cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Accelerating Ab Initio Simulation via Nested Monte Carlo and Machine Learned Reference Potentials.

As a corollary of the rapid advances in computing, ab initio simulation is playing an increasingly important role in modeling materials at the atomic scale. Two strategies are possible, ab initio Monte Carlo (AIMC) and molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulation. The former benefits from exact sampling from the correct thermodynamic distribution, while the latter is typically more efficient with its collective all-atom coordinate updates. Here, using a relatively simple test model comprised of helium and argon, we show that AIMC can be brought up to, and even above, the performance levels of AIMD via a hybrid nested sampling/machine learning (ML) strategy. Here, ML provides an accurate classical reference potential (up to three-body explicit interactions) that can pilot long collective Monte Carlo moves that are accepted or rejected in toto a la nested Monte Carlo (NMC); this is in contrast to the single move nature of a naive implementation. Our proposed method only requires a small up front expense from evaluating the ab initio energies and forces of [Formula: see text](100) random configurations for training. Importantly, our method does not totally rely on the trained, assuredly imperfect, interaction. We show that high performance and exact sampling at the desired level of theory can be realized even when the trained interaction has appreciable differences from the ab initio potential. Remarkably, at the highest levels of performance realized via our approach, a pair of statistically uncorrelated atomic configurations can be generated with [Formula: see text](1) ab initio calculations.
Enhancing the bioavailability of nutrients by nanodelivery systems

Abstract Traditional delivery systems fail to provide good bioavailability of nutrients and drugs. Encapsulation of these bioactive compounds in nanodelivery systems is more effective in enhancing their bioavailability since they provide targeted and timely delivery, protection against the harsh environment of the stomach, increased solubility, and more controlled release profiles in the intestines. In this chapter, recent studies on fabrication of biobased nanodelivery systems to enhance the bioavailability of nutrients and nutraceuticals are summarized. To understand the different nanoparticulation methods and their thermodynamic mechanisms, the studies are presented in four categories: nanoprecipitation, complex coacervation, layer-by-layer assembly for spherical and tubular nanoparticles, and micro/nanoemulsification. The effects of fabrication parameters on the morphology, stability, encapsulation efficiency, and the bioavailability of nanoparticles are discussed in detail to provide a comprehensive understanding of nanodelivery systems to the readers.
Response to "Gender and Minority Considerations in Pharmacy School Student Wellbeing".

We are grateful to Dr. Walker-Randle, a recent pharmacy graduate, and her co-author, Dr. McCarthy, for advancing the discussion about student pharmacist wellbeing. We also appreciate Dr. Walker-Randle sharing her experiences as a wife, mother, and underrepresented student pharmacist, and the
The Post-Chicago Antitrust Revolution: A Retrospective

A symposium examining the contributions of the post-Chicago School provides an appropriate opportunity to offer some thoughts on both the past and the future of antitrust. This afterword reviews the excellent papers with an eye toward appreciating the contributions and limitations of both the Chicago School, in terms of promoting the consumer welfare standard and embracing price theory as the preferred mode of economic analysis, and the post-Chicago School, with its emphasis on game theory and firm-level strategic conduct. It then explores two emerging trends, specifically neo-Brandeisian advocacy for abandoning consumer welfare as the sole goal of antitrust and the increasing emphasis on empirical analyses.
And (Always?) Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide

Medical schools that value the moral integrity of their students and that wish to graduate ethical professionals ought to provide a clear process for conscientious objection during clinical rotations. During clerkship year, medical students are confronted with ethical dilemmas that are complicated by the most profound questions of human existence, including the definition of personhood, the terms that govern creation of a new life, the meaning of suffering, and the finality of death. In these situations, students may draw upon personal experience, prior analysis, cultural beliefs, or religious frameworks in order to decide the most ethical action. These various influences may cause the student to reach a moral conclusion that is at odds with the wish of the patient or the consensus of the medical team. As a current clerkship student, I have personally found myself in several such situations. Conscientious objection in medicine is the concept that allows providers to refrain from participating in practices that, despite careful study and thoughtful reflection, cannot be reconciled with their moral judgement. This protection also applies – in theory – to medical students, who often find themselves in these same clinical situations. However, students are not well positioned to practice conscientious objection because: medical schools do not always make students aware of this option, students may be afraid to challenge more senior members of the team, and clerkship success and residency applications rely heavily on subjective evaluations. Without institutional support, students may repress strong moral intuitions for these and other reasons. In these instances, medical schools not only miss an opportunity to encourage students to stand up for what they believe to be right, but in fact teach students to ignore the guidance of their conscience in ethically fraught situations. Schools that wish to encourage the development of ethical professionals should provide a clear and transparent protocol for conscientious objection that empowers students to act in a way consistent with their beliefs, encourages them to think critically about ethical dilemmas, and shows them how to navigate ethical disagreements with compassion and professionalism Figure 1.
Dilution and amplification effects in Lyme disease: Modeling the effects of reservoir-incompetent hosts on Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto transmission

The literature on Lyme disease includes a lively debate about the paradoxical role of changing deer populations. A decrease in the number of deer will both (1) reduce the incidence of Lyme disease by decreasing the host populations for ticks and therefore tick populations, and (2) enhance the incidence of Lyme disease by offering fewer reservoir-incompetent hosts for ticks, forcing the vector to choose reservoir-competent, and therefore possibly diseased, hosts to feed on. A review of field studies exploring the net impact of changing deer populations shows mixed results. In this manuscript, we investigate the hypothesis that the balance of these two responses to changing deer populations depends on the relative population sizes of reservoir-competent vs. reservoir-incompetent hosts and the presence of host preference in larval and adult stages. A temperature driven seasonal model of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (cause of Lyme disease) transmission among three host types (reservoir-competent infected and uninfected hosts, and reservoir-incompetent hosts) is constructed as a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The model, which produces biologically reasonable results for both the tick vector Ixodes scapularis Say 1921 and the hosts, is used to investigate the effects of reservoir-incompetent host removal on both tick populations and disease prevalence for various relative population sizes of reservoir-competent hosts vs. reservoir-incompetent hosts. In summary, the simulation results show that the model with host preference appears to be more accurate than the one with no host preference. Given these results, we found that removal of adult I. scapularis(Say) hosts is likely to reduce questing nymph populations. At very low levels questing adult abundance may rise with lack of adult hosts. There is a dilution effect at low reservoir-competent host populations and there is an amplification effect at high reservoir-competent host populations.
IR absorption spectra for isolated PFAS molecules using density functional theory

Calculations are presented of vibrational absorption spectra for isolated PFAS molecules using density function theory (DFT). These contaminants are among widely spread carcinogens in the environment of industrial countries. DFT calculated absorption spectra of isolated molecules represent quantitative estimates that can be correlated with additional information obtained from laboratory measurements. The DFT software GAUSSIAN was used for calculating the infrared (IR) spectra presented here. DFT calculated spectra can be used to construct templates, which are for spectral-feature comparison, and thus detection of spectral-signature features associated with target materials.
Immunity and Inflammation in Transition Cows

Inflammation is an ancient, broadly-conserved set of non-specific responses to infection that contribute to the immune system’s ability to clear invading pathogens. However, inflammation is a double-edged sword, and there is growing recognition of the harmful effects of excessive or chronic inflammation for the animal, especially with respect to its metabolic function. Activation of inflammatory pathways is very common among periparturient dairy cows, likely driven by a combination of pathogen challenges, calving-associated tissue damage, endotoxin exposure, and lipid-mediated oxidative stress. Recent evidence suggests that the resulting inflammation may promote metabolic disorders through decreases in feed intake and maladaptive changes in liver metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids. Treatments that successfully prevent the causes of inflammation and/or directly inhibit inflammatory signaling cascades hold promise for improving the health and productivity of dairy cows in early lactation.
Modem Theory: An Introduction to Telecommunications

At the heart of any modern communication system is the modem, connecting the data source to the communication channel. This first course in the mathematical theory of modem design introduces the theory of digital modulation and coding that underpins the design of digital telecommunications systems. A detailed treatment of core subjects is provided, including baseband and passband modulation and demodulation, equalization, and sequence estimation. The modulation waveforms for communication channels and digital recording channels are treated in a common setting and with unified terminology. A variety of more advanced topics is also covered, such as trellis codes, turbo codes, the Viterbi algorithm, block codes, maximum likelihood and maximum posterior probability, iterative demodulation, and jamming. Numerous end-of-chapter exercises are also included to test the reader's understanding throughout. This insightful book is ideal for senior undergraduate students studying digital communications and is also a useful reference for practising engineers.
Pair distribution functions and attenuation rates for stickly particles in dense media

In this paper we consider scattering from systems of densely distributed, non-tenuous spheres that exhibit surface adhesion. The Percus-Yevick sticky particle pair function is used to describe the clustering nature of the particles and to include this in low frequency solutions of the quasi-crystalline approximation (QCA) and the quasi-crystalline approximation with coherent potential (QCA-CP). Results from these calculations show an increase in scattering from the adhesive particles which is caused by their larger cluster size. The scattering behavior cannot be explained by distributions of non-sticky particles. Experimental data from optical attenuation by colloidal silica particles is shown to be in good agreement with QCA calculations of sticky particles.
Adaptive control of air-to-air missile using multilayer NN feedforward and RISE feedback terms

In this work, we present the application of a neural network (NN) based adaptive control scheme for the purpose of trajectory tracking of an air-to-air missile. The nonlinear dynamic model of such missiles contain numerous aerodynamic coefficients. It is well known that uncertainty in these coefficients can cause degradation of control performance. In this work, we explore the feasibility of applying a nonlinear adaptive controller employing NN as feedforward, augmented with a continuous robust integral of the signum of the error (RISE) term connected as feedback in order to improve the performance of the degraded system. Typically NN based adaptive controller guarantees only uniformly ultimately bounded stability while the suggested control system assures semi-global asymptotic tracking of the missile. In order to accomplish the adaptive behavior, the neural network is passed through learning stage to update the weight matrices and gains by using the adaptation rules that are derived from the Lyapunov stability techniques. Results of the simulations of the proposed algorithm on six degree of freedom nonlinear missile validates feasibility of the control law. The result of the proposed controller are compared with results obtained using the backstepping technique in this paper.
Ventilatory Control at High Altitude

The sections in this article are: 1 Acute Ventilatory Response to High Altitude 2 Subacute Ventilatory Response to High Altitude (Acclimatization) 3 Altitude Acclimatization 3.1 Role of Peripheral Chemoreceptors 3.2 Role of Hypocapnia and Hyperventilation 3.3 Role of Acid-Base Adjustments 3.4 Role of Other Factors 4 Ventilatory Control During Long-Term High-Altitude Exposure 4.1 Hypoxic Desensitization 4.2 Hypoxic Ventilatory Depression 5 Sleep at High Altitude 6 Ventilatory Control in Relation to Syndromes of High Altitude 6.1 Acute Mountain Sickness 6.2 High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema 6.3 Chronic Mountain Sickness 7 Conclusion
Differential effects of glutamate receptor antagonists on dorsal horn neurons responding to colorectal distension in a neonatal colon irritation rat model

AIM: To investigate and compare the effects of spinal D-(-)-2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid (AP-7) and 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione disodium (CNQX), two glutamate receptor antagonists, on the responses of dorsal horn neurons to colorectal distension (CRD) in adult rats exposed to neonatal colon irritation (CI). METHODS: Hypersensitive SD rats were generated by CI during postnatal days 8, 10 and 12. Experiments on adult rats were performed using extracellular single-unit recording. The effects of spinal application of AP-7 (0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1 mmoL) were tested on the CRD-evoked neuronal responses in 16 controls and 17 CI rats. The effects of CNQX (0.2, 2, 5, 10 μmoL) were also tested on the CRD-evoked responses of 17 controls and 18 CI neurons. RESULTS: (1) The average responses of lumbosacral neurons to all intensities of CRD in CI rats were significantly higher than those in control rats; (2) In control rats, AP-7（0.01 mmoL）had no significant effect on the neuronal response to all intensities of CRD (20, 40, 60, 80 mmHg); while AP-7 (0.1 mmoL) inhibited the neuronal response to 80-mmHg CRD. By contrast, in CI rats, AP-7 (0.01-1 mmoL) attenuated the CRD-evoked neuronal responses to all distention pressures in a dose-dependent manner; (3) In control rats, CNQX (2 μmoL) had no significantly effect on the neuronal response to all intensities of CRD; however, CNQX (5 μmoL) significantly attenuated the responses to CRD in the 40-80 mmHg range. By contrast, CNQX (2-10 μmoL) significantly decreased the neuronal responses in CI rats to non-noxious and noxious CRD in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that spinal N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and non-NMDA receptors may contribute to the processing of central sensitivity in a neonatal CI rat model, but they may play different roles in it.
Characterization of the distal alpha-fetoprotein enhancer, a strong, long distance, liver-specific activator.

Abstract High level expression of the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) gene is controlled by three upstream enhancers which function even in hepatic cell lines that repress the AFP gene promoter. The most distal ("Complex 3," at -6 kilobases) is the strongest in HepG2 cells. We mapped the main activity of Complex 3 to a 170-base pair (BP) region from -6069 to -5900; progressive deletion of the 5'- and 3'-ends identified an 84-bp segment which accounted for 90% of enhancer activity. Expression studies, which combined the deleted Complex 3 with an AFP or tk promoter chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene fusion, resolved five regions in the enhancer (Ia, Ib, II, III, and IV). Deletion of Regions Ia or II strongly reduced stimulation of the AFP promoter, while Regions Ia and Ib were essential for stimulation of the tk promoter. Footprinting indicated multiple binding sites in regions Ia, Ib, and II. Gel shift and oligonucleotide competition demonstrated that Regions Ia and II had high affinity HNF3- and C/EBP-binding sites, respectively, while additional unidentified factors bound throughout Regions I-III. Complex 3 is a powerful liver-specific transcriptional regulator and an important model of long distance gene activation.
Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles, Energy Policy, and the Ethics of Expertise

Relatively few thinkers have attempted to develop a systematic 'ethics of expertise' (EOE) that can guide scientists and other technical experts in providing information to the public. This paper argues that the prima facie duty to disseminate information in a manner that does not damage the self-determination of decision makers could fruitfully serve as one of the core principles of an EOE. Moreover, this duty can be fleshed out in promising ways by drawing on the concept of informed consent, which guides medical clinicians in preserving the self-determination of their patients. The paper applies the resulting ethical framework to recent policy discussions about hydrogen fuel-cell (HFC) vehicles, both because they have received a good deal of research funding and because their merits have been hotly debated. It concludes that technical experts providing information about HFC vehicles should be especially cognizant of three issues: (1) important alternatives to hydrogen technology that need to be addressed, (2) major false beliefs that should be prevented or corrected, and (3) significant framing effects that could influence the recipients of information.
Rethinking Rationality: From Bleak Implications to Darwinian Modules

There is a venerable philosophical tradition that views human beings as intrinsically rational, though even the most ardent defender of this view would admit that under certain circumstances people’s decisions and thought processes can be very irrational indeed. When people are extremely tired, or drunk, or in the grip of rage, they sometimes reason and act in ways that no account of rationality would condone. About thirty years ago, Amos Tversky, Daniel Kahneman and a number of other psychologists began reporting findings suggesting much deeper problems with the traditional idea that human beings are intrinsically rational animals. What these studies demonstrated is that even under quite ordinary circumstances where fatigue, drugs and strong emotions are not factors, people reason and make judgments in ways that systematically violate familiar canons of rationality on a wide array of problems. Those first surprising studies sparked the growth of a major research tradition whose impact has been felt in economics, political theory, medicine and other areas far removed from cognitive science. In Section 2, we will sketch a few of the better known experimental findings in this area. We’ve chosen these particular findings because they will play a role at a later stage of the paper. For readers who would like a deeper and more systematic account of the fascinating and disquieting research on reasoning and judgment, there are now several excellent texts and anthologies available. (Nisbett and Ross 1980, Kahneman, Slovic and Tversky 1982, Baron 1988, Piatelli-Palmarini 1994, Dawes 1988, Sutherland 1994).
A temperature-regulated, retrotransposon-like element from Candida albicans.

A repetitive element was isolated from the genome of Candida albicans. This repetitive element, which we designated alpha, was localized to a 500-bp fragment of genomic DNA. The alpha element was dispersed in the genome and varied in copy number and genomic location in the strains examined. Analyses of various loci containing the alpha element identified a locus containing a composite element. This composite element consisted of two direct repeats of the alpha element separated by approximately 5.5 kb of DNA, a structural arrangement similar to that of retrovirus-like transposable elements. The flanking alpha elements of the composite structure were 388 bp in length and were identical in sequence. They were bounded by the nucleotides 5'-TG. ... CA-3', which were part of a delimiting inverted repeat, a feature conserved in the long terminal repeats of retroviruses and retrovirus-like elements. As in retrovirus-like elements, the entire composite element, including the alpha elements, was transcribed into an approximately unit-length mRNA. The expression of this transcript was greatly increased when cells were grown at 25 versus 37 degrees C. As has been found in many retrotransposons, the composite element was flanked by a 5-bp duplication and varied in both copy number and genomic location in various strains. We conclude that the composite element is a retrotransposon-like element, and we have designated this element Tca1. We suggest that Tca1 may be relevant to the genomic evolution of C. albicans and the pathogenic potential of the organism.
Experimental Study of Annular and Stratified Flows in Horizontal Micro-Fin Tubes

In this paper, a new kind of evaporative heat transfer experiment for the cooling process of coolers/condensers is conducted. The design of the test coils is immersed in an air-water bubbling layer. The air-water two-phase flow passes through the tubes of the coils. Due to the motion of the air bubbles in the water, a thin water film forms on the surface of the tube. As the air bubbles pass by the tube this water film is evaporated into the air. The tubes of coil reject heat to the water film, and the evaporation of the water film rejects heat to the air bubble stream. This heat transfer mode significantly increases the heat transfer coefficient between tubes and air. The consumption of the power of a water pump can be decreased. Moreover, the airflow rate required is less than that of an air-cooled condenser. The pressure drop of air through air-water bubbling layer and the heat transfer between the tube and water are experimentally investigated in this paper. The results show that the factors affecting the pressure drop and the heat transfer coefficient involve the pore geometry of sieve plate, the height of the air-water bubbling layer, the air flow rate through the sieve plate and the heat flux of tubes. The heat transfer coefficient between tube and water is two times larger than that of falling film of water on the outer surface of tube.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Human postural signals: Stance, weight-shifts and social distance as intention movements to depart

Abstract Postural stance as an intention movement to leave a dyadic social situation was studied in several hundred human adults. Equal weight vs. unequal weight stance (one leg bearing more weight than the other), stance weight shifts and stance shifts toward and away from the other member of the dyad (social-distance changes) were systematically recorded. Sex and whether the members of the pairs left together or separately were noted. The data strongly suggest that unequal weight stances and stance weight shifts are intention movements indicating imminent departure. Also, shifts toward or away from the other member of the dyad just prior to departure correlated with sex and whether the members of the pair left separately or together. Results are discussed in the general context of intention movements in other species, particularly avian flight and primate troop movement.
Subacute Right Ventricle Perforation by Pacemaker Lead Presenting with Left Hemothorax and Shock

Cardiac perforation by pacemaker is a rare but potentially fatal complication. Acute perforations occurring within twenty-four hours of insertion of pacemaker can lead to hemopericardium, cardiac tamponade, and death. Hemothorax occurring as an acute complication of pacemaker insertion is reported but extremely rare. Previously, hemothorax and shock as a subacute complication following pacemaker insertion have not been reported. We report the case of an 85-year-old patient who presented with shock from hemothorax caused by pacemaker perforation, two weeks after insertion. Device interrogation showed normal function. Chest X-ray and echocardiogram missed lead dislocation and the diagnosis was made on computed tomogram (CT) of the chest. Following surgical repair, a new ventricular pacemaker was placed transvenously in the right ventricular septum. This case illustrates that CT scan of the chest should be performed in all patients in whom cardiac perforation by pacemaker is suspected but not diagnosed on chest X-ray and echocardiogram. Normal functioning of pacemaker on device interrogation does not exclude perforation.
Stability of dynamic coherent states in intrinsic Josephson-junction stacks near internal cavity resonance

Stacks of intrinsic Josephson junctions in the resistive state can by efficiently synchronized by the internal cavity mode resonantly excited by the Josephson oscillations. We study the stability of dynamic coherent states near the resonance with respect to small perturbations. Three states are considered: the homogeneous and alternating-kink states in zero magnetic field and the homogeneous state in the magnetic field near the value corresponding to half flux quantum per junction. We found two possible instabilities related to the short-scale and long-scale perturbations. The homogeneous state in modulated junction is typically unstable with respect to the short-scale alternating phase deformations unless the Josephson current is completely suppressed in one half of the stack. The kink state is stable with respect to such deformations and homogeneous state in the magnetic field is only stable within a certain range of frequencies and fields. Stability with respect to the long-range deformations is controlled by resonance excitations of fast modes at finite wave vectors and typically leads to unstable range of the wave vectors. This range shrinks with approaching the resonance and increasing the in-plane dissipation. As a consequence, in finite-height stacks the stability frequency range near the resonance increases with decreasing the height.
Deuterium Quadrupole Coupling in Formyl Fluoride

The 101–000 rotational transition in HFCO and DFCO was recorded with a beam maser spectrometer. Hyperfine structure due to the deuterium quadrupole coupling was observed for DFCO. Analysis of the spectrum yielded the deuterium quadrupole coupling strength along the D–C bond direction of eqQ = 205. ± 4. kHz. This rotational transition had not been reported previously for DFCO. A comparison of deuterium quadrupole coupling strengths with force constants along the H–C bond is made according to the theory of Salem.
Jet eccentricity: a misleading source of agreement between Doppler/catheter pressure gradients in aortic stenosis.

Characterization of the severity of aortic stenosis relies on accurate measurement of the pressure gradient across the valve and the valve area. Pressure gradients measured by Doppler ultrasound based on the clinical form of the Bernoulli equation often overestimate pressure gradients by catheter as the result of pressure recovery. Doppler techniques measure the velocity of the vena contracta of the stenotic jet. This corresponds to the maximal pressure gradient and the minimal effective valve area. Pressure recovery can be characterized by analysis of the spread of the stenotic jet downstream of the valve as it fills the aorta and should be influenced by the shape of the velocity profile of the decaying jet. In this study, we addressed the hypothesis that the site of complete pressure recovery (the point at which the jet fully expands to the size of the aorta), the effective valve area, and the maximal pressure gradient are affected by jet eccentricity. To accomplish this, we developed a computational model of aortic stenosis that provides detailed velocity and pressure information in the vicinity of the valve. The results show that the width of the eccentric wall jet decreased and maximal velocity increased with greater jet eccentricity. Furthermore, for a constant anatomic area, the effective valve area decreased, the distance to complete pressure recovery increased, and the maximal pressure gradient increased with the degree of eccentricity. Failure to take this into account could fortuitously drive Doppler and catheter measurements toward agreement because the distal pressure sensor will not record the fully recovered pressure. Therefore the pressure gradient across a stenotic valve depends on jet eccentricity. The spread of the wall jet after attachment must be characterized to develop a robust method for the prediction of pressure recovery. (J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2001;14:853-62.)
Inference of the environmental Kuznets curve

This article provides inference of the pollution and income relationship, typically known as the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). We construct the Uniform Confidence Band (UCB) of the nonparametric component in the semiparametric EKC and test the hypothesis of an inverted U-shaped pattern.
Unified control for Pendubot at four equilibrium points

The authors consider the control of an underactuated mechanical system: Pendubot, which has four separated equilibrium points. A unified controller is proposed to stabilise the system at the four equilibrium points. Moreover, the proposed unified control can bring the underactuated link to ideal homoclinic orbits, which cannot be achieved by existing approaches. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed control.
Key allocation schemes for private social networks

In this paper we introduce a novel scheme for key management in social networks that is a first step towards the creation of a private social network. A social network graph (i.e., the graph of friendship relationships) is private and social networks are often used to share content, which may be private, amongst its users. In the status quo, the social networking server has access to both this graph and to all of the content, effectively requiring that it is a trusted third party. The goal of this paper is to produce a mechanism through which users can control how their content is shared with other users, without relying on a trusted third party to manage the social network graph and the users' data. The specific access control model considered here is that users will specify access policies based on distance in the social network; for example some content is visible to friends only, while other content is visible to friends of friends, etc. This access control is enforced via key management. That is for each user, there is a key that only friends should be able to derive, there is a key that both friends of the user and friends of friends can derive, etc. The proposed scheme enjoys the following properties: i) the scheme is asynchronous in that it does not require users to be online at the same time, ii) the scheme provides key indistinguishability (that is if a user is not allowed to derive a key according to the access policy, then that key is indistinguishable from a random value), iii) the scheme is efficient in terms of server storage and key derivation time, and iv) the scheme is collusion resistant.
Morphological Parsing and the Perception of Lexical Identity: A Masked Priming Study of Stem Homographs

This paper presents new evidence from masked priming studies to support models of lexical access and interpretation which include morphological decomposition processes. Previous studies of stem-homograph priming report inhibitory effects for unmasked primes. We demonstrate that whereas unmasked stem-homograph primes elicit inhibitory effects, masked primes elicit facilitation relative to both orthographic and unrelated controls. We hypothesize that this inhibition is a (sub)component of the selection process that is engaged when a fully ambiguous lexical stimulus (here the inflectional stem of a stem homograph) must be assigned a unique interpretation in order to afford conscious perception/recognition. Our analysis highlights the interdependency between lexical parsing and the inhibition mechanisms observed during word recognition.
A new method for the rapid isolation of chromosomes, mitotic apparatus, or nuclei from mammalian fibroblasts at near neutral pH☆

Abstract A rapid isolation procedure for chromosomes, mitotic apparatus, or nuclei from mammalian fibroblasts has been developed. It is accomplished at a near neutral pH in a simple buffer solution. The morphology of each of the components at light microscopy and electron microscopy levels is comparable to previously published isolation procedures. The DNA, RNA, and protein content of chromosomes and nuclei are similar to values obtained by other methods. Active nuclear enzymes are present in the nuclei, and cytoplasmic enzymes are excluded. It is possible to obtain as the desired end product either metaphase chromosomes, intact mitotic apparatus, or interphase nuclei by slight modifications of the isolation procedure.
Methionine sulfoxide reductases preferentially reduce unfolded oxidized proteins and protect cells from oxidative protein unfolding

Reduction of methionine sulfoxide (MetO) residues in proteins is catalyzed by methionine sulfoxide reductases A (MSRA) and B (MSRB), which act in a stereospecific manner. Catalytic properties of these enzymes were previously established mostly using low molecular weight MetO-containing compounds, whereas little is known about the catalysis of MetO reduction in proteins, the physiological substrates of MSRA and MSRB. In this work we exploited an NADPH-dependent thioredoxin system and determined the kinetic parameters of yeast MSRA and MSRB using three different MetO-containing proteins. Both enzymes showed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with the Km lower for protein than for small MetO-containing substrates. MSRA reduced both oxidized proteins and low molecular weight MetO-containing compounds with similar catalytic efficiencies, whereas MSRB was specialized for the reduction of MetO in proteins. Using oxidized glutathione S-transferase as a model substrate, we showed that both MSR types were more efficient in reducing MetO in unfolded than in folded proteins and that their activities increased with the unfolding state. Biochemical quantification and identification of MetO reduced in the substrates by mass spectrometry revealed that the increased activity was due to better access to oxidized MetO in unfolded proteins; it also showed that MSRA was intrinsically more active with unfolded proteins regardless of MetO availability. Moreover, MSRs most efficiently protected cells from oxidative stress that was accompanied by protein unfolding. Overall, this study indicates that MSRs serve a critical function in the folding process by repairing oxidatively damaged nascent polypeptides and unfolded proteins. Background: Methionine sulfoxide reductases have previously been studied mostly using low molecular weight substrates. Results: Methionine sulfoxide reductases preferentially reduce unfolded oxidized proteins. Conclusion: These enzymes serve a critical function in protein folding by repairing oxidized nascent polypeptides and unfolded proteins. Significance: Understanding precise functions of methionine sulfoxide reductases will help define mechanisms of protein repair and identify their physiological substrates.
An Extensible Description Language for Video Games

In this short paper, we propose a powerful new tool for conducting research on computational intelligence and games. “PyVGDL” is a simple, high-level, extensible description language for 2-D video games. It is based on defining locations and dynamics for simple building blocks (objects), together with local interaction effects. A rich ontology defines various controllers, object behaviors, passive effects (physics), and collision effects. It can be used to quickly design games, without having to deal with control structures. We show how the dynamics of many classical games can be generated from a few lines of PyVGDL. Furthermore, the accompanying software library permits parsing and instantly playing those games, visualized from a bird's-eye or first-person viewpoint, and using them as benchmarks for learning algorithms.
Measuring Productive Efficiency in Multiple Product Agribusiness Firms: A Dual Approach

Measuring retail fertilizer plant efficiency is difficult, given the range of outputs produced by these multiple product firms. A frontier multiproduct cost function was employed to measure productive efficiency. Results suggest the average plant could lower variable costs by 10% through more effective operations. Allocative inefficiency was minimal, indicating management should focus on improving technical efficiency. The limitations of employing a single-product model in a multiproduct situation are demonstrated.
Growth kinetics of the (001) face of TGS below the ferroelectric transition temperature

The growth rates of the (001) face of triglycine sulfate (TGS) from aqueous solutions were measured at 33.55 C in an apparatus which produced a laminar flow of solution past the crystal. The data of growth rate as a function of relative supersaturation were compared with the results of two well-known models: the Burton-Cabrera-Frank (1951) surface diffusion model and the birth-and-spreading growth model. Both models produced good fits to the growth rate data. However, on the basis of the qualitative aspects of the experimentally-observed growth, it is suggested that the correct growth model for these crystals is the Burton-Cabrera-Frank model.
cDNA AND PROMOTER GENE STRUCTURE OF RABBIT WILD TYPE (Wt) CYTOCHROME P450 CHOLESTEROL SIDE-CHAIN-CLEAVAGE (SCC) ENZYME. 590

We previously described a lethal form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia(CAH) clinically identical and biochemically analogous to human congenital lipoid adrenal hyperplasia in a strain of rabbits due to SCC gene deletion. Thus, we cloned and sequenced the Wt rabbit SCC promoter and cDNA regions to construct the Wt SCC genes for future use in gene transfer study for CAH using the animal model as a prototype. The SCC promoter gene was isolated from a genomic library using a rabbit SCC 5'-cDNA probe for screening. The promoter DNA fragment was then subcloned into a Bluescript phagemid vector and sequenced. The SCC cDNA was isolated by screening the rabbit cDNA library generated from purified normal rabbit adrenal poly(A)+RNA. The sequence of the rabbit SCC cDNA clone (1.7 Kb) revealed the complete Wt rabbit SCC enzyme. The 1.7 Kb clone contained nine 5'-untranslated nucleotides, 148 3'-untranslated nucleotides including poly(A) tail, and an open reading frame of 1557 nucleotides which includes a 5' cap and stop codon. The encoded rabbit P450 SCC cDNA contained 518 amino acids. Compared to the human cDNA, the coding region of the rabbit SCC cDNA was 9 bp less than the human SCC cDNA, 81% identical in nucleotides sequence and 77.4% identical in amino acid sequence to the human SCC cDNA, and had higher sequence homology to the human SCC cDNA than other species. The sequence of a 5'-flanking genomic clone (1.2 Kb) revealed the sequence of a known 5' region of the SCC cDNA which identified a transcription initiation site, exon I, and a promoter region of 901 bp upstream from the transcription initiation site. The TATA box sequence was located at -68 bp from the initiation codon and a CAT box was not found. The TATA box in the SCC promoter region in other species reported by others were at -70 bp in the mouse, at -82 bp in the bovine, and at -91 bp in the human. The CAT box was reported only in the human SCC gene. The nucleotide sequence of the promoter region was 26-27% identical to humans and other species. In vitro activity of the cloned SCC genes are under way for future application in the development of a gene transfer technique using the animal CAH model.
Branching ratio of 133Sb decay to 133Te isomers

Abstract Antimony samples were quickly separated from fission products and, after a short decay period, Te daughters were isolated and their γ rays observed with a Ge(Li) detector. The fractions of decay of 2·7 min 133 Sb to 12·5 min 133 g Te and 55 min 133 m Te were found to be 0·58±0·06 and 0·42±0·06, respectively. The cumulative yield of 133 Sb in thermal neutron fission of 235 U was measured as 1·7±0·4 per cent. An upper limit of 0·29 per cent was determined for the yield of an 11 sec 134 Sb in thermal-neutron fission of 235 U.
Heat transfer in turbulent flow past a surface-mounted two-dimensional rib

Heat transfer measurements and predictions are reported for a separated, turbulent duct flow past a wall-mounted, two-dimensional rib. The computational results include predictions using a standard {kappa}-{epsilon} model, a functionalized {kappa}-{epsilon} model and a nonlinear {kappa}-{epsilon} model. Three different prescriptions for the wall-functions, WF I, WF II and WF III, given respectively by Launder and Spalding (1974) Chieng and Launder (1980) and Johnson and Launder (1982) are examined. The experiments included laser-Doppler flow measurements, temperature measurements, and local Nusselt number results. For WF I, both the nonlinear and standard models predicted the experiments well in the core flow regions and close to reattachment, but both performed poorly in the separated and shear layer regions close to the rib. The nonlinear model yielded more realistic predictions of the streamwise turbulent intensity and the mean streamwise velocities near the high-speed edge of the separated layer and downstream of reattachment. More realistic predictions of the production and dissipation of the turbulent kinetic energy near reattachment were also obtained using the nonlinear and the functionalized model. With WF I and WF II, the models underpredicted the local Nusselt numbers and overpredicted the flow temperatures. With WF III, the predicted results agree with the experimentalmore » Nusselt numbers well up to reattachment, after which, it substantially overpredicted the Nusselt numbers. The functionalized model using only the high-Re formulation and curvature corrections in Cartesian coordinates improve the temperature predictions substantially, with the predicted temperatures in the flow in close agreement with those measured.« less
Newtonian determinism to branching space-times indeterminism in two moves

“Branching space-times” (BST) is intended as a representation of objective, event-based indeterminism. As such, BST exhibits both a spatio-temporal aspect and an indeterministic “modal” aspect of alternative possible historical courses of events. An essential feature of BST is that it can also represent spatial or space-like relationships as part of its (more or less) relativistic theory of spatio-temporal relations; this ability is essential for the representation of local (in contrast with “global”) indeterminism. This essay indicates how BST might be seen to grow out of Newton’s deterministic and non-relativistic theory by two independent moves: (1) Taking account of indeterminism, and (2) attending to spatio-temporal relationships in a spirit derived from Einstein’s theory of special relativity. Since (1) and (2) are independent, one can see that there is room for four theories: Newtonian determinism, branching time indeterminism, relativistic determinism, and (finally) branching space-times indeterminism.
The development of the CheMin XRD/XRF: Reflections on building a spacecraft instrument

This paper describes some of the experiences and lessons learned in developing the CheMin XRD instrument that is included on the Mars Science Laboratory Mission. The descriptions are from the standpoint of the principal investigator and are anecdotal in nature.
Changes in Primary Production in Onondaga Lake, NY: Magnitude, Metrics, and Drivers

Abstract Changes in phytoplankton primary production and common metrics and drivers of trophic state are documented and critically evaluated for a 35 year (1968–2002) period for polluted, culturally eutrophic Onondaga Lake, NY. The lake is presently the focus of an on-going rehabilitation program to abate its cultural eutrophication problems. The analysis is supported by measurements of primary production and long-term monitoring of trophic state metrics and other common limnological parameters. Measurements of primary production and community respiration were made in 1978, 2002, and portions of 2000 and 2001, utilizing dissolved oxygen-based isolated community (light/dark bottle) and non-isolated community (diel measurements) protocols. Limnological and discharge monitoring of the following metrics supported the analysis: epilimnetic total phosphorus, epilimnetic chlorophyll a (Chle), Secchi disc (SD), areal hypolimnetic oxygen deficit (AHOD), salinity (S), downward flux of particulate organic carbon (PO...
Small bowel transplantation: Effects on function of nonadrenergic, noncholinergic nerves

Previous work from our laboratory showed that spontaneous contractile activity of jejunal smooth muscle increases after small bowel transplantation. Our aim was to determine whether small bowel transplantation alters the function of nonadrenergic, noncholinergic (NANC) nerves. Seven groups of rats, (n ≥7 in each group) were studied as follows: 1 week after sham celiotomy and 1 week and 8 weeks after 45 minutes of ischemia/ reperfusion (IR1 and IR8), jejunal and ileal transection and reanastomosis (TR1 and TR8), or orthotopic small bowel transplantation (TX1 and TX8). Contractility of jejunal circular muscle strips was studied in vitro. Spontaneous contractile activity increased in the IR1, TR1, and TX1 and TX1 and TX8 groups (P<0.01). Under NANC conditions, spontaneous activity increased in TR1 and in both TX1 and TX8 (P<0.01) despite the lack of an increase in the frequency of contraction in TX1. Electrical field stimulation inhibited contractile activity at low frequencies, but under NANC conditions this inhibition persisted at higher frequencies. The calculated equieffective frequency (F100) that produced a response equal to baseline contractile activity was similar in all groups, but under NANC conditions was greater in TX1 (P<0.025). Functional alterations of NANC nerves are partly responsible for the increase in spontaneous activity in rat jejunal circular muscle strips after a limited ischemia/reperfusion injury, after selective disruption of enteric neural continuity (transection/reanastomosis), and after small bowel transplantation. These findings may provide important insight into graft dysfunction after small bowel transplantation in humans.
A new photogrammetric method for determining shoreline erosion

Abstract In order to systematically measure shoreline erosion and storm surge penetration along extensive reaches of the United States Atlantic coast, a common-scale mapping method was developed using historical aerial photography as the data base. Aerial photography of the southern New Jersey coast covering four decades is used to demonstrate the methodology and to provide long-term baseline information on shoreline dynamics. The data sets include mean erosion rates and variance at 100-m intervals along the coast. Shoreline recession rates along the New Jersey coast are generally less than 1 m/yr. but for several locations rates exceed 5 m/yr., and they vary considerably both within and between the island segments of the New Jersey coast.