cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CHAPTER 13 – The Discrete Event Calculus Reasoner

This chapter describes the Discrete Event Calculus Reasoner, which uses satisfiability (SAT) to solve event calculus problems. The program can be used to perform automated deduction, abduction, postdiction, and model finding. The chapter discusses the architecture of the program and the encoding of SAT problems. It provides present some simple examples of how the program is used and then present a more complicated example. The architecture of the Discrete Event Calculus Reasoner program works as: a domain description is provided as input to the program, the main program sends the domain description to the SAT encoder, and so on. In order to encode the domain description as a SAT problem, the domain of every sort is limited to a finite set. SAT solving is facilitated by discrete event calculus (DEC), it uses integers for timepoints, unlike EC, which uses real numbers. DEC replaces triply quantified time in many of the event calculus (EC) axioms with doubly quantified time, resulting in smaller SAT encodings.
MARS NORTHERN PLAINS OCEAN

Abstract Based on our update to the global map of the proposed paleoshorelines from the 1980s using high-quality global image and topography data acquired since the late 1990s, this chapter assesses how they were most likely formed (wave action, wind-driven push or thermal expansion of an ice cover, or low-viscosity volcanic plains emplacement). Shorelines follow an equipotential surface with respect to the planetary geoid. On Earth, abandoned shorelines deviate from equipotential surfaces because the water load depresses the crust and mantle by up to one-third the water depth. When the water is removed, the crust rebounds such that shorelines around islands can often be elevated with respect to those along the basin margin. By determining shoreline elevations, we looked for evidence of rebound or subsidence, with implications for the fate of the water and the rheology of the crust.
Output-based flutter bifurcation forecasting in nonlinear fluid-structural systems with multiple varying parameters

Abstract High-performance flutter and post-flutter predictions are critical in the design of a vast range of nonlinear fluid-structural systems. However, these predictions are often unfeasible due to their high computational cost. Moreover, traditional methods for flutter and post-flutter predictions are model intrusive and limited to one varying parameter at a time. To address these shortcomings, this paper introduces a novel output-based method for forecasting flutter bifurcations and post-flutter dynamics in nonlinear fluid-structural systems with multiple varying parameters. The proposed method uses only output data from a handful of transient responses in the pre-flutter regime to predict the flutter boundary and a range of the bifurcation diagram. The method is demonstrated in analytical systems where the predicted bifurcation diagrams match the exact solutions. Next, the method is applied to a geometrically nonlinear wing considering variations in the flow speed and torsion stiffness. The predicted bifurcation diagrams closely agree with time-marching solutions despite the proposed method requires only a handful of transient calculations. These results show that the proposed method enables computationally efficient and accurate output-based flutter bifurcation forecasting in nonlinear fluid-structural systems with multiple varying parameters.
Continuous Cnn For Nonuniform Time Series

CNN for time series data implicitly assumes that the data are uniformly sampled, whereas many event-based and multi-modal data are nonuniform or have heterogeneous sampling rates. Directly applying regular CNN to nonuniform time series is ungrounded, because it is unable to recognize and extract common patterns from the nonuniform input signals. In this paper, we propose the Continuous CNN (CCNN), which estimates the inherent continuous inputs by interpolation, and performs continuous convolution on the continuous input. The interpolation and convolution kernels are learned in an end-to-end manner, and are able to learn useful patterns despite the nonuniform sampling rate. Results of several experiments verify that CCNN achieves a better performance on nonuniform data, and learns meaningful continuous kernels.1
Emerging Bacterial Infections

Increased international travel, political crises, sociodemographic pressures, and climate change have contributed to human exposure to bacterial pathogens once uncommon and endemically isolated. The rapid increase in incidence and spread of emerging bacterial infections underlines the need for increased clinical awareness of emerging infections. Many of these infections lack documentation in the dermatology literature, with delayed diagnosis and treatment and significant mortality and morbidity among infected individuals. This chapter aims to review the cutaneous and non-cutaneous manifestations of emerging bacterial infections, to provide concise diagnostic modalities, and to recommend management options.
Cervical ripening with laminaria tents prior to second trimester induction of labor.

Induction abortion in the second trimester may be favored in some instances, such as in women with compounding medical conditions or when skilled providers are not available. Various methods of pre...
Methylscaper: an R/shiny app for joint visualization of DNA methylation and nucleosome occupancy in single-molecule and single-cell data

Summary Differential DNA methylation and chromatin accessibility are associated with disease development, particularly cancer. Methods that allow profiling of these epigenetic mechanisms in the same reaction and at the single-molecule or single-cell level continue to emerge. However, a challenge lies in jointly visualizing and analyzing the heterogeneous nature of the data and extracting regulatory insight. Here, we present methylscaper, a visualization framework for simultaneous analysis of DNA methylation and chromatin accessibility landscapes. Methylscaper implements a weighted principal component analysis that orders DNA molecules, each providing a record of the chromatin state of one epiallele, and reveals patterns of nucleosome positioning, transcription factor occupancy, and DNA methylation. We demonstrate methylscaper's utility on a long-read, single-molecule methyltransferase accessibility protocol for individual templates (MAPit-BGS) dataset and a single-cell nucleosome, methylation, and transcription sequencing (scNMT-seq) dataset. In comparison to other procedures, methylscaper is able to readily identify chromatin features that are biologically relevant to transcriptional status while scaling to larger datasets. Availability and implementation Methylscaper, is implemented in R (version > 4.1) and available on Bioconductor: https://bioconductor.org/packages/methylscaper/, GitHub: https://github.com/rhondabacher/methylscaper/, and Web: https://methylscaper.com. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Artificial Intelligence: Potential Tool to Subside SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Artificial intelligence (AI), a method of simulating the human brain in order to complete tasks in a more effective manner, has had numerous implementations in fields from manufacturing sectors to digital electronics. Despite the potential of AI, it may be obstinate to assume that the person administered society would rely solely on AI; with an example being the healthcare field. With the ever-expanding discoveries made on a regular basis regarding the growth of various diseases and its preservations, utilizing brain power may be deemed essential, but that doesn't leave AI as a redundant asset. With the years of accumulated data regarding patterns and the analysis of various medical circumstances, algorithms can be formed, which could further assist in situations such as diagnosis support and population health management. This matter becomes even more relevant in today's society with the currently ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by SARS-CoV-2. With the uncertainty of this pandemic from strain variants to the rolling speeds of vaccines, AI could be utilized to our advantage in order to assist us with the fight against COVID-19. This review briefly discusses the application of AI in the COVID-19 situation for various health benefits.
Tax Managed Equity Funds and Tax Inefficiency

A lot of ETFs and mutual funds have come on the scene in the last 5 years with the label 'Tax Efficient' or 'Tax Managed'. But on a post-tax basis are these funds worth the higher fees? We look at each tax managed fund and compare it to its non-tax managed counterpart -- yielding 102 funds in total. We find weak improvements in post tax returns (greatest on a percentage basis for long duration funds). For most equity classes these marginal improvements in post-tax returns don't seem to be worth the higher fees.
Climate change cognition and education: given no silver bullet for denial, diverse information-hunks increase global warming acceptance

Climate change’s particular ‘perfect storm’ problem-nature requires educators and communicators to acknowledge that a single ‘silver bullet’ intervention that eliminates ignorance and denial regarding global warming may never emerge. However, diverse kinds of information-hunks and educational initiatives do incrementally increase acceptance (and alarm) regarding climate change, thus decreasing ignorance/denial. We herein describe advances in several climate education realms, including in-school and extra-school youth learning––along with post-school, general public, climate change communications. Our review includes lenses on socio-emotional learning, social justice, and techniques for addressing misinformation. Finally, we describe a particular set of ten hunks of experimentally vetted information, generally taking less than five minutes, that our laboratory has shown effective in boosting acceptance that global warming is occurring and concerning.
Global Politics, Reciprocity, and the CSN Model

The dynamic, shaping forces of our neural architecture having global impact? Can it truly be? The very thought sounds far-fetched. Nevertheless, the case can be made.
Studies of immune mechanisms in leprosy. II. Quantitative relationships of IgG, IgA, and IgM immunoglobulins.

Abstract The quantities of IgG, IgA, and IgM immunoglobulins in sera from 193 patients with lepromatous or tuberculoid leprosy were measured and compared with 2 groups of nonleprous controls of similar racial and geographic derivation. Mean concentrations of the 3 major immunoglobulin classes were significantly elevated in the sera of lepromatous patients, but serum levels in tuberculoid patients did not differ significantly from control values. Scattergrams relating immunoglobulin levels to duration of treatment indicate that serum levels of IgG and IgA generally remain elevated even with prolonged therapy in patients with lepromatous leprosy. IgM levels declined significantly (p Mycobacterium leprae .
Cell-Specific Regulation of N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Maturation by Mecp2 in Cortical Circuits.

Abstract Background Early postnatal experience shapes N -methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) subunit composition and kinetics at excitatory synapses onto pyramidal cells; however, little is known about NMDAR maturation onto inhibitory interneurons. Methods We combined whole-cell patch clamp recordings ( n = 440) of NMDAR-mediated currents from layer-4-to-layer-2/3 synapses onto pyramidal and green fluorescent protein labeled parvalbumin-positive (PV) interneurons in visual cortex at three developmental ages (15, 30, and 45 postnatal days) with array tomography three-dimensional reconstructions of NMDAR subunits GluN2A- and GluN2B-positive synapses onto PV cells. Results We show that the trajectory of the NMDAR subunit switch is slower in PV interneurons than in excitatory pyramidal cells in visual cortex. Notably, this differential time course is reversed in the absence of methyl-CpG-binding protein, MECP2, the molecular basis for cognitive decline in Rett syndrome and some cases of autism. Additional genetic reduction of GluN2A subunits, which prevents regression of vision in Mecp2 -knockout mice, specifically rescues the accelerated NMDAR maturation in PV cells. Conclusions We demonstrate 1) the time course of NMDAR maturation is cell-type specific, and 2) a new cell-type specific role for Mecp2 in the development of NMDAR subunit composition. Reducing GluN2A expression in Mecp2 -knockout mice, which prevents the decline in visual cortical function, also prevents the premature NMDAR maturation in PV cells. Thus, circuit-based therapies targeting NMDAR subunit composition on PV cells may provide novel treatments for Rett syndrome.
Mapping Dark Web Geolocation

In this paper we first provide a brief review of the Dark Web project of the University of Arizona Artificial Intelligence Lab. We then report our research design and case study that aim to identify the geolocation of the countries, cities, and ISPs that host selected international Jihadist web sites. We provide an overview of key relevant Internet functionality and architecture and present techniques for exploiting networking technologies for locating servers and resources. Significant findings from our case study and suggestion for future research are also presented.
Quality assessment of color images affected by transmission error, quantization noise, and noneccentricity pattern noise

Security images transmitted over network or wireless mediums are subjected to a variety of transmission errors and non-eccentricity pattern noise. Some of these errors are due to hardware limitations that can result in lower quality images caused by quantization noise. Currently, there are no quantitative metrics to evaluate the visual quality of images containing transmission errors based on human perception. Traditional methods rely on human evaluators, which is not always feasible in live field security applications. Image quality measures are desired to evaluate these images and to help with parameter selection in their enhancement process. The performances of existing spatial domain image quality measures are sensitive to the image contents and attributes. The image quality measures that operate in the transform domain such as the DCT, DFT, or DWT, are independent of image attributes such as periodicity, texture, and randomness; however, these measures are mostly contrast measures and designed to handle gray scale images. Currently, there are no transform domain measures for color images that are suitable for these classes of noise and distortions. In this article, we introduce a no-parameter, no-reference transform domain measure of enhancement for color images. The test images are distorted with JPEG/JPEG2000 transmission errors, quantization noise, and non-eccentricity pattern noise. Our measure utilizes the spectrum of the color content of images in the transform domain. This measure can help optimize parameter selection during the enhancement process or to autonomously evaluate images in accordance with human visual perception.
γ-Interferon Plays a Key Role in T-Cell-induced Tumor Regression

Recent studies have demonstrated that noncytolytic T-cells can mediate regression of murine tumors. In this report, we demonstrate that MCA-105 tumor-draining lymph node cells (DLN) activated with the protein kinase C activator, bryostatin 1, plus a calcium ionophore are capable of inducing specific tumor regression in vivo when adoptively transferred to mice with established metastases. However, these activated DLN cells lack in vitro cytotoxicity against autologous tumor. Antibody against gamma-interferon (IFN-gamma) markedly inhibited the therapeutic efficacy of these activated DLN cells. Anti-tumor necrosis factor produced a statistically significant but weaker inhibition of tumor regression. IFN-gamma, but not tumor necrosis factor alpha, could be shown to be secreted by activated DLN cells in vitro in response to specific tumor. Secretion of IFN-gamma was primarily a function of CD8+ T-cells. IFN-gamma was not directly cytotoxic to sarcoma cells in vitro. Moreover, tumor cells incubated with IFN-gamma were not more susceptible to lysis by activated DLN cells. However, recombinant murine IFN-gamma had a significant antiproliferative effect against MCA-105 tumor cells when tested in a [3H]thymidine uptake assay. Similarly, supernatants obtained from DLN/autologous tumor cocultures markedly inhibited MCA-105 proliferation; this antiproliferative effect was abrogated by the addition of anti-IFN-gamma antibody to the cultures. These results suggest that secretion of IFN-gamma by adoptively transferred DLN cells plays an essential role in tumor rejection. The dominant effect of IFN-gamma may be its demonstrated antiproliferative activity.
The mating strategy of Phidippus johnsoni (Araneae, salticidae)

1. ‘Persistence’ is defined as male courtship duration during interactions in which females failed to mate. Males of P. johnsoni were collected from habitats with differing climates, and their persistence was compared in the laboratory. 2. Beach habitats (California, sea level, ca. 100 m from the ocean) had a constant mild climate compared to the Coastal Range (California, 400–900 m elevation). Alpine habitats (Wyoming, 3,000 m) were intermediate. 3. The mating season (months during which adult males and females were simultaneously present) was shortest in the Coastal Range (2 months), longest in Beach populations (8 months), and intermediate in the Alpine population (3–4 months). Interpopulational variation in phenology seems related to differences in local climate. 4. Coastal Range males were the most persistent (mean, 3.3 min); Beach males were the least persistent (1.9 min); and Alpine males were intermediate (2.7 min). This trend seems to be related to interpopulational variation in phenology.
A Collaborative Maternal Arrest Safety Initiative

Poster Presentation Purpose for the Program The American Heart Association's (AHA) 2010 guidelines address cardiac arrest in pregnancy by providing a published algorithm and pregnancy specific modifications for management. A health care provider's ability to react prudently in an unexpected situation is one of the most critical factors in creating a positive outcome in an obstetric emergency. Researchers have shown that advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) certification may not necessarily translate to adequate performance of maternal resuscitation skills during an actual arrest. This maternal arrest pilot program prepares participants how to manage this rare unpredictable obstetric emergency through simulated training experiences that pose no risk to the mother or fetus. Proposed Change OSF Saint Francis Medical Center is a perinatal referral center with a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and Level‐I trauma center located in central Illinois. The management of a maternal cardiac arrest requires the collaboration of several teams (obstetric, neonatal, anesthesia, nursing, hospital code, emergency medicine, and prehospital emergency medical services [EMS]) who rarely collaborate to come together to deliver consistent, excellent patient care. The ACLS classes at OSF do not include a comprehensive review of maternal resuscitation. This obstetric‐focused pilot program will bridge this knowledge gap to include a didactic module and simulation component specific to resuscitation of the pregnant woman in conjunction with the current ACLS training program. This program for maternal arrest can span the entire OSF HealthCare system north central region to improve performance during a maternal arrest. Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation An interdisciplinary team was involved in the pilot development and will serve as trainers. A survey to assess current ACLS knowledge on maternal arrest will be administered before participants complete the didactic maternal arrest eLearning module. Data will be collected for comparison prelearning and postlearning. The participants include obstetric and emergency residents, registered nurses, anesthesia providers, and neonatal nurse practitioners. Using an obstetric mannequin, the in situ simulation component will be used to analyze the primary and secondary responder's performance using real‐life maternal arrest scenarios, detect areas of deficiency in using the AHA‐recommended algorithm, and discuss performance improvements. Presimulation and postsimulation confidence surveys will be completed. Implications for Nursing Practice Training, communicating, and solving problems in teams can affect maternal and fetal survival during a cardiac arrest. This collaboration will increase job satisfaction for all responders.
Place Identity in a Resource-Dependent Area of Northern British Columbia

Abstract Residents of northern British Columbia's resource-dependent areas have struggled to maintain the integrity of their communities as nonlocal firms exert ever-increasing influence over the region's resources and landscapes. Local leaders both construct and mobilize place as a vital part of their efforts to promote community well-being. This study focuses on the ways that the residents of three towns in the province's northern interior politicized place as a strategy for resisting the political influence and geographic designs of outsiders. The residents drew from their shared emotional response to powerlessness as a means of highlighting the inequities between insiders and outsiders, thereby generating a regional identity that calls into question the socioeconomic effects of resource industrialization in the north. In describing this dialectic between place making and economic restructuring, the article not only expands upon existing theory on place identity, but also contributes to a fuller unders...
Diamagnetism and Paramagnetism

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Magnetic Moments of Electrons Magnetic Moments of Atoms Theory of Diamagnetism Diamagnetic Substances Classical Theory of Paramagnetism Quantum Theory of Paramagnetism Paramagnetic Substances Problems
On the representation of unity by binary cubic forms

If F (x, y) is a binary cubic form with integer coefficients such that F (x, 1) has at least two distinct complex roots, then the equation F (x, y) = 1 possesses at most ten solutions in integers x and y, nine if F has a nontrivial automorphism group. If, further, F (x, y) is reducible over Z[x, y], then this equation has at most 2 solutions, unless F (x, y) is equivalent under GL2(Z)action to either x(x2 − xy − y2) or x(x2 − 2y2). The proofs of these results rely upon the method of Thue-Siegel as refined by Evertse, together with lower bounds for linear forms in logarithms of algebraic numbers and techniques from computational Diophantine approximation. Along the way, we completely solve all Thue equations F (x, y) = 1 for F cubic and irreducible of positive discriminant DF ≤ 106. As corollaries, we obtain bounds for the number of solutions to more general cubic Thue equations of the form F (x, y) = m and to Mordell’s equation y2 = x3 + k, where m and k are nonzero integers.
A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL IN COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS OF COMPUTER‐ASSISTED COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY VERSUS TREATMENT AS USUAL FOR CHILDREN WITH ANXIETY

Objective This study aims to examine the real-world effectiveness of a computer-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) protocol relative to treatment as usual (TAU) among anxious children presenting at community mental health centers. Methods One hundred children (7–13 years) with clinically significant anxiety were randomized to receive either 12 weekly computer-assisted CBT sessions or TAU for an equivalent duration. Assessments were conducted by independent evaluators at screening/baseline, midtreatment, posttreatment, and 1-month followup (for computer-assisted CBT treatment responders). Results There were significant between-group effects favoring the computer-assisted CBT condition on primary anxiety outcomes. Thirty of 49 (61.2%) children randomized to computer-assisted CBT responded to treatment, which was superior to TAU (6/51, 11.8%). Relative to TAU, computer-assisted CBT was associated with greater reductions in parent-rated child impairment and internalizing symptoms, but not child-rated impairment and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Treatment satisfaction and therapeutic alliance in those receiving computer-assisted CBT was high. Treatment gains in computer-assisted CBT responders were maintained at 1-month followup. Conclusions Within the limitations of this study, computer-assisted CBT is an effective and feasible treatment for anxious children when used in community mental health centers by CBT-naive clinicians.
Neuraxial labor analgesia in an obese parturient with influenza A H1N1

We describe the use of epidural analgesia in a 39-year-old G2P1 parturient presenting at 38(+6) weeks estimated gestation with confirmed influenza A H1N1 and superimposed bilateral pneumonia. Although the patient had an uncomplicated intra- and post-partum course, little is known about the safety of performing neuraxial analgesia or anesthesia in patients with influenza. The prevalence of viremia and possible translocation of blood-borne virus to the central nervous system are discussed.
Influence of source and type of admission on in-hospital mortality for coronary artery bypass surgery patients: national results from 1.7 million CABG patients, 1998 to 2002.

Background: Hospitals identify the type of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery admission as routine, urgent, or emergency, and identify CABG admissions as elective, from another hospital, from a long-term healthcare facility, and an admission that results from an emergency room visit. No research has analyzed the importance of these admission characteristics on CABG outcomes. Methods: Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project database for 1998 through 2002, 1.7 million CABG admissions are analyzed using descriptive and logistic regression techniques to evaluate the extent of differences in in-hospital CABG mortality rates by the type of admission and the source of admission. Results: While there has been 22% decline over our 5-year study period regardless of the source or type of admission, we find that a 2.5-fold difference exists in the in-hospital CABG mortality rates among categories that distinguish the type of admission and the source of admission in the nation's hospital. In 2002, CABG admissions that are routine elective-surgeries have a CABG mortality rate of 1.49%, while urgent CABG admissions from a long-term care facility have an in-hospital mortality rate that is 3.64%. Conclusions: While significant progress has been made lowering in-hospital CABG mortality, sizable differences still remain among the types and sources of CABG admissions. Clinical trial research on CABG patients where the end points include mortality need to be especially mindful of the potential differences and distortions in their data that can be generated due to these various sources of hospital admissions.
Overview of hemostasis and thrombosis; current status of antithrombotic therapies

Hemostasis is stimulated by exposure of the blood to extravascular proteins. When a blood vessel is broken, platelets quickly adhere to subendothelial collagen and von Willebrand factor, skidding onto their target like airplanes on a runway. On landing they activate and send out signals (ADP, thromboxane A2) that recruit neighboring platelets to aggregate at the site (Fig. 1). The mass of platelets, plus local vasoconstriction, provides a beachhead for hemostasis, which is quickly reinforced by integrated enzymatic reactions that change liquid blood to solid (Fig. 2). The transformation begins with tissue factor, a cell membrane protein exposed at the wound that binds trace amounts of activated factor VII (fVIIa) in the plasma. This starter is soon turned off by btissue factor pathway inhibitor,Q but not before a propagation phase of coagulation is underway that produces increasing amounts of thrombin, the enzyme that eventually converts soluble fibrinogen into solid fibrin to form a stable bhemostatic plugQ [1]. The entire process is contained at the site of vessel injury by anticoagulant proteins (antithrombin and activated protein C) that prevent the reactions from spreading abroad [2].
Introduction: The Moment and Place for a Special Issue

These are more than interesting times. They are the times in which the ideology and practices of consumption have multiplied across the earth to levels of complexity, subtlety, and influence that were unimaginable just a few decades ago. The problems and challenges related to consumer behaviors today include, but are not restricted to, unhealthy eating, effective and safe use of the Internet, substance abuse (e.g., alcohol, drugs), tobacco consumption, poor financial planning, aging and being elderly, disablements and impairments, indigence and illiteracy, education and socialization of young consumers, sexually transmitted diseases, and environmental deterioration. At the same time, many consumer behaviors support and enhance life. These include, but are not limited to, hobbies, exercise, festivals and celebrations, sustainable consumption behaviors (e.g., efficient water use, recycling), donations and communal consumption, and an array of artistic endeavors (e.g., music, painting). Over the years, unfortunately, the field of consumer research has generally underprioritized scholarship for alleviating problems and advancing opportunities of well-being. Related contributions from the Journal of Consumer Research ( JCR ) have been correspondingly irregular. Since its founding in 1974, the Journal of Consumer Research has been the foremost learned outlet of its kind. It has welcomed a diversity of topics and research paradigms and consistently included the highest quality of theoretical advances and methodological sophistication. However, in reviewing the supplement that the journal published in 2004 of all the abstracts of articles it published during its initial 30 years, inconsistencies and gaps of research on human and earthly welfare become clear. Splitting the first 30 …
Vibrational Dynamics of Terminal Acetylenes: II. Pathway for Vibrational Relaxation in Gas and Solution

The pathway for vibrational-energy flow following the excitation of the first excited state of the acetylenic C−H stretch is investigated for a series of 10 terminal acetylenes in room-temperature gases and dilute solutions using transient absorption picosecond infrared spectroscopy. The transient absorption infrared spectra are obtained at three different probe frequencies. These experiments separately detect the population of the excited C−H stretch state, the population of vibrational states with 2 quanta of acetylenic C−H bend excitation, and the population of all other vibrational states with C−H stretch absorption frequencies within the laser bandwidth (25 cm-1) of the C−H stretch fundamental frequency. These measurements show that the initial redistribution event for the isolated molecule involves population transfer to vibrational states with bend overtone excitation. The secondary intramolecular vibrational-energy redistribution (IVR) process, which involves population transfer to the remaining n...
Quantification of the Effects of Chain Length and Concentration on the Thermal Behavior of Elastin-like Polypeptides

At a specific temperature, elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) undergo a sharp solubility transition that can be exploited in a variety of applications in biotechnology and medicine. The temperature of the transition varies with ELP sequence, molecular weight, and concentration. We present a single equation of three parameters that quantitatively predicts the transition temperature as a function of ELP length and concentration for an ELP of a fixed composition. This model should be useful both for the design of new ELP sequences that exhibit a desired transition temperature and for the selection of variables to trigger the phase transition of an ELP for a given application.
The direct costs of living in a sexually harassing environment

Sexual conflict can lead to individuals evolving behaviours to circumvent preferences of the opposite sex. For example, females have been shown to adjust their behaviours depending on the risk of sexual harassment. In the present study we investigated the effects of sexual harassment in sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna, on both females and males depending on the level of male presence to which they were exposed. We exposed females to four levels of male presence (which we assumed to be correlated with intensity of sexual harassment): (1) no harassment (four females); (2) low male presence (one male with three females); (3) moderate male presence (two males with two females); and (4) high male presence (three males with one female). We measured sexual harassment as male sexual behaviours received by the females. The cost of sexual harassment on both males and females was measured as the overall change in body condition after being exposed to a particular treatment. There were three major results. (1) Sexual harassment caused a decrease in male body condition; this is one of the first studies to examine the cost of sexual harassment for males. (2) There are direct negative effects of sexual harassment on female fitness. (3) Male sexual behaviours are not additive, suggesting that there is some nonlinear relationship between the number of males in a population and the degree of harassment females are subjected to. We demonstrate that the social environment can have a direct effect on the body condition of the individuals within that particular environment. 2012 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Sexual conflict is widespread throughout polygynous sexual organisms (Arnqvist & Rowe 2005). It occurs when individuals of one sex invest less into reproduction and increase their fitness through frequent matings, while individuals of the other sex
Random Walk Representations and Four-Fermion Interactions

We develop a new, nonperturbative method of analysis of quantum field theories of interacting fermions. Our approach is based on the previously developed representation of fermion propagation in terms of smooth, directed random walks. This method generalizes Symanzik′s "polymer gas" description of bosonic quantum fields. We derive and analyze the Hausdorff recurrence, and intersection properties of directed random walks, and we provide a complete description of fermion correlation functions in terms of intersection local times of these walks. We then consider the (ψψ)2 interaction both in the 1/N expansion and in the N → 0 limit. We show that, if the fermion-fermion interaction is repulsive, the renormalized theory is free above two spacetime dimensions. Attractive interactions, however, may lead to the appearance of a propagating boson in the spectrum of the theory. In that case the resultant finite-range fermion-fermion interactions modify the upper critical dimension to four.
DISCRIMINATION IN RESOLVING SYSTEMS. III: PSEUDOEPHEDRINE-MANDELIC ACID

(+)-(1S;2S)-Pseudoephedrine and racemic mandelic acid form three distinct diastereomeric salts from solutions in 95% ethanol. The least-soluble phase, a hemihydrate, contains the (2R)-mandelate. A salt phase of intermediate solubility is the unsolvated double salt, containing both the (2R)- and the (2S)-mandelate. The most-soluble salt phase contains the (2S)-mandelate. Mandelate configuration and order of solubility (based on the heats of fusion) is inverted from that found in the same system synthesized from chiral base and acid, and then crystallized from benzene solution. The (2R)-mandelate hemihydrate (−H2O at 349.5K, mp 391K), monoclinic, P21, a = 6.788(5), b = 29.415(35), c = 9.488(10)A, β = 108.91(8)°, Z = 4 (2 ion-pairs/asymmetric unit). Intermediate double salt (2S)- and (2R)-mandelate, mp 377.6K, anorthic, P1, a = 7.758(4), b = 9.966(5), c = 13.366(6)A, α = 72.99(4), β = 79.98(4), γ = 70.51(4)°, Z = 1 (2 ion-pairs/asymmetric unit). The (2S)-mandelate (mp 386.2K), orthorhombic, P212121, a = 7.079(6), b = 13.443(10), c = 18.820(14)A, Z = 4 is identical to a salt made from a combination of enantiomeric moieties from benzene solution. While differing from ephedrine mandelates in configuration at one center, solubilities of pseudoephedrine mandelates in 95% ethanol are much larger. A comparison of molecular structure (non-polar and H-bonding) regions of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine mandelates shows similarities and differences that are tentatively linked to crystal properties. This study reemphasizes the necessity for consistency in solvent use in resolution and in phase identification and comparison because the phases produced are frequently dependent upon the solvent. Chirality 10:325–337, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Phase-field modeling of diffusion-induced crack propagations in electrochemical systems

A three-dimensional phase-field model was developed to simulate and predict crack propagations caused by local variations of solute concentrations. Its application to the electrolyte-LiFePO4 cathode nanoparticle system in Li-ion batteries captures the Li chemical reaction-intercalation-induced crack propagation during the cell discharging operations. The inherent mechanism underlying the crack propagation is critical for understanding the degradation mechanism limiting battery life and performance. Complex phenomena such as anisotropic coherence strains, elastic inhomogeneity, anisotropic Li diffusion, and chemical reaction of Li ions are fully incorporated in this model. Results of crack propagation in both the bc-plane and ab-plane are consistent with experimental observations. A calculated fracture phase diagram as a function of different nanoparticle sizes and chemical reaction rates provides a failure criterion that is valid for a large class of brittle electrode materials. The current study provides a direct relation between reaction-diffusion-induced stress fields and the observed structural failure in electrochemical system.
Effects of harvest and length limits on shovelnose sturgeon in the upper Wabash River, Indiana

Summary Shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus are one of the few sturgeon species that currently support sustainable commercial harvest. However, harvest closures for many Eurasian sturgeons have resulted in increased exploitation of this fishery, thereby raising concerns about the sustainability of shovelnose sturgeon resources. As a result, the maintenance of self-sustaining shovelnose sturgeon populations will require the estimation of appropriate harvest levels. This study used an age-structured population model to examine the effects of harvest (u = 0.15–0.75) and length restrictions on population abundance, mean length-at-harvest, biomass, yield, and reproductive potential of female shovelnose sturgeon in the upper Wabash River, Indiana. Model simulations for four hypothetical length-restriction scenarios (610- to 813-mm reverse slot limit, and a 610-, 635-, and 660-mm minimum length limit) were compared to outputs with no restriction. All population parameters within each length-restriction scenario declined with increases in harvest level. For each harvest level, all population parameters increased as length limits became more restrictive. The reverse slot limit and 610-mm minimum length limit provided adequate protection to allow population parameters to increase through an annual harvest level of 0.55. However, these length restrictions were not sufficiently conservative to warrant implementation due to their similarity to length-at-maturity of female shovelnose sturgeon. The implementation of a 635-mm minimum length limit would protect female shovelnose sturgeon from harvest rates >0.75, allow 92% of the females to remain available for harvest, and minimize short-term (<30 years) declines in yield. Further, sensitivity and robustness analyses suggested that the 635-mm minimum length limit would allow population parameters to increase even at the worst-case scenario. As a result, the 635-mm minimum length limit was recommended as the most appropriate regulation to promote conservation and sustainable harvest of shovelnose sturgeon in the upper Wabash River.
Competition Between Homodimerization and Cholesterol Binding to the C99 Domain of the Amyloid Precursor Protein

The 99-residue transmembrane C-terminal domain (C99, also known as β-CTF) of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) is the product of the β-secretase cleavage of the full-length APP and is the substrate for γ-secretase cleavage. The latter cleavage releases the amyloid-β polypeptides that are closely associated with Alzheimer’s disease. C99 is thought to form homodimers; however, the free energy in favor of dimerization has not previously been quantitated. It was also recently documented that cholesterol forms a 1:1 complex with monomeric C99 in bicelles. Here, the affinities for both homodimerization and cholesterol binding to C99 were measured in bilayered lipid vesicles using both electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) methods. Homodimerization and cholesterol binding were seen to be competitive processes that center on the transmembrane G700XXXG704XXXG708 glycine-zipper motif and adjacent Gly709. On one hand, the observed Kd for cholesterol binding (Kd = 2.7 ± ...
p53 binding to nucleosomes within the p21 promoter in vivo leads to nucleosome loss and transcriptional activation

It is well established that p53 contacts DNA in a sequence-dependent manner in order to transactivate its myriad target genes. Yet little is known about how p53 interacts with its binding site/response element (RE) within such genes in vivo in the context of nucleosomal DNA. In this study we demonstrate that both distal (5′) and proximal (3′) p53 REs within the promoter of the p21 gene in unstressed HCT116 colon carcinoma cells are localized within a region of relatively high nucleosome occupancy. In the absence of cellular stress, p53 is prebound to both p21 REs within nucleosomal DNA in these cells. Treatment of cells with the DNA-damaging drug doxorubicin or the p53 stabilizing agent Nutlin-3, however, is accompanied by p53-dependent subsequent loss of nucleosomes associated with such p53 REs. We show that in vitro p53 can bind to mononucleosomal DNA containing the distal p21 RE, provided the binding site is not close to the diad center of the nucleosome. In line with this, our data indicate that the p53 distal RE within the p21 gene is located close to the end of the nucleosome. Thus, low- and high-resolution mapping of nucleosome boundaries around p53 REs within the p21 promoter have provided insight into the mechanism of p53 binding to its sites in cells and the consequent changes in nucleosome occupancy at such sites.
Studies on Fluorescence and Photosensitization in Aqueous Solution. III. Photosensitization and Fluorescence

It has been known for a long time that many photochemical reactions can be sensitized to a desired spectral region by the addition of a substance possessing an absorption band in that region. It is necessary that the quantum absorbed by the sensitizer is sufficient to bring about the chemical change in the reactant. Despite the wealth of experimental material and numerous theories offered in explanation, this class of reactions may be said to have found its first unequivocal interpretation in the classical experiment of Cario and Franck on the dissociation of hydrogen by optically excited mercury atoms. The complete study of the problem showed that a mercury atom in the 2 3p1 state can either re-radiate its energy in the form of resonance radiation = 2537 A. U., or by collision yield the energy to a hydrogen molecule and dissociate the latter into atoms. One consequence of this picture is that for a given concentration of mercury vapour and constant intensity of the radiation 2537 A. U., the yield of atomic hydrogen should increase with increasing hydrogen pressure. Another consequence is that the amount of re-radiated resonance radiation should decrease with increased hydrogen pressure. Thus in the two reactions :— (1) Hg → Hg + hv2537 (2) Hg + H2 → Hg + 2H the probability of reaction (1) taking place would be decreased and the probability of reaction (2) taking place would be increased by increased hydrogen pressure. This was found to be the case. Franck has pointed out that this situation is probably quite general, and offers a similar explanation for the sensitization of the photographic plate by means of dyes. It has been suggested that sensitized photochemical reactions occurring in solution might be treated from the same viewpoint. There are several sensitizers which afford means for a direct test of this viewpoint. These are the sensitizers which exhibit fluorescence in solution.
Scheduling and Power Allocation in a Cognitive Radar Network for Multiple-Target Tracking

We propose a cognitive radar network (CRN) system for the joint estimation of the target state comprising the positions and velocities of multiple targets, and the channel state comprising the propagation conditions of an urban transmission channel. We develop a measurement model for the received signal by considering a finite-dimensional representation of the time-varying system function which characterizes the urban transmission channel. We employ sequential Bayesian filtering at the receiver to estimate the target and the channel state. We propose a hybrid Bayesian filter that operates by partitioning the state space into smaller subspaces and thereby reducing the complexity involved with high-dimensional state space. The feedback loop that embodies the radar environment and the receiver enables the transmitter to employ approximate greedy programming to find a suitable subset of antennas to be employed in each tracking interval, as well as the power transmitted by these antennas. We compute the posterior Cramer-Rao bound (PCRB) on the estimates of the target state and the channel state and use it as an optimization criterion for the antenna selection and power allocation algorithms. We use several numerical examples to demonstrate the performance of the proposed system.
Prediction of soft-tissue injuries in Schatzker II tibial plateau fractures based on measurements of plain radiographs.

Background:Split-depression fractures of the lateral tibial plateau (Schatzker II) are associated with a significant risk of capsuloligamentous and meniscal injury. We hypothesized that the amount of fracture depression and widening on anteroposterior (AP) plain radiographs would correlate with the
Chemical potentials in solids

The purposes of this paper are: a) to provide a fundamental thermodynamic description of solids acted upon by nonhydrostatic and nonhomogeneous stresses, and b) to develop a self-consistent method of accounting for strain and volume changes in solids. Both amorphous and crystalline solids are considered in this paper.