cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The iatrogenesis of obstetric racism in Brazil: beyond the body, beyond the clinic.

In Brazil, Black women are disproportionately denied access to timely care and are made vulnerable to death by avoidable obstetric causes. However, they have not been at the center of recent initiatives to improve maternal health. This paper contends that the effectiveness of Brazilian maternal and infant health policy is limited by failures to robustly address racial health inequities. Multi-sited ethnographic research on the implementation of the Rede Cegonha program in Bahia, Brazil between 2012 and 2017 reveals how anti-Blackness structures iatrogenic harms for Black women as well as their kin in maternal healthcare. Building on the work of Black Brazilian feminists, the paper shows how Afro-Brazilian women experience anti-Black racism in obstetric care, which the paper argues can be better understood through Dana-Ain Davis' concept of obstetric racism. The paper suggests that such forms of violence reveal the necropolitical facets of reproductive governance and that the framing of obstetric violence broadens the scales and temporalities of iatrogenesis.
Dynamic Delamination Propagation in Composite Beams

The problem of dynamic delamination growth in composite beams is analyzed using finite clement method. The delaminated beam is modeled as two beams above and below the plane of delamination. Spring...
“Do You Have Any Information on the Goth Lifestyle?”: Or How Does a Reference Librarian Keep Up-to-Date?

One of the biggest challenges of a Reference Librarian is trying to respond to an information request on an unfamiliar topic. This article will cover techniques to use when confronted with a reques...
Reasoning About Actions in Narrative Understanding

Reasoning about actions has been a focus of interest in AI from the beginning and continues to receive attention. Rut the range of situations considered has been rather narrow and falls well short of what is needed for understanding natural language. Language understanding requires sophisticated reasoning about actions and events and the world's languages employ a variety of grammatical and lexical devices to construe, direct attention and focus on, and control inferences about actions and events. We implemented a neurally inspired computational model that is able to reason about, linguistic action and event descriptions, such as those found in news stories. The system uses an active. event representation that also seems to provide natural and cognitiveIy motivated solutions to classical problems in logical theories of reasoning about actions. For logical approaches to reasoning about actions, we suggest, that looking at story understanding sets up fairly strong desiderata both in terms of the fine-grained event and action distinctions and the kinds of real-time inferences required.
Inductance/area/resistance tradeoffs in high performance power distribution grids

The design of high integrity, area efficient power distribution grids is of immediate practical importance as the portion of on-chip interconnect resources dedicated to power distribution networks in high performance integrated circuits has greatly increased. To optimize the process of allocating on-chip metal resources, inductance/area/resistance tradeoffs in high speed power distribution grids are explored. Two tradeoff scenarios in power grids with alternating power and ground rails are considered. In the first scenario, the area occupied by the grid lines is maintained constant and the grid inductance versus grid resistance tradeoff is evaluated as the width of the grid lines varies. In the second scenario, the metal area of the grid is maintained constant and the grid inductance versus grid area tradeoff is investigated. In both cases, the grid inductance increases almost linearly with line width, rising more then eightfold for a tenfold increase in line width. The grid resistance and grid area, however, decrease relatively slowly with line width. This decrease in grid resistance and area is limited to a factor of two under assumed interconnect characteristics.
The Josephson Bifurcation Amplifier for Quantum Measurements

A new type of amplifier whose primary purpose is the readout of superconducting quantum bits is constructed. It is based on the transition of an RF-driven Josephson junction between two distinct oscillation states near a dynamical bifurcation point. The main advantages of this new amplifier are speed, high-sensitivity, low back-action, and the absence of on-chip dissipation. Using pulsed microwave techniques, bifurcation amplification in nanofabricated Al junctions is demonstrated and the performance predicted by theory is verified.
Sex/gender and the individual.

Freud once asked, What do women want? Long before Freud, and continuing to the present day, many men have wondered, Why do they (women) behave as they do? Similarly, many women ask, Why do they (men) behave as they do? In a widely read nonacademic volume, Gray (1992) suggested a simple answer with the title of his book, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: Women and men are from “different planets” and are “supposed to be different” (p. 10). From the very beginnings of their discipline in the late 1800s, psychologists have addressed the issue of why women and men think, feel, and behave as they do. At times, the prevailing answers were almost as simple as Gray's suggestion that the sexes come from different planets. At other times, and increasingly so today, the answers concerning the why of men's and women's experiences and actions have involved complex multifaceted frameworks.
Studies with a Gluconate-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Mutant in Escherichia coli Strain C

A map location of the gluconate-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (gnd) marker was estimated in Escherichia coli C at approximately 46 min by P1 transduction. The gnd locus appears to lie between the co-transducible histidine and prophage P2 location I markers.
Automatic processing of high‐rate, high‐density multibeam echosounder data

[1] Multibeam echosounders (MBES) are currently the best way to determine the bathymetry of large regions of the seabed with high accuracy. They are becoming the standard instrument for hydrographic surveying and are also used in geological studies, mineral exploration and scientific investigation of the earth's crustal deformations and life cycle. The significantly increased data density provided by an MBES has significant advantages in accurately delineating the morphology of the seabed, but comes with the attendant disadvantage of having to handle and process a much greater volume of data. Current data processing approaches typically involve (computer aided) human inspection of all data, with time-consuming and subjective assessment of all data points. As data rates increase with each new generation of instrument and required turn-around times decrease, manual approaches become unwieldy and automatic methods of processing essential. We propose a new method for automatically processing MBES data that attempts to address concerns of efficiency, objectivity, robustness and accuracy. The method attributes each sounding with an estimate of vertical and horizontal error, and then uses a model of information propagation to transfer information about the depth from each sounding to its local neighborhood. Embedded in the survey area are estimation nodes that aim to determine the true depth at an absolutely defined location, along with its associated uncertainty. As soon as soundings are made available, the nodes independently assimilate propagated information to form depth hypotheses which are then tracked and updated on-line as more data is gathered. Consequently, we can extract at any time a “current-best” estimate for all nodes, plus co-located uncertainties and other metrics. The method can assimilate data from multiple surveys, multiple instruments or repeated passes of the same instrument in real-time as data is being gathered. The data assimilation scheme is sufficiently robust to deal with typical survey echosounder errors. Robustness is improved by pre-conditioning the data, and allowing the depth model to be incrementally defined. A model monitoring scheme ensures that inconsistent data are maintained as separate but internally consistent depth hypotheses. A disambiguation of these competing hypotheses is only carried out when required by the user. The algorithm has a low memory footprint, runs faster than data can currently be gathered, and is suitable for real-time use. We call this algorithm CUBE (Combined Uncertainty and Bathymetry Estimator). We illustrate CUBE on two data sets gathered in shallow water with different instruments and for different purposes. We show that the algorithm is robust to even gross failure modes, and reliably processes the vast majority of the data. In both cases, we confirm that the estimates made by CUBE are statistically similar to those generated by hand.
Enhanced lifetime in unencapsulated organic photovoltaics with air stable electrodes

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) are realizing power conversion efficiencies that are of interest for commercial production. Consequently, understanding device lifetime and mitigating degradation pathways have become vital to the success of a new industry. Historically, the active organic components are considered vulnerable to photo-oxidation and represent the primary degradation channel. We present several (shelf life and light soaking) studies pointing to the relative stability of the active layers and instabilities in commonly used electrode materials. We show that engineering of the metal electrode and hole/electron injection layer can lead to environmentally stable devices without encapsulation.
Gradient elution of phosphatides from silicic acid column

Abstract Previous methods for the separation of phosphatides using silicic acid chromatography have been modified. A continuous concave-upward gradient of methanol in chloroform has been employed. The separation was highly, reproducible with respect to quantity and distribution of lipid phosphorus and was free of factitious secondary peaks.
Identification of Cys94 as the distal ligand to the Fe(III) heme in the transcriptional regulator RcoM-2 from Burkholderia xenovorans

The CO-responsive transcriptional regulator RcoM from Burkholderia xenovorans (BxRcoM) was recently identified as a Cys(thiolate)-ligated heme protein that undergoes a redox-mediated ligand switch; however, the Cys bound to the Fe(III) heme was not identified. To that end, we generated and purified three Cys-to-Ser variants of BxRcoM-2—C94S, C127S, and C130S—and examined their spectroscopic properties in order to identify the native Cys(thiolate) ligand. Electronic absorption, resonance Raman, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies demonstrate that the C127S and C130S variants, like wild-type BxRcoM-2, bind a six-coordinate low-spin Fe(III) heme using a Cys/His ligation motif. In contrast, electronic absorption and resonance Raman spectra of the C94S variant are most consistent with a mixture of five-coordinate high-spin and six-coordinate low-spin Fe(III) heme, neither of which are ligated by a Cys(thiolate) ligand. The EPR spectrum of C94S is dominated by a large, axial high-spin Fe(III) signal, confirming that the native ligation motif is not maintained in this variant. Together, these data reveal that Cys94 is the distal Fe(III) heme ligand in BxRcoM-2; by sequence alignment, Cys94 is also implicated as the distal Fe(III) heme ligand in BxRcoM-1, another homologue found in the same organism.
Perceived Racial Discrimination, Social Support, and Psychological Adjustment among African American College Students.

The purpose of this study was to examine three competing models of the relations among perceived discrimination, social support, and indicators of psychological adjustment in a sample of 135 African American college students. The three competing models, social support buffering, social support mobilization, and social support deterioration, were tested within a regression framework. The buffering model, which predicted that social support would interact with perceived discrimination such that individuals with high levels of social support would be protected from the harmful effects of discrimination, was not supported. The social support mobilization model, which predicted that support networks would mobilize to support individuals exposed to discrimination, was also not supported. Support was only obtained for the social support deterioration model, which predicted that social support would decrease for those exposed to discrimination. Perceived racial discrimination was associated with lower perceptions...
Unsteady-state spot illumination of a semiconductor panel

The steady-state solution of the diffusion equation reported by Levin for excitation of a semiconductor panel has been extended to the unsteady-state case. A light spot of arbitrary geometry and intensity is included in the analysis.
The perceptual push: The interplay of implicit cues and explicit situational construals on behavioral intentions in the Prisoner's Dilemma

Abstract Although it is clear that nonconscious primes can affect behavioral decisions, the extent to which the prime-to-behavior link is mediated by intervening interpretative processes is still unknown. The present research examined the mediational role of “situational construals” by assessing the effects of cooperative versus competitive primes on participants’ construals of, and responses to, the prisoner’s dilemma. As predicted, this priming manipulation influenced participants’ construals of the game (assessed by the participants’ ratings of the appropriateness of different “names for the game” and their estimates of how random others would play), and their own expressed willingness to cooperate versus defect. Most crucially, a mediational analysis and a manipulation of the order in which these dependent variables were measured established that the prime-to-behavior link can be strengthened by an intervening task calling for explicit construal of the situation. The interplay of situational construal and implicit primes in producing deliberative behavior is discussed.
Comparison of Several Aqueous two Phase Solvent Systems (ATPS) for the Fractionation of Biopolymers by Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC)

Abstract Aqueous Two Phase Solvent Systems {ATPS} have been tested in a Centrifugal Partition Chromatograph (Sanki, Kyoto, Japan), to check for stability, backpressure, noiseless baseline and efficiency. From our experiments we conclude that ATPS are compatible with CPC, in particular the stationary phase is very stable and does not require a high rotational speed to stabilize it (1300 rpm was commonly used); but, the efficiency of the CPC apparatus decreases markedly, due to the high viscosity of ATPS as compared to classical biphasic solvent systems. Based en our results, new partition cartridges have been designed, which minimize the bulk volumes and considerably increase the interface, or favor the mixing step of the two phases by an ad-hoc design of both the inlet ducts and channels.
Wavelet based multi-spectral image analysis of maize leaf chlorophyll content

With recent advancement in precision farming, the need for variable rate technology has become apparent. Variable rate technology can improve the efficiency of farm operations and lessen farm's environmental impact. To implement effective variable rate applications, it is essential to gather and process information on crop nitrogen level reliably. This research is intended to develop an image-processing method to assess crop nitrogen level based on multi-spectral images of maize plants. This method first removed unnecessary information from the image and then converted the image into a one-dimensional (1D) signal representing the reflectance of the maize plant across leaves. The obtained data was further processed using the wavelet packet transform to find specific patterns that correspond to crop nitrogen stress. To implement wavelet analysis, the 1D signal was deconstructed into packets of narrow frequency bands to find the lowest level approximations at different levels. The maximum wavelet coefficients were identified for interested signal bands and then compared to SPAD meter readings, which were used as the ground-truth corn nitrogen level. Analysis results indicated that the db4 wavelet at a level 8 deconstruction had the highest linear regression coefficient (R^2=0.78) with a high correlation coefficient (r=0.88) for corn nitrogen levels.
Neighborhood: A Conceptual Analysis

Researchers interested in measuring neighborhood-level effects should understand how "neighborhood" is defined within nursing sciences and other sciences, and the inherent strengths and weaknesses of current research methodologies. This concept analysis provides clarity around the concept of neighborhood within the context of health, analyzes the current state of development of the neighborhood concept, and proposes areas for future nursing research. Using the Rodger's Method of analysis, the concept of neighborhood within nursing and public health research is described based on existing literature. The concept's attributes, related concepts, antecedents, and consequences are given from the literature. Comparisons of the use of neighborhood are made between nursing, public health, sociology, and other sciences. The evolution of the concept of neighborhood throughout history is described, and important implications for future research are discussed.
Relato, relajo, and recording

Abstract This article analyzes the dialogic play of temporalities and voices in a series of solo autobiographical cassettes recorded by Rodolfo Garcia, a former tent show comedian from San Antonio, Texas, on his home stereo between 1990 and 2000. Made while I was interviewing Mr. Garcia about his World War II-era career in show business, these recordings represent a rare intervention by a research ‘consultant’ in the ethnographic process. On the tapes, Mr. Garcia alternates between telling stories from his life and career, performing material from his repertoire as a comedian, and singing karaoke-like over a recording of the music of the Mexican singer and composer Agustin Lara. During instrumental breaks, he performs a conversation among three characters distinguished by different vocal timbres whose creative deixis reframes the mechanically reproduced music as a ‘live’ performance in a fictitious nightclub. In the relajo , Mr. Garcia moves almost entirely away from a denotationally explicit mode of representing the past and nearly abandons the idea of producing a self-contained, fully intelligible statement in favor of a somewhat opaque reenactment. Ostensibly a demonstration of his comic act, the relajo also incorporates material from his more recent past, bringing personal traumas and disappointments that he could not narrate explicitly into the autobiographical statement.
Dynamic programming, invariant imbedding and thin beam theory

Abstract The boundary-value problem of the theory of thin beams is transformed into initial-value problems using concepts of dynamic programming and invariant imbedding. An example shows the computational efficiency of this approach.
The Impulsive Force Required to Effectuate a New Orbit Through a Given Point in Space

A method for treatment of a special two-body problem is discussed in this paper. The problem is: “To calculate the impulse or impulsive force required to effectuate a new Keplerian orbit around a center through a given point T in space.” The solution of this problem, according to the present method, is based on the solution of an auxiliary problem, treated here geometrically, on the “projection property” of the admissible impulse, and trigonometric calculations, which make the admissible impulse an appropriate one. Three groups of problems are discussed: one when the point T is on the plane of the original orbit, and two when T is out of this plane. In the case when the \( \left( {{{{\rm{\dot r}}}_0},{\rm{I}}} \right) \)-plane is not perpendicular to the line CM, use is made of projections on a plane perpendicular to CM. The calculation of the impulsive force in terms of the impulse is also given. Illustrated problems for each group complete the paper.
Enforced expression of an Flt3 internal tandem duplication in human CD34+ cells confers properties of self-renewal and enhanced erythropoiesis.

To investigate the role of constitutively active internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutants of the Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (Flt3) receptor in leukemogenesis, we introduced the Flt3-ITD, W51, into human cord blood CD34+ cells and evaluated their phenotype in diverse hematopoietic assays. W51 expression resulted in a strong proliferative advantage and enhanced erythropoiesis as determined by immunophenotyping, colony assays, and molecular analyses. In MS-5 stromal cocultures, numerous early cobblestone areas (CAs) were generated within 10 to 14 days. Such W51-associated early CAs disappeared by 4 weeks, yet retained self-renewal properties as demonstrated by generation of secondary and tertiary CAs upon replating. This phenotype appears related to the expression of W51 since it was abolished by exposure to the FLT3 inhibitor, AG1295, but not to the c-kit inhibitor PD16. Wild-type Flt3 –overexpressing CD34+ cells exposed to high levels of its physiologic ligand did not produce early CAs, highlighting differences in intracellular signaling between wild-type Flt3 and W51. W51-associated signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (Stat5) activation plays a major role in this phenotype, although additional downstream targets of W51 may be relevant. Flt3 -ITD+ acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blasts from patients invariably generated early AG1295-sensitive CAs in MS-5 cocultures, further validating the phenotype observed in transduced CD34+ cells.
Design and Testing of a Low-Cost and Low-Maintenance Drip Irrigation Filtration System for Micro-Irrigation in Developing Countries

The cylindrical filters presently used in <1000 m2 drip irrigation systems are frequently clogged, increasing pressure loss and lowering the flow rate through the filters. This work investigates the mechanisms for this clogging and proposes an alternative filtration design that would enable both more reliable and lower maintenance filtering. This proposed system is compatible with existing drip irrigation systems and could be made inexpensively with plastic bottle manufacturing equipment. To compare the proposed design to off-the-shelf options, a drip irrigation test setup was built to measure the pressure loss across different filters as particles accumulated. These experiments confirmed that pleated cartridge filters, with high effective surface area, incurred lower pressure losses than cylindrical filters. These tests revealed that the greatest reason for clogged performance was that filtered particles (not the cartridge filter itself) eventually restricted the flow of water through the system. This inspired the redesign of the filter housing such that the housing extended far below the filter, providing a catch basin away from the filter for the particles to settle. Fixing the filter independently of the bottom casing significantly improved the overall performance of the filtration system, reduced the maintenance requirement necessary from the user, and would enable inexpensive manufacturing via blow molding. This paper experimentally demonstrates that the cartridge filter inside the redesigned housing can filter out over 2 kg of sand while maintaining less than a .03 bar pressure drop across the filter at a flow rate of 25 l/s.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Challenges, Applications, and Recent Advances of Protein-Ligand Docking in Structure-Based Drug Design

The docking methods used in structure-based virtual database screening offer the ability to quickly and cheaply estimate the affinity and binding mode of a ligand for the protein receptor of interest, such as a drug target. These methods can be used to enrich a database of compounds, so that more compounds that are subsequently experimentally tested are found to be pharmaceutically interesting. In addition, like all virtual screening methods used for drug design, structure-based virtual screening can focus on curated libraries of synthesizable compounds, helping to reduce the expense of subsequent experimental verification. In this review, we introduce the protein-ligand docking methods used for structure-based drug design and other biological applications. We discuss the fundamental challenges facing these methods and some of the current methodological topics of interest. We also discuss the main approaches for applying protein-ligand docking methods. We end with a discussion of the challenging aspects of evaluating or benchmarking the accuracy of docking methods for their improvement, and discuss future directions.
Magnetic bistability and nucleation of magnetic bubbles in a layered 2D organic-based magnet [Fe(TCNE)(NCMe)2][FeCl4]

The 2D layered organic-based magnet [Fe(TCNE)(NCMe)2][FeCl4] (TCNE=tetracyanoethylene) exhibits a unique macroscopic magnetic bistability between the field-cooled and zero-field-cooled states, which cannot be explained by either superparamagnetic behavior or spin freezing due to spin glass order. This magnetic bistability is described through consideration of the ensemble of uncoupled 2D Ising layers and their magnetization reversal initiated by a field-induced nucleation of magnetic bubbles in individual layers. The bubble nucleation rate strongly depends on the external field and temperature resulting in anomalous magnetic relaxation.
Coupling of diffusion flame structure to an unsteady vortical flow-field

A laminar methane-air diffusion flame is interacted with vortices of various sizes and strengths in order to better understand unsteady stretch and history effects on turbulent flames. The nitrogen-diluted fuel stream of a Wolfhard-Parker slot burner is acoustically forced, producing repeatable two-dimensional vortices that strain and curve the flame. Phase-locked, planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) diagnostics are used to quantify the response of the OH-radical to the vortex-induced stretch. Acetone PLIF images are used to clarify the relationship between the vortex structure and the flame. The results show that the vortex causes significant variations in the OH layer thickness. In particular, negative strain produces a doubling of the flame thickness. Local extinction of the OH layer due to high strain is observed near the flame base. Peak OH mole fraction levels vary considerably more than adiabatic LFM predictions. In particular the peak OH decreases by a factor of 2 with downstream distance. This decrease is believed due to dilution of reactants by combustion products formed elsewhere in the flow. A simplified model is proposed, which shows the OH concentration is sensitive to product dilution through the scalar dissipation rate.
A precise pseudodifferential Foldy-Wouthuysen transform for the Dirac equation

We will discuss existence of a unitary pseudodifferential operator U in our algebra \( Op\psi c_0 \) of strictly classical pseudodifferential operators on \( \bf{R^3} \) such that U precisely decouples the “electronic” and ”positronic” part of the Dirac equation, for rather general potentials, and without supersymmetry. Interestingly, an obstruction appears: On may have to remove a finite dimensional space of “electronic” states, and declare them as “positronic”, or, vice versa, depending on a certain deficiency index. Possibly, this index is nonzero if electronic bound states penetrate into the positronic continuous spectrum, or vice versa.
Family Structure and Child Well-being: Integrating Family Complexity

Although children's family lives are diverse, the measurement of children's living arrangements has lagged, focusing on the relationships of children to parents while largely ignoring sibling composition. Using data from the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation (N = 23,985) the authors documented patterns of family complexity among a nationally representative sample of children ages 0-17 living in a range of family structures. They also examined the independent and joint associations of family structure and family complexity on child economic well-being. Family complexity was independently related to economic disadvantage, namely, a lower income-to-needs ratio and a higher likelihood of public assistance receipt. The role of family complexity was partially contingent on family structure, with the positive association between family complexity and receipt of public assistance more pronounced for children in families with 2 married biological parents. This study demonstrates the utility of integrating family structure and family complexity in studies of children's well-being.
Analytic variational calculation of the ground-state binding energy of hydrogen in intermediate and intense magnetic fields

The present work investigates analytically the effect of an intermediate or intense magnetic field, such as probably exist in white dwarfs and near pulsars, on the binding energy of the hydrogen ground state. A wave-function 'prescription' is given for an analytic variational calculation of the binding energy. The calculation still gives a smooth transition between intermediate and intense fields. An explicit calculation of the ground-state binding energy as B goes to infinity is provided for the Yafet et al. (1956) trial function.
The Hidden TAG Model: Synchronous Grammars for Parsing Resource-Poor Languages

This paper discusses a novel probabilistic synchronous TAG formalism, synchronous Tree Substitution Grammar with sister adjunction (TSG+SA). We use it to parse a language for which there is no training data, by leveraging off a second, related language for which there is abundant training data. The grammar for the resource-rich side is automatically extracted from a treebank; the grammar on the resource-poor side and the synchronization are created by handwritten rules. Our approach thus represents a combination of grammar-based and empirical natural language processing. We discuss the approach using the example of Levantine Arabic and Standard Arabic.
Laser statistics and cavity length

Abstract The effect on the optical field of changing the cavity length of a laser, while keeping the resonance frequency constant, is examined. It is shown that the fully quantized laser theory gives explicit expressions for the length dependence of the light intensity distribution, that are not shared by the semiclassical theory, and are quite different above, at, and below threshold. Some possible experiments are suggested.
Sleeve Lobectomy, Segmentectomy, and Thoracoscopy in the Management of Carcinoma of the Lung

A variety of surgical techniques are currently available for the treatment of lung cancer. In carefully selected patients, these techniques permit adequate resection of the lung while preserving functioning lung tissue.
Creating Small Gas Bubbles in Flowing Mercury Using Turbulence at an Orifice

Pressure waves created in liquid mercury pulsed spallation targets have been shown to create cavitation damage to the target container. One way to mitigate such damage would be to absorb the pressure pulse energy into a dispersed population of small bubbles, however, creating such a population in mercury is difficult due to the high surface tension and particularly the non-wetting behavior of mercury on gas-injection hardware. If the larger injected gas bubbles can be broken down into small bubbles after they are introduced to the flow, then the material interface problem is avoided. Research at the Oak Ridge National Labarotory is underway to develop a technique that has shown potential to provide an adequate population of small-enough bubbles to a flowing spallation target. This technique involves gas injection at an orifice of a geometry that is optimized to the turbulence intensity and pressure distribution of the flow, while avoiding coalescence of gas at injection sites. The most successful geometry thus far can be described as a square-toothed orifice having a 2.5 bar pressure drop in the mercury flow of 8 L/s for one of the target inlet legs. High-speed video and high-resolution photography have been used to quantify the bubble population on the surface of the mercury downstream of the gas injection site. Also, computational fluid dynamics has been used to optimize the dimensions of the toothed orifice based on a RANS computed mean flow including turbulent energies such that the turbulent dissipation and pressure field are best suited for turbulent break-up of the gas bubbles.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Digital ranges of motion: normal values in young adults.

Analysis of the range of motion of fingers was done in young (eighteen to thirty-five year old) adult volunteers with no history of previous injury to their hands. The data show that there are slight differences between the individual digits. Notably, mctacarpophalangeal flexion and total active motion increase linearly in proceeding from the index to the small finger. There were also minor differences in comparing sexes. Women have greater extension at the metacarpophalangeal joint in both active and passive motion and have a greater total active motion at all digits as a result. A significant tenodesis effect was found at the distal interphalangeal joint in normal subjects. No differences were found that could be attributable to handedness.
Structural Characterization of Normal and Modified Oligonucleotides by Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry.

Matrix-assisted UV laser desorption Fourier transform mass spectrometry (266 nm, nicotinic acid matrix) can be used for the detailed structural characterization of normal and modified oligonucleotides. The negative ion spectra for these compounds revealed abundant (M − H) - ions as well as fragment ions that provided the information necessary to determine oligomer sequence and to differentiate isomers. The nicotinic acid matrix was required for the production of (M − H) - ions for the oligonucleotide dimers, trimers, tetramers, and hexamers examined in this study. Elimination of the nicotinic acid matrix resulted in complete loss of the (M −H) - ions as well as most of the larger fragment ions for the oligomers. The primary fragmentation pathway was observed to be phosphate ester bond cleavage with the resulting charge retained on the 3’ end of the oligomer and enabled isomeric differentiation of compounds such as d(S’-CGCG-3’) and d(S’-CCGG-3’). Collisioninduced dissociation experiments of the (M − H) - ions for these compounds confirmed the preferential loss of nucleotides from the 5’ end of the oligomers. The presence and location of modifications such as methyl and ethyl alkyl groups to the oligonucleotides could also be identified.
Electromagnetic scattering of two-dimensional surface-relief dielectric gratings

We employed the rigorous vector coupled-wave theory [J. Opt. Soc. Am. 73, 1105 (1983)] to analyze the electromagnetic scattering from two dimensional (2-D) surface-relief dielectric gratings. A shoot-back method was developed for the numerical solution of the resulting coupled differential equations. This method allowed numerical solutions to be found for grating structures of arbitrary profiles and relatively deep grooves. It was most suitable where the grating medium refractive index was not too large and where only a small number of propagating orders existed. Experiments confirmed the numerically predicted reflectivities for 2-D surface-relief dielectric sinusoidal gratings. Reflectivity measurements were made on 2-D sinusoidal gratings fabricated on photoresist and on polycarbonate. The grating periodicities were of the order of 3000 lines/mm such that only the zero-order diffracted waves were propagating in the incident region, and possibly a few forward orders in the transmission region. The embossing technique that was used for replicating the grating patterns from photoresist onto polycarbonate proved to be a feasible method for the production of such gratings.
Factors influencing the emergence and spread of HIV drug resistance arising from rollout of antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Background: The potential for emergence and spread of HIV drug resistance from rollout of antiretroviral (ARV) pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an important public health concern. We investigated determinants of HIV drug resistance prevalence after PrEP implementation through mathematical modeling. Methodology: A model incorporating heterogeneity in age, gender, sexual activity, HIV infection status, stage of disease, PrEP coverage/discontinuation, and HIV drug susceptibility, was designed to simulate the impact of PrEP on HIV prevention and drug resistance in a sub-Saharan epidemic. Principal Findings: Analyses suggest that the prevalence of HIV drug resistance is influenced most by the extent and duration of inadvertent PrEP use in individuals already infected with HIV. Other key factors affecting drug resistance prevalence include the persistence time of transmitted resistance and the duration of inadvertent PrEP use in individuals who become infected on PrEP. From uncertainty analysis, the median overall prevalence of drug resistance at 10 years was predicted to be 9.2% (interquartile range 6.9%-12.2%). An optimistic scenario of 75% PrEP efficacy, 60% coverage of the susceptible population, and 5% inadvertent PrEP use predicts a rise in HIV drug resistance prevalence to only 2.5% after 10 years. By contrast, in a pessimistic scenario of 25% PrEP efficacy, 15% population coverage, and 25% inadvertent PrEP use, resistance prevalence increased to over 40%. Conclusions: Inadvertent PrEP use in previously-infected individuals is the major determinant of HIV drug resistance prevalence arising from PrEP. Both the rate and duration of inadvertent PrEP use are key factors. PrEP rollout programs should include routine monitoring of HIV infection status to limit the spread of drug resistance. © 2011 Abbas et al.
VALUE OF NEW DIAGNOSTIC AIDS IN RELATION TO THE DISEASE PROCESS IN PANCREATIC CANCER

An assessment was made of the diagnostic value of six tests done on 28 patients who proved to have resectable and 45 patients who had non-resectable pancreatic cancer. Ultrasonography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) were the most sensitive tests for the diagnosis of resectable tumours. Ultrasonography was slightly, and cytology definitely, better for the diagnosis of resectable tumours than for the diagnosis of non-resectable tumours. Computerised tomography, angiography, and scintigraphy were not effective means of diagnosing resectable tumours. The differences in diagnostic sensitivities of the tests for resectable and non-resectable disease are probably due to variations in pathological features which influence not only the stage of presentation, but also the detectability of the tumour. As long as investigation is limited to patients with symptoms, a large proportion of tumours will not be diagnosed at a resectable stage. However, the results of this study suggest that the resectability rate may be maximised by the early use of ultrasonography in patients with symptoms suggesting cancer in the region of the head of the pancreas, and in patients with vague, non-specific complaints. A combination of ERCP and direct ductal aspiration for cytology is the best means of diagnosing resectable tumours.
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of the BO2 radical

Abstract The absorption spectrum of BO 2 in the ground state, X 2 Π g , has been measured in the infrared with a high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer. The 00 0 1-00 0 0 and 10 0 1-00 0 0 vibrational transitions have been measured for both the 2 Π 1 2 and the 2 Π 3 2 states. Because of the large number of vibronic levels arising from the Renner-Teller effect, there is a high likelihood of observing level crossings in this molecule and three examples of perturbations in these states are described. Improved ground state constants are reported.
Transition control of instability waves over a flexible surface in the presence of an acoustic field

Experimental results are presented which demonstrate the coupling of a laminar boundary layer flow with a typical flexible aircraft panel. It is shown that the boundary layer induces plate oscillations which, in turn, perturb the flow at the same frequencies. This feedback mechanism is an inherent property of laminar boundary layer flow passing over a flexible plate. As a result, the flexibility of the plate becomes a source of early transition. The laminar boundary layer at the leading edge of the plate reacts to small, upstream, unsteady disturbances due to a streamwise pressure gradient. The experiments demonstrate that a nominal sound pressure incident at the leading edge triggers early transition. It is shown that transition can be delayed by activating a heat source at the leading edge of the plate which results in downstream cooling.
Repetitively sampled time-of-flight mass spectrometry for gas-phase kinetics studies

An apparatus has been constructed to study radical–radical reactions in the gas phase. It consists of a tubular quartz reactor in which radicals are produced by flash photolysis using an excimer laser as light source. The composition of the gas mixture is analyzed in situ by photoionizing sampled gases using the vacuum ultraviolet emission of a hollow cathode lamp and subsequent time-of-flight mass spectrometry. A simple arrangement of grids at the entrance to the flight tube is used to interrupt the constant flux of ions by application of a combination of constant and pulsed voltages. Individual mass spectra can be taken at a repetition rate of around 20 kHz following each photolysis event. Signal counts from a specified number of consecutive mass spectra are fed into a 2 GHz multiscaler and accumulated as a sampling-time-indexed series of mass spectra. This allows simultaneous observation of the concentrations of multiple transient or stable species on a millisecond time scale. To achieve a suitable sig...
How large is Fπ

Abstract We note that the 93.1 MeV value of the pion decay constant used by most investigators is nearly a per cent too large due to the incomplete inclusion of radiative corrections in its extraction. The new value 92.4 MeV, when combined with the value of the nucleon axial coupling g A , gives improved agreement with the Gorger-Treiman relation.
Dynamical Simulations of North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Activity Using Observed Low-Frequency SST Oscillation Imposed on CMIP5 Model RCP4.5 SST Projections

AbstractThe effects on early and late twenty-first-century North Atlantic tropical cyclone statistics resulting from imposing the patterns of maximum/minimum phases of the observed Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) onto projected sea surface temperatures (SSTs) from two climate models from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) are examined using a 100-km resolution global atmospheric model. By imposing the observed maximum positive and negative phases of the AMO onto two CMIP5 SST projections from the representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 scenario, this study places bounds on future North Atlantic tropical cyclone activity during the early (2020–39) and late (2080–99) twenty-first century. Averaging over both time periods and both AMO phases, the mean named tropical cyclones (NTCs) count increases by 35% when compared to simulations using observed SSTs from 1982 to 2009. The positive AMO simulations produce approximately a 68% increase in mean NTC count, while the neg...
Progress on establishing guidelines for National Ignition Facility (NIF) experiments to extend debris shield lifetime

Abstract The survivability of the debris shields on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) are a key factor for the affordable operation of the facility. The improvements required over Nova debris shields are described. Estimates of debris shield lifetimes in the presence of target emissions with 4–8 J/cm 2 laser fluences indicate lifetimes that may contribute unacceptably to operations costs for NIF. We are developing detailed suggested guidance for target and experiment designers for NIF to assist in minimizing the damage to, and therefore the cost of, maintaining NIF debris shields. The guidance suggests a target mass quantity that as particulate on the debris shields (300 mg) may be within current operating budgets. It also suggests the amount of material that should become shrapnel on a shot (10 mg). Finally, it suggests the level of non-volatile residue (NVR) that would threaten the sol–gel coatings on the debris shields (1 μg/cm 2 ). We review the experimentation on the Nova chamber that included measuring quantities of particulate on debris shields by element and capturing shrapnel pieces in aerogel samples mounted in the chamber. We also describe computations of X-ray emissions from a likely NIF target and the associated ablation expected from this X-ray exposure on supporting target hardware. We describe progress in assessing the benefits of a pre-shield and the possible impact on the guidance for target experiments on NIF. Plans for possible experimentation on Omega and other facilities to improve our understanding of target emissions and their impacts are discussed. Our discussion of planned future work provides a forum to invite possible collaboration with the IFE community.
Intelligence and rationality in evolution and culture

Abstract In this essay I distinguish intelligence from rationality. Intelligence has to do with problem solving, and I outline several critical factors in the evolution of intelligence. Moreover, I suggest that intentionality is an evolutionary prelude to rationality. Rationality has to do with wisdom. The evolution of rationality occurs as we appropriate the four stages of rationality that are discussed: the result is the possibility of a civilized culture.
Exploring the Potential of Twitter as a Research Tool

Twitter (www.twitter.com) has become kind of a popular culture punch line. It's often used as a shorthand to represent how self-obsessed and self-involved the American culture has become, and while...
Total synthesis of (−)-detoxin D1

Abstract An efficient stereocontrolled total synthesis of (−)-detoxin D 1 , the most active component of the detoxin complex, is described.
An ab initio study of the ionization potentials and f- f spectroscopy of europium atoms and ions

The first three ionization potentials of europium and the f–f spectroscopy of the two lowest multiplets of Eu+3 have been calculated using ab initio spin–orbit configuration interaction techniques. To accomplish this, a new averaged relativistic effective core potential has been developed which leaves only the 5s, 5p, and 4f in the valence space. A series of configuration interaction calculations were carried out up through single and partial double excitations with a double-zeta quality basis set. The computed ionization values have an absolute error of about 0.1 eV from the experimental values. The computed f–f spectroscopy for the lowest 7F multiplet of Eu+3 has a RMS error with experiment of about 100 cm−1. The computed f–f spectroscopy for the first excited 5D multiplet has a higher RMS error of about 350 cm−1. The computed center of gravity separation between the 5D–7F multiplet is underestimated by 750 cm−1. Comparisons between non-spin–orbit and spin–orbit configuration interaction calculations fo...
Prepaid Comprehensive Mental Health Services for Children

A comprehensive mental health program for children in a Health Maintenance Organization setting is described, focusing on the synergistic relationship between a consultative (indirect service) role and specialized (direct service) treatment programs. About half the patients diagnosed by pediatricians as having a psychosocial problem are referred to mental health, over 97% of thsoe referred are seen 10 sessions or fewer, and under 2% require continuous (long-term) psychotherapy when a full range of alternatives exists. Cost and utilization data are presented, and case examples demonstrate the adaptation of traditional techniques to the setting. Such adaptation, and careful treatment planning, underlie cost containment.