cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hybridization of mitochondrial ribosomal RNA.

Abstract Mitochondrial and cytoplasmic ribosomal RNA's of Neurospora crassa were hybridized with mitochondrial or nuclear DNA which was immobilized on nitrocellulose filters. The 25 s and 19 s mitochondrial RNA's were complementary to 6.1% and 2.8% of the mitochondrial DNA, respectively. The 28 s and 18 s cytoplasmic RNA's were complementary to 0.67 and 0.33% of the nuclear DNA. Renaturation kinetics showed that the sequence length molecular weight of Neurospora mitochondrial DNA is more than 66 × 106. Therefore, the genes for 25 s and 19 s RNA are repeated at least four times in the mitochondrial DNA.
On generalized inverses of a block in a partitioned matrix

Abstract Given symmetric generalized inverses of A χ x′ c , where χ is a vector with n components, we obtain formulae for the corresponding generalized inverses (symmetric) of A. An application of such formulae in linear models is suggested.
Identification and active disturbance rejection for the JPL Phase B Test Bed

Active disturbance rejection to minimize optical path length error is illustrated by experimental results from the JPL Phase B Test Bed, which incorporates an interferometric sensor and a controllable trolley mounted on a flexible truss structure. The controller actively isolates the optical instruments from structural vibrations induced by external disturbances consisting of linear combinations of sinusoidal signals.
Decentralized formation of random regular graphs for robust multi-agent networks

Multi-agent networks are often modeled via interaction graphs, where the nodes represent the agents and the edges denote direct interactions between the corresponding agents. Interaction graphs have significant impact on the robustness of networked systems. One family of robust graphs is the random regular graphs. In this paper, we present a locally applicable reconfiguration scheme to build random regular graphs through self-organization. For any connected initial graph, the proposed scheme maintains connectivity and the average degree while minimizing the degree differences and randomizing the links. As such, if the average degree of the initial graph is an integer, then connected regular graphs are realized uniformly at random as time goes to infinity.
SU-E-J-34: Influence of Prone versus Supine Patient Position on Localization with Image Guided Radiotherapy of Prostate Cancer.

Purpose: To retrospectively assess the influence of prone versus supine patient position on setup shifts and target margins for image guided radiotherapy(IGRT) of prostate cancer.Methods: Ninety prostate cancer patients were treated at our institution between September 2006 and June2011 with IGRT utilizing daily megavoltage cone beam; 52 patients were prone receiving 1577 fractions and 38 supine receiving 1035 fractions. Patients were setup to skin tattoos, imaged with megavoltage cone beam, then moved to treatment position by the alignment of three intraprostatic fiducials with lateral, longitudinal, and vertical shifts. The magnitude of the daily shift is root sum of squares of the translations. Results: Patients positioned prone had a mean daily shift magnitude 1.4 mm greater than supine: 7.5 ± 4.0 mm vs. 6.1 ± 2.9 mm (p l 0.001). The mean magnitude of the daily shift for prone vs. supine respectively were 3.7 ± 3.1 mm vs. 2.6 ± 2.3 mm laterally, 3.5 ± 3.0 mm vs. 3.3 ± 2.6 mm longitudinally, and 3.9 ± 3.5 mm vs. 3.1 ± 2.4 mm vertically. The percentage of daily shifts within our intuition's planning target volume (PTV) margin (7 mm posterior and 10 mm for all other directions) for prone vs. supine respectively were 97.3% vs. 99.5% laterally, 97.1% vs. 98.2% longitudinally, and 93.1% vs. 96.8% vertically. Conclusion: When prostate cancer patients were setup for IGRT utilizing daily megavoltage cone beam, the daily shifts from the skin tattoos to intraprostatic fiducials were greater on average if positioned prone vs.supine. Without IGRT, part of the prostate would be outside of the PTV for more treatments when positioned prone rather than supine.
Cocaine use and its effect on umbilical artery prostacyclin production.

Cocaine's association with adverse perinatal outcome has been attributed to its inhibition of norepinephrine uptake. This study examined the effect of cocaine on umbilical artery prostacyclin (PGI2) production. Umbilical arteries from pregnant cocaine users and controls were incubated in vitro and PGI2 levels in the media determined by measuring its stable metabolite, 6-keto-PGF1α, by RIA. Cocaine users showed a significant decrease (p<.05) in PGI2 production from their umbilical arteries when compared to controls. This appears to be through a direct effect of cocaine, as it decreases PGI2 production when added in vitro to umbilical arteries from controls. In addition, in vitro phospholipase A2 activity is inhibited by cocaine in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that the adverse perinatal outcome associated with cocaine use may be due in part to reduced vascular PGI2 production in the fetus.
Performance analysis of bi-directional DC-DC converters for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure

This paper presents the performance analysis and comparison of two different types of bidirectional DC-DC converters - Cascaded Buck-Boost (CBB) and Combined Half-Bridge (CHB) for use in Plug-in EV and HEV. The comparison of the two converters is based on device requirements, rating of switches and elements, control strategy and performance. Each of the converter topologies has some advantages over the other in certain aspects. Feasibility studies are carried for practical applications in specific scenarios. The simulation and experimental results are provided for both converter types to support the theoretical findings.
Finding core-collapse supernovae from the epoch of reionization behind cluster lenses.

Current surveys are underway to utilize gravitational lensing by galaxy clusters with Einstein radii >35" in the search for the highest redshift galaxies. Associated supernova from the epoch of reionization would have their fluxes boosted above the detection threshold, extending their duration of visibility. We predict that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be able to discover lensed core-collapse supernovae at redshifts exceeding z=7-8.
The phase function of Venus cloud particles from mariner 10 data

Mariner 10 images of Venus taken at several phase angles were photometrically reduced. The analysis shows that the phase function of the cloud particles is not isotropic, as had been deduced earlier from the brightness distribution on spacecraft images taken at a single phase angle, but has a broad minimum near 60 deg and is forward-scattering. The scattering properties are in quantitative agreement with previous deductions from earth-based polarization measurements by Hansen and his associates.
A simple method for calculating the frequency-integrated radiation due to weak, closely spaced lines in a uniform gas

Abstract In this paper, radiation in a gas of uniform properties due to the numerous, individually weak, closely spaced lines associated with high quantum number states of monatomic particles is considered. It is shown that the frequency-integrated radiation due to each type of line can be simply and quite accurately calculated if the lines are replaced by appropriate continuous absorption coefficients. This treatment also accounts for the bound-free transitions from high-quantum number initial states. The number of lines which can be treated by this method depends on the accuracy to which the frequency-integrated intensity is required. Little error will occur in the total intensity from the gas if the method is used for all lines except for a new lines which occur early in low-lying series plys any self-absorbed lines which do not merge with their neighbors.
BORON-SILICON EXCHANGE REACTIONS OF BORON TRIHALIDES WITH TRIMETHYLSILYL-SUBSTITUTED METALLOCENES

The reaction of (η5-C5H4SiMe3)2Fe with excess BCl3 in CH2Cl2 at −78 °C affords a mixture of metathesis product (η5-C5H4BCl2)2Fe and an isomer, [η5-1,3-C5H3(BCl2)2]Fe(η5-C5H5). In contrast, BCl3 does not react appreciably with trimethylsilyl-substituted group 4 metallocenes below 80 °C. When (η5-C5H4SiMe3)2MCl2 (M = Ti, Zr) is treated with excess BBr3 in CH2Cl2 at 80 °C for several days, one methyl group is selectively cleaved from each trimethylsilyl substituent to afford (η5-C5H4SiMe2Br)2MBr2 (M = Ti, Zr) in useful yields. Exposure of crystalline samples of these bromodimethylsilyl-substituted group 4 metallocene dibromides to ambient atmosphere for several days results in selective, quantitative hydrolysis to afford the disiloxane-linked ansa-metallocene dibromides, [(η5-C5H4SiMe2)2O]MBr2. Two other bromodimethylsilyl-substituted metallocenes, (η5-C5H4SiMe2Br)(η5-C5Me5)MBr2 and [η5-1,3-C5H3(SiMe2Br)2]2ZrBr2 are also prepared by treatment of the corresponding trimethylsilyl-substituted precursors with bo...
Solid-Phase Synthesis of 2-Aminoethyl Glucosamine Sulfoforms

Mono- and disaccharides of sulfonated glucosamines (GlcN sulfoforms) conjugated to 2-aminoethyl linkers were generated by solid-phase synthesis. Orthogonally protected intermediates were tethered onto tritylated polystyrene resin beads, subjected to a modular sequence of deprotection and sulfonation steps, then cleaved from solid support without degradation of N- or O-sulfate esters using solvolytic conditions, and finally purified by reverse-phase HPLC to afford the title compounds.
Functionalization of iron oxide nanoparticles with a versatile epoxy amine linker

A synthetically diverse linker molecule consisting of both a terminal epoxide and a terminal amine has been synthesized and shown to have the desired reactivity. Proof of principle experimentation showed that the prepared linker molecule possessed the ability to be reactive towards dextran coated iron nanoparticles, essentially converting the surface alcohols to amines with an efficiency on average of 50 linkers per nanoparticle. Once the surface of the nanoparticles had been functionalized, the iron nanoparticles were subsequently functionalized with both folic acid and fluorescein isothiocyanate, with an average efficiency of 20 and 3 molecules per nanoparticle, respectively. The labeled nanoparticles were then incubated with both folate receptor positive and negative cell lines, which showed a preferential accumulation of the particles in the receptor positive cell line. In addition to the fluorescence based assays, accumulation of the nanoparticles was demonstrated using T2-weighted MRI imaging, which showed that the iron core of the nanoparticle was present within the desired cell line. Overall, this linker has shown the ability to functionalize the surface of nanoparticles and can theoretically be used to label a wide variety of other targeting agents or imaging agents for in vivo therapies or diagnostics.
Phase diagram and evolution of mesophase structure in mixtures of a low molar mass smectic liquid crystal and a nematic side-on side-chain liquid crystalline polymer

Miscibility phase diagrams in mixtures of side-on side-chain liquid crystalline polymers (s-SCLCP) and low molar mass smectic liquid crystals (K36) have been investigated by means of polarized optical microscopy. K36 is a smectic liquid crystal that exhibits a smectic-isotropic transition at 58 °C and a smectic-to-crystal transition (crystallization) at 27 °C. The nematic/smectic phase diagram of the s-SCLCP/K36 has been analyzed by combining the Flory-Huggins (FH) free energy for isotropic demixing and the Maier-Saupe-McMillan (MSM) free energy for smectic ordering of the mesogens. This combined FH/MSM theory compares reasonably well with the observed nematic/smectic phase diagrams composed of isotropic + nematic, smectic + nematic, smectic + isotropic, pure nematic, and pure smectic regions. Several temperature quench experiments have been conducted to confirm various predicted coexistence regions. However, at present, the combined theory does not include any crystallization processes occurring at a lower temperature.
CLINICAL AND NEUROPATHOLOGICAL CRITERIA FOR THE DIAGNOSIS AND STAGING OF DIABETIC POLYNEUROPATHY

Scored symptoms, neurological deficits, detection threshold of cutaneous sensation and parameters of nerve conduction were compared with quantitated neuropathological abnormalities in the sural nerve in 47 healthy subjects and 36 diabetic patients, 32 with and 4 without neuropathy. The fifth percentile line of a new Index of Pathology, which combines loss of myelinated fibres and abnormality of the remaining fibres, was found to provide a sensitive and reliable minimum neuropathological criterion for the diagnosis of polyneuropathy. Abnormality, as assessed by two clinical evaluations, similarly separated healthy subjects and diabetic patients into those with and without neuropathy. For the detection of diabetic polyneuropathy, vibration sense was more sensitive than touch-pressure or thermal cooling. Abnormalities of nerve conduction were found to be both sensitive and reliable in the detection of polyneuropathy. Velocity was most frequently abnormal, but only slightly more often than F wave latency and amplitude. We conclude that abnormality, as judged independently from two different types of evaluation, provides a sensitive and reliable minimal criterion for the diagnosis of neuropathy. Although symptoms, neurological deficits and abnormalities of nerve conduction are statistically associated, they should be evaluated separately to provide adequate characterization.
Instrumentation and Measurement of a Power Distribution System Laboratory for Network Reconfiguration Studies

At Drexel University, instrumentation and measurement of the Reconfigurable Distribution Automation and Control laboratory (RDAC) include hardware and software instruments which together form an automated measurement and control system. This system contains special features that were included to enable network reconfiguration and switch placement studies. Several instruments were developed to perform two network reconfiguration experiments, specifically load balancing and service restoration. This paper presents an outline of the measurement and control system for the general laboratory and then focuses on the capabilities purposely added for the network reconfiguration experiments.
SOME EFFECTS OF TWO THIRST-CONTROL PROCEDURES ON EATING, DRINKING, AND BODY WEIGHT OF THE RAT.

(1964). Some Effects of Two Thirst-Control Procedures on Eating, Drinking, and Body Weight of the Rat. The Journal of General Psychology: Vol. 71, No. 1, pp. 93-101.
A novel acoustically quiet coil for neonatal MRI system

MRI acoustic exposure has the potential to elicit physiological distress and impact development in preterm and term infants. To mitigate this risk, a novel acoustically quiet coil was developed to reduce the sound pressure level experienced by neonates during MR procedures. The new coil has a conventional high-pass birdcage RF design, but is built on a framework of sound abating material. We evaluated the acoustic and MR imaging performance of the quiet coil and a conventional body coil on two small footprint NICU MRI systems. Sound pressure level and frequency response measurements were made for six standard clinical MR imaging protocols. The average sound pressure level, reported for all six imaging pulse sequences, was 82.2 dBA for the acoustically quiet coil, and 91.1 dBA for the conventional body coil. The sound pressure level values measured for the acoustically quiet coil were consistently lower, 9 dBA (range 6-10 dBA) quieter on average. The acoustic frequency response of the two coils showed a similar harmonic profile for all imaging sequences. However, the amplitude was lower for the quiet coil, by as much as 20 dBA.
Political Freedom, External Liberalization and Financial Stability

The chance of financial crises has grown in emerging economies in recent decades. Increasingly, the interest has shifted away from market-based reforms, such as more transparency, towards potentially stabilizing institutions. Among these institutions are better political freedoms, as they could help to foster stronger and more stable domestic demand growth. Using data from the IMF and Freedom House, we test the effectiveness of political freedoms, in particular of civil liberties and political rights, in reducing the chance of banking and currency crises. Our results show that more civil liberties, which are closely linked to worker rights, lower the chance of banking and currency crises, while political rights have no effect on the chance of financial crises. Also, this effect disappears in more open economies, likely due to increased capital mobility.
Boll Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Survival through Cotton Gin Trash Fans

There is concern that cotton gins may serve as loci for reintroduction of boll weevils, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman, to eradicated or suppressed zones when processing weevil-infested cotton from neighboring zones. Previous work has shown that virtually all weevils entering the gin in the seed cotton will be removed before they reach the gin stand. Those not killed by the seed cotton cleaning machinery will be shunted alive into the trash fraction, which passes through a centrifugal trash fan before exiting the gin. The objective of this study was to determine survival potential of boll weevils passed through a trash fan. Marked adult weevils were distributed in gin trash and fed through a 82.6-cm (32.5-in.) diameter centrifugal fan operated across a range of fan-tip speeds. A small number of boll weevils were recovered alive immediately after passage through the fan, but all were severely injured and did not survive 24 h. In another experiment, green bolls infested with both adult- and larval-stage weevils were fed through the fan. Several teneral adults survived 24 h, and there was no evidence that fan-tip speed affected either initial survival of weevils, or the number of unbroken boll locks that could harbor an infesting weevil. Thus, designating a minimum fan-tip speed for ensuring complete kill is not possible for the boll weevil. Experiments suggest that a device installed in a gin that partially crushes or cracks bolls open before entering a trash fan will increase mortality, possibly enough that further precautions would be unnecessary.
ATP-Dependent Binding Cassette Transporter G Family Member 16 Increases Plant Tolerance to Abscisic Acid and Assists in Basal Resistance against Pseudomonas syringae DC3000

Plants have been shown previously to perceive bacteria on the leaf surface and respond by closing their stomata. The virulent bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato DC3000 (PstDC3000) responds by secreting a virulence factor, coronatine, which blocks the functioning of guard cells and forces stomata to reopen. After it is inside the leaf, PstDC3000 has been shown to up-regulate abscisic acid (ABA) signaling and thereby suppress salicylic acid-dependent resistance. Some wild plants exhibit resistance to PstDC3000, but the mechanisms by which they achieve this resistance remain unknown. Here, we used genome-wide association mapping to identify an ATP-dependent binding cassette transporter gene (ATP-dependent binding cassette transporter G family member16) in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) that contributes to wild plant resistance to PstDC3000. Through microarray analysis and β-glucuronidase reporter lines, we showed that the gene is up-regulated by ABA, bacterial infection, and coronatine. We also used a green fluorescent protein fusion protein and found that transporter is more likely to localize on plasma membranes than in cell walls. Transferred DNA insertion lines exhibited consistent defective tolerance of exogenous ABA and reduced resistance to infection by PstDC3000. Our conclusion is that ATP-dependent binding cassette transporter G family member16 is involved in ABA tolerance and contributes to plant resistance against PstDC3000. This is one of the first examples, to our knowledge, of ATP-dependent binding cassette transporter involvement in plant resistance to infection by a bacterial pathogen. It also suggests a possible mechanism by which plants reduce the deleterious effects of ABA hijacking during pathogen attack. Collectively, these results improve our understanding of basal resistance in Arabidopsis and offer unique ABA-related targets for improving the innate resistance of plants to bacterial infection.
Potential cultural bias in the neuropsychological assessment of the older adult

(1994). Potential cultural bias in the neuropsychological assessment of the older adult. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology: Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 623-629.
Influenza A virus infection engenders a poor antibody response against the ectodomain of matrix protein 2

Background Matrix protein 2 (M2) is an integral tetrameric membrane protein of influenza A virus (IAV). Its ectodomain (M2e) shows remarkably little diversity amongst human IAV strains. As M2e-specific antibodies (Abs) have been shown to reduce the severity of infection in animals, M2e is being studied for its capability of providing protection against a broad range of IAV strains. Presently, there is little information about the concentration of M2e-specific Abs in humans. Two previous studies made use of ELISA and Western blot against M2e peptides and recombinant M2 protein as immunosorbents, respectively, and reported Ab titers to be low or undetectable. An important caveat is that these assays may not have detected all Abs capable of binding to native tetrameric M2e. Therefore, we developed an assay likely to detect all M2e tetramer-specific Abs.
Race, Athletic Achievement, and Educational Aspiration*

The relationship between athletic achievement and educational aspiration is explored for black and white males. Results indicate that athletic behavior facilitates the association of white athletes with a college-oriented peer group, producing an indirect influence on aspiration. In contrast, athletic behavior for black athletes is unmediated, indicating that other intervening social-psychological factors may be relevant. The theoretical significance of these results are discussed and suggestions are provided for future research on the consequences of interscholastic athletics for educational aspiration.
Sparse modulation coding for increased capacity in volume holographic storage

In page-oriented memories, data pages commonly consist of comparable numbers of on and off pixels. Data-page sparsity is defined by reduction of the number of on pixels per page, leading to an increased diffracted power into each pixel. When page retrieval is dominated by a fixed noise floor, the number of pages in the memory is limited by the pixel diffraction efficiency. Sparsity increases the number of storable pages while reducing the amount of user information per page. A detailed analysis of sparsity in volume holographic memories shows that the total memory capacity can be increased by 15% by use of data pages that contain on average 25% on pixels. Sparsity also helps to reduce the effects of interpixel cross talk by strongly reducing the probability that worst-case pixel patterns (e.g., blocks of on pixels with a center off pixel) will occur in the data page. Enumeration block coding techniques provide construction of sparse-data pages with minimal overhead. In addition, enumeration coding offers maximum-likelihood detection with low encoding–decoding latency. We discuss the theoretical advantages of data-page sparsity. We also present experimental results that demonstrate the proposed capacity gain. The experiment verifies that it is practical to construct and use sparse-data pages that result in an overall user capacity gain of 16% subject to a page retrieval bit-error rate of 10-4.
Abandoning the dead donor rule? A national survey of public views on death and organ donation

Brain dead organ donors are the principal source of transplantable organs. However, it is controversial whether brain death is the same as biological death. Therefore, it is unclear whether organ removal in brain death is consistent with the ‘dead donor rule’, which states that organ removal must not cause death. Our aim was to evaluate the public's opinion about organ removal if explicitly described as causing the death of a donor in irreversible apneic coma. We conducted a cross-sectional internet survey of the American public (n=1096). Questionnaire domains included opinions about a hypothetical scenario of organ removal described as causing the death of a patient in irreversible coma, and items measuring willingness to donate organs after death. Some 71% of the sample agreed that it should be legal for patients to donate organs in the scenario described and 67% agreed that they would want to donate organs in a similar situation. Of the 85% of the sample who agreed that they were willing to donate organs after death, 76% agreed that they would donate in the scenario of irreversible coma with organ removal causing death. There appears to be public support for organ donation in a scenario explicitly described as violating the dead donor rule. Further, most but not all people who would agree to donate when organ removal is described as occurring after death would also agree to donate when organ removal is described as causing death in irreversible coma.
Effect of surface swelling on diffusion on polymers. II. Delamination

Swelling in chloroform resulted in delamination of surface-hydroxylated styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymers, with the formation of three fractions: crosslinked gel, reacted sol, and unreacted chloroform-soluble material. From the relative weights of these fractions, the depth of penetration of the reaction and the shape of the reaction front were determined. The weight of the gel fraction gave directly an estimate of the depth of penetration, λx which decreased with increasing film thickness. This was attributed to the increased amount of reacted polymer being noncrosslinked material (sol) in the interior compared to the 100% crosslinked nature of the surface region and to a reduction in the penetration of the reaction front resulting from the effect of stress transfer in lowering the permeation rate of peracetic acid. Comparison of the depth of penetration estimates λx and λs determined from the weight of the unreacted polymer demonstrated that, for the conditions used, the reaction front is quite broad. (For example, at 40°C, in 71% acetic acid for 80 min, the fully crosslinked portion is 15 μm thick and the partially reacted region extends for another 8.5 μm.) The combined influences of the increase in penetration of the reactants in the polymer and the relief of stress secondary to this increase in penetration were reflected in the time dependence of the depths of penetration λx and λs.
Disruption of Hemoglobin Oxygen Transport Does Not Impact Oxygen-Dependent Physiological Processes in Developing Embryos of Zebra Fish (Danio rerio)

Embryonic hemoglobin circulated by the developing heart in the early vertebrate embryo is widely assumed (without substantiation) to perform the same vital role of O2 carriage that it does in fetuses and adults. In order to challenge this assumption, we measured highly O2-dependent physiological variables like O2 consumption, cardiac performance, and initial swim bladder filling in the presence and absence of functional hemoglobin in the embryos and early larvae of the zebra fish, Danio ( = Brachydanio) rerio. Functional ablation of hemoglobin by carbon monoxide or phenylhydrazine did not reduce whole-animal O2 consumption, which was approximately 85 to 90 mumol.g-1.h-1. Similarly, no differences in heart variables like ventricular pressure development or heart rate, which increased from 135 to 175 bpm between stages 36h and 96h (indicating developmental stages 36 and 96 hours after fertilization, respectively), were observed in these experiments. Initial opening of the swim bladder was not influenced in the presence of CO-occupied hemoglobin but was significantly impaired when the embryonic hemoglobin was chemically modified by incubation with phenylhydrazine. That aerobic processes continue without hemoglobin O2 transport indicates the adequacy in the embryo of simple O2 diffusion alone even in developmental stages with extensive convective blood circulation generated by the heart.
Development of coordination in the natural speech of young children.

Natural speech of 32 young children from 2; 0 to 3; 1 (1·97 to 6·38 in MLU) was studied for evidence of use of coordination (by and). Analyses of the structure of coordinative expressions reflected development in structural variants as well as amount of coordination. Analyses suggested that early forms of coordination in natural speech reflected the same constraints which had been suggested by previous study of these children's language through an experimental elicited imitation task. A basis for a developmental theory of acquisition of coordination is sketched.
Fault tolerant cellular array design for nanoscale technologies

A cellular array architecture suitable for implementing fault-tolerant logic on nanoscale fabrics is described in this paper. A simple logic cell that is optimized for arithmetic logic functions allows efficient implementation of signal processing functions. Compared to the typical Look-up Table (LUT) approach used in FPGAs, the proposed logic block has decreased flexibility in terms of reconfigurability. However, the simpler structure and reduced number of configuration bits results in improved fault tolerant capability. Such a design tradeoff is suitable for nanotechnology implementations where there are a massive number of devices but also increased susceptibility to transient and permanent faults. A hierarchical approach to clustering the cells provides for an optimum number of spare cells to be distributed throughout the array, allowing for efficient self-healing capability.
Sulfur passivation for the formation of Si-terminated Al 2 O 3/ SiGe(0 0 1) interfaces

Abstract Sulfur passivation is used to electrically and chemically passivate the silicon–germanium (SiGe) surfaces before and during the atomic layer deposition (ALD) of aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ). The electrical properties of the interfaces were examined by variable frequency capacitance–voltage ( C – V ) spectroscopy. Interface compositions were determined by angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AR-XPS). The sulfur adsorbs to a large fraction of surface sites on the SiGe(0 0 1) surface, protecting the surface from deleterious surface reactions during processing. Sulfur passivation (a) improved the air stability of the cleaned surfaces prior to ALD, (b) increased the stability of the surface during high-temperature deposition, and (c) increased the Al 2 O 3 ALD nucleation density on SiGe, thereby lowering the leakage current. S passivation suppressed formation of Ge O bonds at the interface, leaving the majority of the Al 2 O 3 –SiGe interface terminated with direct Si O Al bonding.
Direct numerical simulation for the whole process of transition on 3-D airfoils

The 3D development of the whole process of flow transition (including leading-edge receptivity and vortex breakdown) in a 3D Joukowsky airfoil boundary layer is studied by direct numerical simulation (DNS). The numerical simulation is performed by spatial approach. A contravariant based incompressible Navier-Stokes system is derived so that we can simulate the receptivity and transition ar ound complex geometric configurations. The numerical results agree very well with the linear stability theory at the linear stability stage and very well with the experimental results for the whole process of transition for the flat plate case. They also agree well with the numerical results obtained by Buter and Reed (1994) for the 2D ellipse-leading edge receptivity case. Some new phenomena for the transition around airfoils are observed which at least qualitatively agree with physics. (Author)
Comment on "The Kanawha County Textbook Controversy'*

Page and Clelland attempt to rescue the Kanawha County textbook controversy from misleading journalistic accounts which describe the conflict as one between authoritarian reactionaries (cultural luddities, according to Baker and Barnes) and educational progressives by stressing the "politics of lifestyle concern." As "an example of social analysis" (267), however, their essay is plagued with serious problems. These lead to two shortcomings: (1) a resort to traditionalism vs. modernism as an explanatory account and (2) the failure to probe the ironies of working-class activism. Objecting to the emphasis on the defense of declining prestige in the status politics literature, the authors propose to open up that approach by fixing instead on "the politics of everyday life" as a "group phenomenon" (266). But the methods they use prevent this approach. By aggregating individual status characteristics, they remove the conflict from social structure, the movement's process and its grounding in social history, and from its related cultural meaning. The ahistorical examination of the SES characteristics of the protest region and movement leaders diverts attention from the working-class character of the protest in three ways.
Redox Regulation of the Type II Diabetes-Associated Protein MitoNEET

Human mitochondrial outer membrane protein mitoNEET is a newly discovered target of type II diabetes drug pioglitazone. Genetic studies have shown that mitoNEET has a central role in regulating energy metabolism in mitochondria. Structurally, mitoNEET is a homodimer with each monomer containing an N-terminal transmembrane alpha helix tethered to mitochondrial outer membrane and a C-terminal cytosolic domain hosting a redox active [2Fe-2S] cluster. However, specific function of mitoNEET remains largely elusive. Here we find that the mitoNEET [2Fe-2S] clusters can be reduced by human glutathione reductase, but not by rat thioredoxin reductase, a human thioredoxin reductase homolog that contains selenocysteine in the catalytic center. N-ethylmaleimide, a potent thiol modifier, completely inhibits human glutathione reductase to reduce the mitoNEET [2Fe-2S] clusters, indicating that the redox active disulfide in the catalytic center of human glutathione reductase could be directly involved in reducing the mitoNEET [2Fe-2S] clusters. Additional studies reveal that the reduced mitoNEET [2Fe-2S] clusters in mouse heart cell extracts can be reversibly oxidized by hydrogen peroxide, suggesting that the mitoNEET [2Fe-2S] clusters may undergo redox transition to regulate energy metabolism in mitochondria in response to oxidative signals.
Biosynthesis of parathyroid hormone.

Publisher Summary Recent progress in research on parathyroid hormone (PTH) biosynthesis has been marked by the identification, isolation, and structural characterization of two distinct biosynthetic precursors of the hormone. Studies involving the translation of parathyroid messenger RNA in heterologous cell-free systems led to the identification of pre-proparathyroid hormone (Pre-ProPTH), a biosynthetic precursor, preceding ProPTH. Present evidence suggests that Pre-ProPTH is the initial product synthesized by the parathyroid cell and represents the total structural information encoded in the gene for PTH. ProPTH appears to be an intermediate product in the pathway of intracellular transport of the hormone. The two precursors of PTH are sequentially cleaved by specific proteases during the cellular translocation of the hormonal polypeptide from its site of synthesis, in the rough endoplasmic reticulum, to the Golgi apparatus, where the final product, PTH, is incorporated into secretory vesicles. The rapid progress in the field of PTH biosynthesis can be attributed in large part to the continued development of more sensitive and effective techniques for the chemical characterization of parathyroid polypeptides.
WE-AB-202-06: Correlating Lung CT HU with Transformation-Based and Xe-CT Derived Ventilation

Purpose: Regional lung ventilation is useful to reduce radiation-induced function damage during lung cancer radiation therapy. Recently a new direct HU (Hounsfield unit)-based method was proposed to estimate the ventilation potential without image registration. The purpose of this study is to examine if there is a functional dependence between HU values and transformation-based or Xe-CT derived ventilation. Methods: 4DCT images acquired from 13 patients prior to radiation therapy and 4 mechanically ventilated sheep subjects which also have associated Xe-CT images were used for this analysis. Transformation-based ventilation was computed using Jacobian determinant of the transformation field between peak-exhale and peak-inhale 4DCT images. Both transformation and Xe-CT derived ventilation was computed for each HU bin. Color scatter plot and cumulative histogram were used to compare and validate the direct HU-based method. Results: There was little change of the center and shape of the HU histograms between free breathing CT and 4DCT average, with or without smoothing, and between the repeated 4DCT scans. HU of −750 and −630 were found to have the greatest transformation-based ventilation for human and sheep subjects, respectively. Maximum Xe-CT derived ventilation was found to locate at HU of −600 in sheep subjects. The curve between Xe-CT ventilation and HU was noisy for tissue above HU −400, possibly due to less intensity change of Xe gas during wash-out and wash-in phases. Conclusion: Both transformation-based and Xe-CT ventilation demonstrated that lung tissues with HU values in the range of (-750, −600) HU have the maximum ventilation potential. The correlation between HU and ventilation suggests that HU might be used to help guide the ventilation calculation and make it more robust to noise and image registration errors. Research support from NIH grants CA166703 and CA166119 and a gift from Roger Koch.
A low-power, reconfigurable, pipelined ADC for implantable bioimpedance measurement system with vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (VACNF) electrodes

Implantable bioimpedance monitoring has the potential to be an extremely powerful tool for biomedical research and healthcare. Currently, signal processing, specifically analog-to-digital conversion, does not allow for power-efficient conversion of bioimpedance data over a wide spectrum of frequency. In this paper, a reconfigurable pipelined analog-to-digital converter, for bioimpedance monitoring applications is presented. The converter can operate with a sampling rate between 100 kS/s to 20 MS/s and a resolution of 8 or 10 bits depending on the signal amplitude. Furthermore, the converter is self-configurable in terms of sampling rate and resolution based on the frequency and the amplitude of the input signal. A competitive FOM range (51.7---157 fJ/conv) is achieved by taking advantage of weak-inversion-biased transistors and utilizing an interference elimination technique in the 3rd pipeline stage to increase the power efficiency. The system is realized in a standard 130 nm CMOS process and consumes 16.1 μW and 1.06 mW in 8-bit and 10-bit mode, respectively. The core area of design is only 0.426 mm2. Test results show that the proposed ADC can successfully digitize the voltage drop across a bovine cell impedance model that is derived for an implantable bioimpedance measurement sensor application using the multi-electrode array of vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (VACNF).
Modeling Atmospheric Tidal Propagation Across the Stratopause

This review of solar atmospheric tides in the middle atmosphere focuses on the achievements in modeling tidal phenomena during the past decade with particular attention to advances in diurnal tidal modeling. Modeling achievements with steady-state linearized tidal models, linear and non-linear time-dependent mechanistic models, and first principles general circulation models are highlighted along with the insight obtained with the recent emergence of assimilative tidal schemes. The review includes references to select measurement diagnostics in order to elucidate the impact of some modeling achievements. On-going investigations of unresolved issues in tidal modeling research are also highlighted including the plausible role of gravity wave and tidal interactions in the formation of mesospheric inversion layers, the underlying physics governing the semiannual oscillation of diurnal tide in the MLT, and whether gravity wave-tide interactions result in tidal acceleration or deceleration.
Effective network management via dynamic network anomaly visualization

Managed network has become increasingly large, complex, heterogeneous, and dynamic. With tremendous number of network components changing at any moment, deciding which events and changes are possibly abnormal and need further investigation is extremely challenging. While there has been widely adopted practice to log daily activities through standard file formats such as netflow, syslog, firewall, and IDS systems, it is vital for system administrators and network managers to be able to analyze the vast amount of log data in order to detect suspicious behaviors or patterns, possibly because of malicious users/applications or faulty devices. While there are automated systems that are available to generate warnings, whether such alarms are true or false, and more importantly, what are the underlying causes are still difficult to know. To bridge the gap between network logging and anomaly analysis, we design and implement a visualization tool that combines multiple useful visualizations together with algorithms such as graph link anomaly analysis. We study the effects of different visualization methods on detecting and analyzing network and system anomalous events and their causes and show that these views, when combined and linked together, may provide an effective alternative for network management and anomaly analysis. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Microbial Spoilage of Mexican-Style Sauces

The objective of this study was to determine causes for spoilage of Mexican-style sauces prepared "in-house" by restaurants, and to suggest improvements in handling to eliminate this problem. A microbial profile was determined for spoiled enchilada and hot and mild taco sauces. There was no indication of a potential health problem associated with spoiled sauces since Salmonella was absent and Clostridium perfringens and Staphylococcus aureus were present only in low numbers. Spices used in preparing sauces had plate counts ranging from log 4.1 to log 7.7 bacteria per gram. Spoiled sauces had bacterial counts up to log 6.6 per gram. The enchilada and hot sauces which contained the greatest amount of spices had higher bacterial numbers and spoiled more rapidly than the mild taco sauce. Use of ethylene oxide-treated spices, prompt refrigeration of sauces and thorough sanitation reduced counts by 4 log cycles and eliminated spoilage problems.
Integrating Professional Development Content and Formative Assessment with the Coaching Process: The Texas School Ready Model

Instructional coaching is becoming common in early childhood programs to provide individualized, job-embedded professional development. Yet relatively few studies have tried to “unpack” the coaching process and delineate the specific features of coaching that contribute to teacher change. In this article, we describe an evidence-based preschool-quality improvement program, Texas School Ready (TSR), attending to the integration of program content and coaching process made possible through a defined competency framework and technology-driven tools that aid coaches in providing high-quality mentoring.
Theoretical convergence guarantees versus numerical convergence behavior of the holomorphically embedded power flow method

Abstract The holomorphic embedding load flow method (HELM) is an application for solving the power-flow problem based on a novel method developed by Dr. Trias. The advantage of the method is that it comes with a theoretical guarantee of convergence to the high-voltage (operable) solution, if it exists, provided the equations are suitably framed. While theoretical convergence is guaranteed by Stahl’s theorem, numerical convergence is not; it depends on the analytic continuation algorithm chosen. Since the holomorphic embedding method (HEM) has begun to find a broader range of applications (it has been applied to nonlinear structure-preserving network reduction, weak node identification and saddle-node bifurcation point determination), examining which algorithms provide the best numerical convergence properties, which do not, why some work and not others, and what can be done to improve these methods, has become important. The numerical Achilles heel of HEM is the calculation of the Pade approximant, which is needed to provide both the theoretical convergence guarantee and accelerated numerical convergence. In the past, only two ways of obtaining Pade approximants applied to the power series resulting from power-system-type problems have been discussed in detail: the matrix method and the Viskovatov method. This paper explores several methods of accelerating the convergence of these power series and/or providing analytic continuation and distinguishes between those that are backed by the theoretical convergence guarantee of Stahl’s theorem (i.e., those computing Pade approximants), and those that are not. For methods that are consistent with Stahl’s theoretical convergence guarantee, we identify which methods are computationally less expensive, which have better numerical performance and what remedies exist when these methods fail to converge numerically.
Extraction Techniques Leveraging Elevated Temperature and Pressure

This chapter introduces, explains, and evaluates several important sample preparation techniques available for pharmaceutical applications. In-depth discussion of Pressurized Fluid Extraction (also known as Pressurized Liquid Extraction, or Accelerated Solvent Extraction), Microwave Assisted Extraction, and Supercritical Fluid Extraction is presented. The principles of each technique, including instrumentation, method development, key parameters, and advantages/limitations, are detailed. A number of pharmaceutical applications and case studies are described to illustrate each technique in practice. Pressurized Hot Water Extraction is also summarized as a member of this extraction group. While each technique is unique, with its own pros and cons with respect to pharmaceutical applications, none provide a universal solution to sample preparation. Failure to evaluate these techniques as part of an analytical toolbox, however, can lead to missing a very simple solution to difficult pharmaceutical extraction issues.