cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A new definition of the minimum-phase property for nonlinear systems, with an application to adaptive control

We introduce a definition of the minimum-phase property for general smooth nonlinear control systems. The definition does not rely on a particular choice of coordinates in which the system takes a normal form or on the computation of zero dynamics. It requires the state and the input of the system to be bounded by a suitable function of the output and derivatives of the output, modulo a decaying term depending on initial conditions. The class of minimum-phase systems thus defined includes all affine systems in global normal form whose internal dynamics are input-to-state stable and also all left-invertible linear systems whose transmission zeros have negative real parts. We explain how the new concept enables one to develop a natural extension to nonlinear systems of a basic result from linear adaptive control.
Emission spectrum of the microsomal chemiluminescence of a proximate carcinogen, 7,8-diol-benzo[a]pyrene, determined with a wedge interference filter spectrometer.

— The emission spectrum of the microsome-mediated chemiluminescence of a proximate carcinogenic metabolite of benzo[a]pyrene, 7,8-diol-benzo[a]pyrene. has been measured with a wedge interference filter spectrometer calibrated with known chemiluminescent and bioluminescent reactions. This instrument has a noise equivalent signal at 490 nm (bandpass 24 nm) of 104 photon s-1 at 20°C. Spectral and kinetic data indicate that the microsomal chemilurninescence of this metabolite is an exiplex chemiluminescence that proceeds through a dioxetane intermediate.
Commentary on: Lower Blepharoplasty With Direct Excision of Skin Excess: A Five-Year Experience

Every plastic surgeon has “backup” procedures that he or she utilizes to address a problem that cannot be handled with a conventional or straightforward operative approach. Certainly, excision of excess skin around the eyes—and around the facial area in general—falls into this category very well. I was pleased to see this article and review the substantial number of cases that have been performed by the author, given the strong results. I have been employing direct skin excision in the facial area for more than 25 years, including the lower lids, the upper lateral brow area, the perioral area, and sometimes the submental area. These procedures for direct excision have been well received by patients and, for the most part, have been trouble-free. Furthermore, …
Climatic Change and Desert Vegetation Distribution: Assessing Thirty Years of Change in Southern Nevada's Mojave Desert

A major theme in physical geography and biogeography is understanding how vegetation changes across geographic gradients during climate change. We assess shifts in distributions of fifteen Mojave Desert plant species based on a 2008 resurvey of 103 vegetation transects that were established in 1979. We model changes in species distributions using Maximum Entropy (Maxent) with environmental and climate variables to predict probability of species’ occurrences. Climate during the ten-year period preceding the 2008 vegetation survey was 1.5°C warmer and 3 cm per year of precipitation drier than the ten years preceding 1979. Species inhabiting the highest elevations and strongly correlated with precipitation displayed areal reductions from 1979 through 2008.
The rate of antimicrobial action of noxythiolin and taurolin

Abstract Noxythiolin and taurolin have been used to treat peritonitis, empyaema thoracis and bladder infections. Clinical data indicate that they are beneficial but it has been suggested that their activity is unacceptably slow. In this study the rate of killing of a range of organisms was measured. The activity of taurolin was greater than that of noxythiolin and was unaffected by organic matter. The activity of noxythiolin was affected by blood and faeces and was markedly reduced at room temperature, suggesting that pre-warming of solutions would enhance their therapeutic effect. Dilution markedly reduced their activity and in vivo repeated instillation over a period of a few hours may be desirable in some clinical situations. The sporicidal activity was too weak to be clinically useful.
Expression of H-2 antigen on oligodendrocytes is induced by soluble factors from concanavalin A activated T cells

It has been shown that soluble factors from activated T cells, or interferon alone, enhance the expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens in several cell types. In this study we have demonstrated, by means of indirect immunofluorescence and radioimmunoassay, that the expression of mouse MHC class I antigen (H-2) on isolated mouse oligodendrocytes is induced by soluble factors from concanavalin A activated T cells. Autoradiographic studies indicate that this induction of H-2 expression is not accompanied by proliferation of oligodendrocytes.
The life insurance market: Asymmetric information revisited

Abstract This paper finds evidence for the presence of asymmetric information in the life insurance market, a conclusion contrasting with the existing literature. In particular, we find a significant and positive correlation between the decision to purchase life insurance and subsequent mortality, conditional on risk classification. Individuals who died within a 12-year time window after a base year were 19% more likely to have taken up life insurance in that base year than were those who survived the time window. Moreover, as might be expected when individuals have residual private information, we find that the earlier an individual died, the more likely she was to have initially bought insurance. The primary factor driving the difference between our and the prior literature's findings is that we focus on a sample of potential new buyers, rather than on the entire cross section, to address the sample selection problem induced by potential mortality differences between those with and those without coverage.
Relative charaterisitics of MR angiography and competing vascular imaging modalities

This article reviews the general characteristics of several vascular imaging modalities with the purpose of identifying the distinguishing features of magnetic resonance (MR) angiography. Brief discussions of conventional x-ray film angiography, intravenous and intraarterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA), duplex and color Doppler flow ultrasound (US), computed tomographic (CT) angiography, transesophageal and intravascular US, angioscopy, and MR angiography are presented. The advantages and disadvantages of each are discussed. The general attributes and image quality features of MR angiography, intraarterial DSA, CT angiography, and US are compared. It is concluded that no single imaging modality will presently suffice for all purposes. Because of its noninvasiveness, rapidly improving image quality, and ability to directly provide velocity information, MR angiography is likely to play a role in an increasing number of clinical applications.
Genetics of childhood disorders: LV. Prenatal drug exposure.

The topic of the reviews in this series will be prenatal exposure to drugs such as cocaine and alcohol and their effects on neural ontogeny and associated neurocognitive/neurobehavioral development in offspring. Exposure to drugs prenatally, surely an important concern for practitioners, is part of the broader field of behavioral teratology or the study of perinatal developmental injury and of the factors—including drug and toxin exposure, parental disease or impairment, and birth accidents—that increase the risk of immediate or later physical injury or developmental impairment. Some of the earliest questions in this field were about the effects of maternal malnutrition and of irradiation on fetal and infant neurodevelopmental outcome, and the most contemporary questions are about the impact of maternal stress and anxiety on long-term infant and child neurodevelopment. Questions regarding the impact of exposures to exogenous agents or events during specific developmental phases are implicit in nearly every consideration of a psychiatric disorder or the manifestations of that disorder across development. The field of behavioral teratology has grown far past a strictly behavioral emphasis to include functional neuroimaging, neurophysiology, neurochemistry, and neuropsychology. Indeed, interest in developmental injury from a psychological/behavioral point of view has facilitated progress in understanding the normal or expectable features of neural development and early perceptual, social-emotional, and cognitive processes.
Histochemical identification of lysosomal enzymes in lens epithelial cells

The histochemical studies carried out on combined lens capsule and epithelium preparations of rabbit and bovine lens have confirmed and extended previous biochemical findings. It is reasonably clear from staining experiments that acid phosphatase, β-glucuronidase, acid adenosine triphosphatase, and acid ribonuclease occur mainly in cytoplasmic inclusions, probably as lysosomal particles. In addition, the lysosomes exhibited diffuse and variable degrees of staining in the lens epithelium, with shorter fixation and substrate exposure times often resulting in fading of the dye. In vivo staining of lysosomes by methylene blue seems to be based on electrostatic forces that bind the cationic dye to anionic sites of lysosomal organelle. Detecting adenosine triphosphatase in lens epithelial cells suggests that this enzyme may be closely associated with lysosomal activities.
Collective Versus Individualist National Cultures: Comparing Taiwan and U.S. Employee Attitudes Toward Unethical Business Practices

The business environment has increasingly expanded outside single nations or regions of the world to encompass many differing countries. Along with this expansion come business opportunities and challenges when facing business practices and attitudes not so similar to our own. In studying how these national cultural differences affect ethical decision making, managers and employees alike gain an understanding and respect for those differing business practices. This study considers the national cultural dimension of collectivism versus individualism. Survey data were gathered from 252 full-time employees working in the collective country of Taiwan and the individualist country of the United States of America. Results indicate that employees from the collective culture of Taiwan are more likely to indicate they would make an unethical decision that benefits the organization and less likely to openly question an unethical practice by their organization. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Isolation and characterization of the proximal and distal forms of lactase-phlorizin hydrolase from the small intestine of the suckling rat

Abstract The complex between lactase (β- d -galactoside galactohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.23) and phlorizin hydrolase ( glycosyl -N- acylsphingosine glycohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.62) has been purified from the proximal and distal regions of the small intestine of suckling rats. The two enzymes behaved differently on DEAE-cellulose ion-exchange chromatography and during electrophoresis in the presence and absence of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), but they had very similar cyanoge bromide cleavage patterns. Kinetic studies on the proximal and distal enzymes showed the sama pH optimum of 6.0 and the same heat stability at 45°C, but a small difference in K m . Treatment of both enzymes with fucosidase, mannosidase or N- acetylhexosaminidase did not affect enzymic activity or electrophoretic mobility. Neuraminidase digestion abolished the electrophoretic differences and gave two active enzymes with similar isoelectric points.
Subpicosecond Time-Resolved Raman Spectroscopy of LO Phonons in GaAs

Time-dependent spontaneous Raman spectra of optically pumped GaAs have been measured with subpicosecond time resolution. When the optically injected carrier density is less than ${10}^{17}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$, we temporally resolve the growth of the optically induced nonequilibrium LO-phonon population and deduce an average electron-phonon scattering time of about 165 fs. For higher injected carrier densities, substantial time-dependent changes are observed in the spectra which result from screening of the LO phonons by the free carriers and the relaxation of the free carriers to the band edges.
A note on the design freedom in singular state estimation

A singular case of linear state estimation with exact observations is analyzed with the object of obtaining an explicit characterization of the design freedom that exists in this case.
Am I A...

Research in autobiography and biography has increasingly become an important means of expression and scholarship in the field of performance studies. Whereas biographical performance has its roots in the Chautauqua1tradition dating as far back as early 20th-century America, performance scholars engaged in autobiographical staged performances frequently create a context for the audience whereby meanings, interpretations, and insight are evoked. This article and accompanying script, “Am I A...,” explores the author’s experiences of constructing/deconstructing her identity through a performance. Through oral invocation, body movement, personal narrative, and multiple texts, the author writes/performs a story that explores and evokes preconceived notions of identities on gender, race, sex, and sexuality. Using multiple methodologies, the author writes about our racist, sexist, and homophobic society and her acceptance and resistance of constantly being categorized.
An investigation of the effects of colony microstructure on fatigue crack growth in Ti–6Al–4V

Abstract This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the effects of colony microstructure on fatigue crack growth in Ti–6Al–4V. Colony microstructures with controlled lath widths and colony sizes are produced by controlled cooling from the β phase field. The micromechanisms of fatigue crack growth are then studied at low and high positive stress ratios of 0.1 and 0.8, respectively. For colony microstructures with approximately 20 vol.% of β phase, the fatigue crack growth rates are shown to decrease with increasing α lath and colony size. The effects of stress ratio are rationalized largely by crack closure arguments. The differences in the closure-corrected growth rates of the different microstructures are attributed primarily to differences in the fatigue crack growth mechanisms revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses of the fracture surfaces.
Application of 3-D weight functions. II: The stress field and energy of a shear dislocation loop at a crack tip

Abstract T he General weight function expressions given in G ao (J. Mech. Phys. Solids37, 133, 1989), referred to here as part I, for combined-mode crack-dislocation interaction problems in the three-dimensional regime are applied to solve for the stress field and energy of a shear dislocation loop emerging from the tip of a half-plane crack. The results are compared to the previously proposed approximate estimates for shear loops by A nderson and R ice (J. Mech. Phys. Solids35, 743, 1987), who solved exactly for prismatic opening dislocation loops that are co-planar with the crack and also for the analogous 2-D cases of general crack tip-parallel line dislocations. The energy results are presented in terms of a correction factor m, following Anderson and Rice, to the usual estimate of energy for an emergent crack tip loop as half the energy of a full loop (identified as the emergent loop and its image relative to the crack front) in an uncracked solid. For a full circular shear loop the energy is U = [(2 − ν)μb2r/4(1-ν)] In (8r/e2r0), where r0 denotes the core cut-off parameter and μ, ν are the shear modulus and Poisson ratio. Thus for a semicircular loop emerging from the crack tip, the energy is expressed as U = [(2 − ν)μb2r/8(1-ν] In (8mr/e2r0), where the constant m depends on the orientation angle Ψ of the Burgers vector relative to a line normal to the crack tip and the inclination angle φ of the dislocated plane relative to the crack plane. The m factors are calculated at selected angles φ for rectangular and semicircular loops. This involves multiple numerical integrations based on the weight functions of part I, first to obtain the stress field and then to integrate it over the dislocated area to get the energy, and requires a large amount of computing CPU time. An approximate formula for m is proposed for general inclined dislocation loops, based on known 2-D results for m factors for arbitrary angles φ calculated by A nderson and R ice (1987) and the 3-D m(φ = 0) results given here for shear dislocation loops in the crack plane. It compares well to the exact results.
Crystallization of magmatic iron meteorites: The effects of phosphorus and liquid immiscibility

— Magmatic iron meteorites are commonly thought to have formed by fractional crystallization of the metallic cores of asteroid-sized bodies. As fractional crystallization proceeds, light elements such as P and S become enriched in the molten portion of the core. The light element content of the metallic liquid influences the partitioning behavior of trace elements and may cause liquid immiscibility to occur. The elemental trends observed in magmatic iron meteorites may have been affected by both of these processes. We have examined experimentally the effect of P on the solid-metal-liquid-metal partitioning behavior of Ag and Pd, Re and Os, two element pairs used to date iron meteorite processes. Phosphorus has no effect on the partition coefficient of either Ag or Pd, which are incompatible and identical within experimental error. Compatible Re and Os also have identical partitioning behavior, within experimental error, and show increasing compatibility in the solid metal with increasing P content of the metallic liquid. Including the effects of both S and P on the partitioning behavior of Re and Os, simple fractional crystallization calculations can reproduce the large variation of Re and Os concentrations observed in four magmatic iron meteorite groups but have difficulty matching the later crystallizing portions of the trends. We have also conducted experiments with three phases—solid metal and two immiscible metallic liquids—to determine the location of the liquid immiscibility field near conditions thought to be relevant to magmatic iron meteorites. Our results show a significantly smaller liquid immiscibility field as compared to the previously published Fe-P-S phase diagram. Our revised phase diagram suggests that liquid immiscibility was encountered during the crystallization of asteroidal cores, but much later during the crystallization process than predicted by the previously published diagram.
Analytical methods for detection of nonoccupational exposure to pesticides.

An analytical protocol is developed to analyze for 33 compounds in ambient air around the household, drinking water, and from dermal contact while applying pesticides. Soxhlet extraction is used on both the polyurethane foam plugs, which were used as air sample trapping media, and the gloves reflecting dermal contact. The extraction procedure of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 608 is used for water samples. A stringent gas chromatography/electron capture detection (GC/ECD) and gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy/multiple ion detection (GC/MS/MID) analytical approach parallel to the procedures of the current EPA contract laboratory program is used for analysis.
Tumor Angiogenesis of Carcinoma in situ, Early-Stage Invasive and Larger Breast Cancers Imaged by Optical Tomography with Ultrasound Localization

We present a spectrum of breast-tumor angiogenesis distributions from DCIS, early-stage-invasive cancers to advanced cancers. The complexity of the angiogenesis distributions suggests that intrinsic vascular contrast has a significant clinical role in distinguishing early-stage-invasive cancers.
Computing approximate solutions for convex conic systems of constraints

We propose a way to reformulate a conic system of constraints as an optimization problem. When an appropriate interior-point method (ipm) is applied to the reformulation, the ipm iterates yield backward-approximate solutions, that is, solutions for nearby conic systems. In addition, once the number of ipm iterations passes a certain threshold, the ipm iterates yield forward-approximate solutions, that is, points close to an exact solution of the original conic system. The threshold is proportional to the reciprocal of distance to ill-posedness of the original conic system.¶The condition numbers of the linear equations encountered when applying an ipm influence the computational cost at each iteration. We show that for the reformulation, the condition numbers of the linear equations are uniformly bounded both when computing reasonably-accurate backward-approximate solutions to arbitrary conic systems and when computing forward-approximate solutions to well-conditioned conic systems.
Restructuring the clinical nurse specialist position to a unit-based role.

Role restructuring can be the key to maximizing efficiency, productivity, and operational effectiveness. The clinical nurse specialist role was restructured from a divisional project focus to a unit-based design to enhance the care of specific patient populations. The authors describe the process us
Probing Structure on Well-defined Functional States of the Nicotinic Receptor Using Systematically-engineered Ionizable Residues and Proton-transfer Events

The conformational changes that underlie the closed-open transition in members of the nicotinic-receptor superfamily remain elusive and controversial. To gain insight into the structural properties of the pore-domain of the muscle-nicotinic acetylcholine-receptor channel (AChR) in the open state, while retaining the advantages of studies on intact cells and in real time, we engineered basic residues along the M1, M2, and M3 transmembrane segments of all four types of subunit and recorded the individual proton-transfer events using single-channel patch-clamp electrophysiology. Proton binding-unbinding reactions to and from individual side chains were manifest as blocking-unblocking events of the passing cation current. Two observables, namely, the extent to which the current is attenuated upon side-chain protonation, and the pKa-shifts of the engineered ionizable groups relative to bulk water, were analyzed to reveal the electrostatic properties of the local microenvironment around the transmembrane segments in the open-channel conformation. In turn, these data were interpreted in terms of secondary and tertiary structure, and compared with existing structural models of the closed state in order to elucidate the change in conformation that opens the AChR. Our open-channel data suggests that the orientation of the M1, M2, and M3 transmembrane segments of the AChR with respect to the pore and each other is very similar to that in the closed-channel structural model developed on the basis of the cryo-EM images or Torpedo's receptor at 4-A resolution. To the extent that this structural model corresponds to the actual closed-channel conformation, our results indicate that the expansion of the pore that underlies channel opening involves only a limited rearrangement of these three helices. Such a modest change seems optimal to ensure rapid closed-open interconversion rates, and hence, a fast postsynaptic response upon neurotransmitter-binding.
Olfactory bulb transplantation into the olfactory bulb of neonatal rats: an autoradiographic study.

Abstract Tritiated thymidine prelabeled presumptive olfactory bulbs (E15–E17, and E19) were homotopically transplanted in unilaterally partially or totally bulbectomized neonatal rats (P1–P5). [3H]thymidine was injected to pregnant rats at the time when the large neurons of the bulb were undergoing cellular division. After postoperative survival times from 20 days to 7 months, the animals were sacrificed and processed for histological, immunohistochemical and autoradiographic observations. The nuclear autoradiographic label allowed easy recognition of the transplanted tissue in totally bulbectomized animals after short survival and in partially bulbectomized animals after long survival. The autoradiographic label was strictly confined to the transplanted tissue and intermingling of host and donor neurons was never observed. The reliability of the autoradiographic technique in our study will enable us to mark those neurons whose axons can be demonstrated, by retrograde tracing methods, to establish connections with the host brain.
The Infection of Duck and Goose Erythrocytes by the Mammalian Malaria Parasite, Plasmodium berghei

The infection of mice and baby rats by both Plasmodium lophurae, an avian parasite, and Plasmodium berghei, a mammalian malaria parasite, prompted investigation of the likelihood of P. berghei infecting avian erythrocytes. Though erythrocytes of chick embryos were not infected, those of the goose and duck embryos were. In both these cells the morphology of the parasite was markedly different from that seen in mammalian erythrocytes. Infections were transitory and it was impossible to find parasites after 4 days. Examination of the hosts of both species of parasites showed a rather wide range and examination of the susceptibility of the duck erythrocyte indicated that this cell was peculiarly receptive to infection by a variety of plasmodia.
Transient species of importance in the stoichiometric hydroformylation reaction I. Evidence for HCo(CO)3 by matrix isolation

Abstract Spectra of HCo(CO) 4 in a low temperature argon matrix show a weak band at 2018 cm −1 . On irradiation, this band grows rapidly and additional bands (previously too weak to be readily observable) appear at 2025 and 485 cm −1 . These three bands are assigned to HCo(CO) 3 , a coordinatively unsaturated species persistently proposed as an intermediate in the hydroformylation reaction but not previously characterized.
Effects of total and selective abdominal vagotomies on water intake in rats.

Abstract To determine if the decreased water intake of abdominal vagotomized rats in the presence and absence of food could be localized to a specific branch of the abdominal vagus, we measured the drinking response of rats that had undergone gastric vagotomy, hepatic vagotomy, coeliac vagotomy or a combined coeliac-hepatic vagotomy. The major results were: (1) gastric vagotomized rats drank less than rats that had had sham operations in the previous 24 h with and without food present; (2) hepatic vagotomized rats drank as much as sham operation rats in the presence or absence of food, but drank more than sham operation rats after 17 h water deprivation; (3) coeliac vagotomized rats drank normally in all tests; (4) combined coeliac and hepatic vagotomized rats drank normally except in a 2 h liquid food-related drinking test in which they drank more than sham operation rats; (5) no selective or total, abdominal vagotomized rat drank less than sham operation rats in response to 17 h water deprivation. Thus, gastric vagotomy was the selective vagotomy that most closely mimicked the effects of total abdominal vagotomy on drinking. In demonstrating that increases, decreases, or normal water intake depended on the specific vagal branch(es) disconnected and the specific dipsogenic test, these results refute the opinion that decreased drinking after abdominal vagotomy is simply the result of non-specific effects of vagal surgery. Finally, the normal water intake after water deprivation in total, gastric, and coeliac vagotomized rats in these experiments challenges the current theory that drinking after water deprivation is primarily due to osmotic thirst because previous experiments have shown that total, gastric, and coeliac vagotomized rats drink less than normal to the osmotic challenge produced by acute administration of hypertonic saline.
A mathematical model of mandibular protrusion

Mathematical expressions were derived to describe the sagittal plane movements of the mandible. It was shown that mandibular rotation during protrusion was a function of incisor and condylar guidances, initial mandibular angulation, mandibular size, and the extent of the excursion. Cusp tip displacement and center of rotation calculation algorithms were also developed for the protrusive path.
Distance Learning Exchange: Engaging Online Learners

(2007). Distance Learning Exchange: Engaging Online Learners. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education: Vol. 55, No. 3, pp. 58-60.
A three-dimensional thermal-fluid analysis of flat heat pipes

A detailed, three-dimensional model has been developed to analyze the thermal hydrodynamic behaviors of flat heat pipes without empirical correlations. The model accounts for the heat conduction in the wall, fluid flow in the vapor chambers and porous wicks, and the coupled heat and mass transfer at the liquid/vapor interface. The flat pipes with and without vertical wick columns in the vapor channel are intensively investigated in the model. Parametric effects, including evaporative heat input and size on the thermal and hydrodynamic behavior in the heat pipes, are investigated. The results show that, the vertical wick columns in the vapor core can improve the thermal and hydrodynamic performance of the heat pipes, including thermal resistance, capillary limit, wall temperature, pressure drop, and fluid velocities due to the enhancement of the fluid/heat mechanism form the bottom condenser to the top evaporator. The results predict that higher evaporative heat input improves the thermal and hydrodynamic performance of the heat pipe, and shortening the size of heat pipe degrades the thermal performance of the heat pipe.
A longitudinal perspective on financial risk tolerance: rank-order and mean level stability

We examined the temporal stability of financial risk tolerance in a sample of 36 students enrolled in an undergraduate financial planning program who had taken the test on the same day but took the retest anywhere from 269 days to 814 days later. Relative stability was around .56 after a period averaging about a year and .65 after a period averaging close to a year and a half. The test-retest correlation was .61 for the 26 cases where the test and retest occurred within a narrow range of 269 days to 288 days. In terms of absolute stability, there was an increase of about four points within the shorter time span and eight points under the longer duration. The reason for the increase is not clear. The relative stability of financial risk tolerance is comparable to other traits, suggesting that it is not as transitory as some have thought it to be.
From the Editors: Open Source Revisited: Its influence just keeps on growing.

In our first open source theme issue last year (ACM Queue 1(5), July-August 2003), we focused on business issues such as using open source software as a basis for a commercial product. We knew that this was an important topic, but predicted that many of our readers might find it boring. We were wrong. That issue remains among the most responded-to issues of Queue to date. So with that response, we are revisiting the open source theme.
Acoustic emission noise assessment of loaded members in laboratory and field environments

The Acoustic Emission (AE) technique plays a progressively significant role in the field of non-destructive testing (NDT) especially in structural health monitoring (SHM). Acoustic emissions are commonly defined as transient elastic waves in a material caused by the of localized stress release. In using AE for structural diagnostics, noise has always been a potential barrier. AE can be produced from sources not related to material damage including traffic or friction. The major challenge is the differentiation of signals relevant to the purpose of the monitoring - such as crack growth in a member - from noise of various origins. This paper deals with noise discrimination and introduces a novel approach for noise interpretation in AE data. AE activities recorded in field and lab environments for concrete and steel specimens are investigated in this study. Approaches for clustering and separation of AE signals based on multiple features extracted from experimental data are presented.
Quantification of the effects of long-term unilateral naris closure on the olfactory bulbs of adult mice

Abstract The effects of unilateral naris closure on the olfactory bulbs of adult mice were assessed quantitatively by measuring four parameters. Naris closures were performed when animals were at least 5 months of age and lasted for 4–8 months. The first parameter measured was mitral cell number, which revealed that there was no significant effect of closure on numbers of these cells. The next parameter measured was the area of the external plexiform layer (EPL). The area of the EPL was 41% smaller in the closed-side olfactory bulbs than in the open-side olfactory bulbs (P
Phase-contrast optical coherence imaging of tissue

Holographic optical coherence imaging of diffuse targets is an en face direct imaging modality that simultaneously illuminates and detects several hundred spatial modes. The interferences among these modes contain information on long-range structure. By using Fourier spatial filtering in Fourier-domain holography, we demonstrate the first phase-contrast en face imaging of extended tissue. This ability represents a fundamental difference between holographic optical coherence imaging (OCI) and conventional optical coherence tomography (that illuminates only a single spatial mode at a time). Channel cross-talk is separated into "interesting" speckle that carries information on long-range spatial coherences in tissue, and "uninteresting" speckle that arises from multiple scattering. Spatial coherence control of the illuminating beam can separate these two contributions. Data on multicellular tumor spheroids obtained from Fourier-domain OCI operating in a phase-contrast mode, using the knife-edge technique, are presented. We achieve -95 dB of sensitivity and nearly 50 dB of dynamic range in tissue reflection.
School Professionals' Attributions of Blame for Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract This article reports the results of two studies comparing school professionals' attributions of blame to a child victim, a father/perpetrator, and a nonparticipating mother in hypothetical vignettes of father–daughter incest. Vignettes depicted a 10-year-old female responding in an encouraging, passive, or resistant manner to her father's sexual advances. Results from both studies indicate that participants assigned significantly more blame to encouraging victims than to passive and resistant victims. All professional groups (i.e., school psychologists, teachers, school counselors, and principals) assigned some degree of blame to the child victim and nonparticipating mother, and they assigned very much or total blame to the father. Participants with less traditional gender role attitudes assigned less blame to the child. In Study 2, participants who reported a personal history of child sexual abuse (CSA) attributed less blame to the child, and participants who assigned some level of blame to the child were older and had received less hours of formal course training in CSA compared with participants who assigned no blame. The results of these studies support the need to educate school professionals about the child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome and the importance of not attributing blame to child victims regardless of their behavioral presentation.
New routes to low-coordinate iron hydride complexes: The binuclear oxidative addition of H2

The oxidative addition and reductive elimination reactions of H2 on unsaturated transition-metal complexes are crucial in utilizing this important molecule. Both biological and man-made iron catalysts use iron to perform H2 transformations, and highly unsaturated iron complexes in unusual geometries (tetrahedral and trigonal planar) are anticipated to give unusual or novel reactions. In this paper, two new synthetic routes to the low-coordinate iron hydride complex [LtBuFe(μ-H)]2 are reported. Et3SiH was used as the hydride source in one route by taking advantage of the silaphilicity of the fluoride ligand in three-coordinate LtBuFeF. The other synthetic method proceeded through the binuclear oxidative addition of H2 or D2 to a putative Fe(I) intermediate. Deuteration was verified through reduction of an alkyne and release of the deuterated alkene product. Mossbauer spectra of [LtBuFe(μ-H)]2 indicate that the samples are pure, and that the iron(II) centers are high-spin.
A geometric condition for incidence-matrix nullvectors

Abstract A condition on the lines of a discrete geometry, relaxing the usual notion of a near-polygon, determines a nullvector for the incidence matrix. The extended condition is observed to hold in many group geometries, including examples for sporadic simple groups.
Invading and Occupying Iraq: Some Insights From Political Psychology

A quite extraordinary number of books and articles have now been published about the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Although this is a noticeably atheoretical literature, these works collectively provide a wealth of raw material for the theorist. With that kind of project in mind, this article considers what light political peace psychology as a field can throw on Iraq. In doing so, it can be seen that George W. Bush and his colleagues seem to have committed an exceptionally wide-ranging catalogue of cognitive and motivational errors. With the goal of sharpening the senses of different psychological hypotheses rather than “proving” any of them, this article examines, in turn, decision making on impulse, the appearance of cognitive shortcuts resembling the drunkard's search, misperceptions and the failure to empathize, the use of analogical reasoning under conditions of structural uncertainty, the resistance of entrenched beliefs to disconfirming evidence, the prominence of denial and wishful thinking in...
Pattern Recognition and Adaptive Control

Adaptive or self-optimizing systems utilize feedback principles to achieve automatic performance optimization. These principles have been applied to both control systems and adaptive logic structures. The Adaline (adaptive linear threshold element) is essentially the same as an adaptive sampled-data system with quantized input and output signals. A digital controller made of adaptive neurons comprises a pattern-recognizing control system. When the state of a control system is represented as a pattern, learning to make the control decisions actually becomes the same as learning to classify the patterns.
Sub-Band Coding Of Video Signals For Packet-Switched Networks

Sub-band coding has been investigated for the novel application of video transmission over packet-switched networks. The scheme, which divides the input signal into frequency bands in all three dimensions, seems promising in that it lends itself to parallel implementation, it is robust enough to handle errors due to lost packets; and it yields high compression with sustained good quality. Moreover, it may be well integrated with the network to handle issues like flow-control and error-handling. The article presents the underlying design goals together with a software implementation and associated results.
A Framework for RFID Deployment in Supply Chains

The proposed framework shows how the granularity of tagging and deployment scope affect RFID implementation, helping managers identify RFID benefits and barriers and align deployment with their company's business strategy and return-on-investment goals.
Interaction of an entomopathogen with an insect social form: an epizootic of Thelohania solenopsae (Microsporidia) in a population of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta.

Abstract This is the first report of Thelohania solenopsae infections in monogyne (single-queen) Solenopsis invicta colonies in the field. In a 0.2-ha plot near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, inter-colony prevalence was 63% infection in June, 1999, when the population was 100% monogyne. In February, 2000, 21% of 33 monogyne and 90% of 10 polygyne colonies were infected. By May, 2001, the polygyne colonies had disappeared and only one of 34 monogyne colonies was infected, the final detection of T. solenopsae in the plot. Colony size did not differ significantly among the four types (monogyne versus polygyne × infected versus uninfected).
Overexpression of an adenosine diphosphate-ribosylation factor gene from the halophytic grass Spartina alterniflora confers salinity and drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis

Adenosine diphosphate-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are small guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that play an important role in intracellular protein trafficking necessary for undertaking multiple physiological functions in plant growth and developmental processes. However, little is known about the mechanism of ARF functioning at the molecular level, as well as its involvement in abiotic stress tolerance. In this study, we demonstrated the direct involvement of an ARF gene SaARF from a grass halophyte Spartina alterniflora in abiotic stress adaptation for the first time. SaARF, which encodes a protein with predicted molecular mass of 21 kDa, revealed highest identity with ARF of Oryza sativa. The SaARF gene is transcriptionally regulated by salt, drought, cold, and ABA in the leaves and roots of S. alterniflora. Arabidopsis plants overexpressing SaARF showed improved seed germination and survival of seedlings under salinity stress. Similarly, SaARF transgenic Arabidopsis plants were more tolerant to drought stress, compared to wild-type plants, by maintaining chlorophyll synthesis, increasing osmolyte synthesis, and stabilizing membrane integrity. Oxidative damage due to moisture stress in transgenic Arabidopsis was also reduced possibly by activating antioxidant genes, AtSOD1 and AtCAT. Our results suggest that enhanced drought and salinity tolerance conferred by the SaARF gene may be due to its role in mediating multiple abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms.
Minimization of the Legionella pneumophila genome reveals chromosomal regions involved in host range expansion

Legionella pneumophila is a bacterial pathogen of amoebae and humans. Intracellular growth requires a type IVB secretion system that translocates at least 200 different proteins into host cells. To distinguish between proteins necessary for growth in culture and those specifically required for intracellular replication, a screen was performed to identify genes necessary for optimal growth in nutrient-rich medium. Mapping of these genes revealed that the L. pneumophila chromosome has a modular architecture consisting of several large genomic islands that are dispensable for growth in bacteriological culture. Strains lacking six of these regions, and thus 18.5% of the genome, were viable but required secondary point mutations for optimal growth. The simultaneous deletion of five of these genomic loci had no adverse effect on growth of the bacterium in nutrient-rich media. Remarkably, this minimal genome strain, which lacked 31% of the known substrates of the type IVB system, caused only marginal defects in intracellular growth within mouse macrophages. In contrast, deletion of single regions reduced growth within amoebae. The importance of individual islands, however, differed among amoebal species. The host-specific requirements of these genomic islands support a model in which the acquisition of foreign DNA has broadened the L. pneumophila host range.
The Impact of Stratospheric Model Configuration on Planetary-Scale Waves in Northern Hemisphere Winter

Abstract The impact of stratospheric model configuration on modeled planetary-scale waves in Northern Hemisphere winter is examined using the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM). The CMAM configurations include a high-lid (0.001 hPa) and a low-lid (10 hPa) configuration, which were each run with and without conservation of parameterized gravity wave momentum flux. The planetary wave structure, vertical propagation, and the basic state are found to be in good agreement with reanalysis data for the high-lid conservative configuration with the exception of the downward-propagating wave 1 signal. When the lid is lowered and momentum is conserved, the wave characteristics and basic state are not significantly altered, with the exception of the downward-propagating wave 1 signal, which is damped by the act of conservation. When momentum is not conserved, however, the wave amplitude increases significantly near the lid, and there is a large increase in both the upward- and downward-propagating wave 1 signals...
Duality and linear programs for stability and performance analysis of queuing networks and scheduling policies

We consider the problems of performance analysis and stability/instability determination of queuing networks and scheduling policies. We exhibit a strong duality relationship between the performance of a system and its stability analysis via mean drift. We obtain a variety of linear programs (LPs) to conduct such stability and performance analyses. A certain LP, called the performance LP, bounds the performance of all stationary nonidling scheduling policies. If it is bounded, then its dual, called the drift LP, has a feasible solution which is a copositive matrix. The quadratic form associated with this copositive matrix has a negative drift, showing that all stationary nonidling scheduling policies result in a geometrically converging exponential moment. These results carry over to fluid models, allowing the study of networks with nonexponential distributions. If a modification of the performance LP, called the monotone LP, is bounded, then the system is stable. Finally, there is a another modification of the performance LP, called the finite time LP. It provides transient bounds on the performance of the system from any initial condition.
Computer-aided diagnosis and visualization based on clustering and independent component analysis for breast MRI

Computer-aided diagnosis and simultaneous visualization based on independent component analysis and clustering are integrated in an intelligent system for the evaluation of small mammographic lesions in breast MRI. These techniques are tested on biomedical time-series representing breast MRI scans and enable the extraction of spatial and temporal features of dynamic MRI data stemming from patients with confirmed lesion diagnosis. By revealing regional properties of contrast-agent uptake characterized by subtle differences of signal amplitude and dynamics, these methods provide both a set of prototypical time-series and a corresponding set of cluster assignment maps which further provide a segmentation with regard to identification and regional subclassification of pathological breast tissue lesions. Both approaches lead to an increase of the diagnostic accuracy of MRI mammography by improving the sensitivity without reduction of specificity.