cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Acquisition strategies of a dual head rotating 4-Segment Slant-Hole (R4SSH) SPECT System for Improved Myocardial Perfusion SPECT Imaging

The goal was to evaluate different acquisition strategies (AS) of a dual-head (DH) Rotating 4-Segment Slant-Hole (R4SSH) SPECT system for improved myocardial perfusion (MP) SPECT imaging.
Forest impacts on snow accumulation and ablation across an elevation gradient in a temperate montane environment

Abstract. Forest cover modifies snow accumulation and ablation rates via canopy interception and changes in sub-canopy energy balance processes. However, the ways in which snowpacks are affected by forest canopy processes vary depending on climatic, topographic and forest characteristics. Here we present results from a 4-year study of snow–forest interactions in the Oregon Cascades. We continuously monitored snow and meteorological variables at paired forested and open sites at three elevations representing the Low, Mid, and High seasonal snow zones in the study region. On a monthly to bi-weekly basis, we surveyed snow depth and snow water equivalent across 900 m transects connecting the forested and open pairs of sites. Our results show that relative to nearby open areas, the dense, relatively warm forests at Low and Mid sites impede snow accumulation via canopy snow interception and increase sub-canopy snowpack energy inputs via longwave radiation. Compared with the Forest sites, snowpacks are deeper and last longer in the Open site at the Low and Mid sites (4–26 and 11–33 days, respectively). However, we see the opposite relationship at the relatively colder High sites, with the Forest site maintaining snow longer into the spring by 15–29 days relative to the nearby Open site. Canopy interception efficiency (CIE) values at the Low and Mid Forest sites averaged 79 and 76 % of the total event snowfall, whereas CIE was 31 % at the lower density High Forest site. At all elevations, longwave radiation in forested environments appears to be the primary energy component due to the maritime climate and forest presence, accounting for 93, 92, and 47 % of total energy inputs to the snowpack at the Low, Mid, and High Forest sites, respectively. Higher wind speeds in the High Open site significantly increase turbulent energy exchanges and snow sublimation. Lower wind speeds in the High Forest site create preferential snowfall deposition. These results show the importance of understanding the effects of forest cover on sub-canopy snowpack evolution and highlight the need for improved forest cover model representation to accurately predict water resources in maritime forests.
An Observational Study of Service Dogs for Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Objectives:This study examined needs related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), assistance by service dogs, and feasibility of data collection among veterans receiving service dogs.Methods:Questionnaires assessed PTSD-related needs and services performed or expected to be performed by service dogs among 78 veterans who had or were on a wait list for a service dog (average age, 42; women, 31%). Analyses compared pre-post characteristics among 22 veterans who received a service dog as part of the study (91% follow-up; average follow-up=3.37±2.57 months).Results:Veterans reported that the most important services performed were licking or nudging veterans to help them “stay present,” preventing panic, and putting space between veterans and strangers. High follow-up rates and improvements in outcomes with moderate to large effect sizes among recipients of study-provided dogs suggest further study is warranted.Conclusions:Service dogs may be feasible supports for veterans with PTSD; randomized clinical tr...
Dissociative recombination of the A 2 Π u and the X 2 Σ g states of N + 2 in a glow discharge

The direct-product states of the dissociative recombination (DR) of N{sub 2}{sup +} have been studied using time-of-flight spectroscopy. The DR reaction occurred in a glow discharge maintained by electrons from a hot cathode. In addition to products from the X{sup 2}{Sigma}{sub g}{sup +} ground state of the molecular ion, the DR products from the A{sup 2}{Pi}{sub u} v=1 short lived (13.9 {mu}sec) excited state were observed. The experimental energy resolution was sufficient to separate the rotational energy levels built on the v=1 vibrational level. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
Adult Learner Perceptions of Affective Agents: Experimental Data and Phenomenological Observations

This paper describes a two-part study of animated affective agents that varied by affective state (positive or evasive) and motivational support (present or absent). In the first study, all four conditions significantly improved learning; however, only three conditions significantly improved math self-efficacy, the exception being the animated agent with evasive emotion and no motivational support. To help in interpreting these unexpected results, the second study used a phenomenological approach to gain an understanding of learner perceptions, emotions, interaction patterns, and expectations regarding the roles of agent affective state and motivational support during the learning process. From the qualitative data emerged three overall themes important to learners during the learning process: learner perceptions of the agent, learner perceptions of self, and learner-agent social interaction. This paper describes the results of the phenomenological study and discusses the findings with recommendations for future research.
Completion Pancreaticoduodenectomy for Hereditary Pancreatitis After Prior Puestow Procedure: A Case Report.

Abstract Background: Hereditary pancreatitis (HP) is an uncommon condition resulting from an imbalance of pancreatic proteases. Most commonly, protease serine 1 genetic mutations are causative for ...
Hyperphosphorylation of Tau Associates With Changes in Its Function Beyond Microtubule Stability.

Tau is a neuronal microtubule associated protein whose main biological functions are to promote microtubule self-assembly by tubulin and to stabilize those already formed. Tau also plays an important role as an axonal microtubule protein. Tau is an amazing protein that plays a key role in cognitive processes, however, deposits of abnormal forms of tau are associated with several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer disease (AD), the most prevalent, and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and Traumatic Brain Injury, the most recently associated to abnormal tau. Tau post-translational modifications are responsible for its gain of toxic function. Alonso and colleagues (1996) were the first to show that the pathological tau isolated from AD brains has prion-like properties and can transfer its toxic function to the normal molecule. Furthermore, we reported that the pathological changes are associated with tau phosphorylation at Ser199 and 262 and Thr212 and 231. This pathological version of tau induces subcellular mislocalization in cultured cells and neurons, and translocated into the nucleus or accumulated in the perinuclear region of cells. We have generated a transgenic mouse model that expresses pathological human tau (PH-Tau) in neurons at two different concentrations (4 and 14% of the total endogenous tau). In this model, PH-Tau causes cognitive decline by at least two different mechanisms: one that involves the cytoskeleton with axonal disruption (at high concentration), and another in which the apparent neuronal morphology is not grossly affected, but the synaptic terminals are altered (at lower concentration). We will discuss the putative involvement of tau in proteostasis under these conditions. Understanding tau’s biological activity on and off the microtubules will help shed light to the mechanism of neurodegeneration and of normal neuronal function.
Glutamate-Releasing SWELL1 Channel in Astrocytes Modulates Synaptic Transmission and Promotes Brain Damage in Stroke

Summary By releasing glutamate, astrocytes actively regulate synaptic transmission and contribute to excitotoxicity in neurological diseases. However, the mechanisms of astrocytic glutamate release have been debated. Here, we report non-vesicular release of glutamate through the glutamate-permeable volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC). Both cell swelling and receptor stimulation activated astrocytic VRAC, which requires its only obligatory subunit, Swell1. Astrocyte-specific Swell1 knockout mice exhibited impaired glutamatergic transmission due to the decreases in presynaptic release probability and ambient glutamate level. Consistently, the mutant mice displayed hippocampal-dependent learning and memory deficits. During pathological cell swelling, deletion of astrocytic Swell1 attenuated glutamate-dependent neuronal excitability and protected mice from brain damage after ischemic stroke. Our identification of a new molecular mechanism for channel-mediated glutamate release establishes a role for astrocyte-neuron interactions in both synaptic transmission and brain ischemia. It provides a rationale for targeting VRAC for the treatment of stroke and other neurological diseases associated with excitotoxicity.
Effects of pressure and CO concentration on vanadium, nickel and iron phase transformations for petcoke slag viscosity correlation development

Abstract Entrained flow gasification occurs typically at temperatures above 1400 °C. Inorganic species present in feedstocks like coal/petcoke melt and form slag. Slag viscosity is an important property for the design, operation and modelling the behavior of flows in gasifiers. Existing correlations between the composition and viscosity do not work accurately for petcoke ash slag due to V and Ni. In entrained flow gasifiers, the gaseous environment can affect the slag viscosity based on oxidation states of transition elements (primarily V, Fe and Ni). So, the mineral matter transformations need to be understood for the development of proper correlations. Coal ash can be adequately represented by the oxides of the following major elements: Si, Ca, Al, and Fe. In addition to those, petcoke ash contains significant amounts of V and Ni. The objectives of this work are to determine the effects of reducing atmosphere and pressure on the mineral matter transformations, and subsequently develop a slag correlation. CO-CO2 mixtures in different proportions were used to determine the effect of reducing atmosphere on the reduction of oxides of the transition elements. A high temperature X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) technique was used to study the transformations. A high-pressure thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) equipment was used to study the effect of pressure on the reduction reactions. XRD and TGA results indicated that V, Ni and Fe oxides were getting reduced. Consequently, lower oxidation state phases (V2O3, NiO and FeO) were used to develop slag viscosity correlation for a petcoke ash by linear regression. Viscosity data of melts with the aforementioned six oxides were obtained from the study of Wang et al. (2004). TGA results showed that the reduction reactions occurring at 1.01 bar, 10 bar and 20 bar contributed to mass loss of the synthetic petcoke ash. With increase in pressure, the reduction reactions occurred at higher temperature. X-Ray diffractograms indicated that CO concentration in the reactant gas influenced the transformations. Predictions made by the viscosity correlation with proper phases for V, Ni and Fe were in reasonably good agreement with experimental data.
Model for Dislocation Pinning Interactions in Ingaas/GaAs (001) Heterostructures

Metamorphic semiconductor devices often contain abrupt mismatched interfaces with relatively high densities of misfit dislocations. For such mismatched structures there is experimental evidence for pinning interactions, whereby a gliding threading dislocation associated with a misfit dislocation along a type direction is impeded by interaction with a misfit dislocation along the orthogonal type direction. This impediment to glide will tend to reduce the extent of strain relaxation, and this effect could be significant in thin or graded layers for which the impediment is sufficient to arrest the motion of the gliding dislocation altogether. In this paper we present a practical model for pinning interactions which can be used to extend the usefulness of plastic flow models down to the pseudomorphic limit, and we compare this model against experimental results for InGaAs/GaAs (001) heterostructures.
The right-remedy gap in economic and social rights adjudication: Holism versus separability

If the right-remedy gap is an inevitable feature of constitutional law, it is all the more so for constitutional economic and social rights. Yet such rights – to have access, for example, to health...
A Linguistic Alternative

Language and intersubjectivity have been shown to operate necessarily in each of the three aspects of Husserl’s reduction. Although Husserl himself would not have denied such a conclusion, he saw both language and “others” arising from the absolute, transcendental ego as constituted meanings. For this reason, he failed to realize the serious alterations which the consideration of each of these forces upon his method.
Evidence of Information Asymmetry and Herding Behaviour – The Swiss Franc Unpegging Event in Perspective

The paper aims to find the impact of financial events that occurred in one country on another. Taking the case of the Swiss Franc Unpegging of 2015 in Switzerland, the paper observes its impact on the Indian economy. This is done by studying the information asymmetry and herding behaviour in Indian market on the day of the event. The study uses two sets of data, (i) high frequency data and (ii) 3 years index data of both countries. The Ganger Causality test has been conducted to study the cause and effect relationship between the economies, which helps determine the impact on any of the countries. The study found that herding behaviour and information asymmetry in Indian market are now linked to each other in such a way that the country is affected even if the event has not occurred in the economy itself, however, only for a short duration of time. There also seems to be a huge gap between information available amongst all investors.
Global Capitalism vs. Geo-Political Nationalism

The world has become increasingly economically linked through global, high-tech capitalism. However, the world remains politically divided—nationalist expansion and power politics still dominates the interaction of nations on the world stage. While the democracies compete peacefully, the dictatorships—such as Russia, China, and Iran—are militarily aggressive—even though they are economically linked to global capitalist production and distribution.
Influence of Friction and Particle Morphology on Triaxial Shearing of Granular Materials

AbstractThe present paper addresses the influence of shape, size, and frictional characteristics of granular materials by utilizing X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging and FEM. High-fidelity tri...
Antitrust Consent Decrees in Theory and Practice: Why Less Is More

In particular, Epstein takes issue with aggressive antitrust enforcement strategies that seek to use government power to fundamentally alter industry structures or the business practices of regulated firms, which in some instances lead to their breakup. To explain the perils of that approach, Epstein carefully examines the history of consent decree litigation, culminating in detailed studies of the AT&T breakup and the government antitrust actions against Microsoft.
Temperatures of Stars: Wavelength Dependent Interstellar Extinction

In this exercise we determine the colour indices of four stars over two ranges in wavelength and show how this information correlates with spectral type and with effective temperature. Such information is fundamental for understanding the physics of stars and the meaning of spectral type.
An acoustic charge transport signal processing module featuring a low-temperature co-fireable ceramic chip carrier

Acoustic charge technology (ACT) has been integrated with digital control circuitry to achieve complex signal processing chips. The basic ACT device with the added digital circuitry calls for several different types of signals for operation including RF, DC, and digital control signals. Proper signal management is critical for minimizing direct-feed-through electromagnetic and common ground coupling. A low-temperature multilayer cofired technology is utilized in a chip carrier design that minimizes both types of coupling. Thick-film hybrid technology is used for the peripheral circuitry because it offers the ability to fabricate low-impedance vias to ground, low cost, and flexibility in assembly. The subassemblies are reflowed into a Kovar package. The package is hermetically sealed with fired-in glass troughs and a seam-welded lid. The direct-feed performance surpassed the product goals, with levels 50 dB below the delayed signal. Thermal characteristics of the package are acceptable, not limiting the temperature range of the completed module. >
Injury potential of ejection seat cushions.

The current MIL Specification dynamic model of the human body for the seated, spinal case, is used to determine how the dynamic characteristics of an ejection seat cushion influence the incidence of spinal injury during an ejection. The theory is compared with computer studies and shows reasonable agreement. A more sophisticated dynamic model of the human body may be needed before too much reliance can be placed upon the conclusions reached in this analysis. However, the general approach seems to be valid, and the conclusions are broadly consistent with operational experience, namely that a thin, soft cushion may slightly attenuate the spinal injury potential of an ejection seat, whereas a thick, stiffer cushion will magnify the injury potential.
Molecular basis of co-operativity in protein folding. III. Structural identification of cooperative folding units and folding intermediates.

The hierarchical partition function formalism for protein folding developed earlier has been extended through the use of three-dimensional polar and apolar contact plots. For each amino acid residue in the protein, these plots indicate the apolar and polar surfaces that are buried from the solvent, the identity of all amino acid residues that contribute to this shielding, and the magnitude of their contributions. These contact plots are then used to examine the distribution of the free energy of stabilization throughout the protein molecule. Analysis of these data allows identification of co-operative folding units and their hierarchical levels, and the identification of partially folded intermediates with a significant probability of being populated. The overall folding/unfolding thermodynamics of 12 globular proteins, for which crystallographic and experimental thermodynamics are available, is predicted within error. An energetic classification of partially folded intermediates is presented and the results compared to those cases for which structural and thermodynamic experimental information is available. Four different types of partially folded states and their structural energies are considered. (1) Local intermediates, in which only a local region of the protein loses secondary and tertiary interactions, while the rest of the protein remains intact. (2) Global intermediates, corresponding to the standard molten globule definition, in which significant secondary structure is maintained but native-like tertiary structure contacts are disrupted. (3) Extended intermediates characterized by the existence of secondary structure elements (e.g. α-helices) exposed to solvent. (4) Folding intermediates in proteins with two structural domains. The structure and energetics of folding intermediates of apo-myoglobin, α-lactalbumin, phosphoglycerate kinase and arabinose-binding protein are considered in detail.
At War with the Weather: Managing Large-Scale Risks in a New Era of Catastrophes

The United States and other nations are facing large-scale risks at an accelerating rhythm. In 2005, three major hurricanes--Katrina, Rita, and Wilma -- made landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast within a six-week period. The damage caused by these storms led to insurance reimbursements and federal disaster relief of more than $180 billion -- a record sum. Today we are more vulnerable to catastrophic losses because of the increasing concentration of population and activities in high-risk coastal regions of the country. The question is not whether but when, and how frequently, future catastrophes will strike and the extent of damages they will cause. Who should pay the costs associated with catastrophic losses suffered by homeowners in hazard-prone areas? In At War with the Weather, Howard Kunreuther and Erwann Michel-Kerjan with their colleagues deliver a groundbreaking analysis of how we currently mitigate, insure against, and finance recovery from natural disasters in the United States. They offer innovative, long-term solutions for reducing losses and providing financial support for disaster victims that define a coherent strategy to assure sustainable recovery from future large-scale disasters. The amount of data collected and analyzed and innovations proposed make this the most comprehensive book written on these critical issues in the past thirty years.
Time-Resolved THz Studies of Liquid Dynamics

Low frequency, intermolecular solvent dynamics in the vicinity of a photoexcited dye molecule have been probed directly with time-resolved THz pulse spectroscopy. We compare and contrast two distinct dye / solvent systems: Betaine-30 in chloroform and TBNC in toluene. The transient process for the former is dominated by an electronic response of the photoexcited dye molecule, whereas the latter does not display the polarization dependence expected for an electronic response.
Biological chemistry and functionality of protein sulfenic acids and related thiol modifications

Selective modification of proteins at cysteine residues by reactive oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur species formed under physiological and pathological states is emerging as a critical regulator of protein activity impacting cellular function. This review focuses primarily on protein sulfenylation (-SOH), a metastable reversible modification connecting reduced cysteine thiols to many products of cysteine oxidation. An overview is first provided on the chemistry principles underlining synthesis, stability and reactivity of sulfenic acids in model compounds and proteins, followed by a brief description of analytical methods currently employed to characterize these oxidative species. The following chapters present a selection of redox-regulated proteins for which the -SOH formation was experimentally confirmed and linked to protein function. These chapters are organized based on the participation of these proteins in the regulation of signaling, metabolism and epigenetics. The last chapter discusses the therapeutic implications of altered redox microenvironment and protein oxidation in disease.
Jupiter's atmospheric circulation

BY numerical integration of conventional meteorological equations at appropriate parameter values we have been able to reproduce most of the major characteristics of the Jovian atmosphere.
Regulation of amyloid precursor protein (APP) phosphorylation and processing by p35/Cdk5 and p25/Cdk5.

Abstract The phosphorylation status of amyloid precursor protein (APP) at Thr668 is suggested to play a critical role in the proteolytic cleavage of APP, which generates either soluble APP β (sAPP β ) and β-amyloid peptide (Aβ), the major component of senile plaques in patient brains inflicted with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), or soluble APP α (sAPP α ) and a peptide smaller than Aβ. One of the protein kinases known to phosphorylate APP Thr668 is cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5). Cdk5 is activated by the association with its regulatory partner p35 or its truncated form, p25, which is elevated in AD brains. The comparative effects of p35 and p25 on APP Thr668 phosphorylation and APP processing, however, have not been reported. In this study, we investigated APP Thr668 phosphorylation and APP processing mediated by p35/Cdk5 and p25/Cdk5 in the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y. Transient overexpression of p35 and p25 elicited distinct patterns of APP Thr668 phosphorylation, specifically, p35 increasing the phosphorylation of both mature and immature APP, whereas p25 primarily elevated the phosphorylation of immature APP. Despite these differential effects on APP phosphorylation, both p35 and p25 overexpression enhanced the secretion of Aβ, sAPP β , as well as sAPP α . These results confirm the involvement of Cdk5 in APP processing, and suggest that p35- and p25-mediated Cdk5 activities lead to discrete APP phosphorylation.
The friend of my enemy is my enemy, the enemy of my enemy is my friend: Axioms for structural balance and bi-polarity

Abstract Structural balance is a simple equilibrium model of positive and negative relationships, such as friendship and enmity. Some relational patterns (e.g. friends sharing an enemy) are balanced; others (e.g. enemies sharing a friend) are not. The model has tested well in a variety of applications, from the social psychology of small groups to the politics of international conflict. Several versions are at least implicit in the literature but had not previously been identified. Here I frame each as an axiom system and prove its equivalence to a version of bi-polarity , the idea that interactive subjects can always be partitioned into two opposing sides.
Time-resolved fluorescence studies on NADH bound to mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase.

Abstract Time-resolved fluorescence studies on the emission of NADH bound to porcine heart mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase ((S)-malate:NAD+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.37), in the presence and absence of saturating levels of hydroxymalonate, were carried out. The lifetime of NADH bound in the ternary complex was determined to be 9.5 ns compared to 1.74 ns as reported in the literature. Steady-state and dynamic polarization data indicated a Debye rotational relaxation time in the range of 106–109 ns for the dimeric enzyme. This value is significantly larger than that calculated for a spherical protein and is consistent with the asymmetric dimer found by crystallographic studies.
Superior cavopulmonary anastomosis suppresses the activity and expression of pulmonary angiotensin-converting enzyme.

Abstract Background: Superior cavopulmonary anastomosis is widely used for palliation of various forms of univentricular heart defects. However, clinically significant pulmonary arteriovenous malformations develop in 15% to 25% of patients after surgery. Objective: To assess altered regulation of pulmonary vascular tone caused by superior cavopulmonary anastomosis in an ovine model. Methods: Lambs, aged 35 to 45 days, underwent an end-to-end anastomosis of the superior vena cava to the right pulmonary artery. In age-matched controls, a sham operation was performed. Arteriovenous malformations were detectable by contrast echocardiography by 8 weeks after surgery. Animals (n = 24) were studied at various time points after the operations. Expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme messenger RNA, protein levels, and enzyme activity were measured in lung homogenates. Levels of angiotensin II were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme messenger RNA and protein was significantly reduced at 1 to 5 weeks after superior cavopulmonary anastomosis. Angiotensin-converting enzyme activity in the right lung of animals subjected to superior cavopulmonary anastomosis was reduced 86% ± 1% (standard deviation) compared with control values at 1 week ( P = .003) and 77% ± 8.5% at 2 weeks ( P P = .007) reduction in angiotensin II levels up to 5 weeks after cavopulmonary anastomosis. By 15 weeks after the operations, angiotensin II levels were equivalent to control levels ( P = .19). Conclusions: Superior cavopulmonary anastomosis causes an early reversible reduction in activity and expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme, resulting in decreased circulating levels of the vasoconstrictor angiotensin II. These results suggest that the ability of the pulmonary endothelium to regulate vascular tone is inhibited after superior cavopulmonary anastomosis. Dilation of the affected vasculature induced by cavopulmonary anastomosis may contribute to the disordered vascular remodeling observed in this setting.
Parsing the Power of “New Media” in Malaysia

AbstractWhile “new media” have substantially altered the landscape for information dissemination and social mobilisation, these media are neither all alike in their ideological leanings or intentions, nor independently capable of identity transformation and mobilisation. The paper explores these new media in the context of Malaysia since the late 1990s. It differentiates among news sites and organisational websites, which transmit (often previously proscribed) information to domestic and foreign audiences, with potentially significant effects on “civicness” and mobilisation; blogs, which tend to be primarily personalised, monological and often unfiltered; and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which have eroded the anonymity of online interaction but represent the apex of self-selected communities. “Old media” still populate this landscape as well, from newspapers and other media sources, to public lectures, to leaflets and other ad hoc publications. Even apart from common caveats as to...
Determining Frequent Patterns of Copy Number Alterations in Cancer

Cancer progression is often driven by an accumulation of genetic changes but also accompanied by increasing genomic instability. These processes lead to a complicated landscape of copy number alterations (CNAs) within individual tumors and great diversity across tumor samples. High resolution array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) is being used to profile CNAs of ever larger tumor collections, and better computational methods for processing these data sets and identifying potential driver CNAs are needed. Typical studies of aCGH data sets take a pipeline approach, starting with segmentation of profiles, calls of gains and losses, and finally determination of frequent CNAs across samples. A drawback of pipelines is that choices at each step may produce different results, and biases are propagated forward. We present a mathematically robust new method that exploits probe-level correlations in aCGH data to discover subsets of samples that display common CNAs. Our algorithm is related to recent work on maximum-margin clustering. It does not require pre-segmentation of the data and also provides grouping of recurrent CNAs into clusters. We tested our approach on a large cohort of glioblastoma aCGH samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas and recovered almost all CNAs reported in the initial study. We also found additional significant CNAs missed by the original analysis but supported by earlier studies, and we identified significant correlations between CNAs.
A study of the controlling mechanisms of flow assisted flame spread

An experimental study has been performed of the spread of flames over the surface of thick PMMA sheets in a forced gaseous flow of varied oxygen concentration moving in the direction of flame spread. It is shown that the rate of spread of the pyrolysis front is time independent, linearly dependent on the gaseous flow velocity, and approximately square power dependent on the oxygen concentration of the gas. The spread rate data can be correlated very well in terms of parameters deduced from heat transfer models of the flame spread process indicating that in the flow assisted mode of flame spread, heat transfer from the flame to the condensed fuel is the primary mechanism controlling the spread of the flame. Finite rate chemical kinetic effects have apparently a small influence on the flame spread process itself. Extinction processes are limited primarily to the upstream leading edge of the flame and to the flame tip.
Effects of petroleum exposure on predatory behavior of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch).

Evaluations of the effects of petroleum on the indigenous marine fauna of Alaska's continental shelf regions are of continuing importance because of existing and proposed oil exploration activities in these areas. The purpose of the present study was to determine the influence of crude oil in seawater on salmonid predatory behavior. Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) were chosen as predators. This species has been identified as a primary predator of juvenile salmonids in seawater. The studies indicated that exposure to the seawater-soluble fraction (SWSF) of Cook Inlet crude oil can significantly impair the capturing of prey by Coho salmon predators. An interesting observation associated with that behavioral difference was that levels of the parent hydrocarbons were markedly higher in the tissues of the oil-exposed eater subgroup than in those of the noneater oil-exposed subgroup. Brain and liver hydrocarbon concentration differences between eater and noneater subgroups suggest differential uptake, excretion and/or metabolism of these chemicals. If the lower hydrocarbon levels in the noneaters reflect metabolism and, therefore, the activity of the mixed function oxidase enzymes, differential induction could be a possible explanation. Since the eater subgroup had much higher tissue concentrations of the parent hydrocarbons in both brain and liver than themore » noneaters, it appears unlikely that the parent hydrocarbons were the xenobiotics primarily influencing feeding behavior. The lower concentrations of the parent hydrocarbons in the noneater subgroup suggest that the metabolic products of the crude oil may have been responsible for the cessation of feeding. These preliminary results are in apparent contrast with previously reported findings that acute neurotoxic effects and behavioral changes were related to accumulation of the parent compounds rather than nonconjugated metabolites of the parent compound.« less
Noncovalent Deposition of Nanoporous Ni Membranes on Spatially Organized Poly(p‐xylylene) Film Templates

Nickel metal is widely used in catalytic, energy storage, and optical applications due to its favorable physicochemical properties. Although Ni morphology, topology, and surface chemistry are critically important for these applications, their control is limited by: 1) Ni deposition conditions and treatments, and 2) properties and available architectures of sacrificial metallization templates, which are usually removed by (thermo)chemical treatments after plating. In this regard, we have been exploring poly(p-xylylene) nanostructured thin films (NTFs) formed through vaporphase polymerization and directed deposition of [2.2]paracyclophane derivatives (Fig. 1A) as new metallization templates. Proper selection of the deposition geometry and conditions and the [2.2]paracyclophane derivative permits exquisite, simultaneous control of film morphology, topology, and surface chemistry, yielding NTFs with diverse, well-organized porous structures (Fig. 1B–C). Here, we present our initial results relating to the fabrication and characterization of nanoporous Ni membranes templated by conformal electroless (EL) metallization of poly(chloro-p-xylylene) (PPX-C) NTFs. EL metallization of polymer films is typically a multistep process involving: 1) chemical or mechanical surface microroughening to promote metal adhesion; 2) adsorption of Pd/Sn core/shell colloids to the surface; 3) selective dissolution of the Sn b-hydroxy shell segment not anchoring the colloid to the surface to expose the catalytic Pd core; and finally 4) solution deposition of EL metal. For NTFs, however, the need to minimize potential damage to film nanoarchitectures (Fig. 1), eliminate environmentally hazardous Sn salts, and reduce process steps and costs necessitates consideration of an alternate EL plating procedure. In one
What every community college leader needs to know: Building leadership for international education

This chapter focuses on issues that community college leaders constantly grapple with to ensure that their graduates are globally educated and able to work and succeed in an independent and complex world. It also describes major obstacles that limit and confine international education and suggests strategies to overcome these obstacles.
Financial Reporting and Auditing Agent with Net Knowledge (FRAANK) and eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL)

This paper describes the development and applications of FRAANK—Financial Reporting and Auditing Agent with Net Knowledge. The prototype of FRAANK presented here provides automated access to, and understanding and integration of, rapidly changing financial information available from various sources on the Internet. In particular, FRAANK implements intelligent parsing to extract accounting numbers from natural‐text financial statements available from the SEC EDGAR repository. FRAANK develops an “understanding” of the accounting numbers by means of matching the line‐item labels to synonyms of tags in an XBRL taxonomy. As a result, FRAANK converts the consolidated balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows into XBRL‐tagged format. Based on FRAANK, we propose an empirical approach toward the evaluation and improvement of XBRL taxonomies and for identifying and justifying needs for specialized taxonomies by assessing a taxonomy fit to the historical data, i.e., the quarterly and annual EDGAR ...
The evaluation practices of US international NGOs

Despite the growing interest in performance measurement and evaluation of international NGOs (INGOs), little is known about actual INGO evaluation practices. The present article, based on a survey of 38 US INGOs, examines the process of evaluation practice, as well as the purposes and dissemination of the results. The findings on evaluation purpose, dissemination of results, and formal feedback mechanisms suggest that INGOs typically develop stronger formal accountability measures for donors and staff-members than for beneficiaries. The findings also indicate that many INGOs consider evaluation as an opportunity for organisational learning and for improving their performance. Many of the difficulties identified by respondents in conducting evaluations are consistent with previous literature. Les pratiques d'evaluation des ONG internationales des Etats-Unis Malgre l'interet croissant que suscitent la mesure et l'evaluation des performances des ONG internationales (ONGI), on ne sait pas grand-chose sur les ...
Dexmedetomidine and proprofol in complex microlaryngeal surgery in infants.

We describe the case of an infant undergoing endoscopic repair of a laryngeal cleft where the combination of dexmedetomidine and propofol infusions was used as the anesthetic technique. With this regimen, endotracheal intubation was unnecessary during the perioperative period, the procedure lasted approximately 3 h, and the child recovered uneventfully. Historically, the techniques used for microlaryngeal surgery involve the use of intermittent endotracheal intubation and insufflation of halogenated anesthetics to the oropharynx. Given the potential benefits of a technique that obviates the need for endotracheal intubation during microlaryngeal surgery and prevents insufflation of halogenated anesthetics in an open environment, the combination of propofol and dexmedetomidine should be considered as a viable and desirable anesthetic option for infants undergoing complex microlaryngeal surgery.
Augmentation of Remote Capabilities for Future Combat Systems

With the ever increasing demands placed on automatic test equipment for off system support in theater of operations, whether it be aviation or ground system specific, calibration can affect the readiness of these systems. It is within the framework of the Army's aviation and missile research development and engineering center remote maintenance capabilities that many of the required calibrations on test equipment can be made remotely or the remote connection can be used to extended calibration beyond its normal intervals. The intent here is not to replace normal calibration procedures nor begin new doctrine, although it is a basis of augmentation which can be drawn from in the future design of test equipment. The AMRDEC has begun an initiative of placing conditioned based maintenance (CBM) into the army's future combat systems, an (18+1+1) infrastructure, where there are (18 individual systems) plus the network (18+1) plus the soldier (18+1+1). In this structure of the future it is the intent to monitor and control many of these systems remotely since these systems are connected via a backbone of wireless, land based and satellite networks.
Specific heat (1.2{endash}108 K) and thermal expansion (4.4{endash}297 K) measurements of the 3d heavy-fermion compound LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4}

Specific heat C{sub p}(T) measurements of the heavy-fermion normal-spinel structure compound LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} were carried out using a heat-pulse calorimeter over the temperature {ital T} range from 1.2 to 108 K. The electronic specific heat C{sub e}(T) of LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} is extracted from the C{sub p}(T) data using the lattice contribution obtained for LiTi{sub 2}O{sub 4}, a superconductor with T{sub c}=11.8 K. The electronic specific heat coefficient {gamma}(T){equivalent_to}C{sub e}(T)/T of LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} is found to be 0.42 and 0.43 J/mol K{sup 2} at T=1 K for two different high-magnetic-purity samples, respectively. {gamma}(T) decreases rapidly with increasing temperature from 4 to 30 K and then decreases much more slowly from 0.13 J/molthinspK{sup 2} at 30 K to 0.08 J/mol K{sup 2} at 108 K. The C{sub e}(T) of the first of the above two LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} samples is compared with theoretical predictions for the spin S=1/2 Kondo model, a generic Fermi liquid model, and an antiferromagnetically coupled quantum-disordered metal. Each of these theories can adequately describe the {ital T} dependence of C{sub e} in the Fermi liquid regime at low ({approximately}1{endash}10 K) temperatures, consistently yielding a large extrapolated {gamma}(0)=428(3) mJ/mol K{sup 2}. However, none of these theoriesmore » describes C{sub e}(T) from {approximately}10 K to 108 K. Our C{sub e}(T) data are also in severe disagreement with the magnetic specific heat of the spin S=1/2 Heisenberg model, calculated above {approximately}40 K for the V sublattice of the spinel structure. Thermal expansion measurements of LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} were carried out from 4.4 to 297 K using a differential capacitance dilatometer. Strong increases in the thermal expansion coefficient and Gr{umlt u}neisen parameter {Gamma} are found below {approximately}20 K, confirming the results of Chmaissem {ital et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {bold 79}, 4866 (1997)] obtained using neutron diffraction. We estimate {Gamma}(0){approx}11.4, which is intermediate between those of conventional metals and {ital f}-electron heavy-fermion compounds. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}« less
Addition reaction of adamantylideneadamantane with Br2 and 2Br2: a computational study.

Ab initio calculations were carried out for the reaction of adamantylideneadamantane (AdAd) with Br2 and 2Br2. Geometries of the reactants, transition states, intermediates, and products were optim...
Structural modeling of porous carbons: Constrained reverse Monte Carlo method

We present a constrained reverse Monte Carlo method for structural modeling of porous carbons. As in the original reverse Monte Carlo method, the procedure is to stochastically change the atomic positions of a system of carbon atoms to minimize the differences between the simulated and the experimental pair correlation functions. However, applying the original reverse Monte Carlo method without further constraints yields nonunique structures for carbons, due to the presence of strong three-body forces. In this respect, the uniqueness theorem of statistical mechanics provides a helpful guide to the design of reverse Monte Carlo methods that give reliable structures. In our method, we constrain the bond angle distribution and the average carbon coordination number to describe the three-body correlations. Using this procedure, we have constructed structural models of two highly disordered porous carbons prepared by pyrolysis of saccharose at two different temperatures. The resulting pair correlation function...
Fertility and Embryonic Livability as Influenced by Depth of Insemination of Turkey Hens

Abstract In two separate artificial insemination trials with individually caged breeder turkeys, semen release in the oviduct at depths of 3.0 and 7.5 cm. from the exterior surface of the relaxed vent were compared. In the first trial, 7.5 cm. insemination at two-week intervals produced significantly higher (82.3 vs. 78.5%) fertility and lower embryonic mortality (16.8 vs. 20.2%) than the 3.0 cm. depth. In the second trial, insemination at three-week intervals, 7.5 cm. depth also produced significantly higher (79.2 vs. 73.9%) fertility and lower embryonic mortality (11.2 vs. 15.6%). The net gain in reproduction efficiency due to the combined effects was 6% in Trial 1 and 8% in Trial 2.
Does adriamycin undergo an enterohepatic circulation

AbstractTo determine whether adriamycin (ADR) and/or its metabolites undergo an enterohepatic circulation following an iv administration, anesthetized rats with biliary and urinary fistulae were intraduodenally perfused with bile flowing from bile duct-cannulated rats which had been injected iv with 20 mg/kg [14C]ADR. During a 6-hr duodenal perfusion period, 27.3% of the ADR injected to bile donor rats was recovered as total radioactivity in the intestinal perfusate of bile recipient rats and approximately 1.6 and 0.18% were excreted in their bile and urine, respectively. The intestinal tissue of bile recipient rats contained concentrations of the total drug equivalents ranging from 1.98 μg/g in the initial portions of the duodenum to 12.21 μg/g in the distal parts of the ileum. Minimal levels were observed in the heart, lung, kidney, and liver (0.25–0.86 μg/g tissue). In order to estimate the amount of the total [14C]ADR equivalents perfused into the small intestine of the bile recipient rats, [14C]ADR 2...
Classical kinetic theory simulations using smoothed particle hydrodynamics

The technique of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) is used to simulate a variety of three-dimensional systems comprised of elastic spheres contained in a box with perfectly reflecting walls. Particle interactions are determined solely by the conservative SPH body forces, from which the potential energy function is derived. This function is followed to monitor the conservation of the total energy as various initial nonequilibrium velocity distributions are quickly randomized by particle collisions. The resulting equilibrium speed and velocity distributions are found to agree with those predicted by kinetic theory. The algorithm conserves the total energy to within 0.02%. The pressure exerted on the box walls and the mean free path between collisions are comparable with those expected for a system of rigid particles. The problem of two isolated systems that are allowed to mix after an impenetrable partition is removed is also simulated with acceptable results. Finally, the equilibrium spatial distribution of the particles is considered and a semiemperical relationship derived for this multiply anticorrelated distribution. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Electron paramagnetic resonance of NaF:Fe+

Abstract Epr spectra have been observed at 4.2°K from Fe + in substitutional sites with orthorhombic as well as octahedral symmetry in NaF crystals containing trace amounts of iron. Parameters for a spin Hamiltonian containing g tensor and fluorine superhyperfine interaction terms have been obtained. The orthorhombic center alone is produced by X irradiation at 4.2°K and can be converted completely to octahedral centers by annealing to room temperature. The octahedral sites can be obtained by room temperature X irradiation. A model for the orthorhombic center is suggested.