cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electronic and vibrational spectra of AgNa molecular clusters and small particles

Abstract The vibrational modes of metal clusters are difficult to measure because of the lack of strong coupling to infrared radiation. By combining two dissimilar metals, an electric dipole moment can be produced which couples the vibrational modes of the molecules and small particles to the far-infrared field. Silver and sodium metal atoms were chosen to be combined in a low-temperature argon matrix in an effort to produce mixed metal molecules and small particles. Visible-ultra-violet electronic and far-infrared vibrational excitation measurements were made on the same samples. Aided by previous work, the visible-ultraviolet measurements were used to identify molecular clusters with up to four atoms. Correlation of the far-infrared absorption results proved that vibrational modes in the alloyed clusters were indeed observed and identified. In addition, a vibrational mode was measured in the small alloy particles.
Radiolabeling of proteins by reductive alkylation with [14C]formaldehyde and sodium cyanoborohydride

Abstract A procedure is described for radiolabeling proteins in vitro by reductive alkylation. The proteins are treated with [ 14 C]formaldehyde in the presence of sodium cyanoborohydride, a reducing agent that is stable in aqueous solution at pH 7. The advantage of this procedure is that the reaction can be carried out at neutral pH for extended periods of time and over a wide range of temperatures (0–37°C). Moreover, owing to the flexibility in the reaction conditions afferded by the use of sodium cyanoborohydride, higher incorporation of radiolabel into protein can be attalned.
Pointing accuracy improvement using model-based noise reduction method

A new method for improving centroid accuracy, thereby pointing accuracy, is proposed. Accurate centroid estimation is critical for free-space optical communications where the number of photons from the reference optical sources such as stars or an uplink beacon is limited. It is known that the centroid accuracy is proportional to the SNR. Presence of various noise sources during the exposure of CCD can lead to significant degradation of the centroid estimation. The noise sources include CCD read noise, background light, stray light, and CCD processing electronics. One of the most widely used methods to reduce the effects of the noise and background bias is the thresholding method, which subtracts a fixed threshold from the centroid window before centroid computation. The approach presented here, instead, utilizes the spot model to derive the signal boundary that is used to truncate the noise outside the signal boundary. This process effectively reduces both the bias and the noise. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through simulations.
Detection and spatial mapping of mercury contamination in water samples using a smart-phone.

Detection of environmental contamination such as trace-level toxic heavy metal ions mostly relies on bulky and costly analytical instruments. However, a considerable global need exists for portable, rapid, specific, sensitive, and cost-effective detection techniques that can be used in resource-limited and field settings. Here we introduce a smart-phone-based hand-held platform that allows the quantification of mercury(II) ions in water samples with parts per billion (ppb) level of sensitivity. For this task, we created an integrated opto-mechanical attachment to the built-in camera module of a smart-phone to digitally quantify mercury concentration using a plasmonic gold nanoparticle (Au NP) and aptamer based colorimetric transmission assay that is implemented in disposable test tubes. With this smart-phone attachment that weighs <40 g, we quantified mercury(II) ion concentration in water samples by using a two-color ratiometric method employing light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at 523 and 625 nm, where a cus...
The effect of pertussis and beta adrenergic-blocking agents on mast cells.

Abstract Pertussis vaccine injected ip in doses known to cause hypersensitization resulted in a marked decrease in the number of mast cells recovered from the peritoneal washings of rats and mice. A significant reduction was obtained as early as one day after pertussis injection of ten billion cells in rats and was marked after 5 to 7 days. A maximum reduction in the number of mast cells was obtained by a dose of 20 billion cells. There was no detectable histamine biological activity in the supernatant from peritoneal washings obtained after 10 min, 60 min, and 24 hr from control and pertussis-treated rats, indicating that pertussis did not cause degranulation of mast cells in vivo. The histamine content in the precipitated mast cell pellets from control rats was much higher than the corresponding histamine content from pertussis-treated rats. In rats and mice, propranolol and other beta adrenergic-blocking agents caused degranulation of mast cells in the peritoneal washings in vitro. Practolol was the least effective beta adrenergic-blocking agent in degranulating mast cells. Catecholamines, histamine, 6-hydroxydopamine, methacholine, and pertussis failed to cause any degranulation. Isoproterenol protected the mast cell against the degranulation induced by propranolol. Propranolol caused bluing in rat and mice skin when injected id. Mast cells from control and pertussis-injected rats were equally sensitive to propranolol in vitro. The low recovery of mast cells from the peritoneal washings of rats and mice is thought to be due to mobilization of mast cells away from the peritoneum.
Editorial: Botulinum intoxication – a case for systematic studies of patient recovery

Since its approval in 1989 by the US FDA, Botulinum Neurotoxin (BoNT) has become the drug of choice for an increasing number of neurological and autonomic indications. Used in this controlled manner, BoNT has an exemplary record of safety and efficacy. Exposure to much higher doses of BoNT from contaminated food, penetrating wounds or aerosolised toxin leads to botulism. This editorial calls for systematic long-term clinical and psychological studies to be carried out not only to provide better care for the victims of natural BoNT outbreaks but also to improve our ability to deal with mass casualty situations.
The development and application of a thermodynamic database for magnesium alloys

The available thermodynamic databases for magnesium alloys are discussed in this paper. Of particular interest are the features of a magnesium database developed by the authors with 19 elements: Mg-Al-Ca-Ce-Cu-Fe-KLa-Li-Mn-Na-Nd-Pr-Si-Sn-Sr-Y-Zn-Zr. Using this database, two applications are presented. One is the phase evolution in AZ61 magnesium alloy including the variations of phase fractions, alloying compositions, and partition coefficients of alloying elements as a function of temperature (or solid fraction). The other is to understand sodium-induced high-temperature embrittlement in the Al-Mg alloy, which is ascribed to the formation of a liquid phase due to the presence of sodium traces.
The Moon and the New Presidential Space Vision

The new US Vision for Space Exploration is briefly described, with particular emphasis on the place of lunar exploration. The value of humans in the exploration of the Moon is discussed, and it is argued that people offer significant advantages over robots for the purposes of scientific exploration. The Vision provides a new rationale for space activities, one aimed at both broadening our knowledge base and, in the longer term, of increasing prosperity by providing access to the material and energy resources of the Solar System.
Estrogen-Dependent Enhancement of NO Production in the Nucleus Tractus Solitarius Contributes to Ethanol-Induced Hypotension in Conscious Female Rats

Background- Our previous pharmacological and cellular studies showed that peripheral (cardiac and vascular) NOS-derived NO is implicated in the estrogen-dependent hypotensive action of ethanol in female rats. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that enhanced NO production in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) is implicated in the estrogen-dependent hypotensive action of ethanol. Methods- To achieve this goal we utilized in vivo electrochemistry to measure real time changes in neuronal NO to investigate the acute effects of intragastric ethanol (0 0.5 or 1 g/kg) on NO in NTS neurons blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) in conscious female rats in the absence (ovariectomized OVX rats) or presence of estrogen. Results- In sham operated (SO) rats ethanol elicited dose-related increase in NTS NO and reduction in BP. These neurochemical and blood pressure effects of ethanol were absent in OVX rats. Whether the neurochemical effect of ethanol and the associated hypotension are dependent on rapid estrogen signaling was investigated. In OVX rats pretreated 30 min earlier with estrogen (E2 ug/kg) intragastric ethanol (1 g/kg) increased NTS NO and reduced BP and these responses were comparable to those obtained in SO rats. Conclusions- The present findings suggest that increased production of NO in NTS neurons contributes to ethanol-evoked hypotension in female rats. Further ethanol enhancement of neuronal NO production in the brainstem is dependent on rapid estrogen signaling. Originally published Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research Vol. 33 No. 2 Feb 2009
43. Targeted modulation of integrin expression increases freeze sensitivity of androgen-insensitive prostate cancer

Cryoablation has emerged as a primary therapy to treat prostate cancer. While effective, the assumption that freezing serves as a ubiquitous lethal stress is challenged by clinical experience and experimental evidence demonstrating time temperature related cell death dependence. The age-related transformation from an androgen-sensitive (AS) to an androgen-insensitive (AI) phenotype is a major challenge in the management of prostate cancer. AI cells exhibit morphological changes and resistance to many treatment therapies. This resistance has been linked with α 6 β 4 integrin overexpression as a result of androgen receptor (AR) loss. As such, we investigated the influence of increased α 6 β 4 integrin expression as a result of AR loss, on the reported increased freeze tolerance of AI prostate cancer. Further, we evaluated the targeted modulation of integrin expression in combination with cryoablation on human prostate cancer cell death. A series of studies using established AS (LNCaP LP and PC-3 AR) and AI (LNCaP HP and PC-3) cell lines were designed to investigate the cellular mechanisms contributing to variations in freezing response. Samples were frozen, thawed, and temporally assessed using fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry and immunoblotting. Investigation into α 6 β 4 integrin expression confirmed that AI cell lines overexpressed this protein, thereby altering cellular morphology and increasing adhesion characteristics. For instance, following freezing to −15 °C, AI cells were found to exhibit increased resistance to freezing injury compared to AS cells (55% vs. 18%, respectively). Molecular investigations revealed a significant decrease in caspase 8, 9, and 3 levels in AI cells following freezing. Inhibition of α 6 β 4 integrin in AI samples resulted in increased caspase activity and enhanced cell death. These studies demonstrate that integrin expression significantly influences cell tolerance to cryoablation. The data show that the inhibition of α 6 β 4 integrin function results in a significant increase in freeze sensitivity of AI prostate cancer cells. Given these results, understanding the role of androgen-receptor related integrin expression in cell response to freezing may lead to novel options for neo-adjunctive approaches to treat prostate cancer.
Unstructured Method for Flows past Bodies in General Three-Dimensional Relative Motion

A three-dimensional methodology was developed for unsteady e ows past bodies that are in relative motion and where the trajectory of the motion was determined from the instantaneous aerodynamic e eld. This method coupled the equations of e uid e ow and those of rigid-body dynamics and then captured the unsteady aerodynamic interference between the stationary and moving boundaries. The time-dependent, compressible Euler equations weresolvedondynamic,unstructuredmeshesbyanexplicit,e nitevolume,andupwindmethod.Thegridadaptation was performed within a window placed around a moving body. The Euler equations of dynamics were then solved by a Runge‐Kutta integration scheme. The e ow solver and the adaptation scheme were validated by simulating the transonic, unsteady e ow around a wing undergoing a forced, periodic pitching motion and then comparing the results with the experimental data. Finally, the overall methodology was demonstrated by simulating the unsteady e owe eld and the trajectory of a store dropped from a wing. The methodology, with its computational cost notwithstanding, has proven to be accurate, automated, easy for dynamic gridding, and relatively efe cient for the required work hours. Nomenclature at
WE‐G‐18A‐06: Sinogram Restoration in Helical Cone‐Beam CT

Purpose: To extend CT sinogram restoration, which has been shown in 2D to reduce noise and to correct for geometric effects and other degradations at a low computational cost, from 2D to a 3D helical cone-beam geometry. Methods: A method for calculating sinogram degradation coefficients for a helical cone-beam geometry was proposed. These values were used to perform penalized-likelihood sinogram restoration on simulated data that were generated from the FORBILD thorax phantom. Sinogram restorations were performed using both a quadratic penalty and the edge-preserving Huber penalty. After sinogram restoration, Fourier-based analytical methods were used to obtain reconstructions. Resolution-variance trade-offs were investigated for several locations within the reconstructions for the purpose of comparing sinogram restoration to no restoration. In order to compare potential differences, reconstructions were performed using different groups of neighbors in the penalty, two analytical reconstruction methods (Katsevich and single-slice rebinning), and differing helical pitches. Results: The resolution-variance properties of reconstructions restored using sinogram restoration with a Huber penalty outperformed those of reconstructions with no restoration. However, the use of a quadratic sinogram restoration penalty did not lead to an improvement over performing no restoration at the outer regions of the phantom. Application of the Huber penalty to neighbors both within a view and across views did not perform as well as only applying the penalty to neighbors within a view. General improvements in resolution-variance properties using sinogram restoration with the Huber penalty were not dependent on the reconstruction method used or the magnitude of the helical pitch. Conclusion: Sinogram restoration for noise and degradation effects for helical cone-beam CT is feasible and should be able to be applied to clinical data. When applied with the edge-preserving Huber penalty, sinogram restoration leads to an improvement in resolution-variance tradeoffs.
A luminosity monitor for the Mark II detector at the SLC

Abstract We describe the design and performance of the Mark II small angle monitor (SAM) used for measurements of Bhabha scattering at the SLC. We also present results of SLC luminosity measurements made with SAM for the first determination of Z boson resonance parameters in e+e− annihilation.
Giant condyloma acuminatum (Buschke-Lowenstein tumor) of the anorectal and perianal regions. Analysis of 42 cases.

PURPOSE: Giant condyloma acuminatum or Buschke-Loewenstein tumor of the anorectal and perianal regions is an uncommon entity that has not been extensively reviewed. We analyzed 42 known cases of giant condyloma acuminatum in the English literature and reviewed their behavior and management. METHODS: All reported cases of giant condyloma acuminatum in the English literature were selected. The relevant clinicopathologic features of this uncommon entity were examined and discussed. RESULTS: These tumors are generally large with the propensity to ulcerate and infiltrate into deeper tissues. The hallmark of the disease is the high rate of recurrence (66 percent) and malignant transformation (56 percent). No distant metastases have been reported. The overall mortality was 20 percent, all occurring in patients with recurrences. Fifty percent of the patients who were initially treated with radical surgery developed recurrences. The average duration of disease was longer in patients with recurrences than in patients without recurrences (9.6 yearsvs.2.8 years). The median number of recurrences was two (range, one to seven) recurrences, and the median time before first recurrence was ten months. Recurrences were treated by radical surgery in 17 patients and chemoradiotherapy ± local excision in 5 patients. Follow-up information for the remaining five patients was not available. The cure rate in the radical surgery group was 61 percent compared with 25 percent in the chemoradiotherapy ± local excision group. CONCLUSIONS: Giant condyloma acuminatum of the anorectal and perianal regions is a highly aggressive tumor with the propensity for recurrences and malignant transformation, but without metastatic potential. A high rate of recurrence is seen in patients with long duration of the disease. Salvage of patients with recurrences can be achieved successfully with radical surgery.
Data Centers in the Cloud: A Large Scale Performance Study

With the advancement of virtualization technologies and the benefit of economies of scale, industries are seeking scalable IT solutions, such as data centers hosted either in-house or by a third party. Data center availability, often via a cloud setting, is ubiquitous. Nonetheless, little is known about the in-production performance of data centers, and especially the interaction of workload demands and resource availability. This study fills this gap by conducting a large scale survey of in-production data center servers within a time period that spans two years. We provide in-depth analysis on the time evolution of existing data center demands by providing a holistic characterization of typical data center server workloads, by focusing on their basic resource components, including CPU, memory, and storage systems. We especially focus on seasonality of resource demands and how this is affected by different geographical locations. This survey provides a glimpse on the evolution of data center workloads and provides a basis for an economics analysis that can be used for effective capacity planning of future data centers.
The successor's dilemma in China's single party political system

Abstract An autocratic ruler seeking a successor who will recognize and maintain his legacy faces a dilemma. The designated successor may become too successful politically and threaten the autocrat's rule, or if not successful in achieving recognition, the designated successor may fail to remain in office after the ruler dies, and the ruler's legacy will not be sustained. The dilemma is also that of the successor in choosing self-promotion that threatens the still-living ruler. I examine the solution to the successor's dilemma in the single-party system China. Uniquely for an autocracy, China has term limits and also age limits on political office. I describe how term limits and dual-generation designation of successors on the basis of “checks-and-balances” were the consequence of a rational choice of Deng Xiaoping, as a paramount leader, to resolve the successor's dilemma so as to extend his own power to sustain his legacies.
Avoiding and defending malpractice suits for postcolonoscopy cancer: Advice from an expert witness

When a patient develops colorectal cancer within a few years of colonoscopy it sometimes results in a malpractice action against the colonoscopist.1 This often results from an impression on the part of the patient, the patient’s attorney, and some expert witnesses that colonoscopy is a guarantee of protection against colorectal cancer. Although it is always troubling to be sued, and some doctors are emotionally devastated by the process, malpractice suits alleging missed cancer are (in my experience) very difficult for the plaintiff to win, and a series of measures can further greatly increase the chance of a defense verdict. Colonoscopy is generally a poorly documented procedure in the absence of video recording, and no one involved in the medical-legal case can be certain that the colonoscopist performed a careful examination. Therefore, the case usually revolves around other documentation (or the absence of it) that supports a careful examination, the size of the tumor at diagnosis and the interval since the baseline colonoscopy, and the knowledge and performance of the defending doctor and the expert witnesses. In this article I review issues commonly encountered in malpractice suits centered on this issue, make recommendations for avoiding these suits, and discuss medical evidence that can be used by the defense when a suit proceeds. These recommendations represent both my understanding of the medical literature on colonoscopy and missed cancers, my own experience in performing colonoscopy, and my experience as an expert witness.
Methane absorption in the Jovian atmosphere. II - Absorption line formation.

Observational tests of three models for line formation in the Jovian atmosphere have recently been completed by Bergstralh (1972). The observational material is described and the results of the tests are reported. The characteristics of a reflecting-layer model (RLM) are discussed, giving attention to the rotational temperature and methane abundance. The properties of scattering models are also examined, taking into account a homogeneous scattering layer model and an inhomogeneous scattering layer model. It is found that the RLM is quite satisfactory in some respects for interpreting molecular absorption bands in the spectrum of Jupiter.
Defining the baseline for inhibition concentration calculations for hormetic hazards

The use of endpoint estimates based on modeling inhibition of test organism response relative to a baseline response is an important tool in the testing and evaluation of aquatic hazards. In the presence of a hormetic hazard, the definition of the baseline response is not clear because non-zero levels of the hazard stimulate an enhanced response prior to inhibition. In the present study, the methodology and implications of how one defines a baseline response for inhibition concentration estimation in aquatic toxicity tests was evaluated. Three possible baselines were considered: the control response level; the pooling of responses, including controls and all concentration conditions with responses enhanced relative to controls; and, finally, the maximal response. The statistical methods associated with estimating inhibition relative to the first two baseline definitions were described and a method for estimating inhibition relative to the third baseline definition was derived. These methods were illustrated with data from a standard aquatic zooplankton reproductive toxicity test in which the number of young produced in three broods of a cladoceran exposed to effluent was modeled as a function of effluent concentration.
Universal Approach for Determination of Physical and Chemical Properties of Water by Near-IR Spectroscopy

Near-IR spectroscopy has been investigated as a universal approach for determination of physical and chemical properties of water and their functions of temperature. Principal component regression and multilinear regression models were used to correlate the spectra with the properties of water at temperatures between 5 and 65°C. Fifteen properties of water were investigated including density, refractive index, dielectric constant, relative viscosity, surface tension, vapor pressure, sound velocity, isothermal compressibility, thermal expansivity, thermal capacity, thermal conductivity, enthalpy, free energy, entropy, and ionization constant. Very good correlations were found between the near-IR predicted values of all the properties and those obtained by the traditional methods. This investigation demonstrates that these fifteen properties of water can be simultaneously determined simply by measuring a set of near-IR spectra of water, and, thus, near-IR spectroscopy can be used as a universal method for the determinations of physical and chemical properties of water. Remote sensing of the properties can be performed with the use of a fiber-optic sensor.
Observations and estimation of long‐period strong ground motion in the los angeles basin

While the accurate estimation of ground-motion amplitudes across the entire frequency band of engineering interest is not possible at the present time, the excitation and propagation of long-period strong-ground motion can be understood with existing seismological methodology. In the Los Angeles Basin, the long-period strong ground motion excited by the San Fernando earthquake is dominated by the presence of surface waves, whose gross amplitude and frequency content are easily attributable to physical properties of the earthquake source and source-station propagation paths. Observed measures of the long-period strong ground motion of the Kern County earthquake relative to the San Fernando earthquake at two sites in the Los Angeles Basin which recorded both shocks can be predicted with considerable accuracy by a simple earthquake source model. This source model is extrapolated to represent the maximum credible earthquake likely to affect the Los Angeles area, taken to be a repeat of the Fort Tejon (1857) earthquake along the San Andreas fault. The measures of long-period strong ground motion in the Los Angeles Basin estimated for it agree well with the comparable measures of Earthquake A-2, intended to represent the same situation. For the purpose of aseismic design of long-period structures, Earthquake A-2 is a reasonable, if not all inclusive, estimate of the long-period strong ground motion in the Los Angeles Basin generated by a magnitude 8+ earthquake along the San Andreas fault north and east of Los Angeles.
Semicontinuous, middle-vessel, extractive distillation

Abstract A decentralized control configuration is proposed for the semicontinuous, extractive distillation of a low-boiling azeotropic mixture of acetone and methanol. The separation is performed in a middle-vessel column (MVC), having a large external middle vessel, from which the column is fed, and to which a full-liquid sidedraw from the stage above the feed tray is sent. The extractive agent, water, feeds the column on a scheduled basis of facilitate the separation. Based upon the simplicity of a decentralized configuraiton and the desire to avoid controller overrides, a DB-control configuration is selected. This configuration, in which the distillate flow rate is manipulated to control the composition of the distillate, and the bottoms flow rate is manipulated to control the composition of the bottoms product, has been widely labeled as inoperable. Herein, the configuration is shown to perform satisfactorily when a middle vessel with a full-liquid sidedraw is utilized. A cyclic campaign is simulated showing the satisfactory performance of the DB-MVC control configuration. The advantages of the control configuration are discussed and design specifics are provided. An analysis of the campaign, highlighting the problems overcome, is given.
Food hypersensitivity in children.

Adverse reactions to foods involving abnormal immune reactions to food antigens occur in 2-7% of the North American population; the numbers are perhaps higher in children. Both IgE-mediated and non-IgE-mediated allergic responses occur. IgE-mediated allergic responses to foods are the most dramatic
Social cohesion, social support, and health among Latinos in the United States

The role of individual versus community level social connections in promoting health is an important factor to consider when addressing Latino health. This analysis examines the relationships between social support, social cohesion, and health in a sample of Latinos in the United States. Using data from the National Latino and Asian American Study, the analysis uses ordered logistic regression to explore the relationships of family support, friend support, family cultural conflict, and neighborhood social cohesion with self-rated physical and mental health, taking into account language proficiency and use, nativity, and sociodemographic variables. Family support, friend support, and neighborhood social cohesion were positively related to self-rated physical and mental health, and family cultural conflict was negatively related when controlled only for sex and age. After controlling for education, income, and other demographic measures, only family support was found to have a weak association with self-rated physical health; however, the relationship seemed to be mediated by language. In contrast, family support and family cultural conflict were strongly associated with self-rated mental health, after controlling for language, education, income, and other demographic measures. The study did not find neighborhood social cohesion to be significantly related to either self-rated physical or mental health, after accounting for the effects of the other social connection variables. Language of interview did not explain the highly significant effects of language proficiency and use. Social connections are important for health and mental health, but language and other sociodemographic factors seem to be related to how Latinos establish these social linkages. Further investigation into the role of language in the development and maintenance of social connections may help unravel the mechanisms by which they promote or decrease health.
Keloid banding using suture ligature: a novel technique and review of literature.

Introductions Successful wound healing represents the coordinated response of cellular of cytokine, and growth factor mechanisms involved in tissue recovery. Discuptions in transforming gouwth factor-β signaling, senescence/spoptosis, keratinocyte-fibroblast interactions, and other regulatory cascades can lead to the production of hypertrophic scar or keloid tissue formation. Current clinical investigations support surgical excision, metiuclous closure, postoperative steroid injections, and postprocedural pressure dressings in the treatment of keloid tissue formation. Unfortunately, a universal approach in keloid therapy has yet to be identified. Here we ofter a novel banding technique using suture ligature for the removal of these tissues. Methods: Using a suture ligature, suture ligature, keloid tissues were banded slong their base for a 5-week period. Tissue evaluation and additional suture banding was performed on a weekly basis until complete mummification and spontaneous removal of ligated tissues. No additional pressure dressings were placed after tissues removal as treated sites had essentially undergone pressure therapy from the handing treatment. Results: Keloid tissues from multiple sites of the head and neck were effectively removed without complication using the suture banding technique. During a follow-up period of 12 months, no evidence of keloid tissue recurrence was observed. Conclusion: Keloid tissue formation remains a formation remains a formidable challenge for the patient and physician alike. The application of a simple tissue banding technique holds promise in the direct and preventative treatment of keloid tissue formation whereas the end results merit further clinical and laboratory investiagation.
Complete chemical analyses of metamorphic hornblendes: implications for normalizations, calculated H 2 O activities, and thermobarometry

Twenty-two hornblendes separated from amphibolites and granulites of the Grenville Orogen of Ontario have been quantitatively analyzed for major and minor elements by electron microprobe, for FeO/Fe2O3 by wet chemistry, and for H2O by manometric measurement as H2. Hornblende formulae were calculated on the basis of 24O+OH+Cl+F. Most samples are magnesio-hornblendes, ferroan pargasitic hornblendes and ferroan hastingsitic hornblendes, with weight fractions of Fe3+/(Fe2++Fe3+) ranging from 0.15 to 0.50. An oxy-amphibole component of 0–25 mol%, with an average value of 17 mol%, is obtained for these complete analyses. When compared with structural formulae determined solely from microprobe data, normalization based on 13=Si+Ti+Al+Fe+Mn+Mg cations provides the best approximation to hornblende formulae calculated from the complete analyses. Less satisfactory agreement is obtained from a normalization scheme based on 15=Si+Ti+Al+Fe+Mn+Mg+Ca, while worst agreement is obtained from normalization to 23 oxygens assuming all Fe is Fe2+. No normalization scheme based on microprobe data alone consistently replicates the measured FeO, Fe2O3, and H2O; accurate determination of these values requires complete chemical analysies. Ionic solution models previously have been proposed to evaluate the activity of Ca2Mg5Si8 O22(OH)2(a Trem) in hornblende for use in equilibria that constrain the activity of H2O (a H 2O) in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Application of ionic models to typical hornblendes produces low a Trem (usually<0.01), consequetly yielding extremely low a H 2O. If an oxy-amphibole component is present, the calculated a Trem and H2O is further reduced. An oxy-amphibole component of 25% reduces the calculated H2O activity and that of any hydroxyl-amphibole component by 50% below that calculated with simplified assumptions regarding X OH in the hydroxyl site (i.e., X OH=1, or X OH=1−X Cl−X f). Thus, methods of amphibole normalizations appear to have a substantial effect on calculated amphibole and H2O activites. Before quantitative hornblende thermobarometry can be calibrated and applied, the amounts of FeO, Fe2O3 and H2O must be measured in order to fully characterize hornblende solid solutions.
Video object trajectory perturbation based data hiding satisfying statistical and perceptual invisibility

A new semantic steganographic algorithm for hiding data in the motion trajectories of Video Objects (VOs) is presented. First, a set of primitives (objects bounding-box coordinates and its centroid) are used to dene a VO. The centroid of VO is tracked in each frame and its coordinate is stored in a trajectory vector. The proposed algorithm embeds data in the VO object trajectory by presenting a relationship between the hidden data and the trajectory data in the form of a motion drift or perturbation. The perturbation introduced by the embedding algorithm is implemented by motion compensating the pixels in the VO bounding box. Assessment of the steganographic algorithm is done by both subjective judgments based on the perceived quality of the perturbed video sequence and by some commonly used statistical steganalysis metrics. Both subjective assessments and statistical measures indicate visual and statistical invisibility.
A lower bound for groupies in graphs

A non-isolated vertex of a graph G is called a groupie if the average degree of the vertices connected to it is larger than or equal to the average degree of the vertices in G. An isolated vertex is a groupie only if all vertices of G are isolated. While it is well known that every graph must contain at least one groupie, the graph Kn − e contains just 2 groupie vertices for n ≥ 2. In this paper we derive a lower bound for the number of groupies which shows, in particular, that any graph with 2 or more vertices must contain at least 2 groupies. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Sintering Characteristics and Properties of PuS and PuP

The compounds PuS and PuP were prepared by high-temperature homogenization of the product from the reaction of H2S or PH3 gas with partly decomposed plutonium hydride. Studies of sintering characteristics of pellets fired in vacuum and in an argon atmosphere showed that these materials can be sintered to densities slightly greater than 90% of theoretical. The sintering process appears to be complex due to changes of mechanism with increasing temperature. Weight loss data indicate that PuP has a higher effective vapor pressure than PuS but under conditions of fuel irradiation (1 atm pressure of inert gas) PuP has a much lower rate of vaporization. Microstructural examinations and lattice constant measurements verify that monosulfide and monophosphide can exist as substoichiometric compounds. Curvature of the sulfur-rich phase boundary toward greater sulfur solubility at high temperatures is indicated from the X-ray data. Density, melting point, thermal expansion, microhardness, Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, thermal diffusivity, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity are reported.
THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF TOBACCO USE, DEPENDENCE, AND CESSATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Tobacco use, primarily in the form of cigarettes, is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, accounting for almost 20% of all deaths. 17,60 Recent estimates of smoking-attributable mortality (SAM) from 1990 to 1994 indicate that cigarette smoking caused nearly 431,000 deaths per year. 17 The economic burden of tobacco-related health care is enormous; for example, total medical expenditures in the United States attributable to smoking amounted to $72.7 billion in 1993, nearly 12% of all medical costs. 42 In 1996, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that nicotine in tobacco is addictive and that most cigarette smokers and users of smokeless tobacco continue to use tobacco in order to satisfy their addiction to nicotine. 40 In addition, the American Psychiatric Association has included nicotine dependence in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) in recognition of the addictiveness of nicotine. 2 Tobacco use and dependence, therefore, represent a significant public health issue in both the United States and globally. 5,49 This article reviews the epidemiology of tobacco use, nicotine dependence, and smoking cessation in the United States, drawing on the latest epidemiologic data and augmenting prior epidemiologic reviews. 27,28,30,33 Tobacco use includes consumption of cigarettes, cigars, snuff, chewing tobacco, and loose tobacco for pipe-smoking or hand-rolled cigarettes. The majority of epidemiologic studies have examined cigarette smoking, but more recent studies have examined the use of cigars and smokeless tobacco (snuff and chewing tobacco). Nicotine dependence reflects compulsive use of nicotine-containing tobacco, physiologic tolerance (i.e., needing to use increased amounts of nicotine to achieve the desired effect), nicotine withdrawal upon discontinuation of tobacco use (e.g., symptoms such as craving for nicotine, irritability, anger, anxiety, depression, increased appetite), and continued use despite significant problems related to tobacco use (e.g., health problems). 2 The distinction between tobacco use and dependence may be significant given recent studies indicating that never-daily smokers make up a significant minority of smokers, especially among certain ethnic minorities, where prevalence rates of probable nondependent users (never-daily) smokers are as high as 16.8%. 37 Nicotine-dependent tobacco users also appear to be at increased risk for psychiatric conditions such as major depression and alcoholism. This article, therefore, also reviews epidemiologic data on comorbidity of tobacco use (primarily cigarette smoking) and various psychiatric disorders. Finally, epidemiologic aspects of smoking initiation and tobacco cessation are reviewed.
A physicochemical comparison of the isozymes of creatine kinase from rabbit brain and muscle

A comparison of specific structural features of creatine kinase from rabbit muscle and brain was undertaken to determine if the observed isozyme specific differences in catalytic cooperativity are related to conformational differences, particularly differences in packing density. The intrinsic fluorescence of the brain isozyme is 2-fold higher than the muscle isozyme. In the denatured state, both proteins display the characteristic red shift in emission maximum; however, the emission intensity of the brain isozyme increases only 5% upon denaturation compared to nearly 100% increase for the muscle protein. The fluorescence lifetimes are 2.65 ns (67%) and 0.48 ns for native muscle enzyme and 4.38 ns (65%) and 0.80 ns for brain enzyme. Upon denaturation, the lifetimes are 3.98 ns (77%) and 0.99 ns for muscle protein and 3.82 ns (79%) and 0.86 ns for brain protein. Stern-Volmer plots of quenching by acrylamide are essentially the same for both native isozymes indicating that the differences of the intrinsic fluorescence of the native proteins are not due to differences in solvent accessibility. The spectral and lifetime differences in the isozymes in the native state and changes accompanying denaturation are consistent with the occurrence of energy transfer in native muscle isozyme. The rotational correlation times of 5-[2-(iodoacetyl)aminoethyl]aminonaphthalene-1-sulfonate conjugated proteins, derivatized at the active site reactive thiol, are best described by two term decay laws. The slower rotations, 45.1 ns (75%) and 40.6 ns (71%) reflect overall macromolecular rotation for the muscle and brain isozymes, respectively. The faster motions, 2.4 ns for muscle isozyme and 0.4 ns for the brain isozyme, are attributed to the probe or probe associated segmental motions and indicate these motions are more restricted in the muscle protein. Reactivity of creatine kinase (2.5-10 microM) with the amino-specific reagent trinitrobenzene sulfonate (0.4-2 mM) was analyzed by pseudo-first-order and second order models, neither of which was adequate for the entire range of data. However, in every case, the rate constants were faster for brain creatine kinase but the extent of reaction was greater for muscle creatine kinase. The faster initial reactivity of the brain isozyme is consistent with greater accessibility for lysine derivatization.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Effect an opinion change of the communicator’s liking for the audience he addressed

An experiment tested the hypothesis that if a speech originally addressed to one audience is given to another audience, the second audience will find the speech more persuasive if they believe that the communicator liked those he had originally addressed than if they think he disliked them. In support of the hypothesis, college women who read the same communication agreed more with the communicator’s position when they were informed that he liked business students while disliking engineering students and addressing business students or that he liked engineering students while disliking business students and addressing engineering students than when they were informed that he disliked business students while liking engineering students and addressing business students or that he disliked engineering students while liking business students and addressing engineering students.
Regularized Adaboost Learning for Identification of Time-Varying Content

This paper proposes a regularized Adaboost algorithm to learn and extract binary fingerprints of time-varying content by filtering and quantizing perceptually significant features. The proposed algorithm extends the recent symmetric pairwise boosting (SPB) algorithm by taking feature sequence correlation into account. An information-theoretic analysis of the SPB algorithm is given, showing that each iteration of SPB maximizes a lower bound on the mutual information between matching fingerprint pairs. Based on the analysis, two practical regularizers are proposed to penalize those filters generating highly correlated filter responses. A learning-theoretic analysis of the regularized Adaboost algorithm is given. The proposed algorithm demonstrates significant performance gains over SPB for both audio and video content identification systems.
An analysis of some discriminative properties of d-amphetamine

Male albino rats were trained and tested on a two-lever discrimination task based upon the presence or absence of d-amphetamine (1.0 mg/kg). This compound was found to produce strong discriminative cues (i.e., 90% correct choice behavior). A dose-effect function was then ascertained and the discriminative ED50 (following training with 1.0 mg/kg) was found to be 0.23 mg/kg d-amphetamine. In order to determine the effective duration of d-amphetamine action, the interval between injection and testing was varied; it was found that the discriminative effects of the drug began to dissipate between 60 and 90 min post-injection. In an attempt to compare the discriminative cues of other drugs with those of d-amphetamine, injections of LSD (0.04 and 0.08 mg/kg), psilocybin (0.50 and 1.0 mg/kg), THC (0.50 and 1.0 mg/kg), mescaline (5.0 and 10.0 mg/kg), and caffeine (6.0 and 20.0 mg/kg) were given during extinction. In all cases, the rats responded predominantly on the saline-related lever. Only methamphetamine (1.0 mg/kg) produced d-amphetamine-like responding. Finally, alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine (AMPT), a compound which depletes brain catecholamines (CA), was found to disrupt the d-amphetamine-saline discrimination.
Simultaneous measurement of sound velocity and wall thickness of a tube

A method for simultaneously measuring the sound propagation velocity and the thickness of each wall on the opposite sides of a tube is presented. The method uses a pair of ultrasound transducers to produce two reflected pulses from the outer and inner surfaces of the tube wall on the each side, and two transmitted pulses, one with and one without the tube sample between the two transducers. Using the time-domain analysis, sound velocity and wall thickness of the tube are determined from the time delays between the three pairs of ultrasound pulses, whereas using the frequency-domain analysis, phase velocity, group velocity, and wall thickness of the tube are determined from the phase differences between the three pairs of ultrasound pulses. Results of measurements on five tube samples are reported.
A global perspective of vaccination of healthcare personnel against measles: Systematic review

Measles transmission has been well documented in healthcare facilities. Healthcare personnel who are unvaccinated and who lack other evidence of measles immunity put themselves and their patients at risk for measles. We conducted a systematic literature review of measles vaccination policies and their implementation in healthcare personnel, measles seroprevalence among healthcare personnel, measles transmission and disease burden in healthcare settings, and impact/costs incurred by healthcare facilities for healthcare-associated measles transmission. Five database searches yielded 135 relevant articles; 47 additional articles were found through cross-referencing. The risk of acquiring measles is estimated to be 2 to 19 times higher for susceptible healthcare personnel than for the general population. Fifty-three articles published worldwide during 1989–2013 reported measles transmission from patients to healthcare personnel; many of the healthcare personnel were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. Eighteen articles published worldwide during 1982–2013 described examples of transmission from healthcare personnel to patients or to other healthcare personnel. Half of European countries have no measles vaccine policies for healthcare personnel. There is no global policy recommendation for the vaccination of healthcare personnel against measles. Even in countries such as the United States or Finland that have national policies, the recommendations are not uniformly implemented in healthcare facilities. Measles serosusceptibility in healthcare personnel varied widely across studies (median 6.5%, range 0–46%) but was consistently higher among younger healthcare personnel. Deficiencies in documentation of two doses of measles vaccination or other evidence of immunity among healthcare personnel presents challenges in responding to measles exposures in healthcare settings. Evaluating and containing exposures and outbreaks in healthcare settings can be disruptive and costly. Establishing policies for measles vaccination for healthcare personnel is an important strategy towards achieving measles elimination and should be a high priority for global policy setting groups, governments, and hospitals.