acquired with a straight-ray projection imaging scheme using 5-20 keV hard x rays in either phase or amplitude contrast mode at a 1-10 pm resolution. In the future, we expect to increase the resolution of the projections to below 100 nm by using a focused x-ray beam at the 2-ID-B beamline and to reduce the combined acquisition and computation time to the 1 min scale with improvements in the detectors, network links, software pipeline, and computation algorithms.
Arginine-Agmatine Antiporter in Extreme Acid Resistance in Escherichia coli

The process of arginine-dependent extreme acid resistance (XAR) is one of several decarboxylase-antiporter systems that protects Escherichia coli and possibly other enteric bacteria from exposure to the strong acid environment of the stomach. Arginine-dependent acid resistance depends on an intracellular proton-utilizing arginine α-decarboxylase and a membrane transport protein necessary for delivering arginine to and removing agmatine, its decarboxylation product, from the cytoplasm. The arginine system afforded significant protection to wild-type E. coli cells in our acid shock experiments. The gene coding for the transport protein is identified here as a putative membrane protein of unknown function, YjdE, which we now name adiC. Strains from which this gene is deleted fail to mount arginine-dependent XAR, and they cannot perform coupled transport of arginine and agmatine. Homologues of this gene are found in other bacteria in close proximity to homologues of the arginine decarboxylase in a gene arrangement pattern similar to that in E coli. Evidence for a lysine-dependent XAR system in E. coli is also presented. The protection by lysine, however, is milder than that by arginine.
Torsion of the appendix mimicking ovarian torsion.

BACKGROUND: Appendiceal torsion is rare and generally seen more frequently in children than adults. Untreated it can lead to necrosis, ulceration, and subsequent peritonitis. CASE: A middle-aged female presented with a 5-day history of cramping abdominal pain and nausea and vomiting. Abdominal wall guarding and rebound tenderness was noted on examination. Computerized tomography showed an 8 x 4 cm mass anterior to the uterus, suggestive of degenerating fibroid versus ovarian dermoid cyst. Laparoscopy was performed for presumed ovarian torsion. Torsion of the appendix was discovered and treated by laparoscopic appendectomy. CONCLUSION: Patients with presumed ovarian torsion should undergo urgent laparoscopy for diagnosis and attempted ovarian salvage. The possibility of conditions that may require different surgical interventions, such as appendiceal torsion, should be considered.
WHY DO WE KEEP PREMATURE BABIES IN THE HOSPITAL? † 1533

Little data are available for the average age of discharge for premature infants. For many years our nursery has had a general policy of early discharge. Our discharge criteria for healthy premature infants are (1) no oxygen requirement; (2) no apnea/bradycardia/desaturations in the absence of methyl-xanthines; (3) ability to take full feedings by nipple; and (4) ability to maintain body temperature in an open crib. Infants are placed in open cribs at 1700-1800 grams.
Impact of a Diabetes Disease Management Program by Race and Ethnicity

risk of complications are considerably higher among African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and Alaskan Natives. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of enrollment for at least 1 calendar year in a diabetes disease management program (DDMP) in a large, commercially insured, managed care population. We assessed changes in utilization of preventive services and adoption of diabetes self-management behaviors by race and ethnicity. Methods: Participants were aged >17 years and had type 1 or 2 diabetes. They were enrolled in a targeted, high-risk level DDMP between January 2003 and September 2003 and were enrolled in the managed care organization (MCO) for a 2-year period beginning 1 year prior to their enrollment in the DDMP. At baseline, 19 483 MCO enrollees who were participating in the targeted high-risk level DDMP were mailed a 40-item, self-administered baseline survey, which took between 10 and 15 minutes to complete. Baseline results are reported elsewhere. One year later, in June 2004, 5174 of the baseline responders were mailed a slightly modified version of the 40-item survey. The survey measured use of eight preventive services (cholesterol test, dental examination, dilated eye examination, urinalysis, foot examination, influenza vaccination, pneumococcal vaccination, and glycated hemoglobin testing) and engagement in four self-management behaviors (blood glucose tests, diet monitoring, exercise, and smoking avoidance). Results: Of the 5174 follow-up surveys mailed, 1961 (37.9%) were eligible for comparative analysis. Blacks and Hispanics reported more annual healthcare visits (average of 6.2 and 6.5, respectively) compared with Whites (average of 5.0, p < 0.0001). However, at follow-up, both Blacks and Hispanics had lower utilization rates than Whites for six of the eight preventive services that were measured. At follow-up, both Blacks and Whites were more likely than at baseline to report up-to-date status of influenza and pneumococcal vaccination (p ≤ 0.0001). At follow-up, the racial/ethnic gap in self-management behaviors that was observed at baseline had reduced and in fact had reversed direction for glucose tests, as Blacks were more likely than Whites to routinely test their blood glucose. Conclusions: These data indicate that DDMP enrollment for at least 1 calendar year had a mixed impact on overall diabetes behaviors and on racial/ethnic disparities in preventive services utilization and self-management behaviors. Further studies are needed to give a clearer understanding of why some diabetic MCO enrollees are less likely to use preventive services, and why disparities remain even in settings where healthcare services are universally available.
Kinetic effects in the chemistry of diamond CVD source gases and implications for diamond growth

Abstract Perfectly stirred reactor calculations have been carried out on six different gas mixtures containing ethanol, water, methane, acetylene, oxygen and hydrogen at conditions typical of low-pressure (about 1 Torr) diamond chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactors. For reactors operating under conditions in which the flow or diffusive time-scales are short compared with the chemical time-scales, the selection of viable source gas mixtures for diamond growth based solely on the overall C-H-O stoichiometry becomes impossible and kinetic effects must be taken into account. Numerical results are presented which show the dependence of the maximum theoretical diamond deposition rate and diamond quality as a function of mass flow rate.
Pulling Geometry-Induced Errors in Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy Measurements

In AFM-based single molecule force spectroscopy, it is tacitly assumed that the pulling direction coincides with the end-to-end vector of the molecule fragment being stretched. By systematically varying the position of the attachment point on the substrate relative to the AFM tip, we investigate empirically and theoretically the effect of the pulling geometry on force-extension characteristics of double-stranded DNA. We find that increasing the pulling angle can significantly lower the force of the characteristic overstretching transition and increase the width of the plateau feature beyond the canonical 70%. These effects, when neglected, can adversely affect the interpretation of measured force-extension relationships. We quantitatively evaluate force and extension errors originating from this “pulling angle effect” and stress the need to correct the pulling geometry when stretching rigid molecules with an AFM.
Bilateral obturator hernia with intestinal obstruction: repair with a cigar roll technique

Obturator hernia is an exceedingly rare pelvic hernia that occurs primarily in multiparous, elderly thin (>70 years of age) females. Here, we report a case of bilateral obturator hernia in an elderly female with high-grade small bowel obstruction repaired with a novel “cigar roll” technique.
Fouling and Cleaning of Gas‐Filled Membranes for Cyanide Removal

Abstract Results of an experiment on the removal of cyanide from two industrial wastewaters by using gas‐filled hollow fiber membranes in a pilot plant in China are presented. The plant was operated in batch mode using 1000 L of feed solution. The plant contained 10 hollow fiber modules with a total effective membrane surface area of 180 m2. The strip stream consisted of a 10% NaOH solution. The overall mass transfer coefficient for cyanide was determined experimentally. A decrease in the overall mass transfer coefficient with time was observed for real wastewaters due to fouling of the membrane. In particular, the presence of particulate matter in the wastewater can lead to a significant decrease in the overall mass transfer coefficient and, hence, the rate of cyanide removal. Various cleaning strategies were investigated in order to regenerate the membrane. The gas‐filled membranes were stable for over two months of continuous operation when they were used with industrial wastewaters.
Evaluating placement policies for managing capacity sharing in CMP architectures with private caches

Chip Multiprocessors (CMP) with distributed L2 caches suffer from a cache fragmentation problem; some caches may be overutilized while others may be underutilized. To avoid such fragmentation, researchers have proposed capacity sharing mechanisms where applications that need additional cache space can place their victim blocks in remote caches. However, we found that only allowing victim blocks to be placed on remote caches tends to cause a high number of remote cache hits relative to local cache hits.In this article, we show that many of the remote cache hits can be converted into local cache hits if we allow newly fetched blocks to be selectively placed directly in a remote cache, rather than in the local cache. To demonstrate this, we use future trace information to estimate the near-upperbound performance that can be gained from combined placement and replacement decisions in capacity sharing. Motivated by encouraging experimental results, we design a simple, predictor-based, scheme called Adaptive Placement Policy (APP) that learns from past cache behavior to make a better decision on whether to place a newly fetched block in the local or remote cache. We found that across 50 multiprogrammed workload mixes running on a 4-core CMP, APP's capacity sharing mechanism increases aggregate performance by 29p on average. At the same time, APP outperforms the state-of-the-art capacity sharing mechanism that uses only replacement-based decisions by up to 18.2p, with a maximum degradation of only 0.5p, and an average improvement of 3p.
Resonant collisions of Na nS and nD Rydberg atoms

A large enhancement in the resonant collisional energy-transfer process Na(ns)+Na(ns) ..-->..Na((n-1)p)+Na(nl) or Na(ns)+Na(ns)..-->..Na(np)+Na((n-1)l) is observed when the initial ns state lies midway between (n-1)p and an nl state or between np and an (n-1)l state. This resonance condition, achieved by the electric field tuning of the levels, leads to large cross sections approx.10/sup 9/ A/sup 2/ and narrow linewidths approx.1 GHz. These cross sections and linewidths are comparable to the previously observed resonant process Na(ns)+Na(ns)..-->..Na((n-1)p)+Na (np). We have also observed a similar collisional energy transfer starting from a completely different initial state, i.e., Na(15d)+Na(15d)..-->..Na(16f)+Na (15p). In this case the enhancement in the cross section (approx.10/sup 8/ A/sup 2/) is observed at a relatively low electric field approx.17 V/cm.
Effect of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) on male copulatory behavior in the rat

The effects of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) on male rat copulatory behavior were investigated. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were administered either 10, 50 or 100 mg/kg of Panax quinquefolium or a sesame oil vehicle per os (p.o.) for 28 days and copulatory behavior parameters were measured. Ginseng-treated male rats demonstrated a significant decrease in mount, intromission and ejaculation latencies compared to vehicle controls. Hormone analyses revealed no difference in plasma luteinizing hormone or testosterone levels between ginseng- and vehicle-treated animals; however, plasma prolactin levels were significantly reduced by all doses of ginseng tested. When male rats were treated with the 100 mg/kg dose of ginseng for 1, 14 or 28 days, mount and intromission latencies were significantly reduced at 14 and 28 days of daily ginseng treatment, whereas ejaculation latency was significantly reduced after 1 day of ginseng treatment when compared to vehicle controls. Plasma prolactin levels were also significantly decreased after 14 and 28 days of daily ginseng administration. There were no differences in body weight or in testes, seminal vesicle, anterior pituitary or spleen weights between ginseng- and vehicle-treated rats. These results demonstrate that P. quinquefolium significantly facilitates male copulatory behavior. The reduction in plasma prolactin levels suggests that ginseng-induced alterations in dopaminergic neurotransmission may play a role in the ability of P. quinquefolium to stimulate copulatory behavior in the male rat.
A graded-index fiber taper design for laser diode to single-mode fiber coupling

Abstract A tapered graded-index fiber (GIF) structure is, for the first time, proposed for the efficient fiber-laser coupling. A simple analytical approach based on the ABCD law is utilized to optimally design the parameters of the hemispherically-ended GIF taper. A wide-angle beam propagation method is then employed to compute the fiber mode fields transmitted through the fiber taper in order to evaluate the coupling efficiency. By taking one commercially available GIF as an example, the effectiveness of the new design reported here is verified with a demonstration of high coupling efficiency of nearly 90%.
On-orbit calibration of satellite antenna-pointing errors

A pragmatic approach is presented to the on-orbit calibration of the spaceborne gimbaled parabolic reflector antennas to enhance their pointing and tracking accuracies in the presence of unknown structural deformations and other errors. The technique described is based on the second-order extended Kalman filter. Except for some knowledge of Kalman filtering, the work is self-contained and tutorial in character, developing necessary error models and deriving most pertinent equations from first principles. Preliminary simulations, from which covariance analysis results have been obtained, indicate a 66% improvement in the accuracy of the antenna pointing angles. >
Autoshaping, hand-shaping, and errorless learning

Eighteen food-deprived pigeons were divided into three groups and either hand-shaped or autoshaped to peck a response key illuminated with red or green light. Group 1 was autoshaped using a procedure that employed a 30-sec intertrial interval (ITI); the other two groups were hand shaped by the method of successive approximations, one (Group 2) with a 30-sec ITI, the other (Group 3) without. In subsequent discrimination training, the subjects in Groups 1 and 2 emitted significantly fewer errors than those in Group 3. The role of the ITI was explained with reference to the Rescorla-Wagner model of associative learning, modified to account for stimulus generalization. Implications of the data for the study of errorless learning and the comparison between hand shaping and autoshaping are discussed.
Beyond the First User: Human Factors and Risk Communication for Reuse, Recycling, Disassembly, and Product End-of-Life

Most human factors research associated with products is related to the relationship between the product and its first users. However, contemporary media focus on environmental-consciousness has revealed a new area for human factors expertise: reuse, recycling, disassembly, and product end-of-life. This case study presents an overview of typical end-of-life tasks related to harvesting components and commodities from system boards. Recommendations for adding consistency, saliency, and convention to battery design to simplify end-of-life processes are provided.
The safety of intraosseous infusions: Risks of fat and bone marrow emboli to the lungs

The technique of intraosseous infusion is a life-saving emergency alternative when IV access is impossible or will be critically delayed. Concerns about its safety remain, especially concerning the risk of bone marrow and fat emboli to the lungs. We examined autopsy pulmonary specimens on two children who had received intraosseous infusions during resuscitation attempts and found an average of 0.23 to 0.71 bone marrow and fat emboli per mm 2 of lung. We studied normotensive dogs with intraosseous infusions of emergency drugs and solutions into the distal femur. Three dogs were studied with each of the following emergency drugs or solutions: controls with normal saline (0.9% NaCl), epinephrine 0.01 mg/kg, NaHCO 3 1 mEq/kg, CaCl 10 mg/kg, atropine 0.01 mg/kg, hydroxyethyl starch 6% in normal saline 10 mL/kg, 50% dextrose in water 0.25 g/kg, and lidocaine 1 mg/kg. Four hours after infusion, the animals were killed, and representative sections of the lung were examined with oil red-0 and hematoxylin and eosin stains for the presence of fat and bone marrow emboli. Fat and bone marrow emboli were found in all lung sections, varying from 0.11 to 4.48 emboli/mm 2 lung (mean, 0.91 emboli/mm 2 lung) for the emergency drugs and solutions and 0.06 to 0.53 emboli/mm 2 (mean, 0.29 emboli/mm 2 lung) for the controls. Analysis of variance revealed no significant difference ( P = .07) in mean number of fat and bone marrow emboli per square millimeter of lung among the emergency drugs and compared with controls. The 95% confidence limits for estimating the proportion of the population to develop bone marrow and fat emboli after intraosseous infusions is 0.89 to 1.00. Despite the universal finding of fat and bone marrow emboli in patients and animals in which emergency drugs were administered by the intraosseous route, there were no significant alterations in Pao 2 or intrapulmonary shunt during the four-hour study period. This suggests that although fat and bone marrow emboli are a common occurrence after intraosseous drug administration, they are not of any immediate clinical importance, do not result in a pulmonary fat embolism syndrome or adult respiratory distress syndrome that might complicate resuscitation, and should not preclude the use of the intraosseous route for resuscitation drugs when IV access is delayed or impossible. However, the pulmonary fat embolism syndrome may complicate postresuscitation care, and bone marrow and fat emboli may be of clinical importance in patients with intracardiac right-to-left shunts because of the risk of cerebral emboli and emboli to other vital organs.
Role of Purinergic and Nicotinic Receptors in the Hypoxia/Hypercapnia Evoked Excitation of Parasympathetic Cardiac Vagal Neurons in the Brainstem

Hypoxia and hypercapnia are among the strongest challenges to the cardiorespiratory system, and these responses are altered by prenatal nicotine exposure. However the mechanism(s) responsible for these cardiorespiratory responses, and their alteration by prenatal nicotine exposure are unknown. We used an in vitro medullary slice that allows simultaneous examination of rhythmic respiratory-related activity and synaptic neurotransmission to cardiac vagal neurons (CVNs) that control heart rate. Respiratory-related increases in excitatory neurotransmission only occurred upon recovery from hypoxia/hypercapnia in unexposed animals. These responses were mediated in part by purinergic receptors. Prenatal nicotine exposure transformed central cardiorespiratory responses; CVNs received a respiratory-related neurotransmission not during recovery but during hypoxia/hypercapnia which was wholly dependent upon nicotinic receptor activation. In the presence of nicotinic antagonists, the responses in prenatal nicotine animals reverted to the pattern of responses in unexposed animals. These data identify a new functional role for purinergic receptors in the cardiorespiratory responses to hypoxia/hypercapnia and their role in occluding nicotinic receptor activation with prenatal nicotine exposure.
Electrical characterization of Schottky contacts of Au, Al, Gd, and Pt on n‐type and p‐type GaAs

The Schottky barrier heights of several metals (Au,Al,Gd, and Pt) fabricated by electron‐beam deposition on n‐ and p‐type GaAs were measured with I‐V, C‐V,and photoresponse techniques. In the as‐deposited state, all metals gave very similar I‐V characteristics for n‐type substrates with a barrier height qφb=0.63−0.65 eV and ideality factor n=1.20‐1.45. The poor I‐V characteristics in the as‐deposited state were consistent with the higher barrier height determined with the C‐V characteristics. Moderate annealing at 350 °C for 30 min improved the I‐V characteristics of all of them (qφb≂0.74 eV), as well as the photoyield in the internal photoemission process except the Au diode. No variation of the photothreshold energy was observed for n‐type GaAs among the annealed contacts, suggesting that the Fermi‐level is pinned by the native defects of GaAs. The barrier height was determined to be 0.90 eV for n‐type GaAs. On p‐type GaAs, the photothreshold energy varied and the barrier heights for Al,Gd,Au, and Pt we...
On the Nature of Dwarf Novae

Observational data on mass-transfer rates and radii of disks indicate that the outer parts of disks in novae and nova-like binaries are sufficiently hot for stationary accretion; those in dwarf novae are too cool to avoid an accretion instability, while these in Z Cam systems are the borderline cases. The mass ratios of novae and nova-like binaries with main-sequence secondaries appear — at a given orbital period — to be systematically larger than those of dwarf novae, implying that higher mass ratios are responsible for higher mass-transfer rates.
Cooperative optical transitions in impurity centers coupled via host atoms

Abstract In solids with a coupling between guest and host atoms, a new mechanism of cooperative transitions is possible since the centers formed by the guest atoms involve surrounding host atoms. This leads to orbital overlap between centers via the host atoms which can result in cooperative transitions. The cooperative transition moments are estimated for rare gas solids doped by halogens.
Effect of various acute 60 Hz magnetic field exposures on the nocturnal melatonin rise in the adult Djungarian hamster.

: Acute exposure to a 1 Gauss 60 Hz magnetic field for 15 min beginning 2 hr before darkness delays and blunts the nighttime melatonin rhythm in some but not all studies. To determine whether other exposure parameters (dose, mode, or time) influence the nocturnal melatonin rise, adult Djungarian hamsters reared in long days (16L: 8D, lights off at 1000–1800 hr) were acutely exposed to a 60 Hz continuous magnetic field (15 min of 1 or 0.1 Gauss) beginning 4 hr before or 4 hr after lights off. Other hamsters were exposed to a 60 Hz intermittent magnetic field (15 or 60 min of a 1 Gauss field, 1 min on then 1 min off) between 1 and 2 hr before lights off. In sham-exposed controls, i.e., hamsters simultaneously placed in an adjacent coil system but without current, pineal and serum melatonin concentrations increased from a low baseline (1 hr after lights off) to concentrations that were typical of the nighttime peak by 3 hr after darkness. Acute exposure to the 0.1 or 1 Gauss continuous magnetic field for 15 min at either 4 hr before or 4 hr after lights off did not disrupt the nocturnal rise in pineal or serum melatonin. Similarly, onset of the melatonin rhythm was not suppressed by intermittent magnetic field exposures compared to that in sham controls. Thus, several magnetic field exposure paradigms failed to alter the rising phase of the melatonin rhythm in pineal gland content or in circulation. These findings indicate that the biological clock mechanism that mediates photoperiodic time measurement in this seasonally breeding rodent is resistant to a variety of acute continuous or intermittent magnetic field exposures.
H I absorption limits and emission mapping for high-velocity clouds

Systematic emission and absorption surveys have been conducted for high-velocity H I in the direction of 63 bright continuum sources. High-velocity emisison is detected along 18 of these 63 directions with a threshold about a factor of 2 better than previous, much more extensive surveys. No high-velocity absorption was found in any of the directions. The sky distribution of the high-velocity emission and the column density distribution agree with larger surveys. Detailed emission maps in the vicinity of each continuum source show that the variations in column density within a high-velocity cloud are similar to the variations between high-velocity clouds. A previously discovered high-velocity cloud at high galactic latitude, in the direction of part of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, was mapped. This small cloud is moving away from the galactic plane at v greater than 30 km/s and is probably not self-gravitating. 36 refs.