cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Simulating International Drought Experiment field observations using the Community Land Model

Abstract Anthropogenic climate change will alter regional hydrologic cycles around the world, in part by increasing the frequency or duration of droughts in some areas. The International Drought Experiment (IDE) is investigating the impact of severe drought on terrestrial vegetation by experimentally reducing precipitation at dozens of sites. Here we implement the IDE precipitation reduction protocol using the Community Land Model (CLM). Though many model results suggest that carbon fertilization will outpace drought-caused reduction of terrestrial carbon uptake, uncertainty is large. We therefore configure CLM to consider carbon cycling impacts of reduced moisture availability without intertwining the effects of carbon fertilization or phenological changes. California hosts a number of IDE sites and a wide range of topography, climate, and biomes. CMIP5 predictions suggest 21st century California will experience droughts in excess of the 1000-year climatological record for both frequency and magnitude. CLM suggests that some regions, including much of Northern California, may experience a steeper decline in gross primary productivity (GPP) during 21st century severe droughts than during 20th century severe droughts. Vegetation in Northern California experiences virtually all of this GPP reduction during the dry season, with little wet season GPP reduction even during severe drought. Southern California vegetation experiences soil moisture GPP limitation at virtually all times, increasing substantially with drought severity. Southern California should experience a more pronounced shift in GPP seasonality and decline in magnitude relative to Northern California during droughts. Some parts of every vegetated continent see changes to drought response and seasonality similar to Southern California. Our CLM results provide drought impacts that forthcoming IDE field observations may test, can help to spatially upscale site-based IDE observations of drought impact, and provide CLM's prediction of reduced precipitation impacts per unit leaf area index.
Size effects in energy transport between thermal contacts mediated by nanoparticles.

We investigate size effects in phononic energy transport in a system of two nanoparticles interconnected by a molecule and attached to thermal contacts also by molecules. In the considered closed system, the nanoparticles and contacts are described by ensembles of finite numbers of harmonic oscillators within the Drude-Ullersma model. The macroscopic character of the contacts is simulated by a large value of the ratio Δ/Δ_{B}=n (n>100) of mode spacings Δ and Δ_{B} corresponding to the nanoparticles and contacts, respectively. Quasistatic energy transport on the timescale Δ^{-1} is investigated. Equations describing the dynamics of the averaged eigenmode energies that belong to the nanoparticles and contacts are derived and solved. The resulting expressions for the energy current exiting (entering) the contacts as well as the energy current between the nanoparticles are obtained and investigated. The latter current accounts for energy accumulation by (depletion from) the nanoparticles. The finite size effects result in reversibility features and peculiarities at time moments t=2πlΔ^{-1} for non-negative integers l. They are qualitatively the same as in a previously studied system of two equal nanoparticles mediated by a molecule, despite the presence of the macroscopic contacts. The thermal conductance of the whole nanojunction is derived and explored. The energy currents and thermal conductance of the nanojunction in a case when its parameters are known from the experiment are computed using the developed model.
Fermi/Pauli Duality in Arbitrary Dimension

We propose an exact map from commuting lattice spin systems with gauge interactions to fermionic models in an arbitrary number of dimensions.
Influence of Expertise on Perception and Understanding on Viewing a Molecular Animation of the Lung Endothelial Surface Layer and its Role in Inflammation

At the University of Illinois College of Medicine Anesthesiology Research department, lung trauma researchers aimed to generate interest in the importance of the lung endothelial surface layer in inflammation. However, they had difficulty describing the dynamic molecular structure of the lung endothelial surface layer and its role in inflammatory processes in the lung. A 3D animation was created because of its ability to communicate a rich and complex molecular narrative. Prior studies have shown that, for scientific animations, level of expertise of the viewer influences how an animation is perceived. This study aimed to improve lung trauma researchers’ ability to generate interest in their research and to assess if prior knowledge affects how biomedical animations are perceived in terms of engagement by analyzing eye-tracking.
The impact of patient-centered medical home certification on quality of care for patients with diabetes.

OBJECTIVE To identify the impact of changes surrounding certification as a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) on outcomes for patients with diabetes. STUDY SETTING Minnesota legislation established mandatory quality reporting for patients with diabetes and statewide standards for certification as a PCMH. Patient-level quality reporting data (2008-2018) were used to study the impact of transition to a PCMH. STUDY DESIGN Achievement of Minnesota's optimal diabetes care standard-in aggregate and by component-was modeled for adult patients with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes as a function of time relative to the year the patient's primary care practice achieved PCMH certification. Patients from uncertified practices were used to control for general trend. Practice-level random effects captured time-invariant characteristics of practices and the practices' average patient. DATA COLLECTION Electronic health record data were submitted by 695 Minnesota practices capturing components of the quality standard: blood sugar control, cholesterol control, blood pressure control, nonsmoking status, and use of aspirin. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The first cohort of practices achieving PCMH certification (July 2010-June 2014) showed statistically insignificant changes in optimal care. The next cohort of practices (July 2014-June 2018) achieved larger, clinically meaningful increases in quality of care during the time prior to and following certification. Specifically, this second cohort of practices was estimated to achieve a 12.8 percentage-point improvement (P < .001) in the predicted probability of providing optimal diabetes care over the period spanning 3 years before to 3 years after certification. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the initial cohort of certified practices was already performing at a high level before certification, perhaps requiring little change in their operations to achieve PCMH certification. The second cohort, on the other hand, made meaningful, quality-improving changes in the years surrounding certification. Differences by cohort may partially explain the inconsistent PCMH impacts found in the literature.
Hemodynamic and Clinical Implications of Impaired Pulmonary Vascular Reserve in the Fontan Circulation

Abstract Background Pulmonary vascular disease, pulmonary endothelial dysfunction, liver fibrosis, renal disease, and exercise intolerance are common in adults with Fontan physiology. Although the ...
Evaluation of a novel corn-expressed phytase on growth performance and bone mineralization in broilers fed different levels of dietary nonphytate phosphorus

Summary An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary nonphytate phosphorus level and a novel corn-expressed phytase (GraINzyme, Agrivida Inc., Woburn, MA) supplementation on broiler growth performance and bone mineralization. Broilers were fed graded levels of nonphytate phosphorus from 0.20 to 0.44% increased by 0.06% and 4 levels of corn-expressed phytase (500; 1,500; 3,000; and 4,500 FTU/kg). Dicalcium phosphate was used as the reference for inorganic phosphorous. Increasing dietary nonphytate phosphorus level or supplementation of phytase linearly (P
Dominant Remodeling of Cattle Rumen Microbiome by Schedonorus arundinaceus (Tall Fescue) KY-31 Carrying a Fungal Endophyte

Abstract Tall fescue KY-31 feeds ~20% of the beef cattle in the United States. It carries a fungal endophyte that produces ergovaline, which causes toxicosis in cattle, leading to $2 billion revenue loss annually. The MaxQ cultivar of the grass is non-toxic, but less attractive economically. To develop ways of mitigating the toxicity, the rumen microbiome of cattle consuming KY-31 and MaxQ have been analyzed, principally for identifying ergovaline transforming microorganisms and often using fecal microbiome as a surrogate. We have hypothesized that KY-31 not only causes toxicosis, but also impacts rumen metabolism broadly, and tested the hypothesis by analyzing rumen microbiome compositions of cattle that grazed MaxQ with an intervening KY-31 grazing period with 16S rRNA-V4 element as identifier. We found that KY-31 remodeled the cellulolytic and saccharolytic communities substantially. This effect was not evident at whole microbiome levels but in the compositions of sessile and planktonic fractions. A move from MaxQ to KY-31 lowered the Firmicutes abundance in the sessile fraction and increased it in planktonic part and caused an opposite effect for Bacteroidetes, although the total abundances of these dominant rumen organisms remained unchanged. In the sessile fraction, the abundances of Fibrobacter, which degrades less degradable fibers, and certain cellulolytic Firmicutes such as Pseudobutyrivibrio and Butyrivibrio 2, dropped, and these losses were apparently compensated by increased occurrences of Eubacterium and specific Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae. In planktonic fraction the Tenericutes’ abundance increased as saccharolytic Bacteroidetes’ level dropped. Several potential ergovaline degraders were enriched. A return to MaxQ restored the original Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes distributions. However, the Fibrobacter and Butyrivibrio 2 abundances remained low and their substitutes maintained significant presence. The rumen microbiome was influenced minimally by animals’ fescue toxicosis and was distinct from previously reported fecal microbiomes in composition. In summary, KY-31 and MaxQ cultivars of tall fescue were digested in the cattle rumen with distinct consortia and the KY-31-specific features were dominant. The study highlighted the importance of analyzing sessile and planktonic fractions separately.
Occupancy Estimation Using Thermal Imaging Sensors and Machine Learning Algorithms

Occupancy estimation has a broad range of applications in security, surveillance, traffic and resource management in smart building environments. Low-resolution thermal imaging sensors can be used for real-time non-intrusive occupancy estimation. Such sensors have a resolution that is too low to identify occupants, but it may provide sufficient data for real-time occupancy estimation. In this paper, we present a systematic study of three thermal imaging sensors with different resolutions, with a focus on sensor characterization, estimation algorithms, and comparative analysis of occupancy estimation performance. A unified processing algorithms pipeline for occupancy estimation is presented and the performance of three sensors are compared side-by-side. A number of specific algorithms are proposed for pre-processing of sensor data, feature extraction, and fine-tuning of the occupancy estimation algorithms. Our results show that it is possible to achieve about 99% accuracy for occupancy estimation with our proposed approach, which might be sufficient for many practical smart building applications.
Circadian rhythms and the HPA axis: A systems view

The circadian timing system comprises a network of time-keeping clocks distributed across a living host whose responsibility is to allocate resources and distribute functions temporally to optimize fitness. The molecular structures generating these rhythms have evolved to accommodate the rotation of the earth in an attempt to primarily match the light/dark periods during the 24-hr day. To maintain synchrony of timing across and within tissues, information from the central clock, located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, is conveyed using systemic signals. Leading among those signals are endocrine hormones, and while the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis through the release of glucocorticoids is a major pacesetter. Interestingly, the fundamental units at the molecular and physiological scales that generate local and systemic signals share critical structural properties. These properties enable time-keeping systems to generate rhythmic signals and allow them to adopt specific properties as they interact with each other and the external environment. The purpose of this review is to provide a broad overview of these structures, discuss their functional characteristics, and describe some of their fundamental properties as these related to health and disease. This article is categorized under: Immune System Diseases > Computational Models Immune System Diseases > Biomedical Engineering.
MOSFETS Power Consumption and Power Dissipation Calculation

Metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors are usually called MOSFET. Nowadays, MOSFET is one of the most crucial electrical components that engineers usually use when constructing laptops and desktop computers. A large number of MOSFETS are usually integrated together to form control and logic functions of computers CPU. Thus, it is essential for electrical engineers to know what type of MOSFETS is appropriate for them to use when designing the integrated circuits. Engineers can seek the answer through calculating two of the most basic and important components of MOSFET power consumption and power dissipation. This article walks through the steps of calculating the power consumption and power dissipation of MOSFETS to provide electrical engineers, students and circuit designers with a clear thought of how to do the calculation under some complex circumstances. MOSFETS power consumption calculation is different under 3 different modes which are cutoff mode, saturation mode and triode mode. Under cutoff mode, the power consumption is zero. Under saturation mode, power consumption is calculated by MOSFETS consume certain amount of power and the total amount of power can be calculated by finding integral of the IV curve. For triode mode, power consumption can be determined by the equation derived later in the article. As for power dissipation, in this article, total power dissipation is divided into two parts which are switching power dissipation and resistive power dissipation. Then, each part of power dissipation is calculated by equations listed in the article and then added together which is the total power dissipation of MOSFETS.
RSK Isoforms in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Ribosomal S6 Kinases (RSKs) are a group of serine/threonine kinases that function downstream of the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway. Four RSK isoforms are directly activated by ERK1/2 in response to extracellular stimuli including growth factors, hormones, and chemokines. RSKs phosphorylate many cytosolic and nuclear targets resulting in the regulation of diverse cellular processes such as cell proliferation, survival, and motility. In hematological malignancies such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML), RSK isoforms are highly expressed and aberrantly activated resulting in poor outcomes and resistance to chemotherapy. Therefore, understanding RSK function in leukemia could lead to promising therapeutic strategies. This review summarizes the current information on human RSK isoforms and discusses their potential roles in the pathogenesis of AML and mechanism of pharmacological inhibitors.
Geoelectric survey of the Granite Gravel aquifer, Llano Uplift, Central Texas, to determine locations for water wells

Abstract An electrical geophysical survey was completed within a small area of the Llano Uplift of central Texas to determine locations to install two water wells in the Granite Gravel aquifer (GGA). Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) was performed along two 188-m long profiles that intersected at the approximate center of a 100-m by 100-m self-potential (SP) map. The ERT survey was completed to map two-dimensional (2D) electric resistivity distributions in the GGA and the underlying Precambrian Town Mountain Granite (TMG) bedrock , whereas SP mapping was performed to delineate apparent streaming potential anomalies at the land surface that appeared correlated to the subsurface resistivity distributions, which exhibited strong lateral heterogeneity in the upper 35 m of the weathered layer that comprises the GGA. The depth to TMG bedrock, as shown by the resistivity distributions, varied substantially over relatively small profile distances and surface areas; however, the general electrical structure showed resistivity increasing with depth, beginning with a thin electrically conductive layer at the surface characterized by resistivity in the range of about 30–100 Ω-m, followed by a resistivity increase to 300–500 Ω-m at a depth that coincided with the water-table depth observed in the installed water wells. Resistivity of the TMG bedrock was generally greater than 500 Ω-m and exceeded 1000 Ω-m in some locations of the tomograms. Electrical structure beneath the survey area, as shown by the 2D resistivity distributions beneath the ERT profiles, delineated a relatively thick weathered section of GGA that spatially aligned with a conspicuous negative anomaly observed in the SP map after electrode-drift and terrain corrections were made. The combination of ERT and SP mapping guided selection of locations for two productive water wells within the small survey area despite substantial heterogeneity in the weathering profile of the GGA beneath the survey area.
Oscillations of Real Numbers

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses sets of reals where the function osc takes all finite values. The first such set was found in connection with the Ramsey problem of the uncountable. It gave the first example of a partition of an uncountable square with properties very different from the properties of standard partitions of uncountable squares obtained by intersecting two total orderings. Because of the cardinal invariant involved, the example has a meager relevance to the Ramsey problem of the uncountable. However, it turned out to be useful in considering some other problems concerning the uncountable. The analysis of osc begins by introducing several useful technical definitions. The chapter also presents the main technical Lemma that shows how one finds two reals with a prescribed oscillation.
Reflections on New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 50 Years Later

The Supreme Court's ruling in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan depends crucially on the concept of statements being "true" or "false" and one's knowledge thereof. This principle, however, fails to account for the wide range of statements people make or intentions people have when making a statement. This article explores the concept of journalism; the various theories justifying First Amendment protection; how those theories relate to the Court's decision in Sullivan; the strengths and weakness of various theories and the Sullivan decision in protecting journalism as an activity; and the practical impact that Sullivan has had on the practice of journalism and protection for speech. It concludes that Sullivan certainly had an impact on media organizations, but the legal principles that have flowed from the ruling are not always consistent with the needs or interests of excellent journalism. This paper was part of UNC's First Amendment Law Review's Symposium on the 50th Anniversary of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan.
Mesostructured clay catalysts: a new porous clay heterostructure (PCH) derived from synthetic saponite

Abstract A novel mesoporous intercalate belonging to the class of mesostructured solid acids known as porous clay heterostructures (PCH) has been synthesized through the surfactant — directed assembly of silica in the two — dimensional galleries of saponite. The new saponite PCH, denoted SAP-PCH, exhibits a basal spacing of 32.9 , a BET surface area of 850 m 2 /g and pore volume of 0.46 cm 3 /g. SAP-PCH is an effective catalyst for the condensed phase Friedel-Crafts alkylation of bulky 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol (DBP) with cinnamyl alcohol to produce a large flavan, namely, 6,8-di-tert-butyl-2,3-dihydro[4H]benzopyran.
An Administrative Perspective of Bilingual Education: Field Survey.

(1984). An Administrative Perspective of Bilingual Education: Field Survey. NABE Journal: Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 83-86.
Adolescent Reactions to Maternal Responsiveness and Internalizing Symptomatology: A Daily Diary Investigation.

A daily diary methodology was employed to gather teens’ perceptions of maternal responsiveness to daily stressful events and teens’ reactions to maternal responsiveness in a diverse sample (792 entries from 104 teens; 81% African American, mean age 13.7 years). Additionally, parents and teens completed baseline reports of internalizing symptoms. Diary findings were congruent with prior studies employing self-report measures of global maternal responses to emotion (e.g., higher probability of Accepting reactions to supportive responses, higher probabilities of Attack, Avoid-Withdraw reactions to non-supportive responses). Elevated baseline internalizing symptoms were related to perception of elevated Punish and Magnify responses during the week, and more Avoidant (Avoid-Withdraw and Avoid-Protect) reactions to responsiveness. Results are discussed in the context of reciprocal emotion socialization processes.
Developmental toxicity assay using high content screening of zebrafish embryos

ABSTRACT: Typically, time-consuming standard toxicological assays using the zebraﬁsh (Danio rerio) embryo model evaluatemortality and teratogenicity after exposure during the ﬁrst 2days post-fertilization. Here we describe an automated image-based high content screening (HCS) assay to identify the teratogenic/embryotoxic potential of compounds in zebraﬁshembryos in vivo. Automated image acquisition was performed using a high content microscope system. Further automatedanalysis of embryo length, as a statistically quantiﬁable endpoint of toxicity, was performed on images post-acquisition.The biological effects of ethanol, nicotine, ketamine, caffeine, dimethyl sulfoxide and temperature on zebraﬁsh embryoswere assessed. This automated developmental toxicity assay, based on a growth-retardation endpoint should be suitablefor evaluating the effects of potential teratogens and developmental toxicants in a high throughput manner. This approachcan signiﬁcantly expedite the screening of potential teratogens and developmental toxicants, thereby improving the currentrisk assessment process by decreasing analysis time and required resources. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Governmentwork and is in the public domain in the USA.Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article at the publisher’s web-site.Keywords: zebraﬁshembryo;highcontentscreening;automatedimaging;integratedmorphometricanalysis;ethanol;nicotine;ketamine
Correction: A supramolecular approach for designing emissive solid-state carbazole arrays

Correction for ‘A supramolecular approach for designing emissive solid-state carbazole arrays’ by Liubov M. Lifshits et al., Chem. Commun., 2015, 51, 11603–11606.
Algorithms for the fixed linear crossing number problem

several heuristics and an exact branch-and-bound algorithm are described for the fixed linear crossing number problem (FLCNP). An experimental study comparing the heuristics on a large set of test graphs is given. FLCNP is similar to the 2-page book crossing number problem in which the vertices of a graph are optimally placed on a horizontal "node line" in the plane, each edge is drawn as an arc in one half-plane (page), and the objective is to minimize the number of edge crossings. In this restricted version of the problem, the order of the vertices along the node line is predetermined and fixed. FLCNP belongs to the class of NP-hard optimization problems (IEEE Trans. Comput. 39 (1) (1990) 124). The heuristics are tested and compared on a variety of graphs including some "real world" instances of interconnection networks proposed as models for parallel computing. The experimental results indicate that a heuristic based on the neural network model yields near-optimal solutions and outperforms the other heuristics. Also, experiments show the exact algorithm to be feasible for graphs with up to 50 edges, in general, although the quality of the initial upper bound is more critical to runing time than graph size.
Optimizing protein- and vitamin-fortified peanut spreads containing soybean or milk powder.

Response surface methodology was used to optimize total fat content and percentage of stabilizer in total fat (PSTF) to produce stable peanut spreads. Peanut spreads fortified with 5 vitamins, 2 minerals and 19% roasted soybean (PSS) or 14% nonfat dry milk (PSM) were formulated to match the amino acid profile requirement for 9–13 year old children. Contour plots using response surface regression models were generated at a restricted range of total fat content of 39% to 47% and PSTF of 1.2 to 3.2 for optimization. For PSM, fat content did not affect the texture if PSTF remained constant. When PSTF increased, the hardness and the stability of peanut spreads increased. However, both fat content and the percentage of stabilizer in total fat influenced the texture and stability of PSS.
Comprehension of the Communicative Intent Behind Pointing and Gazing Gestures by Young Children with Williams Syndrome or Down Syndrome

Purpose In this study, the authors examined the ability of preschoolers with Williams syndrome (WS) or Down syndrome (DS) to infer communicative intent as expressed through gestures (pointing and e...
Estrogen suppression induces papillary gingival overgrowth in pregnant baboons.

Background: Alterations in sex steroids during pregnancy are associated with the development and exacerbation of reactive lesions involving the gingiva. Currently, few experimental animal models similar to humans are available to examine regulatory pathways involving sex steroids and the periodontium. Methods: In the present study, we used the baboon as a novel experimental model for the study of the regulatory actions of estrogen on the periodontium during pregnancy. Pregnant baboons (N = 5) were administered the potent, highly specific aromatase inhibitor CGS 20267 (2 mg/day subcutaneously) daily on days 60 through 165 of gestation (term = 184). Untreated females (N = 10) and females (5) concomitantly administered aromatase inhibitor and estradiol benzoate (2.0 mg/day each subcutaneously) served as controls. Gingival biopsies were taken between days 145 and 165 of gestation. Results: Administration of CGS 20267 in all females suppressed maternal serum concentrations of estradiol by 95% and induced the development of an exuberant papillomatous enlargement of the gingiva by gestational day 110, with the most prominent development involving the labial aspects of the anterior sextants. None of the untreated pregnant controls or females concomitantly administered aromatase inhibitor and estradiol benzoate developed gingival overgrowth. Thus, estradiol alone prevented the onset of gingival overgrowth induced by estrogen suppression. In all baboons, discontinuation of the aromatase inhibitor at time of cesarean section resulted in spontaneous regression and resolution of the papillomatous hyperplasia within 4 to 6 weeks. Clinically, the gingival papillary overgrowth was erythematous and edematous, with a propensity toward spontaneous subgingival hemorrhage. Histologically, the biopsy specimens demonstrated hyperplasia of the epithelium typified by mild hyperkeratosis, acanthosis, and elongation and isolated anastamoses of rete ridges. Subjacent to the intact epithelium was a loose connective tissue stroma with isolated areas of inflammatory cell infiltrate. Special stains verified the presence of isolated bacterial biofilms; however, no evidence of fungal filaments was present. Histological features suggestive of viral infection were notably absent in the epithelium. No evidence of viral particles or capsids was identified using transmission electron microscopy. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis, using a panel of degenerate primers, was negative for papilloma family viruses. Conclusions: These results are consistent with a significant role for estrogen during primate pregnancy in the regulation of cellular proliferation and differentiation within the gingiva. The baboon represents an important experimental model for studying the regulatory actions of estrogen on the periodontium during pregnancy. J Periodontol 2004;75:693-701.
Interfermometric tomographic measurement of an instantaneous flow field under adverse environments

Measurement of an instantaneous flow field by interferometric tomography, that is, reconstruction of a three-dimensional refractive-index field from multi-directional projection data, has been conducted. In order to simulate the expected experimental arrangement at a wind tunnel, reconstructions are made from a restricted view angle less than 40 degrees and incomplete projections. In addition, appreciable ambient air and experimental setup disturbances are present. A new phase-stepping technique, based on a generalized phase-stepping approach of a four-bucket model, is applied for expeditious and accurate phase information extraction from projection interferograms under the harsh environments. Phase errors caused by the various disturbances, which can include ambient refractive-index change, optical component disturbance, hologram repositioning error, etc., are partially compensated with a linear corrective model. A new computational tomographic technique based on a series expansion approach was also utilized to efficiently deal with arbitrary boundary shapes and the continuous flow fields in reconstruction. The results of the preliminary investigation are encouraging; however, the technique needs to be further developed in the future through refinement of the approaches reported here and through hybridization with previously developed techniques. Keywords: interferometry, tomography, phase stepping
The Role of Abandonment Value in Capital Asset Management

(1976). The Role of Abandonment Value in Capital Asset Management. The Engineering Economist: Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 53-62.
Environmental effects on a single electron box

Lafarge et al. (Zeitschrift fur Physik B 85 (1991) 327) have measured the average junction charge in a single electron box. Their results are in agreement with theoretical predictions at temperatures T above 100 mK but not at lower T values. We explain the lower T experimental results by incorporating quantum charge fluctuations due to the environment by use of a quantum Langevin equation model. It is shown that, at T = 0, the sawtooth shape of the junction charge, as predicted by existing theories, is rounded off by the quantum fluctuation effects. At finite temperature, the theory is compared with the experiments of Lafarge et al., nd a good fit is obtained at all the relevant temperatures.
Structure, G Protein Activation, and Functional Relevance of the Cardiac G Protein-Gated K+ Channel, IKACh

The muscarinic-gated atrial potassium channel IKACh has been well characterized functionally, and has been an excellent model system for studying G protein/effector interactions. Complementary DNAs encoding the composite subunits of IKACh have been identified, allowing direct probing of structural and functional features of the channel. Here, we highlight recent approaches taken in our laboratory to determine the oligomeric structure of native cardiac IKACh, the mechanism of activation of IKACh by G proteins, and the relevance of IKACh to cardiac physiology.
Multiplicity of Nitrogen Species in Silicon: The Impact on Vacancy Trapping

Nitrogen in silicon is known to affect dramatically the properties of voids. A plausible mechanism could be vacancy trapping by nitrogen interstitial species, mostly by the minor monomeric species (N1) with only a negligible contribution of the major dimeric species (N2). However, a more careful analysis of the published data shows that in Czochralski silicon no vacancy trapping occurs at the void formation stage (around 1100oC). The implication is that the trapping reaction, V + N1, although favoured thermodynamically, is of a negligible rate. Therefore, the nitrogen effect on voids in Czochralski Si is entirely due to nitrogen adsorption at the void surface. Quite a different mechanism operates in Float-Zoned crystals where voids are formed at lower T. Here vacancy trapping by N2 seems to be responsible for void suppression.
Distribution and elimination of brevetoxin PbTx-3 in rats

After i.v. administration, [3H]PbTx-3 was rapidly cleared from the blood; less than 10% remained after 1 min. Within 30 min, radiolabel distributed to skeletal muscle (69.5%), liver (18.0%), and intestinal tract (8.0%). Over 24 hr, radiolabel decreased in muscle, remained constant in liver, and increased in the intestinal tract and feces. Elimination occurred via feces (75.1%) and urine (14.4%), with 9.0% remaining in the carcass after 6 days. This distribution and elimination profile suggested that the liver was the major organ of metabolism and that biliary excretion was an important route of elimination. Thin-layer chromatography confirmed the presence of brevetoxin metabolites in fecal extracts. Skeletal muscle does not appear to be a site of metabolism, but a storage compartment, from which toxin is slowly released prior to clearance by the liver. These studies are the first demonstration of in vivo brevetoxin metabolism in mammals.
Differences between left and right suboccipital and intracranial vertebral artery dimensions: an influence on blood flow to the hindbrain?

Background and Purpose Although vertebral artery (VA) blood flow is adequate in normal circumstances, reduction in the dimensions of the vessel because of atherosclerosis, or compression or stretching, may lead to hindbrain hypoxia with serious clinical manifestations. Such effects may be more pronounced in VAs that are naturally smaller than the norm. Because normative data for the suboccipital (VA3) and intracranial (VA4) vertebral artery are not readily available, it was the aim of the present study to measure the dimensions of these distal parts of the VA, to inform professional practice of the possible influence of different vessel dimensions on blood flow to the hindbrain. Method The study was a laboratory-based observational or descriptive study. A total of 40 and 54 left and right, suboccipital and intracranial parts of the VA (n = 188 vessels), obtained from cadavers of females and males aged 20–80 years, was processed for light microscopic study and measurement of the dimensions of the vessels. The left and right inner and outer diameters, cross-sectional areas and the tunica media thicknesses were calculated in each part of the vessel and compared by use of t-tests. Results The histological structure of the VA was typical of a muscular or distributing artery. Although, in the total number of specimens, no statistically significant differences were found between left and right sides in either part of the vessel, a larger left than right VA4 was demonstrated in the females. The VA3 was significantly larger than VA4 in males and females, and all dimensions in both parts of the vessel were greatest in the older age group. Conclusions Reduced VA blood flow, whether because of atherosclerosis or compression or stretching of the vessel, is more likely to occur in arteries that are smaller than normal. This information is of value to clinicians in avoiding further compromising the VA and its blood flow during professional practice. Copyright © 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd.
Angiotensin II Release From Rabbit Intrarenal Arteries* A Critical Assessment

A microdissected rabbit intrarenal arterial network (IAN) perfused at constant flow with Krebs-bicarbonate solution was employed to determine whether this network, which has a high renin content, releases angiotensin II (AII) either spontaneously or during β-adrenergic stimulation. Six groups of experiments were conducted in which samples of the vascular effluent were collected on Sep Paks before and during intraluminal infusion of L-isoproterenol (1.1 to 11 μg/min). Separation and assay of AII were by combined HPLC and RIA. For an accurate estimation of the quantity of AII released, it was important to subtract the Krebs and isoproterenol blanks, 19 and 23 pg, respectively, from the basal and isoproterenol-induced AII release. In Groups 1 and 2, AII release was determined before and during isoproterenol infusion (5.5 μg/min). Basal release of AII was insignificant in Groups 1 to 5. In Group 1, infusion of isoproterenol caused AII release from IAN before and after removal of glomeruli (glomerulectomy), but with variability between experiments. An even higher infusion rate of isoproterenol (11 μg/min) in Group 2 caused no significant AII release. Similarly, in Group 3, in which a longer collection period was imposed, isoproterenol (5.5 μg/min) failed to cause significant AII release. In Groups 4 and 5, Goldblatt hypertensive and salt-restricted rabbits, respectively, isoproterenol caused AII release, but the effect was statistically significant only in Group 4. Supplying renin substrate in Group 6 caused only a small spontaneous AII release. We conclude that under these conditions of complete isolation from the intact circulation, the IAN despite a high renin content, releases little locally generated AII.
A Direct Numerical Simulation of Axisymmetric Cryogenic Chill Down in a Pipe in Microgravity

Cryogenic two-phase flow with phase change heat transfer, consisting of a saturated liquid slug translating in its own superheated vapor in a circular pipe, was numerically simulated. The cryogenic chill down process was simplified by assuming ideal inverted annular flow regime. The method used is based on a sharp interface concept and developed on an Eulerian Cartesian fixed-grid with a cut-cell scheme and marker points to track the moving interface. The unsteady, axisymmetric Navier–Stokes equations in both liquid and vapor phases are solved separately and used to compute the velocity, pressure, and temperature fields and the deformation of the liquid core very accurately. Three most common cryogenic fluids, viz. nitrogen, oxygen, and argon were included in the study. The influence of non-dimensional parameters like Reynolds number $$Re,$$ Weber number $$We$$ , and Jakob number $$Ja$$ on flow characteristics was studied by systematically varying only one at a time. $$Re$$ was found to affect the mass flow rates, but did not have a significant influence on the wall cooling or the Nusselt number. $$We$$ affected the interface shape at the leading edge of the liquid slug, also influencing the heat transfer and velocity field there. $$Ja$$ affects all three quantities of interest, i.e., mass flow rate, wall cooling, and the Nusselt number.
Recording high quality speech during tagged cine‐MRI studies using a fiber optic microphone

Purpose To investigate the feasibility of obtaining high quality speech recordings during cine imaging of tongue movement using a fiber optic microphone. Materials and Methods A Complementary Spatial Modulation of Magnetization (C-SPAMM) tagged cine sequence triggered by an electrocardiogram (ECG) simulator was used to image a volunteer while speaking the syllable pairs /a/-/u/, /i/-/u/, and the words “golly” and “Tamil” in sync with the imaging sequence. A noise-canceling, optical microphone was fastened approximately 1–2 inches above the mouth of the volunteer. The microphone was attached via optical fiber to a laptop computer, where the speech was sampled at 44.1 kHz. A reference recording of gradient activity with no speech was subtracted from target recordings. Results Good quality speech was discernible above the background gradient sound using the fiber optic microphone without reference subtraction. The audio waveform of gradient activity was extremely stable and reproducible. Subtraction of the reference gradient recording further reduced gradient noise by roughly 21 dB, resulting in exceptionally high quality speech waveforms. Conclusion It is possible to obtain high quality speech recordings using an optical microphone even during exceptionally loud cine imaging sequences. This opens up the possibility of more elaborate MRI studies of speech including spectral analysis of the speech signal in all types of MRI. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
REGIS: a relational information system with graphics and statistics

While the relational data management model has been known for some time, it has yet to be proven that such systems can perform efficiently in an industrial environment. This paper describes user experience with and the external highlights of the RElational General Information System (REGIS) which is currently being used within General Motors. This data analysis system combines the features of relational information handling along with graphical, interactive and statistical capabilities. REGIS provides the flexibility of handling unforeseen queries and enables the user to interactively analyze his data by entering commands from terminals. Its use does not require any conventional programming effort. It is possible to interface to user written functions if the need arises.
Maximum Likelihood Variance Components Estimation for Binary Data

Abstract We consider a class of probit-normal models for binary data and describe ML and REML estimation of variance components for that class as well as best prediction for the realized values of the random effects. ML estimates are calculated using an EM algorithm; for complicated models EM includes a Gibbs step. The computations are illustrated through two examples.
Head and Neck Cancer: Detection of Recurrence with Three-dimensional Principal Components Analysis at Dynamic FDG PET

Fully automated principal components analysis (PCA) was applied to dynamic 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomographic (PET) images obtained in 15 patients with previously treated head and neck cancer. PCA with time-activity curves incorporated kinetic information about FDG uptake, which improved tissue characterization on FDG PET images. The combination of standardized uptake value and PCA image sets likely will improve the reliability of tumor detection in head and neck cancers.
Trinity:: A Hypotensive Ultrasound Protocol

Hypotension is a common endpoint to many disease processes and can be evaluated with ultrasonography at the bedside. This ultrasound protocol can be used to examine the key organs involved in maint...
A derivation of the van der Pauw formula from electrostatics

The van der Pauw formula for determining the electrical resistivity of an irregularly-shaped material was derived by him with the help of conformal mapping and is inherently two-dimensional. Thus, it is valid in the limiting case of a sample of infinitesimal thickness. In this paper, we demonstrate how the same formula can be derived from classical electrostatics for a rectangular sample of non-zero thickness which is allowed to approach zero. The calculation is carried out with the current probes at two adjacent corners and the voltage probes at the other two. In addition, the effects of non-ideality, particularly non-zero thickness and non-point contact voltage and current probes, are examined using the analytic formulation derived here and a semiconductor device code.
Effects of naturally occurring coumarins on hepatic drug-metabolizing enzymes inmice

Cytochromes P450 (P450s) and glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) constitute two important enzyme families involved in carcinogen metabolism. Generally, P450s play activation or detoxifying roles while GSTs act primarily as detoxifying enzymes. We previously demonstrated that oral administration of the linear furanocoumarins, isopimpinellin and imperatorin, modulated P450 and GST activities in various tissues of mice. The purpose of the present study was to compare a broader range of naturally occurring coumarins (simple coumarins, and furanocoumarins of the linear and angular type) for their abilities to modulate hepatic drug-metabolizing enzymes when administered orally to mice. We now report that all of the different coumarins tested (coumarin, limettin, auraptene, angelicin, bergamottin, imperatorin and isopimpinellin) induced hepatic GST activities, whereas the linear furanocoumarins possessed the greatest abilities to induce hepatic P450 activities, in particular P450 2B and 3A. In both cases, this corresponded to an increase in protein expression of the enzymes. Induction of P4502B10, 3A11, and 2C9 by xenobiotics often is a result of activation of the pregnane X receptor (PXR) and/or constitutive androstane receptor (CAR). Using a pregnane X receptor reporter system, our results demonstrated that isopimpinellin activated both PXR and its human ortholog SXR by recruiting coactivator SRC-1 in transfected cells. In CAR transfection assays, isopimpinellin counteracted the inhibitory effect of androstanol on full-length mCAR, a Gal4-mCAR ligand-binding domain fusion, and restored coactivator binding. Orally administered isopimpinellin induced hepatic mRNA expression of Cyp2b10, Cyp3a11, and GSTain CAR(+/+) wild-type mice. In contrast, the induction of Cyp2b10 mRNA by isopimpinellin was attenuated in the CAR(-/-) mice, suggesting that isopimpinellin induces Cyp2b10 via the CAR receptor. Overall, the current data indicate that naturally occurring coumarins have diverse activities in terms of inducing various xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes based on their chemical structure.
Case study: AVO analysis in a high-impdeance Atoka Sandstone (Pennsylvania), North Arkoma Basin, McIntosh County, Oklahoma

The variation of reflection coefficients with source-to-receiver spacing in mul-tioffset seismic data is known to contain information about the lithology and pore-fluid content of subsurface rocks. However, such analysis is particularly challenging for thin, high-impedance reservoirs. In such instances, a key com-ponent of AVO analysis is a methodol-ogy for response calibration so that fluid properties can be interpreted vertically and laterally away from a borehole with a high degree of confidence.
Identification of neuropeptide-degrading enzymes in the pancreas.

Abstract Neutral endopeptidase (NEP) and aminopeptidase M (APM) were identified in the pancreas by enzymatic assays and Western blotting. The NEP activity, assessed by the phosphoramidon- and dl -thiorphan-inhibitable degradation of glutaryl-Ala-Ala-Phe-4-methoxy-2-naphthylamine, was 28.8 pmol/h/μg of pancreatic membrane protein and 124 pmol/h/106 pancreatic acinar cells. The APM enzymatic activity, assessed by the actinonin- and amastatin-inhibitable degradation of Ala-4-methoxy-2-naphthylamine, was 633 pmol/h/μg pancreatic membrane protein and 17.4 nmol/h/106 pancreatic acinar cells. Proteins corresponding to NEP (95 kDa) and APM (140 kDa) were identified in membranes by Western blotting. Both NEP and APM on acinar cells may degrade neuropeptides and regulate their effects on exocrine secretion.