cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Photodynamic inactivation of yeast sensitized by eosin Y.

. Wild-type diploid yeast has been irradiated with visible light in the presence of eosin Y to investigate the photodynamic inactivation of this model eukaryote. Light, eosin Y and oxygen were all required for substantial inactivation, and no dark recovery was detected. Long periods of irradiation were required for greater than 90% inactivation, corresponding to a very small low-dose quantum yield. Neither binding nor uptake of the dye by yeast was detected. Corrections for the photooxidative bleaching of eosin Y during irradiation indicate that bleaching causes a significant reduction in the apparent rate of inactivation. The results suggest that eosin Y acts as an extracellular sensitizer where the likelihood of damage to the cell envelope is enhanced.
Institutional Dynamics on the U.S. Court of Appeals: Minority Representation Under Panel Decision Making

This article assesses how the institutional context of decision making on three-judge panels of the federal Court of Appeals affects the impact that gender and race have on judicial decisions. Our central question is whether and how racial minority and women judges influence legal policy on issues thought to be of particular concern to women and minorities when serving on appellate panels which decide cases by majority rule. Proper analysis of this question requires investigating whether women and minority judges influence the decisions of other panel members. We find that the norm of unanimity on panels grants women influence over outcomes even when they are outnumbered on a panel.
Role of Secretary vs. Author: Resolving the Conflict in Writing Instruction.

The mechanical and creative skills required to write an original composition may be beyond the abilities of a student with a learning disability. These skills can be characterized, respectively, as...
Comparing Simulations and Observations of the Lyα Forest. I. Methodology

We describe techniques for comparing spectra extracted from cosmological simulations and observational data, using the same methodology to link Lyα properties derived from the simulations with properties derived from observational data. The eventual goal is to measure the coherence or clustering properties of Lyα absorbers using observations of quasar pairs and groups. We quantify the systematic underestimate in opacity that is inherent in the continuum-fitting process of observed spectra over a range of resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). We present an automated process for detecting and selecting absorption features over the range of resolution and S/N of typical observational data on the Lyα forest. Using these techniques, we detect coherence over transverse scales out to 500 h kpc in spectra extracted from a cosmological simulation at z = 2.
Spectrum analyzers today and tomorrow: Part 2

In this second part of the two-part article on spectrum analyzer evolution, future advances in spectrum analysis have been addressed, specifically the advances in real-time spectrum analysis. The proposed extension of real-time spectrum analyzers with a Filterbank architecture has been developed as a generalization of the classical overlapped windowed-FFT concept. This leads to further improvements in performance and flexibility, in terms of frequency and time resolution and trigger response time. Overlapped processing at full analysis bandwidth is realized at a favorable computation and implementation cost.
Discrete particle detection and metal emissions monitoring using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

The unique conditions for the application of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) as a metal emissions monitoring technology have been discussed. Because of the discrete, particulate nature of effluent metals, the utilization of LIBS is considered in part as a statistical sampling problem involving the finite laser-induced plasma volume, as well as the concentration and size distribution of the target metal species. Particle sampling rates are evaluated and Monte Carlo simulations are presented for relevant LIBS parameters and wastestream conditions. For low metal effluent levels and submicrometer-sized particles, a LIBS-based technique may become sample limited. An approach based on random LIBS sampling and the conditional analysis of the resulting data is proposed as a means to enhance the LIBS sensitivity in actual wastestreams. Monte Carlo simulations and experimental results from a pyrolytic waste processing facility are presented, which demonstrate that a significant enhancement of LIBS performance, greater than an order of magnitude, may be realized by taking advantage of the discrete particulate nature of metals.
The nature of commitment: Vincenzo Gonzaga's patronage strategies in the wake of the fall of Ferrara

By the end of duke Vincenzo Gonzaga's reign in 1612, he had created in Mantua a unique and unrivalled centre of music theatre. The Mantuan musical and theatrical scene in the first decades of the seventeenth century eclipsed the metamorphic grandeur of the Medici and Valois courts with an aesthetic intensity born of Virgilian pastoralism and the rhetorical immediacy of the Heroides. Virgilian pastoral combined with the educational system established at Ferrara by Guarino Guarini to create a style of theatre that reached outside the bounds of static Olympian tableaux to enact living, coherent plots wherein shepherds, shepherdesses, and lovers expressed the limits of human emotion. The integration of music, rhetoric, and drama in Mantuan spectacles — an integration that came to fruition only in compositions of the seconda practica, where the dramatic moment governed the sound of the music as well as the words — resulted from the unique conf luence of people whom Vincenzo Gonzaga drew to his court in the wake of the devolution of Ferrara. By making citizens of his prized actors and musicians, Vincenzo Gonzaga established the historic moment in which the creation of a radically new style of music theatre could unfold.
Hemoclipping of chronic canine ulcers: a randomized, prospective study of initial deployment success, clip retention rates, and ulcer healing.

Background Several different hemoclips are marketed for endoscopic hemostasis of nonvariceal upper GI (UGI) bleeding. No previous reports have compared success rates of clip deployment onto bases of chronic gastric ulcers (GUs), clip retention rates, or their influence on ulcer healing. Objectives For the treatment of chronic GUs, to compare 3 different hemoclips with multipolar electrocoagulation (MPEC) and control. Design Randomized, controlled study. Subjects Seven adult dogs with prehepatic portal hypertension had GUs created by rubber band ligation. Animals received oral proton pump inhibitors daily and underwent weekly endoscopies to quantitate clip retention and ulcer healing. Interventions One week after banding, 10 chronic ulcers were randomized in pairs to control (no endoscopic treatment), MPEC, or different hemoclips (QuickClip2 [QC], TriClip [TC], or Resolution Clip [RC]). Main Outcome Measurements Times and success of hemoclip deployment, clip retention rates, and ulcer healing rates on weekly endoscopies. Results Success rates of clip deployment were 100% for the RC, 93.1% for the TC, and 83.3% for the QC. Clip retention rates were significantly higher with the RC than the QC or TC at 1 to 3 weeks. Retained clips did not delay GU healing compared with MPEC or control. Conclusions Hemoclipping time was similar with all 3 clips; the RC was retained significantly longer than the QC or TC, hemoclips did not delay ulcer healing compared with control or MPEC, and all 3 hemoclips were safe and no complications such as bleeding and weight loss were noted.
The Meanings of Self-Ratings of Health: A Qualitative and Quantitative Approach

Self-ratings of health are central measures of health status that predict outcomes such as mortality and declines in functional ability. Qualitative and quantitative data are used to test the hypothesis that definitions of health that are narrowly biomedical are associated with underestimates of self-ratings relative to respondents’medical histories, while definitions that are broad and inclusive are related to relatively better self-ratings. A sample of 159 elderly African Americans rates their health and reports “what went through your mind.” Analysis of variance shows that respondents who overestimate their health are more likely to report ratings based on social activities and relationships, or psychological, emotional, or spiritual characteristics, rather than biomedical criteria. The authors conclude that inclusive definitions of health facilitate more positive self-ratings of health, given a fixed health status; methodologically, they conclude that this is a promising method for exploring self-rati...
The humanities: plain and simple

This article raises a number of questions that the author believes need to be addressed in order to defend and justify the teaching and practice of the humanities in an age when they continue to face swingeing cuts and unreasoned attacks from many quarters, both inside and outside the Academy. They are questions that have to do with the uniqueness of the humanities, its role in teaching values, the objectives of research, the connection between research and teaching, the value of an education in the humanities for society overall, and the ways in which humanists can play a useful public role. In sum, the author advocates for a coherent justification for what the humanities, plain and simple, are (or is).
The role and amplification of the HS Alu subfamily founder gene

A recently identified Alu element (Leeflang et al. J. Mol. Evol. 1993, 37:559–565), referred to as the “putative founder of the HS (PV) subfamily,” was found to be present at orthologous loci in the human, chimpanzee, gorilla, and gibbon lineages. The evolution of this Alu suggested that it is a source gene in the evolution of Alu family repeats for one of the most recent subfamilies, HS. We have determined that this putative founder of the HS subfamily was not present at the orthologous loci in older primates, including old world and new world monkeys. Thus, this particular Alu locus has only been responsible for the establishment of a very small subfamily of Alu sequences. We have further demonstrated that this putative founder Alu was not responsible for the de novo Alu insertion into the neurofibromatosis-1 gene of an individual causing neurofibromatosis. Our data demonstrate that although the putative founder of the HS subfamily found by Leeflang et al. (1993) probably gave rise to one of the most recent subfamilies of Alu sequences, it has not been very active in retroposition.
New classes of orthopoxvirus vaccine candidates by functionally screening a synthetic library for protective antigens

The licensed smallpox vaccine, comprised of infectious vaccinia, is no longer popular as it is associated with a variety of adverse events. Safer vaccines have been explored such as further attenuated viruses and component designs. However, these alternatives typically provide compromised breadth and strength of protection. We conducted a genome-level screening of cowpox, the ancestral poxvirus, in the broadly immune-presenting C57BL/6 mouse as an approach to discovering novel components with protective capacities. Cowpox coding sequences were synthetically built and directly assayed by genetic immunization for open-reading frames that protect against lethal pulmonary infection. Membrane and non-membrane antigens were identified that partially protect C57BL/6 mice against cowpox and vaccinia challenges without adjuvant or regimen optimization, whereas the 4-pox vaccine did not. New vaccines might be developed from productive combinations of these new and existing antigens to confer potent, broadly efficacious protection and be contraindicated for none.
δ18O and δD of streamwaters across the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau: Implications for moisture sources and paleoelevation reconstructions

Abstract This study presents new δ18O and δD data from 191 streams across the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau to better constrain the spatial variability of stable isotopes in modern precipitation over this region. Moisture penetrating into the southeastern Tibetan Plateau is predominantly derived from monsoonal airmasses originating from the Bay of Bengal and transported into the eastern Himalayan syntaxis along the Brahmaputra River. Progressive rainout during orographic lifting and cooling results in clear relationships between δ18O and δD and catchment hypsometric elevation on the plateau margin. However, monsoonal-derived moisture is progressively mixed with central Asian airmasses in more western and northern parts of the Tibetan Plateau. As a result, predicted isotope–elevation relationships that are based on empirical lapse rates or thermodynamic models of the isotopic evolution of an airmass produce large (1–3 km) misfits between measured and predicted catchment elevations for much of the Tibetan Plateau, including some areas directly north of the central Himalayan crest. This suggests that changes in the δ18O or δD of paleoprecipitation on the central and southwestern Tibetan Plateau may reflect surface uplift along moisture transport pathways or changes in the penetration of monsoonally-derived moisture rather than regional surface uplift histories.
Finite algebras that generate an injectively complete modular variety

We extend Kollar's result on finitely generated, injectively complete congruence distributive varieties to the congruence modular setting. By doing so we show that, given any finite algebra A of finite type, there is an algorithm to decide whether V(A) is an injectively complete, congruence modular variety.
“Shalom Achshav”—Rituals of the Israeli peace movement

Rhetorical critics have ignored the study of non‐western movements and have not paid serious attention to the construction of theories which help to explain and interpret the rhetorical form of movements. This study attempts to fill both voids by synthesizing concepts from rhetorical theory and anthropology to explain the linguistic process which made up the Israeli peace movement. An assessment of the rhetorical strategies, a listing of the indirect consequences of the movement, and the implications of the study to the development of rhetorical theory is provided to complete the critical act.
Using Functional Analysis to Assess Alertness and Seizures in a 24-year-old Woman with Intellectual Disabilities: A Case Report

The purpose of this study was assess environmental variables associated with pseudo-siezures displayed by a 24-year-old woman with intellectual disabilities. A modified brief functional analysis was conducted over 5 days to determine the environmental correlates of the participant’s seizures. An alertness analysis was conducted to evaluate the participant’s awareness during pseudo seizure episodes. Results suggested that the episodes occurred across all session; thus the participant’s behavior was not maintained by social consequences. Results of an alertness analysis indicated that the participant did not have any control over her pseudo-seizure behavior. This suggests that actual seizure activity was present in the participant.
A report on industry-University roundtable discussions on recruitment and retention of high-tech professionals

The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the proceedings of the 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 Technology and Commerce Roundtables on the topic of the “Recruitment and Retention of High-Tech Professionals” and to raise issues and challenges which have been generated from these discussions. The paper will address the responses of corporate partners, students, and the university faculty with respect to the recruitment and retention of IT professionals, skill and knowledge requirements for IT personnel, the factors important to MIS graduates in selecting career opportunities, the impact of commercial off-the-shelf software on IT skill requirements, and IT compensation strategies.
Regulation of gene expression in the genomic context.

Metazoan life is dependent on the proper temporal and spatial control of gene expression within the many cells—essentially all with the identical genome—that make up the organism. While much is understood about how individual gene regulatory elements function, many questions remain about how they interact to maintain correct regulation globally throughout the genome. In this review we summarize the basic features and functions of the crucial regulatory elements promoters, enhancers, and insulators and discuss some of the ways in which proper interactions between these elements is realized. We focus in particular on the role of core promoter sequences and propose explanations for some of the contradictory results seen in experiments aimed at understanding insulator function. We suggest that gene regulation depends on local genomic context and argue that more holistic in vivo investigations that take into account multiple local features will be necessary to understand how genome-wide gene regulation is maintained.
Parity dimension for graphs

Abstract For a graph G = ( V , E ), by N = A + I , we denote the closed neighborhood matrix of G where A and I are the adjacency matrix of G and identity matrix, respectively. The parity dimension of G , denoted PD( G ), is the dimension of the null space of N over the field Z 2 . We investigate parity dimension for trees, graphs and random graphs.
Review: Rod-shaped nanoparticle assembly using an electric field

Various nanowire or nanotube-based devices have been demonstrated to fulfill the future demands on semiconductor industries and bio/chemical sensors. To fabricate such devices, an electric field-based assembly method has demonstrated a great potential for parallel- and one dimensional assembly of nanowires. In this review paper, the future direction of electric field guided assembly of nanowires is discussed with our recent results. The challenges and opportunities of the assembly are also introduced with the current trends of the nanowire assembly.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Search for short-lived axions

The original version of the axion was ruled out several years ago but a new variant required a second round of experimental searches. The newer, heavier, shorter-lived axion should have been detected following neutron capture on the protons in a recent ILL experiment. The null ILL result obtains strong limits within an important mass range. The experimental implication is that the axion is not the source of the puzzling narrow positron emission lines observed in heavy-ion collisions.
Efficient new syntheses of benzochlorins, benzoisobacteriochlorins, and benzobacteriochlorins

Reaction of nickel(II) or copper(II) porphyrins with 3-dimethylamino-acrolein/POCl3 gives meso-(2-formylvinyl)-porphyrins, which after strong acid treatment give the corresponding benzochlorins. Use of nickel(II) or copper(II) chlorins gives benzoisobacteriochiorins; a modification also gives benzobacteriochlorins. Reductive coupling of (2-formylvinyl) derivatives gives carbon-carbon linked dimers.
On the design of a mode-based symbolic system

This paper is a preliminary report on the design and implementation of a mode-based symbolic programming system and compiler which allows programming with rewrite rules and let and is pattern-match constructs. An important feature of this design is the provision for mode-valued variables which allow algebraic domains to be run-time parameters.
Motor vehicle crashes in dementia of the Alzheimer type

To assess the occurrence and related features of motor vehicle crashes in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) we studied 30 patients who had been followed longitudinally and 20 healthy age-matched control subjects. Data were gathered from first-degree relatives who had lived with the subjects for the previous 5 years or more. Forty-seven percent of the DAT patients incurred at least one crash while they were driving, whereas only 10% of the control subjects had had a crash in the previous 5 years. The odds ratio for crashes in the DAT group was 7.9 (p less than 0.01). Moreover, in 77% of DAT patients, a deterioration in driving performance was noted, and 63% of the patients had stopped driving. However, only 42% of the DAT patients who stopped driving did so before a crash occurred. Mean illness duration was 4.0 (+/- 1.8) years, and the mean Mini-Mental Status Examination score was 19.9 (+/- 6.3) at the time of the first crash in the DAT group. The occurrence of crashes was not significantly correlated with dementia severity or with disease duration. These data suggest that the occurrence of driving crashes in patients with DAT is an important public health problem.
Mediating Public Disputes: Obstacles and Possibilities

Mediated negotiation has recently been used to supplement traditional methods of resolving complex public resource allocation disputes in the United States. Although many of these efforts have apparently been successful, procedural concerns have been raised by a number of analysts. In this paper, we focus on five of these concerns: (1) problems of representation, (2) the difficulties of setting an appropriate agenda, (3) obstacles to joint fact finding, (4) difficulties of binding parties to their commitments, and (5) obstacles to monitoring and enforcing negotiated agreements. Our discussion builds on three cases: a negotiated investment strategy undertaken by the state of Connecticut; a dispute over the siting of a low-income housing project in Forest Hills, New York; and an environmental dispute involving energy production facilities along the Hudson River. These experiences indicate that the difficulties associated with mediation can be overcome with the application of innovative techniques, and the assistance of a skillful and astute mediator.
BIG News in Alcohol Addiction: New Findings on Growth Factor Pathways BDNF, Insulin, and GDNF

In recent years, it has become clear that growth factors are not only critical for the development of the central nervous system (CNS) but may also be important contributors to other neuronal functions in the adult brain. This symposium, presented at the 2005 RSA meeting, discussed evidence to support the hypothesis that alterations in growth factor pathways produce dramatic changes in the effects of alcohol on the CNS. The 4 speakers showed that the behavioral effects of alcohol in the adult are regulated by 3 growth factors, insulin, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Dr. Wolf from the Heberlein laboratory presented findings obtained from genetic manipulations in Drosophila melanogasler, demonstrating that the insulin pathway controls sensitivity to the intoxicating effects of alcohol. Marian Logrip from the Ron and Janak laboratories presented evidence obtained in rodents that low concentrations of alcohol increase the expression of BDNF in the brain to regulate alcohol consumption. Dr. Pandey showed that amygdalar BDNF regulates alcohol's anxiolytic effects and preference. Finally, Dr. Janak presented evidence that increases in the expression of GDNF in the midbrain reduce alcohol self-administration in rats.
Optimal allocation of computer time in monte carlo studies of interval procedures

This paper describes three way of designing Monte Carle studies to estimate the meiusion probability of a prediction interval procedure. It diseusses the problem of computer time allocation during these Monte Carlo Studies. develops the relationships between variances of the estimates and computer times required to obtain any given variance, and gives guidelines for choosing the optimal allocation of time for specific problems.
Si boride-coated Si nanoparticles with improved thermal oxidation resistance

A new fabrication technique is devised to synthesize conformal Si core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) with Si boride nanoshell by reacting the surface atoms of Si NPs (50–200 nm diameter) with a molten salt of sodium borohydride. The shell layer, about 10–20 nm thick, consists of a mixture of crystalline phase (SiBx) and other amorphous phases as identified by TEM and EELS analysis. New absorbance peaks for Si–Si boride core–shell NPs appear at the wavenumber of 940 and 777–677 cm 1 in FT-IR analysis. TGA analysis reveals that the core–shell structured Si–Si boride NPs exhibit a remarkably improved resistance to thermal oxidation by a factor of 4.6 at 750 1C and at by a factor of 3.5 at 850 1C compared to bare Si. Optical measurements show that spectrally selective coating (SSC) layers made of Si–Si boride NPs have a superior optical stability to that of the bare Si NPs after annealing at high temperature, and desirably exhibit a lower reflectance in the visible spectrum range than the bare Si NPs. These surface-protected, oxidation-resistant semiconductor materials and their novel fabrication methods exhibit further broad applicabilit yo f boride nanolayers which can be used for high temperature applications such as solar thermal power generation.
Certification-based development of critical systems

Safety-critical systems certification is a complex endeavor. Regulating agencies are moving to goal-based standards in an effort to remedy significant problems of prescriptive standards. However, goal-based standards introduce new difficulties into the development and certification processes. In this work I introduce Certification-Based Development, or CBD. CBD is a process framework designed to mitigate these difficulties by meeting the needs of a specific certifying agency with regard to a specific system.
Protein folding: Independent unrelated pathways or predetermined pathway with optional errors

The observation of heterogeneous protein folding kinetics has been widely interpreted in terms of multiple independent unrelated pathways (IUP model), both experimentally and in theoretical calculations. However, direct structural information on folding intermediates and their properties now indicates that all of a protein population folds through essentially the same stepwise pathway, determined by cooperative native-like foldon units and the way that the foldons fit together in the native protein. It is essential to decide between these fundamentally different folding mechanisms. This article shows, contrary to previous supposition, that the heterogeneous folding kinetics observed for the staphylococcal nuclease protein (SNase) does not require alternative parallel pathways. SNase folding kinetics can be fit equally well by a single predetermined pathway that allows for optional misfolding errors, which are known to occur ubiquitously in protein folding. Structural, kinetic, and thermodynamic information for the folding intermediates and pathways of many proteins is consistent with the predetermined pathway–optional error (PPOE) model but contrary to the properties implied in IUP models.
An Effective and Efficient Real Time Strategy Agent

Real Time Strategy (RTS) games present a challenge for the field of artificial intelligence. The size of the state space often makes machine learning solutions intractable and as a result, developers turn towards hand-tailored solutions such as scripts. In this work, we present the Killer Bee Artificial Intelligence (KBAI) agent which uses a predictive nearest neighbor classifier to make decisions in real time. KBAI has a no-loss record against four hand tailored scripts in the RTS game Spring.
Microbial interactions with neutrophils

Bacterial pathogenesis is heavily dependent on the capacities of microbial cells to avoid activating or to resist antimicrobial mediators of neutrophil polymorphonuclear granulocytes, the first line of phagocytic defense against infection. These capacities can but be understood in terms of the cell biology of neutrophils. The relevant microbial mechanism largely reside in the biochemical structures of their cell surfaces and their secretions. These factors are reviewed, and the importance of biochemical genetic analysis in seeking new solutions to old and new problems is stressed.
Identifying content and levels of representation in scientific data

Heterogeneous digital data that has been produced by different communities with varying practices and assumptions, and that is organized according to different representatio n schemes, encodings, and file formats, presents substantial obstacles to efficient integration, analysis, and preserva tion. This is a particular impediment to data reuse and interdisci plinary science. An underlying problem is that we have no shared formal conceptual model of information representation that is both accurate and sufficiently detailed to accom modate the management and analysis of real world digital data in varying formats. Developing such a model involves confronting extremely challenging foundational problems in information science. We present two complementary conceptual models for data representation, the Basic Representation Model and the Systematic Assertion Model. We show how these models work together to provide an analytical account of digitally encoded scientific data. These models wil l provide a better foundation for understanding and supporting a wide range of data curation activities, including form at migration, data integration, data reuse, digital preserva tion strategies, and assessment of identity and scientific equiv alence.
Human psychopharmacology of N,N-dimethyltryptamine

We generated dose-response data for the endogenous and ultra-short-acting hallucinogen, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), in a cohort of experienced hallucinogen users, measuring multiple biological and psychological outcome measures. Subjective responses were quantified with a new rating scale, the HRS, which provided better resolution of dose effects than did the biological variables. A tolerance study then was performed, in which volunteers received four closely spaced hallucinogenic doses of DMT. Subjective responses demonstrated no tolerance, while biological measures were inconsistently reduced over the course of the sessions. Thus, DMT remains unique among classic hallucinogens in its inability to induce tolerance to its psychological effects. To assess the role of the 5-HT1A site in mediating DMT's effects, a pindolol pre-treatment study was performed. Pindolol significantly increased psychological responses to DMT, suggesting a buffering effect of 5-HT1A agonism on 5-HT2-mediated psychedelic effects. These data are opposite to those described in lower animal models of hallucinogens' mechanisms of action.
Impact of Loss of U.S. Microwave and Radio Occultation Observations in Operational Numerical Weather Prediction in Support of the U.S. Data Gap Mitigation Activities

AbstractAs the U.S. polar-orbiting satellites NOAA-15, -18, and -19 and NASA’s Aqua satellite reach the ends of their lives, there may be a loss in redundancy between their microwave (MW) soundings, and the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) on the Suomi–National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite. With the expected delay in the launch of the next generation of U.S. polar-orbiting satellites, there may be a loss in at least some of the U.S. MW data. There may also be a significant decrease in the number of radio occultation (RO) observations. The mainstay of the global RO system, the COSMIC constellation of six satellites is already past the end of its nominal lifetime. A replacement of RO soundings in the tropics is planned with the launch of COSMIC-2 satellites in 2016. However, the polar constellation of COSMIC-2 will not be launched until 2018 or 2019, and complete funding for this constellation is not assured. Using the NCEP operational forecast system, forecasts for March–April 201...
The design, development and evolution of Web-based materials featuring computer-animated simulations

In this paper, we review the design, development and evaluation of our initial desktop CAI/CAS modules in two stages before presenting our experience in developing and evaluating these materials in a web-based format. In the initial stage of desktop CAI development, we obtained valuable insight into ways to improve the animated simulations through informal student feedback and ongoing formative evaluation. We note that presentation time in both lecture and lab are significantly reduced by applying these modules. The second stage of desktop CAI evaluation began after most of the suggestions from the initial stage had been incorporated. The evaluation of the desktop CAI in the second stage consists of a more direct measurement comparing pre-test and post-test scores for students conducting lab exercises in either the traditional hands-on assignment or in the CAI/CAS format. This study also shows no statistical difference between the two groups of students. However, this review demonstrates the importance of student feedback in both formative and summative evaluations and several key benefits of the CAI/CAS format. Lastly, this paper presents our development strategy for enhancing these materials and for converting them into a web-based format. Due to our disappointing experience with commercial web-authoring software, our strategy changed to a "from scratch" approach using inexpensive and easy to use web-based development tools. Cost for these tools, development time estimates and results of an informal evaluation of our first two web-based modules are also reported.
Modification of surface topography of lymphocytes by L-asparaginase.

Summary l-Asparaginase is a chemotherapeutic agent that is also immunosuppressive, inhibiting both the cellular and humoral responses. This study deals with the effects of the enzyme on lymphocyte surface receptors to the mitogen concanavalin A. We previously reported that short incubation of lymphocytes with l-asparaginase leads to a decreased binding of the mitogen to their surface. We now report that the enzyme is unable to cleave off concanavalin A surface receptors but causes a significant clustering effect on the topographic distribution of such membrane concanavalin A sites. The mechanism of immunosuppression by l-asparaginase thus appears to be due to alteration of surfaces of lymphocytes which probably accounts for its immunosuppressive activity.
A novel structure for MMSE transceivers over slowly time-varying channels

This paper addresses the design problem of decision feedback (DF) transceiver without zero-forcing constraint over slowly time-varying narrowband multi-input multi-output (MIMO) channels. The space-time generalized triangular decomposition (ST-GTD) is applied for the design of minimum mean square error (MMSE) DF transceiver. With space-time powerloading, the proposed space-time geometric mean decomposition (ST-GMD) MMSE transceiver maximizes Gaussian mutual information over the equivalent channel seen by each space-time block. For practical applications, the causal ST-GTD MMSE transceiver which does not require channel prediction but shares the same asymptotic bit error rate (BER) performance with the ST-GMD MMSE system is also developed. In high signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) region, our results show that the proposed MMSE transceivers have better BER performance than the conventional GMD-based MMSE transceiver; the average BERs of the proposed systems are a non-increasing function of the ST-block size. 1
Combined Heart and Liver Transplantation: The Cedars-Sinai Experience.

Abstract Purpose Combined heart-liver transplantation is an increasingly accepted treatment for select patients with heart and liver disease. Despite growing optimism, heart-liver transplantation remains an infrequent operation. We report our institutional experience with heart-liver transplantation. Methods All combined heart-liver transplantations at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from 1998–2014 were analyzed. Primary outcomes were patient and graft survival and secondary outcomes included rejection, infection, reoperation, length of stay, and readmission. Results There were 7 heart-liver transplants: 6 simultaneous (single donor) and 1 staged (2 donors). Median follow-up was 22.1 (IQR 13.2–48.4) months. Mean recipient age was 50.8 ± 19.5 years. Heart failure etiologies included familial amyloidosis, congenital heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, systemic lupus erythematosus, and dilated cardiomyopathy. Preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction averaged 32.3 ± 12.9%. Five (71.4%) patients required preoperative inotropic support; 1 required mechanical circulatory support. The most common indications for liver transplant were amyloidosis and cardiac cirrhosis. Median Model for End-stage Liver Disease score was 10.0 (9.3–13.8). Six-month and 1-year actuarial survivals were 100% and 83.3%, with mean survival exceeding 4 years. No patient experienced cardiac allograft rejection, 1 experienced transient liver allograft rejection, and 1 developed progressive liver dysfunction resulting in death. Five developed postoperative infections and 3 (42.9%) required reoperation. Median ICU and hospital stays were 7.0 (7.0–11.5) and 17.0 (13.8–40.5) days. There were 4 (57.1%) readmissions. Conclusions For carefully selected patients with coexisting heart and liver disease, combined heart and liver transplantation offers acceptable patient and graft survival.
The monstrosity of the multitude: unredeeming radical theology

If its power comes from the very value held so dear by neoliberalismâthat of productivityâcan the âmultitudeâ as conceived by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri ever fully resist the neoliberal Empire? Engaging the Autonomous Marxism of Franco âBifoâ Berardi, I argue that continued philosophical and theological emphases on productivity resonate with a soteriological narrative embedded in neoliberalismâs promise that work is redemptive. As both counter and supplement to such emphases, this essay offers an alternate reading of Hardt and Negriâs multitude through the lens of crip (disability) theory. In Sex and Disability crip theorists Anna Mollow and Robert McRuer argue that counter to Joseph Conradâs assertion that âââA man is a worker. If he is not then he is nothing,âââ a crip politics says, âfuck employability: Iâm too sick to workâ (25). To embrace the stigma of sickness is to question the demands of productive labour on offer by society. A similar crip politics, one that tells the Empire it is too sick to work and too slow to be efficient, might loose the multitude from its redeployment in the very technologies of power Hardt and Negri hope to counter. Looking to figures of monstrosity, I argue that productivist tendencies within radical theology betray the fieldâs crip potential. Ultimately, this essay seeks to recover the multitudeâs monstrosity from within Hardt and Negriâs corpus. A return to its monstrosity returns the multitude to its unproductive potency, that which wanders away from demands of social cohesion, and thus resists redemptive wholeness. This article is published as part of a collection dedicated to radical theologies.
Electroanatomic mapping systems (CARTO/EnSite NavX) vs. conventional mapping for ablation procedures in a training program

Three-dimensional electroanatomic mapping (EAM) systems reduce radiation exposure when radio frequency catheter ablation (RFCA) procedures are performed by well-trained senior operators. Given the steep learning curve associated with complex RFCA, trainees and their mentors must rely on multiple imaging modalities to maximize safety and success, which might increase procedure and fluoroscopy times. The objective of the present study is to determine if 3-D EAM (CARTO and ESI-NavX) improves procedural outcomes (fluoroscopy time, radio frequency time, procedure duration, complication, and success rates) during CA procedures as compared to fluoroscopically guided conventional mapping alone in an academic teaching hospital. We analyzed a total of 1070 consecutive RFCA procedures over an 8-year period for fluoroscopic time stratified by ablation target and mapping system. Multivariate logistic regression and adjusted odds ratios were calculated for each variable. No statistically significant differences in acute success rates were noted between conventional and 3-D mapping cases [CARTO (p = 0.68) or ESI-NavX (p = 0.20)]. Moreover, complication rates were also not significantly different between CARTO (p = 0.23) and ESI-NavX (p = 0.53) when compared to conventional mapping. Procedure, radio frequency, and fluoroscopy times were significantly longer with CARTO and ESI-NavX versus conventional mapping [fluoroscopy time: CARTO, 28.3 min; ESI, 28.5 min; and conventional, 24.3 min; p < 0.001)]. The use of 3-D EAM systems during teaching cases significantly increases radiation exposure when compared with conventional mapping. These findings suggest a need to develop alternative training strategies that enhance confidence and safety during catheter manipulation and allow for reduced fluoroscopy and procedure times during RFCA.
Pulsed metalorganic chemical vapor deposition of In-Polar and N-Polar InN semiconductors on GaN / sapphire for terahertz applications

Narrow bandgap (0.77eV) In- and N-polar InN semiconductors were grown by using pulsed metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Ultrafast laser excitation on optimized In-polar InN sample resulted in terahertz radiation (0.25–2.0THz) with output power of 2.36µW.
Public School Discipline for Creating Uncensored Anonymous Internet Forums

Public schools often consider it appropriate to impose discipline for students' Internet communications. This article explores the proper legal response to student Internet speech whose effects are felt on campus. It concludes that students' off-campus speech - including speech over the Internet - enjoys considerable constitutional and statutory protection that in most cases prevents school discipline in response to the speech. Parts I and II describe an early-arising fact pattern that forms the basis of the legal discussion. Seattle-area students who were early adopters of technology created an online forum for fellow students to express themselves anonymously and without censorship. They faced formal school discipline when an unknown person posted a bomb threat on the forum without the creators' knowledge or consent. In addition to describing the facts for their historical interest, these Parts also note important historical and sociological parallels. Part I notes that the attempt to discipline the students resembled the colonial-era sedition trial of John Peter Zenger. Part II situates the official reaction to youth adopting novel technology within the discourse of moral panic. Part III describes the controlling First Amendment law regarding student expression at school. Part IV explains why schools lack authority to punish students for their off-campus speech, including their speech on the internet. Part V considers punishment of students for disseminating the speech of others through uncensored forums. It proposes that the statutory immunity found in Section 230(c) of the Communications Decency Act should also be a defense to school discipline. Part VI considers how the right to speak anonymously should be evaluated in a school setting.
Design of a Multi-Dopamine-Modified Polymer Ligand Optimally Suited for Interfacing Magnetic Nanoparticles with Biological Systems

We have designed a set of multifunctional and multicoordinating polymer ligands that are optimally suited for surface functionalizing iron oxide and potentially other magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) and promoting their integration into biological systems. The amphiphilic polymers are prepared by coupling (via nucleophilic addition) several amine-terminated dopamine anchoring groups, poly(ethylene glycol) moieties, and reactive groups onto a poly(isobutylene-alt-maleic anhydride) (PIMA) chain. This design greatly benefits from the highly efficient and reagent-free one-step reaction of maleic anhydride groups with amine-containing molecules. The availability of several dopamine groups in the same ligand greatly enhances the ligand affinity, via multiple coordination, to the magnetic NPs, while the hydrophilic and reactive groups promote colloidal stability in buffer media and allow subsequent conjugation with target biomolecules. Iron oxide nanoparticles ligand exchanged with these polymer ligands have a compa...
Reconstruction as Revolution Cultural Life in Post–World War II Kraków and Leipzig

This article compares the process of cultural reconstruction in two of Eastern Europe’s major cities, Krakow and Leipzig, in the first half-decade after World War II. In both cities, it argues, rec...
Lives Versus Livelihoods? Deepening the Regulatory Debates on Soil Fumigants in California's Strawberry Industry

Soil fumigants have been critical to the California strawberry industry's success, but they are also highly toxic to farmworkers and nearby residents. This article traces recent regulatory debates over restrictions on their use which were cast as a contest of lives and livelihoods: activists emphasized the danger of the chemicals while industry emphasized their necessity. Activists’ claims were typical of environmental justice battles that focus on disproportionate toxic exposure to marginalized populations, but I problematize that they downplayed industry concern with farmworker jobs. Drawing on Marx, Foucault and recent literature on surplus populations and disposability, I suggest that the analytical separation of lives and livelihoods is complicit in the making of disposable workers such as California farmworkers. Strategically, upholding the separation was a missed opportunity to leverage the strawberry industry's new-found concern with farmworker employment and push for measures that protect current and future farmworker health. Resume Fumigantes de la tierra han sido criticos para el exito de la industria de la fresa de California, pero tambien son altamente toxicos para los trabajadores agricolas y los residentes cercanos. Este articulo describe los recientes debates reglamentarios sobre restricciones en su uso, que fueron emitidos como un concurso de vidas y medios de vida: activistas hicieron hincapie en el peligro de los productos quimicos, mientras que la industria hizo hincapie en su necesidad. Demandas de los activistas eran tipicas de las batallas de justicia ambiental que se centran en la exposicion toxica desproporcionada a las poblaciones marginadas, pero problematizo que despiden la preocupacion de la industria con puestos de trabajo de los trabajadores agricolas. Sobre la base de Marx, Foucault y literatura reciente sobre las poblaciones excedentes y disponibilidad de acceso, yo sugiero que la separacion analitica de la vida y el sustento es complice en la fabricacion de los trabajadores desechables, tales como los trabajadores agricolas de California. Estrategicamente, la defensa de la separacion fue una oportunidad perdida para aprovechar la recien descubierta preocupacion de la industria de la fresa con el empleo de los trabajadores agricolas y impulso medidas que protejan la salud de los trabajadores agricolas actuales y futuras.
Sensitivity analysis on chaotic dynamical systems by Non-Intrusive Least Squares Shadowing (NILSS)

Abstract This paper develops the Non-Intrusive Least Squares Shadowing (NILSS) method, which computes the sensitivity for long-time averaged objectives in chaotic dynamical systems. In NILSS, we represent a tangent solution by a linear combination of one inhomogeneous tangent solution and several homogeneous tangent solutions. Next, we solve a least squares problem using this representation; thus, the resulting solution can be used for computing sensitivities. NILSS is easy to implement with existing solvers. In addition, for chaotic systems with many degrees of freedom but few unstable modes, NILSS has a low computational cost. NILSS is applied to two chaotic PDE systems: the Lorenz 63 system and a CFD simulation of flow over a backward-facing step. In both cases, the sensitivities computed by NILSS reflect the trends in the long-time averaged objectives of dynamical systems.