cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Solving variational problems and partial differential equations mapping into general target manifolds

A framework for solving variational problems and partial differential equations that define maps onto a given generic manifold is introduced in this paper. We discuss the framework for arbitrary target manifolds, while the domain manifold problem was addressed in [J. Comput. Phys. 174(2) (2001) 759]. The key idea is to implicitly represent the target manifold as the level-set of a higher dimensional function, and then implement the equations in the Cartesian coordinate system where this embedding function is defined. In the case of variational problems, we restrict the search of the minimizing map to the class of maps whose target is the level-set of interest. In the case of partial differential equations, we re-write all the equation's geometric characteristics with respect to the embedding function. We then obtain a set of equations that, while defined on the whole Euclidean space, are intrinsic to the implicitly defined target manifold and map into it. This permits the use of classical numerical techniques in Cartesian grids, regardless of the geometry of the target manifold. The extension to open surfaces and submanifolds is addressed in this paper as well. In the latter case, the submanifold is defined as the intersection of two higher dimensional hypersurfaces, and all the computations are restricted to this intersection. Examples of the applications of the framework here described include harmonic maps in liquid crystals, where the target manifold is a hypersphere; probability maps, where the target manifold is a hyperplane; chroma enhancement; texture mapping; and general geometric mapping between high dimensional manifolds.
Influence of dialysis modality on plasma and tissue concentrations of pentosidine in patients with end-stage renal disease

Abstract Plasma and tissue concentrations of pentose-derived glycation end-products ("pentosidine") are elevated in diabetic patients with normal renal function and in both diabetic and nondiabetic patients with end-stage renal disease. To determine the influence of dialysis modality and other clinical variables on the accumulation of pentosidine, we used high-performance liquid chromatography to measure this advanced glycation end-product in plasma, skin, and peritoneal samples obtained from 65 hemodialysis and 45 peritoneal dialysis patients. Plasma pentosidine levels were significantly lower in peritoneal dialysis patients. Concentrations of pentosidine in skin were similar in the two groups. In contrast, peritoneal concentrations of pentosidine were significantly higher in the patients maintained on peritoneal dialysis. Our results demonstrate that dialysis modality influences the plasma and tissue distribution of pentosidine. Compared with hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis is associated with lower levels of this glycation end-product in plasma, but with higher levels in the peritoneum. The mechanisms accounting for lower circulating levels of pentosidine in peritoneal dialysis patients remain to be determined. Higher levels in peritoneal tissues may reflect chronic exposure to the high concentrations of glucose in peritoneal dialysate.
An in situ method to compare the potential for periphyton productivity of lotic habitats

Abstract A simple field method for measuring relative net productivity in flowing waters is described. To assess its sensitivity and practicality, the eutrophication potential of a tertiary sewage treatment plant effluent was assayed on the Fort River of Amherst, Massachusetts. Two sets of three 10 m lexan tubes (1.25 cm i.d.) were anchored to the river bed 100 m upstream and downstream from the sewage plant outfall. Data collection began following a 2 week colonization period for the periphyton community. Substrate primary productivity (mg O 2 min −1 ) was determined by subtracting inflow dissolved oxygen concentrations from these levels at the discharge ends of each tube and multiplying the difference by the flow rate. The downstream tubes demonstrated an enhanced response at a 0.01 level of significance to an increment of 0.005 and 0.1 ppm of phosphorous and nitrogen respectively. Data analysis revealed a highly significant regression of the net productivity on stream flow which was adjusted for by an analysis of covariance. The productivity of the downstream station was distinctly higher (0.4522 mg O 2 min −1 ) then the value of the upstream station (0.2584 mg O 2 min −1 ). The protocol thus affords a biological summation of the sewage effluent through comparison with the control station replicates.
Advances in Critical Care of the Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patient

Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (SCT) remains a curative option for a variety of malignant and non-malignant disorders in children. Following transplant a proportion of SCT recipients become critically ill and need intensive care. Critical illness may occur in the setting of transplant complications such as graft versus host disease (GVHD), idiopathic pneumonia syndrome (IPS), veno-occlusive disease (VOD) and transplant associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA). Hence, familiarity with recent advances in the transplant process and complications is crucial for the intensivist. This article will highlight common complications encountered in the critically ill SCT recipient.
Facile synthesis and initial PET imaging of novel potential heart acetylcholinesterase imaging agents [11C]pyridostigmine and its analogs

A series of 11C-labeled analogs of the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor pyridostigmine have been synthesized for evaluation as new potential positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents for heart AChE. The appropriate precursors for radiolabeling were slightly modified from commercial reagents. The new tracers [11C]pyridostigmine (1), [11C]para-pyridostigmine (2) and [11C]ortho-pyridostigmine (3) were prepared by N-[11C]methylation of the precursors using [11C]methyl triflate. Pure target compounds were isolated by a solid-phase extraction (SPE) purification procedure with 60-85% radiochemical yields (decay corrected to end of bombardment), and a synthesis time of 10-15 min. The initial PET dynamic studies of compounds (1-3) in rat heart showed rapid heart uptake and blood pool clearance to give high quality heart images. These results suggest the new tracers delineate the heart very clearly and could be potential heart AChE imaging agents.
Toward a Theory of Active Index

Abstract This paper introduces a theoretical framework for the active index. The active index facilitates the accessing and automatic manipulation of visual objects. With an active index, we can effectively and efficiently handle smart images that respond to accessing, probing and other actions. Another important application is information retrieval in hyperspace. The active index can also be used to realize Petri nets, generalized Petri nets such as G-nets, B-trees, etc., but the dynamic nature of the active index is its most important characteristic. Implementation considerations and research issues are discussed.
Characteristics of vertical turbulent velocities in the urban convective boundary layer

Turbulence measurements of the vertical velocity component were obtained by an instrumented aircraft under fair weather conditions in the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area. Time series of vertical velocity fluctuations from horizontal flight segments made in the lower part of and near the middle of the convective boundary layer (CBL) over the urban area and surrounding region were subjected to various statistical and objective analyses. Higher order vertical velocity moments, and positive and negative velocity statistics, were computed. The horizontal dimensions of updrafts and downdrafts, and related properties of these turbulent eddies were derived by conditional sampling analysis. Emphasis is on a comparison of the results from urban and selected rural measurements from the lower part of the CBL. The vertical velocity probability density distribution for each segment was positively skewed and the mode was negative. The means and standard deviations of positive and negative velocity fluctuations were greater over the urban area. The urban vertical velocity variance was 50% greater than rural values, and power spectra revealed greater production of vertical turbulent energy in the urban area over a wide frequency range. The mean and maximum widths of downdrafts were generally larger than the corresponding values for updrafts. Differences between urban and rural eddy sizes were not statistically significant. The widths of the largest updraft and downdraft are comparable to the boundary-layer depth, Z i, and the mean value of the ratio of spectral peak wavelength to Z iwas about 1.3 and 1.1 for urban and rural areas, respectively. Convective similarity scaling parameters appeared to order both the urban and rural measurements.
Anti-tumor effect of Merocyanine 540-mediated photochemotherapy combined with Edelfosine: potential implications for the ex vivo purging of hematopoietic stem cell grafts from breast cancer patients.

Abstract High-dose chemotherapy combined with autologous stem cell support has improved response rates in high-risk and metastatic breast cancer, but has failed to improve long-term survival. Breast cancer has a tendency to metastasize to the bone marrow, and live tumor cells are known to circulate in the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients. Sensitive immunohistochemical, culture-based, and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-based methods have shown that about 50% of histologically normal stem cell grafts from breast cancer patients are contaminated with occult tumor cells, which may cause or contribute to tumor recurrences. Merocyanine 540 (MC540)-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) inactivates a wide range of leukemia and lymphoma cells and is well tolerated by normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Unfortunately, most solid tumor cells (including breast cancer cells) are only moderately sensitive or refractory to MC540-PDT. We report here that if MC540-PDT is followed by a 1-h incubation with the alkyl-lysophospholipid, Edelfosine (ET-18-OCH 3 ), the depletion of murine and human breast cancer cells is greatly enhanced whereas the recovery of normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells is only minimally degraded. When used under conditions that reduce CD34-positive human bone marrow cells only 5.1-fold, and murine and human granulocyte/macrophage progenitors 6.8- and 3-fold, respectively, combination purging with MC540-PDT and Edelfosine depletes murine (Mm5MT) and human (MDA-MB-435S) breast cancer cells >17 000- and >125 000-fold, respectively. These data suggest that combination purging with MC540-PDT and Edelfosine may offer a simple, safe and effective method for the ex vivo purging of autologous stem cell grafts from breast cancer patients.
Fruitful Interchange or Polite Chitchat? The Dialogue Between Science and Theology

The demand that epistemic support be explicated as rational compulsion has consistently undermined the dialogue between theology and science. Rational compulsion entails too restrictive a form of epistemic support for most scientific theorizing, let alone interdisciplinary dialogue. This essay presents a less restrictive form of epistemic support, explicated not as rational compulsion but as explanatory power. Once this notion of epistemic support is developed, a genuinely productive interdisciplinary dialogue between theology and science becomes possible. This essay closes by sketching how the Big Bang model from cosmology and the Christian doctrine of Creation can be viewed as supporting each other.
Developing a Methodology for Assessing Children's Preferences for Nonresidential Interior Spaces

OBJECTIVE: The focus of this study was to develop a methodology for the assessment of the environmental preferences of 10-year-old children for public interior spaces. A pilot study using the methodology developed was conducted on 31 10-year old children. RESEARCH DESIGN: The methodology developed included three instruments: a Slide Preference Test to determine overall preference; a Semantic Differential Scale to determine influential factors in defining preference; and the use of the School-Age Temperament Inventory (McClowry, 1995) to determine the relationship between temperament and preference. ANALYSIS: Data from the pilot study were analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor, and cluster analysis, and T-tests to determine overall preference and the relationship that gender, temperament, or room function has with preference. KEY FINDINGS: Children prefer spaces that are visually rich. Further, it appears that preference for interior spaces is related to the concepts of comfort, safeness, and friendliness. Minor differences in preference were found based on gender, while the pilot study revealed more significant differences in preference based on temperament. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of the pilot study, some revisions in the methodology are recommended. With these minor changes, the methodology will be ready for use on a broader and more diverse population.
Effect of Crack Blunting on the Ductile-Brittle Response of Crystalline Materials

The authors propose a self-consistent criterion for crack propagation versus dislocation emission, taking into account the effects of crack-tip blunting. Continuum concepts are used to evaluate the evolving competition between crack advance and dislocation nucleation as a function of crack-tip curvature. This framework is used to classify crystals as intrinsically ductile or brittle in terms of the unstable stacking energy, the surface energy, and the peak cohesive stresses achieved during opening and shear of the atomic planes. The authors find that ductile-brittle criteria based on the assumption that the crack is ideally sharp capture only two of the four possible fracture regimes. One implication of the present analysis is that a crack may initially emit dislocations, only to reinitiate cleavage upon reaching a sufficiently blunted crack-tip geometry.
Re-refinement of the X-ray crystal structure of bovine lens leucine aminopeptidase complexed with bestatin

Bestatin, (2S,3R)-3-amino-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutanoyl-L-leucine, has been incorrectly modelled in the previously reported structure of the complex between bovine lens leucine aminopeptidase (blLAP) and bestatin. In the previously reported structure, the C2 of bestatin was modelled and refined in the R configuration instead of the correct S configuration. The structure of the blLAP-bestatin complex has been re-refined after remodelling bestatin in its correct stereochemistry.
The use of free-living nematodes as a bioassay for estuarine sediments

Abstract A bioassay technique using free-living nematodes has been developed to assess the environmental quality of estuarine sediments. Nematodes offer the advantages of (a) generally being the most abundant metazoan in sediments; (b) having short life histories and no pelagic larvae; and (c) being relatively easy to maintain in laboratory culture. Small individual body size and rapid generation time (two weeks) render nematodes especially useful in evaluating effects of potential toxicants on populations, rather than on single individuals. The bioassay technique was developed using two species, Chromadorina germanisa and Diplolaimella punicea, and sediments from the Hudson-Raritan estuarine area. The life histories and feeding habits of both species are known. Test sediments were taken from eight stations that represent a gradient from lightly to heavily impacted. Concentrations of potential toxicants measured in these sediments included polychlorinated hydrocarbons, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals. Control sediments, taken from 100 km distant, were almost totally toxicant-free. Nematodes were incubated in the dark at 25°C for two weeks at 1:1 and 1:10 concentrations (volume/volume) of sediments prepared with sterile sea water. Food consisted of bacteria from nematode stock cultures. Intrinsic rate of natural increase (r) of the nematodes was used as the indicator of sediment quality; r has units (daily increase in number of generations), is easily computed, and can be treated statistically. Both species grew better in control and other sediments containing low concentrations of PCBs, PAHs, and heavy metals. In sediments having TIF PCB and PAH concentrations (ppb) of more than 270 and 8700, respectively, population growth of both species tended to be less than half that found at lower concentrations. Significant inverse correlations between r and toxicant concentration occurred at 1:1 sediment-water concentrations. At 1:10 concentrations the correlations remained negative, but not at the 0·05 level of significance. Use of the nematodes Chromadorina germanica and Diplolaimella punicea offers a quick, easy and statistically testable means of assessing the quality of marine sediments on populations, rather than single individuals, of marine benthic invertebrates.
Long-term outcomes of Palmaz stent placement for intraoperative type Ia endoleak during endovascular aneurysm repair.

Background Perioperative proximal endoleaks during endovascular aneurysm repair potentiate graft migration, aneurysm sac expansion, and stent-graft failure. Adjunctive placement of a Palmaz stent at the proximal landing zone can improve proximal seal and eliminate perigraft flow; however, the long-term sequelae associated with this maneuver are unknown. We sought to evaluate the effect of Palmaz stent placement for type Ia endoleaks on delayed endoleak formation, graft migration, and aneurysm expansion. Methods A retrospective cohort review of a prospectively maintained database was performed. Between 2000 and 2005, all consecutive patients who had undergone infrarenal endovascular aneurysm repair were evaluated for a type I endoleak that was treated with Palmaz stent placement. Fenestrated, juxtarenal, and investigational devices were excluded from the analysis. Postoperative and follow-up axial imaging were analyzed for the following three primary endpoints: type I endoleak formation, stent-graft migration, and aneurysm sac expansion. In addition, a paired analysis was performed comparing suprarenal aortic diameters, infrarenal aortic neck diameters, aortic neck lengths, and proximal seal zones. Results In all, 36 consecutive patients were identified with intraoperative type I endoleaks that were treated with Palmaz stenting. Five patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms died before discharge; the remaining 31 patients comprised the cohort for analysis. During a median follow-up period of 53 months (interquartile range: 14-91 months), no type I endoleak developed after Palmaz stent placement. Despite patients experiencing shortening of aortic neck length (26%) and loss of the proximal seal zone (35%), no stent-graft migration was seen in this population. Continued aortic degeneration accounted for proximal seal zone loss. At a distance 15 mm below the lowest renal artery, the mean aortic diameter increased by 3.2 mm (95% confidence interval: 0.4-6, p 10%. Mean aortic sac regression was 5.8 mm (95% confidence interval: 0.5-11.0, p Conclusions Proximal neck reinforcement with a Palmaz stent serves as an effective endovascular adjunct to treat intraoperative type I endoleaks, and has a very high technical success rate. Most importantly, it has a clinical effect on delayed type I endoleak formation and stent-graft migration.
Verbal and visual short-term memory in children with arithmetic disabilities

With the exception of the explication of the Nonverbal Learning Disability Syndrome, our knowledge of cognitive characteristics of children with isolated arithmetic (A) disabilities contrasted with those with comorbid arithmetic and reading (AR) disabilities is limited. Of the existing studies, most suggest that visual deficits are characteristic of Subtype A. This study examined short-term memory in 45 children who were classified into these two subtypes. Children in Subtype A displayed better verbal memory on some tasks than children in the AR subtype, but no subtype differences in visual memory were found. Counter to our hypothesis, children in Subtype A did not display relatively poorer visual memory than verbal memory. These results suggest a mixed neuropsychological profile, and the absence of visual short-term memory weaknesses as descriptive of the A subtype.
Cardiorespiratory behavior during sleep in full-term and preterm neonates at comparable postconceptional term ages.

ABSTRACT: Cardiorespiratory behavior during sleep has been investigated by comparing visually analyzed minutes of EEG sleep with the digitized values of these two physiologic variables for each corresponding minute. Continuous 3-h nighttime sleep studies on 37 full-term and preterm neonates at comparable postconceptional term ages were acquired under controlled conditions, using a 24-channel computerized monitoring system and an automated eventmarker program. Five thousand, two hundred ninety-four minutes were assigned an EEG state by traditional criteria. Eighteen preterm infants were compared with 19 full-term infants with respect to six cardiac and six respiratory measures: two nonspectral calculations (i.e. average per minute and variance of the means) and four spectral calculations of the cardiorespiratory signal (i.e. bandwidth, spectral edge, mean frequency, and ratio of harmonics). The relative capabilities of these measures to predict a sleep state change were investigated using discriminant analysis. A stepwise selection algorithm in discriminant analysis was used to identify the order of significance for the remaining variables. Eight cardiorespiratory measures were then submitted to multivariate analysis of variance to assess sleep state or preterm–full-term differences: mean frequency, bandwidth, average per minute, and ratio of harmonics for cardiac signals; and spectral edge, mean frequency, logarithm of variance, and ratio of harmonics for respiratory signals. Differences among the sleep states and between neonatal groups were highly significant (p < 0.0001). Interaction between sleep state and neonatal group was also significant (p < 0.034). Two variables differentiated preterm from full-term respiratory behavior: ratio (p ≤ 0.001) and mean frequency (p ≤ 0.02). Three variables demonstrated differences between preterm and full-term cardiac behavior: average heart rate per minute (p ≤ 0.001), ratio (p ≤ 0.05), and bandwidth (p ≤ 0.08). Notably, the lowest values for most spectral measures were noted during trace alternant quiet sleep compared with the three other segments of the ultradian sleep cycle. Our findings demonstrate sleep state–specific differences in cardiorespiratory behavior in neonates regardless of prematurity. Differences between preterm and full-term infants reflect altered functional development of the brain because of adaptation to prematurity, an extrauterine experience, or both and may contribute to a model of physiologic vulnerability of certain infants for sudden infant death syndrome.
Trapping of a Coastal Density Front by the Bottom Boundary Layer

Abstract The dynamics of a surface-to-bottom density front on a uniformly sloping continental shelf and the role of density advection in the bottom boundary layer are examined using a three-dimensional, primitive equation numerical model. The front is formed by prescribing a localized freshwater inflow through the coastal boundary. The resulting freshwater plume turns anticyclonically and moves along the coast, generating offshore transport in the bottom boundary layer, which advects freshwater offshore and creates a sharp surface-to-bottom density front with a surface-intensified alongshelf jet over the front. The offshore buoyancy flux in the bottom boundary layer moves the front offshore until it reaches a depth where the vertical shear within the front leads to a reversal in the cross-shelf velocity at the shoreward edge of the front. Consequently, the offshore buoyancy flux in the bottom boundary layer vanishes shoreward of the front. Within the front, a steady balance is established in the bottom bo...
Numerical Analysis of Double-Diffusive Convection/Solidification Under g-Jitter/Magnetic Fields

A e nite element model is presented for the g-jitter induced double-diffusive convection and solidie cation phenomena with and without the presence of magnetic e elds in an Sn-doped Bi crystal growth system planned for space experiments. The model is developed based on the deforming e nite element formulation with the penalty formulation forpressure approximation. An isothermalfront tracking algorithm is used to predict thesolid‐ liquid interface. Extensive numerical simulations are carried out and parameters studied include the solute concentration dependent melting temperature and magnetic e eld strength under both steady state and g-jitter conditions. Both synthesized g-jitter and real g-jitter data taken from space e ights are used. Computed results show that the concentration effects on interface morphology must be considered for an accurate prediction of solidie cation interface morphology, and g-jitter can induce signie cant convective e ows in the liquid pool, which, in turn, cause solute concentration nonuniformity during the space crystal growth. The use of an applied magnetic e eld can be effective in suppressing the deleterious g-jitter induced convection and solute nonuniformity and their effects on solidie cation.
Medical Imaging: A Clinical Overview

Over the past several years development and refinement of medical imaging devices has occured at an exponential rate. Computed whole body tomography, grey scale ultrasonography, real time ultrasonography, radionuclide imaging with new radiopharmaceuticals, and digitized radiography are all currently available diagnostic imaging modalities. While each of these imaging techniques has certain unique advantages, the rapid development, introduction and promotion of these new diagnostic imaging modalities has infact created a crisis of plenty. Clinicians are faced with the dilemna of choosing from among the many techniques available; the most appropriate modality for a particular clinical situation often before adequate understanding of the capabilities and limitations of each imaging modality has been acquired.
Resistant Gram-Negative Infections

This article reviews the global crisis of resistant gram-negative bacilli in the intensive care unit. The authors discuss drugs used for treating these infections and the different strategies used to maximize the effect of antimicrobials.
Massive Chromite in the Brenham Pallasite and the Fractionation of Cr During the Crystallization of Asteroidal Cores

Large (greater than or equal to 2 mm) chromite grains are present in IIIAB iron meteorites and in the main-group a pallasites (PMG), closely related to high-Au IIIAB irons, Pallasites seem to have formed by the intrusion of a highly evolved metallic magma from a IIIAB-like core into fragmented olivine of the overlying dunite mantle. High Cr contents are commonly encountered during the analyses of metallic samples of high-Au IIIAB irons and main-group pallasites, an indication that Cr contents were high in the intruding liquid and that Cr behaved as an incompatible element during the crystallization of the IIIAB magma, contrary to expectations based on the negative IIIAB Cr-Ni and Cr-Au trends among low-Au IIIAB irons. In a region about 10 cm across in the Brenham main-group pallasite massive chromite fills the interstices between olivine grains, the site normally occupied by metal in Brenham and other pallasites. The massive chromite may have formed as a late cumulus phase; because Fe-Ni was also crystallizing, its absence in the chromite-rich region suggests a separation associated with differences in liquid buoyancy. The coexisting chromite and olivine are zoned; in the olivine FeO is highest in pallasitic (olivine-metal) regions, lowest in rims adjacent to chromite, and intermediate in the cores of these olivines. Chromite shows the opposite zoning, with the highest FeO contents at grain edges adjacent to olivine. The observed gradients are those expected to form by Fe-Mg exchange between olivine and chromite during slow cooling at subsolidus temperatures. Compared to normal Brenham, contents of phosphoran olivine and phosphates are higher in the chromitic pallasitic region. We also report data for large-to-massive chromites present in PMG Molong and in high-Au IIIAB Bear Creek that, like Brenham, formed from a highly evolved magma. The Bear Creek chromite has a much lower Mg content than that in the pallasites, implying that, in the PMG, the Mg was extracted from the olivine during high-temperature reaction with the precipitating chromite. There are other circumstantial arguments indicating that Cr was incompatible in the metal during the crystallization of the IIIAB magma, with the concentration in die residual magma rising from an initial value of about 300 micrograms/g to a value around 700 micrograms/g when Bear Creek and Brenham were formed. We consider possible explanations for these negative Cr-Au and Cr-Ni trends and find the most probable one to be that they reflect sampling artefacts resulting from analysts avoiding visible chromite (and the commonly associated phase FeS) when choosing metal samples.
Cloud-Based Simulation of a Smart Power Grid

Is it feasible to automatically generate a cloud environment for applications based on a dynamic computational model when the actual work flow changes in time? We discuss the answer to this question in the context of a complex application, the simulation of a smart grid. We argue that the IaaS cloud delivery model offers enough flexibility and that the Amazon Web Services have evolved to the point when automatic generation of a computing environment is not only feasible, but also leads to an efficient computing infrastructure. In this paper we develop a a model of a smart power grid and then investigate the means to reduce the time needed for the automatic generation of the simulation environment and to reduce the overall cost of the simulation.
A practical cross-section for scattering from rough surfaces at very low grazing angles in both the forward and backward directions

In this paper we develop an extension of the small slope approximation (SSA) for scattering from randomly rough Dirichlet surfaces, which includes some multiple scattering. This extension is designated by SSA+. We focus on scattering at very low grazing angles where multiple scattering of both the incident and scattered fields is of importance. Numerical results for the SSA+ bistatic scattering cross-section for very low forward grazing angles are presented using the Gaussian roughness spectrum and for both very low forward and very low backward grazing angles using the Pierson–Moskowitz and modified power law spectra. The results are restricted to an angle of incidence of 80°. It is shown that when the lowest-order SSA gives reasonably accurate results, the SSA+ increases the accuracy up to at least the final 0.2° of grazing in the forward direction. In the backward direction, the SSA+ gives good results for the Pierson–Moskowitz spectrum, but the results are less dramatic.
Effect of water vapour content on thermal barrier coating lifetime

Furnace cycle testing was conducted in air with 10, 50 and 90 vol.-% water vapour and compared to prior results in dry O2. The first series of experiments examined Pt diffusion and Pt modified aluminised bond coatings on second generation superalloy N5 at 1150°C with commercially vapour deposited yttria stabilised zirconia (YSZ) top coats. Compared to dry O2, the average lifetimes with Pt diffusion coatings were unaffected by the addition of water vapour, while the Pt modified aluminide coating average lifetime was reduced by >50% with 10% water vapour, but less reduction was observed with higher water contents. The second series of experiments examined MCrAlY and MCrAlYHfSi bond coatings and air plasma sprayed YSZ top coatings on superalloy X4 cycled at 1100°C. Compared to dry O2, the addition of 10% water vapour decreased the lifetime of MCrAlY by 28%. Higher average lifetimes were observed with Hf in the bond coating.
Identifying domain expertise of developers from source code

We are interested in identifying the domain expertise of developers of a software system. A developer gains expertise on the code base as well as the domain of the software system he/she develops. This information forms a useful input in allocating software implementation tasks to developers. Domain concepts represented by the system are discovered by taking into account the linguistic information available in the source code. The vocabulary contained in source code as identifiers such as class, method, variable names and comments are extracted. Concepts present in the code base are identified and grouped based on a well known text processing hypothesis - words are similar to the extent to which they share similar words. The developer's association with the source code and the concepts it represents is arrived at using the version repository information. In this line, the analysis first derives documents from source code by discarding all the programming language constructs. KMeans clustering is further used to cluster documents and extract closely related concepts. The key concepts present in the documents authored by the developer determine his/her domain expertise. To validate our approach we apply it on large software systems, two of which are presented in detail in this paper.
On the ‘Emptiness’ of Particles in Condensed-matter Physics

In recent years, the ontological similarities between the foundations of quantum mechanics and the emptiness teachings in Madhyamika–Prasangika Buddhism of the Tibetan lineage have attracted some attention. After briefly reviewing this unlikely connection, I examine ideas encountered in condensed-matter physics that resonate with this view on emptiness. Focusing on the particle concept and emergence in condensed-matter physics, I highlight a qualitative correspondence to the major analytical approaches to emptiness.
Adaptive OpenCL (ACL) execution in GPU architectures

Open Compute Language (OpenCL) has been proposed as a platform-independent, parallel execution model to target heterogeneous systems, including multiple central processing units, graphics processing units (GPUs), and digital signal processors (DSPs). OpenCL parallelism scales with the available resources and hardware generational improvements due to the data-parallel nature of its kernels. Such parallel expressions must adhere to a rigid execution model, essentially forcing the run-time system to behave as a batch-scheduler for small, local workgroups of a larger global problem. In many scenarios, especially in the real-time computing environments of mobile computing, a mobile system must adapt to system constraints and problem characteristics. This paper investigates the concept of Adaptive OpenCL (ACL) to explore algorithm support for dynamically adapting data-model properties and runtime machine characteristics. We show that certain algorithms can be structured to dynamically balance problem correctness and performance.
Windowed fast transversal filters adaptive algorithms with normalization

New fixed-order fast transversal filter (FTF) algorithms are introduced for several common windowed recursive-least-squares (RLS) adaptive-filtering criteria. O(N) operations per data point, where N is the filter order, are required by the new algorithms. These algorithms are characterized by two different time-variant scaling techniques that are applied to the internal quantities, leading to normalized and over-normalized FTF algorithms. It is this scaling that distinguishes the new algorithms from the multitude of fast-RLS-Kalman or fast-RLS-Kalman-type algorithms that have appeared in the literature for these same windowed RLS criteria, and which use no normalization or scaling of the internal algorithmic quantities. The overnormalized fast transversal filters have the lowest possible computational requirements for any of the considered windows. The normalized FTF algorithms are then introduced, at a modest increase in computational requirements, to significantly mitigate the numerical deficiencies inherent in all most-efficient RLS solutions, thus illustrating an interesting and important tradeoff between the growth rate of numerical errors and computational requirements for all fixed-order algorithms. Performance of the algorithms, as well as some illustrative tracking comparisons for the various windows, is verified via simulation.
ESR DETECTION OF ENDOGENOUS ASCORBATE FREE RADICAL IN MOUSE SKIN: ENHANCEMENT OF RADICAL PRODUCTION DURING UV IRRADIATION FOLLOWING TOPICAL APPLICATION OF CHLORPROMAZINE

Using electron spin resonance spectroscopy, we observed that UV radiation (330 nm) increased the endogenous ascorbate free radical concentration in hairless mouse (HRS/J) skin. When the skin was topically treated with a chlorpromazine solution prior to illumination, UV irradiation caused the ascorbate free radical concentration to increase even more. This observation suggests that there is an increased UV-induced oxidative stress in the presence of chlorpromazine, probably caused by the production of free radicals from chlorpromazine.
Maximizing legislative opportunities for early child development and day care programs.

Day care is a social service. Day care as distinguished from a custodial program should be a child development program. There is no social services program that is not also a mental health program. An overview of traditional social services programs bears this out, no matter from what vantage they are observed. These include the child welfare tasks of rearing and protecting children; family service counseling and related programs; those which care for persons of all ages in nonclinical or semiclinical institutions; those which plan and organize people, social institutions, and community groups for community betterment programs; those which serve unmarried mothers; those which provide homemakers or day care; and even those euphemistically described as group or group work services which range from pure recreation to stimulants of social interaction or social action for individual and group betterment. The incentive for the provision of early childhood development programs in the United States is increasing, particularly in day care because so large a percentage of the work force and potential work force is made up of women of childbearing age, because mothers want to be free, and because of knowledge about early child growth.
A two-level metal fully planarized interconnect structure implemented on a 64 kb CMOS SRAM

Planarization of VLSI interconnect structures is recognized as a crucial element in advanced BEOL. A structure is presented which uses full oxide planarization before the first and second metal layers, W studs for contacts and interlevel vias, and Ti/Al(2.5%Cu)/Si metal lines patterned by reactive ion etching. This structure has been successfully implemented both on BEOL test sites and in device runs to fabricate a selectively scaled 0.5- mu m-channel-length 64-kb high-performance CMOS SRAM chip. Electrical testing results show contact resistances and metal test site yields equal to or better than that achieved with metal lift-off processing. Functional testing of the 64-kb SRAM produced many chips with better than 90% yield, which is also equal to or better than that achieved with a nonplanarized lift-off process. Use of the M2 level in this chip design as a bit line strap reduced access time from 11 ns without M2 to roughly 6 ns with M2. No degradation of device characteristics due to the BEOL processing could be detected. >
Tumor heterogeneity and intrinsically chemoresistant subpopulations in freshly resected human malignant gliomas.

Malignant gliomas continue to defy clinical treatment despite aggressive therapy that includes a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In the last 5 years, our success rate has not improved from 50% mortality within six months and 90% mortality within 1 1/2 years1. Furthermore, the design of new treatment strategies has been limited by our lack of understanding of the fundamental processes which occur in this tumor. Therefore, if new drugs are to be developed and rational therapeutic approaches devised we must understand the complex biology of human malignant gliomas that contribute to cellular resistance.
Comment on “Electromagnetic geophysics: Notes from the past and the road ahead” (Michael S. Zhdanov, 2010, GEOPHYSICS, 75, no. 5, 75A49–75A66)

The direct current and electromagnetic methods have been around for almost 180 years and have been applied successfully in mining, petroleum, geotechnical, engineering, environmental, groundwater, and tectonic studies. Over such a long period of time, it is possible to lose track of who the pioneers were that developed the various techniques in current use and who wrote the seminal papers on these techniques. As such, a historical review paper is most welcome and, in the past, there were only few attempts to undertake this task (e.g., Rust, 1938; Ward, 1980; Fountain, 1998). Each of these historical reviews covered only a limited number of topics and I was glad to see the recent attempt by Zhdanov to undertake a similar task in his 2010 paper entitled “Electromagnetic geophysics: Notes from the past and the road ahead.” I was eagerly looking forward to reading this paper because I have been practicing geophysics for almost six decades and have witnessed the birth and successful development of most modern techniques. I was also encouraged by the fact that in the abstract Zhdanov wrote “This paper describes the evolution of the conceptual and technical foundations of EM methods.” Upon reading the paper, however, I have found a number of improper or missing citations of seminal papers and discrepancies between the sequence of events as stated in Zhdanov’s review paper and my recollections corroborated by the many published papers by many authors and also by the review chapters in the two-volume book “Electromagnetic methods in applied geophysics,” which I edited. Some of these omissions and discrepancies are shown below. On page 75A52, Zhdanov writes: “Berdichevsky was the first to realize the importance of accounting for the effects of horizontal geoelectrical inhomogeneities on MT data. Berdichevsky’s work on the distortion theory resulted in the method …
A comparison of two algorithms for multi-unit k-double auctions

We develop two algorithms to manage bid data in flexible, multi-unit double auctions. The first algorithm is a multi-unit extension of the 4-HEAP algorithm, and the second is a novel algorithm based on the Internal Path Reduction tree. To facilitate the generation of price quotes, we enhance the IPR tree algorithm to maintain information about the current Mth and (M + 1)st units. Our experiments show that when bids are relatively unordered, AUC-IPR outperforms 4-HEAP by a factor of about 2.6. However, under some scenarios in which bids are received in order, AUC-IPR is not always better than 4-HEAP.
Shifting patterns in Pacific climate, West Coast salmon survival rates, and increased volatility in ecosystem services.

Although Pacific salmon never swim within 2,000 km of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, this does not mean they are beyond the reach of El Nino and the Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Pacific salmon habitats are subject to robust long-distance climate linkages; tropical ENSO indicators are well correlated with the dominant pattern of North Pacific climate variations, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and with the dominant pattern of North America’s 20th-century salmon landings (1, 2). As such, might a change in the dominant flavor of ENSO variability and its link with North Pacific climate also affect patterns of Pacific salmon population dynamics? Kilduff et al. (3) show that, indeed, a shift in Pacific climate has a strong and previously unidentified signature in West Coast salmon survival rates; they also suggest that this shift increased the synchrony of survival rate variations for dozens of salmon populations across ∼2,000 km of coastline and destabilized the delivery of services these salmon provide to people and ecosystems.
Movements of the yellowfin shiner, Notropis lutipinnis

— Yellowfin shiner, Notropis lutipinnis, movements were observed in two streams located near Clemson, South Carolina (USA). Subcutaneous paint tags were used to associate fish with the pools in which they were initially captured, tagged and released. Few mortalities related to marking techniques were observed in both captive and field-tagged fish. Tag longevity varied among paint colors used and anatomical locations marked. Movements were inferred from recaptured fish collected over a 12-month period. Recaptures within release pools were proportionally greater than movements outside release pools, although the sampling technique used likely overestimated recaptures within release pools. Recaptures outside release pools were more frequent in late spring and early summer, coinciding with the N. lutipinnis spawning season. The linear home range estimate for this species was 42.9 ± 79.0 m, although this represents a minimum estimate because complex movements by individual fish could not be detected.
Structural model of the circadian clock KaiB-KaiC complex and mechanism for modulation of KaiC phosphorylation.

The circadian clock of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus can be reconstituted in vitro by the KaiA, KaiB and KaiC proteins in the presence of ATP. The principal clock component, KaiC, undergoes regular cycles between hyper- and hypo-phosphorylated states with a period of ca. 24 h that is temperature compensated. KaiA enhances KaiC phosphorylation and this enhancement is antagonized by KaiB. Throughout the cycle Kai proteins interact in a dynamic manner to form complexes of different composition. We present a three-dimensional model of the S. elongatus KaiB–KaiC complex based on X-ray crystallography, negative-stain and cryo-electron microscopy, native gel electrophoresis and modelling techniques. We provide experimental evidence that KaiB dimers interact with KaiC from the same side as KaiA and for a conformational rearrangement of the C-terminal regions of KaiC subunits. The enlarged central channel and thus KaiC subunit separation in the C-terminal ring of the hexamer is consistent with KaiC subunit exchange during the dephosphorylation phase. The proposed binding mode of KaiB explains the observation of simultaneous binding of KaiA and KaiB to KaiC, and provides insight into the mechanism of KaiB's antagonism of KaiA.
Threatened carotid artery rupture: a complication of radical neck surgery

Carotid artery rupture is an infrequent but highly dangerous postoperative complication of radical head and neck surgery. The principal predisposing factors are radiation therapy, infection, tissue necrosis, vessel exposure, and pharyngeal fistula formation. Actual or threatened carotid artery rupture has been most commonly managed by ligation of the involved vessel. We present a patient who showed signs of impending carotid artery rupture after both irradiation and radical neck surgery. Balloon embolization was employed in preference to traditional carotid artery ligation. The patient's risk factors for carotid artery rupture are analyzed and the application of balloon embolization is discussed.
The Ancient Greek World

The Ancient Greek World. An online exhibition of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.TYLER JOSMITH