cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Angular Distribution of Light Scattered in Liquids

With a Macbeth illuminometer and a Nicol prism, measurements were made of the intensities of the polarized components of the light from a tungsten lamp scattered at angles from 2212 to 15712 degrees in ethyl ether, carbon tetrachloride, carbon disulphide, benzene and water. All of the liquids were fairly, but not completely, free of optical impurities. The observations were found to agree with the theory that the scattering centers in the liquids scattered in the manner of particles small with respect to the wave-length with an additional scattering independent of direction and state of polarization, the amount of the additional scattering depending on the liquid. Deviations from the theory were such as would be accounted for by the optical impurities. For water, strong forward scattering was observed, obviously due to the visible motes.
Scattering from knots and unknots: the role of symmetry

The authors examine the roles of rotational symmetry and knottedness in electromagnetic wave backscattering from wire structures. Initial investigations focused on the detection of knottedness through polarisation effects in the backscattered fields. Further calculations shown here have demonstrated the role of symmetry in the remarkable difference in backscattering from symmetric trefoils and their asymmetric untrefoil counterparts.
Wetting and interactions of Ni- and Co-based superalloys with different ceramic materials

In this work, a systematic study of the wetting behavior of two Ni-based and one Co-based superalloys, used, in particular, for the fabrication of turbine blades, is presented with reference to different ceramic substrates: sapphire, polycrystalline alumina, zirconia, and mullite. Wettability tests have been performed by means of the “sessile drop” method at 1500 °C; the characterization of the interfaces between the molten drop and the substrates has been performed by SEM/EDS analysis in order to check the final characteristics of the solidified interfaces. The results are discussed in terms of chemical interactions in relation to the processing parameters and as a function of the surface and interfacial, morphological and energetic properties of the systems.
Longitudinal Changes in Thyroid Function in the Oldest Old and Survival: The Cardiovascular Health Study All-Stars Study

Context: Data on thyroid function in the oldest old are sparse, and existing studies show conflicting evidence on the relationship between thyroid function and mortality in this age group. Objective: We describe longitudinal changes in thyroid function in a cohort of elderly individuals and determine the relationship between thyroid function and mortality. Design, Setting, and Participants: Eight hundred forty-three participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study All Stars Study who were not taking thyroid medications and had thyroid function testing in 2005–2006 (mean age 85 yr). Main Outcome Measure: Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free T4 (FT4), total T3, and thyroid peroxidase antibody status were measured in 1992–1993 and 2005–2006. Deaths were ascertained through February 2011. Results: There was a statistically significant 13% increase in TSH, 1.7% increase in FT4, and 13% decrease in total T3 over the 13-yr period. Two hundred eighty-seven deaths occurred over a median follow-up of 5.1 yr. Ther...
Immediate surgical management of severe renal injuries in multiple-injured patients.

Abstract Between 1969 and 1980, 1,132 renal injuries were recorded in 1,120 patients. Of the 129 patients with a severe renal injury (laceration, rupture, pedicle injury), 118 (91%) had associated injuries and 101 (86%) required an immediate laparotomy by general surgeons for intraabdominal injury. Immediate surgical management was performed on 90 severe renal injuries and resulted in a nephrectomy rate of 5 of 55 lacerations (9%), 16 of 17 ruptures (94%), and 10 of 18 pedicle injuries (56%). Seven of the 18 pedicle injuries (39%) had immediate repair with salvage of the kidney. Conservative management was done on 32 severe renal injuries. Autopsy revealed 10 severe renal injuries in 9 patients who died in the operating room or on admission. A delayed renal operation was required in 9 (28%), and total renal loss (nephrectomy plus main renal artery injury) occurred in 7 of the 32 cases (22%). The severe degrees of renal injury did not all resolve spontaneously. Immediate surgical management of the patient with a severe renal injury resulted in a nephrectomy rate comparable with that of the conservatively managed renal injuries.
Pneumomediastinum in Diabetic Ketoacidosis: Comments on Mechanism, Incidence, and Management

Abstract We describe three cases of pneumomediastinum associated with diabetic ketoacidosis and give reasons why these disorders may coexist more frequently than heretofore realized. The pathogenesis of pneumomediastinum in such patients remains obscure. Previous authors have considered the pneumomediastinum to be a consequence of vomiting or hyperpnea accompanying diabetic ketoacidosis, but we point out that it sometimes precedes the onset of the metabolic disturbance. We also acknowledge that the appearance of these entities in the same patient could be coincidental. In each of the 11 documented cases so far, primary therapeutic attention to the diabetic ketoacidosis has resulted in an uneventful course and rapid recovery. This experience calls for conservative management of the pneumomediastinum.
Mouse placental 57-kDa calcium-binding protein: I. Cloning of cDNA and characterization of developmental expression.

Abstract A cDNA clone to the mouse placental 57-kDa calcium-binding protein (MCaBP) [29] was isolated by immunoscreening a mouse placenta cDNA library constructed in the expression phage vector, λgt 11. The MCaBP cDNA was 0.7 kb in size, with restriction sites for Stu I and Bgl II, and its identity to the MCaBP was confirmed by mRNA hybrid selection. RNA blot hybridization revealed a predominant, 3.9-kb transcript of the MCaBP in day-18 mouse placenta. The expression of the MCaBP during development was analyzed with respect to the levels of protein activity, translatable MCaBP mRNA, and total MCaBP transcript.
Edge Detection To Subpixel Accuracy

The accurate location of edges and boundaries in images is desirable for a number of reasons. Among the advantages include greater precision in the measurements of object sizes and locations and improved matching in stereo and rigid body motion studies. Here, a method to locate edges to subpixel accuracies is proposed. The imaging device is assumed to consist of an array of rectangular sensors. Edges are modelled as linear step functions of brightness over a window two pixels wide. Pixels are first marked as edge/non-edge using a conventional edge detector. The edge contrast is also obtained. It is shown that there exists a one to one mapping from the set of all possible intensities of pairs of adjacent "edge" pixels to the set of all edges passing through those pixels. A functional relation for the position and slope of the edges is thus obtained in terms of the pixel intensities.A two way ambiguity is resolved using a third pixel. The performance of the algorithm under noise was investigated using synthetic images. It is found that the edge location error is less than 0.05 pixel for signal to noise ratios greater than 15db. The method has been used to measure the width of a rectangular metal strip to within 0.05 pixel.
Landslide mapping techniques and their use in the assessment of the landslide hazard

Abstract Different types of maps depicting spatial distribution and activity of landslides are discussed in this paper. Analysis of the existing literature on the topic helped to point out advantages and drawbacks of each type of map, and their possible use for the assessment of the landslide hazard. Utility of the landslide maps was also illustrated by means of the results achieved for a real case study in Southern Italy, that highlighted in particular the good amount of information provided by landslide activity maps.
Composite indicators for famine early warning systems.

Identification of dependable indicators is crucial for strengthening famine warning systems. Use of composite indicators which summarize information contained in specific indicators should provide specific and sensitive predictions of famine. Such an early warning system is needed because famines have increased in frequency and extent in recent years because developing countries are highly vulnerable to food crises and because managing a famine is much more expensive and difficult than preventing a food crisis. Composite indicators should allow prediction of a crisis at least 2-3 months before its onset. The research reported in this paper uses food production food entitlement and individual nutrient consumption as sources of composite indicators for Niger. In the case of food production satellite data-based Normalized Deviation of Vegetative Index values observed 4-10 weeks before harvest can be an early warning composite indicator. Food entitlement can be discerned by examining prices which reflect supply as well as demand and are correlated with rates of childhood malnutrition. This model proposes that household nutrient consumption be indicated by the malnutrition rates of children. The conceptual basis for identifying composite indicators requires identification of the important components of famine vulnerability within the food chain and linking at least one composite indicator for each component. This concept can be used to derive additional composite indicators or to disaggregate the food system further and identify composite indicators for each stage.
Ubiquitinated aldolase B accumulates during starvation‐induced lysosomal proteolysis

We have previously shown that stress-induced protein degradation requires a functional ubiquitin-activating enzyme and the autophagic-lysosomal pathway. In this study, we examined the occurrence of ubiquitin-protein conjugates that form during nutrient starvation. Kidney and liver epithelial cells respond to nutrient stress by enhancing autophagy and protein degradation. We have shown that this degradative response was more dramatic in nondividing cultures. In addition, the onset of autophagy was suppressed by pactamycin, cycloheximide, and puromycin. We observed an accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins coincident with the degradative response to amino acid starvation. The stress-induced protein ubiquitination was not affected by cycloheximide, indicating that protein synthesis was not required. The ubiquitinated proteins were localized to the cytosol and subcellular fractions enriched with autophagosomes and lysosomes. The incorporation of the ubiquitinated proteins into autolysosomes was dramatically reduced by 3-methyladenine, an inhibitor of autophagy. The evidence suggests that ubiquitinated proteins are sequestered by autophagy for degradation. We next set out to identify those primary ubiquitinated proteins at 60 kDa and 68 kDa. Polyclonal antibodies were prepared against these proteins that had been immunopurified from rat liver lysosomes. The antibodies prepared against those 68 kDa proteins also recognized a 40 kDa protein in cytosolic fractions. Internal amino acid sequences obtained from two cyanogen bromide fragments of this 40 kDa protein were shown to be identical to sequences in liver fructose1,6-bisphosphate aldolase B. Anti-Ub68 antibodies recognized purified aldolase A and aldolase B. Conversely, antibodies prepared against aldolase B recognized the 40 kDa aldolase as well as four to five high molecular weight forms, including a 68 kDa protein. Finally, we have shown that the degradation of aldolase B was enhanced during amino acid and serum starvation. This degradation was suppressed by chloroquine and 3-methyladenine, suggesting that aldolase B was being degraded within autolysosomes. We propose that aldolase B is ubiquitinated within the cytosol and then transported into autophagosomes and autolysosomes for degradation during nutrient stress.
Mimicking the extracellular matrix with functionalized, metal-assembled collagen peptide scaffolds

Natural and synthetic three-dimensional (3-D) scaffolds that mimic the microenvironment of the extracellular matrix (ECM), with growth factor storage/release and the display of cell adhesion signals, offer numerous advantages for regenerative medicine and in vitro morphogenesis and oncogenesis modeling. Here we report the design of collagen mimetic peptides (CMPs) that assemble into a highly crosslinked 3-D matrix in response to metal ion stimuli, that may be functionalized with His-tagged cargoes, such as green fluorescent protein (GFP-His8) and human epidermal growth factor (hEGF-His6). The bound hEGF-His6 was found to gradually release from the matrix in vitro and induce cell proliferation in the EGF-dependent cell line MCF10A. The additional incorporation of a cell adhesion sequence (RGDS) at the N-terminus of the CMP creates an environment that facilitated the organization of matrix-encapsulated MCF10A cells into spheroid structures, thus mimicking the ECM environment.
Electronically tunable magnetic patch antennas with metal magnetic films

AS new type of electronically tunable magnetic patch antennas with metal magnetic films was designed, fabricated, and tested at 2.1 GHz. The magnetic patch antennas showed an enhanced bandwidth of 50% over the non-magnetic patch antennas, a significantly enhanced directivity, and a large tunability of the radiation intensity of 4.23 dB at a low applied magnetic field of ∼20 Oe.
Prevalence and Management of Anemia Among Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease in a Health Maintenance Organization

Background: Anemia often develops among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is an important cause of cardiovascular disease among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
Econometric analysis of jump-driven stochastic volatility models

Abstract This paper introduces and studies the econometric properties of a general new class of models, which I refer to as jump-driven stochastic volatility models, in which the volatility is a moving average of past jumps. I focus attention on two particular semiparametric classes of jump-driven stochastic volatility models. In the first, the price has a continuous component with time-varying volatility and time-homogeneous jumps. The second jump-driven stochastic volatility model analyzed here has only jumps in the price, which have time-varying size. In the empirical application I model the memory of the stochastic variance with a CARMA(2,1) kernel and set the jumps in the variance to be proportional to the squared price jumps. The estimation, which is based on matching moments of certain realized power variation statistics calculated from high-frequency foreign exchange data, shows that the jump-driven stochastic volatility model containing continuous component in the price performs best. It outperforms a standard two-factor affine jump–diffusion model, but also the pure-jump jump-driven stochastic volatility model for the particular jump specification.
ELECTRON PROBE MICROANALYSIS OF THE PLUTONIUM--LEAD ALLOY SYSTEM.

Abstract The electron probe microanalyzer was used to determine the chemical compositions of the many phases that exist in the plutonium-lead binary alloy system. Probe analysis helped to identify these phases as having the following stoichiometries: Pu 3 Pb, Pu 5 Pb 3 , Pu 5 Pb 4 , Pu 4 Pb 5 , PuPb 2 , and PuPb 3 . The applicability of the Ziebold-Ogilvie empirical method (described in this report) for quantitative analysis of this system was established and its applicability to similar systems for which no standards are available is also shown.
Effect of age and dietary histidine on histamine metabolism of the growing chick.

The effect of age and of varying the dietary histidine level, with special emphasis on histamine metabolism, was studied in male, white Leghorn chicks. The birds were fed a 19% amino acid diet with histidine supplied from 0 to 0.8% of diet. In Experiment 1, 7-day-old chicks were fed the experimental diets for 7 days. In Experiment 2, chicks were fed the experimental diets for different time intervals to equalize their body weight at time of killing. In Experiment 3, birds were killed at 5, 9, 12 and 15 days of age when their body weights reached 69, 96, 136 and 184 g, respectively. Concentrations of anserine, carnosine, free-histidine and histamine, and activities of histidine decarboxylase (HDC) and histamine methyl transferase (HMT) were assayed in whole brain, pectoralis major muscle and in proventriculus of 3 or 4 chicks per treatment group.
Processing of Ag doped thick-film electrodeposited thallium-oxide superconductors

Abstract Thick-film superconductors of TlBaCaCuO (TBCCO) doped with Ag were synthesized on Ag foil using an electrodeposition process. Films deposited and reacted with or without an additional Tl source showed 1223 as the major phase. The transport critical current density for the film annealed in the presence of a TBCCO (2223) pellet was 14 630 A/cm 2 at 76 K in zero field and 8710 A/cm 2 at 76 K in zero field for the film annealed in the absence of any Tl source.
Skeinoid Fibers in Mesectodermal Leiomyoma of the Ciliary Body

Unlike smooth muscle elsewhere in the body, the smooth muscle of the iris and ciliary body is derived from neuroectoderm (mesectoderm). Leiomyomas that arise from the ciliary body, and therefore are of mesectodermal origin, may resemble spindle cell neurogenic tumors by light microscopy. They show positive immunostaining for smooth muscle actin but negative staining for neural markers. Ultrastructurally, the cells have the features of smooth muscle cells. The authors report a typical case of mesectodermal leiomyoma in a 47-year-old woman in which skeinoid fibers, considered to be an ultrastructural marker of neurogenic spindle cell tumors, were frequent together with other ultrastructural features often seen in neuroglial cell tumors. The findings indicate that mesectodermal leiomyoma is unique in its histogenesis as well as in its morphology.
Stem cells' exodus: a journey to immortality.

Stem cell niches provide a regulatory microenvironment that retains stem cells and promotes self-renewal. Recently in Developmental Cell , Rinkevich et al. (2013) showed that cell islands (CIs) of Botryllus schlosseri , a colonial chordate, provide niches for maintaining cycling stem cells that migrate from degenerated CIs to newly formed buds.
Spherical Harmonic Representation of the Martian Gravity Using a Short-Arc Technique

Planetary gravity fields are determined primarily from Doppler tracking of orbiting spacecraft, which are typically in high-eccentricity orbits. Thus, the noncentral gravitational components perturb the orbit primarily in the vicinity of periapsis. To find a computationally efficient technique and to reduce the influence of unmodeled forces on the spacecraft, an analysis has been performed of the effectiveness of processing only data in the vicinity of periapsis using multiple short arcs. Although similar short-arc techniques have been utilized for Mascon studies, this analysis is based on a spherical harmonic representation of the gravity field of Mars. Mariner 9 data are processed for the study, using 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-hr arcs and estimating gravity fields from fourth through seventh degree. The resulting gravity fields are intercompared and also compared with previously published results.
Endothelin-1 promotes cell survival in renal cell carcinoma through the ETA receptor

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a potent vasoconstrictor that has been shown to significantly impact many benign and malignant tissues by signaling through its two cognate receptors: ET(A) and ET(B). As ET-1 has a role in both normal and diseased kidney, we initiated studies to investigate endothelin axis expression and function in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In this study, relatively high levels of ET-1 were detected in all six human RCC cell lines investigated. RT-PCR and Southern analyses revealed that all six RCC cell lines expressed ET(A) receptor mRNA, while 3/6 cell lines also expressed ET(B) mRNA. High affinity ET-1 binding occurred in all but one RCC cell line and quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated ET(A) mRNA expression in all six cell lines. Methylation of the ET(B) promoter (EDNRB) in 4/6 RCC cell lines was observed, suggesting a mechanism for repressed ET(B) expression. Moreover, methylation occurred in 32/48 of renal tumors and in 27/55 of histologically normal adjacent tissue samples studied, while no methylation was evident in any normal tissue isolated from nephrectomy or at autopsy. Functionally, ET-1 significantly inhibited paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in RCC cells through binding ET(A) with the ET-1 signaling mediated via the PI3-kinase/Akt pathway. Collectively, these data support the therapeutic targeting of the ET(A) receptor as a novel treatment strategy for RCC.
Flash chromatography - a simple technique of potential value to the food chemist

Abstract The technique of flash chromatography, a simple and inexpensive hybrid of gravity column chromatography and conventional HPLC, is described. The use of the technique in food-related studies is considered and its potential value to food chemists is discussed.
Self-Perceptions of Fairness in Individual and Group Contexts

Six studies explored self-enhancing beliefs about own fairness relative to others. Persons reported that it is fair to base punishment on a transgressor's responsibility for his or her actions, that they base their rewards and punishments more strongly on a target's responsibility than do others, and that others, but not the self; reward and punish in-group and out-group members differently. Collectively, these results reveal that persons define their own superior fairness in terms of judicious use of responsibility information and lack of bias. In contrast, own assistance to the terminally ill was not described as more strongly based on responsibility, suggesting that definitions of fairness shift depending on context. Finally, persons consistently described themselves as relatively benevolent. Results are discussed in relation to expressions of intergroup bias and the maintenance of fairness self perceptions.
Discovery and assembly of repeat family pseudomolecules from sparse genomic sequence data using the Assisted Automated Assembler of Repeat Families (AAARF) algorithm

Higher eukaryotic genomes are typically large, complex and filled with both genes and multiple classes of repetitive DNA. The repetitive DNAs, primarily transposable elements, are a rapidly evolving genome component that can provide the raw material for novel selected functions and also indicate the mechanisms and history of genome evolution in any ancestral lineage. Despite their abundance, universality and significance, studies of genomic repeat content have been largely limited to analyses of the repeats in fully sequenced genomes. In order to facilitate a broader range of repeat analyses, the Assisted Automated Assembler of Repeat Families algorithm has been developed. This program, written in PERL and with numerous adjustable parameters, identifies sequence overlaps in small shotgun sequence datasets and walks them out to create long pseudomolecules representing the most abundant repeats in any genome. Testing of this program in maize indicated that it found and assembled all of the major repeats in one or more pseudomolecules, including coverage of the major Long Terminal Repeat retrotransposon families. Both Sanger sequence and 454 datasets were appropriate. These results now indicate that hundreds of higher eukaryotic genomes can be efficiently characterized for the nature, abundance and evolution of their major repetitive DNA components.
Comparison of model-observer and human-observer performance for breast tomosynthesis: Effect of reconstruction and acquisition parameters

The problem of optimizing the acquisition and reconstruction parameters for breast-cancer detection with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is becoming increasingly important due to the potential of DBT for clinical screening. Ideally, one wants a set of parameters suitable for both microcalcification (MC) and mass detection that specifies the lowest possible radiation dose to the patient. Attacking this multiparametric optimization problem using human-observer studies (which are the gold standard) would be very expensive. On the other hand, there are numerous limitations to having existing mathematical model observers as replacements. Our aim is to develop a model observer that can reliably mimic human observers at clinically realistic DBT detection tasks. In this paper, we present a novel visual-search (VS) model observer for MC detection and localization. Validation of this observer against human data was carried out in a study with simulated DBT test images. Radiation dose was a study parameter, with tested acquisition levels of 0.7, 1.0 and 1.5 mGy. All test images were reconstructed with a penalized-maximum-likelihood reconstruction method. Good agreement at all three dose levels was obtained between the VS and human observers. We believe that this new model observer has the potential to take the field of image-quality research in a new direction with a number of practical clinical ramifications.
VR - Past, Present and Future

VR has come a long way - from clunky, mechanically-tracked HMDs driven by multi-million dollar computers - to sleek wireless HMDs driven by commodity PCs and graphics cards - and many purported VR applications don't use HMDs at all. Applications have expanded from scientific, engineering and military to entertainment and social networking. The meaning of VR has changed. In this talk I ask (and endeavor to answer) questions such as: "What is the essence of VR?"; "What is the future of VR?"; "How has VR changed?"; "What is the science behind VR?"; and "What are open VR research questions?"
The Scope and Limits of Public Health Law

Public health law needs to differentiate more clearly between public health analysis and public health authority, that is, between the scientific boundaries of epidemiology and tile legal and regulatory boundaries of public health. These boundaries matter because public health law confers tremendous authority on government officials, including some powers that are justified only in situations of extreme urgency. The extent of this legal power explains the inclination of activists to apply public health paradigms to various social problems beyond the traditional origins of public health law; once a causal connection to a widespread health problem is identified, it falls within the authority of public health officials to take whatever actions are necessary to eradicate the threat to health. This approach might lead to dangerous conditions in which public health officials overstep the proper bounds of public health law, even though they arguably are continuing to exercise proper analytical tools for understanding public health problems. Public health authority should remain grounded in traditional conceptions of disease, which depend on a specific agent or behavior that threatens health in a direct and clear manner, and for which a targeted and effective remedy that requires collective action is available. It should not extend to diseases viewed as resulting from social, economic, and political conditions.
Probable levetiracetam-associated depression in the elderly: two case reports.

Abstract Background : Compared with traditional antiepileptic drugs, levetiracetam has a unique mechanism of action and unique properties, including predominant renal excretion and lack of drug-drug interactions. In the elderly, depression associated with levetiracetam has not been reported. Case summaries : A 73-year-old black man (height, 172.7 cm; weight, 92.7 kg; body mass index [BMI], 31 kg/m 2 ) with stage 4 kidney disease was taking levetiracetam 500 mg BID for partial complex seizures. After 5 months of taking medication, new-onset depression, evidenced by depressed mood, weight loss, fatigue, and appearing withdrawn, was noted in this patient. Levetiracetam was discontinued by order of the patient's primary care physician. At a follow-up appointment 4 weeks later, the depressive symptoms had nearly resolved. The patient's Naranjo Adverse Drug Reaction Probability Scale score was 6, indicating levetiracetam to be a probable cause of depression in this patient. In a second case, a 92-year-old white woman (height, 154.9 cm; weight, 54.5 kg; BMI, 22.7 kg/m 2 ) with existing chronic kidney disease and new-onset partial seizure, likely due to a meningioma, was initiated on levetiracetam 500 mg once daily. Depressive symptoms (eg, anhedonia, hypersomnolence, decreased appetite) were noted within 5 weeks. Cessation led to improvement in mood and cognition within 8 days. Based on this patient's Naranjo Adverse Drug Reaction Probability Scale score of 6, levetiracetam was a probable cause of depression in this patient. Conclusions : Levetiracetam was a probable cause of depression in these 2 elderly patients. Cautious use and additional monitoring may be necessary when prescribing levetiracetam to elderly patients, especially when prescribing to those with a history of renal impairment.
Lattice Boltzmann method for rarefied channel flows with heat transfer

Abstract A thermal lattice Boltzmann method (TLBM) is presented for the analysis of fluid flow and heat transfer in two-dimensional channels with non-continuum effects. The relaxation times ( τ f , τ g ) are linked to the Knudsen number which accounts for the rarefaction that can be present at micro geometries or at low density conditions. The TLBM used here employs inlet/outlet boundary conditions to generate a forced convection problem where the calculation of equilibrium distributions at the wall surfaces are modified to incorporate the velocity slip and temperature jump conditions. Numerical simulations are obtained for thermal micro-Couette and thermal micro-Poiseuille channel flows and the effect of the Knudsen number on the velocity and temperature profile is investigated.
EXPERIMENT BASED PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF A SOLAR ABSORPTION COOLING AND HEATING SYSTEM IN CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY

The center for building performance and diagnostic (CBPD) at Carnegie Mellon University has successfully designed, installed and tested a solar cooling and heating system to assess the feasibility of solar cooling for small scale commercial buildings or residential buildings with aspects of technology and energy efficiency. This solar cooling and heating system is primarily comprised of parabolic trough solar collectors, PTSC’s and a 16 kW dual energy source double effect (2E) absorption chiller. The 2E absorption chiller driven by PTSCs was tested to produce chilled water or hot water throughout a number of clear days in summer and winter. The analyses of the experimental data defined the system performance: the efficiency of the solar collector, the capacity and COP of the chiller, and the heat transfer coefficient of the heat recovery exchanger, by using a statistical approach, based on the energy balance equation. In the solar cooling tests during July 2007 in Pittsburgh, PA, the average efficiency of PTSCs was 35% when they were operated at about 155°C for driving the 2E absorption chiller and the chiller was able to provide 8 to 14 kW cooling with COP in the range 1.0 to 1.2; the overall system efficiency is in the range 0.35 to 0.41. In the near future, this solar absorption cooling and heating test system and its operation will be integrated with the cooling, heating and ventilation units for long term utilization.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Rectification of correlation by a sigmoid nonlinearity

We investigated the normalized autocovariance (correlation coefficient) function of the output of an erf( ) function nonlinearity subject to non-zero mean Gaussian noise input. When the sigmoid is wide compared to the input, or the input mean is close to the midpoint of the sigmoid, the output correlation coefficient function is very close to the input correlation coefficient function. When the noise mean and variance are such that there is a significant probability of operating in the saturation region and the sigmoid is not too flat, the correlation coefficient of the output function is less than that of the input. This difference is much greater when the correlation coefficient is negative than when it is positive. The sigmoid partially rectifies the correlation coefficient function. The analysis does not depend on the spectral properties of the input noise. All that is required is that the input at times t and (t + Â?) be jointly gaussian with the same mean and autocovariance. The analysis therefore applies equally well to the case of two identical sigmoids with jointly gaussian inputs. This correlational rectification could help explain the parameter sensitivity of "neural network" models. If biological neurons share this property it could explain why few negative correlations between spike trains-have been observed.
Organizational Communication: Assessment of Videoconferencing as a Medium for Meetings in the Workplace

Significant research has focused on e-mail, face-to-face (FTF), and other asynchronous mediated communication as the communication media of choice within organizations. Modern organizations, however, have other unconventional tools at their disposal. While the economy of scale has made videoconferencing an affordable medium of choice because it precludes travel and is accessible on demand, the suitability of the videoconferencing for organizational meetings is scarce in the literature. As such, this paper explores and presents an account of videoconferencing use in a governmental organization and address implications for meetings and general communication process.
Significance of interspecies matches when evolutionary rate varies.

We develop techniques to estimate the statistical significance of gap-free alignments between two genomic DNA sequences, using human-mouse alignments as an example. The sequences are assumed to be sufficiently similar that some but not all of the neutrally evolving regions (i.e., those under no evolutionary constraint) can be reliably aligned. Our goal is to model the situation in which the neutral rate of evolution, and hence the extent of the aligning intervals, varies across the genome. In some cases, this permits the weaker of two matches to be judged as less likely to have arisen by chance, provided it lies in a genomic interval with a high level of background divergence. We employ a hidden Markov model to capture variations in divergence rates and assign probability values to gap-free alignments using techniques of Dembo and Karlin, which are related to those used for the same purpose by BLAST. Our methods are illustrated in detail using a 1.49 Mb genomic region. Results obtained from the analysis of human chromosome 22 using these techniques are also provided.
Prudent Statesmen: Kissinger, Truman, and Thatcher

Review essay of “Diplomacy,” by Henry Kissinger; “Truman,” by David McCullough; and “The Downing Street Years,” by Margaret Thatcher.
Multioctave spectral imaging in the infrared: a newly emerging approach

A new approach is described for obtaining spectral imagery over a broad range of infrared wavelengths, with high efficiency, and with a single grating element and focal plane array. The approach represents a simplification and mass reduction over the traditional approach involving multiple focal plane arrays, dispersing elements, and optical beamsplitters. The new approach has significant advantages for space-based hyperspectral imagers operating in the infrared over a broad range of wavelengths (e.g., MWIR & LWIR), where the reduction in cryo-cooled mass relative to the multi-channel approach translates into noteworthy savings in cryo-cooling requirements and launch costs. Overlapping grating orders are focused onto a multi-waveband focal plane array in order to create spectral images of a scene simultaneously in multiple wavelength regions. The blaze of the grating is chosen so that all spectral orders are dispersed with high grating efficiency. Such an approach extends the spectral range of dispersive spectrometers to several octaves of wavelength, while preserving the compact packaging and cryogenic requirements of conventional (one octave) instruments. We conclude with a description of a ground-based demonstration of a dual-octave embodiment of the concept.
Dermatologists with dual MD, JD degrees: a few comments on my life and those of other dermatologists with MD, JD degrees

Why did I pursue a career in dermatology after earning my law degree...and why was I asked to write on this subject? I suppose, if you use Google as a metric, I am one of the dermatologists–who are also an attorney–who generates a tremendous number of hits (perhaps the second greatest following David Goldberg, MD, JD). I am also considered to be an expert in the area of law and dermatology; indeed, I write a column in Skin and Aging called Legalese. When I speak at national meetings, I am invited to speak about Law and Dermatology and not about psoriasis, acne, or the hedgehog gene.
School counsellors' perceptions of mandatory reporter training and mandatory reporting experiences

The purpose of this study was to examine child abuse reporting by a national sample of school counsellors in the United States. The qualitative results from a large mixed methods study incorporating both quantitative and qualitative strands are presented. Participants were asked to comment on past child abuse training, noting the areas of training they found most beneficial and areas where they desired additional training. Participants were also afforded the opportunity to make any general comments regarding their perceptions of the current mandatory reporting legislation and their experiences of reporting child abuse. Results showed that while many school counsellors felt past training on mandatory reporting legislation and identifying types of abuse was helpful, they identified a need for additional training in identifying emotional and sexual abuse, and supervisory neglect (i.e. lack of supervision by a parent or caretaker producing potential injury or harm to the child). They also desired more training regarding working with children and families affected by child abuse. Four themes emerged from the open question. The first theme illuminated concerns regarding the effectiveness of the mandatory reporting process while the second theme was equally negative, with counsellors sharing many frustrations about their working relationship with child protection services. Additional themes related to their reporting experiences and specific challenges embedded in the school context, such as dealing with parents following a report, difficulty getting adolescent reports investigated and working with school personnel to ensure that reporting responsibilities were understood and followed. Copyright. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Gibbs free energy correlation for automated docking of carbohydrates.

Thermodynamic information can be inferred from static atomic configurations. To model the thermodynamics of carbohydrate binding to proteins accurately, a large binding data set has been assembled from the literature. The data set contains information from 262 unique protein–carbohydrate crystal structures for which experimental binding information is known. Hydrogen atoms were added to the structures and training conformations were generated with the automated docking program AutoDock 3.06, resulting in a training set of 225,920 all-atom conformations. In all, 288 formulations of the AutoDock 3.0 free energy model were trained against the data set, testing each of four alternate methods of computing the van der Waals, solvation, and hydrogen-bonding energetic components. The van der Waals parameters from AutoDock 1 produced the lowest errors, and an entropic model derived from statistical mechanics produced the only models with five physically and statistically significant coefficients. Eight models predict the Gibbs free energy of binding with an error of less than 40% of the error of any similar models previously published. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2008
Novel liquid phase sintered solders with indium as minority phase for next generation thermal interface material applications

Because of their very high thermal conductivity, low melting point, and high shear compliance, indium-based materials are excellent candidates for thermal interface material (TIM) applications for packaging thermally sensitive next-generation devices. However, currently used indium-based solders suffer from 2 serious shortcomings: (i) high cost due to high indium content, and (ii) very low compressive strength and creep resistance which may lead to structural instability following heat-sink attachment. In order to circumvent these problems, and also introduce a built-in melting point hierarchy following initial reflow, a radically different approach for producing microelectronic solder TIMs based on liquid phase sintering (LPS) is being developed. In this paper, we report on the processing and characterization of LPS Sn-In solders, the microstructure of which consists predominantly of particles of the high melting phase (HMP) Sn and a smaller amount of intergranular low melting phase (LMP) In. By optimizing the In content, highly compliant LPS solders with flow stresses close to that of pure In were obtained. The electrical and thermal conductivity of the LPS solder was found to be about half that of pure In. It is demonstrated that metallurgically good joints can be produced between this new solder and Cu substrates during a single step which combined LPS with joining. The contact thermal resistance of the internal grain boundaries was estimated, and it is inferred that because of the numerous internal boundaries, the solder/substrate interfaces have relatively small effect on the joint resistance. Based on the estimated boundary resistance, a previously developed model was utilized to predict the thermal conductivity of the LPS solder as a function of HMP volume fraction and particle size.
Maximizing First‐Year Growth of Mixed‐Sex Blue Tilapia Oreochromis aureus in Polyculture with Catfish Ictalurus spp.

Mixed-sex blue tilapia Oreochromis aureus fry were produced from indoor spawns in March and April. Fry were stocked in May at an average weight of 0.5 g at 0, 250, 750, or 2,500/ha into ponds which had been stocked previously with three catfish strains at a combined density of 10,000 fingerlings/ha. After a 167-d culture period, from 15 May until 4 November, tilapia stocked at 250 or 750/ha grew to average harvest size approaching 0.45 kg. No significant difference in average size was observed between males and females except at the 2,500 tilapia/ha stocking density. Sixty percent of the tilapia polyculture ponds yielded no reproduction at harvest and maximum reproduction observed was 13.5 kg/ha. Lack of reproduction and the undeveloped state of sampled female ovaries indicated that most females had yet to attain sexual maturity. Catfish production and catfish feed conversion was not significantly different between tilapia polyculture and catfish monoculture ponds (P > 0.05). First seine hauls yielded over 88% of the total catfish harvest, but only an average of 3.9% of the marketable tilapia. Tilapia had no measurable impact on the incidence of catfish off-flavor at any of three sample intervals. Overall average levels of TAN and nitrites did not differ significantly between treatments; however, mean chlorophyll a concentration was significantly higher (P > 0.05) in the 2,500 tilapia/ha treatment than at lower tilapia densities.
PAWL-Forced Simulated Tempering

In this short note, we show how the parallel adaptive Wang–Landau (PAWL) algorithm of Bornn et al. (J Comput Graph Stat, to appear) can be used to automate and improve simulated tempering algorithms. While Wang–Landau and other stochastic approximation methods have frequently been applied within the simulated tempering framework, this note demonstrates through a simple example the additional improvements brought about by parallelization, adaptive proposals, and automated bin splitting.
Maximization of Data Gathering in Clustered Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, we investigate the maximization of the amount of gathered data in a clustered wireless sensor network (WSN). The amount of gathered data is maximized by (1) choosing the optimal transmit power, and (2) selecting the optimal cluster head. For problem (1), we find closed-form solutions for the optimal or near optimal transmit power of cluster members (CM). For problem (2), we propose a near optimal cluster head selection (CHS) algorithm. The communication burden and computational complexity of CHS only grow linearly with the size of the cluster. In the proposed algorithms, iterations have been avoided in order to significantly lower the complexity of the algorithms compared with traditional iteration-based numerical optimization algorithms, making these approaches suitable for use in energy-constrained wireless sensor networks. The optimization gain is shown to be significant.
Fast Online Synthesis of Digital Microfluidic Biochips

We introduce an online synthesis flow, focusing primarily on the virtual topology and operation binder, for digital microfluidic biochips, which will enable real-time response to errors and control flow. The objective of this flow is to facilitate fast assay synthesis while minimally compromising the quality of results. In particular, we show that a virtual topology, which constrains the allowable locations of assay operations such as mixing, dilution, sensing, etc., in lieu of traditional placement, can significantly speed up the synthesis process without significantly lengthening assay execution time. We present a base virtual topology and show how it can be leveraged to reduce algorithmic runtimes and guarantee rout ability. We later present several variations of the virtual topology and present experimental results demonstrating best-design practices. We present two binding solutions. The first is a left-edge binding algorithm, while the second is a more intelligent path-based binding algorithm that leverages spatial and temporal locality to produce superior results.
Combining renewable energy and design-for-manufacturing research in an undergraduate research project

Northern Arizona University's (NAU) College of Engineering and Technology (CET) is integrating the traditional topics involved in design-for-manufacturing research and education with the reemerging field of renewable energy. In particular, student research projects were conducted for the optimization of injection molding process parameters for a small wind turbine blade to produce the fewest manufacturing defects. The defect of interest was "warp"-the level of part distortion predicted after the molding process. Deviation from the designed turbine blade geometry degrades the predicted energy output for the system, thus inspiring this research. The research activities involved manufacturing simulation and design-of-experiments (DOE) in order to create and examine a mathematical response surface. Presented herein is a background to the NAU sustainable energy solutions research and education activities, the particular problem formulation for the undergraduate research, the educational approach necessary to support the undergraduate researchers, the implementation of the research activities, and the project outcomes.