cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Monte Carlo analysis for the determination of the conic constant of an aspheric micro lens based on a scanning white light interferometric measurement

Characterizing an aspheric micro lens is critical for understanding the performance and providing feedback to the manufacturing. We describe a method to find the best-fit conic of an aspheric micro lens using a least squares minimization and Monte Carlo analysis. Our analysis is based on scanning white light interferometry measurements, and we compare the standard rapid technique where a single measurement is taken of the apex of the lens to the more time-consuming stitching technique where more surface area is measured. Both are corrected for tip/tilt based on a planar fit to the substrate. Four major parameters and their uncertainties are estimated from the measurement and a chi-square minimization is carried out to determine the best-fit conic constant. The four parameters are the base radius of curvature, the aperture of the lens, the lens center, and the sag of the lens. A probability distribution is chosen for each of the four parameters based on the measurement uncertainties and a Monte Carlo process is used to iterate the minimization process. Eleven measurements were taken and data is also chosen randomly from the group during the Monte Carlo simulation to capture the measurement repeatability. A distribution of best-fit conic constants results, where the mean is a good estimate of the best-fit conic and the distribution width represents the combined measurement uncertainty. We also compare the Monte Carlo process for the stitched data and the not stitched data. Our analysis allows us to analyze the residual surface error in terms of Zernike polynomials and determine uncertainty estimates for each coefficient.
Presence and distribution of wastewater-derived pharmaceuticals in soil irrigated with reclaimed water

Three sites in the Front Range of Colorado, USA, were monitored from May through September 2003 to assess the presence and distribution of pharmaceuticals in soil irrigated with reclaimed water derived from urban wastewater. Soil cores were collected monthly, and 19 pharmaceuticals, all of which were detected during the present study, were measured in 5-cm increments of the 30-cm cores. Samples of reclaimed water were analyzed three times during the study to assess the input of pharmaceuticals. Samples collected before the onset of irrigation in 2003 contained numerous pharmaceuticals, likely resulting from the previous year's irrigation. Several of the selected pharmaceuticals increased in total soil concentration at one or more of the sites. The four most commonly detected pharmaceuticals were erythromycin, carbamazepine, fluoxetine, and diphenhydramine. Typical concentrations of the individual pharmaceuticals observed were low (0.02-15 microg/kg dry soil). The existence of subsurface maximum concentrations and detectable concentrations at the lowest sampled soil depth might indicate interactions of soil components with pharmaceuticals during leaching through the vadose zone. Nevertheless, the present study demonstrates that reclaimed-water irrigation results in soil pharmaceutical concentrations that vary through the irrigation season and that some compounds persist for months after irrigation.
Plastic optical fiber with VCSEL sources: A statistical evaluation

We report the first statistical evaluation of the calculated effective modal bandwidth and 10Gb/s ISI penalty of graded-index perfluorinated plastic optical fiber under VCSEL illumination, utilizing high temporal-resolution differential modal delay measurements.
Aging and functional brain networks

Aging is associated with changes in human brain anatomy and function and cognitive decline. Recent studies suggest the aging decline of major functional connectivity hubs in the 'default-mode' network (DMN). Aging effects on other networks, however, are largely unknown. We hypothesized that aging would be associated with a decline of short- and long-range functional connectivity density (FCD) hubs in the DMN. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated resting-state data sets corresponding to 913 healthy subjects from a public magnetic resonance imaging database using functional connectivity density mapping (FCDM), a voxelwise and data-driven approach, together with parallel computing. Aging was associated with pronounced long-range FCD decreases in DMN and dorsal attention network (DAN) and with increases in somatosensory and subcortical networks. Aging effects in these networks were stronger for long-range than for short-range FCD and were also detected at the level of the main functional hubs. Females had higher short- and long-range FCD in DMN and lower FCD in the somatosensory network than males, but the gender by age interaction effects were not significant for any of the networks or hubs. These findings suggest that long-range connections may be more vulnerable to aging effects than short-range connections and that, in addition to the DMN, the DAN is also sensitive to aging effects, which could underlie the deterioration of attention processes that occurs with aging.
High spatial resolution molecular interferometric imaging study of affinity binding

We have developed molecular interferometric imaging (MI2) for the fundamental study of affinity binding at surfaces, and present high-resolution data of intra-spot molecular inetics under mass-transport limitations.
Solutions of a Bethe-Salpeter Equation

The discussion in the preceding paper of a simplified Bethe-Salpeter equation is continued. Two methods are used to find a complete set of solutions, an integral transform method, and an adaption of Fock's treatment of the hydrogen atom. The degeneracy is found to be the same as that of the nonrelativistic hydrogen. In addition to the solutions which have the expected nonrelativistic limit, a large number of anomalous solutions are obtained. The behavior in the limit in which the mass of one particle becomes infinite is considered, and it is found that in this limit the ladder approximation gives an equation which does not correspond to the motion of a particle in the field of a fixed center of force.
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy of Au Implanted in Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite

Surfaces of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite implanted with gold were studied by both constant current STM, constant force, and tapping mode AFM. Gold colloids were observed by both constant current STM and tapping mode AFM. The surfaces can be modified by applying currents of {plus_minus}4 V and 1 nA. In addition, pyramidal and faceted structures were observed on sample surfaces suggesting the presence of diamond microcrystals.
Time-dependent void nucleation during electromigration☆

Abstract Time-dependent nucleation theory has been applied to the problem of void formation during electromigration in bulk as well as thin-film conductors. In particular, expressions for the critical void size, nucleation barrier and void incubation time have been derived for voids which form at two- and three-grain junctions under an electromigration-induced vacancy supersaturation. Calculation shows that rather small voids are stable within a fairly short time, and that the nucleation energy barrier is significantly higher than what can be inferred from experiment. Relatively small values of the surface energy are required, in all cases, to generate reasonably consistent agreement with experiment. Since some growth has possibly occurred prior to even the earliest experimental observations of voids, a comparison between theory and experiment remains somewhat ambiguous. The current density, j, dependence of the void incubation time is quite large and varies as j−n with n=4 and n=6 for bulk and grain boundary diffusion respectively.
A Methodology for Kinematics and Dynamics Analysis of Robotic Systems Internal Actuation

Robots with internal actuation and un-actuated environmental contacts form an important class of robotic systems that includes walking and climbing robots. Since actuation for motion in these robots is achieved indirectly the design and analysis present interesting challenges. In this paper we extend our previously described method called the P-robot Method and apply it to analyze internally actuated robotic systems. We illustrate our techniques by using a simple example of a ladder resting against a wall. Our techniques determine the conditions under which the ladder holds its position against the wall quasi-statically while satisfying the friction constraints and also determine the effects of ladder dynamics on the constraints. These techniques can be extended to analyze more complex systems such as walking and climbing robots and also to human motion modeling.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Renormalization of quantum fields on the lightcone worldsheet, I: scalar fields

Abstract We show that the lightcone worldsheet formalism, constructed to represent the sum of the bare planar diagrams of scalar Φ 3 field theory, survives the renormalization procedure in space–time dimensions D ⩽ 6 . Specifically this means that all the counter-terms, necessary to produce a successful renormalized perturbation expansion to all orders, can be represented as local terms in the lightcone worldsheet action. Because the worldsheet regulator breaks Lorentz invariance, we find the need for two noncovariant counter-terms, in addition to the usual mass, coupling and wave function renormalization. One of these can be simply interpreted as a rescaling of transverse coordinates with respect to longitudinal coordinates. The second one introduces couplings between the matter and ghost worldsheet fields on the boundaries.
The net generation: its impact on the business landscape

Purpose – This paper addresses a new generation of employees and the effect this generation is having on the current business landscape.Design/methodology/approach – It is only recently that business leaders have become aware of this generational shift that is impacting on their organizations, but digital natives are not well understood by most senior management today.Findings – This paper discusses the salient differences between two current generations of employees, and aims to improve managers' understanding of digital natives and what they need to do to attract and retain the necessary talent required to achieve ongoing business success.Practical implications – The issues addressed in this paper will benefit all those who are responsible for the recruitment, development, promotion and management of people, irrespective of the nature or size of their businesses.Originality/value – The term “digital natives” appeared in the academic literature more than a decade ago, but little attention has been paid t...
Alternative approaches for interpretation of multiple discriminant analysis in marketing research

Abstract Multiple discriminant analysis has proven to be a versatile and useful tool in analyzing the similarities and differences among market segments. Yet many of the marketing applications of discriminant analysis have relied on interpretive procedures that can be misleading. More generally, the full interpretive potential of this general analytical model has not been realized. This article addresses these problems, suggests a number of new and useful approaches for interpretation, and illustrates them in an innovator segment analysis.
Biologically plausible learning in neural networks: a lesson from bacterial chemotaxis

Learning processes in the brain are usually associated with plastic changes made to optimize the strength of connections between neurons. Although many details related to biophysical mechanisms of synaptic plasticity have been discovered, it is unclear how the concurrent performance of adaptive modifications in a huge number of spatial locations is organized to minimize a given objective function. Since direct experimental observation of even a relatively small subset of such changes is not feasible, computational modeling is an indispensable investigation tool for solving this problem. However, the conventional method of error back-propagation (EBP) employed for optimizing synaptic weights in artificial neural networks is not biologically plausible. This study based on computational experiments demonstrated that such optimization can be performed rather efficiently using the same general method that bacteria employ for moving closer to an attractant or away from a repellent. With regard to neural network optimization, this method consists of regulating the probability of an abrupt change in the direction of synaptic weight modification according to the temporal gradient of the objective function. Neural networks utilizing this method (regulation of modification probability, RMP) can be viewed as analogous to swimming in the multidimensional space of their parameters in the flow of biochemical agents carrying information about the optimality criterion. The efficiency of RMP is comparable to that of EBP, while RMP has several important advantages. Since the biological plausibility of RMP is beyond a reasonable doubt, the RMP concept provides a constructive framework for the experimental analysis of learning in natural neural networks.
Wartime cinchona procurement in latin america

In 1943 more than 73/4 million pounds of dry cinchona bark were imported into the United States from Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, and in the three years of 1943–1945 the wartime production of Peru alone amounted to over 4 million pounds.
II. The ammonia—isooctane system

Because of the paucity of data on the phase behavior of binary systems that form azeotropes, the P-V-T-x relations of the ammonia-isooctane system were determined at the liquid-vapor boundaries from room temperature to the critical temperature of issoctane. Evidence of an azeotrope existing over a very limited pressure and temperature range was obtained. The sistem is unique in that the critical locus contains a minimum temperature point as well as a minimum and a maximum pressure point. These relations are shown to fit a general pattern of phase relations characteristic of binary systems that form azeotropes in the critical region. This pattern serves as an aid for the qualitative prediction of the P-T-x relations of such systems.
Medical Preparedness and Response to Terrorism with Biological and Chemical Agents -- Present Status in USA

Over the past decade, acts of terrorism have ranged from dissemination of aerosolized Anthrax spores, intentional food product contamination, release of chemical weapons in major metropolitan subway systems and suicide attacks using explosive devices. Unfortunately, predicting when and how such attacks might occur has proven to be very difficult. Since the bombing attacks at the World Trade Center in New York in 1993 and 2001, the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and just recently in Saudi Arabia and Morocco, and the release of impressively weaponized anthrax spores in the US Postal System during the autumn of 2001, large-scale terrorist attacks on civilian populations using weapons of mass destruction no longer seem in the realm of the fantastic. At their worst, the New York, Oklahoma City, and Tokyo attacks may represent the crossing of a grim threshold, weakening long-standing taboos and increasing the likelihood of analogous attacks in the future. P...
Desquamative Interstitial Pneumonitis in Children

Interstitial pneumonitis in children is a rare and poorly understood disease. Controversy exists as to whether the various histologic changes encountered represent different diseases or a spectrum of the same disease. Fourteen biopsy-confirmed cases of desquamative interstitial pneumonitis in children were seen at the Mayo Clinic between 1953 and 1975. A search of the literature revealed 14 additional cases but no series of exclusively desquamative interstitial pneumonitis. The most frequent symptoms were retardation of growth and dyspnea, often accompanied by cough. Tachypnea was the most common finding on examination; rales, cyanosis, and clubbing were variably present The chest roentgenogram was distinctly abnormal in all cases; it usually revealed a combined interstitial and alveolar pattern extending bilaterally from the hilus to the base. Results of laboratory studies were nonspecific for desquamative interstitial pneumonitis. All 28 patients in this review were treated with corticosteroids; 17 (61 percent) survived. Desquamative interstitial pneumonitis was found in association with a variety of other major illnesses. The cause remains unknown.
Online professional development: combining best practices from teacher, technology and distance education

This article provides a model of online professional development that is consistent with recommendations from the fields of teacher education, technology staff development and online learning. A graduate mathematics education course designed and implemented using the model is presented to exemplify the model’s core components and interactions. The model has been used to develop courses in using the World Wide Web to enhance the teaching of children’s literature, mathematics, science, social studies, multicultural education, parental involvement, literacy, inquiry‐based learning and English as a second language. The model’s components and pedagogical foundations are applicable for the design and implementation of online courses in other disciplines with field‐based learning experiences. Unique features of the model are also shared as well as findings from a formative evaluation study.
Anterior Approach for Operative Fixation of Coronoid Fractures in Complex Elbow Instability

The coronoid process has been shown to play a critical role in ulnohumeral stability. Coronoid process fractures can occur in isolation or as part of a complex injury pattern. The most common complex pattern, known as the "terrible triad," includes a radial head fracture and elbow dislocation along with the coronoid fracture. Failure to address these fractures and ligamentous injuries can result in recurrent instability and progression to painful arthrosis. Both medial and lateral approaches to the coronoid have been popularized in recent literature, but there is no universally accepted approach. Common fixation techniques include suture lasso, suture anchors, lag screws, and plating all of which have various drawbacks. We describe a direct anterior approach to address coronoid process fractures made in addition to a lateral approach to address radial head and lateral collateral ligament injuries. Coronoid fractures addressed through the anterior approach were stabilized with anterior to posterior screw fixation combined with buttress plating, which allowed anatomic reduction and stable internal fixation at short-term follow-up.
Experiments in automated lexicon building for text searching

This paper describes experiments in the automatic construction of lexicons that would be useful in searching large document collections for text fragments that address a specific information need, such as an answer to a question.
Kenneth Burke on perspective and rhetoric

(1969). Kenneth Burke on perspective and rhetoric. Western Speech: Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 167-174.
A Within-Subject Comparison of Adult Patients Using the Nucleus F0F1F2 and F0F1F2B3B4B5 Speech Processing Strategies

This study compares the Nucleus F0F1F2 and F0F1F2B3B4B5 (also known as “Multipeak” or “Mpeak”) processing schemes in 17 patients wearing the Mini Speech Processor. All patients had at least 18 mont...
Constructive Feedback: A Key to Successful Teaching and Learning.

Feedback has been recognized as a tool to enhance the teaching‐learning process. Both teachers and students may benefit from relevant information which highlights strengths and achievements as well as areas for improvement. Constructive feedback should be systematic. Feedback for teaching and learning should be relevant, immediate, factful, helpful, confidential, respectful, tailored and encouraging if it is going to be effectively used to achieve successful teaching and learning. Furthermore, input from instructors themselves, students and peers should be sought in order to provide constructive feedback.
Electronic energy transfer to metal surfaces: a test of classical image dipole theory at short distances

Electronic energy transfer from molecules to metal surfaces at distances < 50 A has been measured. A monolayer of luminescent molecules is separated from a single crystal metal surface by a layer of physisorbed Ar. The luminescence quantum yield is measured as a function of the Ar spacer thickness. A cubic distance dependence is observed, in agreement with classical image dipole theory.
Using a slit doser to probe gas dynamics during Al2O3 atomic layer deposition and to fabricate laterally graded Al2O3 layers

Abstract A special slit doser is used to form near unit steps in the spatial profile of an Al2O3 ALD film thickness. The unit step is formed as the Al2O3 ALD occurs mainly downstream from the slit doser because the trimethylaluminum and H2O reactants are entrained in a viscous flow carrier gas. Spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements yielded thickness profiles of Al2O3 ALD on samples placed at different locations relative to the exit of the slit doser and the ALD growth zone. The effects of carrier gas flow rate, reactor pressure, and reactant dose and purge times on the Al2O3 ALD film profile provided details about the gas dynamics around the slit doser. Experimental indications of gas turbulence were observed at the exit of the slit doser. Lateral gradients in the Al2O3 ALD film thickness were also formed by linear translation of the sample relative to the slit doser during ALD. Lateral gradients of various desired pitches ranging from 119 A/in to 444 A/in were achieved as a result of accurate control of the Al2O3 ALD film thickness and small sample translation steps relative to the slit doser.
The educational enrollment of immigrant youth: a test of the segmented-assimilation hypothesis.

An analysis of 1990 census data on the educational enrollment of 15- to 17-year-old immigrants to the United States provides partial support for predictions from both the segmented-assimilation hypothesis and the immigrant optimism hypothesis. Most immigrant adolescents, especially from Asia, are as likely as their native-born peers to be enrolled in high school, or more so. The “at-risk” immigrant youths with above-average levels of nonenrollment that are not reduced with longer exposure to American society are primarily of Hispanic Caribbean origins (from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba). Recent Mexican immigrants who arrived as teenagers have nonenrollment rates over 40%, but Mexican youths who arrived at younger ages are only somewhat less likely to be enrolled in school than are native-born Americans.
VEGF 121 and VEGF 165 Regulate Blood Vessel Diameter Through Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 2 in an in vitro Angiogenesis Model

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is essential for the induction of angiogenesis and drives both endothelial cell (EC) proliferation and migration. It has been suggested that VEGF also regulates vessel diameter, although this has not been tested explicitly. The two most abundant isoforms, VEGF(121) and VEGF(165), both signal through VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR-2). We recently optimized a three-dimensional in vitro angiogenesis assay using HUVECs growing on Cytodex beads and embedded in fibrin gels. Fibroblasts provide critical factors that promote sprouting, lumen formation, and vessel stability. Using this assay, we have examined the role of VEGF in setting vessel diameter. Low concentrations of both VEGF(121) and VEGF(165) promote growth of long, thin vessels, whereas higher concentrations of VEGF remarkably enhance vessel diameter. Placental growth factor, which binds to VEGFR-1 but not VEGFR-2, does not promote capillary sprouting. Moreover, specific inhibition of VEGFR-2 signaling results in a dramatic reduction of EC sprouting in response to VEGF, indicating the critical importance of this receptor. The increase in vessel diameter is the result of cell proliferation and migration, rather than cellular hypertrophy, and likely depends on MEK1-ERK1/2 signaling. Both phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and p38 activity are required for cell survival. We conclude that the diameter of new capillary sprouts can be determined by the local concentration of VEGF and that the action of VEGF on angiogenic EC in this assay is critically dependent on signaling through VEGFR-2.
Overcoming the fear of semantics

As the fear of semantics is declining, let's formalize the unformalizable! The address is focusing on the feasibility and necessity of accessing directly the comprehensive meaning of natural language texts, data, images, etc., to emulate human understanding by the computer. It is based on the premise that, without such understanding, no real-life application can reach the precision that human users of computational systems require. Moreover, meaning access and processing goes well beyond natural language applications, even as the scope of those keeps growing. The main obstacle for this seemingly reasonable goal is the widespread prejudice against meaning as unknowable in principle because it is “subjective,” context-sensitive, complex, messy, etc. This has not been our experience, and it is worth talking, both practically and theoretically, about the know-how that a research group should acquire to approach the processing tasks semantically. A convincing case can be made for the feasibility and affordability of the approach as well, especially in the light of our planning to make our resources Open Source, a plan that may be followed by other computational semanticists. It is hoped, therefore, that this address will further reduce the fear of, and prejudice against semantics. It will focus on our Ontological Semantic Technology, a mature formal theory of meaning that has long overcome the crippling fixation on first-order logic as the only possible formalism for everything. This fixation has prevented generations of researchers to access natural language meaning to the grain size that makes meaning representation usable, both theoretically and in practical applications. A small set of predicates using a smaller number of variables as arguments may work well for formal languages but natural language defeats such an approach. The fear of semantics is based on the faulty conclusion that, therefore, natural language meaning is not formalizable. Throw away an insufficient method, and the task becomes feasible!
Comparison of Patients Receiving Long-Term Metformin Therapy and Vitamin B12 Monitoring

Background: Metformin may cause vitamin B12 deficiency that can present with symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. Lack of vitamin B12 serum concentration monitoring could result in vitamin B12 defici...
Semantic classification in aphasia: A study of basic, superordinate, and function relations

Abstract Nonfluent and fluent aphasics were given classification tasks that required the aphasics to identify three kinds of relations: (1) same basic level category. (2) same superordinate level category, and (3) same function. The subjects received the items in word and picture form. In addition the aphasics were required to name the items they were asked to classify. The results showed that the ability to classify is more disrupted in fluent aphasia than in nonfluent aphasia. Within fluent aphasia, the degree to which classification is disrupted is dependent upon the type of relation being tested. While the overall performance of the fluent aphasics was depressed in comparison to nonfluent aphasics, it was significantly more depressed on function relations. The ability to name an item had a significant effect on the ability to classify only for basic level items.
Chlamydial pelvic inflammatory disease in adolescents

Two cases of chlamydial pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) are presented. Each was clinically assessed and followed by laboratory methods now available to practitioners. These patients presented with vaginal discharge and chronic abdominal pain. They initially had positive chlamydia cultures which became negative after treatment with tetracycline. Their chlamydia titers increased throughout the course of their disease and treatment. Patient two is a case of the Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome due to chlamydia. The importance of this disease in adolescents and the potential sequelae and complications of chlamydial PID are discussed.
Reading critical designs: supporting reasoned interpretations of critical design

Critical Design has emerged as an important concept in HCI research and practice. Yet researchers have noted that its uptake has been limited by certain lacks of intellectual infrastructure theories, methodologies, canons and exemplars, and a community of practice. We argue that one way to create this infrastructure is to cultivate a community adept at reading that is, critically interpreting and making reasoned judgments about critical designs. We propose an approach to developing close readings of critical designs, which are both evidence-based and carefully reasoned. The approach highlights analytical units of analysis, the relevance of design languages and social norms, and the analytical contemplation of critical aspects of a design. It is intended to be relatively easy to learn, to try out, and to teach, in the hopes of inviting more members of the HCI community to engage in this practice. We exemplify the approach with readings of two critical designs and reflect on different ways that a design might serve a critical purpose or offer a critical argument about design, society, and the future.
Thermo-physical properties of epoxy nanocomposites reinforced by carbon nanotubes and vapor grown carbon fibers

Abstract In this study, the thermo-physical properties of epoxy nanocomposites reinforced by fluorinated single wall carbon nanotubes (FSWCNT) and vapor grown carbon fibers (VGCF) were investigated. A sonication technique using a suspension of FSWCNT and VGCF in acetone was utilized to process nanocomposites in anhydride-cured epoxy. The viscoelastic properties of the nanocomposites were measured with dynamic mechanical analysis. The glass transition temperature decreased approximately 30 °C with an addition of 0.14 vol.% (0.2 wt.%) FSWCNT. The depression in Tg is attributed to non-stoichiometric balance of the epoxy matrix caused by the fluorine on single wall carbon nanotubes. The correct amount of the anhydride curing agent needed to achieve stoichiometry was experimentally determined by DMA measurements. After adjusting the amount of the anhydride curing agent for stoichiometry, the storage modulus of the epoxy at room temperature increased 0.63 GPa with the addition of only 0.21 vol.% (0.30 wt.%) of FSWCNT, a 20% improvement compared with the anhydride-cured neat epoxy. For VGCF, the storage modulus at room temperature increased 0.48 GPa with the addition of only 0.94 vol.% (1.5 wt.%) and then reached a plateau for larger amounts of VGCF. To understand the influence of VGCF on thermo-physical properties, the microstructure of the nanocomposites was interrogated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This study discusses the chemical effects of fluorine on matrix properties and the effect of stoichiometric balance on the thermo-physical properties of nanocomposites.
Role of regulatory proteins (troponin-tropomyosin) in pathologic states

In vertebrate striated muscle, troponon-tropomyosin is responsible, in part, not only for transducing the effect of calcium on contractile protein activation, but also for inhibiting actin and myosin interaction when calcium is absent. The regulatory troponin (Tn) complex displays several molecular and calcium binding variations in cardiac muscles of different species and undergoes genetic changes with development and in various pathologic states.
Presence in context: Teachers’ negotiations with the relational environment of school

This inquiry research builds on the theory of presence in teaching (Rodgers and Raider-Roth 2006) adding nuanced understandings of how school contexts play into teachers’ abilities to support students’ learning. Findings are drawn from multiple interviews with five veteran middle school teachers, teachers’ written work, and field observations. Illustrating these findings is the compelling story of an exemplary teacher’s negotiations of her practice in response to the school’s relational environment. Our findings point to the teacher’s sense of isolation and vulnerability–indicators of the relational context in the school as a threat to undermining her presence. They also create a compelling argument for the importance of a healthy relational context to support teachers’ most powerful teaching, hence students’ learning.
Applicability of real‐space methods to diffraction strain measurements in single crystals

It is shown through rigorous dynamical diffraction modeling that the ray tracing methods employed in kinematical diffraction analysis of strain become invalid for weakly deformed crystals that scatter in the dynamical limit. For an Si crystal illuminated by 12 keV X-rays, the kinematical formalisms should not be used if the strain gradient along the diffraction vector is smaller than 10−5 µm−1.
Novel synthon for incorporating 1,3-dimethyl-imidazolium group into molecular architecture

The synthesized 1,3-dimethylated imidazolium-carbaldehydes serves as synthons for incorporating a permanently cationic imidazolium group into molecular framework. The utility of new synthon was demonstrated in a variety of reactions: Knoevenagel, Wittig, Schiff base formation, based-mediated electrophilic substitution, and oxidation, including synthesis of the natural product norzooanemonin.
A new dimension in combining data? The use of morphology and phylogenomic data in metazoan systematics

Giribet, G. 2010. A new dimension in combining data? The use of morphology and phylogenomic data in metazoan systematics. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 91: 11–19 Animal phylogenies have been traditionally inferred by using the character state information derived from the observation of a diverse array of morphological and anatomical features, but the incorporation of molecular data into the toolkit of phylogenetic characters has shifted drastically the way researchers infer phylogenies. A main reason for this is the ease at which molecular data can be obtained, compared to, e.g., traditional histological and microscopical techniques. Researchers now routinely use genomic data for reconstructing relationships among animal phyla (using whole genomes or Expressed Sequence Tags) but the amount of morphological data available to study the same phylogenetic patterns has not grown accordingly. Given the disparity between the amounts of molecular and morphological data, some authors have questioned entire morphological programs. In this review I discuss issues related to the combinability of genomic and morphological data, the informativeness of each set of characters, and conclude with a discussion of how morphology could be made scalable by utilizing new techniques that allow for non-intrusive examination of large amounts of preserved museum specimens. Morphology should therefore remains a strong field in evolutionary and comparative biology, as it continues to provide information for inferring phylogenetic patterns, is an important complement for the patterns derived from the molecular data, and it is the common nexus that allows studying fossil taxa with large data sets of molecular data.
Efferent vagal nerve stimulation attenuates acute lung injury following burn: The importance of the gut-lung axis

Background The purpose of this study was to assess acute lung injury when protection to the gut mucosal barrier offered by vagus nerve stimulation is eliminated by an abdominal vagotomy. Methods Male balb/c mice were subjected to 30% total body surface area steam burn with and without electrical stimulation to the right cervical vagus nerve. A cohort of animals were subjected to abdominal vagotomy. Lung histology, myeloperoxidase and ICAM-1 immune staining, myeloperoxidase enzymatic assay, and tissue KC levels were analyzed 24 hours after burn. Additionally, lung IkB-α, NF-kB immunoblots, and NF-kB-DNA binding measured by photon emission analysis using NF-kB-luc transgenic mice were performed. Results Six hours post burn, phosphorylation of both NF-kB p65 and IkB-α were observed. Increased photon emission signal was seen in the lungs of NF-kB-luc transgenic animals. Vagal nerve stimulation blunted NF-kB activation similar to sham animals whereas abdominal vagotomy eliminated the anti-inflammatory effect. After burn, MPO positive cells and ICAM-1 expression in the lung endothelium was increased, and lung histology demonstrated significant injury at 24 hours. Vagal nerve stimulation markedly decreased neutrophil infiltration as demonstrated by MPO immune staining and enzyme activity. Vagal stimulation also markedly attenuated acute lung injury at 24 hours. The protective effects of vagal nerve stimulation were reversed by performing an abdominal vagotomy. Conclusion Vagal nerve stimulation is an effective strategy to protect against acute lung injury following burn. Moreover, the protective effects of vagal nerve stimulation in the prevention of acute lung injury are eliminated by performing an abdominal vagotomy. These results establish the importance of the gut-lung axis after burn in the genesis of acute lung injury.
Selecting R&D projects: a case study of the expected utility approach

Abstract This paper reports on the implementation of the von Neumann-Morgenstern expected utility approach to evaluate and select an R&D project conducted by a small university R&D laboratory. In particular, the difficulties involved in gathering the project 's data are discussed, and a methodology that takes into account the uncertainties regarding the profitability of the project is identified. These uncertainties reflect on both the technological and the marketing risks. Finally, the methodology provides a linkage between an engineering and economic approach and an R&D project selection problem.
Serotonin 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, and 5-HT2A receptor mRNA expression in subjects with major depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia

Abstract Background Alterations of serotonin neurotransmission are implicated in both mood disorders and schizophrenia. Specific serotonin-receptor-based abnormalities in these psychiatric illnesses have been intensively studied; however, it has been difficult to draw any conclusions because of a lack of consensus. These inconsistencies have most likely arisen from the unavailability of selective ligands. Methods Our study used in situ hybridization to quantify 5-HT 1A , 5-HT 1B , and 5-HT 2A mRNA levels in the hippocampus (HC) and 5-HT 1A and 5-HT 2A mRNA levels in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of subjects with a history of major depression disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BPD), schizophrenia, and a normal comparison group (15 subjects per group). Results In the DLPFC, there is a significant decrease in 5-HT 1A mRNA of subjects with MDD and in 5-HT 2A mRNA of subjects with BPD. Subjects with MDD have a significant decrease in 5-HT 1A mRNA in the HC; subjects with BPD and schizophrenia had increased 5-HT 1B mRNA levels and a significant decrease in 5-HT 2A mRNA levels in the hippocampal formation. Conclusions Alterations in 5-HT 1A, 5-HT 1B , and 5-HT 2A mRNA levels in the brains of subjects with both mood disorders and schizophrenia add further support for hypothesis of dysregulation of the serotonergic system in these psychiatric disorders.
Design and evaluation of a model-group switching algorithm for multiple-model estimation with variable structure

A variable-structure multiple-model (VSMM) estimator, called model- group switching (MGS) algorithm, has been developed recently. It is the first VSMM estimator that is generally applicable to a large class of problem with hybrid (continuous and discrete) uncertainties. In this algorithm, the model set is made adaptive by switching among a number of predetermined groups of models. It has the potential to be substantially superior to fixed-structure MM estimators, including the interacting multiple-model (IMM) estimator. Many issues in the application of this algorithm are investigated, such as the model-group activation logic and model- group design, via a detailed design for a problem of tracking a maneuvering target using a time-varying set of models, each characterized by a representative value of the target's expected acceleration. Simulation results are given to demonstrate the performance (based on reasonable and complete measures) and computational complexity of the MGS algorithm, relative to the IMM estimators, under carefully designed random and deterministic scenarios.
Base analysis of ribopolynucleotides by chemical tritium labeling: an improved mapping procedure for nucleoside trialcohols.

Abstract Excellent separations of tritium-labeled nucleoside trialcohols, derived from RNA by enzymic digestion and chemical tritium incorporation, are obtained on thin layers of fibrous cellulose. A comparison shows this procedure to be superior to the separation of these compounds on layers of microcrystalline cellulose in respect to both resolution and precision of quantitative analysis.
Interaction of Sorbic Acid with Nonionic Macromolecules

Sorbic acid was shown to interact with various nonionic macromolecules. The presence of a nonpolar moiety in the nonionic contributed greatly to the degree of interaction. Thus, Tween 80 and Myrj 52 interacted with sorbic acid to a much greater degree than did polyethylene glycols 4000 and 6000 and Pluronic F-68. Tween 80 was shown to have an inhibitory effect on the preservative action of sorbic acid. However, in the concentrations normally used for preservation it was shown that there would be little or no interference with the preservative action of sorbic acid in the presence of Tween 80. In the presence of the polyethylene glycol or polyethylene polypropylene glycol-type of macromolecule there would be even more free sorbic acid to act as a preservative because of the lesser degree of interaction between sorbic acid and these macromolecules.
Technology Reliability Qualification of a 65nm CMOS Cu/Low-k BEOL Interconnect

During the development and qualification of a 300mm low-k/Cu Back End of Line (BEOL) technology, the long-term reliability of such interconnects including low-k time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB), Cu Electromigration (EM), Cu stress migration (SM), and Cu/low-k thermal behavior are rapidly becoming one of the most critical challenges. In this paper, a comprehensive reliability evaluation for 65nm Cu/low-k interconnects is reported and various reliability issues associated with process integration and material optimization during initial development stage are discussed. Finally, we demonstrate that with careful process and materials optimization, a superior interconnect reliability performance at the 65nm technology node can be achieved for 300mm fabrication. The projected reliability lifetimes of TDDB, EM, and SM meet the most stringent reliability targets and criteria.
Holographic Diffusers: Diffusers with Low Backscatter

Holographic diffusers have been produced with very low back diffusion in comparison with diffusion in the forward direction. Reduced back diffusion was achieved by lamination and index procedures which minimized the formation of Bragg planes parallel to the film surface. Photopolymer media were used as phase media.
A junction-tree based learning algorithm to optimize network wide traffic control: A coordinated multi-agent framework

This study develops a novel reinforcement learning algorithm for the challenging coordinated signal control problem. Traffic signals are modeled as intelligent agents interacting with the stochastic traffic environment. The model is built on the framework of coordinated reinforcement learning. The Junction Tree Algorithm (JTA) based reinforcement learning is proposed to obtain an exact inference of the best joint actions for all the coordinated intersections. The algorithm is implemented and tested with a network containing 18 signalized intersections in VISSIM. Results show that the JTA based algorithm outperforms independent learning (Q-learning), real-time adaptive learning, and fixed timing plans in terms of average delay, number of stops, and vehicular emissions at the network level.
Synthesis of [benzyl‐7‐3H] and [benzoyl‐7‐14C] methyl 4‐(2,5‐dihydroxybenzylamino)benzoate

4-Amino[7-14C]benzoic acid (3) is prepared by carbonation of the lithium salt of N,N-bis(trimethylsilyl)aniline. The methyl ester (4) of 3 is generated with trimethylsilyldiazomethane, and 4 is coupled with 2,5-dihydroxybenzaldehyde to yield methyl 4-(2,5-dihydroxy-benzylimino)[7- 14 C]benzoate (5). 5 is reduced with sodium cyanoborohydride to give methyl 4-(2,5-dihydroxybenzylamino)[7- 14 C]-benzoate with a specific activity of 38.9 mCi/mmol. Unlabeled 5 is reduced with tritium gas to give methyl 4-(2,5-dihydroxy[7- 3 H]-benzylamino)benzoate with specific activity of 7.6 Ci/mmol.
Siri of the Cell: What Biology Could Learn from the iPhone

Modern genomics is very efficient at mapping genes and gene networks, but how to transform these maps into predictive models of the cell remains unclear. Recent progress in computer science, embodied by intelligent agents such as Siri, inspires an approach for moving from networks to multiscale models able to predict a range of cellular phenotypes and answer biological questions.
A fast direct solver for quasi-periodic scattering problems

Abstract We consider the numerical solution of the scattering of time-harmonic plane waves from an infinite periodic array of reflection or transmission obstacles in a homogeneous background medium, in two dimensions. Boundary integral formulations are ideal since they reduce the problem to N unknowns on the obstacle boundary. However, for complex geometries and/or higher frequencies the resulting dense linear system becomes large, ruling out dense direct methods, and often ill-conditioned (despite being 2nd-kind), rendering fast multipole-based iterative schemes also inefficient. We present an integral equation based solver with O ( N ) complexity, which handles such ill-conditioning, using recent advances in “fast” direct linear algebra to invert hierarchically the isolated obstacle matrix. This is combined with a recent periodizing scheme that is robust for all incident angles, including Wood’s anomalies, based upon the free space Green’s function kernel. The resulting solver is extremely efficient when multiple incident angles are needed, as occurs in many applications. Our numerical tests include a complicated obstacle several wavelengths in size, with N = 10 5 and solution error of 10 - 10 , where the solver is 66 times faster per incident angle than a fast multipole based iterative solution, and 600 times faster when incident angles are chosen to share Bloch phases.
DESIGNING COMPONENT TEST PLANS FOR SYSTEM RELIABILITY VIA MATHEMATICAL PROGRAMMING

For prediction or verification of system reliability, it is often necessary to conduct individual tests of components that comprise the system. The question then arises as to how the total test efforts should be allocated among different components so as to minimize test costs. This paper describes the role of mathematical programming in obtaining the optimum test plans. The problem is formulated on the notion of producer’s and consumer’s risks in traditional acceptance sampling plans. Examples are given for different distributions of component failure times and for a series and a parallel system.