cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
NONEQUILIBRIUM ROUGHENING AND FACETING OF INTERFACES IN DRIVEN ALLOYS

We consider the case of crystalline alloys submitted to an external forcing that produces ballistic atom exchanges. The dynamical stability of precipitate-matrix interfaces is studied by kinetic atomistic Monte Carlo simulations. At steady state, sharp precipitate-matrix interfaces can exhibit kinetic roughening, while diffuse interfaces may develop a surprising kinetic faceting. The latter results in nonequilibrium faceted shapes for precipitates. The possible implications for materials subjected to radiation fields or processed by ion beams are discussed.
Common epitaxial feature of various thin film textures

Abstract A common feature, the alignment of close-packed rows of metal atoms with directions in the substrate face, is exhibited in the several observed textures of Au, Ag, and Cu films vacuum-deposited on NaCl and MgO (100) faces under a variety of conditions. The occurrence of this common feature, which even plays a role in twinning, draws attention to a particular underlying epitaxial mechanism and leads to plausible hypotheses of the dominant nucleation and growth mechanisms in these simple systems.
Optical metrology for template and disk patterned imprints

Driven by the ever-growing storage density needs, the hard-disk drive (HDD) industry is transitioning to patterned magnetic media. For the first time, magnetic media disk production will require advanced lithography and critical dimension (CD) process control. The CDs of patterned media features will have to be smaller than the most advanced semiconductor design rules, and nano-imprint lithography (NIL) is the only candidate to yield such small dimensions at the low cost the industry demands. After an introduction to the industry's drivers for the transition, we give a summary of the NIL process for HDD media production, and an estimate of the CD metrology requirements for future process control. We then present some arguments and results to illustrate how a spectroscopic ellipsometry based scatterometry technique could be a good candidate to meet the CD control requirements of the patterned media roadmap. Simulations and experimental results on several DTM structures, for both template and disk imprints are discussed.
The interaction of operating systems and software engineering

Operating systems (OS's) are important to software engineering for four fundamental and significant reasons. 1) OS's define the abstract machines in terms of which subsystems and application programs must be implemented and upon which they must be executed. 2) OS's play a significant role in defining the programming environment for development of subsystems and applications. 3) OS's have in the past motivated and been the experimental vehicles for the development of many of the fundamental concepts of software engineering. 4) OS's research is, of necessity, leading the way in the development of the technology for the utilization of distributed systems and object oriented systems. This article attempts to place the concepts of OS's research and development in a software engineering perspective and to develop insights on the future contributions of OS's research to software engineering. An analysis of OS's research with a broader perspective is given by Denning, Browne, and Peterson [1]. Items 1) and 2) also explain why OS's and their characteristics are important not only to software engineers, but to all users of computer systems. The user who finds the OS of his computer system sometimes inconvenient to use should turn to the hardware reference manuals for his system and imagine directly using these incredibly detailed interfaces.
A study of the kinetics of the reaction between H2 and F2 by EPR methods

Abstract Attesting to its interest for laser-related studies, the reaction between hydrogen and fluorine has recently been studied by a variety of experimental approaches in laboratories throughout the world. An EPR superheterodyne X-band spectrometer was used in the present work in conjunction with a fast flow gas mixing system to obtain both hydrogen and fluorine atom concentrations. The reactant hydrogen atoms were produced by the dissociation of molecular hydrogen in a 2450 MHz microwave discharge unit; the product fluorine atoms were produced by the reaction of hydrogen atoms with molecular fluorine. The changes in both atom concentrations were followed as fluorine was added incrementally to the helium-diluted reactants, H + H 2 . Values of the specific rate constants for the H + F 2 and F + H 2 reactions at 300°K have been found to be 2.5 ± 0.2 × 10 12 cm 3 mole −1 sec −1 and 4 ± 1 × 10 12 cm 3 mole −1 sec 1 , respectively. Under the conditions of our experiments, i.e., at pressures of ca. 2 Torr and with quartz flow tube walls coated with boric acid, the contribution of a branched-chain step to the reaction mechanism appears to be minimal.
Nondestructive Determination of Areal Density and Tritium Content of Tritided Erbium Films with Beta-Excited X-rays

The x-ray spectrum emitted from a tritided erbium film as a result of the beta decay is used to determine areal density and tritium content of the film. A Si(Li) detector and a dedicated minicomputer are used for detection, acquisition, and data reduction. The technique is suitable for areal densities of erbium from 0.01 mg/cm2 to as high as 10 mg/cm2. The occluded tritium can be measured from less than one to several hundred microliters. Precision is generally determined by counting errors and is typically less than 1% for a 5-min count while accuracy depends upon the empirical calibration technique.
Reliability issues for linear colliders

To deliver a high integrated luminosity over several years of operation, a linear collider must not only meet its energy and luminosity performance goals, but also have a very high hardware availability and operating efficiency. The first challenge is the size and complexity of the facility. If the typical reliability of existing High Energy Physics accelerators is simply scaled to the size of a 500 GeV linear collider, the overall system availability will be too low. The final design must incorporate a more rigorous failure analysis as well as built-in overheads and redundancy. An additional challenge is the complexity of the tuning procedures required to preserve a very small beam emittance. These include beam-based alignment of magnets and rf structures, automated trajectory correction, feedback, emittance and luminosity optimization, and more. Another issue is the inherently large power densities in the beams, which can damage any beamline components they intercept. An extensive machine protection system is necessary to inhibit beam in case of a fault and automatically execute a recovery sequence. This paper will present the important issues in the context of the proposed linear collider designs.
Generating decision regions in analog measurement spaces

We develop a neural network that learns to separate the nominal from the faulty instances of a circuit in a measurement space. We demonstrate that the required separation boundaries are, in general, non-linear. Unlike previous solutions which draw hyperplanes, our network is capable of drawing the necessary non-linear hypersurfaces. The hypersurfaces translate to test criteria that are strongly correlated to functional tests. A feature selection algorithm interacts with the network to identify a discriminative low-dimensional measurement space.
Spectral mechanisms and color vision in the tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri).

The retina of the tree shrew (Tupaiu belangeri) is heavily cone dominated. rods comprising less than 4% of the total photoreceptors. Spectral mechanisms and color vision were investigated in this species in both behavioral and ci~trophysiologi~i experiments. In confi~ation of an earlier inv~tigation. the tree shrew was found to have a clear spectral neutral point (at ca 505 nm) and is thus a dichromat. Spectral sensitivity functions determined in an increment threshold discrimination task show two clear peaks (at ca 440 and 5.50-560 nm) with an intermediate region of lowered sensitivity centered at about 500 nm. Spectral sensitivity of the two cone types in this animal were determined using ERG flicker photometry. One of these cone classes has a peak at 556 nm; the other has a 444 nm peak.
The characterization and representation of massively parallel computing structures

The problem of graphical representations for massively parallel computers is addressed. Concise graphical representations that provide details of individual processing elements, describe their interconnections, and delineate the function of control signals are needed. Various types of massively parallel depictions in use are presented, as well as methods under development that utilize computational schemata and Petri nets. >
Dynamic service pricing for brokers in a multi-agent economy

Studies the price dynamics in a multi-agent economy consisting of buyers and competing sellers, where each seller has limited information about its competitors' prices. In this economy, buyers use comparison shopping agents (shopbots) while the sellers employ automated pricing agents (pricebots). Derivative following (DF) provides a simple, albeit naive strategy for dynamic pricing in such a scenario. In this work, we refine the DF algorithm and introduce a model optimizer (MO) algorithm that re-estimates the price-profit relationship for a seller at every interval more efficiently. Simulations using the MO pricebots indicate that it outperforms DF even though it has no additional information about the market.
The Effects of Various Ions on Resting and Spike Potentials of Barnacle Muscle Fibers

Effects of monovalent cations and some anions on the electrical properties of the barnacle muscle fiber membrane were studied when the intra- or extracellular concentrations of those ions were altered by longitudinal intra-cellular injection. The resting potential of the normal fiber decreases linearly with increase of logarithm of [K+]out and the decrement for a tenfold increase in [K+]out is 58 mv when the product, [K+]out ·[Cl-]out, is kept constant. It also decreases with decreasing [K+]in but is always less than expected theoretically. The deviation becomes larger as [K+]in increases and the resting potential finally starts to decrease with increasing [K+]in for [K+]in > 250 mM. When the internal K+ concentration is decreased the overshoot of the spike potential increases and the time course of the spike potential becomes more prolonged. In substituting for the internal K+, Na+ and sucrose affect the resting and spike potentials similarly. Some organic cations (guanidine, choline, tris, and TMA) behave like sucrose while some other organic cations (TEA, TPA, and TBA) have a specific effect and prolong the spike potential if they are applied intracellularly or extracellularly. In all cases the active membrane potential increases linearly with the logarithm of [Ca++]out/[K+]in and the increment is about 29 mv for tenfold increase in this ratio. The fiber membrane is permeable to Cl- and other smaller anions (Br- and I-) but not to acetate- and larger anions (citrate-, sulfate-, and methanesulfonate-).
The use of intramuscular benzodiazepines and antipsychotic agents in the treatment of acute agitation or violence in the emergency department

The management of an agitated, abusive or violent patient is a common and challenging problem in Emergency Medicine. Priorities include measures to ensure the safety of the patient and the emergency staff, including provision of physical restraint of the patient and evaluation for correctable medical causes of such behavior. Medications used in the treatment of such patients include benzodiazepines and antipsychotic agents. The newer atypical antipsychotic agents seem to provide a safe and effective treatment for such patients. The atypical antipsychotic agents may have fewer short-term side effects than older typical antipsychotic agents, such as haloperidol and droperidol. Currently available atypical antipsychotic medications for the treatment of acute agitation include ziprasidone and olanzapine, which can be administered in an intramuscular formulation, and risperidone, which is available in a rapidly dissolvable tablet and liquid formulation.
CO2 enrichment in a maturing pine forest: are CO2 exchange and water status in the canopy affected?

Elevated CO2 is expected to reduce forest water use as a result of CO2-induced stomatal closure, which has implications for ecosystem-scale phenomena controlled by water availability. Leaf-level CO2 and H2O exchange responses and plant and soil water relations were examined in a maturing loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stand in a free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiment in North Carolina, USA to test if these parameters were affected by elevated CO2. Current-year foliage in the canopy was continuously exposed to elevated CO2 (ambient CO2 + 200 μmol mol ‐1 ) in free-air during needle growth and development for up to 400 d. Photosynthesis in upper canopy foliage was stimulated by 50‐60% by elevated CO2 compared with ambient controls. This enhancement was similar in current-year, ambient-grown foliage temporarily measured at elevated CO2 compared with long-term elevated CO2 grown foliage. Significant photosynthetic enhancement by CO2 was maintained over a range of conditions except during peak drought. There was no evidence of water savings in elevated CO2 plots in FACE compared to ambient plots under drought and non-drought conditions. This was supported by evidence from three independent measures. First, stomatal conductance was not significantly different in elevated CO2 versus ambient trees of P. taeda. Calculations of timeintegrated ci/ca ratios from analysis of foliar δ 13 C showed that these ratios were maintained in foliage under elevated CO2. Second, soil moisture was not significantly different between ambient and elevated CO2 plots during drought. Third, pre-dawn and mid-day leaf water potentials were also unaffected by the seasonal CO2 exposure, as were tissue osmotic potentials and turgor loss points. Together the results strongly support the hypothesis that maturing P. taeda trees have low stomatal responsiveness to elevated CO2. Elevated CO2 effects on water relations in loblolly pine-dominated forest ecosystems may be absent or small apart from those mediated by leaf area. Large photosynthetic enhancements in the upper canopy of P. taeda by elevated CO2 indicate that this maturing forest may have a large carbon sequestration capacity with limiting water supply.
An Inverse Scattering Problem with Part of the Fixed-Energy Phase Shifts

Assume that q(r) is a real-valued, compactly supported potential, q(r)=0 for \(\), \(\). Let \(\) be an arbitrary fixed subset of non-negative integers such that \(\), and \(\) be fixed-energy phase shifts corresponding to q(r). The main result is:
Turning Lemons into Lemonade Where Is the Value in Peer Reviews

Authors need to view reviewers’ comments not as judgments about the value of their work, but as good data about potential readers of their articles. The editorial review process does have deficienc...
Septin assemblies form by diffusion-driven annealing on membranes

Septins assemble into filaments and higher-order structures that act as scaffolds for diverse cell functions including cytokinesis, cell polarity, and membrane remodeling. Despite their conserved role in cell organization, little is known about how septin filaments elongate and are knitted together into higher-order assemblies. Using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, we determined that cytosolic septins are in small complexes, suggesting that septin filaments are not formed in the cytosol. When the plasma membrane of live cells is monitored by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, we see that septin complexes of variable size diffuse in two dimensions. Diffusing septin complexes collide and make end-on associations to form elongated filaments and higher-order structures, an assembly process we call annealing. Septin assembly by annealing can be reconstituted in vitro on supported lipid bilayers with purified septin complexes. Using the reconstitution assay, we show that septin filaments are highly flexible, grow only from free filament ends, and do not exchange subunits in the middle of filaments. This work shows that annealing is a previously unidentified intrinsic property of septins in the presence of membranes and demonstrates that cells exploit this mechanism to build large septin assemblies.
Some results on the variogram in time series analysis

Data used for monitoring and control of industrial processes are often best modeled as a time series. An important issue is to determine whether such time series are stationary. In this article we discuss the variogram—a graphical tool for assessing stationarity. We build on previous work and provide further details and more general results including analytical structures of variogram for various non-stationary processes, and illustrate with a number of examples of variograms using standard data sets from the literature and simulated data sets.
Multiscale Community Blockmodel for Network Exploration.

Real-world networks exhibit a complex set of phenomena such as underlying hierarchical organization, multiscale interaction, and varying topologies of communities. Most existing methods do not adequately capture the intrinsic interplay among such phenomena. We propose a nonparametric multiscale community blockmodel (MSCB) to model the generation of hierarchies in social communities, selective membership of actors to subsets of these communities, and the resultant networks due to within- and cross-community interactions. By using the nested Chinese restaurant process, our model automatically infers the hierarchy structure from the data. We develop a collapsed Gibbs sampling algorithm for posterior inference, conduct extensive validation using synthetic networks, and demonstrate the utility of our model in real-world datasets, such as predator–prey networks and citation networks.
Multiple assembly mechanisms anchor the KMN spindle checkpoint platform at human mitotic kinetochores

During mitosis, the spindle checkpoint senses kinetochores not properly attached to spindle microtubules and prevents precocious sister-chromatid separation and aneuploidy. The constitutive centromere-associated network (CCAN) at inner kinetochores anchors the KMN network consisting of Knl1, the Mis12 complex (Mis12C), and the Ndc80 complex (Ndc80C) at outer kinetochores. KMN is a critical kinetochore receptor for both microtubules and checkpoint proteins. Here, we show that nearly complete inactivation of KMN in human cells through multiple strategies produced strong checkpoint defects even when all kinetochores lacked microtubule attachment. These KMN-inactivating strategies reveal multiple KMN assembly mechanisms at human mitotic kinetochores. In one mechanism, the centromeric kinase Aurora B phosphorylates Mis12C and strengthens its binding to the CCAN subunit CENP-C. In another, CENP-T contributes to KMN attachment in a CENP-H-I-K–dependent manner. Our study provides insights into the mechanisms of mitosis-specific assembly of the checkpoint platform KMN at human kinetochores.
The psychology of engagement with indigenous identities: A cultural perspective.

(c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.
PIDGIN: ontology alignment using web text as interlingua

The problem of aligning ontologies and database schemas across different knowledge bases and databases is fundamental to knowledge management problems, including the problem of integrating the disparate knowledge sources that form the semantic web's Linked Data [5].We present a novel approach to this ontology alignment problem that employs a very large natural language text corpus as an interlingua to relate different knowledge bases (KBs). The result is a scalable and robust method (PIDGIN) that aligns relations and categories across different KBs by analyzing both (1) shared relation instances across these KBs, and (2) the verb phrases in the text instantiations of these relation instances. Experiments with PIDGIN demonstrate its superior performance when aligning ontologies across large existing KBs including NELL, Yago and Freebase. Furthermore, we show that in addition to aligning ontologies, PIDGIN can automatically learn from text, the verb phrases to identify relations, and can also type the arguments of relations of different KBs.
Movement receptors in decapod Crustacea

The sense organ of Carcinus mamas located in the joint between the dactylo- and propodite possesses several types of sense cells (Wiersma & Boettiger, 1958). The most interesting types react to unidirectional displacement of the dactylopodite with equal sensitivity over the total possible arc of movement. Velocity has little influence on the discharges of the movement fibres since the maximum rate of firing is reached at a speed which is relatively little faster than the threshold. Fibres with marked differences in threshold are present for both extension and flexion. Other units in the organ react like conventional stretch receptors and give continuous discharges as long as the joint is near one of the extreme positions. Again different units are present for extension and for flexion. These position fibres are on the whole smaller than the movement fibres and their cell bodies have a more peripheral location in the organ.
Diaphorases from Aerobacter aerogenes

Abstract Bernofsky, Carl (The University of Kansas, Kansas City), and Russell C. Mills. Diaphorases from Aerobacter aerogenes. J. Bacteriol. 92:1404–1414. 1966.—Five enzymes which catalyze the reduction of 2,6-dichlorophenol-indophenol by reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH2) have been separated from sonic extracts of Aerobacter aerogenes B199 by diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) cellulose chromatography. Three major chromatographic fractions (enzymes I, II, and III) account for most of the activity in the extract. Of the two minor fractions, one is associated with cytochrome b1. The other is extremely labile, and was not studied further. The chromatographed diaphorases appear to have a specific requirement for flavin mononucleotide. They are also readily inactivated by dilution; however, this can be prevented by a combination of phosphate buffer, bovine serum albumin, and flavin mononucleotide. The different enzymes are clearly distinguishable by their activities with NADH2 and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH2) in the presence of various electron acceptors (2,6-dichlorophenol-indophenol, ferricyanide, menadione, and cytochrome c), and by their responses to inhibitors (amobarbital, antimycin A, Atabrine, p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate, dicumarol, and 2,4-dinitrophenol). With 2,6-dichlorophenol-indophenol as acceptor, enzymes I, II, and III have comparable activities with either NADH2 or NADPH2. With menadione and ferricyanide as acceptors, enzymes II and III exhibit very high, NADH2-specific activities. When cytochrome c is the acceptor, however, enzyme III shows greater activity with NADPH2 as the electron donor. Ferricyanide is the most active acceptor for the cytochrome b1-containing fraction. Coenzyme Q6 does not appear to serve as an acceptor. All the diaphorases, with the exception of that in the cytochrome b1-containing fraction, are inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate. Amobarbital is relatively ineffective and inhibits only the indophenol reductase activity of enzyme I. The menadione reductase activity of enzymes I, and II, and the diaphorases in the cytochrome b1-containing fraction are strongly inhibited by antimycin A, 2,4-dinitrophenol, dicumarol, and Atabrine. However, the menadione reductase activity of enzyme III is affected only by the last three of these inhibitors. The diaphorases in sonic-treated extracts do not appear to be associated with a particulate fraction.
Mitogen-activated protein kinases regulate COX-2 and mucosal recovery in ischemic-injured porcine ileum.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways transduce signals from a diverse array of extracellular stimuli. The three primary MAPK-signaling pathways are the extracellular regulated kinases (...
Evolutionary Genetics of an S-Like Polymorphism in Papaveraceae with Putative Function in Self-Incompatibility

Background: Papaver rhoeas possesses a gametophytic self-incompatibility (SI) system not homologous to any other SI mechanism characterized at the molecular level. Four previously published full length stigmatic S-alleles from the genus Papaver exhibited remarkable sequence divergence, but these studies failed to amplify additional S-alleles despite crossing evidence for more than 60 S-alleles in Papaver rhoeas alone. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using RT-PCR we identified 87 unique putative stigmatic S-allele sequences from the Papaveraceae Argemone munita, Papaver mcconnellii, P. nudicuale, Platystemon californicus and Romneya coulteri. Hand pollinations among two full-sib families of both A. munita and P. californicus indicate a strong correlation between the putative S-genotype and observed incompatibility phenotype. However, we also found more than two S-like sequences in some individuals of A. munita and P. californicus, with two products co-segregating in both full-sib families of P. californicus. Pairwise sequence divergence estimates within and among taxa show Papaver stigmatic S-alleles to be the most variable with lower divergence among putative S-alleles from other Papaveraceae. Genealogical analysis indicates little shared ancestral polymorphism among S-like sequences from different genera. Lack of shared ancestral polymorphism could be due to long divergence times among genera studied, reduced levels of balancing selection if some or all S-like sequences do not function in incompatibility, population bottlenecks, or different levels of recombination among taxa. Preliminary estimates of positive selection find many sites under selective constraint with a few undergoing positive selection, suggesting that self-recognition may depend on amino acid substitutions at only a few sites. Conclusions/Significance: Because of the strong correlation between genotype and SI phenotype, sequences reported here represent either functional stylar S-alleles, tightly linked paralogs of the S-locus or a combination of both. The considerable complexity revealed in this study shows we have much to learn about the evolutionary dynamics of self-incompatibility systems.
Digital image analysis of gram stained culture specimens

Digital image analysis for the interpretation of images in clinical microbiology has many potential advantages over current practices. Compared to traditional image interpretation by a medical technologist, digital image analysis offers standardization between laboratories, round-the-clock interpretation, and quantitative results. In the first study of its kind known to the authors, a digital image analysis program was prototyped to interpret a slide containing Gram stained microorganisms. The sample microorganisms were obtained from culture plates during routine processing and subjected to Gram’s stain. An initial study learned from 11 Gram-stained slides and classified their microorganisms into the group: Gram-positive, Gram-negative, rods, coccus, and yeast. The sensitivity of identification ranged from 66% to 99% and the specificity ranged from 78% to 99%. The algorithm was next applied to a larger set of 78 slides. The accuracy rate for slide classification was 60 out of 78 or 77%. After using this larger dataset to train the algorithm, the accuracy rate for individual objects was 94% averaged over 5 trials. This suggests the parameters used by the algorithm can differentiate between groups, and the lack of accuracy in classifying the larger database occurred due to limitations in the original training data. Overall, the project demonstrates a unique application of digital image analysis to clinical microbiology.
Engineering of Graphene Band Structure by Haptic Functionalization

We have employed first-principles density-functional calculations to study the electronic characteristics of graphene functionalized by metal-bis-arene and metal-carbonyl molecules. It is shown that functionalization with M-bis-arene (M(C6H6)@gr, M=Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe) molecules leads to an opening in the band gap of graphene (up to 0.81eV for the Cr derivative), and functionalization with M-carbonyl (M(CX)3@gr, X=O,N; M= Cr, Mn, Fe, Co) up to one 1eV for M=Cr and X=O, and therefore transforms graphene from a semi-metal to a semiconductor. The band gap induced by attachment of a metal atom topped by a functionalizing group is attributed to modification of π-conjugation and depends on the concentration of functionalizing molecules, metal’s and moiety’s electronic structure. This approach offers a means of tailoring the band structure of graphene and potentially its applications for future electronic devices.
Alkali Metal Chalcogenides for Radiation Detection

We report on the optical and charge transport properties of novel alkali metal chalcogenides, Cs2Hg6S7 and Cs2Cd3Te4, pertaining to their use in radiation detection. Optical absorption, photoconductivity, and gamma ray response measurements for undoped crystals were measured. The band gap energies of the Cs2Hg6S7 and Cs2Cd3Te4 compounds are 1.63 eV and 2.45 eV, respectively. The mobility-lifetime products for charge carriers are of the order of ~10−3 cm2/V for electrons and ~10−4 cm2/V for holes. Detectors fabricated from the ternary compound Cs2Hg6S7 shows well-resolved spectroscopic features at room temperature in response to γ-rays at 122 keV from a 57Co source, indicating its potential as a radiation detector.
Primary Frequency Control Strategy of Hydro Power Unit for Yunnan Power Network

Since the large capacity hydro power unit's primary control function is seldom put into use successfully, a feasible technical scheme is presented based on the analysis of existing scheme and simulation research. The improved scheme coordinates the control actions of supervisory control system and turbine governor so that the primary control function can be put in effect persistently. The scheme presented can be generalized to apply in similar type power plant.
Spectral feature characterization methods for blood stain detection in crime scene backgrounds

Blood stains are one of the most important types of evidence for forensic investigation. They contain valuable DNA information, and the pattern of the stains can suggest speciﬁcs about the nature of the violence that transpired at the scene. Blood spectral signatures containing unique reﬂectance or absorption features are important both for forensic on-site investigation and laboratory testing. They can be used for target detection and identiﬁcation applied to crime scene hyperspectral imagery, and also be utilized to analyze the spectral variation of blood on various backgrounds. Non-blood stains often mislead the detection and can generate false alarms at a real crime scene, especially for dark and red backgrounds. This paper measured the reﬂectance of liquid blood and 9 kinds of non-blood samples in the range of 350 nm - 2500 nm in various crime scene backgrounds, such as pure samples contained in petri dish with various thicknesses, mixed samples with diﬀerent colors and materials of fabrics, and mixed samples with wood, all of which are examined to provide sub-visual evidence for detecting and recognizing blood from non-blood samples in a realistic crime scene. The spectral diﬀerence between blood and non-blood samples are examined and spectral features such as “peaks” and “depths” of reﬂectance are selected. Two blood stain detection methods are proposed in this paper. The ﬁrst method uses index to denote the ratio of “depth” minus “peak” over“depth” add“peak” within a wavelength range of the reﬂectance spectrum. The second method uses relative band depth of the selected wavelength ranges of the reﬂectance spectrum. Results show that the index method is able to discriminate blood from non-blood samples in most tested crime scene backgrounds, but is not able to detect it from black felt. Whereas the relative band depth method is able to discriminate blood from non-blood samples on all of the tested background material types and colors.
The right to preventive health care

The right to health care is a right to care that (a) is not too costly to the provider, considering the benefits it conveys, and (b) is effective in bringing about the level of health needed for a good human life, not necessarily the best health possible. These considerations suggest that, where possible, society has an obligation to provide preventive health care, which is both low cost and effective, and that health care regulations should promote citizens' engagement in reasonable preventive health care practices.
Comparative approaches for assessing access to alcohol outlets: exploring the utility of a gravity potential approach.

A growing body of research recommends controlling alcohol availability to reduce harm. Various common approaches, however, provide dramatically different pictures of the physical availability of alcohol. This limits our understanding of the distribution of alcohol access, the causes and consequences of this distribution, and how best to reduce harm. The aim of this study is to introduce both a gravity potential measure of access to alcohol outlets, comparing its strengths and weaknesses to other popular approaches, and an empirically-derived taxonomy of neighborhoods based on the type of alcohol access they exhibit. We obtained geospatial data on Seattle, including the location of 2402 alcohol outlets, United States Census Bureau estimates on 567 block groups, and a comprehensive street network. We used exploratory spatial data analysis and employed a measure of inter-rater agreement to capture differences in our taxonomy of alcohol availability measures. Significant statistical and spatial variability exists between measures of alcohol access, and these differences have meaningful practical implications. In particular, standard measures of outlet density (e.g., spatial, per capita, roadway miles) can lead to biased estimates of physical availability that over-emphasize the influence of the control variables. Employing a gravity potential approach provides a more balanced, geographically-sensitive measure of access to alcohol outlets. Accurately measuring the physical availability of alcohol is critical for understanding the causes and consequences of its distribution and for developing effective evidence-based policy to manage the alcohol outlet licensing process. A gravity potential model provides a superior measure of alcohol access, and the alcohol access-based taxonomy a helpful evidence-based heuristic for scholars and local policymakers.
An FIR Filter Using Segmented Photodiodes for Silicon Photodiode Equalization

This letter presents a finite-impulse response (FIR) filter implemented using segmented photodiodes, which provides a bandwidth enhancement or a partial frequency response equalization for a silicon photodiode. The FIR filter utilizes an $LC$ ladder network for its delay cells, where each segmented photodiode constitutes the ladder network. The measurement results show that the three-tap high-pass FIR filter incorporating segmented photodiodes designed for maximum bandwidth equalization achieves a bandwidth improvement of 7.4 times compared with that of a photodiode without segmentation and filtering. The upper bound of the equalization frequency of the three-tap high-pass FIR filter designed in this letter for maximum peaking frequency equalization is 14 times of the photodiode bandwidth.
CMOS-MEMS resonant mixer-filters

RF mixer-filters made by micromachining composite metal and dielectric interconnect layers within foundry CMOS are a potential component in on-chip receivers. Through the electrostatic voltage-squared nonlinearity, mixer-filters down-convert to an intermodulation frequency set by the mechanical resonance enabling higher gain than resonant filters having a RF signal output. The research is leading toward resonant mixer-filters integrated with preamplifiers and having 0 dB insertion gain with sub-mW power
Enhancement of Microbial Biodesulfurization via Genetic Engineering and Adaptive Evolution.

In previous work from our laboratories a synthetic gene encoding a peptide (“Sulpeptide 1” or “S1”) with a high proportion of methionine and cysteine residues had been designed to act as a sulfur sink and was inserted into the dsz (desulfurization) operon of Rhodococcus erythropolis IGTS8. In the work described here this construct (dszAS1BC) and the intact dsz operon (dszABC) cloned into vector pRESX under control of the (Rhodococcus) kstD promoter were transformed into the desulfurization-negative strain CW25 of Rhodococcus qingshengii. The resulting strains (CW25[pRESX-dszABC] and CW25[pRESX-dszAS1BC]) were subjected to adaptive selection by repeated passages at log phase (up to 100 times) in minimal medium with dibenzothiophene (DBT) as sole sulfur source. For both strains DBT metabolism peaked early in the selection process and then decreased, eventually averaging four times that of the initial transformed cells; the maximum specific activity achieved by CW25[pRESX-dszAS1BC] exceeded that of CW25[pRESX-dszABC]. Growth rates increased by 7-fold (CW25[pRESX-dszABC]) and 13-fold (CW25[pRESX-dszAS1BC]) and these increases were stable. The adaptations of CW25[pRESX-dszAS1BC] were correlated with a 3-5X increase in plasmid copy numbers from those of the initial transformed cells; whole genome sequencing indicated that during its selection processes no mutations occurred to any of the dsz, S1, or other genes and promoters involved in sulfur metabolism, stress response, or DNA methylation, and that the effect of the sulfur sink produced by S1 is likely very small compared to the cells’ overall cysteine and methionine requirements. Nevertheless, a combination of genetic engineering using sulfur sinks and increasing Dsz capability with adaptive selection may be a viable strategy to increase biodesulfurization ability.
Spur-free current-mode hysteretic boost converter for noise-sensitive loads

A current-mode hysteretic boost converter with wide-band spread-spectrum control is introduced. The proposed converter produces a spur-free output spectrum under all operating conditions regardless of any variations in the switching frequency, load current or input and output voltages. Therefore, no additional passive filtering, or subsequent regulation is necessary to enable powering noise-sensitive loads from the converter. The proposed control scheme alleviates the need for complex frequency control loops that had been traditionally used with hysteretic converters to maintain a predictable noise spectrum. Simulation results demonstrate the successful operation of the proposed control scheme and the full elimination of output spurs.
Cortical Feedforward and Cortical Feedback Neural Systems in Alzheimer’s Disease

This chapter provides a brief review of the principles of organization that relate to long association axons systems in the cerebral cortex. In particular, feedforward sensory systems are traced to their endstations in the entorhinal/hippocampal cortex, the amygdala and the nucleus basalis of Meynert. Feedback projections to the cerebral cortex from these limbic structures are also highlighted. These cortical connections are discussed relative to the topography of pathology in Alzheimer’s disease and the fact that neurofibrillary tangles invariantly affect these cortical systems early in the illness. It is argued that the co-occurrence of pathology in the endstations of feedforward systems and the origin of initial feedback systems is coupled tightly to alterations of memory in Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive changes associated with the disorder. Widespread association cortex pathology, seen at endstage Alzheimer’s disease, is related likely to degree, or density, of impairment in the disorder, but may be secondary to the behaviorally disruptive consequences of early and invariant limbic system pathology.
Eubria mesoamericana Barr and Shepard (Coleoptera: Psephenidae: Eubriinae), a New Psephenid Species from Central America with an Enigmatic Generic Distribution

Abstract Eubria mesoamericana Barr and Shepard, new species, is described from Panama and Costa Rica, accompanied by images of the adult and larva and illustrations of the male genitalia. Habitat information is provided for the specimens collected by the authors. The discovery of a new species of Eubria Latreille in the Neotropics reveals a surprising geographic disjunction from its only congener in the Palearctic, Eubria palustris (Germar). Placement of the new species in the genus Eubria is supported by adult and larval morphological characters.
Mediterranean Exemplars: Jesuit Political Lessons for a Mughal Emperor

The chapter looks at Jesuit interactions with the Asian world in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and in particular at the idea of the exchange and circulation of political models. It focuses on the treatise Ādāb al-Saltanat, written by Jeronimo Xavier (with ‘Abdus Sattar ibn Qasim Lahauri). It shows how the Jesuit attempted to pick and choose examples both from the distant Mediterranean past (Greece, Rome, the Bible and Byzantium), and a more recent one (medieval and early modern Iberia, France, Italy and even England), to provide a certain image of the functioning of politics. While trying to over-emphasise the “idealistic” side of European politics, Xavier was nevertheless unable to prevent his examples from often sliding into a more “realistic” register, thus revealing the influence of Machiavelli.
Free Vitamin D: Concepts, Assays, Outcomes, and Prospects

Abstract Total serum 25(OH)D is used clinically as a biomarker for vitamin D status. However, the biochemistry of its transportation, the features of its metabolism, and the mechanisms of its entry into different cell types combine to complicate its designation as the best biomarker of vitamin D sufficiency. Vitamin D-binding protein is the major transport protein of vitamin D metabolites, and it has been proposed that the small portion of 25(OH)D that is unbound (free 25(OH)D) or bound only to albumin (bioavailable 25(OH)D) could be relevant measures of vitamin D status. This chapter reviews the concepts behind free and bioavailable 25(OH)D, the studies that suggest their possible importance, the new assays that are used to measure or estimate them, and the clinical and epidemiologic studies that have evaluated them. The likely utility of these biomarkers is evaluated based on current knowledge, and prospects for the future are offered.
The Role of Radiation Therapy for Upper Urinary Tract Malignancies

Historically, tumors arising from the upper urinary tract have been considered to be radioresistant, hence the primary management of these tumors is surgery. No study to date has shown improved survival for adjuvant radiation therapy in resectable renal cell carcinomas. This finding is most likely due to the fact that the vast majority of failures are distant, rather than local, and the anatomical location of the kidney has made it difficult to deliver high doses of radiation using older treatment techniques, due to the limitations in tolerance to radiation of surrounding organs. For tumors of the renal pelvis and the ureter, the local recurrence rate after surgery remains low, although there is retrospective evidence to suggest that postoperative radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy may improve locoregional control in selected patients. Radiotherapy plays an important and growing role in the management of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Newer approaches to treatment delivery, combined with more sophisticated target localization, such as stereotactic radiation therapy, and the use of charged particles, may overcome limitations of older techniques, and permit the delivery of tumoricidal doses without exceeding normal tissue tolerance. Thus, radiotherapy, owing to its noninvasive nature, may be an attractive alternative for patients unsuitable for surgery. The use of radiotherapy as primary treatment for renal cell carcinoma is the subject of current investigation.
On a Detection Estimator Related to Entropy

The paper discusses the problem of estimation of parameters in a Rayleigh distribution modified to take into account the additional information. Madan and Guild [1981] have already given the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) and the minimum mean squared estimator (MMSE) for the problem. Here we propose a new type of estimator called the entropy estimator for finding the mean of the samples from a small number of observations. The entropy estimator is the ratio of the arithmetic mean to the geometric mean multiplied by a normalizing constant. After normalizing the three estimates appropriately, the tightness of the entropy estimator is demonstrated numerically.
Site of action and active form of local anesthetics.

Publisher Summary Local anesthetics penetrate the nerve membranes in the uncharged molecular forms, are dissociated into cations inside the axon, and exert the blocking action in the cationic forms from inside the nerve membrane. This chapter presents the interpretation of the existing data in the literature using the present model. The experimental data is described in a summarized form in the chapter and, the data is in support of the concept that local anesthetics block the action potential by combining with a site on the inside surface of the nerve membrane in their charged form. The effects of pH changes on the blocking potency of tertiary amine local anesthetics can be accounted for by this model. Moreover, quaternary amines are able to block the action potential much more strongly from inside than from outside the nerve membrane. The chapter discusses several factors that may affect the present analyses. These factors are the concentrations in the unstirred membrane layer, the possible dilution of local anesthetics, the possibility that both charged and uncharged forms of local anesthetics are active in blocking the action potential, and the possibility that the active sites on receptors in the nerve membrane are changed in their sensitivity to the local anesthetics when pH is altered because of titration of active groups. However, within the limit of pH change used in the study described in the chapter, the fourth factor that may affect the present analyses can be excluded for some reasons. The chapter highlights these reasons. The last factor that may affect these analyses is the penetration of certain quaternary compounds to the membrane.
Marxism in Ebony Contra Black Marxism: Categorical Implications

Today, as we further enter the first decade of the twenty-first century, and especially in light of the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the Eastern European bloc of socialism, we witness stringent calls to ‘rethink’ Marxism and even proclamations to the effect that we should discard Marxism as a philosophical perspective all-together. Over the course of the twentieth century, however, African Americans committed to Marxism made substantial inroads respecting the propagation of this philosophy for African American liberation struggle. Subsequently, for a considerable amount of time, activists and scholars in the Black movement have debated the merits of Marxism and its applicability to the Black movement.
Customers’ perceptions in value and food safety on customer satisfaction and loyalty in restaurant environments: moderating roles of gender and restaurant types

Using a valid sample of 334 restaurant diners, this study investigated the relative effects of perceived value and food safety on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The proposed model was ...
The influence of immigration terminology on attribution and empathy

We report the findings of an experimental study that tested the contributions of semiotic and critical discourse studies on immigration. Two-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted to exam...