cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Influence on Vertical Shading Device Orientation and Thickness on the Natural Ventilation and Acoustical Performance of a Double Skin Facade

Abstract A research showed that shading devices integrated within double skin facades (DSFs) could not only decrease direct solar heat gain but also screen unwanted sound transmission. Many researches also indicated that shading device configuration affected airflow patterns, the air velocity, and the air temperature in a DSF air cavity. At acoustical standpoints, other researches described that shading devices acted as sound barriers, however, the area of a DSF's vent opening could led to an increase in noise transmission. Therefore, the proper controls of shading devices inside a DSF air cavity can contribute to thermal and acoustical comfort with avoiding overheating and noise transmission. This study aimed at evaluating the correlation between natural ventilation potential and noise transmission loss based on the degree of orientation and thickness of vertical shading devices inside a DSF air cavity. The initial findings indicated that vertical shading devices should be controlled appropriately for balancing the requirements of thermal performance, natural ventilation efficiency and noise transmission loss.
Human platelet lysate contains growth factor activities for established cell lines derived from various tissues of several species.

Factors have been studied from human platelets that promote the growth of a hormone-responsive rat mammary adenocarcinoma cell line MTW9/PL, the BALB/c 3T3 mouse embryo fibroblasts, and numerous other established cell lines. A wide variety of the commonly employed cell lines, including lines of human, mouse, monkey, chicken, rat, Chinese hamster, and Syrian hamster origin, were tested for their growth response to a standard concentration of 200 μg/ml human platelet lysate, and the lysate was found to contain mitogenic activity for 24 of the 29 different lines assayed. A comparison was made between the platelet growth activity for the MTW9/PL cells and the well characterized platelet mitogen for the BALB/c 3T3 cells, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). When the platelet lysate was subjected to digestion by highly purified trypsin, the mitogenic activity for the MTW9/PL cells was not affected whereas that for the BALB/c 3T3 cells was essentially destroyed. Crude PDGF was prepared by heating the human platelet lysates at 100°C for 2 min followed by clarification, dialysis, lyophilization, and reconstitution. This PDGF material had no apparent growth activity for MTW9/PL cells, although chromatography of this material on Biogel P-100 revealed a high molecular weight (approximately 40,000 daltons) activity for the BALB/c 3T3 cells (presumably PDGF) and two growth activities for the MTW9/PL cells, one high molecular weight activity and a second activity of molecular weight less than 10,000. These studies demonstrated a form of epithelial tumor cell growth activity separable from the 3T3 type PDGF in crude heated extracts.
The Peptide Dynamical Transition

Using terahertz spectroscopy we show that “protein dynamical transition” has a critical size requirement. Poly-Alanine and Poly-Lysine have transition down to 5 peptides, but not below, suggesting the dynamics requires a larger scale hydration network.
Seismic facies classification and identification by competitive neural networks

We present an approach based on competitive neural networks for the classification and identification of reservoir facies from seismic data. This approach can be adapted to perform either classification of the seismic facies based entirely on the characteristics of the seismic response, without requiring the use of any well information, or automatic identification and labeling of the facies where well information is available. The former is of prime use for oil prospecting in new regions, where few or no wells have been drilled, whereas the latter is most useful in development fields, where the information gained at the wells can be conveniently extended to the interwell regions. Cross-validation tests on synthetic and real seismic data demonstrated that the method can be an effective means of mapping the reservoir heterogeneity. For synthetic data, the output of the method showed considerable agreement with the actual geologic model used to generate the seismic data; for the real data application, the predicted facies accurately matched those observed at the wells. Moreover, the resulting map corroborates our existing understanding of the reservoir and shows substantial similarity to the low-frequency geologic model constructed by interpolating the well information, while adding significant detail and enhanced resolution to that model.
Metal Nanoparticle Enhanced Organic Solar Cells: A Numerical Study of Structure Property Relationships

Metal nanoparticles (MeNPs) represent a promising class of materials for enhancing light harvesting in organic photovoltaics (OPVs). We conduct systematic finite-difference time-domain calculations for assessing the impact of size, shape, material and particle density of MeNPs as well as the influence of spectral overlap for given particle/semiconductor pairs in nanoparticle enhanced organic solar cells. Those aspects are critical in determining the enhancement in the overall performance of OPV cells. We observe single-wavelength absorption enhancement factors larger than 20 in the near infrared spectral region of widely used polymer blends.
Analytical methodologies for discovering and profiling degradation-related impurities

Abstract The analytical technologies currently in use for profiling degradation-related impurities (DRI’s) are powerful, but not without their limitations. This article critically assesses the technologies, their strengths and limitations, and recommends strategies for successful DRI profiling. Improvements in analytical separations and detection technologies are leading to strategies involving multiple orthogonal separations and detectors. Advances in knowledge of degradation chemistry and in computer-prediction tools are needed for the future.
Time-resolved studies of fluorescence and band-edge charge carrier dynamics in In 1-x Ga x P colloidal quantum dots

In this submission, we report on the results of spectroscopic studies of charge carrier dynamics in colloidal In 1-x Ga x P quantum dots (QDs) with low levels of Ga doping ( x ~1%). These QDs exhibit large global Stokes shift of fluorescence (up to 300 meV) along with high emission yield (up to 30% in solution and 25% in films under blue excitation at 300 K) after post-synthesis photo-chemical treatment. In order to reveal the nature of large fluorescence Stokes shift and study the band-edge carriers dynamics, we performed time-resolved measurements of emission and photo-induced absorption changes in QDs with different sizes and surface passivation. The work was focused on the studies of differences between QDs subjected to photochemical surface passivation and bare nanoparticles. Time-resolved absorption spectroscopy indicates that holes' trapping strongly depends on passivation of surface trap states and can even suppress Auger multiparticle recombination in poorly passivated nanoparticles. Transient fluorescence measurements in well-passivated nanoparticles demonstrate that at short delays (<2 ns), emission Stokes shift is almost twice smaller than in steady-state measurements and matches the emission band in unpassivated QDs. At longer delays, time-resolved emission matches the spectra obtained with continuous wave (CW) excitation. We propose that initially photoluminescence occurs from quantum-confined state and subsequent hole relaxation onto surface/interface sites gives rise to emission with large global Stokes shift. In poorly passivated QDs, holes escape quickly to deep-trap states that leads to formation of low-efficiency broad emission band red-shifted with respect to the excitonic PL band.
Effect of cervical disease history on outcomes of women who have a pap diagnosis of atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance.

Abstract Objective. To determine the relationship between history of cervical dysplasia or carcinoma and the development of cervical dysplasia or adenocarcinoma in women who have a diagnosis of atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance (AGUS), favor endocervical origin, or AGUS, not otherwise specified. Methods. A 6-year retrospective review of the pathology files was performed for 93 women who were diagnosed in 1992 with AGUS, favor endocervical origin, or AGUS, not otherwise specified. Data collected included previous history of cervical disease, follow-up diagnoses, time interval between follow-ups, and procedures performed. Results. Of women with follow-up who had or did not have a previous history of cervical dysplasia, 32.0 and 12.0%, respectively, developed a squamous dysplasia or adenocarcinoma in situ. This difference was statistically significant ( P Conclusions. Women who have AGUS, favor endocervical origin, or AGUS, not otherwise specified, and no history of cervical dysplasia have a significantly lower risk of developing or having cervical dysplasia than women who have the same diagnosis and a history of cervical dysplasia. This may warrant different treatment protocols for these two groups. For the women with AGUS and no previous history of cervical dysplasia, a repeat Pap smear, rather than colposcopy with curettage, may be warranted.
Design Guidelines for Efficient Thermal Management of Mid-Infrared Quantum Cascade Lasers

Semiconductor quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) that emit mid-infrared light in the wavelength range 4-9 μm are unipolar and the laser emission is due to intersubband transitions in a repeated stack of multiple quantum wells. The thermal management of these devices is a challenge. The overheating of the active region (referred to as “core” throughout this paper) in these lasers decreases the optical power and ultimately results in laser failure. In this paper, a detailed finite element-based numerical modeling of the thermal behavior of these devices as well as the measurements performed to validate the models are presented. The studies include the effect of submount material, mounting schemes such as epi-side down or epi-side up mounting, and, finally, the effect of core geometry on the thermal impedance. Various core designs, such as the split core, are analyzed. Various experiments were conducted to correlate the results with the numerical modeling by measuring the thermal impedance between the laser diode's core and the bottom of the substrate as well as the temperature change within a pulse of a distributed feedback (DFB) QCL which emits in a single longitudinal mode of narrow linewidth. The temperature of the active core of a DFB QCL can be determined by measuring the lasing frequency, which changes with the temperature of the active core. By measuring the lasing frequency as a function of time within a pump current pulse, the temperature change in the active core region can be determined and thereby thermal conductance of the laser structure. In the conclusion, various recommendations for efficient thermal performance of these QCLs are provided.
Taste-Aversion Conditioning of Crows to Control Predation on Eggs

Free-ranging crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) that ate chicken eggs that were painted green and contained a nonlethal toxin subsequently avoided green eggs at various locations, whether or not they contained toxin. The crows also continued to eat unpainted and nontoxic chicken eggs. Illness-induced aversions among predators in nature may be a powerful determiner of the evolution of Batesian mimicry and, in human hands, serve as a practical tool for wildlife ecologists.
Intraneuronal amyloid precursor protein (APP) and appearance of extracellular β‐amyloid peptide (aβ) in the brain of aging kokanee salmon

Antibodies to human amyloid precursor protein (APP(695)) and beta-amyloid peptide (A beta(1-42)) were used to determine timing of amyloidosis in the brain of kokanee salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka kennerlyi) in one of four reproductive stages: immature (IM), maturing (MA), sexually mature (SM), and spawning (SP), representing a range of aging from somatically mature but sexually immature to spawning and somatic senescence. In IM fish, immunoreactive (ir) intracellular APP occurred in 18 of 23 brain regions. During sexual maturation and aging, the number of neurons expressing APP increased in 11 of these APP-ir regions. A beta-ir was absent in IM fish, present in seven regions in MA fish, moderately abundant in 15 regions in SM fish, and was most abundant in all brain regions of SP fish exhibiting A beta-ir. Intracellular APP-ir was observed in brain regions involved in sensory integration, olfaction, vision, stress responses, reproduction, and coordination. Intra- and extracellular A beta(1-42) immunoreactivity (A beta-ir) was present in all APP-ir regions except the nucleus lateralis tuberis (hypothalamus) and Purkinje cells (cerebellum). APP-ir and A beta deposition increase during aging. APP-ir is present in IM fish; A beta-ir usually appears first in MA or SM fish and increases in SM fish as does APP-ir. Extracellular A beta deposition dramatically increases between SM and SP stages (1-2 weeks) in all fish, indicating an extremely rapid and synchronized process. Rapid senescence observed in pacific salmon could make them a useful model to investigate timing of amyloidosis and neurodegeneration during brain aging.
A physical model for the dependence of carrier lifetime on doping density in nondegenerate silicon

Abstract A theoretical model that describes the dependence of carrier lifetime on doping density, which is based on the equilibrium solubility of a single defect in nondegenerately doped silicon, is developed. The model predictions are consistent with the longest measured hole and electron lifetimes reported for n -type and p -type silicon, and hence imply a possibly “fundamental” (unavoidable) defect in silicon. The defect is acceptor-type and is more soluble in n -type than in p -type silicon, which suggests a longer fundamental limit for electron lifetime than for hole lifetime at a given nondegenerate doping density. The prevalent, minimum density of the defect, which defines these limits, occurs at the processing temperature below which the defect is virtually immobile in the silicon lattice. The analysis reveals that this temperature is in the range 300–400°C, and thus emphasizes, when related also to common non-fundamental defects, the significance of low-temperature processing in the fabrication of silicon devices requiring long or well-controlled carrier lifetimes.
Stem cell factor improves lung recovery in rats following neonatal hyperoxia-induced lung injury

Stem cell factor improves lung recovery in rats following neonatal hyperoxia-induced lung injury
Finite-difference solution to the Schrodinger equation for the helium isoelectronic sequence

Abstract The method described previously for the solution of the Schrodinger equation for S-type states of helium has been applied to the helium isoelectronic sequence. The Schrodinger equation, which is an elliptic partial-differential equation, is converted to a set of finite-difference equations which are solved by a relaxed iterative technique. The method is applied to the 11S two-electron systems for Z = 1 through 8 and 23S state for Z = 3. The results include expectation values of the total energy, kinetic and potential terms, and rn, n = −2, −1, 1, 2, and are compared with the work of Pekeris. The total energy for the hydrogen ion, which has only one bound state, is −0.52746 and differs from Pekeris' value by 0.055%. Other total energy values differ by 0.004% or less.
Competition between photorelaxation and photoexcitation in chalcogenide glasses and the effect of aging

Abstract Measurements of transient photodarkening and permanent Bragg reflector formation were performed on fragile As 18 S 65 Se 17 glass and indicate that photodarkening and photorefraction can only be induced in previously aged glasses while they are prevented in freshly annealed glasses. These phenomena are associated with the photorelaxation process that is revealed to be prominent in fresh glasses and is shown to effectively anneal out the defects produced during photoexcitation thereby resulting in no net permanent changes in the structure. On the other end, aged glasses do not undergo any photorelaxation and exhibit large transient and permanent changes associated with an increase in structural enthalpy as confirmed by Differential Scanning Calorimetry. These results demonstrate that photorelaxation can be a significant problem in fragile glass compositions as it cancels out the effect of photoexcitation and impedes the photodarkening and photorefractive process.
Isolation of BsoBI restriction endonuclease variants with altered substrate specificity.

Abstract Bso BI is a thermophilic restriction endonuclease that cleaves the degenerate DNA sequence C/PyCGPuG (where/=the cleavage site and Py=C or T, Pu=A or G). In the Bso BI–DNA co-crystal structure the D246 residue makes a water-mediated hydrogen bond to N6 of the degenerate base adenine and was proposed to make a complementary bond to O6 of the alternative guanine residue. To investigate the substrate specificity conferred by D246 and to potentially alter Bso BI specificity, the D246 residue was changed to the other 19 amino acids. Variants D246A, D246C, D246E, D246R, D246S, D246T, and D246Y were purified and their cleavage activity determined. Variants D246A, D246S, and D246T display 0.2% to 0.7% of the wild-type cleavage activity. However, the substrate specificity of the three variants is altered significantly. D246A, D246S, and D246T cleave CTCGAG sites poorly. In filter binding assays using oligonucleotides, wild-type Bso BI shows almost equal affinity for CTCGAG and CCCGGG sites. In contrast, the D246A variant shows 70-fold greater binding affinity for the CCCGGG substrate. Recycled mutagenesis was carried out on the D246A variant, and revertants with enhanced activity were isolated by their dark blue phenotype on a dinD ∷ lacZ DNA damage indicator strain. Most of the amino acid substitutions present within the revertants were located outside the DNA–protein interface. This study demonstrates that endonuclease mutants with altered specificity and non-lethal activity can be evolved towards more active variants using a laboratory evolution strategy.
Social Studies and History: A Response to Whelan

(1992). Social Studies and History: A Response to Whelan. Theory & Research in Social Education: Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 318-326.
Quarkonium Formation Time in a Model-Independent Approach

We use dispersion relations to reconstruct, in a model–independent way, the formation dynamics of heavy quarkonium from the experimental data on e + e − → ¯ QQ annihilation. We extract a distribution of formation times with a mean value for the J/ , = 0.44 fm; and for the �, = 0.32 fm. The corresponding widths of these distributions are given by �� J/ = 0.31 fm and ��� = 0.28 fm. This information can be used as an input in modeling of heavy quarkonium production on nuclear targets.
Toxicity of aspartame and its diketopiperazine for Wistar rats by dietary administration for 104 weeks

Aspartame (APM) or L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine, and a 3 : 1 combination of APM with its decomposition product, 5-benzyl-3,6-dioxo-2-piperazine acetic acid (DKP), were incorporated at levels of up to 4 g/kg in the diet of male and female Wistar rats from 6 weeks to 104 weeks of age. There was a dose-dependent depression of body weight gain at 2 and 4 g/kg AMP and at 4 g/kg APM + DKP in males, and at all dose levels in females, correlated with decreased food consumption and attributed to liberation of amino acids from hydrolysis of APM. Increases in urinary specific gravity and pH, with increase of relative kidney weight, were attributed to the urinary excretion DKP and acidic metabolites of APM. A dose-related increase in urinary calcium probably reflected increased calcium absorption, as from high protein diets. A slight decrease in serum cholesterol and an increase in relative spleen weight appeared to be without adverse effect. It is concluded that the treatments were without toxic effect.
Subharmonic generation in a driven asymmetric quantum well

Subharmonic generation in quantum wells may have important technological applications. Potentially it can be used to produce 'squeezed' states of THz radiation. Galdrikian and Birnir, Phys. Rec. Lett 29, 3308, derived density matrix dynamical equations for a many -body two-level system of electrons confined in an asymmetric square well. They showed numerically that the electron current density would undergo period-doubling bifurcations and thus produce subharmonics of the laser frequency (omega) . Their equations are averaged to second order at twice the frequency of the bare two-level system, (omega) 0. It is found that at (omega) equals 2(omega) 0 the period doubling bifurcation is similar to the one of the Duffing's equation.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Studies on the mechanism of cellular death—I. Enzymatic changes during early and late cardiac necroses☆

A battery of 15 different histoenzymological tests were employed to study the enzymatic changes which occur during the death of dog myocardial cells induced by local surgically induced cardiac ischemia and in autopsy specimens of infarcted human myocardium. The sequence of events was observed at intervals from 1 to 480 hr. Succinoxidase activity was apparent both in the longitudinal and transverse axes of the myofibers. In the early necrotic phases, the network arrangement was disorganized and discrete mitochondria were observed at the edge of the infarcts. In later stages these mitochondria were associated with fat droplets. Esterase activity was located on the same particulate elements as succinoxidase but no interconnecting network was evident. In older infarcts these particles increased in size and occurred both within and at the margin of the infarcts. Esterase activities persisted for a longer period of time than did the DPN diaphorase or succinoxidase activity. Cytochrome oxidase activity persisted much longer than did either succinoxidase or DPN diaphorase activity. Acid phosphatase activity using a standard azo dye coupling technique was also particulate and increased during the early stages of an infarct. The particulate acid phosphatase activity was replaced by a smooth, homogeneous staining of the cytoplasm at about 24 hr. Acid phosphatase activity revealed by ASBI as substrate was localized in the lipofuscin inclusions. Leucine aminopeptidase activity was undetectable in early stages of cell death but reached very high persistent levels in the most advanced infarcts. ATPase activity was localized at the blood vessels as well as myocardial tissue elements. The activity increased from 4 to 64 hr after occlusion and it disappeared thereafter. ADPase and alkaline phosphatase activities demonstrated a disruption of the blood vessels in the moderately advanced infarcts. ADPase tests revealed a greater number of vascular elements than did the alkaline phosphatase methods. Leukocyte infiltration was observed at about 24 hr. Cells having positive leucine aminopeptidase activity as well as having acid phosphatase activity by the ASBI method were observed after 24 hr of infarction. Histiocytes, rich in acid phosphatase and esterase activities, appeared at about 144 hr and persisted thereafter. Human material revealed a comparable sequence of histoenzymatic events.
Optimization of poly(ethylene glycol) precipitation of hepatitis A virus used to prepare VAQTA, a highly purified inactivated vaccine

Poly(ethylene glycol) precipitation has been successfully used to concentrate and purify hepatitis A virus from crude lysate preparations for production of VAQTA, a highly purified, formalin-inactivated hepatitis A vaccine. Initial results showed that nucleic acids present in the starting material were problematic for the performance of the poly(ethylene glycol) precipitation step. Extensive experiments were carried out to identify processing conditions suitable for vaccine manufacture which would enhance product yield and improve purity. Results of these studies indicated that the earlier practice of concentrating crude virus-containing lysate using semipermeable membranes led to aggregation of high molecular weight nucleic acids. This aggregated material coprecipitated with the virus during the subsequent poly(ethylene glycol) precipitation step; variable amounts of nucleic acids led to inconsistent virus recovery and product purity. Nuclease treatment of the crude lysate preparations decreased the molecular size of the nucleic acids and significantly reduced their coprecipitation with the virus. Further experiments demonstrated that optimal placement of the nuclease treatment was at the lysate stage followed by a capture step using anion exchange chromatography. These steps combined with optimization of the virus concentration, ionic strength, and pH of the poly(ethylene glycol) precipitation led to effective and selective concentration of the virus which significantly enhanced process reproducibility and control.
Decadal variability in abundances of the dominant euphausiid species in southern sectors of the California Current

Abstract Euphausiid abundance data from broadly based California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigation surveys in California and Baja California sectors of the California Current provided a time series distinguishing periodic, rhythmic and irregular species patterns. Comparisons with environmental indexes indicate significant correlations with warm-water species, most notably in coastal Nyctiphanes simplex. Oceanic warm-water species were similarly, but less extremely, allied with an index. Coastal warm-water N. simplex was uncommon off southern California before the atmospheric regime shift of the 1970s. It assumed a post-1978 pattern of rhythmic biannual abundance increases and decreases during 1981–2000. The near-tropical oceanic Euphausia eximia and Pacific Central subtropicals patterned similarly, but was more periodic than rhythmic. Euphausia pacifica, the most dominant and broadly ranging Euphausia species, peaked at irregular but distinct bi-decadal abundances during 6 strong La Nina episodes. The peaks uniformly collapsed by 90%, becoming El Nino-associated minima. The cold-water coastal northern species Thysanoessa spinifera frequently ranged far south off Baja California before 1960 but became limited to Central California in the 1980s. The importance of T. spinifera off the Californias is small compared with northern regions, but it extends to southern upwelling centers contributing to dominance, here, by cold-water euphausiids. Decadal periodicity of species abundances decreased in the 1990s, when trends became more common. Differences among sectors were minimal between the two Californias, but were often distinct between southern California and Central Baja California. Species abundances, comparing pre- and post-climate shift species averages, differed insignificantly for all species when logarithmic values were used. With arithmetic values, most 1977–1998 average values were the greater, but with large standard deviations.
Temperature effect of batch and continuous reactions in the gas phase

The temperature effect on the performance of gas phase bioreactions (batch and continuous) was investigated using immobilized alcohol oxidase on Amberlite IRA-400. Reaction rates and product (acetaldehyde) compositions were compared as functions of temperature; there is a reaction temperature corresponding to a trade-off point between reaction rate and reaction extent.
Measurement of Health-Related Quality of Life in the National Emphysema Treatment Trial

Purpose: To evaluate two generic and two disease-specific measures of health-related quality of life (QOL) using prerandomization data from the National Emphysema Treatment Trial (NETT). Method: The analyses used data collected from the 1,218 subjects who were randomized in the NETT. Patients completed evaluations before and after completion of the prerandomization phase of the NETT pulmonary rehabilitation program. Using data obtained prior to participation in the rehabilitation program, QOL measures were evaluated against physiologic and functional criteria using correlational analysis. The physiologic criteria included estimates of emphysema severity based on FEV 1 and measures of Pa o 2 obtained with the subject at rest and breathing room air. Functional measures included the 6-min walk distance (6MWD), maximum work, and hospitalizations in the prior 3 months. Results: Correlation coefficients between QOL measures ranged from −0.31 to 0.70. In comparison to normative samples, scores on general QOL measures were low, suggesting that the NETT participants were quite ill. All QOL measures were modestly but significantly correlated with FEV 1 , maximum work, and 6MWD. Patients who had stayed overnight in a hospital in the prior 3 months reported lower QOL on average than those who had not been hospitalized. There were significant improvements for all QOL measures following the rehabilitation program, and improvements in QOL were correlated with improvements in 6MWD. Comment: The disease-specific and general QOL measures used in the NETT were correlated. Analyses suggested that these measures improved significantly following the rehabilitation phase of the NETT.
Design of Complex Nano-Scale Systems Using Multi-Agent Simulations and Structure-Behavior-Function Representations

Recent trends in technology are challenging engineers to configure products at ever smaller scales. At the nano-scale, biological protein machines are commonly chosen as a power-source for a broad-range of nano-devices. This paper explores the challenges in designing these and similar systems, such as improving the emergent system performance that arises from the interactions of many stochastic components.We develop a domain-independent methodology, using multi-agent simulations as a means of modeling and predicting emergent system behavior across scales and structure-behavior-function representations for understanding and navigating the resulting design space. This methodology is validated with an application of synthetic myosin motor design at the nanoscale, with simulation results aligning well with the macroscopic performance of myosin-powered muscular contractions.The multi-agent simulation is implemented with myosins modeled as agents, allowing for the virtual design and experimentation of synthetic myosins with altered structures and mechanochemical behaviors. Four myosin populations are designed and simulated, with their emergent system performance determined by aggregating the contributions of each myosin agent over time.Although the multi-agent simulation successfully recreates the emergent behaviors of the myosins, it is difficult to draw conclusions about how each structural variation influences aggregate performance. SBF representations of the system are then developed to describe how the aggregate performance of the system is explainable in terms of myosin behaviors, which map directly to altered myosin structures. It is then demonstrated how an engineer may utilize these representations and experimental results to reason about, and configure a myosin system with optimal performance.The methodology is domain-independent, ensuring its extendibility to similar complex systems while aiding a designer in simplifying a complex physical phenomenon to a design space consisting of only a few critical parameters. The methodology is particularly suited for complex systems with many parts operating stochastically across scales, and should prove invaluable for engineers facing the challenges of biological nanoscale design, where designs with unique properties require novel approaches or useful configurations in nature await discovery.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Racially subordinate labour within global contexts: Robinson and Hopkins re-examined

World-systems theory has recognised that local histories of how labour has been configured in particular (racialised) contexts cannot grasp the ways in which these histories form part of the capitalist world-system. But, in pursuing world-historical analyses of racially subordinate labour, there is also a danger of ignoring what is historically specific about such labour. Focusing on the affinities between Cedric Robinson’s work, particularly in Black Marxism, and that of Terence K. Hopkins in the late 1970s and early 1980s points to ways in which this challenge can be overcome.
Morphine pharmacokinetics during continuous infusion of morphine sulfate for infants receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Objectives To determine a) if serum morphine concentration changes during the first 3 hrs of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO); and b) if absorption of morphine onto the membrane oxygenator is responsible for these changes. Also, morphine clearance during the first 5 days of ECMO was studie
THE RPS12 GENE IN SPROGYRA MAXIMA (CHLOROPHYTA) AND ITS EVOLUTIONARY SINGNIFICANCE1

The str operon consists fo four genes in eubacteria. Portions of his operon are conserved in the chloroplast genomes of green algae and land plants. In land plant chloroplasts, the str operon comprises only two genes, rps12 and rps7, and is arranged in a trans-spliced state. Since no other previously studied chloroplast genome contains this arrangement, and because the charophyte lineage is the sister group of land plants, we chose to look for this arrangement in the Charophyceae. The two str genes, rps12 and rps7, present in the chloroplasts of Spirogyra maxima Hanssall, were identified by hybridization of a Southern blot and requenced. The results indicate that Spirogyra contains a str operon almost identical to that of land plant chloroplasts. Based upon the structure of the operon in other chloroplasts and eubacterial genomes, the trans-spliced state most likely evolved early within the charophyte lineage.
American Exceptionalism Revisited The Military-Industrial Complex, Racial Tension, and the Underdeveloped Welfare State

We examine Democrats’ decline in the House of Representatives from the mid-1930s to the late 1940s. Debates over American exceptionalism in the realm of social policy pay surprisingly little attention to a profound transformation that occurred during and after World War II: on the international stage, the United States emerged as the hegemon; at home, the Pentagon became the largest and most powerful agency in the federal bureaucracy. In modeling electoral losses suffered by Democrats, we show that World War II mobilization played an important role. First, Democrats lost ground in congressional districts where the nascent military-industrial complex was created, specifically in aircraft manufacturing centers. Second, the impact of aircraft manufacturing intersected with wartime in-migration of non-whites. Democrats suffered significantly greater losses where both non-white population and aircraft manufacturing employment increased. Our findings corroborate accounts of the social welfare state that stress ...
Thin film poly-Si solar cells using PECVD and Cat-CVD with light confinement structure by RIE

Poly-Si film prepared by PECVD method showed low ESR spin density of around 1E16/cm3 and poly-Si film prepared by Cat-CVD method showed relatively low ESR spin density of around 1E17/cm3. The cell using PECVD poly-Si film as a photo-active layer showed an intrinsic cell efficiency of 7.75%. Light confinement micro-structure was introduced to the cell applying RIE method to the glass substrate surface and enhancement of Jsc was observed.
New Insights from Major Prospective Cohort Studies with Cardiac CT

Each year, 11 million patients present in the USA with new symptoms suggestive of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Most undergo stress testing but <10 % demonstrate myocardial ischemia. Moreover, up to 60 % will have CAD which adversely affects outcomes. Cardiac computed tomography (CCT) is being used increasingly as an alternative to stress testing to rule out obstructive CAD in symptomatic patients, and large cohort studies in asymptomatic patients have identified burden of coronary atherosclerosis as a predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). This review article will critically evaluate major clinical studies on the use of CCT in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and discuss the lessons for the clinical use of CCT.
A novel fault tolerance technique for recursive least squares minimization

Existing fault tolerance schemes have often been ignored by systolic array designers because they are too costly and unwieldy to implement. With this in mind, we have developed a new technique specially tailored for recursive least squares minimization that emphasizes simplicity. We propose a new decoding scheme that allows for error detection while wasting no precious processor cycles and preserving the basic structure of the systolic array. We will show that errors can be detected by examining a single scalar. The technique can be implemented with negligible algorithmic modification and little additional hardware. The simplicity of our method invites its use in future systolic arrays.
Host- and disease-specific factors affecting steatosis in chronic hepatitis C

Abstract Background/Aim: Steatosis is commonly present in chronic hepatitis C. Our aim was to evaluate host- and disease-specific factors associated with its occurrence. Methods: Histologic findings in 60 patients were correlated with body mass index, human leukocyte antigens, and other conventional parameters. Comparisons were made with 41 patients who had nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and 18 patients who had chronic hepatitis B. Results: Patients with chronic hepatitis C and steatosis had lower serum concentrations of γ-globulin ( p =0.01)_and immunoglobulin G ( p =0.05) than their counterparts without steatosis, and they had a lower frequency of antinuclear antibodies (19% versus 52%, p =0.01). They also had a higher mean body mass index ( p =0.002) and a greater frequency of risk factors for steatosis (70% versus 34%, p =0.009). These risk factors, however, occurred more commonly in patients with nonalcoholic steatosis ( p =0.007). Furthermore, fat deposition occurred more often in chronic hepatitis C than in chronic hepatitis B (52% versus 22%, p =0.03), despite comparable metabolic findings. The degree of steatosis in chronic hepatitis C was not associated with individual metabolic features. Conclusions: Steatosis in chronic hepatitis C is mainly a viral effect, and host-dependent metabolic factors may potentiate the manifestation. Fat deposition is associated with less immunoreactivity and it may connote a distinctive pathogenic mechanism.
Parenting Education and Incarcerated Fathers

ABSTRACT Incarcerated fathers or men in the role of father or surrogate father in the US are approaching rates that could be considered epidemic in proportion. Children are adversely affected by the absense of fathers. Some authors, researchers, and government view fatherhood as an incarcerated fathers have not been considered a viable intervention. This study explores the efficacy of programmed parenting interventions for incarcerated men.
Purification of staphylococcal coagulase.

Abstract A method is described for isolating staphylococcal coagulase. Fractionations are carried out with ammonium and cadmium sulfates at various pH. The partially purified enzyme is then subjected to chromatographic procedures employing calcium phosphate. A material which migrates as a single component under the conditions of electrophoresis is described. The coagulase activity of this enzyme is greater than any previously described.
A microcomputer application for attribute sampling

Abstract A microcomputer application for applying attribute sampling to internal control and the audit process is explained and illustrated. The application allows the auditing student to design an attribute sampling plan, create a unique sample for each application and evaluate the results in terms of deviations from desirable internal control procedures. The application is constructed through a software package that enhances students' learning of attribute sampling and its relationship to the entire audit process.
Wind power plant prediction by using neural networks

This paper introduces a method of short term wind power prediction for a wind power plant by training neural networks based on historical data of wind speed and wind direction. There are two steps in the process of wind power prediction. In the first step, raw data collected by plant information system is filtered by probabilistic neural network. This step prepares valid data to be used for building a prediction model. In the second step, a complex-valued recurrent neural network is applied to build a model to predict wind power. The test results of the prediction model are presented and analyzed at the end of the paper. The model proposed is shown to achieve a high accuracy with respect to the measured data.
High spin-low spin crossover and antiferromagnetic interactions in tris(1-pyrrolidinecarbodithioato)iron (III) and the 4-morpholine (FeM) and dibutyl analogs, effect of recrystallization solvent, and crystal structure of FeM⋅nitrobenzene

High sensitivity magnetic susceptibility determinations, especially in the range 1.2–4.2 K on pure and dilute tris(pyrrolidinecarbodithioato)iron(III) (FeP) in its high spin form, show that a maximum at about 2 K is caused by antiferromagnetic interactions. The analogous chromium(III) complex does not exhibit significant antiferromagnetism compared to that of the iron complex, and it is likely that the upper e electrons possessed by the iron and not by the chromium are responsible for the bulk of the antiferromagnetism. As the iron atoms are about 9 A apart in discrete molecules, the antiferromagnetic interactions presumably occur between unpaired spins delocalized on to the ligands of adjacent molecules. This is in keeping with NMR evidence that spin delocalization is greater in the iron(III) than in the chromium(III) complex. When diluted with large amounts of the cobalt(III) analog (CoP), FeP exhibits a spin state equilibrium. Thus, the structure of the FeP molecule is modified slightly (presumably with shortening of the Fe–S bond) to approach that of the CoP host lattice, which has a shorter metal–sulfur bond. The previous history of the samples of ferric dithiocarbamate complexes is shown to be far more important than had previously been suspected: When crystallized from benzene, FeP exhibits a high spin–low spin equilibrium, in constrast with the pure high spin behavior of the complex when not crystallized from benzene. The effect of adding 7% of benzene to the lattice is much greater than that of adding 50% of CoP. The dibutyl analog shows similar effects. The tris(4‐morpholinecarbodithioato‐S,S’)iron(III) complex FeM is shown, by single crystal x‐ray data, to contain short Fe–S bond lengths (average 2.353 A) when recrystallized from nitrobenzene. This indicates that the complex is principally low spin, in keeping with the observed magnetism and with the general strong solvent effect on the spin state. It is now proposed that the difference in Fe–S bond lengths between FeP crystallized from chloroform and FeP from benzene (the reverse of the expected differences) is due to experimental error. Crystal data for FeM⋅nitrobenzene: space group P21/c, Z=4, a=9.713(3) A, b=31.419(8) A, c =9.718(2) A, β=105.04(2) °, V=2864 A3, R=3.3%, 2712 reflections.
Falls in old people at home: Intrinsic versusenvironmental factors in causation

Abstract In this study of 339 attendances by elderly patients at an Accident and Emergency (A & E) Department following a home accident fall, attempts were made to evaluate the relative importance of environmental and intrinsic causes for the fall. This was found to vary systematically with age, trips and slips being more important in the age group 65–74 years, while intrinsic causes in the form of illness and disability assumed much greater importance over the age of 75 years. A mortality follow-up over a period of 1 year effected by a simple record-linkageshowed that the group of elderly fallers studied had a considerable excess mortality that could not be attributed to the injuries sustained in the fall. It is suggested that old people often fall because they are sick, and because of this such patients who attend an A & E Department should be considered as forming an “at-risk” group likely to benefit from investigation of their general health and medication.
Isolation and characterization of a cyanophage infecting the unicellular blue-green algae A. nidulans and S. cedrorum

Abstract A cyanophage which infects the unicellular blue-green algae A. nidulans and S. cedrorum has been isolated from a waste stabilization pond. It is serologically related to another phage (AS-1) that infects these hosts, and has consequently been named AS-1M. The phage is morphologically identical to AS-1, and consists of an hexagonal head with edge-to-edge diameter of 900 A, and a long contractile tail measuring 2400 by 220 A. The phage has a sedimentation coefficient of 754 S and a buoyant density in CsCl of 1.490 g/ml. The DNA is double-stranded and has a contour length of 29.5 μm and an S o 20,w of 45.6 ± 0.9 S. These values indicate a molecular weight of the DNA of 57 ± 3 × 10 6 . The buoyant density of the DNA is 1.714 g/ml in CsCl, suggesting a GC content of 55%. Thermal denaturation of the DNA yields a T m of 74°, which implies a slightly lower GC content of 52%.
Automated multimodality concurrent classification for segmenting vessels in 3D spectral OCT and color fundus images

Segmenting vessels in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) volumes is particularly challenging in the region near and inside the neural canal opening (NCO). Furthermore, accurately segmenting them in color fundus photographs also presents a challenge near the projected NCO. However, both modalities also provide complementary information to help indicate vessels, such as a better NCO contrast from the NCO-aimed OCT projection image and a better vessel contrast inside the NCO from fundus photographs. We thus present a novel multimodal automated classification approach for simultaneously segmenting vessels in SD-OCT volumes and fundus photographs, with a particular focus on better segmenting vessels near and inside the NCO by using a combination of their complementary features. In particular, in each SD-OCT volume, the algorithm pre-segments the NCO using a graph-theoretic approach and then applies oriented Gabor wavelets with oriented NCO-based templates to generate OCT image features. After fundus-to-OCT registration, the fundus image features are computed using Gaussian filter banks and combined with OCT image features. A k-NN classifier is trained on 5 and tested on 10 randomly chosen independent image pairs of SD-OCT volumes and fundus images from 15 subjects with glaucoma. Using ROC analysis, we demonstrate an improvement over two closest previous works performed in single modal SD-OCT volumes with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.87 (0.81 for our and 0.72 for Niemeijer's single modal approach) in the region around the NCO and 0.90 outside the NCO (0.84 for our and 0.81 for Niemeijer's single modal approach).