cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the market effects of queueing energy requests as an alternative to storing electricity

In the near future, our society will face an inevitable transition from consuming fossil fuels to renewable resources like wind and solar energy. It is mainly envisioned that this shift can happen through a widespread deployment of energy storage devices, clean generation reserves, or by making the demand for electricity more price elastic than what is practiced in the current operational framework. Measures that are employed to make the demand become more elastic are referred to as Demand Response and Demand Side Management. This paper assesses the benefits of adding large reservoirs of schedulable demand on the electricity market and how this can 1) help reduce peak demand; 2) reduce wholesale electricity prices; and 3) enable wide-scale integration of renewables into the electricity generation pool. This demand modification is achieved through buffering energy requests from certain controllable appliances participating in a voluntary Demand Side Management program offered by a utility/aggregator, which we call Digital Direct Load Scheduling. Here, we will mainly focus on proposing a framework through which these reservoirs can be integrated into the wholesale electricity market.
Splicing and evolution of an unusually small group I intron.

Introns are common in the rRNA gene loci of fungal genomes, but biochemical studies to investigate splicing are rare. Here, self-splicing of a very small (67 nucleotide) group I intron is demonstrated. The PaSSU intron (located within the rRNA small subunit gene of Phialophora americana) splices in vitro under group I intron conditions. Most group I ribozymes contain pairing regions P1–P10, with a conserved G·U pair at the 5′ splice site, and a G at the 3′ intron border. The PaSSU intron contains only P1, P7, and P10. While it contains the G·U pair at the 5′ splice, a U is found at the 3′ end of the intron instead of a G. Phylogenetic analysis places it within subgroup IC1, whose members are found in the nuclear rRNA genes of fungi. The structural elements are similar to those in the centermost regions of other group I introns. Its size can be explained by a single large deletion that removed P2 through much of P9. Part of the original P9 region has assumed the function of P7. Its small size and genealogy makes it an excellent model to study RNA catalysis and evolution.
Ballistic-electron-emission microscopy of subsurface defects at the Au-GaAs(100) interface

The application of ballistic-electron-emission microscopy (BEEM) to a study of the influence of GaAs(100) substrate conditions on the formation of a multidefect structure at the Au-GaAs(100) Schottky barrier interface is described. Interfaces prepared on both melt-grown GaAs(100) wafer substrates and MBF-deposited GaAs(100) buffer layers are considered. As a comparison to the study of Au-GaAs(100) interfaces, BEEM imaging is performed on Au-Si(100) interfaces. It is noted that Au-GaAs(100) interface formation is relatively insensitive to the effects of substrate surface condition and substrate bulk defect density, and that the combination of BEEM imaging and BEEM spectroscopy indicates that the heterogeneous interface defects are the result of diffusion between the Schottky barrier electrodes.
Putative domal microbial structures in fluvial siliciclastic facies of the Mesoproterozoic (1.09 Ga) Copper Harbor Conglomerate, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA.

The Copper Harbor Conglomerate is a Mesoproterozoic (1.09 Ga) freshwater sedimentary sequence that outcrops in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The formation was deposited during infilling of the failed Midcontinent Rift and contains fluvial, lacustrine, and alluvial fan facies. This study describes and analyzes the formation of small domal structures preserved in fluvial sandstone facies within the lower portion of the formation. These domal structures range from millimeters to several centimeters in diameter and height, and are preserved in convex epirelief on fine-grained sandstone beds. The structures have a pustulose texture and a patchy distribution on bedding planes. Slabs containing the structures were collected in the field and analyzed in the laboratory through inspection of cut slabs, petrographic thin sections, X-radiographs, and RAMAN spectroscopy. Results of these analyses reveal that the domal structures often contain weak, wavy horizontal bedding and laminae, and lack any vertical structures. These results support a biogenic origin of the domal structures instead of through abiogenic processes such as loading, sand volcanoes, or adhesion warts. These structures are akin to what were traditionally labeled as ‘sand stromatolites’, but are now known as ‘domal sand structures’. Along with previous descriptions of carbonate stromatolites, organic-rich paleosols, and microbial sand structures, our findings provide further evidence that mat-forming microbial communities thrived in the late Mesoproterozoic freshwater systems of the Midcontinent Rift.
Imitating Jesus: reading the Eternal Word

For the six years I was at Hartford Seminary (which is one-third Muslim), I had the enjoyable challenge of teaching Christian doctrine to Muslims. I have lost count of the number of conversations I have with Muslims who invite me to compare the Bible and the Qur'an and admit that the Qur'an looks much more like the Word of God than the Bible. In every case, I would push back and insist that they are not comparing like with like. For Christians, the primary Word of God is the Eternal Word – the Word made flesh in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. In fact, I would explain the right way to compare the Qur'an is not with the Bible but with the Eternal Word made flesh. The incarnation is the Christian equivalent of the Qur'an. And perhaps it is better to see the Bible as closer to the Hadith. At this point, the same question is asked: ‘but how is it possible to read a life?’
Full Employment as a Goal of Public Policy

THE THEORY of income determination generally accepted today shows that, left to itself, the American economy may display significant fluctuations in income, output, and employment. The theory suggests to many that public policy should have as a goal the attainment and the sustaining of high levels of these aggregates, which we may generalize by the term full employment. Even if accepted, the goal needs more precise definition. We may define full employment as the absence of involuntary unemployment, excluding acceptable frictional unemployment. On the one hand, purely voluntary unemployment is thus dismissed as of no proper concern to anyone other than the unemployed individuals, apart from times of national emergency such as war. On the other hand, the definition implies that some amount of frictional unemployment will probably have to be accepted. One may ask: Why tolerate any involuntary unemployment, frictional or otherwise? Cannot the American economy guarantee a job to everyone at all times who is willing and able to work? The answer is that we probably could do so, but at a price we might find rather high. As employment reaches a saturation point, inflationary pressures are likely to mount sharply. Less efficient types of labor (in terms of work to be done) and poorer grades of materials are likely to be all that are left for many firms, with the result that marginal variable costs tend to rise even where price and wage controls may be in effect. There may also be problems of plant capacity: new installations, to break bottlenecks, may require temporarily even more serious shortages of finished consumer goods to free resources for plant construction. If there is a publicly acknowledged guarantee of full employment in the literal sense, both labor and industry, in our environment of administered pricing and collective bargaining, may give way to price and wage increases in somewhat undisciplined fashion. No doubt government, by sufficiently increasing aggregate monetary demand, could overwhelm the last bits of involuntary unemployment, in much the same way that river islands may be submerged by enough flood waters hurtling downstream. In so doing, however, it would probably let loose serious inflation, just as the cascade of flood waters might not only submerge the islands but also go over the banks of the river. It may be argued that in such case the inflationary pressures can be at
Opportunistic toenail onychomycosis. The fungal colonization of an available nail unit space by non-dermatophytes is produced by the trauma of the closed shoe by an asymmetric gait or other trauma. A plausible theory

Opportunistic onychomycosis is defined, when a non-dermatophyte mould is cultured from an abnormal nail unit in the absence of a dermatophyte. The presumption is that the mould has caused the abnormal clinical appearance of the nail unit, yet there are no data available to substantiate this claim. Reports have only identified the mould being recovered from the nail unit niche. A review of the published dermatologic literature describing toenail opportunistic onychomycosis by non-dermatophyte fungi has shown toenails with onycholysis, nail bed (NB) keratosis and nail plate surface abnormalities. The appearance of these clinical changes is indistinguishable from the diagnosis of the Asymmetric Gait Nail Unit Signs (AGNUS). AGNUS is produced by the friction of the closed shoe in patients with an asymmetric gait, resulting primarily from the ubiquitous uneven flat feet. Most commonly, species of Acremonium (Cephalosporium), Aspergillus, Fusarium, Scopulariopsis and rarely species of many different fungi genera are capable of surviving and reproducing in a keratinous environment and change the clinical appearance of the involved nail unit. AGNUS toenails predispose to the colonization by the non-dermatophyte opportunistic fungi but not by dermatophyte fungi.
Inverse scattering on half-line

The theory of inverse scattering on half-line has been presented in the literature. We give a new approach to the theory and analyze its logic. In particular we prove that the potential reconstructed from the given scattering data generates the scattering data identical with the original data; that the scattering data obtained from the given potential generate the potential which is identical with the original one; that the normalizing constants can be put in a bijective correspondence to the parameters which define the general solution to the Marchenko equation for x = 0. We give a new characterization of the scattering data. This characterization does not involve assumptions about the number of solutions to some integral equations in contrast with the known one. Applications of the theory are given: necessary and sufficient conditions on the scattering data for q to be compactly supported, or for q to be in L2; existence of a q ϵ C0∞ (0, R) which produces infinitely many purely imaginary resonances, etc.
Consumer vulnerability to scams, swindles, and fraud: A new theory of visceral influences on persuasion

Scams exact a huge toll on consumers and society at large, with annual costs in the United States alone exceeding $100 billion. The global proliferation of the Internet has enabled con artists to export their craft to a rapidly expanding market and reach previously untapped consumers. In spite of the prevalence of scams around the world, there has been virtually no academic attention devoted to understanding the factors that might account for why individuals differ in their scamming vulnerability. Building on the background of elder consumer disadvantage and informed by the authors' own survey of expert opinion, this article presents a tentative theory of scamming vulnerability. The proposed theory incorporates the effects of visceral influences on consumer response to scam offers and hypothesizes a role for various moderating factors such as self-control, gullibility, susceptibility to interpersonal influence, and scam knowledge. Theoretical propositions are provided for future empirical investigation. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Comparison of pS2 and cathepsin D in primary breast carcinomas

Abstract In oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer cell lines the synthesis of pS2 and cathepsin D is oestrogen regulated. Using immunohistochemistry the expression of pS2 and cathepsin D has been determined and compared in 194 primary breast carcinomas. The findings have been related to receptor status and pathological features. There was a significant association between pS2 and oestrogen receptor (p p > 0.01), but no other relationship with receptor status was observed. Overall, pS2 had a closer relationship to oestrogen receptor than cathepsin D.
Evaluation of an Endtidal-EtCO 2 Device for Endotracheal Intubation(ETI) in Preterm and Term Neonates. 1618

Evaluation of an Endtidal-EtCO 2 Device for Endotracheal Intubation(ETI) in Preterm and Term Neonates. 1618
Effects of experience with salty food on salt selection in adrenalectomized rats

Sodium-deficient rats will seek out NaCl in food or solution and regulate their salt need. The question of this study is the extent to which salt-seeking behavior can be modified by long-term exposure to a high NaCl diet. Four female rats were divided into two groups: (1) animals that were fed lab chow with extra NaCl added during breeding, gestation, and until the offspring were weaned, the Experienced group, and (2) animals that ate only plain lab chow until weaning, the Inexperienced group. Food preference was measured in the offspring at age 28–29 and 41–42 days and them about half of each group were adrenalectomized and half sham operated. All animals had access to both plain and NaCl-enriched rood and saline for 10 days postoperatively. The saline solution was removed and intake measured for an additional 8 days. Early experience with the high NaCl diet resulted in greater consumption of the NaCl-enriched food preoperatively and altered the pattern of intake following the removal of the saline solution postoperatively. The results indicate that early exposure to a high salt diet can influence the rats’ later salt-seeking behavior.
In vivo and in vitro velocity measurements in microvasculature with a laser

Abstract A laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) was developed to study flow in individual vessels of the microcirculatory network. The velocimeter measures steady blood flow as well as pulsatile flow. In addition, the method can be used to determine vessel diameter. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments were performed. The measured velocities ranged from 1 to 20 mm/sec in vessels of the rabbit mesentery ranging in diameter from 10 to 100 μm. The data were found to be in good agreement with those obtained by the diode cross-correlation method.
Synergistic effects of fresh frozen plasma and valproic acid treatment in a combined model of traumatic brain injury and hemorrhagic shock.

Introduction Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and hemorrhagic shock (HS) are major causes of trauma-related deaths and are especially lethal as a combined insult. Previously, we showed that early administration of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) decreased the size of the brain lesion and associated swelling in a swine model of combined TBI+HS. We have also shown separately that addition of valproic acid (VPA) to the resuscitation protocol attenuates inflammatory markers in the brain as well as the degree of TBI. The current study was performed to determine whether a combined FFP+VPA treatment strategy would exert a synergistic effect. Methods Yorkshire swine (42–50 kg) were instrumented to measure hemodynamic parameters, intracranial pressure, and brain tissue oxygenation. TBI was created through a 20-mm craniotomy using a computer-controlled cortical impactor: 15-mm cylindrical tip impactor at 4 m/s velocity, 100 ms dwell time, and 12-mm penetration depth. The TBI was synchronized with the initiation of volume-controlled hemorrhage (40 ± 5% of total blood volume). After a 2-hour period of shock, animals were randomized to 1 of 3 resuscitation groups (n = 5 per group): (1) 0.9% saline (NS); (2) FFP; and (3) FFP and VPA 300 mg/kg (FFP+VPA). The resuscitative volume for FFP was equivalent to the shed blood, whereas NS was 3 times this volume. VPA treatment was started 1 hour after hemorrhage. Animals were monitored for 6 hours post-resuscitation. At this time the brains were harvested, sectioned into 5-mm slices, and stained with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride to quantify the lesion size (mm3) and brain swelling (percent change compared with the uninjured side). Results The combined TBI+HS model resulted in a highly reproducible brain injury. Lesion size and brain swelling (mean value ± standard error of the mean) in the FFP+VPA group (1,459 ± 218 mm3 and 13 ± 1%, respectively) were less than the NS group (3,285 ± 131 mm3 [P Conclusion In a large animal model of TBI+HS, early treatment with a combination of FFP and VPA decreases the size of brain lesion and the associated swelling.
Dual-threshold voltage techniques for low-power digital circuits

Scaling and power reduction trends in future technologies will cause subthreshold leakage currents to become an increasingly large component of total power dissipation. This paper presents several dual-threshold voltage techniques for reducing standby power dissipation while still maintaining high performance in static and dynamic combinational logic blocks. MTCMOS sleep transistor sizing issues are addressed, and a hierarchical sizing methodology based on mutual exclusive discharge patterns is presented. A dual-V/sub t/ domino logic style that provides the performance equivalent of a purely low-V/sub t/ design with the standby leakage characteristic of a purely high-V/sub t/ implementation is also proposed.
Energy-transfer processes in flares

Abstract This paper deals with Solar Maximum Year observations that can shed light on the roles of energetic electron beams and thermal conduction in solar flares. The emphasis is on X-ray and UV images and on the interpretation of chromospheric spectra. The format is that of a one-sided debate advocating the view that most of the flare energy that reaches the chromosphere is transferred by thermal conduction rather than by energetic electron beams. Reference is made to papers offering opposing points of view on this still controversial question.
Diversion in the pharmacy

This is the first of a six-part series on diversion of controlled substances in an acute health care setting. The six articles are meant to accompany the recommendations in the Hospital Pharmacy ar...
A circular dichroism study of ethidium bromide binding to Z-DNA induced by dinuclear platinum complexes

Dinuclear bis(platinum) complexes have been shown previously to induce the B-->Z transition in synthetic DNAs (Nucleic Acids Res. 7, 1697-1703, J. Inorganic Biochem. 54, 207-220). In this paper, the reversibility of the Z conformation back to the B form was assessed by treatment of the induced Z form in poly(dG-dC).poly(dG-dC) with ethidium bromide (Etd). Z-DNA induced by the tetra-amine cations [{Pt(NH3)3}2(H2N(CH2)nNH2)]4+, which are capable of only electrostatic interactions with the polynucleotide, was readily reversible. The spectroscopic data mirrored that of ethidium bromide/poly(dG-dC).poly(dG-dC) in the presence of 4.4 M NaCl. In contrast, Z-DNA induced by the bifunctional complexes [{trans-PtCl(NH3)2}2(H2N(CH2)nNH2)]2+ did not produce spectra typical of Etd intercalation and reversal to B-form DNA. The original Z-form CD spectra of DNA treated with the bifunctional complexes could be reobtained following removal of Etd by extensive dialysis. The bifunctional complexes are very effective interstrand cross-linking agents. The data suggest that interstrand cross-linking by dinuclear complexes can stabilize or "lock" the Z-conformation prohibiting its reversal to the B-form. The implications for the biological activity of the dinuclear complexes are briefly discussed.
Aspects of Japanese loanword devoicing

Nishimura (M.A. thesis, 2003) first pointed out that in Japanese loan words, voiced geminates devoice optionally when they co-occur with another voiced obstruent, i.e., when they violate OCP(voice) (e.g., /baggu/ → [bakku] ‘bag’). This devoicing of geminates has been used to make several theoretical claims in the recent phonological literature. However, these claims have so far largely been based on intuition-based data provided by Nishimura (M.A. thesis, 2003) and Kawahara (Language 82(3):536–574, 2006). Kawahara (Nat Lang Linguist Theory, 2011a) addressed this problem by conducting a rating study. The first aim of this study, building on Kawahara (Nat Lang Linguist Theory, 2011a), is to further support the empirical foundation of these theoretical claims by way of a large-scale rating study. The current study shows that (i) the OCP and geminacy each affect naturalness rating of devoicing, and (ii) there is nevertheless something special about the combination of the OCP and geminacy. The second aim is to test an assumption behind the recent literature on this phenomenon. The assumption is that this devoicing pattern is monolithic—i.e., all voiced geminates uniformly undergo devoicing in a certain phonological environment. The current experiment shows that this assumption is too simplistic. In particular it shows (i) speakers rate the devoicing of affricates as natural as that of stops, (ii) speakers find devoicing of items that merge with other lexical items less natural, (iii) speakers rate devoicing as more natural when there are multiple triggers, (iv) speakers find devoicing of [dd] more natural than that of [gg], and (v) speakers find devoicing of more frequent items more natural.
Amber mutants and polarity in vitro

Abstract Polarity resulting from the translation of amber codons as nonsense in vitro has been studied. The amber codons are located in the coat protein gene of the RNA-containing bacteriophage f2. Extensive translational polarity is observed when an amber codon is located on the RNA at the site coding for the sixth amino acid from the NH2-terminal of the coat protein (sus-3), while little or no polarity is observed when an amber codon is located at the site coding for the seventieth amino acid from the NH2-terminal of the coat protein (sus-11). When polar coat mutant RNA is translated in Su− extracts, only monosomes are formed, while when wild-type RNA or RNA containing the non-polar coat mutation is translated under these conditions, polysomes as well as monosomes are formed. Since the mutant which shows the polarity effect forms only monosomes in Su− extracts, we conclude that there is only one major starting point for the translation of f2 RNA. These data support the hypothesis that the genes on this RNA are translated sequentially in vitro, and that the translation of the non-coat genes is contingent upon the translation of at least the codon for site 6 of the coat protein gene.
Morphological changes in Schistosoma mansoni caused by the mutagen ethyl methane sulphonate.

Three week old Schistosoma mansoni , cultured for up to sixty days after exposure to ethyl methane sulphonate, showed extensive ballooning which often involved most of the worm's body. Other changes included tegumental breakdown which was expressed in varying degrees from mild hernia to total disruption of body shape. Increase in gut size involved stretching of the epithelium and inclusions ranging from masses of disrupted tissue to large, dark opaque masses. Masses were also occasionally seen in the fluid filled spaces of worms. Evidence of hyperplasia was not observed in any of the histological examinations performed.
Positron emission tomographic measurement of blood-to-brain and blood-to-tumor transport of 82Rb: The effect of dexamethasone and whole-brain radiation therapy

Unidirectional blood-to-brain and blood-to-tumor transport rate constants for rubidium 82 were determined using dynamic positron emission tomography in patients with primary or metastatic brain tumors. Regional influx rate constants (K1) and plasma water volume (Vp) were estimated from the time course of blood and brain radioactivity following a bolus injection of tracer. Eight patients were studied before and 24 to 72 hours after treatment using pharmacological doses of dexamethasone, and 6 additional patients with metastatic brain tumors were studied before and within 60 to 90 minutes after 200- to 600-rad whole-brain radiation therapy. Steroid treatment was associated with a 9 to 48% decrease in tumor K1 and a 21% mean decrease in tumor Vp. No consistent changes in K1 or Vp were observed in control brain regions. Tumor K1 and Vp did not increase in patients undergoing whole-brain radiation therapy, all of whom were taking dexamethasone at the time of study. These data suggest that corticosteroids decrease the permeability of tumor capillaries to small hydrophilic molecules (including those of some chemotherapeutic agents) and that steroid pretreatment prevents acute, and potentially dangerous, increases in tumor capillary permeability following cranial irradiation.
An experimental investigation of the effect of nose shape on fragments penetrating GFRP

Abstract Fragments with eight different nose shapes have been used in penetration experiments into three different thicknesses (4, 9, 14 mm) of E-Glass/Phenolic glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) targets. Initial velocity, residual velocity, and ballistic limit velocities were determined for each nose shape and target thickness. These experiments revealed that the ballistic limit and energy absorbed is significantly affected by the nose shape of the fragment simulating projectiles. While all of the fragments are considered blunt nose shapes, the fragments with the sharper nose shapes were the most efficient penetrators, and the fragments presenting a flat surface at the nose were the least efficient penetrators. The experimental data is compared to two analytical approaches for estimating the ballistic limit. The first approach by Wen estimates the ballistic limit based on the nose shape of the penetrator. The second approach by Jenq et al. estimates the ballistic limit based on the difference in the impact and residual velocities when the fragment perforates the target. Wen's analytical model has excellent agreement with the fragment experimental data when fit with new empirically derived constants for each of the nose shapes. The simplified model by Jenq et al. is shown to be marginally accurate, but unconservative, method of estimating the ballistic limit.
A Quillen-Gersten type spectral sequence for the K-theory of schemes with endomorphisms

Abstract A Quillen-Gersten type spectral sequence is drawn for the K-theory of schemes with endomorphisms. We also prove an anology of Gersten's conjecture in the K-theory of schemes with endomorphisms for the equal characteristic case.
Reactive gas atomization processing for Fe-based ODS alloys

Gas atomization reaction synthesis was employed as a simplified method for processing oxide dispersion forming precursor Fe-based powders (e.g., Fe–Cr–Y–Hf). During this process a reactive atomization gas (i.e., Ar–O2) was used to oxidize the powder surfaces during primary break-up and rapid solidification of the molten alloy. This resulted in envelopment of the powders by an ultra-thin (t < 50 nm) metastable Cr-enriched oxide shell that was used as a vehicle to transport oxygen into the consolidated microstructure. Subsequent elevated temperature heat treatment promoted thermodynamically driven oxygen exchange reactions between trapped films of Cr-enriched oxide and internal (Y, Hf)-enriched intermetallic precipitates, resulting in highly stable nano-metric mixed oxide dispersoids (i.e., Y–Hf–O) that were identified with X-ray diffraction. Transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography results also revealed that the size and distribution of the dispersoids were found to depend strongly on the original rapidly solidified microstructure. To exploit this, several oxide dispersion strengthened microstructures were engineered from different powder particle size ranges, illustrating microstructural control as a function of particle solidification rate. Additionally, preliminary thermal–mechanical processing was used to develop a fine scale dislocation substructure for ultimate strengthening of the alloy.
A software package for the data‐independent management of multidimensional data

The Common Data Format (CDF), a structure which provides true data independence for applications software and has been developed at the National Space Science Data Center, is discussed. The background to the CDF is reviewed, and the CDF is described. The conceptual organization of the CDF is discussed, and a sample CDF structure is shown and described. The implementation of CDF, its status, and its applications are examined.
All-optical limiter using gain flattened fibre parametric amplifier

An all-optical limiting amplifier that is capable of reducing amplitude fluctuations in 20 Gbit/s data packets is presented. The limiting amplifier is based on a gain flattened two-stage fibre parametric amplifier having a record bandwidth of 15 nm.
ROLE OF GROWTH HORMONE IN GLUCOSE COUNTERREGULATION

Glucose counterregulation, the physiological mechanisms that normally very effectively prevent or correct hypoglycemia, involves both dissipation of insulin and activation of glucose counterregulatory (glucose-raising) systems. Glucagon and epinephrine stand high in the hierarchy of redundant counterregulatory factors. Hypoglycemia develops or progresses when both glucagon and epinephrine are deficient and insulin is present despite the actions of other glucose-counterregulatory factors. Growth hormone (like cortisol) is demonstrably involved in defense against prolonged (as opposed to short-term) hypoglycemia, but it is not critical to recovery from even prolonged hypoglycemia or to the prevention of hypoglycemia after an overnight fast. Thus, growth hormone, like cortisol, stands lower in the hierarchy of the redundant glucose-counterregulatory factors.
Role of acid suppressants in patients with Zollinger–Ellison Syndrome

SUMMARY Virtually all symptoms in patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome are due to acid hypersecretion, thus the control of acid secretion is the first and most important step in the management of patients with this syndrome. Antisecretory medication is prescribed as soon as the diagnosis of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is made, as patients may bleed or perforate with little warning. Acid output is reduced to < 10 mmol/h to heal mucosal lesions, but in patients with a Billroth I or II gastrectomy and those with severe oesophagitis and stricture formation, acid output is reduced to < 5 or < 1 mmol/h. Acid output and not symptomatic response is a reliable guide of the adequacy of therapy. In sufficient doses, all H2-receptor antagonists are useful; however, side effects associated with cimetidine therapy limit its use. The ratio of potencies of cimetidine: ranitidine: famotidine is 1:4:32. Ranitidine given as a 50-mg intravenous bolus, followed by a continuous infusion of 0.5 mg. kg/h, controls acid hypersecretion acutely in patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Acid output is checked after 4 h, and the dose increased until acid output is < 10 mmol/h. In 70% of patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, 1 mg. kg/h reduces acid output to < 10 mmol/h; however, doses up to 4 mg. kg/h have been used. When patients are switched to oral ranitidine, a useful dosage conversion is to administer 1.5 times the total daily intravenous dose in four equal doses every 6 h. Four doses of oral drug are given before the infusion is stopped. Six hours after the first/last oral dose, acid output is checked. In our patients, the mean dose of ranitidine was 2100 mg/day (range, 450–9200 mg/day). No serious toxicity was observed. Omeprazole, which has a long duration of action and is a potent inhibitor of gastric acid secretion, has simplified management. Once-daily dosing is sufficient in most patients, and a reasonable starting dose is 60 mg daily. The dose may be increased to 120 mg once daily; if this dosage fails to control acid secretion, 60 mg is administered every 12 h. In our studies, the median dose was 90 mg/day (range, 20–120 mg/day). Omeprazole was more effective than H2-receptor antagonists in providing symptom relief and mucosal healing and did not cause significant toxicity. In particular, no gastric carcinoid tumours developed during four years of use. Omeprazole is, therefore, the treatment of choice for control of acid secretion in patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Surgery plays a minor role in the control of acid hypersecretion. Parathyroidectomy in patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome as part of multiple endocrine neoplasia type I, or highly selective vagotomy decrease gastric acid output and lower drug requirements but do not cure the patient. Except when resection of gastrinoma is curative, lifelong medical therapy for control of acid secretion in patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is required.
Anomaly of the Axial-Vector Current in One Space and One Time Dimension

We use Wilson's theory of broken scale invariance to study the anomaly of axial-vector current in a world with one space and one time dimension. It is shown that in the Schwinger and Thirring models, Wilson's approach and the perturbative approach yield similar results for the anomaly of partial conservation of axial-vector current.
Design and feasibility tests of a flexible gripper based on inflatable rubber pockets

Abstract In this paper, we present feasibility test results of a flexible gripper design following a literature survey on various types, design and control strategies of the existing grippers. A flexible gripper based on the use of compliant materials (i.e., rubber) with pneumatic inflation was designed, analyzed, built and tested. Parametric FE analyses were conducted to investigate the effects of process and design parameters, such as rubber material, pressure, initial jaw displacement and friction. Based on the FEA results, a simple, single rubber-pocketed flexible gripper was designed and built. Feasibility experiments were performed to demonstrate and obtain an overall understanding about the capability and limitations of the gripper. It was found that objects with different shapes (cylindrical, prismatic and complex), weight (50 g–20 kg.), and types (egg, steel hemi-spheres, wax cylinders, etc.) could be picked and placed without any loss of control of the object. The range of positioning error for two different part shapes (i.e., prismatic or cylindrical) was found to be 20–90 μm (translational) and 0.03–0.9° (rotational).
Impact of Clouds on Surface Radiative Fluxes and Snowmelt in the Arctic and Subarctic

Abstract A comprehensive atmospheric radiative transfer model combined with the surface energy balance equation is applied to investigate the impact of clouds on surface radiative fluxes and snowmelt in the Arctic and subarctic. Results show that at the surface, the shortwave cloud-radiative forcing is negative, while the longwave forcing is positive and generally much larger than the shortwave forcing. Thus. the all-wave surface cloud-radiative forcing is positive, with clouds warming the lower atmosphere and enhancing snowmelt during the melting period in the Arctic and subarctic. These results agree with and explain observations and measurements over the past three decades showing that the onset of snowmelt stubs earlier under cloudy sky conditions than under clear sky conditions in the Arctic. Clouds could change the date of onset of snowmelt by as much as a month, which is of the order of the observed interannual variations in the timing of snowmelt in the Arctic and subarctic. The all-wave cloud rad...
Design without Borders - A Tribute to the Legacy of A. Richard Newton

Electrical engineers have learned how to build amazingly complex systems by assembling transistors, wires, and passive components into intricate networks. While solidly founded in semiconductor physics, pure engineering has made possible the design of multi-billion transistor chips in a repetitive, reliable and cost-effective way. A comprehensive "design methodology" was developed based on modularization, hierarchy and abstraction. Today this story is repeating itself. Physicists, chemists and biologists are exploring entirely different components such as molecules, atoms, and enzymes. Systems built from those will most probably impact our lives and society in a profound way. Outcomes will influence the ways we build mechanical structures, do computing, make drugs, generate energy and take care of our environment. Yet, while the basic components are dramatically different from our silicon devices, the basic strategy for building very complex systems from them remains unchanged. The art of design, as was developed in the silicon era, is just as applicable to these nano- or bio-constructions. Design methodology is a legacy that will live long after Moore's law has come to a halt. To quote Richard, "The Future is BDA (Bio Design Automation)".
Activated recombinant factor VII in cardiac surgery

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Severe bleeding after cardiac surgery is a potential problem that poses major risks and challenges. Severe bleeding after cardiac surgery still occurs despite many pharmacological approaches to decrease bleeding and reduce transfusion requirements. Activated recombinant factor VII may be a therapy that is potentially useful in the management of refractory bleeding after cardiac surgery and in other postoperative bleeding states. RECENT FINDINGS Several small, uncontrolled case series have suggested that activated recombinant factor VII may be useful in the management of some patients with intractable bleeding after cardiopulmonary bypass in both pediatric and adult populations. Blood loss or transfusion requirements have been reported to be substantially reduced in some patients who receive activated recombinant factor VII perioperatively. However, these reports have not established the optimal dosing or ideal timing of the administration of activated recombinant factor VII, or determined the frequency of serious adverse events related to its use. SUMMARY Current reports summarized in this review suggest that activated recombinant factor VII may be a promising agent in the management of uncontrolled bleeding after cardiopulmonary bypass, but additional randomized, placebo-controlled trials are needed to support this use.
Time, sunlight, and the fate of biotreated kraft mill organochlorines (AOX) in nature

Abstract A system of gas- and light-permeable sealed sample bags was employed to monitor the fate and persistence of the color and organochlorines (AOX) exiting the secondary treatment systems of three modern pulp and paper kraft mills. Placed in a remote lake at various depths, the bags of effluent showed that the “stable” biotreated AOX from elemental chlorine-free bleaching was largely but not completely mineralized in 4 months, largely by sunlight-dependent processes. Mill AOX and color was partially protected from photomineralization by natural organic matter (NOM) in the water. Effluent chromophores were more rapidly and completely degraded by light than AOX, and neither AOX nor color were very susceptible to biological degradation. The biotreated effluents, even when undiluted, were not acutely toxic and over time gave rise to diverse, flourishing microalgal, protozoan, and metazoan communities in the sealed bags. Thus these concentrated effluents apparently had no acute or chronic toxicity for a diverse assemblage of aquatic organisms over a 4-month period.
The road to the Deep Space Network

The evolution of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration's (NASA's) Deep Space Network is recounted. The launching of the US Pioneer program, following the orbiting of Sputnik by the USSR in 1957, and the communication system established for it are examined. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL's) advocacy of a permanent system of ground stations, and the antenna design and site and frequency selection, are discussed. The expansion into foreign countries and later developments are described. >
The plane wave transformer linac development at UCLA

A plane wave transformer linac (PWT), offering advantages of high efficiency, compactness, fabrication simplicity and cost, is being developed at UCLA. The PWT prototype at UCLA is an 8-cell, /spl pi/-mode, S-band standing-wave linac. To fully understand its physical properties, numerical modeling of the PWT prototype has been carried out by using the 3-D code MAFIA. A microwave test-stand with a network analyzer has also been set up to test these properties. In this paper. We present the important physical features, such as mode structures, dispersion curves, wake field, from the computation and/or the experiment. The measurements show good agreement with the numerical computation. >
Subband video coding based on velocity filters

The authors propose a new three-dimensional subband decomposition system for video coding applications. The basic idea is to modify traditional 3D systems so as to separate motion along opposite directions. The decomposition exploits the velocity discrimination capability of the human eye, and results in a more physically meaningful partition than traditional systems. The proposed system consists of a number of two band one-dimensional perfect reconstruction filters together with a number of two band checker board two-dimensional filters. Using synthetic and real sequences, the capability of the system to separate the direction of motion was demonstrated. >
Diatom sinkings speeds: Improved predictions and insight from a modified Stokes' law

Accurately predicting the size-dependant sinking rate of diatoms is necessary to fully understand the cycling of oceanic carbon and silicon. Stokes’ law predicts that sinking velocity should be proportional to the square of a diatom’s radius (a scaling exponent of 2), which does not agree with empirically measured sinking speeds (scaling exponents of 1.2–1.6). We offer an alternative model for sinking speed that separately accounts for the different densities of a diatom’s frustule (its siliceous cell armor) and its cytoplasm. The ratio of frustule to cytoplasm volume changes with size and, thereby, affects the scaling relationship between velocity and radius. The resulting model predicts a scaling exponent between 1 and 2 depending on the size and shape of the diatom, more accurately predicting the upper bound of measured sinking speeds and offering an analytical formula for the prediction of the maximum sinking speed of diatoms.
Increasing Youth Tobacco Survey Response Rates: Could Seasonality Be a Factor?

The Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS) was developed in 1998 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) to provide states with data needed to design, implement, and evaluate comprehensive tobacco control programs. The YTS is a school-based survey of adolescents in grades 6 through 12 usually conducted only in public schools but also in private schools when a state elects to do so. State departments of health field the YTS during the fall or spring term of an academic year at their discretion. Examining correlates and trends in response rates is important since response rates are often used as a measure of survey quality. We could not locate any studies that have examined seasonal variation in response rates to selfadministered, school-based surveys. To test the hypothesis that the fall is more favorable for increasing response rates to school-based surveys than the spring, we included YTS surveys conducted from 2000–2008. The word ‘season’ is equivalent to ‘term’ in our analysis, and we use the two words interchangeably.
Interpretation of force and moment signals for compliant peg-in-hole assembly

Interpretation of force and moment data is used to guide the searching phase of a circular peg-in-hole assembly. It is shown that the available measurements carry varying quality of information, ambiguous in much of the search space and relatively precise in a small region. By interpreting the history of sensory data acquired during an assembly attempt, reliable interpretation of the data is possible. A feature-based technique is described for interpreting sensory data. Experiments with robotic peg-in-hole assembly demonstrated a speed-up of nearly an order of magnitude relative to a blind search.
A Logarithmic Full-Chip Thermal Analysis Algorithm Based on Multi-Layer Green&#8217;s Function

This paper derives the multi-layer heat conduction Green’s function, by integrating the eigen-expansion technique and the classic transmission line theories, and presents a logarithmic full-chip thermal analysis algorithm, which is verified by comparisons with a computational fluid dynamics tool (FLUENT). The paper considers Dirichlet’s and general heat convection boundary conditions at chip surfaces. Experimental results show that the algorithm offers superior computing speed, compared to FLUENT and traditional Green’s function based methods. The paper also studies the limitations of the traditional single-layer thermal model.
Production of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural from Glucose Using a Combination of Lewis and Brønsted Acid Catalysts in Water in a Biphasic Reactor with an Alkylphenol Solvent

We report the catalytic conversion of glucose in high yields (62%) to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a versatile platform chemical. The reaction system consists of a Lewis acid metal chloride (e.g., AlCl3) and a Bronsted acid (HCl) in a biphasic reactor consisting of water and an alkylphenol compound (2-sec-butylphenol) as the organic phase. The conversion of glucose in the presence of Lewis and Bronsted acidity proceeds through a tandem pathway involving isomerization of glucose to fructose, followed by dehydration of fructose to HMF. The organic phase extracts 97% of the HMF produced, while both acid catalysts remain in the aqueous phase.
The Symptom Inventory Disability-Specific Short Forms for Multiple Sclerosis: Reliability and Factor Structure

Abstract Schwartz CE, Bode RK, Vollmer T. The Symptom Inventory disability-specific short forms for multiple sclerosis: reliability and factor structure. Objective To further the development of the 99-item Symptom Inventory (SI) for multiple sclerosis (MS) using modern test theory methods to create 3 disability-specific short forms for MS patient subgroups identified using Performance Scale (PS) items. Design A web-based cross-sectional study. Setting National MS Registry. Participants People with MS (N=1532) who participate in the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis Registry. Interventions None. Main Outcome Measures The SI; the disease-specific PS and the Patient-Determined Disease Steps; and the generic Short-Form 12. Results When the original SI subscales did not demonstrate unidimensionality, exploratory factor analysis was conducted yielding 14 factors that could be classified using the structure of the PS. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the unidimensionality of the hand function, vision, fatigue, cognitive, bowel/bladder, spasticity, and pain scales. The mobility scale was split into mobility and use of assistive devices; the sensory scale was split into sensory and vasomotor. Item response theory analyses revealed good model fit. Conclusions This study provides empirical support for a 10-scale symptom measure for use in MS clinical research, with short forms in 5 scales tailored to have good specificity for people with mild, moderate, and severe disability and single forms for the remaining 5 scales. The PS items can serve as a screener for these disability-specific short forms, which provide choice and flexibility that are similar to a computerized adaptive test but without the reliance on real-time computer infrastructure.