cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Electrochemical Characterization of the Oxene Adducts of PFe(ClO4), PFeII, and PFeII(SR) [P = Tetrakis(2,6-Dichlorophenyl)Porphinato Dianion] in Acetonitrile: Models for Compounds I and II of Horseradish Peroxidase and for Activated Cytochrome P-450

The interaction of horseradish peroxidase (an iron(III) heme that has a proximal imidazole) with HOOH results in the formation of a green reactive intermediate known as Compound I. The latter is reduced by one electron to give a red reactive intermediate, Compound II1. Both of these intermediates contain a single oxygen atom from HOOH, and Compound I is two oxidizing equivalents above the iron(III)-heme state with a magnetic moment equivalent to three unpaired electrons (S = 3/2). A recent EXAFS study2 summarizes the physical data in support of formulations of [(Por-·)FeIV(O2-)]+ for Compound I, and [(Por2-)FeIV(O2-)] for Compound II; and concludes that both species contain an oxo-ferryl group (Fe = O) with a bond length of 1.64 A.
Environmental sustainability of fruit and vegetable production supply chains in the face of climate change: A review

This study discusses importance of assessing environmental sustainability of fruits and vegetable (F&V) production sector in future climate change (CC) scenarios. For the current production scenario, life cycle environmental footprints of F&V supply chain are discussed considering the influences of: agro-climates, production systems, raw material inputs, post-harvest managements to the products' yield and quality. Potential risks of CC to the sector are discussed in the context of elevated global temperature and carbon dioxide level, ozone depletion and changes in precipitation patterns. Potential risks due to CC are on the productivity and the quality of F&V products, such as texture, color, maturity and nutrients. Increased risk of failure of the current crop protection strategies, e.g. due to pest infestations and different crop-water and nutrient stresses are among the short and long-term risks. It also discusses potential adaptation and mitigation measures to CC, and therefrom argues on the related environmental consequences in the supply chain. From the LCA studies, it was revealed that environmental impacts of F&V supply chain varied as per agro-ecological characteristics and farming systems, e.g. greenhouse vs open-field, organic vs conventional, and grown in different agro-climatic conditions. The nexus among the climatic stresses, potential adaptation and mitigation measures, hence were in the form of potential changes in the raw material inputs and resource flows depending on the preferred future agro-management strategies and farming practices. Adaptation and other management options, included are, changes in: crop calendar, nutrient and pest management strategies, post-harvest handling and improved preservation of F&V products. These are argued eventually being determining factors leading to different environmental footprints compared to the existing management scenarios. Prospective life cycle environmental evaluation of F&V supply chain considering the relationship among product yield and qualities, CC stresses and potential adaptation and mitigation measures is thus a new thrust and direction.
Design Cognition and Student Performance

The teaching of engineering in US schools has seen a surge in popularity since the turn of the twenty-first century, and as design is considered a defining characteristic of engineers, the practice of engineering design has become a critical component of technology education. Consequently, research related to design cognition in engineering/technology education has become more prevalent in the literature. However, there are often minimal discussions on bridging design research with practice. Therefore, this chapter will present a design cognition research methodology developed to help inform engineering/technology education practice, the results of a study employing this method, and the implications for teaching and learning.
Timing of blood pressure medications and intradialytic hypotension

Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is a prevalent yet serious complication of hemodialysis, associated with decreased quality of life, inadequate dialysis, vascular access thrombosis, global hypoperfusion, and increased cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Current guidelines recommend antihypertensive medications be given at night and held the morning of dialysis for affected patients. Despite little evidence to support this recommendation, more than half of patients on dialysis may employ some form of this method. In this article, we will review the available evidence and clinical considerations regarding timing of blood pressure medications and occurrence of IDH, and conclude that witholding BP medications before hemodialysis should not be a routine practice.
Protein content of peptidoglycan of liquid-grown cells differs from that of surface-grown, gliding Cytophaga johnsonae

The peptidoglycan sacculi of surface-grown Cytophaga johnsonae had associated with them a large amoutn of protein (the major species is 50 kDa) whereas sacculi from liquid-grown cells had little or no attached protein. The 50 kDa protein was localized in the outer membrane of liquid-grown cells. A portion of this membrane-derived 50 kDa protein was attached to the peptidoglycan only when the cells made contact with the substratum. Protein synthesis did not appear to be required for attachment as the process was not inhibited by chloramphenicol. Association of the 50 kDa protein with the peptidoglycan in response to cell contact with the substratum is suggested.
Novel investigational therapeutics for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Introduction: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common and disabling psychiatric condition that affects 3% of the population and exacts significant costs to society if untreated. There are nu...
Retrospective study of the evaluation and management of febrile neutropenia in cancer patients in a tertiary center.

e19100Background: Febrile neutropenia is a medical emergency often managed by internists, but adherence to guidelines has not been well-described. We aimed to describe care and outcomes of a retros...
Using evolutionary algorithms and pareto ranking to identify secure virtual local area networks

Interconnected devices require different types of network access to maintain functionality; however, access must also be limited to ensure security. Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) have become a core technology for securely interconnecting devices in a computer network since they can associate devices with various groups. Unfortunately, finding the smallest, most manageable number of VLANs to securely provide necessary interconnections becomes more difficult as the number of devices and security policy complexity increases. This paper investigates the use of Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) to discover the minimum number of VLANs, and the associated memberships, necessary for network connectivity and security. Using this approach, VLAN configurations are modeled as chromosomes and a series of selection, recombination, and mutation operations are performed to find suitable VLAN configurations. Since the problem is a multi-objective search, a hybrid Pareto-based fitness measure is developed to rank possible VLAN solutions, where better solutions have fewer VLANs and better security. Simulation results indicate this approach is able to consistently find concise and secure VLAN groups under various conditions, including increasing number of interconnected devices and more restrictive number of required VLANs.
Kriging Driven Optimization of Vehicle Components Using Equivalent Static Load (ESL) Methodology

Passenger safety requirements along with requirements for strength and rigidity lead to conflicting performance targets on automotive parts. Vehicle interior brackets are a prime example with a requirement of being soft to minimize head injury during impact, adequate stiffness during operation, and non-failure during abusive loadings. The problem is further compounded with the safety loadcase being a non-linear dynamic loadcase, whereas stiffness and abusive loading belonging to linear static domain. Multi-disciplinary optimization methods typically used to address such problems are likely to fail in cases of severe performance violation of the baseline configuration, since the solution may actually require a completely new load path or topology for the component to meet performance requirements. Non-parametric topology optimization methods can generate a new design with fresh load paths but are typically restricted to linear static loadcases. The problem of component design is addressed in this report by approximating the safety dynamic loadcase using the equivalent static load (ESL) methodology which generates equivalent static loading at multiple time instances of the impact. Since the performance of injury in the impact loadcase is measured using a complex head injury criteria (HIC) metric, the same is brought into the optimization framework by generating a Kriging response surface correlating the component strain energy at the different time steps of impact and the HIC criteria. A functional ANOVA is performed on the response surface to determine the weightage of HIC at different time steps. These weightages are used to construct a surrogate objective function in the ESL-based optimization to minimize HIC while meeting the abusive loading and stiffness performance criteria. This methodology is found to generate designs which meet the conflicting performance criteria serving as an excellent starting point for further iterations.
Single-cell RNA sequencing of Tocilizumab-treated peripheral blood mononuclear cells as an in vitro model of inflammation

COVID-19 has posed a significant threat to global health. Early data has revealed that IL-6, a key regulatory cytokine, plays an important role in the cytokine storm of COVID-19. Multiple trials are therefore looking at the effects of Tocilizumab, an IL-6 receptor antibody that inhibits IL-6 activity, on treatment of COVID-19, with promising findings. As part of a clinical trial looking at the effects of Tocilizumab treatment on kidney transplant recipients with subclinical rejection, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing of comparing stimulated PBMCs before and after Tocilizumab treatment. We leveraged this data to create an in vitro cytokine storm model, to better understand the effects of Tocilizumab in the presence of inflammation. Tocilizumab-treated cells had reduced expression of inflammatory-mediated genes and biologic pathways, particularly amongst monocytes. These results support the hypothesis that Tocilizumab may hinder the cytokine storm of COVID-19, through a demonstration of biologic impact at the single-cell level.
Radio frequency plasma capacitor can increase rates of seeds imbibition, germination, and radicle growth

Radio frequency capacitors can be used to accelerate seed imbibition, germination, increase the growth of plants seedlings, poration and corrugation of the bio-tissue surfaces without the side effects of RONS generated by cold plasma jets. Atomic force microscope data show that the plasma lamp produced morphological changes in the seed coat. Magnetic resonance imaging studies showed the acceleration of water uptake in seeds treated with radio frequency capacitors of plasma lamps. Plasma capacitor can accelerate radicle growing rates.
Bees and birds in aegean epiphanic dance

Epiphanic dance was one of the principal aspects of ritual performance in the Aegean Bronze Age. The pictorial evidence from seals, seal impressions, wall paintings, and other works shows (mostly) women dancing, usually in open-air settings, to induce divine apparitions or to engender such visions in their audiences. The present study proposes that the hive dances of the honey bee and the aerial acrobatics of the barn swallow served as models for costumes and choreography, whose memory may well be preserved on Homer’s shield of Achilles, with its dancing space that “Daedalus made at Knossos for Ariadne” (Iliad 18:590-606).
From Nations to Worlds: Chris Marker’s “Si j’avais quatre dromadaires”

Si j’avais quatre dromadaires (If I had four dromedaries), Chris Marker’s underrated film of 1966, is a forty-nine-minute montage of seven hundred and fifty still photographs taken in twenty-five countries around the world. The film is a pivot-point in Marker’s work, the moment at which he passes from an implicit but insistent imagination of the world in terms of nations toward the global scope for which his later work is so celebrated. Before 1966, Marker had made films in six different countries and had edited volumes on two dozen countries in the Petite Planete series of travel guides. Si j’avais quatre dromadaires is the first of Marker’s international films, the first to pass across a cut from Pyongyang to Havana, from the Dead Sea to the Arctic Circle. Closely examining the film’s opening sequence and coda, the article proposes that Marker’s transition from nations to worlds can be understood as heralding an issue that still looms large in cultural criticism, the simultaneous thinkability and unthinkability of the world-system. Thinkability: on some accounts, economic production has been organized globally since the emergence of capitalist banking in the Renaissance, so that all any of us have ever known is a globalized economy. Unthinkability: we struggle to say anything meaningful about the planetary flow of capital, goods, people, and information, and if we are film scholars, it is not obvious that such questions even belong in our discipline. Yet, if we throw up our hands, we will find that these questions are thought for us, without our input. The article follows Marker’s passage from nations to worlds by following the prompts found in the formal strategies of the film, which may in turn enable us to connect the history of what Denning calls “the age of three worlds” to the philosophical understanding of “worlds” proposed by Badiou.
Nature and Sources of Pollutants

Air, water and soil have always been an admixture of chemicals. Some of these chemicals are capable of profound effects on living systems with which they come into contact. Plant and animal life has always depended on natural transformations continuously recycling high quantities of chemical substances through the biosphere. Man too has been exposed to and depended upon many of these environmental chemicals since time immemorial. Adaptive change has been necessary. However, a cognitive capability has distinguished man from other living things. This capability has permitted him to develop rapidly and to learn to use available surrounding resources both to improve the quality of his life and at times to jeopardize it. In the late 1940s and 1950s, destructive air pollution episodes occurred in the Meuse Valley, Donora, London, and New York. Thus, seeds of apprehension and fear of air pollution effects were sown. Such feelings were rekindled by The Silent Spring, the mercury problem, and others. It is my opinion that the doomsday approach (i.e., doomsday caused by environmental contamination per se) is wrong, and, by sane, sensible, and vigorous environmental control action we shall take care of the problems. Many requisites are necessary, one being an understanding of the nature and sources of pollutants. There are a number of ways to classify pollutants, such as by the medium polluted (air, water, or soil), the polluting chemical (organic, inorganic, etc.), the target organisms (people, plants, wildlife), the nature of effects (odors, respiratory irritants, carcinogens, eggshell thinning of birds exposed to "DDT"), or according to the sources (natural or man-made, intensive or extensive, etc.). See figure in PDF file
Intrahepatic Collateral Supply to the Previously Embolized Right Gastric Artery: A Potential Pitfall for Nontarget Radioembolization

Editor: Despite the promising therapeutic effects of hepatic radioembolization, serious gastrointestinal ulceration can result from nontarget deposition of radioactive microspheres through hepaticoenteric anastomoses (1). One such anastomosis, the right gastric artery (RGA), shows extensive anatomic variability in its site of origin from the hepatic arteries and can be missed during angiography. Identifying and coil embolizing the RGA and other hepaticoenteric anastomoses enable the angiographic equivalent of
Isoforms of Terminal Deoxynucleotidyltransferase: Developmental Aspects and Function

The immune system develops in a series of programmed developmental stages. Although recombination-activating gene (RAG) and nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) proteins are indispensable in the generation of immunoglobulins and T-cell receptors (TCRs), most CDR3 diversity is contributed by nontemplated addition of nucleotides catalyzed by the nuclear enzyme terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase (TdT) and most nucleotide deletion is performed by exonucleases at V(D)J joins. Increasing TdT expression continuing into adult life results in N region addition and diversification of the T and B cell repertoires. In several species including mice and humans, there are multiple isoforms of TdT resulting from alternative mRNA splicing. The short form (TdTS) produces N additions during TCR and B-cell receptor (BCR) gene rearrangements. Other long isoforms, TdTL1 and TdTL2, have 3' --> 5' exonuclease activity. The two forms of TdT therefore have distinct and opposite functions in lymphocyte development. The enzymatic activities of the splice variants of TdT play an essential role in the diversification of lymphocyte repertoires by modifying the composition and length of the gene segments involved in the production of antibodies and T-cell receptors.
Abstract T P362: Blood Pressure, Blood Glucose, Temperature and Outcome after Childhood Stroke

Objective: To determine the prevalence of abnormal blood pressure (BP), blood glucose and temperature in the acute phase after ischemic stroke (IS) and explore any relationship to outcome. We hypothesized that high and low BP, hyperglycemia, and fever after pediatric IS were all associated with poor outcome. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of children aged 1 month to 18 years with first IS admitted to a tertiary hospital between 2009 and 2013. Blood pressure, glucose and temperature readings recorded over the first 5 days after diagnosis. Morbidity or mortality and BP at 3 months post-stroke were documented. Hypertension (HTN) was defined as systolic or diastolic BP ≥95th% percentile for age, sex, and height for two consecutive recordings and two consecutive days. Results: Ninety-eight children were identified (median age 6 years). Prevalence of hypertension, hypotension, hyperglycemia and fever was 65%, 68%, 18%, and 41%, respectively. In multivariable analysis, the strongest association with poor outcome (defined as pediatric stroke outcome measure ≥1) was infarct size >4% of brain volume [odds ratio (OR) 5.3, CI 1.8-15.3, p=0.002]. Blood glucose ≥200mg/dL was also independently associated with poor outcome (OR 4.6, CI 1.3-16.3, p=0.015). Hypotension requiring treatment (p=0.02, Fisher Exact Test) and fever ≥37.8°C (p=0.03, X2=4.6) were associated with poor outcome in univariable testing only. Hypertension was not significantly associated with stroke size, poor outcome, or death. During the acute post-stroke period 18% were treated with anti-hypertensive medication. At 3-months post-stroke, 11 children had died; 90% of the survivors followed up. Of these, 15 of 78 (19%) were receiving anti-hypertensive medication, an additional 9 children were hypertensive but untreated. Conclusions: Abnormalities of BP, blood glucose and temperature are prevalent in children with IS during the first 5 days after diagnosis. Infarct size and hyperglycemia were associated with poor outcome, hypertension was not. Prospective studies involving systematic recording of BP, blood glucose and temperature are required to better assess whether these factors impact outcome and are amenable to intervention to reduce morbidity after stroke in children.
Dumb vs. Fake: Representations of Bush and Palin on Saturday Night Live and Their Effects on the Journalistic Public Sphere

Political comedy on television has become an increasingly relevant and informative source which voters, and commentators in the official journalistic public sphere, draw upon. Saturday Night Live has long been a cultural forum of representation of American Presidential Candidates. Two parodies of candidates in particular stand out in the 21st century: Will Ferrell's impression of George W. Bush in 2000 and Tina Fey's of Sarah Palin in 2008. Journalists in the New York Times and Washington Post tended to reject the Ferrell impression as meaningless, while using the Fey parody to represent their own opinions. Why was the satirical portrayal of Palin more salient? The Fey impression resonated with writers in the public sphere in a much more substantive manner than the Ferrell impression, which focused mostly in personal characteristics. This period marks a transition of personality-based humor to more substantive satire.
Remarkable enhancement in the Kapitza resistance and electron potential barrier of chemically modified In2O3(ZnO)9 natural superlattice interfaces

Superlattice interfaces can efficiently scatter phonons and filter low-energy electrons, thereby reducing the thermal conductivity to the "alloy limit" of crystalline solids and increasing the Seebeck coefficient substantially. In this paper, we report a two-fold reduction in the thermal conductivity and an improvement of about 170% in the Seebeck coefficient of an existing In2O3(ZnO)9 superlattice by chemically modifying the interface with small additions of aluminum. Using a classical model for the interface transport, we attribute such significant changes to the increase in both the Kapitza (thermal) resistance and the electron potential barrier height of the InO2(-) superlattice interfaces that are modified by Al(3+). The present work opens a new avenue of research showing that the superlattice interfaces can be chemically tuned for specific properties, which can be investigated in both experimental and computational ways, and also suggests a new route for material design for applications in areas like thermoelectrics.
The computation of resonances in open systems using a perfectly matched layer

In this paper, we consider the problem of computing resonances in open systems. We first characterize resonances in terms of (improper) eigen-functions of the Helmholtz operator on an unbounded domain. The perfectly matched layer (PML) technique has been successfully applied to the computation of scattering problems. We shall see that the application of PML converts the resonance problem to a standard eigenvalue problem (still on an infinite domain). This new eigenvalue problem involves an operator which resembles the original Helmholtz equation transformed by a complex shift in the coordinate system. Our goal will be to approximate the shifted operator first by replacing the infinite domain by a finite (computational) domain with a convenient boundary condition and second by applying finite elements on the computational domain. We shall prove that the first of these steps leads to eigenvalue convergence (to the desired resonance values) which is free from spurious computational eigenvalues provided that the size of computational domain is sufficiently large. The analysis of the second step is classical. Finally, we illustrate the behavior of the method applied to numerical experiments in one and two spatial dimensions.
Persistence of Brunhilde poliomyelitis virus in rodent brain without evidence of adaptation.

SummaryAdaptation of Brunhilde virus to cotton rats or hamsters was not achieved by the method of alternation of passage between these animals and rhesus monkeys.Brunhilde virus was found present in the brains of symptomless hamsters up to 5 days after intracerebral inoculation and up to 10 days after intracerebral inoculation of cotton rats and Swiss albino mice (no tests at longer intervals were made). There was no evidence of the virus persisting after more than one cotton rat or hamster passage, and there was no histological evidence of virus proliferation. This is highly suggestive that no multiplication had occurred in the brains of these animals. This persistence of virus in symptomless animals is similar to that observed by Smith (6) in attempts to establish St. Louis encephalitis in rats and guinea pigs.
Temporal National Trends of Minimally Invasive and Retropubic Radical Prostatectomy Outcomes from 2003 to 2007: Results from the 100% Medicare Sample

Abstract Background Although the use of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy (MIRP) has increased, there are few comprehensive population-based studies assessing temporal trends and outcomes relative to retropubic radical prostatectomy (RRP). Objective Assess temporal trends in the utilization and outcomes of MIRP and RRP among US Medicare beneficiaries from 2003 to 2007. Design, setting, and participants A population-based retrospective study of 19 594 MIRP and 58 638 RRP procedures was performed from 2003 to 2007 from the 100% Medicare sample, composed of almost all US men ≥65 yr of age. Intervention MIRP and RRP. Measurements We measured 30-d outcomes (cardiac, respiratory, vascular, genitourinary, miscellaneous medical, miscellaneous surgical, wound complications, blood transfusions, and death), cystography utilization within 6 wk of surgery, and late complications (anastomotic stricture, ureteral complications, rectourethral fistulae, lymphocele, and corrective incontinence surgery). Results and limitations From 2003 to 2007, MIRP increased from 4.9% to 44.5% of radical prostatectomies while RRP decreased from 89.4% to 52.9%. MIRP versus RRP subjects were younger ( p p p = 0.002), miscellaneous surgical complications (4.7–3.7%; p =0.030), transfusions (3.5–2.2%; p =0.005), and postoperative cystography utilization (40.3–34.1%; p p p =0.009). Late RRP complications increased, with the exception of fewer anastomotic strictures (10.2–8.8%; p =0.002). In adjusted analyses, RRP versus MIRP was associated with increased 30-d mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 2.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.55–4.59; p p p Conclusions From 2003 to 2007, there were fewer MIRP transfusions, genitourinary complications, and miscellaneous surgical complications, whereas most RRP perioperative and late complications increased. RRP versus MIRP was associated with more postoperative mortality and complications.
Changing tune in auditory cortex

Investigating the organization of tone representation in the rodent auditory cortex at high resolution, two new studies in this issue find that the arrangement of relative frequency responsiveness is not preserved at a fine-scale cortical level.
Exploring the psychometric properties of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire.

A growing literature supporting the efficacy and effectiveness of mindfulness and its application has developed over the past decade. Reliable and valid measurement of mindfulness is an essential component of this emerging area. Therefore, in this study, a confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the factor structure of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer et al. (Assessment 13:27–45, 2006)) among a mixed sample of meditators and non-meditators. However, unlike the original FFMQ validation study in which item parceling was used, in this study individual items were used as indicators, providing an item-level test of the FFMQ model fit. Overall, the hierarchical FFMQ model using item-level indicators provided a good fit to the data. The reliability and validity of each of the five facets of the FFMQ (Observing, Describing, Acting with Awareness, Nonreactivity, Nonjudging) was also acceptable.
Invasive and native plant responses to shrubland fuel reduction: comparing prescribed fire, mastication, and treatment season

Fuel reduction in the wildland–urban interface is a widely used international strategy for assisting human communities regarding wildfire threats, but very little research has examined whether certain fuel reduction methods and their seasonal timing promote nonnative invasion. To address this issue, we evaluated nonnative and native plant response to five of the most commonly-practiced shrubland fuel reduction methods in Mediterranean climates, including (a) fall prescribed fire, (b) winter prescribed fire, (c) spring prescribed fire, (d) fall mastication (slashing) and (e) spring mastication. Treatments were replicated four times in mature northern California chaparral and surveyed for three years after treatment; treatment type was randomly assigned. We found that the effects of treatment type (fire/mastication) were more apparent than the effects of treatment season (fall/winter/spring), but there were some differences among seasons of prescribed fire. Mastication treatments had the highest number of nonnative invasive species. Mastication treatments also had 34% higher nonnative annual grass abundance than the fire treatments. Winter and spring prescribed fire treatments were most resistant to nonnative invasion since these areas had the fewest nonnative species, lowest nonnative species abundances, and highest relative proportions of native plants. In shrublands where controlling nonnative annual grass is an important objective, managers should consider cool season prescribed fire as a viable fuel reduction treatment. In cases where prescribed fire is not feasible, mastication provides an alternative that can exacerbate nonnative grass production in the short term but may maintain native plant seedbanks over the long term if the site remains undisturbed for several decades. Results from this study could be applicable to other areas of Mediterranean shrublands.
Transformation plasticity and toughening

Analysis of the dynamic evolution of multilevel structure during martensitic transformations provides kinetics-based constitutive relations for transformation plasticity. Application in numerical modeling of ductile fracture by microvoid-softening-induced shear localization, in conjunction with metallographic study of crack-tip processes, identifies transformation toughening mechanisms operating on three structural length scales. Dispersed-phase transformation toughening in ultrahigh-strength martensitic steels demonstrates record levels of fracture toughness.
Infrared detection of liquids on terrestrial surfaces by CO 2 laser heating

The strong mid-infrared bands of contaminant liquids wetting sand and soil can be remotely detected by 0.103-eV laser irradiation with beam intensity well below that which chars the terrain. Emissions from heated nonvolatile interstitial liquid layers and extinction of thermoluminescence by beam-generated vapors of volatile contaminants are spectrally distinct within the infrared contaminant fingerprint spectral region-as measured by a Michelson interferometer based FT-IR radiometer instrument. The contaminant's vibrational resonance intensities change proportionally in magnitude and sign in measured contiguous difference FFT spectra, within a specific beam-to-sample dwell period. The onset irradiation time and period for detecting these bands can differ according to amount and volatility of contaminant, beam intensity and its time of dwell necessary to produce sufficient thermoluminescence flux, and on the quantity of interferogram data acquisitions.
Plasmonic nanograting structures for sensor applications

We study the resonant wavelength in plasmonic nanograting structures. Plasmonic nanograting devices can be used as sensors to detect the refractive indices of the surrounding dielectric media. We find that the increase in nanogroove depth will increase the sensitivity and the increase in nanogroove width has a little impact on the sensitivity. The numerical simulation results from FDTD method agree with the phase-matching condition for the surface plasmon waves.
Remote sensing for organics on Mars.

The detection of organics on Mars remains an important scientific objective. Advances in instrumentation and laboratory techniques provide new insight into the lower level detection limit of complex organics in closely packed media. Preliminary results demonstrate that algae present in a palagonite medium do exhibit a spectral reflectance feature in the visible range for dry mass weight ratios of algae to palagonite greater than 6%—which corresponds to 30 mg algae in a 470 mg (just optically thick (<3 mm) layer) palagonite matrix. This signature most probably represents chlorophyll a, a light harvesting pigment with an emission peak at 678 nm.
Strangeness nucleation in neutron star matter

We study the transition from npe-type nuclear matter (consisting of neutrons, protons, and electrons) to matter containing strangeness, using a Walecka-type model predicting a first-order kaon-condensate phase transition. We examine the free energy of droplets of K matter as the density, temperature, and neutrino fraction are varied. Langer nucleation rate theory is then used to approximate the rate at which critical droplets of the new phase are produced by thermal fluctuations, thus giving an estimate of the time required for the new (mixed) phase to appear at various densities and various times in the cooling history of the protoneutron star. We also discuss the famous difficulty of ``simultaneous weak interactions'' which we connect to the literature on nontopological solitons. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results to several phenomenological issues involving neutron star phase transitions.
Worker honey bee pheromone regulation of foraging ontogeny

The evolution of sociality has configured communication chemicals, called primer pheromones, which play key roles in regulating the organization of social life. Primer pheromones exert relatively slow effects that fundamentally alter developmental, physiological, and neural systems. Here, I demonstrate how substances extracted from the surface of foraging and young pre-foraging worker bees regulated age at onset of foraging, a developmental process. Hexane-extractable compounds washed from foraging workers increased foraging age compared with controls, whereas extracts of young pre-foraging workers decreased foraging age. This represents the first known direct demonstration of primer pheromone activity derived from adult worker bees.
Dynamic scheduling for networked control systems

An integrated approach, embracing both control and scheduling theories, is proposed to implement multiple control loops upon shared network and computational resources, where the network may additionally introduce packet losses. Each control system is first analyzed from a control-theoretic perspective in order to determine the asymptotic rate at which control signals must be computed to maintain stability and optimal performance despite network losses. Since required completion rates for control tasks are asymptotic, and network packet drops uncertain, the problem of scheduling multiple such control tasks upon shared computational resources does not map to known problems in real-time scheduling. It is therefore formalized here as a new form of periodic task scheduling problem -- one in which each task has an associated asymptotic completion rate requirement. Sufficient schedulability conditions are derived, and a dynamic scheduling algorithm designed, for solving such scheduling problems. This integrated methodology thus provides an effective way to incorporate network loss in the design of cyber-physical systems over integrated architectures. The use of this methodology is illustrated, and its efficacy demonstrated, upon an example system of five inverted pendulums.
Dimethylnitrosamine metabolism: I. In vitro activation of dimethylnitrosamine to mutagenic substance(s) by hepatic and renal tissues from three inbred strains of mice

The potential of hepatic and renal homogenates from three inbred strains of mice (BALB/c, C57BL and DBA) to activate dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) was investigated. Microsomal enzyme (S-9) preparations of liver and kidney from mature and immature mice were used in the Ames Salmonella mutagenicity assay. No age or sex-related differences in the formation of active mutagenic DMN Metabolites by liver microsomal enzymes were observed within any of the three inbred strains. In contrast, mature male kidney S-9 fractions from all three strains had a significantly greater potential to activate DMN than mature female and immature animals. Testosterone treatment resulted in no apparent changes in the ability of hepatic tissue to biotransform DMN to its mutagenic metabolites among age and sex classes. However, after testosterone treatment, renal microsomal fractions from mature female mice of all three strains did not differ significantly from their male counterparts in their ability to transform DMN to mutagenic metabolites.
Ring–Ringlet Interactions

Abstract This paper is motivated by the recent discovery of the single-sided shepherding observed in numerical simulations by 975875 ; 975875 and explained by 975875 . It deals with the question of the confinement of the gap's edges. Gravitational perturbations exerted by the narrow ringlet on the gap's edges and the exchange of angular momentum between the ringlet and the gap's edges are studied. These results are applied to the ringlet and gap at 1.470 R p in Saturn's C ring. We find that if the ringlet's shape is dominated by the m = 1 mode, then its surface density would have to be much smaller than generally thought, otherwise the perturbations exerted on the edges would have been observed in the Voyager data. If the ringlet's eccentricity is forced by the 2:1 Lindblad resonance with Prometheus, as suggested by Goldreich, Rappaport and Sicardy's explanation, then the perturbations exerted by the ringlet on the gap's edges are on the same order of magnitude as those exerted by Prometheus. The torque exerted by the ringlet is able to confine the gap's inner edge, but the flux of angular momentum due to the ringlet perturbations near the outer edge of the gap has the sign opposite to that expected for confinement. This suggests that either the gap's edges are, as the ringlet itself, confined by reversal of the viscous flux of angular momentum or that one or several satellites or big particles located within the gap are responsible for the confinement of its edges.
Electric-field-induced motion of polymer cholesteric liquid-crystal flakes in a moderately conductive fluid.

Polymer cholesteric liquid-crystal flakes suspended in a fluid with nonnegligible conductivity can exhibit motion in the presence of an ac electric field. The plateletlike particles with a Grandjean texture initially lie parallel to the cell substrates and exhibit a strong selective reflection that is diminished or extinguished as the flakes move. Flake motion was seen within a specific frequency bandwidth in an electric field as low as 5 mVrms/µm. Flakes reoriented about their longest axis to align parallel to the applied field, and a rise time of 560 ms was seen in a 40-mVrms/µm field at 100 Hz.
The role of pulmonary vascular responses to chronic hypoxia in the development of chronic mountain sickness in rats

A strain of Sprague-Dawley rat obtained from Hilltop Labs, Scottsdale, PA (H rats), develops more severe pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular hypertrophy, and polycythemia than a strain obtained from Madison, WI (M rats), following exposure to simulated high altitude. We sought to determine whether differences in pulmonary vascular responses to chronic hypoxia could explain the differing high altitude susceptibilities of the two strains. Vasoconstrictor responses to hypoxia and angiotensin II were tested in blood perfused lungs isolated from rats of both groups exposed to stimulated high altitude (4 to 5 weeks, 0.5 atm), or from sea level controls. Pressure-flow curves, serving as an index of 'passive' vascular resistance, were also determined in the isolated lungs. Vasoconstrictor responses to hypoxia were blunted in high altitude rats of both the H and M strains compared to sea level controls, and the H sea level rats had blunted vasoconstrictor responses to hypoxia compared to the M sea level rats. Vasoconstrictor responses to angiotensin II were similar among the groups and were unaffected by chronic high altitude exposure. Pressure-flow curves were greater in both high altitude groups than in the sea level groups, and those of the H high altitude rats were slightly greater than those of the M high altitude rats. Thus, differences in vasoconstrictor responses to hypoxia do not explain the greater pulmonary hypertension of H high altitude rats. However, greater 'passive' vascular resistance, probably due to more extensive structural remodeling of pulmonary vessels, does appear to contribute to the greater pulmonary hypertension of the H rats.
Heat Transfer to Oil Shale in a Closely Spaced Bundle as an Approximation to a Packed Bed

The heat transfer to a single cylindrical sample of oil shale in a staggered tube bundle was studied both numerically and experimentally in order to evaluate the thermal and chemical processes associated with the retorting of oil shale in packed beds particular to in-situ processing. The cylinders were subjected to constant gas temperatures and to gas temperature histories experienced in an actual combustion retort. The results of the numerical modeling were compared with the experimental data in order to evaluate the model's performance. 24 refs.
EVALUATION OF FROZEN BOILED PEANUTS AS AFFECTED BY COOK TIME, COOL TIME AND SALT CONCENTRATIONS

SUMMARY— Frozen boiled peanuts were evaluated in terms of the variables, cooking time, cooling time and salt concentration. Cooling was accomplished in the same brine used for cooking. The three variables were evaluated in a triple-cube experimental design, and the data were analyzed on the Mississippi State University computer. Titratable salt below 2.3% in the finished product was generally considered too low. Salt concentrations lower than 4 oz per gallon of water in the cooking and cooling brine always resulted in peanuts too low in salt. 8 oz of salt per gallon of water resulted in salt content in the finished product that was too low, when either the cooking or cooling time lives short. 10 oz of salt per gallon of water resulted in a satisfactory salt content over a cooking time range of from 20–30 min with a cooling time of 13 hr. Cooking time of 15 min or less resulted in peanuts which were too firm, based on shear press data. Peanuts cooked 20–25 min were usually judged by the taste panel to have satisfactory texture, although taste panel results were not significantly correlated with the independent variables. The best boiled frozen product resulted when peanuts were cooked 10–30 min at 212°F in brine containing 6–14 oz of table salt per gallon of water and were cooled 9–29 hr in the same brine. Samples were packaged in 1.5-mil polyethylene, vacuum-sealed pouches and stored at -20°F. No detectable degeneration of the product resulted from holding the frozen boiled peanuts in storage 8 months. The most time-consuming step in processing was cooling to get salt absorption. Future research will be aimed at reducing cooling times to practical commercial limits.
Improving the Performance of Teacher Candidates: Developing Assessment through Standards

Abstract This article discusses how changes in state licensure requirements have led to the successful implementation of a program wide assessment system in elementary education that determines teacher candidate performance competencies. Three major sections are included to describe the impetus and processes for such changes: (a) a description of the reform of a teacher licensure system; (b) an account of how faculty interpreted the new requirements for one elementary education program; (c) and an example of how one course was revised to include performance tasks aligned to standards. Reasons why this university has made significant progress are discussed.
Tree genotype mediates covariance among communities from microbes to lichens and arthropods

Summary 1. Community genetics studies frequently focus on individual communities associated with individual plant genotypes, but little is known about the genetically based relationships among taxonomically and spatially disparate communities. We integrate studies of a wide range of communities living on the same plant genotypes to understand how the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of one community may be constrained or modulated by its underlying genetic connections to another community. 2. We use pre-existing data sets collected from Populus angustifolia (narrowleaf cottonwood) growing in a common garden to test the hypothesis that the composition of pairs of distinct communities (e.g. endophytes, pathogens, lichens, arthropods, soil microbes) covary across tree genotypes, such that individual plant genotypes that support a unique composition of one community are more likely to support a unique composition of another community. We then evaluate the hypotheses that physical proximity, taxonomic similarity, time between sampling (time attenuation), and interacting foundation species within communities explain the strength of correlations. 3. Three main results emerged. First, Mantel tests between communities revealed moderate to strong (q = 0.25‐0.85) community‐genetic correlations in almost half of the comparisons; correlations among phyllosphere endophyte, pathogen and arthropod communities were the most robust. Secondly, physical proximity determined the strength of community‐genetic correlations, supporting a physical proximity hypothesis. Thirdly, consistent with the interacting foundation species hypothesis, the most abundant species drove many of the stronger correlations. Other hypotheses were not supported. 4. Synthesis. The field of community genetics demonstrates that the structure of communities varies among plant genotypes; our results add to this field by showing that disparate communities covary among plant genotypes. Eco-evolutionary dynamics between plants and their associated organisms may therefore be mediated by the shared connections of different communities to plant genotype, indicating that the organization of biodiversity in this system is genetically based and non-neutral.
Ethnic Stability and Urban Reconstruction: Policy Dilemmas in Polarized Cities

This article investigates the role and influence of urban planning in ameliorating or intensifying deeply ingrained ethnic conflict. It is based on more than 70 interviews with urban professionals in Belfast (Northern Ireland) and Johannesburg (South Africa). Policy makers in Belfast have sought intergroup stability through neutral policies that protect the territorial status quo. Equity planning in post-apartheid Johannesburg seeks spatial reconstruction of a disfigured metropolis. In both cities, policy dilemmas challenge officials who are seeking to stabilize or reconstruct strife-torn cities. Hardening of Protestant-Catholic territorial identities in Belfast, which are deemed essential to urban peace, might constitute a barrier to long-term intergroup reconciliation. In Johannesburg, policy responses to crisis conditions and reliance on private economic forces may solidify rather than transcend apartheid geography. In ethnically polarized cities, a reconceptualized urban planning that is able to impro...
High-speed supervision of process variables

IMAGINE an instrument which scans rapidly through 50 primary elements in less than five seconds. It has no scale but has 50 bull's-eyes on the front of its case. Suddenly one of these bull's-eyes lights up and a howler sounds. A nearby recorder moves into action. The operator on duty notes the generator involved and presses a button to silence the howler, then leaves to inspect the stator of that generator. The bull's-eye remains lit and the recorder remains active. The temperature is dropping back toward a safe condition because the operator has increased the water flow to the hydrogen cooler. Next the light goes out and the recorder runs down scale and stops.
Approximate energy eigenvalues from a generalized operator method

Abstract We use the dynamical group SO(2, 1) to generalize the operator method of Feranchuk and Komarov. The method is applied to the hydrogen atom problem with an additional potential of the form λr .