cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electric Dipole Moments

Electric dipole moments are quantities which break time-reversal and parity symmetry. It implies CP violation assuming that CPT theorem. The search for the electric dipole moments is strong tools for examinations of electroweak baryogenesis. In this chapter, we discuss the relationship between the quantities and the CP-violating process for the BAU and see how they work in the examination.
Bacterial communities in the alpaca gastrointestinal tract vary with diet and body site.

Gut -associated microbes ('gut microbiota') impact the nutrition of their hosts, especially in ruminants and pseudoruminants that consume high-cellulose diets. Examples include the pseudoruminant alpaca. To better understand how body site and diet influence the alpaca microbiota, we performed three 16S rRNA gene surveys. First, we surveyed the compartment 1 (C1), duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, and large intestine (LI) of alpacas fed a grass hay (GH; tall fescue) or alfalfa hay (AH) diet for 30 days. Second, we performed a C1 survey of alpacas fed a series of 2-week mixed grass hay (MGH) diets supplemented with ∼25% dry weight barley, quinoa, amaranth, or soybean meal. Third, we examined the microbial differences of alpacas with normal versus poor body condition. Samples from GH- and AH-fed alpacas grouped by diet and body site but none of the four supplements significantly altered C1 microbiota composition, relative to each other, and none of the OTUs were differentially abundant between alpacas with normal versus poor body conditions. Taken together, the findings of a diet- and body-site specific alpaca microbiota are consistent with previous findings in ruminants and other mammals, but we provide no evidence to link changes in alpaca body condition with variation in microbiota relative abundance or identity.
Clinical update on nursing home medicine: 2012.

This article is the sixth in the series of clinical updates on nursing home care. The topics covered are management of hypertension, antidepressant medications in people with dementia, peripheral arterial disease, probiotics in prevention, and treatment of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, frailty, and falls.
Skin and Soft Tissue Infection in Transplant Recipients

Transplant-related immunosuppression is an important risk factor for the development of infectious diseases. The skin, as barrier to the outside world and the body’s largest organ, is particularly susceptible to both primary and disseminated infection. For the astute and thorough clinician, the skin is a useful marker of the health of the patient. It may provide clues to systemic disease and offers a chance at early diagnosis and prompt intervention.
Accreditation and Educational Quality: Are Students in Accredited Programs More Academically Engaged?.

AbstractThere has been a great deal of debate regarding the value of program accreditation. Two research questions guided this study: 1) are students enrolled in accredited parks, recreation, and leisure programs more academically engaged than students enrolled in non-accredited programs, and 2) do students enrolled in accredited parks, recreation, and leisure programs report higher gains regarding academic learning, practical competence, and satisfaction than students in non-accredited programs? This study found students in accredited programs were significantly more engaged in educationally relevant behaviors than students in non-accredited programs. In addition, results indicated students in accredited programs reported higher gains in practical competence and satisfaction. NRPA's new direction for the accreditation process is to focus on student learning outcomes, which may lead to greater differences in the quality of education provided by accredited versus non-accredited programs.
Pregnancy and Parenting During Cardiology Fellowship.

Background An increasing number of residents and fellows have children during training. However, little is known about the specific experience of cardiology fellows who become parents during traini...
La Charla: documenting the experience of unaccompanied minors in immigration court

There is no minimum age for children to appear unaccompanied in immigration court in the United States; infants and toddlers, like adults, can receive notices to appear and are not given legal coun...
Emerging applications of carbon nanohoops

A cycloparaphenylene can be thought of as the shortest possible cross section of an armchair carbon nanotube. Although envisioned decades ago, these molecules — also referred to as carbon nanohoops — can be highly strained and, thus, eluded chemical synthesis. However, the past decade has seen the development of methods to access carbon nanohoops of varying size and composition. In contrast to many carbon-rich materials, the nanohoops are atom-precise and structurally tunable because they are prepared by stepwise organic synthesis. Accordingly, a variety of unique, size-dependent optoelectronic and host–guest properties have been uncovered. In this Review, we highlight recent research that aims to leverage the unique physical properties of nanohoops in applications and emphasize the connection between structure and properties. Cycloparaphenylenes are highly tunable molecular scaffolds. This Review highlights how their cyclic topologies endow them with novel properties amenable to diverse applications.
High-eccentricity migration of planetesimals around polluted white dwarfs

Several white dwarfs with atmospheric metal pollution have been found to host small planetary bodies (planetesimals) orbiting near the tidal disruption radius. We study the physical properties and dynamical origin of these bodies under the hypothesis that they underwent high-eccentricity migration from initial distances of several astronomical units. We examine two plausible mechanisms for orbital migration and circularization: tidal friction and ram-pressure drag in a compact disc. For each mechanism, we derive general analytic expressions for the evolution of the orbit that can be rescaled for various situations. We identify the physical parameters that determine whether a planetesimal's orbit can circularize within the appropriate time-scale and constrain these parameters based on the properties of the observed systems. For tidal migration to work, an internal viscosity similar to that of molten rock is required, and this may be naturally produced by tidal heating. For disc migration to operate, a minimal column density of the disc is implied; the inferred total disc mass is consistent with estimates of the total mass of metals accreted by polluted WDs.
Current Surgical Management of the Acutely Incarcerated Ventral Hernia

Acutely incarcerated ventral hernias represent a complex disease process in an increasing complex population. Acute incarceration can lead to strangulation and worsen morbidity and mortality. Identifying best practices based upon available evidence is paramount to optimize patient outcomes. The following is a review of the most recent literature in the management of acutely incarcerated ventral hernias. Evidence suggests early intervention ( 3 cm, but evidence supporting synthetic or biologic mesh use is conflicting in clean-contaminated and contaminated cases. Acutely incarcerated ventral hernias represent a complex disease process for which high-level evidence supporting best practices is sparse, and individualized surgical care can have significant impact on patient outcomes.
Integration of a Novel CMOS-Compatible Magnetoelectric Antenna with a Low-Noise Amplifier and a Tunable Input Matching.

A low-noise amplifier (LNA) topology with tunable input matching and noise cancellation is introduced and described in this paper, which was designed and optimized to interface with a magnetoelectric (ME) antenna in a 0.35 µm MEMS-compatible CMOS process. Compared to conventional antennas, acoustically actuated ME antennas have significantly smaller area for ease of integration. The LNA was simulated with an ME antenna model that was constructed based on antenna measurements. Input matching at the LNA-antenna interface is controlled with a circuit that varies the effective impedance of the gate inductor using a control voltage. Tunability of 455 MHz around 2.4 GHz is achieved for the optimum S11 frequency with a control voltage range of 0.3–1.2 V. The proposed LNA has a noise cancelling feedback loop that improves the noise figure by 4.1 dB. The post-layout simulation results of the LNA show a 1-dB compression point of – 7.4 dBm with an S21 of 17.8 dB.
Cognitive Load Based Adaptive Assistive Technology Design for Reconfigured Mobile Android Phone

In assistive technology design, it is indispensible to consider the sensory, physical and cognitive level of target users. Cognitive load is an important indicator of cognitive feedback during interaction and became the critical research issue in designing assistive user interfaces, incorporated with smartphone based assistive technology like in the android platform. In this paper, we proposed a cognitive load based user interface integrated with reconfigured mobile android phone (R-MAP) based on user’s cognitive load level. We performed some cognitive tasks within a small group of sighted but blindfolded people and blind people or visually impaired using R-MAP. Based on task performance and cognitive load levels we manually annotated some data of 24 participants and finally applied some machine learning algorithms to automate the mobile interface. Based on our novel design and experimental finding, we recommended that “cognitive load enabled feedbacks based assistive user interface” would be a useful assistive tool for the people who use mobile phone for their daily operations.
The Geometry of the Virasoro Group for Physicists

Diff(S 1), the group of reparametrizations of the circle, is known as the Virasoro group in string theory. Reparametrizations keeping fixed a point of the circle form the quotient space Dif f(S 1)/S 1. The geometry of this space is relevant for string theory and string field theory. We describe this space as an infinite dimensional complex manifold with a Kahler metric and compute its Riemann tensor and its Ricci tensor.
Timing analysis of interrupt-driven programs under context bounds

Timing analysis is a key step in the design of dependable real-time embedded systems, yet existing analysis tools do not work well for interrupt-driven code, which is commonly used in embedded systems. In this paper, we present a technique for timing analysis of interrupt-driven software. We show that for systems that use priority pre-emptive scheduling, if there is a finite arrival time between interrupts, one can use bounds on the number of context switches to perform timing analysis. Our work builds upon prior work on timing analysis for sequential programs. We present empirical evidence to show that we can accurately predict the execution time along any path of an interrupt-driven program on a standard micro-controller.
Laparoscopic intraperitoneal polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) prosthetic patch repair of ventral hernia. Prospective comparison to open prefascial polypropylene mesh repair.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine whether laparoscopic intraperitoneal polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) prosthetic patch (LIPP) repair of a ventral hernia is superior to open prefascial polypropylene mesh (OPPM) repair in a tertiary care university hospital in an urban environment.
In situ study of insulin aggregation induced by water-organic solvent interface.

Purpose. The aim of this study was to assess insulin stability by monitoring in situ time-course of insulin aggregation induced by a water-organic solvent (o/w) interface that occurs during the microencapsulation process.
Commercialization of Nanotechnology - Taiwan Experiences

Taiwan National Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Program started in 2003. The budget is about US$ 600 million for six years. Compared to some countries, this is not a big number. Our strategy is to focus on industrilization. 65% of the budget was for industrialization nanotechnology. Our National Program is an industrialization driven program. Stumbling blocks to commercializing nanotechnology and Taiwan strategic initiatives to industrializing nanotechnology will be described in this paper. The stumbling blocks will be analyzed in two different phases. The first one is from science to industry. The other one is from nanoproducts to users. Taiwan strategy initiatives including government commitment, positioning of different players and infrastructure built for nanotechnology will be discussed in this paper. To industrialize nanotechnology, linking nano novel properties to applications is essential. The first approach to be presented is novel material-driven approach, which is to derive application concepts from the unique properties of a novel material. Carbon nanocapsule and tetrapod-like zinc oxide will be used as examples to illustrate our experiences. The other approach is need-driven approach. To maintain competitiveness in some products, nanotechnology could be quite helpful. Several examples, including CNT-backlight unit (BLU) and nanoclay in PU synthetic leather will be described. Nanotechnology is a hot R& D area globally. Differentiation strategy is very important. Self-cleaning paint is cited as an example to be differentiated from others. Through nanotechnology development, we believe that our daily life will be improved dramatically.
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH PREVALENT HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV) INFECTION IN THE MULTICENTER AIDS COHORT STUDY

Interviews regarding medical history, life-style, specific drug taking and sexual activities, and physical examinations were administered to 4,955 homosexual men who volunteered for the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study in Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh. Overall, the prevalence of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in these men was 38.0%. The factor most strongly associated with prevalent HIV infection according to a multiple logistic regression model was rectal trauma, a composite variable which included receptive anal fisting, enemas before sex, reporting of blood around the rectum, and the observation of scarring, fissures or fistulas on rectal examination. Receptive anal intercourse also was strongly associated with HIV infection in the model. The multivariate relative odds for HIV antibody positivity was 7.72 for the highest level of rectal trauma and 3.04 for receptive anal intercourse. Symptoms reported to occur in some persons who subsequently develop acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were frequent among HIV seropositive men (12.9%) but were reported in 8.4% of seronegative men as well. Generalized lymphadenopathy was observed significantly more often in seropositive men (48.8%) compared with seronegative men (11.4%). The prevalence of HIV antibodies was inversely related to the number of T-helper cells and directly related (to a lesser extent) to the number of T-suppressor cells. The results suggest that disruption of the rectal mucosa provides access by HIV to the blood stream and to specific immunologic cells. Since symptoms and generalized lymphadenopathy were often reported among seronegative men, they probably also occur among some seropositive men not currently progressing to AIDS.
Ways of delivering tacit knowledge in e-learning

There are two basic types of human knowledge: explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge is codified and consists of facts, rules and procedures and its owners are aware of it. Tacit knowledge helps its possessors to use their explicit knowledge. Personal experience, perceptions, insights, aptitudes and know-how that are implied or indicated but not actually expressed — they are hidden in the minds of their owners. Explicit knowledge has no meaning without relevant tacit knowledge; it remains a collection of memorized pieces of mosaic. Good teaching methodologies must develop and enhance both forms of learners' knowledge. In our paper, we study the difference in between their delivery in traditional (on-site) learning and e-learning. We concentrate primarily on tacit knowledge delivery because our long-time e-learning experience shows that there is almost no difference between traditional learning and e-learning in delivering explicit knowledge. The presence or absence of the educator may result in big differences in students' tacit knowledge. E-learning educational methodologies should concentrate on its development. The authors designed and developed a method based on best practices of Knowledge Management, in particular on the Nonaka-Takeuchi SECI model of learning. It combines gaining of both tacit and explicit knowledge during four stages: Socialization, Externalization, Combination, and Internalization. Each of them requires specific teaching activities for its development. Socialization evolves communication with the educator as well as among students; Externalization helps the students to express their knowledge in a legible form. During Combination the students evolve their existing knowledge and share it with their classmates. During Internalization they co-opt their knowledge to make it an integral part of their individual knowledge system. Every e-learning course must demonstrate all of these components — naturally, in different formats depending on the course content and its learning objectives. All courses at our university are delivered in both on-site and online modes. The stepwise development of our on-line methodology allowed us to reach the quality of knowledge of our external students' comparable with that of the students of daily courses. To demonstrate it, we compare the grades of traditional students with their online counterparts from five courses in which tacit knowledge is crucial since none of them can be passed by the mere memorization of facts. Contrary, students must comprehend the content and be able to demonstrate it practically. The exam results show no substantial differences. Lessons learned from our methodology development allow us to make its generalization and recommend those educational activities that lead towards a higher portion and quality of tacit knowledge. As tacit knowledge guide us in applying the explicit one, its presence result in more durable, solid and sustainable knowledge.
Regulation of the Micromechanical Properties of Pulmonary Endothelium by S1P and Thrombin: Role of Cortactin

Disruption of pulmonary endothelial cell (EC) barrier function is a critical pathophysiologic event in highly morbid inflammatory conditions such as sepsis and acute respiratory disease stress syndrome. Actin cytoskeleton, an essential regulator of endothelial permeability, is a dynamic structure whose stimuli-induced rearrangement is linked to barrier modulation. Here, we used atomic force microscopy to characterize structural and mechanical changes in the F-actin cytoskeleton of cultured human pulmonary artery EC in response to both barrier-enhancing (induced by sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P)) and barrier-disrupting (induced by thrombin) conditions. Atomic force microscopy elasticity measurements show differential effects: for the barrier protecting molecule S1P, the elastic modulus was elevated significantly on the periphery; for the barrier-disrupting molecule thrombin, on the other hand, it was elevated significantly in the central region of the cell. The force and elasticity maps correlate with F-actin rearrangements as identified by immunofluorescence analysis. Significantly, reduced expression (via siRNA) of cortactin, an actin-binding protein essential to EC barrier regulation, resulted in a shift in the S1P-mediated elasticity pattern to more closely resemble control, unstimulated endothelium.
Low CSF Leptin Levels are Associated with Worse Learning and Memory Performance in HIV-infected Men

The main objective of this study was to investigate the association between human CSF leptin levels and neuropsychological (NP) performance in the setting of HIV infection. We hypothesized that human CSF leptin levels positively correlate with NP performance. Leptin is an adipocyte-derived hormone that influences brain development and function, particularly learning and memory, in the mouse model. The extent to which leptin contributes to neurocognitive functioning in humans is less clear. A cross-sectional evaluation of CSF leptin and NP performance was performed. Leptin levels in CSF and serum samples from 59 HIV-positive men were measured by ELISA. Comprehensive, standardized NP testing was used to determine impairment status in global and specific domains. Lower CSF leptin levels and reduced leptin uptake into the central nervous system (CNS) correlated with impaired learning and memory performance in both univariate and multivariate analyses. In multivariate analyses, lower CSF leptin levels and reduced CNS leptin uptake were associated with worse NP performance in learning and memory, adjusting for CD4 nadir, antiretroviral treatment exposure, and HIV RNA levels in CSF. Low CSF leptin levels are associated with poorer performance in learning and memory among HIV-infected men adjusting for usual predictors of HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment. This association is consistent with prior in vitro and animal data suggesting leptin has a trophic or facilitatory role in the hippocampus, above and beyond its role in hypothalamic regulation.
Reframing Doctoral Programs: A Program of Human Inquiry for Doctoral Students and Faculty Advisors.

The Program of Human Inquiry is proposed as a structure to support scholarly inquiry by graduate students and faculty advisors. The Program provides a foundation that acknowledges human experiences and connects them to program aims in ways that do not limit student and faculty options. It promotes communication among student, committee members, and committee chair, as well as dialogue with oneself. It consists of four components. The first component is an acknowledgment of what one brings to graduate studies. The second component includes a Plan of Study, a summary of coursework, field experiences, formal exam dates, and residency. A third component records rigorous, but negotiated, “avenues of inquiry” including coursework, readings, research, and conferences. Finally, the Program encourages an ongoing discussion of values and recording of appropriate experiences. This proposal will interest students who wish to get the most out of their graduate experience and faculty who desire to continually re-examine their advising, their graduate program, and their own learning.
The Effect of Atmospheric Plasma Treatment on the Chemistry, Morphology and Resultant Bonding Behavior of a Pan-Based Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Epoxy Composite

A study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of atmospheric plasma treatments on the surface chemistry, morphology, and mechanical properties of graphite/epoxy composites. Characterization included contact angle measurements, XPS, FTIR, SEM and AFM. Treatment was shown to increase strength by as much as 50% relative to untreated specimens. The improvement was related to the number of passes and can be attributed to chemical surface modifications. While the total amount of oxygen on the surface stabilized quickly after a few plasma passes, the concentration of the carboxyl groups was shown to continuously increase, and correlated well with observed increases in strength.
Targeted genetic modification: xenotransplantation and beyond.

The 10th anniversary of the report of the first animal cloned from an adult cell (Wilmut et al., 1997) is an excellent time to look back, and to look forward. The ability to clone domestic animals from differentiated cells not only provided new insight into the processes of development, but also significantly impacted the ability to make targeted genetic modifications to domestic livestock. The early work of nuclear transfer focused on using early embryos as a source of donor nuclei because it was thought that more differentiated nuclei either were more difficult or impossible to reprogram. While the strategy of using early embryonic cells could result in the production of cloned embryos and offspring; expansion of the genotype would require serial nuclear transfer to result in a significant number of clones. In addition the ability to genetically modify the donor nuclei was very limited. The developmental envelope was pushed by transferring nuclei from cells that were cultured from progressively more differentiated stages of embryos and fetuses. The first step was to take an early embryo and culture cells from that embryo and then use those cells for nuclear transfer (Sims et al., 1994). Next it was shown that fetal-derived cells could be cultured and subsequently used to clone individuals (Campbell et al., 1996). Once it was shown that donor cells could be cultured prior to nuclear transfer, it followed that the donor cells could be genetically modified prior to the nuclear transfer and that cloned transgenic animals could be produced (Schnieke et al., 1997). The advantage of using this system for making genetically modified animals is that the exact nature of the genetic modification could be determined in the cultured cells prior to creating the animal. This was very important for domestic animals since embryonic stem cells, which have been so useful for genetic modification in mice, have yet to be isolated from any domestic animal, and it was thus not possible to make targeted modifications. In addition, pre-selection of the donor cells would provide the investigator an opportunity to confirm that integration had occurred and that significant expression could be detected in the donor cells before the animal was made. With the ability to genetically modify the donor cells prior to creating the animal in-hand, both the ideas of transgenic animals created from donor cells selected for high levels of expression of the gene of interest, as well as targeted modification (knock-ins and knock-outs) now entered the realm of imagination. Examples of transgenesis in pigs that used the strategy of selecting the cells prior to cloning the animal include addition of the enhanced green fluorescent protein, hFAT-1, endothelial cell nitric oxide synthase (NOS3), thymidine kinase, and cytosine deaminase (reviewed by (Prather, 2006).
Boundary-Conforming Discontinuous Galerkin Methods via Extensions from Subdomains

A new way of devising numerical methods is introduced whose distinctive feature is the computation of a finite element approximation only in a polyhedral subdomain ${\mathsf{D}}$ of the original, possibly curved-boundary domain. The technique is applied to a discontinuous Galerkin method for the one-dimensional diffusion-reaction problem. Sharp a priori error estimates are obtained which identify conditions, on the subdomain ${\mathsf{D}}$ and the discretization parameters of the discontinuous Galerkin method, under which the method maintains its original optimal convergence properties. The error analysis is new even in the case in which ${\mathsf{D}}=\Omega$ . It allows to see that the uniform error at any given interval is bounded by an interpolation error associated to the interval plus a significantly smaller error of a global nature. Numerical results confirming the sharpness of the theoretical results are displayed. Also, preliminary numerical results illustrating the application of the method to two-dimensional second-order elliptic problems are shown.
Safety and Efficacy of Tacrolimus Ointment Versus Pimecrolimus Cream in the Treatment of Patients with Atopic Dermatitis Previously Treated with Corticosteroids

Adult and pediatric patients (n = 347) with atopic dermatitis enrolled in three multicenter, randomized, 6-week studies who had previously used steroids were analyzed to examine the null hypothesis that improvement in atopic dermatitis initiated after prior treatment with steroids eliminates any subsequent treatment differences between tacrolimus ointment and pimecrolimus cream. Of these patients, 171 were randomized to tacrolimus ointment and 176 to pimecrolimus cream. Based on improvement in the Eczema Area and Severity Index at the end of study, tacrolimus ointment was significantly more effective than pimecrolimus cream (p = 0.0002). Tacrolimus ointment was also significantly more effective than pimecrolimus cream at the end of study in all secondary end-points. Overall, the frequency of adverse events was comparable between treatment groups (24.0% for tacrolimus ointment vs. 25.6% for pimecrolimus cream). Tacrolimus ointment is more effective, with a similar safety profile, compared with pimecrolimus cream in patients with atopic dermatitis previously treated with topical corticosteroids.
Synthesis, characterization, and properties of novel polyisobutylene-based urethane model networks

This paper concerns the synthesis, characterization, and physical properties of novel polyisobutylene (PIB)-based urethane model networks prepared from diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and three-arm star PIBs capped with CH2OH end groups (PIB(CH2OH)3). The PIB(CH2OH)3 starting materials were produced by the inifer method in the Mn = 13,550–27,000 range. The best networks were obtained with NCO : OH = 1. Solvent extractions showed uncatalyzed network formation to be essentially complete and swelling studies indicated the expected architecture, i.e., Mc = 2Mn/3 and virtual absence of dangling chains. Stannous octoate was found to increase the rate of network formation in the absence of side reactions (i.e., allophanate formation), while other catalysts also accelerated undesirable reactions. The effect of molecular weight between crosslinks (Mc) on network physical properties has been studied in the Mc = 900–18,500 range. The tensile strength increases with decreasing Mc up to a limiting value after which it sharply declines. Elongations at break decrease monotonously with decreasing Mc. Low temperature tensile studies show higher tensile data at −20°C, and, surprisingly, a retention of elongations at break. The Tg's decrease with increasing Mc's until a plateau is reached at −73°C. Hysteresis is fairly constant and permanent set is constant and low. The PIB-based urethane networks exhibit excellent hydrolytic stability, negligible moisture absorption, and outstanding heat-aging stability, far beyond what is expected for a polyurethane. Conceivably the thermal deblocking of the urethane group may be reversible (NHCOOCH2⇌ NCO + HOCH2) because the isocyanate that arises in the highly hydrophobic PIB matrix recombines with the alcohol, and cannot react with moisture as in conventional urethane networks.
Failover, load sharing and server architecture in SIP telephony

We apply some of the existing web server redundancy techniques for high service availability and scalability to the relatively new IP telephony context. The paper compares various failover and load sharing methods for registration and call routing servers based on the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). In particular, we consider SIP server failover techniques based on the clients, DNS (Domain Name Service), database replication and IP address takeover, and load sharing techniques using DNS, SIP identifiers, network address translators, and servers with same IP addresses. We describe our two-stage reliable and scalable SIP server architecture in which the first stage proxies the request to one of the second stage server group based on the destination user identifier. We quantitatively evaluate the performance improvement of the load sharing architecture using our SIP server. We quantitatively compare the effect of SIP server architecture such as event-based and thread pool. Additionally, we present an overview of the failover mechanism we implemented in our test-bed using the open source MySQL database.
Kinetics of hydrogen uptake by scavenger molecules - Insights from molecular modeling

Abstract Mixed aromatic-alkyne molecules have been designed to scavenge and remove hydrogen in unwanted situations. Such materials in powdered solid form are mixed with catalytic metal particles that dissociate H2 molecules into H radicals. However, many details of the H uptake mechanism remain poorly understood. Here we report molecular modeling studies, using both classical force fields and first-principles density functional theory, aimed at providing enhanced understanding of the uptake kinetics. Such insights are important in improving the H scavenging efficiency of the present and next-generation materials, as well as to provide molecular-scale interpretation of supporting experiments.
Energetics of Oxygen Interstitials in Cr and V

Dissolved oxygen in group IIIA-VA (Nb, Ti, Zr, Y) based alloys is a fundamental problem, affecting both mechanical properties and oxidation resistance, yet details of the phenomenon are poorly understood. In these alloys, oxygen is more stable dissolved in the metal than as an oxide-compound. In contrast, alloys based on Ni, Fe, Al and Cr exhibit almost no oxygen solubility. To improve the performance of Nb and Ti based alloys it is necessary to understand the differences in oxygen solubility between these two groups of metals. As a first step we considered the energetics of interstitial oxygen in alpha-V and alpha-Cr. Both of these metals have a BCC structure, yet the oxygen solubility in V is much higher than that in Cr. We obtain total energies, densities of states and population analyses using the CASTEP plane-wave pseudopotential density functional computer code. The differences in the energetics and electronic structures of the two materials, particularly the partial densities of states associated with the interstitial oxygen, are discussed.
Microstructural characterization of damage in thermomechanically fatigued Sn-Ag based solder joints

Sn-Ag based solder joints of 100-µm thickness were thermomechanically fatigued between −15°C and +150°C with a ramp rate of 25°C/min for the heating segment and 7°C/min for the cooling segment. The hold times were 20 min at high temperature extreme and 300 min at the low temperature extreme. Surface damage accumulation predominantly consisted of shear banding, surface relief due to Sn-grain extrusion, grain boundary sliding, and grain decohesion usually near the solder/substrate interface. Small alloy additions were found to affect the extent of this surface damage accumulation.
Effects of prior injection of Walker cancer cells in the rat on the lung-retention pattern of a second dose.

Effects of prior injection of Walker cancer cells in the rat on the lung-retention pattern of a second dose
Object-oriented approach to interactive analysis of structures

Abstract The paper presents a novel, object-oriented (O-O) approach to structural modeling and analysis to enable interactive, virtual prototyping in the next generation of the design environment. The interactivity of analysis of build-up structures can only be achieved by re-using results of component analyses, therefore, the applicability of data based analysis to the O-O approach is investigated in this paper. An object in the O-O approach is a neurocomputing model of a structural component developed for a given set of parameterized design variables, loading, and “smart” connectors. Such connectors define how the given component is connected to the assembly, and what is the validity of such a connection. Since component models can be subject to affine transformations, a family of similar structural components is available for modeling. Neurocomputing models are used to enable data based analysis, because they can relate any design variables and load conditions to the selected system response. The applicability of feed-forward and feature-sensitive neural nets is examined in this context. Object-oriented modeling is illustrated with a design of an assembly of beams using a single-point (SP) connector and an assembly of plates subject to a thermal load using a multi-point (MP) connector.
Viscous resuspension of a sediment within a laminar and stratified flow

Abstract Resuspension, under the action of shear, of an initially settled bed of particles has been observed not only in turbulent flows but also under laminar conditions. By applying a model developed previously, we investigate theoretically such a resuspension in a fully-developed Hagen-Poiseuille channel flow and in a corresponding gravity-driven film flow along an inclined plate. It is found that, in the former case, the region occupied by the suspension cannot extend beyond the plane of zero shear stress, while for the film flow, a critical value for the feed concentration is predicted beyond which steady-state operation is no longer possible. Experimental observations in a channel flow are found to be in good agreement with the theory.
Water use, water-use efficiency and growth analysis of selected woody ornamental species under a non-limiting water regime

Abstract Selected woody ornamental species were grown in a glasshouse under a non-limiting irrigation regime. Relative growth rate (RGR), net assimilation rate (NAR), leaf area ratio (LAR), whole plant transpiration (T), evapotranspiration (ET) and water-use efficiency (WUE) were determined during a 73 day period. Covering the container medium with polyethylene reduced evaporative losses from 13% to 88%, depending on plant species, without affecting growth. The greatest reduction in evaporation occurred in plants with open canopies and low T rates. The shrub/tree species Lagerstroemia indica had the highest NAR and RGR, while the prostrate (plagiotropic) ground covers Trachelospermum asiaticum and Jasminum floridum and the orthotropic shrub/tree species Ligustrum japonicum had the lowest NAR and RGR. Leaf area ratio was greatest in Ligustrum and Pittosporum tobira . Water consumption, leaf area and root:shoot ratio were greatest in Lagerstroemia. Sophora secundiflora , which is adapted to more xeric conditions, had the highest T and lowest WUE. The highest WUE was found in Lagerstroemia, Raphiolepis and Pittosporum .
COMMUNITY SERVICE AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION: THE CONTRIBUTION OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TO THE HEALTH OF THE AMERICAN POLIS

Religious educators who emphasize the public nature and mission of the religious congregation and advocates of national and community service have much in common. Both groups point to a need in the society of the United States to balance the language of individualism and individual rights with a renewed emphasis on communitarian social action. A constructive dialogue between community service‐oriented advocates of school reform and religious educators advocating the social and political nature of being religious addresses a crisis in American spirituality: how can we rouse citizens from our respective secular and religious confessional slumbers.
Systemically wound-responsive genes in poplar trees encode proteins similar to sweet potato sporamins and legume Kunitz trypsin inhibitors

When the lower leaves of hybrid poplar trees are mechanically wounded, several novel mRNAs accumulate in the unwounded upper leaves (Parsons TJ, Bradshaw HD, Gordon MP: Systemic accumulation of specific mRNAs in response to wounding in poplar trees, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, in press). A partial cDNA clone corresponding to a transcript from the wound-responsive gene designated win 3 (wound-inducible) has been cloned by differential hybridization to 32P-labelled cDNA from the leaves of wounded trees. Northern blots show a large accumulation of win 3 transcripts in the unwounded leaves of wounded trees. Southern blot analysis of poplar DNA suggests that win 3 is a member of a multigene family. The nucleotide sequences of several win 3 cDNA clones have been determined, indicating that at least three win 3 gene family members are transcribed. A genomic clone of a win 3 gene family member has been isolated and a 1.5 kb Hind III fragment containing the predicted protein-coding and 5′ upstream regions has been sequenced. The putative win 3 gene product is similar to the major soluble proteins of sweet potato tubers, sporamin A and sporamin B. Both Win3 and the sporamins share significant amino acid sequence identity with Kunitz-type trypsin inhibitors from legume seeds. The Kunitz family of proteinase inhibitors thus joins three other proteinase inhibitor families which are systemically responsive to wounding.
SCREAM’03: A Single Mask Process for High-Q Single Crystal Silicon MEMS

We present a single-mask single-crystal silicon (SCS) process for the fabrication of suspended MicroElectroMechanical devices (MEMS). This is a bulk micro-machining process that uses Deep Reactive Ion Etch (DeepRIE) of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate with highly doped device layer to fabricate movable single-crystal silicon MEMS structures, which can be electrically actuated without metal deposition. The buried oxide layer is not removed afterwards and no wet process release is involved in the whole process sequence, which makes this process different from others works based on SOI wafer. Several MEMS oscillators have been made using this process. Dynamic behavior is characterized using a laser vibrometer. Quality factor is improved by more than 1 order compared to the same oscillator made using SCREAM process.
Insulin-like growth factor-I concentrations in plasma of intact and castrated male and female cattle at four ages.

The influence of age, sex and castration on plasma concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and other metabolic hormones related to growth was studied in cattle. Plasma was sampled from bulls, steers, heifers, and ovariectomized heifers at 20-min intervals for 12 hr at 5, 8, 12, and 15 mo of age. Plasma samples from each animal taken during each 12-hr period were composited for analysis of IGF-I, testosterone, total estrogens, thyroxine, triiodothyronine, insulin, and glucose. The mean plasma IGF-I concentration in all cattle increased from 61.6 to 158.6 ng/ml as the animals aged (p less than .01). Over all ages, bulls had greater concentrations of IGF-I than steers, heifers, or ovariectomized heifers (P less than .01). Bulls also had higher concentrations of testosterone (P less than .01) and total estrogens (P less than .01). Triiodothyronine concentration was greater in ovariectomized heifers than in bulls (P less than .01) or steers (P less than .05). Females had higher concentrations of thyroxine than males (P less than .01). Concentrations of triiodothyronine in the cattle were greater (P less than .01) during the winter and early spring as compared with the summer. Concentrations of insulin and glucose were not influenced by sex or castration; however, insulin increased in all cattle with age (P less than .01). The mean increase in IGF-I concentration with age within each of the four groups was associated with an increase in concentration of plasma insulin but the differences due to sex were not related to differences in insulin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Destination-Region-Based Local Minimum Aware Geometric Routing

Geometric routing in mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) is comprised of two forwarding modes: greedy forwarding and face forwarding. It is known that face forwarding is inefficient and fails frequently in practical situations. A previous work, NEAR [2], avoids switching to face forwarding by predicting local minima and not forwarding messages to them. However, NEAR predicts excessive local minima, which results in subop- timal routing performance. Also, it is not fully localized due to its bridge detection scheme. Aiming to further improve the performance, we propose a destination- region-based Local minimum AwaRe GEometric Routing (LARGER) algorithm which improves the accuracy of the local minima prediction by dividing the network into a number of regions and predicting local minima based on the region where the destination is located. Simulation results show that LARGER substantially improves the prediction accuracy and the routing performance of NEAR and that of the other state-of-the-art geometric routing algorithms in terms of route length.
Comparison of the optical properties of oxide films deposited by reactive-dc-magnetron sputtering with those of ion-beam-sputtered and electron-beam-evaporated films

Films produced by reactive-dc-magnetron sputtering are generally dense and homogeneous. Thus their optical properties are similar to those of ion-beam-sputtered films and distinct from the properties of the more porous electron-beam evaporated films. In this paper, the measured results of the dispersive refractive index n and extinction coefficient k are presented for single- layer films of SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , HfO 2 , Ta 2 O 5 , Nb 2 O 5 , and TiO 2 produced by the three processes. For some of the magnetron-sputtered films, it was necessary to modulate the dc power supply in order to suppress the electrical arcing at the target.
Validation of Otolith Annuli of Bluegills in a Southeastern Thermal Reservoir

Abstract Opaque bands on otoliths were validated as annuli for bluegills Lepomis macrochirus throughout their lives in Par Pond, a nuclear reactor cooling reservoir in South Carolina. Whole mounts of otoliths were suitable for age determination of young bluegills (less than 5 years old), but both whole mounts and otolith sections were necessary for age determination of older bluegills. Marginal increment analyses indicated that annulus formation began as early as February and was complete by June in bluegills of ages 1–9. Annulus formation began earlier in younger (age 1–2) bluegills than in older individuals. Similarity of observed and back-calculated sizes at age supported identification of opaque bands as annuli. Input of warm water from reactor operation occasionally produced opaque bands (false annuli) on otoliths; however, the faintness and incompleteness of such bands clearly distinguished them from true annuli. Identification of the first annulus of some otoliths was problematic due to the occurre...
Regulation of glycosaminoglycan function by osmotic potentials. Measurement of water transfer during antithrombin activation by heparin.

Abstract The sulfated glycosaminoglycan heparin is an important anticoagulant, widely used to treat and to prevent arterial thrombosis. Heparin triggers conformational changes in, and the functional activation of, the serine proteinase inhibitor antithrombin. We investigated water-transfer reactions during the activation process to explore the possibility that functional interaction between antithrombin and sulfated glycosaminoglycans can be regulated by osmotic potentials. Volume of water transferred upon heparin binding was measured from differences in free energy change, Δ(ΔG), with osmotic stress, π. Osmotic stress was induced with chemically inert probes that are geometrically excluded from the water-permeable spaces of antithrombin and from intermolecular spaces formed during the association reaction. The free energy change, ΔG, for the antithrombin/heparin interaction was calculated from the dissociation constant, determined by functional titrations of heparin with antithrombin at fixed concentrations of the coagulation protease factor Xa. The effect of osmotic stress was independent of the chemical nature of osmotic probes but correlated with their radius up to radius >17 A. In mixtures including a large and a small probe, the effect of the large probe was not modified by the small probe added at a large molar excess. With an osmotic probe of 4-A radius, the Δ(ΔG)/π slope corresponds to a transfer of 119 ± 25 water molecules to bulk solution on formation of the complex. Analytical characterization of water-permeable volumes in x-ray-derived bound and free antithrombin structures revealed complex surfaces with smaller hydration volumes in the bound relative to the free conformation. The residue distribution in, and atomic composition of, the pockets containing atoms from residues implicated in heparin binding were distinct in the bound versus free conformer. The results demonstrate that the heparin/antithrombin interaction is linked to net water transfer and, therefore, can be regulated in biological gels by osmotic potentials.