cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
LEFT INFERIOR VENA CAVA IN A LIVING KIDNEY DONOR

A healthy 32-year-old male was cleared as per our institution’s protocol for a living related laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. Preoperative evaluation included intravenous contrast enhanced computerized tomography (CT), which generated 5 mm sections of the abdomen and pelvis. The CT scan revealed 2 left renal arteries (fig. 1) and a left inferior vena cava (IVC) (fig. 2). The IVC crossed anterior to the aorta at the level of the renal vasculature, returning to its normal right position on its course to the heart. Because the right kidney was larger and had 3 renal arteries, we elected to proceed with a left nephrectomy. The patient underwent an uneventful laparoscopic left donor nephrectomy and the CT findings were confirmed. The left renal vein was stapled and transected at its junction with the left IVC. Neither donor nor recipient experienced any untoward events during the procedure or hospital stay, and the transplant had an excellent immediate result. During 5 to 7 weeks of gestation the cardinal veins form the main drainage system of the embryo. Bilateral supracardinal and subcardinal veins join to form common cardinal veins before exiting the fetus. The right subcardinal vein forms the suprarenal IVC, while the right supracardinal vein forms the infrarenal IVC. Normally, the left subcardinal and supracardinal veins recede. A left inferior IVC is likely the result of a persistent left supracardinal vein,1 which is often associated with a circumcaval ureter, situs inversus or vena caval duplication.2 However, in our case, the left IVC was an isolated finding, without any other associated abnormalities. A review of the literature revealed a single case report of a left IVC identified incidentally during an open donor nephrectomy in 1987.3 Preoperative imaging, including an excretory urogram and an abdominal aortogram, did not reveal the abnormality. Despite this finding, no adverse effects were reported. This case differed from ours in that we used preoperative CT imaging which demonstrated the anomalous vasculature and we removed the donor kidney laparoscopically. In cases of donor nephrectomy, preoperative imaging studies should be carefully reviewed, and the operation should proceed with attention to the surgeon’s comfort level and to donor safety. In our brief experience a left IVC is not an impediment to a left laparoscopic donor nephrectomy.
An in situ DRIFTS study of the deactivation and regeneration of sulfated zirconia

Abstract Changes in the surface structure of sulfated zirconia prepared by sol–gel method were studied using nitrogen adsorption, XRD, TGA and in situ DRIFTS. These studies were performed following deactivation and regeneration of the catalyst. The physical properties of sulfated sol–gel zirconia were unchanged as a result of reaction and catalyst regeneration. The isomerization of n -butane was used as a probe reaction. Both Bronsted and Lewis acid sites as determined using pyridine adsorption at 100°C were observed on sulfated zirconia. Only Lewis acid sites were observed on non-sulfated zirconia. The ratio of Bronsted to Lewis acid sites was found to be strongly dependent on catalyst pre-treatment temperature prior to reaction. The Bronsted to Lewis acid ratio was observed to decrease from a value of 0.466 to 0.127 following the removal of the catalytically active surface sulfur. The total catalyst acidity was observed to decrease only slightly following removal of this surface sulfur species. An infrared band, centered at 1370 cm −1 , was observed for the catalytically active material. This band appeared following activation in N 2 at 375°C and was assigned to SO. A Bronsted/Lewis acid site ratio of approximately 0.5 was found to be optimum for the isomerization of n -butane.
Multi-megajoule Nd: glass fusion laser design

Virtually inexhaustible controlled fusion power motivated the construction of high power lasers during the last decade. A sequence of ever more powerful machines evolved at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, each design taking advantage of information gathered with its predecessor. The largest and most recent laser of this group is a 100-kJ machine called Nova, which is even now irradiating its first targets. From the review paper by J. H. Nuckolls, L. L. Wood, A. R. Thiessen and G. B. Zimmerman in 1972 to the present day, it has been clear that between 1 and 10 MJ will be needed to demonstrate high gain in an inertially confined fusion plasma.1 Controversy over where ignition at low gain will first be observed raged throughout the 1970’s. Nova and its smaller antecedents have been research machines dedicated to studying the physics of plasmas at high temperatures, pressures and densities. The results provide the measured efficiencies needed to accurately predict gain in ICF pellets. There has never been any doubt that a large enough driver can ignite a fusion event; nuclear weapons tests have often demonstrated the feasibility of the process. However extrapolation from laser driven experiments is a far from certain calculation; nevertheless, Fig. 1 shows that the size of a laser capable of efficiently causing fusion fuel to burn would need to deliver between 3 and 10 MJ to the fusion target, given today’s best simulations.2
Designing networks with good equilibria

In a network with selfish users, designing and deploying a protocol determines the rules of the game by which end users interact with each other and with the network. We study the problem of designing a protocol to optimize the equilibrium behavior of the induced network game. We consider network cost-sharing games, where the set of Nash equilibria depends fundamentally on the choice of an edge cost-sharing protocol. Previous research focused on the Shapley protocol, in which the cost of each edge is shared equally among its users. We systematically study the design of optimal cost-sharing protocols for undirected and directed graphs, single-sink and multicommodity networks, different classes of cost-sharing methods, and different measures of the inefficiency of equilibria. One of our main technical tools is a complete characterization of the uniform cost-sharing protocols---protocols that are designed without foreknowledge of or assumptions on the network in which they will be deployed. We use this characterization result to identify the optimal uniform protocol in several scenarios: for example, the Shapley protocol is optimal in directed graphs, while the optimal protocol in undirected graphs, a simple priority scheme, has exponentially smaller worst-case price of anarchy than the Shapley protocol. We also provide several matching upper and lower bounds on the best-possible performance of non-uniform cost-sharing protocols.
Flammability and Thermal Analysis Characterization of Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids

Room-temperature ionic liquids have been identified as nonvolatile, nonflammable compounds with a wide range of applications. However, numerous thermal studies have identified volatile decomposition products and a source for fuel, raising questions regarding the fire hazard of ionic liquids. To address these questions, the flammability properties of imidazolium-based ionic liquids have been measured using cone calorimetry and microscale combustion calorimetry. The combustion data are compared to flashpoints estimated from thermal gravimetric analysis data. The resulting flammability properties of ionic liquids are comparable to aliphatic hydrocarbon plastics (polyethylene and polyamide) and lower than high boiling organic solvents (ethyl lactate and dimethyl sulfoxide). Several structure−property relationships are observed, including alkyl chain length and anion type.
Resveratrol vs. calorie restriction: Data from rodents to humans

Calorie restriction extends lifespan and confers metabolic benefits similar to the effect of lifestyle interventions. Poor compliance to long-term dietary restriction, however, hinders the success of this approach. Evidence is now persuasive for a role of resveratrol supplementation (a polyphenol in red grapes) as potential alternative to calorie restriction. This review summarizes the latest literature on the effects and the molecular mechanisms by which calorie restriction and resveratrol confer health benefits. Resveratrol activates SIRT1 and the associated improvement in energy utilization and insulin sensitivity closely resembles the benefits of calorie restriction. Current data largely support resveratrol as a potential calorie restriction mimetic to improve metabolic and probably functional health. Future studies which characterize the bioavailability and efficacy of resveratrol supplementation are critical to provide evidence for its long-term health benefits.
Effects of Wall Roughness on Particle Velocities in a Turbulent Channel Flow

Experimental measurements using a laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) system have been performed on 150μm dense glass particles in a fully developed downward channel flow in air. Tests were conducted in smooth, rough development, and fully rough wall conditions with a channel Reynolds number of 13,800, corresponding to a centerline gas phase velocity of 10.5m∕s with a dilute loading of particles of 15% by mass fraction. Velocities were measured and statistics compared to see the nature of the effects of the wall roughness in a rebuilt channel facility originally used for important works including Kulick, Fessler, and Eaton, (1994, “Particle Response and Turbulence Modification in Fully-Developed Channel flow ,” J. Fluid Mech., 277, pp. 109–134) and Paris (2001, “Turbulence Attenuation in a Particle-Laden Channel Flow ,” Ph.D. thesis, Stanford University, Stanford, CA). Wall roughness has a substantial impact on gas phase mean velocities across most of the channel width, except very near the wall. The turbulence intensity of the gas phase is enhanced across the entire channel in the presence of fully rough walls. The rough walls have an even greater impact on the particle phase. Streamwise particle velocities are reduced up to 40%, and become quite uniform across the channel. Particle fluctuating velocities are nearly doubled near the channel centerplane. Profiles appear uniform, due in large part to strong transverse mixing induced by particle-wall collisions. Much of the data of Kulick and Paris is shown here to be strongly influenced by wall conditions with poorly defined roughness in the development region, followed by rapid flow recovery in a relatively smooth test section.
Mars Phoenix mission, and future exploration

Launched from KSC on August 4, 2007, the Phoenix Lander successfully touched down on the northern plains of Mars on May 25, 2008. Barry Goldstein, the Phoenix Project Manager will give an overview of the Phoenix mission, and some insight as to what robotic missions are planned for the red planet.
Influence of atmospherically transported aerosols on surface ocean water composition

Twelve metals, Pb-210 and Pu-239+240 were measured over a year's period in atmospheric aerosols collected at La Jolla, California and Ensenada, Baja California. Substantial amounts of the metals in the solid phases are leachable into sea water. During the winter months at La Jolla, lead, nickel and Pb-210 had higher atmospheric concentrations than at other times, suggesting local sources during this period of temperature inversion. Lead and nickel appear to have significant anthropogenic components. Overall, the concentrations of the metals and radionuclides in aerosols are similar to those in other sites of the northern hemisphere. For the southern California coastal region, the atmospheric fluxes of aerosols to the marine environment may govern measurably the metal concentrations in surface waters. On the other hand, these fluxes do not account for the accumulation of metals in the coastal sediments.
Adaptation of context-dependent deep neural networks for automatic speech recognition

In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of adaptation methods for context-dependent deep-neural-network hidden Markov models (CD-DNN-HMMs) for automatic speech recognition. We investigate the affine transformation and several of its variants for adapting the top hidden layer. We compare the affine transformations against direct adaptation of the softmax layer weights. The feature-space discriminative linear regression (fDLR) method with the affine transformations on the input layer is also evaluated. On a large vocabulary speech recognition task, a stochastic gradient ascent implementation of the fDLR and the top hidden layer adaptation is shown to reduce word error rates (WERs) by 17% and 14%, respectively, compared to the baseline DNN performances. With a batch update implementation, the softmax layer adaptation technique reduces WERs by 10%. We observe that using bias shift performs as well as doing scaling plus bias shift.
The ground substance of the arterial wall. Part 2. Electron-microscopic studies.

Abstract Electron microscopy of ruthenium red stained bovine aorta before and after chondroitinase digestion demonstrates proteoglycans on and between collagen fibrils. The collagen-associated proteoglycans include a proteoglycan previously purified from this tissue as demonstrated by immunocytochemistry and are extractable with high molar guanidine HCl. In loci rich in proteoglycans such as areas of turbulent flow in calves, more proteoglycan can be demonstrated morphologically, and these molecules also coat elastin.
Absolute measurement of the second-order nonlinearity profile in poled silica.

Measurement of the thin nonlinearity profile of poled silica by the Maker fringe technique has been impossible because of total internal reflection (TIR) at the back surface of the sample. We demonstrate that this limitation can be removed by placing a prism against each face of the sample, thus avoiding TIR.?This novel technique allows, for the first time to our knowledge, the nonlinearity profile of a thin film to be inferred by the Maker fringe technique. Applied to a silica sample thermally poled under standard conditions (275?°C and 5.3??kV for 30??min), it suggests a Gaussian profile with a 1/e width of 8 µm and a maximum d33 of 0.34??pm/V.
Preparation and characterization of sulfonic acid-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes

A strategy for the functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes is reported. The synthesis involved the conversion of fluorinated single-walled carbon nanotubes to the thiolated derivative assisted by phosphorous pentasulfide. The thiol group is then quantitatively oxidized to the sulfonic acid group. The extent of oxidation of the thiol precursor is confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which proved to be immensely useful to discriminate between the –SH and –SO3H with a chemical shift for the sulfur 2p (approx. 5 eV). The functionalized carbon nanotubes were further characterized by infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and transmission electron microscopy which revealed a significant change in morphology between the fluoro carbon nanotubes, the thiol and sulfonic acid-modified carbon nanotubes.
Voice of a Fugitive: Henry Bibb and Ante-bellum Black Separatism

Despite the moral commitment of many Anglo-Americans to the abolition of slavery, by 1850 it was apparent that freedom from slavery did not mean citizenship and social equality for black men in America. Anti-emigration laws, denial of franchise to free blacks, discrimination in hiring, housing, education, religion, public facilities, transportation, and a generally accepted Jim Crow policy north of the Mason-Dixon line, were all manifestations of racism and Anglo-American unwillingness to tolerate black assimilation.' Quite clearly, even if slavery were abolished, blacks would remain a "nation within a nation."2 Indeed, the federal government's reluctance to issue passports to free blacks, because of implied citizenship, and the enactment of the Fugitive Slave Law, underscored the government's unwillingness to assure free blacks rights of citizenship and due process. In view of such oppressive conditions, it is not surprising to find a new leadership emerged from the black community-an intellectual leadership dedicated to separatism and to rejection of militant assimilationist arguments of people like Frederick Douglass. This new leadership asserted
Specificities and V genes encoding monoclonal autoantibodies from viable motheaten mice

Several hundred hybridomas were obtained from 1-2-mo-old viable motheaten (mev) mice. Among the Ig-secreting hybridomas tested, greater than 50% (17/33) exhibited reactivity for autoantigens, supporting the idea that the Ly-1 B cells that predominate in mev mice contain frequent precursors of autoantibody-forming cells. Certain of the specificities of these autoantibodies correlated with the documented pathophysiology of mev mice (antithymocyte, -erythrocyte, -skin, -kidney, and -IgG); others were specific for autoantigens not previously observed in motheaten mice but though to be involved in other autoimmune diseases (e.g., intrinsic factor, transferrin, myelin basic protein, and thyroglobulin). About 2 of 3 (11/17) of the self-reactive antibodies exhibited multispecific binding activity for various autoantigens. Analysis by Northern blotting of the V gene families used in mev autoantibodies showed a random usage of VH families and a biased usage of four Vk gene families. Of 16 autoantibodies tested, 12 used a Vk gene from the Vk1, 4, 10, or 19 families. These patterns of Vk gene usage differ from nonautoimmune control animals. Overall, an immunoregulatory defect operating at a more generalized level than the VH or Vk loci, and due to a single gene mutation, appears to be responsible for the multiple immune abnormalities of mev mice.
Novel Observations From Next-Generation RNA Sequencing of Highly Purified Human Adult and Fetal Islet Cell Subsets

Understanding distinct gene expression patterns of normal adult and developing fetal human pancreatic α- and β-cells is crucial for developing stem cell therapies, islet regeneration strategies, and therapies designed to increase β-cell function in patients with diabetes (type 1 or 2). Toward that end, we have developed methods to highly purify α-, β-, and δ-cells from human fetal and adult pancreata by intracellular staining for the cell-specific hormone content, sorting the subpopulations by flow cytometry, and, using next-generation RNA sequencing, we report the detailed transcriptomes of fetal and adult α- and β-cells. We observed that human islet composition was not influenced by age, sex, or BMI, and transcripts for inflammatory gene products were noted in fetal β-cells. In addition, within highly purified adult glucagon-expressing α-cells, we observed surprisingly high insulin mRNA expression, but not insulin protein expression. This transcriptome analysis from highly purified islet α- and β-cell subsets from fetal and adult pancreata offers clear implications for strategies that seek to increase insulin expression in type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Recreational Service Quality in the International Setting

The following study suggests that the recrational services sector represents a growing, yet currently understudied, opportunity in the area of international services marketing. For example, personal consumption expenditures in the United States have increased from $50 billion in 1985 to $246.8 billion in 1988. Parry suggests that European consumers have also been presented with an increasingly eclectic array of recreational alternatives during the last decade.
The Visibly Offensive Offender: A Semiotic Phenomenology of an Execution

Starting from the premise that claims concerning “closure” from executions are actually claims about the lived experience of witnessing an execution, this chapter considers how the visual dynamics inherent in execution and the culture of capital punishment are impacted by execution method, whether and how an execution is witnessed, and the identities of the condemned and the execution witnesses. It focuses upon the semiotic interplay of visibility and invisibility in light of Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh’s 2001 execution by lethal injection. Applying semiotic phenomenology to interpret witnesses’ conscious experience of McVeigh’s execution, this chapter illustrates how the condemned body is steeped in semiotic meaning and reveals three themes essential to the lived experience of witnessing McVeigh’s execution: the perception of being compelled to witness, a perception of communicative interaction, and a sense of completion. The lived experience of witnessing McVeigh’s execution was that of rendering “justice” visible and McVeigh invisible. This phenomenological investigation reveals that perception of “accountability” and “justice” is not related only to an offender’s crimes but also to his personality and level of visibility before and after trial and sentencing, and confirms that family members’ emotional needs are, for better or for worse, tied to the criminal justice system and certain procedural outcomes.
Development and Macroevolution: Introduction to the Symposium

Despite the historical relationship between embryology and evolutionary biology, during most of the 20th century developmental biology and evolutionary biology have existed as two separate subdisciplines of biology. Recently a reunion of these subdisciplines began to take place. This reunion involves the formulation of evolutionary explanations of developmental phenomena and the application of developmental processes as mechanisms of evolutionary change. The symposium speakers have considered both aspects of the reunion as well as some of the theoretical and methodological issues that are emerging from it.
A cost analysis of the treatment of common bile duct stones discovered during cholecystectomy.

There are a variety of procedures to use once a common bile duct stone is discovered at the time of cholecystectomy. To be cost-effective, the surgeon must know how much money will be spent with each procedure chosen. Cost data is largely unavailable because costs are difficult to estimate and charge data are jealously guarded. In addition, costs are not the same at different hospitals and therefore cannot be compared. The factors that increase costs for treating bile duct stones are outlined in this report and real costs are used from one hospital to help with illustration. Surgical costs vary with the severity of the disease, the amount of operating room time required, and length of stay. These surgical costs can be avoided by choosing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, but the new costs increase almost twice that of a successful laparoscopic common bile duct exploration. Knowledge of the pattern of choledocholithiasis, the varieties of treatment, the cost implications, and the outcomes of each are the subject of this report.
A comparison of variance and total-energy singular-vectors

The analysis-error variance estimates produced by the Naval Research Laboratory Atmospheric Variational Data Assimilation System are used to constrain singular vectors (SVs) at initial time (the final-time metric is total energy). These ‘VAR SVs’ are compared to SVs for which total energy is both the initial- and final-time metrics (TE SVs). The spatial distributions and structures of the VAR SVs and TE SVs are examined and their effectiveness in explaining forecast error is compared. Consistent with previous results, the VAR SVs have relatively larger amplitude than TE SVs in regions where analysis errors are larger (such as over oceans and polar regions). In contrast to previous results, the initial-time VAR SV energy peaks at lower altitudes than the TE SV energy, reflecting the influence of the data-assimilation-error variance estimates. Despite these significant differences, the TE and VAR SVs explain comparable amounts of forecast error in both linear and nonlinear contexts. By projecting the VAR SV pseudo-inverse perturbation onto the TE SVs, it is found that the component inside the TE-SV subspace accounts for most of the forecast-error reduction. The component outside the TE-SV subspace has very little impact on error reduction. It is noteworthy that for both the TE and VAR SVs, nonlinear pseudo-inverse forecast-corrections are better than the expected linear corrections. Both sets of SVs exhibit a relationship between singular-vector growth and forecast-error total energy, when averaged over many cases. This indicates that the SVs have some utility in predicting forecast-error variance. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society.
High-throughput Ethomics in Large Groups of Drosophila

We present a camera-based method for automatically quantifying the individual and social behaviors of fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, interacting in a planar arena. Our system includes machine-vision algorithms that accurately track many individuals without swapping identities and classification algorithms that detect behaviors. The data may be represented as an ethogram that plots the time course of behaviors exhibited by each fly or as a vector that concisely captures the statistical properties of all behaviors displayed in a given period. We found that behavioral differences between individuals were consistent over time and were sufficient to accurately predict gender and genotype. In addition, we found that the relative positions of flies during social interactions vary according to gender, genotype and social environment. We expect that our software, which permits high-throughput screening, will complement existing molecular methods available in Drosophila, facilitating new investigations into the genetic and cellular basis of behavior.
Real-Time Simulation using PC-based Kernels

National Instruments and The MathWorks, Inc. make PC real-time simulation possible with the use of real-time kernels. In this work, a small three-phase radial power system is modeled and simulated using these real-time environments to determine the feasibility, accuracy, and determinism of boot-loaders as an alternative to costly real-time simulators for smaller systems. Implications and modeling methodologies of simulating the power system in real-time using PCs are discussed providing a discussion at the end comparing both products for the interested public
Ray-based propagation of the cross-spectral density

We explore the propagation of the cross-spectral density for scalar and electromagnetic fields based on generalized radiances that are exactly conserved along rays. Two formulas are derived: The first uses all rays to calculate the cross-spectral density exactly, while the second uses only the subset of those rays that pass through a single spatial point to construct an infinite series expression for the cross-spectral density. The evaluation of the truncated series is examined numerically for a variety of fields of varying angular width and coherence and is found to exhibit better convergence to the cross-spectral density when the rays through the centroid between the two observation points are used, when the fields are less coherent, and when the fields are more paraxial. In generalizing the series formula, two new cross-spectral correlations associated with the flux and energy density are examined.
Familial aggregation of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Abstract The role of genetic factors in the pathogenesis of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC) is unknown. Although IDC usually is sporadic, families with more than 1 affected member have been observed. This study determines the proportion of familial cases of IDC in a retrospective series of 169 patients.
Enhanced heterogeneous and homogeneous Fenton-like degradation of carbamazepine by nano-Fe3O4/H2O2 with nitrilotriacetic acid

Abstract The influence of a biodegradable agent, nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), on the degradation of the model compound carbamazepine (CBZ) by the nano-Fe 3 O 4 /H 2 O 2 system was investigated. The results showed that the presence of NTA can provide better performance of the nano-Fe 3 O 4 /H 2 O 2 system for CBZ degradation at reduced usage of H 2 O 2 and nano-Fe 3 O 4 . The optimal concentration of NTA was determined to be 0.5–1.0 mM. The first-order rate constant, k app , for CBZ degradation by 1.0 g L − 1 of nano-Fe 3 O 4 and 100 mM of H 2 O 2 in the presence of 0.5 mM of NTA at an initial neutral pH was determined to be 4.32 × 10 − 2 min − 1 , which was 80 times larger than that in the absence of NTA. In addition, the k app value increased with the increase in nano-Fe 3 O 4 concentration from 0.1 to 3.0 g L − 1 , and the H 2 O 2 concentration increased from 5 to 600 mM. The initial pH of CBZ solutions over a range of pH 5.0–9.0 did not affect the k app value of CBZ ( p = 0.08). A decrease in the initial concentration of CBZ from 6.35 × 10 − 2 to 1.06 × 10 − 2 mM resulted in an increase of the k app value from 4.32 × 10 − 2 to 1.51 × 10 − 1 min − 1 . Moreover, the results indicated that the degradation intermediates were generated by the attack of OH. The degradation mechanism of CBZ included both an enhanced heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction on the Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticle surface and an enhanced homogeneous Fenton-like reaction in the aqueous phase by Fe-NTA complexes.
Traveltimes and amplitudes of seismic waves: a re-assessment

In this paper we give a simplified derivation of the sensitivity of travel time measurements by cross-correlation and of amplitudes of body waves to the seismic velocity structure in the Earth, taking into account the effect of finite frequencies. We introduce a new technique to compute kernels in 3D media, using graph theory and ray bending. We show that the finite-frequency sensitivity kernels (or ‘banana-doughnut’ kernels) are sizeable even for local studies done at very high frequencies, e.g. in refraction surveys. We conclude that it is advisable to apply finite-frequency theory to most, if not all, modern seismic surveys.
Dissociation of disulfide‐intact somatostatin ions: the roles of ion type and dissociation method

The dissociation chemistry of somatostatin-14 was examined using various tandem mass spectrometry techniques including low-energy beam-type and ion trap collision-induced dissociation (CID) of protonated and deprotonated forms of the peptide, CID of peptide-gold complexes, and electron transfer dissociation (ETD) of cations. Most of the sequence of somatostatin-14 is present within a loop defined by the disulfide linkage between Cys-3 and Cys-14. The generation of readily interpretable sequence-related ions from within the loop requires the cleavage of at least one of the bonds of the disulfide linkage and the cleavage of one polypeptide backbone bond. CID of the protonated forms of somatostatin did not appear to give rise to an appreciable degree of dissociation of the disulfide linkage. Sequential fragmentation via multiple alternative pathways tended to generate very complex spectra. CID of the anions proceeded through CH(2)-S cleavages extensively but relatively few structurally diagnostic ions were generated. The incorporation of Au(I) into the molecule via ion/ion reactions followed by CID gave rise to many structurally relevant dissociation products, particularly for the [M+Au+H](2+) species. The products were generated by a combination of S-S bond cleavage and amide bond cleavage. ETD of the [M+3H](3+) ion generated rich sequence information, as did CID of the electron transfer products that did not fragment directly upon electron transfer. The electron transfer results suggest that both the S-S bond and an N-C(alpha) bond can be cleaved following a single electron transfer reaction.
Impedance studies of the thin film LiMn2O4/electrolyte interface

Room-temperature impedance measurements of a thin-film LiMn2O4/LiPF6-EC-DMC interface have been used to identify the spontaneous formation Li2Mn2O4 at the interface at room temperature at voltages of 3.7 and higher. The impedance of the LiMn2O4 films exhibited two time constants: at about 14 kHz and 60 to 200 Hz. The high frequency loop is dependent on film morphology and was attributed to the substrate/oxide interface. The low frequency behavior was dependent on both state-of-charge (SOC) and time at a given SOC. At full charge the impedance in this electrolyte was stable at room temperature over several days. At high lithium contents, film OCV and impedance tended to grow logarithmically with time, with lower rates for lower Mn3+ content in the film. The increased impedance was removed by oxidation of the film to 4.5V vs. Li/Li+. The observations are consistent with a reversible disproportionation of part of the LiMn2O4 into Li2Mn2O4 and a lithium-deficient spinel. With extended constant current cycling part of the Li2Mn2O4 degrades to the Mn2O3 and the process is no longer reversible.
Game theory as a tool to strategize as well as predict nodes' behavior in peer-to-peer networks

In this paper we use game theory to study nodes' behavior in peer-to-peer networks when nodes receive service based on their reputation. Reputation is used as a mechanism to incentivize nodes to share resources and provide services to others. The probability of a node obtaining service is directly proportional to its current reputation, and the only way to enhance reputation is by serving others. Thus, the problem of free-riding is minimized. Game theory can be used by individual selfish nodes to determine their optimal strategy for participation level in such a system. Moreover, game theory gives us interesting insight into the overall nature of nodes' interactions and system efficiency, and how system efficiency can be improved.
Pooling Life-Test Data by Means of the Empirical Bayes Method

The Empirical Bayes approach in reliability is reviewed non-technically by discussing the questions: What is Empirical Bayes; how does it differ from Bayes; when can I use it; how do I use it; and what do I gain by using it? The Empirical Bayes method is applied to the problem of estimating the outage rates for two 115 kV transmission circuits of a regional power company.
Residents’ Perceptions of Food and Nutrition Services at Assisted Living Facilities

Food and nutrition services in assisted living facilities (ALFs) are important factors in overall quality of life and health status of the elderly. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between ALF food and nutrition services theme and resident perceptions of food and service quality and foodservice satisfaction at Texas ALFs. Participants completed a questionnaire that asked them to self-report demographics, functional status, and perceptions of food quality, service quality, and foodservice satisfaction. Eighty-five individuals ranging in age from 58 to 99 years residing at six ALFs in north Texas participated. Facilities included two from each of the following food and nutrition service themes (restaurant/resort, medical/health, and home-style). Residents of the three ALF themes gave similar ratings for food quality, overall foodservice, and foodservice satisfaction. However, residents at home-style theme facilities rated service quality more highly than those at restaurant/resort facilities. Menu choices and mealtime flexibility associated with the home-style food and nutrition services theme may make these facilities a preferred choice for elderly individuals who are no longer able to remain in their own homes.
The impact of generational cohorts on status consumption: an exploratory look at generational cohort and demographics on status consumption

Purpose – This paper aims to compare the levels of status consumption for Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y (Millennials).Design/methodology/approach – With an email sample of 220 adult consumers living in the southeast USA, this study measures status consumption, generational cohort, and demographics.Findings – The study finds significant differences in the level of status consumption by generational cohort. The average level of status consumption was highest for Generation Y, followed by Generation X and then Baby Boomers. In looking at the significance of these differences between individual cohorts, there was a significant difference between Generation Y and Baby Boomers. This suggests that while there are differences in the level of status consumption by generation, this difference is only significant between Generation Y and Baby Boomers. This paper then examines if this relationship between generational cohort and status consumption is impacted by demographic variables, such as gender, i...
Latitudinally and seasonally dependent zenith-angle corrections for geostationary satellite IR brightness temperatures

Abstract The equivalent brightness temperature Tb recorded by geosynchronous infrared (geo-IR) “window” channel (10.7–11.5 μm) satellite sensors is shown to depend on the zenith angle (local angle from the zenith to the satellite for a pixel’s ground location) in addition to the mix of clouds and surface that would be observed from a direct overhead viewpoint (nadir view). This zenith-angle dependence is characterized, and two corrections are developed from a collection of half-hourly geo-IR pixel data that have been parallax corrected and averaged to a 0.5° × 0.5° latitude/longitude grid for each geosynchronous satellite separately. First, composites of collocated Tb over tropical regions from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-8/GOES-10 and the Meteosat-5/Meteosat-7 satellite pairs are used to produce robust estimates of isotropic zenith-angle corrections as a function of zenith angle and grid-box-averaged Tb. The corrections range from zero for a zenith angle of ∼26.5° to incr...
Using Sequential Two-Part Focus Groups As A Supplemental Instrument For Student Course Evaluations

This paper describes the use of a sequential two-part focus group program designed to be a supplemental instrument for eliciting student suggestions to improve the teaching/learning process. The sequential two-part focus group program provides students with two opportunities to provide feedback and have that feedback both noted and mirrored back to them. Many of the student comments and suggestions elicited during the focus group sessions were positive and constructive. Moreover, use of the sequential two-part focus group program resulted in statistically significant improvement in student evaluations in all but one of the seven major sections of the Educational Testing Service’s SIR II, the primary instrument utilized to obtain the student course evaluations. The “Overall Evaluation” of the course, wherein students are asked to, “Rate the quality of instruction in this course as it contributed to your learning,” improved most significantly.
Search for a transmissible agent in Alzheimer's disease: studies of human buffy coat.

The etiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is totally unknown, despite the vigorous efforts in several laboratories during recent years to solve this mystery. The lack of success in delineating one or more underlying etiologies for AD may be due to the fact that there are no animal models directly derived from this disease. Further, almost all investigative studies of AD concentrate on end stages of disease where fully developed lesions are apparent. In searching for potential etiologies of AD, such fully developed cases might represent the wrong end of the disease spectrum and be relatively uninformative with respect to original inciting events (E.E. Manuelidis 1985). In autopsy brains of individuals with AD, there is clear evidence of a neuronal cemetery, with neuronal devastation and gliosis in selected brain regions. Tangles and more widespread plaques and amyloid deposits are the remaining skeletons and bushes associated with end stage neuronal degeneration. We have postulated that these very important cardinal lesions are the end result rather than the originating causes of AD. Although these sequelae and their associated biochemical processes may play a role in the progression of AD, the initial inciting events are not known. Without underestimating the value of the data generated by our colleagues on the biochemistry and histology of these lesions, we concentrate, rightly or wrongly, on the concept that a transmissible agent may underlie AD during very early stages of disease.
Parallel processing of general and specific threat during early stages of perception

Differential processing of threat can consummate as early as 100 ms post-stimulus. Moreover, early perception not only differentiates threat from non-threat stimuli but also distinguishes among discrete threat subtypes (e.g. fear, disgust and anger). Combining spatial-frequency-filtered images of fear, disgust and neutral scenes with high-density event-related potentials and intracranial source estimation, we investigated the neural underpinnings of general and specific threat processing in early stages of perception. Conveyed in low spatial frequencies, fear and disgust images evoked convergent visual responses with similarly enhanced N1 potentials and dorsal visual (middle temporal gyrus) cortical activity (relative to neutral cues; peaking at 156 ms). Nevertheless, conveyed in high spatial frequencies, fear and disgust elicited divergent visual responses, with fear enhancing and disgust suppressing P1 potentials and ventral visual (occipital fusiform) cortical activity (peaking at 121 ms). Therefore, general and specific threat processing operates in parallel in early perception, with the ventral visual pathway engaged in specific processing of discrete threats and the dorsal visual pathway in general threat processing. Furthermore, selectively tuned to distinctive spatial-frequency channels and visual pathways, these parallel processes underpin dimensional and categorical threat characterization, promoting efficient threat response. These findings thus lend support to hybrid models of emotion.
Imperfect Competition and the Gains from Trade in a Macro Duopoly Model

A general equilibrium duopoly trade model is developed. In the micro model constant elasticity market demand curves produce backward bending reaction functions. This is combined with a macro analysis in which the real wage is determined competitively, while nominal variables depend on the money supply. Trade can lead to large increases in aggregate output, employment and real wages. The gains from trade are the result of increases in market size, and greater competition in each market. The benefits of trade are largest when marginal cost curves slope downward and the labor supply curve is elastic.
AN ANALYSIS OF PARTICLE SALTATION DYNAMICS

A two-dimensional particle saltation model for unidirectional flow is applied to simulate the motion of single particles. The equations of motion include added mass, gravity, drag, shear lift, Basset history, and Magnus or spin lift forces. A sensitivity analysis is performed on the forces, initial lift-off speeds and angles, and for different size particles. The Magnus lift force is found to have a significant effect on a particle's trajectory for coarse sand sized and larger particles. The shear lift and Basset history forces cause particles to saltate farther. Most of the forces vary with particle size. The model predictions compare favorably to observations if appropriate initial conditions are assumed.
Epidemiology of pulmonary tuberculosis in people aged ≥60 years in Shaoxing,Zhejiang

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis( TB) in people aged ≥60 years in Shaoxing,Zhejiang province and provide evidence for TB prevention and control. Methods The statistical analysis on pulmonary TB in old people in Shaoxing was conducted by using the incidence data of TB in Shaoxing during 2008-2012 collected from "National disease reporting information system "and "TB management information system "Results From 2008 to 2012,a total of 4340 TB cases was reported in old people,the reported incidence was 148. 36 / lakh, in which 1967 was smear positive cases. The incidence of smear-positive TB was67. 24 / lakh. The incidence in males was significantly higher than that in females. The incidence was highest in age group70-79 years(207. 47 / lakh). The cases in farmers accounted for the largest proportion(79. 91%). Medical care seeking due to disease(43. 87%) and referral(48. 55%) were the main way to find TB cases. The seasonality of the disease was obvious with the incidence peaked during March-August. Conclusion The incidence of TB in old people was stable in Shaoxing,and a decline trend was observed. It is necessary to strengthen the TB prevention and control in old people.
Why the United States Has Not Ratified CEDAW

Few people in the United States have ever heard of CEDAW, yet ratification has been on the political agenda for nearly three decades. The key phenomenon this chapter seeks to explain is stasis – why the United States has not ratified CEDAW. During the period CEDAW has been pending, the geopolitical landscape has shifted in ways that might have been propitious for the Convention. The Soviet Union collapsed, Cold War ended, and United States emerged as a unilateral power in the global arena. Thousands of NGOs devoted to women’s issues emerged around the world and the transnational women’s movement became more visible and more powerful. A large coalition of NGOs supports U.S. ratification. CEDAW itself has grown more powerful. Yet none of those changes has provided sufficient impetus for ratification, primarily because these factors also heightened the motivations for anti-feminist and pro-life advocates within the United States to oppose CEDAW. As conservative organizations in the United States realized that CEDAW had become a powerful tool to effect change on the international and domestic levels, they sharpened their efforts to oppose it. Focused and wellorganized grassroots opposition has prevented legislation recommending ratification of CEDAW from making it to a vote on the Senate floor. Ultimately, the answer to the question of why the United States has not ratified CEDAW is that the stakes of doing so are high for both sides. CEDAW matters. Not only is there significant opposition to CEDAW, but the institutional rules governing treaty ratification in the United States magnify opposition where it exists. As I discussed in Chapter 1, it is more difficult to ratify treaties in the United States than in other countries. The requirements for ratification – presidential support and a two-thirds vote of the Senate – are higher than almost any other country in the world. These institutional rules magnify the power of domestic opposition to derail treaty ratification. At several points of time in the last thirty years, CEDAW opponents have proven sufficiently powerful to overcome opportunities that would otherwise bode well for ratification. Changes in the geopolitical climate have created conditions that we might expect would be propitious for CEDAW ratification – but domestic opposition has steadfastly prevented it from moving forward.
Aggregation and Kin Recognition in African Clawed Frogs (Xenopus laevis)

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses aggregation and kin recognition in African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) through a lab experiment. In lab, researchers design experiments to explore kin discrimination and aggregation in African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis). These anurans are native to sub-Saharan Africa where they generally inhabit stagnant, often murky water Xenopus females lay their eggs individually in separate jelly capsules, rather than enclosing all the eggs in a single mass of jelly as other frogs do. Xenopus tadpoles have been reported to aggregate in the wild. In the laboratory, tadpoles form social aggregations in mid-water as they filter feed in a characteristic posture with their heads angled downward, often all facing the same direction. By schooling, these planktivores (plankton eaters) may generate a common feeding current, which might enable individuals to filter a larger volume of water than they could when feeding alone. Direct tests of this hypothesis are inconclusive but in one study, weight at metamorphosis correlated positively with the rearing density of tadpoles, which suggests that higher densities may confer feeding advantages.