cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Turbulent inward pinch of plasma confined by a levitated dipole magnet

Turbulence usually makes plasmas more homogeneous. But in an unusual device for which the confining field is generated by a levitated half-tonne superconducting magnet, a study finds that turbulent fluctuations can actually increase the density of a plasma by driving diffusion against a density gradient.
Mass-Spectrometric Study of the Reaction of Atomic Hydrogen with Acetaldehyde

The reaction of atomic hydrogen with acetaldehyde has been studied with a discharge‐flow system coupled to a time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer. The results are consistent with the mechanism Primary step: CH3CHO+H→CH3CO+H2; Secondary steps: CH3CO+H→CH2CO+H2, CH2CO+H→CH3CO*→CH3+CO, and CH3+H→ lim wallCH4.The rate constant for the abstraction of the aldehydic hydrogen in the primary step (1) for the isotopic modification CD3CDO+D has been determined directly to be 3.2±0.5×10−14 cc molecule−1·sec−1 at 300°K. Under the conditions studied, the major reaction of the acetyl radical is its further reaction with hydrogen atoms to form ketene (6). The final carbon containing products, CO and CH4, are formed from subsequent reactions of ketene with hydrogen atoms (10). The kinetic behavior of the products, CH2CO and CH4, confirms the role of ketene as a major intermediate species in this system. Isotopic studies further confirm that methane is formed from a reaction sequence of ketene with H atoms. The above mechanism...
Regular and Inverse Secondary Kinetic Enthalpy Effects (KHE) for the Rate of Inversion of Thioether and 1,1‘-Biisoquinoline Complexes of Ruthenium and Osmium

Thioether complexes with the formula Δ/Λ-chloro(thioether)bis(2,2‘-bipyridine)metal(II) (M = Ru, Os; thioether = dimethyl sulfide (3a+), diethyl sulfide (3b+), and tetrahydrothiophene (3c+)) have been synthesized. The rates of inversion at the sulfur atom of the thioether ligands have been measured by spin-inversion transfer and line-shape NMR methods. In every case, the ruthenium derivative exhibits a faster inversion frequency at a given temperature than the corresponding osmium derivative. In contrast, similar complexes with the formula chloro(δ/λ-1,1‘-biisoquinoline)(2,2‘:6‘,2”-terpyridine)metal(II), 4(M=Ru,Os)+, undergo atropisomerization of the misdirected 1,1‘-biisoquinoline (1,1‘-biiq) ligand with rates that are faster for osmium than ruthenium. As a result of the lanthanide contraction effect and the similar metric parameters associated with the structures of second-row and third-row transition metal derivatives, steric factors associated with the isomerizations are presumably similar for the Ru ...
A hemolysis-hemagglutination assay for characterizing constitutive innate humoral immunity in wild and domestic birds.

Abstract Methods to assess immunocompetence requiring only a single sample are useful in comparative studies where practical considerations prevent holding or recapturing individuals. The assay for natural antibody-mediated complement activation and red blood cell agglutination described here, requiring ∼100 μl of blood, is highly repeatable. The effects of complement deactivation, 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME), age, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sickness response were examined to validate comparisons among diverse avian species. Complement deactivation by heating significantly reduces lysis and treatment with 2-ME reduces both lysis and agglutination. Lysis and agglutination both increase with age in chickens; LPS treatment does not influence these variables in 11-week-old chickens. In a comparison of 11 species, both lysis (0.0–5.3 titers) and agglutination (1.8–8.0 titers) vary significantly among species. Accordingly, this assay can be used to compare constitutive innate humoral immunity among species and with respect to age, sex, and experimental treatments within populations.
Recent advances in the understanding of HIV accessory protein function.

In addition to the structural proteins required for viral replication HIV expresses several additional proteins. Although these proteins are not required for viral replication in tissue culture systems they are important factors for the development of pathogenesis. These factors known as accessory proteins include the HIV proteins Nef Vpr Vpu and Vif. The accessory proteins are a defining feature of lentiviruses and are necessary for HIV to cause AIDS. Because the accessory proteins play an important role in causing the clinical manifestations of HIV disease they have become potential targets for antiviral therapies and many basic research studies have been designed to gain an understanding of their modes of action. The following discussion highlights a number of important insights that have emerged over the past year into how this important class of HIV protein functions. (excerpt)
Neuropsychologic outcomes in a case series of twins discordant for perinatal stroke.

Perinatal stroke may affect cognitive development, but few studies have addressed the details of cognitive function after perinatal stroke. The present study was designed to compare the neuropsychologic features of five sets of twins discordant for perinatal stroke. All of the affected children had unilateral middle cerebral artery infarction (two left, three right); four of the five infarcts were large-branch, affecting the entire M1 territory. Three of the five affected children had comorbid epilepsy. Measures of intelligence, memory, language, attention, executive function, visual-motor integration, and fine motor skills were administered to children at a median age of 5 years (range, 5-8 years). Relative to their unaffected co-twins, the twins with perinatal stroke exhibited lower levels of full scale (p = 0.005), verbal (p = 0.006), and nonverbal (p = 0.005) intelligence. Children with perinatal stroke also showed significant deficits on tests of verbal memory (p = 0.041), receptive language (p = 0.011), verbal fluency (p = 0.019), and visual attention (p = 0.011), compared with their unaffected co-twins. Twin gestation may be a risk factor for poor cognitive outcome after perinatal stroke. Large infarct size and comorbid epilepsy may have contributed to some of the poor cognitive outcomes in this cohort.
Purley Four-dimensional Viable Anomaly Mediation

Anomaly mediation of supersymmetry breaking solves the supersymmetric flavor problem thanks to its ultraviolet-insensitivity. However, it suffers from two problems: sleptons have negative masses-squared, and there are likely bulk moduli that spoil the framework. Here, we present the first fully ultraviolet-insensitive model of anomaly mediation with positive slepton masses-squared in a purely four-dimensional framework. Our model is based on the additional D-term contributions to the sparticle masses, and the conformal sequestering mechanism.
The importance of ionization and displacement damage to the crystalline-amorphous transformation observed in quartz

Abstract A radiolytic yield and an average displacement damage cross section are calculated for quartz based upon recent ion, neutron and electron irradiation studies.
Apomixis in the Poa secunda complex

Observation of cleared ovules of Poa secunda Presl showed that plants produce aposporous embryo sacs, and emasculation studies showed that they do not set seed without pollen. The ratio of sexual to asexual embryo sacs on a given plant does not correlate with percent stainable pollen, nor does pollen stainability correlate with meiotic regularity or with chromosome number. Percent apomictic ovules, percent pollen stainability, and regularity of meiosis all vary within a given population; they also vary if the same plant is moved from one site to another. Although there is morphological variation in the species, none of the reproductive features correlates with morphology. Pollen from any morph will stimulate seed set in any other morph, and hybrids have been produced in low frequency. Plants will also set seed using their own pollen. In its reproductive biology, P. secunda exhibits many similarities with P. pratensis L. THE GENUS Poa includes a number of widespread polyploid species complexes, each made
WE-C-217BCD-09: Compressed Sensing in PET Imaging with Partial Detector Rings.

Purpose: Investigate the possibility of reducing the number of PETdetector elements per ring (introduce gaps) while maintaining image quality by employing compressed sensing techniques. Methods: A uniform Ge‐68 phantom was imaged on a D‐RX PET/CT scanner twice; once with all detectors operational (baseline) and once with 8 equidistant detector blocks turned off (partially sampled [PS], 11% detectors off. The resulting PS sinogram was then decomposed in two different components, each sparsely represented in a specific transform domain. An iterative optimization technique was then used to recover the PS sinogram based on the solution of a combination of underdetermined system of equations and block‐ coordinated relaxations. In addition, the total variation is minimized for the first component to direct it into a piece‐wise smooth model. Finally the two components were summed to obtain the sinogram which was used to compare with the original PS sinogram. Comparison was done only for existing sinogram pixel values. This process was repeated iteratively until a RMS error of 5% or a total of 100 iterations were reached. For each iteration update, the values of the pixels corresponding to the missing detectors were obtained from the previous iteration while the remaining pixel values were extracted from the baseline sinogram. The resultant corrected sinograms where then reconstructed using OSEM and FBP and the corresponding images for full and PS sinograms were compared using mean and max activity concentration in a ROI placed centrally over the phantom. Results: For OSEM (FBP) reconstruction, the mean and max activity concentration difference were ‐0.06% (‐0.02%) and 3.7% (5.5%) respectively when compared to baseline. Conclusions: Compressed sensing seems to have the ability to recover PS PET data. Such an approach can potentially be used to generate PETimages with accurate quantitation while reducing number of detectors/ring.
Study of elementary surface acoustic wave phenomena

Many attempts have been made in acoustic microscopy to both achieve nanometer lateral resolution and sub-A wave amplitude detection. Employing a scanning acoustic force microscopy technique, acoustic wave properties of arbitrarily polarized modes can be measured with sub-wavelength resolution and high sensitivity. Surface acoustic wave fields of elementary model systems like a single scatterer and a single wave source are analysed in detail. We are able to observe radiation patterns, revealing the influence of the anisotropy of the GaAs substrate and the angular distribution of the piezoelectric coupling coefficient.
Image reconstruction of two-dimensional objects inside dielectric walls

This paper discusses a special imaging reconstruction problem in which the object to be reconstructed resides in a homogeneous media but consists of a known part and an unknown part. The known part is combined with the homogeneous background media to form an inhomogeneous media. The dielectric permittivity profiles are reconstructed for the unknown part using the Born iteration (BI) method. Numerical examples demonstrate that this modified BI algorithm has faster convergence and higher accuracy than the regular BI method. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 36: 91–95, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.10684
Characterization of tissue response to radiofrequency ablation using 3D model-based analysis of interventional MR images

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), real-time guidance is feasible for radiofrequency (RF) current ablation of pathologic tissue. Lesions have a characteristic two-zone appearance: an inner core (Zone I) surrounded by a hyper-intense rim (Zone II). A better understanding of both the immediate (hyper-acute) and delayed (sub-acute) physiological response of the target tissue will aid development of minimally invasive tumor treatment strategies. We performed in vivo RF ablations in a rabbit thigh model and characterized the tissue response to treatment through contrast enhanced (CE) T1 and T2 weighted MR images at two time points. We measured zonal grayscale changes as well as zone volume changes using a 3D computationally fitted globally deformable parametric model. Comparison over time demonstrated an increase in the volume of both the inner necrotic core (mean 56.5% increase) and outer rim (mean 16.8% increase) of the lesion. Additionally, T2 images of the lesion exhibited contrast greater than or equal to CE T1 (mean 35% improvement). This work establishes a foundation for the clinical use of T2 MR images coupled with a geometric model of the ablation for noninvasive lesion monitoring and characterization.
The marginals and time-frequency distributions

We address the question of the importance of satisfying the marginal conditions in a time-frequency distribution and discuss in detail the fundamental and practical issues involved. We also examine the marginals of the spectrogram. The spectrogram often gives reasonable results even though both marginals can never be satisfied exactly, but sometimes it can give very unreasonable results. We show by examples that the spectrogram gives the clearest characterization of the time-frequency properties of a signal when the combined error in both of its marginals is as small as possible. In contrast, when the error in either one of the marginals of the spectrogram is large, the time-frequency characterization degrades. Some different error measures are described. We discuss the issues involved both theoretically and by way of numerical simulations. We also address the issue of marginals for the random case.
Nitric Oxide and Prostanoids Contribute to Isoflurane-induced Cerebral Hyperemia in Pigs

BACKGROUND The mechanism of isoflurane-induced cerebral hyperemia is poorly understood. Data from studies in vitro suggest that volatile anesthetics release a vasodilator prostanoid. We hypothesized that prostanoids and nitric oxide (NO) are mediators of this response in vivo. If true, inhibition of cyclooxygenase by indomethacin (5 mg/kg intravenously) or of nitric oxide synthase by N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 40 mg/kg intravenously) should attenuate isoflurane-induced hyperemia. Any response to L-NAME occurring via nitric oxide should be competitively reversed by L-arginine. METHODS The cerebral blood flow (microsphere) response to 1 MAC isoflurane was tested at three time points (0, 90, and 180 min) in pentobarbital-anesthetized pigs. Isoflurane challenges were separated by 60-min periods of continuous intravenous pentobarbital alone. Control animals (n = 7) received no additional pharmacologic intervention. Experimental animals were randomized to receive L-NAME before the second and indomethacin before the third isoflurane challenge (n = 7); L-NAME before the second and L-arginine (400 mg/kg intravenously) before the third isoflurane challenge (n = 9); or indomethacin before the second and L-NAME before the third isoflurane challenge (n = 8). RESULTS In control animals, isoflurane reproducibly increased cerebral blood flow (whole brain; 113 +/- 18%, 120 +/- 18%, and 103 +/- 19% increase above baseline at each time point, respectively). Both indomethacin and L-NAME attenuated (10 +/- 10% and 52 +/- 11% increase, respectively) the hyperemic response to isoflurane. The effect of L-NAME was reversed by L-arginine. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that both prostanoids and nitric oxide contribute to isoflurane-induced hyperemia. We are unable to determine from our data what, if any, interaction exists between these two mechanisms.
The Function of Metaphor in Technical Discourse

Metaphor is best conceived not as a textual feature, but as a product of readers responding to texts. In technical discourse, metaphors help readers perform certain physical and mental operations. ...
Magnetic-field modulation of surface plasmon polaritons on gratings

The propagation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on gratings can be experimentally modified when magneto-optically active materials are used. We have observed this effect in Au–Co thin-film bilayers where a polymer grating was patterned on the upper surface. In addition, Au–Co–Au trilayers were grown on polycarbonate gratings, and the Co layer thicknesses and placement from the upper interface were varied to further investigate this effect. We show that the Co layer must be tailored to balance optical absorption and magneto-optical activity, while the pitch of the grating can be adjusted to tune the angular dependence of the field-dependent SPP excitation.
HIGH CAPACITY MO RECORDING CHANNEL ISSUES

We have demonstrated that the expected capacity increase from PPM to PWM recording channel can be fully realized in the next generation optical recording drives provided that the critical media characteristics are tightly controlled, and advanced read/write techniques are properly implemented in the channel. For future products with 10x and higher capacities, the media characteristics such as thermal sensitivities and groove noise must be greatly improved to retain the advantage of advanced recording techniques used in PWM or PAM channels. We have demonstrated that 10x capacity increase can be achieved with a PWM channel and short wavelength lasers if these improvements are made [1].
Three decades of fish cell culture: A current listing of cell lines derived from fishes

Cultured fish cells currently have application in many fields of biological research, and teleost cell lines have been initiated from a broad range of tissues and organs. Lines reported in the literature represent 74 species or hybrids from 34 families of fishes. A listing of these fish cell lines is provided.
Improvement of normalization methods for eigenvector derivatives

The subject algorithms are all forward analysis, i.e., the eigenvector changes are being driven by design parameter perturbations. The new method emphasizes proper mass normalization and is most needed when iteratively computing eigenvector perturbations within a reduced-dimension space.
Hair manifestations of systemic disease.

The leading hair signs of nutrition-related disorders are thin hair, dyspigmentation (specifically lightening), alopecia, and decurling and brittle hair. Eighty percent of children with kwashiorkor or marasmus have at least one hair sign, and hypopigmentation and thinning are most common. The flag sign occurs when altering light and dark bands are visible within single hairs on the scalp (Fig 1). The lighter colored hairs are thought to be hair growth during periods of malnutrition, but details of the cause of this sign and generalized hypopigmentation are not known.
Growing Pains: A Theory of Stress and Moral Conflict

This article outlines a relationship between the crises that create stress in our lives and periods of instability in moral development. Stressful issues, we suggest, are more difficult to resolve during periods of developmental instability. When problems are most stressful we often experience the impact of that stress physiologically. The physiological symptoms of stress, we argue, reflect unresolved problems in primary relationships that occurred during the early (sensorimotor) developmental stages when feelings are experienced physiologically. In this way the physiological symptoms of stress become a metaphoric map for the developmental resolution of moral issues. Thus, stress and its symptoms, rather than becoming debilitating, can be reconstructed as “Growing Pains.”
Features of programmed cell death precede watersoaking development in ethylene-treated immature cucumber fruit.

Abstract The response of harvested cucumber fruit to exogenous ethylene is strongly controlled by developmental stage. Ethylene induces massive carotenoid accumulation and evolution of volatiles in detached mature fruit. By contrast, identical treatment of fruit harvested early in development induces rapid softening and acute watersoaking, a common postharvest disorder occurring in response to many biotic and abiotic stressors. Immature cucumber fruit appear to be an ideal model to study the early cellular and molecular events leading to watersoaking because this disorder can be in induced in a highly predictable manner. Cellular and molecular changes in mini-cucumber fruit at four developmental stages (Immature, Mature, Breaker, and Yellow) were monitored under continuous air or 1.3 mL L −1 propylene. Cell membrane integrity was evaluated by measuring electrolyte leakage and vital staining with fluorescein diacetate (FDA). Tissues from fruit at all developmental stages exposed to air exhibited low and constant electrolyte leakage, and bright and defined fluorescein staining of the cytosol throughout storage. Tissues from propylene-treated Immature fruit exhibited sharp increases in electrolyte leakage, tissue watersoaking and diffuse FDA staining, indicating cell death. Tissues from propylene-treated Breaker and Yellow fruit exhibited increased electrolyte leakage but negligible changes in fluorescein staining. Cucumber fruit were further examined to determine whether ethylene-induced watersoaking involved programmed cell death (PCD) events. Immature cucumber fruit were treated with 10 μL L −1 ethylene for 9 d. Immature fruit showed evidence of DNA laddering following 4 d of ethylene treatment, with more extensive fragmentation evident after 6 d. Total nuclease activity increased in Immature cucumber, and much more extensively in ethylene-treated fruit. SDS-PAGE followed by activity staining detected a 37 and 34.5 kDa nuclease. The 37 kDa nuclease was induced de novo as early as 1 d after ethylene treatment, with significant increases in activity noted at 3 d and continuing through 7 d. Activity of the 34.5 kDa nuclease increased in control and to a much greater extent in ethylene-treated fruit. The increases in nuclease activity in ethylene-treated fruit preceded the appearance of DNA laddering. The data indicate that ethylene activates apoptotic-like PCD that culminates in the development of watersoaking. The PCD-related events in Immature cucumber fruit share features with the deterioration of other horticultural commodities harvested at immature stages of development. We propose that PCD may represent a common feature of immature commodities in storage, and that the terminal symptoms will vary in accordance with organ or tissue type, and stage of development.
Interactions between goldenrod ( Solidago altissima L.) and its insect herbivore ( Trirhabda virgata ) over the course of succession

Consumers can mediate the composition of plant communities and alter ecosystem processes. Although herbivores usually increase N availability in the short term, they might decrease it in the long term. I investigated the long-term effect of insect herbivores on leaf tissue quality and soil N availability in goldenrod (Solidago altissima) fields using two approaches: (1) I compared plots from which herbivores had been excluded for 17 years with adjacent plots that had experienced normal levels of herbivory, and (2) I examined a chronosequence of nine goldenrod fields representing three successional stages: early, middle, and late. These parallel approaches showed that, in the long term, herbivores decrease the quality of leaf litter and soil N availability in goldenrod fields. These long-term effects appear to compensate for various short-term effects that increase N availability in the soil (e.g., added frass, increased light penetration). Furthermore, herbivores decrease leaf litter quality and N availability by reducing the quality of leaf tissue within the same species. This pattern may result from insect herbivores preferentially grazing on plants with a high N content thereby increasing the amount of recalcitrant litter over the course of succession.
Compartmentalization of the cervicocollic reflex in cat splenius muscle

We have examined the cervicocollic reflex (CCR), evoked by horizontal rotation of the head of decerebrate cats, in the dorsal neck extensor muscle splenius. This muscle is divided into compartments which are innervated by three or four spinal segments; an analogous Compartmentalization may be observed in the CCR.
Fast and Accurate Structure-Based Prediction of Resistance to the HIV-1 Integrase Inhibitor Raltegravir

Integration of reverse transcribed viral DNA into the human genome represents an essential step in the replication cycle of HIV-1, a process mediated by the viral enzyme integrase (IN). Raltegravir (RAL), an HIV-1 strand transfer inhibitor that binds integrase, is the first drug in its class to be approved for clinical use. As with HIV-1 protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors, the degree of susceptibility to RAL can vary in patients due to mutations in the viral genome region that encodes IN. Employing a dataset of over two hundred translated IN sequences, each with a quantified susceptibility value and harboring a unique set of amino acid replacements relative to the native IN, here we develop and evaluate statistical learning models for predicting phenotype (i.e., RAL susceptibility) from genotype (i.e., translated IN sequences). Each IN mutant is represented as a feature vector of structure-based attributes obtained via an in silico mutagenesis approach that quantifies IN residue-specific environmental perturbations upon mutation. Cross-validated performance is consistent among four classification models (random forest, support vector machine, decision tree, and neural network), with balanced accuracy reaching 93%, and two regression models (reduced-error pruned tree, and support vector regression), with a correlation coefficient as high as r = 0.90.
DC-gate-bias stressing of a-Si:H TFTs fabricated at 150/spl deg/C on polyimide foil

We investigated the electrical stability of a-Si:H TFTs with mobilities of /spl sim/0.7 cm/sup 2//Vs fabricated on 51 /spl mu/m thick polyimide foil at 150/spl deg/C. Positive gate voltage V/sub g/ ranging from 20 to 80 V was used in the bias stress experiments conducted at room temperature. The bias stressing caused an increase in threshold voltage and subthreshold slope, and minor decrease in mobility. Annealing in forming gas substantially improved the stability of the TFTs. The threshold voltage shift exhibited a power law time dependence with the exponent /spl gamma/ depending on the gate bias V/sub g/. For V/sub g/=20 V, /spl gamma/=0.45, while for V/sub g/=80 V, /spl gamma/=0.27. The threshold voltage shift also exhibited a power law dependence on V/sub g/ with the exponent /spl beta/ depending slightly on stress duration. /spl beta/=2.1 for t=100 sec and 1.7 for t=5000 s. These values fall into the range experimentally observed for a-Si:H TFTs fabricated at the standard temperatures of 250-350/spl deg/C.
Transporting a research-based adolescent drug treatment into practice

This article describes the key ingredients and processes in transporting an empirically supported, research-developed family therapy for adolescent drug abusers, Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT), into an intensive day treatment program. Using the same systems change principles that guide this treatment approach, the technology transfer process has been, from its inception, a collaborative, multidimensional, systemic intervention aimed at changing organizational structures, and attitudinal and behavioral patterns with multiple staff members at several levels of the program. This article describes: (1) the conceptual and empirical basis for these technology transfer efforts; (2) the technology being adapted and transferred; and (3) the critical events and processes that have shaped the transfer of MDFT into this program. We discuss this process and the outcomes thus far through the lens of Simpson's organizational change model and specify the implications of this experience for the expansion of current conceptualization of technology transfer.
THE PARTICLE SWARM AS COLLABORATIVE SAMPLING OF THE SEARCH SPACE

The particle swarm algorithm uses principles derived from social psychology to find optimal points in a search space. The present paper decomposes and reinterprets the particle swarm in order to discover new ways of implementing the algorithm. Some essential characteristics of the method are illuminated, and some inessential features are discarded. Various new forms are tested and found to perform well on a suite of test functions. In particular, it is shown that the traditional trajectory formulas can be replaced with random number generators sampling from various symmetrical probability distributions. The excellent performance of these new versions demonstrates that the strength of the algorithm is in the interactions of the particles, rather than in their behavior as individuals.
Paired-associate learning and response frequency.

20 Ss each learned 4 letter-phoneme, paired associates. The groups represented very high and very low phoneme frequency. The Ss were 5-yr.-olds selected on the basis of a pretest which eliminated Ss with learned responses to the stimulus letters. When learning the low-frequency letter-phoneme associates, Ss required a greater number of trials before (a) phoneme occurrence, (b) phoneme availability, (c) letter-phoneme pairing, and (d) attainment of a criterion of 4 successive errorless pairings. The relevance of these results to Underwood and Schulz's (1960) spew hypothesis and 2-stage theory of learning was discussed.
In-situ reduced silver nanoparticles for highly conductive anisotropic conductive films applications

Highly conductive anisotropic conductive films (ACFs) with in-situ reduced silver nanoparticles as fillers were developed. During the preparation of ACF formulation, the silver nanoparticles were reduced by the hydroxyl groups from the phenoxy resin through the polyol process. Due to the capping effects of the epoxy resin, the in-situ reduced silver nanoparticles were well dispersed in the polymer matrix with uniform size distribution. The uniform silver nanoparticles provided better contact between metal pads of the chips and substrates, resulting in the production of a highly conductive ACF joint.
Effects of grass and browse consumption on the winter mass dynamics of elk

Much of the research into herbivore ecology and evolution has focused on patterns and mechanisms of niche partitioning in the diets of specialized grazers and browsers, but the significance of the balance of grazing and browsing within intermediate feeders present unique questions that have received less attention. We explored the nutritional effects of varying the balance of grass and browse in the winter diets of elk (Cervus elaphus). We compiled published data from three similar studies that monitored the mass dynamics of captive elk fed diets of pure grass, pure browse or 1 of 14 mixed diets in winter feeding trials. Elk lost mass (up to 22% of initial body weight) in 29 of 33 feeding trials, similar to wild elk in winter. We used regression models of mass dynamics, considering the linear, quadratic or logarithmic effects of the proportion of the diet that was grass (≈1 − proportion of the diet that was browse) and the additive and interactive effects of nitrogen intake. Diet composition had strong effects on mass dynamics, and all models explained ≥73% of the variation (adjusted r2) in mass dynamics. Nitrogen intake had uniformly positive effects on mass balance, and increasing grass intake caused improved maintenance of body mass up to a point, but further increases in the proportion of grass in the diet had neutral or negative effects on body mass. Overall, the data suggest that elk are adapted to consuming mixed diets. Nonetheless, data on the foraging behavior and diet selection of wild elk in many populations show that elk often consume grass-dominated diets and sometimes consume browse-dominated diets, but rarely consume mixed diets. Physiological adaptations to mixed diets may place unique spatio-temporal constraints on diet selection in intermediate feeders and impose large penalties for a sub-optimal balance of grazing and browsing.
Comparative Activities of Selected Beta-Lactam Antibiotics Against Haemophilus influenzae

Abstract The comparative activities of ampicillin, cefamandole, cefoxitin, cefaclor, and cefatrizine against both beta-lactamase-producing and non-beta-lactamase-producing isolates of Haemophilus influenzae were determined by using an agar dilution susceptibility test procedure. Ampicillin was the most active drug tested against non-beta-lactamase-producing isolates, whereas cefamandole was most active against beta-lactamase-producing strains.
Engineering a Heme-Protein Crosslink in 2/2 Hemoglobins

Essentially all hemoglobins (Hbs) bind b heme reversibly, but notable exceptions are found in cyanobacterial 2/2 (“truncated”) Hbs. In the FeII state, the Hb from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (GlbN) undergoes a posttranslational modification (PTM) in which a non-iron-coordinating histidine (H117) adds across the heme 2-vinyl. Heme PTMs alter the chemical properties of the prosthetic group and, as such, warrant investigation. The rarity of the histidine-heme crosslink in heme proteins adds interest to the PTM determinants. Here, we examined the robustness of the nucleophilic addition with amino acid replacements. We applied absorbance and NMR spectroscopies to characterize the products.We generated two GlbN variants. The first, H117A/L79H GlbN, was designed to eliminate PTM at the 2-vinyl and explore reactivity on the 4-vinyl side of the heme. Insertion of a histidine at position 79 caused a severe decrease in ferric heme affinity. Despite this, reduction to the FeII state resulted in a PTM identical to that observed with H117 in the wild-type protein. Remarkably, the second variant, L79H GlbN, exhibited reactivity at both the 2- and 4-heme vinyls, demonstrating a lack of stringent electronic requirements for the reaction.To test crosslink formation further, we used the 2/2 Hb from Chlamydomonaseugametos (Ce-Hb), which compared to GlbN has a similar fold, only 45% sequence identity, and distinct heme environment in the ligand-free state. We engineered histidine residues at the topological equivalents of H117 and L79 in GlbN (T111 and L75). With changes to the GlbN protocol involving the distal ligand, evidence for reductive heme modification was detected in both Ce Hb variants. The data suggested strongly that properly positioned histidines can cause heme PTM in hemoglobins.Supported by NSF MCB 0843439
Construal and Similarity in Conceptual Combination

Abstract Current views of conceptual combination postulate that novel phrases are interpreted by linking one constituent to another via a relation. For example, robin snake might be interpreted as “a snake that eats robins.” Two studies examined the generality of this relation linking view by examining interpretations of novel noun–noun combinations. The results provide support for the relation linking view but suggest other ways that novel phrases are interpreted. In particular, the first study suggested that people commonly use a strategy called property mapping, in which they assert that a property of the modifier concept is true of the head noun, e.g., interpreting robin snake, as “a snake with a red underbelly. ” A second study showed that high similarity between the two nouns strongly predicts when people will map properties. I propose an extension to current models of conceptual combination in which property mapping is carried out by a comparison process.
A comparative roentgenologic study of rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatoid (ankylosing) spondylitis.

Comparative roentgenologic and clinical studies of 97 patients with ankylosing spondylitis and 98 with rheumatoid arthritis revealed marked differences between the two. Among the features showing the greatest differences were the frequency and degree of involvement of individual joints, sacroiliac damage, abnormalities of apophyseal joints, paravertebral calcification, abnormalities in the shape of vertebral bodies, and pelvic periostitis and osteitis. Studios roentgenologic e clinic comparative in 97 patientes con spondylitis ankylosante e 98 con arthritis rheumatoide revelava marcate differentias inter le duo. Le aspectos pro le quales le differentias esseva le plus marcate includeva le frequentia e le grado del participation de articulationes individual, lesiones sacroiliac, anormalitates del articulationes apophysee, calcification paravertebral, anormalitates in le conformation del corpores vertebral, e periosteitis e osteitis pelvic.
Short-Range Cell–Cell Signals Control Ectodermal Patterning in the Oral Region of the Sea Urchin Embryo

Abstract The ectoderm of the sea urchin embryo has been a useful system for understanding how regions of a simple epithelium are specified during early development, as well as how pattern formation leads to the correct localization of mesenchyme cells during morphogenesis. This study examines cell–cell signals that regulate precise patterning of ectoderm within the oral region of embryos of the sea urchin,Lytechinus variegatus.The oral ectoderm contains at least two types of patterned tissues: (1) the ectoderm that forms the stomodeum and (2) ectoderm expressing pattern information required for formation of parallel oral skeletal rods by primary mesenchyme cells (PMCs). Using microsurgical isolations and cell transplantation, we show (1) that cell–cell signaling is capable of producing new oral ectodermal structures until immediately prior to the gastrula stage, (2) that the presumptive oral ectoderm is not committed to produce oral structures until the early gastrula stage, (3) that oral ectodermal patterning cues for PMCs are highly local in character, and (4) that interactions between the tip of the archenteron and the presumptive oral ectoderm are not required for the differentiation of cells within either tissue. These studies suggest that short-range cell–cell signals within the ectoderm are involved in specifying regionalized oral ectodermal tissues immediately prior to gastrulation, and that this patterned ectoderm then influences the localization of skeletogenic mesenchyme cells in the oral region.
Effectiveness of a postdischarge care management model for stroke and transient ischemic attack: A randomized trial***

Abstract Background: This randomized controlled trial tested the effectiveness of comprehensive, interdisciplinary postdischarge care management in improving a profile of indicators of health recovery and secondary prevention (profile of health and prevention) in stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients. Methods: Ninety-six stroke/TIA patients were randomized to usual care or intervention at discharge from our acute stroke unit. The intervention group received an in-home biopsychosocial assessment by an advanced practice nurse at 1 month. A care plan was developed by an interdisciplinary team and implemented in collaboration with the patient's primary care physician. The profile of health and prevention, measured at 3 months, was comprised of 5 domains: (1) Neuromotor Function, (2) Severe Complications, (3) Quality of Life, (4) Management of Risk for common poststroke complications and recurrent stroke, and (5) Stroke Knowledge. A single global hypothesis test across multiple end points was used to compare the 2 groups. Results: The intervention significantly improved the profile of health and prevention ( P Conclusions: This model of care management resulted in a significantly better profile of health and prevention for stroke/TIA patients 3 months postdischarge. Copyright © 2002 by National Stroke Association
Formal semantics of composite events for distributed environments

Languages for event specification in centralized systems and their semantics have received considerable attention in the literature. In contrast, very little work exists on extending the semantics of event specification languages to distributed environments. The paper provides a well-defined notion of distributed composite time stamps and their least restricted strict ordering are defined. The ordering is carefully chosen based on mathematical reasoning to ensure the best semantics. The concurrence and weaker-less-than-or-equal temporal relations are also introduced for the expressiveness of ECA rules. Furthermore, a Max operator is introduced for propagating the composite event time stamps. Based on this partial ordering and the Max operator on the time stamps, the semantics of Sentinel composite events is described for distributed event detection.
Drinking during pregnancy: practices of Cambodian refugees in France and the United States.

This study is part of a larger exploratory study of 155 women of Cambodian national origin who were interviewed in the United States and France. This study reports on data related to frequency of alcohol usage, prevalence of drinking over the trimesters of pregnancy, beverage of choice, whether they spoke either English or French when leaving Cambodia, years of education, and current income. In this sample, Cambodian women residing in France drank more frequently, and drank different substances than those women residing in the United States. With respect to drinking during pregnancy, 37% of the women in France and 23% of the women residing in the United States drank in the first trimester. During the second and third trimesters, however, only 5% of the women in France, compared with 18% of women in the United States, continued drinking. It is suggested that different cultural practices in France and the United States account for differences in initial drinking practices. Three possible explanations were s...
Positive Definiteness of Anisotropic Elastic Constants

When the elastic constants of an anisotropic material are written as a 6 x 6 symmetric matrix C, the elastic energy of the material is positive if the matrix C is positive definite. There are two c...
Tau-leaped Particle Learning

Development of effective policy interventions to stem disease outbreaks requires knowledge of the current state of affairs, e.g. how many individuals are currently infected, a strain's virulence, etc, as well as our uncertainty of these values. A Bayesian inferential approach provides this information, but at a computational expense. We develop a sequential Bayesian approach based on an epidemiological compartment model and noisy count observations of the transitions between compartments.
Universality in the screening cloud of dislocations surrounding a disclination

A detailed analytical and numerical analysis for the dislocation cloud surrounding a disclination is presented. The analytical results show that the combined system behaves as a single disclination with an effective charge which can be computed from the properties of the grain boundaries forming the dislocation cloud. Expressions are also given when the crystal is subjected to an external two-dimensional pressure. The analytical results are generalized to a scaling form for the energy which up to core energies is given by the Young modulus of the crystal times a universal function. The accuracy of the universality hypothesis is numerically checked to high accuracy. The numerical approach, based on a generalization from previous work by Seung and Nelson [Phys. Rev. A 38, 1005 (1988)], is interesting on its own and allows to compute the energy for an arbitrary distribution of defects, on an arbitrary geometry with an arbitrary elastic energy with very minor additional computational effort. Some implications for recent experimental, computational, and theoretical work are also discussed.
Encrypting three-dimensional information with digital holography

A method for optical encryption of three-dimensional (3D) information by use of digital holography is presented. A phase-shifting interferometer records the phase and amplitude information generated by a 3D object at a plane located in the Fresnel diffraction region with an intensity-recording device. Encryption is performed optically by use of the Fresnel diffraction pattern of a random phase code. Images of the 3D object with different perspectives and focused at different planes can be generated digital or optically after decryption with the proper key. Experimental results are presented.
Analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Conditional Psl Variants Reveals Roles for the Psl Polysaccharide in Adhesion and Maintaining Biofilm Structure Postattachment

The ability to form biofilms in the airways of people suffering from cystic fibrosis is a critical element of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogenesis. The 15-gene psl operon encodes a putative polysaccharide that plays an important role in biofilm initiation in nonmucoid P. aeruginosa strains. Biofilm initiation by a P. aeruginosa PAO1 strain with disruption of pslA and pslB (ΔpslAB) was severely compromised, indicating that psl has a role in cell-surface interactions. In this study, we investigated the adherence properties of this ΔpslAB mutant using biotic surfaces (epithelial cells and mucin-coated surfaces) and abiotic surfaces. Our results showed that psl is required for attachment to a variety of surfaces, independent of the carbon source. To study the potential roles of Psl apart from attachment, we generated a psl-inducible P. aeruginosa strain (Δpsl/pBAD-psl) by replacing the psl promoter region with araC-pBAD, so that expression of psl could be controlled by addition of arabinose. Analysis of biofilms formed by the Δpsl/pBAD-psl strain indicated that expression of the psl operon is required to maintain the biofilm structure at steps postattachment. Overproduction of the Psl polysaccharide led to enhanced cell-surface and intercellular adhesion of P. aeruginosa. This translated into significant changes in the architecture of the biofilm. We propose that Psl has an important role in P. aeruginosa adhesion, which is critical for initiation and maintenance of the biofilm structure.
The Schottky diode acoustoelectric memory and correlator&#8212;A novel programmable signal processor

A novel acoustoelectric device capable of storing large bandwidth analog signals and correlating the stored signal with other signals is described. The device uses charge storage in an array of Schottky diodes on a silicon strip mounted adjacent to a lithium niobate surface-wave delay line. The paper emphasizes experimental results characterizing the device in terms of storage capacity, storage time, linearity, and efficiency. Based on the experimental data, a short discussion is given on anticipated performance limitations.
Perfect reconstruction with critically sampled filter banks and linear boundary conditions

This work is concerned with the (image) boundary conditions involved in processing a finite discrete-time signal with a critically sampled perfect reconstruction filter bank. It is desirable that the boundary conditions reduce edge effects and define a transformation into a space having the same dimensionality as the original signal. The complication that arises is in the computation of the inverse transform. Although it is straightforward to reconstruct the signal values that were not influenced by the boundary conditions, recovering those values on the boundaries is nontrivial. The solution of this problem is discussed for general linear boundary conditions. No symmetry assumptions are made on the boundary conditions or on the impulse responses of the analysis filters. A low-rank linear transform is derived that expresses the boundary values in terms of the transform coefficients, which in turn provides a method for inverting the subband decomposition. The application of the results in the case of two-channel orthonormal wavelet filters is discussed, and the effects of the filter support on the conditioning of the inverse problem are investigated. >