cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Doppler Spread Estimation for Broadband Wireless OFDM Systems Over Rician Fading Channels

In this paper, we present a new Doppler spread estimation algorithm for broadband wireless orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems with fast time-varying and frequency-selective Rayleigh or Rician fading channels. The new algorithm is developed by analyzing the statistical properties of the power of the received OFDM signal in the time domain, thus it is not affected by the influence of frequency-domain inter-carrier interference (ICI) introduced by channel variation within one OFDM symbol. The operation of the algorithm doesn’t require the knowledge of fading channel coefficients, transmitted data, or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the receiver. It is robust against additive noise, and can provide accurate Doppler spread estimation with SNR as low as 0 dB. Moreover, unlike existing algorithms, the proposed algorithm takes into account the inter-tap correlation of the discrete-time channel representation, as is the case in practical systems. Simulation results demonstrate that this new algorithm can accurately estimate a wide range of Doppler spread with low estimation latency and high computational efficiency.
Comparison of Cu 2 SnS 3 and CuSbS 2 as potential solar cell absorbers

Earth-abundant chalcogenide thin-film solar cells, in particular Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS), have recently attracted a lot of attention in the field of photovoltaics. Further increases in CZTS performance are challenging, in part because of defects caused by the chemical complexity of this quaternary material. Ternary copper chalcogenides, such as Cu 2 SnS 3 and CuSbS 2 , are chemically simpler, but their performance is still lower than that of CZTS. Here, we compare the physical properties of the Cu-Sn-S and Cu-Sb-S material families using a high-throughput combinatorial approach, with particular focus on Cu 2 SnS 3 and CuSbS 2 . We find that both materials have similar competing phases, but they differ significantly in terms of their structures, composition stability ranges, optical absorption, and electrical transport properties. The results of this study lead to the conclusion that CuSbS 2 , with lower conductivity and higher absorption, may be more promising for the development of Earth-abundant thin-film solar cells despite its layered structure and lower phase stability range.
Neurological Disorders Due to Systemic Disease (Book)

edited by Steven L. Lewis. , 304 pp., Wiley-Blackwell, 2013, $129.95 If you are a splitter, and you are still in the vanishing market for a desktop reference, you will be in heaven with this new book. The book is organized into 15 presenting clinical problems that may be due to underlying systemic illness, or to the treatments used for those illnesses: headache, encephalopathy, dementia, stroke, seizures, neuro-ophthalmology problems, neuro-otologic presentation, movement disorders, myelopathies, peripheral nerve disorders, neuromuscular junction disorders, myopathies, autonomic manifestations, and sleep disorders. The stated reason for this organization is that neurologists may often be the first to diagnose many patients with a previously undiagnosed systemic disorder, so one may need to review a chapter that lists all potential causes of the neurologic presentation. While this may still be one of the more intriguing aspects of neurologic practice, the prevalence of this circumstance is probably not that common. If your patient has systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and a neuropsychiatric presentation, then the page on SLE in the encephalopathy chapter is very useful. If, however, you want to know more about SLE and its neurologic manifestations, you must read portions of 9 chapters in this book.
The dynamics of mass online marketplaces: a case study of an online auction

The Internet has dramatically changed how people sell and buy goods. In recent years we have seen the emergence of electronic marketplaces that leverage information technology to create more efficient markets such as online auctions to bring together buyers and sellers with greater effectiveness at a massive scale. Despite the growing interest and importance of such marketplaces, our understanding of how the design of the marketplace affects buyer and seller behavior at the individual level and the market effectiveness at the aggregate level is still quite limited. This paper presents a detailed case study of a currently operational massive scale online auction marketplace. The main focus is to gain initial insights into the effects of the design of the marketplace. The results of the study point to several important considerations and implications not only for the design of online marketplaces but also for the design of large-scale websites where effective locating of information is key to user success.
Production of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate from methanol : characterization of a new isolate of Methylobacterium extorquens

Poly-β-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) and similar bacterial polyesters are promising candidates for the development of environment-friendly, totally biodegradable plastics. The use of methanol, one of the cheapest noble substrates available, may help to reduce the cost of producing such bioplastics. As a first step, a culture collection of 118 putative methylotrophic microorganisms was obtained from various soil samples without any laboratory enrichment step to favour culture diversity. The most promising culture was selected based on rapidity of growth and PHB accumulation and later identified as Methylobacterium extorquens. This isolate was obtained from soml contaminated regularly with used oil products for some 40 years. Concentrations of methanol greater than 8 g/l affected growth significantly and the methanol concentration was optimal at 1.7 g/l. PHB concentrations averaged 25–30% (w/v) of dry weight under non-optimized conditions. Controlling methanol concentration, using an open-loop configuration, led to biomass levels of 9–10 g/l containing 30–33% PHB while preventing methanol accumulation. The new isolate was also able to produce the co-polymer PHB/poly-β-hydroxyvalerate (PHV) using the mixture methanol + valerate. The PHV-to-PHB ratio was about 0.2 at the end of the fermentation. An average molecular mass varying between 2 and 3 × 105 Da was obtained for three PHB samples using two different measurement methods.
Development of the genetic map of the yeast Saccharomycopsis lipolytica

Tetrad and random spore analyses have been used to further develop the genetic map of Saccharomycopsis lipolytica. Mutations in 23 new nuclear genes have been isolated. Eight genes have been located on linkage fragment 1, 4 on fragment 2, 2 on fragment 5 and 3 on fragment 6. Linkage fragments 3 and 4 have been shown to be linked, and this fragment now contains 12 markers. A tentative map of the linkage fragments 1 and 3 is presented (Fig. 1). Markers exhibiting possible centromere linkage have been identified. Interference estimates suggest that there is little interference in S. lipolytica.
Effects of adriamycin on heart mitochondrial function in rested and exercised rats

Abstract The effect of Adriamycin ® (ADM) administration on heart mitochondria was investigated in rats at rest and after an acute bout of maximal exercise. ADM was given intravenously at a dosage of 8 mg/kg body weight 24 and 1 hr before rats were decapitated. Respiratory functions of the isolated heart mitochondria were measured polarographically with both site 1 (pyruvate-malate and 2-oxoglutarate) and site 2 (succinate) substrates. State 4 (basal) respiration was increased using all substrates in ADM-treated rat hearts compared with non-drug control hearts. The mitochondrial respiratory control index was decreased with ADM, but the reduction was due to an increase in state 4 rather than a decrease of state 3 (ADP-stimulated) respiration. ADM administration abolished an exercise-induced elevation of state 3 respiration using all substrates. There was no significant myocardial oxidative damage of dysfunction as evaluated by lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme activity. Addition of exogenous free radicals to the respiratory medium using hypoxanthine and xanthine oxidase resulted in significant deterioration of mitochondrial function in all parameters measured, but no drug- or exercise-specific patterns of damage were revealed. It is concluded that the current dose of ADM (20% of the established cumulative toxic dose) administered within 24 hr can interfere with normal heart mitochondrial function both at rest and during heavy exercise, but does not elicit overwhelming oxidative damage to the myocardium.
Ontogenetic shift to dependence on salmon-derived nutrients in Dolly Varden char from the Iliamna River, Alaska

The upstream migration, spawning, and death of anadromous, semelparous Pacific salmon brings nutrients to terrestrial and aquatic communities around the Pacific Rim. Many fishes use these resources but the relationship between fish body size and the reliance on salmon-derived nutrients might follow one of several patterns related to the onset of egg consumption with body size as fish grow, and possible shifts to alternative prey such as fishes as they grow larger still. In this study, these size-dependent hypotheses of marine subsidy use by resident Dolly Varden, Salvelinus malma, were tested using diet and stable isotope analyses. S. malma did not shift abruptly to a reliance on salmon eggs after they became large enough to eat eggs (i.e., no gape limitation). Rather, fish large enough to eat eggs but 600 mm long) S. malma received ca. 80 % of their nutrients from salmon (eggs, flesh, and maggots that had scavenged dead salmon) based on diet analysis and stable isotope ratios despite being large enough to consume fish, as many similarly-sized salmonids do in other ecosystems. The few fish sampled in June, prior to the availability of salmon subsidies, had stable isotope signatures that also reflected heavy (ca. 90 %) reliance on marine sources, likely because they had eaten little since the end of the salmon run the previous fall. This apparent avoidance of piscivory in favor a rich yet pulsed marine subsidy highlights the importance of healthy salmon runs for the sake of not only the salmon but resident fishes that consume them.
Perceptions of and by Lonely People in Initial Social Interaction

The Social Relations Model was used to examine the relationship between loneliness and interpersonal perception in initial social interactions. Unacquainted students interacted in groups of four same-gender members. Following the interaction, all group members rated themselves and others on 10 personal characteristics, such as physical attractiveness, social skills, and anxiety. Members also judged how they thought other group members saw them on the same 10 variables (metaperceptions). Results indicated that lonelier people viewed others somewhat more positively, themselves more negatively, and thought others viewed them more negatively. Lonelier people, however, were generally not seen differentially by others, except they were seen as friendlier
Feasibility of using high-speed electron beam x-ray CT (EBCT) to follow the time course of the pulmonary response to pneumonectomy in rabbits

This report focuses on preliminary experiments designed to determine regional blood flows and air, blood, and tissue contents at end expiratory lung volume in anesthetized, paralyzed, normal, sham-operated, and pneumonectomized (left lung removed) rabbits with and without wax plombage. High temporal resolution measurements were made with an EBCT scanner during the mechanical injection of a bolus of radiopaque contrast material into the pulmonary vasculature. The time-intensity curves of selected lung regions were analyzed with VIDAR using a modification of the myocardial blood flow model proposed by Wolfkiel et al. The resulting data provided an estimate of regional blood flow and total and regional air, blood and `tissue' contents, where `tissue' represents intracellular and interstitial water, i.e., lung water exclusive of blood. The estimates of mean lung air, blood and tissue contents were similar across groups and consistent with anticipated results.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The F‐helix of serpins plays an essential, active role in the proteinase inhibition mechanism

Proteinase inhibition by serpins requires a 70 A translocation of the proteinase, circumvention of the blocking helix F, and a crushing of the proteinase to render it catalytically incompetent. I propose that temporary displacement of the F-helix during proteinase transit, and its subsequent return after complete passage of the proteinase, not only allows the proteinase to reach its final location, but provides an absolutely essential coupling mechanism for making the final proteinase crushing step energetically favorable. The F-helix is therefore not a passive impediment to proteinase translocation, but a critical, active element in permitting the serpin inhibition mechanism to operate successfully.
Environmental scanning electron microscope imaging examples related to particle analysis

This work provides examples of some of the imaging capabilities of environmental scanning electron microscopy applied to easily charged samples relevant to particle analysis. Environmental SEM (also referred to as high pressure or low vacuum SEM) can address uncoated samples that are known to be difficult to image. Most of these specimens are difficult to image by conventional SEM even when coated with a conductive layer. Another area where environmental SEM is particularly applicable is for specimens not compatible with high vacuum, such as volatile specimens. Samples from which images were obtained that otherwise may not have been possible by conventional methods included fly ash particles on an oiled plastic membrane impactor substrate, a one micrometer diameter fiber mounted on the end of a wire, uranium oxide particles embedded in oil-bearing cellulose nitrate, teflon and polycarbonate filter materials with collected air particulate matter, polystryene latex spheres on cellulosic filter paper, polystyrene latex spheres “loosely” sitting on a glass slide, and subsurface tracks in an etched nuclear track-etch detector. Surface charging problems experienced in high vacuum SEMs are virtually eliminated in the low vacuum SEM, extending imaging capabilities to samples previously difficult to use or incompatible with conventional methods. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
On the size of 3-uniform linear hypergraphs

This article provides bounds on the size of a 3-uniform linear hypergraph with restricted matching number and maximum degree. In particular, we show that if a 3-uniform, linear family F has maximum matching size @n and maximum degree @D such that @D>=236@n(1+1@n-1), then |F|@?@D@n.
Selective entorhinal and nonselective cortical-hippocampal region lesions, but not selective hippocampal lesions, disrupt learned irrelevance in rabbit eyeblink conditioning

Prior experiments, as well as computational models, have implicated the hippocampal region in mediating the influence of nonreinforced stimulus preexposure on subsequent learning. Learned irrelevance (LIRR) is a preexposure task in which uncorrelated preexposures to the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US) produce a retardation of subsequent CS-US conditioning. In the work presented here, we report the results of tests of LIRR in eyeblink conditioning in rabbits with sham lesions, nonselective cortical-hippocampal region lesions, selective hippocampal lesions, and selective entorhinal lesions. Sham-lesioned rabbits that had been preexposed to the CS and the US exhibited slower acquisition of conditioned responses, as compared with context-preexposed controls. Nonselective cortical-hippocampal region lesions disrupted LIRR, whereas selective hippocampal lesions had no detrimental effect on LIRR. Selective entorhinal lesions disrupted LIRR. These findings fit other recent empirical findings and theoretical predictions that some classical conditioning tasks previously thought to depend on the hippocampus depend, rather, on the entorhinal cortex.
SELF-CONCEPT, DELINQUENCY, AND POSITIVE PEER CULTURE

This is an empirical attempt to assess juvenile delinquency and correction. in an institutional setting, in terms of agency and communion (two aspects of self) as defined by Bakan (1966). The Jusness Inventory, a standard inventory for assessing social adaptability and conformity, used with a multi scaled index was employed on juvenile delinquents in a positive peer culture program items of the Jesness Inventory judged to be a genetic and communal are listed.
Parent–Professional Partnerships: A valuable context for addressing challenging behaviours

Partnerships between professionals and parents of children with disabilities can be valuable ingredients in efforts to design and implement strategies of intervention and support. In this article, we provide a rationale in support of parent–professional partnerships and describe research and programmes that exemplify such partnership practices. We also describe approaches for facilitating the development of partnerships and a framework in which partnerships are placed at the optimal end of a continuum of parent involvement and parent support.
Modeling of Future-Year Emissions Control Scenarios for the Lower Fraser Valley: Impacts of Natural Gas and Propane Vehicle Technologies

Abstract The MC2–CALGRID photochemical modeling system is used to simulate the impact of two fuel substitution scenarios on ozone levels for a future year in the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. The relative impacts of selected natural gas and propane vehicle technologies are compared for the year 2005. The chosen natural gas technology imposes large reductions in nonmethane hydrocarbon emissions with moderate reductions in nitrogen oxide emissions, while the propane technology greatly lowers nitrogen oxide emissions with only small changes to nonmethane hydrocarbon emissions. The model results showed that replacing the entire light-duty gasoline car and truck fleet with the selected natural gas vehicle technology in the year 2005 in the Canadian portion of the Lower Fraser Valley yielded significant benefits in terms of reducing potential exposures to elevated ozone levels in suburban and rural areas. Sites closer to the urban core were less affected. For the propane fuel substitution, be...
Subcellular Site of Biosynthesis of the Catecholamine Biosynthetic Enzymes in Bovine Adrenal Medulla

The subcellular site of biosynthesis of the catecholamine biosynthetic enzymes was examined. Free and membrane-bound polysomes were prepared from bovine adrenal medulla and mRNA was isolated from these polysomes. Both were active in directing cell-free translations. Immunoprecipitation of cell-free products with specific antisera localized the biosynthesis of the subunits of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) (apparent Mr = 61,000) and of phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) (apparent Mr = 32,000) on free polysomes, compared with biosynthesis of subunits of dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) (apparent Mr = 67,000) on membrane-bound polysomes. Cross-reactivity between translation products was observed. Antibodies for DBH recognized a polypeptide with electrophoretic mobility identical to newly synthesized PNMT. However increasing concentrations of antibodies to DBH recognized at most 1/20 of the PNMT formed. The results of this study show the subcellular distribution of the catecholamine synthesizing enzymes is determined by their site of biosynthesis.
Transcription factor Sp1 recognizes a DNA sequence in the mouse dihydrofolate reductase promoter

Human (HeLa) cells contain a host-cell-encoded transcription factor, Sp1, which is required for transcription of simian virus 40 (SV40) promoters. Since the discovery of Sp1 we have been interested in learning what role this factor plays in uninfected cells. A monkey cellular gene promoter interacts with Sp1, but no gene products linked to this promoter have yet been identified. The finding that the sequence of the 5'-flanking DNA of the mouse dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene contains several regions showing strong homology to the Sp1 binding region of simian virus 40 (SV40) prompted us to undertake experiments with dhfr. We report here that Sp1 binds to these regions in the dhfr promoter, and that Sp1-containing preparations stimulate transcription from the dhfr promoter in an in vitro reaction. Our results suggest that in addition to its interactions with the SV40 viral promoter, one function of Sp1 is to direct the expression of the cellular DHFR gene.
Clomiphene Citrate as a Preventive Treatment for Intractable Chronic Cluster Headache: A Second Reported Case With Long‐Term Follow‐Up

Objective To describe a second case of treatment refractory chronic cluster headache responsive to clomiphene citrate and with long-term follow-up. Methods Case report with 7-year evaluation. Case A 63-year-old man with a 17-year history of chronic cluster headache preceded to have significant adverse events or was nonresponsive to multiple cluster headache preventive medications including verapamil, lithium, valproic acid, topiramate, baclofen as well as greater occipital nerve blocks and inpatient hospitalization. The patient experienced 3-5 headaches per day. On clomiphene citrate 100 mg/day he became 100% pain-free and remained so for 3.5 years with only mild fatigue as a side effect. He then had cluster headache recurrence and did well on gabapentin for another 3 years with repeat headache recurrence. Clomiphene was restarted, and he became pain-free once again. Discussion This is the second reported case of the effective use of clomiphene citrate for the preventive treatment of medicinal refractory chronic cluster headache. This is the first case to report long-term follow-up of this neurohormonal treatment. Clomiphene citrate appears to be safe for extended use in chronic cluster headache even in an elderly sufferer and has a minimal side effect profile. The mechanism of action of how clomiphene prevents cluster headache may involve both its ability to enhance testosterone production and its ability to bind to hypothalamic estrogen receptors. Clomiphene citrate should join the list of alternative cluster headache prophylactic treatments to be considered by headache specialists when conventional cluster headache preventives are ineffective.
Evaluating consultation psychiatry residents

The overall goal of this report is to provide a list of recommendations to consultation-liaison (C-L) unit chiefs for the evaluation of psychiatric residents in conjunction with the latters' assignments to the C-L service. Following a fairly extensive review of references on evaluation, the authors developed 13 recommendations: written examination materials; development of problem-solving assessment techniques; Case Presentation Inventory; and peer assessment and other nontraditional sources of performance ratings. The authors emphasize the need for direct observation of resident performance, and the problem of achieving good interrater reliability when using subjective ratings of resident performance.
A Specificity and Targeting Subunit of a Human SWI/SNF Family-Related Chromatin-Remodeling Complex

The SWI/SNF family of chromatin-remodeling complexes facilitates gene activation by assisting transcription machinery to gain access to targets in chromatin. This family includes BAF (also called hSWI/SNF-A) and PBAF (hSWI/SNF-B) from humans and SWI/SNF and Rsc from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, the relationship between the human and yeast complexes is unclear because all human subunits published to date are similar to those of both yeast SWI/SNF and Rsc. Also, the two human complexes have many identical subunits, making it difficult to distinguish their structures or functions. Here we describe the cloning and characterization of BAF250, a subunit present in human BAF but not PBAF. BAF250 contains structural motifs conserved in yeast SWI1 but not in any Rsc components, suggesting that BAF is related to SWI/SNF. BAF250 is also a homolog of the Drosophila melanogaster Osa protein, which has been shown to interact with a SWI/SNF-like complex in flies. BAF250 possesses at least two conserved domains that could be important for its function. First, it has an AT-rich DNA interaction-type DNA-binding domain, which can specifically bind a DNA sequence known to be recognized by a SWI/SNF family-related complex at the β-globin locus. Second, BAF250 stimulates glucocorticoid receptor-dependent transcriptional activation, and the stimulation is sharply reduced when the C-terminal region of BAF250 is deleted. This region of BAF250 is capable of interacting directly with the glucocorticoid receptor in vitro. Our data suggest that BAF250 confers specificity to the human BAF complex and may recruit the complex to its targets through either protein-DNA or protein-protein interactions.
Generation of slow large scales in forced rotating stratified turbulence

Numerical simulations are used to study homogeneous, forced turbulence in three-dimensional rotating, stably stratified flow in the Boussinesq approximation, where the rotation axis and gravity are both in the zˆ-direction. Energy is injected through a three-dimensional isotropic white-noise forcing localized at small scales. The parameter range studied corresponds to Froude numbers smaller than an O(1) critical value, below which energy is transferred to scales larger than the forcing scales. The values of the ratio N/f range from ≈1/2 to ∞, where N is the Brunt–Vaisala frequency and f is twice the rotation rate. For strongly stratified flows (N/f[Gt ]1), the slow large scales generated by the fast small-scale forcing consist of vertically sheared horizontal flow. Quasi-geostrophic dynamics dominate, at large scales, only when 1/2 [les ] N/f [les ] 2, which is the range where resonant triad interactions cannot occur.
Fibrillation in the Superior Vena Cava Mimicking Atrial Tachycardia

A 49-year-old male was referred for catheter ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). PAF had recurred after each of 2 prior left atrial ablation procedures. He had a structurally normal heart with a left atrial diameter of 43 mm. The patient presented to the electrophysiology laboratory in AF with an average AF cycle length (CL) of 150 ms and reconnected pulmonary veins. After electric disconnection of all 4 veins using an antral circumferential approach, AF organized to an atrial tachycardia (AT), which was successfully converted into right atrial common type atrial flutter after ablation in the mid coronary sinus (CS). Ablation of the cavotricuspid isthmus was performed and converted the rhythm to a slightly irregular atrial tachycardia at a CL of approximately 430 ms and a P-wave morphology (inferior axis, positive/negative P wave in V1), suggesting an origin in the vicinity of the sinus node. Mapping in this region revealed a focal tachycardia located in the superior vena cava (SVC) with a CL of approximately 215 ms and predominantly 2:1 veno-atrial conduction. Radiofrequency …
Towards a secure electricity grid

The transmission of bulk power within a zone of an interconnected region of an electricity grid is controlled by substation automation systems. The substations are where electricity is routed throughout the grid, as well as the control and communication nodes of the network grid. It is crucial for the security of the electricity grid that there should be no break in the network communication. Currently, IEC 61850 specifies the communication interface and gives utility companies interoperability for Intelligent Electronic Devices of substation automation systems and is intended to support Distributed Wide Area Monitoring, Control and Protection. This requires ultra real-time data feeds that must be trusted. Currently there is no agreed upon security standard that accompanies IEC 61850. In this paper we propose a framework architecture that extends IEC 61850 to capture trusted substation automation by combining (i) Trusted Computing engines, (ii) a Kerberos multicast authentication service, and (iii) a real-time attribute-based access control system. We then integrate this framework into an open source IEC 61850 profiler (a real-time emulator) for substation automation recently released by SISCO, and show that the integrated profiler is IEC 61850 compliant, while supporting integrity, confidentiality and real-time availability (with end-to-end time for critical data feeds less than 4ms), against strong adversaries (including insiders).
Measurement of extensional viscosity of viscoelastic liquid foods

Abstract Extensional rheology of foods can be important and helpful in various stages of food manufacture, starting from the initial stage of formulation to the final stage of sensory perception of the product by the consumer. Several new techniques have been developed over the last two decades to measure the extensional flow properties of polymeric liquids. Some of these techniques can be employed to measure the extensional viscosity of foods. Three such techniques are reviewed in this paper: the fiber wind-up and the entrance pressure drop technique for high viscosity liquids, and the opposed jets device for low viscosity liquids. The fiber wind-up technique requires a special set of fixtures which is attached to a conventional rotational rheometer. The entrance pressure drop technique requires a capillary rheometer. A large-diameter barrel capillary rheometer is useful to obtain data for wheat doughs. A commercial rheometer is available with the opposed jets configuration for low viscosity liquids (RFX). Extensional viscosity data from all these techniques are examined and their application to foods discussed. The transient extensional viscosity of a high viscosity polyisobutylene (a polymer melt at room temperature) obtained using the fiber wind-up technique over extension rates of 0.5–10 s−1, and up to strains of three is examined. The extensional viscosity of two different wheat flour-water mixtures estimated using the entrance pressure drop technique is presented. Both doughs showed extension-thinning behavior over the range of extension rates examined. The use of the opposed jets device to characterize polysaccharide solutions is discussed based on a study conducted by R. C. Clark in 1991 (Extensional viscosity of some food hydrocolloids. Paper presented at the Sixth International Conference on Gums and Stabilizers in the food industry, Wrexham, Wales, 15–19 July 1991).
Seasonal movement of the American horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus in a semi-enclosed bay on Cape Cod, Massachusetts (USA) as determined by acoustic telemetry

spawning crabs (males and females) were tagged with US Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) button tags over the same period. Ninety-one percent of the crabs with transmitters were detected during this study. In the spring, crabs were primarily located in the northern section of the bay near spawning beaches, whereas in the fall crabs moved towards the deeper portions of the bay, and some may have overwintered in the bay. There was evidence that a majority (58%−71%) of the females with transmitters spawned in two sequential seasons. One archive tag was recovered resulting in a year-long continuous record of depth and temperature data that, when integrated with telemetry data, indicated that the crab overwintered in the bay. The live recapture rate of crabs with USFWS button tags was 11%, with all re-sighted crabs except one observed inside Pleasant Bay. Eighty-three percent of recaptures were found within 2.5km of the tagging location, and 51% were observed at the same beach where they were tagged. This study provides further evidence that horseshoe crabs in Pleasant Bay may be philopatric to this embayment [Current Zoology 56 (5): 575–586, 2010].
Time Reversal Target Classification from Scattered Radiation

This paper proposed the M-ary hypothesis testing algorithm for classifying radar backscatter signals from hidden targets in a rich scattering environment using time reversal. The target recognition algorithm is to be designed to distinguish measurements of the radar backscatter from an unknown object as belonging to one of a set of M classes. The proposed time reversal target classifier is, in essence, a correlator that calculates the cross-correlation of the normalized target signature waveforms with a data dependent quantity obtained from measurements. The algorithm requires a priori empirical statistical knowledge of the scattering channel, which is dependent of configurations of the scatterers in the environment. By incorporating time reversal, the proposed algorithm provides a significant performance improvement compared with the conventional method. Proof of concept is provided using electromagnetic data collected in a laboratory environment.
Mitral Valve Repair in Patients With Advanced Heart Failure and Severe Functional Mitral Insufficiency Reverses Left Ventricular Remodeling and Improves Symptoms

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is commonly observed in patients with heart failure and associated with a poor prognosis.1–3 Mitral valve repair or replacement to restore valve competency is a well-established procedure when there are symptoms of heart failure and the primary disease is of the valve leaflets. However, recent interest has focused on functional or secondary mitral insufficiency in which the valve leaflets are anatomically normal but do not fully coapt because of annular dilatation and restricted leaflet motion secondary to increased ventricular size and sphericity. Such a remodeled ventricle is often associated with an ejection fraction of ≤40% and heart failure symptoms of New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or IV. Surgery in this situation is controversial, as the MR is the consequence and not the cause of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, and the prognosis, therefore, is more related to the underlying cardiomyopathic process. In addition, it has been thought in the past that elimination of a low pressure runoff might worsen the overload of the left ventricle and contribute to the high mortality seen with mitral valve surgery in heart failure patients. Progressive LV remodeling characterized by progressive LV dilatation and change to a more spherical shape can result in functional MR as a result of annular dilatation, papillary muscle displacement, and chordal tethering. The functional MR leads to an increased preload, increased wall tension, and increased LV workload, all of which contribute in a positive feedback loop to progressive heart failure. The presence of MR itself is the independent risk factor of poor outcome, both in nonischemic and ischemic etiologies.1–3 Even uncorrected mild MR, as well as moderate to severe MR associated with ischemic cardiomyopathy, is associated with reduced long-term survival.4 In addition, it is a progressive disorder in which MR-related LV volume overload …
Do cities simulate climate change? A comparison of herbivore response to urban and global warming

Cities experience elevated temperature, CO2, and nitrogen deposition decades ahead of the global average, such that biological response to urbanization may predict response to future climate change. This hypothesis remains untested due to a lack of complementary urban and long-term observations. Here, we examine the response of an herbivore, the scale insect Melanaspis tenebricosa, to temperature in the context of an urban heat island, a series of historical temperature fluctuations, and recent climate warming. We survey M. tenebricosa on 55 urban street trees in Raleigh, NC, 342 herbarium specimens collected in the rural southeastern United States from 1895 to 2011, and at 20 rural forest sites represented by both modern (2013) and historical samples. We relate scale insect abundance to August temperatures and find that M. tenebricosa is most common in the hottest parts of the city, on historical specimens collected during warm time periods, and in present-day rural forests compared to the same sites when they were cooler. Scale insects reached their highest densities in the city, but abundance peaked at similar temperatures in urban and historical datasets and tracked temperature on a decadal scale. Although urban habitats are highly modified, species response to a key abiotic factor, temperature, was consistent across urban and rural-forest ecosystems. Cities may be an appropriate but underused system for developing and testing hypotheses about biological effects of climate change. Future work should test the applicability of this model to other groups of organisms.
A Note on Internet Resources for the Entrepreneur: A Small Firm Finance Perspective

This article concentrates on internet resources that are available to those interested in entrepreneurial and small firm finance. Specifically, I present web pages that focus on general entrepreneurial issues and different avenues for acquiring capital. The three main areas o f external financing that I include are venture capital, going public, and loans. Additionally, the advantages of using electronic mail, distribution lists, and personal web page applications are discussed and several examples presented.
MYTHS ABOUT PUBLIC WELFARE: POVERTY, FAMILY INSTABILITY, AND TEEN ILLEGITIMACY

To rationalize federal cutbacks in spending for public welfare, President Reagan charged that public welfare programs are responsible for leading to a “national tragedy involving family breakdown, teen-age illegitimacy and worsening poverty.” Yet analysis of 1980 and 1982 census data for the 50 states suggests that if this is so, it is because of low, not high, spending for public welfare. While low state spending for public welfare is predictive of high teen illegitimacy rates and directly linked to high state poverty and divorce rates, higher state spending for public welfare is predictive of lower teen birth rates, and linked to lower rates of family breakup and poverty. Despite limitations inherent in the analysis, the findings challenge the contention that spending for public welfare contributes to family breakup, teen illegitimacy and poverty.
New insights into the biological effects of anthrax toxins: linking cellular to organismal responses.

The anthrax toxins lethal toxin (LT) and edema toxin (ET) are essential virulence factors produced by Bacillus anthracis. These toxins act during two distinct phases of anthrax infection. During the first, prodromal phase, which is often asymptomatic, anthrax toxins act on cells of the immune system to help the pathogen establish infection. Then, during the rapidly progressing (or fulminant) stage of the disease bacteria disseminate via a hematological route to various target tissues and organs, which are typically highly vascularized. As bacteria proliferate in the bloodstream, LTand ET begin to accumulate rapidly reaching a critical threshold level that will cause death even when the bacterial proliferation is curtailed by antibiotics. During this final phase of infection the toxins cause an increase in vascular permeability and a decrease in function of target organs including the heart, spleen, kidney, adrenal gland, and brain. In this review, we examine the various biological effects of anthrax toxins, focusing on the fulminant stage of the disease and on mechanisms by which the two toxins may collaborate to cause cardiovascular collapse. We discuss normal mechanisms involved in maintaining vascular integrity and based on recent studies indicating that LT and ET cooperatively inhibit membrane trafficking to cellecell junctions we explore several potential mechanisms by which the toxins may achieve their lethal effects. We also summarize the effects of other potential virulence factors secreted by B. anthracis and consider the role of toxic factors in the evolutionarily recent emergence of this devastating disease.
EDIT: Easy-to-use Bio-Data Extraction, Integration and Refreshing Tools

Systems biology research demands the ability to construct custom-designed bio-entities from heterogeneous data sources. EDIT is an ongoing project aimed at building a system to allow bio-researchers with minimum computer proficiency to define the structure of a desired bio-entity, and identify the data sources for its data fields. Then, the system will automatically extract and output the data in the predefined structure and format. The system consists of a host site, which maintains and updates the configuration files specified for source databases, and user sites, which perform data extraction and integration by using the configuration files. An Event-Trigger-Rule Server is used to support data refreshing and to notify biologists about changes made to source databases.
Die Wissenschaft von Proteinen im Reich der organischen Chemie begründen: Totalsynthese von SEP (synthetisches Erythropoeseprotein)

Erythropoietin, bekannt als EPO, ist ein hormonelles Glycoprotein, das die Produktion von roten Blutkorperchen stimuliert. Rekombinantes EPO wurde als “die wohl erfolgreichste Droge, die durch die Revolution der rekombinanten DNA-Technologie hervorgebracht wurde”, beschrieben. In jungerer Zeit hat das EPO-Glycoproteinmolekul eine Renaissance als bedeutendes Ziel der organischen Synthesechemie erfahren. In diesem Kurzaufsatz mochte ich auf fruhere wichtige Arbeiten zur chemischen Synthese eines masgeschneiderten EPO-Analogons eingehen, das volle biologische Aktivitat und verbesserte pharmakokinetische Eigenschaften aufwies. Das Design und die Synthese dieses “synthetischen Erythropoeseproteins” waren damals ihrer Zeit voraus und haben in den letzten Monaten wieder neue Bedeutung gewonnen. Ich mochte hier die Geschichte einer der wesentlichen Leistungen der Synthesechemie etwas detaillierter dokumentieren, als es in der Primarliteratur moglich ist, wobei auch auf den heutigen Kontext eingegangen werden soll.
Early and late talkers: school-age language, literacy and neurolinguistic differences

Early language development sets the stage for a lifetime of competence in language and literacy. However, the neural mechanisms associated with the relative advantages of early communication success, or the disadvantages of having delayed language development, are not well explored. In this study, 174 elementary school-age children whose parents reported that they started forming sentences ‘early’, ‘on-time’ or ‘late’ were evaluated with standardized measures of language, reading and spelling. All oral and written language measures revealed consistent patterns for ‘early’ talkers to have the highest level of performance and ‘late’ talkers to have the lowest level of performance. We report functional magnetic resonance imaging data from a subset of early, on-time and late talkers matched for age, gender and performance intelligence quotient that allows evaluation of neural activation patterns produced while listening to and reading real words and pronounceable non-words. Activation in bilateral thalamus and putamen, and left insula and superior temporal gyrus during these tasks was significantly lower in late talkers, demonstrating that residual effects of being a late talker are found not only in behavioural tests of oral and written language, but also in distributed cortical-subcortical neural circuits underlying speech and print processing. Moreover, these findings suggest that the age of functional language acquisition can have long-reaching effects on reading and language behaviour, and on the corresponding neurocircuitry that supports linguistic function into the school-age years.
Teaching and Testing to Develop Fluid Abilities

Fluid abilities are important both as aptitudes for success in formal schooling and as outcomes of formal schooling. However, the aptitude function has been overemphasized, and the outcome function ignored altogether, primarily because fluid abilities are often mistakenly thought to be innate. Two methods for developing and assessing these abilities are discussed. In the first method, students are asked to solve increasingly unfamiliar problems in a domain. This usually requires the adaptation of existing problem-solving strategies or the assembly of new strategies to solve increasingly ill-structured problems. In the second method, students are required to organize knowledge in new ways or to view it from different perspectives. In both cases, assessment requires that students’ personal perspectives be elicited. This raises several difficult philosophical and psychometric problems. These problems and the implications for education are discussed.
A typology of mixed methods research designs

The mixed methods paradigm is still in its adolescence, and, thus, is still relatively unknown and confusing to many researchers. In general, mixed methods research represents research that involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or in a series of studies that investigate the same underlying phenomenon. Over the last several years, a plethora of research designs have been developed. However, the number of designs that currently prevail leaves the doctoral student, the beginning researcher, and even the experienced researcher who is new to the field of mixed methods research with the challenge of selecting optimal mixed methods designs. This paper presents a three-dimensional typology of mixed methods designs that represents an attempt to rise to the challenge of creating an integrated typology of mixed methods designs. An example for each design is included as well as a notation system that fits our eight-design framework.
HCCI Load Expansion Opportunities Using a Fully Variable HVA Research Engine to Guide Development of a Production Intent Cam-Based VVA Engine: The Low Load Limit

While the potential emissions and efficiency benefits of HCCI combustion are well known, realizing the potentials on a production intent engine presents numerous challenges. In this study we focus on identifying challenges and opportunities associated with a production intent cam-based variable valve actuation (VVA) system on a multi-cylinder engine in comparison to a fully flexible, naturally aspirated, hydraulic valve actuation (HVA) system on a single-cylinder engine, with both platforms sharing the same GDI fueling system and engine geometry. The multi-cylinder production intent VVA system uses a 2-step cam technology with wide authority cam phasing, allowing adjustments to be made to the negative valve overlap (NVO) duration but not the valve opening durations. On the single cylinder HVA engine, the valve opening duration and lift are variable in addition to the NVO duration. The content of this paper is limited to the low-medium operating load region at 2000rpm. Using different injection strategies, including the NVO pilot injection approach, the single-cylinder engine is operated over a load range from 160-390 kPa net IMEP at 2000 rpm. Changes to valve opening duration on the single-cylinder HVA engine illustrate opportunities for load expansion and efficiency improvement at certain conditions. For instance, the low loadmore » limit can be extended on the HVA engine by reducing breathing and operating closer to a stoichiometric air fuel ratio (AFR) by using valve deactivation. The naturally aspirated engine used here without external EGR confirmed that as operating load increases the emissions of NOx increases due to combustion temperature. NOx emissions are found to be one limitation to the maximum load limitation, the other being high pressure rise rate. It is found that the configuration of the production intent cam-based system represents a good compromise between valve lift and duration in the low to medium load region. Changing the extent of charge motion and breathing via valve deactivation prove beneficial at moderating the pressure rise rate and combustion stability and extending the low load limit at 2000rpm on the HVA engine. It also confirms that strategies using a pilot fuel injection are beneficial at low operating loads but that as operating load is increased, the benefits of multiple injection diminish to the point where a single injection offers the best performance.« less