cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A non-singular continuum theory of dislocations

Abstract We develop a non-singular, self-consistent framework for computing the stress field and the total elastic energy of a general dislocation microstructure. The expressions are self-consistent in that the driving force defined as the negative derivative of the total energy with respect to the dislocation position, is equal to the force produced by stress, through the Peach–Koehler formula. The singularity intrinsic to the classical continuum theory is removed here by spreading the Burgers vector isotropically about every point on the dislocation line using a spreading function characterized by a single parameter a, the spreading radius. A particular form of the spreading function chosen here leads to simple analytic formulations for stress produced by straight dislocation segments, segment self and interaction energies, and forces on the segments. For any value a > 0 , the total energy and the stress remain finite everywhere, including on the dislocation lines themselves. Furthermore, the well-known singular expressions are recovered for a = 0 . The value of the spreading radius a can be selected for numerical convenience, to reduce the stiffness of the dislocation equations of motion. Alternatively, a can be chosen to match the atomistic and continuum energies of dislocation configurations.
Synthesis of Rat Liver Albumin in a Rabbit Reticulocyte Cell-free Protein-synthesizing System

Abstract Rat liver polysomal RNA can direct the synthesis of albumin in a cell-free system derived from rabbit reticulocytes. The in vitro product, labeled with [3H]leucine, was identified as albumin by precipitation with specific antibody and by comparison to authentic serum [14C]albumin. The in vitro product and serum albumin co-migrate during electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels; they have identical immunoprecipitation curves; and their peptides show a precise correspondence in the ion exchange chromatography of tryptic digests. Albumin messenger RNA has a sedimentation coefficient of approximately 18 S in sucrose gradients and it appears to contain a polyadenylate segment. Polysomal RNA can be enriched for albumin synthesizing activity by selective adsorption to nitrocellulose filters.
Evaluation of the C6 Peptide Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Individuals Vaccinated with the Recombinant OspA Vaccine

The C6 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), based on a peptide (C6) that reproduces the sequence of invariable region 6 of VlsE, the antigenic variation protein of Borrelia burgdorferi, has been shown to be a sensitive and specific test for the serologic diagnosis of Lyme disease. We now report that none of 29 uninfected individuals vaccinated with the recombinant OspA vaccine had an antibody response to the C6 peptide. The C6 peptide ELISA can be used to diagnose Lyme disease in patients who have received the OspA vaccine.
Acetylcholine metabolism and choline availability at the neuromuscular junction of mature adult and aged rats.

1. The balance between acetylcholine (ACh) synthesis and degradation and the availability of choline were studied in the neuromuscular junction of rats aged 10 (mature adult) and 28 (aged) months. Endogenous and 2H4-labelled variants of ACh and choline were assayed during steady-state stimulated and resting conditions using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. 2. Endogenous ACh levels were 34% less per nerve terminal in the older rats; in non-innervated tissue, the levels were 12-14% as large as in innervated tissue. Endogenous choline levels in innervated and non-innervated tissue were similar and were 28% higher in the older animals. 3. Accumulation of 2H4-labelled choline was significantly greater in the 28-month animals; the specific activity at equilibrium was 60% higher in the older rats. 4. Incorporation of [2H4]choline into [2H4]ACh was significantly faster in the aged rats; times to half-maximal values were 2.0 and 0.6 min in the 10- and the 28-month animals, respectively. There was no measurable synthesis of ACh in the non-innervated tissue. 5. There were no major age-related differences in the amount of ACh released during stimulation between 1 and 20 Hz. In contrast, choline efflux during stimulation was significantly greater in the aged animals; flux values (+/- S.E. of mean) were 0.48 (+/- 0.014) and 0.66 (+/- 0.038) nmol/min for the 10- and the 28-month rats, respectively. 6. Under resting conditions, endogenous ACh efflux was significantly greater in the older rats; the rates (+/- S.E. of mean) were 2.00 (+/- 0.21) and 3.05 (+/- 0.43) pmol/min for the younger and the older animals, respectively; similarly, choline efflux was greater in the aged tissue. 7. These results indicated that lower intracellular ACh levels can be attributed to enhanced leakage rather than to decreased synthesis. Greater ACh efflux is accompanied by correspondingly greater choline uptake in the 28-month rats; this is associated with greater choline efflux and higher steady-state choline levels in the aged tissue.
An Ecological Approach to Classroom Literacy Instruction: Lessons Learned from No Impact Man.

236 In early spring, I dragged my husband and two sons to a documentary film screening of No Impact Man (Gabbert, Schein, & Wurmfeld, 2009), the story of 40-something Colin Beavan, his wife Michelle Conlin, their two-year-old daughter Isabella, and dog Frankie and their decision to go “off the grid” in an effort to have no personal net impact on the environment for a year while living in New York City. According to an online description of the movie, “It means eating vegetarian, buying only local food, and turning off the refrigerator. It also means no elevators, no television, no cars, busses, or airplanes, no toxic cleaning products, no electricity, no material consumption, and no garbage” (Oscilloscope Laboratories, 2009). Whoa! I was curious. That seems really out there! Produce no garbage and live in Manhattan? No electricity and live in a ninth-f loor apartment? The screening was hosted at a local yoga school that we frequent, and the film was projected on a wall in the studio. We rolled out our yoga mats, cuddled up on the f loor, and enjoyed the film. Afterwards, the audience hung around discussing the film. Everyone agreed that sustainability (i.e., the way biological systems remain diverse and productive over time) of the environment is a crucial issue in contemporary life. Conversation turned to examples in the film and how some of Beavan’s decisions seemed radical (e.g., using no toilet paper, cutting off the electricity, drinking no coffee), while others seemed reasonable, even do-able (e.g., no plastic water bottles, plastic bags, or paper towels; self-propelled travel; thrift store shopping), if not for an individual’s benefit then at least for the benefit of our planet. The film highlights the family’s struggles to stay true to their no net impact plan, as they become more and more aware of the throwaway, selfindulgent lifestyle that Americans have come to take for granted. Also, as in all feel-good movies, it reveals a silver lining. For the Beavan-Conlin family, that included deeper connections to others and to the environment, physically (and perhaps mentally) healthier lifestyles, and a more fulfilled and positive sense of purpose and self. The audiences’ reactions to potential implications of such personal lifestyle changes ranged from absolute “no way, not for me” Margaret C. Hagood C O M M E N T A R Y
Non-Contact Laser Ultrasonic Inspection for Cryogenically Introduced Interlayer Defects in Epoxy-Based Composites

Traditional transducer-based techniques for Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) are limited by fixed frequency-bandwidth for generation and sensing, and thus provide unsatisfactory resolution for certain types of material defects. Thermo-Acousto-Photonic NDE (TAP-NDE) is a proven alternative that is non-invasive and non-contact, and suited for real-time applications. This paper focuses on employing TAP-NDE to examine the presence of microcracks and fissures in multi-layered composites. Tests were performed on layered composite panels of specific epoxyresin composition and constant thickness to identify localized delaminations formed by subjecting the specimen to cryogenic cycling. Interrogation of the undamaged specimen using laser-generated broadband surface waves revealed a standard reference knowledge base, as seen in the instantaneous frequency-time domain. Tests were repeated after each specimen was subjected to a set number of cycles of liquid nitrogen cycling, which caused damages at the micron scale in the bulk material. Analyses showed changes in the time of wave arrival and absence of prominent high frequency components. Wave velocity and dispersion characteristics of the cycled specimen were altered. Thus, the specimen, on cryogenic cycling, was found to undergo a decrease in stiffness, which is speculatively the result of micro-voids, fissures or delaminations between layers. Hence, when combining with the basic notion of instantaneous frequency, TAP-NDE acts as an effective broadband generation and sensing technique, demonstrating feasibility and greater versatility for inspecting layered composites as against contemporary narrowband techniques.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Body size, weight change, fat distribution and breast cancer risk in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women

Introduction The incidence of breast cancer varies among women living in the Southwestern part of the US. We evaluate how body size influences breast cancer risk among these women. Methods Cases (n = 2,325) diagnosed with breast cancer between October 1, 1999 and May 2004 residing in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, or Utah were matched to controls (n = 2,525). Participants were interviewed; height, weight, waist, and hip circumference were measured at the time of interview; blood was drawn. Results A large body mass index (BMI) at age 15 was inversely associated with pre-menopausal breast cancer risk in both non-Hispanic white (NHW) and Hispanic women (Odds ratio, ORs 0.68 95% CI 0.44, 1.04, and 0.65 95% CI 0.39, 1.08, respectively); BMI at age 15 also had an impact on subsequent breast cancer associated with obesity after menopause. Among postmenopausal women, recent exposure to hormones was an important modifier of risk associated with body size. Among women not recently exposed to hormones risk associated with obesity was 1.61 (95% CI 1.05, 2.45) for NHW women; gaining ‡25 kg between 15 and age 50 was inversely associated with breast cancer among Hispanic women (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.23, 1.14). A large weight gain and a large waist-tohip ratio (WHR) was associated with an increased odds of having an estrogen receptor negative tumor among NHW only (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.07, 3.08, and 2.04 95% CI 1.20,3.50). Conclusions These findings suggest that the metabolic consequences of obesity on breast cancer risk differ between NHW and Hispanic women living in the Southwest.
Recommendations for optimal use of imaging studies to clinically stage mediastinal lymph nodes in non-small-cell lung cancer patients

Appropriate clinical staging of mediastinal lymph nodes in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients has important therapeutic and prognostic implications. Because of the wide variations in practice patterns among community and academic physicians, we reviewed the literature so that we could provide evidence-based recommendations on the use of imaging studies in the pretreatment clinical staging of NSCLC patients. We concluded that the most sensitive and accurate method of noninvasive mediastinal nodal staging is a positron emission tomography/computed tomography fusion scan; we believe this tool should be a component of clinical staging of all NSCLC patients. Given insufficient sensitivity with currently available imaging studies, mediastinal nodal staging should also include histologic evaluation.
Priming for T helper type 2 differentiation by interleukin 2-mediated induction of IL-4 receptor α chain expression

Interleukin 4 (IL-4) drives T helper type 2 differentiation, whereas IL-2 augments Il4 chromatin accessibility. Leonard and colleagues now find that IL-2 also maintains the expression of Il4ra and other genes in T helper type 2–committed cells.
Computation and Visualizaion of 3-D Marangoni and Magnetically-Driven Flows in Droplets

This paper presents a computational and visualization tool kit for the numerical modeling of 3-D Marangoni and/or magnetically-driven turbulent flows in droplets under normal and/or microgravity conditions. The computational part involves the finite element solution of steady-state and transient 3-D Marangoni flows in electrically levitated droplets and the higher order finite difference method for the direction numerical simulation of tubulences in electromagnetically levitated droplets. Both the electrically and magnetically droplets have been used for study of fundamentals governing solidification processing in normal and mcrio gravity. The visualization part is developed based on the UNIX/X-motif platform and on the advanced algorithms for multi-dimensional computer graphics. The visualization tool kit employs the algorithms for data retrieving, partitoning, sorting and searching algorithms, and 3-D/2-D object clipping. An efficient algorithm used for plane and body cutting and particle tracing is presented. The mathematical formulation used in developing the above computational tool kit, including computational and differential geometry, is also discussed. Examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the tool kit as applied to the numerical simulation and computer visualization of complex steady state and transient three-dimensional Marangoni and turbulent magnetically driven flows in free droplets.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Challenges and opportunities for compound semiconductor devices in next generation wireless base station power amplifiers

Power amplifiers for cellular base stations represent a major commercial market opportunity for GaAs, SiC and GaN FET devices. As carriers upgrade their networks to 3G services in the coming years, it is expected that the market for base station power amplifiers will grow to well over /spl Theta//year. These amplifiers typically produce 20- 80 W of RF power, have exacting linearity requirements and extreme price sensitivity. Compound semiconductor devices have a clear potential performance advantage over silicon LDMOS devices for this application, but today LDMOS remains the "technology-of choice" for most base stations. This paper will summarize the commercial market, system requirements, linearization techniques, and technology choices for 3G base stations.
The Peptide KLVFF-K6 Promotes β-Amyloid(1–40) Protofibril Growth by Association but Does Not Alter Protofibril Effects on Cellular Reduction of 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT)

The peptide KLVFF-K6 was observed by Lowe et al. to simultaneously enhance amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) fibrillogenesis and decrease cellular toxicity, as measured in a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction assay. It was postulated that accelerated Abeta aggregation and precipitation induced by KLVFF-K6 may lead to an increase in less toxic insoluble fibrils at the expense of more toxic soluble protofibrils. In a previous study, we distinguished between two modes of protofibril growth: elongation by monomer deposition and direct protofibril-protofibril association. These growth mechanisms could be resolved by varying Abeta monomer and NaCl concentrations. Using assays designed to isolate these distinct modes of protofibril growth, we report here that larger Abeta aggregates formed in the presence of KLVFF-K6 resulted from enhanced protofibril association. 3H-Radiomethylated KLVFF-K6 bound to associated protofibrils with an apparent Kd of 180 nM, and concentrations of free [3H]KLVFF-K6 in this range were sufficient to convert soluble protofibrils to sedimentable fibrils. However, promotion of Abeta protofibril association by KLVFF-K6 had no effect on Abeta-induced decreases in cellular MTT reduction. Therefore, our data do not support the proposal that insoluble fibrils formed with KLVFF-K6 are less toxic than soluble protofibrils. KLVFF-K6 did not alter rates of protofibril elongation by monomer deposition. In contrast, when added to Abeta monomers isolated with the use of size-exclusion chromatography, KLVFF-K6 inhibited fibrillogenesis, as measured by thioflavin T fluorescence, and this inhibition was paralleled by a failure to alter cellular MTT reduction.
Learning Theory and Experiments with Competitive Networks

We apply the theory of Tishby, Levin, and Solla (TLS) to two problems. First we analyze an elementary problem for which we find the predictions consistent with conventional statistical results. Second we numerically examine the more realistic problem of training a competitive net to learn a probability density from samples. We find TLS useful for predicting average training behavior.
Emerging Principles of Conformation-Based Prion Inheritance

▪ Abstract The prion hypothesis proposes that proteins can act as infectious agents. Originally formulated to explain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), the prion hypothesis has been extended with the finding that several non-Mendelian traits in fungi are due to heritable changes in protein conformation, which may in some cases be beneficial. Although much remains to be learned about the specific role of cellular cofactors, mechanistic parallels between the mammalian and yeast prion phenomena point to universal features of conformation-based infection and inheritance involving propagation of ordered β-sheet-rich protein aggregates commonly referred to as amyloid. Here we focus on two such features and discuss recent efforts to explain them in terms of the physical properties of amyloid-like aggregates. The first is prion strains, wherein chemically identical infectious particles cause distinct phenotypes. The second is barriers that often prohibit prion transmission between different specie...
Overuse of Over-the-Counter Analgesics by Emergency Department Patients

Study objective The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of over-the counter analgesic overuse in a sample of emergency department (ED) patients. Methods We conducted a survey of a convenience sample of patients presenting to an urban, academic ED. Research associates questioned patients about the use of pain or cold medications containing ibuprofen, acetaminophen, naproxen, or aspirin. Patients who reported using medications with these ingredients in the 72 hours before their visit were asked about the specific medications, daily dose, and reason for medication use. The daily dose of these 4 analgesics was determined and classified as within or above the manufacturers' recommended over-the counter dose range. Results Three hundred seven of 546 (56%) surveyed patients had reported using a medication containing one of these ingredients. Thirty-seven patients (6.2%; 95% confidence interval 4.5% to 8.6%) reported exceeding the manufacturer's recommended daily dose at some point in the 3 days preceding their ED visit. Conclusion Although our study was limited by the use of a convenience sample, we found a potentially significant rate of patients who reported taking excessive doses of over-the-counter analgesics.
In Vivo Effects of an Intrafollicular Injection of Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 on the Mechanism of Follicle Deviation in Heifers and Mares

In cattle and mares, free insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is higher in the future dominant follicle (F1) than in the future largest subordinate follicle (F2) before deviation in diameter or selection is manifested between the two follicles. The effect of IGF-1 on other follicular-fluid factors and on the destiny of F2 were studied in two experiments in each species, using a total of 40 heifers and 42 mares. An injection of IGF-1 was made into F2 at the expected beginning of deviation (heifers, F1 ≥ 8.5 mm; mares, F1 ≥ 20.0 mm; Hour 0). In heifers, follicular fluid was taken from F2 at Hours 3, 6, 12, or 24; each heifer was sampled only once. In mares, sequential F2 samples were taken from each mare at Hours 0, 6, and 24 or at Hours 12 and 24. Transvaginal ultrasound guidance was used for treatment and sample collection. In heifers, IGF-1 treatment of F2 stimulated the secretion of estradiol (P < 0.05) between Hours 3 and 6 and androstenedione (P < 0.05) between Hours 3 and 12. In F2 of control heifers, estradiol decreased (P < 0.05) and androstenedione did not change significantly. In mares, IGF-1 treatment of F2 did not affect the concentrations of estradiol during the 24-h posttreatment period; androstenedione decreased (P < 0.04) in the IGF-1 group and increased (P < 0.006) in the controls. Compared with control mares, the IGF-1 group had higher (P < 0.04) activin-A at Hours 12 and 24 and higher (P < 0.0006) inhibin-A at Hour 24. After ablating F1 at Hour 24 in mares, F2 became dominant and ovulated in more mares (P < 0.0002) in the IGF-1 group (12/14) than in the control group (2/14). These results are consistent with reported temporal relationships among follicular factors during deviation in both species and indicate that IGF-1 plays a key role in controlling the temporal relationships; however, no indication was found that IGF-1 stimulated estradiol production in mares during the 24 h after treatment.
Pneumonia identification using statistical feature selection

Objective This paper describes a natural language processing system for the task of pneumonia identification. Based on the information extracted from the narrative reports associated with a patient, the task is to identify whether or not the patient is positive for pneumonia. Design A binary classifier was employed to identify pneumonia from a dataset of multiple types of clinical notes created for 426 patients during their stay in the intensive care unit. For this purpose, three types of features were considered: (1) word n-grams, (2) Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) concepts, and (3) assertion values associated with pneumonia expressions. System performance was greatly increased by a feature selection approach which uses statistical significance testing to rank features based on their association with the two categories of pneumonia identification. Results Besides testing our system on the entire cohort of 426 patients (unrestricted dataset), we also used a smaller subset of 236 patients (restricted dataset). The performance of the system was compared with the results of a baseline previously proposed for these two datasets. The best results achieved by the system (85.71 and 81.67 F1-measure) are significantly better than the baseline results (50.70 and 49.10 F1-measure) on the restricted and unrestricted datasets, respectively. Conclusion Using a statistical feature selection approach that allows the feature extractor to consider only the most informative features from the feature space significantly improves the performance over a baseline that uses all the features from the same feature space. Extracting the assertion value for pneumonia expressions further improves the system performance.
Enhancing Knowledge Sharing in Public Accounting Firms

The goal of this study is to advance understanding of factors that may enhance or hinder knowledge sharing in public accounting firms and, in the end, provide practical recommendations for the firms. Attention to this topic is warranted for two reasons. First, today's regulatory environment and new auditing standards have broadened and intensified pressures on CPA firms to enhance the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the audit process. Second, knowledge and expertise are unevenly distributed among the members of the audit team. Thus, knowledge sharing can help CPA firms in leveraging the skills, knowledge, and best practices of their professional staff. Against this background, CPA firms' ability to effectively deploy knowledgesharing activities is increasingly vital to their competitive advantage, including gaining tangible benefits in terms of time and cost reductions. We draw upon prior research in accounting, organizational learning, psychology, and knowledge management to examine the role of...
Has the mist been peered through? Revisiting the building blocks of human health risk assessment for electronic cigarette use

ABSTRACTElectronic cigarettes, battery-powered nicotine delivery devices, have been increasingly used in the past decade. This critical review provides a qualitative research synthesis of the human health risks associated with E-vapor inhalation in the peer-reviewed literature and our own preliminary experimental results. E-cigarettes may be as efficient as traditional cigarettes in nicotine delivery, especially for experienced users, and studies suggest lower emissions of air toxics from E-cigarette vapor and lower second- and third-hand vapor exposures. Some toxic emissions may however surpass those of traditional cigarettes, especially under high voltage vaping conditions. Experimentally, E-vapor/E-liquid exposures reduce cell viability and promote pro-inflammatory cytokine release. User vulnerability to concomitant environmental agent exposures, such as viruses and bacteria, may potentially be increased. While evidence to date suggests that E-cigarettes release fewer toxins and carcinogens compared to...
Changes in Physiological Traits in Soybean with Breeding Advancements

Plant breeding makes important contributions to increased production of food and fiber. The objective of this research was to characterize the changes in physiological traits in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) that have occurred with breeding advancements. Sixty maturity group (MG) III and 54 MG IV cultivars, released from the 1920s through 2010, were evaluated in MG-specific experiments in dryland and irri - gated environments at Manhattan, KS, in 2010 and 2011. Genotypes were planted in four-row, 3.4-m-long plots 76 cm apart and arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Genotypes were evaluated for canopy temperature (CT), leaf chlorophyll con- tent (Chlor), pollen germination (PG), electrolyte leakage (EL) and leaf antioxidants (TAC). Gen- otypes differed for CT, Chlor, and PG in each of the two MGs. Among genotypes seed yield increased with year of release (YOR) in both MGs, as well as Chlor content. Canopy tempera- ture and seed yield decreased with YOR in both MGs. This study provided evidence that CT and Chlor changed over time along with changes in maturity, plant height, lodging, and disease resistance. The changes have resulted in corre- sponding improvements in seed yield. The rela- tionships between CT and Chlor with seed yield provide support to intentionally select for these traits in plant breeding programs as a possible means to improve genetic gain.
A Constitutional Defense of Cold War Presidentialism

The Cold War security order was characterized by a massive transfer of warmaking authority from Congress to the presidency. Presidentialists especially cite the Korean War as a location where the president appropriately exercised his war authority under the Commander-in-Chief clause. Partisans of the legislature view the Korean War as the beginning of a massive constitutional derogation. This paper, which is a chapter from a book on war powers, defends the transfer of war authority to the presidency in the early Cold War while resisting the implication that the presidency inherently or necessarily has the authority to wage war at will.
VITTORIO SERENI O L'ISTINTO DELLA GIOIA

[…] l'immagine che altri hanno di me e di un uomo incerto, dubbioso, perplesso, e addirittura pessimista o triste. Questo accade perche, avendo io una consapevolezza della gioia e vedendola svilita...
Influence of Feedstock: Air Pollution and Climate-Related Emissions from a Diesel Generator Operating on Soybean, Canola, and Yellow Grease Biodiesel

Global use of biodiesel is increasing rapidly. Combustion of biodiesel changes the emissions profile of diesel engines, altering their impact on both urban air pollution and climate. Here, we characterize exhaust emissions from conventional petroleum diesel and three neat biodiesels manufactured from soybean, canola, and yellow grease feedstocks. Exhaust was sampled from a fixed-speed 4.8 kW diesel generator at idle and full loads, and mass emission rates were determined for nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2, and NOx), particulate matter (PM), and elemental, organic, and black carbon (EC, OC, and BC). Additionally, particle size distributions were characterized. Largely consistent with a growing body of data on emissions from biodiesel, biodiesel emissions were cleaner by most metrics than those for conventional diesel. Emissions from the two primary-oil fuels, synthesized from soy and canola feedstocks, were cleaner by most metrics than emissions from diesel, producing approximately 55, 65, and 60% less PM, EC, a...
Monodisperse Pt-Cu Nanocubes: Synthesis, Characterization, and Electrochemical Properties

High-quality Pt-Cu nanocubes were prepared through simultaneous reduction of platinum (II) acetylacetonate and copper II) acetylacetonate in 1-octadecene by 1,2–tetradecanediol in the presence of tetraoctylammonium bromide, oleylamine, and 1-dodecanethiol. The growth process of Pt-Cu nanocubes was explored based on the observation of intermediates. The electrocatalytic behavior indicates that cubic Pt-Cu nanocrystals are more active than spherical Pt-Cu nanocrystals and Pt nanocrystals towards methanol oxidation reaction.
Comparison of three empirical force fields for phonon calculations in CdSe quantum dots.

Three empirical interatomic force fields are parametrized using structural, elastic, and phonon dispersion data for bulk CdSe and their predictions are then compared for the structures and phonons of CdSe quantum dots having average diameters of ˜2.8 and ˜5.2 nm (˜410 and ˜2630 atoms, respectively). The three force fields include one that contains only two-body interactions (Lennard-Jones plus Coulomb), a Tersoff-type force field that contains both two-body and three-body interactions but no Coulombic terms, and a Stillinger-Weber type force field that contains Coulombic interactions plus two-body and three-body terms. While all three force fields predict nearly identical peak frequencies for the strongly Raman-active “longitudinal optical” phonon in the quantum dots, the predictions for the width of the Raman peak, the peak frequency and width of the infrared absorption peak, and the degree of disorder in the structure are very different. The three force fields also give very different predictions for the variation in phonon frequency with radial position (core versus surface). The Stillinger-Weber plus Coulomb type force field gives the best overall agreement with available experimental data.
Synthesis of New Mixed-Metal Ammonium Vanadates: Cation Order versus Disorder, and Optical and Photocatalytic Properties

Two new ammonium vanadate hydrates, i.e., M3(H2O)2V8O24·2NH4 (M = Mn and Co, I and II, respectively) were synthesized using hydrothermal reaction conditions, and their structures were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction [I: P2/m (No. 10), Z = 1, a = 8.2011(2) A, b = 3.5207(1) A, c = 9.9129(3) A, β = 110.987(2)°; II: C2/m (No. 12), Z = 2, a = 19.4594(6) A, b = 6.7554(2) A, c = 8.4747(3) A, β = 112.098(2)°]. Interestingly, the two structures are homeotypic, with the structure of I exhibiting an uncommon type of structural disorder between locally-bridging Mn(H2O)22+ (i.e., part of the oxide framework) and nonbridging NH4+ cations over the same site (1:2 ratio), wherein two NH4+ ions occupy the same site as the two H2O molecules when Mn(II) is vacant. The amount of Mn(II) in the formula of I was determined by a combination of techniques, including electron paramagnetic resonance, while the relative amounts of NH4+/H2O in its structure were determined by combined thermogravimetric-mass spectrometry...
Energetic Materials Center Report--Small-Scale Safety and Thermal Testing Evaluation of Butyl Nitrate

Butyl Nitrate (BN) was examined by Small-Scale Safety and Thermal (SSST) Testing techniques to determine its sensitivity to impact, friction, spark and thermal exposure simulating handling and storage conditions. Under the conditions tested, the BN exhibits thermal sensitivity above 150 °C, and does not exhibit sensitive to impact, friction or spark.
FM6: Summary of Session #5 on Accretion and Feedback in Active Galactic Nuclei

Focus Meeting 6 of the IAU 2015 Symposium centered around the topic of “X-ray Surveys of the Hot and Energetic Universe.” Within this two-day meeting seven sessions (31 total talks) were presented, whose topics included galaxy cluster physics and evolution, cluster cosmological studies, AGN demographics and X-ray binary populations, first quasars, accretion and feedback, large-scale structures, and normal and starburst galaxies. Herein, I summarize the results presented during session #5, which focused on AGN accretion and feedback. Six authors contributed their work to our session: Laura Brenneman, Kazushi Iwasawa, Massimo Gaspari, Michaela Hirschmann, Franz Bauer and Yuan Liu. I provide a brief introduction below, followed by the details of the presentations of each author in the order in which the presentations were given.
Calcium channel regulator Mid1 links TORC2-mediated changes in mitochondrial respiration to autophagy.

Autophagy is a catabolic process that recycles cytoplasmic contents and is crucial for cell survival during stress. The target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase regulates autophagy as part of two distinct protein complexes, TORC1 and TORC2. TORC1 negatively regulates autophagy according to nitrogen availability. In contrast, TORC2 functions as a positive regulator of autophagy during amino acid starvation, via its target kinase Ypk1, by repressing the activity of the calcium-dependent phosphatase calcineurin and promoting the general amino acid control (GAAC) response. Precisely how TORC2-Ypk1 signaling regulates calcineurin within this pathway remains unknown. Here we demonstrate that activation of calcineurin requires Mid1, an endoplasmic reticulum–localized calcium channel regulatory protein implicated in the oxidative stress response. We find that normal mitochondrial respiration is perturbed in TORC2-Ypk1–deficient cells, which results in the accumulation of mitochondrial-derived reactive oxygen species that signal to Mid1 to activate calcineurin, thereby inhibiting the GAAC response and autophagy. These findings describe a novel pathway involving TORC2, mitochondrial oxidative stress, and calcium homeostasis for autophagy regulation.
Modeling Deficits From Early Auditory Information Processing to Psychosocial Functioning in Schizophrenia.

Importance Neurophysiologic measures of early auditory information processing (EAP) are used as endophenotypes in genomic studies and biomarkers in clinical intervention studies. Research in schizophrenia has established correlations among measures of EAP, cognition, clinical symptoms, and functional outcome. Clarifying these associations by determining the pathways through which deficits in EAP affect functioning would suggest when and where to therapeutically intervene. Objectives To characterize the pathways from EAP to outcome and to estimate the extent to which enhancement of basic information processing might improve cognition and psychosocial functioning in schizophrenia. Design, Setting, and Participants Cross-sectional data were analyzed using structural equation modeling to examine the associations among EAP, cognition, negative symptoms, and functional outcome. Participants were recruited from the community at 5 geographically distributed laboratories as part of the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia 2 from July 1, 2010, through January 31, 2014. This well-characterized cohort of 1415 patients with schizophrenia underwent EAP, cognitive, and thorough clinical and functional assessment. Main Outcome and Measures Mismatch negativity, P3a, and reorienting negativity were used to measure EAP. Cognition was measured by the Letter Number Span test and scales from the California Verbal Learning Test–Second Edition, the Wechsler Memory Scale–Third Edition, and the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery. Negative symptoms were measured by the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms. Functional outcome was measured by the Role Functioning Scale. Results Participants included 1415 unrelated outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (mean [SD] age, 46 [11] years; 979 males [69.2%] and 619 white [43.7%]). Early auditory information processing had a direct effect on cognition (β = 0.37, P P P P P Conclusions and Relevance The data support a model in which EAP deficits lead to poor functional outcome via impaired cognition and increased negative symptoms. Results can be used to help guide mechanistically informed, personalized treatments and support the strategy of using EAP measures as surrogate end points in early-stage procognitive intervention studies.
A Portable and Unified CPU/GPU Parallel Implementation of Surface Normal Generation Algorithm from 3D Terrain Data

The Multi-mission Instrument Processing Lab (MIPL) is responsible for developing much of the ground support software for the Mars missions. The MIPL pipeline is used to generate several products from a one mega-pixel image within a 30 min time constraint. In future missions, this time constraint will be decreased to five minutes for 20 mega-pixels images, requiring a minimum 120 times speed-up from current operational hardware and software. Moreover, any changes to the current software must preserve the source code’s maintainability and portability for future missions. Therefore, the surface normal generation software has been implemented on a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) through the use of the NVidia CUDA Toolkit and Hemi Library to allow for minimum code complexity. Several changes have been made to Hemi Library to allow for additional optimizations of the GPU code. In addition, several challenges to developing a parallelized GPU implementation of the surface normal generation algorithm are explored, while both tested and prospective solutions to these problems are described.
Gestational Hyperandrogenism in Developmental Programming

Androgen excess (hyperandrogenism) is a common endocrine disorder affecting women of reproductive age. The potential causes of androgen excess in women include polycystic ovary syndrome, congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), adrenal tumors, and racial disparity among many others. During pregnancy, luteoma, placental aromatase deficiency, and fetal CAH are additional causes of gestational hyperandrogenism. The present report reviews the various phenotypes of hyperandrogenism during pregnancy and its origin, pathophysiology, and the effect of hyperandrogenism on the fetal developmental trajectory and offspring consequences.
Foam soap is not as effective as liquid soap in eliminating hand microbial flora

Foam soaps are aerosolized liquid soaps dispensed through a special pump mechanism. Currently there are no studies comparing liquid soap with foam soap in regard to efficacy of reducing hand microbial burden. In 3 separate experiments and with 2 different brands of foam soap, it was observed that nonantimicrobial foam soap was not as effective in reducing hand bacterial load as the liquid soap.
Neural Signatures of Cognitive Flexibility and Reward Sensitivity Following Nicotinic Receptor Stimulation in Dependent Smokers: A Randomized Trial.

Importance Withdrawal from nicotine is an important contributor to smoking relapse. Understanding how reward-based decision making is affected by abstinence and by pharmacotherapies such as nicotine replacement therapy and varenicline tartrate may aid cessation treatment. Objective To independently assess the effects of nicotine dependence and stimulation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor on the ability to interpret valence information (reward sensitivity) and subsequently alter behavior as reward contingencies change (cognitive flexibility) in a probabilistic reversal learning task. Design, Setting, and Participants Nicotine-dependent smokers and nonsmokers completed a probabilistic reversal learning task during acquisition of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a 2-drug, double-blind placebo-controlled crossover design conducted from January 21, 2009, to September 29, 2011. Smokers were abstinent from cigarette smoking for 12 hours for all sessions. In a fully Latin square fashion, participants in both groups underwent MRI twice while receiving varenicline and twice while receiving a placebo pill, wearing either a nicotine or a placebo patch. Imaging analysis was performed from June 15, 2015, to August 10, 2016. Main Outcome and Measures A well-established computational model captured effects of smoking status and administration of nicotine and varenicline on probabilistic reversal learning choice behavior. Neural effects of smoking status, nicotine, and varenicline were tested for on MRI contrasts that captured reward sensitivity and cognitive flexibility. Results The study included 24 nicotine-dependent smokers (12 women and 12 men; mean [SD] age, 35.8 [9.9] years) and 20 nonsmokers (10 women and 10 men; mean [SD] age, 30.4 [7.2] years). Computational modeling indicated that abstinent smokers were biased toward response shifting and that their decisions were less sensitive to the available evidence, suggesting increased impulsivity during withdrawal. These behavioral impairments were mitigated with nicotine and varenicline. Similarly, decreased mesocorticolimbic activity associated with cognitive flexibility in abstinent smokers was restored to the level of nonsmokers following stimulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (familywise error–correctedP Conclusions and Relevance There was a double dissociation between the effects of chronic nicotine dependence on neural representations of reward sensitivity and acute effects of stimulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on behavioral and neural signatures of cognitive flexibility in smokers. These chronic and acute pharmacologic effects were observed in overlapping mesocorticolimbic regions, suggesting that available pharmacotherapies may alleviate deficits in the same circuitry for certain mental computations but not for others. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier:NCT00830739
Stabilization of Large-Scale Systems: A Spinning Flexible Spacecraft

Stabilization of high-order constant systems by multilevel control is proposed in the framework of the decomposition-aggregation method for stability analysis of large-scale systems. An 11-order linear model of a spinning flexible spacecraft is stabilized by the method using both the passive and the active stabilization devices. The method can take advantage of the special structural features of the model to provide the best estimate of the stability region for an important parameter which couples the wobble and the spin motion of the spacecraft.
Dehydration, diabetic ketoacidosis, and shock in the pediatric patient.

Therapy for dehydration is guided by the weight and body surface area of the patient. This state can be prevented if early signs are recognized. The recently adopted regimen for treating diabetic ketoacidosis consists of constant infusion of small doses of insulin. This regimen is easy to follow and permits close monitoring of the relationship of dose to effect. Shock is managed by oxygenation and replacement of volume deficits.
A processing primer for artists

Processing is an open source programming language and Integrated Development Environment (IDE) developed by Casey Reas and Ben Fry. This workshop is a hand-on programming primer for artists and designers who are interested in using programming and computational thinking as creative tools.
Xeroradiography and ultrasonography in the evaluation of a penile injury.

AbstractA 34-year-old white man presented with severe penile cellulitis following injection of epoxy glue into the shaft of the penis. Preoperative xeroradiography and ultrasonography localized the hardened masses of glue to the left corpus cavernosum and subcutaneous tissues. Under the guidance of intraoperative ultrasonography this foreign material was removed surgically. Postoperatively, the cellulitis resolved promptly and xeroradiography demonstrated no residual fragments. Although various modalities, including computerized tomography and roentgenography, are available to detect foreign bodies in soft tissues, xeroradiography and ultrasonography are ideally suited for use in the male external genitalia.
Recent RF/microwave achievements in flight on deep space missions

Deep-space missions present unique demands on spacecraft components. These include typically stringent size, weight, and power specifications, and designs must also often adhere to strict requirements for radiation, long mission life, and reliability. For flight RF/microwave systems, this translates in particular to design constraints on antennas, radios, and power amplifiers and how these systems are operated. This paper reviews recent accomplishments in RF/microwave system design on United States deep-space missions, and looks ahead to systems in development for upcoming missions.
Definitions of Gifted and Talented Used in the United States

This article examines a survey and analysis of 41 State Department of Education definitions of gifted and talented. A conceptual framework of components is presented as a means of definition analysis. Definitions are examined and discussed in relation to those characteristic components. Current trends in definitions are placed in an historical context revealing the expansion and refinement of expansion components in definitions for the gifted and talented. The definition issue is discussed in relation to societal values and expectations as they pertain to gifted individuals.
Monitoring of reinforced concrete corrosion

Abstract This chapter presents an overview of the state of the art in using sensors for online monitoring of rebar corrosion inside reinforced concrete (RC) structures. It starts with an overall view of the need and current technologies for online monitoring of rebar corrosion inside RC structures, followed by a literature review of embeddable sensors for chloride concentration, pH, humidity, reference electrode, and other parameters; and then a case study of accelerated testing of embeddable sensors. This chapter concludes with the discussion of future research needs in this field, relevant to condition assessment and health monitoring of RC structures.