cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Atomic Layer Deposition and Characterization of Amorphous ErxTi1-xOy Dielectric Ultra-Thin Films

Er1-xTixOy dielectric thin films were deposited on Si(100) substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using tris(methylcyclopentadienyl) erbium [(CpMe)(3)Er] and tetrakis(diethylamino) titanium [TDEAT] as metal precursors, and O-3 as oxidant. The deposition temperature dependence of both Er2O3 and TiO2 film growths showed the overlapping ALD window of 175-250 degrees C. Compositional tunability of Er1-xTixOy films was obtained through deposition process control. Carbon and nitrogen impurities in as-deposited films were found to be below X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy detection level. Glancing incidence X-ray diffraction and phase-shifting interferometry results showed that ErxTi1-xOy films with ALD cycle ratios (Er2O3/TiO2) of 1: 8 or higher have a good thermal stability and remain amorphous with unchanged surface roughness after post-deposition rapid thermal processing (RTP) at 700 degrees C in O-2. Electrical measurements showed that optimized amorphous Er1-xTixOy films after RTP exhibited a dielectric constant of similar to 36, a hysteresis voltage of less than 10 mV, and a leakage current density of 10(-8) A/cm(2) at - 1 MV/cm; such properties compare favorably with the properties of other reported amorphous titanium-based ternary dielectrics on Si. The sizable reduction of leakage current density of Er1-xTixOy found in our study suggests that amorphous Er1-xTixOy thin films are promising future dielectrics in Si integrated circuit technology.
Probabilistic discovery of motifs in water level

The discovery of water level time series motifs is of much importance to improve the water level predictions. These predictions thereby are useful to the shipping industry, people living in the coastal areas, and even for emergency evacuation in case of a hurricane. In this paper, symbolic aggregate approximation (SAX) is employed to index and reduce the dimension of the time series, and the random projection algorithm is used to discover the unknown time series motifs, which are tested for accuracy by comparing them with the brute force algorithm.
Robotics and vision systems-an overview

This report provides information on the latest robotics and vision system technologies affecting the manufacturing sector today. Machine vision, sensors, artificial intelligence, and expert systems are all explored. Applications and examples of actual implementations of these technologies are also given.
Optimization of SiGe HBT VCOs for wireless applications

This paper describes the optimization of phase noise performance in fully integrated SiGe HBT differential LC-tuned voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) for wireless applications. An accurate expression for phase noise in SiGe HBT LC-tuned VCOs is presented which takes the nonlinear operation of the oscillator into account. Design methods are shown which minimize the different sources of phase noise toward the intrinsic limit set by the resonator quality factor. A set of 2 GHz SiGe HBT VCOs have been implemented in a 0.5 /spl mu/m, 47 GHz SiGe BiCMOS process to provide experimental verification of the benefits of the design methods presented in this paper.
Altered AP-1 (Activating Protein-1) Activity and c-jun Activation in T Cells Exposed to the Amide Class Herbicide 3,4-Dichloropropionanilide (DCPA)

3,4-Dichloropropionanilide (DCPA), the active ingredient of some postemergence herbicides, has been demonstrated to inhibit several immune system functions including cytokine production by T cells. The central role of cytokines in regulating the immune response suggests a possible mechanism by which DCPA inhibits the immune system. Since interleukin (IL)-2 is critical in regulating many immune functions, we chose to investigate the effect of DCPA on this cytokine. Using the human T lymphoma line, Jurkat, stimulated with phorbol-12-myristate acetate (PMA) and the calcium ionophore A23187 (Io), we determined that DCPA exposure decreased IL-2 secretion and mRNA levels in a dose dependent manner. We hypothesized that DCPA affected one or more of the transcription factors that regulate IL-2 gene transcription. Activating protein 1(AP-1) is a transcription factor that has been demonstrated to be required for optimal IL-2 gene transcription. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) demonstrated a decreased level of AP-1 DNA binding activity in DCPA-exposed Jurkat cells compared to control cells from 30 min to 2 h after stimulation. The altered AP-1 DNA binding kinetics was associated with a decrease in c-jun protein in these cells at 1 and 2 h after exposure and a decreased level of phosphorylated c-jun at 1-4 h after exposure. These results suggest a possible mechanism for DCPA-induced IL-2 inhibition; alteration in the activation of the c-jun component of AP-1.
It’s About the Group, Not God: Social Causes and Cures for Terrorism

This essay challenges assumptions about the root causes of jihadist terrorism that prioritize political, religious, or economic factors. Drawing on the author’s anecdotal experience interviewing hundreds of accused jihadist terrorists, along with survey data collected from subject matter experts in countering violent extremism (CVE), the essay offers an interpretation for terrorism’s causes and cures that emphasizes social factors. Contrary to narratives popular in the U.S. – both in media and government circles – the lure of terrorism is not a result of political marginalization, economic disadvantage, or even religious indoctrination. It is foremost a sociological phenomenon, created by individuals who seek the insulating security of group identity and affiliation. The real reason why people are drawn to join terrorist groups is the innate need for camaraderie, identity, and a sense of belonging – the pursuit of social satisfaction, not the expression of political or economic frustration, much less the fulfilment of a religious imperative. CVE research that exclusively focuses on the political, economic, or religious causes of terrorism will, at best, over-appraise their significance, and, at worst, distract policymakers from understanding more influential motivators and responding to them accordingly. New directions for research lie in further exploring the sociological underpinnings of jihadist terrorism, as well as validating the effectiveness of social-centred CVE policies already in place.
The Effects of Team Size in a Marketing Simulation

This study was conducted to determine if team size is related to team performance and individual student self-reports of satisfaction, task difficulty, perceived level of participation, personal commitment to the exercise, and personal performance rating in a computer based marketing simulation. The setting was two sections of an introductory undergraduate marketing course. Results indicate that team size is positively related to team performance, satisfaction, and personal performance ratings. The findings suggest using equal size teams when course grades are affected by team performance.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support for this study provided by the Program for Teaching Effectiveness (PETE), University of Richmond.
Slug and Snail Control with Experimental Poison Baits

Metaldehyde, a long-established specific molluscicide for land slug and snail control, is not satisfactory under moist weather conditions. The search for a more effective molluscicide has resulted in a laboratory screening technique, simulating natural conditions, by which experimental baits are presented to various species of land molluses. The brown garden snail, Helix aspersa Muller and the European black slug Arion ater (L.), are laboratory reared for the tests, while other species are field collected in season. five experimental carbamate materials have shown outstanding activity against land molluses to date: Bay 37344 (4-(methylthio)-3,5-xylyl methylcarbamate), UC 20047A (Tranid® (exo-(5-chloro-6-oxoendo 2-norbornanecarbonitrile O-(methylcarbamoyl) oxide), EP-332 (m [[ (dimethyl amino) methylene]amino] phenyl methylcarbamate hydrochloride), EP-316 (m-cym-5-yl methyicarbamate), and IN-1179 (methyl N-[(methyicarbamoyl) oxy] thioacetimidate). All established chlorinated hydrocarbon and organophosphate pesticides tested have shown little or no toxicity to slugs and snails.
VISUALIZING EVOLVING LANDFORMS DUE TO SEA-LEVEL RISE

One-meter of sea-level rise will have significant impact on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Given the three-dimensional complexity of the topography and bathymetry of the Outer Banks, visualizing changing water levels and land configurations is not always intuitive. A suite of technologies was developed to visualize, in three-dimensions, geomorphology which has been altered using well known theoretical approaches such as inundation and processbased models. Historic inlet conditions were re-created to model dynamics which could arise due to future SLR-induced inlets.
Track Fusion for Independent Sensors

The paper presents a new integer programming model to solve the data association problem in target track fusion. To quantify the value of a given noisy sensor measurement to target association, we rely on the maximum likelihood estimate. The multitarget multisensor tracking (MTMST) problem has traditionally been formulated as a multidimensional assignment problem (MAP) where the number of dimensions is determined by the number of sensors tracking the targets. However, the complexity of solving an MAP grows exponentially with the number of sensors. In our new formulation, each sensors measurements are considered to be independent of other sensors. Our proposed model relies on solving a series of modified two-dimensional assignment problems for each sensor. This approach has a complexity that only grows linearly with the number of sensors.
Analysis and Characterization of Heat Transfer Fouling during Evaporation of a Lignocellulosic Biomass Process Stream

Within a biorefinery production process, concentrating the sugar-rich hydrolysate stream by evaporation prior to fermentation can enhance the fermentation productivity and reduce downstream product recovery costs. However, fouling of the evaporator surface by soluble and suspended solids within the process steams can become problematic. In this study we analyzed fouling characteristics of an acid pretreated pine wood enzymatic hydrolysate using an annular fouling probe in batch mode at 110, 120, 130, and 140 °C with 0, 10, and 20% total suspended solids based on dry weight/volume. Results showed that the rate of fouling and the induction period for onset of fouling depended strongly on temperature, with a maximum fouling resistance of ∼0.5 m2·K/kW experienced at 130 and 140 °C with no suspended solids present. Characterization of the fouling deposits was studied using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), SEM energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and inductively couple...
Improved electrical properties of electronic packaging based on epoxypolybutadiene resin

In the past year a new class of epoxy resins has come onto the market. These resins which go under the name of Oxiron® are epoxidized polybutadienes. In addition to having the oxirane oxygen groups, they also possess unsaturation and therefore the methods of curing them can be quite diverse. The great versatility of this resin has been discussed in previous papers(1, 2, 3, 4) as well as its application to specific end uses such as laminates(5). At the present time we propose discussing the use of these resins for electronic packaging.
Array tomography of physiologically-characterized CNS synapses.

Abstract Background The ability to correlate plastic changes in synaptic physiology with changes in synaptic anatomy has been very limited in the central nervous system because of shortcomings in existing methods for recording the activity of specific CNS synapses and then identifying and studying the same individual synapses on an anatomical level. New method We introduce here a novel approach that combines two existing methods: paired neuron electrophysiological recording and array tomography, allowing for the detailed molecular and anatomical study of synapses with known physiological properties. Results The complete mapping of a neuronal pair allows determining the exact number of synapses in the pair and their location. We have found that the majority of close appositions between the presynaptic axon and the postsynaptic dendrite in the pair contain synaptic specializations. The average release probability of the synapses between the two neurons in the pair is low, below 0.2, consistent with previous studies of these connections. Other questions, such as receptor distribution within synapses, can be addressed more efficiently by identifying only a subset of synapses using targeted partial reconstructions. In addition, time sensitive events can be captured with fast chemical fixation. Comparison with existing methods Compared to existing methods, the present approach is the only one that can provide detailed molecular and anatomical information of electrophysiologically-characterized individual synapses. Conclusions This method will allow for addressing specific questions about the properties of identified CNS synapses, even when they are buried within a cloud of millions of other brain circuit elements.
RNA polymerase II promoter-proximal pausing in mammalian long non-coding genes

Mammalian genomes encode a large number of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) that greatly exceed mRNA genes. While the physiological and pathological roles of ncRNAs have been increasingly understood, the mechanisms of regulation of ncRNA expression are less clear. Here, our genomic study has shown that a significant number of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs, >1000 nucleotides) harbor RNA polymerase II (Pol II) engaged with the transcriptional start site. A pausing and transcriptional elongation factor for protein-coding genes, tripartite motif-containing 28 (TRIM28) regulates the transcription of a subset of lncRNAs in mammalian cells. In addition, the majority of lncRNAs in human and murine cells regulated by Pol II promoter-proximal pausing appear to function in stimulus-inducible biological pathways. Our findings suggest an important role of Pol II pausing for the transcription of mammalian lncRNA genes.
Insurance Status and Other Non-biological Factors Predict Outcomes in Acute Myelogenous Leukemia: Analysis of Data from the National Cancer Database

Background The treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has made significant progress in the last 30 years; however, numerous factors affect outcomes in patients with AML. Well-known risk factors are age, cytogenetics, and treatment intensity. The purpose of our study was to investigate the effects of insurance status on the outcome of AML; age, Carlson comorbidity index, distance travelled to the treatment center, and type of treatment center were adjusted by analyzing data from National Cancer Database (NCDB). In the wake of the Affordable Care Act, and its impact on insurance coverage, evaluating the effect having insurance has on health outcome is urgently necessary. Materials and methods Data were analyzed from 67,443 men and women (≥18 years of age), who were registered in the NCDB and diagnosed with AML between 1998 and 2011 with follow-up to the end of 2012. The primary predictor variable was payer status, and the outcome variable was overall survival. Additional variables addressed and adjusted, included: sex, age, race, Charleston Comorbidity index, level of education, income, distance traveled, facility type, diagnosing/treating facility, treatment delay, and chemotherapy. Results In multivariate analysis, after adjusting for other predictor variables, payer status was a statistically significant predictor of overall survival for AML. Relative to privately insured patients, patients with Medicaid had a 17% increased risk, those without insurance had a 21% increased risk, those with Medicare had a 19% increased risk and those with unknown insurance status had a 22% increased risk of mortality from AML. The percentage of patients surviving from AML after 24 months was 37.6%, 31.4%, 32.3%, 31.8%, and 33.1% for patients with private, unknown, Medicare, uninsured, and Medicaid payer status, respectively. All factors investigated were found to be significant predictors of AML survival except distance traveled. Conclusion We observed that payer status has a statistically significant relationship with overall survival from AML.
Tips for turning good ideas into competitive National Science Foundation engineering education CAREER proposals: A grant writing workshop

The National Science Foundation CAREER Program offers prestigious awards annually to support junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research and the integration of education and research. This three-hour workshop will support faculty who are interested in exploring an engineering education research NSF CAREER proposal.
Intelligent Web Searching Using Hierarchical Query Descriptions

We describe a document retrieval language which enables a user to better represent their requirements with respect to the desired documents to be retrieved. This language allows for a specification of the interrelationship between the desired attributes using linguistic quantifiers. This framework also supports a hierarchical formulation of queries. These features allow for an increased expressiveness in the queries that be handled by a retrieval system.
Estimation of Gravel Roads Ride Quality Through an Android-Based Smartphone

This study demonstrated the ability of smartphone sensors in evaluating gravel roads conditions. Seventy gravel roads with various conditions, surface materials, and geometric features were include...
Photoinduced Miniemulsion Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

Photomediated atom transfer radical polymerization (photoATRP) of (meth)acrylic monomers was conducted in miniemulsion media. The polymerization procedures took advantage of an ion-pair catalyst formed by interaction of Cu/TPMA2 (TPMA = tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine) and an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The ion-pair catalyst was efficient in controlling ATRP reactions with catalyst loadings as low as 100 ppm. The effect of different polymerization parameters, such as the size of the reaction vial, amount of surfactant, and solids content influencing the photoATRP in miniemulsion, was studied. The polymerization was conducted with solids content ranging from 5 to 50 vol % under a moderate surfactant loading (<5 wt % relative to monomer). Excellent temporal control was achieved upon switching the UV light on and off multiple times, and the polymer was successfully chain extended, indicating high retention of chain-end fidelity.
Riccati equations arising in acoustic structure interactions with curved walls

Structural acoustic control problems are considered. The main aim is to reduce a pressure/noise in an acoustic cavity by an appropriate activation of piezoceramic devices. The physical model is comprised of an acoustic chamber with flexible (elastic) walls to which piezoceramic devices are attached. The devices play the role of actuators and sensors. The mathematical description of the model is governed by a coupled system of partial differential equations (PDE's) involving the wave equation coupled with the dynamic shell equation (modeling the wall).
Data Consolidation and Reporting for the Analytical Laboratory

Automation of laboratory instrumentation has significantly increased the rate at which samples could be analyzed. However, productivity in some other processes have not made the same gains due to the human decisions and operations involved. The personal computer, combined with the capabilities of the analytical data system, can be used in new ways to atuomate some of these processes. As a result, significant improvements can be made in throughput and quality of reports.
Child Maltreatment, Fathers, and Adolescent Alcohol and Marijuana Use Trajectories

Background: Little is known about heterogeneity in developmental trajectories of alcohol and marijuana use among at-risk youth. Objective: This study aims to examine how child maltreatment and fath...
Arithmetic functions of higher-order primes

The sieve of Eratosthenes (SoE) is a well-known method of extracting the set of prime numbers ℙ from the set positive integers ℕ. Applying the SoE again to the index of the prime numbers will result in the set of prime-indexed primes ℙ2={3,5,11,17,31,…}. More generally, the application of the SoE k-times will yield the set ℙk of k-th order primes. In this paper, we give an upper bound for the n-th k-order prime as well as some results relating to number-theoretic functions over ℙk.
High-Nickel NMA: A Cobalt-Free Alternative to NMC and NCA Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

High-nickel LiNi1- x - y Mnx Coy O2 (NMC) and LiNi1- x - y Cox Aly O2 (NCA) are the cathode materials of choice for next-generation high-energy lithium-ion batteries. Both NMC and NCA contain cobalt, an expensive and scarce metal generally believed to be essential for their electrochemical performance. Herein, a high-Ni LiNi1- x - y Mnx Aly O2 (NMA) cathode of desirable electrochemical properties is demonstrated benchmarked against NMC, NCA, and Al-Mg-codoped NMC (NMCAM) of identical Ni content (89 mol%) synthesized in-house. Despite a slightly lower specific capacity, high-Ni NMA operates at a higher voltage by ≈40 mV and shows no compromise in rate capability relative to NMC and NCA. In pouch cells paired with graphite, high-Ni NMA outperforms both NMC and NCA and only slightly trails NMCAM and a commercial cathode after 1000 deep cycles. Further, the superior thermal stability of NMA to NMC, NCA, and NMCAM is shown using differential scanning calorimetry. Considering the flexibility in compositional tuning and immediate synthesis scalability of high-Ni NMA very similar to NCA and NMC, this study opens a new space for cathode material development for next-generation high-energy, cobalt-free Li-ion batteries.
Lactoferrin and hematoma detoxification after intracerebral hemorrhage.

In this minireview we discuss the role of lactoferrin (LTF) in detoxifying hematoma after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Subsequent to ICH, neutrophils enter the ICH-affected brain, where they rel...
James Fitzjames Stephen's other enemies: Catholicism and Positivism in Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and beyond

As the most famous critic of John Stuart Mill, James Fitzjames Stephen has often been assumed to have been a religious conservative or even reactionary. In contrast to these assessments, this artic...
Abstract GS2-10: Targeting depressive symptoms in younger breast cancer survivors: A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation and survivorship education

Purpose Breast cancer before age 50 comprises 25% of incident breast cancer cases in women. Younger breast cancer survivors (YBCS) are at increased risk for the negative effects of cancer diagnosis and treatment, including elevated levels of depression and related symptoms (i.e., anxiety, stress, fatigue, sleep disturbance, vasomotor symptoms), leading to significantly diminished quality of life. Patients and Methods This Phase III, randomized, multi-institution trial was designed to examine the efficacy of two brief interventions- mindfulness meditation and survivorship education - for YBCS (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03025139). We recruited women diagnosed at age 50 or younger with early-stage breast cancer who had completed cancer treatment between 6 months and 5 years earlier and endorsed at least mild depressive symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned to Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs), Survivorship Education (SE), or wait-list control (WL). Both intervention programs were tailored for YBCS and included 6 weeks of structured content delivered in a group format. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-intervention, and at 3- and 6- month post-intervention follow-ups. The primary outcome was depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale; CESD) at post-intervention; secondary outcomes included anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7), fatigue severity (Fatigue Symptom Inventory), sleep disturbance (Insomnia Severity Index), and hot flashes (BCPT symptom checklist). Results We enrolled and randomized 247 women (85 MAPS, 81 SE, 81 WL). On average, participants were 45.4 years old at study entry and had been diagnosed 2.6 years earlier. Linear mixed models were conducted to compare each intervention group to WL on primary and secondary outcomes, controlling for baseline differences across groups in study site, race, and marital status. MAPs led to significant reductions in depressive symptoms at post-intervention and at 3- and 6-month follow-up relative to WL (Ps Citation Format: Patty Ganz, Julienne E Bower, Ann H Partridge, Antonio C Wolff, Elissa D Thorner, Hadine Joffe, Michael R Irwin, Laura Petersen, Laura Petersen, Catherine M Crespi. Targeting depressive symptoms in younger breast cancer survivors: A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation and survivorship education [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr GS2-10.
Patterns of Physis and the Self-Making Kosmos in Heraclitus

Contemporary Western thinkers recognise the destructive effects of long-standing attitudes of mastery over nature and the dualistic and hierarchical thinking that informs them. Heraclitus’ metaphys...
Does Insider Trading Have Information Content In The Bond Market

The study is the first to document that there is significant information content in stock trading by registered corporate insiders for the bond market. We report significant positive price reactions for convertible and straight bonds in response to the Wall Street Journal's Insider Trading Spotlight publication of insider buy transactions and significant negative reactions for insider sell transactions. The stock market response to the publication of the insider transactions, although weaker than bond market reaction, is also found to be significant suggest that bond market participants extract the quality of the insider trading signal by observing factors, such as the dollar volume of the trade, the percentage change in the holding of the insider, and the insider's position in the firm. Lower- rated (riskier) bonds are found to be more sensitive to the information than higher-rated issues. The empirical evidence presented in the paper suggest that the absence of any reporting requirement for insider bond transactions may create an enhanced opportunity for the insiders to exploit private information to expropriate wealth from uninformed bond traders. (Recently, the Wall Street Journal carried an article about this paper on February 8, 1995 on page C1.)
Uncertainty about Managerial Horizon and Voluntary Disclosure

I examine the relation between investors’ uncertainty about managerial horizon and corporate voluntary disclosure. I argue that investors’ uncertainty about the manager’s short-term stock price concern works as a disclosure friction that allows for a partial disclosure equilibrium. When investors are uncertain about managers’ horizons, short-horizon managers can withhold bad news by pooling with long-horizon managers who are not motivated to disclose regardless of the content of the news, as they are largely indifferent to short-term stock prices. Based on this theoretical framework, I hypothesize that reducing investors’ uncertainty about managerial horizon reduces this disclosure friction, thereby pressuring short-horizon managers to provide more voluntary disclosure. I use the executive compensation disclosure mandate as an empirical setting that reduced investors’ uncertainty about managerial horizon. Employing a difference-in-differences research design, I find a significant increase in voluntary disclosure for treated firms relative to control firms, largely driven by firms with short-horizon managers.
Whose Data Are They Anyway? Identification of Relatives and Genetic Exceptionalism

In developing a framework for assessing privacy risks, Dupras and Bunnik’s (2021) “Toward a framework for assessing privacy risks in multi-omic research and databases” considers the question of whe...
Book review: Exploring thinking as communicating in CSCL

Anna Sfard raised the methodological discourse in the CSCL community to a higher niveau of self-understanding a decade ago with her analysis of our two prevalent metaphors for learning: the acquisition metaphor (AM) and the participation metaphor (PM). Despite her persuasive argument in favor of PM and a claim that AM and PM are as incommensurable as day and night, she asked us to retain the use of both metaphors and to take them as complementary in the sense of the quantum particle/wave theory, concluding that
Public perceptions of radon risk

Since 1984, a significant amount of media attention has focused on health threats from radon gas exposure. Using a probability telephone survey of adults (n = 685), we studied public perceptions of risk from radon exposure versus other environmental health risks. The results indicated that 92% of those individuals who had heard of radon believe radon to be a health risk, although only 4% believe they are currently exposed to high levels of radon gas. Perception of risk from radon was positively related to other perceptions of environmental risks. Younger and less educated individuals were more likely to perceive radon as a health risk. Women were three-and-one-half times as likely as men to perceive risk from radon. However, there was no significant relationship between perceived risk from radon and cigarette smoking. Media attention has apparently led to public awareness of radon hazards, but further attention is needed to improve smokers' awareness of their special risks from radon.
Transport functions of the chick chorio-allantoic membrane. II. Active calcium transport, in vitro.

Abstract Calcium flux across the embryonic chick chorio-allantoic membrane was studied in an Ussing-type electrolyte transport chamber. Beginning at about incubation day 14, this membrane developed the ability to transport calcium actively as evidenced by net transport against large chemical gradients and under “short-circuit” conditions. Saturation kinetics were demonstrated and almost any interference with cellular energy production was deleterious to the transport process. In addition, the transport system showed specificity in that strontium was transported only one-third as well as calcium, and calcium movement was not coupled with that of anions such as phosphate and sulfate. Evidence is presented suggesting that calcium was compartmentalized or “packed” during the process of its transcellular transport. A distinction is made between normal intra-cellular calcium ion regulation and the bulk movement of calcium across cells. Tentatively, it is postulated that a very specialized and selective form of pinocytosis, or endocytosis, underlies the active trans-cellular transport of calcium by epithelial tissues.
Excretory urography in acute and chronic renal failure. Current concepts and technique.

Abstract Excretory urography may be usefully and safely performed on patients with severe renal failure, both acute and chronic. Dehydration is to be avoided. Large doses of radiographic contrast medium combined with meticulous x-ray exposures are required. Important information as to the cause of renal insufficiency will be gained in most patients with chronic renal disease, regardless of the level of laboratory values. The diagnosis of various entities producing acute renal failure will depend on a careful study of the nephrogram phase of the urogram with respect to time. More invasive procedures such as renal biopsy or arteriography may be avoided.
Sales Force Performance: A Typology and Future Research Priorities

Sales force performance is predominant in the B2B marketing literature. This chapter reviews how sales force performance has been defined, operationalized and measured. By providing a typology of sales force performance along two dimensions - namely positive versus negative performance and behavioral versus outcome performance - we outline some important gaps in this body of literature and propose avenues for further research. Much emphasis is placed on contemporary topics that are managerially relevant, including team selling, sales force performance during times of change and salespeople as brand ambassadors. We also provide brief methodological notes for exploring these topics.
Photoelectron spectra of substituted benzenes: II. Seven valence electron substituents

Abstract The He I photoelectron spectra of the isoelectronic series of substituted benzenes toluene, aniline, phenol, and fluorobenzene have been measured and the ionization bands in the low binding energy region of the spectra have been identified and assigned. The spectrum of pentafluoroaniline has also been obtained in order to use the “perfluoro effect” to identify the lowest energy σ ionization band. The photoelectron bands were assigned by using a “composite molecule” approach in which the known levels of benzene and the various substituents are correlated with those of the molecule, by using information supplied by vibrational analysis of the bands, and by reference to CNDO/2 and INDO MO calculations. The spectra of these composite molecules are consistent with the … 1 a 2u (π), 3 e 2g (σ), 1 e 1g (π) MO configuration of benzene. The e 1g (π) orbital is split into two components in all of these substituted benzenes. Vibrational progressions in the ring CC stretching and the X-sensitive modes have been identified in these π ionization bands. Excitation of these two modes is evidence for delocalization of the π electrons over the composite molecule. The n (nonbonding) orbital of the substituents is shown to occur in the penultimate region along with the 1 a 2u (π) and 3 e 2g (σ) orbitals. The shifts in the n and π orbitals between the composite molecules and their constituent molecules are discussed in terms of resonance and inductive effects.
Managing user requests with the grand unified task system (GUTS)

As system administrators who are also full-time students, we aim to minimize the time we spend approving and carrying out standard tasks that comprise much of our day-to-day work. The less time required for these repetitive tasks, the more time we have available to provide new and exciting services to our community.To facilitate the automation of this process, we have created the Grand Unified Task System (GUTS), which consists of a small core (a web interface and task executor) that unites task request processing for a range of modular services. This design allows for enhanced security and makes the system easily understandable and extensible, especially to new administrators. The Python backend provides deep integration with standard UNIX tools; the Django-based frontend provides a web interface friendly to both users and administrators. These design decisions have proven successful: deploying GUTS in production allowed us to dramatically reduce our response time for approving tasks, reach a much larger portion of our potential user base, and more easily support a diverse array of new services.
Modulation of Glutathione Level in CHO Cells

A microtiter-plate assay has been developed for total intracellular glutathione that facilitates multiple-sample analysis and reduces the amount of time and chemicals required. Sonication time, pH, and storage conditions were identified as key parameters that affect the accuracy of the assay. Using this assay, it was found that CHO cells increase their glutathione level under higher oxygen tension. This adaptive response suggests that a rise in glutathione may be used as an indicator of oxidative stress. Based on this criterion, it was found that hypoxic and anoxic cells are sensitized to reoxygenation. This sensitization could not be attributed to a drop in glutathione during low oxygen exposure because the glutathione content reached a basal level at a PO2 of about 40 torr.
Proteins Related to the Type I Secretion System Are Associated with Secondary SecA_DEAD Domain Proteins in Some Species of Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia, Proteobacteria, Nitrospirae and Chlorobi

A number of bacteria belonging to the PVC (Planctomycetes-Verrucomicrobia-Chlamydiae) super-phylum contain unusual ribosome-bearing intracellular membranes. The evolutionary origins and functions of these membranes are unknown. Some proteins putatively associated with the presence of intracellular membranes in PVC bacteria contain signal peptides. Signal peptides mark proteins for translocation across the cytoplasmic membrane in prokaryotes, and the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum in eukaryotes, by highly conserved Sec machinery. This suggests that proteins might be targeted to intracellular membranes in PVC bacteria via the Sec pathway. Here, we show that canonical signal peptides are significantly over-represented in proteins preferentially present in PVC bacteria possessing intracellular membranes, indicating involvement of Sec translocase in their cellular targeting. We also characterized Sec proteins using comparative genomics approaches, focusing on the PVC super-phylum. While we were unable to detect unique changes in Sec proteins conserved among membrane-bearing PVC species, we identified (1) SecA ATPase domain re-arrangements in some Planctomycetes, and (2) secondary SecA_DEAD domain proteins in the genomes of some Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia, Proteobacteria, Nitrospirae and Chlorobi. This is the first report of potentially duplicated SecA in Gram-negative bacteria. The phylogenetic distribution of secondary SecA_DEAD domain proteins suggests that the presence of these proteins is not related to the occurrence of PVC endomembranes. Further genomic analysis showed that secondary SecA_DEAD domain proteins are located within genomic neighborhoods that also encode three proteins possessing domains specific for the Type I secretion system.
Isolation and Characterization of a Temperature-Sensitive Circadian Clock Mutant of Neurospora crassa

A new circadian clock mutant has been isolated in Neurospora crassa. This new mutation, called period-6 (prd-6), has two features novel to known clock mutations. First, the mutation is temperature sensitive. At restrictive temperatures (above 21 degrees) the mutation shortens circadian period length from a wild-type value of 21.5 hr to 18 hr. At permissive temperatures (below 21 degrees) the mutant has a 20.5-hr period length close to that of the wild-type strain. Second, the prd-6 mutation is epistatic to the previously isolated clock mutation period-2 (prd-2). This epistasis is unusual in that the prd-2 prd-6 double mutant strain has an 18-hr period length at both the restrictive and permissive temperatures. That is, the temperature-sensitive aspect of the phenotype of the prd-6 strain is lost in the prd-2 prd-6 double mutant strain. This suggests that the gene products of the prd-2 and prd-6 loci may interact physically and that the presence of a normal prd-2+ protein is required for low temperature to "rescue" the prd-6 mutant phenotype. These results, combined with our recent finding that prd-2 and some alleles of the frq gene show genetic synergy, suggest that it may be possible to establish a more comprehensive model of the Neurospora circadian clock.
Forced vibrations of a beam with one-sided amplitude constraint: Theory and experiment

Abstract An elastic beam with one-sided amplitude constraint subjected to periodic excitation is considered. Experimental results are obtained and compared with results given by a theoretical model based on a single mode analysis of the beam following the work of Moon and Shaw [1]. This model has been studied in some detail by the author in previous works [2–4], it is a single degree of freedom oscillator with periodic excitation and a piecewise linear restoring force. This single mode model is shown to provide good overall qualitative information about the actual physical system. It predicts the multiple subharmonic resonances, period doublings, and some chaotic regimes found experimentally.
A molecular dynamics study of SiSe2 glass

Abstract We report the results of a molecular dynamics study of molten and glassy SiSe 2 using an effective interparticle interaction. Results for the partial pair-correlation functions, partial structure factors, bond-angle distributions and statistics of rings are reported. Results are in good agreement with the neutron diffraction experiments.
Positive Braids with a Half Twist are Prime

We shall prove that a knot which can be represented by a positive braid with a half twist is prime. This is done by associating to each such braid a smooth branched 2-manifold with boundary and studying its intersection with a would-be cutting sphere.
Effect of visual and tactual stimulation on learning abstract forms: A replication

Visual (V), tactual (T), and combined visual and tactual (VT) training and testing of abstract shapes were explored in three experiments using Ss from undergraduate psychology courses. In a-recognition test, V and VT training were shown to be superior to T training. Visual and VT testing had a significant effect over T testing. A recall experiment showed that V training and VT training were both superior to T training. The third experiment showed that Ss presented the V stimuli before the T stimuli recalled significantly more than those Ss presented the reverse order. The results of the experiments were interpreted as indicating the superiority of visual information processing over tactual information processing. Concurrent V and T stimulation resulted in performance similar to that of exclusive V stimulation.
Mesh Movement and Metamorphosis

Mesh coarsening and mesh enrichment are combined with a r-refinement scheme to produce a flexible approach for mesh adaptation of time evolving domains. The robustness of this method depends heavily upon maintaining mesh quality during each adaptation cycle. This in turn is inlfuenced by the ability to identify and remove badly shaped elements after the r-refinement stage. Measures of both element quality and element deformation can be defined in terms of unitarily invariant matrix norms. The construction of these element deformation and quality measures is described, and details are provided of the three stages of the adaptation cycle.
Traffic Diversion Effect of Ramp Metering at Individual and System Levels

Understanding traffic diversion due to control actions is essential to the success of advanced traffic management systems such as ramp metering, arterial signal control, and traveler information services. This paper explores the systemwide traffic diversion effect of a well-documented control algorithm on a large real-world network. By using an unconventional positive approach that models how travelers actually learn the road network experientially and make heuristic route search and choice decisions in the presence of information and decision costs, this research is able to explore traffic diversion as an emergent process, with travelers' decision-making processes individually traced. The supply-side effect of ramp metering is modeled as capacity changes at freeway bottlenecks and metered entrance ramps. Results show that only 1% of all peak-hour travelers (6,200) on the Twin Cities (Minneapolis- St. Paul), Minnesota, network change routes after meters are deployed, even though a much larger number of th...
Effect of Clay on Tensile, Flex and Fatigue Behavior of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Epoxy

In this study, the nanophased epoxy with 2 wt.% clay was utilized in a vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) set up with carbon fabric to fabricate laminated composites. The effectiveness of clay addition on mechanical properties of composites has been evaluated by tensile, flexural and fatigue test. The tensile and flexural strengths improved by 5.7% and 13.5%, respectively as compared to the neat composite. The fatigue strength was also improved significantly. Based on the experimental result, a linear damage model combined with the Weibull distribution function has been established to describe static failure processing of neat and nanophased carbon/epoxy. The simulated stress strain curves from the model are in good agreement with the test data. Simulated results show that damage processing of neat and nanophased carbon/epoxy described by bimodal Weibull distribution function.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Maximum Likelihood Estimation in Alternating Renewal Processes Under Window Censoring

Consider a process that jumps back and forth between two states, with random times spent in between. Suppose the durations of subsequent on and off states are i.i.d. and that the process has started far in the past, so it has achieved stasis. We estimate the sojourn distributions through maximum likelihood when data consist of several realizations observed over windows of fixed length. For discrete and continuous time Markov chains, we also examine if there is any loss of efficiency incurred when ignoring the stationarity structure in the estimation.
STUDIES OF OXYGEN-INDUCED LUNG TOXICITY IN ANIMALS TREATED WITH PLASMANATE

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is an enzyme thought to provide protection against Superoxlde anion, believed to be a prime agent of O2 pulmonary toxicity. We have previously shown that whereas immature animals can respond to hyperoxia with an increase in lung SOD activity, adults seem incapable of this protective enzyme response (J. Peds., In press). Also, all neonatal rats (1-7 days old) survived a 3 day exposure to 96-98% O2, but only 26% (21/80) of adult rats survived and all had evidence of marked lung edema. Treatment of adult rats with daily i.p. injections of a plasma protein fraction (Plasmanate ®) resulted in an increase in lung SOD activity (51 ± 6%) and, concomitantly, in 93% survival (39/42) after 3 days of O2 exposure. There was no gross evidence of pulmonary edema in 37 of the 39 survivors. Subsequent to these studies, the Plasmanate ® used was found to be contaminated with bacteria (S. epidermidis and Pseudomonas species). Experiments using Millipore filtrates of this contaminated Plasmanate ® and contaminated Plasmanate ® with added gentamycin to kill the bacteria both afforded 100% survival to treated animals, while injections of the isolated living organisms in saline (18% survival) or of noncontaminated Plasmanate ® (29%) afforded no protective effect compared to untreated adult rats (26%). The mechanism(s) responsible for this markedly increased tolerance of treated animals to O2 -induced lung injury are being investigated. (Supported by GM 12675 and NIH 1F32 HL05415).
Ultrasound assisted extraction in quantifying lutein from chicken liver using high-performance liquid chromatography.

Abstract Four sample preparation methods, (1) solvent (SOL), (2) saponification and solvent (SP), (3) ultrasound assisted solvent (UA), and (4) saponification and ultrasound assisted solvent (SP-UA), were used for quantifying lutein in chicken liver samples by HPLC. The lutein concentrations obtained by using SOL, UA, SP, and SP-UA were significantly different with values from 10.4 μg/g (UA) to undetected (SOL). Efficiency of the four different methods for extracting lutein from high to low were the UA, SP, SP-UA, and SOL method. The measured value of lutein in the liver sample using the UA method was approximately two and three times higher than that obtained from the SP and SP-UA method, respectively. The methods with saponification significantly affected the stabilities of lutein in liver samples. The lutein concentration measured with the solvent only method was either much lower than any of the other extraction methods or undetectable. This indicated that little lutein in those samples was in a form that could be extracted directly by solvent. Compared with the saponification method, the ultrasound assisted solvent method could effectively extract lutein from sample matrix and thus avoid chemical degradation reactions, which would be especially important for complex biological tissue such as liver.