cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Analysis of the Determinants of MIS Faculty Salary Offers

Much research has been published related to compensation in academic fields such as finance, accounting and economics; however, little attention has been paid to Management Information Systems (MIS). Conspicuously absent from the literature are in-depth studies of faculty compensation and its relationship to research productivity for MIS faculty. This study examines compensation, rank, and publication data collected from the Association for Information Systems (AIS) 2003-2004, 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 MIS Salary Surveys. MIS faculty who were newly employed or changed positions filled out the online survey at the AIS Web site on a self-selected basis. The relationships between compensation and its possible determinants such as research productivity and institutional teaching load are reported as well as analyzed. We find that compensation is significantly correlated with professors’ profiles as well as with the school profile at which the professor received a job offer.
Gold as a Monetary Standard, 1914–1919

IN I9I4 I was a student in college and according to our textbooks the nature and operation of the gold standard was a subject that presented few difficulties. Countries, we learned, were on the gold standard if they selected as a unit of account a certain weight of gold of a certain fineness and made their currencies convertible into gold at the rate fixed by this definition. If, in addition, such countries placed no restrictions on the export or import of gold they were on an international gold standard. When the major trading countries of the world simultaneously adopted arrangements of this kind, we had what was, in effect, a sort of international convention concerning the treatment of gold which we described as the international gold-standard system. We learned further in college that since gold could be bought or sold freely at fixed prices in each of the gold-standard countries, the exchange rates of these countries would be stable. If there was a tendency for the trade of one of these countries to become seriously unbalanced in either direction, gold would move either away from it or toward it, and this would give clear warning that something must be done to correct the situation. A great part of our study was devoted to an examination of how these corrections took place, of how the banking systems of the gold-standard countries reacted to gold movements, both foreign and domestic, in order to bring their price levels into appropriate relations and to restore their trading equilibrium. Since the quantity of gold accumulated in the past and being currently produced was limited in amount and was in part regularly distributed internationally by these specie flows, it followed, we were taught, that a country adhering to the gold standard reaped two major advantages. It was safeguarded against domestic inflation by the necessity of holding an adequate gold reserve, and it was able to carry out its foreign transactions in an orderly manner on the basis of fixed and stable exchange rates. The international system that was described in these terms in our textbooks worked, relatively speaking, so well before 1914 that we were tempted to draw two conclusions which greatly oversimplified the whole question. The first was to think that the system operated automatically. I can well remember as a graduate student asking the late Edwin Cannan what really was the function of gold as a monetary
Optimization of base doping for radiation hard InP solar cells

Model calculations were performed (1) to determine the optimum base doping for InP solar cells to achieve high efficiency under terrestrial conditions and (2) to quantify the difference, if any, in the optimum base doping for terrestrial and space applications. Modeling was done for a midgap trap and a shallow trap at E/sub v/+0.2 eV to determine the effect of trap location on the optimum base doping before radiation. After irradiation, modeling was done using the H4 trap at E/sub v/+0.37 eV, since the H4 defect controls the lifetime in the radiated InP cells. The highest efficiency for InP solar cells under terrestrial conditions is obtained for a base doping of 2*10/sup 17/ cm/sup -3/ prior to irradiation and is independent of the defect energy level. Optimum base doping needs to be increased beyond 2*10/sup 17/ cm/sup -3/ for irradiated InP cells because presence of more dopants reduces the rate of formation of radiation induced lifetime-limiting defects. The shift in the base doping depends on the amount of irradiation dose and is due to the decrease in radiation induced H4 defect concentration-with increased doping. >
Asynchronous dynamical systems

An asynchronous dynamical system (ADS) is a formalism for a symbolic event-driven dynamical system based on input-output representation. By projecting the state space on the input and output process spaces the authors obtain input-state and input-output maps that represent the behavior of the system. The model is extended to incorporate nondeterministic processes as its input and output. The algebra of the ADS environment consists of projection, sum, and internal sum operators used for input-output projection, signal mixing by event interleaving, and synchronization, respectively. Properties of these operators are summarized and illustrated by examples. Input-output reduction of interconnected ADSs are discussed in the context of the dining philosophers problem. >
Nuclei in Snow and Ice Crystals on the Greenland Ice Cap under Natural and Artificially Stimulated Conditions

Abstract Natural snow crystals and artificially stimulated snow and ice crystals were collected on a mesh prepared for electron microscopy at Site 2, a research facility on the ice cap about 320 km cast of Thule, Greenland. The nuclei were observed at about 10,000×magnification with an electron microscope. The procedures and results were: 1) Natural snow crystals which developed a cloud at the temperatures between −5 and −20C were collected on the microscope grids. Almost all of the nuclei of 356 snow crystals were found to be in the center. Only 3.7 per cent had no observable nuclei at the center. 2) Ice crystals were made by dry-ice seeding of a supercooled fog in a cold chamber. Of the 104 crystals so produced and collected, 10 per cent had observable nuclei of 0.1μ diameter order and 90 per cent had no observable nuclei. 3) A low-level supercooled stratus over the ice cap was seeded with dry ice. Of the resultant 11 snow crystals collected, 5 crystals had observable nuclei while 6 crystals had no obse...
Chicken Little, Three Blind Men and an Elephant, and “Racial Profiling”: A Commentary on the Collection, Analysis, and Interpretation of Traffic Stop Data

This paper discusses the collection, analysis, and interpretation of police traffic stop data. The focus primarily is on the theoretical, statistical, and practical determination of whether law enforcement is engaging in racial profiling. One of the most controversial components of research in this area relates to the baseline or comparison group. Researchers struggle with determining whether agencies are engaging in racial profiling when making traffic stops without some measure of what the world would look like in the absence of ''racial profiling.'' We know what is, but how can we know what should be? A model is proposed that delineates between populations and subpopulations of drivers. In addition, arguments are presented that current proxy measures are inadequate as ''baselines, and that a careful determination of the appropriate population for comparison is essential in reaching any conclusions about the profiling practices of any department. Further, it is argued that data from a population of stops within any agency become the baseline for comparison through the use of multivariate (CHAID) analysis, and through comparisons to future data collected by that agency.
Secure it now or secure it later: the benefits of addressing cyber-security from the outset

ABSTRACT The majority of funding for research and development (R&D) in cyber-security is focused on the end of the software lifecycle where systems have been deployed or are nearing deployment. Recruiting of cyber-security personnel is similarly focused on end-of-life expertise. By emphasizing cyber-security at these late stages, security problems are found and corrected when it is most expensive to do so, thus increasing the cost of owning and operating complex software systems. Worse, expenditures on expensive security measures often mean less money for innovative developments. These unwanted increases in cost and potential slowing of innovation are unavoidable consequences of an approach to security that finds and remediate faults after software has been implemented. We argue that software security can be improved and the total cost of a software system can be substantially reduced by an appropriate allocation of resources to the early stages of a software project. By adopting a similar allocation of R&D funds to the early stages of the software lifecycle, we propose that the costs of cyber-security can be better controlled and, consequently, the positive effects of this R&D on industry will be much more pronounced. Keywords: Cyber-security, cyber-attack, softwa re lifecycle, software total cost
The Spatial Motion of a Compliantly Suspended Rigid Body Constrained by Multi-Point Frictional Contact

This paper addresses methods for determining the motion of an elastically suspended rigid body interacting with frictional surfaces at multiple locations. The methods developed assume: 1) that the motion of the base from which the body is suspended and the elastic behavior of the suspension are known, 2) that inertial forces are negligible (motion is quasi-static), and 3) that the interaction is characterized by Coulomb friction. The derived coupled sets of spatial rigid body equations are used to determine both the unknown direction of the friction force (at each point of contact) and the unknown motion of the rigid body.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Multi-Gate pHEMT Modeling for Switch Applications

Multi-gate pHEMTs are extensively used in pHEMT switch circuits for wireless communication applications due to their size advantage. The intuitive modeling approach which considers a multiple-gate pHEMT to be a stack of single-gate FETs is far from adequate. Crucial factors in multi-gate pHEMT modeling include accurate leakage, CV below pinch-off, surface traps effects, and distribution features for large size switch FETs. In this paper we will address certain techniques to model both intrinsic FETs and extrinsic parasitic components. Our multi-gate pHEMT model was verified by comparisons of a variety of performances between modeled and measured data, including leakages, floating voltages, and CV curves on device level. In a switch application, comparisons of harmonics as a function of frequency at high driving power for both GSM and DCS bands show excellent agreement between model prediction and measured data as well.
Neurotransmitters can say more than just ‘yes’ or ‘no’

Abstract Traditionally, ion channels in nerve cell membranes have been classified into two types: (1) those opened by the action of neurotransmitters on receptor molecules to cause excitation or inhibition and (2) those opened by changes in membrane voltage. Recently, it has become increasingly clear that ion channels that are controlled by membrane voltage can also be affected by neurotransmitters. Even when the action of the neurotransmitter has little effect on the resting excitability of the neuron, it can profoundly alter its function. For instance, when this modulation occurs on the cell body, the firing pattern of the cell can be drastically changed; when voltage-sensitive ion channels in the presynaptic terminal are the target, the amount of transmitter released by an action potential can be modified. Since neuronal membranes are endowed with a variety of different voltage-sensitive channels which can be influenced by neurotransmitters, it is apparent that neurotransmitters, instead of just being excitatory or inhibitory, actually possess a much more sophisticated vocabulary.
Fetal and neonatal responses to extended maternal canine starvation. II. Fetal and neonatal liver metabolism.

Fetal and Neonatal Responses to Extended Maternal Canine Starvation. II. Fetal and Neonatal Liver Metabolism
Interruption of response ofDendroctonus brevicomis to attractive pheromone by release of pheromone at several rates and spacings.

The number of western pine beetles,Dendroctonus brevicomis, trapped at the center of three 90 × 90-m plots was reduced during a 16-hr period after surrounding an attractive source ofexo-brevicomin, frontalin, and myrcene with 16, 48, or 168 sources of the same attractant. Compounds were released from the center of the plot at 1 mg/16 hr/compound, and from the surrounding sources at 4–280 mg/16 hr/compound. About half of these amounts was released between 1530 hr and 1930 hr, the period of peak beetle flight. No treatment differences were apparent in reduction of catch within the range of release rates and spacings tested. When compounds were released continuously from 168 stations for 17 days, catch at the center of a plot was generally lower than catch before or after this period, but fluctuated daily. More beetles were caught on traps hung on ponderosa pines within a plot and the number of these traps catching beetles was greater when compounds were released from all stations than from only the center station. Beetles caught on traps were attracted into the plots from the surrounding forest, but appeared to be dispersed within the plot when compounds were released from many stations.D. brevicomis attacked at least 91 trees in the plots, of which 25 were killed during two summers.
Curing reaction and product properties of polysulfones terminated with active functional groups

The curing processes of maleimide-terminated polyether sulfone oligomers (Mn from 1100 to 3000) and ethynyl-terminated polysulfone prepolymers (Mn from 2600 to 12000) were investigated by means of DSC. The initial temperature of cure reaction is increased, and the apparent activation energy Ea of cure reaction is decreased as the Mn of the uncured prepolymer increases. On the basis of the Tg changes during the curing process, the kinetics of cure is proposed to be similar to a stepwise reaction, although the curing reaction is believed to proceed via a free radical chain mechanism. In this proposed reaction some initial reaction products with many branches and one remaining active functional group are formed first. The more these products occur, the more likely they can interreact to form a network. During the curing process the mobility of the active end group is restricted by the rigid polysulfone chain. Therefore, the reaction is mainly controlled by the movement of polymer, i.e., by the kinetics of diffusion. Films of these cured polymers were made by casting from solution. Their β relaxation peaks at low temperatures were examined by dielectric and dynamic mechanical measurements. The films made of the prepolymer with Mn > 3000 are flexible and foldable.
High-dose chemotherapy in breast cancer

High-dose chemotherapy is based on the scientific hypothesis that escalating the dose of drug will overcome drug resistance and improve outcome. Autologous bone marrow transplantation and, more recently, peripheral stem cell transplantation used as a means to restore marrow, made this a viable treatment for patients with selected tumours such as haematological malignancies. The role in breast cancer is less certain. Given the known as well as the potential toxicities, the objective of high-dose chemotherapy should be cure as opposed to palliation. However, the natural history of breast cancer can be protracted, with relapses occurring 15–20 years after treatment or within months of curative surgery. In breast cancer there is a positive correlation between recurrence-free and long-term survival. Therefore, the recurrence-free survival can be considered a surrogate endpoint in clinical trials. In patients with metastatic disease where cure is rare, at best, duration of a disease-free state may be a surrogate for overall benefit. Alternatively, time to progression may be another endpoint in the evaluation of treatment for metastatic disease. This is based on the assumption that quality of life is enhanced without progression of disease. Toxicity is the significant issue in the use of high-dose chemotherapy. The most common toxicity is myeloablation, potentially requiring prolonged hospitalisation. The only justification for these toxicities would be evidence of significant and meaningful benefit. A clinically relevant benefit with high-dose chemotherapy has not been seen in major randomised clinical trials of breast cancer in both the adjuvant and metastatic setting. In patients with advanced breast cancer, a small percentage may achieve long-term, disease-free survival, although there is no improvement in overall survival. Nonetheless, some investigators believe that high-dose chemotherapy holds promise, although currently this treatment is not recommended outside of a well designed prospective trial. These studies have provided useful information regarding cancer treatment. However, ongoing study of drug administration intervals, that is, dose-dense therapies, may lead to an approach that allows superior and less toxic treatment for breast cancer.
Stress relaxation behavior of EPDM seals in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell environment

Abstract Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is a promising power source. Sealing around the perimeter of the cell is required to prevent the gases/liquids inside the cell from leaking. Polymers are usually used as the seal or gasket materials. The viscoelastic property of polymers can induce stress relaxation of the seal under constant strain. The stress relaxation behavior of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber, a potential candidate seal in PEMFC, is studied in this paper. The effect of temperature, applied strain, and environmental exposure on stress relaxation behavior of EPDM is investigated. Using time–temperature superposition, master curves are constructed to estimate the service life of this material used as seals in PEMFC.
Response of benthic macroinvertebrate communities to highway construction in an Appalachian watershed

Highway construction in mountainous areas can result in sedimentation of streams, negatively impacting stream habitat, water quality, and biotic communities. We assessed the impacts of construction of a segment of Corridor H, a four-lane highway, in the Lost River watershed, West Virginia, by monitoring benthic macroinvertebrate communities and water quality, before, during, and after highway construction and prior to highway use at upstream and downstream sites from 1997 through 2007. Data analysis of temporal impacts of highway construction followed a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) study design. Highway construction impacts included an increase in stream sedimentation during the construction phase. This was indicated by an increase in turbidity and total suspended solids. Benthic macroinvertebrate metrics indicated a community more tolerant during and after construction than in the period before construction. The percent of Chironomidae and the Hilsenhoff Biotic Index (HBI) increased, while percent of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) decreased. Our 10-year study addressed short-term impacts of highway construction and found that impacts were relatively minimal. A recovery of the number of EPT taxa collected after construction indicated that the benthic macroinvertebrate community may be recovering from impacts of highway construction. However, this study only addressed a period of 3 years before, 3 years during, and 4 years post construction. Inferences cannot be made concerning the long-term impacts of the highway, highway traffic, runoff, and other factors associated with highway use. Continual monitoring of the watershed is necessary to determine if the highway has a continual impact on stream habitat, water quality, and biotic integrity.
Ras p21 farnesylation in ultraviolet B radiation - induced tumors in the skin of SKH-1 hairless mice

Cutaneous exposure to solar ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation is well recognized as the major cause of skin cancer in humans; however, the precise molecular mechanisms whereby UVB mediates carcinogenesis remains unclear. The involvement of activated ras oncogenes has been demonstrated extensively in both animal and human skin cancers. Activated ras onco- genes encode mutated ras p21 that exist in the guanosine triphosphate-bound active state and, following localization to the inner side of the plasma membrane, cause cellular transformation. This membrane association requires three post-translational modifications occurring at the C-terminus of the ras p21. The farnesylation of p21 by a cytosolic enzyme known as farnesyltransferase (FTase) is the critical step that triggers biologic functions of the ras p21. In this study, FTase activity was found to be substantially higher (approximately threefold) in UVB radiation-induced tumors in SKH-1 hairless mice compared to epidermis from controls. Western blot analysis showed significantly higher levels of Ha-ras p21 in both cytosolic and membrane fractions prepared from tumors compared to epidermis. Pan ras antibody against mutated p21 at codon 12 showed very strong reactivity for ras val-12 p21 in tumors but not in normal epidermis, suggesting a gly to val substitution at 12th position in ras p21 in UVB- induced tumors. Our data indicate that enhanced FTase activity and the processing of overexpressed p21 in UVB- induced tumors are correlated, and predict the role of point mutation at the 12th codon of the ras oncogene during photocarcinogenesis in mice.
Effects of Drying on Sunflower Seed Oil Quality and Germination

Sunflower seed (SunGro 380) were harvested 101 to 121 days after planting, and their moisture levels were between 43 and 15%. The seed were dried at 35, 53, 72, and 88 C to a final moisture level of 10% or below. Drying air flow was 2000 m3/hr./m3 seed. Temperature had no effect on peroxide values, total oil, or fatty acid composition. Free fatty acids increased as initial moisture decreased. For a given drying temperature, germination increased with decreasing initial moisture, and for a given initial moisture, germination increased with decreasing drying temperature. This study indicates that a drying temperature greater than 53 C should not be used if seed viability is to be maintained.
Ni cluster chemistry on Al2O3—A vibrational eels study using chemisorbed CO on a model catalyst: Ni/Al2O3/Al(111)

The interaction of CO molecules with a model catalyst, Ni/Al 2 O 3 /Al(111), has been investigated using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) in the temperature range of 200–600K. The model supported Ni catalyst is produced by Ni evaporation onto a thin Al 2 O 3 film supported on an Al(111) surface. The effect of the Al 2 O 3 /Al(111) substrate on the adsorption of CO on Ni clusters and the effect of the Ni particle size on the CO binding sites are discussed. The thermally induced desorption and decomposition of the adsorbed CO layer on Ni/Al 2 O 3 /Al(111) have also been investigated. The EELS technique is shown to be very powerful in this type of study, since its wide vibrational frequency range allows one to simultaneously study the interaction of the Ni particles with the Al 2 O 3 /Al(111) substrate and the adsorption of CO molecules on the supported Ni particles.
Coping capacities and rural livelihoods: Challenges to community risk management in Southern Sri Lanka

Abstract It is widely acknowledged that the impacts of environmental perturbations are partly due to the socio-economic condition of populations at risk. This was evident in the immediate aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami where the poor socio-economic status of fisher communities along the southern and eastern coasts of Sri Lanka presented greater challenges for people to cope with and recover from the event. The purpose of this study is to develop a coping capacity index that takes into account social, economic, and demographic characteristics of populations in three districts in Sri Lanka. The coping capacity index is derived from a regression model, where a causal link is established between poverty, the dependent variable, and a combination of predictor variables associated with income, assets, education, gender, and ethnicity. These variables characterize the root causes of poverty and vulnerability among rural populations that influence the way in which they deal with and recover from changes in the environment. The findings of the research reveal a wide range of heterogeneity across the study area in how social, economic, and demographic factors influence coping capacities. In some areas, similar variables contribute toward improving coping capacities, and in others they undermine them. Spatial variations in the combination of variables that contribute to coping capacity were observed across districts and District Secretary’s divisions, the subdivision of a district. Temporal differences were also observed in the way in which variables contribute to coping capacity in light of policies and programs implemented between the two time periods analyzed, 2001/2002 and 2006/2007. These temporal and spatial variations highlight the importance of context, and the impact of development policies and reconstruction programs when assessing the vulnerability of people in a given location.
Concentration of metals in blood of Maine children 1–6 years old

Blood lead concentrations are higher in young children than in other age groups, whereas little is known regarding concentrations of other metals in young children. We measured the concentrations of a suite of metals in the blood of children 1–6 years of age, and assessed potential differences by age, season, or region of Maine. We used blood submitted to the Maine State Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory for blood lead analysis to determine the concentrations of arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), selenium (Se), tin (Sn), and uranium (U) in 1350 children 1–6 years of age. The essential metals Mn and Se were detected in all samples, and As and Sb were detected in >90% of samples. Hg was detected in approximately 60% of samples. U and Cd were less often detected in blood samples, at approximately 30% and 10% of samples, respectively. Sn was not detected in any sample. Concentrations of As, Hg, and Se increased with age, whereas Sb decreased with age. Concentrations also varied by season and region for some though not all metals. Significant pairwise correlations were observed for a number of metals. Blood is a reasonable compartment for measurement of most of these metals in young children. The use of convenience samples provided a cost-effective mechanism for assessing exposure of young children in Maine.
Improved detection limits for a time-of-flight mass spectrometer with a surface ionization source

Abstract A time-of-flight mass spectrometer was modified for use with a surface ionization (SI) source. Several pulsing methods and two source configurations were tested to optimize performance. The SI emitter was an Re ribbon perpendicular to and on-axis with the ion flight trajectories and an Re wire was positioned parallel to and 2 mm above the surface. A pulsing sequence was applied to the ion source plates that reversed the accelerating field after a time delay of 300 ns, producing a well-defined pulse of ions of relatively high signal-to-noise ratio. Application of a pulsed negative potential to the wire was believed to confine the ions and improve sensitivity threefold without any loss in resolution. The wire was also used as an SI emitter when the ribbon was heated to desorb organic compounds. The factors limiting the FWHM resolution to 100, less than half of that obtained with electron ionization, are discussed and calculated for this design. Both the thermal velocity distribution of the ions and irregularities in the spacing of the accelerating grids contributed to the loss of resolution.
A Hinge Migration Mechanism Unlocks the Evolution of Green-to-Red Photoconversion in GFP-like Proteins

In proteins, functional divergence involves mutations that modify structure and dynamics. Here we provide experimental evidence for an evolutionary mechanism driven solely by long-range dynamic motions without significant backbone adjustments, catalytic group rearrangements, or changes in subunit assembly. Crystallographic structures were determined for several reconstructed ancestral proteins belonging to a GFP class frequently employed in superresolution microscopy. Their chain flexibility was analyzed using molecular dynamics and perturbation response scanning. The green-to-red photoconvertible phenotype appears to have arisen from a common green ancestor by migration of a knob-like anchoring region away from the active site diagonally across the β barrel fold. The allosterically coupled mutational sites provide active site conformational mobility via epistasis. We propose that light-induced chromophore twisting is enhanced in a reverse-protonated subpopulation, activating internal acid-base chemistry and backbone cleavage to enlarge the chromophore. Dynamics-driven hinge migration may represent a more general platform for the evolution of novel enzyme activities.
Noise performance limits of advanced x-ray imagers employing poly-Si-based active pixel architectures

A decade after the clinical introduction of active matrix, flat-panel imagers (AMFPIs), the performance of this technology continues to be limited by the relatively large additive electronic noise of these systems - resulting in significant loss of detective quantum efficiency (DQE) under conditions of low exposure or high spatial frequencies. An increasingly promising approach for overcoming such limitations involves the incorporation of in-pixel amplification circuits, referred to as active pixel architectures (AP) - based on low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs). In this study, a methodology for theoretically examining the limiting noise and DQE performance of circuits employing 1-stage in-pixel amplification is presented. This methodology involves sophisticated SPICE circuit simulations along with cascaded systems modeling. In these simulations, a device model based on the RPI poly-Si TFT model is used with additional controlled current sources corresponding to thermal and flicker (1/f) noise. From measurements of transfer and output characteristics (as well as current noise densities) performed upon individual, representative, poly-Si TFTs test devices, model parameters suitable for these simulations are extracted. The input stimuli and operating-point-dependent scaling of the current sources are derived from the measured current noise densities (for flicker noise), or from fundamental equations (for thermal noise). Noise parameters obtained from the simulations, along with other parametric information, is input to a cascaded systems model of an AP imager design to provide estimates of DQE performance. In this paper, this method of combining circuit simulations and cascaded systems analysis to predict the lower limits on additive noise (and upper limits on DQE) for large area AP imagers with signal levels representative of those generated at fluoroscopic exposures is described, and initial results are reported.
A world model of soil carbon dioxide

Mean growing season soil PCO2 data were obtained for 19 regions of the world in nine countries. Bivariate and multiple linear regression analysis with soil log(PCO2) as the dependent variable and TEMP, PRECIP, log(AET), and log(PET) as the four climatic independent variables demonstrated that AET was the best independent predictor of soil PCO2. An improved soil PCO2-AET model was developed by assuming (1) that as AET approaches zero, soil PCO2 approaches the atmospheric value and (2) that there is an upper limit to soil PCO2 at very high AET. This model has the form log(PCO2) = −3·47 + 2·09 (1 −e−0·0172 AET) where AET is in mm. It explains 67 per cent of the initial variation in the soil PCO2 data, predicts a soil log(PCO2) of − 3·47 at AET = 0, and an upper limit of 3·5 per cent (log(PCO2) = − 1·45) for mean growing season soil PCO2 at AET values of 2000 mm and above. The results of this study suggest that soil PCO2 levels in tropical areas are, on average, higher than those in temperate, alpine, and arctic regions.
Triboelectric Nanogenerators as New Energy Technology for Self-Powered Systems and as Active Mechanical and Chemical Sensors

Triboelectrification is an effect that is known to each and every one probably since ancient Greek time, but it is usually taken as a negative effect and is avoided in many technologies. We have recently invented a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that is used to convert mechanical energy into electricity by a conjunction of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction. As for this power generation unit, in the inner circuit, a potential is created by the triboelectric effect due to the charge transfer between two thin organic/inorganic films that exhibit opposite tribo-polarity; in the outer circuit, electrons are driven to flow between two electrodes attached on the back sides of the films in order to balance the potential. Since the most useful materials for TENG are organic, it is also named organic nanogenerator, which is the first using organic materials for harvesting mechanical energy. In this paper, we review the fundamentals of the TENG in the three basic operation modes: vertical contact-...
A Bayesian approach to problems in stochastic estimation and control

In this paper, a general class of stochastic estimation and control problems is formulated from the Bayesian Decision-Theoretic viewpoint. A discussion as to how these problems can be solved step by step in principle and practice from this approach is presented. As a specific example, the closed form Wiener-Kalman solution for linear estimation in Gaussian noise is derived. The purpose of the paper is to show that the Bayesian approach provides; 1) a general unifying framework within which to pursue further researches in stochastic estimation and control problems, and 2) the necessary computations and difficulties that must be overcome for these problems. An example of a nonlinear, non-Gaussian estimation problem is also solved.
Cephas, Yogyakarta: Photography in the Service of the Sultan

During the nineteenth century the art of photography in the Netherlands Indies, now Indonesia, was mainly in European hands. Gradually, members of other ethnic groups moved into the field. Among indigenous ethnic groups, the pioneer was the Javanese Kassian Cephas (1845-1912). From the early 1870s Kassian Cephas was photographer to the court of the Sultans of Yogyakarta. As such he was responsible for many portraits of the royal family, in particular during the reign of Sultan Hamengkubuwana VII. Besides portraits of the royal family, Kassian Cephas documented theatrical performances and ceremonies at court. Apart from a biography of Kassian Cephas and his son and successor Sem Cephas (1870-1918), this book offers a selection of 98 pictures of the exquisite work of these photographers, drawn mainly from the photographic collection of the Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (KITLV). This selection introduces the reader to a world of royal dignity, gracious dancers, shadowy town views, impressive temple ruins and the mysterious Indian Ocean coast.
General cases of the pseudoquadrupole interaction in169Tm

Clauser and Mossbauer [1] showed that the second order (in perturbation theory) magnetic hyperfine interaction, the so called “pseudoquadrupole inter-action”, in the169Tm Mossbauer effect can produce apparent isomer shifts. While they assumed two isolated singlets and simplified the coupling, we will show that the second order magnetic hyperfine coupling can be observed in general for any kind of crystalline electric field (CEF) wavefunctions, and that the coupling between many states must often be considered in calculating it. Furthermore since the first order magnetic coupling of the excited CEF states is important, the interaction is best accounted for by diagonalization of the full magnetic hyperfine and CEF Hamiltonian. Examples of the effects that may occur are presented.
Innervation and control of tension in abdominal muscles of Blaberus discoidalis and Gromphadorhina portentosa

Abstract In Blaberus discoidalis and Gromphadorhina portentosa , the distribution of motor axons to the muscles which control movements of the spiracular valves at both respiratory and non-respiratory spiracles is identical. Both fast and slowly contracting heads of the opener muscles are innervated by an excitatory motor axon. Physiological properties of the opener excitor axon correlate with valve function. The slowly contracting head of the opener muscle is, in addition, innervated by a common inhibitor which also occasionally innervates closer muscle fibers. Activation of the common inhibitor terminates contraction of slowly contracting opener muscle fibres and initiates a rapid relaxation of these fibres.
Two patterns of differentiation in the jaw musculature of teleostean fishes

In its most generalized configuration among modern teleosts the M. adductor mandibulae comprises a single, almost continuous mass of musculature extending from the cheek to the inner surface of the mandible. In more advanced teleosts this muscle is usually divided into sections. Two basically different pathways of differentiation in the cheek part of the adductor mandibulae are dealt with here. One is that in the ostariophysine fishes. The other is represented in at least the great majority of acanthopterygians. Only certain of the differentiated sections are homologous in these two large groups of fishes.
Hobbes and the Irrationality of Politics

IT IS COMMONLY UNDERSTOOD that concern with civil war dominates Hobbes's political theory. A few years before the Restoration, he said: "all such calamities as may be avoided by human industry, arise from war, but chiefly from civil war."' His work is held together by the effort to understand the causes of civil war and to offer proposals for its long-term prevention. In Leviathani, his one political work written in the midst of civil war, Hobbes also hints at the most expeditious way of ending it; namely, to accept the conqueror as the new ruler and to do so without scrupulous legitimist worries over the dispossessed (and executed) ruler or his heir. Naturally, no political theorist is indifferent to civil war (or to the intense turbulence that may precede and augur it). Indeed, no rational person can be indifferent to it. But Hobbes is surely unsurpassed, perhaps unequalled, in his concern with it. Even people in Hobbes's situation, or in comparable ones, seem less agitated by it as a brute fact, less affronted by its mere occurrence. For Hobbes, civil war is always senseless. If he thinks that much of political, as distinct from administrative, activity is irrational, he finds in civil war the perfection of such irrationality: political passions, themselves intrinsically verging toward madness, going over the line and into wasteful darkness. The question is why his concern with civil war is as all-absorbing as it is. We must immediately add, however, that he confronts the prospect of perpetual tension and war among nations with an almost perfect equanimity.2 I do not think that the emphasis in the above quotation is on the greater chance of avoiding civil war in comparison to international war, but simply on the greater horror of civil war. If his immediate experience teaches him that it is "chiefly" civil war rather than international war that causes avoidable calam-
Flow effects on the kinetics of a second-order reaction

Flow effects on the kinetics of an isothermal, equimolar, second-order reaction taking place in a channel were investigated using a Lagrangian numerical method. The reactants were released instantaneously from the two opposite walls of the channel into fully developed turbulent or laminar flow. The overall conversion, the residence time and reactor length required to achieve 80% conversion, and the effective reaction rate coefficient were calculated. A correlation of the efficiency ratio, defined as the effective rate coefficient divided by the reaction rate constant, with the flow parameters was found.
Comparison of Substance Use Typologies as Predictors of Sexual Risk Outcomes in African American Adolescent Females.

African American female adolescents have a disproportionate risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other adverse sexual health outcomes. Both alcohol and marijuana use have been shown to predict sexual risk among young African American women. However, no studies have attempted to differentiate alcohol and marijuana typologies use as predictors of sexual risk outcomes exclusively among adolescents who use these substances. This study compared recent alcohol and/or marijuana use as predictors of sexual risk outcomes over 18 months among 182 African American female adolescents. African American females (14–20 years) completed interviews at baseline, 6-, 12-, and 18-months. At each assessment, pregnancy testing was conducted and self-collected vaginal swab specimens were assayed for Trichomonas vaginalis, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae using DNA amplification. Logistic subject-specific random-intercept models compared sexual risk outcomes during follow-up among adolescents who reported recent use of alcohol only (AO), marijuana only (MO) or both substances (A + M) at the baseline assessment. Relative to baseline AO use, baseline MO use predicted condom non-use at last sex. Relative to AO use, A + M use predicted pregnancy. Relative to MO use, A + M use predicted pregnancy and acquisition of T. vaginalis and any STI. The results suggest that African American female adolescents who use A + M may represent a priority population for STI, HIV, and pregnancy prevention efforts.
Comparing species and ecosystem-based estimates of fisheries yields

Abstract Three methods are described to estimate potential yields of commercial fish species: (i) single-species calculation of maximum sustainable yields, and two ecosystem-based methods derived from published results for (ii) energy flow and for (iii) community structure. The requirements imposed by food-web fluxes, and by patterns of relative abundance, provide constraints on individual species. These constraints are used to set limits to ecosystem-based yields (EBY); these limits, in turn, provide a comparison with the usual estimates of maximum sustainable yields (MSY). We use data on cod and haddock production from Georges Bank for the decade 1993–2002 to demonstrate these methods. We show that comparisons among the three approaches can be used to demonstrate that ecosystem based estimates of yields complement, rather than supersede, the single-species estimates. The former specify the significant changes required in the rest of the ecosystem to achieve a return to maximum sustainable levels for severely depleted commercial fish stocks. The overall conclusion is that MSY defines changes required in particular stocks, whereas EBY determines the changes required in the rest of the ecosystem to realize these yields. Species specific MSY only has meaning in the context of the prey, predators and competitors that surround it.
Opening a larger window onto forest elephant ecology

African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) can be observed reliably in forest clearings but are difficult to observe directly in their otherwise forested habitat. To obtain data on population demography and activity cycles, conservation programmes commit considerable human and financial resources to observations at clearings. However, individual elephants spend only a tiny proportion of their annual activity budget in a particular clearing, and there may be demographic differences between daytime and nighttime populations. Using acoustic monitoring tools to assess elephant numbers continuously for long time periods at multiple clearings, we show that daytime-only observations are likely to be biased. In this study, (i) 79% of all elephant visitation occurred at night, (ii) sometimes large changes in nocturnal elephant numbers occurred without proportional changes in daytime elephant numbers, and (iii) there were indications that a different demographic of the population visits clearings at night compared with the day. These results suggest that acoustic monitoring should be incorporated into forest elephant monitoring programmes to augment direct observation and that more study is needed to explicitly identify any biases inherent in daytime-only observation. Resume On peut regulierement observer des elephants de foret africains (Loxodonta cyclotis) dans des clairieres, mais il est difficile de les voir directement dans la partie boisee de leur habitat forestier. Pour obtenir des donnees sur la demographie de leur population et sur leurs cycles d'activites, des programmes de conservation ont engage des ressources humaines et financieres considerables dans les observations dans les clairieres. Cependant, chaque elephant ne passe qu'une infime partie de son temps d'activite annuel dans une clairiere donnee et il peut y avoir des differences demographiques considerables entre les populations visibles de nuit et de jour. En employant des instruments de suivi acoustiques pour evaluer en continu le nombre d’elephants dans de multiples clairieres et sur de longues periodes, nous avons pu montrer que les observations de jour, employees seules, sont susceptibles d’etre biaisees. Dans cette etude, (i) 79% des visites d’elephants se passent pendant la nuit, (ii) il y a parfois de grands changements du nombre d’elephants de passage la nuit sans que le nombre d’elephants visibles de jour soit modifie, et (iii) il y avait des indices montrant qu'une demographie differente de la population visite les clairieres de jour et de nuit. Ces resultats suggerent qu'il faudrait integrer un suivi acoustique dans les programmes de suivi des elephants de foret pour augmenter les observations directes, et qu'il faut de nouvelles etudes pour identifier explicitement tous les biais inherents au fait de ne faire des observations que de jour.
Doppler echocardiographic findings in rheumatic tricuspid stenosis

Abstract With the use of 2-dimensional (2-D) echocardiographic criteria, rheumatic tricuspid stenosis (TS) can be detected with reasonable accuracy.1,2 With the advent of Doppler echocardiography, disturbed flow across stenotic and regurgitant cardiac valves can be identified. Doppler echocardiographic findings in rheumatic TS have been reported in small numbers of patients.3,4 We describe 13 patients with rheumatic TS who had clear-cut quantitative and qualitative Doppler characteristics distinct from normal subjects and from patients with pure (nonrheumatic) tricuspid regurgitation.
A service location problem with QoS constraints

In this paper, we present and discuss a novel service location problem that satisfies user demand for services, by installing services on nodes in the network, which can also meet quality of service (QoS) constraints of throughput and delay defined by the user. Service location problems can arise in various different networks, we specifically consider service location in Cisco's Application Oriented Networks (AON). Our goal is to formulate and present the service location problem as an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) problem and solve it optimally for networks with small number of nodes. Our ILP and results meet "real-world" demands of traffic splitting (due to link layer capacity) and service federation (to incur minimal service installation cost). This will enable service providers to offer services in a cost-effective manner while meeting consumer's demand for quality of service for throughput and delay.