cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhancing Resource Utilization Efficiency in Networked Control of Distributed Processes with Parameter Variations and Limited Measurements

This work presents an approach for enhancing the efficiency of network resource utilization in the control of spatially-distributed systems over resource-limited communication channels, subject to process parametric variations and limited state measurements. The approach is predicated on the idea of augmenting a model-based event-triggered control system with an event-driven parameter re-identification and update scheme that helps maintain reduced levels of sensor transmissions over the network by keeping the plant-model mismatch to a minimum. To this end, a stabilizing model-based state feedback controller with event-triggered sensor-controller communication is initially designed based on an approximate finite-dimensional model that captures the dominant (slow) dynamics of the infinite-dimensional system. A state estimator is introduced to obtain estimates of the slow states using the available output measurements. Taking account of the estimation error, the state feedback-based communication-triggering criterion is appropriately modified to allow the implementation of the communication strategy based on the available state estimates. The developed output feedback control strategy is augmented with an event-triggered parameter re-identification and update mechanism. A moving-horizon monitoring scheme that uses observed variations in the sensor-controller communication patterns to detect parametric drift is used to trigger parameter re-identification whenever a certain model state update frequency threshold is exceeded. The closed-loop stability and communication requirements associated with the newly-identified model are analyzed and used to decide whether to trigger model parameter updates. Finally, the proposed approach is illustrated in the context of a simulated diffusion-reaction process example.
Rhinos as “The Mine” and the Fugitive Meanings of Illegal Wildlife Hunting

Most scholarship and policy documentation that examines the problem of “rhino poaching” assumes that the potential for economic gain drives impoverished people to hunt threatened and endangered wildlife illegally. The amount of money illegal hunters can extract from the lethal trade in rhinoceros' horn is extraordinary. Yet, the provocation of one convicted hunter, who referred to rhinos as “the mine” (as in a gold mine) reveals complicated meanings underneath and adjoined to monetary explanations. In the transfrontier region comprising the Kruger and Limpopo National Parks, men have responded to colonial and post-colonial dispossession through institutions of migrant labour. When dispossessed mine labourers developed the wealth of southern African colonial states, they salvaged for themselves, economic benefits, status, and dignity. In the post-colonial context, the protection of threatened species forecloses opportunities for migrant labour and generates the need for “peripheral” or illegal labour. The killing of protected wildlife to trade in their parts enables hunters to extract money, cultural continuity, and dignity from the very processes that impoverish and dispossess them. Improved understandings of people's motivations to hunt wildlife illegally necessitate theorisations that are more explicitly co-produced, derived from and responsive to the people living (and dying) with conservation by dispossession.
Distant Strangers: Ethics, Psychology, and Global Poverty

1. Introduction 2. Entanglements and the claims of mere humanity 3. Duties and rights, charity and justice 4. 'Negative' and 'positive' duties 5. Oughts and cans 6. Why people do what others do - and why that's not so bad 7. Whose poor?/Who's poor?: Deprivation within and across borders 8. Hopefully helping: the perils of giving 9. Motives and morality 10. Conclusion: morality for mere mortals.
Antenatal evaluation of fetal hydrocephalus with computed tomography.

Y. L., a 27-year-old black woman, para O-l-2-0, 39 weeks’ gestation by dates, was referred to our institution after a diagnostic ultrasound examination was suggestive of fetal hydrocephalus. The patient had received no prenatal care prior to 38 weeks’ gestation. Past history was significant in that she had given birth to a premature infant with microcephaly and hydranencephaly, who died 11 days after birth. Physical findings included a 28-week-size uterus with fetal heart tones present. The day after admission, an ultrasound examination showed a singleton fetus in breech presentation. The biparietal diameter was 10.4 cm, and neither the falx nor the lateral ventricles could be identified. The transtorso diameter
Examination of physiological and molecular factors involved in enhanced solvent production by Clostridium beijerinckii BA101

The specific activities and the mRNA expression levels associated with coenzyme A transferase, acetoacetate decarboxylase, and butyraldehyde dehydrogenase were elevated in hyper-solvent-producing Clostridium beijerinckii BA101 during the exponential growth phase. The increase in expression of the sol operon and associated enzyme activities may be responsible for enhanced solvent production by C. beijerinckii BA101.
Dissociation of clathrin from coated vesicles by the uncoating ATPase.

The uncoating ATPase has been shown to dissociate clathrin from both clathrin-coated vesicles and synthetic clathrin baskets (Rothman, J. E., and Schmid, S. L. (1986) Cell 46, 5-9). In the present study, we investigated the mechanism of action of the uncoating ATPase using intact coated vesicles isolated from bovine brain. We observed an initial burst of uncoating followed by much slower steady-state uncoating. The initial burst of uncoating was essentially stoichiometric with each molecule of uncoating ATPase apparently binding to one leg of the clathrin triskelion. When the enzyme was preincubated with equimolar ADP, Pi, and ATP, rather than just ATP alone, both the initial burst and the slow steady-state uncoating were markedly inhibited, suggesting that the combination of ADP and Pi is a strong competitive inhibitor of ATP binding. However, kinetic studies suggested that ADP and Pi dissociates from the enzyme relatively rapidly unless clathrin is also bound to the enzyme. These results suggest that, after the uncoating ATPase rapidly removes a stoichiometric amount of clathrin while ATP is hydrolyzed at the active site, slow release of ADP and Pi from the resulting enzyme.clathrin.ADP.Pi complex limits the rate at which further uncoating occurs.
Cigarette smoking status and recurrent subjective health complaints among US school-aged adolescents

Background Subjective health complaints are common among adolescents. There is evidence that girls are more likely to register complaints than boys. This study examines gender differences in the relationship between daily smoking and recurrent subjective health complaints in school-age adolescents in the United States.
A linear-time algorithm for studying genetic variation

The study of variation in DNA sequences, within the framework of phylogeny or population genetics, for instance, is one of the most important subjects in modern genomics. We here present a new linear-time algorithm for finding maximal k-regions in alignments of three sequences, which can be used for the detection of segments featuring a certain degree of similarity, as well as the boundaries of distinct genomic environments such as gene clusters or haplotype blocks. k-regions are defined as these which have a center sequence whose Hamming distance from any of the alignment rows is at most k, and their determination in the general case is known to be NP-hard.
Inequality in Political Philosophy and in Epidemiology: A Remarriage

In political philosophy and in economics, unfair inequality is usually assessed between individuals, nowadays often on luck-egalitarian grounds. You have more than I do (through no fault of my own) and that's unfair. By contrast, in epidemiology and sociology, unfair inequality is traditionally assessed between groups. More is concentrated among people of your class or race than among people of mine, and that's unfair. I shall call this difference the egalitarian ‘divorce’. Epidemiologists, and their ‘divorce lawyers’ Paula Braveman, Norman Daniels, and Iris Marion Young, explain that not every inequality between individuals is an inequity. Only inequality between social status groups is unfair. Only such inequality stems from problems like partiality, discrimination, oppression, inequality-related population health problems, and unfair distribution of prospects. And it alone is actionable. By contrast, inequality between individuals, e.g. in longevity, is natural, inevitable, less important, or otherwise less informative — not unjust. In ‘divorce trial’ mode, I respond to epidemiologists that group inequalities lack the intrinsic disvalue that they ascribe them. They may be instrumentally or contingently bad or wrong, not essentially so. I then shift to ‘remarriage’: although group inequalities lack intrinsic badness or wrongness, for multiple reasons they remain useful to measure.
Information flow in social groups

Abstract We present a study of information flow that takes into account the observation that an item relevant to one person is more likely to be of interest to individuals in the same social circle than those outside of it. This is due to the fact that the similarity of node attributes in social networks decreases as a function of the graph distance. An epidemic model on a scale-free network with this property has a finite threshold, implying that the spread of information is limited. We tested our predictions by measuring the spread of messages in an organization and also by numerical experiments that take into consideration the organizational distance among individuals.
Effects of leaching on pore size distribution of solidified/stabilized wastes

Abstract Chemical solidification/stabilization processes are commonly used to immobilize metals in fly ash and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) sludges and to convert these wastes into monolithic or granular materials with better handling properties and reduced permeabilities. This study evaluated the role of pore structure of solidified materials during leaching. The solidified material's initial pore structure, changes in the pore structure which result during leaching, and the effects of pore structure on leaching are discussed. It was found that pore structures varied depending upon the wastes used and the solidification mix formulations tested. After acetic acid leaching, the pore structures of samples changed remarkably. Total pore volumes and pore sizes increased. The percentage of larger pores (diameter greater than 6000 nm) increased from below 5% for before-leaching samples to above 23% for after-leaching samples. The higher the alkalinity in a sample, the greater the change of pore structure due to leaching. Changes in pore structure were primarily due to leaching of calcium hydroxide.
The curious selection process of treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract Treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) vary widely. The disorder is now considered treatable, but some interventions have extensive empirical support, while other interventions have none. Despite these stark differences in the evidence base for interventions, and efforts to educate the public, little correlation exists between what treatments work and what treatments parents choose. This review covers treatments, what people choose, and possible reasons choices are made, plus what factors may influence these choices. Data of this sort are important for clinicians and researchers, since multiple issues dictate treatment selection.
On Matching Compliance Between Canine Carotid Arteries and Polyurethane Grafts

Compliance mismatch between a host artery and an implanted graft has been suggested as a contributing factor to a small diameter graft failure. In this study, static compliance and dynamic compliance were defined and measured in vitro and in vivo for canine carotid arteries and 2 types of polyurethane grafts. Based on these compliance values, the circumferential modulus (E[theta]) and longitudinal modulus (Ez) were calculated. It was shown that grafts have constant moduli over a wide range of pressure while the moduli of carotid arteries increase significantly with increasing pressure (dynamic E[theta] from 0.20 to 1.32 MPa). Polyurethane grafts are nearly isotropic, with the modulus almost identical in each direction, while carotid arteries are anisotropic (E[theta]/Ez = 2-3). The dynamic moduli are generally higher than static values and are especially pronounced for arteries. Due to these different inherent characteristics, the compliance of a synthetic graft may match that of the host artery only in the circumferential direction and within a small pressure range. A stated limitation is therefore given for complete compliance matching. The results provide a rationale for identifying the degree of compliance match. These efforts may lead to better designed vascular grafts.
Additivity of bond separation energies of hydrocarbons and their thermochemical data

The additivity of experimental bond separation energies is demonstrated. This thermodynamic function can be reproduced by summation of group equivalents with a correction for the ‘stabilization’ energy. For this purpose, several group equivalents have been developed for alkanes and alkenes. The correlation between the computed and the experimental bond separation energies is good. These equivalents are then used in evaluating the stabilization (destabilization) energies for aromatic hydrocarbons and polyenes. The results obtained are in good agreement with values reported in the literature.
The Epidemiology of Back Pain, Axial Spondyloarthritis and HLA-B27 in the United States

The concept of inflammatory back pain (IBP) evolved in the 1970s, coincident with the discovery of the HLA-B27 association with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), leading to the development of criteria to determine the presence of IBP. The concept of IBP and it relationship with AS and axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) has further evolved, and an instrument developed (the Spondylitis Association of America Back Pain Tool), which was further modified and field tested for use in the 2009 to 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). This has shown the frequency of chronic back pain to have risen to 19.4%, with nearly one third having IBP. The prevalence of AxSpA has been defined at 1.0% to 1.4% and AS at 0.52% to 0.55%. The national prevalence of HLA-B27 in the United States is 6.1%, and intriguing data from NHANES 2009 suggest a decreasing frequency with increasing age. From this arise new questions and a work agenda ahead.
Cryptochromes: Enabling Plants and Animals to Determine Circadian Time

Cryptochromes are flavin-containing blue light photoreceptors related to photolyases-they are found in both plants and animals and have recently been described for bacteria. In plants, cryptochromes perform a variety of functions including the entrainment of circadian rhythms. They serve a similar role in Drosophila and mammals, where the cryptochromes also perform an additional function as an essential component of the circadian clock.
Clinical model for predicting prolonged mechanical ventilation.

Abstract Introduction Mechanical ventilation (MV) predisposes patients to numerous complications, which increases with longer durations of treatment. Identifying individuals more likely to require prolonged MV (PMV) may alter ventilation strategies or potentially minimize the duration of therapy and its associated complications. Our aim was to identify clinical variables at the time of intubation that could identify individuals who will require PMV. Methods One hundred thirty consecutive adult patients requiring MV support in a medical intensive care unit (ICU)were retrospectively assessed. Prolonged MV was defined as MV support more than 14 days. Results Mean age was 62.3 ± 21.1 years, 64.6% were men, and mean duration of MV support was 11.4 ± 11.9 days. Prolonged MV was required in 31.3%. Requiring intubation after admission to the ICU, heart rate greater than 110, blood urea nitrogen more than 25 mg/dL, serum pH less than 7.25, serum creatinine more than 2.0 mg/dL, and a HCO 3 less than 20 mEq/L were the only variables independently associated with PMV. Specificity for predicting PMV was 100% with 4 or more of these variables. Conclusion The novel predictive model, using Intubation in the ICU, Tachycardia, Renal dysfunction, Acidemia, elevated Creatinine, and a decreased HCO 3 , was highly specific in identifying patients who subsequently required PMV support and performed better than Acute Physiology Age Chronic Health Evaluation III.
Diagnosis of Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections: Is it Necessary to Culture the Subcutaneous Catheter Segment?

In order to determine the diagnostic usefulness of culturing the subcutaneous catheter segment, an analysis was performed using data derived from two prospective, randomized studies that included 479 patients with central venous catheters and 13 episodes of catheter-related bacteremia. The results indicate that quantitative culture, using the roll-plate and sonication methods, of the subcutaneous catheter segment did not add to the diagnostic yield (sensitivity, 83-100%; specificity, 82-97%; negative predictive value, 100%) of semiquantitative and quantitative catheter-tip cultures or aid in identifying catheter-related bloodstream infections.
Periodontal disease in pregnancy complicated by type 1 diabetes mellitus

Background: Systemic disease and hormonal changes have been implicated as complicating factors for periodontal disease. Diabetes has been identified as a risk factor for periodontal disease, and diabetics can experience periodontal destruction at an earlier age than non-diabetic individuals. Increased hormone levels during pregnancy can contribute to increased gingival inflammation. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) on the periodontal status of pregnant women. Methods: Thirty-three (13 diabetic and 20 non-diabetic) subjects, 20 to 39 weeks gestation, participated in this study. The mean age of the diabetics and non-diabetics was 28.5 ± 7.1(SD) and 27.0 ± 7.3 years, respectively. The following parameters were assessed at Ramfjord’s reference teeth: plaque index (PI), gingival inflammation (GI), probing depth (PD), gingival margin (GM) location, and clinical attachment level (CAL). Results: Diabetic subjects had significantly (P <0.001) higher PI (1.48...
A survey of missing patents at the United States patent and trademark office

Abstract Recent articles in newspapers and magazines have suggested that many patent documents are missing from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO); however, no survey has been published which attempts to verify the truth of this claim. This article reports on work undertaken to sample a number of patent classifications to determine if patents themselves are missing from the files of the PTO. The research, limited in that it can only measure patents and not patent applications or accompanying documentation, shows that missing patents are common and that each of the classifications surveyed contained missing patents. The situation may not be as bad as reported, however, in that the PTO does maintain a backup file on microfilm and Patent Depositories across the United States also maintain at least partial holdings of United States Patents on microfilm.
Architects to the Nation: The Rise and Decline of the Supervising Architect's Office

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Prelude 2. No Blueprint for the New Nation, 1789-1851 3. THe Bureau of Construction and the Corps of Engineers, 1852-1865 4. Alfred B. Mullett, 1866-1874 5. The Supervising Architect's Office in the Gilded Age, 1875-1896 6. The Tarsney Act, Its Passage and Postponement in Implementation, 1893-1939 7. Proponents of "Academic Classicism," 1895-1925 8. The Public Buildings Program in Eras of Affluence and Depression, 1926-1939 Epilogue
Application of an Intelligent Hybrid Optimization Technique for Parameter Estimation in the Presence of Colored Noise

Parameter estimation is an important concept in engineering where a mathematical model of a system is identified with the help of input and output signals. The Classical Least Squares (LS) algorithm gives an unbiased estimate of the parameters when the system noise is white. This property is lost when the system noise is colored — which is generally the case. In order to overcome the bias problem associated with the colored noise environment, one can use a whitening filter. The cost function in the case of a colored noise environment becomes multimodal when the signal to noise ratio is high and hence some intelligent optimization technique is required to find the global minimum. A new hybrid algorithm combining intelligent optimization techniques is proposed. This algorithm includes Enhanced Continuous Tabu Search (ECTS) and an elitism based Genetic Algorithm (GA) which is applied to the parameter estimation problem. ECTS is a modified version of Tabu Search (TS) applied to continuous functions and has an advantage of covering large search spaces. GA is an evolutionary algorithm that has a better convergence towards the optimum solution. The hybrid algorithm combines the respective strengths of ECTS and GA. Simulation results show that the parameters estimated using the proposed algorithm is unbiased in the presence of colored noise.© 2007 ASME
A Confidence Region for the Log-Normal Hazard Function

(1969). A Confidence Region for the Log-Normal Hazard Function. Technometrics: Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 387-388.
Biochronology and evolutionary implications of Late Neogene California margin planktonic foraminiferal events

The biochronology of eight events (first or last occurrences) among species of the planktonic foraminifer Neogloboquadrina plexus have been examined in six Pliocene to Quaternary deep-sea sequences drilled during ODP Leg 167 off the coast of California. The sites form a meridional transect along the California margin from 318 Nt o 418N, covering an area under the direct influence of the California Current and associated upwelling system. Using age models based on combination of calcareous nannofossil and radiolarian data and magnetostratigraphic chron boundaries, ages were assigned to the events, thus allowing investigations of their spatial and temporal distribution. Three of the events have been identified as clearly diachronous; two of these seem to represent examples of latitudinal immigrations. The evolutionary activity in the neogloboquadrinid clade on the California margin appears centered around 2.1 Ma, with most of the events occurring between 2.5 and 1 Ma. This interval was a time of major climate change. No events have occurred after 0.7 Ma supporting the notion that the extreme climate variations of the Late Pleistocene inhibited speciation. Assignment of ages to events defining boundaries of the California margin (CM) zones of Kennett and others has enabled us to compare this zonation with the standard planktonic foraminiferal zonal schemes. Seven of the neogloboquadrinid events occurred during the last 2.5 myr, suggesting that the time resolution of the CM zones (including the coiling dominance zones of Lagoe and Thompson) during this interval is at least twice that of the standard planktonic foraminiferal zonation. The remaining Pliocene is divided only into two CM zones compared to six standard planktonic foraminiferal zones. One of the Pleistocene neogloboquadrinids is formally described as a new species. q 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
A non-interpenetrating 3-D coordination polymer built from binuclear Cd units elaborated with square pyramidal geometry of cadmium

Abstract A new three-dimensional (3-D) neutral coordination polymer, [Cd(NA)2] 1, has been synthesized under hydrothermal reaction conditions. The structure of 1 is self-assembled from binuclear square pyramidal cadmium that is in favor of non-interpenetrating open-frameworks and square pyramidal geometry of cadmium.
Morphometric and electron microscopic studies of goiter induced by lithium in the rat.

Fifty-two male and female albino rats were used. Lithium-treated rats (30 animals) received twice daily intraperitoneal injections of lithium carbonate (40 mg/kg body weight) for 80 days. Three control groups were used. The first remained uninjected; the second received sodium chloride solution equal in volume and tonicity to the lithium carbonate solution; the third received sodium carbonate solution in which the carbonate ion concentration was equivalent to that in the lithium carbonate solution. Thyroid weights were analyzed as wet and dry weights, and as wet and dry thyroid weights in milligrams per 100 gm body weight. Morphometric or electron microscopic studies were carried out on Epon-embedded tissue routinely prepared for light or electron microscopy. Thyroid weights and values were greater in lithium-treated animals. A sex-related effect of lithium was indicated. The differences in thyroid weights between lithium-treated and control male rats were greater than those between female lithium-treated and control rats. Morphometric analysis revealed an increase in the mean diameter of sections of follicles and relative amounts of colloid, and a decrease in follicular cell heights in lithium-treated animals. The electron microscope revealed an enlarged Golgi apparatus in many thyroid follicular cells of lithium-treated rats. The enlargement of the Golgi apparatus was most evident in male lithium-treated animals. The relationship of these findings to the mechanism of lithium action was briefly discussed.
Interference characteristics in concurrent discrimination performance by monkeys

Interference effects were evaluated in a series of tests that provided six different conditions of change in objects or reinforcement contingencies within four-problem concurrent tasks. The nine monkeys tested showed little interference relative to a time-only control when novel objects were interposed between acquisition and a retention test. However, if the intervening material provided changes in initial reinforcement contingencies, then substantial retention losses were observed. The results were interpreted as support for the preeminent role of proactive interference in tests of multiple-problem monkey memory.
Manganese concentration in soybean leaves as affected by cultivars and soil properties

Abstract Studies were conducted to determine (1) differences in foliar Mn among field‐grown cultivars and (2) the interactions among cultivars and locations. There were significant differences in foliar Mn among cultivars at only 1 of 7 locations in 1975 and 1 of 3 in 1976. There were large differences in foliar Mn among locations and 84% of the variation was explained by differences in NH4OAc‐extractable Mn which in turn was related to differences in soil pH.
Interaction of uranyl ions with phospholipid and cholesterol monolayers.

Abstract Surface pressures and potentials of egg and dipalmitoyl lecithins, dipalmitoyl phosphatidic acid, cholesterol, cholestanol, and eicosanyl trimethylammonium monolayers were measured on subsolutions of uranyl acetate and NaCl. Among these films only lecithin monolayers were influenced by the presence of uranyl acetate in the subsolution. It is evident from surface potential measurements that uranyl ions interact with phosphate groups in lecithin monolayers but not in phosphatidic acid monolayers. It is suggested that steric factors and ionic charges are involved in the interaction between phosphate groups and uranyl ions. The interaction of uranyl ions with the phosphate groups tends to solidify lecithin monolayers and to increase the surface potential. A comparison of surface pressure-area curves of dipalmitoyl lecithin and dipalmitoyl phosphatidic acid monolayers suggests that the trimethylammonium group causes a long-range repulsion up to a distance of 12 A in lecithin monolayers. Surface chemistry of various stains has been discussed in relation to electron microscopy of membranes.
Triangle-to-sine wave conversion with MOS technology

A description is given of MOS circuit design techniques for nonlinear analog circuits that perform a triangle-to-sine wave conversion. These techniques may also be applied to synthesizing other functions. Design techniques for compensating the conversion for variations in temperature, processing, and triangle wave amplitude are also presented. Results from simulation and monolithic circuit fabrication are reported which show that a sinusoidal approximation with a total harmonic content of 0.2% at 1 kHz is practical. The test circuit is powered from /spl plusmn/5 V supplies and displays a bandwidth of 1.1 MHz.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings in Children With a First Recognized Seizure

This study characterized structural abnormalities associated with onset of seizures in children, using magnetic resonance imaging and a standardized classification system in a large prospective cohort. Two hundred eighty-one children aged 6-14 years completed magnetic resonance imaging within 6 months of their first recognized seizure. Most examinations were performed with a standardized, dedicated seizure protocol; all were scored using a standard scoring system. At least one magnetic resonance imaging abnormality was identified in 87 of 281 (31%) children with a first recognized seizure. Two or more abnormalities were identified in 34 (12%). The commonest abnormalities were ventricular enlargement (51%), leukomalacia/gliosis (23%), gray-matter lesions such as heterotopias and cortical dysplasia (12%), volume loss (12%), other white-matter lesions (9%), and encephalomalacia (6%). Abnormalities defined as significant, or potentially related to seizures, occurred in 40 (14%). Temporal lobe and hippocampal abnormalities were detected at a higher frequency than in previous studies (13/87). Magnetic resonance imaging and a standardized, reliable, valid scoring system demonstrated a higher rate of abnormal findings than previously reported, including findings formerly considered incidental. Practice parameters may need revision, to expand the definition of significant abnormalities and support wider use of magnetic resonance imaging in children with newly diagnosed seizures.
Analysis of Postphotoactivation Scanning Diffusion Profiles for Multiple Species with Distributed Diffusion Coefficients

Postphotoactivation scanning (PPS) is a method for quantifying diffusion coefficients of particles in simple and complex materials (e.g., hydrogels) over length scales ∼100μm-mm (Geonnotti et al., 2008). Diffusing particles are labeled with caged fluorophore, and a slit-shaped region of sample is exposed to UV to generate a line of fluorescence. A high-resolution scanner quantifies intensity profiles as particles diffuse out from the fluorescent region over time; these are fit to the solution of the diffusion equation to obtain the diffusion coefficient. We use this technique to measure mobility of HIV-like liposomes. Here, we describe a novel method for analyzing PPS profiles for multiple diffusing species with a distribution (α) of diffusion coefficients (D). To determine α(D), we generated sets of diffusion profiles for a discretized range of D by numerically solving the diffusion equation using the experimental initial condition and assuming given D. We computed net diffusion profiles resulting from the sums of profiles with distribution α. We used an optimization scheme to deduce α(D) that minimized the squared difference of observed and computed profiles. The method was validated using simulated and experimental data. Experimental results for fluorescein diffusing in PBS (D=4.3×10−6 cm2/s) are similar to literature values. We also measured diffusion coefficients of solutions of labeled ∼100nm liposomes (D=3.2±2×10−8 cm2/s, n=4). We were able to resolve 2 distinct peaks in α corresponding to the D of liposomes and of free label. Measured values for diffusion coefficients of liposomes are similar to those predicted by Stokes-Einstein (D=3.9±1×10−8 cm2/s). We are using the technique to analyze interactions of HIV-like liposomes and anti-HIV antibodies. The method can be applied to describe diffusion of multiple species within complex materials. [Supported by Duke CFAR and NIH AI48103]
Effect of pressure on radiolysis of hydrogen-carbon monoxide mixtures in unpacked metal vessels

Abstract Formation of hydrocarbon products in the gamma radiolysis of 3:1 hydrogen-carbon monoxide mixtures in unpacked nickel and stainless steel vessels has been investigated at room temperature over the pressure range 149–3242 torr (19.9–432.1 kPa). Yields of all products were less than 0.05 G units at all pressures. The predominant products were ethane and propane with G values of 0.042 and 0.0062 in nickel vessels at 149 torr (19.9 kPa). Smaller yields of ethylene, i-butane, n-butane, propylene, i-pentane and n-pentane were found. In the nickel vessels, alkane yields dropped sharply with increasing pressure, but alkene yields were only slightly pressure dependent. It is concluded that the major reaction pathways to ethane and propane involve surface catalysis, but a very low efficiency homogeneous reaction (G values in the range of 10 −4 producing roughly similar yields of alkanes and alkenes may also exist.
Steady-state formulation of optical bistability for a Doppler-broadened medium in a Fabry-Perot☆

Abstract A two-level model for absorptive and dispersive bistability in a Fabry-Perot is described. Doppler broadening and the effects of atomic motion through the standing wave field are included. Numerical results illustrating saturation of the Doppler line are presented and bistable transmission characteristics are obtained for systems with varying degrees of Doppler broadening.
Fluid heterogeneities and hornblende stability in interlayered graphitic and nongraphitic schists (Tauern Window, Eastern Alps)

The assemblage hornblende+white mica occurs in graphite-free schists at two localities in the southwest corner of the Tauern Window, Eastern Alps. In interbedded graphitic layers (1 mm to 1 m thick), however, hornblende is typically replaced by pseudomorphs of biotite+plagioclase +epidote±chlorite+staurolite in the presence of white mica. Garnets adjacent to these pseudomorphs have pronounced growth discontinuities near their rims, in contrast to the continuously zoned garnets in nongraphitic layers. These observations imply that reactions of the type hbl+white mica→gar+bio+plag+epid±chl±staur +H2O occurred in the graphitic samples, but that hbl+white mica remained stable in graphite-free layers. Calculation of the equilibrium constants for solid phases in five dehydration equilibria at locality 1 indicates thata(H2O) in the nongraphitic layers was 6 to 11 times greater thana(H2O) in the graphitic layers. Similar calculations involving six dehydration equilibria at locality 2 show no difference ina(H2O) between layers at the conditions of final equilibration. Initial differences in fluid composition maintained between the graphitic and nongraphitic layers caused the hbl+white mica reaction to occur at differentP-T conditions in different horizons of the schists. These data indicate that systematic differences in fluid composition were generated during metamorphism of the interlayered graphitic and non-graphitic schists but were subsequently homogenized at locality 2. The heterogeneities could initially have been produced while the rocks were in theP-T field of CO2-H2O immiscibility. Development of a penetrative, layer-parallel shear foliation at this time would have prevented subsequent mixing of the fluids across layers after temperatures exceeded the consolute temperature in the CO2-H2O system. Late-stage homogenization of fluids at locality 2 is thought to reflect loss of the buffer capacity of the mineral assemblage in response to total consumption of hornblende.
Effect of stimulus strength and adaptation on the thermotactic response of Dictyostelium discoideum pseudoplasmodia.

Abstract The thermotactic responses of Dictyostelium discoideum strain HL50 and mutants derived from this strain have been characterized by curves of stimulus-strength vs response. With gradient midpoint temperatures of 16 and 24 °C, these curves are typical of those of a single response, i.e., the strength of the response increases with increasing stimulus strength until at some strength the response saturates. However, with a gradient midpoint temperature close to the transition from negative to positive thermotaxis, the sign of the thermotactic response depends on gradient strength. These observations support the hypothesis that the transduction pathways for positive and negative thermotaxis act concurrently and contain separable elements. An investigation of the adaptation of thermotaxis indicated that the stimulus-strength-dependence and midpoint-temperature-dependence of both thermosensory responses was altered by shifting the growth and development temperature.
Enabling fractionated spacecraft communications using F6WICS

Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) has designed a wireless transceiver to provide inter-satellite communications as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) System F6 program. System F6 (Future, Fast, Flexible, Fractionated, Free-Flying Spacecraft United by Information Exchange) seeks to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of a satellite architecture wherein the functionality of a traditional “monolithic” spacecraft is delivered by a cluster of wirelessly-interconnected modules capable of sharing their resources and utilizing resources found elsewhere in the cluster. SwRI's System F6 Wireless Inter-module Communication System (F6WICS) provides the data link and physical layers of the network stack that are specifically designed to meet the needs of fractionated space missions. F6WICS provides deterministic, real-time media access mechanisms that make efficient use of limited communications bandwidth over a wide range of spacecraft separation distances and network populations. The data link protocol is highly robust to module failure. The physical layer waveform provides robust communication, precision time transfer throughout the network, and continuous estimation of distance between spacecraft for use in navigation. The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. Distribution Statement “A”: Approved for Public Release, Distribution Unlimited.
LOSS OF HEPATITIS B ANTIBODY IN HTLV-III POSITIVE HEMOPHILIA PATIENTS

Patients with hemophilia were evaluated for the presence of HTLV-III virus exposure. The presence of this antibody was then correlated with the loss of existing antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAb) or the inability to develop HBsAb after receiving commercially available hepatitis B vaccine. Of the 115 patients studied, 54 were HTLV-III positive whereas 61 were HTLV-III negative (see Table). Evidence of HBsAb (n=37) or exposure to hepatitis vaccine (n=10) was found in 87% of HTLV-III positive patients at some time during their care in our clinic. However, 17% demonstrated subsequent antibody loss and/or did not respond to hepatitis vaccine. This unusual HBsAb response was restricted to patients ≤ 17 years of age (63% of all patients). This result contrasted to only a 2% loss of HBsAb or vaccine non-response in the HTLV-III negative patients who had previously been positive for HBsAb (n=24) or were given the hepatitis vaccine (n=16). This result suggests that loss or alteration of hepatitis B immunity in children occurs as a result of HTLV-III infection or exposure.
A trainable gesture recognizer

Abstract Gestures are hand-drawn strokes that do things. These things happen at distinctive places on the stroke. We built a gesture input filter and recognizer. The input filter is fast, because it does few computations per input point, because it can omit pre-filter data smoothing, and because wild points caused by hardware glitches are removed at the few output points of the filter, not at the many input points. The recognizer is a novel combination of two traditional techniques; angle filtering and multiscale recognition. Because an angle filter does not produce well-behaved scaled output, the multi-scale treatment had to be unusual.
A mechanism for the growth phase of magnetospheric substorms

Abstract A mechanism is presented whereby the rate of energy dissipation in the magnetosphere is controlled by the particle density in the plasma sheet in the near geomagnetic tail. The mechanism is based on a model in which the plasma sheet is sustained by injection of solar-wind particles into the dayside magnetosphere. The efficiency of the injection is controlled by solarwind parameters, in particular, the north-south component of the interplanetary magnetic field; the maximum injection rate occurs when the interplanetary field is northward. During geomagnetically quiet times, this source balances the loss of particles from the edges of the tail current sheet. If the dayside source rate is reduced (e.g. by a southward-turning interplanetary magnetic field), then the plasma sheet is depleted and the rate of magnetic merging is enhanced in the earthward portion of the tail current sheet. This period of steadily-enhanced merging is associated with the growth phase, i.e. the period of enhanced magnetospheric convection for about one hour preceding the breakup of a polar magnetic or auroral substorm. The breakup can be understood as the result of the collapse of a portion of the tail current sheet following the local depletion of the plasma sheet.
Predictions of nucleation theory applied to Ehrenfest thermodynamic transitions. II: The effects of pressure and stress

This paper is a sequel to an earlier one on the applicability of classical nucleation theory to second-order transitions in the Ehrenfest sense (1). In each case the approach was to obtain the critical size rc and energy barrier ΔGc for the growth of a nucleus of β-phase in an α-phase matrix by a Maclaurin series expansion of the free-energy-density g = (Gβ − Gα)/vβ as a function of θ (in BC-I) and of ΔP and Δσ in this paper where θ = (T − Tt) is the degree of undercooling and ΔP and Δσ are analogous terms for the hydrostatic pressure shift and tensile stress shift away from the equilibrium transition. The expansion coefficients were determined by the use of thermodynamic relationships. For second-order transitions, rc = 4γvβTt/ΔCpθ2, rc = 4γ/Δβ(Δp)2, and rc = 4γ/YαYβ(Δσ)2, respectively, for the three cases. The terms ΔCp, Δβ, and ΔY denote the differences in heat capacity, compressibility, and Young's modulus, e.g., ΔY = Yβ − Yα. The interfacial energy γαβ is denoted by γ. The activation energy barriers for the cases developed in this paper were ΔGc = (16π/3)γ3/(Δβ)2 (Δp)4 and ΔGc = (64π/3)γ3Yα2Yβ2/(ΔY)2(Δσ)4. More complicated expressions are given in the paper for the rc and ΔGc for first-order transitions. In the long run, these expressions may prove more useful than the ones for second-order because of the modifications expressions for the kinetics of transformations.
Inorganic phosphate (laxative) poisoning resulting in tetany in an infant

Summary We present here a case of inorganic phosphate ingestion causing acute hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, and tetany in a 3 1/2-month-old infant. Symptoms were quickly relieved by the intravenous administration of calcium, and the patient's serum levels returned to normal levels within 24 hours. This case adds another example to the vast variety of poisonings by ingestion and serves to alert the emergency room physician to the possibility of phosphate ingestion when confronted with tetany of obscure etiology.
Transplantation of retinal cells

This paper traces the history of transplantation of dissociated retinal epithelial and/or photoreceptor cells. It describes our most recent results on the long term allotransplantation of cultured, tritiated thymidine labeled pigmented retinal epithelial cells into the retina of albino rabbits immunosuppressed with cyclosporine. Cultured rabbit retinal epithelial cells survive for months after transplantation, resume phagocytosis of host outer segments and form junctional complexes with each other and with host retinal epithelium. It also describes long term transplantation of photoreceptors (rods) from normal rats into the almost receptorless retina of a congenic dystrophic rat. These rods maintain primitive outer segments and appear to form synapses on host retinal neurons. The results suggest that cellular reconstruction of the degenerated retina may become a feasible undertaking.
The Protective Role of Familism in the Lives of Latino Adolescents

Familism, a Latino value that promotes loyalty, cohesiveness, and obedience within the family, predicts improved outcomes for Latino adolescents. However, few studies have tested whether familism serves a protective role when adolescents are facing stress. We examined whether familism predicted psychosocial outcomes in the context of stress, and whether familism moderated the relationship between peer discrimination, acculturative stress, and economic stress predicting these outcomes in a sample of 173 Latino adolescents. Familism was associated with fewer depressive symptoms and greater school attachment, but it did not moderate the relationship between any of the stressors and outcomes. Discrimination was associated with greater depressive symptoms, worse school attachment, and greater perceived barriers to college, but socioeconomic stress and acculturation stress did not uniquely predict these outcomes once taking into account discrimination. Thus, although familial culture values lead to improved out...
A THERMODYNAMIC STUDY OF MUTANT FORMS OF STREPTOMYCES SUBTILISIN INHIBITOR. III: REPLACEMENTS OF A HYPER-EXPOSED RESIDUE, MET73

Abstract Amino acid replacements of Met73, which is hyper-exposed in the native structure, with Asp, Glu, Lys, Gly, Ala, Val, Leu or Ile changed the stability of Streptomyces subtilisin inhibitor by +1.60 to −0.94 kcal/mol −1 in free energy at 82.21 °C at pH 7.0, with higher hydrophobicity of the replacing amino acid side-chain showing a correlation with lower stability. Thermodynamic parameters obtained from detailed calorimetric analyses gave a nearly proportional relation between the entropy change and the enthalpy change of denaturation, i.e. T ΔΔ S ° = −0.03 (±0.11) + 1.14 (±0.03) ΔΔ H , with the linear correlation coefficient 0.996 for 18 data points. This proportionality observed uniquely for the substitutions at position 73 was caused primarily by the water/side-chain interaction, or hydration effect, which can account for the majority of the changes in enthalpy and entropy induced by the mutations.
At‐risk programs: Evaluation and critical inquiry

Because at-risk status is socially constructed, school-level programs designed for at-risk students and their evaluations should explicitly address the theoretical underpinnings of at-riskness as enacted within the particular school culture. One way of doing this is through critical inquiry.
Biosynthesis of mustard oil glucosides. II. The administration of sulphur-35 compounds to horse-radish leaves

Abstract Sulphur-35 from labelled sulphate, sulphide, thiosulphate and methionine was incorporated into sinigrin isolated from mature horse-radish leaves. Sulphate-S was more readily incorporated than was that from sulphide, thiosulphate or methionine. When inorganic sulphur-35 was supplied, about 80 per cent of the radioactivity of sinigrin was in the bisulphate moiety and 20 per cent in the isothiocyanate. However, with methionine-35S as the tracer the isothiocyanate portion contained 90 per cent of the radioactivity. The data suggest that methionine sulphur is incorporated into sinigrin by a different pathway than are the various forms of inorganic sulphur.