cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Path-Based Multicast Communication in Wormhole-Routed Unidirectional Torus Networks

This paper addresses the problem of one-to-many, or multicast, communication in wormhole-routed,n-dimensional torus networks. The proposed methods are designed for systems that support intermediate reception, which permits multidestination messages to be pipelined through several nodes, depositing a copy at each node. A key issue in the design of such systems is the routing function, which must support both unicast and multicast traffic while preventing deadlock among messages. An efficient, deadlock-free routing function is developed and used as a basis for a family of multicast algorithms. TheS-torusmulticast algorithm uses a single multidestination message to perform an arbitrary multicast operation. TheM-torusalgorithm is a generalized multiphase multicast algorithm, in which a combination of multidestination messages is used to perform a multicast in one or more communication steps. Two specific instances of the M-torus algorithm, theMd-torusandMu-torusmulticast algorithms, are presented. These algorithms produce contention-free multicast operations and are deadlock-free under all combinations of network traffic. A simulation study compares the performance of the different multicast algorithms, and implementation issues are discussed. The results of this research are applicable to the design of architectures for both wormhole-routed massively parallel computers and high-speed local area networks with wormhole-routed switch fabrics.
Patient identification of caregivers' titles: do they know who you are?

This study investigated patients' abilities to identify licensed nurse and unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) and whether this knowledge is related to satisfaction with care. Of 100 patients from two hospitals, 28% did not know whether caregivers were nurses or UAP on sight. Fifteen percent of patients asked to identify UAP assumed that the caregiver was a nurse. Patients could not recognize their nurse or UAP caregivers 59% of the time from a list of names. Patients were three times more likely to know the names and titles of their nurses. Older patients were less likely to remember the names and titles of their caregivers. Satisfaction with nursing care was not predicted by patients' knowledge of caregiver name or title.
Photoisomerization of retinoic acid and its photoprotection in physiologic-like solutions.

AbstractThe long wavelength UV-induced photoisomerization of retinoic acid has been investigated in physiologic-like solutions. By high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis seven isomers of the parent molecule were observed at the photostationary state. The structures of these isomers have been determined using high-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. While addition of a non-ionic detergent had no effect on the retinoic acid photoisomerization, a number of proteins, as well as a phospholipid, completely inhibited this process. Possible reasons for differences in observed isomer distribution relative to earlier studies, as well as for the effects of the photoprotectant compounds, are discussed.
Art is long and time is fleeting: the current problems and future prospects for time-resolved enzyme crystallography

I offer comments on the challenges and problems of the future based on the papers in this volume. First, the requirement of the Laue technique for a very well-ordered crystal is a major obstacle to many studies. Efforts to ease this problem are needed. Secondly, the fundamental issues in time-resolved crystallography are now chemical rather than crystallographic. Methods for the rapid initiation of many reactions must be developed. Thirdly, it is imperative that the kinetics of the process in question be studied in the crystal before any diffraction experiments are done. We need better ways to make those solid state kinetic measurements. Fourthly, we should make use of combined methods, such as cryoenzymology plus Laue diffraction or site-directed mutagenesis plus Laue diffraction, to bring many processes into the time regime in which we currently can work. Fifthly, we have to be able to deconvolute diffraction data that come from a mixture of two or three discrete species. Finally, no matter how powerful our synchrotrons get, it seems to me that some of the most important events in any enzymatic reaction are not going to be accessible: consider the formation and decomposition of a transition state as an example. I close by discussing the role of computational biochemistry in filling in those frames of our enzymatic movie that we cannot observe directly by time-resolved X-ray crystallography.
Factors Delineating Stability of the As-Deposited PECVD BPSG Film

This study aims to define a better condition to enhance the stability of the as-deposited plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition borophosphosilicate glass (PECVD BPSG) film. Stability is discussed in terms of optimized film composition SiO 2 -B 2 O 3 -P 2 O 3 /P 2 O 5 . Stable oxygen-rich films show better flow ability, lower dopant fluctuation through the growing oxide, reduced film stress, and lesser nitrogen and hydrogen incorporation into the growing film. Optimization of the B/P ratio, along with a lower amount of hydrogen-related species, especially H 2 O, which is a catalyst for BPO 4 defects, makes the film less vulnerable to defect formation. The film structure can be modulated by the deposition parameters to get optimized ratios of N 2 0/SiH 4 , P 2 O 3 /P 2 O 5 , and SiO 2 /P 2 O 5 . Special attention is paid to the BPSG films with low SiH 4 -precursor gas flow. The limited condition for SiH 4 flow is also discussed.
Written language production and neuropsychological function in children with traumatic brain injury

Abstract Objective: To establish the early consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on spontaneous written language production in children by examining writing deficits as a function of injury severity and correlating written performance with neuropsychological data. Design: Case-control cohort study. Setting: Two regional medical centers. Patients: Seventy-six children, aged 8 to 15 years, with mild, moderate, or severe closed head injury were compared with controls who were individually matched on the premorbid characteristics of age, gender, school grade, behavior, and academic performance. Main Outcome Measures: Assessment of written language production and neuropsychological function was undertaken approximately 1 month following resolution of posttraumatic amnesia. Case-control differences on 16 measures of spontaneous written narratives were computed. Results: Factor analysis and conceptual similarities suggested that the measures of written language fell into five domains: Efficiency, Completeness, General Readability, Error, and Vocabulary. A highly significant, moderate correlation between these measures and severity of injury was found. The highest correlations were found for the written language domains of Efficiency and Completeness and the lowest for the Vocabulary domain. Moderate correlations were also found between measures of written language and neuropsychological function. Conclusions: At 1 month after resolution of posttraumatic amnesia, written language production in children with TBI is negatively correlated with severity of injury. Some aspects of written language production are affected to a greater extent than others. Considerable common ground was found between written language production and neuropsychological function.
A relaxed fusion of information from real and synthetic images to predict complex behavior

An important component of cognitive robotics is the ability to mentally simulate physical processes and to compare the expected results with the information reported by a robot's sensors. In previous work, we have proposed an approach that integrates a 3D game-engine simulation into the robot control architecture. A key part of that architecture is the Match-Mediated Difference (MMD) operation, an approach to fusing sensory data and synthetic predictions at the image level. The MMD operation insists that simulated and predicted scenes are similar in terms of the appearance of the objects in the scene. This is an overly restrictive constraint on the simulation since parts of the predicted scene may not have been previously viewed by the robot. In this paper we propose an extended MMD operation that relaxes the constraint and allows the real and synthetic scenes to differ in some features but not in (selected) other features. Image difference operations that allow a real image and synthetic image generated from an arbitrarily colored graphical model of a scene to be compared. Scenes with the same content show a zero difference. Scenes with varying foreground objects can be controlled to compare the color, size and shape of the foreground.
A multi-level control architecture for master-slave organized microgrids with power electronic interfaces

Abstract This paper presents a multi-level control architecture for autonomous operation of islanded microgrids with power electronic interfaces. An upper layer performs calculations for system dispatch while a lower layer computes appropriate control actions for the power electronic interfaces. The upper layer of communication-based intelligent control is realized through a decentralized multi-agent system (MAS). Two control strategies are implemented in this layer: MAS power balance control and economic dispatch. In MAS power balance control, a rational communication scheme is proposed to construct a minimal spanning tree structure among agents, so that the multi-agent system can efficiently discover system global information and dispatch generation and load to maintain real and reactive power balance; in economic dispatch, by comparing incremental cost with neighbors, generator agents can achieve minimum generation cost for system operation. To demonstrate the speed and effectiveness of the proposed algorithms, IEEE 14, 30, 57 and 118 bus systems are studied for the MAS power balance control and economic dispatch in MATLAB. A demonstration presents implementation of multi-agent system using Java agent development framework and includes a viable implementation of the lower layer, which is used to control power electronic interfaced distributed generators, and is realized through conventional local controllers for master-slave organized microgrids. A case study with time-varying loading conditions is demonstrated to validate the proposed multi-level control architecture.
Self-energy operator for an electron in an external Coulomb potential

Relativistic Coulomb Sturmian matrix elements of the operator O≡ln(1−ρ)/ρ, ρ=−[π⋅(1+iσ)⋅π]/m2, in terms of which the self‐energy operator for an electron in an external Coulomb potential has been expressed, are studied. The operator O is dealt with on a term by term basis in a Sturmian expansion. Each term of the Sturmian expansion is separated into a part whose matrix elements are analytic functions of Zα, plus a remainder evaluated in closed form by use of the Cauchy residue theorem. All ignorance about the matrix element of the general term in the Sturmian expansion of O is thereby placed entirely in the analytic part, for which an explicit integral representation is derived.
Concentration and Length Dependence of DNA Looping in Transcriptional Regulation

In many cases, transcriptional regulation involves the binding of transcription factors at sites on the DNA that are not immediately adjacent to the promoter of interest. This action at a distance is often mediated by the formation of DNA loops: Binding at two or more sites on the DNA results in the formation of a loop, which can bring the transcription factor into the immediate neighborhood of the relevant promoter. These processes are important in settings ranging from the historic bacterial examples (bacterial metabolism and the lytic-lysogeny decision in bacteriophage), to the modern concept of gene regulation to regulatory processes central to pattern formation during development of multicellular organisms. Though there have been a variety of insights into the combinatorial aspects of transcriptional control, the mechanism of DNA looping as an agent of combinatorial control in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes remains unclear. We use single-molecule techniques to dissect DNA looping in the lac operon. In particular, we measure the propensity for DNA looping by the Lac repressor as a function of the concentration of repressor protein and as a function of the distance between repressor binding sites. As with earlier single-molecule studies, we find (at least) two distinct looped states and demonstrate that the presence of these two states depends both upon the concentration of repressor protein and the distance between the two repressor binding sites. We find that loops form even at interoperator spacings considerably shorter than the DNA persistence length, without the intervention of any other proteins to prebend the DNA. The concentration measurements also permit us to use a simple statistical mechanical model of DNA loop formation to determine the free energy of DNA looping, or equivalently, the for looping.
The nonlinear behavior of competition: the impact of talent compression on competition

The competitiveness of a firm is intimately related to the productivity of its components. The distribution of profits should then be highly correlated with the distribution of productivity—the more equal distribution of productivity the more equal distribution of rents. To assess this argument, the present paper examines the time series behavior of competition within Major League Baseball. The above logic would suggest that the reason for the improvement in the competitive balance in MLB is a more equal distribution of playing talent. In the end, the improvement appears to be driven by increased player homogeneity rather than institutional changes.
Intestinal electric stimulation modulates neuronal activity in the nucleus of the solitary tract in rats.

Abstract Intestinal electric stimulation (IES) has been shown to produce an inhibitory effect on gastric motility and secretion. The possible central mechanism of this entero-gastric inhibitory effect induced by IES is unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of various IES on the activity of neurons in nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS). We examined the extracellular neuronal activity in NTS of the medulla in pentobarbital anesthetized, paralyzed, ventilated male adult rats. The aortic depressor, superior laryngeal, and carotid sinus nerves were crushed or sectioned bilaterally to avoid neuronal responses in NTS to cardiovascular baroreceptors. After NTS neurons with gastric input were identified, responses of single neurons in NTS to IES were determined. IES with different parameters was performed via a pair of platinum electrodes sutured onto the serosal surface of the duodenum 2 cm below the pylorus. IES with different parameters activated 39–72% of the solitary tract nucleus neurons responsive to gastric distension. Moreover, we demonstrated that IES activated the neuronal activity in NTS, which was stimulation energy dependent. The modulatory effect of IES on the central neurons receiving vagal inputs may contribute to the neural mechanisms of IES therapy for the treatment of patients with obesity and gastrointestinal motility disorders.
Anti–Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase Antibodies in the Serum and Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients With Stiff-Person Syndrome: Correlation With Clinical Severity

Background Stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is an immune-mediated central nervous system disorder characterized by fluctuating muscle stiffness, disabling spasms, and heightened sensitivity to external stimuli. Up to 80% of patients with SPS have anti–glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) antibodies in the serum or cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). Whether these antibodies are clinically relevant and correlate with disease severity is unknown. Objective To correlate anti-GAD antibody titers in the serum and CSF of patients with SPS with the degree of clinical severity. Design Patients studied the last 6 years. Setting The Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. Patients Sixteen patients with typical SPS and elevated serum anti-GAD antibody titers. Interventions Antibody titers in serum and CSF were measured by radioimmunoassay, and the intrathecal anti–GAD-specific IgG production was calculated. Main Outcome Measures Comparison of antibody titers with stiffness index and heightened sensitivity scores based on scales that reliably measure disease severity. Results The mean disease duration was 11 years (range, 5-30 years). The mean anti-GAD antibody titer in the serum was 51 500 U/mL (range, 24 000-200 000 U/mL); and in the CSF, 181 U/mL (range, 30-400 U/mL). A 10-fold increased intrathecal production of GAD-specific IgG antibodies was noted. No correlation was found between antibody titers in serum or CSF with disease severity. In 4 patients, the anti-GAD antibody titers measured serially during a 2-year period did not correlate with clinical fluctuations. Conclusions In patients with SPS, the anti-GAD antibody titers in serum and CSF do not correlate with disease severity or duration. Anti-GAD antibodies are an excellent marker for SPS, but monitoring their titers during the course of the disease may not be of practical value.
Canonical versus grand canonical occupation numbers for simple systems

An ideal gas of N indistinguishable particles is described by a canonical ensemble (c.e.) and also by a grand canonical ensemble (g.c.e.) which has N as the mean total number of particles, the temperature and volume being the same in both cases. Exact mean occupation numbers n/sub u/((N) are found if the system has only two states 1 and 2 of energies E/sub 2/ greater than or equal to E/sub 1/. This should apply to quantum wells and similar simple systems. For systems which have captured one particle, the theory gives the simplest answers, and one finds a maximum discrepancy of 17% between the two ensembles for the fermion case. It occurs when E/sub 2/-E/sub 1/ approx. 53 meV at room temperature. For N = 1 the mean occupation number for the c.e. is identical for fermions and for bosons, being in both cases given by n/sub 2/(1) = /exp(E/sub 2/-E/sub 1/)/kT) + 1//sup -1/, n/sub 1/(1) = 1 - N/sub 2/(1). For large N one reverts to the usual situation and the discrepancy between the ensembles becomes small.
Out-of-hospital resuscitation preferences of emergency health care workers.

The objective of this study was to assess the personal preferences of emergency physicians, nurses, and medical technicians regarding their own potential out-of-hospital resuscitation. An anonymous multiitem survey instrument was used at a statewide emergency medicine educational conference. Emergency personnel who regularly treat out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients were enlisted to participate. Subjects picked the last intervention that they would wish for themselves in an optimally managed advanced cardiac life support (ACLS)-based resuscitation for ventricular fibrillation. One hundred millimeter visual analog scales were used to measure individual preferences for severe neurological disability or death. Hypothesis testing was by analysis of variance with Newman-Keuls, multiple regression with stepwise variable selection, and the chi 2 and binomial distributions. Of 185 survey instruments, 105 were returned completed by eligible subjects. There was little difference among the three occupational groups (P > .5), although older respondents favored shorter resuscitations (r = -.38; P = .002). Ten subjects did not want cardiopulmonary resuscitation started, and 65% wanted resuscitation stopped before the second dose of epinephrine. Only three subjects chose to undergo the entire ACLS sequence. Eighty-two percent of respondents preferred death to severe neurological disability. Emergency health care professionals have a unique personal awareness of issues surrounding out-of-hospital resuscitation. That a large majority would prefer death to severe disability and few would willingly undergo full resuscitation as currently practiced suggests that prevailing guidelines should be reevaluated.
Elevated endosomal cholesterol levels in Niemann-Pick cells inhibit rab4 and perturb membrane recycling.

In normal human skin fibroblasts (HSFs), fluorescent glycosphingolipid analogues are endocytosed and sorted into two pools, one that is recycled to the plasma membrane and one that is transported to the Golgi complex. Here, we investigated glycosphingolipid recycling in Niemann-Pick type A and C lipid storage disease fibroblasts (NPFs). Cells were incubated with a fluorescent analogue of lactosylceramide (LacCer) at 16°C to label early endosomes (EEs), shifted to 37°C, and lipid recycling was quantified. Using dominant negative rabs, we showed that, in normal HSFs, LacCer recycling was rapid (t1/2 8 min) and mainly rab4-dependent. In NPFs, LacCer recycling was delayed (t1/2 30 – 40 min), and rab4-dependent recycling was absent, whereas rab11-dependent recycling predominated. Transferrin recycling via the rab4 pathway was similarly perturbed in NPFs. Compared with normal HSFs, EEs in NPFs showed high cholesterol levels and an altered organization of rab4. In vitro extraction of rab4 (but not rab11) with GDP dissociation inhibitor was severely attenuated in NPF endosomal fractions. This impairment was reversed with cholesterol depletion of isolated endosomes or with high-salt treatment of endosomes. These data suggest that abnormal membrane recycling in NPFs results from specific inhibition of rab4 function by excess cholesterol in EEs.
Hypertonicity and TonEBP promote development of the renal concentrating system.

despite severe hyperosmotic stress imposed by NaCl and urea on cells of the renal medulla, the elevated and highly variable osmolality in this part of the kidney is necessary for proper function of the urinary concentrating mechanism. This mechanism develops only after birth, and newborn rats are
Reconsidering Family Policy Status Quo or Force for Change

The question of family policy is considered in terms of “conventional-progressive” interest group perspectives. The conventional perspective is that “family problems” are the result of “breakdown” and can be resolved by reestablishing the status quo ante. Progressive interest groups contend that family “difficulties” are the result of “slippage” between morphogenetic society and morphostatic (or “conventional”) family. Progressive advocates also argue that current and projected pervasive changes in citizens' marital/familial behaviors can be accepted, and that a theoretically informed, socially responsible model of family can be offered as a viable policy alternative to the conventional one.
Hegel's Werkmeister: Architecture, Architectonics, and the Theory of History

OCTOBER 139, Winter 2012, pp. 15–38. © 2012 October Magazine, Ltd. and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The persistence in Hegel studies of reductive and non-dialectical readings of a few sweeping claims made in his lectures on art and history—notably that “art . . . is and remains for us a thing of the past”; that illiterate peoples, “in spite of their achievements in the realm of linguistic development, do not possess a history”; and that “world-history progresses from East to West, for Europe is absolutely the end of history, Asia the beginning...[In the West] the sun of self-consciousness rises, spreading a superior luminosity”—have resulted in serious distortions in the interpretation of Hegel’s corpus.1 That such statements, studied in isolation and removed from the dialectical contexts of Hegel’s written work—especially the Phenomenology of Spirit, the Science of Logic, and the Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences—have been misread can be attributed in part to the deceptive accessibility of the lecture courses, as prepared and published by Hegel’s students, against the “extreme compression” and frequently elliptical and even figurative mode of Hegel’s written work.2 Also to blame is the critical tendency to neglect the copious portions of the lecture courses dedicated to Eastern or “Oriental” art, religion, philosophy, and history, where Hegel assiduously unfolds concepts crucial to his later dialectical arguments. As a result, critical judgments of Hegel have ignored his painstakingly developed positions, foundational for any reading of his work, on what he terms the “architectonic” fluidity of historical categories and on the
Energy auctions and market power: an experimental examination

Testing auction mechanisms experimentally in a controlled environment provides an inexpensive means for evaluating their relative merits. The first part of this paper focuses on the comparison of three different auctions with regard to market efficiency and pricing, given scenarios with two, four, and six competitors. Though the uniform price last accepted offer auction was superior overall, the number of competitors proved to be a more significant factor in determining auction performance. Significant exploitation of market power was observed in the duopoly case. The second part of the paper focuses on a transmission network with six sellers in which network constraints give rise to market power opportunities. Experimental evidence based on tests with student and expert subjects show exploitation of this strategic advantage. Several other scenarios are described in which the transmission network creates market power.
Unsteady effects on low-pressure extinction limit of solid propellants

Unsteady effects are introduced into the heat loss theory of low-pressure extinction of solid propellants to improve the prediction by the steady-state analysis. These effects include dynamic extinctions induced by the natural flame oscillation and by the forced flame vibration in response to external pressure disturbances. The analysis shows that a part of the steady-state solution at low pressure is linearly unstable and so it cannot be physically observed. In the linear stable region, flames that are close to the neutral stable point can still be quenched easily by a finite amplitude external pressure disturbance. The critical magnitude of this disturbance is computed in an approximate way. Both effects broaden the nonflammable range of the propellants.
DATA PROCESSING CONCEPTS FOR THE INTEGRATION OF SAR INTO OPERATIONAL VOLCANO MONITORING SYSTEMS

Remote Sensing plays a critical role in operational volcano monitoring due to the often remote locations of volcanic systems and the large spatial extent of potential eruption pre-cursor signals. Despite the all-weather capabilities of radar remote sensing and despite its high performance in monitoring change, the contribution of radar data to operational monitoring activities has been limited in the past. This is largely due to (1) the high data costs associated with radar data, (2) the slow data processing and delivery procedures, and (3) the limited temporal sampling provided by spaceborne radars. With this paper, we present new data processing and data integration techniques that mitigate some of the above mentioned limitations and allow for a meaningful integration of radar remote sensing data into operational volcano monitoring systems. The data integration concept presented here combines advanced data processing techniques with fast data access procedures in order to provide high quality radar-based volcano hazard information at improved temporal sampling rates. First performance analyses show that the integration of SAR can significantly improve the ability of operational systems to detect eruptive precursors. Therefore, the developed technology is expected to improve operational hazard detection, alerting, and management capabilities.
Pushing Through Bologna Reforms: The Hungarian Case

Levels of Study There were 1,908 postgraduate research students in the study. Progress rates for postgraduate research students need to be treated with caution, so these 1,908 postgraduate research students, 0.6 percent of the study, were removed from this analysis by level of study. The 16,839 Australian postgraduate coursework (i.e., not postgraduate research) students passed 94.7 percent of courses attempted, the 246,127 Australian undergraduates 89.3 percent. The 22,592 international postgraduate coursework students passed 92.9 percent of courses attempted, the 50,979 international undergraduates 87 percent. Overall, the 39,431 postgraduate coursework students passed 93.7 percent of courses attempted, the 297,106 undergraduates 88.9 percent. Simply, postgraduates did better than undergraduates. The makeup by level of study of the Australian and international cohorts differs: 6 percent of Australian students are postgraduate coursework students, 31 percent of international students are postgraduate coursework students. The international cohort, relatively heavy with postgraduate coursework students, might be expected to outperform the Australian cohort. It is perhaps because of the makeup by levels of study that the research found no difference overall.
Binding and uptake of novel RGD micelles to the αvβ3 integrin receptor for targeted drug delivery.

AbstractPurpose: To understand the binding and internalization of novel RGD micelles in tumor cells that overexpress the αvβ3 integrin receptor.Methods: Peptide amphiphiles containing a C16 or C18 fatty-acid chain with one or two ADA units linked to an RGD motif were prepared, characterized, and assessed for their binding specificity to the αvβ3 receptor. The internalization of the amphiphiles was evaluated by confocal microscopy and cytotoxicity studies in A2058 cells that overexpress the αvβ3 integrin receptor.Results: The CMC and size and of RGD micelles ranged from 9 to 30 μM and 130 to 300 nm, respectively. Micelles showed good in vitro stability by retaining their micellar integrity and good specificity by binding to the αvβ3 integrin receptor in an RGD-dependent manner. Confocal studies showed higher intracellular fluorescence when FITC was delivered through the micelles compared with its free form and showed significantly higher FITC uptake at 37 °C versus 4 °C (p < 0.05). The lower IC50 values we...
Cognitive engineering studies of DSS and dealing with uncertainty in load for real-time adaptive power system reconfiguration

The quality of a decision made by human operators in a real-time reconfiguration of the power system can be improved by providing him/her with a Decision Support System (DSS). This paper discusses the quantitative cognitive engineering of a decision support system to improve the situational awareness of the operator working in a real-time environment. The quality of decision results in reconfiguration of a power system network is compared with and without the decision support system. Within the reconfiguration activities, lack of awareness of the uncertainty present in load data will restrict the reconfiguration algorithm to give a new optimized power system topology. Uncertainty due to faulty metering is duly analyzed and a fuzzy based approach of dealing with uncertainty is explained.
Thallium(III) Trifluoroacetate–Palladium(II) Acetate

[23586-53-0] C6F9O6Tl (MW 543.44) InChI = 1S/3C2HF3O2.Tl/c3*3-2(4,5)1(6)7;/h3*(H,6,7);/q;;;+3/p-3 InChIKey = PSHNNUKOUQCMSG-UHFFFAOYSA-K [3375-31-3] C4H6O4Pd (MW 224.52) InChI = 1S/2C2H4O2.Pd/c2*1-2(3)4;/h2*1H3,(H,3,4);/q;;+2/p-2 InChIKey = YJVFFLUZDVXJQI-UHFFFAOYSA-L (catalyst for aryl couping, carbonylation, and alkenation) Physical Data: see entries Thallium(III) Trifluoroacetate and Palladium(II) Acetate. Solubility: sol common organic solvents; limited sol hexane. Form Supplied in: white solid (Tl(OCOCF3)3); orange-brown solid (Pd(OAc)2); commercially available. Handling, Storage, and Precautions: all thallium compounds are extremely toxic to inhalation, skin contact, and ingestion. Toxicity is cumulative. Extreme caution should be used when handling these materials. Use in a fume hood.
Community-based interagency collaboration: A poststructural interruption of critical practices1

The purpose of this study was to examine one community‐based, interagency policy effort from two contrasting perspectives: critical theory (modernist) and postmodernist. To illustrate this juxtaposition we explored neighbourhood resident participation in community‐based interagency collaboration within the context of decentralization. Using qualitative methodology, we observed team meetings and interviewed participants. While community‐based interagency collaboration could be considered an ‘empowering’ strategy for community residents, from poststructural perspectives it could be a way to maintain the status quo. Through the analysis, we unpack this dichotomy of critical versus poststructural perspectives ‐empowerment versus the reinforcement of existing power relationships ‐ by suggesting that poststructural perspectives of power can flow between residents and agency team members. We deconstruct the assumption that such a policy initiative is either empowering or constraining by suggesting it could be bo...
In-vitro hemostasis test platform

To avoid unnecessary preclinical testing of Covidien's hemostatic agent patch product, a test platform is needed to test the “time-to-hemostasis” of blood using the patch. The test platform needs to utilize in vitro testing, providing an alternative to in vivo testing. Understanding how “time-to-hemostasis” is affected by Covidien's various products will help surgeons prevent unnecessary bleeding when performing surgery, aid doctors healing large wounds from military events or other accidents, and will be useful in many other ways to prevent bleeding out that could fatally harm the patient. In order to stop the use of animal testing for this product, Covidien would like to have a bench-top in vitro testing device for their products. This device must be able to accurately simulate blood flow through a wound site, as well as simulate the hemostasis process of closing the wound through blood clotting. Important features of the finished device include accurate simulation of blood flow through a wounded tissue, accurately measure the time-to-hemostasis, and the ability to test multiple types of hemostat products efficiently. The device will provide Covidien with an in-house alternative to in vivo testing, saving time and expenditure when testing hemostats.
Coupled-oscillator arrays: beamsteering without phase shifters

Arrays of coupled oscillators have been proposed as signal sources for beam-steered array antennas by York et al., (1993, 1997, 1999), and their coworkers. The engineering considerations for designing an array based on coupled oscillators is discussed herein and performance features are compared with those of conventional phased arrays wherever possible. It is shown that there is a direct relationship between departure of the free-running frequencies of individual oscillators and phase errors in the signal produced by the oscillator. Considerations for minimizing the sensitivity to frequency errors and the achievability of reproducible free running frequencies are discussed. The correspondence between the phase of an individual oscillator in an array in phase-shifted state and the phase setting of a phase shifter is discussed.
Qualitative and Quantitative Tests for Mepivacaine Hydrochloride

A series of qualitative tests and quantitative methods are presented for mepivacaine hydrochloride. These data result from a cooperative laboratory study by research personnel of the drug firm and the American Dental Association. The methods chosen are discussed, their particular applications noted, and their limitations described.
GPS spoofing detection using RAIM with INS coupling

In this work, we develop, implement, and test a monitor to detect GPS spoofing attacks using residual-based Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) with inertial navigation sensors. Signal spoofing is a critical threat to all navigation applications that utilize GNSS, and is especially hazardous in aviation applications. This work develops a new method to directly detect spoofing using a GPS/INS integrated navigation system that incorporates fault detection concepts based on RAIM. The method is also capable of providing an upper bound on the proposed monitor's integrity risk.
Kinematics of Geomagnetic Secular Variation in a Perfectly Conducting Core

The motions in the Earth’s electrically conducting fluid core which are the probable cause of the geomagnetic secular variations have time scales of the order of a few centuries or less. Seismic bounds on the kinematic molecular viscosity of the core and order-of-magnitude arguments about the eddy viscosity make plausible the hypothesis that at such short periods the core motion consists of a boundary layer of Ekman-Hartmann type close to the core mantle boundary, and an interior free-stream motion where the viscosity and resistivity can be set equal to zero. This boundary-layer approximation requires that the unknown vertical length scale of the poloidal geomagnetic field deep in the core be at least as long as the 600 km horizontal length scales inferred at the surface of the core from observations above the mantle. For periods shorter than a century the Ekman and magnetic boundary layers are probably thinner than 120 km. If magnetic flux diffusion is neglected (i.e. if electrical conductivity is considered infinite) in the free stream in the core then the external geomagnetic field is completely determined by the fluid motion at the top of the free stream. Therefore the hypothesis of negligible flux diffusion in the free stream has implications for the geomagnetic secular variation, and these implications can be used as a test of whether there is any motion of a perfectly conducting core which will produce the observed secular variation. If the observed secular variation passes this test, we can write down explicitly all ‘ eligible’ velocity fields, i.e. all velocity fields at the top of the free stream in the core which are capable of producing exactly the observed secular variation. The different eligible velocity fields are obtained by different choices of an arbitrary stream function on the surface of the core. We describe a method of selecting from among all eligible velocity fields those which are of particular geophysical interest, such as the one which is most nearly a rigid rotation (westward drift) or the one which is most nearly a latitude dependent westward drift with m degrees of freedom.
Formally specified monitoring of temporal properties

We describe the Monitoring and Checking (MaC) framework which provides assurance on the correctness of an execution of a real-time system at runtime. Monitoring is performed based on a formal specification of system requirements. MaC bridges the gap between formal specification, which analyzes designs rather than implementations, and testing, which validates implementations but lacks formality. An important aspect of the framework is a clear separation between implementation-dependent description of monitored objects and high-level requirements specification. Another salient feature is automatic instrumentation of executable code. The paper presents an overview of the framework, languages to express monitoring scripts and requirements, and a prototype implementation of MaC targeted at systems implemented in Java.
Sweat Gland Progenitors in Development, Homeostasis, and Wound Repair

The human body is covered with several million sweat glands. These tiny coiled tubular skin appendagesproducethesweatthatisourprimarysourceofcoolingandhydrationoftheskin. Numerous studies have been published on their morphologyand physiology. Until recently, however, littlewas known abouthowglandularskin maintains homeostasis and repairsitself after tissue injury. Here, we provide a brief overviewof sweat gland biology, including newly identifiedreservoirsofstemcellsinglandularskinandtheiractivationinresponsetodifferent types of injuries. Finally, we discuss how the genetics and biology of glandular skin has advanced our knowledge of human disorders associated with altered sweat gland activity.
Surgical Management of Metastatic Disease of the Proximal Part of the Femur

➤ Pathologic fracture of the proximal part of the femur resulting from metastatic disease causes severe pain and an inability to walk. Surgical stabilization can be challenging because of bone loss resulting from the underlying metastatic lesions, the potential for major blood loss, and the poor health of the patient.➤ The goal of surgical treatment is the creation of a stable construct to allow early weight-bearing.➤ Pathologic femoral neck fractures secondary to metastases are best managed with arthroplasty.➤ The treatment of intertrochanteric or subtrochanteric fractures is more controversial. Surgical stabilization may be performed with cephalomedullary nailing or arthroplasty. The choice of implant and operative technique is dependent on careful consideration of multiple factors, including the patient's life span, the type of tumor, the perceived response to other therapies, the need for adjuvant radiation therapy and chemotherapy, the location and number of metastatic lesions, and the degree of bone involvement.➤ While the potential for complications is high, surgical stabilization of the proximal part of the femur decreases pain and improves function.
Robustness of the School-Level Polytomous IRT Model.

Robustness of the school-level, polytomous IRT model to violations of the assumptions that (a) student ability is normally distributed within schools, (b) the within-school distribution of student ability has constant variance across schools, and (c) the mean student ability for each school is distributed normally across schools was assessed in a computer simulation study. The study considered variation of the intraclass correlation (the ratio of the variance of the school abilities to the variance of the individual abilities of the total aggregated student population, with values of 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5), the school size (ranging from 20 to 140), and the true school ability, defined as the mean of the abilities of the students in a school. When the assumptions were violated, the actual precision of estimating school ability was typically equal to or somewhat worse than the nominal precision; but in the vast majority of cases, the differences were not of practical importance.
In-situ measurements of fracture toughness properties in composite laminates

Abstract Prediction of matrix failure in composite laminates can be accomplished using computational methods based on material strength and fracture toughness. Engineering theories and failure criteria, which use such material properties generated by current standard experimental methods, may result in poor accuracy of predicting structural strength and fatigue characteristics due to complexity of deformation and failure mechanisms in composites. In this work the applicability of fracture toughness properties measured using standard test methods is investigated. A customized X-ray Computed Tomography system with a 50 kN axial force capacity integrated load frame, enabling full scanning under load, is utilized for accurate 3D in-situ measurements of crack geometry in composite Double Cantilever Beam specimens and Open Hole Tension specimens. These experiments are used to determine Mode I and Mode II fracture toughness based on finite element analysis of models transferred from the tomographic measurements. While measured interlaminar Mode I fracture toughness is in good agreement with standard tests, intralaminar Mode II fracture toughness is shown to depend on crack length.
Survival in Children With Down Syndrome Undergoing Single-Ventricle Palliation.

Background We describe survival in patients with Down syndrome (DS) with single-ventricle anatomy and palliation and characterize risk factors associated with mortality. Methods All patients with DS and single-ventricle anatomy documented in the electronic medical record at our institution from January 1, 1992, to May 1, 2014, were compared with patients with unbalanced atrioventricular septal defects and single-ventricle anatomy, without DS or heterotaxy, during the same period. Survival analysis was performed to evaluate factors associated with mortality, including the presence of DS. Results There were 28 patients with DS and 30 patients without DS. One-year survival with DS was 75% (95% CI: 55% to 87%); 5-year survival was 61% (95% CI: 40% to 76%). All DS deaths except one occurred before 2 years of age. One-year non-DS survival was 93% (95% CI: 76% to 98%); 5-year survival was 85% (95% CI: 64% to 94%). Factors associated with death by univariable analysis included DS ( p = 0.04), pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) of at least 3 Wood units × meter 2 (WUm 2 ) in the first year of life ( p = 0.03), and moderate-to-severe atrioventricular valve regurgitation ( p = 0.1). In combined analysis, when accounting for PVR of at least 3 WUm 2 (hazard ratio [HR] 9.8, 95% CI: 1.1 to 83.5, p = 0.04), DS was not associated with increased mortality (HR 1.5, 95% CI: 0.3 to 7.8, p = 0.66). No patient with DS with PVR less than 3 WUm 2 died. Conclusions Children with DS and single-ventricle anatomy have excellent survival when PVR is less than 3 WUm 2 in the first year of life, with minimal mortality beyond 2 years of age. When accounting for PVR, DS alone is not associated with increased mortality in patients with single-ventricle anatomy.
Abstract P309: Foreclosure Rates During Economic Recession and Cardiovascular Health: Paradoxical Results from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin

Contrary to conventional wisdom, research has shown that economic recessions are associated with decreases in mortality and, conversely, mortality increases during times of economic expansion. Most of these studies are based on unemployment data and few have examined morbidity data as outcomes. The present analyses used data from the 2008-11 waves of the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW) to study the association between county rates of foreclosures during the 2009-10 economic recession and cardiovascular health. SHOW is based on a probabilistic statewide sample of adult (21-74 years old, n = 1,643) residents in Wisconsin. The cardiovascular health (CVH) index was defined using a combination of “ideal or intermediate” levels of seven risk factors and health behaviors (body mass index, cholesterol, glucose, diet, physical activity, blood pressure and smoking). Foreclosure rates for the 72 counties of Wisconsin were obtained from commercially available data for the period 2000-2012. Other covariates i...
Silicone Oil Microdroplets Can Induce Antibody Responses Against Recombinant Murine Growth Hormone in Mice

Therapeutic protein products can cause adverse immune responses in patients. The presence of subvisible particles is a potential contributing factor to the immunogenicity of parenterally administered therapeutic protein formulations. Silicone oil microdroplets, which derive from silicone oil used as a lubricating coating on barrels of prefilled glass syringes, are often found in formulations. In this study, we investigated the potential of silicone oil microdroplets to act as adjuvants to induce an immune response in mice against a recombinant murine protein. Antibody responses in mice to subcutaneous injections of formulations of recombinant murine growth hormone (rmGH) that contained silicone oil microdroplets were measured and compared to responses to oil-free rmGH formulations. When rmGH formulations containing silicone oil microdroplets were administered once every other week, anti-rmGH antibodies were not detected. In contrast, mice exhibited a small IgG1 response against rmGH when silicone oil-containing rmGH formulations were administered daily, and an anti-rmGH IgM response was observed at later time points. Our findings showed that silicone oil microdroplets can act as an adjuvant to promote a break in immunological tolerance and induce antibody responses against a recombinant self-protein.