cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Determination of Standard Electrode Potential E° for Chronic Platinum and Gold Electrodes in Rat Muscle: Implications for Biosensors and the “Anode” of Bipolar Pacing

Pacemaker electrode surface modification by organosilane and organic self-assembled monolayer strategies creates a possible new variable in pacemaker electrode behavior. Because all of these chemical surface coatings are unstable at extremes of potential, the potential to which the electrode relaxes (between pacing pulses) becomes extremely important. The authors measured this potential for platinum (Pt) and gold (Au) relevant for their use as anode (or cathode) in a bipolar pacing system and from this potential the standard electrode potential, E(o) was determined. Thirty-Four determinations were made by a null current three-electrode potentiostatic technique of 2.45 mm2 platinum or gold electrodes implanted chronically in blood perfused muscle in a spontaneously breathing rat. Linear voltage sweeps were performed while monitoring current with voltage at null current determined repeatedly at varying scan rates and limits. Electrode potential varied between -388 +/- 19 mV (vs Ag/Ag+) for platinum and -388 +/- 55 mV for gold electrodes. Hysteresis was observed in all sweeps (P < 0.008, Fisher's exact) and measured 61 +/- 17 mV (anodic) and 25 +/- 3 mV (cathodic) with steep dependence on polarity (P < 0.001, t-test). The findings were independent of the materials' electronic work function. E(o) versus normal hydrogen electrode (NHE) were thus -166 mV (platinum) and -166 mV (gold). Because the most common bipolar system, uses platinum as anode, these results are directly applicable to current pacing technology. Provided low thresholds are achievable with novel surface modified electrodes, the small range of variation of E(o), and the particular mean value observed, are both compatible with function, provided care is used during electrode testing to avoid surface disruption. These results are significant also for biosensors that use similar surface modification methodologies.
Stationary Symmetric α-Stable Discrete Parameter Random Fields

We establish a connection between the structure of a stationary symmetric α-stable random field (0<α<2) and ergodic theory of non-singular group actions, elaborating on a previous work by Rosinski (Ann. Probab. 28:1797–1813, 2000). With the help of this connection, we study the extreme values of the field over increasing boxes. Depending on the ergodic theoretical and group theoretical structures of the underlying action, we observe different kinds of asymptotic behavior of this sequence of extreme values.
Another View of IRS Results: A Comment on Rainey and Thompson

W riting in the July/August 2006 issue of PAR, professors Hal G. Rainey and James Thompson applaud Charles Rossotti's work as commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from 1997 to 2002, maintaining that his term of service "substantially improved services to taxpayers and the administration of a beleaguered revenuecollection system" (Rainey and Thompson 2006). The authors commend Rossotti's successful reform of the IRS, an initiative authorized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998. Rossotti himself made many proposals to the act. The authorization of the reform in the legislation made its implementation easier by making objections to the reform largely pointless. We do not dispute this part of the record, but we believe that Rainey and Thompson do not look closely at the full set of outcomes recorded by the IRS.
Christians and the uniqueness of christ

In a short but pithy article entitled ‘Christ's uniqueness’, which appeared recently in an issue of the publication ‘Reform’, Professor John Hick outlines very compactly one of his latest presentations against the traditional Christian acceptance of Jesus' theological pre-eminence. My paper is not intended to present a full-blown argument either in defence or criticism of ‘the uniqueness of Christ’ (Except where another sense is clear, I use ‘Jesus’ and ‘Christ’ throughout as they are commonly used, viz. as proper names referring to one and the same person). More directly, its aim is to point out what appear to be serious objections to a view that is gaining increasing support from thinkers who study the inter-relations between the world religions at various levels; and which for the committed Christian raises fundamental issues any seraiousminded believer, scholar or layman, must eventually face. Professor Hick repeats and summarises here a position he discusses at length elsewhere, and perhaps it is fitting that the stance we shall now examine will be made in the context of a presentation of one of its leading exponents.
Probing DNA sequences in solution with a monomer-excimer fluorescence color change

The use of a simple fluorescent nucleoside analogue in detection of point mutations by hybridization in solution is described. Pyrene is placed at 3' and 5' ends of a pair of oligodeoxynucleotide probes via a phosphoramidite derivative of deoxyribose with this fluorophore attached at the 1' position, replacing a DNA base. Adjacent binding of dual probes containing this fluorophore to a complementary target sequence results in a pronounced spectral change from blue pyrene monomer emission (lambdamax= 381 398 nm) to green-white excimer emission (lambdamax= 490 nm). Optimization of the relative binding positions of the two probes shows that the greatest spectral change occurs when they bind with partial end overlap. In optimum orientation, the monomer emission band for the probes decreases intensity by as much as a factor of seven and the excimer band increases up to 40-fold on binding a complementary target. Application to the detection of a single-base point mutation in solution is described.
Antineoplastic agents. 488. Isolation and structure of yukonin from a yukon territory fungus.

Cancer cell line bioassay-guided separation of an extract from a Yukon Territory fungus resulted in the isolation of a new C16-terpene dilactone designated yukonin (1) accompanied by two previously known, structurally related constituents (2 and 3). The structure of each was determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Dilactone 2 was found to correspond to LL-Z1271α isolated from fungi in the genera Oidiodendron, Acrostalagmus, and Holwaya, while dilactone 3 had earlier been prepared by reduction of an α-lactol derivative. Each of the dilactones was found to inhibit growth of human cancer cell lines (pancreas, breast, CNS, lung, colon, and prostate) and some pathogenic fungi.
Epidemiology of acute asthma: IgE antibodies to common inhalant allergens as a risk factor for emergency room visits

Abstract In recent years the morbidity and mortality of asthma has increased, although the etiology is still poorly understood. Most patients with asthma suffer acute attacks that are commonly treated in hospital emergency rooms (ER). In the present study, asthma in adults was studied with acute attacks as a marker for the disease; 102 patients first observed at a university hospital ER with acute airway obstruction were compared to 118 patients observed at the same ER with any diagnosis other than shortness of breath to evaluate allergy as a risk factor for asthma in adults. Sera were assayed for IgE antibody (Ab) to dust mites, cockroach, cat dander, and grass and ragweed pollen. The results demonstrate that in adults younger than 50 years of age, the prevalence of IgE Abs was fourfold greater among subjects with asthma than among control subjects (4667 versus 1281; odds ratio, 10.1; 95% confidence interval, 4.9 to 20.7). The population attributable risk for the presence of IgE Ab to one of the five allergens was >50%. Among individuals older than 50 years of age, the prevalence of serum IgE Abs was not significantly increased among patients with acute airway obstruction. In the whole group, the prevalence of IgE Abs to different allergens demonstrated significant seasonal and socioeconomic differences, suggesting that the associated risk is related to exposure to those allergens. The results establish that, with acute attacks of asthma as a marker for adult asthma, the presence of serum IgE Abs to common inhalant allergens is a major risk factor. The results imply that analysis of risk factors, both immediate hypersensitivity and exposure to allergens, should be a routine part of the management of adult asthma.
Restricted Activity among Community-Living Older Persons: Incidence, Precipitants, and Health Care Utilization

Restricted activity is common in community-living older persons, regardless of risk for disability, and it is usually attributable to several concurrent health-related problems. Although restricted...
Preprocessing Strategies to Improve MCR Analyses of Hyperspectral Images.

Abstract Multivariate curve resolution (MCR) is a useful and important analysis tool for extracting quantitative information from hyperspectral image data. However, in the case of hyperspectral fluorescence microscope images acquired with CCD-type technologies, cosmic spikes and the presence of detector artifacts in the spectral data can make the extraction of the pure-component spectra and their relative concentrations challenging when applying MCR to the images. In this paper, we present new generalized and automated approaches for preprocessing spectral image data to improve the robustness of the MCR analysis of spectral images. These novel preprocessing steps remove cosmic spikes, correct for the presence of detector offsets and structured noise as well as select spectral and spatial regions to reduce the detrimental effects of detector noise. These preprocessing and MCR analysis techniques incorporate the use of an optical filter to prevent light from impinging on a small number of spectral pixels in the CCD detector. This dark spectral region can be incorporated into any spectral imaging system to enhance modeling of detector offset and structured noise components as well as the automated selection of spatial regions to restrict the analysis to only those regions containing viable spectral information. The success of these automated preprocessing methods combined with new MCR modeling approaches are demonstrated with realistically simulated data derived from spectral images of macrophage cells with green fluorescence protein (GFP). Further, we demonstrate using spectral images from the green alga, Chlorella , approaches for the analyses when fluorescent species with widely different relative spectral intensities are present in the image. We believe that the preprocessing and MCR approaches introduced in this paper can be generalized to several other hyperspectral image technologies and can improve the success of automated MCR analyses with little or no a priori information required about the spectral components present in the samples.
Convenient synthesis and cyclization of dimeric abasic PNA

Abstract The synthesis of an abasic PNA-based dimer block has been achieved. An alkyl chain stapling the two base sites conformationally restricts the PNA backbone, and serves as an example of preorganization by direct base site linkage. Other possible examples of this strategy, such as enforced stacking of adjacent intrastrand bases to give base pair step analogs, are put forward.
Radioactive krypton background evaluation using atom counting

Abstract The beta-decay of 85 Kr is a significant radioactive background for experiments that use liquified noble gases to search for dark matter and measure the low-energy solar neutrino flux. While there are several proposed methods for reducing Kr levels in these experiments, an independent technique is needed for measuring very low Kr levels. By selectively exciting Kr atoms to a metastable state, capturing them in a magneto-optical trap (MOT), and detecting fluorescence from the trapped atoms, individual Kr atoms can be counted with a high signal-to-noise ratio. This approach could be used to ascertain Kr impurity levels in other noble gases, with an estimated sensitivity of 3 × 10 - 14 .
A highly energetic, multiwavelength, diode-pumped nanosecond laser system with flexible pulse-shaping capability

A diode-pumped Nd:YLF laser system that produces nanosecond pulses at fundamental (1053-nm), second (527-nm), and third (351-nm) harmonic wavelengths with the energies of hundreds of millijoules depending on pulse width/shape and wavelength has been demonstrated. These pulses can be arbitrarily shaped in the 1- to 10-ns temporal range. Excellent energy and Gaussian beam far-field pointing stability have been demonstrated. Extensive temporal, energy, and beam profile output diagnostics are provided.
Particle size-density relation and cenosphere content of coal fly ash

The results are reported of detailed physical characterization of six ashes from coals representative of those burned in US power plants. Centrifugal separation was used to classify the ashes into six density categories in the range 3.2 g cm−3. The size distributions of all density classes were determined in the range 1–200 μm. For most of the density classes, log-normal functions, truncated outside the measurement limits, described the size distributions quite well. For all six ashes, the median diameter initially decreased and then increased with increasing particle density. The influence of particle structure on this large variation (up to sixfold) in size is discussed. Centrifugal separation using a liquid of density 2.2 g cm−3 was used to estimate the mass fraction of cenospheres (i.e. particles with trapped interior ‘bubbles’) in the ashes. This fraction varied from 95 wt%. The cenosphere content was apparently uncorrelated with coal rank but was positively correlated with the total mineral content of the coal. The median diameters of the cenospheric fractions were found to be two to three times those of the non-cenospheric (solid) fractions. The density-size data were used to determine the Fe2O3 distribution in the ashes.
Electrochemical behavior of metals as stimulus electrodes.

A theory for the behavior of anodes as stimulus electrodes, particularly as pacemaker electrodes, is presented. Expressions are obtained for the minimum duration and energy of the stimulus. These expressions are applied to that for the dissolution of the anode and transport of the resulting ions in the tissue in order to obtain an estimate of the extent of penetration. Comparison with experimental data indicates good agreement.
What Scientific Theories Could Not Be

According to the semantic view of scientific theories, theories are classes of models. I show that this view—if taken literally—leads to absurdities. In particular, this view equates theories that are distinct, and it distinguishes theories that are equivalent. Furthermore, the semantic view lacks the resources to explicate interesting theoretical relations, such as embeddability of one theory into another. The untenability of the semantic view—as currently formulated—threatens to undermine scientific structuralism.
The Human Cytomegalovirus Gene UL79 Is Required for the Accumulation of Late Viral Transcripts

In this study, we adopted a conditional protein genetic approach to characterize the role of the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) gene UL79 during virus infection. We constructed ADddUL79, a recombinant HCMV in which the annotated UL79 open reading frame (ORF) was tagged with the destabilization domain of a highly unstable variant of the human FKBP12 protein (ddFKBP). The ddFKBP domain targets the tagged protein for rapid proteasomal degradation, but the synthetic ligand Shield-1 can stabilize ddFKBP, allowing accumulation of the tagged protein. ADddUL79 failed to replicate without Shield-1, but it grew at wild-type levels with Shield-1 or in human foreskin fibroblasts overexpressing hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged UL79 (HF-UL79HA cells), indicating an essential role of UL79 and the effectiveness of this approach. Without Shield-1, representative immediate-early and early viral proteins as well as viral DNA accumulated normally, but late transcripts and proteins were markedly reduced. UL79 was transcribed with early-late kinetics, which was also regulated via a positive-feedback loop. Using HF-UL79HA cells, we found that the UL79 protein localized to viral replication compartments during HCMV infection. Finally, we created a second UL79 mutant virus (ADinUL79stop) in which the UL79 ORF was disrupted by a stop codon mutation and found that ADinUL79stop phenocopied ADddUL79 under the destabilizing condition. Taking these results together, we conclude that UL79 acts after viral DNA replication to promote the accumulation of late viral transcripts. Importantly, the comparative analysis of ADddUL79 and ADinUL79stop viruses provide additional proof for the power of the protein stability-based conditional approach to dissect the role of viral factors in HCMV biology.
Patient Education in Asthma Management

Three times each publication year, Ross Laboratories assists one of our authors in the preparation of adjunctive educational material, for distribution to pediatricians. These have ranged from the audiotape of normal heart murmurs, prepared by Dr Liebman, to patient and parent education posters, suitable for the office, relating to problems of the developing foot and the use of appropriate shoes. Several educational objectives this year, as in all previous years, deal with the appropriate diagnosis and management of children with asthma—the most common chronic physical disease of childhood. Dr John Anderson has prepared a patient and parent education booklet, which will be distributed to pediatricians by Ross Laboratories following the publication of this issue of PEDIATRICS IN REVIEW.
Training TAs to help students learn engineering discourse

Undergraduate engineering students acquire the discourse of engineering not only informal classes but also through their interactions with teaching assistants (TAs) in engineering lab courses. The TAs, by their comments on student papers and their instruction in the lab, influence students' progress in learning to write, speak and think like engineers. Few teaching assistants, however, have received explicit instruction in effective ways to respond to student writing or to help students improve their communication skills. Literature searches reveal that little information exists on programs to train engineering TAs to coach the writing process. Here, the author describes a training program at the University of South Carolina, USA, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, which introduces teaching assistants to the principles of writing instruction and to special topics related to writing in engineering.
Predictors of mortality in elderly subjects with obstructive airway disease: the PILE score

Purpose To identify significant covariates in addition to spirometry that predict mortality in elderly subjects with obstructive airway disease (OAD). Methods Two hundred sixty-eight (268) participants with OAD from the Health, Aging and Body Composition study, a community-based observational cohort of well-functioning elderly aged 70-79 years, were followed on average for 6.1 years. Covariates related to pulmonary and physical function, comorbidity, demographics, and three inflammatory markers (interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, C-reactive protein) were evaluated for their association with all-cause mortality (31%) by means of Kaplan Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results Percent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (PPFEV1; hazard ratio [HR] = 2.03, p p = 0.0002), interleukin-6 (HR = 1.37, p = 0.0002) and 400 m corridor walk time (HR = 1.24, p = 0.008) significantly predicted mortality. A multidimensional index, the PILE score, was constructed from PPFEV 1 , interleukin-6, and knee extensor strength. Each one-point increase in PILE score (range: 1-10) was associated with a 30% increase in mortality (95% confidence interval: 0.16-0.47) after adjusting for age, race, gender, smoking, and comorbidity, resulting in a 10.4-fold higher risk of death between the highest and lowest risk category. Conclusions Subjects with OAD have a wide gradient of risk for mortality that can potentially be incorporated in clinical decision making.
Functional outcome and complications after volar plating for dorsally displaced, unstable fractures of the distal radius.

Purpose Despite the recent popularity of volar plating for dorsally displaced distal radius fractures there is a paucity of data documenting the results of this treatment method. The purpose of this study was to determine the functional outcome of patients treated with volar fixed-angle plating for dorsally displaced, unstable distal radius fractures. Methods We reviewed the records of all patients treated at our institution with internal fixation using volar plates for dorsally displaced, comminuted distal radius fractures. Patients with follow-up periods shorter than 12 months were excluded from the study. Outcomes were evaluated at the latest follow-up examination with the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand and the Gartland and Werley scoring systems. Results We studied 41 patients with a mean age of 53 years. The average follow-up period was 17 months. All fractures were stabilized with volar locking plates. Radiographs in the immediate postoperative period showed a mean radial height of 11 mm, mean radial inclination of 21°, and mean volar tilt of 4°. At fracture healing the mean radial height was 11 mm, mean radial inclination was 21°, and mean volar tilt was 5°. The average score on the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire was 14 and all patients achieved excellent and good results on the Gartland and Werley scoring system, indicating minimal impairment in activities of daily living. Nine patients experienced postoperative complications. There were 4 instances of loss of reduction with fracture collapse, 3 patients required hardware removal for tendon irritation, 1 patient developed a wound dehiscence, and 1 patient had metacarpophalangeal joint stiffness. Conclusions Patients with unstable, dorsally displaced fractures of the distal radius treated with volar fixed-angle devices have good or excellent functional outcomes despite a high complication rate. When compared with previous reports on dorsal plating volar plates appear to have a higher incidence of fracture collapse but a lower rate of hardware-related complications. Complex fracture patterns thus mandate a careful and individualized approach. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic, Level III.
Rescuing degrading aquifers in the Central Coastal Plain of North Carolina (USA): Just process, effective groundwater management policy, and sustainable aquifers

Strategic management of degrading coastal aquifers in eastern North Carolina (USA) became imperative after a severe imbalance occurred between withdrawal and recharge rates. To ameliorate this growing problem, an aggressive water policy was developed through public input by creating the Central Coastal Plain Capacity Use Area (CCPCUA) to maintain beneficial use of groundwater resources. Insights from social psychology, and socio-legal studies are used to evaluate how procedural justice and public participation played major roles to resolving groundwater resource management problems. A mixed methods approach uses archival data and interviews with various rule-making participants to assess the process of stakeholder involvement that led to creation of the policy. In addition, data analysis techniques are utilized to evaluate the effects of the policy on aquifer health (through water levels) over a ∼10 year period. Results suggest that not only did a stakeholder group participate in a process that was deemed fair, understandable, and relatively easy to administer for users and regulators, but public participation resulted in an effective plan that ensures the long-term sustainable use of groundwater. Declining groundwater withdrawals and recovering water levels suggest that the rule is achieving its intended goal of protecting the aquifers from depletion and degradation. This paper touches on global themes that are essential to water demand and consumption, water management techniques, and water resources protection.
Weak state—strong country? The Thai automobile case

(1988). Weak state—strong country? The Thai automobile case. Third World Quarterly: Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 1542-1564.
On minimum number of wireless sensors required for reliable binary source estimation

The CEO problem of estimating a single binary data source using multiple observations is considered. A closed form equation for maximum achievable information capacity of the system is derived for different system parameters including number of sensors, observation accuracy and channel quality. A new criterion for sensor clustering is provided based on the minimum number of sensors required to achieve arbitrarily low estimation error using different coding rates. A distributed joint source-channel coding (D-JSCC) scheme is proposed as an implementation example. The proposed coding scheme is based on the parallel concatenated convolutional codes (PCCC) that achieves high BER performance utilizing the number of sensors determined by the derived criterion1.
Tiotropium in Combination with Placebo, Salmeterol, or Fluticasone–Salmeterol for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Possible Confounding Effect of Treatment Withdrawal?

In the updated systematic review on the effects ofscreening mammography in women age 40 to 49 years, Armstrongand colleagues (1) used relative effect measures to express the mostimportant beneﬁts of screening mammography, while expressing themost important harms of screening mammography in terms of ab-solute effect measures. Notably, they estimated that screening mam-mography is associated with relative risk reduction in breast cancermortality of 7% to 23%, whereas 30 to 200 women age 40 to 49years will die after annual screening mammography as a result ofradiation-induced breast cancer (1). It would be more appropriate,however, to express beneﬁts and harms using the same effect mea-sures.It is particularly important to contrast net beneﬁts and net risksin patients with and without screening mammography. Of crucialimportance for any woman contemplating screening mammographyis to understand what outcome she can expect with and withoutscreening mammography. If individualized recommendations calledby the American College of Physicians (2) is to become reality, esti-mates of net beneﬁts and net harms of screening mammography inwomen with different baseline risks for death from breast cancerwithout undergoing screening mammography should have been in-cluded in the recent guidelines and systematic review (1, 2). If Arm-strong and colleagues had presented data in such a way, they mayhave calculated that, in the best-case scenario for women at “averagerisk” for breast cancer, screening mammography may save 46 livesper 100 000 women screened over 10 years, at the cost of 30 per100 000 lives lost. In the worst-case scenario, the net beneﬁt is ac-tually negative, and more lives will be lost than saved (Appendix,available at www.annals.org).We believe that presenting data in this way may better helpwomen understand beneﬁts and harms of screening mammography,which need to be compared with their own individual risk for breastcancer. Only in this way can a woman truly exercise her preferencesand values and preserve her autonomy consistent with ethical andrational decision making (3).
Instrumentation For Near-Millimeter Wave Propagation Studies

Instrumentation for studying the propagation of near-millimeter waves has been designed and is currently being implemented at a 1 mile long test site in Sandusky, Ohio. An optically pumped near-millimeter (NMM) wave laser, used as a source of radiation for frequencies near 300 GHz, is located at one end of this site. The laser beam spot size arriving at the other end of the propagation path is controlled by a two-lens optical system placed at the laser's output. The receiver system consists of a parabolic reflector, a focal plane scanning system, and a fast-response liquid-helium-cooled InSb detector, all of which is controlled by a 68000-based microcomputer. Measurement of the characteristics of the received beam is based upon a quasi-optical method. The temperature/humidity atmospheric structure parameters and hydrometeor characteristics along the path are obtained simultaneously with the propagation measurements. These two measurements are then correlated to provide a meteorologically well-verified propagation model for near-millimeter wavelengths.
Impact of imperfect channel state information upon the outage capacity of Rayleigh fading channels

The outage capacity of a Rayleigh flat fading channel completely unknown at the transmitter and partially known at the receiver is considered in this paper. Analytical expressions for the upper and lower bounds of the outage capacity of such channels are obtained as a function of the channel estimation error at the receiver. Those results reveal how the noise level and the channel uncertainty combine in reducing the outage capacity of the fading channel. In addition, by deriving an expression for the estimation error variance of pilot symbol assisted modulation (PSAM), we are able to establish direct relations among estimation parameters, channel characteristics (in terms of SNR and normalized Doppler spread) and its impact on the outage capacity.
Testing tree-level perturbation theory for large-scale structure with the local Lagrangian approximation

We test tree-level perturbation theory for Gaussian initial conditions with power spectra P (k) oclt' by comparing the probability distribution function (PDF) for the density predicted by the local Lagrangian approximation (LLA) with the results of numerical gravitational clustering simulations. Our results indicate that our approximation correctly reproduces the evolved density PDF for n = - 1 and - 2 power spectra up to the weakly non-linear regime, while it shows marginal agreement for power indices n = 0 and + 1 in the linear regime and poor agreement beyond this point. This suggests that tree-level perturbation theory (as realized in the LLA) can accurately predict the density distribution function for n::;; -1, but fails for n ~ O.
Task-evoked pupillary response to mental workload in human-computer interaction

Accurate assessment of a user's mental workload will be critical for developing systems that manage user attention (interruptions) in the user interface. Empirical evidence suggests that an interruption is much less disruptive when it occurs during a period of lower mental workload. To provide a measure of mental workload for interactive tasks, we investigated the use of task-evoked pupillary response. Results show that a more difficult task demands longer processing time, induces higher subjective ratings of mental workload, and reliably evokes greater pupillary response at salient subtasks. We discuss the findings and their implications for the design of an attention manager.
Whitehead, Categories, And the Completion of the Copernican Revolution

Philosophy is, and has been, many things to many people, and that is fine. Some of those persons who do, or have done, philosophy have engaged in the business of creating categoreal schemes. Were one to ask why these persons set about to construct categoreal schemes, the answer would have to be complex?the conscious motivations, purposes, and goals of system builders are undoubtedly various. And that is fine. So when I suggest, as I am about to, an account of what it is that categoreal schemes are really trying to do, it must be understood that I do not intend my account to be dogmatically a priori. I have simply thought about some of the great systematizers and the categoreal schemes they have concocted, have admittedly done this reflecting from the perspective of Whitehead's process metaphysics, and have arrived at certain conclusions about what might be viewed as a diagnostic tool for un derstanding many of the interesting and historically important categoreal schemes. What then do I see as the fundamental thrust of philosophical system building? I suggest, looking back over the history of philosophy and looking at our present-day debates about what philosophy should be, that it is in teresting and fruitful to consider a categoreal scheme as an attempt to for mulate a set of concepts that enables us to do justice to man as a part of nature. The great gap is always between the concepts that reflect the scientific understanding of nature in a given era and that same era's existential ex perience of the structures presupposed by human being. The history of thought is full of documents that shed much light on our lived experience (one thinks of Augustine and Pascal as well as Heidegger and Sartre to say nothing of the poets, whose names are legion) as well as documents ar ticulating our growing scientific grasp of nature (Galileo and Newton come to mind as well as Planck and Einstein). The problem is to synthesize the two perspectives, and nine times out of ten the great philosophical system-builders who develop categoreal schemes are most fruitfully approached, I believe, if they are understood as searchers for the bridge which, for their times, will span, link, bring together these two domains. Democritus and Hobbes are good examples of interesting and fine thinkers who fall short because their categoreal schemes failed to do justice to man; Heidegger and Sartre are
Helicobacter pylori FlgR Is an Enhancer-Independent Activator of σ54-RNA Polymerase Holoenzyme

Helicobacter pylori FlgR activates transcription with σ54-RNA polymerase holoenzyme (σ54-holoenzyme) from at least five flagellar operons. Activators of σ54-holoenzyme generally bind enhancer sequences located >70 bp upstream of the promoter and contact σ54-holoenzyme bound at the promoter through DNA looping to activate transcription. H. pylori FlgR lacks the carboxy-terminal DNA-binding domain present in most σ54-dependent activators. As little as 42 bp of DNA upstream of the flaB promoter and 26 bp of DNA sequence downstream of the transcriptional start site were sufficient for efficient FlgR-mediated expression from a flaB′-′xylE reporter gene in H. pylori, indicating that FlgR does not use an enhancer to activate transcription. Other examples of σ54-dependent activators that lack a DNA-binding domain include Chlamydia trachomatis CtcC and activators from the other Chlamydia spp. whose genomes have been sequenced. FlgR from Helicobacter hepaticus and Campylobacter jejuni, which are closely related to H. pylori, appear to have carboxy-terminal DNA-binding domains, suggesting that the loss of the DNA-binding domain from H. pylori FlgR occurred after the divergence of these bacterial species. Removal of the amino-terminal regulatory domain of FlgR resulted in a constitutively active form of the protein that activated transcription from σ54-dependent genes in Escherichia coli. The truncated FlgR protein also activated transcription with E. coli σ54-holoenzyme in an in vitro transcription assay.
Self-Propelled Particles with Soft-Core Interactions: Patterns, Stability, and Collapse

Understanding collective properties of driven particle systems is significant for naturally occurring aggregates and because the knowledge gained can be used as building blocks for the design of artificial ones. We model self-propelling biological or artificial individuals interacting through pairwise attractive and repulsive forces. For the first time, we are able to predict stability and morphology of organization starting from the shape of the two-body interaction. We present a coherent theory, based on fundamental statistical mechanics, for all possible phases of collective motion.
An All-Optical Token Technique Enabling a Fully-Distributed Control Plane in AWGR-Based Optical Interconnects

This paper proposes and experimentally demonstrates a fully-distributed All-Optical TOKEN (AO-TOKEN) contention resolution technique for AWGR-based optical interconnects. The AO-TOKEN technique is implemented by exploiting the saturation effect in SOAs placed at the AWGR outputs. A polarization-diversity scheme allows thoe data and control planes to share the same physical link. The AO-TOKEN is more scalable than alternative electrical/optical solutions since it eliminates the need for a centralized electrical control plane. Our experimental results show that the technique can work over a wavelength-range of ≈ 23 nm using off-the-shelf components. We also successfully demonstrate all-optical contention resolution, packet transmission, and switching with error-free operation at 10 Gb/s.
Response surface optimization for cellulase production from Bacillus sp. SB-18

Environmental factors, temperature, pH and inoculum, were optimized for the production of cellulase using Bacillus sp.SB-18. Twenty runs were carried out according to central composite design (CCD) in response surface method (RSM), which is a powerful mathematical approach widely applied in the optimization of fermentation process parameters. The optimum conditions for the maximum production of cellulase (970.52U/L) were found to be: temperature 30.16°C, pH 7 and inoculum 5%. Higher value of R2 (0.9191) indicates a good fitness of the second order response model.
Titan's missing ethane: From the atmosphere to the subsurface

Abstract The second most abundant component of the present-day Titan atmosphere, methane (CH4), is known to undergo photolytic conversion to ethane (C2H6) that accumulates as a liquid on Titan’s surface. Condensation temperature of ethane is higher than that of methane, so that ethane “rain” may be expected to occur before the liquefaction of methane. At present, the partial pressure of ethane in the atmosphere is 1E−5 bar, much lower than 1E−1 bar of CH4. Estimated 8.46E17 kg or 1.37E6 km3 of C2H6 have been produced on Titan since accretion. The Titan surface reservoirs of ethane are lakes and craters, of estimated volume of 50,000 km3 and 61,000 km3, respectively. As these are smaller than the total volume of liquid ethane produced in the course of Titan’s history, the excess may be stored in the subsurface of the crust, made primarily of water ice. The minimum porosity of the crust needed to accommodate all the liquid ethane would be only 0.9% of the uppermost 2 km of the crust. The occurrence of CH4 and liquid C2H6 on Titan has led to much speculation on the possibility of life on that satellite. The aggregation of organic molecules in a “primordial soup or bullion” depends in part on the viscosity of the medium, diffusivity of organic molecules in it, and rates of polymerization reactions. The temperatures on Titan, much lower than on primordial Earth, are less favorable to the “Second Coming of life” on Titan.
Comprehensive evaluation and design of SiC-Based high power density inverter, 70kW/liter, 50kW/kg

This paper introduces the comprehensive evaluation results of SiC-Based high power density inverter. The power density of the developed inverter is about 70kW/liter in volumetric, 50kW/kg in gravimetric. The inverter is forced air cooling 2-level voltage source inverter. In order to achieve higher power density than conventional inverters, we need to reduce losses of inverters or improve cooling performance of inverters. We developed small light-weight SiC-MOSFET power module which has good thermal conductivity. We removed SiC-SBDs from SiC-MOSFET modules. We also developed gate driver to reduce switching losses and switching time. The prototype high power density inverter is developed with the developed power modules and the proposed gate driver. The volume of the prototype inverter is about 0.5 liter and the weight is about 660g. Experimental results confirmed that the prototype inverter is able to operate up to 35kW, which means the power density of the prototype inverter is about 70kW/liter and 50kW/kg. The efficiency of the prototype inverter is more than 98%.
Selection of anesthesia monitoring equipment

SUMMARY With ever-increasing economic pressures to reduce the costs of medicine, the selection of monitoring equipment has become a critical part of an anesthesia department's equipment management program. This process requires the following components: 1. The determination of current needs through: a. An assessment of total monitoring requirements through consideration of applicable standards, patients' safety, special surgical requirements, operating environment constraints, a review of current technology, and b. A review of current equipment inventory to identify obsolescence 2. The prioritization of needs 3. Research and assessment of available technology to: a. Determine what equipment is available, b. Develop a detail specification for what is required, c. Contact other users of the equipment meeting the specification, d. Get hands-on experience with equipment, and e. Evaluate service considerations 4. Evaluate financial considerations through cost-benefit analysis 5. Anticipate future developments to avoid early obsolescence by: a. Examining features incorporated into devices now becoming commercially available, and b. Looking at current research and issues in monitoring Through such an analysis, needs and data on both cost benefits and risk benefits, are generated and documented. This information addresses the concerns of the hospital administration and helps assure that the department is funded adequately to acquire the equipment it needs for the safe, optimum delivery of patient care in a cost-effective manner.
The Prediction Problem

Substance involvement has long been used as a predictor in devices that are meant to guide probation and parole decisions. Whether substances are the cause of delinquency and crime or not, the Racine data suggest that alcohol and drugs may have a catalytic influence on some patterns of continuity in delinquency and crime. Substance use may influence behavior to the extent that employment becomes unstable or impossible with property crimes becoming the best alternative to work.
Consumer preferences for tabletop Christmas trees

An aging American population may be less willing than a younger population to install and remove a live, fresh-cut evergreen tree in their home for Christmas celebrations. An alternative to using traditional, large, fresh-cut or potted Christmas trees could be forcing these evergreen species in a small (1-L) container that could be displayed on a tabletop. We initiated this study to determine consumer preferences and marketability for six evergreen tree species produced for tabletop display and used three decoration themes and three price points. We constructed a web-based survey in which 331 participants were compensated with a $5 e-coupon for viewing 27 photographs of tabletop trees and providing preference and use information. The conjoint model accounted for 91.2% of the variance and showed that consumers valued tree species as the most important attribute (61% of the tree value), with decoration color/theme the second most important feature (27%) and, last, price (12%). Black Hills spruce (Piceaglauca var. densata (Moench) Voss) was the most preferred species overall, and red was the most preferred decoration theme. Logically, the lowest price point was the most preferred. However, price was the most important attribute for participants younger than 25 years. The importance of price decreased as participant age increased until age 60, when price became a more important component. With a cost of production of $5.45 and decoration and shipping estimated at an additional $4.00, the product could be a profit generator priced at any of the tested price points ($14.95 and above).
Measurement of the Branching Ratios of K μ 2 + , K π 2 + , K e 3 + , and K μ 3 +

In an experiment performed at the Princeton-Pennsylvania Accelerator with scintillation counters and spark chambers, we have determined the branching ratios for the ${K}^{+}$ decay modes ${{K}_{\ensuremath{\mu}2}}^{+}$, ${{K}_{\ensuremath{\pi}2}}^{+}$, ${{K}_{\ensuremath{\mu}3}}^{+}$, and ${{K}_{e3}}^{+}$. For each event, we measured the momentum and range of the charged secondary and the time interval between the arrival of the ${K}^{+}$ and its decay. The momentum was measured in thin-foil spark chambers placed in a magnetic field. The range was then measured in a thick-plate spark chamber in which all charged products from ${K}^{+}$ decay were stopped. ${K}^{+}$ decays in flight were eliminated through use of the timing information. The solid angle and detection efficiency of the apparatus were constant over the momentum interval 130 to 260 $\frac{\mathrm{MeV}}{c}$. Based on approximately 23 000 measured events, our values for the branching ratios are (63.34\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.44)% for ${{K}_{\ensuremath{\mu}2}}^{+}$, (20.59\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.40)% for ${{K}_{\ensuremath{\pi}2}}^{+}$, (4.97\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.16)% for ${{K}_{e3}}^{+}$, and (3.82\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.29)% for ${{K}_{\ensuremath{\mu}3}}^{+}$. These values have been determined by using for the $\ensuremath{\tau}$ and ${\ensuremath{\tau}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ branching ratios (5.58\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.08)% and (1.70\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.055)%, respectively. A table of weighted averages of all ${K}^{+}$ branching-ratio measurements is included.
Efficiency Correction and Flux Division

The final step to converting event yields to cross sections is to divide by the flux, overall efficiency and the number of targets. In the case of the total cross section, σ(E ν ), the flux is averaged over each E ν bin i:
Increased ω6-Containing Phospholipids and Primary ω6 Oxidation Products in the Brain Tissue of Rats on an ω3-Deficient Diet

Polyunsaturated fatty acyl (PUFA) chains in both the ω3 and ω6 series are essential for normal animal brain development, and cannot be interconverted to compensate for a dietary deficiency of one or the other. Paradoxically, a dietary ω3-PUFA deficiency leads to the accumulation of docosapentaenoate (DPA, 22:5ω6), an ω6-PUFA chain that is normally scarce in the brain. We applied a high-precision LC/MS method to characterize the distribution of DPA chains across phospholipid headgroup classes, the fatty acyl chains with which they were paired, and the extent to which they were oxidatively damaged in the cortical brain of rats on an ω3-deficient diet. Results indicate that dietary ω3-PUFA deficiency markedly increased the concentrations of phospholipids with DPA chains across all headgroup subclasses, including plasmalogen species. The concentrations of phospholipids containing docosahexaenoate chains (22:6ω3) decreased 20-25%, while the concentrations of phospholipids containing arachidonate chains (20:4ω6) did not change significantly. Although DPA chains are more saturated than DHA chains, a larger fraction of DPA chains were monohydroxylated, particularly among diacyl-phosphatidylethanolamines and plasmalogen phosphatidylethanolamines, suggesting that they were disproportionately subjected to oxidative stress. Differences in the pathological significance of ω3 and ω6 oxidation products suggest that greater oxidative damage among the ω6 PUFAs that increase in response to dietary ω3 deficiency may have pathological significance in Alzheimer's disease.