cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Poly (acrylic acid) - mediated soft template synthesis of Poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-based conducting polymer nanostructures for supercapacitor applications

In the present study, poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanostructures were obtained by oxidative polymerization of monomer ‘3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene’ in the presence of poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) in FeCl3 as an oxidizing agent. The PEDOT nanostructures were characterized using the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) techniques respectively. The morphology of PEDOT nanostructures revealed flowerlike-shape agglomerates with an increase in the concentrations of PAA. The SEM, TEM and FTIR studies revealed that the presence of PAA could only induce a change in morphology during polymerization, but could not influence the molecular structure of the PEDOT nanostructures. The synthesized PEDOT nanostructures were used as electrode material for supercapacitor. The electrochemical capacitive properties of the PEDOT nanostructures were investigated with the Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques in the three-electrode cell system. The capacitance of the PEDOT electrode was measured in 0.1M LiClO4 and 2M H2SO4 electrolytes. The highest specific capacitance value of 215F/g for a PEDOT nanostructured electrode was calculated in 1 M H2SO4 electrolyte.
Using gestures to convey internal mental models and index multimedia content

Gestures can serve as external representations of abstract concepts which may be otherwise difficult to illustrate. Gestures often accompany verbal statement as an embodiment of mental models that augment the communication of ideas, concepts or envisioned shapes of products. A gesture is also an indicator of the subject and context of the issue under discussion. We argue that if gestures can be identified and formalized they can be used as a knowledge indexing and retrieval tool and can prove to be useful access point into unstructured digital video data. We present a methodology and a prototype, called I-Gesture that allows users to (1) define a vocabulary of gestures for a specific domain, (2) build a digital library of the gesture vocabulary, and (3) mark up entire video streams based on the predefined vocabulary for future search and retrieval of digital content from the archive. I-Gesture methodology and prototype are illustrated through scenarios where it can be utilized. The paper concludes with results of evaluation experiments with I-Gesture using a test bed of design-construction projects.
Inhibitor, isotopic and kinetic studies on hydrogen dehydrogenase

The oxidized form of hydrogen dehydrogenase of Hydrogenomonas ruhlandii was inhibited by BAL, cyanide, dithionite, suifide, sulfite, and thioglycolate. Reduction of the dehydrogenase with DPNH or H/sub 2/ resulted in a diminished effect of the inhibitors, with the exception of p-chloromercuribenzoate, which inhibited only the reduced enzyme. Information from kinetic analysis and inhibitor studies indicated that the enzyme is reduced with H/sub 2/ to give a proton and that this is followed by the oxidation of the reduced enzyme with DPN to give DPNH. The enzyme catalyzes an exchange between H/sub 2/ and HTO and also between HTO and DPNH. Analysis of DPN enzymically reduced T/sub 2/ showed that T is in the BETA -position of DPNH. The enzyme action has a lag phase, which can be eliminated by preincubation with H/sub 2/ or DPNH. (auth)
Effects of stress coarsening on coherent particle strengthening

We have determined the effects of stress coarsening of coherent, γ’ [Ni3 (Al,X)] precipitates on the yield behavior of nickel-base super alloy single crystals. In so doing, we have also determined the influence of coherent precipitate shape on yield strength, and the strengthening role of dislocation substructures innickel-base superalloys. The γ’ morphologies considered are large plates, long rods, and the familiar cuboids. These morphologies were obtained by annealing the crystals under applied tensile stress, applied compressive stress, and zero stress conditions, respectively. The tensile test axes were perpendicular to the γ’ plates and parallel to the γ’ rods. Between room temperature and 1400°F, the γ’ rod and γ’ plate morphologies are found to increase the yield strength of the crystals over that due to the γ’ cuboids by about 10 ksi (10 pct) and 30 ksi (35 pct), respectively. Above 1400°F, the yield strengths of the crystals are found to be essentially independent of precipitate morphology. The increase in yield strength in going from crystals with γ’ cuboids to those with γ’ rods is shown to be due to dislocation networks, which are produced as a natural consequence of annealing under stress. A simple analysis of the interaction between dislocations and the precipitates show that the increase in yield strength in going from γ’ rods to γ’ plates is due to dislocation line tension and consistent with the difference in the shape of these coherent and ordered precipitates. The results of this investigation are comforting in that they show creep applications should not degrade the strength of nickel-base superalloy single crystals. The results are also discussed with respect to polycrystalline nickel-base superalloys and composite structures of γ and γ’ phases.
Stability of the flavan-3-ols epicatechin and catechin and related dimeric procyanidins derived from cocoa.

Cocoa flavanols and procyanidins possess wide-ranging biological activities. The present study investigated the stability of the cocoa monomers, (−)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin, and the dimers, epicatechin-(4β-8)-epicatechin (Dimer B2) and epicatechin-(4β- 6)-epicatechin (Dimer B5), in simulated gastric and intestinal juice and at different pH values. The dimers were less stable than the monomers at both acidic and alkaline pH. Incubation of Dimer B2 and Dimer B5 in simulated gastric juice (pH 1.8) or acidic pH resulted in degradation to epicatechin and isomerization to Dimer B5 and Dimer B2, respectively. When incubated in simulated intestinal juice or at alkaline pH, all four compounds degraded almost completely within several hours. These results suggest that the amount, and type, of flavanols and procyanidins in the gastrointestinal tract following the consumption of cocoa can be influenced by the stability of these compounds in both acidic and alkaline environments. Keywords: Cocoa; procyanidin; (+)...
Isotopic evidence for the magmatic and tectonic histories of the Carolina terrane: implications for stratigraphy and terrane affiliation

Abstract Establishing the age and crustal nature of exotic terranes and their underlying basements helps to determine their paleogeographic origin and tectonic histories. We present U–Pb ages of zircons and Sm–Nd whole rock isotopic data for volcanic and plutonic rocks of the Carolina terrane, one of several peri-Gondwanan terranes that were accreted to the margins of the circum-Atlantic continents during the Paleozoic. Volcanism in this subduction-related arc culminated in the eruption of the Morrow Mountain rhyolite, at ca. 540 Ma; thus, magmatism in the Carolina terrane ceased at the beginning of the Cambrian. The presence of inherited zircons and non-juvenile depleted mantle model ages of Carolina slate belt rocks favor a basement that is, at least in part, composed of evolved continental crust. Ages of inherited xenocrystic zircons cluster at ca. 1000, 2100 and 2500 Ma. These ages, in addition to volcanism at ca. 618–540 Ma, correlate best with well-known tectonic events in present-day northern South America. Specifically, the Orinoquian-Sunsas, the Trans-Amazonian and the Central Amazonian orogenic zones are likely candidates for potential basement correlatives to the Carolina terrane. Sm–Nd isotopic signatures vary significantly, but permit assimilation of Orinoquian age (∼1000 Ma) crust by magmas derived from the depleted mantle in a subduction (arc-related) setting. Our findings are also consistent with proposed correlations between the Carolina terrane and Avalonia which is likewise believed to have formed along the northern margin of present-day South America.
Human eHAND, but not dHAND, is down-regulated in cardiomyopathies.

Abstract The progression of cardiomyopathy to congestive heart failure is often associated with the expression of fetal cardiac-specific genes. In mice, the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors, dHAND and eHAND , are expressed in a cardiac chamber-specific fashion and are essential for fetal cardiac development, but are down-regulated in the adult. Their expression in specific chambers of healthy and diseased human hearts has not been studied previously. Human dHAND and eHAND were mapped to human chromosomes 4q33 and 5q33, respectively, by fluorescent in situ hybridization. RNA from the four chambers of healthy human adult hearts, and from hearts of patients with several forms of cardiomyopathy, was obtained and assayed for dHAND and eHAND expression. Unlike in mice, dHAND expression was observed in all four chambers of the healthy human adult heart, but was diminished in the right atrium. In contrast, eHAND was expressed in the right and left ventricles, but was downregulated in both atrial chambers. We examined tissue from 15 human cardiomyopathic hearts obtained during cardiac transplantation or by endomyocardial biopsy for alterations in HAND gene expression. dHAND expression was unchanged in all forms of cardiomyopathy tested. However, cardiac expression of eHAND was severely down-regulated in six of six patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and six of six patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. This study demonstrates that human dHAND and eHAND have unique spatial patterns of expression within human cardiac chambers. Downregulation of eHAND in ischemic and dilated cardiomyopathy suggests a correlation between eHAND dysregulation and the evolution of a subset of cardiomyopathies.
Local delivery of vancomycin for the prophylaxis of prosthetic device-related infections.

Purpose. To evaluate the in vivo efficacy and pharmacokinetics of vancomycin delivered from glycerylmonostearate (GMS) implants in a prosthetic-device based biofilm infection model.
Anglo-American Views of Health and the Family

Excerpt By all accounts the family is in a perilous state. Changes in patterns of behavior, moral constraints, freedom, responsibilities, communications, and consequences of technology coupled with...
Hypoxia, calcium fluxes, and inotropic state: studies in cultured heart cells.

Abstract Methods have been developed for the study of cellular mechanisms underlying a variety of physiologic and pathophysiologic phenomena using cultured chick embryo heart cells. These spontaneously beating monolayer preparations lack appreciable diffusion barriers, and interstitial space components can be defined and controlled conveniently. These properties facilitate the measurement of transmembrane fluxes and cellular contents of sodium, potassium, and calcium. Concomitantly, methods have been developed to measure the contractile state as reflected in the amplitude and velocity of movement of individual myocytes in the culture. Experiments are described in which the contractile responses of cultured heart cells to graded hypoxia demonstrated a critical P O 2 level around 12 mm Hg, below which progressive impairment of contractile function occurred. In preparations with iodoacetate-induced glycolytic blockade, enhanced sensitivity to hypoxia occurred. Additional experiments are described, demonstrating the applicability of this model system to the study of problems including the mechanism of cardiac glycoside-induced increases in inotropic state and the definition of calcium flux pathways important in excitation-contraction coupling.
PRIOR COMMITMENT AND INFORMATION RECALL

Szrmrnory.-Responsibility is related to escalation of commitment, a phenomenon in which individuals continue to invest in a failing course of action despite evidence that suggests that continued investment is unwise. Prior research indicates that individuals mahg multiple decisions as part of a sequential task are llkely to engage in escalation behavior (Brockner, 1992). Investigators of escalation have not examined cognitive by-products of the decision-making process. In this study, the number of decisions, e.g., one or two, was used to manipulate the amount of responsibility. It was predicted that subjects making multiple decisions would remember more information supporting their initial decision than those who made only a single Final decision. Analysis indicated that proportion recalled was the same for both groups. It appears that memory for the information used in the decision-making process is not related to amount of re~~onsibllity.
Bias in acoustic travel time through an ocean with adiabatic range-dependence

Abstract We consider the propagation of acoustic waves in an ocean sound channel C(z, x) with slow dependence on x. The travel time t RD in the range-dependent channel differs from the travel time t RA through the range-averaged sound channel C RA (z) = ±C(z, x)〉 x . The Hamiltonian formulation (Wunsch, in press) takes advan tage of the nearly periodic (in x) paths of the ray loops. The bias t RD - t RA for an adiabatic x-dependence is a function only of the variance in the channel parameters. Generally (but not always) t RD < t RA , thus giving a “warm bias” in the range-averaged ocean for any inversion of the acoustic travel times which ignores the range dependence of the sound channel. We derive bias formulae for three models of x-dependence, corresponding to perturbations of the first and second baroclinic modes, respectively, and to an x-dependent surface warming.
Impact of age on male fertility.

Purpose of reviewAn increasing number of older men are seeking help for fathering a child, but male fertility gradually declines with age. This review highlights changes in male reproductive biology and practical clinical concerns for aging men.Recent findingsAging may have an impact on sperm DNA da
Arterial hypertension in dogs. I. Methods.

Various methods were devised in attempts to produce chronic hypertension in dogs. The induction of anxiety was unsuccessful. Bilateral renal denervation combined with injections of epinephrine appeared to produce temporary hypertension. Permanent hypertension was induced by unilateral renal ischemia with the other kidney left intact only in dogs of nervous temperament. Certain dogs were extremely resistant to the development of hypertension even when several methods were combined. Neurogenic hypertension induced by section of the moderator nerves is probably a true hypertension. It is obvious that the host factor may be as important as the method employed.
Women, bargaining and change in seven structures of world political economy

Feminist discourses have changed the vision of the issues and sites of political encounter that are important for study in IR. IPE scholars have also been reframing the discipline by their focus upon other agents besides states, and other structures of power and change, besides those of security and production. But these discourses could also complement each other to mutual benefit. This article suggests ways to do that, by positing a framework of analysis through which IPE, Feminist, International-Legal/Institutional, Peace and other critical discourses could intersect. It suggests that world political economy be conceived of in terms of seven intersecting, dynamic structures, in which some common historical processes unfold. These include bargaining and rivalry, realist self-interest and morally enlightened action. This goes beyond the four structures already recognised in critical IPE discourse, and the dichotomous materialist or idealist assumptions about agent motivations, in mainstream IR. By including Nurture/Reproduction as one of the seven structures, women’s agency, with its possibilities and limits, cannot be missed in the normal business of the discipline.
The relationship of achievement of psychiatrists to their personal adjustment as residents

Two hundred one residents in psychiatric training were categorized as to good personal adjustment during residency, poor personal adjustment during residency, being dropped from training, high professional achievement after residency, and low professional achievement after residency.
Instability in turbulent shear flows with or without rotation

Instability of two- and three-dimensional steady or oscillatory rotating or nonrotating near wall shear flows, in the presence of turbulence, is investigated. It is found that such flows are subjected to early algebraic and exponential linear or nonlinear instabilities for nonrotating and rotating flow cases, respectively. The instability found for the rotating system is stronger, but less probable than the corresponding one, which occurs for the nonrotating system.
To the Question "Does IT Matter?" Hollywood Answers "Yes"

Nicholas Carr's question "Does IT Matter?"(to the maintenance of competitive advantage) has been applied to many industries but the one that depends on IT almost exclusively to fabricate its product-motion pictures. In an effort to test Carr's hypothesis, we offer case studies of three distinct periods of technological innovation when the film business was in three different states of industrial organization-the coming of sound, the conversion to widescreen, and the advent of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI)-and conclude that Carr's ideas are applicable in some cases but not in others because the film industry is structurally and technologically unique.
A carboxy-terminal processing protease gene is located immediately upstream of the invasion-associated locus from Bartonella bacilliformis

A gene with homology to those encoding an unusual class of C-terminal processing proteases that flanks the invasion-associated locus iaIAB of Bartonella bacilliformis has been identified. The 1302 bp gene, termed ctpA, is located immediately upstream of the ialA gene and encodes a predicted nascent product of 434 amino acids, producing a mature protein of 411 amino acid residues. The Bartonella CtpA appears to undergo autolysis in vitro, producing multiple products of 43-46 kDa, and a second group of products of 36-37 kDa. Production of CtpA in vivo gives a single product of 41.8 kDa. In addition to a computer-predicted N-terminal secretory signal sequence, the molecular mass difference in vivo versus in vitro indicates that CtpA is likely to be secreted and post-translationally modified. The full-length CtpA protein shows 30% identity to the CtpA protein of Synechocystis sp. 6803 (69% overall sequence similarity). The mature CtpA protein also has significant homology to the tail-specific protease (Tsp) of Escherichia coli, with 22% identity and 62% similarity to an internal region of the 660 amino acid Tsp. The CtpA protein does not appear to exhibit haemolysin, collagenase, or caseinase activity. The ctpA gene is conserved in all Bartonella species examined, as determined by hybridization analyses, but it was not found in Brucella abortus or E. coli. The ctpA gene does not directly affect the erythrocyte-invasion phenotype conferred by iaIAB, but its homology to other stress-response processing proteases implies an important role in survival of this intracellular pathogen.
GTD, UTD, UAT, and STD: A Historical Revisit and Personal Observations

In his landmark paper, dated February 1962, Prof. Joseph Keller detailed the notion of Keller's cone. He stated, “Geometrical optics, the oldest and most widely used theory of light propagation, fails to account for certain optical phenomena called diffraction....” I had a personal encounter with Keller's cone at a hotel in Florida! In the early morning on October 14, 2007, I witnessed Keller's cone on the door of my hotel room, resulting from edge diffraction from a TV stand due to the sun's rays coming through an opening of a window curtain. By now we know how to construct the local plane-wave behavior of the diffracted field along the diffracted rays, by invoking the fact that an edge forms one of the caustics of the diffracted wavefront. We also know that the diffracted field is of the order of k-1/2, in comparison to the geometrical-optics field, which is of the order of k0. In many antenna and scattering problems, this added diffracted term immensely enhances the accuracy of the total field. Due to the boundary-layer properties of the diffracted ray field along the incident and reflected shadow boundaries and also caustics, the original form of Keller's construction fails. These shadow-boundary shortcomings have been overcome through construction of the Uniform Theory of Diffraction (UTD, by Kouyoumjian and Pathak), the Uniform Asymptotic Theory (UAT, by Ahluwalia, Boersma, Lewis, Lee, and Deschamps), and the Spectral Theory of Diffraction (STD, by Rahmat-Samii, Ko, and Mittra). An overview and the salient features of these theories are revisited in a novel and unified manner, and a representative reflector-antenna example is highlighted.
Stack Trace Analysis for Large Scale Debugging

We present the Stack Trace Analysis Tool (STAT) to aid in debugging extreme-scale applications. STAT can reduce problem exploration spaces from thousands of processes to a few by sampling stack traces to form process equivalence classes, groups of processes exhibiting similar behavior. We can then use full-featured debuggers on representatives from these behavior classes for root cause analysis. STAT scalably collects stack traces over a sampling period to assemble a profile of the application's behavior. STAT routines process the samples to form a call graph prefix tree that encodes common behavior classes over the program's process space and time. STAT leverages MRNet, an infrastructure for tool control and data analyses, to overcome scalability barriers faced by heavy-weight debuggers. We present STAT's design and an evaluation that shows STAT gathers informative process traces from thousands of processes with sub-second latencies, a significant improvement over existing tools. Our case studies of production codes verify that STAT supports the quick identification of errors that were previously difficult to locate.
Thoughts on clinical trials to evaluate the action and effectiveness of BMPs in bone healing.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) have a number of potential applications in bone healing and in the treatment of other bone disorders. Potential applications include the following: accelerating normal bone healing increasing the prevalence of the union of fractures and potentially increasing the strength of the callus formed in initial fracture healing increasing the effectiveness of autologous or allogeneic bone grafting to improve fracture healing, heal bone defects, or treat nonunions accelerating the rate of consolidation and increasing the prevalence of union in distraction osteogenesis replacing autogenous bone graft in treating deficiencies in bone union to eliminate the cost and morbidity of harvesting autologous bone increasing the rate of consolidation and strength of bone union in reconstructive procedures such as spine arthrodesis and other arthrodeses inducing bone formation in pathological bone defects increasing bone mass disorders such as postmenopausal and disuse osteoporosis In clinical trials of BMPs, investigators thus far have chosen spine arthrodesis, fracture nonunions, and high-risk acute fractures as models for evaluating the BMPs. Spine arthrodeses have been chosen because they are commonly performed; pseudarthrosis is fairly frequent and can lead to failure of the procedure, and the need for harvesting large amounts of autologous bone graft adds significantly to the morbidity of these procedures. In addition, adequate autologous bone is usually not available, especially in children. Fracture nonunions have been chosen because they represent the failure of the normal biologic process of healing, the previous standards of care procedures have failed, and the morbidity and disability from nonunions is high. High-risk fracture models such as open fractures of the tibia have been chosen because the prevalence of nonunion is high …
A meshfree particle method with stress points and its applications at the nanoscale

In this paper, a meshfree particle method with the stress point integration scheme is studied. It has been shown that this meshfree particle method with Lagrangian kernel can provide a stable method. A finite element mapping technique is introduced to insert stress points and to calculate volumes associated with particles/stress points so that the triangulation and the Voronoi diagram can be avoided. This meshfree particle method can be used for nanoscale simulations via the implementation of the Cauchy-Born rule. It can also be coupled with molecular dynamics based on the bridging domain coupling technique.
Coxiella burnetii Effector Proteins That Localize to the Parasitophorous Vacuole Membrane Promote Intracellular Replication

The intracellular bacterial pathogen Coxiella burnetii directs biogenesis of a parasitophorous vacuole (PV) that acquires host endolysosomal components. Formation of a PV that supports C. burnetii replication requires a Dot/Icm type 4B secretion system (T4BSS) that delivers bacterial effector proteins into the host cell cytosol. Thus, a subset of T4BSS effectors are presumed to direct PV biogenesis. Recently, the PV-localized effector protein CvpA was found to promote C. burnetii intracellular growth and PV expansion. We predict additional C. burnetii effectors localize to the PV membrane and regulate eukaryotic vesicle trafficking events that promote pathogen growth. To identify these vacuolar effector proteins, a list of predicted C. burnetii T4BSS substrates was compiled using bioinformatic criteria, such as the presence of eukaryote-like coiled-coil domains. Adenylate cyclase translocation assays revealed 13 proteins were secreted in a Dot/Icm-dependent fashion by C. burnetii during infection of human THP-1 macrophages. Four of the Dot/Icm substrates, termed Coxiella vacuolar protein B (CvpB), CvpC, CvpD, and CvpE, labeled the PV membrane and LAMP1-positive vesicles when ectopically expressed as fluorescently tagged fusion proteins. C. burnetii ΔcvpB, ΔcvpC, ΔcvpD, and ΔcvpE mutants exhibited significant defects in intracellular replication and PV formation. Genetic complementation of the ΔcvpD and ΔcvpE mutants rescued intracellular growth and PV generation, whereas the growth of C. burnetii ΔcvpB and ΔcvpC was rescued upon cohabitation with wild-type bacteria in a common PV. Collectively, these data indicate C. burnetii encodes multiple effector proteins that target the PV membrane and benefit pathogen replication in human macrophages.
Evaluation of lot release policies for semiconductor manufacturing systems

This paper describes a simulation based approach to evaluate and benchmark various lot release strategies in semiconductor manufacturing systems. A full-factorial experiment, with 5 factors, has been designed and executed for this purpose. A variation of the Bonferroni inequality is used to compute confidence intervals for differences in system performance for different operating strategies. The results show that no lot release policy dominates across all scenarios.
Alteration of clathrin light chain expression by transfection and gene disruption.

Abstract The light chain subunits of clathrin, LCa and LCb, have been implicated in the regulation of coated vesicle disassembly and other aspects of clathrin cycling within the cell. The potential for functional specialization of each light chain is suggested by tissue-specific variation in the relative amounts of the two light chains and by conservation of differences between LCa and LCb sequences during evolution. To investigate whether there might be exclusive roles for LCa and LCb in clathrin function, the expression of LCa was manipulated in C1R lymphoid cells and PC12 pheochromocytoma cells by transfection with light chain cDNA. These two cell lines differ in their ratios of LCa to LCb, expressing 86 and 25% LCa, respectively. After transfection with exogenous human LCa cDNA, a PC12 cell derivative was produced that completely lost the ability to manufacture LCa. Loss of LCa expression was found to be because of gene disruption and consequent lack of mRNA transcription. In C1R cells, the normally high level of LCa expression was reduced to 25% by overexpression of transfected LCb cDNA under the control of an inducible promoter. The C1R transfectants with reduced levels of LCa and the LCa-negative PC12 transfectant grow normally and show no change in clathrin distribution, clathrin assembly level, or impairment of endocytosis or secretion compared with wild-type cells and cells transfected with vectors lacking light chain cDNA. However, subtle alterations in the hsc70-mediated clathrin uncoating process were observed for vesicles derived from the LCa-negative cells, reflecting the preferential activity of LCa in stimulating the in vitro uncoating reaction.
Lutein-based plumage coloration in songbirds is a consequence of selective pigment incorporation into feathers.

Many birds obtain colorful carotenoid pigments from the diet and deposit them into growing tissues to develop extravagant red, orange or yellow sexual ornaments. In these instances, it is often unclear whether all dietary pigments are used as integumentary colorants or whether certain carotenoids are preferentially excluded or incorporated into tissues. We examined the carotenoid profiles of three New World passerines that display yellow plumage coloration— the yellow warbler (Dendroica petechia), common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) and evening grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus). Using high-performance liquid chromatography, we found that all species used only one carotenoid— lutein—to color their plumage yellow. Analyses of blood carotenoids (which document those pigments taken up from the diet) in two of the species, however, revealed the presence of two dietary xanthophylls—lutein and zeaxanthin—that commonly co-occur in plants and animals. These findings demonstrate post-absorptive selectivity of carotenoid deposition in bird feathers. To learn more about the site of pigment discrimination, we also analyzed the carotenoid composition of lipid fractions from the follicles of immature yellow-pigmented feathers in G. trichas and D. petechia and again detected both lutein and zeaxanthin. This suggests that selective lutein incorporation in feathers is under local control at the maturing feather follicle. 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
A Just Measure of Forgiveness: Reforming Occupational Licensing Regulations for Ex‐Offenders Using BFOQ Analysis

In the United States, over 600,000 offenders rejoin society annually, though little has been done to facilitate their transition from the prison to the community. Offender reentry into the workplace has emerged as a particular concern, given that many statutes prohibit public employment for ex-offenders and create obstacles to private-sector employment through occupational licensing requirements. These mandates may explicitly reject ex-offenders, or require “good moral character” or job/relationship tests that all but eliminate meaningful employment options. Several states are reconsidering the implications of these prohibitions, but a clear framework for assessing the validity of exclusionary occupational mandates is often lacking. This article proposes that the bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) defense found in employment discrimination law provides a helpful framework for guiding these reform efforts.
‘A Mess of Russians left us but of late’: Diplomatic Blunder, Literary Satire, and the Muscovite Ambassador's 1668 Visit to Paris Theatres

In October 1672, a highly select audience in Moscow witnessed the court's first theatrical production, a setting of Artakserksovo deistvo (The Play of Ahasuerus) based on the biblical story of Esther. A month later, in contrast, Parisians would witness the escalating rivalry between Moliere and Lully—as the former continued to capitalize on their tragedie-ballet, Psyche (with Lully's music), while the latter prepared to launch his first French opera, Les Fetes de l'Amour et de Bacchus (with Moliere's lyrics).1 At first glance there would seem to be little connection between the fledgling Muscovite theatre at Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich's court, which in the event was to be closed down at his death only four years later, and the public theatres of Paris with their lyrical offerings of comedies-ballets, tragedies-ballets and, most recently, pastoral opera. Yet the two are linked in many ways, some subtle and some obvious, and the influences are both mutual and unexpected.
Pharmacokinetic profile of dalfampridine extended release: clinical relevance in patients with multiple sclerosis

AbstractBackgroundIn January 2010, dalfampridine extended release tablets (dalfampridine-ER [Ampyra]; prolonged-, modified- or sustained-release fampridine [Fampyra] in some countries), 10 mg to be administered twice daily approximately 12 hours apart, were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. This was the first drug indicated to improve walking in patients with MS.ScopePublications describing the pharmacokinetics of dalfampridine-ER or the immediate release formulation were identified from a search of PubMed through June 2012 using the search terms ‘dalfampridine OR fampridine OR 4-aminopyridine’ AND ‘pharmacokinetics’ and were supplemented with unpublished studies made available by Acorda Therapeutics Inc.FindingsPharmacokinetic studies show dose proportionality, with dalfampridine-ER having a more favorable profile than immediate-release dalfampridine. With twice-daily dosing of dalfampridine-ER, time to peak plasma concentration (3.2–3.9 hours) and apparent terminal plasma half-life (5.6–6...
Experimental validation of a thermal model used to predict the image placement error of a scanned EUVL reticle

Lithographic masks must maintain dimensional stability during exposure in a lithographic tool to minimize subsequent overlay errors. In extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL), multilayer coatings are deposited on a mask substrate to make the mask surface reflective at EUV wavelengths. About 40% of the incident EUV light is absorbed by the multilayer coating which leads to a temperature rise. The choice of mask substrate material and absorber affects the magnitude of thermal distortion. Finite element modeling has been used to investigate potential mask materials and to explore the efficiency of various thermal management strategies. An experimental program was conducted to validate the thermal models used to predict the performance of EUV reticles. The experiments closely resembled actual conditions expected within the EUV tool. A reticle instrumented with temperature sensors was mounted on a scanning stage with an electrostatic chuck. An actively cooled isolation plate was mounted in front of the reticle for thermal management. Experimental power levels at the reticle corresponding to production throughput levels were utilized in the experiments. Both silicon and low expansion glass reticles were tested. Temperatures were measured a several locations on the reticle and tracked over time as the illuminated reticle was scanned. The experimental results coupled with the predictive modeling capability validates that the assertion that the use of a low expansion glass will satisfy image placement error requirements down to the 30 nm lithographic node.
A Memoized Strategy for Preference Logic Programs

Preference logic programming (PLP) is an extension of constraint logic programming for declaratively specifying problems requiring optimization or comparison and selection among alternative solutions to a query. PLP essentially separates the programming of a problem itself from the criteria specification of its optimal solutions. The main challenge to implement a PLP system is that how the defined solution preferences take effects automatically on pruning suboptimal solutions and their dependents during the computation. In this paper, we present a tabled resolution, which applies dynamic programming strategies on solving PLP programs. Solution preferences can be properly propagated into recursion through a memoized recursive algorithm, so that a given recursive subgoal only needs to be solved once and always returns the preferred solutions. The strategy has been successfully implemented on a logic programming system. The experimental results show preference logic programming provides a declarative method for optimization problems without sacrificing efficiency.
The Long and Short of it: Anterior Vaginal Wall Length before and after Anterior Repair

Introduction and hypothesis Anterior vaginal wall length (AVL) is on average 6.1 ± 1.3 cm in women with normal support and lengthened in women with cystocele. We hypothesize that AVL is reduced after anterior repair and that women with larger cystoceles will have greater reduction in AVL.
Time series compressibility and privacy

In this paper we study the trade-offs between time series compressibility and partial information hiding and their fundamental implications on how we should introduce uncertainty about individual values by perturbing them. More specifically, if the perturbation does not have the same compressibility properties as the original data, then it can be detected and filtered out, reducing uncertainty. Thus, by making the perturbation "similar" to the original data, we can both preserve the structure of the data better, while simultaneously making breaches harder. However, as data become more compressible, a fraction of the uncertainty can be removed if true values are leaked, revealing how they were perturbed. We formalize these notions, study the above trade-offs on real data and develop practical schemes which strike a good balance and can also be extended for on-the-fly data hiding in a streaming environment.
Molecular adsorption characteristics of matrix‐formed adsorption polymers

The synthesis of several organic, adsorptive, “replica gels” is described. The technique employs anhydrous silica gel particles as a parent matrix, within which is accomplished the polymerization of a liquid monomer or prepolymer. Following this polymerization the silica gel matrix is selectively dissolved and in this manner removed from the newly formed organic polymer. The adsorption characteristics of these capillary containing substances is given for water and several organic vapors, and the effect of hydrofluoric acid and sodium hydroxide, as matrix solvents, is described. A comparison of observed versus calculated pore volume is made. Absence of hysteresis effects in the adsorption characteristics is noted.
Effect of Slurry Ionic Salts at Dielectric Silica CMP

The effects of alkaline ionic salts on silica chemical mechanical polishing ~CMP! have been studied. Particle size, zeta potential, and stability via turbidity tests have been characterized. Particle size and size distributions have been found to increase with ionic strength for three types of alkaline ionic salts due to the decrease in the magnitude of the zeta potential of silica slurry due to the addition of alkaline ionic salts. Slurry stability measured by turbidity tests showed two regimes of slurry stability ~i.e., stable regime and unstable regime!. For the stable slurry regime, the increase in ionic strength leads to an increase in friction force and material removal rate; however, for the unstable slurry regime, the addition of ionic salts results in a decrease in the measured friction force and material removal rate. Surface root-mean-square roughness and maximum depth of surface damage (Rmax) are shown to increase with particle size and size distribution. Investigation into the effect of ionic salts on the polishing mechanism reveals both a chemical and mechanical aspect to polishing silica wafers with silica slurries containing alkaline ionic salts.
Understanding signal transduction through functional proteomics

The study of signal transduction provides fundamental information regarding the regulation of all biologic processes that support the normal function of life. Functional proteomics, a rapidly emerging discipline that aims to understand the expression, function and regulation of the entire set of proteins in a given cell type, tissue or organism, offers unprecedented opportunity for signal transduction research in terms of understanding cellular behavior and regulation at the systems level. Indeed, swift progress in the area of proteomics has demonstrated the major impact of proteomic approaches on signal transduction and biomedical research. In this review, recent and innovative applications of functional proteomics in determining changes in protein contents, modifications, activities and interactions underpinning signaling transduction pathways are discussed.
Kalman-Consensus Filter : Optimality, stability, and performance

One of the fundamental problems in sensor networks is to estimate and track the state of targets (or dynamic processes) of interest that evolve in the sensing field. Kalman filtering has been an effective algorithm for tracking dynamic processes for over four decades. Distributed Kalman Filtering (DKF) involves design of the information processing algorithm of a network of estimator agents with a two-fold objective: 1) estimate the state of the target of interest and 2) reach a consensus with neighboring estimator agents on the state estimate. We refer to this DKF algorithm as Kalman-Consensus Filter (KCF). The main contributions of this paper are as follows: i) finding the optimal decentralized Kalman-Consensus filter and showing that its computational and communication costs are not scalable in n and ii) introducing a scalable suboptimal Kalman-Consensus Filter and providing a formal stability and performance analysis of this distributed and cooperative filtering algorithm. Kalman-Consensus Filtering algorithm is applicable to sensor networks with variable topology including mobile sensor networks and networks with packet-loss.
Clinical aspects of down syndrome from infancy to adulthood

In past decades, most individuals with Down syndrome were usually not afforded adequate medical care. Many children with Down syndrome were institutionalized and they were often deprived of all but the most elementary medical services. Fortunately, there have been major improvements in the health care provision during the past 20 years. Professionals who are providing services to persons with Down syndrome need to be aware of those clinical conditions that are more often observed in this population. Certain congenital anomalies (congenital cataracts, anomalies of the gastrointestinal tract, and congenital heart disease) often require immediate attention, as some of them may be life threatening. During the subsequent childhood years a number of clinical conditions and disorders such as infectious diseases, increased nutritional intake, periodontitis, seizure disorders, sleep apnea, visual impairment, audiologic deficits, thyroid dysfunction, and skeletal problems usually occur at a higher prevalence. During adolescence specific aspects of maturation and certain health issues (skin infections, thyroid disorders, increased weight gain, and others) as well as mental health concerns need to be taken into consideration. Similar concerns may also be observed during adulthood which in addition is often marked by accelerated aging and the threat of Alzheimer disease in some persons with Down syndrome. Special attention needs to be paid to these disorders and conditions during the lifetime of a person with Down syndrome. Appropriate medical care should be provided to and no form of treatment should be withheld from a person with Down syndrome that would be given unhesitatingly to an individual without this chromosome disorder.
AN ARISTOTELIAN ACCOUNT OF VIRTUE ETHICS: AN ESSAY IN MORAL TAXONOMY

: I argue that a virtue ethics takes virtue to be more basic than rightness and at least as basic as goodness. My account is Aristotelian because it avoids the excessive inclusivity of Martha Nussbaum's account and the deficient inclusivity of Gary Watson's account. I defend the account against the objection that Aristotle does not have a virtue ethics by its lights, and conclude with some remarks on moral taxonomy.
Predictive Modeling and Integrative Physiology: The Physiome Projects.

The fundamental paradigm in physiological research is integration. Biological researchers are now ready to de- fine for a species a mathematical construct, the Physiome, the all-encompassing quantitative model of an organism. The goal of the human Physiome project is improved health care, through deep understanding of the organism, all the way down to the genes, reconciling contradictions and clarifying cause and effect. The strategies for accomplishing this long term aim include the systematic gathering of old and new knowledge into shared databases, and integrating the informa- tion into self consistent, reproducible, mathematical models. Multiscale models, for practicality, cover only a few levels at a time. Beginning at the middle level, the cell, where the knowledge base is largest and most secure, and the elements well defined as functional biophysical/biochemical modules, the plan is to work up to the organism level and down to the gene level, in the end providing clear linkages between phenotype and the genome. Since the time of Hippocrates a goal of medicine has been to understand the causes of illnesses and to learn meth- ods for guiding therapy. Hippocrates was an astute, obser- vant physician, but his emphasis on science was based on anatomy and on looking at the balance of the four humors (earth, air, fire, water) in the patient. Galen's anatomic and medical teachings went further, but therapy was mostly by empiricism and doctrine. The thinking on medical treatment through understanding physiology of the body's systems began really with Harvey (1), whose analysis and logic re- vealed the workings of the circulatory system. From the recent decades of molecular biology, the genome and the proteome, we now dream that medical therapy can be devel- oped scientifically by creating an understanding of physiol- ogy from genome to phenotype, and serving in the delivery of personalized medicine: the treatment of the individual through that person's genomics, physiology and pathophysi- ology. This is the Physiome Project. Here we examine the questions of whether the dream can be made realistic and how the development of the Physiome Project would contribute. First, a definition: The Physiome of an organism is the integrative, quantitative description of the functional state of that organism from the regulation of genomic transcription and cellular biochemistry and biophysics to the behavior of the organism as a whole. In its ultimate but rather distant form it should provide the basis for predicting the remodeling of structures and functions in
A Kind of Motor-Function Evaluation Method for Upper-Limb Rehabilitation Robot

This paper gave motor-function evaluation content and established a synthetical evaluation model of motor function for 5-DOF upper-limb rehabilitation robot. Meanwhile, it proposed a kind of Fuzzy-AHP method with online self-correction function that are absent from the traditional methods. The result of the analysis and computation shows that Synthetical evaluation model is change rate, the faster model changes, the better effect of training is.This method can be used as an important complement to the evaluation method in hemiplegia after stroke and rehabilitation robot.