cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of urea and ammonium sulphate applied before sowing on sudangrass seedlings

Studies were conducted to determine possible leaching or fixation problems in growing sudangrass ( Sorghum Sudanese Stapf.) when urea, ammonium sulphate plus triple superphosphate, and ammonium polyphosphate fertilizer were applied as a seed-bed application to the very sandy soils of the Libyan Sahara near the Kufra Oasis. The effectiveness of the nitrogen source was measured by plant colour, leaf analysis, and seedling height. The urea nitrogen plus single superphosphate when applied and watered-in did not supply enough nitrogen to obtain a vigorous green seedling compared with ammonium polyphosphate (21% N, 53% P 2O6), which produced excellent vigorous green seedlings. The ammonia source supplied more nitrogen than the urea imder the conditions of these trials. The application of urea 1, 2, 4, and 8 days before sowing was inadequate in supplying nitrogen to meet the early demand of the sudangrass seedlings. Sudangrass seedlings after 26 days were only 5–6·3 cm tall. With a seed-bed application of 36–72 kg N/ha as ammonium sulphate under comparable circumstances, sudangrass seedling height was 21·7 cm. The plants receiving no nitrogen applied before sowing were 6·7 cm high, similar to those which received urea. Under these virgin sandy soil conditions, the ammonium sulphate and ammonium polyphosphate (21% N, 53% P 2 O 5 ) fertilizers applied to the seed bed were retained within the root zone in sufficient amounts to give a vigorous, non-deficient sudangrass seedling. Nitrogen from urea was deficientand presumed leached beyond reach of the seedling root when applied to the seed bed. Applied post-emergence, however, urea was a very satisfactory source of nitrogen.
Temperature-programmed desorption study of the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde on TiO2(110)-supported vanadia monolayers

Abstract The reaction of methanol on TiO 2 (110)-supported vanadium oxide was studied using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD). TPD results show that methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde on a TiO 2 (110)-supported vanadium oxide monolayer at 660 K, whereas both clean TiO 2 (110) and TiO 2 (110)-supported vanadia multilayers are inactive for this reaction. This result is similar to the reactivity trends found for high-surface-area catalysts. This suggests that an oxide film supported on a single-crystal metal oxide surface may be an excellent model system for studying the structure–reactivity relationships of supported oxide catalysts.
Hydrogen-induced formation of colloids of arsenic, antimony, and bismuth in oxide glasses

Glasses containing arsenic, antimony, or bismuth gradually darken during exposure to hydrogen at temperatures within the glass transformation region. The coloring process is a complex function of the glass composition, the identity and concentration of the dopant (As, Sb, or Bi) present, and treatment temperature. Coloration occurs via the formation of a dark layer at the surface of the glass. This surface layer increases in thickness with treatment time. Combined X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy studies demonstrate that the color changes are due to the formation of metallic colloids, which may be either crystalline (Sb and Bi) or amorphous (As). It is suggested that the overall coloring process is controlled by the initial reduction of the ion to the atomic state and by the subsequent diffusion of the atoms to a growing nuclei to form colloids which increase in size with time.
Ethnography and Ideology: The Politics of Cultural Representation.

(1993). Ethnography and ideology: The politics of cultural representation. Western Journal of Communication: Vol. 57, Ideology and Communication, pp. 209-220.
On the place of origin of deep-sea lsopods

Biogeographic and phylogenetic data on the deep-sea isopod family Ilyarachnidae (Paraselloidea) document its origin and evolutionary radiation in the deep sea. The distribution of eyes among paraselloidean families suggests an in situ evolution for all those families which have primarily deep-sea distributions. Present-day distributions of paraselloidean isopods provide no hints to their ultimate sources in shallow water. These findings contrast to recent suggestions in the literature that the deep-sea isopod fauna has been derived from shallow Antarctic waters.
Fast Convergence Single-Stage Adaptive Frequency Domain Equalizer in Few Mode Fiber Transmission Systems

We propose a fast convergence single-stage adaptive frequency domain algorithm for simultaneously compensating CD&DMGD in few-mode fiber system. The proposed algorithm can increase the convergence speed by 51% with 8% complexity increase.
A New Chelating Cyclophane and Its Complexation with Ni2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+: Spectroscopic Properties and Allosterism via Ring Contraction

A condensation reaction between ethylenediaminetetraacetic dianhydride and p-xylenediamine gave a new chelating cyclophane, 3,10,21,28-tetraoxo-5,8,23,26-tetrakis(carboxymethyl)-2,5,8,11,20,23,26,29-octaaza[12.12]paracyclophane, abbreviated as (32edtaxan)H(4), which has three types of electron-donor groups, i.e., amine, carboxylate, and amide groups. The formation of the cyclophane has been confirmed by a single-crystal X-ray analysis of its Zn(2+) complex, [Zn(2)(32edtaxan)].7.5H(2)O, which crystallized in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c with a = 19.818(1) A, b = 13.169(1) A, c = 18.134(1) A, beta = 104.491(6) degrees, and Z = 4. Each cyclophane molecule coordinates two Zn(2+) ions and results in the formation of a binuclear chelate molecule. The coordination geometry around each metal ion is distorted octahedral, the donor atoms being two carboxylate oxygen atoms, two amine nitrogen atoms, and two amide oxygen atoms. The new cyclophane exhibited a well-defined fluorescence band at 290 nm with 210 nm excitation. The emission intensity was markedly increased in the Zn(2+) complex, in which the coordination of Zn(2+) ions increases the rigidity of the cyclophane leading to a high fluorescence quantum yield. When the cyclophane was coordinated to Cu(2+) ions, the molar absorptivity of a pi-pi transition band observed at 260 nm was increased by a factor of about 10. Such a large spectral change was not observed for the Zn(2+) and Ni(2+) complexes. In the Cu(2+) complex, the two phenyl rings of the cyclophane are expected to be brought closer, as a result of the coordination of deprotonated amide nitrogens to the central metal ion. This allosterism via ring contraction is responsible for the novel behavior of the absorption spectrum. The emission band of the cyclophane was weakened by coordination of copper and nickel as a result of fluorescence quenching caused by a photo-induced electron transfer.
Multidimensional data dissection using attribute relationship graphs

Visual exploration and analysis is a process of discovering and dissecting the abundant and complex attribute relationships that pervade multidimensional data. Recent research has identified and characterized patterns of multiple coordinated views, such as cross-filtered views, in which rapid sequences of simple interactions can be used to express queries on subsets of attribute values. In visualizations designed around these patterns, for the most part, distinct views serve to visually isolate each attribute from the others. Although the brush-and-click simplicity of visual isolation facilitates discovery of many-to-many relationships between attributes, dissecting these relationships into more fine-grained one-to-many relationships is interactively tedious and, worse, visually fragmented over prolonged sequences of queries. This paper describes: (1) a method for interactively dissecting multidimensional data by iteratively slicing and manipulating a multigraph representation of data values and value co-occurrences; and (2) design strategies for extending the construction of coordinated multiple view interfaces for dissection as well as discovery of attribute relationships in multidimensional data sets. Using examples from different domains, we describe how attribute relationship graphs can be combined with cross-filtered views, modularized for reuse across designs, and integrated into broader visual analysis tools. The exploratory and analytic utility of these examples suggests that an attribute relationship graph would be a useful addition to a wide variety of visual analysis tools.
Frequency assignment and normal coordinate analysis for s-tetrazines

Abstract The low temperature infrared and Raman spectra of sym -tetrazine- d 0 , (C 2 H 2 N 4 ) and two of its deuterated forms, s-tetrazine- d 1 and s-tetrazine- d 2 , have been investigated to clarify the vibrational frequency assignment. Three possible assignments were developed and a normal coordinate analysis of the in-plane vibrations was used to select the best assignment.
The role of ethnic matching between patient and provider on the effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions with Hispanics.

Background: Evaluating the effectiveness of treatments such as brief alcohol interventions among Hispanics is essential to effectively addressing their treatment needs. Clinicians of the same ethnicity as the client may be more likely to understand the culture-specific values, norms, and attitudes and, therefore, the intervention may be more effective. Thus, in cases in which Hispanic patients were provided intervention by a Hispanic clinician improved drinking outcomes were expected. Methods: Patients were recruited from an urban Level I Trauma following screening for an alcohol-related injury or alcohol problems. Five hundred thirty-seven Hispanics were randomly assigned to brief intervention or treatment as usual. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to determine the effects of ethnic match on drinking outcomes including volume per week, maximum amount, and frequency of 5 or more drinks per occasion. Analyses controlled for level of acculturation and immigration status. Results: For Hispanics who received brief motivational intervention, an ethnic match between patient and provider resulted in a significant reduction in drinking outcomes at 12-month follow-up. In addition, there was a tendency for ethnic match to be most beneficial to foreign-born Hispanics and less acculturated Hispanics. Conclusion: As hypothesized, an ethnic match between patient and provider significantly enhanced the effectiveness of brief intervention among Hispanics. Ethnic concordance between patient and provider may have impacted the effectiveness of the intervention through several mechanisms including cultural scripts, ethnic-specific perceptions pertaining to substance abuse, and ethnic-specific preferred channels of communication. Language: en
Magnetic susceptibility and ESR studies of three complexes of chromium(III) and L-histidine. Ferromagnetic interactions in the dimeric complex [Cr(L-histidine)2(OH)]2

Abstract Three complexes of chromium(III) and histidine were investigated by variable temperature magnetic susceptibility and ESR. Two monomeric stereosoimers of Cr(L-histidine)2(NO3) were studied; the trans(imidazole) and trans(carboxylate)isomers exhibited Curie-Weiss behaviour in the 6–300 K temperature region. The magnetic susceptibility of the related binuclear complex, [Cr(L-histidine)2(OH)]2, showed ferromagnetic behaviour at low temperature (J/k = +0.15 K) lending strong support to the proposed hydroxo-bridged structure.
High performance Antimony-based Type-II superlattice photodiodes on GaAs substrate

In recent years, Type II InAs/GaSb superlattices grown on GaSb substrate have achieved significant advances in both structural design and material growth, making Type II superlattice infrared detector a rival competitor to the state-of-the-art MCT technology. However, the limited size and strong infrared absorption of GaSb substrates prevent large format type-II superlattice infrared imagers from being realized. In this work, we demonstrate type-II superlattices grown on GaAs substrates, which is a significant step toward third generation infrared imaging at low cost. The device performances of Type II superalttice photodetectors grown on these two substrates are compared.
Significant Impact of Thermo-Mechanical Conditions on Polymer Triple-Shape Memory Effect

A polymer triple-shape memory effect represents one of the most recent discoveries in the rapidly expanding field of shape memory polymers. It refers to the capability of a polymer to memorize two temporary shapes and subsequently recover them, all in one shape memory cycle. Although several examples of triple-shape polymers had been reported in the literature, they were notably evaluated under very different thermo-mechanical conditions. In this study, the effect of various thermo-mechanical conditions on the polymer triple-shape properties was investigated using Nafion as a model material. The choice of the programming and recovery heating methods in constructing triple-shape cycles was found to have a profound impact on the triple-shape properties. As such, the results of this study provided useful reference for future development of triple-shape polymers.
Getting the last laugh: Opera legacy, comedy and camp as attraction in the late years of Taiyupian

ABSTRACTThis article looks at the re-emergence of a cinema of attraction in the last years of taiyupian, a Hoklo topolect cinema created in Taiwan. Why were these years the ‘last’, and who was watching? This article makes use of newspaper articles, advertisements, and the numbers, but focuses on questions of style. The 1969 film Zhang Di Seeks A-Zu, featuring pop singer Zhang Di and opera star Yang Lihua, well articulates the comedic and camp aesthetics of this period, as well as the renewed importance of opera culture across different media. These aesthetics gesture towards a particular audience and viewing culture, while offering alternative values to classical realist cinema.
Feminist standpoint theory: A black woman's (re)view of organizational socialization

Despite numerous appeals for organizational communication scholars to incorporate feminist theorizing into their work, few researchers have done so. In this essay, feminist standpoint theory is applied to an analysis of organizational socialization, an inherently communicative phenomenon. Speaking from her vantage point as an African‐American faculty member at a predominantly White, research university, the author recounts excerpts from her lived experiences to demonstrate the value of eliciting insight from an “outsider within.” She concludes with implications for practice and research.
Genetic differences at two allozyme loci in midwest populations of three species of Nabidae

Abstract 1. 1. Nabis alternatus , N. roseipennis and N. americoferus were examined for genetic variation at the allozyme loci esterase-1 and adenylate kinase-3 in four midwest populations and lab colonies. In all species, seven electromorphs were segregating at the first locus and four at the second. 2. 2. Certain electromorphs were restricted to certain species. The most commonly occurring electromorphs were found in all species but at different frequencies, some of which were significantly different. 3. 3. In N. alternatus , homozygote classes exceeded equilibrium values and heterozygote classes were reduced in number. 4. 4. An analysis of the diagnosis of shared electromorphs is presented.
Modeling Drug Molecule Solubility to Identify Optimal Solvent Systems for Crystallization

The utility of the recently developed nonrandom two-liquid segment activity coefficient (NRTL-SAC) model has been reported for solvent selection in support of industrial crystallization process design. In this paper, we present a recent successful application with NRTL-SAC to screen solvents for a crystallization medium with the goal to maximize API solubility and to minimize solvent usage. The NRTL-SAC model parameters for the molecule in development are first identified from a minimal set of solubility experiments in selected solvents. We then perform numerous in silico virtual experiments to explore the solubility behavior of the molecule in other pure solvents and mixed solvents. The modeling results suggested optimal solvent systems for the crystallization medium which are validated in physical laboratories and chosen for process scale-up. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of the NRTL-SAC model and supports its use as a tool in drug development.
An elastic–viscoplastic model of deformation in nanocrystalline metals based on coupled mechanisms in grain boundaries and grain interiors

Abstract An elastic–viscoplastic model based on coupled deformation mechanisms of grain-boundary sliding, grain-boundary diffusion, grain-interior diffusion and grain-interior plasticity is developed to investigate the mechanical behavior of nanocrystalline metals. Application of the model to nanocrystalline copper shows that overall plastic deformation from the coupled deformation mechanisms depends on both grain size and strain rate. A sharp strain-rate sensitivity transition occurs from about 0.01 to 1, as strain rates change to below 1 0 − 6 s − 1 in nanocrystalline copper. Grain-boundary sliding and diffusion dominate inelastic deformation when the strain-rate sensitivity approaches 1. For grain sizes larger than a critical value about 15 nm, increasing slip resistance in grain interiors causes the strength to increase as the grain size is reduced. However, further reduction in grain sizes to below 15 nm results in softening in strength due to enhanced grain-boundary sliding and diffusion.
ANALYSIS OF PORK PRODUCTS FOR CHEMICAL RESIDUES

Ham (n=29), pork sausage (n=27), and pork subcutaneous adipose tissue (n=71) samples were analyzed for a maximum of 25 different chlorinated hydrocarbon/organophosphate pesticide/metabolite residues by gas chromatography. Furthermore, 13 samples each of adipose tissue, kidney, liver and muscle (total, n=52) were collected from commercial hog slaughter facilities and analyzed for diethylstilbestrol, zeranol, trenbolone acetate, azaperone and propiopromazine (tranquilizers), clenbuterol, and carazolol. Results showed that none of the adipose tissue samples contained pesticide residue levels greater than the detection threshold of 0.05 ppm. Five ham samples contained detectable (>0.003ppm), but nonviolative residue levels of dichloro-diphenylchloroethane (DDE) and alpha-benzene hexachloride (α-BHC). Six sausage samples contained detectable (> 0.05ppm) but nonviolative levels of diazinon, dichlorodiphenyltri-chloroethane (DDT), tetrachlorodiphenylethane (DDD), DDE, lindane or alpha, beta and delta isomers of BHC. None of the pork tissue samples contained tranquilizers or other drug residues at levels higher than the detection threshold of 1 ppb.
Bridging the gap between human resource development and adult education: Part two, the critical turn

Human resource development (HRD) as a scholarly endeavor and as a practice is often criticized in the adult education (AE) literature and by AE scholars as manipulative and oppressive and, through training and other interventions, controlling workers for strictly economic ends (Baptiste, 2001; Cunningham, 2004; Schied, 2001; Welton, 1995). The reasons for this disapproving perspective are numerous and include HRD's primary conceptual foundations as being performative and based on human capital theory that tends to situate humans within the rubric of expendable resources. Additional support for this critique comes from an assumption that HRD as a whole is embedded within a rational/functional paradigm that tends to support ‘any means to profit’ over democratic treatment of people in the workplace. Similarly, although less vocal and antagonistic, HRD scholars have been critical of AE's ‘academic’ and ‘theoretical’ elitism versus the pragmatic and socially responsive practice of AE.
Is it not time to reveal the secret sauce of nicotine addiction

In the courtroom, cigarette companies like to paint a picture that their consumers are informed about the health risks of their products so that they can argue that smokers are fully responsible for any health consequences that might arise.1 While that is a convenient legal defense, it is a smoke screen. The reality is most consumers have not got a clue how their cigarettes are engineered and how the design of their cigarettes might relate to why they find it hard to stop smoking and why they get sick as a result.2 While I have heard defense lawyers argue that consumers really are not interested in knowing how their cigarettes are made, that argument is contradicted by polling data showing that the vast majority of smokers want to know more about the products they use.2 While some governments have succeeded in requiring tobacco manufacturers to disclose information about their products, most of the data obtained has been useless to consumers, because it cannot be shared on the grounds that …
An Exploratory Study Of Student Satisfaction With University Web Page Design

This exploratory study evaluates the satisfaction of students with a web-based information system at a medium-sized regional university. The analysis provides a process for simplifying data interpretation in captured student user feedback. Findings indicate that student classifications, as measured by demographic and other factors, determine satisfaction levels towards various web sources of information. Differences in satisfaction levels across student groups based on gender, age, minority status, employment, and current course load were found. Implications for university web designers and university administrators are considered and discussed.
Hierarchy-based incremental analysis of communication protocols

The authors present an incremental strategy for reachability analysis of communication protocols modeled as sets of communicating finite state machines (CFSMs) with synchronous communication and direct naming. A set of CFSMs is organized into a hierarchy. The authors present an algorithm that, for a given hierarchy of a set M of CFSMs, incrementally composes and reduces subsets of CFSMs in M and finally produces a minimum CFSM describing the external behavior of M. It is also showed that this incremental reachability analysis guarantees the detection of global deadlocks. An algorithm for selecting a hierarchy for a set of CFSMs and some empirical results are provided. >
Quantifying Reciprocity in Social Networks

In this paper we propose a new reciprocity index for quantifying social relationships based on mobile phone call detail records and Twitter blogs. We use this reciprocity index to measure the level of reciprocity between users. This work is useful for detecting unwanted calls (e.g., spam) and product marketing. For validation of our results, we used actual call logs of 100 users collected at MIT by the Reality Mining Project group for a period of 8 months and Twitter blogs of 460 users collected by the Network Security team at UNT for a period of 12 months. The experimental results show that our model achieves results with high accuracy.
Surface uplift of Tibet and Cenozoic global cooling

Continental weathering on a global scale infl uences ocean chemistry and imposes a net drawdown of atmospheric CO 2 that modulates global climate (Walker et al., 1981; Berner et al., 1983). This observation, in addition to seawater Sr records that suggest an increase in continental weathering after ca. 40 Ma, led researchers to suggest that the uplift and erosion of the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen over the past 40 m.y. has drawn down atmospheric CO 2 and cooled the globe, leading to the glacial climate that persists today (e.g., Raymo and Ruddiman, 1992; Edmond, 1992). Modeling of tectonic-climate feedbacks associated with increased weathering of the Himalaya and Tibet suggests that two primary biogeochemical processes , silicate weathering and organic carbon burial, can account for the lowering of atmospheric CO 2 necessary to force global cooling (Raymo et al., 1988; Zachos and Kump, 2005). At the time of these inferences, accurate records of both atmospheric pCO 2 and the surface uplift history of the Himalaya and Tibet were lacking. Now, in light of a growing body of atmospheric pCO 2 reconstructions and paleoelevation records, we can test the theory that increased weathering associated with growing mountain belts leads to the drawdown of atmospheric CO 2 and global cooling. The Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) at ca. 34 Ma marks the fi rst major decline in Cenozoic global temperatures and the initiation of Antarctic glaciation. Critical to the argument that continental weathering has caused the drawdown of atmospheric CO 2 is documentation of the temporal relationship between the surface uplift of the Himalayan-Tibetan
The New Era in Cancer Research

For many years, discoveries about the genetic determinants of cancer appeared to be having only minor effects on efforts to control the disease in the clinic. Following advances made over the past decade, however, a description of cancer in molecular terms seems increasingly likely to improve the ways in which human cancers are detected, classified, monitored, and (especially) treated. Achieving the medical promise of this new era in cancer research will require a deeper understanding of the biology of cancer and imaginative application of new knowledge in the clinic, as well as political, social, and cultural changes.
Floating-point on-line arithmetic: Algorithms

For effective application of on-line arithmetic to practical numerical problems, floating-point algorithms for on-line addition/subtraction and multiplication have been implemented by introducing the notion of quasi-normalization. Those proposed are normalized fixed-precision FLPOL (floating-point on-line) algorithms.
Estimation of parameters of input traffic streams from statistically multiplexed output

Given the statistically multiplexed stream observations of two independent and different types of traffic streams, this paper examines the problem of determining the degree of mixing. In data networks a common example of such a pair of different stream would be one conforming to the traditional Poisson model with an exponential inter-arrival distribution and the other obeying long-range dependent traffic characterized by a heavy-tailed distribution. The paper provides an expression for the probability density function of the inter-arrival time of the mixed stream in terms of those of the input streams for the general case. As an example, we consider a mixed output traffic stream for the specific case of multiplexed Poisson and heavy-tailed processes and an approach is provided to estimate input parameters from the first and second order statistics. For arrival rate estimation of the input streams, we propose a look-up table approach based on nearest neighbor search. The simulation results demonstrate that the estimated arrival rates and the moments are indeed close to their respective true values.
DNA polymerases κ and ζ cooperatively perform mutagenic translesion synthesis of the C8–2′-deoxyguanosine adduct of the dietary mutagen IQ in human cells

The roles of translesion synthesis (TLS) DNA polymerases in bypassing the C8-2'-deoxyguanosine adduct (dG-C8-IQ) formed by 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ), a highly mutagenic and carcinogenic heterocyclic amine found in cooked meats, were investigated. Three plasmid vectors containing the dG-C8-IQ adduct at the G1-, G2- or G3-positions of the NarI site (5'-G1G2CG3CC-3') were replicated in HEK293T cells. Fifty percent of the progeny from the G3 construct were mutants, largely G→T, compared to 18% and 24% from the G1 and G2 constructs, respectively. Mutation frequency (MF) of dG-C8-IQ was reduced by 38-67% upon siRNA knockdown of pol κ, whereas it was increased by 10-24% in pol η knockdown cells. When pol κ and pol ζ were simultaneously knocked down, MF of the G1 and G3 constructs was reduced from 18% and 50%, respectively, to <3%, whereas it was reduced from 24% to <1% in the G2 construct. In vitro TLS using yeast pol ζ showed that it can extend G3*:A pair more efficiently than G3*:C pair, but it is inefficient at nucleotide incorporation opposite dG-C8-IQ. We conclude that pol κ and pol ζ cooperatively carry out the majority of the error-prone TLS of dG-C8-IQ, whereas pol η is involved primarily in its error-free bypass.
The Accidental Business Historian

I want to begin with an apology to Anne Tyler, whose title I have so blatantly misappropriated. The idea of the "accidental business historian" has appealed to me for a long time, and I thought maybe Tyler's book also could provide a pithy lesson.1 Although a few of Macon Leary's character traits did strike a little close to home—there was a time, early in my career, that I would have considered multitasking by doing my laundry under foot while taking a shower—Macon's story is different from mine, except for the fact that we discovered our careers by accident. But more about that shortly. Over the past few weeks I have enjoyed reading or rereading every presidential address given at the Business History Conference (BHC) since 1975, when the organization began publishing them regularly.2 They tend to be quite serious, and most of them stand very well the test of time. In his 1975 address, Herman Krooss commented on the genre: "Presidential addresses that I have heard and observed come in four guises: What the discipline has done to me; What I have done to
A broadband VCO using dielectric resonators

An approach for obtaining broadband negative resistance in designing single-port voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs) is described. The circuit uses a varactor in the feedback path to obtain a variable reactance for maximizing the negative resistance. The concept is demonstrated by designing and fabricating a circuit that oscillates in the 3.5-6.5-GHz band, depending only on the selection of the dielectric resonator. Electronic tuning for automatic frequency control is provided by a tuning varactor coupled to the tank circuit. The VCO was used in a prototype broadband downconverter for 4-6-GHz microwave digital radio. >
Multi-scale spatial controls of understory vegetation in Douglas-fir–western hemlock forests of western Oregon, USA

Forest understory vegetation is influenced by broad-scale variation in climate, intermediate-scale variation in topography, disturbance and neighborhood interactions. However, little is known about how these multi-scale controls interact to influence observed spatial patterns. We examined relationships between the aggregated cover of understory plant species (%CU) and multi-scale controls using a large-scale experiment including treatments of low (LS), moderate (MS) and variable (VS) disturbance severity replicated in second-growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga meziesii)–western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) forests spanning climate and topographic gradients. We developed hierarchical models using a multi-step selection process, assessing changes residual spatial autocorrelation associated with progressively broader spatial scales of influence and interaction. To examine the role of plant traits in mediating multi-scale controls, we contrasted effects for early- (%CES) and late-seral (%CLS) species cover. At neighborhood scales, decreases in %CU with overstory density were accelerated with increases in the relative importance of hemlock in the overstory in the in all but the LS treatment. At intermediate scales, %CU was lower in areas with higher potential radiation in undisturbed control treatments but that trend was reversed in the harvested, disturbed areas. When separated, effects of multi-scale controls differed between %CES and %CLS. Rates of increases in %CES with reductions in density increased with disturbance severity and decreased with increases in %CLS. At broader scales, %CES increased with climatic moisture deficit where potential radiation was high, and %CLS low. Similarly to %CU, %CLS was related to a three-way interaction between overstory density, disturbance and hemlock abundance. %CLS declined with increases in climatic moisture deficit where overstory density and the relative abundance of hemlock was high, and decreased with local increases in %CES. Multi-scale controls explained a portion of the observed spatial autocorrelation for %CES but not %CLS, suggesting the spatial patterning of %CLS is related primarily to unmeasured processes. Results show how understory responses to overstory density and disturbance severity vary across the landscape with moisture and potential radiation, at fine scales with neighborhood structure, and with species traits. Hence, understory responses to climate change likely depend on overstory composition and structure, disturbance and species traits.
Spatiotemporal transformation of isodiffracting ultrashort pulses by nondispersive quadratic phase media

We show how nondispersive quadratic phase media (e.g., lenses, curved mirrors, and gradient-index rods) transform the spatial and temporal profiles of isodiffracting single-cycle pulses. Because all the frequency components of an isodiffracting pulsed beam have the same Rayleigh range, the entire pulse can be transformed directly in the time domain by use of ABCD matrices. The accumulated phase shift plays an important role in changing the spatial and temporal profiles. These pulses form natural spatiotemporal modes of a stable cavity resonator.
Pose determination using tree annealing

The problem of pose determination of a surface in a range image is described as a six-degree-of-freedom optimization problem, where the surface is expressed by a quadratic equation. The tree annealing algorithm, a general-purpose technique for finding minima of functions of continuously valued variables, is presented. The technique is applied to the pose determination of analytic surfaces and is shown to be quite effective even in the presence of considerable amounts of noise in the images. >
Control techniques to eliminate voltage emergencies in high performance processors

Increasing focus on power dissipation issues in current microprocessors has led to a host of proposals for clock gating and other power-saving techniques. While generally effective at reducing average power, many of these techniques have the undesired side-effect of increasing both the variability of power dissipation and the variability of current drawn by the processor This increase in current variability, often referred to as the dI/dt problem, can cause supply voltage fluctuations. Such voltage fluctuations lead to unreliable circuits if not addressed, and increasingly expensive chip packaging techniques are needed to mitigate them. This paper proposes and evaluates a methodology for augmenting packaging techniques for dI/dt with microarchitectural control mechanisms. We discuss the resonant frequencies most relevant to current microprocessor packages, produce and evaluate a "dI/dt stressmark" that exercises the system at its resonant frequency, and characterize the behavior of more mainstream applications. Based on these results plus evaluations of the impact of controller error and delay, our microarchitectural control proposals offer bounds on supply voltage fluctuations, with nearly negligible impact on performance and energy. With the ITRS roadmap predicting aggressive drops in supply voltage and power supply impedances in coming chip generations, novel voltage control techniques will be required to stay on track. Our microarchitectural dI/dt controllers represent a step in this direction.
Results from using an environment for interpreter-based projects for the programming languages courses

The multiple language environment (MuLE) software tool is designed to support the teaching of programming languages using a combination of comparative and interpretive approaches. Accompanying the MuLE software tool is a user's manual and a selection of pre-developed projects, scheme pre-labs, and testing programs. MuLE projects have been designed to vary in both size and complexity, allowing the instructor to select the appropriate level of classroom implementation. Formal assessment results indicate that students who used the MuLE software tool throughout a semester displayed a greater increase in content knowledge than did students who completed a traditional programming language course.
HIDUINO: A firmware for building driverless USB-MIDI devices using the Arduino microcontroller.

paper presents a series of open-source firmwares for the latest iteration of the popular Arduino microcontroller platform. A portmanteau of Human Interface Device and Arduino, the HIDUINO project tackles a major problem in designing NIMEs: easily and reliably communicating with a host computer using standard MIDI over USB. HIDUINO was developed in conjunction with a class at the California Institute of the Arts intended to teach introductory-level human-computer and human-robot interaction within the context of musical controllers. We describe our frustration with existing microcontroller platforms and our experiences using the new firmware to facilitate the development and prototyping of new music controllers.
Enhanced optical nonlinearities in the near-infrared using III-nitride heterostructures coupled to metamaterials

We use planar metamaterial resonators to enhance by more than two orders of magnitude the near infrared second harmonic generation obtained from intersubband transitions in III-Nitride heterostructures. The improvement arises from two factors: employing an asymmetric double quantum well design and aligning the resonators' cross-polarized resonances with the intersubband transition energies. The resulting nonlinear metamaterial operates at wavelengths where single photon detection is available, and represents a different class of sources for quantum photonics related phenomena.
Crystal structures of tris­[1-oxo­pyridine-2-olato(1−)]silicon(IV) chloride chloro­form-d1 disolvate, tris­[1-oxo­pyridine-2-olato(1−)]silicon(IV) chloride aceto­nitrile unqu­anti­fied solvate, and fac-tris­[1-oxo­pyridine-2-thiol­ato(1−)]silicon(IV) chloride chloro­form-d1 disolvate

The cations in the title salts, [Si(OPO)3]Cl·2CDCl3, (I), [Si(OPO)3]Cl·xCH3CN, (II), and fac-[Si(OPTO)3]Cl·2CDCl3, (III) (OPO = 1-oxo-2-pyridin­one, C5H4NO2, and OPTO = 1-oxo-2-pyridine­thione, C5H4NOS), have distorted octa­hedral coordination spheres. The first two structures contain the same cation and anion, but different solvents of crystallization led to different solvates and packing arrangements. In structures (I) and (III), the silicon complex cations and chloride anions are well separated, while in (II), there are two C—H⋯Cl distances that fall just within the sum of the van der Waals radii of the C and Cl atoms. The pyridine portions of the OPO ligands in (I) and (II) are modeled as disordered with the planar flips of themselves [(I): 0.574 (15):0.426 (15), 0.696 (15):0.304 (15), and 0.621 (15):0.379 (15); (II): 0.555 (13):0.445 (13), 0.604 (14):0.396 (14) and 0.611 (13):0.389 (13)], demonstrating that both fac and mer isomers are co-crystallized. In (II), highly disordered solvent, located in two independent channels along [100], was unable to be modeled. Reflection contributions from this solvent were fixed and added to the calculated structure factors using the SQUEEZE [Spek (2015). Acta Cryst. C71, 9–18] function of program PLATON, which determined there to be 54 electrons in 225 A3 accounted for per unit cell (25 electrons in 109 A3 in one channel, and 29 electrons in 115 A3 in the other). In (I) and (II), all species lie on general positions. In (III), all species are located along crystallographic threefold axes.
The Orbit Structure of a G-Space X and the Ideal Theoretical Invariants of H G * (X)

In this chapter, we shall proceed to investigate the relationship between the geometric structures of a given G-space X and the algebraic structures of its equivariant cohomology H G * (X). From the viewpoint of transformation groups, those structures which are usually summarized as the orbit structure are certainly the most important geometric structures of a given G-space. Hence, it is almost imperative to investigate how much of the orbit structure of a given G-space X can actually be determined from the algebraic structure of its equivariant cohomology H G * (X). To be more precise, let us formulate a few more specific problems as examples: Problem 1. How much of the cohomology structure of the fixed point set, H*(F), is determined by the equivariant cohomology H G * (X)? Problem 2. Is it possible to give a criterion for the existence of fixed points purely in terms of the equivariant cohomology H G * (X)? Problem 3. Suppose F(H, X) = O. How to determine the set of maximal isotropy subgroups, {Hi ⊂ G; maximal among those H with F(H, X) # O} from the algebraic structure of H G * (X)?
Characterization and frequency distribution of sperm acrosome reaction among normal and infertile men.

We studied the acrosome reaction (AR) in human spermatozoa from 58 normal fertile men and 232 infertile patients. The median AR in the normal population was 17%; AR was > 9% in 83% of the subjects studied and only 2% of fertile individuals had a failed AR ( 9%. Because patients entered the study sequentially, without regard to the aetiology of infertility, the patient population comprised a wide variety of subjects ranging from individuals with good to extremely poor semen quality. There was a progressively greater number of individuals with a failed AR as semen quality deteriorated (P < 0.01). However, among patients with good count, motility and morphology, 20% unexpectedly had a failed AR, and among patients with severely impaired semen quality, 29% had a positive AR. We also analysed the relationship of AR values with other semen measurements. The frequency of acrosomal reactions was significantly correlated (Spearman, P < 0.001) with morphology (r = 0.509), concentration (r = 0.524), progression (r = 0.416) and percentage motility (r = 0.356), but not with the percentage of sperm moving at a curvilinear velocity of < or = 40 microns/s.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Speaking from the sidelines: the double-voiced history of Sideshow

It is hard to know who we are without knowing where we fit in. I remember this fact each time I watch Nico Wood's excellent one-person performance, Sideshow. I also remember how much effort it take...
Financial Instabilities and Risk Management by Central Banks

Among the various shocks that may cause financial instabilities, the bursting of asset bubbles has received most attention during the last decade. This paper discusses the risk management of financial instabilities caused by asset price crashes and evaluates the appropriate role of central banks. After an asset bubble crashes, central banks typically ease monetary policy to dampen the negative impact of the bust on economic activity. In this paper we address the question of why central bankers behave asymmetrically. Our answer to this question has three parts. First, simulations of theoretical models which include bubbles give an ambiguous answer as to whether or not central banks should try to target asset prices along with inflation and the output gap. Second, the historical episodes of asset price booms and busts suggest that using restrictive monetary policy to dampen bubbles may not work and in addition may destabilize the economy. Finally the central bankers are likely to be politically prevented from increasing interest rates solely to deflate an asset price boom. The paper also reviews the recent subprime mortgage crisis that was partially caused by the bursting of the housing bubble to emphasize the wide range of financial instability episodes that are included in the risk management responsibilities of central banks.
Tapered channel for six-dimensional muon cooling towards micron-scale emittances

A high-luminosity muon collider requires a significant reduction of the six-dimensional emittance prior to acceleration. Obtaining the desired final emittances requires transporting the muon beam through long sections of a beam channel containing rf cavities, absorbers, and focusing solenoids. Here we propose a new scheme to improve the performance of the channel, consequently increasing the number of transmitted muons and the lattice cooling efficiency. The key idea of our scheme is to tune progressively the main lattice parameters, such as the cell dimensions, rf frequency, and coil strengths, while always keeping the beam emittance significantly above the equilibrium value. We adopt this approach for a new cooling lattice design for a muon collider, and examine its performance numerically. We show that with tapering the cooling rate is not only higher than conventional designs, but also maintains its performance through the channel, resulting in a notable 6D emittance decrease by 3 orders of magnitude. We also review important lattice parameters, such as the required focusing fields, absorber length, cavity frequency, and voltage.
Mesoporous Alumina with Amidoxime Groups for CO2 Sorption at Ambient and Elevated Temperatures

Development of various mesostructures with introduced basic species such as amine groups represents a viable strategy for enhancing adsorption of acidic molecules such as CO2. To follow this strategy, mesoporous alumina-based materials with incorporated amidoxime functionality were prepared by evaporation induced self-assembly of commercial boehmite nanoparticles as an alumina precursor, (3-cyanopropyl)triethoxysilane as an organosilica precursor, and Pluronic P123 triblock copolymer as a soft template under acidic conditions. In the next synthesis step, the resulting mesoporous materials with cyanopropyl groups were subjected to hydrothermal reaction with hydroxylamine hydrochloride at slightly basic conditions and 80 °C to convert cyanopropyl groups to amidoxime functionalities. The latter sorbents showed fairly high CO2 uptake at ambient conditions (25 °C, 1.2 atm) and remarkably high sorption capacity (3.84 mmol/g) at 120 °C. Good thermal and chemical stabilities of these materials combined with high ...
Gay and Bisexual Men's Willingness to Use a Self-Collected Anal Cancer Screening Test.

ObjectiveWe investigated gay and bisexual men’s willingness to self-administer an anal cancer screening test at home.MethodsWe conducted 2 national, online cross-sectional surveys of self-identified gay and bisexual men: Study I in 2009 with men ages 20 to 59 (n = 306) and Study II in 2013 with men
Stereo Photo Measured ONH Shape Predicts Development of POAG in Subjects With Ocular Hypertension.

Purpose To identify objective, quantitative optic nerve head (ONH) structural features and model the contributions of glaucoma.