cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Atomic‐scale surface structure determination: comparison of techniques

This article reviews and speculates on the relative capabilities of major techniques for detailed structure determination of surfaces and interfaces. These techniques are primarily low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), x-ray diffraction (XRD), photoelectron diffraction (PD), x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), ion scattering (IS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Their use for more qualitative structural characterization is also briefly considered. The limits of their applicability to various types of surfaces and interfaces are explored: solid-gas, solid-liquid and solid-solid interfaces; non-crystalline surfaces (quasicrystalline, amorphous, liquid); and magnetic structures and imperfect overlayers on crystalline substrates.
Modeling the thermal performance of earth-contact buildings, including the effect of phase change due to soil freezing

Abstract A method for modeling the thermal performance of earth-contact buildings was developed that uses the ADINAT finite element thermal analysis program and hourly SOLMET solar/weather data available from the U.S. Commerce Department on FORTRAN compatible computer tapes. This study is the first to include the effects of phase change of water to vapor and freezing of the soil, which is important both in determining the thermal load on a building and in predicting structural frostheave damage, and for applications such as agronomy, meteorology, and solar ponds. A parametric analysis was performed of a typical two-dimensional earth-sheltered building geometry to determine model sensitivity to two variables: soil conductivity, and insulation placement. The results of the parametric study showed that: (1) the value used for soil conductivity in the model has a significant effect on the calculated thermal performance of the building, with results varying nearly linearly with conductivity; and (2) the placing of equal amounts of insulation either vertically along the inside surface of the wall, vertically along the outside surface of the wall, or horizontally, extending away from the building at the intersection of the building's wall and ceiling, results in nearly identical total yearly heat losses from the building. Though the above method was developed to model earth-sheltered buildings and basements, the method may be used, in general, to model the thermal performance of the earth contact part of any building, earth heat exchangers, buried electric cables or steam pipes, solar ponds, and a wide variety of problems in agronomy and meteorology.
A comparative evaluation of different link types on enhancing document clustering

With a growing number of works utilizing link information in enhancing document clustering, it becomes necessary to make a comparative evaluation of the impacts of different link types on document clustering. Various types of links between text documents, including explicit links such as citation links and hyperlinks, implicit links such as co-authorship links, and pseudo links such as content similarity links, convey topic similarity or topic transferring patterns, which is very useful for document clustering. In this study, we adopt a Relaxation Labeling (RL)-based clustering algorithm, which employs both content and linkage information, to evaluate the effectiveness of the aforementioned types of links for document clustering on eight datasets. The experimental results show that linkage is quite effective in improving content-based document clustering. Furthermore, a series of interesting findings regarding the impacts of different link types on document clustering are discovered through our experiments.
More on the Accurate Measurement of Refractive Indices

Measurement of refractive indices using the normal-incidence procedure and its relationship to the general and minimum deviation method are described.
Repeated measurements of serum carotenoid, retinol and tocopherol levels in relation to colorectal cancer risk in the Women's Health Initiative.

Repeated measurements of serum carotenoid, retinol and tocopherol levels in relation to colorectal cancer risk in the Women's Health Initiative
Optimal thermal design of injection molds for filled thermosets

Since the cure rate of injection molded thermosets is usually very sensitive to cavity surface temperature, spatial variations in these temperatures can lengthen the necessary cure time for the entire part and cause distortion and residual stress in the molded article. This problem is addressed in the present paper by combining an optimization algorithm with a quasi-steady heat conduction analysis in the mold to determine the heating line positions and operating temperatures that minimize the spatial variation in cavity surface temperature. The method is applied to an example mold for a flat panel of uniform thickness, using two different gate locations. At a one-minute cycle, the optimal designs for each gate location dramatically reduce the variation in cavity surface temperature compared with corresponding results using a conventional heating system. These results are made more significant by the fact that the optimal designs use considerably fewer heating lines. In spite of their simplicity, the optimal designs still have enough flexibility to adjust to a changing cycle without sacrificing uniformity in cavity surface temperature.
The characterization of aerosols distributed with respect to size and chemical composition—II. Classification and design of aerosol measuring devices☆

Abstract The concept of the aerosol composition pdf (Part 1) is reviewed and then applied to the classification of instruments used for aerosol measurements. Most instruments currently in use measure integral functions of the pdf. An ideal device not yet perfected, the single particle counteranalyser, would permit the determination of the pdf. The information function for the particle size spectrum can be related to the number of decisions made by a counter which compares a particle selected from the aerosol with a series of standards. The effect of mixing aerosols is always to increase the amount of information necessary to characterize size spectra. When time-averaged aerosol spectra are measured, a spurious informational increase is generated which depends on the deviation of the instantaneous spectrum from the time-averaged spectrum.
Accelerating Batch Analytics with Residual Resources from Interactive Clouds

The popularity of cloud-based interactive computing services (e.g., virtual desktops) brings new management challenges. Each interactive user leaves abundant but fluctuating residual resources while being intolerant to latency, precluding the use of aggressive VM consolidation. In this paper, we present the Resource Harvester for Interactive Clouds (RHIC), an autonomous management framework that harnesses dynamic residual resources aggressively without slowing the harvested interactive services. RHIC builds ad-hoc clusters for running throughput-oriented "background" workloads using a hybrid of residual and dedicated resources. These hybrid clusters offer significant gains over normal dedicated clusters: 20-40% cost and 20-29% energy savings in our test bed. For a given background job, RHIC intelligently discovers and maintains the ideal cluster size and composition, to meet user-specified goals such as cost/energy minimization or deadlines. RHIC employs black-box workload performance modeling, requiring only system-level metrics and incorporating techniques to improve modeling accuracy with bursty and heterogeneous residual resources. We demonstrate the effectiveness and adaptivity of our RHIC prototype with two parallel data analytics frameworks, Hadoop and HBase. Our results show that RHIC finds near-ideal cluster sizes and compositions across a wide range of workload/goal combinations.
Kinetic studies by chromatography

The chromatographic behavior of a fixed-bed catalytic reactor has been predicted when axial dispersion, particle-to-fluid diffusion, intraparticle diffusion, adsorption, and surface reaction all may affect the results. Equations are presented for the zeroth, first, and second moments of the chromatographic peak in terms of the rate constants for the five processes, assuming that the adsorption and surface reactions are first order and that the bed is isothermal. Moments can be obtained from experimental chromatographic data. Methods are presented for evaluating the rate constants for adsorption and surface reaction from such data. Simplified equations are developed for cases where either one or two of the transport processes are insignificant, or where adsorption or surface reaction control the surface processes.
Influences of gender, gonadectomy 5 and estrous cycle on GABA/BZ receptors and benzodiazepine responses in rats

Benzodiazepines (BZ) and steroid hormone derivatives can potentiate the inhibitory actions of GABA through interactions with the GABAA/BZ/chloride ionophore complex. The present study examines whether the in vivo hormone milieu of rats modulates GABA/BZ receptors and/or benzodiazepine responses. The influences of gender, estrous cycle, and the diminution of steroid levels on GABA/BZ receptors and BZ anticonvulsant responses were tested by comparing these parameters in groups of intact male, intact female, orchidectomized, and ovariectomized rats. The hormonal milieu appears to modulate the GABA recognition site and possibly GABA-related responses in rats. This is evidenced by the decrease in cortical GABAA receptor affinity seen in females compared with other hormone groups and the gender-related difference observed in susceptibility to seizures induced by the GABA antagonist bicuculline. In cycling females, high circulating levels of progesterone were correlated with heightened seizure thresholds, suggesting that progestins serve a protective role in the control of seizure activity. Although a gender-related difference in cortical BZ binding affinity was observed, BZ receptor parameters in several other brain areas and BZ anticonvulsant responses were unaffected by physiological fluctuations in gonadal hormones.
Is discrimination an equal opportunity risk?: racial experiences, socioeconomic status, and health status among black and white adults.

Using the 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we explore the relationship between racial awareness, perceived discrimination, and self-rated health among black (n = 5,902) and white (n = 28,451) adults. We find that adjusting for group differences in racial awareness and discrimination, in addition to socioeconomic status, explains the black-white gap in self-rated health. However, logistic regression models also find evidence for differential vulnerability among black and whites adults, based on socioeconomic status. While both groups are equally harmed by emotional and/or physical reactions to race-based treatment, the negative consequences of discriminatory experiences for black adults are exacerbated by their poorer socioeconomic standing. In contrast, the association between racial awareness and self-rated health is more sensitive to socioeconomic standing among whites. Poorer health is more likely to occur among whites when they reflect at least daily on their own racial status—but only...
Finite QE rings in characteristic p2

On obtient une liste complete de tous les J qui peuvent apparaitre comme radicaux de Jacobson d'un anneau QE fini de caracteristique p 2 , p impair
Evaluation of recent research grant applications to the National Institutes of Health in the area of pediatric nephrology.

Top of pageAbstract ABSTRACT: To assess the National Institutes of Health extramural activity in the area of pediatric nephrology research, the rate of submission of grant applications to the National Institutes of Health and available indicators of the quality of these applications were analyzed. This was accomplished by utilizing the grant application files of the Division of Research Grants' Statistics and Analysis Branch with the help of the Reports, Analysis and Presentation Section. Applications reviewed during the period 1980-1983 (May 1980 to January 1984 Council dates) were evaluated, and data from the 10 Study Sections most frequently involved with the review of nephrology applications were tabulated. Results showed that the number of pediatric nephrology applications submitted was quite low, whereas the approval rate was good for those that were submitted.
Household power consumption simulator with compact representation of occupant behaviors

We propose a household power consumption simulator with a compact representation of household occupant behaviors. The proposed simulator models a working cycle of occupant behavior using start time intervals and duration. Such easily interpreted and compact parameter representation simplifies the operation processes of the simulator in trials involving energy management services. Based on a numerical experiment and theoretical analysis, we reveal that the proposed simulator can simulate power consumption more accurately in terms of a temporal drift compared to conventional simulators, in spite of the limitation of model complexity.
Alcohol as a field of legal study

My aim in this essay is to reflect on the place of alcohol studies in the landscape of academic legal discourse
Using the numerical method in 1836, James Jackson bridged French therapeutic epistemology and American medical pragmatism

Objectives: To review James Jackson’s analysis of bloodletting among pneumonitis patients at the newly founded Massachusetts General Hospital, in which he implemented the numerical method advocated by Pierre-Charles-Alexandre Louis. Study Design and Setting: The study sample included 34 cases of clinically diagnosed pneumonitis admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital between April 19, 1825, and May 10, 1835, and discharged alive. Patient data were extracted from meticulously kept case books. Jackson calculated mean number of venesections, ounces of blood taken, and days of convalescence within groups stratified by day of the disease when first bloodletting occurred. He also calculated average convalescence within groups stratified by age, sex, prior health, vesication, and day of the disease when the patients were admitted to the hospital. Results: To Jackson’s surprise, it ‘‘seemed to be of less importance, whether our patients were bled or not, than whether they entered the hospital early or late’’ after the onset of the pneumonitis. Bloodletting was ineffective. Our multivariate reanalysis of his data confirms his conclusion. Outstandingly for his time, Jackson ruled out unwarranted effects of covariates by tabulating their numerical relations to the duration of pneumonia. Conclusion: Using novel gathering of patient clinical data from hospital records and quantitative analytical methods, Jackson contributed results that challenged conventional wisdom and bridged French therapeutic epistemology and American medical pragma
Titanium mesh and hydroxyapatite cement cranioplasty: a report of 20 cases.

Purpose: This article describes the use of titanium mesh and hydroxyapatite cement constructs for the treatment of large through-and-through calvarial defects. Patients and Methods: Twenty consecutive calvarial defects (10 to 156 cm2) that resulted from surgical removal of neoplasms or were secondary to trauma were reviewed retrospectively after reconstruction with titanium mesh and hydroxyapatite cement. All patients were followed up by clinical examination and periodic radiographic studies for a minimum of 6 months (range, 6 months to 3 years). Three patients underwent biopsy of the construct at various points during their follow-up. Results: There was no evidence of adverse healing, wound infection, or implant exposure or extrusion in any of the patients reviewed. Adequate 3-dimensional aesthetic restoration of calvarial contour was noted in each case. There was evidence of osseous ingrowth into the titanium mesh and hydroxyapatite cement construct in all 3 patients who underwent biopsy. Conclusion: Titanium mesh and hydroxyapatite cement cranioplasty appears to be a reasonable method for the reconstruction of significant calvarial defects. © 2002 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons J Oral Maxillofac Surg 60:272-276, 2002
Vibrational spectra of methane clathrate hydrates from molecular dynamics simulation.

Molecular dynamics simulations were performed on methane clathrate hydrates at ambient conditions. Thermal expansion results over the temperature range 60−300 K show that the unit cell volume increases with temperature in agreement with experiment. Power spectra were obtained at 273 K from velocity autocorrelation functions for selected atoms, and normal modes were assigned. The spectra were further classified according to individual atom types, allowing the assignment of contributions from methane molecules located in small and large cages within the structure I unit cell. The symmetric C−H stretch of methane in the small cages occurs at a higher frequency than for methane located in the large cages, with a peak separation of 14 cm-1. Additionally, we determined that the symmetric C−H stretch in methane gas occurs at the same frequency as methane in the large cages. Results of molecular dynamics simulations indicate the use of power spectra obtained from the velocity autocorrelation function is a reliabl...
Effortful control, attention, and aggressive behavior in preschoolers at risk for conduct problems.

This work examines distinct aspects of effortful control and attention predicted aggression in a group of children at elevated risk for the development of conduct problems. Results suggested that behavioral inhibition, rather than attentional control, best predicted maternal reports of child aggressive behaviors. Language: en
The “generality” effect and the retrieval evaluation for large collections

The retrieval effectiveness of large document collections is normally assessed by using small subsections of the file for test purposes, and extrapolating the data upward to represent the results for the full collection. The accuracy of such an extrapolation unhappily depends on the “generality” of the respective collections. In the present study the role of the generality effect in retrieval system evaluation is assessed, and evaluation results are given for the comparison of several document collections of distinct size and generality in the areas of documentation and aerodynamics.
Correlation of Chest Radiograph Pattern With Genotype, Age, and Gender in Adult Cystic Fibrosis: A Single-Center Study

Introduction: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a common lethal genetic disorder. The aim of this study was to determine the common chest radiograph (CXR) patterns in adult CF, and correlate disease distribution on CXRs with genotype, age, and gender. Methods One hundred nine CF patients treated at Baylor Adult Cystic Fibrosis Center were identified. The intake CXR was reviewed and characterized as diffuse bilateral (DB), unilateral, upper lobe (UL), and lower lobe (LL) disease, or relatively normal. Lack of intake CXR, and/or genotype excluded 41 patients from analysis. Results Of 68 patients, 38 were homozygous for ΔF508 and 30 were heterozygous. Mean age of the population was 30 ± 8 years (± SD) [range, 18 to 48 years]. The most common CXR pattern was DB; 62% had DB, 28% had UL, and 7% had LL predominance. This is in contrast to the UL-predominant CXR pattern commonly described in the pediatric population. In 18 DB patients, archived pediatric films were available, and the average patient age was 15.7 years. DB pattern was present in 16 of 18 CXRs that antedated adult intake CXRs by an average of 12.7 years. Homozygous ΔF508 genotype was identified in 56% of patients and did not distinguish radiologic phenotypes. There was no association between radiograph pattern and identified infecting/colonizing organisms and percentage of predicted FEV 1 . Conclusions CF has commonly been reported as an UL disease. However, in this study of adult patients, the common pattern observed was DB. A small subgroup analysis suggests that DB disease was not a pattern of disease evolution but may be present from disease onset.
Translation initiation in Drosophila melanogaster is reduced by mutations upstream of the AUG initiator codon

The importance to in vivo translation of sequences immediately upstream of the Drosophila alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) start codon was examined at two developmental stages. Mutations were introduced into the Adh gene in vitro, and the mutant gene was inserted into the genome via germ line transformation. An A-to-T substitution at the -3 position did not affect relative translation rates of the ADH protein at the second-instar larval stage but resulted in a 2.4-fold drop in translation of ADH at the adult stage. A second mutant gene, containing five mutations in the region -1 to -9, was designed to completely block translation initiation. However, transformant lines bearing these mutations still exhibit detectable ADH, albeit at substantially reduced levels. The average fold reduction at the second-instar larval stage was 5.9, while at the adult stage a 12.5-fold reduction was observed.
Reduced-order modeling of multiscreen frequency-selective surfaces using Krylov-based rational interpolation

A method is presented for generating a broad-band rational interpolant approximation of the reflection coefficient of multiple-screen frequency-selective surfaces (FSSs). The technique is structured around a linearization of the system provided by a spectral domain moment method-based analysis of the FSS, followed by a model-order reduction of the linearized system using the dual rational Arnoldi method. This process creates a rational interpolant of the linearized system that matches its transfer function and its derivatives at several expansion points in the Laplace domain. Numerical results indicate that a reduced-order model with a system matrix of dimension less than 20/spl times/20 can accurately reproduce the broad-band behavior of multiscreen FSSs originally modeled with several hundreds or thousands of unknowns.
Glia as the “bad guys”: Implications for improving clinical pain control and the clinical utility of opioids

Within the past decade, there has been increasing recognition that glia are far more than simply “housekeepers” for neurons. This review explores two recently recognized roles of glia (microglia and astrocytes) in: (a) creating and maintaining enhanced pain states such as neuropathic pain, and (b) compromising the efficacy of morphine and other opioids for pain control. While glia have little-to-no role in pain under basal conditions, pain is amplified when glia become activated, inducing the release of proinflammatory products, especially proinflammatory cytokines. How glia are triggered to become activated is a key issue, and appears to involve a number of neuron-to-glia signals including neuronal chemokines, neurotransmitters, and substances released by damaged, dying and dead neurons. In addition, glia become increasingly activated in response to repeated administration of opioids. Products of activated glia increase neuronal excitability via numerous mechanisms, including direct receptor-mediated actions, upregulation of excitatory amino acid receptor function, downregulation of GABA receptor function, and so on. These downstream effects of glial activation amplify pain, suppress acute opioid analgesia, contribute to the apparent loss of opioid analgesia upon repeated opioid administration (tolerance), and contribute to the development of opioid dependence. The potential implications of such glial regulation of pain and opioid actions are vast, suggestive that targeting glia and their proinflammatory products may provide a novel and effective therapy for controlling clinical pain syndromes and increasing the clinical utility of analgesic drugs.
AlGaInP visible resonant cavity light-emitting diodes

Visible (670-nm) resonant cavity light-emitting diodes (RCLEDs) composed entirely of AlGaInP alloys are discussed. The devices consist of a strained quantum well optical cavity active region surrounded by AlInP/(AlGa)InP distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs). The bottom DBR is a 60.5 period high reflector while the top partial reflector, which determines the emission linewidth, is a five-period output coupling DBR with a reflectance of about 57%. The devices exhibit linewidths of 4.8 nm (13.3 meV) at 300 K and are promising for plastic fiber communication systems and monochromatic displays. >
Tapered cylindrical cantilever beam retrofitted with steel reinforced polymer or grout

The application of longitudinal steel reinforced polymer (SRP) or steel reinforced grout (SRG) strips to repair or strengthen electric transmission and distribution poles has been analytically modeled. The analytical method developed in the paper is based on the theory of beams and accounts for the natural taper of wood poles. This method can also be applied to evaluate the effect of local damage due to mechanical impact, rot, woodpeckers, or other detrimental activities. The possibility of delamination of the SRP from the wood substrate was investigated experimentally. It appears, based on the tests, that delamination does not represent the principal mode of failure for a wooden beam retrofitted with SRP. Numerical results imply that the reinforcement of wooden poles with SRP leads to an enhanced stiffness, reduced stresses and a restoration of the load carrying capacity of a damaged pole.
Critical Exposure and Price-Quality Relationships for New World Wines in the U.S. Market*

Notwithstanding the observed positive correlations between critics' quality ratings and wine prices, the range of these correlations is quite high. In light of this, researchers must consider the factors that either strengthen or weaken the association between quality ratings and prices. In this paper, we propose that the slope of the relationship between quality ratings and wine prices is moderated by the amount of attention that producers receive. Because attention increases with a producer's critical exposure (i.e., its history of critical coverage), price-quality relationships will be steeper for producers with more critical exposure. This prediction is confirmed in an analysis of New World wines selling into the U.S. market over the 1987 to 2001 period. While a wine's price is a positive function of its own quality rating, the strength of the price-quality relationship increases with a producer's critical exposure (JEL classifications: L11, L13, L15).
Characterization of β-Ketoacyl-Acyl Carrier Protein Synthase III from Streptomyces glaucescens and Its Role in Initiation of Fatty Acid Biosynthesis

The Streptomyces glaucescens fabH gene, encoding beta-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein (beta-ketoacyl-ACP) synthase (KAS) III (FabH), was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and the resulting gene product was purified to homogeneity by metal chelate chromatography. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of the purified protein revealed an Mr of 37,000, while gel filtration analysis determined a native Mr of 72,000 +/- 3,000 (mean +/- standard deviation), indicating that the enzyme is homodimeric. The purified recombinant protein demonstrated both KAS activity and acyl coenzyme A (acyl-CoA):ACP transacylase (ACAT) activity in a 1:0.12 ratio. The KAS and ACAT activities were both sensitive to thiolactomycin inhibition. The KAS activity of the protein demonstrated a Km value of 3.66 microM for the malonyl-ACP substrate and an unusual broad specificity for acyl-CoA substrates, with Km values of 2.4 microM for acetyl-CoA, 0.71 microM for butyryl-CoA, and 0.41 microM for isobutyryl-CoA. These data suggest that the S. glaucescens FabH is responsible for initiating both straight- and branched-chain fatty acid biosynthesis in Streptomyces and that the ratio of the various fatty acids produced by this organism will be dictated by the ratios of the various acyl-CoA substrates that can react with FabH. Results from a series of in vivo directed biosynthetic experiments in which the ratio of these acyl-CoA substrates was varied are consistent with this hypothesis. An additional set of in vivo experiments using thiolactomycin provides support for the role of FabH and further suggests that a FabH-independent pathway for straight-chain fatty acid biosynthesis operates in S. glaucescens.
X-ray Mapping Analyses of Lunar Meteorite Dhofar 961: Characterization and Origin of the Mafic Impact-Melt Component

Dhofar 961 is a lunar meteorite from Oman, reported in the Meteoritical Bulletin in 2005 [1]. From chemical and petrographic analyses, it is an unusual, relatively mafic, lithic-clast-rich impact-melt breccia that differs significantly from other lunar meteorites and Apollo and Luna samples [2]. It contains a prominent impact-melt lithic-clast component that is significantly more mafic than impact-melt breccia lithologies known from the Apollo samples. The bulk majorand trace-element chemical characteristics of this clast component and of the bulk meteorite reflect a target region on the Moon that is neither dominated by feldspathic highlands nor by mare basalt. The only broad region of the Moon that shares these characteristics is the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, located on the southern lunar far side. This enormous basin, some 2500 km across, exposed lower crust or upper mantle, but the orbital data are limited thus key unknowns remain regarding the lithology and full major-element composition of materials there. The potential significance of this connection compels us to look closely at the composition of the mafic impact-melt lithic-clast component, thus in this abstract, we show results of microbeam analyses of the mafic lithic-clast component.
William Gibbs McAdoo, the Emergency Fleet Corporation, and the Origins of the Public-Authority Model of Government Action

American government officials experimented with a variety of tools for public administration in the early twentieth century. The regulatory commission became the best known of these new institutional forms, but another Progressive Era innovation with profound and ambiguous implications for U.S. political development was the government-sponsored corporation. Often called “public corporations,” these instrumentalities were created to carry out public purposes, but they were established as separate legal entities to function outside the standard departmental structure of government (and its organizational principles and restrictions). Today, these structures are most prolific at the state and municipal level, where they are generally termed “public authorities.” Since World War II they have been the fastest growing kind of government unit, with, at present, around ten thousand in existence. While everyone perceives these institutions as important players in local affairs, even well-informed citizens are frequently puzzled when it comes to knowing exactly what they are or what they do.
Factors affecting the battery performance of anthraquinone-based organic cathode materials

Two organic cathode materials based on the poly(anthraquinonyl sulfide) structure with different substitution positions were synthesized and their electrochemical behavior and battery performance were investigated. The substitution positions on the anthraquinone structure, the type of binders for electrode preparation, and electrolyte formulations have been found to have significant effects on the performance of batteries containing these organic cathode materials. The polymer with less steric hindrance at the substitution positions has higher capacity, longer cycle life and better high-rate capability. Polyvinylidene fluoride binder and ether-based electrolytes are favorable for the high capacity and long cycle life of the anthraquinonyl organic cathodes.
Microprogram Optimization: A Survey

The application of microprogramming in present day computers is rapidly increasing and microprogramming will undoubtedly play a major role in the next generation of computer systems. Microprogram optimization is one way to increase efficiency and can be crucial in some applications. Optimization, in this context refers to a reduction/minimization of control store and/or execution time of microprograms. The numerous strategies are classified under four broad categories: word dimension reduction, bit dimension reduction, state reduction, and heuristic reduction. The various techniques are presented, analyzed, and compared. Unfortunately, the results of the survey are not too positive. The reason is that much of the work on optimization has been devoted to obtaining the absolute minimum solutions rather than "good engineering reductions." Whether the reduction is being performed with respect to the word dimension, the bit dimension or the number of states existing techniques to obtain the optimum solution use exhaustive enumeration. Thus, the effort involved is prohibitive and there are no guarantees that significant reductions can be obtained. It is thus doubtful that an optimum solution can be justified even when the microcode produced is frequently executed. Heuristic reduction techniques do not guarantee an optimum solution but can provide some reduction with little effort. For the majority of the techniques studied, much further work remains to be done before any practical applications can be foreseen. Some methods however constitute steps in the right directions. Directions for future research are briefly outlined in the conclusions.
Genetic Control and Evolution of Sesquiterpene Biosynthesis in Lycopersicon esculentum and L. hirsutum

Segregation analysis between Lysopersicon esculentum (cultivated tomato) and L. hirsutum (wild form) in conjunction with positional verification by using near-isogenic lines demonstrated that biosynthesis of two structurally different classes of sesquiterpenes in these species is controlled by loci on two different chromosomes. A locus on chromosome 6, Sesquiterpene synthase1 (Sst1), was identified for which the L. esculentum allele is associated with the biosynthesis of β-caryophyllene and α-humulene. At this same locus, the L. hirsutum allele is associated with biosynthesis of germacrene B, germacrene D, and an unidentified sesquiterpene. Genomic mapping, cDNA isolation, and heterologous expression of putative sesquiterpene synthases from both L. esculentum and L. hirsutum revealed that Sst1 is composed of two gene clusters 24 centimorgans apart, Sst1-A and Sst1-B, and that only the genes in the Sst1-A cluster are responsible for accumulation of chromosome 6–associated sesquiterpenes. At a second locus, Sst2, on chromosome 8, the L. hirsutum allele specified accumulation of α-santalene, α-bergamotene, and β-bergamotene. Surprisingly, the L. esculentum allele for Sst2 is not associated with the expression of any sesquiterpenes, which suggests that cultivated tomato may have a nonfunctional allele. Sesquiterpene synthase cDNA clones on chromosome 6 do not cross-hybridize on genomic DNA gel blots with putative sesquiterpene synthases on chromosome 8, an indication that the genes in Sst1 and Sst2 are highly diverged, each being responsible for the biosynthesis of structurally different sets of sesquiterpenes.
Nonoperative management of newborn splenic injury: A case report

Traumatic injury of the spleen is rare in newborns. Nonoperative management of pediatric splenic injuries is now recognized as the treatment of choice, but there is scant experience with the problem in neonates. The authors report their experience with a neonatal splenic rupture, managed nonoperatively.
Parental tolerance of false-positive newborn screening results

OBJECTIVE To measure parental tolerance for a false-positive newborn screening result by assessing perceived quality of life for screening results and health states associated with expanded newborn screening programs for metabolic disorders. DESIGN Perceived quality of life was measured using time trade-off and willingness-to-pay questions for a false-positive newborn screening result and other conditions associated with metabolic disorders (ie, short-term hospitalization, dietary treatments, and developmental delay). SETTING Telephone or in-person interviews were conducted from October 1, 2004, through January 31, 2006, for 2 populations in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. PARTICIPANTS Parents of children who had a false-positive newborn screening result (n = 91) and parents of children with normal screening results (n = 50). INTERVENTION Telephone interviews. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Time trade-off and willingness-to-pay amounts. RESULTS Median time trade-off and willingness-to-pay amounts for parents of children with false-positive screening results were both 0 compared with parents of children with normal screening results who had median values of 1 week (P = .07) and $100 (P < .001). For both populations, dietary treatments and developmental delay elicited higher time trade-off and willingness-to-pay amounts compared with ratings for experiencing a false-positive newborn screening result or short-term hospitalization because of an undiagnosed metabolic disorder. CONCLUSIONS Parents have a high tolerance for false-positive newborn screening results. Preferences for test outcomes and other health states associated with screening for metabolic disorders should be included in cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses of expanded newborn screening programs.
A SYNERGISTIC MODEL FOR REPRESENTING AND INTERPRETING HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS FROM VIDEO

This paper describes a new and innovative and approach for representing, recognizing and interpreting human activity from video, contributing to an automated system capable of recognition of complex human behaviors. This technology is directly applicable for monitoring public safety and law enforcement, and capturing of activities is crucial for supporting virtual collaborations between citizens, and between citizens and government. Digital video stores of terabytes are now common, and will continue to increase until they dominate stored data. The government of the future will have to manage, organize, recall, and interpret information from this resource, This paper addresses one important facet of this. The approach presented here is a model based on the hierarchical synergy of three other models: the Local/Global (L-G) graph, the Stochastic Petri Net (SPN) graph and a neural network (NN) model. The application focus is the description of activity of actors in a video (or multi-sensor) scene, from the snapshot state description through higher levels of organization into events. The concept of importance is the distinction and interaction between structural knowledge, or knowledge about physical state, and functional knowledge, knowledge about change and events. The L-G graph provides a powerful description of the structural image features presented in an event, and the SPN model offers a description of the functional behavior. The NN (or other adaptive) model provides the capability of leaning behavioral patterns for classification of posture and activity, and forecasting possible events in a free environment.
Expectant management of the asymptomatic gallbladder at Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

Abstract Background Because of the claim that about one third of patients develop gallstones within 6 months of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), many have recommended preoperative ultrasonography for all patients and/or prophylactic cholecystectomy (CCY), or ursodiol to prevent stone formation. Methods Prospective data were collected from 1391 consecutive patients followed up for ≥6 months after RYGB (2000–2005) to assess our practice of not routinely removing the gallbladder and not administering ursodiol. Results Of the 1391 patients, 334 (24%) had undergone CCY before RYGB. Of the remaining 1057 asymptomatic patients, 516 had undergone preoperative ultrasonography. Stones were identified in 99 (19%), sludge in 5 (0.97%), and polyps in 6 (1.1%). Of the 984 patients with gallbladders left in situ after RYGB, only 80 (8.1%) became symptomatic and required delayed CCY. The average excess weight loss at the delayed CCY was 65%. The risk of undergoing delayed CCY seemed to be restricted to the first 29 months after RYGB, because none of 165 patients followed up for 30–144 months required CCY. Conclusion Although CCY should be performed whenever symptoms mandate, the value of routine preoperative ultrasonography and CCY was not apparent from the results of our study. Waiting until symptoms develop might simplify the operative procedure because of the significant weight loss that should have occurred after RYGB. Using an expectant approach, most patients undergoing RYGB will not require CCY.
Advanced malignancy in the young marijuana smoker.

Head and neck cancer is a devastating malignancy that afflicts approximately 53,500 Americans annually (1). This disease generally begins in the mucosal lining of the upper aerodigestive tract and is most commonly seen in the larynx, oral cavity, and oral and hypopharynx. It is a relatively slow growing tumor that remains localized for varying lengths of time and then metastasizes to regional lymphatics. Distant spread outside the head and neck is uncommon in the early cases; and it is not uncommon to find patients with lesions existing one year or longer, and attaining considerable size without metastasis below the clavicles. The majority of these tumors are squamous cell carcinomas by histology. Early tumors can be successfully treated by conservative surgery or irradiation therapy. Advanced cancers necessitate wide-field resection often with the addition of postoperative radiation therapy. Although this aggressive approach produces acceptable therapeutic results, it leaves many patients with impaired physiologic functioning and a disordered appearance.
World Economic Outlook, April 2013

The private non-financial sector in Europe is facing increased challenges in meeting its debt servicing obligation. In response, governments are revisiting legal tools and — in some cases — institutional arrangements to deal with over-indebtedness. For households, where the problem in some countries is large but no established best practice exists, reforms have generally sought to allow debtors a fresh start while minimizing moral hazard and preserving bank solvency and credit discipline. For the corporate sector, efforts have focused on facilitating debt restruturing (including through out of court mechanisms). Direct government intervention has been rare.
Impact of Combination Antibiogram and Related Education on Inpatient Fluoroquinolone Prescribing Patterns for Patients With Health Care–Associated Pneumonia

Background: Previous studies have shown that development of a unit-specific combination antibiogram improves optimal selection of empiric therapy for Gram-negative infections, yet no published data exist regarding the role of the combination antibiogram as an antimicrobial stewardship program tool for disease-specific prescribing. Objective: To evaluate the utility of a combination antibiogram to guide antibiotic prescribing for patients with health care–associated pneumonia (HCAP). Methods: This was a retrospective preprovider and postprovider education intervention study aimed to evaluate fluoroquinolone (FQ) use in patients with HCAP. Data were collected retrospectively to evaluate antibiotic prescribing patterns and patient outcomes. Results: A total of 87 patients were eligible for study inclusion. The primary end point, FQ days of therapy (DOT) was decreased by 2.3 days (P < 0.001). The secondary end point included FQ DOT per 1000 patient-days in patients with discharge diagnosis-related group of pn...
Ribozyme Catalysis with a Twist: Active State of the Twister Ribozyme in Solution Predicted from Molecular Simulation

We present results from molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations of the twister ribozyme at different stages along the reaction path to gain insight into its mechanism. The results, together with recent biochemical experiments, provide support for a mechanism involving general-acid catalysis by a conserved adenine residue in the active site. Although adenine has been previously implicated as a general acid acting through the N1 position in other ribozymes such as the hairpin and VS ribozymes, in the twister ribozyme there may be a twist. Biochemical experiments suggest that general acid catalysis may occur through the N3 position, which has never before been implicated in this role; however, currently, there is a lack of a detailed structural model for the active state of the twister ribozyme in solution that is consistent with these and other experiments. Simulations in a crystalline environment reported here are consistent with X-ray crystallographic data, and suggest that crystal pac...
Photovoltaic Materials and Devices Based on the Alloyed Kesterite Absorber (AgxCu1–x)2ZnSnSe4

The photovoltaic absorber Cu2ZnSn(SxSe1–x)4 (CZTSSe) has attracted interest in recent years due to the earth-abundance of its constituents and the realization of high performance (12.6% efficiency). The open-circuit voltage in CZTSSe devices is believed to be limited by absorber band tailing caused by the exceptionally high density of Cu/Zn antisites. By replacing Cu in CZTSSe with Ag, whose covalent radius is ≈15% larger than that of Cu and Zn, the density of I–II antisite defects is predicted to drop. The fundamental properties of the mixed Ag-Cu kesterite compound are reported as a function of the Ag/(Ag + Cu) ratio. The extent of band tailing is shown to decrease with increasing Ag. This is verified by comparing the optical band gap extrapolated from transmission data with the position of the room-temperature photoluminescence peak; these values converge for the pure-Ag compound. Additionally, the pinning of the Fermi level in CZTSSe, attributed to heavy defect compensation and band tailing, is not observed in the pure-Ag compound, offering further evidence of improved electronic structure. Finally, a device efficiency of 10.2% is reported for a device containing 10% Ag (no antireflection coating); this compares to ≈9% (avg) efficiency for the baseline pure-Cu CZTSe.
Tenzing a SQL implementation on the MapReduce framework

Tenzing is a query engine built on top of MapReduce [9] for ad hoc analysis of Google data. Tenzing supports a mostly complete SQL implementation (with several extensions) combined with several key characteristics such as heterogeneity, high performance, scalability, reliability, metadata awareness, low latency, support for columnar storage and structured data, and easy extensibility. Tenzing is currently used internally at Google by 1000+ employees and serves 10000+ queries per day over 1.5 petabytes of compressed data. In this paper, we describe the architecture and implementation of Tenzing, and present benchmarks of typical analytical queries.
History bites: mashing up history and gothic fiction in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

The premise of Seth Grahame-Smith’s bestselling 2010 mash-up novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, is clearly ridiculous. Latching on to the popular fascination with all things vampire and the perennial marketability of Lincolnalia, the book serves up a twisted romp through the Great Emancipator’s well-trod biography, whose sole aim seems to be sheer ironic novelty – and the profits such sensationalism can sometimes bring. Experienced as a shallow and derivative spoof, it’s quite easy to dismiss Grahame-Smith’s book with little more than a roll of the eyes. This essay argues however that there is a more complicated set of interactions at play. Mashing up realist history and gothic fiction, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter not only parodies popular Lincoln iconography, but the practice of ‘doing’ history as well. In this way, it can be connected with recent theoretical debates within the discipline about the construction of historical knowledge, about alternative varieties of historical explanation, and ab...