cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Aufnahme von Infrarot-Emissionsspektren dünner Schichten auf Metalloberflächen mit Hilfe eines rechnergekoppelten Gitterspektrometers

IR-Emissionsspektroskopie bei niedrigen Temperaturen wurde bisher wegen der geringen Strahlungsenergie nur in Einzelfallen als analytische Untersuchungsmethode angewandt, wobei vielfach Michelson-Interferometer eingesetzt wurden. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird gezeigt, das ein IR-Gitterspektrometer mit leistungsfahiger Optik und elektronischer Signalverarbeitung eine fur die Aufnahme von IR-Emissionsspektren guter Qualitat ausreichende Empfindlichkeit und Genauigkeit besitzt. Die Auswertung der Mesergebnisse erfolgt durch einen mit dem Spektrometer on-line gekoppelten Minicomputer. Die Probe befindet sich an ihrem ublichen Platz im Probenraum und mus auf konstante Temperatur erwarmt werden. Insbesondere bei der Untersuchung von dunnen Schichten auf Metallen ist dieses Verfahren leistungsfahig und kann Vorteile gegenuber anderen Mesmethoden bieten.
Approximate Memory with Approximate DCT

Approximate Computing is an emerging computing paradigm where one exploits inherent error resilience of certain applications (e.g., digital signal processing, multimedia and artificial intelligence) and trades off absolute computation precisions for performance, power, area, and/or efficiency gains. Approximate memory is a sub-branch of general approximate computing focusing on memory systems that trade off perfect data fidelity for increased storage density and reduced energy consumption for both memory and IO. This paper presents a new way to achieve approximate memory for natural sampled data (sound, sensor data, image and video frames) by applying the well known discrete cosine transformation (DCT) in one dimension between the last level cache and main memory to reduce memory traffic while maintaining acceptable quality degradations. By using state-of-the-art approximate DCT transformations, the proposed scheme achieves 20.3% of storage area at 37dB PSNR and SSIM = 0.99. If further quality degradation up to SSIM ≈ 0.9 is allowed, the storage saving can be up to 40%. The critical path of the circuit is comparable to state of the art approximate memory schemes, with only 3 levels of 8-bit adders (14 adders per 8-byte data block).
FloatPIM: in-memory acceleration of deep neural network training with high precision

Processing In-Memory (PIM) has shown a great potential to accelerate inference tasks of Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). However, existing PIM architectures do not support high precision computation, e.g., in floating point precision, which is essential for training accurate CNN models. In addition, most of the existing PIM approaches require analog/mixed-signal circuits, which do not scale, exploiting insufficiently reliable multi-bit Non-Volatile Memory (NVM). In this paper, we propose FloatPIM, a fully-digital scalable PIM architecture that accelerates CNN in both training and testing phases. FloatPIM natively supports floating-point representation, thus enabling accurate CNN training. FloatPIM also enables fast communication between neighboring memory blocks to reduce internal data movement of the PIM architecture. We evaluate the efficiency of FloatPIM on ImageNet dataset using popular large-scale neural networks. Our evaluation shows that FloatPIM supporting floating point precision can achieve up to 5.1% higher classification accuracy as compared to existing PIM architectures with limited fixed-point precision. FloatPIM training is on average 303.2× and 48.6× (4.3× and 15.8×) faster and more energy efficient as compared to GTX 1080 GPU (PipeLayer [1] PIM accelerator). For testing, FloatPIM also provides 324.8× and 297.9× (6.3× and 21.6×) speedup and energy efficiency as compared to GPU (ISAAC [2] PIM accelerator) respectively.
The use of polyelectrolytes for simultaneous dewatering and fractionation of microalgal proteins, lipids, and pigments

Abstract For making microalgae-based bio-refinery platform sustainable and economically viable, it is necessary to simplify the harvesting process while enabling co-extraction of high-value bio-products from biomass. In this work, the ability of poly-diallyl dimethylammonium chloride (polyDADMAC) to dewater and extract cellular debris, lipids, and pigments to hexane phase while retaining protein fraction in the aqueous phase was investigated. It was observed that different components could be migrated from one phase to the other by modulating the system pH. Close to the isoelectric point, proteins can be retained in the aqueous phase while migrating algal debris to the hexane phase via targeted binding of the polyelectrolyte. Approximately 80% of total proteins were retained in the aqueous phase at pH 4, and ∼90% of cellular debris were migrated to the hexane phase at pH 4.5. Results indicate the possibility of separating multiple components from microalgae in an aqueous-organic solvent two-phase system using polyDADMAC.
Assessing economic and fiscal impacts of sports complex in a small US county

Due to the high demand for various forms of sports tourism, destinations have used sports-related events to attract more tourists to boost the regional economy. This study examines economic impacts...
Modernizacija urbanoga života u Hrvatskoj kroz prizmu stambenih i komunalnih politika u razdoblju socijalizma

This article points to the importance of several aspects of the 50 year-long modernisation process that brought industrial transformation and changes to the population structure in Croatia. The aim is to bring attention to the influence public policies (with their rationalised decision-making) had on this process using example cases of modernisation processes in housing and communal policies. The paternalistic role of the state, with its clear absence of plurality, became visible in every segment of economic, political, and social life. Due to the increased inflow of residents to the cities, the government paid great attention to housing and communal policies. The first measures for the rapid economic and social transformation of society came into effect early on, during the war period. Major state interventions were emphasised through industrialisation and urbanisation, which followed worker migrations from rural to urban areas. This paper also aims to warn about specific segments of political decision-making that have so far not been studied through the dimension of public policies, using the examples of some aspects of the modernisation of urban life in Croatia. In conclusion, the paper points to a possible interdisciplinary framework for research on the issue of public policies through a historical dimension.
Coupling Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Solvers for Multi-Disciplinary Simulations

The feasibility of multidisciplinary simulations for realistic geometries involving detailed physical models is demonstrated. Specifically, a three-dimensional chemically reacting fluid flow solver is coupled with a solid-phase heat transfer solver that includes cooling channels. Both fluid- and solid-phase models employ the integral, conservative form of the governing equations and are discretized by means of two finite volume numerical schemes. To keep the heat flux consistent, a special algorithm is developed at the interface between the solid and fluid regions. Physical and thermal properties of the solid materials can be temperature dependent, and different materials can be used in different parts of the domains due to a multiblock gridding strategy. The cooling channel model is developed by using conservation laws of mass, momentum, and energy, taking into account the effects of heat transfer and friction. The coupling of the models (solid and fluid, solid and cooling channels) is detailed. A hot-air nozzle test case is examined
A new methodology to estimate stochastic uncertainty of MCNP-predicted isotope concentrations in nuclear fuel burnup simulations

Abstract The Monte Carlo N-particle radiation transport code (MCNP) is used widely in nuclear fuel burnup simulation (FBS). In the FBS, MCNP predicts various neutron reaction rates and the associated stochastic relative error (SRE). The SRE is due to the nature of the statistical methods used in MCNP. These SREs for neutron reaction rates and fluxes are reported in the MCNP output for each FBS time-step. However, MCNP does not report SREs for its predictions of isotope concentrations. A new methodology to compute the SRE for the MCNP-predicted isotope concentrations is developed, which uses MCNP-computed neutron reaction rates and the associated SREs. The effectiveness of the methodology is verified for a pressurized water reactor FBS and is found to be satisfactory. The SRE computation for isotope concentrations in irradiated fuel has applications in nuclear science and engineering.
Active Rectifier Design and Synchronization Control for 6.78 MHz Wireless Power Transfer

In wireless power transfer systems, active rectifiers demonstrate improved efficiency and regulation capability. To enable impedance or output regulation, ensure stable operation, and maximize the efficiency, switching actions of the rectifier have to be synchronized with the magnetic field generated from the transmitter coil. This work presents an implementation of a phase- locked-loop synchronization controller using commercial components, including a low-cost microcontroller. A discrete-time small-signal model is used to derive the transfer function of the inherent feedback and design a compensator stabilizing the synchronization loop. Large-signal state-space modeling is used to design a high-efficiency, soft-switching, 6.78MHz power stage. A low-profile, 40W, GaN-based rectifier prototype is designed and built to experimentally verify the ability to synchronize and achieve high efficiency due to soft-switching.
Adaptive Gradient Online Control.

In this paper, we consider the online control of a known linear dynamic system, with additive disturbance, partial state observation and adversarial controller cost for a duration $T$. We generalize the online Disturbance Response Controller (DRC) to the adaptive gradient online Disturbance Response Controller. We show that the proposed online learning controller interpolates between the regret results for general convex controller cost and strongly convex controller cost and achieves intermediate regret rates between $\sqrt{T}$ and $\log{T}$ for intermediate convex conditions.
Digital record of specimens, including voucher material, from the study of a pollinator habitat restoration site under a commercial solar array in Jackson County, Oregon, 2019

Photovoltaic solar energy installation is booming, frequently near agricultural lands. Traditionally, the land underneath ground-mounted photovoltaic panels is unused, though some are repurposing it as habitat for pollinating insects. However, the impact of the solar panel canopy on the pollinator-plant community understory is unknown. In this study (Graham et al., 2020), we investigated the effects of solar arrays on plant composition, bloom timing and foraging behavior of pollinators in open fields (control), and in full shade and partial shade areas under solar panels in a predominant agricultural region of southern Oregon. Pollinating insect specimens were collected using hand nets, and identified to the lowest taxonomic group possible by M. Graham, A.R. Moldenke, and L.R. Best. A total of 85 voucher specimens were deposited into the Oregon State Arthropod Collection; accession record: OSAC_AC_2021_03_11_001-01.
The classification of complex generalized Riemann derivatives

Abstract This article completes the more than a half a century old problem of finding the equivalences between generalized Riemann derivatives. The real functions case is studied in a recent paper by the authors. The complex functions case developed here is more general and comes with numerous applications. We say that a complex generalized Riemann derivative A implies another complex generalized Riemann derivative B if whenever a measurable complex function is A -differentiable at z then it is B -differentiable at z. We characterize all pairs ( Δ A , Δ B ) of complex generalized Riemann differences of any orders for which A -differentiability implies B -differentiability, and those for which A -differentiability is equivalent to B -differentiability. We show that all m points based generalized Riemann difference quotients of order n that Taylor approximate the ordinary nth derivative to highest rank form a projective variety of dimension m − n for which an explicit parametrization is given. One application provides an infinite number of equivalent ways to define analyticity. For example, a function f is analytic on a region Ω if and only if at each z in Ω, the limit lim h → 0 ⁡ f ( z + h ) + f ( z + i h ) − f ( z − h ) + f ( z − i h ) − 2 f ( z ) 2 h exists and is a finite number. Four more applications relate the classification of complex generalized Riemann derivatives to analyticity and the Cauchy-Riemann equations, and to the theory of best approximations.
Effectiveness of medication for opioid use disorders in transition-age youth: A systematic review

Abstract Background Sequalae of opioid misuse constitute a public health emergency in the United States. A robust evidence base informs the use of medication for opioid use disorders (MOUD) in adults, with far less research in transition-age youth. This systematic review evaluates the effectiveness of MOUD for transition-age youth (age 16 to 25). Methods This synthesis was part of a larger systematic review focused on adolescent substance use interventions. The study team conducted literature searches in MEDLINE, the Cochrane CENTRAL Registry of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL through October 31, 2019. We screened studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias using standard methods. The primary and secondary outcomes were the effect of MOUD on opioid abstinence and treatment retention, respectively. Results The study team screened a total of 33,272 records and examined 1831 full-text articles. Four randomized trials met criteria for inclusion in the current analysis. All four trials assessed a combination of buprenorphine plus cognitive behavioral therapy versus a comparison condition. Some trials included additional behavioral interventions, and the specific duration/dosage of buprenorphine varied. Risk of bias was moderate for all studies. Studies found that buprenorphine was more effective than clonidine, effectively augmented by memantine, and that longer medication taper durations were more effective than shorter tapers in promoting both abstinence and retention. Notably, we did not identify any studies of methadone or naltrexone, adjunctive behavioral interventions were sparingly described, and treatment durations were far shorter than recommended guidelines in adults. Discussion The literature guiding youth MOUD is limited, and more research should evaluate the effectiveness of options other than buprenorphine, optimal treatment duration, and the benefit of adjunctive behavioral interventions. Subgroup analyses of extant randomized clinical trials could help to extend knowledge of MOUD effectiveness in this age cohort.
SMA Patient Experienced Aseptic Meningitis With Severe Hypoglycorrhachia After Nusinersen Infusion (2528)

Objective: To discuss the finding of aseptic meningitis with severe hypoglycorrhachia in an adult patient receiving Nusinersen. Background: Nusinersen is the first FDA-approved drug for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), an autosomal recessive motor neuron disorder causing severe progressive motor weakness in children and adults. It is an intrathecally-administered antisense oligonucleotide that promotes expression of full-length survival motor neuron (SMN) protein, which is deficient in SMA. Design/Methods: We describe the case of a 39-year-old man with SMA2 who developed aseptic meningitis after his first dose of Nusinersen. Results: Our patient was administered Nusinersen via fluoroscopic-guided lumbar puncture. The week after his first dose, he reported mild body aches and temperatures of 99–101 degrees Fahrenheit which were relieved by Tylenol. His CSF at the time of his first infusion was normal. The day of the second dose of Nusinersen, CSF was abnormal: glucose was markedly reduced to 30mg/dL with protein of 701mg/dL. The patient remained asymptomatic. At the third dose, the patient’s CSF was markedly abnormal: protein 299mg/dL, glucose Conclusions: Adults receiving Nusinersen may experience a self-limited aseptic meningitis with flu-like symptoms which has not previously been reported. Disclosure: Dr. Janarious has nothing to disclose. Dr. Habib has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Alexion and Argenx. Dr. Habib has received research support from Ra, Alexion, Acceleron, Catalyst, Immunovant, and UCB. Dr. Mozaffar has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kak Korb has nothing to disclose.
Underwriter Certification, Issuer-Underwriter Matching, and SEO Performance

The role of underwriters is altered in new seasoned equity offering deal types in which the offering follows quickly after its announcement. Controlling for the endogenous matching between issuing firms and underwriters, we find increased underwriter reputation mitigates the immediate price impact of announcing an accelerated bookbuilt offering, exacerbates the price impact of announcing a bought offering, and has no immediate price impact for fully marketed deals. In contrast, underwriter reputation positively affects price outcomes for fully marketed deals around the offer date. Reputation effects are not apparent in the absence of controlling for the endogenous matching. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.
Expert Systems in Forensic Science

Expert systems provide a means for experienced experts to make their expertise available to others. The workings of a simple expert system shell are described using several small knowledge bases for examples. Several types of materials are described which would appear to be excellent candidates around which to develop knowledge bases to assist in the identification, evaluation, or interpretation of evidence involving such materials. The knowledge bases could be used in practice by forensic scientists or for educational purposes.
What is a Coupled Vectorial Process

Publisher Summary The reversible transformation of chemical energy or potential into mechanical, osmotic, and other kind of work through coupled vectorial processes represents one of the most interesting frontiers of biochemistry today. Many models have been proposed to “explain” the active transport of ions and small molecules and the synthesis of adenosine transport (ATP) from proton transport in oxidative phosphorylation and photophosphorylation. Some of these proposals have included—(1) mechanisms in which a change from tight binding on one side to weak binding on the other side of a membrane is responsible for coupled transport of a ligand, (2) particular steps in which coupling or energy transfer occurs, (3) “energized states,” and (4) hydrogen-bonded or other channels for ion transport. The coupling process itself can be described by a set of rules. Understanding coupling then represents an understanding of these rules and how they are enforced. The rules often represent enzyme specificities for catalysis that are strictly comparable to the specificities of ordinary enzymes. They differ from the specificities of most enzymes, however, in that they are turned on and off, or change in different states of the enzymes.
Patriotism Without Bad Faith

2. It is the world leader in technology, producing ... airplanes and tanks, which, being the best in the world, are going to win the war. They are certainly better than anything the Germans or the Japs can make. (Only the brightest and boldest of the troops perceived that American tanks were seriously outgunned by the German ones). Among the troops only the finely tuned noted the superiority of the German machine guns. Discovery of any of these facts was demoralizing, and a problem confronting the brighter US infantryman was rationalizing away the sorry truths when among dumber people.
Humanistic Social Work (Core Principles in Practice), by Malcolm Payne

Humanistic Social Work is an innovative text that explains how humanistic psychology can inform social work practice. The result is a perspective that enables clients to realize their potential mad...
Beautified with Goodly Shape: Rethinking the Properties of Large Extra Dimensions

Much recent attention has focused on theories with large extra compactified dimensions. However, while the phenomenological implications of the volume moduli associated with such compactifications are well understood, relatively little attention has been devoted to the shape moduli. In this talk, I demonstrate that non-trivial shape moduli can lead to a number of effects which are relevant not only for experimental searches for extra dimensions, but also for the interpretation of experimental data if such extra dimensions are found. This talk reports on work done partly in collaboration with Arash Mafi.
Stability and effects of some pesticides in soil.

The influence of 29 pesticides on CO2 production and nitrification by soil microorganisms was determined. A few compounds were stable but without significant effect in soil (chlorinated hydrocarbons), some persisted and depressed respiration and nitrification (carbamates, cyclodienes, phenylureas, thiolcarbamates), and others displayed toxicity but were transformed by soil microorganisms (amides, anilides, organophosphates, phenylcarbamates, triazines). Some compounds of the last type induced an initial increase and subsequent decrease in CO2 production by soil. No simple explanation of this effect is possible, but the results of studies of model systems having established activities suggest that in soil any one or a combination of the following mechanisms is responsible for the observed complex relation of CO2 production to time: (i) a pesticide acts to uncouple oxidative phosphorylation in a manner analogous to 2,4-dinitrophenol; (ii) a pesticide lacking antimicrobial action is oxidized in part and transformed to a stable and toxic product; (iii) a pesticide that is selectively toxic inhibits CO2 production by sensitive microorganisms but is subject to oxidation without detoxification by other members of the microbial population that are resistant to its initial action. Pesticide concentrations greatly in excess of those recommended for agricultural and home use were required to produce an effect, and supplementary organic matter (glucose) tended to reduce pesticide toxicity and increase the microbial degradation of pesticides in soil.
Multiple Penicillin Binding Protein Profiles in Penicillin Resistant Pneumococci: Evidence for the Clonal Nature of Resistance Among Clinical Isolates

Previous studies haven shown that penicillin resistance in pneumococci is a multigenic property that involves the accumulation of chromosomal mutations in the structural genes of penicillin binding proteins (PBPs), resulting in the greatly decreased reactivity of these proteins for beta-lactam antibiotics. We examined the patterns and affinities of PBPs in 1560 clinical isolates representing a wide range of MICs (from 0.005-16 μg/ml), serotypes, isolation dates and sites. The vast majority of penicillin-susceptible isolates showed a common, predictable pattern of five PBPs with high affinities for benzylpenicillin in the relative order of3> 1A>2A> IB >2B. In contrast, the PBP profiles became variable in strains for which MICs were >0.1 μg/ml and PBPs A, 2 A and 2B of these strains showed decreased penicillin affinity parallel to the increasing levels of antibiotic resistance. While resistant strains exhibited a variety of distinct PBP profiles, these were stable for each particular strain and it is suggested that clinical isolates sharing a common PBP profile may represent the progeny of a distinct mutant clone. Penicillin-resistant clinical isolates and genetic transformants showed profoundly altered cell wall stem peptides. Our data suggest that the decreased penicillin affinity of mutationally altered PBP’s results in such a distortion of the active sites that these PBPs also become altered in their reactivity toward their normal natural substrates. Successful expression of high level penicillin resistance in pneumococci may require the acquisition of auxiliary mutation(s) that assure a sufficient supply of the chemically unusual wall precursors needed for the synthesis of the cell wall in penicillin-resistant pneumococci.
G Protein-Coupled Receptors: Functional and Mechanistic Insights Through Altered Gene Expression

Rohrer, Daniel K., and Brian K. Kobilka. G-Protein Coupled Receptors: Functional and Mechanistic Insights Through Altered Gene Expression. Physiol. Rev. 78: 35–52, 1998. — G protein-coupled recepto...
Royal Textile Factories in Spain, 1700–1800*

Spain ascended to dazzling heights in world affairs during the sixteenth century, thrust there by her political, military, and economic might. Until the seventeenth century began, her position seemed unassailable. Then, with agonizing helplessness, she slipped into a humiliating cycle of decline which persisted until only a shell of her greatness remained one hundred years later. Viewing Spain in such depths of misery, few observers could have guessed that her melancholy drift had ended when Charles II (1665–1700) died and Philip V (1700–1746) succeeded him in 1700. Yet as the Austrian lineage thus came to an end and the Bourbon dynasty began, Spain entered a new epoch marked by the unusually enlightened participation of government in Spanish economic affairs.
Membrane damage elicits an immunomodulatory program in Staphylococcus aureus.

The Staphylococcus aureus HrtAB system is a hemin-regulated ABC transporter composed of an ATPase (HrtA) and a permease (HrtB) that protect S. aureus against hemin toxicity. S. aureus strains lacking hrtA exhibit liver-specific hyper-virulence and upon hemin exposure over-express and secrete immunomodulatory factors that interfere with neutrophil recruitment to the site of infection. It has been proposed that heme accumulation in strains lacking hrtAB is the signal which triggers S. aureus to elaborate this anti-neutrophil response. However, we report here that S. aureus strains expressing catalytically inactive HrtA do not elaborate the same secreted protein profile. This result indicates that the physical absence of HrtA is responsible for the increased expression of immunomodulatory factors, whereas deficiencies in the ATPase activity of HrtA do not contribute to this process. Furthermore, HrtB expression in strains lacking hrtA decreases membrane integrity consistent with dysregulated permease function. Based on these findings, we propose a model whereby hemin-mediated over-expression of HrtB in the absence of HrtA damages the staphylococcal membrane through pore formation. In turn, S. aureus senses this membrane damage, triggering the increased expression of immunomodulatory factors. In support of this model, wildtype S. aureus treated with anti-staphylococcal channel-forming peptides produce a secreted protein profile that mimics the effect of treating ΔhrtA with hemin. These results suggest that S. aureus senses membrane damage and elaborates a gene expression program that protects the organism from the innate immune response of the host.
Two disaccharides and trimethylamine N-oxide affect Aβ aggregation differently, but all attenuate oligomer-induced membrane permeability

Interaction between aggregates of amyloid beta protein (Abeta) and membranes has been hypothesized by many to be a key event in the mechanism of neurotoxicity associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Proposed membrane-related mechanisms of neurotoxicity include ion channel formation, membrane disruption, changes in membrane capacitance, and lipid membrane oxidation. Recently, osmolytes such as trehalose have been found to delay Abeta aggregation in vitro and reduce neurotoxicity. However, no direct measurements have separated the effects of osmolytes on Abeta aggregation versus membrane interactions. In this article, we tested the influence of trehalose, sucrose and trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) on Abeta aggregation and fluorescent dye leakage induced by Abeta aggregates from liposomes. In the absence of lipid vesicles, trehalose and sucrose, but not TMAO, were found to delay Abeta aggregation. In contrast, all of the osmolytes significantly attenuated dye leakage. Dissolution of preformed Abeta aggregates was excluded as a possible mechanism of dye leakage attenuation by measurements of Congo red binding as well as hydrogen-deuterium exchange detected by mass spectrometry (HX-MS). However, the accelerated conversion of high order oligomers to fibril caused by vesicles did not take place if any of the three osmolytes presented. Instead, in the case of disaccharide, osmolytes were found to form adducts with Abeta, and change the dissociation dynamics of soluble oligomeric species. Both effects may have contributed to the observed osmolyte attenuation of dye leakage. These results suggest that disaccharides and TMAO may have very different effects on Abeta aggregation because of the different tendencies of the osmolytes to interact with the peptide backbone. However, the effects on Abeta membrane interaction may be due to much more general phenomena associated with osmolyte enhancement of Abeta oligomer stability and/or direct interaction of osmolyte with the membrane surface.
Generalization and maintenance of classroom treatment effects

Two experiments involving children with behavior problems investigated, respectively, (1) the maintenance of appropriate classroom behavior following treatment in an experimental classroom, and (2) cross-situational consistency and generalization of treatment effects. In Expt 1, two groups of four subjects were observed after treatment in a token economy operated classroom. Procedures to facilitate maintenance of treatment-produced behavior changes were successfully implemented for one group of subjects in their respective regular classrooms. The effects of the combined treatment generalized to a significantly greater degree in the subsequent academic year than did the treatment effects for subjects who were involved in only experimental classroom procedures. The results were discussed comparing process variables with duration of treatment. In Expt 2, children from the first study were observed in family interactions to determine whether they were also behavior problems at home. Results indicated that only one of the five subjects studied was deviant in the home setting. Further observations following experimental classroom treatment showed more child deviancy and parental negativeness than before school intervention. A “behavioral contrast” interpretation of the results was discussed.
Cell Adhesion and Interactions with Biomaterials

Abstract The related phenomena of biocompatibility and biodegradation are of major concern in the selection of synthetic polymers for use as implantable biomedical devices. These properties are largely determined by the consequences of the cellular interactions that occur at the polymer/tissue interface during inflammation. Using an in vivo cage implant system, in conjunction with surface analysis techniques, we have investigated the variation in the cellular events that occurred on a polyetherure-thaneurea and a cytotoxic polyvinyl chloride). Quantitative and qualitative information that describe the cellular response to polymer implantation will be presented. From the results, a chronological sequence has been established which suggests that the important events follow cellular adhesion, and include cell spreading over a polymer surface accompanied by lysosomal degranulation of the adherent cells.
Acute neutral endopeptidase inhibition is natriuretic in old rats.

Abstract Neutral endopeptidase 24.11 (NEP) inhibitors prevent breakdown of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), and may be useful therapeutically, in sodium overload states as often occurs in the aged. However, age-dependent changes in ANP/NEP may limit the activity of these agents in the elderly. To investigate this we conducted experiments in young, middle aged and old conscious male rats, studied in the baseline euvolemic state and during acute NEP inhibition (NEPI). NEPI produced a marked increase in sodium excretion (>100%) in all groups, regardless of age. A selective, potassium sparing effect was also seen, only in the middle-aged and old rats. Although baseline hemodynamics were affected by age with mean blood pressure, BP, and renal vascular resistance (RVR) being higher in old versus young (131±5 vs. 115±3 mmHg; P
Muscle infarction in diabetes: clinical manifestations and course.

ABSTRACT Objective To characterize the initial manifestations and course of muscle infarction in diabetes, a rarely diagnosed condition. Methods We describe two patients with this disorder and review the clinical characteristics of previously reported cases. Results Usually, the initial complaint in patients with muscle infarction in diabetes is swelling of the thigh or calf that has evolved over days to months. Biopsy of the muscle is often necessary for diagnosis and reveals extensive muscle necrosis. Although the pathogenesis is unknown, hypercoagulability may have a role. Bilateral involvement and recurrent disease are common. Treatment is supportive; our patients required narcotics for alleviation of pain. Conclusion Muscle infarction in diabetes may mimic thrombophlebitis, soft tissue infection, or a neoplasm. Medical evaluation may be directed toward these entities, and the diagnosis of a diabetes-associated disorder may be completely overlooked. The presence of atraumatic swelling of an extremity in a patient with diabetes should suggest diabetes-related muscle infarction. (Endocr Pract. 1996; 2:179-182)
Derrida and the Ethics of the Im-possible

Derrida often insists that ethics must be the experience and encounter of a certain impossible. A proposition all the more troubling, as it is proposed by Derrida in the context of a return precisely to the conditions of possibility of ethics. It will appear that returning to the possibilities of ethics implies a return to its limits, to its aporias, which are both constitutive and incapacitating, possibilizing and impossibilizing. The purpose of this paper is to begin exploring this aporetic structure of ethics and to identify how it is tied to the impossible. I will pursue this inquiry by reconstituting how Derrida appropriates Heidegger's expression of "possibility of the impossible," and by reconstituting the aporias of the law, of moral decision, of responsibility, and of an ethics of hospitality as welcome of the event of otherness.
Psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents after severe traumatic brain injury: a controlled study.

ABSTRACT Objective To study psychiatric and behavioral morbidity associated with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Method A consecutive series (n = 24) of children aged 5 through 14 years who suffered a severe TBI were matched to subjects who sustained a mild TBI and to a second matched group who sustained an orthopedic injury with no evidence of TBI. Standardized psychiatric, behavioral, and neuroimaging assessments were conducted on average 2 years after injury. Results Severe TBI was associated with a significantly higher rate of current “novel” psychiatric disorders (15/24; 63%) compared with children with mild TBI (5/24; 21%) and orthopedic injury (1/24; 4%). Higher effect sizes were evident for child and adolescent self-report of internalizing symptoms rather than externalizing symptoms, for parents' report of overall behavior and internalizing symptoms rather than externalizing symptoms, and for teachers' reports of overall behavior and externalizing symptoms rather than internalizing symptoms. Conclusions Severe TBI is a profound risk factor for the development of a psychiatric disorder. Survivors should be assessed for organic personality syndrome, which is the most common psychiatric disorder after this type of injury.
Who do you think I think I am? Accuracy in perceptions of others’ self-esteem

Abstract This study was conducted to assess the accuracy of perceptions of others’ self-esteem and to examine the potential moderating variables of target gender, perceiver gender, and degree of acquaintance. Degree of acquaintance was the only hypothesized moderator reliably related to accuracy. An overall tendency to overestimate targets’ self-esteem was evinced, but was not related to any of the hypothesized moderators. The data suggested that perceivers are influenced by a false consensus effect when estimating others’ level of self-esteem, independent of their degree of acquaintance with targets. Implications of the findings and directions for future investigation are discussed.
Corrections to current approaches used to calculate energy partitioning in photosystem 2

We analyzed several approaches dealing with the components of non-photochemical energy dissipation and introduced improved versions of the equations used to calculate this parameter. The usage of these formulae depends on the conditions of the sample (acclimation to dark or irradiation, presence or absence of the "actinic light"). The parameter known as "excess" cannot be used as a component of energy partitioning. In reality, this parameter reflects the differences between potential and actual quantum yields of photochemistry.
Facile synthesis and characterization of disulfide-cross-linked hyaluronic acid hydrogels for protein delivery and cell encapsulation

Injectable hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels cross-linked via disulfide bond are synthesized using a thiol-disulfide exchange reaction. The production of small-molecule reaction product, pyridine-2-thione, allows the hydrogel formation process to be monitored quantitatively in real-time by UV spectroscopy. Rheological tests show that the hydrogels formed within minutes at 37 °C. Mechanical properties and equilibrium swelling degree of the hydrogels can be controlled by varying the ratio of HA pyridyl disulfide and macro-cross-linker PEG-dithiol. Degradation of the hydrogels was achieved both enzymatically and chemically by disulfide reduction with distinctly different kinetics and profiles. In the presence of hyaluronidase, hydrogel mass loss over time was linear and the degradation was faster at higher enzyme concentrations, suggesting surface-limited degradation. The kinetics of hydrogel erosion by glutathione was not linear, nor did the erosion rate correlate linearly with glutathione concentration, suggesting a bulk erosion mechanism. A cysteine-containing chemokine, stromal cell-derived factor 1α, was successfully encapsulated in the hydrogel and released in vitro without chemical alteration. Several different cell types, including fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and mesenchymal stem cells, were successfully encapsulated in the hydrogels with high cell viability during and after the encapsulation process. Substantial cell viability in the hydrogels was maintained up to 7 days in culture despite the lack of adhesion between the HA matrix and the cells. The facile synthesis of disulfide-cross-linked, dual-responsive degradable HA hydrogels may enable further development of bioactive matrices potentially suitable for tissue engineering and drug delivery applications.
Eccentric-disk models for the nucleus of m31

We construct dynamical models of the "double" nucleus of M31 in which the nucleus consists of an eccentric disk of stars orbiting a central black hole. The principal approximation in these models is that the disk stars travel in a Keplerian potential; i.e., we neglect the mass of the disk relative to the black hole. We consider both "aligned" models, in which the eccentric disk lies in the plane of the large-scale M31 disk, and "nonaligned" models, in which the orientation of the eccentric disk is fitted to the data. Both types of model can reproduce the double structure and overall morphology seen in Hubble Space Telescope photometry. In comparison with the best available ground-based spectroscopy, the models reproduce the asymmetric rotation curve, the peak height of the dispersion profile, and the qualitative behavior of the Gauss-Hermite coefficients h(3) and h(4). Aligned models fail to reproduce the observation that the surface brightness at P1 is higher than at P2 and yield significantly poorer fits to the kinematics; thus, we favor nonaligned models. Eccentric-disk models fitted to ground-based spectroscopy are used to predict the kinematics observed at much higher resolution by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope, and we find generally satisfactory agreement.
MAGNETIC DIPOLE TRANSITION RATES FROM MEASURED LIFETIMES OF LEVELS OF BE-LIKE AND B-LIKE ARGON IONS

The lifetimes of the ${1s}^{2}2s2p{}^{3}{P}_{2}$ level of Ar XV and ${1s}^{2}{2s}^{2}2p{}^{2}{P}_{3/2}$ of Ar XIV have been measured using metastable ${\mathrm{Ar}}^{14+}$ and ${\mathrm{Ar}}^{13+}$ ions produced by an electron cyclotron resonance ion source, which were subsequently separately captured into a Kingdon ion trap. The lifetime results are \ensuremath{\tau}(Ar XV, 2s2p ${}^{3}{P}_{2})=13.4(7)\mathrm{ms}$ and \ensuremath{\tau}(Ar XIV,$2p{}^{2}{P}_{3/2})=9.12(18)\mathrm{ms}.$ Transition rates derived from the measured lifetimes differ significantly from both relativistic and nonrelativistic calculations of the $2s2p{}^{3}{P}_{1}{\char21{}}^{3}{P}_{2}$ $M1$ transition rate of Ar XV, but are in reasonable agreement with calculations for the $2p{}^{2}{P}_{1/2}{\char21{}}^{2}{P}_{3/2}$ $M1$ rate of Ar XIV.
Effects of photoirradiation on the adsorption of dissolved organic matter to goethite

Abstract The effects of photoirradiation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on its subsequent adsorption to the Fe(III)oxyhydroxide mineral goethite were investigated at 22°C in 0.10 mol L −1 NaClO 4 solutions at pH 3.5 and 5.5, Photoirradiation of DOM decreased the abundance of high molecular-weight components and formed new lower molecular-weight components, including low molecular weight carboxylic acids (i.e., formic, malonic, and acetic acids). Adsorption of non-irradiated DOM decreased from pH 3.5 to 5.5 and was dominated by the intermediate molecular weight (1251–3750 Da) fraction, although the 451–1250 and 3751–11350 Da fractions also contributed to adsorption at pH 3.5. Irradiation resulted in a substantial decrease in DOM adsorption affinity at pH 3.5, primarily due to loss of components in the 1251–3750 and 3751–11350 Da fractions. Irradiation resulted in only a small decrease in DOM adsorption affinity at pH 5.5; the loss of components in the 3751–11350 Da fraction upon irradiation had little effect on adsorption because they played little or no role in the non-irradiated sample at this pH. Irradiation of DOM also affected its interactions with Fe in solution and the solution iron(II)/iron(III) speciation. The combined effects of irradiation followed by adsorption produced DOM that was lower in molecular weight and had a decreased UV-Vis absorptivity than either process, alone. Together, these two processes are likely to have important environmental consequences in terms of UV penetration of surface waters, contaminant mobility, and DOM bioavailability.
Bovine and Mouse SLO3 K+ Channels: Many Functional Differences Map to the Same Region

Genes pertaining to male reproduction, especially those involved in sperm production, morphologically and functionally evolve much faster than their non-sexual counterparts. SLO3 is an especially intriguing example of such a rapidly evolving gene. The SLO3 gene encodes a K+ channel which is expressed only in mammalian sperm and is evolving much faster than its close paralogue SLO1 which is expressed in brain and other organs. We cloned the bovine orthologue of SLO3 (bSLO3) and compared its primary sequence and functional properties to its mouse orthologue (mSLO3) which we previously cloned. A comparison of bSLO3 and mSLO3 primary sequences showed far less conservation than for SLO1 proteins in mouse and bovine species. Functionally, bSLO3 and mSLO3 also differ markedly with respect to their voltage range of activation, their ion selectivity, and their activation kinetics. Remarkably, although there are many regions of low conservation between bSLO3 and mSLO3 proteins, we found that all of the different functional properties that we measured map to a small region of low conservation in the RCK1 domain. One or more of these different functional properties may reflect differences in the resting membrane potentials of sperm in bovine and mouse species. This work was supported by National Institute of Health grants 1R21HD056444-01A1 to C.M.S. and R24 RR017342-01 and R01 GM067154-01A1 to L.S.
Three weeks voluntary running wheel exercise increases endoplasmic reticulum stress in the brain of mice.

The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a dynamic cellular mechanism for reducing endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. ER stress occurs from a variety of causes such as nutritional deprivation or over-nutrition, expression of misfolded or mutant proteins and increased synthesis of secretory protein. Obesity induced by over-nutrition has been associated with ER stress. Although exercise has a beneficial effect in opposing the development of obesity and neurodegenerative diseases, there have been no studies on the effect of exercise on ER stress in the brain induced by over-nutrition. We have taken advantage of the substantial individual differences in voluntary running activity among inbred C57BL/6 mice to investigate the relation between ER stress within regions of the brain and voluntary running activity in mice fed on either a low fat or high fat diet while maintained individually in cages with running wheels. Mice were divided into three groups depending on their voluntary running level and compared with a sedentary group. ER stress was assayed by real-time PCR and Western blots of the UPR pathway markers Xbp1, PERK, eIF2α, Hspa5 and ATF6. Three weeks of HFD had little effect on ER stress in the brain of the sedentary group compared to animals fed the LFD. Higher voluntary running activity was associated with increased ER stress in the hypothalamus, hippocampus and cortex. The responses were largest in the hypothalamus. The increase in the UPR response in response to exercise did not induce apoptotic signals and may thus contribute to the protective effect of exercise in preventing neurodegenerative disease.
Comparison of Organic and Conventional Pest Management Practices Among California Citrus Growers

This article compares the pest management practices of organic and conventional citrus growers in California, using a 2010 survey of growers. The survey results indicate that, on average, organic growers make less use of biological and cultural controls than conventional growers. This result is surprising because organic growers often rely heavily on these types of controls due to organic restrictions on chemical control. For some organic growers, a lack of farming experience, the smaller scale of their operations, and less financial reliance on citrus production may explain these results.