cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characterization of a protein acyl kinase from Caulobacter crescentus

Abstract An enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of the γ-phosphate of ATP to a protein acceptor, with the formation of an acyl phosphate bond, has been found in Caulobacter crescentus . The product of the reaction has been characterized as an acyl phosphate on the basis of its sensitivity to acid and base hydrolysis, resistance to treatment with alkaline phosphatase, and sensitivity to hydroxylamine and to proteolytic digestion.
Incorporating aquapheresis into the hospital setting: a practical approach.

Ultrafiltration has been utilized for volume removal for over 50 years. Recent technology advances have allowed for a simplified approach to the traditional treatment. This article focuses on the practical aspects of incorporating the newer Aquapheresis™ therapy into a hospital setting and the outcomes.
Induction of tolerance in athymic mice with an antigen which is highly immunogenic in euthymic mice.

Abstract Adult congenitally athymic (nu/nu) mice were found to be unable to respond to aggregated human γ-globulin (AHGG), the normally immunogenic form of HGG, unless first reconstituted with specific T cells. However, pretreatment of nude mice with AHGG prior to T-cell reconstitution resulted in the induction of unresponsiveness. This state of tolerance was specific since pretreated animals responded normally to the noncross-reacting antigens turkey γ-globulin or DNP-Ficoll. Transfer of spleen cells from nude mice pretreated with AHGG into normal littermates did not significantly affect a subsequent anti-HGG response of the recipients. Conversely, nude mice pretreated with AHGG and reconstituted with normal littermate spleen cells were hyporesponsive to challenge with AHGG. The results of these experiments are discussed in reference to various models for the induction of B-cell unresponsiveness.
Chirped laser dispersion spectroscopy for remote sensing of trace-gases

A chirped laser dispersion spectroscopy system configured for remote sensing of chemicals is presented. Using a 4.52µm quantum cascade laser and 100m optical pathlength an N2O detection limit of <1ppbv/Hz1/2 has been achieved.
Going concern modifications, CPA firm size, and the Enron effect

Purpose – The bankruptcy of Enron and the subsequent demise of Arthur Andersen brought intense scrutiny to the accounting profession. That these events would have an effect on auditor going concern modification judgments and accounting regulation would not be surprising. This study aims to look at 1,204 publicly traded firms that filed bankruptcy in the period January 1, 1997 through December 31, 2005.Design/methodology/approach – The observations are divided into pre‐Enron and post‐Enron periods. The paper finds the 18 largest bankruptcies represented 47 percent of the total assets entering bankruptcy in this period.Findings – The going concern modification rate in the pre‐Enron period was 44.5 percent, in the post‐Enron period, 61.9 percent. Findings show auditors, in the presence of a consistent standard, nevertheless modify their decision making as a result of external events. This study further looks at the impact of outliers on this decision and on differences by firm size.Research limitations/impli...
Reversible fetal hydrops associated with indomethacin use.

Background Ductus arteriosus constriction is a known complication of exposure to indomethacin in utero. Nonimmune hydrops associated with indomethacin use has been reported in only six cases, all twins over 32 weeks' gestation. Case We present a case of fetal hydrops associated with tricuspid regurgitation and ductal constriction developing within 30 hours of instituting indomethacin tocolysis in a 28-week singleton gestation. Discontinuation of indomethacin resulted in partial resolution of these findings 72 hours later. A normal infant was delivered subsequently. Conclusion Ultrasonographic screening for signs of constriction of the ductus arteriosus should be done within 48 hours of instituting indomethacin therapy at any gestational age.
A DOUBLE-BLIND CONTROLLED COMPARISON OF GENERIC AND TRADE-NAME TOPICAL STEROIDS USING THE VASOCONSTRICTION ASSAY

• Six generic formulations of five topical steroids were compared for bioequivalence with their trade-name counterparts using an in vivo vasoconstriction assay. Two of six generic formulations were found to show significantly less vasoconstriction than the respective trade-name topical steroids. The issue of generic equivalence of topical steroids is discussed, with particular emphasis on the vagaries of the vasoconstriction assay. ( Arch Dermatol. 1991;127:197-201)
Local angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition blunts endothelin-1-induced increase in forearm vascular resistance.

Objective The physiologic role of endothelin-1 is not well established; however, it may have a role in modulation of peripheral vascular tone complimentary to angiotensin II. In vitro and animal studies suggested an interrelationship between angiotensin II and endothelin-1 vasoconstriction. We hypothesized that local vascular or systemic renin-angiotensin II systems must be intact for endothelin-1-mediated vasoconstriction in humans. Methods To test this hypothesis, responses to brachial artery infusion of endothelin-1 alone and endothelin-1 plus local low-dose infusion of enaliprilat were studied in seven healthy male and seven healthy female volunteers. Results In these subjects, baseline forearm vascular resistance (mean ± SEM; 24 ± 3.5 mm Hg · ml/dl forearm vol/min) increased with a 38.2 ng/min endothelin-1 infusion (61.8 ± 6.8 mm Hg · ml/dl forearm vol/min; p < 0.01). Forearm vascular resistance decreased when 38.2 ng/min endothelin-1 was infused concomitantly with a local 5 μg/min infusion of enaliprilat (45.5 ± 5.9 mm Hg · ml/dl forearm vol/min; p < 0.01 compared with endothelin-1 alone). Conclusions These data indicate that an endothelin-1-induced increase in forearm vascular resistance is inhibited by local forearm angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (1995) 58, 328–334; doi:
Hallucinogens Recruit Specific Cortical 5-HT2A Receptor-Mediated Signaling Pathways to Affect Behavior

Summary Hallucinogens, including mescaline, psilocybin, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), profoundly affect perception, cognition, and mood. All known drugs of this class are 5-HT 2A receptor (2AR) agonists, yet closely related 2AR agonists such as lisuride lack comparable psychoactive properties. Why only certain 2AR agonists are hallucinogens and which neural circuits mediate their effects are poorly understood. By genetically expressing 2AR only in cortex, we show that 2AR-regulated pathways on cortical neurons are sufficient to mediate the signaling pattern and behavioral response to hallucinogens. Hallucinogenic and nonhallucinogenic 2AR agonists both regulate signaling in the same 2AR-expressing cortical neurons. However, the signaling and behavioral responses to the hallucinogens are distinct. While lisuride and LSD both act at 2AR expressed by cortex neurons to regulate phospholipase C, LSD responses also involve pertussis toxin-sensitive heterotrimeric G i/o proteins and Src. These studies identify the long-elusive neural and signaling mechanisms responsible for the unique effects of hallucinogens.
Cranio-orbito-zygomatic approach

The cranio-orbito-zygomatic approach has been in evolution since the frontal approach was first introduced. The addition of both the orbital and zygomatic osteotomies has expanded the limits of neurosurgery to include orbital, craniofacial, and infratemporal pathology. The goal of any skull base approach is to shorten the operative working distance and reduce retraction of the brain while improving exposure. Utilizing the benefits afforded by the cranio-orbito-zygomatic approach requires a thorough understanding of the extradural anatomy of the anterior and middle fossae, including the temporal bone, the craniofacial skeleton, and the cavernous sinus.
FAKING STUDIES WITH THE ORIENTATION INVENTORY.

Summary The effects of two different faking instructions on Orientation Inventory scores were investigated in five groups of university students. The faking sets tended to produce increased scores on task orientation and decreased scores on self orientation. Changes in interaction orientation scores were inconsistent. Results were compared with those obtained earlier by Bass.
Development of Regenerable High Capacity Boron Nitrogen Hydrides as Hydrogen Storage Materials

The objective of this three-phase project is to develop synthesis and hydrogen extraction processes for nitrogen/boron hydride compounds that will permit exploitation of the high hydrogen content of these materials. The primary compound of interest in this project is ammonia-borane (NH{sub 3}BH{sub 3}), a white solid, stable at ambient conditions, containing 19.6% of its weight as hydrogen. With a low-pressure on-board storage and an efficient heating system to release hydrogen, ammonia-borane has a potential to meet DOE's year 2015 specific energy and energy density targets. If the ammonia-borane synthesis process could use the ammonia-borane decomposition products as the starting raw material, an efficient recycle loop could be set up for converting the decomposition products back into the starting boron-nitrogen hydride. This project is addressing two key challenges facing the exploitation of the boron/nitrogen hydrides (ammonia-borane), as hydrogen storage material: (1) Development of a simple, efficient, and controllable system for extracting most of the available hydrogen, realizing the high hydrogen density on a system weight/volume basis, and (2) Development of a large-capacity, inexpensive, ammonia-borane regeneration process starting from its decomposition products (BNHx) for recycle. During Phase I of the program both catalytic and non-catalytic decomposition of ammonia borane are being investigatedmore » to determine optimum decomposition conditions in terms of temperature for decomposition, rate of hydrogen release, purity of hydrogen produced, thermal efficiency of decomposition, and regenerability of the decomposition products. The non-catalytic studies provide a base-line performance to evaluate catalytic decomposition. Utilization of solid phase catalysts mixed with ammonia-borane was explored for its potential to lower the decomposition temperature, to increase the rate of hydrogen release at a given temperature, to lead to decomposition products amenable for regeneration, and direct catalytic hydrogenation of the decomposition products. Two different approaches of heating ammonia-borane are being investigated: (a) 'heat to material approach' in which a fixed compartmentalized ammonia-borane is heated by a carefully controlled heating pattern, and (b) 'material to heat approach' in which a small amount of ammonia-borane is dispensed at a time in a fixed hot zone. All stages of AB decomposition are exothermic which should allow the small 'hot zone' used in the second approach for heating to be self-sustaining. During the past year hydrogen release efforts focused on the second approach determining the amount of hydrogen released, kinetics of hydrogen release, and the amounts of impurities released as a function of AB decomposition temperature in the 'hot zone.'« less
Numerical simulations of single conjugate adaptive optics systems

This paper presents a series of studies of single conjugate adaptive optics systems that use numerical simulation to investigate aspects of system performance not addressed by traditional statistical metrics. These studies include investigations of temporal control loop dynamics and quantitative comparisons of system performance using different types of reconstructors.
Definition of an Inhibitory Juxtamembrane WW-like Domain in the Platelet-derived Growth Factor β Receptor

A variety of tumors contain activating mutations in the cytoplasmic juxtamembrane domain of the type III family of receptor-tyrosine kinases, and some constructed mutations in this domain induce ligand-independent receptor activation. To explore the role of this domain in regulation of receptor activity, we subjected the juxtamembrane domain of the murine platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) β receptor to alanine-scanning mutagenesis. The mutant receptors were expressed in Ba/F3 cells and tested for constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation, association with phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase, and their ability to induce cell survival and proliferation in the absence of interleukin-3. The mutant receptors accumulated to similar levels and appeared to undergo a normal PDGF-induced increase in tyrosine phosphorylation. Alanine substitutions at numerous positions located throughout the juxtamembrane domain caused constitutive receptor activation, as did an alanine insertion in the membrane-proximal segment of the juxtamembrane domain and a six-amino acid deletion in the center of the domain. It is possible to model the PDGF receptor juxtamembrane domain as a short α-helix followed by a three-stranded β-sheet very similar to the known structures of WW domains. Strikingly, the activating mutations clustered in the central portions of the first and second β strands and along one face of the β-sheet, whereas the loops connecting the strands were largely devoid of mutationally sensitive positions. These findings provide strong support for the model that the activating mutations in the juxtamembrane region stimulate receptor activity by disrupting an inhibitory WW-like domain.
EXOTIC REPRESENTATIONS OF THE ISOTROPIC HARMONIC OSCILLATOR

We contruct and study a continuous family of representations of the N-dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator (N≥2) which are not unitarily equivalent to the standard one. We explain why such representations exist and we investigate their simpler properties: the spectrum of the Hamiltonian (which contains nonstandard values), the form of the energy eigenfunctions, and their behavior under the ladder operators. Various symmetry and dynamical groups (e.g. the rotation group) which are valid on the standard representation are not implemented on the new ones. We comment very briefly on the prospects of observing these representations experimentally.
Control of larval metamorphosis and recruitment in sympatric agariciid corals

Abstract The larvae of three sympatric shallow-water agariciid corals, Agaricia tenuifolia Dana, A. agaricites humilis Verrill, and A. agaricites dana Milne Edwards et Haime, are shown to be induced to metamorphose by crustose coralline red algae (CCA). These corals display different degrees of stringency and specificity in their requirements for CCA to induce metamorphosis, and different responses to light in the control of the distribution of newly metamorphosed individuals. The morphogenetic inducer from CCA has been fractionated by ultrafiltration, and shown to be a water-insoluble, ether-insoluble, and acetone-insoluble unstable biochemical. This inducer of agariciid metamorphosis is different from the water-soluble peptide inducer of gastropod metamorphosis previously isolated from CCA. Transduction of the morphogenetic signal in the agariciid larvae also is apparently controlled by an internal pathway that is different from the signal-transduction pathway found to control metamorphosis in several other species. Analysis of the distribution of recruits of two of the agariciid species indicates that larval requirements and specificities for metamorphosis may contribute significantly to determine the distribution of recruits in the natural environment. Our evidence suggests that differences in larval requirements for metamorphosis thus may contribute to the maintenance of niche diversification among the sympatric shallow-water agariciids. The competence and CCA requirement of the larvae of these species persist for at least 1–2 wk in the plankton, thereby promoting dispersal and site-specific metamorphosis. For these sympatric shallow-water agariciid corals, then, larval metamorphosis and recruitment are not wholly stochastic lottery-like processes, but instead appear to be determined, in part, by larval recognition of, and responses to, environmental and biochemical factors that can be experimentally resolved and identified.
FIXED ROLE IN A FISHBOWL: CONSULTATION-BASED FIXED ROLE THERAPY AS A PEDAGOGICAL TECHNIQUE

Since Kelly's pioneering work on Fixed Role Therapy (FRT) in the late 1930s, this novel method for fostering experimentation with and performance of alternative identities has been adapted for use in a number of clinical contexts, as well as some pedagogical applications. Our intent was to blend these contexts by developing a fixed role enactment as a collective class exercise in a graduate seminar on personal construct psychology. This article details the procedures and safeguards by which the self-characterization of a class volunteer was written and analyzed by parallel consultation teams comprised of class members, who then drafted and negotiated an alternative role for the volunteer to enact over a two-week period. It further specifies the role of the volunteer herself and the course instructor as consultants to these teams, and describes the outcomes of the collective experiment viewed through the written reflections of multiple participants. The result was a moving, innovative, respectful, and ofte...
Vasopressin vs. norepinephrine in endotoxic shock: systemic, renal, and splanchnic hemodynamic and oxygen transport effects

The effects of intravenous norepinephrine (NE, group 1) and vasopressin (AVP, group 2) infusions on systemic, splanchnic, and renal circulations were studied in anesthetized dogs under basal condit...
A comparison of techniques for super-resolution evaluation

This paper reviews the perception of image quality by human respondents in the context of super-resolution. Specifically, the desirability of an automated mechanism for generating a metric that correlates well with human perceptions of image quality is discussed. Common metrics are evaluated to ascertain whether they demonstrate suitable correlation with human perception of image quality. It is found that the commonly used pixel-difference evaluation technique outperforms a threshold-based technique; however, neither is demonstrated to correlate well with human perception.
Are advocacy, mutuality, and evaluation incompatible mentoring functions?

Exemplary faculty–student mentorships in graduate school are defined by several salient mentor functions and numerous benefits for student proteges. Over time, helpful mentorships are increasingly defined by mutuality, reciprocity and professional collegiality; mentors often become increasingly partisan advocates for their proteges. Few scholars have addressed the potential incompatibility between the mentor’s collegial, advocacy, and evaluative roles. This article addresses the apparent tension between a mentor’s inclinations toward mutuality and advocacy and his or her ethical obligation to objectively evaluate student performance and serve as gatekeeper on behalf of the profession. The author offers several recommendations to administrators and faculty members in academe aimed at minimizing negative outcomes caused by mentor role tension.
Study of plowing and friction at the surfaces of plastic deformed metals

Abstract Experimental and analytical investigations of plowing and friction were conducted at the surfaces of well-polished lead, aluminum, copper, nickel, molybdenum, and tungsten to study the mechanism of the load/penetration dependency. The experimental tests were performed with a Nano-Indenter XP of MTS and a Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM), Nanoscope IIIa of Digital Instruments. In addition to make indentation and measure the hardness and Young’s modulus, the indenter was used to make scratches at the surface of metals under different normal load while the penetration depth and frictional force encountered during the scratching were recorded. The SPM, operated mostly in the contact mode, was used to examine the scratch profile. Under the test conditions, plastic deformation dominated at the surfaces of the metals. An analytical model was established to express plastically deformed contacts, based on plowing of a conical-shaped indenter with a hemispherical tip at a plastic deformed surface. Penetration depth and scratched volume were calculated, which is in good agreement with experimental observation. The frictional coefficient μ was also calculated with the model, which accounted for plowing as well as the adhesion force between the indenter and surface. Beside fair agreement of experimental data and calculated values on μ under the loads applied, the model indicated a dramatic rise in friction coefficient under very low loads, which was not observed in the tests. The discrepancy was discussed, and it was believed that the dramatic increase in μ is for the calculated μ and may be due to the assumed dominant contribution of adhesion force in actual contact load with decreasing external load, and it appears only the adhesion energy Δγ is significant. The actual adhesion energy Δγ between our diamond indenter and metal surface in our test condition might be smaller than the value used in calculation.
Novel reconstruction and feature exploitation techniques for sensorless freehand 3D ultrasound

Out-of-plane motion in freehand 3D ultrasound can be estimated using the correlation of corresponding patches, leading to sensorless freehand 3D ultrasound systems. The correlation between two images is related to their distance by calibrating the ultrasound probe: the probe is moved with an accurate stage (or with a robot in this work) and images of a phantom are collected, such that the position of each image is known. Since parts of the calibration curve with higher derivative gives lower displacement estimation error, previous work limits displacement estimation to parts with maximum derivative. In this paper, we first propose a novel method for exploiting the entire calibration curve by using a maximum likelihood estimator (MLE). We then propose for the first time using constrains inside the image to enhance the accuracy of out-of-plane motion estimation. We specifically use continuity constraint of a needle to reduce the variance of the estimated out-of-plane motion. Simulation and real tissue experimental results are presented.
A review of the reproductive physiology of rhinoceros species in captivity

Substantial progress in understanding the reproductive physiology of the four rhinoceros species in captivity, White rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum, Black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis, Indian or Greater one-horned rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis and Suma-tran rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, has been achieved over the last two decades largely owing to advances in endocrine and ultrasound techniques, and improved methods of semen collection. Primarily through the non-invasive monitoring of hormone metabolites, scientists have studied the reproductive cycle, investigated the effects of season and potential stressors, and diagnosed pregnancy in each species. By employing the powerful tool of ultrasonography, more detailed and accurate information regarding reproductive function has been revealed. Important findings include anovula-tory cycles, induced ovulation, reproductive tract pathologies, early pregnancy diagnosis and early embryonic loss. Interest in the reproductive physiology of c? rhinoceros has lagged behind that of ♀♀ but in recent years data on sperm and semen characteristics, reproductive glands and hormone production have been collected. While the reproductive physiology of each rhinoceros species is interesting in its own right, perhaps most fascinating is the significant inter-specific variation in reproductive traits within this taxon.
Mechanism for adsorption maximum and hysteresis in a sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate/kaolinite system

Abstract Presence of a maximum in the region of CMC in isotherms for surfactant adsorption at the solid/solution interface has been reported for several systems. A number of mechanisms have been proposed to account for the adsorption maximum, but none has been fully substantiated. A powerful tool, but rarely used in understanding adsorption mechanisms, is the study of desorption behavior of adsorbates from the interface. Results obtained for the adsorption/desorption behavior of Na-dodcylbenzenesulfonate/Na-kaolinite system show the presence of a maximum on both the adsorption and the desorption branches of the isotherm, and significant hysteresis..In this paper, the role of various mechanisms proposed in the past for the adsorption maximum and hysteresis is critically examined and a new mechanism involving surface precipitation of surfactant—multivalent ion complexes at low concentrations, redissolution of precipitates above the CMC, and bulk precipitation upon dilution is proposed.
Production of VL and CL fragments from human Bence-Jones ϰ chains

Abstract The peptic digest of a Bence-Jones ϰ chain dimer in 4.5% formic acid yields two large fragments. These have been separated on Ultrogel AcA 54 in 1% NH 4 HCO 3 . Amino acid analysis, SDS gel electrophoresis and dansyl N-terminal analysis indicate that the larger fragment is the C L dimer and the smaller one is V L . Similar results have been obtained from a second ϰ chain.
Expression of BCL-2 and p53 in oncocytic (Hürthle cell) tumors of the thyroid: An immunohistochemical study

Previous studies have established that thyroid follicular neoplasms of higher malignant potential show a high p53 and low bc1-2 expression. This however has not been well studied in Oncocytic (Hurthle cell) neoplasms, the management of which remains controversial. We therefore studied the expression of p53 and bc1-2 in 18 Hurthle cell adenomas (HCA) and 8 Hurthle cell carcinomas (HCC) and compared them with their benign and malignant counterparts, respectively, including 16 follicular adenomas (FA) and 68 papillary carcinomas (PC). All 16 FA were bc1-2 positive, 4 were 2+, and 12 were 3+. On the other hand, 14/18 (78%) HCA showed bc1-2 expression, 5 were 1+, 6 were 2+, and only 3 were 3_. Similarly, HCC showed a weaker bc1-2 staining pattern compared to PC. Only 1 FA showed grade 1, p53 staining, the remaining 15 were negative, and 15/18 HCA showed p53 expression of varying grades. This difference in p53 staining was statistically significant (p=0.005). A significant p53 overexpression was also seen in HCC compared to PC (p=0.005). In conclusion, there appears to be an inverse relationship between p53 and bc1-2 expression in thyroid follicular neoplasms. A higher expression of p53 and lower levels bc1-2 in Hurthle cell neoplasms may have biological and clinical implications. This may support a more aggressive surgical treatment for HCA compared to FA.
RADIATION FROM A SPHERE IN COMPRESSIBLE PLASMA.

The Hansen's vector wave functions have been modified so it could apply directly for the solution of general exterior boundary value problems in compressible plasma for a spherical geometry. The vector wave functionL has been included to represent an acoustic wave and the three angular orthogonal functions have been defined using complex Fourier series in the azymuthal direction. Using this modified method of vector wave functions, the exterior spherical boundary value problem in compressible isotropic plasma has been solved. The boundary conditions prescribed over the surface of the sphere have been the tangential electric field (or the tangential magnetic field) and the radial component of the velocity vector (or the pressure). From those four basic boundary value problems the coefficients have been derived and several particular cases has been discussed.
A conformation study of α-l-rhap-(1 → 2)-α-l-rhap-(1 → OMe) by NMR nuclear overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) and molecular dynamics calculations

Abstract The conformational preference of the disaccharide α- l -Rha p -(1 → 2)-α- l -Rha p -(1 → OMe) ( 1 ) about the glycosidic torsion angles, φ and ψ, was studied by NMR NOESY spectroscopy and molecular to minima on a calculated φ/ψ potential energy surface. Starting from the lowest energy conformation, a 1-ns molecular dynamics (MD) trajectory was computed invacuo, from which the NOE curves were simulated and compared to the experimentally observed NOESY data.
Gas chemical sensitivity of a CMOS MEMS cantilever functionalized via evaporation driven assembly

This work demonstrates an electrostatically actuated resonant microcantilever fabricated in a complementary metal oxide semiconductor process and functionalized with a chemically sorbent polymer layer for the detection of volatile organic compounds. Deposition of the chemically sorbent layer is controlled through evaporation-driven assembly. Analytical and finite element analysis models of the deposited polymer layer on the microcantilever resonant frequency and mass sensitivity are presented. Fabrication of the chemical sensor, including a description of polymer deposition through evaporation-driven assembly within a capillary, is detailed. The completely functionalized resonator demonstrates a limit of detection of 1.6?ppm for toluene. An optimal polymer sensitive layer deposition of 42% of the total beam length is measured from frequency instability and sensitivity tests.
Fused Quartz Substrates for Microchip Electrophoresis

A fused quartz microchip is fabricated to perform capillary electrophoresis of metal ions complexed with 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid (HQS). The channel manifold on the quartz substrate is fabricated using standard photolithographic, etching, and deposition techniques. By incorporating a direct bonding technique during the fabrication of the microchip, the substrate and cover plate can be fused together below the melting temperature for fused quartz. To enhance the resolution for the separation, the electroosmotic flow is minimized by covalently bonding polyacrylamide to the channel walls. A separation length of 16.5 mm and separation field strength of 870 V/cm enable separations to be performed in {<=}15 s. By increasing the concentration of HQS from 5 mM to 20 mM, the separation efficiency improves by approximately 3 times. The low background signal from the fused quartz substrate results in mass detection limits of 85, 61, and 134 amol and concentration detection limits of 46, 57, and 30 ppb for Zn, Cd, and Al, respectively. 30 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.
Propagation of Boundary Disturbances in an Axially Moving Strip in Contact With Rigid and Flexible Constraints

The exact expression describing the contact force between an axially moving flexible strip and a one-sided constraint is derived using the Green's function formulation. Discontinuity of the initial velocity at a boundary of the strip due to a disturbance, causes discontinuity in the contact force history at any constraint that is not modeled by a single spring element. The discontinuities in the contact force occur at the instants when those propagating wavefronts in the strip with nonvanishing slope interact with the constraint. A model of a magnetic tape-recording head system is analyzed. Tape-head contact loss is predicted, depending on the amplitude and frequency of a disturbance, the head location, and the preload of the tape against the head.
Introduction to the special issue on innovative data sources for empirically building and validating theories in Operations Management

Abstract All research methods have strengths and weaknesses. The two dominant empirical methodologies in operations management are the survey and the case study. Reliance on a limited number of methodologies can influence the body of knowledge that that a field generates – and even the problems that the field collectively chooses to investigate or not investigate. The special issue attempts to “push the envelope” in terms of the data sources used in operations management. In particular, the following data sources are used: laboratory study, customer comment data, third-party web site quality ratings, process characteristics collected from e-commerce web sites themselves, environmental performance reports, and a publicly available research database. Researchers contemplating their data gathering strategy must consider the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. The introduction to special issue discusses positives and negatives of both conventional and innovative data sources.
Worlds That Fail: A Longitudinal Study of Urban Mental Patients

This longitudinal study of state mental patients in Chicago investigated patient adjustment to everyday living outside state hospitals. Respondents (N = 313) were interviewed in person at the hospital and at two successive waves in the community, and a wide range of variables was measured. Findings showed that mental patients are overwhelmingly poor, unemployed, and on welfare. A substantial number are homeless, and many resort to criminal behavior as a means of support. The state hospital is often viewed as a place for meals, shelter, and companionship. Only about half of the patients receive help before returning to the hospital, and that help is mostly medication. Those who are younger and have a history of prior institutionalizations are most likely to be readmitted. Patients who refuse to sign into the state hospital are frequently persuaded or coerced to admit themselves “voluntarily” in order to circumvent the complicated involuntary commitment process. It is suggested that mental health care focus on helping patients handle everyday problems in living related to housing, jobs, and interpersonal relationships.
Gender and wavefront higher order aberrations: do the genders see the world differently?

Introduction: Wavefront sensing technology has emerged as a means to advance our understanding of high-order aberrations of the human eye. Purpose: To evaluate the differences in ocular high-order aberrations between males and females and the distribution of high-order aberrations in males and females. Subjects and methods: 3,597 eyes (1,029 female and 2,568 male) of 1,874 patients who obtained wavefront measurements performed using the VISX Wavescan device were included in this study. Mean RMS (root mean square) values of high-order aberrations (HOAs) and the mean of each Zernike polynomial from the second to the sixth order were calculated from multiple scans of each eye. Analysis was performed to assess the association between HOAs and gender, and symmetry of HOAs between eyes in both males and females. Results: Overall HOA did not differ significantly between males and females (p= 0.93). Overall HOA did not differ between left eyes (p=0.852) or right eyes (p=0.76). Individual Zernike polynomials did reveal a significant difference between male and female eyes: Z14 (Tetrafoil x, p=.036); Z16 (Secondary Trefoil y, p=0.015); Z24 (Secondary Spherical, p=0.003); Z25 (Tertiary Astigmatism x, p=0.010); and Z26 (Secondary Tetrafoil x, p=0.004). Conclusion: Overall HOA does not differ between the genders; however, individual HOA Zernike terms do demonstrate statistically significant differences between males and females. This is the first such study to describe these differences. The clinical significance of these differences has yet to be determined. Keywords: refractive surgery; high-order aberrations; cornea; gender DOI: 10.3126/nepjoph.v1i2.3680 Nep J Oph 2009;1(2):85-89
ANDES: an Anomaly Detection System for Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, we propose ANDES, a framework for detecting and finding the root causes of anomalies in operational wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The key novelty of ANDES is that it correlates information from two sources: one in the data plane as a result of regular data collection in WSNs, the other in the management plane implemented via a separate routing protocol, making it resilient to routing anomaly in the data plane. Evaluation using a 32-node sensor testbed shows that ANDES is effective in detecting fail-stop failures and most routing anomalies with negligible computing and storage overhead.
Cluster-model study of the interaction of halogen atoms with Ag clusters

Analysis of ab initio wave functions shows that the interaction between halogen atoms (F, Cl, and Br) and Ag clusters is ionic, and that the halogen ionicity is essentially —1. The interaction and the bonding arise, almost entirely, from the Coulomb attraction between the charged halogen and the metal and from polarization of the two subunits. Large shifts in equilibrium bond distances and vibrational energies are caused by an external electric field. These changes arise from a dominant Stark effect.
Job opinions of engineering seniors

The results of an extensive questionnaire answered by 3,433 seniors and graduate students in electrical engineering of 129 colleges in March 1956 are analyzed. A whole series of challenges are posed for the engineering profession. Failure to act now can have major effects on the profession of electrical engineering in the next 10 to 20 years.
Damage Detection in Composite Laminates Based on Adaptive Phase Estimation of Lamb Waves

This research presents the development of a novel structural health monitoring method for identifying damage location within a composite structure. The proposed method for damage detection is based on sinusoid-tracking algorithm (STA), which is an adaptive nonstationary signal processing tool. Sinusoid-tracking algorithm is a method of extraction of nonstationary sinusoidal signals and estimation of their parameters, namely amplitude, phase and frequency which vary over time. This helps to analyze the nonstationary signals, due to nonlinearity caused by damage, in identification procedure. The proposed method makes use of the estimated phase recorded at different spots on the structure under study. Estimated phase is used to define the damage indices. By comparing the value of indices from a baseline (or healthy) case to a damaged case, at different locations on the structure, variations in the value of indices are observed especially adjacent to the location of damage. The proposed methodology is applied to experimental plate. The results of proposed method is promising in detecting location of damage.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Effects of geometric uncertainty on the inverse EEG problem

A standard method for noninvasively computing neurocortical potentials from potentials measured on the scalp surface is to solve the problem on a generalized geometry and map the results back to the true model. This solution to the inverse EEG problem has been employed using spherical and, more recently, generic cranial models as templates. In the case of the most complex spherical models, the patient's skin, bone, cerebrospinal fluid, gray matter and white matter surfaces are mapped onto concentric spheres. The simplicity of the spherical domain allows for an analytic solution to the surface mapping inverse problem; however, the inaccuracy of such a solution challenges its clinical value. Similarly, solving the problem on a predefined generic model also holds computational allure--the generic model can be hand-picked to reduce the ill-conditioning of the problem. However, we suggest that such results from generic models are still not sufficiently accurate to be of general clinical use. In our paper, we evaluate the impact of varying both model accuracy and model complexity on the inverse cortical mapping. Small modeling perturbations (as might be introduced from noisy or under-sampled data) are shown to have large and detrimental effects on the quality of the solution.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Hydroxylamine mutagenesis of HSV DNA and DNA fragments: introduction of mutations into selected regions of the viral genome.

Abstract Procedures for the induction and isolation of temperature-sensitive ( ts ) mutants by in vitro mutagenesis of purified HSV DNA and DNA fragments have been developed. In order to establish conditions for the mutagenesis of viral DNA fragments with hydroxylamine (HA), virion-associated and intact DNA were mutagenized first. Under the conditions of mutagenesis employed, HA was shown to be a more powerful mutagen of purified DNA than of virion-associated DNA. Mutagenesis of intact DNA resulted in the identification of three new complementation groups. A mixture of Eco RI fragments A and B was next mutagenized. Mutations in DNA fragments were recovered by cotransfection with intact, wild-type DNA. Six ts mutants were isolated from the progeny of the mixed infection. Five of these mutants were analyzed further. One mutant, ts 508, failed to complement ts B2 which had previously been shown to lie in fragment B. Like ts B2 and other members of this group, ts 508 is DNA − . The remaining four HA-induced mutants constitute three new DNA + complementation groups. Marker rescue experiments indicate that mutants in two of these groups lie in fragment A.
Setting-Less Protection: Feasibility Study

A new protection scheme is proposed that does not require settings or the settings are simple and the need to coordinate with other protective devices has been removed. The approach can be viewed as a generalization of differential protection and it is enabled with dynamic state estimation. Specifically, the proposed protection scheme is based on continuously monitoring terminal voltages and currents of the component and other possible quantities such as tap setting, temperature, etc. as appropriate for the component under protection. The monitored data are utilized in a dynamic state estimation that continuously provides the dynamic state of the component by fitting the data to the basic model equations of the device under protection. The dynamic state is then used to determine the health of the component. Tripping or no tripping is decided on the basis of the health of the component. The basic approach, the analytics and the requirements for successful implementation of this concept are presented. Numerical experiments are presented to validate the method as well as an example comparison with conventional protection. Finally an evaluation of feasibility is provided based on present day microprocessor capabilities and it is concluded that present day microprocessors do have the computational power required by the proposed approach.
Quantitative analysis of cell cycle progression of synchronous cells by flow cytometry

Abstract Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were synchronized by the mitotic selection procedure and their subsequent progression through the cell cycle was monitored by flow cytometry. It is shown that our previously proposed method for DNA histogram analysis is applicable even to highly synchronous cell populations lacking significant G1 and G2/M components, provided an appropriate control is used as a reference standard. We have also obtained estimates of cell cycle parameters from the DNA histograms in this system, including phase durations, relative cellular DNA synthesis rates as a function of position in S, and synchrony indices. In particular, the rate of DNA synthesis appears to be very low in early S phase in this cell line, giving rise to an unexpected early S phase peak in the histogram of asynchronous, exponentially growing cells.
Optically monitoring Baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) growing in an air-fluidized/expanded potato starch matrix

In order to study cell behavior in solid fermentation processes, model systems using gelatin and starch have been developed to track Baker's yeast growth. The difficulty in estimating the cell concentration within solid materials arises because both the solid material and the cellular material contribute to the measurement (such as optical resistance). In general, however, the two materials cannot be easily separated, hence the need to measure the cells along with the solid supporting material. A simple spectrophotometric method has previously been shown to work well in both aerated submerged batch cultures and aerated static solid cultures. The optical approach is applied here to monitor a more complex solidified system: cell growth in a novel air-fluidized/expanded bed of yeast growing on a starch matrix. Conventional assays for reducing sugar, total extracellular protein, and extracellular lysine were also applied to monitor yeast behavior in this new system.
Response of diamond photoconductors to soft x ray in the spectral range 125 Å to 240 Å

Abstract Due to the large bandgap of diamond, it is transparent to the visible spectrum, making it an attractive material for soft x-ray detection. Response of diamond photoconductive detectors fabricated using polycrystalline chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) diamond to soft x-rays has been measured using x-rays emitted from a laser-produced plasma source in the spectral range 125 A to 240 A. These detectors have interdigitated electrode structure in order to increase the active area as well as detector sensitivity. Contribution to the detector sensitivity by the photoelectrons is discussed.
Bulk growth of uniform and near stoichiometric cadmium telluride

Abstract Crystal growth of bulk cadmium telluride (CdTe) ingot with 64 mm diameter and 75 mm height was accomplished in a modified vertical Bridgman configuration with the aim of achieving minimal nonstoichiometry related second phases (SP) defects such as inclusions and precipitates. As-grown crystal wafers were characterized with respect to infrared microscopy, bulk resistivity, low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) and foreign impurity concentration. Except for grain boundaries and twins, the wafers were found to be completely free of SP of sizes >1 μm and the distributions at different parts of the grown boule were found to be identical. Star shaped inclusions were observed at some places near the mid-section of the ingot, which were tentatively identified as Cd inclusions. At room temperature, the crystal exhibited high bulk resistivity values of 10 7 –10 8 Ω cm, which was found to be in conformity with the low density of nonstoichiometric defects. GDMS results indicated that the concentration of unintentional impurities was low enough for the electrical behavior to be explained uniquely on the basis of native defects.
Evaluation of plasma diazepam and nordiazepam concentrations following administration of diazepam intravenously or via suppository per rectum in dogs

Objective—To evaluate the pharmacokinetics of diazepam administered per rectum via compounded (ie, not commercially available) suppositories and determine whether a dose of 2 mg/kg in this formulation would result in plasma concentrations shown to be effective for control of status epilepticus or cluster seizures (ie, 150 to 300 ng/mL) in dogs within a clinically useful interval (10 to 15 minutes). Animals—6 healthy mixed-breed dogs. Procedures—Dogs were randomly assigned to 2 groups of 3 dogs each in a crossover-design study. Diazepam (2 mg/kg) was administered IV or via suppository per rectum, and blood samples were collected at predetermined time points. Following a 6- or 7-day washout period, each group received the alternate treatment. Plasma concentrations of diazepam and nordiazepam were analyzed via reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Results—Plasma concentrations of diazepam and nordiazepam exceeded the targeted range ≤ 3 minutes after IV administration in all dogs. After suppo...