cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ultra-high luminescence efficiency as a technology enabler: solar cells, thermophotovoltaics, and optoelectronic refrigerators

To approach the Shockley-Queisser limit, a solar cell must embody the principles of efficient light-emitting diode (LED) design. Here we describe how ultra-high luminescence efficiency, both internal and external, is the basis for the present efficiency records in solar energy conversion. These developments have provided an impetus for new energy technologies, which rely on the same design strategies to reach their theoretical limits. Thermophotovoltaics, the conversion of terrestrially produced thermal radiation to electricity, can now approach >50% efficiency. Ultra-efficient photovoltaics and LEDs also enable optoelectronic refrigerators with the potential to surpass other methods of solid-state cooling in energy efficiency.
Diabetic Retinopathy: Surgical Aspects

Vision loss due to diabetic retinopathy can be devastating and results from numerous complications, including macular edema, retinal and choroidal ischemia, vitreous hemorrhage, tractional retinal detachments, epiretinal membranes (with or without vitreoretinal traction), and papillopathy [1, 2]. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) and the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) showed that proper blood pressure and blood glucose control can delay the progression of diabetic retinopathy [3–5]. Additionally, local therapies such as focal macular laser, panretinal photocoagulation, intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and intravitreal steroids can delay progression of retinopathy and treat associated vision-threatening complications [6]. Nevertheless, some patients continue to progress and require surgical intervention with pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for optimal vision [6]. An estimated 5% of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy required PPV despite laser treatment and good glycemic and hypertensive control in the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) cohort [7].
The multidisciplinary clinic approach for bladder cancer treatment in the neoadjuvant therapy era.

475Background: As urologic oncology becomes increasingly complex, the coordination of optimal and efficient care to patients can be challenging. Within our institution, we initiated a multidiscipli...
Adaptive Data Fusion in Inertial Sensors and Data Quality Analysis of Sensor Networks

This paper investigates microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology sensors. The device- and system-level analyses are performed. An investigation is focused on multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) microsystem-technology inertial sensors which are widely used in mobile devices, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, wearable electronics, guidance and navigation systems, etc. Open problems of data quality (DQ) in sensor networks, evaluation of sensor data, data fusion, DQ improvement, and data homogeneity in MDOF sensors are addressed. The DQ metrics design and their use are reported. Our research and algorithmic developments are focused on data assertion, adaptive signal processing, asynchronous data fusion and data management from heterogeneous multiple sensors and sensor networks. Using a serial protocol I2C interface, considered MDOF sensors can fuse the directly measured data, as well as output the post-processed data. The integrated sensors (triaxial accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers) ensure physics-consistent data-intensive processing, advance modalities, interoperability, integration, compliance and redundancy. Alternative solutions in adaptive filtering and near-real-time reconfigurable signal processing are considered to enable dynamic range, improve precision and accuracy, ensure robustness, minimize uncertainties, etc. The experimental results are reported.
Interplay of amphipathic helices in sensing membrane-curvature and filament bundling

The curvature of the membrane defines cell shape. Septins are GTP-binding proteins that assemble into heteromeric complexes and polymerize into filaments at areas of micron-scale membrane curvature. An amphipathic helix (AH) domain within the septin complex is necessary and sufficient for septins to preferentially assemble onto micron-scale curvature. Here we report that the non-essential fungal septin, Shs1, also has an AH domain capable of recognizing membrane curvature. In mutants lacking a fully functional Cdc12 AH domain, the Shs1 AH domain becomes essential. Moreover, we find that the Cdc12 AH domain is also important for septin bundling, suggesting multiple functions for septin AH domains.
Elementary Teachers' Instructional Practices Involving Graphical Representations.

AbstractThe goal of this study was to gather data on US elementary school teachers’ (K-5) instructional practices with graphical representations. The results revealed high percentages of usage for graphical representations but with varying levels of frequency. Overall, the most frequently reported instructional practices by teachers included 1) pointing to or referring to graphical representations in books, 2) using graphical representations as organizers of text, 3) using Venn diagrams to compare or contrast ideas, and 4) having children organize a plan for reading and writing tasks using web diagrams. The findings from this study help to illuminate what types of graphical representations are used and how they are being used.
Timely diagnosis and staging of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease using transient elastography and clinical parameters.

Background and Aim There is no standardized guideline to screen, image, or refer patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to a specialist. In this study, we used transient elastography (TE) to examine the fibrosis stages at which patients are first diagnosed with NAFLD. Subsequently, we analyzed metabolic markers to establish cut-offs beyond which noninvasive imaging should be considered to confirm NAFLD/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis fibrosis in patients. Methods Charts spanning July 2015-April 2018 for 116 NAFLD patients who had TE performed were reviewed. Univariate and multivariate analysis of metabolic markers was conducted. Results At the first hepatology visit, TE showed 73% F0-F2 and 27% F3-F4. Univariate analysis showed that high-density lipoproteins (HDL), hemoglobin A1c (A1c), aspartate transaminase (AST), and alanine transaminase (ALT) were significantly different between the F0-F2 and F3-F4 groups. Multivariate analysis showed that AST (P = 0.01) and A1c (P = 0.05) were significantly different. Optimal cut-offs for these markers to detect liver fibrosis on TE were AST >43 U/L and A1c >6.6%. The logistic regression function combining these two variables to reflect the probability (P) of the patient having advanced fibrosis (F3-F4) on TE yielded the formula: P = eR /(1 + eR ), where R = -8.56 + 0.052 * AST + 0.89 * A1c. Conclusions Our study suggested that >25% of patients presenting to a specialist for NAFLD may have advanced fibrosis (F3-F4). Diabetes (A1c >6.6%) and AST >43 U/L were the most predictive in identifying NAFLD patients with advanced fibrosis on imaging. We proposed a formula that may be used to prioritize NAFLD patients at higher risk of having advanced fibrosis for specialist referral and imaging follow-up.
Wargaming for International Relations Research

Political scientists are increasingly integrating wargames into their research. Either by fielding original games or by leveraging archival wargame materials, researchers can study rare events or topics where evidence is difficult to observe. Scholars, however, have little guidance on how to apply this novel methodological approach to international relations research. This article evaluates how political scientists can use wargames as a method of scholarly inquiry and sets out to establish a research agenda for wargaming in international relations. We first differentiate wargames from other methodological approaches and highlight their ecological validity. We then chart out how researchers can build and run their own games or draw from archival wargames for theory development and testing. In doing so, we explain how researchers can navigate issues of recruitment, bias, validity, and generalizability when using wargames for research, and identify ways to evaluate the potential benefits and pitfalls of wargames as a tool of inquiry. We argue that wargames offer unique opportunities for political scientists to study decision-making processes both in and beyond the international relations subfield.
Cereulide Synthetase Acquisition and Loss Events within the Evolutionary History of Group III Bacillus cereus Sensu Lato Facilitate the Transition between Emetic and Diarrheal Foodborne Pathogens.

ABSTRACT Cereulide-producing members of Bacillus cereussensu lato group III (also known as emetic B. cereus) possess cereulide synthetase, a plasmid-encoded, nonribosomal peptide synthetase encoded by the ces gene cluster. Despite the documented risks that cereulide-producing strains pose to public health, the level of genomic diversity encompassed by emetic B. cereus has never been evaluated at a whole-genome scale. Here, we employ a phylogenomic approach to characterize group III B. cereussensu lato genomes which possess ces (ces positive) alongside their closely related, ces-negative counterparts (i) to assess the genomic diversity encompassed by emetic B. cereus and (ii) to identify potential ces loss and/or gain events within the evolutionary history of the high-risk and medically relevant sequence type (ST) 26 lineage often associated with emetic foodborne illness. Using all publicly available ces-positive group III B. cereussensu lato genomes and the ces-negative genomes interspersed among them (n = 159), we show that emetic B. cereus is not clonal; rather, multiple lineages within group III harbor cereulide-producing strains, all of which share an ancestor incapable of producing cereulide (posterior probability = 0.86 to 0.89). Members of ST 26 share an ancestor that existed circa 1748 (95% highest posterior density [HPD] interval = 1246.89 to 1915.64) and first acquired the ability to produce cereulide before 1876 (95% HPD = 1641.43 to 1946.70). Within ST 26 alone, two subsequent ces gain events were observed, as well as three ces loss events, including among isolates responsible for B. cereussensu lato toxicoinfection (i.e., “diarrheal” illness). IMPORTANCEB. cereus is responsible for thousands of cases of foodborne disease each year worldwide, causing two distinct forms of illness: (i) intoxication via cereulide (i.e., emetic syndrome) or (ii) toxicoinfection via multiple enterotoxins (i.e., diarrheal syndrome). Here, we show that emetic B. cereus is not a clonal, homogenous unit that resulted from a single cereulide synthetase gain event followed by subsequent proliferation; rather, cereulide synthetase acquisition and loss is a dynamic, ongoing process that occurs across lineages, allowing some group III B. cereussensu lato populations to oscillate between diarrheal and emetic foodborne pathogens over the course of their evolutionary histories. We also highlight the care that must be taken when selecting a reference genome for whole-genome sequencing-based investigation of emetic B. cereussensu lato outbreaks, since some reference genome selections can lead to a confounding loss of resolution and potentially hinder epidemiological investigations.
A Case Study in Telemedicine: Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is the most common motor disability seen in childhood. Gait impairments are the most common orthopedic issue for patients with ambulatory cerebral palsy, also known as spastic diplegia. For patients with cerebral palsy, the use of telemedicine for routine follow-up and review of gait analysis studies can be particularly attractive. Common things reviewed during a typical gait analysis session include photos and videos of the patient during examination, kinematic and kinetic plots, oxygen consumption during gait, and foot pressure analysis.
Development and Validation of a Deep Learning Model for Detection of Allergic Reactions Using Safety Event Reports Across Hospitals.

Importance Although critical to patient safety, health care-related allergic reactions are challenging to identify and monitor. Objective To develop a deep learning model to identify allergic reactions in the free-text narrative of hospital safety reports and evaluate its generalizability, efficiency, productivity, and interpretability. Design, setting, and participants This cross-sectional study analyzed hospital safety reports filed between May 2004 and January 2019 at Brigham and Women's Hospital and between April 2006 and June 2018 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Training and validating a deep learning model involved extracting safety reports using 101 expert-curated keywords from Massachusetts General Hospital (data set I). The model was then evaluated on 3 data sets: reports without keywords (data set II), reports from a different time frame (data set III), and reports from a different hospital (Brigham and Women's Hospital; data set IV). Statistical analyses were performed between March 1, 2019, and July 18, 2020. Main outcomes and measures The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the precision-recall curve were used on data set I. The precision at top-k was used on data sets II to IV. Results A total of 299 028 safety reports with 172 854 patients were included. Of these patients, 86 544 were women (50.1%) and the median (interquartile range [IQR]) age was 59.7 (43.8-71.6) years. The deep learning model achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.979 (95% CI, 0.973-0.985) and an area under the precision-recall curve of 0.809 (95% CI, 0.773-0.845). The model achieved precisions at the top 100 model-identified cases of 0.930 in data set II, 0.960 in data set III, and 0.990 in data set IV. Compared with the keyword-search approach, the deep learning model reduced the number of cases for manual review by 63.8% and identified 24.2% more cases of confirmed allergic reactions. The model highlighted important words (eg, rash, hives, and Benadryl) in prediction and extended the list of expert-curated keywords through an attention layer. Conclusions and relevance This study showed that a deep learning model can accurately and efficiently identify allergic reactions using free-text narratives written by a variety of health care professionals. This model could be used to improve allergy care, potentially enabling real-time event surveillance and guidance for medical errors and system improvement.
Interviewing and Interrogating

Correctional workers spend a large portion of their time conducting interviews with offenders, victims, police officers, and many other people involved in some way with offenders’ activities. During the course of their work, correctional workers may also be required to interrogate offenders. Thus, this chapter presents the basic principles of effective interviewing and interrogating. The chapter begins with a discussion of the PEACE model of interviewing, which explains the interview process from beginning to end. Next, the techniques of effective interviewing are presented, including active listening, alertness, questioning and probing, resisting temptations to interrupt, and keeping the offender in the foreground. We also discuss techniques to respond to offenders’ disclosure. Next, we discuss how to interview victims (as opposed to offenders) and the factors that should be considered when interviewing this population. We then discuss interrogating offenders, including the differences between interviewing and interrogation, qualities of effective interrogators, types of questions to ask, and effective strategies to obtain information from reluctant offenders. The chapter concludes with an exercise in interviewing and listening. The main purpose of this interview exercise is to develop your ability to listen actively.
Macro and micro sleep architecture and cognitive performance in older adults

We sought to determine which facets of sleep neurophysiology were most strongly linked to cognitive performance in 3,819 older adults from two independent cohorts, using whole-night electroencephalography. From over 150 objective sleep metrics, we identified 23 that predicted cognitive performance, and processing speed in particular, with effects that were broadly independent of gross changes in sleep quality and quantity. These metrics included rapid eye movement duration, features of the electroencephalography power spectra derived from multivariate analysis, and spindle and slow oscillation morphology and coupling. These metrics were further embedded within broader associative networks linking sleep with aging and cardiometabolic disease: individuals who, compared with similarly aged peers, had better cognitive performance tended to have profiles of sleep metrics more often seen in younger, healthier individuals. Taken together, our results point to multiple facets of sleep neurophysiology that track coherently with underlying, age-dependent determinants of cognitive and physical health trajectories in older adults.
Deep brain stimulation effect on anterior pallidum reduces motor impulsivity in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus or globus pallidus internus is used to treat the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The former can worsen impulsive and compulsive behaviors after controlling for the reduction of dopaminergic medications. However, the effect of pallidal DBS on such behaviors in PD patients is less clear. OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS We hypothesized that greater stimulation spread to the pallidum with prefrontal connectivity would reduce motor impulsivity. METHODS Seven Parkinson's patients with stable globus pallidus internus DBS settings for 3 months, disease duration of 13 ± 1.3 years, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment of 26.8 ± 1.1 each had two stimulation settings defined based on reconstructions of lead placement and volume of tissue activation targeting either a dorsal or ventral position along the DBS electrode but still within the globus pallidus internus. Subjects performed a stop signal reaction time task with the DBS turned off vs. on in each of the defined stimulation settings, which was correlated with the degree of stimulation effect on pallidal subregions. RESULTS A shorter distance between the volume of tissue activation and the right prefrontally-connected GPi correlated with less impulsivity on the stop signal reaction time task (r = 0.69, p < 0.05). Greater volume of tissue activation overlap with the non-prefrontally-connected globus pallidus internus was associated with increased impulsivity. CONCLUSION These data can be leveraged to optimize DBS programming in PD patients with problematic impulsivity or in other disorders involving impulsive behaviors such as substance use disorders.
Some Contributions of Immunology to the Study of Proteins

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the few contributions of immunology to the study of proteins. The importance of an immunological approach in preventive medicine, in diagnosis, and in therapy is firmly established. Immunological investigations, often with a practical end in view, have uncovered a number of proteins whose unique properties later engaged the serious attention of protein chemists. Antibodies, complement, and tobacco mosaic virus protein are but a few examples. The problem of characterizing these substances has in recent years greatly stimulated the development and application of physical techniques, such as ultracentrifugation, electrophoresis, and diffusion. As microanalytical tools, serological methods have found important application in detecting small amounts of proteins in the presence of large quantities of contaminating substances, protein, or otherwise. One of the important problems of immunochemistry is to account in chemical terms for the unique specificity of almost every protein. Antibodies are an essential component of all serological reactions. Most theories of antibody formation do not account satisfactorily for changes in the nature of antibody on extended immunization nor for the persistence of antibody long after both the antigen and the antibody initially synthesized have presumably been broken down.
Campus tour scheduler

The Campus Tour Scheduler is an application developed for use by the Admissions Office of Millsaps College. It was designed to assist in the tedious process of scheduling campus tour guides with visiting prospective students. The application not only schedules but also matches tour guides and visitors based on a variety of characteristics such as hometown, intended major, activities and high school.
Maximizing the potential of information for management: strategies for interfacing the technical core of education

The impact of information systems will be maximized when the capacity of the technological architecture and system design are capable of interfacing with the technical core of education. The technical core of education is defined as the interface between the student and the contexts in which they acquire or generate knowledge. The author provides a vision of an integrated information system with (a) multiple input ports, (b) alternative units of analysis for inquiry, (c) variable types of data, (d) choice of analytic processes, and (e) variable access ports for retrieval of data. The author argues that this vision becomes a reality when the system is designed through an inductive process that includes stakeholders from all levels of the organization. To achieve this vision of an integrated information system, educators and information systems specialists need to find ways to integrate the capacity of the information technology with the work and the work life of the technical core and its participants.
ICU mortality prediction using time series motifs

In this paper, we explore the application of motif discovery (i.e., the discovery of short characteristic patterns in a time series) to the clinical challenge of predicting intensive care unit (ICU) mortality. As part of the Physionet/CinC 2012 challenge, we present an approach that identifies and integrates information in motifs that are statistically over-or under-represented in ICU time series of patients experiencing in-hospital mortality. This is done through a three step process, where ICU time series are first discretized into sequences of symbols (by segmenting and partitioning them into periods of low, medium and high measurements); the resulting sequences of symbols are then searched for short subsequences that are associated with in-hospital mortality; and the information in many such clinically useful subsequences is integrated into models that can assess new patients. When evaluated on data from the Physionet/CinC 2012 challenge, our approach outperformed existing clinical scoring systems such as SAPSII, APACHEII and SOFA, with an event 1 score of 0.46 and an event 2 score of 56.45 on the final test set.
Individual differences in neural mechanisms of selective auditory attention in preschoolers from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds: An event-related potentials study

Selective attention, the ability to enhance the processing of particular input while suppressing the information from other concurrent sources, has been postulated to be a foundational skill for learning and academic achievement. The neural mechanisms of this foundational ability are both vulnerable and enhanceable in children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) families. In the current study, we assessed individual differences in neural mechanisms of this malleable brain function in children from lower SES families. Specifically, we investigated the extent to which individual differences in neural mechanisms of selective auditory attention accounted for variability in nonverbal cognitive abilities in lower SES preschoolers. We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) during a dichotic listening task and administered nonverbal IQ tasks to 124 lower SES children (77 females) between the ages of 40 and 67 months. The attention effect, i.e., the difference in ERP mean amplitudes elicited by identical probes embedded in stories when attended versus unattended, was significantly correlated with nonverbal IQ scores. Larger, more positive attention effects over the anterior and central electrode locations were associated with superior nonverbal IQ performance. Our findings provide initial evidence for prominent individual differences in neural indices of selective attention in lower SES children. Furthermore, our results indicate a noteworthy relationship between neural mechanisms of selective attention and nonverbal IQ performance in lower SES preschoolers. These findings provide the basis for future research to identify the factors that contribute to such individual differences in neural mechanisms of selective attention.
Influence of substrate and low temperature on growth and survival of verotoxigenicEscherichia coli

Growth and survival of verotoxigenicEscherichia coli(VTEC) were studied in tryptic soy broth (TSB), brain–heart infusion (BHI), and whole milk at 12, 9.5, 8.5, 7.5, 6.5, and 5.5°C (±0.2°C). Colony forming units (cfu) were enumerated by surface plating on eosin methylene blue (EMB) agar plates and incubating at 37°C for 24 h. Growth curves were plotted and lag and generation times were determined. Results indicated that the average generation times for each strain was similar in each medium (4.6±0.9 h) at 12°C. However, at 9.5°C the average generation time differed significantly among the media (P<0.05). The average generation time was longer in BHI compared to TSB and whole milk at 9.5°C (14 h in BHI vs 11 h in milk and TSB). Also, the generation time of individual strains in BHI varied from 9.5–22 h at 9.5°C. Decrease of temperature to 8.5°C resulted in lack of growth of two strains in BHI. At 7.5°C none of the strains grew in BHI, one grew in TSB, whereas all grew in milk. A further decrease of temperature to 6.5°C did not allow growth of any of the strains in TSB or BHI whereas all grew in milk. Addition of 5% lactose to TSB and BHI enabled survival and growth of all strains at 6.5°C. The results of this study demonstrate the influence of growth medium composition on the minimum growth temperature of verotoxigenicE. coli.
A comparison of MMPI-2 and MMPI T-scores for men and women

The original MMPI linear T-score norms are compared with the new linear and uniform T-score norms for the MMPI-2 across basic validity and clinical scales for both men and women. The comparison indicated more pronounced normative changes for certain scales and somewhat more pronounced changes for men than for women. Relationships between MMPI-2 and MMPI T-scores across scales are complex; a few MMPI-2 scales show enhancement, others show attenuation across the full range of the scale, and other scales show attenuation in the middle and lower ranges of the scale with enhancement in the upper ranges. Possible implications and effects of the new MMPI-2 T-score norms on original MMPI scale high-point elevation and high-point codes are discussed.
Large deflection and post-buckling analysis of shell structures

Abstract A nonlinear formulation of the 9-node shell element is given for large deformation and post-buckling analysis of shells. The formulation is based on updated Lagrangian description and finite deformation constitutive equations. The post-buckling analysis is conducted via either the modified or full Newton-Raphson procedure with a constant-displacement-length method when the limit load of the structure is reached. Several numerical examples are included to demonstrate the post-buckling analysis procedure.
Segmentation of pictures and maps through functional approximation

Abstract The picture segmentation problem is formulated within the framework of numerical analysis as an optimization problem of functional approximation. A suboptimal solution is presented together with examples of its application on the segmentation of maps and pictures from a scanning electron microscope.
Equilibrium configurations and energies of the rotating elastic cable in space

Introduction F LEXIBLE rods or cables in space such as tethers and antennas are becoming longer due to necessity. For example, the Radio Astronomy Explorer Satellite used 750-ft. antennas for detecting low-frequency signals. On the other hand, the rotation of space structures are sometimes desirable and at other times unavoidable. In a recent paper the equilibrium configurations of a freely rotating thin elastic rod were studied, perhaps for the first time. However, only nonintersecting configurations were considered. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there are other forms of equilibrium configurations and what would be the requirements for their existence. These will be determined through a study of the energy contained.
In vitro motor program for the rostral scratch reflex generated by the turtle spinal cord

Abstract Tactile stimulation applied to the turtle shell bridge elicits a rostral scratch reflex in the spinal turtle. The triphasic rostral scratch motor program produced in vivo can also be also produced by an in vitro turtle shell and spinal cord preparation. The in vitro production of this scratch program provides support for the generalization that coordinated motor programs can be generated by the spinal cord. This in vitro preparation can be utilized to examine the pharmacological sensitivities of the spinal cord neurons generating the scratch motor program.
REBOUND OF POLLEN AND SPORES DURING DEPOSITION ON CYLINDERS BY INERTIAL IMPACTION

Abstract The relative retention or ‘sticking probability’ of ragweed pollen and Lycopodium spores impacting on glass cylinders and wheat stems was observed as the ratio of the number of panicles caught on nonsticky and sticky surfaces in a wind tunnel and the field. Their relative retention depended strongly on the kinetic energy of the particle just before impact. Below a critical threshold energy essentially all impacting particles were retained. Above this critical energy, retention decreased rapidly with increasing energy. Despite structural differences between ragweed and Lycopodium the onset of rebound for both occurred at essentially the same kinetic energy. Thus the speed for the onset of rebound of ragweed pollen was about 1.7 (equal to the square root of the ratio of the masses of Lycopodium and ragweed particles) times greater than the critical rebound speed for Lycopodium . Changes in wheat stem surface characteristics as the plant aged produced a measurable effect on the fraction of panicles rebounding from these surfaces.
The Consequence of Race Mixture: Racialised Barriers and the Politics of Desire

(2003). The Consequence of Race Mixture: Racialised Barriers and the Politics of Desire. Social Identities: Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 241-275.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF THE ENERGY SHORTAGE ON BUSINESS LOGISTICS SYSTEMS, AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR FREIGHT TRANSPORT

Abstract The energy crisis will probably affect business logistics systems in the U.S. economy in two ways: cost and service relationships between the various modes of freight transportation may change (as carriers seek to compensate for higher fuel prices and fuel shortages) or aggregate levels of production may change (either because of fuel and raw material shortages or reduced demand). As logistics decision makers seek to compensate for these changes, their transportation requirements may also shift. These shifts will not necessarily result in an improvement in energy utilization in the freight sector of the economy. Thus government policies may need to be developed to counteract the effect of such changes. This paper discusses these potential shifts, with specific reference to rail-truck competition, and recommends some changes in government policies in light of these conclusions.
The first use of synchrotron radiation for vacuum ultraviolet circular dichroism measurements

Abstract Synchrotron radiation (SR) from modern electron storage rings is highly linearly polarized and more intense than conventional vacuum ultraviolet continuum sources. These unique properties make SR ideal for construction of a vacuum ultraviolet circular dichroism (CD) instrument. We report the first use of SR for CD measurements and describe the instrumental setup. These measurements were carried out in the wavelength range 1325–2050 A on (+)-3-methylcyclopentanone at the Synchrotron Radiation Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The signal to noise ratio, and therefore the resolution, was the best ever obtained for CD measurements in this wavelength range. This resulted in the observation of new structure and dramatic peak height changes in the CD spectrum. In addition, these measurements showed that the extension of CD measurements to higher energies is possible through the use of synchrotron radiation.
Status report on the surf II facility at NBS

Abstract The facilities and experimental program at SURF II (Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility) are reported on. The planned upgrading of the storage ring and new beam lines are discussed.
Involvement of Protein Kinase A and A Kinase Anchoring Protein in the Progesterone-Initiated Human Sperm Acrosome Reaction

The signal transduction pathways involved in the progesterone (P(4))-initiated mammalian sperm acrosome reaction (AR) are not fully understood. To investigate the role of the protein kinase A (PKA) pathway in the P(4)-initiated AR, we probed this pathway by pretreating capacitated human sperm with reagents designed to either inhibit PKA activation or disrupt PKA/A kinase anchoring protein (AKAP) interactions. Preincubation with the stearated (membrane permeable) PKA inhibitor, PKI alpha 5-24 (S-PKI alpha 5-24), significantly inhibited the P(4)-initiated AR at 10 microM as compared to stearated control peptide. In contrast, preincubation with 100 microM nonstearated PKI alpha 5-24 did not significantly inhibit versus solvent control. Preincubation with the PKA inhibitor Rp-8-Br-cAMP at 500 microM and 150 microM significantly inhibited the P(4)-initiated AR versus 8-Br-cAMP and versus solvent. Preincubation with the anchoring inhibitory peptide S-Ht-31 significantly stimulated the P(4)-initiated AR at 10, 3, and 1 microM versus inactive control peptide. The stimulation of the P(4)-initiated AR by 3 microM S-Ht31 was significantly inhibited by the addition of 30 microM S-PKI alpha 5-24 prior to the addition of S-Ht31. Preincubation with S-PKI alpha 5-24 (30 microM) partially inhibited the ionomycin (50 microM)-initiated AR. A role for PKA in the P(4)-initiated AR may exist both upstream and downstream of Ca(2+) entry. Our studies present the first evidence for the participation of PKA in the P(4)-initiated AR and also suggest that AKAPs are involved in the PKA-mediated events.
Equilibrium order parameters and chemical potentials in rotating superfluids

Elementary microscopic arguments are given showing that in equilibrium the order parameter of a superfluid rotates with the container. We show that this rotating equilibrium is also a consequence of the phenomenological equations of superfluid hydrodynamics, provided considerable care is taken in specifying which variable in those equations is to be identified with the chemical potential. Our results clarify the physics underlying the so-called gauge wheel effects in superfluid $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ and $^{4}\mathrm{He}$, demonstrate that recently raised doubts on the validity of the proposed hydrodynamics of $^{3}\mathrm{He}$ are misconceived, and make some novel points about the behavior of the superfluid chemical potential under Galilean transformations and its role in the equations of Landau's two-fluid model.
A Proton Buffering Role for Silica in Diatoms

For 40 million years, diatoms have dominated the reverse weathering of silica on Earth. These photosynthetic protists take up dissolved silicic acid from the water and precipitate opaline silica to form their cell wall. We show that the biosilica of diatoms is an effective pH buffer, enabling the enzymatic conversion of bicarbonate to CO2, an important step in inorganic carbon acquisition by these organisms. Because diatoms are responsible for one-quarter of global primary production and for a large fraction of the carbon exported to the deep sea, the global cycles of Si and C may be linked mechanistically.
Homology Modeling and Docking Studies Identify Subtype-Specific Characteristics of Melanocortin Receptor Activation

Melanocortin receptors (MCRs) belong to the family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and the five subtypes of MCRs (MC1R, MC2R, MC3R, MC4R, and MC5R) are implicated in diverse physiological processes such as pigmentation, food intake, and energy homeostasis. Because of their physiological importance, MCRs are natural targets for drug development. It is known that synthetic cyclic analogues of natural MCR hormones have the potential for pharmaceutical applications. However, 1) no current structures exist for MCRs and 2) the synthetic cyclic peptides possess little specificity for MCR subtypes, making identification of structural motifs in receptor-ligand binding extremely difficult. Our hypothesis is that MCR activity is determined by specific intermolecular interactions of ligand side chains with amino acid residues of the melanocortin receptor, while the selectivity of the ligands towards different subtypes of MCRs is controlled by conformational restraints of ligand backbones. Identification of general characteristics of MCR-ligand interactions will facilitate intelligent design of modified ligand structures that lead to MCR subtype specificity. To test this hypothesis, we developed homology models of the different MCR subtypes and conducted docking studies of a known agonist (Melanotan-II) and antagonist (SHU-9119) on each MCR model, in order to characterize the respective binding affinities of each receptor-ligand complex. Our results show that agonists and antagonists have a common set of binding characteristics along with interactions that are unique to each ligand that can be directly related to their function. The ability to accurately characterize unique structural interactions between known MCR agonists and antagonists is the first step in developing the ability to design effective, subtype-specific therapeutic agents of melanocortin receptors.
On Graph-realizable Sets of Periods

We characterize sets of periods of cycles which arbitrary continuous graph maps may have. In this investigation, we need the spectral decomposition for graph maps [Blokh, A.M. "On dynamical systems on one-dimensional branched manifolds", Theory Funct. Funct. Anal. Appl. Kharkov 46 (1986) pp. 8-18 (Russian); 47 (1986) pp. 67-77; 48 (1987) pp. 32-46] briefly described in "The Spectral Decomposition" Section.
Asymptotical construction of a fully coupled, Reissner?Mindlin model for piezoelectric composite plates

The variational asymptotic method is used to construct a fully coupled Reissner?Mindlin model for piezoelectric composite plates with some surfaces parallel to the reference surface coated with electrodes. Taking advantage of the smallness of the plate thickness, we asymptotically split the original three-dimensional electromechanical problem into a one-dimensional through-the-thickness analysis and a two-dimensional plate analysis. The through-the-thickness analysis serves as a link between the original three-dimensional analysis and the plate analysis by providing a constitutive model for the plate analysis and recovering the three-dimensional field variables in terms of two-dimensional plate global responses. The present theory is implemented into the computer program VAPAS (variational asymptotic plate and shell analysis). The resulting model is as simple as an equivalent single-layer, first-order shear deformation theory with accuracy comparable to higher-order layerwise theories. Various numerical examples have been used to validate the present model.
Dynamic properties of network motifs contribute to biological network organization.

Biological networks, such as those describing gene regulation, signal transduction, and neural synapses, are representations of large-scale dynamic systems. Discovery of organizing principles of biological networks can be enhanced by embracing the notion that there is a deep interplay between network structure and system dynamics. Recently, many structural characteristics of these non-random networks have been identified, but dynamical implications of the features have not been explored comprehensively. We demonstrate by exhaustive computational analysis that a dynamical property—stability or robustness to small perturbations—is highly correlated with the relative abundance of small subnetworks (network motifs) in several previously determined biological networks. We propose that robust dynamical stability is an influential property that can determine the non-random structure of biological networks.
The ancient heart of the ribosomal large subunit: a response to Caetano-Anolles.

Our recent Accretion Model of ribosomal evolution uses insertion fingerprints and a “trunk–branch” formalism to recapitulate the building up of common core rRNA of the Large Ribosomal Subunit. The Accretion Model is a conservative and natural extension of a method developed by Bokov and Steinberg (Nature 457:977–80, 2009), which confirms the correctness of lower resolution models by Fox and others. In each of these models, the LSU originates with the peptidyl transferase center (PTC), consistent with expectations that the ribosome is the source of defined-sequence functional proteins. In an adjacent note, Caetano-Anolles (J Mol Evol 80:162–165, 2015) disparages the Accretion Model, because it controverts the ‘Growth Inferred by Genothermal Ordering’ (GIGO) model. GIGO analyzes secondary structures, assigns the origin of the ribosome to a region outside of the PTC, and assumes or deduces that (i) large protein enzymes of defined amino acid sequence predate ribosomal synthesis of proteins, (ii) proteins directly replicate by non-ribosomal mechanisms, (iii) rRNA unfailingly increases in thermodynamic stability over time, and (iv) the Woese and Fox canonical tree of life is mis-rooted. Much of the specific GIGO critique of the Accretion Model is based on confusion about the three-dimensional nature of RNA and trunk–branch polymorphism; the Accretion Model incorporates several types of trunk–branch relationships.
Dechlorination of Pentachlorophenol by Zero Valent Iron and Modified Zero Valent Irons

The disappearance of pentachlorophenol (PCP) from aqueous solutions in contact with zero valent metals (ZVMs) may be due to dechlorination reactions or sorption to ZVM-related surfaces. Previously ...
Spatial response characterization of liquid scintillator detectors using collimated gamma-ray and neutron beams

Abstract Liquid scintillators are suitable for many applications because they can detect and characterize fast neutrons as well as gamma-rays. This paper presents the response of a 15-cm-in-length×15-cm-in-height×8.2-cm-in-width EJ-309 liquid scintillator with respect to the position of neutron and gamma-ray interactions. Liquid scintillator cells are typically filled with 97% of the scintillating cocktail to address thermal expansion of the liquid in varying temperature conditions. Measurements were taken with collimated 137 Cs and 252 Cf sources for gamma-ray and neutron mapping of the detector, respectively. MCNPX-PoliMi (ver. 2.0) simulations were also performed to demonstrate the spatial response of the detector. Results show that the detector response is greatest at the center and decreases when the collimated neutron and gamma-ray beam is moved toward the edge of the detector. The measured response in the voxels surrounding the detector center decreased by approximately 6% and 12% for gamma-ray and neutron scans, respectively, when compared to the center voxel. The measured decrease in the detector response was most pronounced at the corners of detector assembly. For the corner voxels located in the bottom row of the detector, the measured response decreased by approximately 39% for both gamma-ray and neutron scans. For the corner voxels located in the top row of the detector, the measured response decreased by approximately 66% and 48% for gamma-ray and neutron scans, respectively. Both measurements and simulations show the inefficient production of secondary charged particles in the voxels located in the top portion of the detector due to the presence of expansion volume. Furthermore, the presence of the expansion volume potentially affects the transport of the scintillation light through the coupling window between the liquid scintillator and the photocathode in the photomultiplier tube.
Transforming and carcinogenic potential of cadmium chloride in BALB/c-3T3 cells.

Abstract A large number of workers are potentially exposed to cadmium during mining and processing. Therefore, there is a concern regarding the potential carcinogenic hazards of cadmium to exposed workers. Studies have been performed to determine if cadmium chloride (CdCl2) can induce morphological cell transformation, DNA from CdCl2-induced transformed cells can transform other mammalian cells, and the transformed cells induced by CdCl2 can form tumors in nude mice. BALB/c-3T3 cells were treated with different concentrations of CdCl2 for 72 h. The frequency of transformed foci from each treatment was determined after cells were cultured for 4 to 5 weeks. DNAs from five CdCl2-induced transformed cell lines were isolated and gene transfection assay was performed using NIH-3T3 cells. Non-transformed BALB/c-3T3 cells and cells from 10 transformed cell lines induced by CdCl2 were injected into both axillary regions of nude mice. Mice were screened once a week for the appearance and size of tumors. CdCl2 caused a statistically significant, concentration-related increase in the transformation frequency. DNA from all five CdCl2-induced transformed cell lines tested was found to induce varying degrees of transfection-mediated transformation in NIH-3T3 cells. All 10 CdCl2-induced transformed cell lines formed fibrosarcomas in nude mice within 39 days of inoculation. Within this time period, no tumors were found in nude mice injected with non-transformed BALB/c-3T3 cells. These results indicate that CdCl2 is capable of inducing morphological cell transformation and that the transformed cells induced by CdCl2 are potentially tumorigenic.
Exciton-exciton annihilation in organic polariton microcavities

We investigate the incoherent diffusion of excitons in thin films (5.1±0.1 nm thick) of a highly absorbing J-aggregated cyanine dye material (106 cm-1 absorption constant) as the excitonic component of a polariton microcavity. Under high-intensity pulsed laser excitation, the J-aggregated molecular films exhibit significant exciton-exciton annihilation, indicating a large exciton diffusion radius of more than 100 nm. When the material is strongly coupled to a cavity, the polaritonic structure also shows exciton-exciton annihilation, which is a competing process against the establishment of a threshold population of polaritons needed for polariton lasing. This study suggests that exciton-exciton annihilation is a loss process which can significantly increase the lasing threshold in polariton microcavities.