cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Terrorism Scenario Identification by Superposition of Infrastructure Networks

There is an emerging need for analysis of the risks of terrorism to the nation's critical infrastructures, for which two aspects are relevant here. First, the process of risk assessment requires the identification and characterization of multiple terrorism scenarios. Second, infrastructure systems and terrorist organizations can be characterized as mathematical networks. This paper illuminates a relationship between superpositioned network models and the scenarios of risk to interdependent infrastructure systems as follows. An initial set of terrorism scenarios is identified based on interviews with domain experts. Direct, prima facie interactions of the scenarios and network components are identified across the superposition of networks. Indirect interactions of scenarios and network components are generated through modeling of various linkages across network components. Higher-order interactions correspond to multiple network components being associated with a terrorism scenario. The relationship of the terrorism scenarios with the superpositioned networks is thus studied by a combination of several interaction types (1) direct and indirect and (2) singular and higher order. Frequency analyses of the interactions among scenarios and the networks are developed to support refinement of the network models and the identified scenarios. An example with terrorism risks to oil pipeline and railway infrastructure is developed.
Crack propagation in ceramics under cyclic loads

Stable crack growth is observed in notched plates of polycrystalline alumina subject to fully compressive far-field cyclic loads at room temperature in a moist air environment andin vacuo. The fatigue cracks propagate at a progressively decreasing velocity along the plane of the notch and in a direction macroscopically normal to the compression axis. The principal failure events leading to this effect are analysed in terms of notch-tip damage under the far-field compressive stress, microcracking, frictional sliding and opening of microcracks, and crack closure. An important contribution to such Mode I crack growth arises from the residualtensile stresses induced locally at the notch-tip when the deformation within the notch-tip process zone leaves permanent strains upon unloading from the maximum nominal compressive stress. It is shown that the phenomenon of crack growth under cyclic compressive stresses exhibits a macroscopically similar behaviour in a wide range of materials spanning the very ductile metals to extremely brittle solids, although the micromechanics of this effect are very different among the various classes of materials. The mechanisms of fatigue in ceramics are compared and contrasted with the more familiar examples of crack propagation under far-field cyclic compression in metallic systems and the implications for fracture in ceramic-metal composites and transformation toughened ceramic composites are highlighted. Strategies for some important applications of this phenomenon are recommended for the study of fracture mechanisms and for the measurement of fracture toughness in brittle solids.
An integrated information system for the intervention and prevention of AIDS

The epidemic of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and its causative agent, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), are serious and spreading. In response to the epidemic, a variety of intervention and prevention programs have been instituted. In such AIDS intervention and prevention (AIP) activities, the role played by information systems becomes more and more important. The applications of information systems technology in AIP mostly seem to fall within a spectrum of databases, decision support systems and expert systems. This paper describes the implementation of an information system in a regional AIDS intervention and prevention program. In this integrative information system, the database is integrated with both decision support systems and expert systems, and decision support systems are integrated with expert systems. The implementation results of the system present evidence of the usefulness of the system in AIDS intervention and prevention.
A Study of Al/PtSi/Si Thin Film Reaction Kinetics by X-Ray Diffraction

PtSi has been widely used in the electronics industry as a material for both ohmic contacts and Schottky diodes. It is known that the use of aluminum based metallurgies in contact with PtSi can lead to electrical instabilities when processing requires temperatures in excess of ~300°C. The aluminum reacts with the PtSi film forming PtA12 as the reaction product according to the reaction PtSi + 2A1 + PtAl2 + Si. The kinetics and mechanism of PtAl2 formation in the thin film system Al/PtSi/Si were studied in the temperature range 320-420°C, using X-ray diffraction. The data obtained is represented in terms of the generalized kinetics equation X = 1 - exp [?K(T)tn] and yields an activation energy of 2.2 ± 0.2 eV/mole.
A QCM immunosensor for Salmonella detection with simultaneous measurements of resonant frequency and motional resistance

Abstract A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) immunosensor was described for the detection of Salmonella Typhimurium with simultaneous measurements of the resonant frequency and motional resistance. The immunosensor was fabricated using protein A for the antibody immobilization. High-frequency impedance analysis indicated that the changes in resonant frequency and motional resistance (Δ F and Δ R ) of the QCM were significant while the changes in static capacitance, motional capacitance, and motional inductance were insignificant. In the direct detection of S . Typhimurium in chicken meat sample, Δ F and Δ R were proportional to the cell concentration in the range of 10 5 –10 8 and 10 6 –10 8 cells/ml, respectively. Using anti- Salmonella -magnetic beads as a separator/concentrator for sample pretreatment as well as a marker for signal amplification, the detection limit was lowered to 10 2 cells/ml based on the Δ R measurement; however, Δ F was not related to the cell concentration. No interference was observed from E. coli K12 or the sample matrix.
Inhibition of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Production Resulting from Transduction with a Retrovirus Containing an HIV-Regulated Diphtheria Toxin A Chain Gene

ABSTRACT Expression of a gene encoding the diphtheria toxin A (DT-A) chain, under the control of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) proteins Tat and Rev, has previously been shown to confer on cells an impaired ability to produce HIV. That work was done in HeLa cell lines that had stably integrated the regulated DT-A gene in a plasmid context. To increase the efficiency with which the HIV-regulated DT-A gene could be introduced into cells, we studied a recombinant, amphotropic murine leukemia virus containing the HIV-regulated DT-A transcription unit. Here we demonstrate that such recombinant retroviruses can be packaged, for both wild-type DT-A and an attenuated version, tox 176. In transient transfection assays, the proviral constructs exhibited similar basal and trans-activated levels of DT-A expression to the parental plasmids. Transduced H9 cells expressed the integrated DT-A gene upon transfection with plasmids encoding Tat and Rev, as assayed by decreased expression of a cotransfected luciferas...
Properties of monoglycerol acyltransferase in rat adipocytes.

Abstract Previous studies by Coleman and Haynes (1986, J. Biol. Chem. 261, 224–228) indicated the presence of two different tissue specific monoacylglycerol acyltransferases (MGAT) in intestinal mucosa and suckling rat liver. The evidence was based upon the differential responses of these two isoenzymes to various treatments including, the effects of temperature, proteolysis, protein modification reagents, detergents, and divalent cations. In the present investigation, we have used some of these criteria to determine the identity of adipose enzyme with the MGAT present in liver and intestinal microsomes. The properties of adipose and intestinal enzymes were similar in several respects, but differed from the liver enzyme. This suggests the possibility that MGAT activities from adipose and intestine may be mediated by the same enzyme protein, whereas the liver MGAT may be a separate isoenzyme as proposed earlier. The most distinguishing feature of the liver enzyme was its ability to sustain both high temperature (52 °C) and resist proteolysis. However, when disrupted microsomal preparations were used, the liver enzyme was both thermolabile and protease sensitive, as observed for the intestinal and adipose MGAT. Possibly, the location of liver MGAT within the membranes may be responsible for such unique properties of liver MGAT.
Defects in p-doped bulk GaN crystals grown with Ga polarity

The nature of defects formed in bulk GaN:Mg crystals grown with Ga polarity was determined by means of phase images obtained by direct reconstruction of the scattered electron wave from focal series of high-resolution electron microscope images. These defects are three-dimensional Mg-rich hexagonal pyramids (or truncated pyramids) with bases on the (0001) plane and six walls on {1 1 2 3} planes. In projection, the cross-sections of the defects are seen as triangles (or trapezoids). The defects are decorated by Mg on their bases and all six side-walls. GaN growing inside the defect walls shows polarity inversion with respect to the matrix. Due to lower growth rate cavities are formed in the central parts of the defect. It is proposed that lateral overgrowth of the cavities restores the matrix polarity on the defect base. The change of polarity starts from the defect tip and propagates to its base, changing the stacking sequence from AB in the matrix to BC inside the defect. The exchange of Ga and N sublattices within the defect leads to a displacement of 0.6+0.2 A between Ga sublattices at the boundary between the outside and inside of the defect. Appearance of these defects coincides with the saturation of hole concentration in GaN:Mg at Mg concentration at a few times 10 19 cm -3 .
Observations of the lifecycles and information worlds of collaborative scientific teams at a national science lab

Team-based scientific collaborations play a key role in the discovery and distribution of scientific knowledge. In order to determine the social and organizational factors that help support a scientific team's successful transition from short-term experiments to long-term programs of ongoing scientific research, this study used observations of teams conducting experiments at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory to determine what teams actually do during these experiments. As part of a larger, ongoing research project using mixed methods, our findings describe the scientific culture of hybrid teams at work, and demonstrate how multiple, overlapping, and nested lifecycles and information worlds play an important role in promoting successful and continuing scientific collaboration. The boundaries between worlds and efforts to span them are particularly important, requiring greater attention. Our future research will develop a model including these factors and add further practical and theoretical implications to those we have already identified.
Regionally extensive mid-Cretaceous west-vergent thrust system in the northwestern Cordillera: Implications for continent-margin tectonism

The Intermontane-Insular superterrane boundary zone represents a fundamental crustal boundary separating the two largest allochthonous crustal fragments in the North American Cordillera. Structural, stratigraphic, and geochronologic relations along this boundary indicate that substantial west-vergent compression and concomitant crustal thickening occurred there in mid-Cretaceous time. This orogenic zone extends for more than 1200 km along strike length, between southern southeast Alaska and northern Washington. In southern southeast Alaska and northwest British Columbia, rocks of the Insular superterrane were imbricated along a series of west- to southwest-vergent thrust faults. In northern Washington and southwestern British Columbia, a wide zone encompassing the margins of the two superterranes, as well as numerous intervening smaller fragments, was shortened principally along west-vergent thrusts. Known geologic relations do not discriminate among existing tectonic models that explain the origin of the mid-Cretaceous thrust system.
The C–H bond dissociation energy of furan: Photoelectron spectroscopy of the furanide anion

Using photoelectron spectroscopy, we interrogate the cyclic furanide anion (C4H3O−) to determine the electron affinity and vibrational structure of the neutral furanyl radical and the term energy of its first excited electronic state. We present the 364-nm photoelectron spectrum of the furanide anion and measure the electron affinity of the X2A′ ground state of the α-furanyl radical to be 1.853(4) eV. A Franck–Condon analysis of the well-resolved spectrum allows determination of the harmonic frequencies of three of the most active vibrational modes upon X2A′ ← X1A′ photodetachment: 855(25), 1064(25), and 1307(40) cm−1. These modes are ring deformation vibrations, consistent with the intuitive picture of furanide anion photodetachment, where the excess electron is strongly localized on the α-carbon atom. In addition, the A2A′′ excited state of the α-furanyl radical is observed 0.68(7) eV higher in energy than the X2A′ ground state. Through a thermochemical cycle involving the known gas-phase acidity o...
A pseudo wavelet-based method for accurate tagline tracing on tagged MR images of the tongue

In this paper, we present a pseudo wavelet-based tagline detection method. The tagged MR image is transformed to the wavelet domain, and the prominent tagline coefficients are retained while others are eliminated. Significant stripes are extracted via segmentation, which are mixtures of tags and anatomical boundary that resembles line. A refinement step follows such that broken lines or isolated points are grouped or eliminated. Without assumption on tag models, our method extracts taglines automatically regardless their width and spacing. In addition, founded on the multi-resolution wavelet analysis, our method reconstructs taglines precisely and shows great robustness to various types of taglines.
Hormone-induced filopodium formation and movement of pigment, carotenoid droplets, into newly formed filopodia

Treatment of cultured goldfish xanthophores by hormone (ACTH) or c-AMP induces not only pigment dispersion, but subsequent outgrowth of processes, and pigment translocation into these processes. These latter effects are shown to proceed as follows: First the edge of the cytoplasmic lamellae takes on a scalloped contour with numerous protrusions. These presumably serve as nucleation centers where short microfilament bundles are assembled. Later, the microfilament bundles elongate ("grow"), often resulting in an extension of the protrusions to become filopodia while the proximal end of the microfilaments penetrates into the thicker portion of the cellular process which now houses the pigment, i.e., the carotenoid droplets. Carotenoid droplets appear to migrate along the microfilament bundles, or cytoplasmic channels associated with them, into the filopodia. Finally, some of the filopodia become broader, thicker and laden with carotenoid droplets and are then recognized by light microscopy as pigmented cellular processes. The microfilaments have been shown to be actin filaments by their thickness, the size of their subunits, and decoration by heavy meromyosin. Evidence is presented which suggests that the growth of these actin filaments may come about by recruitment from short F-actin strands found in random orientation in adjacent areas.
The relationship between Holland's theory of vocational interest and Eysenck's model of personality

Abstract Holland (1959, Journal of Counseling Psychology, 6 , 35–45) has stated that his vocational theory is based on an assessment of personality dimensions. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between vocational interest patterns as represented by Holland's model and personality dimensions as represented by Eysenck's model. The study tested specific hypotheses concerning the relationship between Holland's vocational personalities and personality dimensions as measured by the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). The hypothesized relationships were based on our interpretations of Holland's model and Eysenck's theory of personality. The findings indicated there are some low but significant relationships between Eysenck's personality dimensions. Horney's theory of interpersonal relations provide one possible interpretation for some of the findings. A significant relationship between Eysenck's EPQ and Holland's construct of Differentiation was also found.
Pseudoobstruction of the colon: case report including a new endoscopic treatment

Pseudoobstruction of the colon was first described by Ogilvie in 1948 when a laparotomy for an apparent obstruction of the large bowel revealed a massively dilated cecum and ascending colon without the expected obstructing cancer. Instead, an extracolonic tumor was found invading the presacral ganglia and retroperitoneum. Since this original report, over 200 cases, also described as adynamic ileus of the colon or massive idiopathic cecal dilatation, have appeared in the literature. Pseudoobstruction remains an unusual and poorly understood disease entity, yet it carries significant mortality due in part to the morbid condition of the patients most often affected. When undiagnosed and inadequately treated, the outcome can be disastrous. Recent reviews have emphasized the occurrence of colonic pseudoobstruction in patients moribund with serious extracolonic disease, such as sepsis, myocardial infarction with congestive heart failure, and pelvic trauma. 2 Emphasis has been placed on the association of pseudoobstruction of the colon with respiratory failure and mechanical ventilation. 3 5 Otherwise healthy patients undergoing gynecologic surgery, caesarean section, or normal vaginal delivery are also at increased risk for this complication. The etiology of this disorder remains unknown but it is speculated that alteration of tonic parasympathetic innervation of the large bowel is at fault. 2 Early diagnosis demands a high index of suspicion in the appropriate clinical setting. The patient presents with progressive abdominal distention and tympany. The physician is often reassured because the patient continues to pass liquid stool and flatus. On plain film, a cecum over 9 cm in diameter prone or 12 cm supine should alert the physician to the danger of impending cecal perforation. Distention is usually limited to the right and transverse colon; large
A derivation of Manin's formula☆

Abstract The formula of Manin for the bosonic string measure is derived using elementary methods.
Role of recombinational repair in sensitivity to an antitumour agent that inhibits bacteriophage T4 type II DNA topoisomerase.

Summary The bacteriophage T4-encoded type II DNA topoisomerase is the major target for the antitumour agent m-AMSA (4-(9-acridinylamino)methanesulphon-m-anisidide) in phage-infected bacterial cells. Inhibition of the purified enzyme by m-AMSA results in formation of a cleavage complex that contains the enzyme covalently attached to DNA on both sides of a double-strand break. In this article, we provide evidence that this cleavage complex is responsible for inhibition of phage growth and that recombinational repair can reduce sensitivity to the antitumour agent, presumably by eliminating the complex (or some derivative thereof). First, topoisomerase-deficient mutants were shown to be resistant to m-AMSA, indicating that m-AMSA inhibits growth by inducing the cleavage complex rather than by inhibiting enzyme activity. Second, mutations in several phage genes that encode recombination proteins (uvsX, uvsY, 46 and 59) increased the sensitivity of phage T4 to m-AMSA, strongly suggesting that recombination participates in the repair of topoisomerase-mediated damage. Third, m-AMSA stimulated recombination in phage-infected bacterial cells, as would be expected from the recombinational repair of DNA damage. Finally, m-AMSA induced the production of cleavage complexes involving the T4 topoisomerase within phage-infected cells.
Aristotle's Ethics Retranslated

Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics. Translation (with historical introduction) by Christopher Rowe, philosophical introduction and commentary by Sarah Broadie.
Age at menarche and risk of type 2 diabetes among African-American and white women in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study

Aims/hypothesis We examined race differences in the association between age at menarche and type 2 diabetes before and after adjustment for adiposity.
The effects of gender and age on the range of the normal human electro-oculogram

Purpose To define the normal ranges for the slow oscillations (SO) and fast oscillations (FO) of the electro-oculogram (EOG) recorded to International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision (ISCEV) standards. The effects of age and gender on the EOG ranges were examined.
Does Automobile Style Change Payoff

(1971). Does Automobile Style Change Payoff? Applied Economics: Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 153-165.
Intrinsic circannual regulation of brown adipose tissue form and function in tune with hibernation

Winter hibernators repeatedly cycle between cold torpor and rewarming supported by nonshivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT). In contrast, summer animals are homeotherms, undergoing ...
Biological Features for Sequence-Based Prediction of Protein Stability Changes upon Amino Acid Substitutions

Protein destabilization is a common mechanism by which amino acid substitutions cause human diseases. In this study, a new machine learning method has been developed for sequence-based prediction of protein stability changes upon single amino acid substitutions. Support vector machines were trained with data from experimental studies on the free energy change of protein stability upon mutations. To construct accurate classifiers, twenty biological features were examined for input vector encoding. It was shown that classifier performance varied significantly by the use of different features. The most accurate classifier was constructed using a combination of several biological features. This classifier achieved an overall accuracy of 82.24% with 75.24% sensitivity and 85.36% specificity. Predictive results at this level of accuracy may be used in human genetic studies to distinguish between deleterious and tolerant alterations in disease candidate genes.
Effects of medial preoptic lesions on placentophagia and on the onset of maternal behavior in the rat.

Abstract Lesions of the medial preoptic area (MPO) were produced through permanently indwelling electrodes 24 hr prior to parturition in pregnant rats, or 24 hr prior to donor-placenta presentation in virgin rats determined in a pretest to be placentophages. The lesions had no disruptive effect on placentophagia in the virgin females. However, MPO lesions did delay the onset of placentophagia, pup-retrieval, and nest-building in some parturient rats. In others, lesions produced an impairment (in latency and quality) only of nest-building. None showed any impairment of pup-licking, or in the clear tendency to leave excreted waste away from the gathered pups. These results suggest the possibility of at least semi-independent mechanisms for the various components of maternal behavior.
A novel strategy for oligopeptide synthesis using a polymer-supported ammonium fluoride

A novel method for the preparation of oligopeptides with a PS-ammonium fluoride in the solution phase is reported. The synthesis of lipid II pentapeptide is efficiently synthesized via a PS-ammonium fluoride without chromatographic purifications. The method reported here is very convenient to synthesize a relatively large amount of oligopeptides with abundantly available Fmoc-protected amino acids in a time efficient manner.
A Theory of Practice for Environmental Assessment

Environmental assessment practices have not been as successful as they should be. We believe that this is in part because environmental assessors lack a clear and useful set of principles—that is, a theory of practice. We propose a theory that derives 19 principles from 3 axioms: 1) assessments inform environmental management decisions, 2) assessments are science based, and 3) management decisions accommodate multiple goals and constraints. The 1st axiom leads to principles that change the focus from good assessments to good decisions. The 2nd focuses assessments on the scientific needs of the decision maker rather than making policy judgments or consensus building. The 3rd axiom leads to integration across disciplines, scales, and types of evidence. This theory of assessment practice implies the need for a new framework for environmental assessment that is more integrative than existing frameworks and more focused on making decisions that resolve environmental problems. We believe that this theory of environmental assessment can lead to clear assessment practices that compel beneficial and confident environmental management.
Carbon nanotube and graphene based gas micro-sensors fabricated by dielectrophoresis on silicon

A gas sensor based upon an array of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) micro-assemblies is presented. Due to the nature of their structure and exceptional surface-to-volume ratio, graphene sheets and carbon nanotubes demonstrate unparalleled chemisorption properties, providing greater sensitivities than a bulk material. Micro-assemblies of RGO platelets and SWNT's were created on lithographically-patterned electrode arrays utilizing dielectrophoresis. The resistivity of the assemblies can be tuned by adjusting the amplitude and frequency of the applied field. The completed array was tested in an enclosed chamber into which various gases were introduced (including common volatile organic compounds and simulants of nerve agents). Changes in the resistance of each micro-assembly due to chemisorption were monitored. Both types of assemblies (RGO and SWNT) demonstrated unique and repeatable responses to various organic compounds and other vapors. Consistent assembly and gas response results were achieved for sensor elements across many substrates.
Concerning the mechanism of FSH action: rapid stimulation of testicular synthesis of nuclear RNA.

The role of RNA synthesis was investigated in the early action of FSH on testes of immature rats. FSH was demonstrated to accelerate the testicular incorporation of 3Hcytidine into rapidly labeled nuclear RNA within 15 min of a single injection. Stimulation of the rate of 3H-cytidine incorporation was accompanied by a change in the base ratio of the nuclear RNA (i.e., more A + U). Moreover FSH increased the extent of the testicular chromatin available for transcription. Chromatin content of acidic (nonhistone) protein appeared to vary inversely with template efficiency in response to FSH whereas no changes were noted in histone content. The stimulation of testicular RNA synthesis was specific for FSH and was abolished by actinomycin D. Analysis of the rapidly labeled nuclear RNA by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis demonstrated this RNA to be of high molecular weight (greater than 28S) and relatively undegraded. However this technique failed to reveal major qualitative differences in RNA purified from nu...
Do Seats, Food Vendors, and Sculptures Improve Plaza Visitability?

Building on Whyte’s work on livable places, the present study developed a four-item scale to assess visitability and used it to test whether three attributes identified by Whyte—seating, food, and triangulation—increase visitability. The study used color slides of three plazas altered for the presence or absence of each attribute. Sixty participants (23 men and 37 women) rated slides of the plazas on each of four items on the Perceived Visitability Scale (PVS). The four items had high interitem reliability, and each item and their composite had high interobserver reliability. The visitability ratings showed that plazas with seats, food, or sculpture had higher scores than plazas without those elements; and the combination of seats and sculpture had higher scores than either element alone. Contradicting Whyte, there was no statistically significant effect of gender. Seats, sculpture, and the perceived compatibility of elements with one another may improve plaza visitability.
Design and analysis of replicated servers to support IP-host mobility in enterprise networks

Mobility support in IP networks requires the use of servers to forward packets to mobile hosts and to maintain information pertaining to a mobile host's location in the network. In one proposed protocol, the mobile IP protocol, location and packet forwarding functions are provided by servers referred to as home agents. These home agents may become the bottleneck when there are a large number of mobile hosts in the network. In this paper, we consider the design and analysis of load balancing mechanisms for multiple home agents in the mobile IP protocol. We propose a load balancing scheme in which a home agent may periodically transfer the control of a mobile host to another home agent in the same network through the use of functions supported in mobile IP. The periodicity with which this transfer is performed affects the load balancing gain as well as the associated overhead. We analyze our load balancing mechanism under bursty traffic arrival conditions using a Markov modulated Poisson process. The results show that the proposed load balancing scheme can yield modest gains over alternative load balancing strategies.
Antibody-mediated neutralization of pertussis toxin-induced mitogenicity of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells

Antibody-mediated neutralization of pertussis toxin-induced proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was assessed using alamarBlue and compared with results from the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell assay using sera from vaccinated adults and convalescent children. Neutralization values for the CHO assay were similar for vaccinated and convalescent subjects; however. the convalescent group had higher titers in the PBMC assay. Results for pertussis toxin neutralization with the CHO assay appear to be distinct from those with the PBMC assay.
Enhancing the Appeal of AAC Technologies for Young Children: Lessons from the Toy Manufacturers

If augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems are highly appealing, they may be more likely to be used by children with complex communication needs, may enhance self-esteem, and may facilitate interactions with other children. To date, there has been little attention to design features that might increase the appeal of AAC systems. Reported in this paper is an exploratory study that compared features of AAC technology with those of popular toys for young children, with a view to identifying potential designs that might improve the appeal of the AAC systems. The toys and AAC systems were systematically analyzed with respect to the following features: color, materials, shape, size, weight, movement or action, sound or voices, lights, and themes. Results indicated that there are significant contrasts between the design features of popular toys and those of AAC systems. These differences are discussed with suggestions for potential design modifications for AAC technologies to increase their appeal.
Plasma Clearance of Products of Fibrinolysis

Alterations in fibrinogen metabolism frequently occur in physiologic adaptations to stress and also accompany many pathologic states. Unfortunately, the significance of such alterations remains unknown. However, fibrin deposits can impair organ function and are likely to be major contributors to the debilitation eventuating with numerous diseases of unrelated etiologies. Fibrin deposition and its removal are recognized problems in the thrombotic diseases such as myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular thrombosis. But only recently has fibrin deposition alone and in association with immunologic diseases been considered of consequence in renal dysfunction [1]. Even more recent is the still limited appreciation of the role of fibrin deposits in perpetuating and recycling joint inflammations occuring in rheumatoid diseases [2, 3]. Of obvious value is the further identification and improved understanding of the mechanisms available for resolving the problems of fibrinogen metabolism and fibrin deposition and degradation. The purpose of this communication is to report on the cellular mechanisms for eliminating altered fibrinogen and fibrin and their degradation products from the circulation.
MCT packaging

An effort was made to develop a hermetic MCT (MOS controlled thyristor) packaging approach in which the package does not limit the switching efficiency of the power semiconductor chip itself. This was accomplished by the development of the hermetic thin-pack (HTP) packaging approach, which results in a hermetic package outline not much bigger than the chip itself. This is achieved by the replacement of the traditional aluminum wire bonds with small (0.040-in) copper spheres which make the connections to the chip topside contacts (gate and anode) through holes cut directly through the ceramic (alumina) lid. Electrical contact is made to the chip by means of thermocompression and hard solders and to the lid by means of hermetically bonded direct-bond copper foil. The HTP approach has so far been applied to MCT chips as large as 0.500 on edge. The package thickness can be as small as 0.050 in. The package resistance is 0.35 Omega /cm/sup 2/ and the inductance is 1 pH/cm/sup 2/. >
FOC4GENETICSFOC4-1GENOME-WIDE ANALYSIS REVEALS DIFFERENTIAL METHYLATION REGIONS IN THE NUCLEUS ACCUMBENS OF RHESUS MACAQUES AFTER LONG-TERM ALCOHOL USE

The long-lasting behavioral plasticity associated with alcohol addiction may be related to changes in epigenetic mechanisms that regulate neural gene expression, contributing to the widespread gene expression changes observed after alcohol use. The nucleus accumbens (NAc), a critical component of the reward system, is associated with risk for alcohol use. …
Quantifying the Directionality of Liquid Crystalline Polymers in Extrusion Processes Using an Order Parameter

Liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) are among a high-performance class of materials, which derive unique mechanical, chemical, and electrical characteristics from their long-range molecular order. The evolution of anisotropic orientation in the LCP microstructure during processing, however, can adversely affect the macroscopic polymer behavior. Simulation of this anisotropy is crucial to the design of manufacturing processes producing the desired material properties, and the ability to quantify the polymer directionality is a necessary metric of the model. Using a Monte-Carlo approach introduced by Goldbeck-Wood et al., a practical method for simulating LCP orientation is used to model the polymer flow, and the directionality results are then used to calculate a quantitative molecular degree of order. This metric, known as the order parameter, is an ideal candidate for measuring the LCP orientation, ranging from zero to unity between the isotropic and perfectly aligned states, respectively, as it is sensitive to both the direction of the average molecular orientation, as well as to the distribution of crystals around the average orientation. The effects of varying process parameters in the directionality model on the order parameter are shown. Understanding of these relationships will ultimately drive the design of manufacturing processes for more isotropic materials.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
High-Pressure Adsorption Equilibrium of CO2, CH4, and CO on an Impregnated Activated Carbon

An impregnated activated carbon (I-AC) has been characterized using SEM, EDS, and nitrogen adsorption for micropore structure analysis. A detailed experimental study has been made of the adsorption of pure methane, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide at various temperatures [(298 to 318) K] and pressures up to 24 bar. Multitemperature isotherms were modeled using the Toth equation to obtain useful thermodynamic properties including Henry’s law constants and isosteric heats of adsorption. Compared with other activated carbon materials, this impregnated carbon has a decreased surface area and more heterogeneous sites on the surface. CO appears to undergo chemisorption in the impregnated carbon, as indicated by a hysteresis loop upon desorption. The effect becomes more pronounced with increasing temperature.
Attraction of Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae) Flies to Odor of Bacteria: Apparent Confinement to Specialized Members of Enterobacteriaceae

Dominant species of bacteria isolated from leaves and fruit of pesticide-free MacIntosh apple trees, and chicken and barn swallow feces, were tested for attractancy to apple maggot flies, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh). The flies demonstrated a distinct preference for odor emitted by certain members of the Enterobacteriaceae but not for odor emitted by certain members of the Streptococcaceae or Pseudomonadales. Both attractive and nonattractive strains of Enterobacter agglomerans were obtained, suggesting intraspecific variation in attractiveness.
Effect of Ligand and Solvent Structure on Size-Selective Nanoparticle Dispersibility and Fractionation in Gas-Expanded Liquid (GXL) Systems

Nanoparticles have highly size-dependent properties which need to be harnessed for their appropriate use in various applications. One method that has been used to obtain monodisperse nanoparticles involves the initial synthesis of a relatively polydisperse nanoparticle dispersion using conventional methods, followed by the size-selective separation of these nanoparticles using a variety of different processing techniques. Through prior investigations in our group, we have demonstrated that application scale quantities of ligand-stabilized metal nanoparticles can be precisely separated based upon their size via a sequence of pressure-induced precipitations from gas-expanded liquid (GXL) mixtures (typically a mixture of an organic solvent and compressed CO2 gas). However, this solvent-based process requires relatively high applied pressures of CO2 (e.g., ∼41.4 bar with n-hexane as the solvent and dodecanethiol as the ligand) to effectively precipitate these nanoparticles from the solvent + CO2 mixture. In t...
Geographic variation in Megalorchestia californiana allele frequencies may be caused by winter rather than summer temperatures

There are many allozyme polymorphisms with latitudinal clines, for which selection by climate is one obvious explanation. Both warm summer temperatures and cold winter temper- atures could plausibly impose selection on enzyme polymorphisms, but because summer and win- ter temperatures are usually geographically correlated, there has been little attempt to use pat- terns of geographic variation to discriminate between these possible selective factors. The glucose-6-phosphate isomerase and mannose-6-phosphate isomerase allozyme polymorphisms in the amphipod crustacean Megalorchestia californiana have clines that are strongly associated with mean January air temperature but are only weakly associated with mean August air temper- ature. This suggests that winter temperatures are more likely than summer temperatures to be a selective factor on these polymorphisms.
Emerging Frontiers in Social Neuroendocrinology and the Study of Nonapeptides

Social neuroendocrinology, which elucidates the physiological mediators of social behavior, has undergone numerous advances since its inception more than 20 yrs ago. Among these was the discovery that the nonapeptides—a family of homologous peptides that includes oxytocin and vasopressin—play a significant role in mediating a variety of affiliative behaviors. However, important gaps remain in our understanding of how the non-apeptide systems contribute to variations in behavior at several levels, including among species, between the sexes, and within different environmental contexts. This study acknowledges the work and foresight of the late James Goodson by examining emerging trends in social neuroendocrinology.
Disease Control Among Patients With Diabetes and Severe Depressive Symptoms

Objective: Major depressive disorder and type 2 diabetes commonly co-occur and disease control tends to be poorer when both conditions are present. However, little research has examined the disease...
Transurethral external sphincterotomy and its effect on potency.

AbstractA series of 43 male patients who underwent external sphincterotomy because of vesicosphincteric dysfunction is reviewed. There were 6 patients who subsequently noticed absence or a marked decrease in erectile ability. Various factors are considered that might have affected potency, and the theoretical reasons for this occurrence and subsequent recovery are discussed.
Bleeding Associated with Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a clinicopathological syndrome in which the consequences of systemic activation of coagulation by a disease, illness, or trauma can produce microvascular thrombi, organ dysfunction, consumption of platelets, and coagulation factors. Depending upon the severity and tempo of the initiating event, DIC may be asymptomatic or cause severe thrombotic or hemorrhagic complications including death. The primary driver of DIC in most conditions is tissue factor pathway activation of thrombin, although many cellular and complex activation pathways are also involved. Conditions in which bleeding is the dominant complication of DIC will be a focus of this chapter.
Ion kinetic dynamics in strongly-shocked plasmas relevant to ICF

Implosions of thin-shell capsules produce strongly-shocked (M > 10), low-density ( mg cc−1), high-temperature ( keV) plasmas, comparable to those produced in the strongly-shocked DT-vapor in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments. A series of thin-glass targets filled with mixtures of deuterium and Helium-3 gas ranging from 7% to 100% deuterium was imploded to investigate the impact of multi-species ion kinetic mechanisms in ICF-relevant plasmas over a wide range of Knudsen numbers (). Slightly kinetic implosions (–0.05) follow the expected yield trend with experimentally-inferred N K, suggesting effects associated with long mean-free-paths (such as energetic tail-ion loss) provide the dominant yield reduction mechanisms. In contrast, highly kinetic implosions (Rinderknecht et al 2015 Phys. Rev. Lett. 114 025001) with inferred produce the opposite yield trend from the Knudsen-number prediction, confirming the dominance of multi-species physics in these experiments. The impact of the observed kinetic physics mechanisms on the formation of the hotspot in ICF experiments is discussed.
Randomized Phase II Study of Combined Epigenetic Therapy: Decitabine Vs. Decitabine and Valproic Acid in MDS and AML

Abstract Introduction: Inhibition of DNA methylation (DNMTi) by decitabine (DAC) or azacitidine is a form of epigenetic therapy that is clinically effective in the treatment of MDS and AML. In-vitro, histone deacetylase inhibition (HDACi) following DNA hypomethylation induction results in synergistic enhancement of gene expression activation, but the effects of HDACi on the cell cycle can also interfere with DNTMi activity, resulting in schedule dependent antagonism. Phase I/II studies of the combination of DNMTi and HDACi have shown some promise, triggering randomized studies. Methods: We conducted a randomized phase II study of DAC at 20 mg/m2 IV/1 hour daily ×5 q4 weeks vs. DAC at a similar dose + Valproic acid (VPA) 50 mg/kg PO daily ×7 starting on day 1 of DAC. Eligibility included MDS (FAB), IPSS>0 or AML, age >60 (excluding APL and CBF AML). An adaptive randomization design based on a composite score of CR, response and survival was used after the 40th patient to assign patients to the superior arm. DNA methylation was measured by bisulfite pyrosequencing on peripheral blood mononuclear cells prior to and during treatment. Results: 76 patients were enrolled on the study, 2 of whom received no therapy and are excluded from analysis. These included 8 patients with CMML (median age 72), 23 patients with AML (median age 71 (63–81), median BM blasts 40% (30–87), median WBCs 5.4 (1.1–97)) and 43 patients with MDS (median age 66 (36–89), IPSS Int1 (10), Int2 (19) and high (14)). Cytogenetics were abnormal in 40 patients (54%), most with complex or poor risk karyotypes. 42 patients (57%) were randomized to DAC alone. Overall, the median number of courses given so far is 4 (1–17) and 27 patients (36%) remain on therapy, at a median follow-up of 14 months. Response data are available for 67 patients (7 are too early). Overall, responses were seen in 31 patients (46%), with CR in 23 (34%) and other responses in 8 (12%). Overall response rate was 39% in AML, 71% in CMML and 46% in MDS. In patients receiving decitabine alone, the overall response rate was 17/40 (43%), compared to 14/27 (52%) in those randomized to DAC+VPA (p=NS). Median time to first response was 64 days (18–194) with DAC alone compared to 57 days (23–123) with DAC+VPA (p=NS). VPA added significant neurotoxicity to the regimen, with several patients discontinuing the drug due to somnolence or confusion. Median survival was 8.7 months in AML and 14.9 months in MDS (p=0.04). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed no difference in survival between DAC and DAC+VPA in the first year after therapy. DNA methylation analysis showed a similar degree of LINE demethylation in both arms, Conclusions: Preliminary analysis of this randomized study suggests that adding VPA to DAC only marginally improves response rate and time to first response and has no impact on survival in MDS and AML. It remains to be seen (in randomized studies) whether more potent HDACi will show greater evidence of clinical synergy with DNMTi.
Angular momentum conservation law in light-front quantum field theory

We prove the Lorentz invariance of the angular momentum conservation law and the helicity sum rule for relativistic composite systems in the light-front formulation. We explicitly show that ${j}^{3}$, the $z$-component of the angular momentum remains unchanged under Lorentz transformations generated by the light-front kinematical boost operators. The invariance of ${j}^{3}$ under Lorentz transformations is a feature unique to the front form. Applying the Lorentz invariance of the angular quantum number in the front form, we obtain a selection rule for the orbital angular momentum which can be used to eliminate certain interaction vertices in QED and QCD. We also generalize the selection rule to any renormalizable theory and show that there exists an upper bound on the change of orbital angular momentum in scattering processes at any fixed order in perturbation theory.