cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Emerging technologies to map the protein methylome

Protein methylation plays an integral role in cellular signaling, most notably by modulating proteins bound at chromatin and increasingly through regulation of non-histone proteins. One central challenge in understanding how methylation acts in signaling is identifying and measuring protein methylation. This includes locus-specific modification of histones, on individual non-histone proteins, and globally across the proteome. Protein methylation has been studied traditionally using candidate approaches such as methylation-specific antibodies, mapping of post-translational modifications by mass spectrometry, and radioactive labeling to characterize methylation on target proteins. Recent developments have provided new approaches to identify methylated proteins, measure methylation levels, identify substrates of methyltransferase enzymes, and match methylated proteins to methyl-specific reader domains. Methyl-binding protein domains and improved antibodies with broad specificity for methylated proteins are being used to characterize the “protein methylome”. They also have the potential to be used in high-throughput assays for inhibitor screens and drug development. These tools are often coupled to improvements in mass spectrometry to quickly identify methylated residues, as well as to protein microarrays, where they can be used to screen for methylated proteins. Finally, new chemical biology strategies are being used to probe the function of methyltransferases, demethylases, and methyl-binding “reader” domains. These tools create a “system-level” understanding of protein methylation and integrate protein methylation into broader signaling processes.
Assessment of the vertical distribution of larval lake sturgeon drift in the Peshtigo River, Wisconsin, USA

Summary Drift nets have been used to document reproductive success of lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens. Current net designs and methods for collecting drifting larvae only sample a portion of the water column, which require assumptions of either a benthic or uniform distribution of larvae when estimating abundance or production. The objective of this study was to describe the vertical distribution of larval lake sturgeon in the Peshtigo River, Wisconsin, and to determine if drift was benthic or uniform in distribution. A net was designed to assess the vertical distribution of drifting larvae in 0.2-m increments at depths up to 1.4 m; however, during this sampling, maximum depth did not exceed 0.78 m. The distribution of larval lake sturgeon was neither benthic nor uniform. Only 5% of larvae were captured in the lowest 0.2-m increment, followed by 18% from 0.2 to 0.4 m, 41% from 0.4 to 0.6 m, and 36% from 0.6 m to the surface. Although results will likely differ among years, systems, and the precise location of sampling, our study illustrates the importance of and provides a technique for testing assumptions of the vertical distribution of larval lake sturgeon drift.
Does a minimally invasive surgery fellowship impact surgical experience among gynecology residents

Abstract Study Objective To examine the impact of a minimally invasive surgery (MIS) fellowship on resident experience and to survey the general attitude toward effects of fellowship programs on resident education. Design Survey (Canadian Task Force classification III). Setting An accredited obstetrics and gynecology program in the United States. Subjects Obstetrics and gynecology residents. Intervention Residents received a survey regarding the potential impact of a MIS surgery fellowship on resident experience. Measurements and Main Results One-year after creation of a MIS fellowship at our institution, we conducted an anonymous survey among residents. We also compared total number of surgical procedures and laparoscopic procedures performed before and after the fellowship commenced. We had a response rate of 70%. The overall impact of the newly established fellowship was regarded as positive. The median approval rating of endoscopic training before and after institution of the fellowship was 3.0 and 4.0, respectively (p Conclusion A fellowship in MIS at an academic institution does not detract from resident experience in gynecologic surgery, with most residents viewing the fellowship positively.
Radiology, Is There An Occupational Hazard?

The practicing radiologist in the United States receives an annual average x-ray dose of 3.2 mSv. This dose of radiation results in between 17 and 28 cancer deaths among the 19 000 radiologists at risk, or an excess cancer risk of between 0.53% and 0.87%. The sub-population of cardiologists and radiologists who perform special procedures is expected to be at a higher risk of death from cancer than the general or therapeutic radiologist. The genetic risk to the children of the radiologist corresponds to a 0.09 to 1.26 excess of cases of genetically-determined disease among the 4047 children in the first generation, or between a 0.02% to 0.31% increase above the expected incidence. The progeny of radiologists who have received larger doses in the course of performing cardiac catheterizations or other special procedures are expected to be at a higher risk of expressing a genetically-determined disease than the progeny of the general radiologist. The small size of the population at risk combined with the smal...
Capillary transport in mortars and concrete

Abstract Results are presented of a study concerning capillary transport of water in concretes and mortars as a function of water/cement ratio, sand size distribution, and curing. Our studies indicate that the capillary sorption (1) of water in concrete exhibits a complex time dependence. At early times, of the order of one hour, the total water uptake increased with the t 1 2 behavior of typical capillary sorption theories. At longer times, of the order of tens of days, a slow crossover regime is seen as the rate of capillary suction decreases. At very long times, of order hundreds of days, a slower uptake which may be driven by the capillary forces in the smaller gel pores is found. Again the t 1 2 behavior is recovered but with a much smaller sorptivity coefficient. We describe an empirical fitting form for data which describes capillary suction at both short and long times. Aspects of the experimental design including sample drying and exposure to air are discussed. The utility of service life predictions from such measurements is discussed.
Isotope effects and the mechanism of deoxygenation of epoxides with dichlorocarbene

Abstract The deoxygenation of styrene oxide with dichlorocarbene is studied by a combination of isotope effects and theoretical calculations. A normal 13 C isotope effect of 1.016 is observed for the α-carbon of the styrene oxide but a surprising inverse isotope effect of 0.995 is observed at the β-carbon. This is indicative of a highly asynchronous process in which the C α –O bond is broken without any progress in the breakage of C β –O bond. Theoretical calculations support this interpretation. This coarctate reaction is formally concerted as it avoids involving a high-energy intermediate, but it appears uninfluenced by transition state aromaticity.
Water transport mechanism in liquid emulsion membrane process for the separation of amino acids

Abstract The mechanism of swelling in liquid emulsion membrane processes was studied. Significant swelling was observed during the separation of L-phenylalanine and it was shown that the water transport was caused by the hydration of L-phenylalanine as well as mediated by the surfactant. The extraction scheme and extraction chemistry were also examined.
Limited needs and hunter-gatherer time allocation☆

A mong the stimulating issues raised by Smith I take up three. First, he notes parallels in a "limited-needs" conception of time allocation to subsistence and expectations from evolutionary ecology. I argue that the differences are fundamental and usefully emphasized. Second, he disputes assumptions made in Hawkes, O'Connell, Hill and Charnov (HOHC) about the shape of fitness return curves, then adopts other curves without justifying the assumptions implicit in them. I suggest that this obscures the fact that such return curves might take any shape at all, that the shape they take depends on underlying assumptions (explicit or otherwise), and that the appropriate curves for a specific empirical problem depend on the empirical characteristics of the problem. Third, he points out the importance of the opportunity costs of foraging, criticizing HOHC for underestimating these effects. This is a telling point, one that has become increasingly central in work done in the 5 years since HOHC was written. I agree that these opportunity costs are as important as foraging returns for explaining time allocation. (1) Smith argues, in opposition to HOHC that the limited-needs view is not necessarily inconsistent with the theory of natural selection or models of optimal foraging (pp. 73-85). As HOHC noted, there are similarities in some of the predictions of opportunity-cost models and predictions from limited needs, but Smith himself points out (as we did not) that even these predictions are not actually identical. More to the point, Smith does not comment on the fundamental distinction between the classic limited-needs view and the perspective of evolutionary ecology. This distinction rests on whether adjustments toward an optimum are expected at all. As Marshall Sahlins (1969, pp. 29-30), the most influential architect of that classic view, has said:
Differential equations and matrix inequalities on isospectral families

Abstract Motivated by the study of certain classes of hamiltonian and gradient flows, we develop a set of inequalities that bound the size of a commutator ‖[ X , N >]‖ m in terms of the eigenvalues of X and N . These results apply directly to elements of matrix Lie algebras such as skew-hermitian matrices, skew-symmetric matrices, etc., and, with a trivial modification, can also be applied to hermitian matrices.
An Electrostatic Audio Generator

Design and operating features of a multiharmonic electrostatic audio frequency generator are described in this paper. The harmonics are generated singly by the rotation of a shielded segmented disk adjacent to a stationary wave pattern plate; the resulting changes in capacitance between disk and plate produce a sinusoidal charging and discharging current through an input resistance of a vacuum tube amplifire. Each harmonic is controlled independently in amplitude and in phase, and provisions are made for combining any 2 or more harmonics to obtain complex wave forms. Although designed specifically for psychological tests, the device should prove useful in any work requiring a flexible audio frequency supply of small capacity.
Binary diffusion coefficients of phenolic compounds in subcritical water using a chromatographic peak broadening technique

Abstract Infinite dilution diffusion coefficients of certain phenolic compounds were measured as a function of temperature in water slightly acidified with formic acid using the Taylor dispersion method. The diffusion coefficients calculated using the chromatographic peak broadening technique were found to increase exponentially with an increase in the temperature. The diffusion coefficients of the selected phenolic compounds did not vary as a function of their molecular weights and the diffusion coefficients of the phenolic compounds increased as a function of temperature (from 2.16 × 10−10 m2 s−1 at 298 K to 5.79 × 10−10 m2 s−1 at 413 K for malvidin-3,5-diglucoside). However, for some phenolic compounds such as gallic acid monohydrate, quercetin-3-β- d -glucoside, protocatechuic acid and (−)-epicatechin, there were difficulties in making measurements above temperatures of 352 K, 372 K, 392 K and 413 K, respectively, due to thermal degradation of the phenolic compounds in water above these temperatures. The experimentally measured diffusion coefficients of the phenolic compounds were correlated as a function of temperature and solvent viscosity and were compared with those predicted using theoretical models. The validity of the Stokes–Einstein diffusion model in predicting the diffusion coefficients of the phenolic compounds in hot pressurized water was also evaluated.
Linezolid-Associated Hypoglycemia in a 64-Year-Old Man With Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract Background Older diabetic patients are at increased risk for skin infections, often with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Linezolid offers oral therapy with MRSA coverage. We present a case of linezolid-associated hypoglycemia in a 64-year-old diabetic patient with presumed MRSA cellulitis. Case summary A 64-year-old man with diabetes was treated for cellulitis. Linezolid was started when amoxicillin/clavulanate failed. Within 7 days, he developed frequent diaphoresis and tremulousness, with glucoses of 30 to 60 mg/dL. Hypoglycemia worsened despite decreasing insulin use, discontinuing glyburide, and increasing caloric intake. The day of admission, he awoke with a glucose level of 30 mg/dL. He took no medications, ate a large breakfast, and presented to clinic. He was symptomatic with a glucose level of 35 mg/dL. Hypoglycemia persisted despite IV dextrose. Linezolid was discontinued immediately in favor of vancomycin. Dextrose was weaned and his diabetes medications were resumed without further hypoglycemia. Conclusions Linezolid has monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitory properties, and MAO inhibitors have been reported to contribute to hypoglycemia. The use of linezolid in older diabetic patients, especially those patients already taking agents with the potential to cause hypoglycemia, represents an area of concern. Increased comorbidities and polypharmacy in geriatric patients adds to this concern.
Relationship between ruminal ammonia and nonprotein nitrogen utilization by ruminants. III. Influence of intraruminal urea infusion on ruminal ammonia concentration.

Abstract In three trials, we studied the effect of incremental amounts of intraruminally infused urea on mean ruminal ammonia concentration of steers fed at 2-h intervals. Basal rations contained these percentages of crude protein and total digestible nutrients (dry matter basis): Trial I, 11.1 and 81; Trial II, 6.0 and 54; Trial III, 6.5 and 58. Mean ruminal ammonia concentration reached 5mg ammonia nitrogen/100ml rumen fluid at crude protein equivalents of 12.0, 9.3, and 9.4% in I, II, and III. Once ruminal ammonia began to accumulate, there was a linear relationship between intake of urea and mean concentration of ruminal ammonia. The concentration of amino acids of plasma, serving as an indirect measure of amino acid absorption from the intestine, was not increased by increased intake of urea in III. Results of this experiment support the concept from in vitro data that microbial protein synthesis is unaffected by ruminal ammonia concentration in excess of 5mg ammonia nitrogen/100ml rumen fluid.
Adaptive particle filtering for mode tracking: A shallow ocean application

The shallow ocean is an ever changing environment primarily due to temperature variations in its upper layers (&#60; 100 m) directly affecting sound propagation throughout. The need to develop processors capable of tracking these changes implies a stochastic as well as an environmentally adaptive design. The stochastic requirement follows directly from the multitude of variations created by uncertain parameters and noise. Some work has been accomplished in this area, but the stochastic nature was constrained to Gaussian uncertainties. It has been clear for a long time that this constraint was not particularly realistic leading to a Bayesian approach that enables the representation of any uncertainty distribution. Sequential Bayesian techniques enable a class of processors capable of performing in an uncertain, nonstationary (varying statistics), non-Gaussian, variable shallow ocean environment. A solution to this problem is addressed by developing a sequential Bayesian processor capable of providing a joint solution to the modal function tracking (estimation) and environmental adaptivity problem. The posterior distribution required is multi-modal (multiple peaks) requiring a sequential (nonstationary) Bayesian approach. Here the focus is on the development of a particle filter (PF) capable of providing reasonable performance for this problem. In our previous effort on this problem nonlinear/non-Gaussian processors were developed to operate on synthesized data based on the Hudson Canyon experiment using normal-mode representations. Here we extend the processors by applying them to the actual hydrophone measurements obtained from the 23-element vertical array. The adaptivity problem is attacked by allowing the modal coefficients to be estimated from the measurement data jointly along with tracking of the modal functions—the main objective.
On long waves in a stratified, equatorial ocean caused by a travelling disturbance

Abstract Long waves, including Rossby waves and gravity waves, caused by a meteorological disturbance in an equatorial region are discussed by use of a theoretical model of a two-layer ocean. With the assumption that the frequency of wind stress variation is larger than the Coriolis' parameter, wave equations with a wind stress divergence as a forcing function are obtained. Forced waves initiated by a westward moving disturbance similar to the equatorial easterly waves indicate a resonance in the frequency range of gravity waves in a baroclinic mode and also in that of Rossby waves in both modes. The resonance in the gravity wave range seems to be responsible for the pronounced 4-day period oscillation detected at some Pacific islands. Waves initiated by a sudden wind show no resonance, but interference between forced and free waves occurs near the period of resonance. The effect of a linear frictional force is shown to be more important in the Rossby wave range than in the gravity wave range. The effect of coasts is also studied and the proper oscillation of an ocean between two coasts is found to occur both in the Rossby wave range and gravity wave range. When the frequency of the waves is decreased, the north-south distribution of the amplitudes must be modified owing to an increasing effect of the Coriolis' force in the sub-tropical zone of the wind. Analysis of the effect of the South Equatorial Current indicated that the response of sea-level has another resonant period in the intermediate range between Rossby waves and gravity waves. On the other hand, the current makes the resonant spectra of a period in Rossby waves so sharp that the resonance may be considered for practical purposes to vanish. The current also increases the amplitude of waves with periods of several days.
DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERISTICS OF VIRAL INDUCED CELL-MEDIATED IMMUNE RESPONSES IN UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT

The appearance of rubella specific cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in tonsillar and adenoidal lymphoid tissue and in circulating lymphocytes, and antibody activity in serum and nasopharyngeal secretions was studied in groups of children who underwent tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (T&A) at varying intervals after natural rubella infection, subcutaneous immunization with HPV-77 or intranasal inoculation of RA27 rubella vaccine. The techniques of hemagglutination-inhibition, autoradiography, in-vitro lymphocyte transformation and assay of migratory inhibitory factor using rubella virus as the antigen were employed to determine antibody and CMI in serum and secretory sites. Serum antibody response was elicited regularly after natural or induced infection. Nasopharyngeal antibody response was observed only after natural infection or RA27 immunization. Development of specific CMI in circulating lymphocytes was regularly observed after natural infection and frequently after immunization. Natural infection or intranasal immunization with rubella vaccine resulted in the appearance of CMI in the tonsillar and adenoidal lymphoid tissue, and the response persisted for 3-4 months. Significantly however, CMI activity in tonsils and adenoids was conspicuously absent after subcutaneous immunization. These data suggest the existence of locally induced cellular immune components in the mechanism of mucosal defense against viral infections.
Estimation of Error Rates in Discriminant Analysis

Several methods of estimating error rates in Discriminant Analysis are evaluated by sampling methods. Multivariate normal samples are generated on a computer which have various true probabilities of misclassification for different combinations of sample sizes and different numbers of parameters. The two methods in most common use are found to be significantly poorer than some new methods that are proposed.
Intrinsic stiffness of extracellular matrix increases with age in skeletal muscles of mice.

Advanced age is associated with increases in muscle passive stiffness, but the contributors to the changes remain unclear. Our purpose was to determine the relative contributions of muscle fibers and extracellular matrix (ECM) to muscle passive stiffness in both adult and old animals. Passive mechanical properties were determined for isolated individual muscle fibers and bundles of muscle fibers that included their associated ECM, obtained from tibialis anterior muscles of adult (8–12 mo old) and old (28–30 mo old) mice. Maximum tangent moduli of individual muscle fibers from adult and old muscles were not different at any sarcomere length tested. In contrast, the moduli of bundles of fibers from old mice was more than twofold greater than that of fiber bundles from adult muscles at sarcomere lengths >2.5 μm. Because ECM mechanical behavior is determined by the composition and arrangement of its molecular constituents, we also examined the effect of aging on ECM collagen characteristics. With aging, muscle ECM hydroxyproline content increased twofold and advanced glycation end-product protein adducts increased threefold, whereas collagen fibril orientation and total ECM area were not different between muscles from adult and old mice. Taken together, these findings indicate that the ECM of tibialis anterior muscles from old mice has a higher modulus than the ECM of adult muscles, likely driven by an accumulation of densely packed extensively crosslinked collagen.
Liquid/Liquid interfacial polymerization to grow single crystalline nanoneedles of various conducting polymers.

Single crystalline nanoneedles of polyaniline (PANI) and polypyrrole (PPY) were synthesized using an interfacial polymerization for the first time. The interfacial crystallization of conductive polymers at the liquid/liquid interface allowed PANI and PPY polymers to form single crystalline nanocrystals in a rice-like shape in the dimensions of 63 nm × 12 nm for PANI and 70 nm × 20 nm for PPY. Those crystalline nanoneedles displayed a fast conductance switching in the time scale of milliseconds. An important growth condition necessary to yield highly crystalline conductive polymers was the extended crystallization time at the liquid/liquid interfaces to increase the degree of crystallization. As compared to other interfacial polymerization methods, lower concentrations of monomer and oxidant solutions were employed to further extend the crystallization time. While other interfacial growth of conducting polymers yielded noncrystalline polymer fibers, our interfacial method produced single crystalline nanocr...
A brief note on the history of fashion

For a number of years the practioners and scholars of fashion have held different views of the consumer. Fashion designers and marketers have traditionally regarded consumers as followers who automatically accept the style dictates and purchase products without any resistance. In contrast, fashion historians and scholars held just the opposite view. To them the consumer is a free individual whose needs must be examined and considered before a new style is introduced. In this article the ideas of such historians as Paul Mystiom, Flaccus, and Tarde are examined. While writing in the early 1900’s, their observations and theories are remarkably similar to the “marketing concept” so often mentioned in the more contemporary marketing literature.
Studies on the mechanisms responsible for variable toxicity of azinphosmethyl to various larval instars of the tufted apple budmoth, Platynota idaeusalis

Abstract The susceptibility of tufted apple budmoth larvae, Platynota idaeusalis , to azinphosmethyl decreases with each successive instar. A comparison between fifth and third instars showed that the fifth instars have a higher level of glutathione S -transferase activity per milligram of protein, a lower content of cytochrome P -450 per milligram of protein, and absorb a lesser percentage of and LD 01 dose than the third instar. Results of metabolism were consistent with these findings. In addition to these factors, the fifth instar larvae may have a threshold mechanism for eliminating penetrated azinphosmethyl from the body, unchanged. This allows the fifth instar larval population to withstand increasingly higher doses of azinphosmethyl without a proportional increase in mortality.
Acute action of choriogonadotropin on Leydig tumor cells: Qualitative and quantitative transformation of lipid moieties

Background Testicular Leydig cells use either exogenous or de novo synthesized cholesterol as the substrate for the production of testosterone with hormone stimulation. Although the long-term effect of trophic hormones on Leydig cell cholesterol uptake, storage, and deesterification has been well documented, the early effects of the human choriogonadotropin (hCG) on cell cholesterol/lipid distribution are not yet known. Methods Sections of cells treated with hCG for 15 sec to 30 min were examined by electron microscopy (EM) for the surface density of lipid moieties in the cytoplasm. In addition, the time-dependent distribution of lipids within the cytoplasmic inclusions and the ultimate destination of this substrate were evaluated by EM. The results were analyzed with standard morphometric methods. Results and Conclusion The surface density of cytoplasmic lipid pools increased significantly within the 15 sec following the exposure of cells to hCG, and it tapered off to the control level in the subsequent 30 min. Such a fluctuation in the amount of cytoplasmic lipids may be due to (1) the quantity of released substrate from the reticular compartment or (2) the rate of its transport across the outer mitochondrial membrane to the inner mitochondrial cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage, where steroidogenesis begins with the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone. These two processes were not quantitatively coordinated in the stimulated cell during the intitial 30 min, resulting in a surplus of cytoplasmic lipid pools. To compensate for such uneven metabolic balance, the cell apparently disposed of the excess substrate by a mechanism of molecular regrouping from a micellar configuration to a bilayer structure followed by exocytosis. Anat. Rec. 248:374-379, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Millennial- and orbital-scale climate variability in southeastern United States and in the subtropical Atlantic during Marine Isotope Stage 5: evidence from pollen and isotopes in ODP Site 1059

Abstract We present directly correlative, high-resolution pollen and isotopic data from marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 from a marine core taken on the continental margin off the southeastern United States (31°40′N, 75°24′W, 2985 m). These data provide the first chronostratigraphically controlled pollen data for the last interglacial from this region. Comparison of the pollen- and benthic isotope stratigraphies demonstrate that vegetation and climate development in southeastern United States did not always coincide with global ice volume changes. Deglacial terrestrial climate amelioration, which was nearly synchronous with ice decay, peaked slightly before the ice volume minimum in MIS 5e. Cooling in the latter part of the last interglacial began at C27, prior to ice growth. Vegetation and climate were not stable during MIS 5e. Suborbital climate oscillations persisted throughout MIS 5 both onshore and in the subtropical Atlantic offshore. The largest correlative suborbital oscillations in the Pinus (pine) and Quercus (oak) forests of coastal Georgia and South Carolina and sea surface variability correspond to stadial/interstadials documented in Greenland ice cores; however, coupled oscillations also occur more frequently.
Bonding Structure of Model Fluorocarbon Polymer Residue Determined by Functional Group Specific Chemical Derivatization

The incorporation of porous low-k (k = 2.0) interlayer dielectrics (ILD) in BEOL (back-end-of-line) interconnects to reduce RC time delays continues to pose major integration challenges. Typically, low dielectric constants are achieved by replacing Si‐O bonds with Si‐C bonds to create nanoscale porosity in the silicon oxide dielectric matrix. 1 Porosity induced lowering of mechanical strength in carbondoped silicon oxide (CDO) makes them more susceptible to damage caused by common patterning processes such as fluorocarbon-based reactive ion etching (RIE). 1 Characterization of the post-RIE etch fluorocarbon polymer residues is essential because incomplete removal can cause problems with subsequent layers such as poor adhesion and coverage, fluoride contamination and poor electrical contact. 2 Electron and optical spectroscopy, electron microscopy, scanning probe microscopy and other probing tools have been used to identify and characterize model post-etch residues deposited on blanket Si substratesorcheckerboardpatternedwafersoflargedimensions. 3‐7 However, an improved understanding of chemical bonding structure of these fluoropolymer coatings is needed to facilitate more efficient process integration between trench etch and post-etch clean for small patterned features. In this study, the chemical bonding structure of model fluorocarbon polymer (MFP) residues deposited on a patterned CDO trench nanostructurewasdeterminedusingFouriertransforminfrared(FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The MFP residues (6‐28 nm) were deposited on 90 nm low-k dielectric lines using fabrication processes closely mimicking actual manufacturing conditions. Enabled by precise background cancellation, FTIR revealed detailed chemical bondingcompositionoftheMFPresidues.Functionalgroupspecificchemistry in conjunction with IR and XPS analyses showed that MFP residue consisted of amorphous fluorinated polymers with significant branching, C=C bonds and C=O functional groups. The chemical bonding composition of deposited fluorocarbon layers can be modified by altering the plasma chemistry which can potentially lead to a more clean-efficient plasma etching process.
A structure by which a recurrent neural network can approximate a nonlinear dynamic system

It is shown that the structure of the standard recurrent neural network has the capacity to model a broad class of nonlinear dynamic systems. The key result is that the structure of the recurrent neural network permits the internal formation of a single hidden layer/linear output layer feedforward neural network to approximate the next system state as a function of the current system state and the inputs. The recurrent nature of the network allows the single weight matrix to serve as both the input and output weight matrices of the internal feedforward network. >
Design Methodology and Architectures to Reduce the Semiconductor Laser Phase Noise Using Electrical Feedforward Schemes

Analysis of feedforward linewidth reduction scheme for semiconductor lasers followed by measurements are presented in this paper. The design challenges for such a system, followed by improvements to the original scheme are explained and demonstrated using top-bench electrooptical setups. The experiments are carried out on a commercially available 1.55- m distributed feedback (DFB) laser. The measurement results show more than 40 times reduction in frequency noise power spectrum. Also the laser original full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) linewidth of 2.6 MHz is reduced to less than 140 KHz. The feedforward scheme does not have the limited noise cancellation bandwidth, instability, and speed issues that are common in feedback linewidth reduction systems. In this scheme, the ultimate achievable phase noise will be limited by the noise of electronic circuitry and laser intensity noise. Using the proposed feedforward approach, the frequency noise of semiconductor lasers can be reduced by 3-4 orders of magnitude in a monolithic approach using today's low-noise scaled transistors with THz gain-bandwidth product.
Functional Assessment of the Joncare Hi-Lo Master Power Wheelchair for Children

Physical and occupational therapists play important roles in wheelchair prescription for children with disabilities. Matching a child's seating and functional needs with a particular power mobility device can be challenging, especially as more power wheelchair options become available. Information about potential performance in home and school settings cannot be inferred from manufacturer's basic descriptions of wheelchairs. In this article, we describe features of a newly available power wheelchair for children and young adults and also report on the evaluation of this wheelchair using a structured protocol to assess functional capacity. The focus of the study was the wheelchair's performance in commonly accessed environments. To allow evaluation of maximal performance of all features, an able-bodied child was the subject of this study. In this wheelchair, the subject was successful in performing indoor functional activities, maneuvering on smooth level surfaces, traversing rough terrain, and in negotiat...
Protecting privacy, in continuous location-tracking applications

Although some users might willingly subscribe to location-tracking services, few would be comfortable having their location known in all situations. The authors investigate disclosure-control algorithms that hide users' positions in sensitive areas and withhold path information that indicates which areas they have visited.
Demand/withdraw patterns in serial arguments: Implications for well-being

Serial arguing has been linked to relational difficulties. We extend this research by looking at the relationship between demand/withdraw patterns enacted during argumentative episodes and aversive reactions after the episode has ended in romantic relationships (N = 219). We found that individuals who initiated the first confrontation often reported they did so because they were very upset and they initiated a self-demand/ partner-withdraw pattern that was repeated in subsequent episodes. The self-demand/ partner-withdraw pattern was positively related to experiencing intrusive thoughts and feelings about the episode, attempts to avoid such thoughts and feelings, a hyperaroused state, and disruption of everyday activities. Individuals who were originally confronted by their partners report that their partners demanded they change and they withdraw, and this pattern was repeated in typical episodes. This pattern is more strongly related to stress than was self-demand/partner-withdraw and was equally predictive of attempts to avoid thinking about the event. However, the partner-demand/self-withdraw sequence was not strongly related to most of the other aversive episodic reactions.
Multimodal endovascular management of acute ischemic stroke in patients over 75 years old is safe and effective

Introduction Greater attention has been directed to endovascular recanalization of acute ischemic stroke in septuagenarians and above. Technique A retrospective chart review was conducted to include patients treated for acute ischemic stroke from 2006 to 2012. All patients underwent initial neurological assessment and non-contrast head CT. Patients treated from 2009 to 2012 additionally received emergent CT angiogram and CT perfusion. 51 patients met the clinical and radiographic criteria and underwent multimodal endovascular revascularization for acute ischemic events. Results All patients underwent cerebral angiography and met angiographic criteria for endovascular thrombolysis. 34 patients (67%) were older than 80 years of age. 23 patients (45%) received intravenous tissue plasminogen activator prior to admission. Eight (16%) patients underwent stent placement after intra-arterial thrombolysis, 10 (20%) underwent balloon angioplasty and seven (14%) underwent both angioplasty and stent placement. 21 (41%) required only intra-arterial thrombolytics. An improvement in Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction score was noted in 34 patients (67%). The average modified Rankin Scale score on discharge was 3.9. Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage occurred in three patients (6%); none required surgery. One patient (1.9%) had a postoperative retroperitoneal hematoma, which was managed conservatively. Two fatalities resulted from intraoperative vessel rupture (3.9%), with a combined morbidity and mortality of 27.5%. Conclusions Multimodal endovascular recanalization of acute ischemic stroke is a relatively safe treatment option in patients older than 75 years of age. Careful patient selection by clinical and radiographic inclusion criteria is necessary for the successful management of stroke in this age group.
APPLYING TRADITIONAL FORENSIC TAXONOMY TO DIGITAL FORENSICS

Early digital forensic examinations were conducted in toto — every file on the storage media was examined along with the entire file system structure. However, this is no longer practical as operating systems have become extremely complex and storage capacities are growing geometrically. Examiners now perform targeted examinations using forensic tools and databases of known files, selecting specific files and data types for review while ignoring files of irrelevant type and content. Despite the application of sophisticated tools, the forensic process still relies on the examiner’s knowledge of the technical aspects of the specimen and understanding of the case and the law. Indeed, the success of a forensic examination is strongly dependent on how it is designed. This paper discusses the application of traditional forensic taxonomy to digital forensics. The forensic processes of identification, classification/individualization, association and reconstruction are used to develop “forensic questions,” which are applied to objectively design digital forensic examinations.
Effects of formaldehyde on bronchial ion transport

Abstract The functions of the epithelium that lines mammalian airways are potential targets for the toxic effects of reactive chemicals such as formaldehyde. We examined the effects of formaldehyde on bioelectric properties and ion permeation of excised canine and human bronchial epithelium. Concentration-dependent reductions in short-circuit current were induced in both tissues. Sodium absorption and transcellular chloride fluxes across canine bronchial epithelium were inhibited by 65 and 35%, respectively, by 10 −3 m formaldehyde. The Q O 2 of isolated dog bronchial epithelial cells was reduced by 32% by 10 −3 m formaldehyde. These results are consistent with an action of formaldehyde on cellular ion permeability but effects secondary to metabolic inhibition cannot be dismissed.
Modulation of electronic and redox properties in phenolate-rich cobalt(III) complexes and their implications for catalytic proton reduction

We investigate the redox, spectroscopy and catalytic reactivity of new cobalt(III) complexes based on phenolate-rich [N2O3] ligands. These complexes are described as [CoIII(LX)MeOH], where X indicates the presence of chloro (1), bromo (2), iodo (3), or tert-butyl (4) substituents in the 3rd and 5th positions of each phenolate ring. These substituents modulate the Co(III) ← PheO− LMCT bands of the parent complexes with 1 (451) > 2 (453) > 3 (456) > 4 (468 nm) and the redox potentials involved with the Co(III)/Co(II) and ligand reduction and with the phenolate/phenoxyl oxidation processes. The influence of the substituents on the phenolate pendant arms was also observed on the kinetic parameters; 1 presented a rate constant of 1.0 × 10−3 s−1 whereas 4 showed a considerably slower rate (5.3 × 10−5 s−1). Species 1 and 4 are electrocatalysts towards proton reduction in the presence of weak acid in acetonitrile. A TON of 10.8 was observed for 1 after 3 h of bulk electrolysis at −2.20 VFc/Fc+ using a mercury pool as the working electrode.
Subsalt imaging by target-oriented inversion-based imaging:A 3D field-data example

ABSTRACTReflectivity images obtained by prestack depth migration are often distorted by uneven subsurface illumination, especially in areas with complex geology, such as subsalt regions. We address the problem of uneven illumination in subsalt imaging by posing the reflectivity-imaging problem as a linear inverse problem and solving it in the image domain in a target-oriented fashion. The most computationally intensive part of the image-domain inversion is the explicit computation of the so-called Hessian operator. The Hessian is defined to be the normal operator of the associated modeling/imaging operator, which is a direct measure of the illumination deficiency of the imaging system. We can overcome the cost issue by using the phase-encoding technique in the 3D conical-wave domain for marine streamer acquisitions. We apply the inversion-based imaging methodology to a 3D field data set acquired from the Gulf of Mexico, and we precondition the inversion with nonstationary dip filters, which naturally inco...
GLay: community structure analysis of biological networks

Summary: GLay provides Cytoscape users an assorted collection of versatile community structure algorithms and graph layout functions for network clustering and structured visualization. High performance is achieved by dynamically linking highly optimized C functions to the Cytoscape JAVA program, which makes GLay especially suitable for decomposition, display and exploratory analysis of large biological networks. Availability: http://brainarray.mbni.med.umich.edu/glay/ Contact: ude.hcimu@gnagus
Cross-layer (MAC and transport) optimal rate assignment in CDMA-based wireless broadband networks

Increased demand for wireless broadband data services has led to a reexamination of system design, particularly with respect to optimal resource allocation. This paper considers a wideband CDMA network with arbitrary but known layout and variable rate assignments, which is connected to a traditional wired network. We show that, by using an optimization framework, it is possible to construct a distributed rate assignment algorithm which addresses both MAC and transport layer issues (i.e., interference and congestion control) simultaneously.
The reaction of the hydroxyl radical with acetylene

The reaction of OH with acetylene was studied in a discharge flow system at room temperature. OH was generated by the reaction of atomic hydrogen with NO2 and was monitored throughout the reaction using ESR spectroscopy. Mass-spectrometric analysis of the reaction products yielded the following results: (1) less than 3 molecules of OH were consumed, and less than 2 molecules of H2O were formed for every molecule of acetylene that reacted; (2) CO was identified as the major carbon-containing product; (3) NO, formed in the generation of OH, reacted with a reaction intermediate to give among other products N2O. These observations placed severe limitations on the choice of a reaction mechanism. A mechanism containing the reaction OH + C2H2 HC2O + H2 better accounted for the experimental results than one involving the abstraction reaction OH + C2H2 C2H + H2O. The rate constant for the initial reaction was measured as 1.9 ± 0.6 × 10−13 cm3 molecule−1 sec−1.
A survey of optimal PCP characterizations of NP

Probabilistically checkable proofs (PCPs) define a model of computation that is quite interesting in its own right, and that is an extremely powerful tool to study the complexity of finding approximate solutions for combinatorial optimization. Since U. Feige et al. (1996) suggested a connection between proof-checking and approximation, this connection has been generalized and exploited to an amazing extent. In this paper we focus on efficient PCP constructions in five settings, for three of which essentially tight results are known, with useful applications, and for two of which tight results are still exciting open questions.
China’s contingencies and globalisation

Will China be able to rebalance its economy, heavily tilted towards investment? Will it be able to increase the share of household consumption in GDP? Will it turn steeply growing social inequality around? Will urbanisation contribute to China’s rebalancing or will it add to the imbalances? Will China manage to bring pollution under control? Such variables will determine whether China can move beyond the middle-income trap and also affect its external relations. In addition, China’s rebalancing is a variable in global rebalancing. This article provides an introduction to the special issue.
Developmental Brain Research, Deprivation, and Sensory Aids

A major goal of brain research is to develop a better understanding of the correspondence between changes in central nervous system (CNS) processes and changes in behavior. Studies of the CNS are approached with the assumption that morphological and physiological features consistently observed under normal developmental conditions are essential to the functional and behavioral interactions that enable members of a species to compete and reproduce successfully in their environment. Since the very nature of brain research makes it difficult, if not impossible, to use human subjects, animal models are used to examine genetic and experimentally induced disorders in an attempt to gain insight into CNS processes underlying developmental patterns, mechanisms of plasticity, and relationships between brain and behavioral organization. Assessments of changes in brain and behavioral development occurring under abnormal conditions are also used to evaluate the capacity of an organism to compensate for developmental differences and to survive trauma to the CNS or abnormal sensory input, such as occurs with the loss of vision or with the use of a sensory substitution device.
La refutación kantiana del idealismo

Sin duda que la Critica de la razon pura tiene partes mas oscuras, mas dificil de comprension que otras. Una de ellas tiene que ver con los desarrollos de Kant sobre el idealismo y su refutacion. No intento en este ensayo tener la clave interpretativa de esos desarrollos. Mi intencion y quizas mis objetivos son mas modestos: en primer lugar, determinar los diversos matices de la palabra “idealismo” en la primera Critica; en segundo lugar, paso a caracterizar lo que segun la terminologia de Kant seria el “idealismo problematico” de Descartes; en tercer lugar, y quizas la mas original de este ensayo, busco dar claridad a la argumentacion de Kant exponiendo su estructura conceptual y discursiva; y por ultimo, en cuarto lugar, me apresuro presentar algunas objeciones a Kant desde la logica del propio pensamiento de Descartes, abriendo a su vez interrogantes que tocan nucleos tematicos centrales de la filosofia teorica de Kant.
Adolescent Steroid Use and Intercollegiate Athletic Incentives

We examine the relationship between college athletic scholarships and adolescent use of performance enhancing drugs. Annually, 4.5 million male high school athletes compete for about 132,000 athletic scholarships o_ered by NCAA Division I and II universities. Estimates from a probit model of self-reported steroid use among US adolescent males using data from the YRBSS suggest each sanction-related athletic scholarship reduction at NCAA institutions in a state increases the probability that high school males in that state report using steroids by 3%. Competition for athletic scholarships generates incentives for adolescent males to improve athletic performance through use of steroids.