cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Catalytic hydrogenation of propylene and isobutylene over platinum. Effect of noncompetitive adsorption

A mathematical and kinetics model is presented for reactions catalyzed by solid surfaces where both competitive and noncompetitive adsorption take place, a situation that may be general in reactions between large and small molecules catalyzed by solid surfaces. In the adsorption of large molecules steric hindrance or multiple site adsorption cause maximum surface coverage of such molecules before all sites are occupied. This does not, however, preclude further adsorption of small molecules on the remaining isolated vacant sites nor does it preclude further surface reaction. The overall reaction model for such conditions may be expressed as This particular model has been evaluated for the catalytic hydrogenation of propylene and isobutylene with the expectation that it may be useful in reactions that are of industrial importance. A reaction model based on either competitive adsorption or noncompetitive adsorption alone fails to correlate the experimental data. In these two reactions maximum rates occur at olefin concentrations below 5 mole % and the catalytic adsorption constants for the olefins are a hundredfold greater than for hydrogen. This reaction model is similar to that proposed by Bond and Turkevich (15), who have further demonstrated through the deuteration of propylene that the actual mechanism of the reaction is much more complicated.
Characterizing and Predicting Voice Query Reformulation

Voice interactions are becoming more prevalent as the usage of voice search and intelligent assistants gains more popularity. Users frequently reformulate their requests in hope of getting better results either because the system was unable to recognize what they said or because it was able to recognize it but was unable to return the desired response. Query reformulation has been extensively studied in the context of text input. Many of the characteristics studied in the context of text query reformulation are potentially useful for voice query reformulation. However, voice query reformulation has its unique characteristics in terms of the reasons that lead users to reformulating their queries and how they reformulate them. In this paper, we study the problem of voice query reformulation. We perform a large scale human annotation study to collect thousands of labeled instances of voice reformulation and non-reformulation query pairs. We use this data to compare and contrast characteristics of reformulation and non-reformulation queries over a large a number of dimensions. We then train classifiers to distinguish between reformulation and non-reformulation query pairs and to predict the rationale behind reformulation. We demonstrate through experiments with the human labeled data that our classifiers achieve good performance in both tasks.
Thermal Co-ordination of Motors, Control, and Their Branch Circuits on Power Supplies of 600 Volts and Less

THE protection of a motor against an overload or the protection of a motor and its branch circuit against a short circuit are basically the same problem. The entire circuit is heated at a rate which is a function of the amount of current flowing, and this current must be interrupted before the winding or any part of the circuit exceeds a prescribed temperature. The means used to protect against these two magnitudes of power may be the same, or it may be entirely different as will be brought out later. It is the purpose of this article to show what the heating characteristics are of the motors, the control, and the branch circuit wiring, and what the characteristics of the protective devices should be in order that the power will be disconnected from the main feeders under all conditions of excess current before excess temperatures are attained.
Interplanetary Mission Design Using Differential Evolution

Global optimization methods have been increasingly under consideration for preliminary interplanetary mission design. One promising global method, differential evolution, has been identified as being particularly well suited to high-thrust trajectory optimization. Differential evolution is a stochastic direct search optimization method which uses parameter vectors that interact in a manner motivated by the evolution of living species. To improve the performance of differential evolution for this application, the effect of the tuning parameters is investigated over a diverse group of trajectory optimization problems. The quality of solutions obtained with differential evolution is found to be very sensitive to the selection of the routine’s tuning parameters. A set of tuning parameter values is found that results in the rapid global optimization of an array of typical ballistic interplanetary missions. The fine-tuned differential evolution routine is implemented in a new tool, the mission-direct trajectory optimization program, and the effectiveness of this tool is demonstrated by the rapid solution of interplanetary trajectory optimization problems that involve complex features such as multiple gravity assists and parking orbit considerations.
Identification of parameters through which surface chemistry determines the lifetimes of hot electrons in small Au nanoparticles

This paper describes measurements of the dynamics of hot electron cooling in photoexcited gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) with diameters of ∼3.5 nm, and passivated with either a hexadecylamine or hexadecanethiolate adlayer, using ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. Fits of these dynamics with temperature-dependent Mie theory reveal that both the electronic heat capacity and the electron–phonon coupling constant are larger for the thiolated NPs than for the aminated NPs, by 40% and 30%, respectively. Density functional theory calculations on ligand-functionalized Au slabs show that the increase in these quantities is due to an increased electronic density of states near the Fermi level upon ligand exchange from amines to thiolates. The lifetime of hot electrons, which have thermalized from the initial plasmon excitation, increases with increasing electronic heat capacity, but decreases with increasing electron–phonon coupling, so the effects of changing surface chemistry on these two quantities partially cancel to yield a hot electron lifetime of thiolated NPs that is only 20% longer than that of aminated NPs. This analysis also reveals that incorporation of a temperature-dependent electron–phonon coupling constant is necessary to adequately fit the dynamics of electron cooling.
Synthesis of fullerenes and fullerenic nanostructures in a low-pressure benzene/oxygen diffusion flame

Samples of condensable material from laminar low-pressure benzene/argon/oxygen diffusion flames were collected and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography to determine the yields of fullerenes and by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) to characterize the fullerenic material (i.e., curved-layer nanostructures) on and within the soot particles. The highest concentration of fullerenes was always detected just above the visible stoichiometric surface of a flame. The percentage of fullerenes in the condensable material increases with decreasing pressure. The overall highest amount of fullerenes was found for a surprisingly high dilution of fuel with argon. A comparison of the flames with the same cold gas velocity of fuel and oxygen showed a strong dependence of fullerene content on flame length. A shorter flame, resulting from higher dilution or lower pressure, favors the formation of fullerenes rather than soot, and the amount of soot and precursors of both soot and fullerenes is less at lower pressure and higher dilution. This behavior indicates a stronger correlation of fullerene consumption to the total amount of soot than of fullerene formation to precursor concentration. The maximum flame temperature seems to be of minor importance in fullerence formation. The HRTEM analysis of the soot showed an increase of the curvature of the carbon layers, and hence increased fullerenic character, with increasing distance from the burner up to the point of maximum fullerence concentration. After this maximum, where soot and fullerences are consumed by oxidation, the curvature decreases. In addition to the soot, the samples included fullerenic nanostructures such as tubes and spheroids including highly ordered multilayered or onionlike structures. The soot itself shows highly ordered regions that appear to have been cells of ongoing fullerenic nanostructure formation.
Language lateralization as measured by dichotic VRT and recognition tasks

A dichotic color-naming VRT task and a dichotic digits recognition task were administered. The first required the naming of five colors paired with their backward pronunciation: the second of five nonsimilar digits. Forty-eight right-handed male and female subjects were used, controlling for the factors of sex, handedness, and familial sinistrality. A highly significant left-ear advantage was obtained, suggesting that previous results of dichotic studies may only pertain to a limited class of phenomic stimuli. Results implicate different cerebral processes in the analysis of familiar and novel auditory and phenomic stimuli.
Surfactants May Promote Lung Fluid Clearance by Ion Channel Insertion† 1559

Aim: Prior observations of Na+ transport across artificial plasma membranes by natural surfactant, Survanta® (SUR)(Pediatr Res 39:344A, 1996), support the proposal that exogenous surfactants promote lung fluid clearance by ion channel insertion into alveolar epithelia. To continue test of the hypothesis that SUR-induced salt transport occurs by ionic channels rather than by simple diffusion or carrier-mediated transport, observations were extended to alternative ions and artificial membranes.Methods: Planar lipid bilayers employing synthetic phospholipids (1:1 phosphatidyl- ethanolamine: phosphatidylserine) and modeling alveolar plasma membranes were painted across an aperture (250μm) connecting solutions of buffered (pH 7.4) salt (50-500 mM + 1mM Ca++). SUR(0.03-0.3%) was suspended in one of the 2 solutions providing direct contact with the lipid bilayer. Holding potentials (-90 to +90 mV) were applied across the bilayer and currents measured. Results: Bilayer currents were not observed in the absence of SUR. Suspension of SUR induced current flow across bilayers only in the presence of Na+ or K+ salt - independent of anions Cl- or gluconate-. Substitution of larger cations choline and tetraethylammonium prevented conduction of current. Channel-mediated transport was differentiated from simple diffusion and carrier-mediated transport by: 1) gated current flow between open and closed channel states; 2) transport rates exceeding 107 cations/sec; 3) selective permeability for small cations with approximately equal permeabilities for Na+ and K+; and 4) sensitivity of open state probability to applied holding potential. Observed currents were linearly related to applied holding potentials by slope conductances of 39±6 pS. Amiloride sensitivity proved inconsistent, but EGTA inhibition of ion conductance demonstrated Ca++ sensitivity. Larger channels (conductance ≃ 80 pS) were identified representing substates of a single channel type or simultaneous insertion of multiple channels. Conclusions: Gated currents with selective cation permeabilities demonstrating characteristic conductances confirms cation channel induction by SUR in artificial plasma membranes. We speculate that these observations are physiologically relevant to lung fluid clearance.Funded by Children's Health Foundation
FUNDAMENTALS OF BIOMETRIC AUTHENTICATION TECHNOLOGIES

Biometric authentication technologies are used for the machine identification of individuals. The human-generated patterns used may be primarily physiological or behavioral, but usually contain elements of both components. Examples include voice, handwriting, face, eye and fingerprint identification. In this paper, we look at these technologies and their applications in general, developing a systematic approach to classifying, analyzing and evaluating them. A general system model is shown and test results for a number of technologies are considered.
Post-translational modifications in the rat lumbar spinal cord in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Changes in protein methylation, citrullination, and phosphorylation during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a rodent model of multiple sclerosis, were evaluated using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification analysis of peptides produced from normal and diseased rat lumbar spinal cords. We observed alterations in the post-translational modification of key proteins regulating signal transduction and axonal integrity. Dephosphorylation of discrete serine residues within the neurofilament heavy subunit C-terminus was observed. We report for the first time elevated citrullination of Arg27 in glial fibrillary acidic protein, which may contribute to the pathophysiology of astrocytes.
Factor v Leiden associated with flap loss in microsurgical breast reconstruction

Two cases are reported of flap loss following microsurgical perforator flap breast reconstruction in patients diagnosed with a factor V Leiden mutation. Factor V Leiden is the most common inherited cause of hypercoagulability, leading to an increased risk of thrombotic events. The first patient underwent a deep inferior epigastric artery perforator flap and then had recurrent arterial thrombosis both intraoperatively and postoperatively. This patient was subsequently diagnosed with a factor V Leiden mutation. The second patient had a known factor V Leiden mutation and underwent a superior gluteal artery perforator flap, which developed thrombosis and flap loss 2 days later. Preoperative assessment of a personal or family history of unexplained venous or arterial thrombosis should prompt suspicion of a factor V Leiden mutation. This mutation places patients at high risk for thromboembolic events in microvascular breast reconstruction, particularly when oral contraceptives or tamoxifen are used in conjunction. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2011.
Analyzing the dangers posed by Chrome extensions.

A common characteristic of modern web browsers is that their functionality can be extended via third-party addons. In this paper we focus on Chrome extensions, to which the Chrome browser exports a rich API: extensions can potentially make network requests, access the local file system, get lowlevel information about running processes, etc. To guard against misuse, Chrome uses a permission system to curtail an extension’s privileges. We demonstrate a series of attacks by which extensions can steal data, track user behavior, and collude to elevate their privileges. Although some attacks have previously been reported, we show that subtler versions can easily be devised that are less likely to be prevented by proposed defenses and can evade notice by the user. We quantify the potential danger of attacks by examining how many currently available extensions have sufficient privileges to carry them out. As many web sites do not employ defenses against such attacks, we examine how many popular web sites are vulnerable to each kind of attack. Our results show that a surprisingly large fraction of web sites is vulnerable to many attacks, and a large fraction of currently available extensions is potentially able to carry them out.
Meat, Meth, and Mexicans: Community Responses to Increasing Ethnic Diversity

In many rural Midwest communities traditional economic development has created a more ethnically diverse population than community leaders anticipated. Community builders can use the stories created by different segments of the dominant community to forge new alliances and build practical programs that provide a positive environment for the new migrants and long-term community residents. We discovered two very different interpretations of increasing diversity by listening to residents' stories about community changes. We call the bearers of these interpretations Pluralists and Legalists. Their stories, while sharing a common past, implied very different mental causal models regarding current problems. The futures described by each group contained common elements, however. By bringing together holders of both interpretations from among community members representing state and local government, the economy, and civil society, altemative programs were designed that united both interpretations in common actio...
Vigilance of kit foxes at water sources: a test of competing hypotheses for a solitary carnivore subject to predation.

Abstract Animals that are potential prey do not respond equally to direct and indirect cues related to risk of predation. Based on differential responses to cues, three hypotheses have been proposed to explain spatial variation in vigilance behavior. The predator-vigilance hypothesis proposes that prey increase vigilance where there is evidence of predators. The visibility-vigilance hypothesis suggests that prey increase vigilance where visibility is obstructed. Alternatively, the refuge-vigilance hypothesis proposes that prey may perceive areas with low visibility (greater cover) as refuges and decrease vigilance. We evaluated support for these hypotheses using the kit fox (Vulpes macrotis), a solitary carnivore subject to intraguild predation, as a model. From 2010 to 2012, we used infrared-triggered cameras to record video of kit fox behavior at water sources in Utah, USA. The refuge-vigilance hypothesis explained more variation in vigilance behavior of kit foxes than the other two hypotheses (AICc model weight = 0.37). Kit foxes were less vigilant at water sources with low overhead cover (refuge) obstructing visibility. Based on our results, the predator-vigilance and visibility-vigilance hypotheses may not be applicable to all species of prey. Solitary prey, unlike gregarious prey, may use areas with concealing cover to maximize resource acquisition and minimize vigilance.
Sugars: Autoclaving vs sterile filtration on the growth of carrot root tissue in culture

Abstract A plant tissue culture medium containing glucose or fructose sterilized by autoclaving inhibits the growth of carrot root tissue cultures. While some inhibition occurs when the sugar alone is autoclaved, more occurs when autoclaved together with the rest of the culture medium. Using sucrose, glucose or fructose, autoclaved sucrose is least inhibitory to growth, and fructose most. Increasing the concentration of fructose or glucose from 1 to 2 percent increased inhibition markedly. Studies are in progress to determine which components of the culture medium are interacting with sugars and to find the kinds of products formed.
Theory of factorial designs of the parallel flats type. I: the coefficient matrix

Abstract Let GF(s) be the finite field with s elements.(Thus, when s=3, the elements of GF(s) are 0, 1 and 2.)Let A(r×n), of rank r, and ci(i=1,…,f), (r×1), be matrices over GF(s). (Thus, for n=4, r=2, f=2, we could have A=[11100121], c1=[10], c2=[02].) Let Ti (i=1,…,f) be the flat in EG(n, s) consisting of the set of all the sn−r solutions of the equations At=ci, wheret′=(t1,…,tn) is a vector of variables.(Thus, EG(4, 3) consists of the 34=81 points of the form (t1,t2,t3,t4), where t's take the values 0,1,2 (in GF(3)). The number of solutions of the equations At=ci is sn−r, where r=Rank(A), and the set of such solutions is said to form an (n−r)-flat, i.e. a flat of (n−r) dimensions. In our example, both T1 and T2 are 2-flats consisting of 34−2=9 points each. The flats T1,T2,…,Tf are said to be parallel since, clearly, no two of them can have a common point. In the example, the points of T1 are (1000), (0011), (2022), (0102), (2110), (1121), (2201), (1212) and (0220). Also, T2 consists of (0002), (2010), (1021), (2101), (1112), (0120), (1200), (0211) and (2222).) Let T be the fractional design for a sn symmetric factorial experiment obtained by taking T1,T2,…,Tf together. (Thus, in the example, 34=81 treatments of the 34 factorial experiment correspond one-one with the points of EG(4,3), and T will be the design (i.e. a subset of the 81 treatments) consisting of the 18 points of T1 and T2 enumerated above.) In this paper, we lay the foundation of the general theory of such ‘parallel’ types of designs. We define certain functions of A called the alias component matrices, and use these to partition the coefficient matrix X (n×v), occuring in the corresponding linear model, into components X.j(j=0,1,…,g), such that the information matrix X is the direct sum of the X′.jX.j. Here, v is the total number of parameters, which consist of (possibly μ), and a (general) set of (geometric) factorial effects (each carrying (s−1) degrees of freedom as usual). For j≠0, we show that the spectrum of X′.jX.j does not change if we change (in a certain important way) the usual definition of the effects. Assuming that such change has been adopted, we consider the partition of the X.j into the Xij (i=1,…,f). Furthermore, the Xij are in turn partitioned into smaller matrices (which we shall here call the) Xijh. We show that each Xijh can be factored into a product of 3 matrices J, ζ (not depending on i,j, and h) and Q(j,h,i)where both the Kronecker and ordinary product are used. We introduce a ring R using the additive groups of the rational field and GF(s), and show that the Q(j,h,i) belong to a ring isomorphic to R. When s is a prime number, we show that R is the cyclotomic field. Finally, we show that the study of the X.j and X′.jX.j can be done in a much simpler manner, in terms of certain relatively small sized matrices over R.
Reduced Magnetic Vector Potential Formulation in the Finite Element Analysis of Eddy Current Nondestructive Testing

The use of reduced magnetic vector potential (RMVP) in the three-dimensional finite element analysis of eddy current nondestructive testing (ECT) has demonstrated great flexibility, accuracy, and efficiency in case of coil excitation. This paper investigates the application of the RMVP in another class of eddy-current testing applications where the test sample of finite size is immersed in a uniform excitation field. The paper also shows that RMVP cannot be used in eddy-current testing problems having infinite current foil and infinite conducting plates.
Cotton, democracy and development in Mali

Shortly after the overthrow of the Traore regime in early 1991, several thousand cotton farmers in the southern part of Mali rose up to demand significant policy changes in cotton production and marketing. This rural revolt symbolised a new era of ‘democracy in the countryside’, and brought forth a vital, new political actor (the National Union of Cotton and Food Crop Producers, Syndicat des Producteurs de Coton de Vivriers, SYCOV) in Malian politics. After listening to more than thirty years of governmental populist pronouncements, Mali's cotton growers finally had a real opportunity to realise a measure of empowerment.Earlier assessments of agricultural development and technology policy-making in Mali confirmed the need to see SYCOV in the long tradition of discontented farmers' movements around the world. This article places SYCOV in a broader political and global setting. It explores how an analysis of the union's emergence and its political relationships can improve our understanding of the contours and dynamics of democratisation in Mali, and perhaps throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Coordinate intracellular expression of Salmonella genes induced during infection.

Salmonella typhimurium in vivo-induced (ivi) genes were grouped by their coordinate behavior in response to a wide variety of environmental and genetic signals, including pH, Mg2+, Fe2+, and PhoPQ. All of the seven ivi fusions that are induced by both low pH and low Mg2+ (e.g., iviVI-A) are activated by the PhoPQ regulatory system. Iron-responsive ivi fusions include those induced under iron limitation (e.g., entF) as well as one induced by iron excess but only in the absence of PhoP (pdu). Intracellular expression studies showed that each of the pH- and Mg2+-responsive fusions is induced upon entry into and growth within three distinct mammalian cell lines: RAW 264.7 murine macrophages and two cultured human epithelial cell lines: HEp-2 and Henle-407. Each ivi fusion has a characteristic level of induction consistent within all three cell types, suggesting that this class of coordinately expressed ivi genes responds to general intracellular signals that are present both in initial and in progressive stages of infection and may reflect their responses to similar vacuolar microenvironments in these cell types. Investigation of ivi expression patterns reveals not only the inherent versatility of pathogens to express a given gene(s) at various host sites but also the ability to modify their expression within the context of different animal hosts, tissues, cell types, or subcellular compartments.
Phosphorus-nitrogen compounds XVI: phosphoramantadine derivatives.

Nine derivatives containing adamantyl moieties were synthesized and screened for antileukemic properties. Five 1-N-adamantylphosphoramidate esters, phenyl N-adamantylphosphoramidochloridate, phenyl P-1-aziridinyl-N-adamantylphosphonamidate, and N, N'-diadamantyl-N''-bis(2-chloroethyl)phosphoric triamide were inactive. P,P-Bis(1-aziridinyl)-N-1-adamantylphosphinic amide, however, showed good activity when tested against L-1210 lymphoid and P-388 lymphocytic leukemia, giving %T/C values of 225 (20 mg/kg) and 244 (10 mg/kg), respectively.
280 Long-Term Follow-Up of Indeterminant Pancreatic Cysts Initially Examined by Endoscopic Ultrasound

aspiration of cyst fluid, lavage was done for 3-5 minute with 80% ethanol and fluid was totally aspirated after lavage. The carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and amylase levels were checked with initial cyst fluid. All patients were followed up for more than 3 months and thirty patients followed up for more than 12 months. Results: The mean diameter of the cysts was 29.1mm (range, 20-50mm) and twenty five cysts were oligolocular cysts. The cysts were located in the head/uncinate of the pancreas in 10 patients (27.0%), the body in 16 patients (43.2%) and the tail in 11 patients (29.7%). The median levels of CEA and amylase were 8.6 ng/mL (range, 0.5-18510 ng/mL) and 300 U/L (range, 1.0503599.0 U/L) respectively. After the procedure three patients had fever without documented bacteremia, 6 patients had mild abdominal pains, and only 2 patients had mild pancreatitis. The mean follow-up period was 25.4 months. Presumed diagnoses of pancreatic cysts were made with reference to cyst fluid CEA and amylase levels. Serous cystadenoma (SCA) was diagnosed if the CEA level was less than 5 ng/mL and the amylase level was less than 800 U/L, pseudocyst was diagnosed if the CEA level was less than 5 ng/mL and the amylase level was greater than 800 U/L. Cyst fluid CEA level of more than 200 ng/mL was further classified as an mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN) or intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), when the amylase level was less than 800 U/L or more than 800 U/L. The pancreatic cysts that did not meet these criteria were classified as indeterminate cysts. Presumed diagnoses were MCN in 2 patients, IPMN in 2 patients, pseudocyst in 2 patients, SCA in 10 patients and indeterminate cyst in 21 patients. Among 30 patients with 1 year follow up, complete response was observed in 12 patients (40%), a partial response in 4 patients, and persistent cysts in 14 patients after 12 months. One patient had complete resolution after 3 months but the cyst recurred after one year. Two patients with persistent cysts underwent surgery. Presumed diagnosis of the resected cysts was indeterminate cyst, and final diagnosis was IPMN and MCN. Conclusions: EUS-guided ethanol lavage appears to be a safe method for treating incidental pancreatic cysts and 40% of patients had complete resolution after 12 months.
Adrenal Medullary Secretion of Epinephrine and Norepinephrine in Dogs Subjected to Hemorrhagic Hypotension

The response of the adrenal medulla in anesthetized dogs to hemorrhagic hypotension of a varied level and duration was observed to be primarily accompanied by a highly significant increase in adrenal plasma epinephrine. On the other hand, the secretion of norepinephrine had an unpredictable occurrence in adrenal blood samples collected in periods of hypotension. The essential determinant of adrenal blood flow was observed to be the level of mean blood pressure. While this relationship was not in strict proportion, changes in mean blood pressure were invariably followed by changes in adrenal blood flow in the same direction. The adrenal medulla of dogs in hemorrhagic irreversible shock was observed to continue to secrete epinephrine at very low levels of mean blood pressure, characteristic of terminal shock. Reports by other groups of investigators on elevated peripheral blood levels of epinephrine in hemorrhagic shock have been found to result mainly from an actively secreting adrenal medulla.
When cues combine: How distal and proximal acoustic cues are integrated in word segmentation

Spoken language contains few reliable acoustic cues to word boundaries, yet listeners readily perceive words as separated in continuous speech. Dilley and Pitt (2010) showed that the rate of nonlocal (i.e., distal) context speech influences word segmentation, but present theories of word segmentation cannot account for whether and how this cue interacts with other acoustic cues proximal to (i.e., in the vicinity of) the word boundary. Four experiments examined the interaction of distal speech rate with four proximal acoustic cues that have been shown to influence segmentation: intensity (Experiment 1), fundamental frequency (Experiment 2), word duration (Experiment 3), and high frequency noise resembling a consonantal onset (Experiment 4). Participants listened to sentence fragments and indicated which of two lexical interpretations they heard, where one interpretation contained more words than the other. Across all four experiments, both distal speech rate and proximal acoustic manipulations affected the...
Training the Next Generation’s Nephrology Workforce

The subspecialty of nephrology faces several critical challenges, including declining interest among medical students and internal medicine residents and worrisome declines in the number of applicants for nephrology fellowships. There is an urgent need to more clearly define the subspecialty and its scope of practice, reinvigorate meaningful research training and activities among trainees, and ensure that fellows who complete training and enter the practice of nephrology are experts in the broad scope of nephrology. This need requires a critical look at fellowship training programs and training requirements. A new workforce analysis is also needed that is not focused on primarily meeting estimated future clinical needs but rather, ensuring that there is alignment of supply and demand for nephrology trainees, which will ensure that those entering nephrology fellowships are highly qualified and capable of becoming outstanding nephrologists and that there are desirable employment opportunities for them when they complete their training.
Accelerating reflexivity? An ethno-theater interpretation of a pre-service teacher literacy methods field experience

During a teaching methods field experience, we initiated several processes to facilitate pre-service teachers’ reflection, empowerment, and performance as they learned to teach students. Through an ethno-theater presentation and subsequent revisions to an ethno-theater script, we turned the reflective lens on ourselves as we discovered instances of our teaching within this field experience that required us to look at our data and ourselves as contributing actors in a series of scenes. Our analysis of the data (as captured through the performance text) led us to new understandings of ‘reflection,’ ‘empowerment,’ and ‘performance’ through the constructed roles and relationships within this field experience work. We discuss the process of creating an ethno-theater script and the methodological impact it had on us as teacher educators and researchers. We conclude with a proposal for dramatic solutions to accelerating reflexivity within teacher education contexts.
Fisher information for a complex Gaussian random variable: beamforming applications for wave propagation in a random medium

We derive a general expression for the Fisher information for a special class of complex Gaussian random variables, whose mean and covariance may be expressed in terms of a specific parameterized linear transformation. The deterministic unknown parameter case is considered. This class is descriptive of signals that propagate in a homogeneous or inhomogeneous medium and also occurs in numerous beamforming applications. The Fisher information derived here encompasses a wide range of previously derived, well-known results for complex Gaussian signals propagating in a homogeneous medium and is also applicable to more recent models for signals propagating in an inhomogenous medium. The conditions for the estimates of the azimuth and elevation to decouple from the estimates of the nuisance parameters are studied for monochromatic plane-wave and spherical-wave propagation in a random medium. For propagation in an anisotropic medium, it is found that, in general, the Cramer-Rao lower bounds (CRLBs) of the entire unknown parameter set will be coupled. For special cases of propagation in an isotropic medium, it is found that for plane waves, the CRLBs of the angles of arrival will be approximately decoupled from the CRLBs of the other unknowns, and for spherical waves, the CRLBs of the angles of arrival will be always be coupled to the CRLBs of all other unknowns, although the couplings may be minimized under certain conditions.
The effects of signal contamination on two adaptive detectors

Two schemes for adaptive detection Kelly's generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) and the mean level adaptive detector (MLAD), are analyzed with respect to the deleterious effect of desired-signal contamination of the data used to compute the sampled covariance matrix for the two detectors. The detection probability P/sub D/ and false alarm performance (ghosting probability P/sub G/) are predicted for the two schemes under the assumptions that the input noises are Gaussian random variables that are temporally independent but spatially correlated; and the amplitude of the desired signal is Rayleigh distributed. P/sub D/ and P/sub G/ are computed as a function of the false alarm probability P/sub F/ with no contamination, the number of input channels, the number of independent samples-per-channel, the matched filtered output signal-to-noise (S/N) power ratio, and the S/N power ratio of the contaminating desired signal. It is shown that both P/sub D/ and P/sub G/ decrease with increasing levels of contamination. The P/sub G/ performance is is almost identical for the GLRT and MLAD. The P/sub D/ performance shows similar relative performance trends. Significantly, it is shown that the ghosting probability does not exceed P/sub F/ in the presence of contamination. >
Injury Risk Factors in a Small-Scale Gold Mining Community in Ghana’s Upper East Region

Occupational injury is one of many health concerns related to small-scale gold mining (ASGM), but few data exist on the subject, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2011 and 2013, we examined accidents, injuries, and potential risk factors in a Ghanaian ASGM community. In 2011, 173 participants were surveyed on occupational history and health, and 22 of these were surveyed again in 2013. Injury rates were estimated at 45.5 and 38.5 injuries per 100 person-years in 2011 and in 2013, respectively; these rates far surpass those of industrialized mines in the U.S. and South Africa. Demographic and job characteristics generally were not predictive of injury risk, though there was a significant positive association with injury risk for males and smokers. Legs and knees were the most common body parts injured, and falling was the most common cause of injury. The most common type of injuries were cuts or lacerations, burns and scalds, and contusions and abrasions. Only two miners had ever received any occupational safety training, and PPE use was low. Our results suggest that injuries should be a priority area for occupational health research in ASGM.
Grouping for Achievement Gains: For Whom Does Achievement Grouping Increase Kindergarten Reading Growth?

With ever-present budget cuts, teachers often use within-class achievement grouping to meet the needs of students of all ability levels but particularly high-ability students. Using a national database, this study examined the relationship between achievement grouping and the size of achievement groups on kindergarten reading growth. Additionally, it examined whether those relationships differed for kindergarteners in a gifted program. Findings suggest that achievement grouping is related to higher reading achievement, particularly when the average group size is small. Furthermore, although students provided gifted programming at the early grade of kindergarten generally experienced less kindergarten reading growth than their peers, this study suggests the use of achievement grouping provided them the opportunity and instruction to improve their reading achievement during the kindergarten year.
A High-Throughput Screen to Identify Inhibitors of Amyloid β-Protein Precursor Processing:

Cerebral accumulation of the amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) is believed to play a key role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Because Aβ is produced from the proteolysis of amyloid β-protein ...
Neuroprotective effects of the mood stabilizer lamotrigine against glutamate excitotoxicity: roles of chromatin remodelling and Bcl-2 induction

Lamotrigine (LTG), a phenyltriazine derivative and anti-epileptic drug, has emerged as an effective first-line treatment for bipolar mood disorder. Like the other mood stabilizers lithium and valproate, LTG also has neuroprotective properties but its exact mechanisms remain poorly defined. The present study utilized rat cerebellar granule cells (CGCs) to examine the neuroprotective effects of LTG against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity and to investigate potential underlying mechanisms. CGCs pretreated with LTG were challenged with an excitotoxic dose of glutamate. Pretreatment caused a time- and concentration-dependent inhibition of glutamate excitotoxicity with nearly full protection at higher doses (≥ 100 μm), as revealed by cell viability assays and morphology. LTG treatment increased levels of acetylated histone H3 and H4 as well as dose- and time-dependently enhanced B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) mRNA and protein levels; these changes were associated with up-regulation of the histone acetylation and activity of the Bcl-2 promoter. Importantly, lentiviral-mediated Bcl-2 silencing by shRNA reduced both LTG-induced Bcl-2 mRNA up-regulation and neuroprotection against glutamate excitotoxicity. Finally, the co-presence of a sub-effective concentration of LTG (10 μm) with lithium or valproate produced synergistic neuroprotection. Together, our results demonstrate that the neuroprotective effects of LTG against glutamate excitotoxicity likely involve histone deacetylase inhibition and downstream up-regulation of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. These underlying mechanisms may contribute to the clinical efficacy of LTG in treating bipolar disorder and warrant further investigation.
High Throughput Compression of Double-Precision Floating-Point Data

This paper describes FPC, a lossless compression algorithm for linear streams of 64-bit floating-point data. FPC is designed to compress well while at the same time meeting the high throughput demands of scientific computing environments. On our thirteen datasets, it achieves a substantially higher average compression ratio than BZIP2, DFCM, FSD, GZIP, and PLML At comparable compression ratios, it compresses and decompresses 8 to 300 times faster than the other five algorithms
Emergence of Antibiotic-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Comparison of Risks Associated with Different Antipseudomonal Agents

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of nosocomial infections. The risk of emergence of antibiotic resistance may vary with different antibiotic treatments. To compare the risks of emergence of resistance associated with four antipseudomonal agents, ciprofloxacin, ceftazidime, imipenem, and piperacillin, we conducted a cohort study, assessing relative risks for emergence of resistant P. aeruginosa in patients treated with any of these drugs. A total of 271 patients (followed for 3,810 days) with infections due to P. aeruginosa were treated with the study agents. Resistance emerged in 28 patients (10.2%). Adjusted hazard ratios for the emergence of resistance were as follows: ceftazidime, 0.7 (P = 0.4); ciprofloxacin, 0.8 (P = 0.6); imipenem, 2.8 (P = 0.02); and piperacillin, 1.7 (P = 0.3). Hazard ratios for emergence of resistance to each individual agent associated with treatment with the same agent were as follows: ceftazidime, 0.8 (P = 0.7); ciprofloxacin, 9.2 (P = 0.04); imipenem, 44 (P = 0.001); and piperacillin, 5.2 (P = 0.01). We concluded that there were evident differences among antibiotics in the likelihood that their use would allow emergence of resistance in P. aeruginosa. Ceftazidime was associated with the lowest risk, and imipenem had the highest risk.
An approximation to the errors in the planetary ephemerides of the Astronomical Almanac

Errors in the planetary coordinates of the Astronomical Almanac are approximated by comparing their fundamental ephemerides, upon which they are based, with a more recent ephemeris. JPL's DE200 provided the fundamental planetary and lunar ephemerides of the Astronomical Almanac for the years, 1984-2002, and DE405 has replaced DE200 in that role, starting in 2003. Recently, new observational measurements have become available, thereby enabling further improvements in the ephemerides, and thus, a measure of the previous errors.
Stability of enterocytes and certain enzymatic activities in suspensions of cells from the villous tip to the crypt of Lieberkühn of the mouse small intestine.

A series of studies in this laboratory have focused on how an indigenous microbiota influences the activities of alkaline phosphatase, phosphodiesterase I, and thymidine kinase in the enterocytes of the upper small intestine of mice. To draw conclusions about the role of the microflora in determining levels of enzymatic activity, we found it necessary to develop a procedure by which cell suspensions could be obtained containing enterocytes isolated sequentially from the villous tip to the crypt of Lieberkuhn. The procedure was modified from the one developed for rats by Weiser (J. Biol. Chem. 248:2536-2541, 1973), involved a minimum number of interfering factors (e.g., proteolytic enzymes and mechanical agitation), and worked reproducibly for mice. During development of the procedure, some variables affecting the assays of the enzymes known to be present in enterocytes were also explored. Rods to which were tied everted segments of gut were incubated in a series of tubes containing a solution of EDTA the concentration of which was changed from 1.5 to 5.0 mM, thus giving a greater yield of enterocytes at every step. The cells incubating in the chelating solution were most stable when 0.23 M sucrose was included in the EDTA solutions. Success in assaying enzymatic activities in the cell suspensions depended on (i) how the cells were isolated, (ii) the assay procedure for thymidine kinase, and (iii) whether cellular suspensions or extracts were assayed.
Co-infection and synergy of human immunodeficiency virus-1 and herpes simplex virus-1

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) uses the CD4 molecule, expressed by T helper cells and activated macrophages, as a receptor for entry into host cells. In tissues co-infected with herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1), HIV-1 virions were observed to infect keratinocytes, which, because they lack the CD4 molecule, are normally incapable of being infected by HIV-1. Although a number of other viruses have been reported to enhance HIV-1 viral transcription in vitro, this is the first in-vivo report to our knowledge of reciprocal enhancement of viral replication associated with co-infection of keratinocytes and macrophages by HIV-1 and HSV-1 in patients with AIDS and non-genital herpes simplex lesions. The virions in the co-infected cells were larger, morphologically atypical, and appear to be hybrids; most contain the HIV-1 envelope necessary for infectivity. The increased viral load and the proximity of the virions to the cutaneous surface may lead to increased risk of transcutaneous transmission of both viruses. These findings point to the need for incorporation of suppressive treatment for herpes simplex in the treatment of AIDS.
Demethylation of Histone H3K36 and H3K9 by Rph1: a Vestige of an H3K9 Methylation System in Saccharomyces cerevisiae?

Histone methylation is an important posttranslational modification that contributes to chromatin-based processes including transcriptional regulation, DNA repair, and epigenetic inheritance. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, histone lysine methylation occurs on histone H3 lysines 4, 36, and 79, and its deposition is coupled mainly to transcription. Until recently, histone methylation was considered to be irreversible, but the identification of histone demethylase enzymes has revealed that this modification can be dynamically regulated. In budding yeast, there are five proteins that contain the JmjC domain, a signature motif found in a large family of histone demethylases spanning many organisms. One JmjC-domain-containing protein in budding yeast, Jhd1, has recently been identified as being a histone demethylase that targets H3K36 modified in the di- and monomethyl state. Here, we identify a second JmjC-domain-containing histone demethylase, Rph1, which can specifically demethylate H3K36 tri- and dimethyl modification states. Surprisingly, Rph1 can remove H3K9 methylation, a histone modification not found in budding yeast chromatin. The capacity of Rph1 to demethylate H3K9 provides the first indication that S. cerevisiae may have once encoded an H3K9 methylation system and suggests that Rph1 is a functional vestige of this modification system.
SIMD hypercube algorithm for complete Euclidean distance transform

The Euclidean distance transform (EDT) converts a binary image into one where each pixel has a value equal to its Euclidean distance to the nearest foreground pixel. A parallel EDT algorithm on SIMD hypercube computer is presented here. For an n/spl times/n image, the algorithm has a time complexity of O(n) on an n/sup 2/ nodes machine. With modifications to minimize dependency among partitions, the algorithm can be adapted to compute large EDT problems on smaller hypercubes. On a hypercube of t/sup 2/ nodes, the time complexity of the modified algorithm is O(n/sup 2//t log n/t). >
Potential Flow Over Spillways at Low Heads

The discharge coefficient for spillways is expressed in terms of geometric parameters and the total upstream head. The solution, which is valid for small heads, can be applied to any spillway having a smooth crest, regardless of shape. Discharge coefficients obtained through application of the described theory are compared with published values for a circular-shaped and two standard-shaped spillways.
Adaptive tracking control of a brushless DC motor driving an inertial load

The tracking problem for a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor driving a load is addressed. Based on the nonlinear models of the motor and load, an adaptive controller is presented which gives a global uniform asymptotic stability (GUAS) result for motor position/velocity tracking error. The control is capable of handling parametric uncertainty throughout the entire electromechanical system dynamics. Simulation results are used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller. >