cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Directing photophysics and structure in semiconductor nanowires with erbium and germanium

Abstract Recent efforts from our labs have focused on the fundamental properties of erbium incorporated into Ge nanowires (Ge NWs) and a diverse number of radial core/shell platforms containing these two elements. In this review we focus on two beneficial outcomes that can be exploited from such structures to even broader families of nanostructures: (a) the useful chemical and photophysical utility of providing wide bandgap oxide shells onto germanium nanowire cores containing rare earth ions such as erbium; (b) the unique combination of germanium and tin in an erbium doped oxide nanowire to engage in a spontaneous oxidation–reduction reaction that enhances the erbium near infrared photoluminescence (PL). A broad range of spectroscopic (PL, PL excitation) and structural (high resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis) tools are employed for this evaluation.
A parallel implementation of ALFISH: simulating hydrological compartmentalization effects on fish dynamics in the Florida Everglades

Abstract A landscape modeling system called the Across Trophic-Level System Simulation (or ATLSS) has been developed in an effort to project the consequences of proposed water regulation plans for restoration of the South Florida Everglades. The ATLSS Landscape Fish Model (ALFISH) is a component of the ATLSS package (written in C++), which is used to provide dynamic measures of the spatially-explicit food resources available to wading birds, namely fish. The original (serial) ALFISH model requires as much as 30 h for 31-year simulations of specified scenarios. The model’s execution time has been successfully improved (by a factor of 4.5) by partitioning its data input and executing the model simultaneously (in parallel) on those partitions. This paper demonstrates how the model’s communications between partitioned data can be blocked to simulate compartmentalization effects on the input data. Minimal effects (below 1%) on the output of the original (serial) version are demonstrated. Regarding portability, both models (serial and parallel) have been successfully executed on two different computing environments: an SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processor) with 14 processors and a 14-processor network cluster.
Ultrastructure of the physostomatous swimbladder of Rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri).

Rainbow trout swimbladder epithelium consists of non-ciliated and ciliated cells in the ratio of greater than 2∶1. Non-ciliated cells contain vesicles filled with a mucus-like material and similar material is found lining the surface of the swimbladder lumen. Morphological evidence for discharge of the vesicle contents was obtained. In addition, nonciliated cells contain osmiophilic lamellar bodies which resemble the cytosomes of lung alveolar cells of air-breathing vertebrates. The non-ciliated cells do not appear to be involved in a process of active gas secretion.
Viral-induced inflammation in interstitial lung diseases.

Viruses have long been implicated as either causative agents or propagators of inflammation in interstitial lung diseases. To date, culture of lung tissue specimens or bronchoalveolar lavage has failed to provide evidence of viable viral organisms. Indirect evidence comes from studies reporting serologic evidence of exposure to numerous viruses in individuals with a variety of interstitial lung diseases. A link between viral infection and interstitial lung diseases also has been suggested by some studies that amplified viral DNA from lung biopsy specimens. The lack of reproducibility of some of these studies suggests that some of these findings may have been false-positive results generated by the extreme sensitivity of the molecular methods used. Furthermore, amplification of viral genomic components from tissue specimens does not necessarily imply that the virus had a direct role in causing the lung injury. There is no definitive evidence that viruses participate in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, and Langerhans' cell histiocytosis. It is possible that some viruses may precipitate hypersensitivity pneumonitis in predisposed individuals, and occasional cases of uncommon interstitial lung diseases have been reported to occur during the course of well-documented viral infections, indicating that, at least in some situations, viruses may be the primary cause of interstitial lung disease. The lack of definitive evidence implicating viral infection as a cause of interstitial lung diseases does not rule out a potential role of viruses as a triggering event that may be important for the development of interstitial lung disease in predisposed individuals.
Semi-supervised gene shaving method for predicting low variation biological pathways from genome-wide data

The gene shaving algorithm and many other clustering algorithms identify gene clusters showing high variation across samples. However, gene expression in many signaling pathways show only modest and concordant changes that fail to be identified by these methods. The increasingly available signaling pathway prior knowledge provide new opportunity to solve this problem. We propose an innovative semi-supervised gene clustering algorithm, where the original gene shaving algorithm was extended and generalized so that prior knowledge of signaling pathways can be incorporated. Different from other methods, our method identifies gene clusters showing concerted and modest expression variation as well as strong expression correlation. Using available pathway gene sets as prior knowledge, whether complete or incomplete, our algorithm is capable of forming tightly regulated gene clusters showing modest variation across samples. We demonstrate the advantages of our algorithm over the original gene shaving algorithm using two microarray data sets. The stability of the gene clusters was accessed using a jackknife approach. Our algorithm represents one of the first clustering algorithms that is particularly designed to identify signaling pathways of low and concordant gene expression variation. The discriminating power is achieved by manufacturing a principal component enriched by signaling pathways.
Operating room turnaround time analysis: a case study

Operating rooms in the USA are typically the largest source of revenue for a hospital and correspondingly are also major cost centres. In efforts to cut overall operating costs, hospitals typically reduce budgets (and costs) instead of increasing productivity. Although many operating room 'studies' are conducted, few are documented in the archival literature. The case study presented proposes a standard definition of key parameters including turnaround time. It also presents a replicable methodology for analyses of operating room turnaround times. It can be seen from the case study that careful implementation is a key to successful change that will consequently reduce patient wait times. The results of the case study show that operating room turnaround times can be reduced by as much as a third which in turn can result in one extra surgery per shift.
A three-stage simulation based approach to inventory management with discrete demand

This paper proposes a three-stage simulation-based approach to determine target inventory level for a plastic moulding company. The classical formula of a periodic review inventory system requires continuous demand with a normal distribution. This is often not the case in real world companies. For this reason, a three-stage approach based on a SLAM II simulation model is proposed. Our model allows for a statistically based determination of target inventory level for both normal and non-normal distributed demand. This model includes inventory management, production planning and control, finished goods shipment, and functional area of manufacturing. Analysis of simulation results indicates an inventory reduction plan and the feasibility of a layout design to relocate equipment for the plant.
Evaporative assembly of graphene oxide for electric double-layer capacitor electrode application

Abstract Graphene reduced from graphene oxide (r-GO), a potentially low-cost way of obtaining a large quantity of graphene, faces many challenges and concerns, including the challenge to retain nanoscale properties after processing and the associated environmental, safety and health concerns. This study explored the method of processing graphene oxide (GO) into microparticles by spray drying as an intermediate step for fabricating electric double-layer capacitor electrodes. We prepared GO microparticles by spray drying an aqueous solution of GO and then thermally reduced GO to r-GO. The r-GO microparticles, with a size of ~ 1–2 μm, had a corrugated surface morphology with alternating grooves and ridges, a microstructure resembling that of crumpled paper. Electrochemically, r-GO compared well to nano-sized activated carbon which was used as a reference. Furthermore, r-GO retained most of its specific capacitance at high current densities, mostly due to the corrugated surface morphology of r-GO microparticles. The results suggest that spray drying, a scalable manufacturing method, is a simple and promising way of processing GO for EDLC electrode application. Future research should focus on improving the surface area for high specific capacitance by mitigating the stacking of GO during spray drying.
Smooth Irrotational Flows in the Large to the Euler–Poisson System in R3+1

A simple two-fluid model to describe the dynamics of a plasma is the Euler–Poisson system, where the compressible electron fluid interacts with its own electric field against a constant charged ion background. The plasma frequency produced by the electric field plays the role of „mass” term to the linearized system. Based on this „Klein–Gordon” effect, we construct global smooth irrotational flows with small velocity for the electron fluid.
Integrated Learning: Paradigm for a Unified Approach

All of reality derives from disturbances to equilibrated states (controlled systems). This realization allows one to develop a generic feedback/feedforward control model as a paradigm for all of the laws of physics. The model is formulated from seven fundamental axioms, upon which are based seven corresponding theorems— among them, the one that defines Potential Energy as the source for all of reality. The output—Kinetic Energy—of the model is experienced (feedback signals which are in the form of dimensions of perception: including time, length, mass, temperature and electric charge) by an observer (frame-of-reference) along a doubly-infinite continuum that is arbitrarily divided into seven scales of perception. These range from sub-nuclear to super-cosmic. Adding to scale-of-perception and frame-of-reference the concept of resolution—which includes considerations of structure, order, and relation—completes the tripartite set of elements that are the foundations of knowledge. A minimum-energy principle (controlling system) is introduced to close the loop in the control model. Operationally, this constraint is manifest as “control signals” that attenuate the randomness of transitions among quasi-equilibrated states, forcing such perceived transitions to proceed along optimized paths (“reference signals” in the control model).
Habitat Characteristics and Phenology of Larval Culicoides spp. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from a Coastal Georgia Salt Marsh

Larval habitats and adult emergence sites of the dominant ceratopogonid species were identified from a 14.6-ha site on Sea Island, a coastal Georgia barrier island, during a 14-mo period. Culicoides larvae (5,717) were identified from salt marsh soil samples and were compared on the basis of vegetation, elevation, pH, and soil minerals. Culicotdes furens (Poey) larvae were significant for vegetation and calcium ion content and were most abundant in areas of Spartina alternifiora ( 1.2 m) at elevations near the mean low-tide mark. Numbers of larval C. hollensis were significantly related to vegetation and presence of potassium ions. C. melleus (Coquillett) larvae were significant for soil pH and were found in areas of Distichlis spicata at elevations near the high-tide level. All species occurred in acidic soils (mean pH 5.6). Other ceratopogonids encountered were Dasyhelea atlantis Wirth and Williams, D. mutabilis (Coquillett) and Leptoconops linleyi Wirth and Atchley; L. ltnleyi was found for the first time in Georgia. The relative seasonal abundance of the instars was compared with adult abundance. Lower larval densities of C. hollensis and C. melleus during spring and fall coincided with periods of adult abundance. Higher larval densities during winter and summer correlated with the bimodal spring-fall seasonal abundances of adult C. hollensis and C. melleus .
Paleomagnetic poles for the Carboniferous Brush Creek limestone and Buffalo siltstone from southwestern Pennsylvania

Abstract We report partial results of a larger project being undertaken in the Appalachian Basin to determine the character of the geomagnetic field in the Carboniferous. The Brush Creek limestone, which contains abundant terrigenous matter, yields reliable results from three different sites, while the overlying Buffalo siltstone appears at one locality. AF demagnetization curves, IRM acquisition curves, thermomagnetic analysis, and optical reflection microscopy indicate that the remanence carriers are magnetites or titanomagnetites, which are probably primary in origin. Stepwise AF demagnetization reveals that the best demagnetizing fields are 15–20 and 20–30 mT for the limestone and siltstone units, respectively. A total of 93 specimens from 20 samples (oriented hand samples and field-drilled cores) yields a paleopole at S 36.1, W 55.7, with an alpha-95 of 4.2° and a k of 13.1 for the Brush Creek limestone. The Buffalo siltstone paleopole is located at S 27.4, W 57.0, with alpha-95 = 6.1° and k = 13.0 using 45 specimens from 31 oriented hand samples. These results agree fairly well with the mean reversed Carboniferous paleopole and Noltimier's coal pole, but are sufficiently different to raise the possibility of doing magnetostratigraphic correlations.
Commodity supply response to a producer‐financed advertising program: The california avocado industry

A simulation model of the California avocado industry is used to estimate the impact of a producerfunded generic advertising program on acreage and returns over time. Although returns from advertising can be quite favorable in the short-run, improved returns stimulate increased plantings and the resulting production will erode advertising returns over time. California avocado producers, after over 30 years of actively promoting their product, appear to have real returns per acre similar to those that would have occurred without advertising but advertising has become a built-in cost. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Fluid effect on hydraulic fracture propagation behavior: a comparison between water and supercritical CO2‐like fluid

The initiation of hydraulic fractures during fluid injection in deep formations can be either engineered or induced unintentionally. Upon injection of CO2, the pore fluids in deep formations can be changed from oil/saline water to CO2 or CO2 dominated. The type of fluid is important not only because the fluid must fracture the rock, but also because rocks saturated with different pore fluids behave differently. We investigated the influence of fluid properties on fracture propagation behavior by using the cohesive zone model in conjunction with a poroelasticity model. Simulation results indicate that the pore pressure fields are very different for different pore fluids even when the initial field conditions and injection schemes (rate and time) are kept the same. Low viscosity fluids with properties of supercritical CO2 will create relatively thin and much shorter fractures in comparison with fluids exhibiting properties of water under similar injection schemes. Two significant times are recognized during fracture propagation: the time at which a crack ceases opening and the later time point at which a crack ceases propagating. These times are very different for different fluids. Both fluid compressibility and viscosity influence fracture propagation, with viscosity being the more important property. Viscosity can greatly affect hydraulic conductivity and the leak-off coefficient. This analysis assumes the in-situ pore fluid and injected fluid are the same and the pore space is 100% saturated by that fluid at the beginning of the simulation.
How to Write a Painful Marketing Manuscript: Prose and Cons

Bad writing is frequent in manuscripts submitted to marketing and consumer behavior journals. This poor writing leads to pain (irritation, anger) in the review process, likely lengthens the process...
Impulsive solar X-ray bursts - Bremsstrahlung radiation from a beam of electrons in the solar chromosphere and the total energy of solar flares

Analysis of various aspects of impulsive X-ray bursts (IXB's) has lead to the consideration of a model where the X-rays are produced by bremsstrahlung radiation from a beam of electrons directed toward the photosphere. It was found that in general the X-ray spectrum from such a beam will fall off more rapidly than when the effect of the beaming of radiation is neglected. Furthermore, the spectral index of the resulting X-rays appears to increase by about unity for X-ray energies 100 kev, a fact which may explain the observed cutoff in the spectrum of the IXB's. It is also shown that in such a model there is sufficient energy in the form of nonthermal electrons to explain the total energy (approximately 10 to the 32nd power ergs) of a flare.
Quickest anomaly detection: A case of active hypothesis testing

The problem of quickest detection of an anomalous process among M processes is considered. At each time, a subset of the processes can be observed, and the observations follow two different distributions, depending on whether the process is normal or abnormal. The objective is a sequential search strategy that minimizes the expected detection time subject to an error probability constraint. This problem can be considered as a special case of active hypothesis testing first considered by Chernoff in 1959, where a randomized test was proposed and shown to be asymptotically optimal. For the special case considered in this paper, we show that a simple deterministic test achieves asymptotic optimality and offers better performance in the finite regime.
The role of crystallographic angle in characterizing and modeling apatite fission-track length data

Recent experimental work on apatite fission-track length measurement has documented a number of factors that can exert a considerable influence on determinations of mean length. The principal source of length variation is anisotropy of annealing and etching behavior with respect to crystallographic angle. Procedural and environmental factors that influence which angular populations are preferentially sampled during measurement lead to variations in mean length that exceed standard statistical predictions. This paper evaluates the possibility of using c-axis projection to remove angular effects, and thus make length data more reproducible and informative.
Organo-f-Element Thermochemistry. Thorium vs. Uranium and Ancillary Ligand Effects on Metal-Ligand Bond Disruption Enthalpies in Bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)actinide Bis(hydrocarbyls) and Bis(pentamethyIcyclopentadienyl)alkoxyactinide Hydrides and Hydrocarbyls

Thorium and uranium-ligand bond disruption enthalpies (D(M-R)) have been determined for a series of complexes of the type Cp'/sub 2/M(R)X, where M = Th, or U, Cp' = eta/sup 5/-(CH/sub 3/)/sub 5/C/sub 5/, R = alkyl, aryl, or hydride, and X = alkyl, chloride, or alkoxide. The thermodynamic data were obtained by anaerobic, batch-titration, solution calorimetry from the enthalpies of solution of the organic-f-element complexes in toluene and from the subsequent enthalpies of alcoholysis with tert-butyl alcohol or methanol.
Trial of labor after cesarean delivery: a pilot study of oral misoprostol for preinduction cervical ripening

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral misoprostol for preinduction cervical ripening among patients who previously have undergone cesarean delivery. Methods: Gravidas with at least 36 weeks of gestation with one documented low transverse delivery were eligible for study entry. Patients presenting with medical or obstetric indications for labor induction whose Bishop score was 6 or less received 50 μg of oral misoprostol. If adequate cervical ripening or active labor did not ensue, repeat 50-μg doses of oral misoprostol were administered every 4 hours. A maximum of six doses was permitted; intravenous oxytocin subsequently was administered. Results: All 10 enrolled patients entered into active labor. The mean time to the onset of contractions was 64.5 ± 20.7 minutes. The median number of oral misoprostol doses administered was two (range, two–five). Two patients opted for elective repeat cesarean after 12 and 17 hours of cervical ripening, respectively. Three patients underwent repeat cesarean delivery because of arrest of dilatation. Four patients were able to deliver vaginally. There was one uterine rupture, in a patient who had received five doses of oral misoprostol and 20 hours of intravenous oxytocin. Conclusions: Among patients with a history of cesarean delivery, oral misoprostol appears to be an effective agent for preinduction cervical ripening. Further study is required to determine the safety of this treatment regimen.
Source apportionment of the atmospheric aerosol in Lahore, Pakistan.

Samples of airborne particulate matter (PM2.5) were collected at a site in Lahore, Pakistan from November 2005 to January 2006. A total of 129 samples were collected using an Andersen Reference Ambient Air Sampler 2.5-400 sampler and analyzed for major ions, trace metals, and organic and elemental carbon concentrations. The data set was then analyzed by positive matrix factorization (PMF) to identify the possible sources of the atmospheric PM collected in this urban area. Six factors reproduced the PM2.5 sample compositions with meaningful physical interpretation of the resolved factors. The sources included secondary PM, diesel emissions, biomass burning, coal combustion, two-stroke vehicle exhaust, and industrial sources. Diesel and two-stroke vehicles contributed about 36%, biomass burning about 15%, and coal combustion sources around 13% of the PM2.5 mass. Nearly two thirds of the PM2.5 mass is carbonaceous material. Secondary particles contributed about 30% of PM2.5 mass. The conditional probability function (CPF) was then used to help identify likely locations of the sources present in this area. CPF analysis point to the east and northeast, which are directions of urban and industrial areas located across the border near Amritsar, India as the most probable source for high PM2.5 concentration from diesel and two-stroke vehicles exhaust in Lahore. Analysis of those days within three different ranges of PM2.5 concentration shows that most of the measured high PM2.5 mass concentrations were driven by diesel and two-stroke vehicle emissions including the associated primary sulfate. The use of the potential source contribution function (PSCF) to find the source locations of regionally transported particles is inapplicable in situations when high PM2.5 concentrations are dominated by local sources and local meteorology.
Proteolytic activation of recombinant pro-memapsin 2 (pro-beta-secretase) studied with new fluorogenic substrates.

Memapsin 2 (beta-secretase), a membrane-anchored aspartic protease, is involved in the cleavage of beta-amyloid precursor protein to form beta-amyloid peptide. The primary structure of memapsin 2 suggests that it is synthesized in vivo as pro-memapsin 2 and converted to memapsin 2 by an activating protease [Lin et al. (2000) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 97, 1456-1460]. To simulate this activation mechanism and to produce stable mature memapsin 2 for kinetic/specificity studies, we have investigated the activation of recombinant pro-memapsin 2 by several proteases with trypsin-like specificity. Clostripain, kallikrein, and trypsin increased the activity of pro-memapsin 2. Clostripain activation was accompanied by the cleavage of the pro region to form mainly two activation products, Leu(30p)- and Gly(45p)-memapsin 2. Another activation product, Leu(28p)-memapsin 2, was also purified. Kinetics of the activated memapsin 2 were compared with pro-memapsin 2 using two new fluorogenic substrates, Arg-Glu(5-[(2-aminoethyl)amino]naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (EDANS))-Glu-Val-Asn-Leu-Asp-Ala-Glu-Phe-Lys(4-(4-dimethylaminophe nyl azo)benzoic acid (DABCYL))-Arg and (7-methoxycoumarin-4-yl)acetyl (MCA))-Ser-Glu-Val-Asn-Leu-Asp-Ala-Glu-Phe-Lys(2,4-dinitrophenyl (DNP)). These results establish that the activity of pro-memapsin 2 stems from a part-time and reversible uncovering of its active site by its pro region. Proteolytic removal of part of the pro-peptide at Leu(28p) or Gly(45p), which diminishes the affinity of the shortened pro-peptide to the active site, results in activated memapsin 2. These results also suggest that Glu(33p)-memapsin 2 observed in the cells expressing this enzyme [Vassar et al. (1999) Science 286, 735-741; Yan et al. (1999) Nature 402, 533-537] is an active intermediate of in vivo activation, or that the peptide Glu(33p)-Arg(44p) may serve a regulatory role.
WHAT IS THE LOWEST POSITION OF THE CENTER OF MASS OF A SODA CAN

ABSTRACT This article describes an exploration project for calculus students. The position of the center of mass of a soda can changes as the liquid in it is consumed. Students can be directed to find the lowest position of the center of mass, and to examine how this is affected by changes in the material and dimensions of the can. * The contents of this paper were presented as a contributed paper of the same title in an MAA session on “Favorite nontraditional calculus assignments or projects” at the Joint Meetings of the AMS-MAA in January, 1994, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Annulling Traps & Fixed Traps in Chaos Cryptography

In recent years, the sophistication of attackers in cryptographic algorithms has been alarmingly increased in all media, wireled, optical and wireless. As a result, stronger cryptographic algorithms have been developed to assure data integrity and confidentiality, among them those that are based on chaotic functions. Chaotic functions in cryptography are natural random number generators with non repetitive behavior and yet reproducible if the chaotic function and the initial conditions are known; random number generators are key functions in almost all secure communication systems. However, we have found that under certain circumstances, the chaotic behavior of a function may be obliterated. In this paper we discuss two trap conditions in chaotic functions that are encountered under specific initial conditions; one collapses the chaotic process and we call it chaos annulling trap (CAT), and the other produces the same output and we call it chaos fixed trap (CFT). We also propose two possible methods that may help to identify functions and initial conditions that cause one of these two traps.
An integrated MRP and JIT framework

A new production planning and scheduling framework is developed to address the multi-stage, production-inventory system problem by integrating Material Requirements Planning (MRP) and Just-in-Time (JIT) production. The objective is to find detailed shop-floor schedules, which specify the quantity of an operation to be processed, at what time, and by which machine, so as to minimize total production cost. The integrated system gets rid of the major problems existing in MRP and JIT. First of all, the proposed integrated system incorporates both the scheduling and capacity planning aspects, simultaneously. Secondly, the integrated system eliminates the need to specify planned lead time. Thirdly, the integrated system, unlike MRP, provides detailed shop-floor schedules. Lastly, the integrated system does not have to operate in the level schedule case as in JIT, so it can handle a very general production environment.
Contemporary Developments in Sociological Theory: Current Projects and Conditions of Possibility

This paper characterizes the field of sociological theory since the mid-1980s as the site of eight active and diverse intellectual projects. These projects are (I) to construct general analytical tools for use in empirical social research, (II) to synthesize multiple theoretical approaches; (III) to refine existing theoretical research programs; (IV) to stimulate dialogue among different theoretical perspectives; (V) to enlarge and reconstruct current theoretical approaches conceptually, methodologically, socially, and politically; (VI) to analyze a range of past theoretical ideas; (VII) to offer a diagnosis of contemporary social conditions; and (VIII) to dissolve the enterprise of sociological theory. We discuss the contours of these projects and identify some of the major ideas and theorists associated with each. We conclude with a brief discussion of the organizational structure of the contemporary theory field, observing that most current theoretical projects are formulated with insufficient attentio...
Synthesis and characterization of itaconic anhydride and stearyl methacrylate copolymers

The free-radical copolymerization and the properties of comb-like copolymers derived from renewable resources, itaconic anhydride (ITA) and stearyl methacrylate (SM), are described. The ITA–SM copolymers were nearly random with a slight alternating tendency. The copolymers exhibited a nanophase-separated morphology, with the stearate side-chains forming a bilayer, semi-crystalline structure. The melting point (Tm) of the side-chains and the crystallinity decreased with increasing ITA concentration. The crystalline side-chains suppressed molecular motion of the main chain, so that a glass transition temperature (Tg) was not resolved unless the ITA concentration was sufficiently high so that Tg > Tm. The softening point and modulus of the copolymers increased with the increasing ITA concentration, but the thermal stability decreased.
A versatile multinuclear probe designed for in vivo NMR spectroscopy: applications to subcutaneous human tumors in mice.

We describe a versatile NMR probe that is designed for a variety of in vivo spectroscopic studies on small animals in vertical wide-bore magnets. Replaceable brackets enable the coils to be exchanged readily in order to observe 1H, 13C, 31P, and other nuclei, and to carry out double-resonance experiments. Two solenoidal coil designs are described and applied to observe 31P, 13C, and 1H natural abundance spectra of subcutaneously implanted human tumors in mice. For 31P and 31C observation with 1H decoupling, a concentric coil arrangement was employed with a broadband inner coil and the outer coil tuned to 1H at 400 MHz. A single coil tuned to 400 MHz was used to observe 1H resonances. A thin copper foil design was found to be superior with respect to S/N and resolution to previously described Faraday shields used to shield the NMR signals originating from nontumor tissues. 31P spectra of in vivo tumor tissue were compared to spectra of in vitro perfused tumor cells of the same origin. Tumor tissue in vivo exhibited much higher levels of inorganic phosphate and phosphocreatine. Signals from [13C2]glucose and its major metabolite, [13C2]lactate, were readily observed and monitored in an unobstructed region of the 13C spectra of tumor tissue in vivo following the injection of [13C2]glucose in adjacent tissues. A 1H spectrum of tumor tissue, characterized by five broad resonances, was observed with excellent water suppression. © 1988 Academic Press, Inc.
Effect of traumatic shock and exhaustion on infection with tetanus spores.

In view of the reported manifestation of latent tetanus infections in humans exposed to stress or shock, this subject was investigated experimentall by using mice. Latent tetanus infection was roduced by the injection of washed tetanus spores under aseptic conditions. Standard shock was produced by the Noble‐Collip method; standard degree of exhaustion was produced by employing the swim technique and by exposing the mice to low temperawes. Manifestation of the disease was not evidenced in any of these instances. On the other hand, active tetanus was induced by the subsequent injection of calcium chloride solutions. The relationship between shock, stress, and tetanus infection is discussed.
Sexting Cyberchildren: Gender, Sexuality, and Childhood in Social Media and Law

Technological advancements always precipitate social anxiety and new modes of legal regulation. The ubiquity of cellular phones and Internet access has brought about myriad social and political changes including significant increases in the ability to express and act on sexual interests. Sexting, i.e., the production and dissemination of sexually explicit images by children and young adults, has become a vexing issue for parents and school administrators, legislatures and courts. Three legal cases from the United States illustrate the de-constitutive possibilities of such judicial discourse. These cases illuminate the paradoxes and forms of forgetting that are required to maintain a particular conception of childhood. This analysis shows how stereotypes about gender, sexual agency, and sexual orientation are marshaled in the service of beliefs about children’s sexual innocence.
Using utility and microutility for information dissemination in Vehicle Ad Hoc Networks

We describe an approach to propagating streams of information in Vehicle Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs) based on sources of information anticipating where their information will be useful. In this paper we describe how sources can model the potential usefulness of their information using utility functions. These utility functions are converted to more compact ldquomicroutilitiesrdquo that travel with the individual data packets. The microutilities allow the information forwarding protocols to operate distributedly and independently on individual data packets, while achieving good overall coordination and delivery for entire data streams. We describe the algorithms used to convert utility functions to microutilities. Our algorithms insure that both proactive planning and reactive dropping of information in-transit are done consistent with the needs of the different applications. In this way data streams from both high priority (safety) and lower priority (traffic and commercial) applications can be propagated in the same network. We show experimental results that demonstrate the advantage of such a utility.microutility approach in serving the needs of diverse intelligent transportation system applications.
Viewpoint-invariant and viewpoint-dependent object recognition in dissociable neural subsystems

Participants viewed objects in the central visual field and then named either same or different depth-orientation views of these objects presented briefly in the left or the right visual field. The different-orientation views contained either the same or a different set of parts and relations. Viewpoint-dependent priming was observed when test views were presented directly to the right hemisphere (RH), but not when test views were presented directly to the left hemisphere (LH). Moreover, this pattern of results did not depend on whether the same or a different set of parts and relations could be recovered from the different-orientation views. Results support the theory that a specific subsystem operates more effectively than an abstract subsystem in the RH and stores objects in a manner that produces viewpoint-dependent effects, whereas an abstract subsystem operates more effectively than a specific subsystem in the LH and does not store objects in a viewpoint-dependent manner.
Bio-hybrid materials for immunoassay-based sensing of cortisol

Sol–gel encapsulation has been used as the basis for detecting cortisol by an immunoassay approach. Previous research showed that antibodies immobilized in the pores of a sol–gel derived silica were able to bind cortisol and be used as an immunosensor. However, this approach was not effective when measuring cortisol levels in human serum because of interference from other fluorescence sources. The present paper describes a protocol which overcomes these limitations and enables sol–gel immunoassays to effectively measure cortisol in human serum over the physiological range of cortisol blood concentrations in an adult (2–28 μg/dL). The method involves a standard additions approach in which various amounts of cortisol are added to the serum. The cortisol concentration values obtained with our sol–gel immunoassay were typically within 10% of the values obtained by traditional analytical methods. The protocol presented here represents a significant contribution to sol–gel sensing and immunoassays in particular, because of the ability to detect an analyte in human serum. In addition, this work reports the first comparison between results from a sol–gel immunosensor and an alternative immuno-binding method for analyte detection.
GANGLION-a fast field-programmable gate array implementation of a connectionist classifier

71 The architecture, implementation, and application of GANGLION, a totally digital connectionist classifier, are described. This fully interconnected feedforward net with one hidden layer is capable of generating 4.48 billion interconnection/s. The architecture is realized on a single 9U VME card and is built entirely from off-the-shelf components. The very high throughput of 20 million decision/s is achieved by making efficient use of field-programmable gate arrays. Specifically, the authors take advantage of the reprogrammability of the devices to automatically generate new custom hardware for each application of the classifier. >
Cloning and infection response of tumour-necrosis factor alpha in large yellow croaker Pseudosciaena crocea (Richardson)

In this article, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and real-time PCR were used to clone the tumour-necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) gene of the large yellow croaker Pseudosciaena crocea (Richardson) and to analyse its response to bacterial infection. The full-length cDNA of TNF-α contained a 5′-untranslated region (5′-UTR) of 68 bp, followed by an open reading frame (ORF) of 759 bp and a 3′-UTR of 512 bp. The ORF was capable of encoding 252 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 28 kDa. In the 3′-UTR, there were two putative endotoxin-responsive motifs and five mRNA instability motifs. The deduced peptide had a transmembrane domain and a TNF-α family signature. Multiple sequence alignments indicated that P. crocea TNF-α shares relatively high similarity with both teleost and mammalian TNF-α. Phylogenetic analysis showed that teleost TNF-α was located independently in a different branch compared with mammalian TNF-α. Real-time PCR analysis demonstrated that the expression of TNF-α in the head kidney of the P. crocea injected with Vibrio parahaemolyticus was most significantly higher than that of the control group at 2 and 4 days. In blood, at 2 days post-injection, TNF-α expression was significantly higher than that of the control group, while at 4 days post-injection, it was most significantly higher than that of the control group.
Comparing SIFT descriptors and gabor texture features for classification of remote sensed imagery

A richer set of land-cover classes are observable in satellite imagery than ever before due to the increased sub-meter resolution. Individual objects, such as cars and houses, are now recognizable. This work considers a new category of image descriptors based on local measures of saliency for labelling land-cover classes characterized by identifiable objects. These descriptors have been successfully applied to object recognition in standard (non-remote sensed) imagery. We show they perform comparably to state-of-the-art texture descriptors for classifying complex land-cover classes in high- resolution satellite imagery while being approximately an order of magnitude faster to compute. This speedup makes them attractive for realtime applications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time this new category of descriptors has been applied to the classification of remote sensed imagery.
The effect of a quaternary ammonium anion exchange resin on plasma and egg yolk cholesterol in the laying hen.

Abstract IT HAS been well established that diet modifications can vary plasma cholesterol levels in the chicken (Svacha et al., 1958; Fisher et al., 1959; Leveille and Sauberlich, 1961; Adamson et al., 1961; Clegg et al., 1960). However, attempts to alter egg yolk cholesterol by dietary means have produced a variety of results. Kurnick et al. (1958) reported that oral administration of cholesterol to Single Comb White Leghorn pullets had no appreciable effect on egg yolk cholesterol. Combs and Helbacka (1960) found that supplementation of the laying hen’s diet with corn oil increased the amount of cholesterol per gram of yolk. Miller and Denton (1962) did not alter the serum or egg yolk cholesterol of Single Comb White Leghorn hens or Barred Plymouth Rock hens by feeding a diet containing 5 percent dried egg yolk. Burgess et al. (1962) found that feeding triparanol (MER-29) to laying hen caused a reduction in…
Supporting Reference And Dirty Bits In SPUR's Virtual Address Cache

Virtual address caches can provide faster access times than physical address caches, because translation is only required on cache misses. However, because we don't check the transla- tion information on each cache access, maintaining reference and dirty bits is more difficult. In this paper we examine the trade-offs in supporting reference and dirty bits in a virtual address cache. We use measurements from a uniprocessor SPUR prototype to evaluate different alternatives. The prototype's built-in performance counters make it easy to determine the frequency of important events and to calculate performance metrics. Our results indicate that dirty bits can be efficiently emulated with protection, and thus require no special hardware support. Although this can lead to excess faults when previously cached blocks are written, these account for only 19% of the total faults, on average. For reference bits, a miss bit approximation, which checks the references bits only on cache misses, leads to more page faults at smaller memory sizes. However, the additional overhead required to maintain true reference bits far exceeds the benefits of a lower fault rate.
Effects of Prostaglandin A1 on the Systemic and Coronary Circulations in the Conscious Dog

The effects of intravenous prostaglandin A1 (PGA1) on systemic and coronary hemodynamics were studied in 13 intact, conscious dogs after recovery from operation for implantation of Doppler ultrasonic flow probes on the ascending aorta and left circumflex coronary artery. Graded doses of PGA1 (0.01 to 1.0 µg/kg) caused arterial pressure and total systemic resistance to decrease progressively and heart rate and cardiac output to increase progressively. At the maximum dose administered (1.0 µg/kg), arterial pressure and systemic resistance decreased by averages of 30% and 51% below control, respectively, and heart rate and cardiac output rose 64% and 47%, respectively. After beta-receptor blockade with propranolol, PGA1 still caused a similar increase in cardiac output. In spite of arterial hypotension, PGA1 produced a progressive increase in coronary flow, with a peak increase of 74% above control with 1.0 µg/kg and a corresponding graded decrease in coronary resistance, with a decrease of 61% below control...
Granular Segregation in Collisional Shearing Flows

This paper considers segregation in collisional granular shearing flows from the experimental, computational, and theoretical standpoints. We focus on a phenomenon of segregation where the separation of grains by size or mass is driven by spatial gradients in the fluctuation energy of the grains.
Paradigm of polyendocrine therapy in endocrine responsive breast cancer: the role of fulvestrant

Endocrine therapy is the cornerstone of any treatment plan for endocrine-responsive breast cancer in both the adjuvant and metastatic settings (1). In the metastatic setting in post-menopausal patients aromatase inhibitors (AIs; anastrozole, exemestane, letrozole) are standard therapies, shown to demonstrate improved progression-free survival (PFS) and a favorable adverse effect (AE) profile compared to other endocrine agents such as tamoxifen (2,3).
Alloreactive Lymphocyte Propagation from Endomyocardial Biopsies from Heart Transplant Patients on Different Prophylactic Immunosuppressive Treatment Protocols

Cyclosporin is currently the preferred immunosuppressive drug to treat heart transplant recipients. During the early posttransplant period, an efficient immunosuppressive therapy is essential to reduce allograft rejection and thereby to increase transplant survival. However, infection remains a major complication of immunosuppression. Various prophylactic treatment protocols have been investigated to optimize heart transplant survival. They are based on tapered doses of cyclosporin in combination with prednisone (protocol A) supplemented with azathioprine (protocol B). Two protocols include additional antilymphocyte antibodies, namely rabbit antithymocyte globulin (RATG) (1.5 mg/kg/day) (protocol C) or murine anti-T-lymphocyte monoclonal antibody (OKT3; 5 mg/day) (protocol D).
The Future of Deep Brain Stimulation

The success of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in movement disorders has prompted evaluation of its efficacy in the treatment of a number of other disease processes. To truly assess the efficacy of DBS in these emerging applications, an understanding of the neurophysiology of DBS is mandated. Device optimization is also necessary to both adequately treat these diseases and to allow younger patients who may have the devices for decades to function relatively normally. Ultimately, these systems may be augmented with other available technologies to further growth in the fields of neuroprosthesis, cellular, and gene therapy. This chapter reviews the current uses of DBS, the understanding of underlying neurophysiology, and of devices. This discussion is followed by emerging applications, progress in device optimization, and the future of functional neurosurgery.
Flame speed enhancement of solid nitrocellulose monopropellant coupled with graphite at microscales

The flame-speed-enhancement phenomenon of a solid monopropellant (nitrocellulose) using a highly conductive thermal base (graphite sheet) was demonstrated and studied both experimentally and theoretically. A propellant layer ranging from 20 μm to 170 μm was deposited on the top of a 20-μm thick graphite sheet. Self-propagating oscillatory combustion waves were observed, with average flame speed enhancements up to 14 times the bulk value. The ratio of the fuel-to-graphite layer thickness affects not only the average reaction front velocities but also the period and the amplitude of the combustion wave oscillations. To better understand the flame-speed enhancement and the oscillatory nature of the combustion waves, the coupled nitrocellulose-graphite system was modeled using one-dimensional energy conservation equations along with simple one-step chemistry. The period and the amplitude of the oscillatory combustion waves were predicted as a function of the ratio of the fuel-to-graphite thickness (R), the ratio of the graphite-to-fuel thermal diffusivity (α0), and the non-dimensional inverse adiabatic temperature rise (β). The predicted flame speeds and the characteristics of the oscillations agree well with the experimental data. The new concept of using a highly conductive thermal base such as carbon-based nano- and microstructures to enhance flame propagation speed or burning rate of propellants and fuels could lead to improved performance of solid and liquid rocket motors, as well as of the alternative energy conversion microelectromechanical devices.