cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Denaturable immobilized enzymatic reaction in a packed-bed reactor with and without substrate inhibitions

An immobilized enzymatic reaction in a packed-bed reactor is investigated in this paper. The thermal denaturation of immobilized enzyme caused by excessive reacting temperature rise is considered. An unsteady state dispersion model is employed to examine the dynamic behaviors of the substrate concentration, temperature and enzyme activity along the reactor. Also included in the present paper is the effect of substrate inhibition which occurs rather frequently in many enzymatic reactions. Comparison of results of the immobilized enzymatic reactions with and without substrate inhibitions are made to show the extent the substrate inhibition affects the enzymatic reaction. Furthermore, the effects of heat reaction and the Peclet number which characterize the reaction and flow behaviors, respectively, on the system considered are analyzed in detail.
The metal-semiconductor phase diagram for NiS2−xSex

Abstract The antiferromagnetic, semiconductor, and metal phase boundaries in NiS 2−x Se x are reported as a function of the composition x by use of four techniques: electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, calorimetry, and x-ray structure.
Dawn Science Planning, Operations and Archiving

The Dawn science operations team has designed the Vesta mission within the constraints of a low-cost Discovery mission, and will apply the same methodology to the Ceres mission. The design employs proactive mapping mission strategies and tactics such as functional redundancy, adaptability to trajectory uncertainties, and easy sequence updates to deliver reliable and robust sequences. Planning tools include the Science Opportunity Analyzer and other multi-mission tools, and the Science time-ordered listings. Science operations are conducted jointly by the Science Operations Support Team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Dawn Science Center at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The UCLA Dawn Science Center has primary responsibility for data archiving while the JPL team has primary responsibility for spacecraft and instrument operations. Constraints and uncertainties in the planning and sequencing environment are described, and then details of the science plan are presented for each mission sub-phase. The plans indicate that Dawn has a high probability of meeting its science objectives and requirements within the imposed constraints.
Origin of Cornercopia, the University of Minnesota Student Organic Farm

ABSTRACT In 2005, a student-run Student Organic Farm began on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota. A planning course identified the mission statement and guiding principles for “Cornercopia.” Thirteen summer interns participated in research and outreach activities associated with the one-acre site. Favorable press helped ensure favorable visibility. The produce from the first growing season was successfully marketed through a variety of channels, including farmers' markets, direct sales to restaurants and cooperative markets.
Discovery of a novel series of melanin-concentrating hormone receptor 1 antagonists for the treatment of obesity

A new class of MCHR1 antagonists was discovered via a high-throughput screen. Optimization of the lead structure resulted in the identification of indole 10e. This compound possesses good pharmacokinetic properties across preclinical species and is efficacious in reducing food consumption in an MCH cannulated rat model and a cynomolgus monkey food consumption model.
Self-Complementary Oligodeoxyribonucleotides Incorporating l-Related Isodeoxynucleosides: Synthesis, Physical Characterization, Enzymology, and CD Studies

The synthesis of self-complementary oligodeoxyribonucleotides (14-16, 18) incorporating the L-related isodeoxynucleotides, isodA (1) and/or isodT (2), is described. For this purpose, the fully protected phosphoramidite building blocks 10 and 12 were synthesized. The conceptually new oligomers exhibit high resistance towards exonucleases. Temperature- and concentration-dependent CD spectral data and accompanying thermodynamic parameters of the oligomers show that isodA-isodT or mixed dA-isodT/isodA-dT base pairs participate in duplex stabilization.
Vibrational spectra, ab initio calculations, and assignments of the fundamentals of the C2v conformer of n-pentane

Abstract Ab initio calculations of the relative energies, optimized geometries and vibrational spectrum of the four conformers of n -pentane have been completed, and a normal coordinate calculation performed to establish the nature of the observed molecular vibrations. From the Raman spectrum of the annealed crystal, in which only aa conformer bands are observable, an assignment of the observed bands to the fundamental vibrations of the aa conformer of C2v symmetry is proposed. The relative energy in the liquid of the ag conformer to the aa conformer is measured in the CCC bending region near 400 cm −1 using both n -pentane and n -pentane- d 12 , and is found to be 164 ± 10 cm −1 , corresponding to 460 ± 28 cal mol −1 in excellent agreement with the results of earlier workers obtained by other measurements, but roughly half the value calculated ab initio at the highest level of approximation available in this investigation.
Filamentous and matrix components of skeletal muscle Z-disks.

The fine structural appearance of Z-disk lattices in vertebrate skeletal “fast” muscle varies depending upon whether osmium or glutaraldehyde has been employed as the primary fixative. Prior investigators have attributed the differences to change in the extent of actin filament overlap within the Z-disk and/or to rearrangement of Z-disk filaments. Adult frog and young newt “fast” muscle has been studied under various degrees of stretch, with several different aldehyde and osmium fixation procedures, and after plastic section digestion techniques utilizing Pronase or pepsin. Serial cross sections of Z-disks were correlated with oriented cross and longitudinal sections. Fixation with collidine-buffered osmium and veronal acetate-buffered glutaraldehyde seems to provide the greatest and most distinctly contrasting differences. A consistently arranged phase, the filamentous lattice, can be discerned after either fixation. However, a second phase, termed “Z-disk matrix,” appears variable, perhaps due to extraction during primary osmium fixation procedures. Glutaraldehyde-fixed frog muscle Z-disks display a copious matrix, one which is seldom totally depleted by osmium fixation. In young newt muscle Z-disks, little matrix is present after glutaraldehyde fixation and none of it remains after primary osmium. In Z-disks fixed by either method, matrix that is retained appears to be deposited in lattice-like patterns. It is suggested that these matrix patterns, or their loss, are the basis for the varying images of Z-disks observed under diferent fixation conditions and that the filamentous lattice is relatively stable. The Z-disk is more rapidly obliterated by Pronase or pepsin digestion than is any other muscle component, including actin (which appears notably unreactive). The rapid digestion effect is limited to the region postulated to include the matrix phase. Models for the structural interrelationship of filamentous and matrix phases are discussed and compared to prior Z-disk models.
Mars atmospheric water vapor abundance: 1991–1999, emphasis 1998–1999

Abstract Our ground-based measurements of martian atmospheric water vapor, made throughout L s = 34 ° to 249°, 24 September 1998 to 23 November 1999, during Mars year 24 (MY 24), show changes in Mars' humidity on hourly, daily, and seasonal timescales. We made concomitant measurement of nearby CO2 bands, and when possible, results were corrected for aerosol extinction using aerosol optical depths derived from our own CO2 analysis. Where there is spatial and temporal overlap, similar results are obtained for water vapor abundances and aerosol opacities as those observed from the Thermal Emission Spectrometer on Mars Global Surveyor. In addition some further discussion of our published earlier water vapor measurements (1991–1995) is included. Six results from this data set are: (1) the measured aerosol opacity in Mars atmosphere was variable but not greater than τ = 1 , with almost no clear atmosphere being observed, (2) measurements made with the slit crossing many hours of local time on Mars' Earth-facing disk show a diurnal pattern with highest abundances at mid-day and low abundance in very early morning and late afternoon for some but not all measurements, (3) water vapor abundance is patchy on hourly and daily time scales but follows the usual seasonal trends seen by instrumentation on the Mars Atmospheric Water Detector on the Viking Orbiters and by the Thermal Emission Spectrometer on Mars Global Surveyor, (4) there is a slight longitudinal correlation with the ground-ice observed by the Gamma Ray Spectrometer on Mars Odyssey, (5) there is evidence of the Low Southern Latitude Summer Minimum in our water vapor measurements but our data set for southern summer is limited, and (6) MY 24 appears to be wetter than MY 22 and MY 23.
Computing turbulent fluxes near the surface: Needed improvements

With the recognition that eddy flux measurements are relatively accurate for a variety of common situations, a number of issues leading to inaccurate flux estimates and/or ambiguous interpretation of flux values are surveyed. These issues include inadvertent conversion of random errors to systematic errors, ambiguous differentiation between turbulence and other motions, and omission of transport by stationary eddies. Correcting for sonic misalignment and flow distortion in the presence of real systematic vertical motions is also problematic. Special emphasis is placed on the need for spatial information, partly to include vertical transport by stationary circulations induced by small-scale surface features. While no categorical solutions to the above problems are offered, promising approaches worthy of more investigation are discussed.
Activation patterns of embryonic chick lumbosacral motoneurones following large spinal cord reversals.

1. Embryonic chick motoneurones were caused to innervate inappropriate hindlimb muscles by rotating the presumptive lumbosacral region of the neural tube in stage 15-16 embryos which is prior to the outgrowth of motoneurone axons. 2. The activation patterns of motoneurones in control and spinal cord reversal embryos were analysed from electromyographic (e.m.g.) recordings of stage 36 limb muscles during evoked movement sequences in an isolated spinal cord-limb preparation. Histograms representing the frequency of activation were constructed for each muscle. The muscle's pattern of activation was classified as flexor-like or extensor-like and compared to the activation patterns of control muscles. 3. A series of control operations was performed in which the prospective lumbosacral region of the neural tube was removed and replaced in its original orientation. Muscles in these embryos were innervated by their normal motoneurone pools and they were activated normally, indicating that the neural tube operation per se does not alter the activation pattern of motoneurones. Furthermore, some muscles (twelve out of sixty-one) in spinal cord reversal embryos had normal activation patterns and appeared to be innervated by their original motoneurones. Based on these results and the result of a previous study (Landmesser & O'Donovan, 1984 b), it is concluded that motoneurones in reversed spinal cords are activated in a manner appropriate for their original identity. 4. The majority of muscles (thirty-three out of sixty-one) in large spinal cord reversal embryos were activated during an appropriate phase of the kicking cycle. Of the remaining muscles, 16% were activated inappropriately (i.e. extensor muscles were activated as flexors, and vice versa), and 30% had a novel 'mixed' flexor- and extensor-like activation pattern. However, the activation pattern of most muscles differed markedly from that of any other control muscles regardless of whether the muscle was activated appropriately or inappropriately as a flexor or extensor. The abnormal activation patterns are a likely consequence of the diffuse distribution of inappropriate motoneurones projecting to foreign muscles in embryos with large spinal cord reversals. Since it is likely that motoneurones are still activated according to their original identity, the activation patterns of individual foreign motor units projecting to a muscle sum in e.m.g. recordings to produce a novel abnormal activation pattern.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
The invertibility of the XOR of rotations of a binary word

We prove the following result regarding operations on a binary word whose length is a power of two: computing the exclusive-or of a number of rotated versions of the word is an invertible (one-to-one) operation if and only if the number of versions combined is odd. (This result is not new; there is at least one earlier proof, due to Thomsen [Cryptographic hash functions, PhD thesis, Technical University of Denmark, 28 November 2008]. Our proof may be new.)
NMR of glycans: shedding new light on old problems.

Abstract The diversity in molecular arrangements and dynamics displayed by glycans renders traditional NMR strategies, employed for proteins and nucleic acids, insufficient. Because of the unique properties of glycans, structural studies often require the adoption of a different repertoire of tailor-made experiments and protocols. We present an account of recent developments in NMR techniques that will deepen our understanding of structure–function relations in glycans. We open with a survey and comparison of methods utilized to determine the structure of proteins, nucleic acids and carbohydrates. Next, we discuss the structural information obtained from traditional NMR techniques like chemical shifts, NOEs/ROEs, and coupling-constants, along with the limitations imposed by the unique intrinsic characteristics of glycan structure on these approaches: flexibility, range of conformers, signal overlap, and non-first-order scalar (strong) coupling. Novel experiments taking advantage of isotopic labeling are presented as an option for overcoming spectral overlap and raising sensitivity. Computational tools used to explore conformational averaging in conjunction with NMR parameters are described. In addition, recent developments in hydroxyl detection and hydrogen bond detection in protonated solvents, in contrast to traditional sample preparations in D2O for carbohydrates, further increase the tools available for both structure information and chemical shift assignments. We also include previously unpublished data in this context. Accurate determination of couplings in carbohydrates has been historically challenging due to the common presence of strong-couplings. We present new strategies proposed for dealing with their influence on NMR signals. We close with a discussion of residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) and the advantages of using 13C isotope labeling that allows gathering one-bond 13C–13C couplings with a recently improved constant-time COSY technique, in addition to the commonly measured 1H–13C RDCs.
A back-to-face silicon layer stacking for three-dimensional integration

We have successfully demonstrated a back-to-face ultra-thin silicon layer stacking based on low temperature wafer bonding and etch-back. This type of silicon layer stacking can be expanded to wafers with device and interconnect layers to fabricate three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs). Electrical connection between layers can be achieved by interlayer vertical via formed by bonded Cu layers.
Bootstrapping into Filler-Gap: An Acquisition Story

Analyses of filler-gap dependencies usually involve complex syntactic rules or heuristics; however recent results suggest that filler-gap comprehension begins earlier than seemingly simpler constructions such as ditransitives or passives. Therefore, this work models filler-gap acquisition as a byproduct of learning word orderings (e.g. SVO vs OSV), which must be done at a very young age anyway in order to extract meaning from language. Specifically, this model, trained on part-of-speech tags, represents the preferred locations of semantic roles relative to a verb as Gaussian mixtures over real numbers. This approach learns role assignment in filler-gap constructions in a manner consistent with current developmental findings and is extremely robust to initialization variance. Additionally, this model is shown to be able to account for a characteristic error made by learners during this period (A and B gorped interpreted as A gorped B).
National Airspace System architecture metrics assessment

The MITRE Corporation conducted a study to explore methods for evaluating proposed National Airspace System (NAS) Architecture options. The study investigated analytic approaches for quantifying characteristics of candidate NAS architectures such as costs, benefits, and risks. One vision of the product of such an approach was a Consumer Reports-style comparison of candidate NAS Architecture options. Identifying the metrics to quantify was a major issue addressed in the study, which produced a list of metrics to be considered in NAS Architecture assessment and a process that could be used to coordinate and formalize assessment. The study also explored probabilistic modeling to predict values for some metrics and represent the uncertainties in the predictions. A new commercial software package, Analytica, was used for this activity. This paper describes the proposed metrics, a process for formalizing the assessment of metrics, and a probabilistic model of NAS safety that was developed to assess the potential of probabilistic modeling in NAS Architecture assessment.
An information statistics approach to data stream and communication complexity

We present a new method for proving strong lower bounds in communication complexity. This method is based on the notion of the conditional information complexity of a function which is the minimum amount of information about the inputs that has to be revealed by a communication protocol for the function. While conditional information complexity is a lower bound on the communication complexity, we show that it also admits a direct sum theorem. Direct sum decomposition reduces our task to that of proving (conditional) information complexity lower bounds for simple problems (such as the AND of two bits). For the latter, we develop novel techniques based on Hellinger distance and its generalizations.
The Effect of Hub Fairings on Wind Turbine Rotor Performance

Hub fairings or spinners are frequently suggested for wind turbines for reasons of aesthetics or performance. While hub fairings rarely, if ever, decrease the appearance of a wind turbine, the effects of a nose fairing may actually decrease rather than increase wind turbine rotor performance. Analysis of hub fairings effects on wind turbine performance is presented.
Alignable epitaxial liftoff of GaAs materials with selective deposition using polyimide diaphragms

The authors report the selective and alignable deposition of patterned thin-film epitaxial GaAs/GaAlAs devices onto a host substrate such as silicon for low cost, manufacturable hybrid integrated optoelectronic circuits. The authors use a thin polyimide diaphragm as the transparent transfer medium for these patterned epitaxial devices. Each of these devices or a group of these devices on the polyimide is then optically aligned and selectively deposited onto the host substrate. The use of the polyimide transfer diaphragm also allows both the bottom and the top of the device to be processed while under substrate support. Using this technique, a light emitting diode 50*50 mu m in area and 2 mu m thick was grown on a GaAs substrate, lifted off, aligned and selectively deposited onto a silicon host substrate, and electrically contacted and tested. >
Tillage and straw management for modifying physical properties of a subarctic soil

Conservation tillage practices are intended to minimize soil erosion. Yet little is known concerning changes in physical properties of subarctic soils subject to tillage practices. This study ascertained whether physical properties of a newly cleared subarctic soil are altered after 7 years of continuous barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) using different tillage and straw management strategies. Tillage and straw treatments were established in 1983 near Delta Junction, Alaska, and consisted of conventional fall and spring disk, fall chisel plow, spring disk, and no-tillage. Tillage plots were split by straw management practices, which included straw and stubble, stubble only, and no straw or stubble. Soil samples were collected from the upper 0.15 m of the profile in the spring of 1990 to assess water content, bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, dry aggregate and mechanical stability, penetration resistance, water retention, and particle size distribution. Percent non-erodible aggregates, mechanical stability, and penetration resistance were greater for no-tillage compared to conventional tillage, chisel plow, and spring disk. No-tillage soils were also typically wetter, denser, and had a greater hydraulic conductivity. The spring disk treatment was least susceptible to erosion and also conserved soil water compared with chisel plow. Straw maintained on the surface conserved water and promoted soil stability.
Family Music Concerts: Bringing Families, Music Students, and Music Together.

This article describes how conductors of the top performing groups and music education faculty at one university collaborated to create a Family Concert Series for parents and children of all ages, including infants in arms. Recognizing the conflict between “The first three years of life are the most important for educating a young child in music” and “Children under the age of six are not allowed to attend the concert,” the Family Concert Series is an attempt to resolve the issue. The Family Concerts require a minimum of extra work for conductors and are becoming a curriculum component for university music education students. This article also includes strategies that teachers might use in classrooms with recorded music when live music is not available.
Q: exploit hardening made easy

Prior work has shown that return oriented programming (ROP) can be used to bypass W⊕X, a software defense that stops shellcode, by reusing instructions from large libraries such as libc. Modern operating systems have since enabled address randomization (ASLR), which randomizes the location of libc, making these techniques unusable in practice. However, modern ASLR implementations leave smaller amounts of executable code unrandomized and it has been unclear whether an attacker can use these small code fragments to construct payloads in the general case. In this paper, we show defenses as currently deployed can be bypassed with new techniques for automatically creating ROP payloads from small amounts of unrandomized code. We propose using semantic program verification techniques for identifying the functionality of gadgets, and design a ROP compiler that is resistant to missing gadget types. To demonstrate our techniques, we build Q, an end-to-end system that automatically generates ROP payloads for a given binary. Q can produce payloads for 80% of Linux /usr/bin programs larger than 20KB. We also show that Q can automatically perform exploit hardening: given an exploit that crashes with defenses on, Q outputs an exploit that bypasses both W⊕X and ASLR. We show that Q can harden nine real-world Linux and Windows exploits, enabling an attacker to automatically bypass defenses as deployed by industry for those programs.
Modified Fontan without use of cardiopulmonary bypass.

Abstract Background . Direct cavopulmonary connection using an extracardiac conduit has a number of theoretical advantages in the staged management of children with single ventricular congenital heart defects. With appropriate planning, completion Fontan using an extracardiac connection may be accomplished without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. Methods . From January 1995 to October 1997, 32 consecutive patients underwent completion Fontan using an extracardiac cavopulmonary connection. Twenty-one of these patients had completion Fontan without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass (No CPB group). Their postoperative outcome was retrospectively compared with a second group of 11 patients who underwent completion Fontan with an extracardiac conduit with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. Results . There was no operative or hospital mortality in either group. Early postoperative hemodynamics appear to be significantly improved in the No CPB group. Transfusion of cryoprecipitate and platelets was significantly less in the group without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass ( p = 0.026, p p = 0.036). Conclusions . Completion Fontan without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass results in improved immediate postoperative hemodynamics, and decreased use of blood and blood products. The most recent group appears to demonstrate a more rapid recovery time and shorter hospital stay ( p = 0.036).
Common Provenance for Lithic Grains in Carboniferous Sandstones from Ouachita Mountains and Black Warrior Basin

ABSTRACT To test the influence that carboniferous graywacke sandstones of the Ouachita Mountains and Black Warrior basin represent deposition in a linked dispersal system analogous in tectonic setting to the modern Ganges delta-Bengal fan system, sandstones from the two areas were compared petrographically. Two point counts, a standard QFL count and a special count of lithic grains, made for each of 24 selected samples, half from the Ouachitas and half from the Black Warrior basin, reveal that sandstones from both areas are rich in quartz and metasedimentary lithic grains, but poor in feldspar and volcanic lithic grains. QFL plots show that Ouachita rocks have quartz percentages consistently higher than coeval Black Warrior basin sandstones because of transport-related attrition of lithic grai s and/or contributions of craton-derived, quartz-rich detritus to the Ouachita sandstones. However, Ouachita and Black Warrior basin samples cluster tightly together on triangular plots of polycrystalline quartz grain (Qp), aphanitic sedimentary/metasedimentary grains (Ls), and volcanic/metavolcanic grains (Lv). Moreover, the lithic populations of the two sample suites are indistinguishable in detail. Eight lithic grain types, mostly metamorphic, can be recognized in point-counting, although care must be taken to discriminate between true matrix and pseudomatrix consisting of deformed, fine-grained lithic fragments. We conclude that graywackes of the Ouachita Mountains and the Black Warrior basin had a common sedimentary/metasedimentary provenance, to the exclusion of significant igneous sources. This conclusion is compatible with the continental-collision model by which a sedimentary/metasedimentary terrane uplifted along a suture belt supplied sediment dispersed longitudinally through alluvial and deltaic systems to depositional sites in a remnant ocean basin. When plotted on QFL, QpLvLs and other diagrams, Ouachita-Black Warrior sandstones and more arkosic sandstones from known arc-related settings form two distinct fields that reflect basic differences in provenance. The data thus appear to underscore the importance of collisional settings for the development f thick lithic-rich graywacke sequences of non-volcanic derivation.
The moderation of genetic and shared-environmental influences on adolescent drinking by levels of parental drinking

Objective: Research has consistently shown an association between levels of parental drinking and adolescent alcohol use. Different mechanisms offered to explain this association include environmental mechanisms such as social learning and biological mechanisms such as genetic transmission. To integrate these perspectives, this study examines the moderation of environmental and genetic influences on adolescent alcohol use by parental drinking behaviors. Method: The data used were 1,833 pairs drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health's monozygotic twins, dizygotic twins, fill-sibling and half-sibling pairs. Analyses used Defries-Fulker (DF) models to estimate genetic and shared environmental influences and to evaluate the potential moderation of these influences by household parental drinking. Results: Full sample results revealed that genetic influences (h2 = 0.46, p .05) were not. Separate DF analyses f...
Seismic protection of counterweight–rails in elevators in buildings

The counterweight in an elevator, being the heaviest component, can often overstress the guide rails during a strong earthquake. To reduce the in-plane counterweight response, the use of a part of the counterweight mass as a tuned mass damper in the passive and active modes is examined. The passive TMDs can reduce the stresses in the rails, but their performance can be significantly improved when they are used in the active mode. An actuator with saturation capacity less than 10% of the weight of the counterweight could reduce the critical stress response to as low a level as, or even lower than, the maximum response induced by the out-of-plane motion of the counterweight. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Optimal administration routes for adipose‐derived stem cells therapy in ischaemic flaps

Improvement of flap survival represents an ongoing challenge in reconstructive surgery. The angiogenic potential of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) offers a promising approach to improve the viability of random pattern flaps. Recently, to maximize the therapeutic effects of ASCs, increasing focus is being placed on how to deliver the stem cells to target lesions. The purpose of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of different administration routes of ASCs to improve the viability of the random pattern skin flap. ASCs labelled with PKH26 were applied via four methods to the cranially-based random pattern skin flaps of rats: (a) intravenous injection; (b) subcutaneous injection; (c) application with collagen sponge seeding; and (d) application with fibrin glue seeding. ASCs led to a significant increase in flap viability in the subcutaneous injection group and the collagen sponge group. Cutaneous blood flow was increased in the intravenous injection, subcutaneous injection and collagen sponge groups. Capillary density in the intravenous injection group and collagen sponge group was significantly greater than in the control group (no treatment). PKH26-positive cells via the collagen sponge were distributed more densely within the flap than in other groups. This study demonstrated that the collagen sponge method delivered ASCs most effectively within the flap and increased flap vascularity. The clinical therapeutic effects of ASCs can therefore be maximized when the optimal delivery route is chosen. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prepupal and Pupal Parasitism of Helicoverpa zea and Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) by Steinernema sp. in Cornfields in the Lower Rio Grande Valley

An indigenous Steinernema sp. (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) nematode parasitized prepupae and pupae of corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), and fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), collected from fruiting cornfields in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas and northern Tamaulipas, Mexico. Over a 5-yr period, 34% of all fields sampled contained parasitized corn earworm and 24.2% contained parasitized fall annyworm. Of 3,036 corn earwonn prepupae and pupae collected during this study, 11.6% were parasitized; of 1,802 fall armyworm collected, 9.3% were parasitized. Parasitism by Steinernema sp. accounted for 49.4 and 46.1% of the mortality of corn earworm and fall armyworm prepupae and pupae, respectively.
Fenfluramine-induced suppression of food intake and locomotor activity is differentially altered by the selective type A monoamine oxidase inhibitor clorgyline.

Administration of fenfluramine to rats produced decreases in 1-h food intake and locomotor activity. Short-term (2–6 days) or long-term (21–25 days) treatment with the monoamine oxidase (MAO) type A inhibiting antidepressant clorgyline potentiated fenfluramine-induced suppression of food intake but did not affect fenfluramine-induced suppression of locomotor activity. Although daily (4 h) food intake was not significantly less in clorgyline-treated animals relative to saline-treated controls, body weight gain was significantly less in clorgyline-treated animals relative to controls. These findings demonstrate a differential effect of clorgyline treatment on fenfluramine-induced suppression of food intake and locomotor activity.
Strategic configurations and designs for corporate entrepreneurship: Exploring the relationship between cohesiveness and performance

Abstract This study examines two issues. First, the study probes whether a narrow or a broad definition of strategy configuration is most useful. Expanding on recent work, this study investigates means to empirically demonstrate cohesive versus non-cohesive combinations of primary strategy configurations and designs for corporate entrepreneurship. The second issue observes how a cohesive (or broad) versus a non-cohesive (or narrow) choice affects a firm's performance. Discriminant analysis is used to classify firms as cohesive or non-cohesive based on a problem-analysis approach to defining fit. The relationship between cohesiveness and performance is surprisingly durable, and is shown to have a substantial impact only for those firms whose environments require high levels of adaptability, specialization, collaboration across units, and similar integrative and flexibility characteristics. Implications as well as directions for future research are discussed.
Modeling the contribution of satellite communications

Satellite communications can provide critical augmentations to enhance network survivability. During damage or congestion, satellite communications can provide user-to-user connectivity and access to the public switched network (PSN), and can enhance regional and national network connectivity. To effectively assess the contribution of satellite augmentations, a model must take into consideration the inherent technical characteristics and capabilities of satellite communications. In the same manner, the model must equitably assess other transmission augmentations, such as high frequency (HF) radio and cellular, so that biased results are not realized. The paper discusses the satellite communications model objectives, structure, and scoring. >
The Arabidopsis Pot1 and Pot2 Proteins Function in Telomere Length Homeostasis and Chromosome End Protection

Pot1 (protection of telomeres 1) is a single-stranded telomere binding protein that is essential for chromosome end protection and telomere length homeostasis. Arabidopsis encodes two Pot1-like proteins, dubbed AtPot1 and AtPot2. Here we show that telomeres in transgenic plants expressing a truncated AtPot1 allele lacking the N-terminal oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide binding fold (P1ΔN) are 1 to 1.5 kb shorter than in the wild type, suggesting that AtPot1 contributes to the positive regulation of telomere length control. In contrast, telomere length is unperturbed in plants expressing the analogous region of AtPot2. A strikingly different phenotype is observed in plants overexpressing the AtPot2 N terminus (P2ΔC) but not the corresponding region in AtPot1. Although bulk telomeres in P2ΔC mutants are 1 to 2 kb shorter than in the wild type, these plants resemble late-generation telomerase-deficient mutants with severe growth defects, sterility, and massive genome instability, including bridged chromosomes and aneuploidy. The genome instability associated with P2ΔC mutants implies that AtPot2 contributes to chromosome end protection. Thus, Arabidopsis has evolved two Pot genes that function differently in telomere biology. These findings provide unanticipated information about the evolution of single-stranded telomere binding proteins.
GaAs MESFETs fabricated on Si substrates using a SrTiO 3 buffer layer

Heteroepitaxial growth of GaAs on an Si substrate has been achieved through the use of crystalline SrTiO/sub 3/ (STO) and amorphous SiO/sub 2/ buffer layers. The buffer layers serve to accommodate some of the lattice mismatch between the substrate and the GaAs epilayers. Field-effect transistors fabricated in the GaAs epilayers show performance comparable to similar devices fabricated on GaAs substrates. The mobility in the GaAs/STO/Si sample is 2524 cm/sup 2//Vs compared to a GaAs/GaAs sample with mobility of 2682 cm/sup 2//Vs. A 0.7 /spl mu/m gate length device has I/sub d max/ of 367 mA/mm and G/sub m max/ of 223 mS/mm. These devices also have good RF performance with f/sub max/ of 14.5 GHz and class AB power density of 90 mW/mm with an associated power-added efficiency of 38% at 1.9 GHz. This RF performance is within experimental error of similar devices fabricated on GaAs substrates. Preliminary reliability results show that after 800 h at 200/spl deg/C, the GaAs/STO/Si sample showed 1.2% degradation in drain current.
Multiple-access interference suppression for MC-CDMA by frequency-domain oversampling

A technique for interference suppression in multicarrier code-division multiple-access (MC-CDMA) systems is proposed which exploits the structural differences in signals that arrive at the receiver with Doppler shifts or carrier offsets. Oversampling the received signal in the frequency domain and properly combining the samples provides the interference suppression. Frequency-domain oversampling is accomplished by using a time extension of the conventional MC-CDMA signal or unconsumed portions of the cyclic prefix. Furthermore, a receiver structure is introduced that despreads and combines groups of samples so that a linear minimum mean-squared error solution for combining the groups is easily found. This combining scheme increases the signal-to-interference ratio experienced by the desired user in the MC-CDMA system. In addition, the receiver performs well in severe near-far scenarios when there is sufficient frequency separation between the signals of the desired user and an interferer. Numerical results show that the proposed receiver significantly outperforms the conventional MC-CDMA receiver in many channel realizations.
A proof of the Kahn principle for input/output automata

Abstract : The authors use input/output automata to define a simple and general model of networks of concurrently executing, nondeterministic processes that communicate through undirectional, named ports. A notion of the input/output relation computed by a process is defined, and determinate processes are defined to be processes whose input/output relations are single-valued. It is shown that determinate processes compute continuous functions, and that networks of determinate processes obey Kahn's fixed-point principle. Although these results are already known, our contribution lies in the fact that the input/output automata model yields extremely simple proofs of them (the simplest we have seen), in spite of its generality.
Transverse emittance dilution due to coupler kicks in linear accelerators

One of the main concerns in the design of low emittance linear accelerators (linacs) is the preservation of beam emittance. Here we discuss one possible source of emittance dilution, the coupler kick, due to transverse electromagnetic fields in the accelerating cavities of the linac caused by the power coupler geometry. In addition to emittance growth, the coupler kick also produces orbit distortions. It is common wisdom that emittance growth from coupler kicks can be strongly reduced by using two couplers per cavity mounted opposite each other or by having the couplers of successive cavities alternate from above to below the beam pipe so as to cancel each individual kick. While this is correct, including two couplers per cavity or alternating the coupler location requires large technical changes and increased cost for superconducting cryomodules where cryogenic pipes are arranged parallel to a string of several cavities. We therefore analyze consequences of alternate coupler placements. We show here that alternating the coupler location from above to below compensates the emittance growth as well as the orbit distortions. For sufficiently large $Q$ values, alternating the coupler location from before to after the cavity leads to a cancellation of the orbit distortion but not of the emittance growth, whereas alternating the coupler location from before and above to behind and below the cavity cancels the emittance growth but not the orbit distortion. We show that cancellations hold for sufficiently large $Q$ values. These compensations hold even when each cavity is individually detuned, e.g., by microphonics. Another effective method for reducing coupler kicks that is studied is the optimization of the phase of the coupler kick so as to minimize the effects on emittance from each coupler. This technique is independent of the coupler geometry but relies on operating on crest. A final technique studied is symmetrization of the cavity geometry in the coupler region with the addition of a stub opposite the coupler. This technique works by reducing the amplitude of the off axis fields and is thus effective for off-crest acceleration as well. We show applications of these techniques to the energy recovery linac (ERL) planned at Cornell University.
Refractory status epilepticus in adults

The management of status epilepticus has improved over the past 20 years, resulting in a substantial decrease in the associated morbidity and mortality. Patients who have seizures that are refractory to initial pharmacologic interventions tend to have significant underlying toxic, metabolic, structural, or infectious disorders, and therefore management of refractory status epilepticus must focus on stabilization and on identification and correction of seizure etiology. Regardless of etiology, the faster the seizures are brought under control, the better the prognosis. Risk of central nervous system injury increases after 30 minutes of seizure activity, and therefore efforts should focus on controlling the abnormal electrical discharges at the earliest time possible, preferably within one hour. Benzodiazepines, phenytoin, and phenobarbital remain the most commonly used first- and second-line anticonvulsants, have proven effective in cases of status epilepticus, and should be administered within the first 45 minutes of management. For refractory status epilepticus, pentobarbital anesthesia is evolving as an effective and recommended treatment modality and should be instituted immediately after phenytoin and phenobarbital loading. The role of other anticonvulsants remains to be investigated in controlled clinical trials.
Stocks Demand Curves and TARP Returns

This study uses a unique natural experiment to contribute to the long-running debate as to whether the demand curves for stocks slope downward. The U.S. Treasury sold 5.27 billion shares of Citigroup’s common stock during trading hours in April 26, 2010, to December 6, 2010. Using a geometric Brownian motion model of the stock price, there is some evidence that the demand curve for Citigroup’s stock has a negative slope. There was a weakly significant drop in the stock price at the announcement of the sale and a weakly significant rise in the stock price just after it ended. This indicates that potential “dribble-out” privatizations of AIG, General Motors, Chrysler Motors, and Ally Financial may depress those firms’ stock prices temporarily, eating into taxpayers’ returns from those bailout investments.
State Policy in the 1980s and the Future of Women's Rights in Turkey

The 1980s witnessed the rise of feminist and Islamic fundamentalist movements in Turkey. In diametrically opposed ways, both movements pushed the debate over women's issues and rights in Turkey into the spotlight of public discussion. The feminist movement made visible, and condemned, acts of physical violence against women, problematized women's lack of substantive rights, and the articles of the Criminal Code that discriminate against women. For the Islamic fundamentalists, on the other hand, women's right to wear headscarves in educational institutions and government offices was a focal and continuous rallying point throughout the 1980s. Less prominent have been campaigns by Islamic groups to segregate men and women in public life, by calling for separate buses, hospitals for men and women. While the feminist movement remained an informally organized, non-parliamentary opposition group, Islamists gained ground within state institutions by virtue of being a vocal constituency of the conservative ruling party in power since 1983. Apparently in response to the heightened debate concerning women's status, in the latter half of the 1980s and especially in the past year the government put legal measures into effect, creating legal obligations at the international level and institutional structures at the governmental level to address issues concerning women.
Opening the Schoolhouse Door to the AIDS Virus: Policy Making, Politics, and Personality in a Queens County Courtroom, 1985-86

Public health policy operates in a democratic paradox. The police power exists to protect individuals from harms they cannot themselves fend off, but every restriction of individual freedom in the name of public health runs against constitutionally protected individual rights. Public health officials are damned if they do, damned if they don’t. But policy makers can take steps to avoid litigation by partnering with the public in contentious public health decisions. In 1985, New York City announced it would not automatically prohibit children with AIDS from attending public schools. Parents and children in Queens took to the streets in a massive boycott of the first day of school. They carried signs proclaiming "We want good grades, not AIDS." One child dressed as an AIDS victim and was paraded through the streets in a makeshift coffin to protest the perceived threat a child diagnosed with AIDS would pose to other children. Ultimately, local school boards took the issue to court and put public health policy making on trial.District 27 Community School Board v. Board of Education and events leading to the lawsuit exemplify the democratic paradox. A largely overlooked case, District 27 is one of the most important early AIDS cases. It was the first to consider the disease in depth. The case established the dearth of evidence that AIDS could be transmitted casually. And District 27 signaled that AIDS did not demand and law did not permit discrimination. This article dusts off District 27 for its thirtieth anniversary and uses New York City’s policy-making process as a case study for public health policy making in an epidemic. It suggests ways lawyers and policy makers can balance secrecy and transparency against democratic ideals, as well as how valuing the public and allowing public input enhances policy decisions.