cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
NS/EPp Enhancement Of Fiber Optic Long-Haul Links

The National Communications System (NCS) is responsible for defining reasonable enhancements that could be applied to commercial common carrier (or carriers'-carrier) fiber optic systems that will be leased or owned by Government agencies and that may be used for National Security and Emergency Preparedness (NS/EP) purposes. This paper describes enhancements recommended by the authors for making fiber optic long-haul systems more survivable against both man-made and natural disasters. For a limited nuclear environment, outside of the blast region where buildings and personnel would be expected to survive, involving surface and in-atmosphere nuclear bursts, the vulnerability of optical fiber waveguides to fallout radiation is a primary concern. An assessment of fiber darkening from gamma radiation, based on a review of unclassified literature, is presented. For exoatmospheric nuclear bursts, the fiber optic system is exposed to high altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) radiation. Other man-made disasters include sabotage, fires, accidents, and unintentional dig-ups. Natural disasters considered were floods, earthquakes, lightning, temperature extremes, rodents, etc.
Glancing Angle X-Ray Study of Crystallization of Amorphous Ge at the Ge-A1 Interface

The amorphous to crystalline transformations of Ge in Al/Ge thin film couples has been studied using glancing angle EXAFS, x-ray reflectivity and diffraction. It was found that crystallization occurs at a much lower temperature (118--150{degrees}C) than for bulk Ge, and initiates at the Al/Ge interface. X-ray diffraction studies were made at 152{degrees}C to study the kinetics of the reaction. After an initial period we find good agreement with a square root dependence of the time, characteristic of a diffusion limited reaction.
Activity of choline acetyltransferase and acetylcholinesterase in the goldfish optic tectum after disconnection.

Activities of choline acetyltransferase (CAT) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were investigated in the goldfish optic tectum after disconnection of the optic afferents. Permanent disconnection was achieved by eye removal, and optic nerve crush produced a temporary disconnection until regeneration. There was a rapid loss in total activity per tectum for both enzymes under the two disconnection conditions. At longer intervals after optic nerve crush the levels of total activity for both enzymes returned toward control levels, as regeneration of the nerve proceeded. Total activity for both enzymes remained depressed after eye removal, however. Variable results were obtained in specific activity data, expressed per unit protein, although ther was a 10% loss in specific activity of CAT at early intervals after eye removal. The data are interpreted as consistent with the possibility that at least a fraction of the axons in the retinotectal pathway of goldfish are cholinergic, and parallel our previous observations showing similar rapid losses of nicotinic-cholinergic receptor activity in this system.
Tubulin Tyrosine Ligase-like Genes ttll3 and ttll6 Maintain Zebrafish Cilia Structure and Motility

Tubulin post-translational modifications generate microtubule heterogeneity and modulate microtubule function, and are catalyzed by tubulin tyrosine ligase-like (TTLL) proteins. Using antibodies specific to monoglycylated, polyglycylated, and glutamylated tubulin in whole mount immunostaining of zebrafish embryos, we observed distinct, tissue-specific patterns of tubulin modifications. Tubulin modification patterns in cilia correlated with the expression of ttll3 and ttll6 in ciliated cells. Expression screening of all zebrafish tubulin tyrosine ligase-like genes revealed additional tissue-specific expression of ttll1 in brain neurons, ttll4 in muscle, and ttll7 in otic placodes. Knockdown of ttll3 eliminated cilia tubulin glycylation but had surprisingly mild effects on cilia structure and motility. Similarly, knockdown of ttll6 strongly reduced cilia tubulin glutamylation but only partially affected cilia structure and motility. Combined loss of function of ttll3 and ttll6 caused near complete loss of cilia motility and induced a variety of axonemal ultrastructural defects similar to defects previously observed in zebrafish fleer mutants, which were shown to lack tubulin glutamylation. Consistently, we find that fleer mutants also lack tubulin glycylation. These results indicate that tubulin glycylation and glutamylation have overlapping functions in maintaining cilia structure and motility and that the fleer/dyf-1 TPR protein is required for both types of tubulin post-translational modification.
Background subtraction using a pixel-wise adaptive learning rate for object tracking initialization

In this paper we present a new method for object tracking initialization using background subtraction. We propose an effective scheme for updating a background model adaptively in dynamic scenes. Unlike the traditional methods that use the same "learning rate" for the entire frame or sequence, our method assigns a learning rate for each pixel according to two parameters. The first parameter depends on the difference between the pixel intensities of the background model and the current frame. The second parameter depends on the duration of the pixel being classified as a background pixel. We also introduce a method to detect sudden illumination changes and segment moving objects during these changes. Experimental results show significant improvements in moving object detection in dynamic scenes such as waving tree leaves and sudden illumination change, and it has a much lower computational cost compared to Gaussian mixture model.
Nonlinear spatial evolution of an externally excited instability wave in a free shear layer

A two-dimensional disturbance evolving from a strictly linear, finite-growth-rate instability wave, with nonlinear effects first becoming important in the critical layer is considered. The analysis is carried out for a general weakly nonparallel mean flow using matched asymptotic expansions. The flow in the critical layer is governed by a nonlinear vorticity equation which includes a spatial-evolution term. As in Goldstein and Hultgren (1988), the critical layer ages into a quasi-equilibrium one and the initial exponential growth of the instability wave is converted into a weak algebraic growth during the roll-up process. This leads to a next stage of evolution where the instability-wave growth is simultaneously affected by mean-flow divergence and nonlinear critical-layer effects and is eventually converted to decay. Expansions for the various streamwise regions of the flow are combined into a single composite formula accounting for both shear-layer spreading and nonlinear critical-layer effects and good agreement with the experimental results of Thomas and Chu (1989) and Freymuth (1966) is demonstrated.
Input-output organization of the rat vibrissal motor cortex.

The afferent and efferent connections of the vibrissal area of the rat motor cortex (VMCx) were investigated by injecting Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) or wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase into the physiologically defined VMCx. The VMCx formed reciprocal connections with the primary and secondary somatosensory cortex, lateral and ventrolateral orbital cortex, retrosplenial cortex, and perirhinal cortex. These corticocortical afferents originated from cell bodies in layers II–III and V, and some afferents originated from cell bodies in layer VI of the primary sensory cortex. All of the VMCx efferents terminated in layers I and V or layers I–III and V. The VMCx also formed reciprocal connections with the ventrolateral, ventromedial and centrolateral nucleus, the lateral portion of the mediodorsal nucleus and the posterior complex of the thalamus. It projected bilaterally to the caudate putamen, primarily ipsilaterally to the superior colliculus, anterior pretectal nucleus, and pontine nucleus, and mainly contralaterally to the oral part of the spinotrigeminal nucleus and the reticular formation around the facial nerve nucleus. Finally, injections of PHA-L into the superior colliculus demonstrated that this structure projected contralaterally to the lateral part of the facial nerve nucleus. These data suggest that the VMCx plays a key role in sensorimotor integration, through its extensive interconnectivity with numerous brain structures, and may modulate orientation behaviors by relaying processed information to the superior colliculus.
On the importance of sub-array design in the suppression of undesirable grating lobes

A useful strategy in simplifying the development of large antenna arrays is to use sub-arrays as a building-block. When employing this strategy, care must be taken in designing and implementing the sub-arrays because they can be considered array elements that are more than one wavelength apart resulting in array factor grating lobes. In ideal situations, the grating lobes that one would expect are cancelled out by the individual sub-array pattern nulls. However, if care is not taken in the design of the sub-array, errors in that design can distort the sub-array pattern and cause it to no longer properly cancel the grating lobes and ultimately degrade the overall array pattern. Thus, it is essential to understand the mechanism that can cause unwanted distortion in the sub-array pattern. Here, we investigate a number of situations that can cause unwanted distortions in the sub-array pattern and their effects on the final overall pattern. We will focus on 1×4 sub-arrays, which are one of the more common sub-array designs that are implemented in large arrays. Analysis of the array factor and simple simulations will demonstrate the possible mechanisms of these distortions and illustrate the importance of the sub-array design.
Nutrient enrichment and precipitation changes do not enhance resiliency of salt marshes to sea level rise in the Northeastern U.S.

In the Northeastern U.S., salt marsh area is in decline. Habitat change analysis has revealed fragmentation, displacement of high marsh by low marsh species, and marsh drowning, while development of adjacent uplands limits upslope migration. Measures of marsh vegetation loss for eight sites in Rhode Island and New York between ca.1970 and 2011 indicate that substantial loss has occurred over past decades, with higher loss rates found for lower elevation salt marshes. Using inundation experiments, field surveys, and LiDAR datasets, we developed an elevation-productivity relationship for Spartina alterniflora specific to the U.S. Northeast, and located current salt marsh orthometric heights on this curve. We estimate that 87 % of Northeastern salt marshes are located at elevations where growth is limited by inundation. By manipulating water column nutrients, precipitation, and elevation, we further found that altered precipitation regime was associated with significant reductions in biomass, and that nutrient enrichment adversely impacts organic matter accumulation and peat formation. These results provide evidence that Northeastern U.S. marshes are vulnerable to the effects of accelerated sea level rise, and that neither precipitation changes, nor cultural eutrophication, will contribute positively to long-term salt marsh survival.
Polypeptide profiles from cotyledons of developing and photoperiodically induced seedlings of the Japanese morning glory (Pharbitis [ipomoea] nil)

An unknown substance(s) produced in the cotyledons of seedlings of the Japanese morning glory (Pharbitis nil) during a defined period of darkness triggers the subsequent initiation of floral buds at apical and axillary meristems. Recent studies have concentrated on characterizing molecular changes as a possible mechanism associated with its synthesis, but these have failed to eliminate interference due to lack of development unity in the sampled population and to consider different kinetic alternatives of those potential changes. The current study demonstrates that numerous age-related changes occur in polypeptides from cotyledons during growth under noninductive conditions, but that these are minimal in older seedlings selected for improved synchrony of the floral response. Polypeptides from older seedlings sampled at various times during and after a dark inductive period were examined by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE). No differences associated with floral induction could be detected. The results indicate that changes in gene expression correlated with floral-induction do not occur in the abundant polypeptide fraction within the limitations of the techniques employed.
Temporal context and the organisational impairment of memory search in schizophrenia.

Introduction. An influential theory of schizophrenic deficits in executive function suggests that patients have difficulty maintaining and utilising an internal contextual representation, whose function is to ensure that stimuli are processed in a task-appropriate manner. In basic research on episodic memory, retrieved-context theories propose that an internal contextual representation is critically involved in memory search, facilitating the retrieval of task-appropriate memories. This contextual machinery is thought to give rise to temporal organisation during free recall: the tendency for successive recall responses to correspond to items from nearby positions on the study list. If patients with schizophrenia have a generalised contextual deficit, then this leads to the prediction that these patients will exhibit reduced temporal organisation in free recall.Methods. Using a combination of classic and recently developed organisational measures, we characterised recall organisation in 75 patients with sc...
Nanosensors based on responsive polymer brushes and gold nanoparticle enhanced transmission surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy.

Swelling (and shrinking) of poly(2-vinylpyridine), P2VP, polymer brushes, caused by pH changes, could be readily monitored by transmission surface plasmon resonance, T-SPR, spectroscopy. Gold nanoparticles attached to the P2VP polymer brushes dramatically enhanced the pH-induced shift in the T-SPR absorption spectra. (A 50 nm shift of the absorption maximum of the T-SPR spectrum of the supporting gold nanoislands was observed upon changing the pH from 5.0 to 2.0, corresponding to a swelling of the polymer brushes from 8.1 ± 0.7 to 24.0 ± 2.0 nm. Same shift in the opposite direction was observed upon changing the pH from 2.0 to 5.0.)
Thermal Analysis of In-Situ Thermoplastic-Matrix Composite Filament Winding

In filament winding of thermoplastics, localized melting/solidification can reduce the residual stresses and allow for improved dimensional stability and performance. This paper presents a three-dimensional thermal analysis for melting and consolidating impregnated tows in the presence of a local heat source during filament winding of thermoplastic composites. The analysis is performed using an Eulerian approach. The anisotropy of the filament wound woven structure is modeled as an orthotropic domain employing the concept of angle-ply sublaminates. The effective orthotropic conductivity tensor incorporates the effect of winding angle. The governing equations are discretized in a nonuniform mesh domain and solved using a finite difference approach. The processing parameters, such as winding angle, winding speed, and heat input, as well as material properties, are incorporated into the analysis. The results show large thermal gradients in the vicinity of the consolidation point. The effects of winding speed and heat input are investigated, and the overall thermal characterization of the process is discussed. The accuracy of the numerical method is assessed by comparing the results of a test problem with an available analytical solution.
The human element in airline service quality: contact personnel and the customer

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the dimension of personal touch and its elements of individual attention, helpfulness, courtesy, and promptness as determinants of customer satisfaction for passenger airlines.Design/methodology/approach – Survey data from 437 individuals and a hierarchical approach to structural equation modeling are used to systematically evaluate four alternative measurement models. A second‐order measurement model of personal touch appeared to represent the data very well and can be supported from a theoretical point of view.Findings – Personal touch is found to statistically and substantively affect passenger satisfaction explaining about 54 percent of the variance. In other words, collectively, individual attention, helpfulness, courtesy, and promptness are found to have a significant effect on airline passenger satisfaction.Research limitations/implications – This research examines the satisfaction of customers of US passenger airlines. Future research s...
Suicidal Themes in Visual Art

Suicide in art, as in life, occurs rarely but when it does the viewers react to the special poignancy of this theme. In looking at examples of visual works representing the last two thousand years,...
A nonorthogonal tight-binding total energy model for molecular simulations

Abstract A nonorthogonal tight-binding (TB) total energy model for molecular simulations has been developed in spirit of extended-Huckel theory. The semiempirical potential parameters for H, C, O elements are fitted from density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The test calculations on small inorganic molecules, hydrocarbons, fullerenes, and large organic molecules show its reliability and transferability. In particular, the atomization energies and the gaps between highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO–LUMO gaps) from TB model compare well with DFT results for a variety of molecules. Thus, our TB model can be used in the large scale simulation of molecules and carbon-based materials.
Overexpression of multisubunit replication factors in yeast

Facile genetic and biochemical manipulation coupled with rapid cell growth and low cost of growth media has established the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a versatile workhorse. This article describes the use of yeast expression systems for the overproduction of complex multipolypeptide replication factors. The regulated overexpression of these factors in yeast provides for a readily accessible and inexpensive source of these factors in large quantities. The methodology is illustrated with the five-subunit replication factor C. Whole-cell extracts are prepared by blending yeast cells with glass beads or frozen yeast with dry ice. Procedures are described that maximize the yield of these factors while minimizing proteolytic degradation.
Energy efficient redundant configurations for real-time parallel reliable servers

Modular redundancy and temporal redundancy are traditional techniques to increase system reliability. In addition to being used as temporal redundancy, with technology advancements, slack time in a system can also be used by energy management schemes to save energy. In this paper, we consider the combination of modular and temporal redundancy to achieve energy efficient reliable real-time service provided by multiple servers. We first propose an efficient adaptive parallel recovery scheme that appropriately processes service requests in parallel to increase the number of faults that can be tolerated and thus system reliability. Then we explore schemes to determine the optimal redundant configurations of the parallel servers to minimize system energy consumption for a given reliability goal or to maximize system reliability for a given energy budget. Our analysis results show that small requests, optimistic approaches, and parallel recovery favor lower levels of modular redundancy, while large requests, pessimistic approaches and restricted serial recovery favor higher levels of modular redundancy.
Epithelial remodeling after partial topography-guided normalization and high-fluence short-duration crosslinking (Athens protocol): Results up to 1 year

Purpose To compare epithelial remodeling in keratoconic eyes that had photorefractive keratectomy and corneal collagen crosslinking (Athens protocol) with that in untreated keratoconic eyes and healthy eyes. Setting Private clinical practice, Athens, Greece. Design Comparative case series. Methods Fourier-domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) was used to obtain in vivo 3-dimensional epithelial thickness maps and center, superior, inferior, maximum, minimum, mean, midperipheral, and variability data. Results Group A comprised 175 treated keratoconic eyes (Athens protocol); Group B, 193 untreated keratoconic eyes; and Group C, 160 healthy eyes. The 1-year mean center epithelial thickness in Group A was 47.78 μm ± 7.36 (SD) (range 33 to 64 μm). At the first clinical visit, it was 52.09 ± 6.80 μm (range 36 to 72 μm) in Group B and 52.54 ± 3.23 μm (range 45 to 59 μm) in Group C. The mean thickness range in Group A at 1 year was −19.94 ± 7.21 μm (range −6 to −34 μm). It was −21.83 ± 12.07 μm (range −4 to −66 μm) in Group B and −6.86 ± 3.33 μm (range −3 to −29 μm) in Group C. The mean topographic thickness variability in Group A at 1 year was 4.64 ± 1.63 μm (range 1.6 to 8.1 μm) ( P Conclusion Anterior segment OCT indicated a thinner and more homogeneous remodeled epithelium in the keratoconic eyes treated using the Athens protocol. Financial Disclosure Dr. Kanellopoulos is a consultant to Alcon Surgical, Inc.; Wavelight Laser Technologie AG; Avedro, Inc.; and i-Optics Optikgerate GmbH. Dr. Asimellis has no financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.
Reciprocating autocatalytic interactions between platelets and the activation system

Under normal circumstances, the platelet surface serves as a site of assembly for plasminogen (PGN) and tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and facilitates PGN activation. Since the plasmin (Pn) produced on the platelet surface can modulate a variety of platelet properties, we examined the effects of Pn on platelet-surface PGN activation. We incubated platelets with Pn (one caseinolytic unit/ml for one hr at 37 degrees C) and measured the effects of this treatment on the binding of PGN, Pn, and t-PA to unactivated platelets; and on the kinetics of PGN activation on the platelet surface. Pn treatment increased the number of PGN binding sites by 78% (from 46,000 to 88,000 sites/platelet) without affecting affinity (KD = 2.2 microM). Pn treatment had a modest effect on (DFP-inactivated) Pn binding but did not modify t-PA binding; however, treatment increased the catalytic efficiency of t-PA approximately two-fold. Importantly, all of these effects occurred without evidence for platelet activation by Pn. These observations imply that PGN activation may be an autocatalytic process on the platelet surface and provide evidence for a unique reciprocating mechanism governing the interaction between platelets and the plasminogen activation system.
Patellar Tendinopathy: Preliminary Surgical Results

Background:Calcific deposits (CaDs) may be related to chronic postoperative pain and may affect function after patellar tendon surgery.Study Design:Cross-sectional.Hypothesis:We hypothesized that p...
The separation of mouse reticulocyte 9S RNA into fractions of different biological activity by hybridization to poly[U]-cellulose

Abstract The 9S RNA isolated from mouse reticulocyte polysomes has been separated into two fractions which differ in their adenine-rich stretches and their biological activities. One RNA fraction is eluted from poly[U]-cellulose columns at 4° C. This fraction has only twelve percent of the biological activity for mouse α and β globin synthesis compared to a control 9S RNA sample. The other fraction hybridizes to the poly[U] and is eluted at a temperature of 65° C. This RNA is at least seven times more active than is the RNA eluted at 4° C. These results demonstrate that the fraction of 9S RNA which hybridizes to poly[U]-cellulose contains most of the active globin mRNA.
Mothers' effectiveness as HIV risk reduction educators for adolescent daughters

Low-income African American inner city adolescent females continue to be at disproportionately high risk for contracting HIV. Though it has been speculated that mothers' involvement in HIV risk reduction may be helpful in the fight against HIV, very few interventions involve mothers. The Mother/Daughter HIV Risk Reduction intervention (MDRR), an innovative community-based intervention, trains mothers to be their daughters' primary HIV educators. A split-plot repeated measures design was used to test the effectiveness of the MDRR in decreasing daughters' sexual activity over a 2-month period. The mediating variables were daughters' HIV transmission knowledge, self-efficacy and intention to refuse sex. The sample consisted of 262 daughters with a mean age of 12.4 years. The results revealed that mothers were effective in increasing the mediating variables and in reducing their daughters' level of sexual activity. Active involvement of mothers is cost-effective and should be integrated into HIV intervention programs.
Presymptomatic and Prenatal Diagnosis of Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy with Linked DNA Probes

Advances in neurogenetics are facilitating clinical care. Localization of the mutant gene that causes myotonic muscular dystrophy (DM) to chromosome 19 enabled our predictive testing using linked DNA probes in 74 members of 12 families at risk. Individuals sought either diagnostic confirmation or exclusion with childbearing in mind, or requested prenatal diagnosis. Valuable information was provided for 11 of 12 families. Of 14 individuals at 50% risk, 12 learned they did not have DM, two learned they did (although presymptomatic), and prenatal diagnoses of affected fetuses were made in three families—all with high degrees of certainty. The future opportunity for prenatal diagnosis was provided for 3 other families. The potential health risks to an affected female and her affected or nonaffected fetus provide cogent reasons for physicians to inform DM families in their care about these important advances and opportunities to avert grave complications.
Insect Vectors of Disease

Conenose Bugs The conenose bugs belong to the order Hemiptera, family Reduviidae.91 They are commonly called "assassin bugs," "kissing bugs," "corsairs," "black corsairs," "wheel bugs" and "bedbug ...
Power and Deterrence in Alliance Relationships The Ally’s Decision to Renege

I investigate the rationality of challenge and escalation when a third party, allied either to defender or challenger, is uncertain about the enemy’s power. The analysis illustrates how third-party ally power impacts general and immediate deterrence and willingness to intervene. In alliances with the defender, uncertainty about the enemy’s strength leads the third party to support the defender with a probability that decreases with the benefits that his intervention would provide although the likelihood that he is facing a strong challenger in war has increased. If the third party is allied to the challenger, ally behavior is more nuanced.
Maternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 2 in a baby with trisomy 2 mosaicism in amniotic fluid culture

We describe the first case of a baby with maternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 2. Growth failure, hypothyroidism, and hyaline membrane disease were present at birth, and the first year of life was complicated by bronchopulmonary dysplasia. At age 14 months, motor and intellectual development were normal, but growth remained below the 10th centile. The baby was investigated for uniparental disomy because trisomy 2 mosaicism had been detected in a second trimester amniocentesis. This is the first reported case in which amniotic fluid chromosome mosaicism has been associated with uniparental disomy. Implications for prenatal diagnosis are considered.
A Polarographic Method for Bromide Residue Determination

SUMMARY— A polarographic analytical procedure has been developed to give specific and quantitative responses based on the bromide content of food crops and other media. Improved extraction, ashing and oxidizing systems are used to improve recovery and reliability. The bromides present in plant material can be quantitatively removed with an aqueous-alcohol solution, leaving the major portions of fats, protein and sugars undissolved. The ashing of the residue from this extract is simplified and allows larger samples to be processed. An absorption-reaction train is used, first to oxidize the bromide to bromine and second from bromine to bromate. The bromate is measured for quantitation by polarography in a 1 M NH4OH/NH4CI solution. The polarogram is recorded using an applied voltage of −1 to −2 volts using the potential measured across the DME vs. a mercury pool. Application of this procedure has been made to 40 crops during the past three years. A mean recovery of 88.8 per cent has been calculated from fortified samples of every crop analyzed.
An Unstructured Reacting Flow Solver With Coupled Implicit Solution of the Species Conservation Equations

Many reacting flow applications mandate coupled solution of the species conservation equations. A low-memory coupled solver was developed to solve the species transport equations on an unstructured mesh with implicit spatial as well as species-to-species coupling. First, the computational domain was decomposed into sub-domains comprised of geometrically contiguous cells—a process termed internal domain decomposition (IDD). This was done using the binary spatial partitioning (BSP) algorithm. Following this step, for each sub-domain, the discretized equations were developed using the finite-volume method, written in block implicit form, and solved using an iterative solver based on Krylov sub-space iterations, i.e., the Generalized Minimum Residual (GMRES) solver. Overall (outer) iterations were then performed to treat explicitness at sub-domain interfaces and non-linearities in the governing equations. The solver is demonstrated for a laminar ethane-air flame calculation with five species and a single reaction step, and for a catalytic methane-air combustion case with 19 species and 22 reaction steps. It was found that the best performance is manifested for sub-domain size of about 1000 cells, the exact number depending on the problem at hand. The overall gain in computational efficiency was found to be a factor of 2–5 over the block Gauss-Seidel procedure.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Ab initio and analytic intermolecular potentials for Ar–CH3OH

Ab initio calculations at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory were used to characterize the Ar-CH(3)OH intermolecular potential energy surface (PES). Potential energy curves were calculated for four different Ar + CH(3)OH orientations and used to derive an analytic function for the intermolecular PES. A sum of Ar-C, Ar-O, Ar-H(C), and Ar-H(O) two-body potentials gives an excellent fit to these potential energy curves up to 100 kcal mol(-1), and adding an additional r(-n) term to the Buckingham two-body potential results in only a minor improvement in the fit. Three Ar-CH(3)OH van der Waals minima were found from the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ//MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ calculations. The structure of the global minimum is in overall good agreement with experiment (X.-C. Tan, L. Sun and R. L. Kuczkowski, J. Mol. Spectrosc., 1995, 171, 248). It is T-shaped with the hydroxyl H-atom syn with respect to Ar. Extrapolated to the complete basis set (CBS) limit, the global minimum has a well depth of 0.72 kcal mol(-1) with basis set superposition error (BSSE) correction. The aug-cc-pVTZ basis set gives a well depth only 0.10 kcal mol(-1) smaller than this value. The well depths of the other two minima are within 0.16 kcal mol(-1) of the global minimum. The analytic Ar-CH(3)OH intermolecular potential also identifies these three minima as the only van der Waals minima and the structures predicted by the analytic potential are similar to the ab initio structures. The analytic potential identifies the same global minimum and the predicted well depths for the minima are within 0.05 kcal mol(-1) of the ab initio values. Combining this Ar-CH(3)OH intermolecular potential with a potential for a OH-terminated alkylthiolate self-assembled monolayer surface (i.e., HO-SAM) provides a potential to model Ar + HO-SAM collisions.
Dislocation Reduction Via Annealing Of GaAs Grown On Si Substrates

Gallium arsenide layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (100) Si substrates, subjected to various types of annealing, exhibit a substantial reduction in dislocation density near the interface and in the bulk of the epitaxial layer. Different kinds of annealing are examined, ex-situ annealing which is done in a furnace after the growth and in-situ annealing which is done during the growth.
Trypanosoma brucei: a first-generation CRE-loxP site-specific recombination system.

Abstract The bacteriophage CRE- loxP system of DNA recombination is widely used to manipulate segments of the genomes of mice and other eukaryotes for the purpose of studying the regulation and functions of their genes. Since this recombination system could have similar applications in analyzing the genomes of trypanosomatids, we assessed the action of CRE recombinase on its loxP DNA recognition sites in Trypanosoma brucei after inserting tetracycline-regulated CRE and two 34-bp loxP sites into the T. brucei genome. We found that when loxP sites flank in a direct orientation the transcription termination sequence (1.1 kb) of the T. brucei GPEET/PAG3 locus, CRE recombinase deletes this termination sequence, permitting transcription and subsequent expression of a downstream reporter gene for the green fluorescent protein ( GFP ). Thus, the CRE- loxP system is highly efficient in T. brucei , but the experimental results also indicate that a better way than the existing tetracycline-regulated system is required to completely silence expression of CRE in the T. brucei genome when it is not needed before the full range of CRE- loxP applications currently used in mice can be exploited in African trypanosomes. Index Descriptors and Abbreviations: Trypanosoma brucei ; CRE recombinase; Procyclin; Transcription termination; Gene deletion; GPEET, glycine–proline–glutamic acid–glutamic acid–threonine pentapeptide repeat protein (one of the two forms of the protein previously called PARP or procyclin); EP, glutamic acid–proline dipeptide repeat protein (one of the two forms of the protein previously called PARP or procyclin); PAG, procyclin-associated gene; TERM GPEET , the transcription terminator sequence of the GPEET/PAG3 locus of T. brucei ; FACS, fluorescent activated cell sorter; GFP, green fluorescent protein; O tet , tetracycline operator; P GPEET and P rRNA , promoters for the T. brucei GPEET/PAG3 locus and rRNA gene locus, respectively; P T7 , promoter for T7 RNA polymerase; rRNA, ribosomal RNA; UTR, untranslated region; VSG, variant surface glycoprotein
Accuracy of the short radiograph in the measurement of the tibiofemoral angle

Abstract To determine which axes on the ‘short’ radiograph (36 cm × 43 cm) correlate best with the corresponding axes on the ‘long’ radiograph (36 cm × 130 cm), 100 long anteroposterior radiographs were taken postoperatively following total knee arthroplasty. The central 43 cm of the long radiograph were used to simulate a short radiograph of the knee. For the femur, the short-radiograph axis drawn from the midpoint at the proximal end to a point 10 cm above the joint line had the highest coefficient of correlation ( r = 0.97) with the anatomical axis of the femur on the long radiograph. For the tibia, the short-radiograph axis drawn from the midpoint of the distal end of the tibia to a point 10 cm below the joint line had the best correlation ( r = 0.93) with the anatomical axis of the tibia on the long radiograph. The tibiofemoral angle created by these two axes was 5.3°, which, in comparison to eight other axis combinations tested on the short radiographs, correlated best ( r = 0.94) with the mean tibiofemoral angle observed on the long radiographs. We find this angle to be a satisfactory indication of the tibiofemoral angle on a long radiograph. This finding will allow a more accurate determination of the optimal tibiofemoral angle that is so important to the long-term success of total knee arthroplasty.
Crystal structures of paraelastic aluminum molybdate and ferric molybdate, β-Al2(MoO4)3 and β-Fe2(MoO4)3

Iron/molybdenum/oxygen compounds are important partial oxidation catalysts, and stoichiometric ferric molybdate, Fe{sub 2}(MoO{sub 4}){sub 3}, has been identified as the key component of these mixtures. The high-temperature crystal structures of {beta}-Al{sub 2}(MoO{sub 4}){sub 3} and {beta}-Fe{sub 2}(MoO{sub 4}){sub 3}, as determined by Rietveld refinements against time-of-flight neutron powder data, are described. Both phases crystallize in the orthorhombic scandium tungstate [Sc{sub 2}(WO{sub 4}){sub 3}] structure and consist of MO{sub 6} (M = Al, Fe) and MoO{sub 4} building blocks, fused together via M-O-Mo bonds. Both materials have rearranged from their room-temperature monoclinic structures.
Being True, Whole, and Strong: A Phenomenology of Transgenderism As a Valued Life Experience

A purposive sample of 15 self-identified transgender adults who reported having appreciation for being transgender was recruited. Each participated in an individual, open-ended interview designed to tap the participant's lived experience with transgenderism as a valued aspect of life. Transcripts were analyzed using Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenological processes. The results suggest that intimate connections with one's self, others, and a larger purpose constitute the essence of appreciating one's transgenderism. This report presents the findings related to participants’ intimate connection with the self. The results position social workers to recognize strengths of the transgender population and to engage in culturally competent practice.
Experimental study of radiation absorption by microchannels of varying aspect ratios

Abstract A linear solar concentrator produces electricity by using a mirror to focus sunlight on a fluid filled tube known as a heat collection element. The fluid inside the element is then used as a heat source for steam generation in a conventional steam turbine power plant. This study examined the effect of adding microstructures to the surface of a heat collection element to improve system efficiency. Four test pieces, one with a smooth surface and three with a microstructured surface were compared experimentally for a given energy input and five different flow rates ranging from 0.84 cm 3 /s to 2.5 cm 3 /s. Over the entire range of flow rates the microchannel test piece absorbed no less than 1.29 times the energy of the smooth test piece.
Reliability issues in the penile assessment of incarcerants

Although there has been increased reliance upon the direct physiological measurement of penile tumescence in the assessment of sexual deviations, the reliability of these measures has never been empirically validated. This investigation evaluates the reliability of the “rape index” as a technique in differentiating rapists from nonrapists. Eighteen individuals incarcerated on non-sexual-related offenses were presented visual and audio stimuli depicting mutually consenting intercourse, rape, and aggression. These stimuli were presented under two instructional sets: (1) enchance arousal and (2) suppress arousal. Reliability indices for the rape index were computed among various conditions of modality presentation, instructional set, and test-retest conditions. The overall reliability of the rape index was found to be low. The implications of these results upon the assessment and classification of offenders is discussed.
Making Critical Connections between Social Studies Teaching and Student Achievement Using NAEP Data Explorer.

In this analysis of promising practice, we demonstrate how social studies methods instructors can incorporate data analysis of the 2010 United States History National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP–USH) to facilitate pedagogical aims, engage teacher candidates in critical discourse, and investigate the contexts of teaching and learning. The NAEP data explorer application is a valuable tool for examining social studies theory and practice in relation to student learning outcomes. Our assessment of teacher candidates' responses to the activity leads to the recommendation that NAEP data analysis and results encourage self-evaluation of instructional practices while simultaneously supporting critical interpretations of the NAEP exam.
Self-help groups for vietnam veterans experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder

The author examines self-help groups for Vietnam veterans, the reasons for their effectiveness, typical group processes, and issues for counselors who work with these groups.
Discuss Charging-Discharging and Sale Technology of the Electric Vehicle

Development of EV is an important means which optimize chinese energy supply structure and break security strategy of energy.As the state increasing subsidy strength and constructing large-scale charging infrastructure for EV,EV is expected to become an important means of transport,and in the future EV is becoming to an important mobile storage unit in smart grid, playing the dual role of energy comsume and energy storage. Combination of domestic charging infrastructure and charge mode, discuss the charge and discharging and sale of electric technology for EV, which provide some reference for business model of the charging infrastructure,proposed to help the orderly charging and discharging for EV, realize win-win situation for power grid and the user.
On Certain Sets of Polyphase Sequences With Sparse and Highly Structured Zak and Fourier Transforms

This paper describes a KM2×M, K ∈ Q, M, KM ∈ Z, Zak space construction of zero correlation zone polyphase sequence sets, of sequence length KM3 and set size KM, with all-zero cross correlation. The construction includes the sets with an (M-1)-point and (T2M-1)-point zero autocorrelation zone, where T2 is an arbitrary nontrivial factor of M. All sequences in these sets have sparse, highly structured, semipolyphase finite Zak transforms, with constant nonzero magnitude at M points and zero magnitude at selectable KM3-M points, and sparse, semipolyphase KM3-point discrete Fourier transforms, with constant nonzero magnitude at M2 points and zero magnitude at selectable KM3-M2 points.
Understanding statistics as a tool for interpreting research

A basis for understanding statistics and how they are used to represent and clarify research results is established. Emphasis is placed both on how statistics should be selected, based on the type of data and their distribution, and on how the results should be interpreted.
A general purpose fiber optic link with radiation resistance

A general purpose analog fiber optic link transmitting a 2 Vp-p input over a passband of .05 Hz to over 25 MHz with a >50 db dynamic range and <1% THD has been developed using previously identified and high volume commercially available radiation resistant components. With few component changes the passband can be extended to over 50 MHz. The basic design, trade-offs, and performance characteristics are presented.
Knowledge of Depression and Application to Practice: A Program Evaluation

The purposes of this program were to determine whether participants gained more comprehensive knowledge about depression and if that knowledge was applied in practice following attendance at a 3-da...
Impact of source spontaneous emission (SSE) on the measurement of DWDM components

We demonstrate the use of a tunable laser source with strongly reduced source spontaneous emission (SSE) when applied to critical DWDM-components.
Leibniz on Cartesian Omnipotence and Contingency

Leibniz contrasted his views of necessity, possibility, and impossibility with those of Descartes and Spinoza. On the one hand, he argued that Descartes erred by allowing that God has the ability to make contradictory claims true. On the other hand, Leibniz found Spinoza's commitment to fatalism to be counterintuitive. I show that, given his in-esse account of truth, Leibniz could not have avoided a commitment to fatalism, without affirming one of the most objectionable features of Descartes' divine voluntarism, the contingency of the law of noncontradiction.
Contextual disambiguation for multi-class object detection

We consider the problem of detecting and localizing instances from multiple object classes. Suppose an overcomplete index - an initial list with extra detections but none missed - is provided. We and others have previously shown how this can be done efficiently with coarse-to-fine search. How would one prune such a list to a final interpretation? We propose a method based on contextual disambiguation: first, a Viterbi algorithm is utilized to extract N candidate interpretations by using the global context to provide constraints among object classes or poses. Then, the extracted candidates are compared in a pairwise fashion to resolve remaining ambiguities, and the final interpretation is constructed. The whole procedure is illustrated by experiments in reading license plates.
A multiple modulator fractional divider

Based on oversampling A/D conversion technology which allows the spectrum of error energy to be shaped so that fractional synthesis error energy is pushed away from the carrier, a CMOS integrated fractional-N divider is presented. A complete fractional-N phase locked loop (PLL) which was constructed utilizing only the CMOS divider, a dual modulus prescaler, a simple loop filter, and a voltage controlled oscillator is discussed. The resulting PLL is shown to exhibit no fractional spurs. >
DIFC programs by automatic instrumentation

Decentralized information flow control (DIFC) operating systems provide applications with mechanisms for enforcing information flow policies for their data. However, significant obstacles keep such operating systems from achieving widespread adoption. One key obstacle is that DIFC operating systems provide only low-level mechanisms for allowing application programmers to enforce their desired policies. It can be difficult for the programmer to ensure that their use of these mechanisms enforces their high-level policies, while at the same time not breaking the underlying functionality of their application. These are issues both for programmers who would develop new applications for a DIFC operating system and for programmers who would port existing applications to a DIFC operating system. Our work significantly eases these tasks. We present as automatic technique that takes as input a program with no DIFC code, and two policies: one that specifies prohibited information flows and one that specifies flows that must be allowed. Our technique then produces a new version of the input program that satisfies the two policies. To evaluate out technique, we implemented it in an automatic tool, called Swim (for Secure What I Mean), and applied it to a set of real-world programs and policies. The results of our evaluation demonstrate that the technique is sufficiently expressive to produce programs for real-world policies, and that it can produce such programs efficiently. It thus represents a significant contribution towards developing systems with strong end-to-end information flow guarantees.
Effects of ultrasound on drosophila: III. Exposure of larvae to low-temporal-average-intensity, pulsed irradation

Abstract The larvae of Drosophila melanogaster were exposed to repetitive, microsecond length pulses of 2 MHz ultrasound. The observed effects included killing of larvae and delayed lethality in the pupal stage. The effects depended strongly upon the temporal peak intensity with killing observed at spatial. temporal peak intensities above 10 W/cm 2 . In fact, the observations suggest that there may be a threshold for these effects at approximately this intensity. Temporal average intensity appears to be a poor predictor for these biological effects. Marked decreases in survival rates were observed at spatial, temporal average intensities as low as 3 mW/cm 2 .