cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Affect and Creativity at Work

This study explored how affect relates to creativity at work. Using both quantitative and qualitative longitudinal data from the daily diaries of 222 employees in seven companies, we examined the nature, form, and temporal dynamics of the affect-creativity relationship. The results indicate that positive affect relates positively to creativity in organizations and that the relationship is a simple linear one. Time-lagged analyses identify positive affect as an antecedent of creative thought, with incubation periods of up to two days. Qualitative analyses identify positive affect as a consequence of creative thought events, as well as a concomitant of the creative process. A preliminary theory of the affect-creativity cycle in organizations includes each of these links and proposes mechanisms by which they may operate.
A channel-stop-defined barrier and drain antiblooming structure for virtual phase CCD image sensors

A barrier and drain antiblooming (AB) structure that addresses a number of fabrication and operational problems associated with previous structures is discussed. Defects in the AB barriers of previous designs often caused dark columns in the array by draining away all the signal charge from the defective pixel. This design minimizes this serious yield-loss mechanisms by reducing the AB barrier-to-well perimeter to a minimum and by isolating the remaining drain-to-well perimeter with a high-integrity channel stop. A further process economy and yield enhancing feature is that the antiblooming barrier is formed from the same implants as the pixel barrier, insuring that the AB barrier potential is the appropriate value for proper antiblooming action. The fabrication process adds only one mask level to the conventional sensor process flow. The structure preserves all of the prized aspects of barrier and drain AB, high normal and flash overload tolerance, as well as simple system requirements. The structure has been demonstrated in a virtual-phase CCD sensor, and operating results are reported. >
Relative importance of aortic stiffness and volume as predictors of treatment-induced improvement in left ventricular mass index in dialysis

This study aimed to explore the relative contribution of aortic stiffness and volume in treatment-induced change of left ventricular mass in dialysis. Hypertension in Hemodialysis Patients Treated with Atenolol or Lisinopril trial compared the effect of lisinopril versus atenolol in reducing left ventricular mass index; 179 patients with echo measurements of aortic pulse wave velocity and left ventricular mass at baseline were included. In unadjusted analysis, overall reductions of 26.24 g/m2 (95% CI: -49.20, -3.29) and 35.67 g/m2 (95% CI: -63.70, -7.64) in left ventricular mass index were noted from baseline to 6 and 12 months respectively. Volume control emerged as an important determinant of regression of left ventricular mass index due to the following reasons: (i) additional control for change in ambulatory systolic blood pressure mitigated the reduction in left ventricular mass index in the statistical model above [6-month visit: -18.6 g/m2 (95% CI: -43.7, 6.5); 12-month visit: -22.1 g/m2 (95% CI: -52.2, 8.0)] (ii) regression of left ventricular hypertrophy was primarily due to reduction in left ventricular chamber and not wall thickness and (iii) adjustment for inferior vena cava diameter (as a proxy for volume) removed the effect of time on left ventricular mass index reduction [6-month visit: -6.6 g/m2 (95% CI: (-41.6, 28.4); 12-month visit: 0.6 g/m2 (95% CI: -39.5, 40.7)]. In contrast, aortic pulse wave velocity was neither a determinant of baseline left ventricular mass index nor predictor of its reduction. Among dialysis patients, ambulatory systolic pressure, a proxy for volume expansion, but not aortic stiffness is more important predictor of reduction in left ventricular mass index. Improving blood pressure control via adequate volume management appears as an effective strategy to improve left ventricular hypertrophy in dialysis.
On Approximate Majority and Probabilistic Time

We prove new results on the circuit complexity of approximate majority, which is the problem of computing the majority of a given bit string whose fraction of 1’s is bounded away from 1/2 (by a constant). We then apply these results to obtain new relationships between probabilistic time, BPTime (t), and alternating time, ∑O(1)Time (t). Our main results are the following: We prove that depth-3 circuits with bottom fan-in (log n)/2 that compute approximate majority on n bits must have size at least $$2^{n^{0.1}}$$. As a corollary we obtain that there is no black-box proof that BPTime (t) $$\subseteq \sum_2$$Time (o(t2)). This complements the (black-box) result that BPTime (t) $$\subseteq \sum_2$$Time (t2 · poly log t) (Sipser and Gacs, STOC ’83; Lautemann, IPL ’83). We prove that approximate majority is computable by uniform polynomial-size circuits of depth 3. Prior to our work, the only known polynomial-size depth-3 circuits for approximate majority were non-uniform (Ajtai, Ann. Pure Appl. Logic ’83). We also prove that BPTime (t) $$\subseteq \sum_3$$Time (t · poly log t). This complements our results in (1). We prove new lower bounds for solving QSAT3 $$\in \sum_3$$Time (n · poly log n) on probabilistic computational models. In particular, we prove that solving QSAT3 requires time n1+Ω(1) on Turing machines with a random-access input tape and a sequential-access work tape that is initialized with random bits. No nontrivial lower bound was previously known on this model (for a function computable in linear space).
Efficient Synthesis of Novel γ-Substituted γ-Butenolides by Lewis Acid Catalyzed Addition of Metal Enolates of Active Methylene Compounds to Mucohalic Acids

Lewis acid catalyzed addition of active methylene compounds to mucochloric acid (1) and mucobromic acid (2) affording Knoevenagel aldol adducts, γ-substituted γ-butenolides, has been explored. Catalytic efficiencies of various Lewis acids have been compared. Indium acetate (0.25−5 mol %) was found to be the most efficient catalyst.
Volutamides A-E, halogenated alkaloids with antifeedant properties from the Atlantic bryozoan Amathia convoluta

Abstract Volutamides A-E (1–5), halogenated alkaloids of amino acid origin, have been isolated from the temperate Atlantic bryozoan Amathia convoluta Lamouroux. The structures of the new compounds were determined by spectral and chemical methods. The absolute stereochemistries of volutamides B and C were established by CD measurements, while the absolute stereochemistries of volutamides D and E could not be established with confidence. Several of the volutamides deterred feeding by potential predators and were toxic toward larvae of a co-occurring hydroid, suggesting that these metabolites form the basis of an effective chemical defense.
Distributed and Cascade Lossy Source Coding With a Side Information “Vending Machine”

Source coding with a side information “vending machine” is a recently proposed framework in which the statistical relationship between the side information and the source, instead of being given and fixed as in the classical Wyner-Ziv problem, can be controlled by the decoder. This control action is selected by the decoder based on the message encoded by the source node. Unlike conventional settings, the message can thus carry not only information about the source to be reproduced at the decoder, but also control information aimed at improving the quality of the side information. In this paper, the analysis of the tradeoffs between rate, distortion, and cost associated with the control actions is extended from the previously studied point-to-point setup to two basic multiterminal models. First, a distributed source coding model is studied, in which two encoders communicate over rate-limited links to a decoder, whose side information can be controlled. The control actions are selected by the decoder based on the messages encoded by both source nodes. For this setup, inner bounds are derived on the rate-distortion-cost region for both cases in which the side information is available causally and noncausally at the decoder. These bounds are shown to be tight under specific assumptions, including the scenario in which the sequence observed by one of the nodes is a function of the source observed by the other and the side information is available causally at the decoder. Then, a cascade scenario in which three nodes are connected in a cascade and the last node has controllable side information is also investigated. For this model, the rate-distortion-cost region is derived for general distortion requirements and under the assumption of causal availability of side information at the last node.
Crash Causation: A Case Study of Fatal Accident Circumstances and Configurations

A slightly different version of this study is published in the 'proceedings of the 35th annual conference of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, Toronto, Canada, October 7-9, 1991', pp335-49, and for the abstract see IRRD 847319. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD E201376.
The Effects of Visualization and Interactivity on Calibration in Financial Decision-Making

ABSTRACT: With the increased use of XBRL, financial data are readily available in a universal format, enabling users to dynamically render data with a variety of visual, interactive representations. However, the impact of these interactive visual representations on financial decision-making has received little attention. Further, decision-making research suggests that the presentation of a task (i.e., presentation format) can influence decision-making outcomes such as accuracy, confidence, and the calibration between accuracy and confidence. This study examines how visualization and interactivity affect accuracy, confidence, and calibration in a financial decision-making context. Decision-makers are typically overconfident, and this research proposes that visualization and interactivity provide more informational cues, which can actually further increase overconfidence and reduce calibration in some contexts. An experiment conducted with 157 participants supports the prediction that visualization and inte...
Assessing the Mechanism of Kidney Stone Comminution by a Lithotripter Shock Pulse

Comminution of axisymmetric stones by a lithotripter shock wave was studied experimentally and theoretically. In experiments, shock waves were generated by a research electrohydraulic lithotripter modeled after the Dornier HM‐3, and stones were made from U‐30 cement. Cylindrical stones of various length to diameter ratios, stones of conical shape, and stones with artificial cracks were studied. In other cases, baffles to block specific waves that contribute to spallation or squeezing were used, and glycerol was used to suppress cavitation. The theory was based on the elasticity equations for an isotropic medium. The equations were written in finite differences and integrated numerically. Maximum compression, tensile and shear stresses were predicted depending on the stone shape and side‐surface condition in order to investigate the importance of the stone geometry. It is shown that the theoretical model used explains the observed position of a crack in a stone. The theory also predicts the efficiency of stone fragmentation depending on its shape and size, as well as on the presence of cracks on the stone surface and baffles near the stone.
Mixed analog—digital highly sensitive sensor interface circuit for low-cost microsensors

Abstract Rapidly emerging applications for microaccelerometer and microgyroscope position sensors require a major advance in stability and resolution. A highly sensitive, stable, and robust sensor interface circuit that can be applied to inertial navigation sensors is presented in this paper. The circuit can be applied to any fully differential capacitive sensor or to a differential piezoresistive one. The high sensitivity is achieved by a double-sampling technique, compensating switch, and feedback method with a high loop gain. The charge injection by the MOS switches is reduced below the thermal noise level of the operational amplifier (opamp). Resolution and stability levels of 10 −8 with a supply variation of 10% are achieved.
Macroeconomics of Persistent Slumps

In modern economies, sharp increases in unemployment from major adverse shocks result in long periods of abnormal unemployment and low output. This chapter investigates the processes that account for these persistent slumps. The data are from the economy of the United States, and the discussion emphasizes the nancial crisis of 2008 and the ensuing slump. The framework starts by discerning driving forces set in motion by the initial shock. These are agency frictions in capital markets resulting in tighter lending standards, higher discounts applied by decision makers (possibly related to a loss of condence), withdrawal of potential workers from the labor market, and
Bargaining with Existing Workers, Over-hiring of Firms, and Labor Market Fluctuations

This paper investigates the effects of intra-firm bargaining on the standard real business cycle (RBC) search and matching model by explicitly considering the outside option of a firm in the bargaining with a new worker. In this paper, the outside option of a firm in the bargaining with a new worker is bargaining with existing workers (i.e., intra-firm bargaining). According to Stole and Zwiebel (1996), under the assumption that the firm facing diminishing marginal productivity of labor and its workers cannot commit to future wages, intra-firm bargaining gives the firm an incentive to hire an excessive amount of workers in order to drive wages of workers down. (i.e., the firm â€œover-hiresâ€ workers.) We show the outside option of a firm is crucial for the bargaining with a new worker in the sense that how much the firm pays existing workers, when the match breaks down, determines how many workers it over-hires. In this paper, wages in the outside option of a firm depend on the stochastic bargaining weight of existing workers (i.e., a bargaining shock), which can be identified through labor share data from U.S. Bargaining shocks affect the degree of over-hiring behavior of a firm, and in turn, provide another source to explain the behavior of labor markets in business cycles. The inclusion of intra-firm bargaining and bargaining shocks improves the capacity of the standard RBC search and matching model, especially in labor markets. Our calibrated model generates more volatile total hours, employment, hours per worker while labor share overshoots in response to productivity shocks. In particular, the volatility of employment in the model is similar to the actual U.S. data. Furthermore, the model provides a theory about the overshooting property of labor share, which can be explained by the general equilibrium effects of time-varying bargaining weights of existing workers and over-hiring behavior of the firm.
An Analysis of the Effects and Dependency of Wind Power Penetration on System Frequency Regulation

The integration of renewable energy sources into power systems has gathered significant momentum globally because of its unlimited supply and environmental benefits. Within the portfolio of renewable energy, wind power is expected to have a soaring growth rate in the coming years. Despite its well known benefits, wind power poses several challenges in grid integration. The inherent intermittent and non-dispatchable features of wind power not only inject additional fluctuations to the already variable nature of frequency deviation, they also decrease frequency stability by reducing the inertia and the regulation capability. This paper closely examines these effects as well as the effect on tie-line flows and area control error, which causes a larger and longer frequency deviation in the integrated system. Further, the effect of wind power on frequency regulation capability at different penetration levels is also examined. The analytical and simulation results presented here provide some guidance on determining maximum wind power penetration level given a frequency deviation limit.
Computationally designed zirconium organometallic catalyst for direct epoxidation of alkenes without allylic H atoms: aromatic linkage eliminates formation of inert octahedral complexes

We used density functional theory to computationally design a Zr organometallic catalyst for selectively oxidizing substrates using molecular oxygen as oxidant without coreductant. Each selective oxidation cycle involves four general steps: (a) a peroxo or weakly adsorbed O2 group releases an O atom to substrate to form substrate oxide and an oxo group, (b) an oxygen molecule adds to the oxo group to generate an η2-ozone group, (c) the η2-ozone group rearranges to form an η3-ozone group, and (d) the η3-ozone group releases an O atom to substrate to form substrate oxide and regenerate the peroxo or weakly adsorbed O2 group. This catalyst could potentially be synthesized via the condensation reaction Zr(N(R)R′)4 + 2 C6H4–1,6-(N(C6H3–2′,6′-(CH(CH3)2)2)OH)2 → Zr(C6H4–1,6-(N(C6H3–2′,6′-(CH(CH3)2)2)O)2)2 [aka Zr_Benzol catalyst] + 4 N(R)(R′)H where R and R′ are CH3, CH2CH3, or other alkyl groups. For direct ethylene epoxidation, the computed enthalpic energetic span (i.e., effective activation energy for the entire catalytic cycle) is 27.1 kcal/mol, which is one of the lowest values for catalysts studied to date. We study reaction mechanisms and the stability of different catalyst forms as a function of the oxygen atom chemical potential. Notably, an aromatic linkage in each ligand prevents this catalyst from deactivating to form an inactive octahedral-like structure that contains the same atoms as the dioxo complex, Zr(Ligand)2(O)2. Due to a side reaction that can transfer an allylic H atom from alkene to catalyst, this catalyst is useful for directly epoxidizing alkenes such as ethylene that do not contain allylic H atoms. To better understand the reaction chemistry, we computed net atomic charges and bond orders for the two catalytically relevant reaction cycles. These results quantify electron transfer and bond forming and breaking during the catalytic process.
Dark matter beams at LBNF

High-intensity neutrino beam facilities may produce a beam of light dark matter when protons strike the target. Searches for such a dark matter beam using its scattering in a nearby detector must overcome the large neutrino background. We characterize the spatial and energy distributions of the dark matter and neutrino beams, focusing on their differences to enhance the sensitivity to dark matter. We find that a dark matter beam produced by a Z ′ boson in the GeV mass range is both broader and more energetic than the neutrino beam. The reach for dark matter is maximized for a detector sensitive to hard neutral-current scatterings, placed at a sizable angle off the neutrino beam axis. In the case of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF), a detector placed at roughly 6 degrees off axis and at a distance of about 200 m from the target would be sensitive to Z ′ couplings as low as 0.05. This search can proceed symbiotically with neutrino measurements. We also show that the MiniBooNE and MicroBooNE detectors, which are on Fermilab’s Booster beamline, happen to be at an optimal angle from the NuMI beam and could perform searches with existing data. This illustrates potential synergies between LBNF and the short-baseline neutrino program if the detectors are positioned appropriately.
Scope and limitations of yeast as a model organism for studying human tissue-specific pathways

Budding yeast, S. cerevisiae, has been used extensively as a model organism for studying cellular processes in evolutionarily distant species, including humans. However, different human tissues, while inheriting a similar genetic code, exhibit distinct anatomical and physiological properties. Specific biochemical processes and associated biomolecules that differentiate various tissues are not completely understood, neither is the extent to which a unicellular organism, such as yeast, can be used to model these processes within each tissue. We present a novel framework to systematically quantify the suitability of yeast as a model organism for different human tissues. To this end, we develop a computational method for dissecting the global human interactome into tissue-specific cellular networks. By individually aligning these networks with the yeast interactome, we simultaneously partition the functional space of human genes, and their corresponding pathways, based on their conservation both across species and among different tissues. Finally, we couple our framework with a novel statistical model to assess the conservation of tissue-specific pathways and infer the overall similarity of each tissue with yeast. We further study each of these subspaces in detail, and shed light on their unique biological roles in the human tissues. Our framework provides a novel tool that can be used to assess the suitability of the yeast model for studying tissue-specific physiology and pathophysiology in humans. Many complex disorders are driven by a coupling of housekeeping (universally expressed in all tissues) and tissue-selective (expressed only in specific tissues) dysregulated pathways. While tissue-selective genes are significantly associated with the onset and development of a number of tissue-specific pathologies, we show that the human-specific subset has even higher association. Consequently, they provide excellent candidates as drug targets for therapeutic interventions.
Terahertz Sensing Technology

Sensing applications of THz technology include applications for space exploration, detection of concealed objects, explosive identification, and THz cancer detection. This paper will review these and other emerging applications and existing and potential THz sources and detectors, including photonic and electronic THz devices, such as plasmonic field effect transistors capable of detecting and emitting THz radiation. Plasma wave electronics devices demonstrated THz detection using GaAs-based and GaN-based HEMTs, Si MOS, SOI, and FINFETs and FET arrays. This technology has potential to become a dominant THz electronics technology.
THE X-EFFICIENCY IN ISLAMIC BANKS

This paper investigates relative efficiency of the Islamic banking industry in the world by analyzing a panel of banks during the period of 1995-2001. Both parametric (cost and profit efficiency) and nonparametric (data envelopment analysis) techniques are used to examine efficiency of these banks. Five DEA efficiency measures such as cost, allocative, technical, pure technical and scale efficiency scores are calculated and correlated with conventional accounting measures of performance. The results indicate that, on average, the Islamic banking industry is relatively less efficient compared to their conventional counterparts in other parts of the world. The results also show that these efficiency measures are highly correlated with ROA and ROE, suggesting that the efficiency measures can be used concurrently with conventional accounting ratios in determining Islamic bank performance.
Nanofluid Heat Transfer Enhancement for Nuclear Reactor Applications

Colloidal dispersions of nanoparticles are known as ‘nanofluids’. Such engineered fluids offer the potential for enhancing heat transfer, particularly boiling heat transfer, while avoiding the drawbacks (i.e., erosion, settling, clogging) that hindered the use of particle-laden fluids in the past. At MIT we have been studying the heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids for the past five years, with the goal of evaluating their benefits for and applicability to nuclear power systems (i.e., primary coolant, safety systems, severe accident mitigation strategies). This paper will summarize the MIT research in this area with particular emphasis to boiling behavior, including, prominently, the Critical Heat Flux limit and quenching phenomena.
Challenges in Co-Alloyed Titanium Oxynitrides, a Promising Class of Photochemically Active Materials

We present a perspective on recent developments in modified TiO2 photocatalysts for visible light-driven photochemistry with an emphasis on water splitting. We focus on doped and alloyed TiO2 and in particular address the synergistic effects observed in materials with both transition metal cations and nonmetal anions. Several reports have demonstrated absorption of longer wavelengths (λ = 500–600 nm) by codoped materials compared to the absorption edge of TiO2. We review these advances against the backdrop of well-established doped TiO2 research, suggesting on the basis of compositional analysis and wavelength-resolved measurements of photon conversion efficiency that the increase in visible light absorption is likely due to absorption between defect states rather than true band gap narrowing. We draw a distinction between codoped and co-alloyed materials, stressing the attractive electronic structure of the latter. In highlighting recent literature, data examining the rate of photochemical water splittin...
Cyclic Sieving and Rational Catalan Theory

Let $a < b$ be coprime positive integers. Armstrong, Rhoades, and Williams (2013) defined a set NC(a,b) of `rational noncrossing partitions', which form a subset of the ordinary noncrossing partitions of $\{1, 2, \dots, b-1\}$. Confirming a conjecture of Armstrong et. al., we prove that NC(a,b) is closed under rotation and prove an instance of the cyclic sieving phenomenon for this rotational action. We also define a rational generalization of the $\mathfrak{S}_a$-noncrossing parking functions of Armstrong, Reiner, and Rhoades.
Measuring Entropy Change in a Human Physiological System

The paper presents a novel approach involving the use of Maxwell relations to combine multiple physiological measures to provide a measure of entropy change. The physiological measures included blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), skin temperature (ST), electromyogram (EMG), and electrodermal response (EDR). The multiple time-series physiological data were collected from eight subjects in an experimental pilot study conducted at the Human Engineering Laboratory of NASA Langley Research Center. The methodology included data collection during a relaxation period of eighteen minutes followed by a sixty-minute cognitive task. Two types of entropy change were computed: (a) entropy change () due to blood pressure, heart rate, and skin temperature and (b) entropy change () due to electromyogram, electrodermal response, and skin temperature. The results demonstrate that entropy change provides a valuable composite measure of individual physiological response to various stressors that could be valuable in the areas of medical research, diagnosis, and clinical practice.
Ornacitrus: Development of Genetically Modified Anthocyanin-expressing Citrus with Both Ornamental and Fresh Fruit Potential

Anthocyanins are beneficial bioflavonoids that have numerous roles in human health maintenance, disease prevention, and overall well-being. In addition, anthocyanins are key to the consumer appeal of many ornamental plants. Most citrus ( Citrus L.) plants do not produce anthocyanins under warm tropical and subtropical conditions. Anthocyanin pigments, responsible for the ‘‘blood’’ color of blood orange [ Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck], are produced after exposure to cold conditions during the fruit’s development. The transcription factor Ruby is responsible for the production of anthocyanin in blood orange. Functionally, similar genes exist in other fruit crops such as grape [ Vitis vinifera L. ( VvmybA1 and VvmybA2 )] and apple [Malus × domestica Borkh ( MdMYB10 )]. Here, VvmybA1 and Ruby genes were constitutively expressed in ‘Mexican’ lime ( Citrus aurantifolia Swingle). This cultivar performs optimally under Florida’s humid subtropical environment and has a short juvenile phase. Constitutive expression of VvmybA1 or Ruby resulted in anthocyanin pigmentation in the leaves, stems, flowers, and fruit. An increased pigmentation of the outer layer(s) of stem tissue was observed in ‘Mexican’ lime overexpressing the VvmybA1 , whereas lower anthocyanin levels were observed in plants overexpressing Ruby . Enhanced pigmentation was also observed in the young leaves; however, pigment intensity levels decreased as the leaves matured. Flower color ranged from light pink to fuchsia and the fruit pulp of several ‘Mexican’ lime lines were maroon; similar to a blood orange. The results demonstrate that expression of anthocyanin-related genes can affect temporal pigmentation patterns in citrus. It also opens up the possibility for the development of modified blood orange and other cultivars adapted to the subtropical environment.
Peripheral ammonia and blood brain barrier structure and function after methamphetamine.

An effect of the widely abuse psychostimulant, methamphetamine (Meth), is blood-brain-barrier (BBB) disruption; however, the mechanism by which Meth causes BBB disruption remains unclear. Recently it has been shown that Meth produces liver damage and consequent increases in plasma ammonia. Ammonia can mediate oxidative stress and inflammation, both of which are known to cause BBB disruption. Therefore, the current studies examined the role of peripheral ammonia in Meth-induced disruption of BBB structure and function. A neurotoxic Meth regimen (10 mg/kg, ip, q 2 h, ×4) administered to rats increased plasma ammonia and active MMP-9 in the cortex 2 h after the last Meth injection, compared to saline treated rats. At 24 h after Meth treatment, decreased immunoreactivity of BBB structural proteins, occludin and claudin-5, and increased extravasation of 10,000 Da FITC-dextran were observed, as compared to saline controls. Pretreatment with lactulose (5.3 g/kg, po, q 12 h), a drug that remains in the lumen of the intestine and promotes ammonia excretion, prevented the Meth-induced increases in plasma ammonia. These results were paralleled by the prevention of decreases in BBB structural proteins, increases in extravasation of 10,000 Da FITC-dextran and increases in active MMP-9. The results indicate that Meth-induced increases in ammonia produce BBB disruption and suggest that MMP-9 activation mediates the BBB disruption. These findings identify a novel mechanism of Meth-induced BBB disruption that is mediated by plasma ammonia and are the first to identify a peripheral contribution to Meth-induced BBB disruption.
Fine structure of mycota

The question of special features in fungal mitochondria which may have phylogenetic significance has been raised several times in recent literature. A representative survey of the micromorphology of over fifty genera of Eumycota shows a variability of mitochondrial structure similar to that of algae, higher plants, and metazoa. It is concluded from these observations that there is apparently nothing structurally characteristic of fungal mitochondria. Also pointed out is the similarity between a netlike endomembrane configuration in the cells of an Ascomycete containing as well typical mitochondria and the mitochondrial equivalents proposed in bacteria; the consequent caution is made that the identification of these structures with mitochondria should await substantiating biochemical evidence.
Supply Licensing When the Manufacturer Strategically Commits to Invest in R&D

This article proposes a strategic reason for a proprietary component supplier to license her technology to a competitor or a manufacturer: her anticipation of the manufacturer's strategic commitment to invest in research and development (R&D). We address this phenomenon with a game theoretic model. Our results show that the manufacturer's full commitment to invest in R&D enables the supplier to license, sell a larger quantity through the supply chain, and charge lower prices. These results are robust to the type of demand uncertainty faced by the manufacturer within the class of increasing generalized failure rate distributions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 341-350, 2014
The Analytical Solution to the Temporal Broadening of a Gaussian-Shaped Radio Pulse by Multipath Scattering from a Thin Screen in the Interstellar Medium

The radio pulse from a pulsar can be temporally broadened by multipath scattering in the interstellar medium and by instrumental effects within the radio telescope. The observed pulse shape is a convolution of the intrinsic one with the impulse responses of the scattering medium and instrumentation. Until recently, common methods used to model the observed shape made assumptions regarding the intrinsic pulse shape and impulse responses, computed the convolution numerically, and solved for the pulse width and scattering timescale iteratively. An analytical solution is shown to exist for the specific case of the temporal broadening of a Gaussian-shaped pulse by a thin scattering screen. The solution is applied to multi-frequency observations of PSR B1834-10 to characterize the frequency dependence of its intrinsic pulse width and scattering timescale.
Measurement of the Aging of Rubber Vulcanizates

Abstract Ultimate elongation (strain at failure) can be used to assess the aging of all rubber vulcanizates. For this purpose, it appears that Equation (2) can be used to express the early part of the aging process, corresponding to a period of aging at room temperature of 10 or more years. Prediction of shelf aging from tests at two or more elevated temperatures is only possible if the relationship between aging and temperature is known. For some rubber compounds the Arrhenius equation appears to hold. In these instances, it provides an effective means for estimating shelf aging.
Engineering Periodic shRNA for Enhanced Silencing Efficacy

RNA interference (RNAi) provides a versatile therapeutic approach via silencing of specific genes, particularly undruggable targets in cancer and other diseases. However, challenges in the delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) have hampered clinical translation. Polymeric or periodic short hairpin RNAs (p-shRNAs)-synthesized by enzymatic amplification of circular DNA-are a recent development that can potentially address these delivery barriers by showing improved stability and complexation to enable nanoparticle packaging. Here, we modify these biomacromolecules via structural and sequence engineering coupled with selective enzymatic digestion to generate an open-ended p-shRNA (op-shRNA) that is cleaved over ten times more efficiently to yield siRNA. The op-shRNA induces considerably greater gene silencing than p-shRNA in multiple cancer cell lines up to 9 days. Furthermore, its high valency and flexibility dramatically improve complexation with a low molecular weight polycation compared to monomeric siRNA. Thus, op-shRNA provides an RNAi platform that can potentially be packaged and efficiently delivered to disease sites with higher therapeutic efficacy.
Nucleation and Growth of Bubbles in Elastomers

Abstract The theory of homogeneous nucleation of bubbles is combined with an expression, for their rate of growth in elastomers to obtain approximate expressions for calculating the number of bubbles formed under a high degree of supersaturation. Experimental results are given for several elastomers with argon as the dissolved gas under a variety of foaming conditions. The theory adequately describes the manner in which the number of bubbles formed depends on the temperature, surface tension of the polymer, and permeability of the dissolved gas.
Cold snare polypectomy effectively reduces polyp burden in familial adenomatous polyposis

Background and study aims: Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is generally managed by colectomy, but in some cases surgery is delayed and polyp burdens are managed endoscopically. We aimed to describe the use of cold snare polypectomy to control the polyp burden in selected patients with FAP. Patients and methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. Polyps were counted and the range of polyp size recorded at each examination. Patients with a reduction in polyp number and mean size were considered to have successful endoscopic reduction of their polyp burdens. Results: Of 79 patients with FAP, 21 had an attempt at delaying surgery by cold snaring of at least 30 adenomas, and had at least one follow-up at our institution. Ten patients had intact colons, 6 had intact rectums, and 5 had heavy polyp burdens in an ileo-anal pouch. Among the 21 patients, the mean number of polyps resected at the first examination was 85, range 30 – 342. Nineteen of 21 patients had fewer polyps at the second examination, and of those, only one had any persistence of adenomas ≥ 1 cm in size. During follow-up, two patients underwent surgical resection and the remainder had reductions in their polyp burdens at follow-up endoscopy. Conclusions: Cold snare polypectomy effectively reduces polyp burden in selected FAP patients.
Suppression of Stiction in MEMS

Stiction failures in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) occur when suspended elastic members are unexpectedly pinned to their substrates. This type of device failure develops both in fabrication and during device operation, being a dominant source of yield loss in MEMS. Stiction failures require first a collapse force that brings the elastic member contact with the substrate followed by an intersolid adhesion sufficiently large to overcome the elastic restoring force. Stiction failure mechanisms have been studied extensively elsewhere [1]. This paper briefly summarizes these mechanisms in a the practical way. Over the last decade, stiction failure rates in MEMS have been minimized using a wide variety of processing, surface treatment, and physical schemes. An update of these methods is provided.
Power Electronics Loss Measurement Using New Heat Flux Sensor Based on Thermoelectric Device With Active Control

A new approach is presented for measuring the heat dissipation in power electronic devices using a commercial thermoelectric (TE) module as a heat flux sensor. The proposed sensor takes advantage of both the Seebeck and Peltier TE effects, yielding a new type of heat flux sensor with low thermal resistance and appealing accuracy/resolution characteristics. In order to explain the operating principles of this sensor, attention is focused on the model of the TE module and the method of controlling it as a heat flux sensor. The measured performance of early prototype versions of the sensor exhibits promising agreement with the calculated characteristics. One of the implementations of the proposed control method uses the new generation of thin-film TE modules that can measure higher heat flux values than their bulk-type counterparts, making them more attractive candidates for measuring the high heat flux characteristics of modern power modules.
Strategic map for exploring the ocean-world Enceladus

Abstract Among the many “ocean worlds” of our solar system, Enceladus appears unique in its combination of astrobiologically relevant and exploration-worthy attributes: extensive liquid-water ocean with active hydrothermal activity, containing salts and organics expressed predictably into space. The Enceladus south polar plume allows direct access to telltale molecules, ions, isotopes, and potential cytofragments in space. Plume mass spectroscopy and sample return, in situ investigation of surface fallback deposits, direct vent exploration, and eventually oceanographic exploration can all be envisioned. However, building consensus to fund such ambitious exploration hinges on acquiring key new data. A roadmap is essential. It could start with cost-capped onramps such as flythrough analysis of the plume, following up on Cassini measurements with modern instruments; and sample return of plume material for analysis on Earth. A methodical mission sequence in which each step depends on emergent results from prior missions would push in situ oceanographic exploration into the second half of this century. Even for this scenario, prioritization by the next planetary Decadal Survey would be pivotal.
A Formal Enantiospecific Synthesis of 7,20‐Diisocyanoadociane

7,20-Diisocyanoadociane (DICA) is a potent antimalarial isocyanoterpene endowed with a fascinating tetracyclic structure composed of fused chair cyclohexanes. We report a highly stereocontrolled synthesis of a late-stage intermediate, the “Corey dione”, from which DICA has been made previously. This formal synthesis features a rapid buildup of much of the complexity of the target through a sequence of enone tandem vicinal difunctionalization, Friedel–Crafts cyclodehydration, and sequential stereocontrolled reductions. Most importantly, this success establishes the broader feasibility of our previously developed general synthesis approach to the isocyanoterpene family and provides a blueprint for a very direct synthesis of DICA and related natural products.
A Free Energy Foundation of Semantic Similarity in Automata and Languages

This paper develops a free energy theory from physics including the variational principles for automata and languages and also provides algorithms to compute the energy as well as efficient algorithms for estimating the nondeterminism in a nondeterministic finite automaton. This theory is then used as a foundation to define a semantic similarity metric for automata and languages. Since automata are a fundamental model for all modern programs while languages are a fundamental model for the programs’ behaviors, we believe that the theory and the metric developed in this paper can be further used for real-word programs as well.
International legal structuralism: a primer

International legal structuralism arrived on the shores of international thought in the 1980s. The arrival was not well received, perhaps in part, because it was not well understood. This essay aims to reintroduce legal structuralism and hopefully pave the way for new, and more positive, receptions and understandings. This reintroduction is organized around two claims regarding the broader encounter between international lawyers and critical theory in the 1980s. The first was a jurisprudential claim about how the critics sought to show how international law was nothing more than a continuation of international politics by other means. The second was a historical claim about how the critics wanted to show that international law had never been anything but politics, and that it always would be. In the view of this essay, both of these claims about international legal structuralism were wrong, and they are still wrong today. For despite the tendency to think of it as a cover for postmodern nihilism or relentless deconstruction or both, legal structuralism offers international theorists an enriching and edifying method for rethinking the relation between law and politics on the one hand, and law and history on the other. It is in the effort to carry a brief for a reawakened legal structuralism that the essay brings focus to some of the early works of Koskenniemi and Kennedy, identifies the semiotic foundations of that work, and ultimately suggests the possibility of a second generation of international legal structuralism.
Antenatal and intrapartum risk factors for use of emergency and restorative Medicaid dental services for children.

PURPOSE To investigate the relationship between antenatal/intrapartum factors and Medicaid use. METHODS Three databases were used: (1) birth records; (2) Medicaid files; and (3) Medicaid dental claims. RESULTS Children of Caucasian mothers were 34 percent more likely to have more than one restorative claim versus children of African American mothers (odds ratio [OR] equals 1.34, 95 percent confidence interval [95% CI] equals 1.10 to 1.65, P<.005). Children born with low birth weight were 37 percent more likely to have emergency claims (OR equals 1.37, 95% CI equals 1.02 to 1.83, P=.03). The adjusted analysis found that Caucasian mothers had higher odds ratio of having a dental claim than African American mothers (P<.001): 33 percent for a restorative claim and 56 percent for an emergency claim. When race was analyzed, the odds of a restorative claim among African American mothers were 2.5 times higher in children delivered by C-section versus those vaginally delivered (OR equals 2.52, 95% CI equals 1.02-6.2, P<.001). CONCLUSIONS This study found: an association between children of Caucasian mothers and the likelihood of experiencing claims; and a relationship between children born with low birth weight and C-section and the likelihood of use of Medicaid services.
Interrogating Genes That Mediate Chlamydia trachomatis Survival in Cell Culture Using Conditional Mutants and Recombination

Intracellular bacterial pathogens in the family Chlamydiaceae are causes of human blindness, sexually transmitted disease, and pneumonia. Genetic dissection of the mechanisms of chlamydial pathogenicity has been hindered by multiple limitations including the inability to inactivate genes that would prevent the production of elementary bodies. Many genes are also Chlamydia -specific and chlamydial genomes have undergone extensive reductive evolution, so functions often cannot be inferred from homologs in other organisms. Conditional mutants have been used to study essential genes of many microorganisms, so we screened a library of 4,184 ethyl methanesulfonate-mutagenized C. trachomatis isolates for temperature sensitive (TS) mutants that developed normally at physiological temperature (37°C), but not at non-physiological temperatures. Heat sensitive TS mutants were identified at a high frequency while cold sensitive mutants were less common. Twelve TS mutants were mapped using a novel markerless recombination approach, PCR, and genome sequencing. TS alleles of genes that play essential roles in other bacteria and chlamydia-specific ORFs of unknown function were identified. Temperature-shift assays determined that phenotypes of the mutants manifested at distinct points in the developmental cycle. Genome sequencing of a larger population of TS mutants also revealed that the screen had not reached saturation. In summary, we describe the first approach for studying essential chlamydial genes, broadly applicable strategies for genetic mapping in Chlamydia spp., and mutants that both define checkpoints and provide insights into the biology of the chlamydial developmental cycle. Importance Study of the pathogenesis of Chlamydia spp. has historically been hampered by a lack of genetic tools. Although there has been recent progress in chlamydial genetics, the existing approaches have limitations for the study of genes that mediate growth of these organisms in cell culture. We used a genetic screen to identify conditional Chlamydia mutants and then mapped these alleles using a broadly applicable recombination strategy. Phenotypes of the mutants provide fundamental insights into unexplored areas of chlamydial pathogenesis and intracellular biology. Finally, the reagents and approaches we describe are powerful resources for the investigation of these organisms.
Social Justice-Oriented Interaction Design: Outlining Key Design Strategies and Commitments

In recent years, many HCI designers have begun pursuing research agendas that address large scale social issues. These systemic or "wicked" problems present challenges for design practice due to their scope, scale, complexity, and political nature. In this paper, we develop a social justice orientation to designing for such challenges. We highlight a breadth of design strategies that target the goals of social justice along six dimensions -- transformation, recognition, reciprocity, enablement, distribution, and accountability -- and elaborate three commitments necessary to developing a social justice oriented design practice -- a commitment to conflict, a commitment to reflexivity, and a commitment to personal ethics and politics. Although there are no easy solutions to systemic social issues, a social justice orientation provides one way to foster an engagement with the thorny political issues that are increasingly acknowledged as crucial to a field that is not just about technological possibility, but also about political responsibility.