cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of high PV penetration on voltage regulation in electrical distribution systems

Cloud-induced transients induced in photovoltaic (PV) power are considered as a potential barrier to further expansion when the penetration of this renewable generation resource reaches a high level in distribution systems. Such transients can cause voltage flicker or excessive operation of the voltage regulating equipment. This article studies these effects on part of a local distribution substation. Actual transformer load and solar irradiance data based on 1-minute interval are used to simulate the impact of 20% PV penetration on the feeder voltage during a time period that covers both clear and cloudy skies. Based on some specified conditions, the simulations indicate that voltage flicker is not a concern, but the tap changer operates excessively even when using a 5-minute time delay.
College Men's Perceptions of Ideal Body Composition and Shape.

This study sought to increase professionals’ knowledge of college men’s perceptions of ideal body composition and shape by a qualitative design. Based on data obtained from 30 college men, themes and individual differences emerged. Muscularity, leanness, height, and certain body areas were highlighted and their representativeness within the data was presented. Muscularity was found to be multifaceted with 5 components, and men varied in the overall and site-specific body areas that they emphasized. Discussions of how these findings can direct future research (e.g., construction of instruments assessing men’s body satisfaction), theory, and practice are presented.
Interlingual identification and the role of foreign language experience in L2 vowel perception

ABSTRACf This artil;le examines the perception of four English vowels (Ii, I, e, reI) by adult native speakers of German. From the standpoint of German, it appears that English Ii, I, £I are perceptually similar, if not identical, to German Ii, I, £I, whereas lrel is a "new" vowel for German learners of English. The role of foreign language experience in the perception of second language vowels was examined through labeling responses to members of synthetic continua (beat-bit, bet-bat) in which vowel duration and spectrum were varied factorily. The subjects were relatively experi­ enced and inexperienced second language (L2) learners and a monolingual English control group. The results suggest that L2 experience did not affect perception for the continuum with the two "similar" vowels IiI and III. However, for the continuum involving the "new" vowel lrel, the experienced Germans more closely resembled the native English speakers than the inexperi­ enced Germans. The predominant use of duration cues in differentiating the English Id-/rel contrast by the inexperienced Germans suggested that when spectra] cues are insufficient to differentiate an L2 vowel contrast, duration will be used. The hypothesis tested in the present study was derived from a model of second language (L2) speech learning that distinguishes between identical, similar, and new sounds in a cross-language context (see Flege, 1987, 1988; Flege & Hillenbrand, 1984). Identical sounds (e.g., English and German Im/) are unlikely to pose a learning problem, but similar sounds like English and German lul might offer persistent, if perhaps only subtle, problems for L2 learners. The hypothesis being tested states that adult L2learners will substi­ tute a sound from their first language (Ll) for a similar L2 sound even after extended L2 exposure because of equivalence classification. On the other hand, the model hypothesizes that for new L2 sounds (e.g., English Irl for Ll German learners) that exceed a yet-to-be-specified "crucial similarity measure" (Wode, 1977), learners will eventually establish new phonetic cate­ gories as a result of phonetic learning that is unimpeded by equivalence classification. Although the sounds of German and English have been examined thor
How to work and play with robots: An approach to modeling human-robot interaction

Effective human-robot team configurations and exchanges are needed to ensure optimal task performance for human-robot teams. The exchanges between robots and human operators are mediated through an interface and this interaction has a direct impact on the team configuration associated with a particular task. Building upon the traditional methodologies of job and cognitive work analysis, Petri nets are introduced as a modeling tool for human robot interaction (HRI). An overview of Petri nets is provided and utilizing data from search-and-rescue unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations, operator nets are constructed. Analysis of the networks yielded several significant findings. Petri nets provide many advantages beyond traditional methodologies and are seen as a useful tool for modeling human-robot interactions. Future research can utilize the methodology not only in a descriptive fashion, but also prescriptively for building models of optimal human-robot interaction.
Fat brains, greedy genes, and parent power. A multi-disciplinary approach to child obesity

The modern world is rife with opportunities to overeat – yet not everyone becomes obese. This could be because individuals differ in appetite-related traits that manifest early in development and predict weight trajectories. What determines these traits? Parental feeding studies generally show that restrictive feeding is linked with heightened appetite, and pressure to eat with reduced appetite. But these relationships reflect parents responding to children as well as vice versa. In fact, twin studies argue that nature, rather than nurture, is the largest contributor to child appetite, and behavioral investigations of obesity-associated variants arising from genome-wide association studies confirm the contribution of genes to eating behavior. Little is known about biological contributions to appetitive traits in humans, or how genetic and environmental influences interact at a biological level to influence appetite. However a number of brain imaging studies have investigated responses to food cues and intake in adults, children, and groups at high familial and/or genetic obesity risk, and results are so far consistent with the possibility that functional and structural variation in networks subserving motivation and control is associated with appetite and obesity, and shows genetic influence. The emerging biobehavioral susceptibility model provides a useful, inclusive framework for explaining child and adult obesity. It also suggests that prevention and treatment strategies should acknowledge the powerful contribution of genetic and biological influences to eating behavior, and focus on stimulus control as well as novel interventions to modify appetitive tendencies.
Identification of Target Genes Regulated by PAX3 and PAX3–FKHR in Embryogenesis and Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma

PAX3 is a transcription factor important for neural, muscle, and facial development in vertebrates. To identify genes regulated by PAX3, we used a cyclic amplification and selection of targets (CASTing) strategy to isolate cis-regulatory elements bound by PAX3. CASTing libraries were constructed with mouse DNA fragments bound by mouse PAX3, and human genomic DNA fragments bound by human PAX3 and the fusion protein PAX3-FKHR. Approximately 1000 clones were sequenced from each of these three libraries. Numerous putative targets of PAX3 and PAX3-FKHR were identified and six genes, Itm2A, Fath, FLT1, TGFA, BVES, and EN2, were examined closely. The genomic DNA fragments near these genes contain PAX3 binding sites and confer PAX3-dependent regulation. The expression levels of these genes correlate with the PAX3 expression levels in mouse embryos or with PAX3-FKHR expression levels in rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines, and indicate they may be part of the PAX3 regulatory circuitry during embryogenesis and tumor formation.
Are Blacks and Latinos Responsible for the Passage of Proposition 8? Analyzing Voter Attitudes on California’s Proposal to Ban Same-Sex Marriage in 2008

On November 4, 2008, the majority of California’s electorate supported a ban on same-sex marriage. Anecdotal evidence attributes its passage to increased turnout among black and Latino voters. This article determines whether this was so; it also examines whether blacks and Latinos were more likely than whites to oppose same-sex marriage, even when accounting for religiosity and political attitudes. Had black and Latino turnout remained at the same level as in the 2004 presidential election, Proposition 8 would still have passed. Moreover, blacks were more likely to favor a ban on same-sex marriage when compared to whites.
Macular alterations secondary to intraocular inflammatory disease.

Abstract It is often the sequelae of intraocular inflammation that is most damaging to the patient's vision. Macular alterations are frequently seen and include (1) neovascularization, both subretinal and retinal; (2) pre-retinal membranes, particularly in young patients with recurrent vitreal hemorrhages; (3) macular holes; and (4) cystoid macular edema, by far the most common alteration. The goal in assessing the maculae of these patients is to determine if and what type of therapy might be applicable. In addition to fluorescein angiography, we have found that laser interferometry is a useful tool in predicting the visual outcome of patients with uveitis. Therapeutic modalities center around corticosteroids, while cyclosporine also has been found to be effective in treating cystoid edema. Vitrectomy has been suggested as a therapeutic approach to both the uveitis and cystoid edema, but this approach still needs to be more scientifically evaluated. A well-defined therapeutic approach to uveitis-induced macular changes is lacking, with well-designed clinical trials sorely needed.
Conservation of Mechanisms Controlling Entry into Mitosis: Budding Yeast Wee1 Delays Entry into Mitosis and Is Required for Cell Size Control

Abstract Background: In fission yeast, the Wee1 kinase delays entry into mitosis until a critical cell size has been reached; however, a similar role for Wee1-related kinases has not been reported in other organisms. SWE1 , the budding yeast homolog of wee1 , is thought to function in a morphogenesis checkpoint that delays entry into mitosis in response to defects in bud morphogenesis. Results: In contrast to previous studies, we found that budding yeast swe1Δ cells undergo premature entry into mitosis, leading to birth of abnormally small cells. Additional experiments suggest that conditions that activate the morphogenesis checkpoint may actually be activating a G2/M cell size checkpoint. For example, actin depolymerization is thought to activate the morphogenesis checkpoint by inhibiting bud morphogenesis. However, actin depolymerization also inhibits bud growth, suggesting that it could activate a cell size checkpoint. Consistent with this possibility, we found that actin depolymerization fails to induce a G2/M delay once daughter buds pass a critical size. Other conditions that activate the morphogenesis checkpoint block bud formation, which could also activate a size checkpoint if cell size at G2/M is monitored in the daughter bud. Previous work reported that Swe1 is degraded during G2, which was proposed to account for failure of large-budded cells to arrest in response to actin depolymerization. However, we found that Swe1 is present throughout G2 and undergoes hyperphosphorylation as cells enter mitosis, as found in other organisms. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the mechanisms known to coordinate entry into mitosis in other organisms have been conserved in budding yeast.
A Comparison of Algorithms for Handheld Wand Tracking

We examine several algorithms for tracking a handheld wand in a 3D virtual reality system: extended Kalman filters (EKFs), interacting multiple models (IMMs), and support vector machines (SVMs). The IMMs consist of several EKF models, each of which is tuned for one particular type of user motion. For determining the types of motion, we compare hand-created rules with an automatic clustering algorithm, with mixed results. The mode-specific EKFs within the IMM are more accurate than one overall EKF. However, the IMM is comparable to a single EKF, because of the overhead of predicting the current component EKF. SVMs with a one-frame lookahead perform the best, cutting the error in half. Aside from those SVMs, different model types were best for the different dimensions of tracking (x, y, z, and rotation).
Impact of Microchannel Boundary Conditions and Porosity Variation on Diffusion Layer Saturation and Transport in Fuel Cells

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell flooding can be detrimental to energy generation performance due to its role in reducing gas diffusion layer (GDL) oxygen transport. Previous transport models have made use of a zero-saturation boundary condition at the GDL/oxygen gas channel (GC) interface. However, the physical accuracy of this boundary condition is still unclear and further investigation is needed to lead to a more robust model of the GDL saturation distribution. This work provides a half-cell two-phase transport model for saturation as well as liquid water and gaseous oxygen pressure distributions. This work focuses on the impact of nonzero saturation boundary conditions at the GDL/GC interface, and its impact on GDL two-phase transport. Saturation boundary conditions at this location are determined based on GDL interfacial liquid coverage of water droplets that form as a result of product water that diffuses through the porous medium and blocks oxygen transport paths. The results indicate that nonzero saturation boundary conditions, which are a consequence of GDL/GC liquid droplet coverage, increase cathode saturation by as much as 4% and 12% for low and high current density conditions respectively. It is also shown that cathode saturation dependence on the interfacial liquid coverage fraction α is reduced with an increase in porosity ɛ. As ɛ increases from 0.3 to 0.5, the cathode saturation difference is reduced by 22%. This investigation also evaluated the inclusion and optimization of a microporous layer (MPL) within the half-cell system. It was found that cathode saturation reductions were more significant for increasing MPL porosity than for GDL porosity. The results suggest that its inclusion was able to reduce cathode saturation by up to 90% at the GDL/MPL interface for near zero α values.
Effects of High Density Ultrasonic Field Coupling on the Microstructures and Properties of Al-Si Alloy

The effects of high density ultrasonic field coupling on the microstructures and properties of Al-12Si alloy were investigated. It is shown that when the melt undergoes ultrasonic coupling processing prior to solidification, the nucleation rate of liquid phase can be raised to make α(Al) dendrite transform towards near equiaxed grains, the growth of Si phase is restrained and eutectic Si microstructure is refined due to acoustic streaming effect and thermal mechanism; When the melt undergoes ultrasonic coupling processing during the melt solidification, large degree of supercooling is produced in the liquid phase in the solidification interface front edge to reduce the critical radius of crystal nucleus and critical work of nucleation and break up, rupture by melting and refine the Si phase to improve obviously the strength of Al-12Si alloy due to its cavitation effect, acoustic streaming action and heat undulation; The crushing effect of ultrasonic coupling on Si phase occurs mainly during the crystallizing solidification and threshold sound intensity exists.
Purification and characterization of a membrane-bound nonlysosomal ceramidase from rat brain.

Abstract We have purified a membrane bound ceramidase 22,300-fold to apparent homogeneity. The purification scheme included Triton X-100 extraction of membranes followed by Q-Sepharose, blue Sepharose, phenyl-Sepharose, and MonoS column chromatography. The purified enzyme showed an apparent molecular mass of 90 kDa as estimated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reducing conditions and 95 kDa by chromatography on Superose 12. Using C16-ceramide as substrate, the enzyme showed a broad pH optimum in the neutral to alkaline range. A mixed micelle assay was developed, and using Triton X-100/ceramide mixed micelles, the enzyme exhibited classical Michaelis-Menten kinetics, with aK m of 1.29 mol % and aV max of 4.4 μmol/min/mg. When dihydroceramide was used as substrate, these values were 3.84 mol % and 1.2 μmol/min/mg, respectively, indicating that the enzyme hydrolyzes ceramides preferentially. The activity of the purified ceramidase did not require cations, and it was inhibited by reducing agents. Phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin were without effect on the enzyme activity, whereas phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylserine stimulated the activity 3-fold. Sphingosine acted as a competitive inhibitor with an IC50 of 5–10 μm. These results indicate that the purified enzyme is a novel ceramidase.
Preparation, Isolation, and Characterization of Cutin Monomers and Oligomers from Tomato Peels

Cutin in tomato peels was depolymerized in methanolic base to yield cutin monomers or a mixture of cutin oligomers. These products were isolated by typical solvent extraction methods or by precipitation, and the isolates were characterized by chromatographic and spectroscopic analyses. It was determined that the compositions of the isolates from both isolation procedures were similar, although solvent extraction gave higher yields. However, the precipitation method, which is easy to carry out and avoids the use of undesirable organic solvents, may be preferable in commercial processes for recovering these compounds.
Oculomotor control in asymptomatic and recently diagnosed individuals with the genetic marker for Huntington’s disease

We compared oculomotor control among individuals in the early stages of Huntington's disease (HD), with that of individuals who are presymptomatic HD gene carriers (PSGC) and nongene carriers (NGC). The oculomotor testing paradigm included both traditional tests and a novel experimental procedure to assess visual scanning. Traditional tests elicited saccades, pursuit and optokinetic nystagmus (OKN). HD patients demonstrated marked delay in the initiation of volitional saccades (anti-saccade and memory-guided saccades), a reduced number of correct volitional saccades, reduced velocity of saccades, and a decreased OKN gain. We also studied visual scanning while the participants completed the Digit Symbol Subscale of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Survey-Revised (WAIS-R). The HD participants demonstrated an abnormal gaze strategy, which may be associated with attention and/or planning deficits. Differences between the PSGC and NGC groups were only observed for two measures: PSGC had a decreased number of memory-guided saccades and a subtle delay in the initiation of volitional saccades. Our results suggest that oculomotor measures are a sensitive biomarker in the early stage of HD and demonstrate that the combination of more traditional oculomotor tests with visual scanning tests is useful in the evaluation of visual performance.
Rule agnostic routing by using design fabrics

Moore's law requires the shrinking of physical dimensions of the transistors to roughly half their area every two years. This poses a tremendous challenge on how to print and manufacture these ever-shrinking physical components that make up the transistors and the interconnect - generation after process generation. One aspect of this challenge is that the process rules are exploding in complexity -- directly translating into physical design EDA (Electronic Design Automation) tool complexity. Traditional design rules governed the spacing, overlap or alignment of any two layout objects from this set: diffusion, poly, via cut, wire, etc. In this work we propose a solution that relies on grids (aka. Fabrics), models the design rules on those grids and presents them to the EDA tools in such a way that it minimizes the complexity cost on the tools' side. In an ideal situation, the proposed solution can completely decouple the tools from the process rules, i.e. even if the tools don't change at all, they'll still be able to support new process nodes.
Electromagnetic fields and melatonin production

The pineal gland, which in humans is located near the anatomical center of the brain, is normally responsive to visible electromagnetic fields (ie light) since the eyes are functionally connected to the pineal gland by a series of neurons. Normally, the pineal gland produces low amounts of melatonin during the day and high amounts at night; this rhythm is reflected in the blood melatonin concentrations which are higher at night than during the day. In both man and lower mammals, their exposure to light at night is followed by a drop in pineal melatonin production and blood melatonin levels. Likewise, exposure of non-human mammals to sinusoidal electric and/or magnetic fields as well as pulsed static magnetic fields often reduces pineal melatonin production. Melatonin has many functions in the organism and any perturbation (not only electromagnetic fields) which causes levels of melatonin to be lower than normal may have significant physiological consequences. Melatonin, because it is a potent antioxidant, may provide significant protection against cancer initiation as well as promotion. However, it is premature to conclude that the alleged increased cancer risk reported in individuals living in higher than normal electromagnetic environments relate to reduced melatonin levels caused by such field exposures.
The role of Zn2+ in Shal voltage-gated potassium channel formation.

Voltage-gated potassium channels are formed by the tetramerization of their α subunits, in a process that is controlled by their conserved N-terminal T1 domains. The crystal structures of Shaker and Shaw T1 domains reveal interesting differences in structures that are contained within a highly conserved BTB/POZ domain fold. The most surprising difference is that the Shaw T1 domain contains an intersubunit Zn2+ ion that is lacking in the Shaker T1 domain. The Zn2+ coordination motif is conserved in other non-Shaker channels making this the most distinctive difference between these channels and Shaker. In this study we show that Zn2+ is an important co-factor for the tetramerization of isolated Shaw and Shal T1 domains. Addition of Zn2+ increases the amount of tetramer formed, whereas chelation of Zn2+ with phenanthroline blocks tetramerization and causes assembled tetramers to disassemble. Within an intact cell, full-length Shal subunits containing Zn2+ site mutations also fail to form functional channels, with the majority of the protein found to remain monomeric by size exclusion chromatography. Therefore, zinc-mediated tetramerization also is a physiologically important event for full-length functional channel formation.
RELATIVISTIC MANY-BODY CALCULATIONS OF ENERGY LEVELS, HYPERFINE CONSTANTS,AND TRANSITION RATES FOR SODIUMLIKE IONS, Z=11-16

All-order relativistic many-body calculations of removal energies are carried out for $3s$, ${3p}_{1/2},$ ${3p}_{3/2},$ ${3d}_{3/2},$ ${3d}_{5/2},$ and $4s$ states of sodium and sodiumlike ions with nuclear charges $Z$ in the range 12--16. Hyperfine constants are evaluated for each state, and reduced dipole matrix elements are determined for ${3p}_{1/2}$-$3s$, ${3p}_{3/2}$-$3s$, ${3d}_{3/2}$-${3p}_{1/2},$ ${3d}_{3/2}$-${3p}_{3/2},$ ${3d}_{5/2}$-${3p}_{3/2},$ $4s$-${3p}_{1/2},$ and $4s$-${3p}_{3/2}$ transitions. The calculations include single and double excitations of the Hartree-Fock ground state to all orders in perturbation theory. Corrections to energies are made for a dominant class of triple excitations. The Breit interaction, with all-order correlation corrections, is evaluated. Reduced-mass and mass-polarization corrections are included to third order in perturbation theory. The predicted removal energies, when corrected for the Lamb shift, agree with experiment at the 1--20-${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ level of accuracy for all states considered. Theoretical fine-structure intervals agree with measurements to about 0.3% for $3p$ states and to about 3% for $3d$ states. Theoretical hyperfine constants and line strengths agree with precise measurements to better than 0.3%.
Design innovations and baseline findings in a long-term parkinson’s trial: The national institute of neurological disorders and stroke exploratory trials in parkinson’s disease long-term study-1

Based on the preclinical data and the results of a phase II futility study, creatine was selected for an efficacy trial in Parkinson's disease (PD). We present the design rationale and a description of the study cohort at baseline. A randomized, multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled phase III study of creatine (10 g daily) in participants with early, treated PD, the Long-term Study-1 (LS-1), is being conducted by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Exploratory Trials in Parkinson's Disease network. The study utilizes a global statistical test (GST) encompassing five clinical rating scales to provide a multidimensional assessment of disease progression. A total of 1,741 PD participants from 45 sites in the United States and Canada were randomized 1:1 to either 10 g of creatine/day or matching placebo. Participants are being evaluated for a minimum of 5 years. The LS-1 baseline cohort includes participants treated with dopaminergic therapy and generally mild PD. LS-1 represents the largest cohort of patients with early treated PD ever enrolled in a clinical trial. The GST approach should provide high power to test the hypothesis that daily administration of creatine (10 g/day) is more effective than placebo in slowing clinical decline in PD between baseline and the 5-year follow-up visit against the background of dopaminergic therapy and best PD care.
Diagnosis of Aortic Dissection by Computed Tomography

Abstract A case of ruptured type 3 aortic dissection is reported, in which a biplane thoracic aorto-gram failed to show the abnormality while a contrast enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated the correct diagnosis. The value of CT scanning in diagnosing aortic dissections and atherosclerotic aneurysms of the thoracic aorta is discussed.
Muscle volume and motor development in spastic cerebral palsy

describe volumetric deﬁcits in the medial gastrocnemiiof young children (2–5y) with spastic CP of 22%. Their paperis important because it challenges a prevalent view that thedevelopment of musculoskeletal deformity is associated withthe older child. The age range of the participants in this paperis such that the authors come tantalizingly close to answeringa fundamental question of muscular deformity and develop-ment in spastic CP: ‘Is delayed muscle development causedsolely by disuse secondary to the delayed acquisition of com-promised motor skills or is lack of muscle development moredirectly related to the superposition of cerebral injuries on adeveloping motor system?’ If the latter, then lack of plantar-ﬂexor muscle growth in infancy may be an important factor tothe delayed acquisition of motor milestones and even, in part,responsible for the persistent toe-walking pattern observed inthis group.How can deﬁcits in calf muscle volume contribute to thedevelopment of a toe-walking pattern? The members of theplantarﬂexor muscle group are essential to the maintenance ofstanding balance and, in gait, to the support and progressionof the body. In the typically developing, these muscles appearto work at close to 50% of their capacity during heel-toe walk-ing.
Simulation and weights of multiple cues for robust object recognition

Reliable recognition of objects is an important capability in order to have agents accomplish and assist in a variety of useful tasks such as search and rescue or office assistance. Numerous approaches attempt to recognize objects based on visual cues alone. However, the same type of object can have very different visual appearances, such as shape, size, pose, color. Although such approaches are widely studied with relative success, the general task of object recognition still remains difficult. In previous work, we introduced MCOR (multiple-cue object recognition), a flexible object recognition approach which can use any multiple cues, whether they are visual cues intrinsic to the object or provided by observation of a human. As part of the framework, weights were provided to reflect the variation in the strength of the association between a particular cue and an object. In this paper, we demonstrate how the probabilistic relational framework used to determine the weights can be used in complex scenarios with numerous objects, cues, and the relationship between them. We develop a simulator that can generate these complex scenarios using cues based on real recognition systems.
An online algorithm for constrained POMDPs

This work seeks to address the problem of planning in the presence of uncertainty and constraints. Such problems arise in many situations, including the basis of this work, which involves planning for a team of first responders (both humans and robots) operating in an urban environment. The problem is framed as a Partially-Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) with constraints, and it is shown that even in a relatively simple planning problem, modeling constraints as large penalties does not lead to good solutions. The main contribution of the work is a new online algorithm that explicitly ensures constraint feasibility while remaining computationally tractable. Its performance is demonstrated on an example problem and it is demonstrated that our online algorithm generates policies comparable to an offline constrained POMDP algorithm.
Multiscale Conformational Dynamics of Trp-Cage by Markov State Models

The approximation of long time molecular dynamics of proteins by a Markov chain on a discrete set of states (Markov State Model or MSM) allows for a detailed description of equilibrium and kinetic properties of folding. MSMs also allow direct comparison to experimental ensemble observables, which makes them a very appealing tool for analysis of Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. Here, we compare MSMs based on three different sets of MD simulations of the Trp-Cage miniprotein with equal sampling of 40 microseconds each. The three sets comprise of several short simulations, some medium lenght simulations and a few long simulations. Statistical and systematic errors on dynamical properties of the resulting models are compared and discussed which will help in the understanding of the construction and analysis of this type of models for more complex systems. We will describe the folding kinetics of the Trp-cage, including structural changes that occur within the folded state. This work has been funded by NSF MCB 1050966
The singularity mystery associated with a radially continuous Maxwell viscoelastic structure

The singularity problem associated with a radially continuous Maxwell viscoclastic structure is investigated. A special tool called the isolation function is developed. Results calculated using the isolation function show that the discrete model assumption is no longer valid when the viscoelastic parameter becomes a continuous function of radius. Continuous variations in the upper mantle viscoelastic parameter are especially powerful in destroying the mode-like structures. The contribution to the load Love numbers of the singularities is sensitive to the convexity of the viscoelastic parameter models. The difference between the vertical response and the horizontal response found in layered viscoelastic parameter models remains with continuous models.
Trapping efficiency and associated mortality of incidentally captured small mammals during herpetofaunal surveys of temporary wetlands

Pitfall-trapping used in conjunction with drift-fence arrays is a common and effective means for detecting herpetofauna and small terrestrial mammals. A concern when using less-selective trapping methods is the impact of capture on target and non-target species. We compared capture and mortality rates of non-target species during a herpetofaunal study of temporary wetlands on forested lands in Mississippi, USA, March 2004–March 2006. We compared rates from pitfall traps, double-ended funnel traps, and pitfall traps combined with anti-predator wire exclusions along drift-fence arrays in 4 isolated upland and 6 floodplain ephemeral pools. We monitored traps daily for 23 5–10-day trap periods over a 2-year period. We captured 10 small mammal species (216 captures) on upland sites and 8 species (256 captures) on floodplain sites. Southern short-tailed shrews (Blarina carolinensis) and mice (Peromyscus spp.) accounted for 94% of total captures. Southern short-tailed shrews and mice suffered 76% and 52% mortality. Capture and mortality rates for small mammals were similar in un-excluded pitfall traps and excluded pitfall traps. Because of potential impact of pitfall-trapping on small mammals, we recommend researchers either alter trapping methods to address mortality in non-target species or work cooperatively using an integrated survey approach for both herpetofauna and small mammals. © 2014 The Wildlife Society.
Symmetry conditions on jump rates occurring in relaxation times associated with point defect motion between equivalent general sites in crystals

Abstract Relaxation times for mechanical or dielectric relaxation processes associated with atomic jump frequencies which are all symmetrically equivalent may differ for algebraic reasons but are usually of the same order of magnitude. If two or more symmetrically inequivalent jump rates are necessary for the relaxation process, the relaxation times may differ by orders of magnitude. Symmetry considerations can give the maximum and the minimum number of symmetrically inequivalent jump rates required. The results have been tabulated for the most general type of point defect neighboring a fixed trapping center for the case of complete removal of degeneracy.
Polyallylammonium Ferrocyanide Films for Trace Water Detection in Halogenated Solvents

Polyallylammonium films with electrostatically bound ferrocyanide were formed by electrochemically reducing ferricyanide ions in the presence of polyallylammonium chloride. These films could be deposited onto the surfaces of Pt, Au or SnO2 electrodes. In anhydrous organic electrolyte solutions, these films are electroinactive but become electroactive after the addition of trace water. For concentrations of water from 0.0 to 0.12% in chlorinated solvents, the electroactivity is linear with water concentration. The linearity between concentration of water and electroactivity can be exploited to develop a subsaturation trace water sensor.
Blood acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase as biomarkers of cholinesterase depression among pesticide handlers

Objective Agricultural pesticide handlers are at an elevated risk for overexposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides, but symptoms can be difficult to recognise, making biomarkers invaluable for diagnosis. Occupational monitoring programmes for cholinesterase depression generally rely on measuring activity of either of the two common blood cholinesterases which serve as proxy measurements for nervous-system acetylcholinesterase activity: red blood cell acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and plasma butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). These biomarkers, however, may be affected differentially by some OPs and the relationship between them has not been well characterised. We aim to determine the association between blood AChE and BChE activity levels and assess whether they produce comparable classifications of clinical cholinesterase depression among OP pesticide handlers. Methods Using blood samples from 215 participants of the Washington State Cholinesterase Monitoring Program, we quantified changes in AChE and BChE activity from before and after exposure to OP pesticides and calculated Pearson correlation statistics for correlation of AChE and BChE changes in activity, as well as weighted κ statistics for agreement of classification of clinical cholinesterase depression based on AChE versus BChE measurements. Results AChE and BChE activity measurements are weakly negatively correlated in our study population. Reaching a clinical threshold for diagnosis of cholinesterase depression based on the AChE marker did not correlate with reaching clinical depression based on the BChE marker. Conclusions Both AChE and BChE should be measured in monitoring programmes because they may both give potentially important but disparate classifications of clinical cholinesterase depression.
Preparation and characterization of high and low CaO/SiO 2 ratio “pure” C–S–H for chemically bonded ceramics

A type of solidified “pure” C–S–H (calcium silicate hydrate) has been prepared by hydrating mixtures of synthesized Ca3SiO5(C3S) and silica fume at very low water/solid (w/s) ratios (< 0.15). The mechanical properties (splitting tensile strength), stoichiometry, and microstructure of hydration products have been investigated. Results are reported here in which 12.03%−41.56% (by weight) silica fume was added to C3S. It has been found that the strength of the materials with CaO/SiO2(C/S) molar ratio of 1.5 is comparatively higher than that of the others, after curing from 1 day to 28 days. The homogeneity and rheology are of direct importance to the formation of the calcium silicate bonding, which influences greatly the mechanical properties. The hydrates are primarily C–S–H with only small amounts of Ca(OH)2. The compositions of the solidified C–S–H are (1.33–1.37) CaO·SiO2. (1.02–1.21) H2O and (1.40–1.19)CaO·SiO2.(0.68–0.91)H2O for mixtures of C/S = 1.5 and 0.83, respectively. The characterization of the chemically bonded materials by Wn (nonevaporable water), density, x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies has been carried out. The relationships between these characteristics and the strength are discussed.
GENERALITY OF LEAF TRAIT RELATIONSHIPS: A TEST ACROSS SIX BIOMES

Convergence in interspecific leaf trait relationships across diverse taxonomic groups and biomes would have important evolutionary and ecological implications. Such convergence has been hypothesized to result from trade-offs that limit the combination of plant traits for any species. Here we address this issue by testing for biome differences in the slope and intercept of interspecific relationships among leaf traits: longevity, net pho- tosynthetic capacity (Amax), leaf diffusive conductance (Gs), specific leaf area (SLA), and nitrogen (N) status, for more than 100 species in six distinct biomes of the Americas. The six biomes were: alpine tundra-subalpine forest ecotone, cold temperate forest-prairie ecotone, montane cool temperate forest, desert shrubland, subtropical forest, and tropical rain forest. Despite large differences in climate and evolutionary history, in all biomes mass-based leaf N (Nmass), SLA, Gs, and Amax were positively related to one another and decreased with increasing leaf life span. The relationships between pairs of leaf traits exhibited similar slopes among biomes, suggesting a predictable set of scaling relationships among key leaf morphological, chemical, and metabolic traits that are replicated globally among terrestrial ecosystems regardless of biome or vegetation type. However, the intercept (i.e., the overall elevation of regression lines) of relationships between pairs of leaf traits usually differed among biomes. With increasing aridity across sites, species had greater Amax for a given level of Gs and lower SLA for any given leaf life span. Using principal components analysis, most variation among species was explained by an axis related to mass-based leaf traits (Amax, N, and SLA) while a second axis reflected climate, Gs, and other area-based leaf traits.
Transaction Costs and Cattle Marketing: The Information Content of Seller-Provided Presale Data at Bull Auctions

At sales out breeding bulls, prospective buyers have strong incentives to undertake presale measurement activities. To reduce these transaction costs, sellers often provide information on sale bulls. We examine the information content of two measures of the expected performance of the bulls and find that within a given herd, older, simpler measures of performance contain more information about prices (from buyers' perspectives) than newer, more sophisticated measures known as expected progeny differences, or EPDs. We also find, however, that buyers appear to pay considerable attention to annual changes in herd‐average EPD values when comparing animals from different sellers.
Measurement of sulfur dioxide in the post-combustion environment

Tunable Atomic Line Molecular Spectroscopy (TALMS) has been used to measure sulfur dioxide in the post flame region of an atmospheric pressure stoichiometric methane/air flame. The technique is sensitive and highly selective and thus is useful for research and commercial applications. Response is linear to 20,000 ppM in a 7 cm path length, with a limit of detection of approx. 2000 ppM at 1500 K and approx. 40 ppM at 300 K. Ultraviolet absorption spectra of SO/sub 2/ were recorded in the 205 to 220 nm range at various temperatures, and reveal significant broadening due to rotational redistribution at the higher temperatures, and no interference from other combustion products. TALMS signal dependence on magnetic field strength confirms that the same transition is observed in the flame as at room temperature. Fluorescent quenching of SO/sub 2/ by combustion products were measured in a Thermo Electron model 40 analyzer. Plots of S/sub 0//S-1 are linear and yield relative quenching coefficients which increase in the order: Ar, CO/sub 2/, O/sub 2/, H/sub 2/, CH/sub 4/, CO, and C/sub 6/H/sub 6/. Significant quenching corrections are needed to accurately determine SO/sub 2/ concentrations in combustion mixtures, especially for the case of rich combustion, where largemore » concentrations of CO, unburned hydrocarbons, and aromatic soot precursors may be present. 28 references, 6 figures, 1 table.« less
Using an Evolutionary Agent-Based System for Classification Tasks

The ClassAge system is a multi-agent system for classification tasks. This system was proposed as an attempt to include the idea of intelligent agents in the structure of multi-classifier systems (MCSs). Also, it is aimed to overcome some drawbacks of MCSs and, as a consequence, to improve the performance of such systems. In this paper, an extension of ClassAge is presented. Basically, an optimization technique is used to optimize the functioning of ClassAge. Also, each ClassAge agent is composed of a group of classifiers, instead of one classifier that was used in the original version.
Efficient Algorithms for the Inference of Minimum Size DFAs

This work describes algorithms for the inference of minimum size deterministic automata consistent with a labeled training set. The algorithms presented represent the state of the art for this problem, known to be computationally very hard. In particular, we analyze the performance of algorithms that use implicit enumeration of solutions and algorithms that perform explicit search but incorporate a set of techniques known as dependency directed backtracking to prune the search tree effectively. We present empirical results that show the comparative efficiency of the methods studied and discuss alternative approaches to this problem, evaluating their advantages and drawbacks.
Quantification of West Nile virus in the saliva of Culex species collected from the southern United States.

ABSTRACT Culex quinquefasciatus, Cx. restuans, Cx. pipiens complex, and Cx. nigripalpus were collected as larvae or egg rafts from the southern USA. Adult female mosquitoes were intrathoracically inoculated with ~1,000 plaque-forming units of West Nile virus (WNV) and saliva was collected from them 5 days later. The amount of infectious WNV in the saliva samples was quantified by plaque assay and WNV RNA was detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). More than 90% of the mosquitoes had either infectious virus or viral RNA in their saliva. The RT-PCR assay detected a greater percent of samples with WNV RNA than the plaque assay detected infectious virus. Pairwise comparisons revealed 6 significant differences between the 7 groups surveyed. The Cx. nigripalpus secreted lower mean amounts of WNV than 3 other groups, and a difference was found between early- and late-season Cx. quinquefasciatus collected in Louisiana.
Estimating Incident Solar Radiation at the Surface from Geostationary Satellite Data

Abstract Solar radiant energy incident at the earth's surface is a quantity of increasing importance in agricultural monitoring and solar power development. An experiment was undertaken in the summer of 1977 to determine if incoming visible radiation at the surface could be estimated from geostationary meteorological satellite data. The experiment entailed the collection of coincident satellite, conventional meteorological and pyranometer data over the Great Plains of the United States. Regression techniques were used to estimate hourly insolation from the satellite data. Hourly estimates were summed to give daily total insolation. The standard error of the satellite-derived daily insolation when compared against pyranometers was 10% of the mean, an accuracy more than sufficient for most agricultural uses. Problems of producing insolation operationally from both geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites are discussed.
Using Journaling To Extract Greater Meaning From The Internship Experience

Every year, over a million college students embark on an internship or cooperative experience. They do it to get experience, to explore their chosen field, as a “rite of passage”, to make professional contacts, or to put a line on their resume to help them get a job upon graduation. No matter what the primary reason, most students could get a great deal from this experience. The internship can be an unique opportunity from which the student can learn about the nature of a particular job, career, organization or industry and most importantly, themselves. One way to successfully capture this experience and extract additional meaning from it, is by keeping a journal of the internship experience. Keeping a journal develops an active and reflective learning posture rather than merely a passive one and thus aids in grasping more of what the internship experience has to offer. A three step process for journaling the internship is presented. Excerpts from a student's journal, the identification of student and faculty benefits from this exercise as well as suggestions and recommendations for faculty are also presented.
Human kidney proximal tubules are the main source of plasma glutathione peroxidase

The sites of synthesis of extracellular (E) glutathione peroxidase (GPX), a unique selenoglycoprotein present in plasma, are not known. To investigate the possibility that the kidney is the main source for the plasma GPX, we examined GPX activities and selenium concentrations in the plasma of patients with renal failure on dialysis and nephrectomized patients before and after kidney transplantation. Plasma GPX activities in these patients were 42, 22, and 180% of normal EGPX activity, respectively, whereas plasma Se levels were within the normal range. Twenty-four hours after nephrectomy of anesthetized rats, plasma GPX activity was 30.0 +/- 6.4% of the activity at zero time. Northern hybridization analysis of eight human tissues probed with EGPX and cellular glutathione peroxidase (CGPX) cDNA revealed that the ratio of EGPX to CGPX was highest in the kidney. cRNA in situ hybridization studies on kidney slices showed that only proximal tubular epithelial cells and parietal epithelial cells of Bowman's capsule contained EGPX transcripts. Caki-2, a proximal tubular renal carcinoma cell line, makes and actively secretes EGPX. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that kidney proximal tubular cells are the main source for GPX activity in the plasma.