cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Attainment of the Theoretical Yield of Carbon from Biomass

Previous work has shown that very high yields of charcoal are obtained when pyrolysis of the biomass feedstock is conducted at elevated pressure in a closed vessel, wherein the pyrolytic vapors are held captive and in contact with the solid products of pyrolysis. In this paper, we show that, for some biomass species, the yield of carbon produced by this process effectively attains the theoretical value predicted to exist when thermochemical equilibrium is realized. Various agricultural wastes (e.g., kukui nut, macadamia nut, and pecan shells) and tropical species (e.g., eucalyptus, leucaena, and bamboo) offer higher yields of carbon than the hardwoods traditionally employed by industry in the U.S. and Europe. Moreover, the yields of carbon from oat and rice hulls and from sunflower seed hulls are nearly as high as the yields of carbon from hardwoods. There is a correlation between the yield of carbon and the acid-insoluble lignin content of the feed. Charcoal briquettes made from agricultural wastes and lump charcoal from tropical species are promising sources of renewable carbon for use in the smelting of metal ores.
DUCT LIGATION AND SMALL-DOSE X-RADIATION: A NEW TREATMENT FOR MIKULICZ'S DISEASE.

T he exact nature of Mikulicz’s disease is unknown. It may be identical with Sjogren’s syndrome, and it may be related to the group of collagen diseases.lW5 Salivary gland involvement is only one manifestation of a disease complex which may involve the lacrimal glands, eyes, joints, skin, mucous membranes, and many visceral organs. The treatment methods described in this article apply only to the salivary gland manifestations. Duct ligation is the principal treatment advocated. Its effectiveness is based on ability to produce atrophy of salivary gland tissues.6 Radiation therapy is used only in small doses in the preand postoperative periods to help diminish secretion and control infection.6 Large doses of radiat.ion, sufficient to destroy the salivary glands’, have been used occasionally in the definitive treatment of Mikulicz’s disease.’ This may produce untoward reactions in adjacent tissues, such as the oral mucous membranes. It may also result in secondary changes, including carcinogenesis, which makes it unsuitable for treatment of Mikulicz’s disease except in rare in instances and in advanced stages of the disease. Total surgical excision, the most commonly applied definitive treatment of Mikulicz’s disease of the parotid gland, is unwarranted except in the most advanced stage of the disease with extensive destruction, chronic inflammation, and serious symptoms. A combination of duct. ligation and radiation therapy is a. simple and conservative approach to the salivary gland problem. It may prevent the long, intermittently symptomatic phases of the disease, as well as the necessity for total excision of t.he gland in the most. advanced stages. The patient with Mikulicz’s disease of the parotid gland plagues the physician and surgeon in an endless succession of visits. Anxiety and distress are produced by intermittent but constantly recurring episodes of acute
A Flexible Anti-Brownian Electrokinetic (ABEL) Trap for Single-Molecule Immobilization in Solution

We demonstrate our ability to trap and probe individual fluorescent particles in solution using an improved anti-Brownian electrokinetic (ABEL) trap. Traditional single-molecule immobilization techniques include surface attachment and laser tweezers; the former technique often disrupts fragile biochemical systems, while the latter requires that molecules be conjugated to large beads. The ABEL trap circumvents these issues by tracking the motion of a particle via fluorescence, and applying electrokinetic feedback forces to cancel its Brownian motion.Our ABEL trap suppresses the Brownian motion of a fluorescent particle as follows. A laser beam is rapidly steered in a small scan pattern near the center of a microfluidic cell. An avalanche photodiode detects fluorescence photons from the molecule. A field-programmable gate array compares the precise arrival time of each photon with the known position of the laser, and generates a corresponding feedback voltage. The feedback voltages is amplified and applied to the trap. We use a broadband supercontinuum laser with an acousto-optic tunable filter to enable fluorescent tracking in any part of the visible spectrum, and we scan the laser using electro-optic deflectors that can function at up to 100 kHz. This combination of hardware enables precise spatial, temporal, and spectral control of our illumination and detection optics and can apply feedback at a latency of 2 μs, a better-than-tenfold improvement over previous trap designs. We hope that these improvements will enable us to trap single small-molecule fluorophores in solution.The flexibility of the ABEL trap makes it amenable for a wide variety of biophysical studies. Work is currently underway to apply the ABEL trap to study the dynamics of DNA in solution. In the future, we hope to apply the trap to study the kinetics of proteins such as proteorhodopsin.
Information handover for track-to-track correlation

Abstract The ability of an intercepting missile to select a high-value target in a ballistic missile threat complex would be enhanced if offboard radar tracks on the threat are transmitted to the intercepting missile and combined with the onboard infrared (IR) track picture. Correct track-to-track correlation, however, is a prerequisite to successful information fusion. This paper attempts to quantify the effect on the probability of correctly correlating two independently developed track sets of various types of information that might be included in the handover data set. Theoretical results are obtained that suggest modifications to current correlation algorithms to reduce information handover to the missile and increase computational speed. Several information handover options are compared to illustrate the use of this methodology to determine tradeoffs between the type and quality of information required to enhance target selection and the bandwidth, computational, and time constraints imposed by currently operational systems. These analyses also provide a basis for assessing the capability of current systems to support handover and for setting design requirements for proposed systems.
Electrospun nanofibers from a porous hollow tube

Abstract Single electrospinning jets are known to have low production rates. A 0.1 m2 nonwoven mat containing 1 g of 100 nm fibers may take several days to create from a single jet. Inexpensive methods of higher production rates are needed for laboratory research applications. In this paper we present experimental results of many simultaneous electrospinning jets from the surface of tube having a porous wall. The pores in the wall are small and resist the flow of the polymer. Holes drilled half way into the wall of the tube provide points of reduced flow resistance. A polymer solution of 15 wt% polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in ethanol is pushed by low air pressure of 1–2 kPa through the tube wall at the drilled holes. On the outer surface of the tube polymer drops form at the locations of the drilled holes. The solution is charged from 40 to 60 kV to electrospin the polymer. Multiple polymer jets launch from the tube surface and form fibers. A 13 cm long tube with 20 holes can produce 0.3–0.5 g/h of nanofiber. Production rates can easily be scaled by increasing the tube length and the number of holes.
The midterm results of stent graft treatment of thoracic aortic injuries.

Introduction and objectives Several publications document the technical feasibility of stent graft repair of aortic transection. We report our mid-term results of endovascular repair of thoracic aortic transections using covered stent grafts and compare this to a cohort undergoing open repair during the same time period to demonstrate the shift in practice pattern at our institution. Materials and methods A retrospective review of patients who sustained blunt thoracic transection was undertaken. Medical records were examined to identify the clinical outcome of the procedure, and follow-up CT scans were reviewed to document adequate treatment of the transection. Outcome measures include procedure-related mortality, neurological morbidity, and successful immediate and mid-term coverage of the thoracic false aneurysm and absence of graft migration or endoleak. Results From July, 2000 to October, 2004, 27 patients were identified with descending thoracic aortic transection at our level I trauma center. Fourteen patients were managed nonoperatively, five patients underwent thoracotomy and direct aortic repair, and eight patients underwent endoluminal stent graft repair. Of the endovascular group (n = 8), repairs were performed with stacked AneuRx aortic cuffs (Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN) (n = 6), a Gore thoracic aortic stent graft (Thoracic EXCLUDER; W.L. Gore, Flagstaff, AZ) (n = 1), or a Medtronic Talent thoracic endograft (Medtronic, Inc.) (n = 1). Access for stent graft deployment was the common femoral artery (n = 2), iliac artery (n = 4), or distal abdominal aorta (n = 2). Completion arch aortography and postoperative CT scanning confirmed successful management of the aortic transection in each patient. There were no procedure-related deaths, paraplegia, or stroke. Postoperative complications included a brachial artery thrombosis in one patient as well as an external iliac artery dissection and acute renal failure in a second patient for a complication rate of 37.5%. Two patients died as a result of their injuries unrelated to the stent graft repair. Mean follow-up of 16.6 mo has shown no evidence of endoleak or stent graft migration. Of the open repair group (n = 5), one patient died in the operating room during attempted aortic repair, and one patient had a postoperative stroke. Conclusions Due to technical success and absence of delayed complications including endoleak and graft migration, stent graft repair of traumatic aortic transection has replaced open aortic repair as the primary treatment modality in the multiply injured trauma patient at our institution. The postoperative complication rate observed in this small series tempers the success to some degree, but the severity of the complications compares favorably with those observed in the open repair group.
Failure of Al-Mg-Si alloys in bending

The bendability of two Al-Mg-Si heat-treatable alloys was studied and compared with the performance of a non-heat-treatable Al-Mg alloy. A semi-guided wrap-bend tester consistent with ASTM E290 was used to obtain minimum bend radii and produce consistent bend radii for analysis of fracture mechanisms. Bending failure in these alloys was based on a surface roughening, or orange peel, process where the outer surface grains separated and produced depressions on the surface of the material. These depressions acted as notches that increased local stresses and eventually caused failure. The fracture was intergranular in nature, with a jagged crack progressing through the thickness of the material. Several factors that affect the bendability of AA6xxx alloys are quantified in this study. Critical elements regarding natural aging, artificial aging, deformation, and composition are discussed.
A comparison of the responses of two microcosm designs to a toxic input of copper

Two microcosm designs were compared for their sensitivity to toxic concentrations of copper. One design simulated a littoral zone, including macrophytes, sediment, and associated organisms. The other design used a periphyton community collected on polyurethane foam artificial substrata. Microcosms were dosed with copper sulfate (0–300 µg Cu 1−1, nominal concentrations) and monitored for changes in several structural and process variables. Coefficients of variation of responses measured from the littoral microcosms were greater than from responses measured from the artificial-substrata microcosms. Effects were detected more frequently at lower concentrations of copper in the artificial-substrata microcosms than in the littoral microcosms. Lowest observable effect concentrations (LOECs) for measures of community structure ranged from 20.2–42.8 µg Cu 1−1 in the artificial-substrata microcosms and from 24.0–98.5 µg Cu 1−1 in the littoral microcosms. LOECs for measures of community process ranged from 42.8–310.3 µg 1−1 in the artificial substrata microcosms. Significant differences from controls for community process were detected only at 304.7 µg Cu 1−1 in the littoral microcosms. While there were differences between the two microcosm designs in the concentrations of copper that resulted in adverse effects, response trends were similar. Often, dose-response relationships between variables and copper concentrations were not log-linear, but showed stimulations at intermediate concentrations of copper (10–100 µg 1−1, nominal concentrations). The choice of microcosm design should be dependent on the particular research question, as the designs differ in complexity and in the ease of construction and maintenance.
Structural and Thermodynamic Strategies for Site-Specific DNA Binding Proteins

Abstract Background: Site-specific protein-DNA complexes vary greatly in structural properties and in the thermodynamic strategy for achieving an appropriate binding free energy. A better understanding of the structural and energetic engineering principles might lead to rational methods for modification or design of such proteins. Results: A novel analysis of ten site-specific protein-DNA complexes reveals a striking correspondence between the degree of imposed DNA distortion and the thermodynamic parameters of each system. For complexes with relatively undistorted DNA, favorable enthalpy change drives unfavorable entropy change, whereas for complexes with highly distorted DNA, unfavorable ΔH° is driven by favorable ΔS°. We show for the first time that protein-DNA associations have isothermal enthalpy-entropy compensation, distinct from temperature-dependent compensation, so ΔH° and ΔS° do not vary independently. All complexes have favorable ΔH° from direct protein-DNA recognition interactions and favorable ΔS° from water release. Systems that strongly distort the DNA nevertheless have net unfavorable ΔH° as the result of molecular strain, primarily associated with the base pair destacking. These systems have little coupled protein folding and the strained interface suffers less immobilization, so ΔS° is net favorable. By contrast, systems with little DNA distortion have net favorable ΔH°, which must be counterbalanced by net unfavorable ΔS°, derived from loss of vibrational entropy (a result of isothermal enthalpy-entropy compensation) and from coupling between DNA binding and protein folding. Conclusions: Isothermal enthalpy-entropy compensation implies that a structurally optimal, unstrained fit is achieved only at the cost of entropically unfavorable immobilization, whereas an enthalpically weaker, strained interface entails smaller entropic penalties.
Parental Predictors of Motivational Orientation in Early Adolescence: A Longitudinal Study

Using latent variable path analysis with partial least squares (LVPLS), the study examines the pathways between parenting practices and children's motivational orientation toward school work over the transition to middle school. Greater external control and lack of guidance by parents in the 5th-grade year were related to children's poorer academic achievement that year, which in turn predicted a more extrinsic motivational orientation in 7th grade. In contrast, greater parental autonomy-supporting behavior in the 5th-grade year was related to children's higher academic achievement that year, which in turn predicted a more intrinsic motivational orientation in 7th grade. In all instances, children's perceptions of their academic competence mediated the relation between 5th-grade academic performance and 7th-grade motivational orientation.
Biased graphs IV

A gain graph is a graph whose oriented edges are labelled invertibly from a group G, the gain group. A gain graph determines a biased graph and therefore has three natural matroids (as shown in Parts I and II): the bias matroidG has connected circuits; the complete lift matroidL0 and its restriction to the edge set, the lift matroidL, have circuits not necessarily connected. We investigate representations of these matroids. Each has a canonical vector representation over any skew field F such that G?F? (in the case of G) or G?F+ (in the case of L and L0). The representation of G is unique up to change of gains when the gain graph is full, but not in general. The representation of G or L is unique or semi-unique (up to changing the gains) for 'thick' biased graphs. The lift representations are unique (up to change of gains) for L0 but not for L. The bias matroid is representable also in other ways by points and hyperplanes; one of these representations dualizes the vector representation, while two, in projective space, strongly generalize the theorems of Menelaus and Ceva. (The latter specialize to properties of the geometry of midpoints and farpoints, and of median and edge-parallel hyperplanes, in an affine simplex.) The dual hyperplane representation can be abstracted away from fields to a kind of equational logic and permutation geometry that exist for every gain group. The lift matroids are representable by orthographic points and by linear, projective, and affinographic hyperplanes. L0 also has a metric hyperplanar representation that depends on the Pythagorean theorem. Incidental results are that Whitney's 2-isomorphism operations preserve gains and, to an extent, matroids; and new definitions of the bias and lift matroids based on extremal properties of the rank functions.
Science in Nepal needs neighborly aid.

Compared with its neighbors, Nepal remains sluggish in economic development as well as investments in research and development [([ 1 ][1]) and “Report notes China's influence in emerging Asian science zone,” News & Analysis, J. Mervis, 20 January, p. [274][2])]. While China and India have made substantial progress in science and technology, Nepal, sandwiched between the two countries, lags in basic science and technology infrastructure, high-quality education, retention of talented researchers, and qualified manpower. China and India support Nepal's development primarily by providing physical infrastructure. However, military assistance has overshadowed other aid. China has promised to provide military aid of US$7.7 million and to establish a military academy in Nepal. Likewise, India has resumed military assistance and promised to provide more military supplies in the future ([ 2 ][3]). In contrast, support is dismal for Nepal's higher education, science and technology, and research and development. Furthermore, scientific cooperation between Nepal and its large neighbors is negligible ([ 3 ][4]). ![Figure][5] Kathmandu University. Investments in Nepal's research and development are lagging. CREDIT: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Instability, corruption, and lack of technological development, as well as frequent disasters, have undermined economic development in Nepal. Because of the lack of research and development investments, about 40% of Nepalese who have master's and Ph.D. degrees are teaching instead of conducting their own research ([ 4 ][6]). Thousands of talented Nepalese emigrated during the conflict and are now reluctant to return home because of limited opportunities. After a decade-long conflict, Nepal is undergoing peace and a state-restructuring process. Rather than competing to provide military assistance to a country heading toward peace, China and India should foster innovation and economic prosperity by supporting Nepalese science and technology and research and development. An impoverished and uneducated Nepal is a greater threat to its neighbors than a Nepal that is enriched and educated. 1. [↵][7] The World Fact Book ([www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook][8]). 2. [↵][9] 1. K. R. Koirala , Republica, “India, China rivalry over security aid worries lawmakers,” 1 February 2012, p. 3 ( ). 3. [↵][10] UNESCO Science Report Part II (2010); [unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001899/189958e.pdf][11]. 4. [↵][12] 1. D. Bajracharya 2. et al ., Science, Research and Technology in Nepal (UNESCO Working paper no. 10, 2006); [unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001461/146117e.pdf][13]. [1]: #ref-1 [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.335.6066.274 [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #ref-3 [5]: pending:yes [6]: #ref-4 [7]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [8]: http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook [9]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2 in text" [10]: #xref-ref-3-1 "View reference 3 in text" [11]: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001899/189958e.pdf [12]: #xref-ref-4-1 "View reference 4 in text" [13]: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001461/146117e.pdf
Background deep‐level defects in VPE GaP

Residual deep‐level defects in vapor‐phase epitaxial GaP were determined by transient capacitance spectroscopy. The dominant trap in the temperature range studied occurs at Ec−0.44 eV and was present in concentrations of (0.1–1.6) ×1014 cm−3. Two other traps were observed at the epitaxial‐layer–substrate interface with energies of Ec−0.23 eV and Ev+0.51 eV. The capture cross section and concentration of these defects are also presented.
Analysis of intestinal adaptation gene expression by cDNA expression arrays.

Background: As a tool for determining gene expression on a genomic scale, cDNA microarrays are a promising new technology that can be applied to the study of complex physiologic processes. The objective of this study was to characterize the expression of individual genes and patterns of gene expression that might provide insight into the mechanism of intestinal adaptation after massive small bowel resection. Methods: Male ICR mice underwent a 50% proximal small bowel resection (SBR) or sham operation. After 3 days, the remnant ileum was harvested, weighed, and RNA extracted. Changes in gene expression were detected utilizing Clontech Atlas mouse cDNA expression arrays. Some of these changes were confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR) and Northern blots. Results: Analysis of these cDNA arrays revealed changes in the expression of multiple genes, including those involved in cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, DNA synthesis, and transcriptional regulation. The patterns of expres...
Shell Model Tests of the Interacting Boson Model Description of Nuclear Collective Motion

The IBM assumes that collective behavior arises from the coupling, through the neutron-proton interaction, of the separate low-lying states systems of valence protons and neutrons defined with respect to a major shell closure. The eigenstates of the proton (neutron) systems are assumed to be constructed purely from combining two-particle “bosons” with L = 0 and L = 2 to form many-particle states. The model is capable of handling nuclear systems which are far beyond the domain of applicability of any reasonably complete shell-model calculation. It is the purpose of this report to present the results of a large shell-model calculation of pseudo-nucleus which displays striking collective behavior suggestive of rotational phenomena. In these calculations, a specific and physically reasonable single-particle structure is given to the wave functions, and an explicit two-body residual interaction is used. An analysis of the shell model wave functions of the eigenstates of the resulting K = 0 rotational bands offers strong support to a primary assumption of the IBM; i.e., wave functions which describe collective behavior can be constructed from many-particle states of valence nucleons which are constructed only from J=0 and J=2 two-particle states.
The geochemistry of cobalt

Abstract Cobalt has been determined in a wide variety of geologically interesting materials using the combined techniques of emission speotrography and neutron activation analysis. Neutron activation was used to analyse standards for the emission spectrograph and materials low in cobalt. The following table is a summary of the results obtained with these methods. Co Co/Fe Co/Mg (p.p.m.) (x 10 4 ) (x 10 4 ) Basaltic rocks 48 6.0 12 Granodiorites 7 2.5 7.0 Granites 1 0.6 6.4 Schists 40 5.3 9.3 Shales 19 4.9 14 “Pure” limestone 0.1 - - Quartzite 0.3 - - During differentiation of a basaltic magma (as in the case of the Stillwater complex) most of the cobalt enters the ferromagnesian minerals. The cobalt content of these minerals depends on the total number of Fe-Mg lattice sites and is independent of the Fe/Mg ratio. This relationship appears to hold for basaltic rocks in general. Cobalt is strongly coherent with magnesium in granitic rocks and behaves like magnesium in its partition relations between metamorphic minerals. The acceptance of both cobalt and magnesium is more selective at lower grades of metamorphism. These observed coherence relations require a re-evaluation of the geochemical laws governing the distribution of trace elements in the petrogenesis of igneous and metamorphic rocks and the partition of trace elements between coexisting minerals. In sediments most of the cobalt is in the argillaceous fraction and seems to follow iron and maguaneae. The cobalt economy in the deep sea is discussed and we conclude that with present knowledge, the cobalt accumulations in deep-sea sediments may be explained as the result of supply of detritally associated cobalt and dissolved cobalt from surface runoff rather than volcanic exhalations. The crustal abundance of cobalt is calculated as 27 p.p.m. on the model of a crust of basalt and granodiorite in equal proportions.
Model-driven requirements engineering (MDRE) for real-time ultra-wide instantaneous bandwidth signal simulation

ABSTRACT While conducting a cutting-edge research in a specific domain, we realize that (1) requirements clarity and correctness are crucial to our success [1], (2) hardware is hard to change, most work is in software requirements development, coding and testing [2], (3) requirements are constantly changing, so that configurability, reusability, scalability, adaptability, modularity and testability are important non-functional attributes [3], (4) cross-domain knowledge is necessary for complex systems [4], and (5) if our research is successful, the results could be applied to other domains with similar problems. In this paper, we propose to use model-driven requirements engineering (MDRE) to model and guide our requirements/development, since models are easy to understand, execute, and modify. The domain for our research is Electronic Warfare (EW) real-time ultra-wide instantaneous bandwidth (IBW 1 ) signal simulation. The proposed four MDRE models ar e (1) Switch-and-Filter architecture, (2) multiple parallel data bit streams alignment, (3) post-ADC and pre-DAC bits re-mapping, and (4) Discrete Four ier Transform (DFT) filter bank. This research is unique since the instantaneous bandwidth we are dealing with is in gigahertz range instead of conventional megahertz. Keywords: decision tree, DFT filter bank, FPGA, MDRE, r eal-time, requirements, ultra-wide bandwidth
Interlocking shapes in art and engineering

Abstract This paper reviews the art and science of interlocking shapes. With the help of computer graphics, such a design technique is now available to many people and original drawings composed by engineering students are included here. The computer has served as a creative tool and a teaching tool. New engineering applications of interlocking shapes are now within reach.
Picosecond room temperature excitonic-absorption saturation and four-wave mixing in InAs/GaAs short-period strained-layer superlattices

Abstract We report picosecond nonlinear optical measurements in InAs/GaAs short-period strained-layer superlattices. Under resonant excitation near 1 μm at room temperature, strong bleaching of the n=1 heavy-hole excitonic absorption peak and large associated degenerate four-wave mixing signals were observed. The spectral dependence of the absorption change and refractive index change per photo-generated electron-hole pair were extracted directly from the measured differential transmission and wavelength-dependent four-wave mixing diffraction efficiency respectively. The measured refractive index change is consistent with that predicted indirectly by a Kramers-Kronig transformation of the measured wavelength-dependent absorption change per carrier pair.
Mechanisms underlying the cardiac benefits of exercise: Still running in the dark.

As a species, we have been habitual exercisers for thousands of years. The “hunter–gatherer” way of life that sustained human existence for many millennia required daily physical activity [1]. Observational data from relatively isolated contemporary cultures that have maintained traditional lifestyles suggest that our species evolved to walk or run approximately 10–15 km per day [2]. While we evolved to move because we needed to, this need has largely vanished. The advent of modern society replete with luxuries including automobiles, elevators, grocery stores, and my personal favorite, “moving walkways” have made it entirely possible to live without accruing any appreciable daily caloric expenditure from physical activity. Not surprisingly, as we have perfected the art of immobility, we have gotten fatter and sicker. Wide-spread recognition of the link between physical inactivity and poor health, specifically with respect to cardiovascular outcomes, has led to the popular adage that exercise is medicine. Yet, to what degree exercise is medicine versus sustenance depends upon the context. Among healthy children compared to sedentary but otherwise similar peers, routine physical exercise in the form of organized sports and informal play has been associated with numerous desirable attributes including less violent behavior, better school performance, and of course more favorable cardiovascular risk factor profiles [3,4]. Here, exercise is not medicating anything but instead its absence is initiating the early life cascade of risk factor-mediated cardiovascular disease. In contrast, carefully prescribed low to moderate intensity exercise training among older patients following myocardial
The effects of administration of lithium salts and magnesium sulfate on the serum anion gap

Whether or not an increased serum level of an unmeasured cation will reduce the anion gap (AG) depends on concomitant changes (or lack thereof) in serum unmeasured anions. In the present retrospective study, we sought to determine the effect of lithium carbonate or citrate and magnesium sulfate on the AG. Two groups of psychiatric patients whose average serum lithium levels were 0.6 and 1.0 mEq/L were studied. The AG in each group (10.2 +/- 0.3 [SE] and 9.0 +/- 0.4 mEq/L, respectively) was significantly (P less than 0.05) lower than that of a control group (11.1 +/- 0.3 mEq/L). Separately, we collected 87 pairs of AG and serum magnesium data of patients with toxemia of pregnancy. These included those of 15 patients evaluated both before and during magnesium sulfate infusion. Despite an average serum magnesium level of 4.1 +/- 0.2 mEq/L, the AG of the latter subjects tended to increase slightly from 10.8 +/- 0.5 to 11.7 +/- 0.7 mEq/L during magnesium infusion, instead of decreasing. The other data (72 determinations in the 55 patients without preinfusion values) revealed a mean AG of 11.0 +/- 0.3 mEq/L, coexisting with an elevated serum magnesium of 4.1 +/- 0.1 mEq/L. None of the above-mentioned three mean AG values differed significantly from that of the control group. We conclude that hypermagnesemia resulting from the administration of magnesium sulfate does not reduce the AG, probably because of a concomitant and proportional increase in serum sulfate. The present data reemphasize the need to assess the anion gap as the result of concomitant changes in both unmeasured anions and cations.
Comparison of vision-based algorithms for hiding defective sub-pixels

The potential use of vision-based algorithms for hiding defective display pixels is quite appealing. Two prior approaches utilized either the point spread function (PSF) or contrast sensitivity functions to represent effects of the human visual system [2, 3]. A third approach proposed in this paper includes a simple model of human visual masking characteristics to improve theoretical defect hiding effectiveness. A visual experiment indicated all three methods provided significant improvement over uncompensated sub-pixel defects across all color patches and images tested. The masking-based method and an empirically optimized PSF method were more effective due to the masking-type patterns generated. Hiding effectiveness was linearly related to the inverse of the lightness error generated by a defect. For moderate lightness errors, both the PSF and masking-based methods completely hid the sub-pixel defects, with decreasing effectiveness for larger lightness errors. Similar results were found for images and corresponding color patches, though some dependency on the image content was observed for two of the five images. With the addition of a simple visual masking effects model, the iCAM Image Difference Model was found to predict the general performance trends of the three methods with reasonable accuracy.
The electronic and molecular structure of carbon clusters : C8 and C10

The equilibrium geometries of C8 and C10 have been determined from electronic structure calculations, using a variety of correlated methods and large basis sets of atomic natural orbitals. For C8, a cyclic form withC 4h symmetry (1 A g) and a linear, cumulene-like form (3Σ g − ) are isoenergetic candidates for the electronic ground state. For C10, the ground-state equilibrium structure is definitely monocyclic. Three different cyclic structures have been considered here, i.e. cumulenicD 10h , distorted-cumulenicD 5h and acetylenicD 5h . These are all essentially isoenergetic, and are about 50 kcal/mol below the linear3Σ g − state. The choice of basis sets and methods used has a strong impact on the predicted ground-state structures.
Comparison of transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography for assessment of left-sided valvular regurgitation

To compare transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography in the clinical assessment of left-sided valvular regurgitation, 118 patients who underwent both transesophageal and transthoracic echocardiographic studies within a 24-hour period were included in this study. Presence or absence of aortic regurgitation was identified concordantly by both techniques in 93 patients (79%). Complete agreement between both techniques was found in 88 patients (75%). Presence or absence of mitral regurgitation was identified concordantly by both techniques in 89 patients (75%). Complete agreement in grade was found in only 74 patients (63%). Twenty-nine patients (25%) had mitral regurgitation detected by transesophageal echocardiography, but not by transthoracic echocardiography. Four of these patients (14%) had significant (2 to 3+) mitral regurgitation. Differences between transesophageal and transthoracic echocardiography do not appear to be clinically important in patients with aortic regurgitation. In mitral regurgitation, significant differences exist between these 2 techniques, with transesophageal echocardiography being much more sensitive.
Structural features of covalently cross-linked hydroxylase and reductase proteins of soluble methane monooxygenase as revealed by mass spectrometric analysis.

Soluble methane monooxygenase requires complexes between its three component proteins for efficient catalysis. The hydroxylase (MMOH) must bind both to the reductase (MMOR) and to the regulatory protein (MMOB) to facilitate oxidation of methane to methanol. Although structures of MMOH, MMOB, and one domain of MMOR have been determined, less geometric information is available for the complexes. To address this deficiency, MMOH and MMOR were cross-linked by a carbodiimide reagent and analyzed by specific proteolysis, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and capillary high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Tandem mass spectra conclusively identified two amine-to-carboxylate cross-linked sites involving the α subunit of MMOH and the [2Fe-2S] domain of MMOR (MMOR-Fd). In particular, the N terminus of the MMOH α subunit forms cross-links to the side chains of MMOR-Fd residues Glu-56 and Glu-91. These Glu residues are close to one another on the surface of MMOR-Fd and >25 A from the [2Fe-2S] cluster. Because the N terminus of the α subunit of MMOH was not located in the crystal structure of MMOH, a detailed structural model of the complex based on the cross-link was precluded; however, a previously proposed binding site for MMOR on MMOH could be ruled out. Based on the cross-linking results, a MMOR E56Q/E91Q double mutant was generated. The mutant retains >80% of MMOR NADH oxidase activity but reduces sMMO activity to ∼65% of the level supported by the wild type reductase. Cross-linking to MMOH was diminished but not abolished in the double mutant, indicating that other residues of MMOR also form cross-links to MMOH.
The possible central role of GABA in thermoregulation in the sheep

Abstract Injections of GABA and its agonist muscimol into a lateral cerebral ventricle of sheep depressed both evaporative heat loss (40 and 58% respectively) at 41°C ambient temperature ( T a ) and metabolic heat production (27 and 32% respectively) at 3°C T a . The intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of the GABA antagonist, bicuculline (Bi), prior to an ICV injection of either serotonin (5-HT) or carbamyl choline (CCh) prevented the inhibitory effects of an ICV injection of 5-HT at 3°C or CCh at 41°C on heat production and heat loss respectively [Bligh et al., J. Physiol., Lond. 212, 377–392 (1971)]. Simultaneously the inhibitory effects of hot and cold ambient temperatures on heat production and heat loss, respectively, were blocked and both the heat production and heat loss pathways were activated concurrently. These results suggest that GABA may be a terminal transmitter of reciprocal inhibition between the two major thermosensor to thermoregulatory effector pathways in the sheep.
Coupling effect in π-N scattering within the Skyrme modelscattering within the Skyrme model

The equations of π-N scattering in the Skyrme model are derived from PCAC. The method used to calculate the coupling effects between rotation and vibration modes is presented. The calculations shows that the coupling effect is not negligible for the behavior of the phase shift around 90°.
A mutual coupling study of linear polarized microstrip antennas for use in BLAST wireless communications architecture

The analysis of aperture coupled linear polarized microstrip antennas for use in multielement antenna arrays is presented. The goal is to place independent antenna elements as close as physically possible with minimum mutual coupling. For antennas on a rigid foam plastic substrate, /spl epsiv//sub ra/=1.07, the mutual coupling between two antennas is symmetric in both the E-plane and H-plane. For antennas on PTFE and ceramic polymer composite substrates, /spl epsiv//sub ra/=2.2 and 4.5, respectively, the mutual coupling is nonsymmetric with mutual coupling greater in the E-plane for large interelement spacings. The mutual coupling can be significantly reduced (20-35 dB) at the same interelement spacing when adjacent elements transmit (recieve) orthogonal senses of polarization. The magnitude of the mutual coupling can be reduced by decreasing the antenna substrate thickness. The mutual coupling is independent of the feed substrate dielectric constant value. The center frequency, f/sub 0/=5.22 GHz, is chosen to lie within the Personal Communications Service (PCS) band 5.1-5.3 GHz. The substrate thicknesses chosen are thin (d/sub a///spl lambda//sub 0/<0.1) so as to be compatible with low profile thickness requirements of portable communications systems.
Oct4 dependence of chromatin structure within the extended Nanog locus in ES cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells offer insight into early developmental fate decisions, and their controlled differentiation may yield vast regenerative potential. The molecular determinants supporting ES cell self-renewal are incompletely understood. The homeodomain proteins Nanog and Oct4 are essential for mouse ES cell self-renewal. Using a high-throughput approach, we discovered DNaseI hypersensitive sites and potential regulatory elements along a 160-kb region of the genome that includes GDF3, Dppa3, and Nanog. We analyzed gene expression, chromatin occupancy, and higher-order chromatin structure throughout this gene locus and found that expression of the reprogramming factor Oct4 is required to maintain its integrity.
Long-term snow depth simulations using a modified atmosphere–land exchange model

Abstract Significant areas of agricultural lands are subject to seasonal, relatively thin snow covers. This cover affects temperature and moisture in the soil beneath, watershed hydrology, and energy budgets. The depth of snow impacts soil freezing with implications for soil hydraulic properties and over-winter survival of certain crops. The objective of this study was to incorporate a sophisticated snow cover routine into the atmosphere–land exchange (ALEX) model to simulate snow depths and dynamics of the relatively thin snowpacks of the US Upper Midwest. The ALEX model is used in several agricultural modeling projects, and as the land-surface parameterization in a mesoscale forecast model, but with only crude snow cover treatment. We combined parameterizations and empiricisms from the literature with the ALEX structure. Only three parameters were adjusted to find a set that worked well for 48 station years from three sites in Wisconsin. These were a correction for gauge catch deficiency, the air temperature that differentiates rain from snow, and a parameter related to drainage of liquid water from a melting snowpack. A further independent test included 13 years from one site in Minnesota. The air temperature differentiating rain from snow was also determined by analysis of weather observations, independently of the snow model. Both this analysis and the model revealed 0°C to be the best choice for this temperature in our region. Results showed that with a minimum of calibration the model gives good predictions of continuous snow depth, capturing critical processes of accumulation, ablation and melt in a wide variety of situations. Discrepancies between model and measurements generally originated from a single event and were mainly attributed to processes of blowing snow, misclassification of precipitation type, and anomalous new snow densities. Our results demonstrated the robustness of existing parameterizations and empiricisms for translating environmental observations into snow depth in dynamic simulation models.
Techniques for high-speed scanning of free-space OCT devices

Summary form only given. We present results of OCT scans in layered materials and through coatings on wires. We show how this technique can be used to detect defects in insulators, coatings, and paints. We outline how novel, free-space, rapid-scanning techniques can be used to produce X-Z scans at speeds approaching video frame rates. We also discuss the use of our apparatus to study the birefringence produced by the subsurface region in various materials. Such birefringence can be used as a measure of internal material stresses.
The Rediscovery of Samuel Lyde's Lost Nuṣayrī Kitāb al-Mashyakha (Manual for Shaykhs)

The K. al-Mashyakha is a manual for Nuṣayrī shaykhs. Its significance as a window into the otherwise secret world of Nuṣayrī ritual was augmented by the role it played in the formation of Nuṣayrī studies: in 1860, it served as the basis for the first monograph on the Nuṣayrī religion, Samuel Lyde's posthumously published Asian Mystery. However, for over 150 years, the K. al-Mashyakha has been missing. This article announces its rediscovery in two identical manuscripts and identifies two additional works based on this text, the well-known Nuṣayrī catechism, K. Taʿlīm diyānat al-nuṣayriyya, and the recently published K. al-Mashyakha issued by the Lebanese press, Dār li-ajl al-maʿrifa. In solving the mystery of its disappearance and rediscovery in two copies, this article provides new insight into the nineteenth-century Nuṣayrī world from which the K. al-Mashyakha emerged, as well as that of the European orientalists who pioneered this field.
Effect of a high or low ambient perinatal temperature on adult obesity in Osborne-Mendel and S5B/Pl rats

Perinatal environment is an important determinant of health status of adults. We tested the hypothesis that perinatal ambient temperature alters sympathetic activity and affects body composition in...
A Systematic Examination of the Citation of Prior Research in Reports of Randomized, Controlled Trials

Results: 227 meta-analyses were identified, comprising 1523 trials published from 1963 to 2004. The median prior research citation index was 0.21 (95% CI, 0.18 to 0.24), meaning that less than one quarter of relevant reports were cited. The median sample size citation index (0.24 [CI, 0.21 to 0.27]) was similar, suggesting that larger trials were not selectively cited. Of the 1101 RCTs that had 5 or more prior trials to cite, 254 (23%) cited no prior RCTs and 257 (23%) cited only 1. The median number of prior cited trials was 2, which did not change as the number of citable trials increased. The mean number of preceding trials cited by trials published after 2000 was 2.4, compared with 1.5 for those published before 2000 (P 0.001). Limitation: The investigators could not ascertain why prior trials were not cited, and noncited trials may have been taken into account in the trial design and proposal stages. Conclusion: In reports of RCTs published over 4 decades, fewer than 25% of preceding trials were cited, comprising fewer than 25% of the participants enrolled in all relevant prior trials. A median of 2 trials was cited, regardless of the number of prior trials that had been conducted. Research is needed to explore the explanations for and consequences of this phenomenon. Potential implications include ethically unjustifiable trials, wasted resources, incorrect conclusions, and unnecessary risks for trial participants.
Brief Energy-based control for hybrid port-controlled Hamiltonian systems

In this paper we develop an energy-based hybrid control framework for hybrid port-controlled Hamiltonian systems. In particular, we obtain constructive sufficient conditions for hybrid feedback stabilization that provide a shaped energy function for the closed-loop system, while preserving a hybrid Hamiltonian structure at the closed-loop level. Furthermore, an inverse optimal hybrid feedback control framework is developed that characterizes a class of globally stabilizing energy-based controllers that guarantee hybrid sector and gain margins to multiplicative input uncertainty of hybrid Hamiltonian systems.
Airfoil Stall Prediction using a Two-Equation and an Explicit Algebraic Stress Model

The purpose of this study is to assess the predictive capabilities of two types of turbulence models on flow over an airfoil near stall, and at different Reynolds numbers. An isotropic, eddy-viscosity K-emodel and an explicit algebraic stress model (EASM) are used in the analysis.
Paul the Roman Citizen

In this article the Roman citizenship of Paul as it is found in Acts is vindicated as a historical fact with reference to his association with the synagogue of the Libertini in Acts 6-8. Paul was t...