cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tools for Volatility Engineering, Volatility Swaps, and Volatility Trading

This chapter provides an introduction to a sector that may, in the future, play an even more significant role in financial market strategies. The purpose is to show how one can isolate the volatility of a risk factor from other related risks, and then construct instruments that can be used to trade it. Liquid instruments that involve pure volatility trades are potentially very useful for market participants who have natural exposure to various volatilities in their balance sheet or trading book. When a trader takes a position or hedges a risk, he or she expects that the random movements of the underlying would have a known effect on the position. The underlying may be random, but the payoff function of a well-defined contract or a position has to be known. Payoff functions of most classical volatility strategies are not invariant to underlying risks, and most volatility instruments turn out to be imperfect tools for isolating this risk. Even when traders' anticipations come true, the trader may realize that the underlying volatility payoff functions have changed due to movements in other variables. Hence, classical volatility strategies cannot provide satisfactory hedges for volatility exposures. The reason for this and possible solutions are given in the chapter.
Compassion at a distance: how ordinary people are enabling their compassion to self-organize disaster relief efforts remotely and collaboratively

The continuity in technologically mediated environments relentlessly reconfigures the temporal nature of disaster impacts and facilitates emergent behavior of ordinary people coming into being as a group for humanitarian efforts. This study looks at forms of remote collaborative action, especially ones among ordinary people with rudimentary knowledge and skills who utilize appropriate technologies and other resources that are available to them even though they do not have any prior experiences of this kind or pre-disaster histories of collaboration among themselves. There is a need for better understanding of how ordinary people are able to self-organize relief work and how technologies leverage their compassion and distance for such action. I am exploring these issues in the context of a group of Japanese women living in Finland as they responded to the 2011 Japanese disaster. Despite their distance from the disaster site, the seven Japanese women living in Finland orchestrated people, information, and technologies through interactions in digital and physical social spaces learning by doing how to deliver Finnish baby formula directly to the disaster-affected mothers and families in Japan.
Chapter 3.1.7 Molecular genetic analysis of glutamate receptor function in long-term potentiation in the mouse hippocampus

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses molecular genetic analysis of glutamate receptor function in long-term potentiation in the mouse hippocampus. The ability to critically test the connection between glutamate receptors and downstream signaling pathways in long term potentiation (LTP) and learning and memory has greatly enhanced by the advent of gene targeting technology. In GluR2 mutants, LTP in the CA1 region of hippocampal slices has markedly enhanced (2-fold) and non-saturating, whereas neuronal excitability and paired-pulse facilitation are normal. The 9-fold increase in Ca 2+ permeability, in response to kainate application, suggests one possible mechanism for enhanced showed reduced exploration and impaired motor coordination. These results suggest an important role for GluR2 in regulating synaptic plasticity and behavior. The chapter also addresses the limitations of conventional genetic alterations in mice.
Regulation of prophyrin biosynthesis. Purification and characterization of -aminolevulinic acid synthase.

Abstract δ-Aminolevulinic acid synthase has been purified 1300-fold from photosynthetically cultured Rhodopseudomonas spheroides. The enzyme having a specific activity of 130 units per mg shows one major band and two minor bands upon disc electrophoresis. Some properties, including molecular weight, stability, and the inhibition of enzyme activity by hemin are reported. The comparative behavior of crude and purified enzyme toward oxidizing and reducing agents is discussed. Although δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase functions in a regulatory capacity, it apparently lacks some characteristics generally observed with allosteric enzymes.
Fatigue Life Comparison of Ball and Tapered Roller Bearings Under Wheel Bearing Load Conditions

Fatigue life performance of close coupled wheel bearings is of significant interest to vehicle manufacturers. Performance requirements continue to increase as designs become more compact, wheel loads increase and vehicle warranties are extended. The automotive designer is faced with the fundamental decision of selecting between ball or tapered roller bearings. This decision is critical to achieving optimum performance. To determine the relative performance differences between close coupled ball bearings and tapered roller bearings, laboratory tests were conducted under two wheel bearing load cycles. Results show that enhancements to the tapered roller bearing internal geometry significantly increase fatigue life performance. Results also show the tapered roller bearing to give over five times the life of the angular contact ball bearing. The superior performance of the tapered roller bearing provides the designer with two options. He can either take advantage of the increased performance to meet the more severe life requirements of the future or he can reduce the bearing package size while still maintaining life equivalent to that of the ball bearing (A).
Taking Library Recruitment a Step Closer: Recruiting the Next Generation of Librarians

During the summer of 2002, Cornell University Library implemented the Cornell University Library Junior Fellows Program-an initiative aimed at introducing high school students of color to academic libraries and librarianship. The six-week program was developed in response to the need for innovative approaches to the recruitment and retention of people of color to the academic library profession. Additionally, the program sought to support the academic achievement of minority students through involvement in research and technology training opportunities. This paper outlines the program's curriculum, performance outcomes, and challenges, and includes discussion of the need for similar programs or initiatives to be designed and implemented at other libraries.
Lecithin/sphingomyelin ratios in tracheal and pharyngeal aspirates in respiratory distress syndrome: A preliminary report

The ratio of lecithin to sphingomyelin (L/S ratio) in amniotic fluid has been used to determine lung maturity. However, the L/S ratio has not been determined postnatally in either tracheal or pharyngeal fluid of infants with RDS. In this report L/S ratios in tracheal and pharyngeal aspirates of 30 infants have been correlated with their clinical state. Eight infants with no pulmonary disease (Group I) had ratios of ≥1 in 98% of 45 determinations. Four infants with pulmonary diseases other than RDS (Group II) had ratios of ≥1 in 100% of 28 determinations. Five infants with moderate RDS (Group III) had ratios of ≥1 in 94% of 15 determinations. Thirteen infants with severe RDS (Group IV) had ratios of ≥1 in only 53% of 101 determinations; 35% of the ratios in this group were zero. These preliminary results indicate that infants with severe RDS (Group IV) have a significantly higher number of pulmonary effluent L/S ratios below 1 than infants in Groups I, II, and III (p
Fermi surface measurements in A-15 compounds

Publisher Summary It is believed that electronic and/or phononic structure is responsible for the unusual normal state of high-Tc superconductivity. The de Haas–van Alphen (dHvA) effect provides the most direct and highest precision method of Fermi surface determination presently known. This chapter presents new dHvA data in Nb3Sb and compares that data with the various band calculations, while at the same time reviewing the progress of Fermi surface measurements in A15 compounds in general. In the chapter, three separate pieces of Fermi surface are observed that are consistent with cylindrical surfaces and centered at the M point in the Brillouin zone. Excellent topological correspondence and rough quantitative agreement between theory and experiment for the higher frequencies is also explained. The chapter presents not only a qualitative agreement but also a great deal of quantitative agreement that exists between experiment and band structure calculation. The wave function character at Ep is primarily d-like and coming from Nb sites, a rigid band shift can be useful if one recognizes that results are only qualitative.
Non-trivial 1-classes in the homology of the real moduli spaces M-bar_{0,n} and related structures

We give lower bounds for the rank of the first homology group of the real points of the Deligne-Mumford-Knudsen compactification of stable n-pointed curves of genus 0,which coincides with the Chow quotient (RP^1)^n//PGL(2,R).The study has connections with spectral geometry and combinatorics.
A Review of: “Travel and Tourism”

This small but satisfying volume is part of Sage's Sage Course Companions series. Like other books in the series, this volume is not meant to be a comprehensive course textbook, but rather a study ...
Memory, slavery, and plantation museums: the River Road Project

ABSTRACTHeritage tourism plays an increasingly important yet controversial role in interpreting the emotionally and politically charged memories and legacies of African enslavement. Antebellum plantation museums in the southeastern USA remain relatively underanalyzed by researchers, despite their tradition of ignoring and minimizing the contributions and struggles of the slave community. Yet, this neglect is being challenged somewhat by a growing number of plantations and counter-narrative sites that incorporate slavery into docent-led tours, promotional materials, exhibits, and preserved structures. Responding to a need for scholarship that can ferret out the nuances, complexities, and conflicts of producing and consuming heritage at these tourist sites, this special issue presents the results of a study of four plantations (Laura, Oak Alley, Houmas House, San Francisco) along Louisiana's River Road. The issue's editors and contributing authors address a central question: what factors, social actors, and...
Steady-state crack growth in supercritically transforming materials

Abstract The steady-state crack growth in an elastic solid which contains particles that undergo irreversible dilatant transformation is analyzed. The transformation is assumed to be uniform and to be triggered when the mean stress attains a critical value. The transformed zone size and the toughening are obtained for the full range of a transformation intensity parameter.
Physical Activity and Quality of Life—The Complementary Influence of Self-Efficacy for Physical Activity and Mental Health Difficulties

Background Studies proposed that the physical activity and quality of life (QoL) relationship may not be entirely direct but mediated through other variables; however, few studies have examined these relationships in diverse population’s older adults.
Energetics of charge transfer in collisions of rare-gas ions with H2, D2, O2, N2 and no molecules☆

Abstract Investigations of simple charge transfer in collisions of Ne + , Ar + and Kr + ions with H 2 , D 2 , O 2 , N 2 and NO molecules have been performed in ion beam-gas target experiments at incident ion energies in the range 30–373 eV, using a variable-angle tandem mass spectrometer. Distributions in kinetic energy E 3 of the product ions were measured at the observation angle O = 90 ° with respect to the incident ion direction. These E 3 -spectra give information concerning the internal energy changes Q of the various transfer reactions, and the internal states of the product ions. Pronounced peaks in the E 3 -spectra when E 3 ≅ 0 were observed in all cases. These peaks correspond to thermo-neutral or slightly exothermic reaction channels, in which little momentum is exchanged between collision partners, and which have Q -values in the range 0 ≦ Q ≦ 0.3 eV. In addition, energetic product ions (0.5 ≦ E 3 ≦ 4.0 eV) were observed, indicating that transfer also takes place via either strongly exothermic channels, slightly endothermic channels, or both. Dissociative charge transfer reactions in Ne + − O 2 , Ar + − D 2 , and Ar + − H 2 collisions have been studied as well, and the results and interpretations of these experiments are also presented.
Observations of transition to strongly coupled stimulated Brillouin scattering in laser-plasma interactions.

Scattered light near the laser wavelength has been spectrally and temporally resolved in experiments in which a 1.06 \ensuremath{\mu}m wavelength laser irradiates a low-$Z$ target. At sufficiently high laser intensities, the backscattered spectrum broadens toward longer wavelengths (lower frequencies) by an amount which is several times an ion acoustic shift. The behavior of the spectra agrees well with the prediction of time-dependent, homogeneous theory.
Rural Consumers' Attitudes toward the Internet for Information Search and Product Purchase

Rogers's innovation diffusion theory guided this research on rural consumers' attitudes toward using the Internet for product information search and purchase of consumer products. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of hands-on trial of retail Web sites on attitudes toward Internet shopping. The sample included 258 rural consumers who had not previously used the Internet to make a product purchase. Demographic variables were related to consumers' use of and attitudes toward electronic technology. The hands-on trial resulted in positive changes in attitudes toward the Internet. Rogers's theory was partially supported in that it explained self-perceived likelihood of adoption of the Internet for information search and product purchase.
Thermal Evolution of the Structure of a Mg-Al-CO3 Layered Double Hydroxide: Sorption Reversibility Aspects

In our prior study, we employed several in-situ techniques to investigate the thermal evolution of the structure of a Mg−Al−CO3 layered double hydroxide (LDH) under an inert atmosphere and proposed a model to describe the structural evolution of the Mg−Al−CO3 LDH structure. In this paper we present results of our ongoing investigations with these materials pertaining to their sorption characteristics and thermal reversibility under both inert and reactive atmospheres. The experimental observations are shown to be consistent with the structural model for the LDH previously proposed. The structure, sorption characteristics, and thermal reversibility of these materials are of importance in their use for the preparation of CO2-permselective membranes for high-temperature membrane reactor applications.
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS OF STAPHYLOCOCCAL INFECTION I. AN EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED ATTENUATED STAPHYLOCOCCAL INFECTION IN GUINEA PIGS AND ITS MODIFICATION BY TETRACYCLINE

An aerosol-induced staphylococcal infection of previously non-infected guinea pigs is described. Investigations concerning the dynamics of this infection indicate that: 1. An infection ("carrier state") could be established predictably in every animal exposed to the aerosol inoculum. 2. Infection was limited to the upper respiratory tract and occurred without apparent systemic dissemination. 3. Cross-infection between infected and non-infected animals did not occur. 4. The initially established infection persisted in detectable form for 6 days or less in the majority of exposed animals. 5. Tetracycline administration prior to and following aerosol infection with tetracycline-resistant strains significantly prolonged the duration of the carrier state. 6. When tetracycline-resistant strains were employed, the infection could be recalled predictably by means of tetracycline administration. 7. Infection initiated with a tetracycline-susceptible strain could not be recalled by tetracycline administration. 8. The mechanism(s) of action of tetracycline in recalling the attenuated infection is (are) unknown. It (they) may not be wholly attributable to ecological changes alone, at least as these are usually considered. The indigenous microflora diminished and changed as a result of tetracycline administration, and no growth-enhancing effect of the antimicrobial of the infection strains was detectable in vitro. 9. The experimental model described lends itself well to the study of attenuated staphylococcal infection in guinea pigs, and to more general studies of staphylococcal epidemiology and pathogenesis.
Toward Nanostructured Thermoelectrics. Synthesis and Characterization of Lead Telluride Gels and Aerogels

The synthesis and characterization of lead telluride (PbTe) gels and aerogels with nanostructured features of potential benefit for enhanced thermoelectrics is reported. In this approach, discrete thiolate-capped PbTe nanoparticles were synthesized by a solution-based approach followed by oxidation-induced nanoparticle assembly with tetranitromethane or hydrogen peroxide to form wet gels. Drying of the wet gels by supercritical CO2 extraction yielded aerogels, whereas xerogels were produced by ambient pressure bench top drying. The gels consist of an interconnected network of colloidal nanoparticles and pores with surface areas up to 74 m2 g−1. The thermal stability of the nanostructures relative to nanoparticles was probed with the help of in situtransmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The aerogels were observed to sublime at a higher temperature and over a larger range (425–500 °C) relative to the precursor nanoparticles. TGA-DSC suggests that organic capping groups can be removed in the region 250–450 °C, and melting of PbTe nanoparticles occurs near the temperature for bulk materials (ca. 920 °C). The good thermal stability combined with the presence of nanoscale interfaces suggests PbTe gels may show promise in thermoelectric devices.
Optimal Timing and Dosing Intervals of Palivizumab in Premature Neonates: Still Some Work to Do: In Reply

In Reply .— We appreciate the comments of Manzoni et al regarding our article related to palivizumab use in very premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.1 Manzoni et al report respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-related hospitalizations in 2.3% of high-risk infants treated with palivizumab in Italy despite rigorous adherence to the current American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for palivizumab use. Their findings are comparable with reports of RSV-related hospitalizations in high-risk infants treated with palivizumab in the United States …
Efficacy of leukocyte filters in the bypass circuit for infants undergoing cardiac operations

Background Leukocyte filters have been used in cardiopulmonary bypass circuits to decrease potentially deleterious consequences of white blood cell product release in adults undergoing cardiac operations. Studies in animal models have also demonstrated benefits of white blood cell depletion during cardiopulmonary bypass. We sought to examine the efficacy of a leukocyte filter placed in the bypass circuit of infants undergoing operation for correction of congenital heart disease. Methods We conducted a retrospective study of infants undergoing correction of congenital heart defects (all had left-to-right shunts) between July 1993 and May 1994. Six infants (group I) had a Leukoguard-3 leukocyte filter (Pall Biomedical Products) placed in the arterial limb of the bypass circuit, and 6 infants (group II) had no filter. We analyzed for differences between groups in intraoperative variables (total pump time, aortic cross-clamp time, deep hypothermic cardiac arrest time, and time for rewarming), postoperative clinical variables (fever in the first 24 hours, days of mechanical ventilation, length of intensive care unit stay, and total hospital stay) and laboratory variables (change in white blood cell and platelet counts preoperatively to postoperatively, and arterial oxygen tension/inspired oxygen fraction ratio). Results Comparisons between groups were made using Student's t test or χ 2 where appropriate, and results were considered significant at p less than 0.05. No differences between groups were seen in the demographic data or in any of the intraoperative variables. Fever was the only parameter (clinical or laboratory) showing statistical significance between the groups, affecting 1/6 patients in group I and 5/6 patients in group II ( χ 2 = 5.33; p Conclusions Although these data suggest that the leukocyte filter offers little clinical benefit, a prospective, randomized study should be undertaken to further elucidate the efficacy of leukocyte depletion for infants undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass for correction of congenital heart disease.
Observations on the Mechanism of the Protective Action of Sunscreens

A method is described for measuring the entrance into excised skin of ultraviolet radiation absorbing chemicals (UVRACs) following their application to the cutaneous surface in volatile, partially volatile or nonvolatile vehicles. Also a method is presented for observing changes in optical density (OD) of a sheet of stratum corneum subsequent to the application of an UVRAC and then washing it from the surface. Using these methods, p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and 2-ethylhexyl p-dimethyl aminobenzoate (O-PABA) have been studied. In the presence or absence of the nonvolatile vehicle, isopropyl myristate (IM), significant amounts of PABA enter the skin but almost all of the O-PABA remains on the surface. Nevertheless subsequently PABA is more easily removed by water than is O-PABA. When either UVRAC is applied to excised stratum corneum, the OD of the tissue increases immediately; only with PABA is there a further increase as it enters the skin. In vivo, delayed erythemal responses to 280-400 nm radiation of persons to whom the UVRACs are applied correlate well with the observations made on excised skin.
Uptake of asialo-glycophorin by the perfused rat liver and isolated hepatocytes.

Abstract Perfused rat livers took up asialo-glycophorin, a glycoprotein derived from human erythrocyte membraneds, with a t 1 2 for the clearance of 7 min. As a comparison, asialo-orosomucoid was taken up by this system with a t 1 2 of 3.5 min. Both proteins were digested and their 125 I labels were released to the perfusate as free 125 I − . EGTA completely inhibited uptake of these glycoproteins, but not uptake of denatured bovine serum albumin. Addition of Ca 2+ reversed the inhibition nearly completely. Isolated hepatocytes had an uptake rate of approximately 3 ng/min per 10 6 cells for the asialo forms of glycophorin, orosomucoid and fetuin. Cellular uptake of each of these asialoglycoproteins could be inhibited by one of the other proteins. Asialo-fetuin caused a 95% inhibition of the uptake rate of asialo-orosomucoid by the perfused liver. This fetal calf glycoprotein had a similar inhibitory effect on asialo-glycophorin, but only after an initial 40% of the asialo-glycophorin had been taken up by the liver at an almost normal rate during the first 30 min of perfusion. The possiblity of an alternative hepatic removal system for asialo-glycophorin is suggested.
PFGE analysis of the rice genome: estimation of fragment sizes, organization of repetitive sequences and relationships between genetic and physical distances

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) has been applied to analyze the rice nuclear genome. Probing 56 RFLP probes selected from the 12 rice chromosomes to PFGE blots of nine rare-cutting restriction enzymes revealed that there are relatively high numbers of 'rare-cutting' restriction sites in the rice genome. The average sizes of restriction fragments detected by single-copy probes are smaller than 200 kb for all of the rare-cutting restriction enzymes examined. Sizes of fragments detected by repetitive probes are variable, depending on the probes analyzed. By using PFGE, a tandemly repeated sequence, Os48, was found to be tightly linked to telomeric tandem repeats but not physically linked to r5s genes with which sequence homology had been observed. Relationships between genetic and physical distances have been established for three different chromosomal segments. In these regions 1 cm corresponds to ca. 260 kb on average. Analysis of a cluster of RFLP markers on chromosome 3 revealed that genetically clustered RFLP markers are also physically closely linked, suggesting that clustering of genetic markers may result in part from uneven distribution of single-copy sequences.
On the Davidenko-Branin method for solving simultaneous nonlinear equations

It has been conjectured that the Davidenko-Branin method for solving simultaneous nonlinear equations is globally convergent, provided that the surfaces on which each equation vanishes are homeomorphic to hyperplanes. We give an example to show that this conjecture is false. A more complicated example shows that the method may fail to converge to a zero of the gradient of a scalar function, so the associated method for function minimization is not globally convergent.
Chemo-Immunological Studies on Conjugated Carbohydrate-Proteins: IV. The Synthesis of the p-Aminobenzyl Ether of the Soluble Specific Substance of Type III Pneumococcus and Its Coupling with Protein

1. The p-amino and p-nitromonobenzyl ethers of the specific polysaccharide of Type III Pneumococcus have been prepared. 2. The diazonium ether of the specific polysaccharide has been coupled with serum globulin to yield a specific polysaccharide-protein complex and this complex has been used for immunization. The results of the immunological studies are presented in the following paper.
Evaluation of the Damage Detection Characteristics of Electrical Impedance Tomography

In the United States, many civil, aerospace, and military aircraft are nearing the end of their service life. Many of these service life predictions were determined by models that were created at the time of the design of the structure, possibly decades ago. As a precaution, these structures are inspected on a regular basis with techniques that tend to be expensive and laborious, such as tear-down inspections of aircraft. To complicate matters, new complex materials have been incorporated in recent structures to take advantage of their desirable properties, but these materials sustain damage in a manner that is different from that of past monolithic materials. One example is fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites, which are heterogeneous, direction-dependent, and tend to manifest damage internal to their laminate structure, thus making the detection of this damage nearly impossible. For these reasons, numerous groups have focused on developing sensors that can be applied to or embedded within these structures to detect this damage. Some of the most promising of these approaches include using piezoelectric materials as passive or active ultrasonic sensors and actuators, fiber optic-based sensors to measure strain and detect cracking, and carbon nanotube-based sensors that can detect strain and cracking. These are mostly point-based sensors that are accurate at the location of application but require interpolative methods to ascertain the structural health elsewhere on the structure. To conduct direct damage detection across a structure, we have coupled the ability to deposit a carbon nanotube thin film across large substrates with a spatially distributed electrical conductivity measurement methodology called electrical impedance tomography. As indicated by previous research on carbon nanotube thin films, the electrical conductivity of these films changes when subjected to strain or become damaged. Our structural health monitoring strategy involves monitoring for changes in electrical conductivity across an applied CNT thin film, which would indicate damage. In this work, we demonstrate the ability of the Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) methodology to detect, locate, size, and determine severity of damage from impact events subjected to glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites. This will demonstrate the value and effectiveness of this next-generation structural health monitoring approach.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Linear zonal atmospheric prediction for adaptive optics

We compare linear zonal predictors of atmospheric turbulence for adaptive optics. Zonal prediction has the possible advantage of being able to interpret and utilize wind-velocity information from the wavefront sensor better than modal prediction. For simulated open-loop atmospheric data for a 2- meter 16-subaperture AO telescope with 5 millisecond prediction and a lookback of 4 slope-vectors, we find that Widrow-Hoff Delta-Rule training of linear nets and Back- Propagation training of non-linear multilayer neural networks is quite slow, getting stuck on plateaus or in local minima. Recursive Least Squares training of linear predictors is two orders of magnitude faster and it also converges to the solution with global minimum error. We have successfully implemented Amari's Adaptive Natural Gradient Learning (ANGL) technique for a linear zonal predictor, which premultiplies the Delta-Rule gradients with a matrix that orthogonalizes the parameter space and speeds up the training by two orders of magnitude, like the Recursive Least Squares predictor. This shows that the simple Widrow-Hoff Delta-Rule's slow convergence is not a fluke. In the case of bright guidestars, the ANGL, RLS, and standard matrix-inversion least-squares (MILS) algorithms all converge to the same global minimum linear total phase error (approximately 0.18 rad2), which is only approximately 5% higher than the spatial phase error (approximately 0.17 rad2), and is approximately 33% lower than the total 'naive' phase error without prediction (approximately 0.27 rad2). ANGL can, in principle, also be extended to make non-linear neural network training feasible for these large networks, with the potential to lower the predictor error below the linear predictor error. We will soon scale our linear work to the approximately 108-subaperture MMT AO system, both with simulations and real wavefront sensor data from prime focus.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Race-ethnic differences in adipokine levels: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN)

Differences in adipose tissue secretory profile, as measured by adipokine levels, may play a role in race-ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD). We examined race-ethnic differences in adipokine levels in a group of mid-life Caucasian, African American (AA), Chinese and Japanese women, after accounting for adiposity. Data on 1876 women from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation were analyzed. In multivariable adjustment, including total fat mass, differences in total and high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin, leptin and soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R) levels were examined. Despite intermediate levels of adiposity, Caucasian women had higher levels of both total and HMW adiponectin, when compared to both AA and Chinese and Japanese women. After multivariable adjustment, compared to Caucasian women, AA women had significantly lower total (β: -3.40; 95% CI: -4.29, -2.52; P<.001) and HMW adiponectin (β: -0.53; 95% CI: -0.64, -0.43; P<.001) levels, higher leptin levels (β: 3.26; 95% CI: 1.36, 5.16; P<.001) and lower sOB-R levels (β: -0.07; 95% CI: -0.11, -0.03; P<.001). Compared to Caucasian women, both Chinese and Japanese women had lower total (Chinese: β: -5.50; 95% CI: -7.07, -3.93; P<.001; Japanese: β: -5.48; 95% CI: -6.95, -4.02; P<.001) and HMW adiponectin (Chinese: β: -0.57; 95% CI: -0.75, -0.38; P<.001; Japanese: β: -0.61; 95% CI: -0.78, -0.44; P<.001) levels and lower sOB-R levels (Chinese: β: -0.13; 95% CI: -0.20, -0.06; P<.001; Japanese: β: -0.09; 95% CI: -0.15, -0.02; P=.008). Significant race-ethnic differences exist in circulating adipokines, even after accounting for adiposity. Further research is needed to explicitly determine if such differences contribute to known racial differences in CVD risk.
Two mechanisms for optic flow and scale change processing of looming.

The detection of looming, the motion of objects in depth, underlies many behavioral tasks, including the perception of self-motion and time-to-collision. A number of studies have demonstrated that one of the most important cues for loomingdetection is optic ﬂow, the pattern of motion across the retina. Schrater et al. have suggested that changes in spatialfrequency over time, or scale changes, may also support looming detection in the absence of optic ﬂow (P. R. Schrater, D. C.Knill, & E. P. Simoncelli, 2001). Here we used an adaptation paradigm to determine whether the perception of looming fromoptic ﬂow and scale changes is mediated by single or separate mechanisms. We show ﬁrst that when the adaptation andtest stimuli were the same (both optic ﬂow or both scale change), observer performance was signiﬁcantly impairedcompared to a dynamic (non-motion, non-scale change) null adaptation control. Second, we found no evidence of cross-cue adaptation, either from optic ﬂow to scale change, or vice versa. Taken together, our data suggest that optic ﬂow andscale changes are processed by separate mechanisms, providing multiple pathways for the detection of looming.Keywords: motion-3D, adaptation, visual cortexCitation: Calabro, F. J., Rana, K. D., & Vaina, L. M. (2011). Two mechanisms for optic ﬂow and scale change processing oflooming. Journal of Vision, 11(3):5, 1–9, http://www.journalofvision.org/content/11/3/5, doi:10.1167/11.3.5.
Characterization of multiwalled carbon nanotube-polymethyl methacrylate composite resins as denture base materials.

Statement of problem Most fractures of dentures occur during function, primarily because of the flexural fatigue of denture resins. Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate a polymethyl methacrylate denture base material modified with multiwalled carbon nanotubes in terms of fatigue resistance, flexural strength, and resilience. Material and methods Denture resin specimens were fabricated: control, 0.5 wt%, 1 wt%, and 2 wt% of multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes were dispersed by sonication. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to determine quantitative dispersions of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in polymethyl methacrylate. Raman spectroscopic analyses were used to evaluate interfacial reactions between the multiwalled carbon nanotubes and the polymethyl methacrylate matrix. Groups with and without multiwalled carbon nanotubes were subjected to a 3-point-bending test for flexural strength. Resilience was derived from a stress and/or strain curve. Fatigue resistance was conducted by a 4-point bending test. Fractured surfaces were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. One-way ANOVA and the Duncan tests were used to identify any statistical differences (α=.05). Results Thermogravimetric analysis verified the accurate amounts of multiwalled carbon nanotubes dispersed in the polymethyl methacrylate resin. Raman spectroscopy showed an interfacial reaction between the multiwalled carbon nanotubes and the polymethyl methacrylate matrix. Statistical analyses revealed significant differences in static and dynamic loadings among the groups. The worst mechanical properties were in the 2 wt% multiwalled carbon nanotubes ( P Conclusions Multiwalled carbon nanotubes-polymethyl methacrylate groups (0.5% and 1%) performed better than the control group during the static flexural test. The results indicated that 2 wt% multiwalled carbon nanotubes were not beneficial because of the inadequate dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in the polymethyl methacrylate matrix. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed agglomerations on the fracture surface of 2 wt% multiwalled carbon nanotubes. The interfacial bonding between multiwalled carbon nanotubes and polymethyl methacrylate was weak based on the Raman data and dynamic loading results.
The disappearance time of circulating ragweed pollen material after absorption from the nose and throat

Abstract By means of a modification of the Prausnitz Kustner reaction, 2 attempt was made to measure the disappearance time of circulating ragweed pollen material after absorption from the nose and throat. In eight out of ten nonallergics, the allergen could be demonstrated to be present for twenty-four hours. In no case was there any demonstrable at the the end of forty-eight hours.
Observations of storm-induced mixing and Gulf Stream Ring incursion over the southern flank of Georges Bank: Winter and summer 1997

[1] High-resolution hydrographic measurements collected along the southern edge of Georges Bank during March and June–July 1997 focused on characterizing processes that drive fluxes of material between the slope and bank. Wintertime sampling characterized changes driven by a strong storm. A Scotian Shelf crossover event produced a ribbon of anomalously fresh water along the bank's southern flank that was diluted during the storm. Comparison of prestorm and poststorm sections shows that over the bank changes in heat and salt inventories are consistent with those expected solely from local surface fluxes. In deeper waters, advective effects, likely associated with frontal motion and eddies, are clearly important. Summertime surveys resolve the development of a massive intrusion of Gulf Stream-like waters onto the bank. East of the intrusion, a thin extrusion of bank water is drawn outward by the developing ring, exporting fresher water at a rate of about 7 × 104 m3/s. A large-amplitude Gulf Stream meander appears to initiate the extrusion, but it quickly evolves, near the bank edge, into a warm core ring. Ring water intrudes to approximately the 80 m isobath, 40 km inshore from the bank edge. The intrusion process seems analogous to the development of Gulf Stream shingles (a hydrodynamic instability) in the South Atlantic Bight. It appears that, once the intruded water is established on the bank, it remains there and dissipates in place. Although the intrusion is an extremely dramatic event, it is probably not actually a major contributor to shelf edge exchanges over a seasonal time scale.
Using the transfer of a Langmuir monolayer as a probe of wetting

Abstract We observe a spontaneous transfer of a Langmuir monolayer of valinomycin to a hydrophilic substrate as soon as the edge of the substrate touches the water surface. By measuring the total monolayer area transferred, the capillary rise h can be determined. We find that the dependence of h on the spreading pressure is well accounted for by an expression due to Joanny and de Gennes but that the actual values of h are five orders of magnitude too small. “Prewetting” the substrate before the monolayer was allowed to spread did not affect the observed capillary rise.
Magnetic field effects on plasma-filled backward-wave oscillators

ABSTRACT Computer simulations of plasma-filled backward wave oscillators reveal that the gain of voluminous beam-plasma cyclotron interactions is significantly larger than that of the conventional backward wave oscillation. This stow plasma cyclotron wave is emiued from plasmas and its gain is substantially enhanced only if it also satisfies the dispersion relationof a ripple wall waveguide which couples the slow wave to fast wave. The observation may be employed to interpret previousexperiments which display a strong dependence of output power on the magnetic field and can be utilized to build high gainmicrowave beam-plasma devices. 1. INTRODUCTION Recently, a considerable amount of effort15 has been undertaken towards the production of ultra high power microwave sources based on backward wave oscillator (BWO) configurations. In which a rippled wall slow-wave structureprovides a very efficient way of converting the kinetic energy of relativistic electron beams into microwave radiations.One of the schemes to raise the relativistic beam current and hence the output power of relativistic electronic devicesis to use a background plasma to provide space charge neutralization. The plasma may also induce some other effects whichcould influence the outcome of backward wave oscillators. Experimentally, it has been observed6 that the efficiency can beincreased by a factor of eight when the plasma frequency o 0.2 cko (k is the ripple wall wavenumber and c is the speed oflight) and the enhancement mechanism was attributed to the excitation of beam-plasma backward wave instability. Veryrecently, computer simulation results7 have demonstrated that a more plausible explanation for the efficiency enhancement isthat a dense background plasma tends to reduce the phase velocity of the most unstable mode in a BWO and causes the beamto convert more energy to the wave.The investigations described above all impose a strong magnetic field to confine the electron motion to only onedimension. In vacuum BWOs8, the beam cyclotron resonance absorbed the BWO emission and introduced a dip in the curve ofthe output power versus the magnetic field. This issue will not be treated in this paper. On the other hand, experiments9 inrelativistic plasma-filled BWO illustrated that the output power peaked at a certain magnetic field and they conjectured that theresonance was due to
Geomorphic and Ecological Disturbance and Recovery from Two Small Dams and Their Removal

Dams are known to impact river channels and ecosystems, both during their lifetime and in their decommissioning. In this study, we applied a before-after-control-impact design associated with two small dam removals to investigate abiotic and biotic recovery trajectories from both the elimination of the press disturbance associated with the presence of dams and the introduction of a pulse disturbance associated with removal of dams. The two case studies represent different geomorphic and ecological conditions that we expected to represent low and high sensitivities to the pulse disturbance of dam removal: the 4 m tall, gravel-filled Brownsville Dam on the wadeable Calapooia River and the 12.5 m tall, sand and gravel-filled Savage Rapids Dam on the largely non-wadeable Rogue River. We evaluated both geomorphic and ecological responses annually for two years post removal, and asked if functional traits of the macroinvertebrate assemblages provided more persistent signals of ecological disturbance than taxonomically defined assemblages over the period of study. Results indicate that: 1) the presence of the dams constituted a strong ecological press disturbance to the near-downstream reaches on both rivers, despite the fact that both rivers passed unregulated flow and sediment during the high flow season; 2) ecological recovery from this press disturbance occurred within the year following the restoration action of dam removal, whereas signals of geomorphic disturbance from the pulse of released sediment persisted two years post-removal, and 3) the strength of the press disturbance and the rapid ecological recovery were detected regardless of whether recovery was assessed by taxonomic or functional assemblages and for both case studies, in spite of their different geomorphic settings.
Dynamic analysis of ‘tree-like’ structures undergoing large motions — a finite segment approach

Abstract New and recently developed concepts useful in the study of the dynamics and control of ‘tree-like’ structures are presented. The incorporation of flexibility effects make the analysis applicable for monitoring the transient effects of large structures. The procedures presented here use a Finite-Segment-Modelling (FSM) to develop a computer formulation of the governing equations. The procedures use Kane's equations as developed by Huston et al. and the flexibility effects are modelled by springs and dampers at the connecting joints. The evaluation of the springs and dampers coefficients through the finite-element-method is addressed.
Toward a biology of autism: possible role of certain neuropeptides and neurotrophins

Abstract Autism is a behaviorally defined syndrome for which there is no known biologic marker. Although autism is thought to be a disorder of brain development, there have been few efforts to study early regulators of brain development in this disorder. This paper describes a recent study of neonatal blood of children with later-diagnosed autistic spectrum disorders, comparing them with two groups of affected children, those with mental retardation without autism, or with cerebral palsy, and unaffected control children, using recycling immunoaffinity chromatography. We measured concentrations of four neuropeptides and four neurotrophins, finding that neonatal concentrations of the neuropeptides vasoactive intestinal peptide, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and the neurotrophins brain derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin 4/5 were higher in children in the autistic spectrum, and in those with mental retardation without autism, than in children with cerebral palsy or healthy control children. In 99% of children with autism and 97% with mental retardation, levels of at least one of these substances exceeded those of all control children. Concentrations were similar in subgroups of the autistic spectrum (core syndrome with or without mental retardation, other autistic spectrum disorders with or without mental retardation), and in the presence or absence of a history of regression. Two other neuropeptides and two neurotrophins were present in similar concentrations in all groups examined. Thus overexpression of certain neuropeptides and neurotrophins was observed in neonatal blood of children with later diagnoses of autism or cognitive disability.
Effect of helium on the ventilatory response to hypoxia under normocapnic and hypercapnic conditions.

We studied the effect of helium (He) on ventilatory (VI) responses to progressive isocapnic hypoxia. Accordingly, in normal male subjects (age 23–46), we compared hypoxic rebreathes using He as a carrier gas with those utilizing nitrogen (N2) as acarrier gas. When alveolar CO2 tension (PACO2) was maintained at 40 mm Hg, we noted no difference in VI.responses to hypoxia between N2 and He trials. In contrast, when PACO2 was maintained at 50 mm Hg, VI responses to hypoxia during the He trials wereconsistently greater than those noted during the N2 experiments. These results indicate that substitution of He for N2 does not augment Vt. responses to normocapnic hypoxia; however, this substitution does enhance VI responses to hypercapnic hypoxia
Dehydrothalebanin: a source of resistance from Glycosmis pentaphylla against the citrus root weevil Diaprepes abbreviatus.

Roots of a citrus relative, Glycosmis pentaphylla (orangeberry), were shown to inhibit the growth and survival of larvae of the citrus root weevil Diaprepes abbreviatus. Roots of G. pentaphyllaincorporated into the diet of D. abbreviatus increasingly inhibited the growth of neonate larvae with increased concentration of roots, while roots from citrus rootstocks produced little inhibition. The diet-incorporation assay was used to guide fractionation of an active acetone extract of G.pentaphylla roots. Three major fractions from silica open-column liquid chromatography were active, and these were purified using semipreparative normal-phase HPLC. A single active HPLC subfraction was isolated from each of the three liquid chromatography fractions, and two active compounds were isolated and identified by GC-MSD. GC-MSD and NMR identified one compound as the amide dehydrothalebanin B, and the other was identified by GC-MSD as dieldrin, a chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide whose origin in our samples is uncertain.