cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Retrospective characterization of special nuclear material in time and space

Abstract A 4.5 kg sphere of α-phase plutonium was subjected to passive imaging using optically stimulated luminescence dosimetry techniques via inverse square modeling under cylindrical symmetry around the dosimeter array. The results showed angular resolution in the localization capability close to 1° due to axial resolution below 1 cm. Radial resolution was much worse having an offset of 16 cm using only point source geometry estimates for the commercial dosimeters. Using MCNP™ to reconstruct the profile demonstrated a substantial improvement in reconstructing the relative response as opposed to assuming simple point source geometry. From this, an inverse solving approach known as DRAM was used to estimate source distribution in addition to location. These results are considered regarding their implications for nuclear nonproliferation to the extent they demonstrate potential to determine whether illicit nuclear material had historically been kept in any specific location or alternatively, whether such materials had not been kept in a location they were claimed to have been stored. Having measured the materials location and knowing the integrated measurement time then allows estimating amount of material via dose (or alternatively, knowing the assay could give storage time estimates).
The Lagarde Effect: Assessing Policy Change Under the First Female Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

This paper uses a theoretical framework drawing on the literatures of feminist institutionalists and the literature on expertise provided by IOs to examine two areas in the IMF that we might expect...
vSwitchGuard: Defending OpenFlow Switches Against Saturation Attacks

While the decoupling of control and data planes in software-defined networking (SDN) facilitates orchestrating network traffic, it suffers from security threats. For example, saturation attacks can make SDN out of service by exhausting the controller' and switch's computational resources. The existing research has focused on defense against limited types of saturation attacks. In this paper, we propose vSwitchGuard, a framework for detection and countermeasure of known and unknown saturation attacks in SDN. vSwitchGuard aims to identify the victim switches targeted by known or unknown types of saturation attacks with machine learning classifiers and restore the victim switches to their safe state through deep packet inspection. We have evaluated three supervised classifiers and four semi-supervised classifiers for five types of saturation attacks (TCP-SYN, UDP, ICMP, IP-Spoofing, and TCP-SARFU) and their combinations. The results suggest that supervised and semi-supervised classifiers can be combined to deal with known and unknown attacks for better performance. We have also implemented the countermeasure and evaluated it with all combinations of the five types of attacks. The results demonstrate that vSwitchGuard can effectively defend against the attacks without significant performance overhead.
Why the House of Representatives Must Be Expanded and How Today's Congress Can Make It Happen

The House of Representatives was designed to expand alongside the country’s population — yet its membership stopped growing a century ago. Larger and, in some cases, unequal sized congressional districts have left Americans with worse representation, including in the Electoral College, which allocates electors partially on the size of states’ House delegations. This report by Fordham Law School's Democracy Clinic recommends tying the House’s size to the cube root of the nation’s population, which would lead to 141 more seats. It also calls for an approach to drawing districts that would eliminate gerrymandering.
Improving the State-of-the-Art in Flow Measurements for Large-Scale Oxygen Consumption Calorimetry

The accuracy of the exhaust flow measurement contributes significantly to the uncertainty of calorimetry measurements for large fire testing. Less than ideal flow characteristics such as skewed velocity distributions are typical of these large-scale flows and make it difficult to achieve the desired measurement accuracy. Consensus standards for fire testing recommend either bi-directional probes or orifice plates to determine exhaust flow. Both have limited accuracy in the presence of less than ideal flow conditions. Averaging pitot probes are an off-the-shelf technology widely used to monitor flows for industrial processes. They have been utilized in a system of large fire calorimeters to demonstrate differences of less than 5% between heat release rate measurements by oxygen consumption calorimetry and the theoretical heat output from a gas burner. Differences exceeded 5% for a small set of conditions but were still less than 10%. Both levels of agreement are within the confirmation requirements of the consensus standards and were achieved without a system calibration as recommended by the standards. Including this technology as an alternate method to measure exhaust flow would be an improvement to relevant fire testing standards and to the overall accuracy of calorimetry measurements for large fire testing.
Search and Information Frictions on Global E-Commerce Platforms: Evidence from Aliexpress

Global e-commerce platforms present new export opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries by significantly lowering the entry barriers of exporting. However, the lack of market selection can lead to a large number of online rms competing for consumers’ attention, resulting in severe congestion in consumers’ search process. When firms’ intrinsic quality is not perfectly observed, these search frictions can further slow down the resolution of the information problem and hinder market allocation towards better rms. In this paper, we investigate how search and information frictions shape rm dynamics and market evolution in global e-commerce. Using detailed data from AliEpxress as well as a rich set of self- collected objective quality measures, we provide stylized facts that are consistent with the presence of search and information frictions. Moreover, using a randomized experiment that offers exogenous demand and information shocks to small prospective exporters, we establish that firms with larger past sales have an advantage in overcoming the search friction and generating future orders. This indicates that initial demand shocks could confound firms’ true quality in determining firm growth and the long-run market structure. We construct and estimate an empirical model of the online market that are consistent with our descriptive and experimental findings and use the model to quantify the extent of demand-side frictions. Counterfactual analyses show that alleviating information frictions and reducing the number of firms can help to improve allocative efficiency and raise consumer welfare.
In Patients With Lower Extremity Burns and Osteomyelitis, Diabetes Mellitus Increases Amputation Rate

In this retrospective analysis, we investigated the rate of radiologically confirmed osteomyelitis, extremity amputation and healthcare utilization in both the diabetic and non-diabetic lower extremity burn populations to determine the impact of diabetes mellitus on these outcomes. The burn registry was used to identify all patients admitted to our tertiary burn center from 2014 to 2018. Only patients with lower extremity burns (foot and/or ankle) were included. Statistical analysis was performed using Student's t test, chi-squared test, and Fischer's exact test. Of the 315 patients identified, 103 had a known diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and 212 did not. Seventeen patients were found to have osteomyelitis within three months of the burn injury. Fifteen of these patients had a history of diabetes. Notably, when non-diabetics were diagnosed with osteomyelitis, significant differences were observed in both length of stay and cost in comparison to their counterparts without osteomyelitis (36 vs 9 days; p=0.0003; $226,289 vs $48,818, p=0.0001). Eleven patients required an amputation and 10 (90.9%) of these patients had comorbid diabetes and documented diabetic neuropathy. Compared to non-diabetics, the diabetic cohort demonstrated both a higher average length of stay (13.7 vs 9.2 days, p-value=0.0016) and hospitalization cost ($72,883 vs $50,500, p-value=0.0058). Our findings highlight that diabetic patients with lower extremity burns are more likely to develop osteomyelitis than their non-diabetic counterparts and when osteomyelitis is present, diabetic patients have an increased amputation rate. Further study is required to develop protocols to treat this population, with the specific goal of minimizing patient morbidity and optimizing healthcare utilization.
Heterogeneity in tournaments with incomplete information: An experimental analysis

We focus on the relationship between a player's effort provision and tournament heterogeneity in a setting where players only know the distribution of their opponents' abilities. By isolating whether increases in heterogeneity influence optimal effort provision in cardinal, ordinal, and piece rate tournaments, we show that a model in which ability and effort are complements can be empirically distinguished from a model in which ability and effort are neither complements nor substitutes. To discriminate between the two models, we conduct a laboratory experiment where subjects participate in a real effort task and are paid based on performance relative to a group of opponents that may be relatively homogeneous or relatively heterogeneous. In these laboratory data, the level of effort provision is independent of tournament heterogeneity, lending support to the model in which ability and effort are neither complements nor substitutes.
Family Processes and Competence in a Positive Youth Development Context: Perspectives for African American Youth

Scholarship on Positive Youth Development (PYD) indicates that when youth are imbued with certain qualities, they tend to thrive in a variety of social settings. Core models of PYD (i.e., the 5Cs and the 40 developmental assets) both see competence as a key quality for youth thriving. Thus, understanding the factors that contribute to the development and nurturance of competence is central to youth research, policy and practice. Using the relational developmental meta-theoretical framework as its cornerstone, this chapter addresses the role that family processes have on the development of youth competence, which advances thriving in their social settings. More specifically, we provide a brief overview of competence as a factor in the two aforementioned PYD models in the United States and then discuss how and why competence development serves a different purpose for African American youth. Further, by applying the specificity principle, we also examine the relations between family processes and competence in African American youth, particularly in what we deem to be the third historical epoch of this relational context (i.e., African American parent-youth). In so doing, the chapter furthers a discussion on opportunities and constraints related to the transition from parental competence to their offspring as a mechanism solely for survival to a mechanism for both survival and thriving.
The Russian Economy in December 2012: Preliminary Data and Major Trends: The Political Background: A Quest for a New Mainstay

The most noteworthy events of December 2012 were the adoption, by the U.S. Congress, of the so-called ‘Magnitsky Law,’ whereby sanctions were introduced against the Russian officials directly involved in human rights violations; and the passing, by the RF State Duma, of a retaliatory anti-American law. The adoption of the ‘Magnitsky Law’ was inherently related to the abolition of the Cold-War-era Jackson-Vanik Amendment. In retaliation for the ‘Magnitsky Law,’ the Kremlin, greatly pained by the passage of the new U.S. legislation, instructed the Russian State Duma to adopt a ‘symmetric’ anti-American law. This retaliatory law (the ‘Dima Yakovlev Law’) introduced a ban on the financing of Russian non-governmental organizations by U.S. funds, forbade dual U.S./Russian nationals to participate in the activities and functioning of Russia’s NGOs, and banned the adoption of Russian children by US citizens. And it was the ban on adoptions that immediately caused a wave of indignation all over the world, including to some extent Russia. The case in point is that the brunt of the anti-adoption measures announced in the ‘Dima Yakovlev Law’ will be carried by disabled children, who have no chance to be adopted or receive proper medical and rehabilitative assistance in Russia. Also, the ‘Dima Yakovlev Law’ contradicts the U.S.-Russia Adoption Agreement and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Nucleoside monophosphate kinases. II. Transphosphorylation betweeen adenosine monophosphate and nucleoside triphosphates.

Abstract 1. 1. A nucleoside monophosphate kinase has been fractionated from aqueous extracts of calf liver acetone powder. It catalyzes transphosphorylations between adenosine 5′-phosphate and any nucleoside triphosphate to yield adenosine 5′-diphosphate and another nucleoside diphosphate. The reactions are reversible. 2. 2. The enzyme fraction has been freed of phosphatase activity and contains no nucleoside diphosphate kinase. It has also been separated from another nucleoside monophosphate kinase which is specific for ATP but reacts with any of several nucleoside monophosphates.
Business Cycle Synchronization in the Proposed East African Monetary Union: An Unobserved Component Approach

This paper uses the business cycle synchronization criteria of the theory of optimum currency area (OCA) to examine the feasibility of the East African Community (EAC) as a monetary union. We also investigate whether the degree of business cycle synchronization has increased after the 1999 EAC Treaty. We use an unobserved component model to measure business cycle synchronization as the proportion of structural shocks that are common across different countries, and a time-varying parameter model to examine the dynamics of synchronization over time. We find that although the degree of synchronization has increased since 2000 when the EAC Treaty came into force, the proportion of shocks that is common across different countries is still small implying weak synchronization. This evidence casts doubt on the feasibility of a monetary union for the EAC as scheduled by 2012.
Addressing modes and management protocols in a gigabit LAN with switching tables

A hierarchical structure for the MAC layer of high-speed LANs with a ring topology is suggested. The lower part of this layer consists of high-speed dedicated hardware, called the interface, that sits on the data-path and is responsible for those operations that should be performed in the link transmission speed: getting access-control, removing frames, and accepting frames. The upper part, called the MAC manager can be an all-purpose microprocessor. It is responsible for all the other operations associated with the MAC layer. When short labels are used as addresses, the interface algorithm can be based on two small switching tables, whose contents are determined by the MAC manager. >
A review of depression and quality of life outcomes in adolescents post bariatric surgery.

TOPIC A systematic review: Depression and quality of life of adolescents after bariatric surgery. PURPOSE Reported changes in depression and quality of life among adolescents after bariatric surgery were assessed, along with the choice of tools, length of follow-up, and age and gender trends. SOURCES USED Medical and psychosocial electronic databases. CONCLUSIONS The majority of published studies of adolescents post bariatric surgery showed a positive reduction in depression and improvements in quality of life regardless of the amount of weight lost or type of surgery performed. Four studies measured changes only within the first year and three within 2 years; it is unknown if positive psychological benefits persisted. Patients' ages ranged from 9 to 20 years, with an average age of 16.6. A 7:3 female/male ratio presented for surgery. Three depression and six quality of life instruments were utilized; two instruments were validated for adult use only. Consistent qualitative and quantitative measures of psychological issues and quality of life specific to adolescents are necessary. Multicenter longitudinal studies are warranted to more effectively track outcomes and patients needing more support. Thus informed, a nurse or health practitioner can better advocate for the patient during the preoperative, postoperative, and follow-up periods.
A Sensor of Protein O‐Glycosylation Based on Sequential Processing in the Golgi Apparatus

Protein O-glycosylation is important in numerous processes including the regulation of proteolytic processing sites by O-glycan masking in select newly synthesized proteins. To investigate O-glycan-mediated masking using an assay amenable to large-scale screens, we generated a fluorescent biosensor with an O-glycosylation site situated to mask a furin cleavage site. The sensor is activated when O-glycosylation fails to occur because furin cleavage releases a blocking domain allowing dye binding to a fluorogen activating protein. Thus, by design, glycosylation should block furin from activating the sensor only if it occurs first, which is predicted by the conventional view of Golgi organization. Indeed, and in contrast to the recently proposed rapid partitioning model, the sensor was non-fluorescent under normal conditions but became fluorescent when the Golgi complex was decompartmentalized. To test the utility of the sensor as a screening tool, cells expressing the sensor were exposed to a known inhibitor of O-glycosylation extension or siRNAs targeting factors known to alter glycosylation efficiency. These conditions activated the sensor substantiating its potential in identifying new inhibitors and cellular factors related to protein O-glycosylation. In summary, these findings confirm sequential processing in the Golgi, establish a new tool for studying the regulation of proteolytic processing by O-glycosylation, and demonstrate the sensor's potential usefulness for future screening projects.
Oxygen storage capacity of monolith three-way catalysts

Abstract The effects of formulation and aging on the dynamic oxygen storage capacity (OSC) of three-way catalysts (TWC) were determined by surface redox reaction using CO and O 2 pulses. The OSC of the precious metal (PM) catalysts after aging at 900°C was negligibly small. Addition of CeO 2 to the PM catalysts significantly enhanced the catalyst OSC after similar pretreatment, but addition of NiO enhanced the catalyst OSC only under mild thermal pretreatment. The presence of 20 ppm SO 2 did not affect the OSC of PM-only catalysts but adversely affected the OSC of catalysts containing CeO 2 or NiO. The OSC loss of a vehicle-aged TWC as well as PM catalysts aged in a simulated automotive exhaust environment appeared unaffected by the Pb and P present in the exhaust from unleaded gasoline but depended on sintering and exposure to SO 2 .
Presynaptic BK channels modulate ethanol-induced enhancement of GABAergic transmission in the rat central amygdala nucleus.

Large-conductance calcium-activated potassium BK channels are widely expressed in the brain and are involved in the regulation of neuronal functions such as neurotransmitter release. However, their possible role in mediating ethanol-induced GABA release is still unknown. We assessed the role of BK channels in modulating the action of ethanol on inhibitory synaptic transmission mediated via GABAA receptors in the rat central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). Evoked IPSCs (eIPSCs) mediated by GABAA receptors were isolated from CeA neurons under whole-cell voltage clamp, and their response to selective BK channel antagonists, channel activators, or ethanol was analyzed. Blocking BK channels with the specific BK channel antagonist paxilline significantly increased the mean amplitude of eIPSCs, whereas the activation of BK channels with the channel opener NS1619 reversibly attenuated the mean amplitude of eIPSCs. Ethanol (50 mm) alone enhanced the amplitude of eIPSCs but failed to further enhance eIPSCs in the slices pretreated with paxilline. Bath application of either BK channel blockers significantly increased the frequency of miniature IPSCs (mIPSCs). Similarly, 50 mm ethanol alone also enhanced mIPSC frequency. Increases in mIPSC frequency by either selective BK channel antagonists or ethanol were not accompanied with changes in the amplitude of mIPSCs. Furthermore, following bath application of BK channel blockers for 10 min, ethanol failed to further increase mIPSC frequency. Together, these results suggest that blocking BK channels mimics the effects of ethanol on GABA release and that presynaptic BK channels could serve as a target for ethanol effects in CeA.
The Effect of Mammary Gland Expression of Human Lysozyme on the Properties of Milk from Transgenic Mice

Abstract Transgenic mice were used as model systems to evaluate the impact of human lysozyme expression in the mammary gland. We previously generated two lines of transgenic mice that express human lysozyme mRNA in the mammary gland under the tissue-specific and developmentally correct control of the bovine gene promoter for α s1 -casein. Concentrations of human lysozyme protein in milk of transgenic mice varied from .25 to .71 μ g/ μ l of milk. Human lysozyme secreted into mouse milk retained its antimicrobial activity, as determined by a denaturing polyacrylamide gel activity assay. The physical and functional properties of the milk were also altered, because mouse milk containing human lysozyme had a 35% decrease in rennet clotting time, a smaller median micelle size (157nm vs. 172nm), and a 2.5– to 3-fold greater gel strength than control milk. From these results, we conclude that the use of transgenic animals producing lysozyme in the milk is feasible and potentially useful to the dairy industry.
Petrogenesis and structural petrology of high-pressure metabasalt pods, Sivrihisar, Turkey

Lawsonite eclogite pods ranging in size from 3 cm to 6 m occur in lawsonite blueschist and eclogite facies metasedimentary and metabasaltic rocks in the Sivrihisar Massif, Turkey. Some pods have a core of lawsonite eclogite surrounded by alternating, centimeter-scale layers of lawsonite blueschist, eclogite, and transitional eclogite–blueschist, all with similar basaltic bulk composition. These pods also contain texturally late lawsonite-rich veins and layers. Most eclogites and blueschists within the pods lack reaction textures, but some blueschists near pod margins contain texturally complex garnet as well as glaucophane rims on omphacite, suggesting retrogression of eclogite to blueschist. Phase diagrams (pseudosections) calculated for the lawsonite eclogite core of a meter-scale pod indicate that the eclogite equilibrated at ∼22–24 kbar, ∼520°C. Lawsonite eclogite and blueschist at the tectonized margin of the same pod equilibrated at similar temperatures and slightly lower pressures. The composite eclogite–blueschist pod is foliated, lineated, and folded. An earlier generation of lineated omphacite in the pod core has a different spatial orientation than the lineation at the pod margin, although electron backscattered diffraction data show that core and rim omphacite have similar lattice preferred orientation patterns. Petrologic and structural data are consistent with mechanical formation of pods by folding and dissection of eclogite layers at high-P, and localized retrogression at pod margins during initial stages of exhumation at P–T conditions >425°C, 16 kbar.
Correlation imaging with arbitrary sampling trajectories.

Abstract The presented work aims to develop a generalized linear approach to image reconstruction with arbitrary sampling trajectories for high-speed MRI. This approach is based on a previously developed image reconstruction framework, “correlation imaging”. In the presented work, correlation imaging with arbitrary sampling trajectories is implemented in a multi-dimensional hybrid space that is formed from the physical sampling space and a virtually defined space. By introducing an undersampling trajectory with both uniformity and randomness in the hybrid space, correlation imaging may take advantage of multiple image reconstruction mechanisms including coil sensitivity encoding, data sparsity and information sharing. This hybrid-space implementation is demonstrated in multi-slice 2D imaging, multi-scan imaging, and radial dynamic imaging. Since more information is used in image reconstruction, it is found that hybrid-space correlation imaging outperforms several conventional techniques. The presented approach will benefit clinical MRI by enabling correlation imaging to be used to accelerate multi-scan clinical protocols that need different sampling trajectories in different scans.
Hydrogen ion treatments of oxidized GaAs(100) and AlGaAs(100) surfaces: surface stoichiometry and electronic properties

Abstract Near-surface GaAs AlGaAs quantum wells, with and without a GaAs cap, have been used as effective probes of the electronic properties of oxidized GaAs surfaces and AlGaAs surfaces. We find that the variation of surface stoichiometry due to hydrogen ion treatments appears to be similar for both oxidized AlGaAs and GaAs surfaces, as examined by Auger electron spectroscopy. However, the composition of the oxide significantly affects both hydrogenation process and the efficacy of surface passivation.
Multiphase Development of the Lunar Crater Tycho

Data collected by Orbiter V when it landed on the Moon in 1967 provide information about the history of the crater Tycho. Volcanic eruptions seem to have been involved in the crater's development.
LIGHTCAST: an aid to planning, treatment and immobilization in radiotherapy and research.

Abstract An orthopedic casting product, LIGHTCAST II (Merck, Sharp & Dohme Orthopedic Company, Division of the Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania) has proven inexpensive, easy to handle, and adaptable to many applications which aid the radiotherapist and researcher (e.g. for immobilizing anatomical area of patient or stabilizing anesthetized animal; superimposing contour of anatomical area on treatment plan to facilitate communication and delivery of radiation accurately; etc). With the use of stockinette or Saran wrap to protect the subject, silicone cream to prevent sticking of the resin on the caster's hands, LIGHTCAST and a LAND MODEL II Ultraviolet lamp (both from the same company), and a few conventional tools (spatula, striker saw), the caster can make a mold of a patient's head in 15–20 min (curing takes 5 min). Patients are more receptive to this product than others we have available; we have acquired greater skills in casting and achieve greater accuracy in executing the treatment plans than was possible previously.
Energization-induced redistribution of charge carriers near membranes.

Abstract The electric field arising from proton pumping across a topologically closed biological membrane causes accumulation close to the membrane of ionic charges equivalent to the charge of the pumped protons, positive on the side towards which protons are pumped, negative on the other side. We shall call this the ‘active surface charge’. We here use the Poisson-Boltzmann equation to evaluate the effects of zwitterionic buffer molecules and unchanged proteins in the aqueous phase bordering the membrane on the magnitude and ionic composition of the active surface charge. For the positive side of the membrane, the main results are: (1) If the membrane is freely accessible to bulk phase ions, pumped protons exchange with these ions, such that the active surface charge consists of salt cations. (2) If a significant fraction of the ions in bulk solution consists of buffer molecules, then some of the pumped protons will remain close to the membrane and constitute a major fraction of the active surface charge. (3) If a protein layer borders the membrane, a significant part of the transmembrane electric potential difference exists within that protein layer and protons inside this layer dominate the active surface charge. (4) On the negative side of the membrane the corresponding phenomena would occur. (5) All these effects are strictly dependent on the transmembrane electric potential difference arising from proton pumping and would come in addition to the well known effects of buffers and electrically charged proteins on the retention of scalar protons. (6) No additional proton diffusion barrier may be required to account for a deficit in number of protons observed in the aqueous bulk phase upon aeration-induced proton pumping.
Identification of pentacyclic triterpenes by GC‐MS‐MS

The development of tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) and its combination with gas chromatography (GC-MS-MS) has greatly enhanced our ability to analyze exceedingly complex mixtures from a wide variety of sources, including fossil fuels. This paper describes a comparison of the conventional electron impact (El) mass spectral fragmentation patterns, obtained in the MS-MS precursor – product mode, of three oleanane isomers and one ursene, all of which are used as indicators of higher plant input to the sedimentary environment Results show that El and collision-activated dissociation (CAD) spectra are most similar at collision energies between −15 and −20 eV.The presence of methyl substituents in these pentacyclic terpenes plays an important role in the process of ring fragmentation: the daughter spectra of the M – 15 fragments can be used to obtain structural information, such as the positions of the double bonds.
Phase constitution in Sr and Mg doped LaGaO3 system

Abstract Sr and Mg doped lanthanum gallate perovskites (La1−xSrxGa1−yMgyO3−δ, shortened as LSGM-XY where X and Y are the doping levels in mole percentage (mol%) at the La- or A-site and the Ga- or B-site, respectively) are promising electrolyte materials for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). In this study, we have investigated the primary perovskites as well as the secondary phases formed in terms of doping content changes and A/B ratio variations in these materials. Fifteen powder compositions (three doping levels, X=Y=0, 0.1, and 0.2 mol; and five A/B ratios 0.95, 0.98, 1.00, 1.02, and 1.05) were synthesized by the glycine-nitrate combustion process (GNP). These powders were equilibrated by calcining at 1500 °C for 9 h prior to crystalline phase characterization by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). From the results of this study and the available phase diagrams in the literature on constituent binary oxide systems, we propose a crystalline phase diagram of the La2O3–SrO–Ga2O3–MgO quaternary system at elevated temperature (1500 °C).
Prediction of Resource Volumes at Untested Locations Using Simple Local Prediction Models

This paper shows how local spatial nonparametric prediction models can be applied to estimate volumes of recoverable gas resources at individual undrilled sites, at multiple sites on a regional scale, and to compute confidence bounds for regional volumes based on the distribution of those estimates. An approach that combines cross-validation, the jackknife, and bootstrap procedures is used to accomplish this task. Simulation experiments show that cross-validation can be applied beneficially to select an appropriate prediction model. The cross-validation procedure worked well for a wide range of different states of nature and levels of information. Jackknife procedures are used to compute individual prediction estimation errors at undrilled locations. The jackknife replicates also are used with a bootstrap resampling procedure to compute confidence bounds for the total volume. The method was applied to data (partitioned into a training set and target set) from the Devonian Antrim Shale continuous-type gas play in the Michigan Basin in Otsego County, Michigan. The analysis showed that the model estimate of total recoverable volumes at prediction sites is within 4 percent of the total observed volume. The model predictions also provide frequency distributions of the cell volumes at the production unit scale. Such distributions are the basis for subsequent economic analyses.
Progression Analysis of Community Strengths in Dynamic Networks

Community formation analysis of dynamic networks has been a hot topic in data mining which has attracted much attention. Recently, there are many studies which focus on discovering communities successively from each snapshot by considering both current and historical information. However, the detected communities are isolated at a certain snapshot, because these approaches ignore important historical or successive information. Different from previous studies which focus on community detection in dynamic networks, we define a new problem of tracking the progression of the community strength - a novel measure that reflects the community robustness and coherence throughout the entire observation period. The proposed community strength analysis provides significant insights into entity properties and relationships in a wide variety of applications. To tackle this problem, we propose a novel two-stage framework: we first identify communities via non-negative matrix factorization, and then calculate the strength of each detected community corresponding to each specific snapshot by solving an optimization problem. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is highly effective in discovering the progression of community strengths and detecting interesting communities.
Human Population Growth and Excess Consumption: Understanding Limits of Stable Functioning and Algorithms of Control Utilizing CELSS Technologies and Developments (Integrated Applied Modeling)

Closed ecological systems (CES) represent a promising approach to long-term human life support (LS) for space expeditions and settlements such as a Mars manned expedition or a Lunar based research facility. In such remote, high risk ventures, sustainability and reliability of the integrated human-life support system (HLSS) are essential. However, facing possible overpopulation problem, Earth' environment can become more extreme for human beings in the nearest future. The biosphere of the Earth is a unique life support system (LSS). This relatively thin layer of biomass and other buffers provide all necessary conditions for all life forms' evolution, including humans. The biosphere can be viewed as highly reliable (during relatively short periods of time) self-sustainable system: life on Earth exists within a comparably narrow range of conditions for billions of years. All existing experimental facilities for research in the field of closed ecological life support systems (CELSS) such as BIOS-3M (Russia), Biosphere-2 (USA), CEEF (Japan) and others utilize principles and processes of bio-regeneration observed in the Biosphere of the Earth. Listed CELSS systems already demonstrated difficulty of sustainable and continuing life support functions implementations limited by insufficient (buffer) resources and incomplete closure of material recirculation. With the scattering of Earth's resources, humanity might meet similar problems on a global scale. Modeling (theoretical and experimental) of Earth's biosphere provides us with the tools for investigating such global processes in relatively short periods of time under controllable conditions which can be thoroughly monitored. Obvious benefits of artificial CELSS experiments are the possibilities for understanding global scale problems without irreversible harming of our planet's primary LSS - the biosphere. It became clear that classic control theory is only partially applied to closed ecosystems control. Therefore, understanding limits of stable functioning of CELSS and integrated study of control theory (including classic approach) which can propose certain solutions for control methods and algorithms are necessary. Nevertheless, the complete understanding of such complex problems caused by human population growth is impossible without integration of all existing fundamental methods of Earth sciences and experimental modeling based on small scale eco-spheres approach. This integrative approach opens at the same time a wide avenue for multiple international collaborations.
The pulvinar and visual salience

One of the major problems of living in a rich visual environment is deciding which particular object or location should be chosen for complete processing or attention; that is, deciding which object is most salient at any particular time. The pulvinar has enlarged substantially during evolution, although little has previously been known about its function. Recent studies suggest that the pulvinar contains neurons that generate signals related to the salience of visual objects. This evidence includes: (1) anatomical and physiological observations of visual function; (2) augmented responses in the pulvinar for visual stimuli presented in important contexts; (3) suppression of activity for stimuli presented in irrelevant conditions; (4) thalamic modulation producing behavioral changes in cued attention paradigms; and (5) similar changes with visual distracter tasks.
High performance fibre optic accelerometers

The authors report the design and performance of fully packaged, field ruggedised, high performance fibre optic (FO) accelerometers. Appropriate design considerations have resulted in FO accelerometers with many desirable engineering features which include: (i) high sensitivity (>20 dB re rad/g), (ii) low noise (<1 micro-g√Hz at 1 kHz) (iii) broad frequency response (100 Hz to 14 kHz), (iv) low sensitivity to extraneous measurands (e.g. static pressure sensitivity < –200 dB re rad/µPa), (v) small size (<35 gms total), and (vi) low cross-axis sensitivity (<–35 dB). Single device or arrays of such devices can be incorporated in many structural and vibration sensing applications at low cost.
How mothers and fathers perceive childhood food allergies: comparing apples to oranges?

3e5 The prospective study by Warren et al 2 published in this issue of the Annals investigates the association between parental food allergyerelated quality of life (FAQOL) and empowerment and compares the differences in FAQOL and empowerment between mothers and fathers of children with food allergy. The authors found that mothers reported reduced FAQOL but greater empowerment compared with fathers, but interestingly empowerment was not related to FAQOL in either parent. In this study, mothers reported greater empowerment but reduced FAQOL compared with fathers, and the authors postulated this may reflect the more prominent role that mothers tend to have in the management of their children’s food allergies. The authors’ finding of parental differences in FAQOL is consistent with prior literature.
Educating for Professionalism: What Counts? Who's Counting?

“Character counts at Central High” is the message frequently exhibited on the curbside marquee outside our local secondary school. Its meaning, however, is left to interpretation by those who happen to drive by the electronic display. More than likely, the deceptively simple declaration implies that Central's curriculum and associated activities are value laden, that they somehow address the collective and somewhat ambiguous set of traits we label “character.” It is a hopeful message to those who consider forming the character of the country's future workforce and citizenry to be an important goal of schooling.
Feynman path summation for the Dirac equation: An underlying one-dimensional aspect of relativistic particle motion

It is observed that the Feynman path summation for the one-dimensional Dirac equation can be projected into three spatial dimensions to yield a path-summation formula for physical spin-\textonehalf{} particles of nonzero mass. Since the three-space projection matrix is independent of time and does not involve the particle's mass, relativistic motion governed by the Dirac equation has an underlying one-dimensional aspect.
C-Lock : An online system to standardize the estimation of agricultural carbon sequestration credits

Abstract C-Lock (patent pending) is a system that has been designed to produce standardized carbon emission reduction credits (CERCs) that minimize litigation risks to purchasers and maximize the potential value to agricultural producers. C-Lock provides a web-based user interface linking producer-supplied, verifiable, management data, a detailed regional-scale GIS, and a biogeochemical model (CENTURY). Output includes historical incremental carbon sequestration since 1990 and predictions of future sequestration, packaged to satisfy evolving regulatory standards. C-Lock incorporates a unique uncertainty analysis and a three-level verification system to produce certified CERCs for specific land parcels in a way that is reproducible, equitable, and regionally defensible. Using a South Dakota farm as an example, the authors show how, by avoiding reliance on field sampling, this system can minimize measurement and monitoring costs. It allows individual producers a high degree of control over contract design and marketing, thereby reducing transaction costs. The transparent, standardized, and auditable procedure produces CERCs of maximum value to those seeking emission offsets.
Which Psychosocial Factors Best Predict Cognitive Performance in Older Adults

Negative affect (e.g., depression) is associated with accelerated age-related cognitive decline and heightened dementia risk. Fewer studies examine positive psychosocial factors (e.g., emotional support, self-efficacy) in cognitive aging. Preliminary reports suggest that these variables predict slower cognitive decline independent of negative affect. No reports have examined these factors in a single model to determine which best relate to cognition. Data from 482 individuals 55 and older came from the normative sample for the NIH Toolbox for the Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral Function. Negative and positive psychosocial factors, executive functioning, working memory, processing speed, and episodic memory were measured with the NIH Toolbox Emotion and Cognition modules. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling characterized independent relations between psychosocial factors and cognition. Psychosocial variables loaded onto negative and positive factors. Independent of education, negative affect and health status, greater emotional support was associated with better task-switching and processing speed. Greater self-efficacy was associated with better working memory. Negative affect was not independently associated with any cognitive variables. Findings support the conceptual distinctness of negative and positive psychosocial factors in older adults. Emotional support and self-efficacy may be more closely tied to cognition than other psychosocial variables.
Histidyl-proline diketopiperazine, an endogenous brain peptide that inhibits (Na+ + K+)-ATPase

Summary Histidyl-proline diketopiperazine, a metabolite of thyrotropin releasing hormone, has been detected in brain and has a variety of biological activities, both in the pituitary and the central nervous system. An investigation of the biochemical basis for the physiological actions of the peptide has shown that it is an inhibitor of dopamine uptake in nerve endings. The inhibition by the peptide of catecholamine transport, which is sodium-dependent, is due to an inhibition of the brain plasma membrane (Na+ + K+)-ATPase. These findings suggest that histidyl-proline diketopiperazine may be an inhibitor of many membrane transport processes dependent on ion gradients.
Anabolic Factors in Degenerative Joint Disease

While a great deal of information is available on the cellular and molecular biology of cartilage degradation, less is known about anabolism in normal cartilage and degenerating cartilage. A consistent amount of evidence is now available on the neo-synthesis of matrix molecules and enzymes in OA: the entire cell metabolism appears to be increased leading to the hypothesis that chondrocytes in OA are actually "activated". This chapter will focus on anabolic events that are now known to occur in articular cartilage. We will begin to view articular cartilage as a complex three-dimensional tissue in which local events may be different. We will also be interested in viewing the development of degenerative arthritis as a continuum from functionally normal tissue to degeneration.
Impaired cell‐mediated immunity in patients with cancer

The ability of peripheral blood lymphocytes to respond in vitro to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and to allogeneic cells in mixed leukocyte reaction (MLC) was studied in 85 patients with cancer and in 50 healthy controls. The effect produced by sera from cancer patients on in vitro lymphocyte blastogenesis was tested on autologous cells and on homologous cells from a constant panel of 10 normal volunteers. Patients with cancer showed a distinct deficiency of cellular immune responsiveness reflected in a stage-related impairment of PHA and MLC reactivity. This deficiency seems at least partially attributable to the presence of lymphocyte depressive factors in cancer sera, since such sera reduced the reactivity of both autologous and normal homologous lymphocytes to a level that was significantly lower than that found in the presence of pooled normal serum. The inhibitory activity of cancer sera was directly related to the extent of the neoplasia.
Axially chiral dimeric Ir and Rh complexes bridged by flexible NHC ligands

Abstract A family of Ag complexes of the type [{BnN(CH2CH2RIm)2}Ag]·[AgX2] (X = I, RIm = 1-methylimidazole (3a); X = Cl, RIm = 1-tert-butylimidazole (3b), 1-benzylimidazole (3c) or 1-methylbenzimidazole (3d)) or [{BnN(CH2CH2CH2RIm)2}Ag]·[AgCl2] (RIm = 1-methylimidazole (4a), 1-tert-butylimidazole (4b), 1-benzylimidazole (4c) or 1-methylbenzimidazole (4d)) with a flexible unsaturated linker connecting the two NHC ligands has been prepared. These silver complexes undergo facile transmetalliation with [Ir(COD)Cl]2 to generate the bimetallic species (COD)ClIr{BnN(CH2CH2RIm)2}IrCl(COD) (RIm = 1-methylimidazole (5a), 1-tert-butylimidazole (5b), 1-benzylimidazole (5c) or 1-methylbenzimidazole (5d)) or (COD)ClIr{BnN(CH2CH2CH2RIm)2}IrCl(COD) (RIm = 1-methylimidazole (6a), 1-tert-butylimidazole (6b), 1-benzylimidazole (6c) or 1-methylbenzimidazole (6d)) with a bridging bidentate NHC ligand. A similar reaction can be performed using [Rh(COD)Cl]2 to generate the analogous Rh species (COD)ClRh{BnN(CH2CH2CH2RIm)2}RhCl(COD) (RIm = 1-methylimidazole (7a), 1-benzylimidazole (7c) or 1-methylbenzimidazole (7d)). Complexes 5d, 6d and 7d were characterized by X-ray crystallography. All of our new Rh and Ir species possess axial chirality and are prepared as a mixture of isomers. However, crystals of 5d, 6d and 7d contain only one diastereomer. Dissolution of the diastereometrically pure crystals results in epimerization and the formation of an equilibrium mixture. Our new Ir complexes are active catalysts for both olefin and transfer hydrogenation and we present a comparison of their catalytic activity based on the linker length of the ligand.
Forum for continental scientific drilling

The Second Forum for Continental Scientific Drilling was held in San Francisco on December 8, 1991, before the AGU Fall Meeting. The annual forum was established by the Interagency Coordinating Group for Continental Scientific Drilling to provide an opportunity for open discussion of ideas for scientific drilling. The group is comprised of geoscience program managers from the Despending partment of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Geological Survey.