cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measurement of auditory temporal processing using modified masking period patterns.

A common metric of auditory temporal processing is the difference in the threshold for a pure-tone signal masked by either unmodulated or amplitude-modulated noise. This technique may be viewed as a modification of the masking period pattern technique. Such measurements have been proposed as an efficient means of estimating auditory temporal resolution in a clinical setting, although in many cases threshold differences may reflect additional spectro-temporal processes. The primary purpose of the present experiment was to examine interactions among signal frequency and masker bandwidth and the effects of modulation frequency on modified masking period patterns. The results revealed unmodulated–modulated threshold differences that increased with increasing masker bandwidth and decreased with increasing modulation frequency. There was little effect of signal frequency for narrow-band noise maskers that were equal in absolute bandwidth across frequency. However, unmodulated−modulated threshold differences increased substantially with increasing signal frequency for bandwidths proportional to the signal frequency and for wideband maskers. Although the results are interpreted in terms of a combination of both within-channel and across-channel cues, the specific contributions of these cues in particular conditions are difficult to ascertain. Because modified masking period patterns depend strongly upon a number of specific stimulus parameters, and because it is difficult to determine with any precision the underlying perceptual processes, this technique is not recommended for use as a clinical measure of auditory temporal processing.
Evaluation of Adult Body Adiposity, Size, and Shape by Stereovision Imaging

Overweight and obesity status is often categorized by body mass index (BMI), although this is not a measurement of body fat. Adiposity, especially in the abdominal area, is a better predictor of obesity-related diseases. However, current methods for assessment of body composition have limitations of bulkiness and expense. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a stereovision imaging system for analysis of body fat. A sample of 105 subjects was measured for body volume using the stereovision imaging system, as compared to air displacement plethysmography and hydrodensitometry. Body density was calculated from total body volume via stereovision imaging, air displacement plethysmography, and hydrodensitometry with weight. Then fat was computed via the Siri equation, and compared to body fat measurements via dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Mean volume and fat measurements by stereovision and air displacement plethysmography did not differ significantly (mean differences −0.07 ± 0.17 L, −0.36 ± 0.82 kg, respectively, P > 0.05). Stereovision measurements of regional body volumes, lengths, and circumferences were used to develop a prediction equation via internal cross-validation for improved estimation of fat mass. This prediction equation reduced variation in individuals and improved effectiveness of the stereovision imaging system.
Classical and Quantum Production of Cornucopions At Energies Below $10^{18}$ GeV

We argue that the paradoxes associated with infinitely degenerate states, which plague relic particle scenarios for the end point or black hole evaporation, may be absent when the relics are horned particles. Most or our arguments are based on simple observations about the classical geometry or extremal dilaton black holes, but at a crucial point we are forced to speculate abou t classical solutions to string theory in which the ifite coupling singularity or the extremal dilaton solution is shielded by a condensate or massless modes propagating in its infinite horn. We use the nonsingular c=1 solution or (1+1)dimensional string theory as a crude model for the properties of the condensate
The adrenal cortex of the pantothenic acid-deficient rat; carbohydrate metabolism.

IN A previous communication from this laboratory (Winters et al., 1952) preliminary evidence was presented suggesting that the pantothenate-deficient rat was in fact insufficient with respect to functions usually attributed to the C-ll oxysteroid of the adrenal cortex. This paper is concerned primarily with the disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism which these animals demonstrate. Previous studies on this problem are somewhat confusing and thus far have failed to clearly define the presence or absence of significant metabolic abnormalities related to adrenal function. In a small number of pantothenic acid-deficient rats in which alloxan diabetes had been produced, Irwin and Ralli (1948) could discern no abnormalities peculiar to the deficient group which were not seen in the controls. However, in this experiment the number of animals made diabetic was small and the diabetes produced was inconstant. Deane and McKibbin (1946) measured the blood sugar and non-protein nitrogen (NPN) in deficient and control...
The kinetics of reactions in biological systems.

Abstract The integral equation treatment of metabolizing systems is used to discuss the rate of entry, turnover time, and free energies of activation for the normal substance from the results of a tracer experiment. The characteristics and limitations of such a description are discussed in some detail.
Quantum-Noise Limit on the Linewidth of Frequency Combs

The linewidth of a mode-locked laser's frequency comb induced by spontaneous emission, or quantum noise, is shown to obey different scaling laws in the linear-dispersionless, i.e., Schawlow-Townes, nonlinear-dispersive, or pure soliton, and intermediate operating regimes.
A model for pharmacists' participation in an external doctor of pharmacy degree program

Predicting participation in a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree program for practicing pharmacists is a major concern among colleges of pharmacy considering such an offering. In this article, a model for participation in an external Pharm.D. degree program was examined from a sample of 868 pharmacists in Illinois. The model hypothesizes the following influences on pharmacists' intention to participate: individual motivations or reasons, program factors, employer support, personal commitment and demographic characteristics. Separate regression analyses were calculated for subgroups as well as the total sample. Total sample results showed that variables measuring reasons for participating and measures indicating personal commitment were the most powerful predictors of intention to participate. Demographic variables such as recent date of graduation and gender (males) were also relatively strong indicators of intended participation. Employer support in terms of tuition reimbursement was an influence. Program variables of importance were the requirements for entrance, course requirements and time for completion. Implications for use of these findings are discussed.
Synthesis of 4,5-Dianilinophthalimide and Related Analogues for Potential Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease via Palladium-Catalyzed Amination

DAPH (4,5-dianilinophthalimide) has previously been shown to reverse the formation of neurotoxic fibrils associated with Alzheimer's disease. We have developed a synthetic route to DAPH and structurally related analogues that employs palladium-catalyzed amination as the key bond-forming step. The requisite substrates are easily obtained, and their coupling with substituted anilines proceeds in generally high yields. Thus, a variety of DAPH analogues can be quickly accessed in a modular fashion. In addition, the route described herein should also be amenable to the incorporation of other classes of nucleophiles into the molecular framework.
Targeting N-type and T-type calcium channels for the treatment of pain.

Severe chronic pain afflicts a large number of people worldwide but satisfactory relief from such pain is difficult to achieve with drugs that are currently available, and so there is a great need for the development of new, efficacious and safe analgesics. Voltage-gated calcium-permeable ion channels are multi-subunit complexes that regulate neuronal excitability, action-potential firing patterns and neurotransmission in nociceptive pathways. Although multiple subtypes of voltage-gated calcium channels exist, pharmacological and ion-channel gene knockdown approaches in animals have revealed N-type and T-type calcium channels to be particularly attractive molecular targets for the discovery and development of new analgesic drugs. The recent approval of Prialt® (Elan Pharmaceuticals) provides the ultimate target validation for N-type calcium channels, namely proof that they are key regulators of nociceptive signaling in humans.
Influences of substrates of different microsomal electron transfer pathways on the oxidation-reduction kinetics of microsomal cytochrome b5.

Abstract (i) Compounds activating the microsomal electron transfer oxidative reactions, e.g., the mixed function oxidase (aminopyrine, aniline), the Δ9-desaturase (stearyl-CoA), and lipid peroxidation reaction (iron pyrophosphate), cause a decrease in the steady-state reduced level of cytochrome b5. (ii) In the absence of substrates, the kox for cytochrome b5 was the same whether reduced by NADH or NADPH (about 0.045 S−1, indicating that no distinction exists between the cytochrome b5 involved in NADH-driven and NADPH-driven microsomal reactions which utilize this hemoprotein. (iii) The agents activating the oxidative pathways affect the first-order rate constant for cytochrome b5 oxidation (kox), but the apparent first-order rate constant obtained for reduction (kred) of cytochrome b5 by NADPH is still more than 10 times the kox, and the kred obtained with NADH is still more than 100 times the kox. (iv) Of the compounds used, only stearyl-CoA caused a decrease in the NADH-supported steady-state reduced level of cytochrome b5. This effect is probably due to a detergent-like action of stearyl-CoA on the membrane proteins, interfering with some interactions (e.g., NADPH-cytochrome c reductase with cytochrome P-450; NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase with cytochrome b5). (v) Based upon the kinetic and steady-state measurements it is concluded that substrate-induced changes in the steady-state reduced level of cytochrome b5 are evidence for a decrease in the population of this hemoprotein available to the reductase due to competition with other more favored acceptors, (vi) Measurements using the duration of the reduced state and rates of electron flow through cytochrome b5 reveal that normally about 60% of the NADH-derived reducing equivalents go through cytochrome b5 while only about one electron in nine passes through this cytochrome when NADPH is the source of reducing equivalents. Substrates of the various pathways alter the proportion of electrons passing through cytochrome b5 depending upon their activating or inhibiting action on cytochrome b5-dependent or -independent reactions.
British Images and Attitudes in Colonial Uganda

(1976). British Images and Attitudes in Colonial Uganda. The Historian: Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 305-318.
How to stop killer asteroids [Spectral Lines]

In a world of endless threats, the most worrisome are those that can kill you. And a large asteroid hurtling toward a catastrophic collision with Earth tops the list. Killer asteroids are part of a category of slow-emerging existential threats, such as global climate change, that, because they reveal themselves gradually, invite the attention of engineers, who are well suited to craft solutions from materials and technologies at hand.
Pharmacokinetics and pharmacology of terbinafine and itraconazole

Abstract Background: Two new systemic antifungal agents, terbinafine and itraconazole, have expanded the choices for treatment of onychomycosis. The pharmacokinetic and pharmacologic properties provide the basis of their activity and are related to their efficacy and safety in dermatophyte infections. Objective: We describe the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacology of terbinafine and itraconazole and the features that form a framework for comparing their efficacy. Pharmacodynamics: Both terbinafine and itraconazole ultimately block ergosterol synthesis; terbinafine disrupts fungal cell wall synthesis earlier (squalene to squalene epoxide) than does itraconazole (lanosterol to ergosterol). In vitro, terbinafine exposure results in a toxic accumulation of squalene and decreased production of ergosterol. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of terbinafine for dermatophytes are essentially equal to minimal fungicidal concentrations (MFCs). However, the MFCs of itraconazole are much higher than the MICs. Pharmacologic Profile: Both itraconazole and terbinafine penetrate keratinizing tissue; levels reached in nail plate exceed those in plasma. Therapeutic levels of the itraconazole persist in nails for up to 6 months after discontinuation of 3 months of therapy (200 mg/day) and during various pulsed cycles. After discontinuation of 1 month of therapy, terbinafine persists at therapeutic levels in the nail. Itraconazole has an affinity for mammalian cytochrome P-450 enzymes as well as for fungal P-450–dependent enzyme, and thus has the potential for clinically important interactions (e.g., astemizole, terfenadine, rifampin, oral contraceptives, H 2 receptor antagonists, warfarin, cyclosporine). Terbinafine is not metabolized through this system and has little potential for drug-drug interactions. Conclusion: The low MFCs exhibited by terbinafine for dermatophytes may be important in its clinical efficacy and low relapse rates. The safety profile of terbinafine directly reflects its mechanism of action. (J Am Acad Dermatol 1998;38:S42-7.)
Online Monitoring of Specific Radionuclides in Gaseous Effluents

A feasibility study of automatic online monitoring of specific radionuclides in nuclear plant gaseous effluents is being conducted at the Georgia Tech Research Reactor (GTRR). An inpile loop experiment has been designed, built, and operated in the GTRR to simulate gaseous effluent mixtures anticipated for a variety of reactor situations. The gaseous fission product mixture may be altered by varying the flow rate of the helium sweep gas over the uranium-235 loaded microporous target, the neutron flux and temperature at the target, and the configuration of the cryogenic trapping system external to the reactor. The loop is used for experiments in remote monitoring of specific radionuclides to be experienced for normal, minor malfunction, and accident conditions at a nuclear plant. As a means of evaluating the practical aspects of automatic online monitoring, a remote monitoring system has been designed and built to measure nuclear and meteorological data at the GTRR, and to transmit the data to a central computer on either a routine "record keeping" or on an emergency-interrupt basis. The measurement system can be adjusted from the remote location to allow live time probing of conditions at the monitored location.
An Experimental Study of Metallic Transfer on Ceramic Femoral Heads

Postoperative dislocation of total hip replacements has been documented to occur at a rate of approximately 2.4–3.9% [1–3]. Such events may result in the transfer of titanium from the acetabular cup to the femoral head, both during the dislocation and surgical reduction of the dislocated joint [3,4]. If the head is reduced with this transfer present, the joint life expectancy, which depends on articulating surfaces remaining smooth, is reduced [4]. Although the presence of metal transfer on retrieved femoral heads after dislocation is documented, no previous studies have attempted to quantify the forces or contact stresses at which metal transfer occurs.© 2009 ASME
Visual cancellation of the torsional vestibulo-ocular reflex in humans.

Using the eye-coil/magnetic field method, we measured the torsional vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) in ten subjects during active head rotations in roll at about 0.5 Hz. In the dark, regardless of instructions or mental effort, the gains (eye velocity/ head velocity) had a mean value of around 0.61. When they viewed a visual display that was stationary, gains rose to 0.72. When viewing a visual display that moved in roll with their heads, subjects could decrease their gains to a mean of 0.46. Separate experiments showed that, as expected at this frequency, the optokinetic system made only a weak contribution. It has been proposed that the horizontal VOR is cancelled by the smooth pursuit system. Since there is no torsional pursuit system, some other mechanism must be used to augment or partially cancel the torsional VOR. Attempts to show that imagination could change this gain showed only weak effects. When asked to imagine an earth-fixed scene, gains were around 0.63; when asked to imagine a subject-fixed scene, gains decreased to only 0.60. When allowed to use a tactile contribution to aid the imagination in cancelling the VOR, the gain dropped further but only to 0.57. We conclude that mental effort in the dark has little influence on the torsional VOR but vision does by a mechanism that is not optokinetic or pursuit.
Throughput analysis of cache-based multiprocessors with multiple buses

The performance of cache-based multiprocessors for general-purpose computing and for multitasking is analyzed with simple throughput models. A private cache is associated with each processor, and multiple buses connect the processors to the shared, interleaved memory. Simple models based on dynamic instruction mix statistics are introduced to evaluate upper bounds on the throughput when independent tasks are run on each processor. With these models, one can obtain a first estimate of the MIPS (millions of instructions per second) rate of a multiprocessor. >
Activation of the AT1 Angiotensin Receptor Is Dependent on Adjacent Apolar Residues in the Carboxyl Terminus of the Third Cytoplasmic Loop

Abstract The C-terminal region of the third intracellular loop of the AT1 angiotensin receptor (AT1-R) is an important determinant of G protein coupling. The roles of individual residues in agonist-induced activation of Gq/11-dependent phosphoinositide hydrolysis were determined by mutational analysis of the amino acids in this region. Functional studies on mutant receptors transiently expressed in COS-7 cells showed that alanine substitutions of the amino acids in positions 232–240 of the third loop had no major effect on signal generation. However, deletion mutations that removed Ile238or affected its position relative to transmembrane helix VI significantly impaired angiotensin II-induced inositol phosphate responses. Substitution of Ile238 with an acidic residue abolished the ability of the receptor to mediate inositol phosphate production, whereas its replacement with basic or polar residues reduced the amplitude of inositol phosphate responses. Substitutions of Phe239 with polar residues had relatively minor effects on inositol phosphate signal generation, but its replacement by aspartic acid reduced, and by positively charged residues (Lys, Arg) significantly increased, angiotensin II-induced inositol phosphate responses. The internalization kinetics of the Ile238 and Phe239 mutant receptors were impaired in parallel with the reduction in their signaling responses. These findings have identified Ile238 and Phe239 as the critical residues in the C-terminal region of the third intracellular loop of the AT1-R for receptor activation. They also suggest that an apolar amino acid corresponding to Ile238 of the AT1-R is a general requirement for activation of other G protein-coupled receptors by their agonist ligands.
Electronic Structural Comparison of the Reactions of Dioxygen and Alkenes with Nitrogen-Chelated Palladium(0)

The reaction of molecular oxygen with palladium(0) centers is a key step in Pd-catalyzed aerobic oxidation reactions. The present study provides a density functional theory (DFT) computational anal...
Accounting, purchasing and supply chain management

Purpose – To not only help with price quality and reliability and speed of delivery but also to enhance value analysis, make‐or‐buy analysis and supplier audits and certification. Planning may also be enhanced and assistance may be derived in maintaining ethical standards.Design/methodology/approach – An integration of the managerial accounting and purchasing functions is discussed and illustrated. It is hypothesized that synergy can be gained by the organization and related stakeholders.Findings – The purchasing function in business organizations is becoming increasingly important, and synergies can be gain by integrating the purchasing and managerial accounting functions.Originality/value – By integrating the purchasing and managerial accounting functions, costs can be reduced and quality can be increased.
New developments in soft X-ray monochromators for third generation synchrotron radiation sources

Abstract The advent of third generation synchrotron soft X-ray radiation sources has opened up many new opportunities for the use of spectroscopy and microscopy to study the structure of complex materials. The ultra-high brightness of these sources offers the possibility of combining the two techniques so that the spectroscopy of microscopic areas of a material may be studied (spectromicroscopy), and in addition offers tremendous flux and resolution enhancements for traditional macroscopic surface studies. The optical properties of both bending magnet and undulator sources for use in third generation soft X-ray sources offer significant possibilities for improving the performance of optical systems compared with traditional designs. We will describe two recent such advances in beamline optical system design at the advanced light source (ALS) and review the performance of a current generation of undulator based beamlines at the ALS.
Learning from Baldrige Winners at the University of Alabama

Taking full advantage of ties to leading businesses, the University of Alabama established a Quality Advisory Board, made up of representatives of private-sector Baldrige winners. It then responded to challenges defined by this Board — to define the university's mission, vision, and common values; to define, hear and respond to its key stakeholder groups; to break down functional silos to promote teamwork among faculty, staff, and students; to accelerate the understanding of quality principles across the campus; and to encourage self-assessment. Already, positive results are measurable. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Interactions between environmental stress and male mating success may enhance evolutionary divergence of stress-resistant Drosophila populations.

Adaptation of natural and laboratory-selected populations of Drosophila to desiccation stress results in enhanced water conservation abilities, and thus increased stress resistance. In this study, we tested whether laboratory selection for desiccation resistance is also reflected in increased mating success of adapted D. melanogaster males under desiccating conditions. Adapted flies perform better under stressful conditions, and as expected males from desiccation-selected populations exhibited significantly higher relative mating success in comparison with controls after 5–6 h of desiccation. However, we show evidence for a trade-off between survival under stressful conditions and mating success in nonstressful and even mildly stressful environments (2.5–3 h of desiccation), where males from selected populations were involved in only ∼40% of observed copulations. This suggests that mutations favored by natural selection, associated with survival when resources are limited, may only be favored by sexual se...
Hot microcontact printing for patterning ITO surfaces. Methodology, morphology, microstructure, and OLED charge injection barrier imaging

A soft lithographic microcontact printing (μCP) procedure is successfully applied for the first time to form densely packed organosilane self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on the surface of ITO (Sn-doped In2O3) coated glass via a thermally activated deposition process. Hot microcontact printing (HμCP) enables localized transfer with 1.0−40 μm feature sizes of dense docosyltrichlorosilane (CH3(CH2)20CH2SiCl3 = DTS) monolayer patterns onto ITO, which reacts sluggishly under conventional μCP conditions. X-ray reflectivity measurements yield a thickness of 12.1 ± 0.1 A and a surface roughness of 2.8 ± 0.1 A for HμCP printed DTS films, which is well within the range for self-assembled monolayer formation, while the weak reflected intensity from conventionally prepared DTS films indicates a poorly organized monolayer structure. Noncontact mode AFM studies reveal that HμCP creates uniform SAMs over a wide area with excellent line edge resolution, while the original patterns are poorly transferred by conventional μ...
4-Butyl-1-(2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-β-l-fuco-pyranos-yl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole.

The title compound, C18H27N3O7, was synthesized by CuI-catalysed coupling of an azide with an alkyne as part of a study into the synthesis of N-glycosyl-1,2,3-triazoles. The crystal structure confirms the selective formation of the β-conformer of the pyran­ose N-glycoside, thus confirming the retention of stereochemistry during heterocycle formation with the N-glycosyl triazole group occupying the equatorial position at the anomeric C atom. The structure exhibits two crystallographically independent mol­ecules (A and B) with essentially identical conformations with a weighted r.m.s. deviation of only 0.09 A. The mol­ecules are arranged in layers with hydro­phobic and more polar sections built from the butyl triazole units on the one hand and the more polar moieties dominated by the carbohydrate units on the other. Within the polar layers, inter­molecular inter­actions are dominated by a three-dimensional network of weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds with the acetyl keto O atoms as the hydrogen-bond acceptors. The triazole units inter­act with each other via C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds which connect the mol­ecules into two infinite chains of mol­ecules made up of either A mol­ecules or B mol­ecules that stretch parallel to each other along [100]. Between the butyl groups no directional inter­actions are observed.
Generalization of Taylor's theorem and Newton's method via a new family of determinantal interpolation formulas and its applications

Abstract The general form of Taylor's theorem for a function f : K→K , where K is the real line or the complex plane, gives the formula, f=Pn+Rn, where Pn is the Newton interpolating polynomial computed with respect to a confluent vector of nodes, and Rn is the remainder. Whenever f′≠0, for each m=2,…,n+1, we describe a “determinantal interpolation formula”, f=Pm,n+Rm,n, where Pm,n is a rational function in x and f itself. These formulas play a dual role in the approximation of f or its inverse. For m=2, the formula is Taylor's and for m=3 is a new expansion formula and a Pade approximant. By applying the formulas to Pn, for each m⩾2, P m,m−1 ,…,P m,m+n−2 is a set of n rational approximations that includes Pn, and may provide a better approximation to f, than Pn. Hence each Taylor polynomial unfolds into an infinite spectrum of rational approximations. The formulas also give an infinite spectrum of rational inverse approximations, as well as a fundamental k-point iteration function Bm(k), for each k⩽m, defined as the ratio of two determinants that depend on the first m−k derivatives. Application of our formulas have motivated several new results obtained in sequel papers: (i) theoretical analysis of the order of B m (k) , k=1,…,m, proving that it ranges from m to the limiting ratio of generalized Fibonacci numbers of order m; (ii) computational results with the first few members of Bm(k) indicating that they outperform traditional root finding methods, e.g., Newton's; (iii) a novel polynomial rootfinding method requiring only a single input and the evaluation of the sequence of iteration functions Bm(1) at that input. This amounts to the evaluation of special Toeplitz determinants that are also computable via a recursive formula; (iv) a new strategy for general root finding; (v) new formulas for approximation of π,e, and other special numbers.
INACTIVATION OF MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM BY COPPER AND SILVER IONS

Abstract Mycobacterium avium and Legionella pneumophila are opportunistic pathogens that are found in hot water systems of hospitals. Hospital water supplies have also been suggested as sources for M. avium in AIDS patients. Copper/silver ionization has been shown to be an effective method for controlling Legionella in hospital hot water systems. The effect of copper/silver ions on M. avium is unknown. The susceptibility of M. avium to copper/silver ions was tested by performing kill-curve experiments in 100 ml buffered water at the following concentrations of copper/silver ions: (1) 0.1/0.01; (2) 0.2/0.02; (3) 0.4/0.04; (4) 0.8/0.08 mg/l. Initial M. avium concentration was ca. 3×106 CFU/ml. Viability was assessed daily for 1 week by plate count on Middlebrook 7H10 agar, and by the BACTEC system. Culture plates and BACTEC bottles were incubated at 37°C for two weeks. Contact times (days) required for 99% and 99.9% inactivation of M. avium by copper/silver ion concentrations of 0.1/0.01; 0.2/0.02; 0.4/0.04; 0.8/0.08 were 3 d and 5 d, 3 d and 5 d, 2 d and 4 d, 1 d and 2 d, respectively. The data indicate that M. avium is susceptible to these metal ions. However, M. avium are more resistant to the bactericidal effects of copper/silver ions than Legionella, requiring 100 times longer exposure to achieve comparable killing in vitro. Nevertheless, this suggests that the copper/silver ionization system may rid hospital hot water systems of both of these potential pathogens.
Organic Media as Spectral Filters in the Ultraviolet1

Aqueous solutions of organic media were examined by the extinction point method, using a geometrical series of concentrations, in a search for media having high gradation of absorption in the ultraviolet region.Curves of log (concentration) against frequency ν of extinction point are shown for thirty-two compounds, grouped as to spectral region in which the curves have high slope. Five compounds had not been studied previously: gallic and tannic acids, aniline arsenate, arsanilic acid, and p-dichlorobenzene.The quantity a, the slope of the curve of log i against ν, is shown to be the sole significant factor in determining gradation of absorption. Media having rectilinear log i curves are shown to have constant gradation of absorption of a degree proportional to the slope of the curve.Curves of log b, log c, and log log 1/T are shown to have an invariant form, that of the curve of log i. It is shown that use of these curves locates directly the frequencies at which a is highest; leads to simple methods of testing Beer’s Law, of determining low solubility, and of finding “true half breadth” of absorption lines; and permits partially graphical solution of other absorption problems. The relations between the curve of a mixture of two solutes and the curves of the components are developed.The extinction point method is shown to have certain advantages over other methods because of the low value of transmittancy involved, and to be adequate for determination of a when a is high. A modification of it, involving use of a constant low transmittancy T, is suggested.
A high-elevation MIS 5 hydrologic record using mollusks and ostracodes from Snowmass Village, Colorado, USA

Abstract Sediments containing terrestrial and aquatic mollusks and ostracodes from the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site (2705 m elevation) near Snowmass Village, Colorado, span ~ 130–87 ka (MIS 5e through 5b). The southeastern area of the site where taxa were recovered was a relatively fresh, shallow, well-vegetated wetland during MIS 5e through 5c time, approximately 2 m deep, with a total dissolved solids value of ~ 200–1000 mg L − 1 . The wetland was seasonally or annually variable and groundwater discharged along the margins of the bounding moraine. Groundwater likely contributed solutes to the system and may have contributed 18 O-enriched water. Based on stable isotopes from ostracode calcite (δ 18 O OST and δ 13 C OST ), seasonal evaporation occurred and the dissolved inorganic carbon pool was unexpectedly enriched in 13 C. The mollusk and ostracode faunas changed little across the MIS 5e/5d/5c boundaries, whereas a distinct change in the ostracode fauna occurred between the deposition of Unit 11 and Unit 13, which corresponds in time to the MIS 5c/5b boundary, indicating some combination of increased surface and/or groundwater flow, a decrease in water temperature, and a freshening and a possible deepening of the wetland.
Fusing Multiple Features for Depth-Based Action Recognition

Human action recognition is a very active research topic in computer vision and pattern recognition. Recently, it has shown a great potential for human action recognition using the three-dimensional (3D) depth data captured by the emerging RGB-D sensors. Several features and/or algorithms have been proposed for depth-based action recognition. A question is raised: Can we find some complementary features and combine them to improve the accuracy significantly for depth-based action recognitionq To address the question and have a better understanding of the problem, we study the fusion of different features for depth-based action recognition. Although data fusion has shown great success in other areas, it has not been well studied yet on 3D action recognition. Some issues need to be addressed, for example, whether the fusion is helpful or not for depth-based action recognition, and how to do the fusion properly. In this article, we study different fusion schemes comprehensively, using diverse features for action characterization in depth videos. Two different levels of fusion schemes are investigated, that is, feature level and decision level. Various methods are explored at each fusion level. Four different features are considered to characterize the depth action patterns from different aspects. The experiments are conducted on four challenging depth action databases, in order to evaluate and find the best fusion methods generally. Our experimental results show that the four different features investigated in the article can complement each other, and appropriate fusion methods can improve the recognition accuracies significantly over each individual feature. More importantly, our fusion-based action recognition outperforms the state-of-the-art approaches on these challenging databases.
Effects of Childhood Mortality and Morbidity on the Fertility Transition in sub‐Saharan Africa

Child mortality rates have fallen substantially in developing countries since 1960. The expected fertility decline has followed only weakly in sub-Saharan Africa compared to other recent and historic demographic transitions. Disease and anthropometric data suggest that morbidity remains prevalent in Africa despite child survival improvements. The uniquely high infectious disease burden among children in Africa reduces population health and diminishes the returns to human capital investment, thwarting the quantity–quality tradeoff for children that typically accompanies the mortality transition. Individual-level data from the Demographic and Health Surveys are used to show that persistent morbidity has weakened the positive relationship between child mortality and total fertility rates throughout the region, slowing Africa's demographic transition.
The various means of dissemination of the fire blight bacterium Erwinia amylovora

A brief review is presented of the means of dissemination of Erwinia amylovora. The bacterium exists in the form of ooze, strands, epiphytic populations and endophytic populations. The status of endophytic bacteria in budwood and fruits is discussed. International dissemination of fire blight has taken place by wind, probably by birds, and by movement of budwood. It has been suggested that fruits may be involved, but there is international disagreement whether measures should be taken to protect against this pathway of dissemination.
Endovascular treatment of acute carotid occlusion.

Abstract Objectives Acute cervical carotid occlusion is one of the most challenging scenarios encountered in endovascular stroke treatment. Patients and methods A retrospective analysis of 11 consecutive non-dissection stroke patients with concomitant cervical carotid and intracranial occlusion treated with intraarterial (IA) mechanical thrombectomy and/or pharmacologic thrombolysis over five years at two academic hospitals was performed. Data was analyzed using Fisher's exact test. Results Patients included 3 females and 8 males. Average age was 64.7 years (range 30–94 years). All patients had both cervical carotid and intracranial occlusions. Intracranial occlusion involved the internal carotid artery in 7 patients and the middle cerebral artery in 4 patients. All of the patients received intracranial IA Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA). Six patients received carotid stents for cervical occlusion as part of their treatment. Five patients received only IA tPA via collateral circulation. Of the patients receiving stents, 5 of 6 (83.3%) had successful recanalization (Thrombolysis in Cerebral Ischemia 2b or 3 flow). Only 1 of 5 (20%) patients who did not receive stents prior to intracranial treatment had successful recanalization. The difference in recanalization rates approached statistical significance ( p =.08). There were 4 total in-hospital mortalities: 2 in the group that received stents prior to thrombolysis and 2 in the non-stent group. There were 2 clinically significant hemorrhages in the study, both in the stent group. Conclusions Revascularization of the cervical carotid occlusion prior to treatment of the intracranial occlusion led to increased rates of recanalization in patients with tandem extracranial and intracranial occlusions. Whether a clinical benefit can be consistently derived likely relies on other factors, including the evaluation of cerebral perfusion.
Centrifugal evaporation of organic solvents from a series of solutions

A centrifugal vacuum evaporator designed for the evaporation of organic solvents from a series of solutions has been fabricated and tested. The rotor is driven by a spinning magnetic field resulting from rotating magnets mounted on a wheel connected to the drive shaft of an electric motor beneath the vacuum chamber. The spinning magnetic field produces eddy currents in an aluminum dise in the vacuum chamber, thus rotating the disc and the attached rotor. A variety of organic solvents were readily evaporated in this device. Auxiliary heating was used to increase the evaporation rate of certain solvents. In this evaporator organic solvents are removed from a series of solutions simultaneously, at low temp, and in a partial vacuum, thus minimizing or preventing solute degradation by heat and oxygen.
Social Loafing The Role of Task Attractiveness

The present investigation examined the hypothesis that internal group pressures to maximize productivity would moderate social loafing (the decrease of individual effort as group size increases). Subjects, working in either two-or four-person groups, were told to construct as many folded paper products as they could in a fixed time period. Task attractiveness, a determinant of productivity, was manipulated. As predicted, social loafing occurred in the low task attractiveness conditions. In high task attractiveness conditions, a social enhancement effect occurred where four-person groups outperformed two-person groups.
On boundary-discontinuous double Fourier series solution to a system of completely coupled P.D.E.'s

Abstract A heretofore unavailable boundary-discontinuous double Fourier series based approach for solution to a system of completely coupled linear second-order partial differential equations with constant coefficients and subjected to general (completely coupled) boundary conditions is presented. This method facilitates the selection of the unknown Fourier coefficients, contributing to the complete solution and also takes into account the possible discontinuities of the assumed solution functions and/or their first derivatives at the boundaries. Dirichlet and Neumann types of boundary conditions can be treated as two special cases. The method is applied to obtain solutions of the hitherto unsolved class of problems, pertaining to arbitrarily laminated anisotropic (constant)-shear-flexible doubly-curved shells of rectangular planform, with arbitrary admissible boundary conditions and subjected to general transverse loading. Such specific cases of lamination as anti-symmetric angle-ply, symmetric angle-ply and general cross-ply, such particular case of loading as uniformly distributed transverse load and such specific case of geometry as a rectangular plate, can be obtained as special cases of the above. In addition, this method is shown to reproduce the available boundary-continuous solutions for unsymmetric cross-ply plates and doubly-curved shells with SS3 type simply-supported boundary conditions and anti-symmetric angle-ply plates with SS2 type simply-supported boundary conditions.
Genetic Interactions of STAT3 and Anticancer Drug Development

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays critical roles in tumorigenesis and malignant evolution and has been intensively studied as a therapeutic target for cancer. A number of STAT3 inhibitors have been evaluated for their antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo in experimental tumor models and several approved therapeutic agents have been reported to function as STAT3 inhibitors. Nevertheless, most STAT3 inhibitors have yet to be translated to clinical evaluation for cancer treatment, presumably because of pharmacokinetic, efficacy, and safety issues. In fact, a major cause of failure of anticancer drug development is lack of efficacy. Genetic interactions among various cancer-related pathways often provide redundant input from parallel and/or cooperative pathways that drives and maintains survival environments for cancer cells, leading to low efficacy of single-target agents. Exploiting genetic interactions of STAT3 with other cancer-related pathways may provide molecular insight into mechanisms of cancer resistance to pathway-targeted therapies and strategies for development of more effective anticancer agents and treatment regimens. This review focuses on functional regulation of STAT3 activity; possible interactions of the STAT3, RAS, epidermal growth factor receptor, and reduction-oxidation pathways; and molecular mechanisms that modulate therapeutic efficacies of STAT3 inhibitors.
Hough transform for 3-D object recognition

This paper describes an approach to the recognition of objects of known shapes by matching, in the Hough space, the features (edges and normal vectors) extracted from range images to object models. The matching is carried out in hierarchy. First, a few candidate rotation matrices are determined based on the peaks in the Hough accumulator that represents the orientation of a reference vector. Then the translation parameters are evaluated for each rotation matrix, and the transformation is obtained based on the best interpretation between the model and the scene. The experiments indicate that the procedure is accurate, although optimization can further improve the estimates of the parameters.
Endowed faculty positions in academic emergency medicine: where we are and where we need to go.

Abstract To survey academic departments of Emergency Medicine (ADEMs) in the United States concerning the number of endowed faculty positions, a survey was sent to the chairs of all 62 ADEMs in the United States belonging to the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine (AACEM) as of March 1, 2004. The survey requested information on: the number of endowed chair and professorship positions; the amount required to fully fund an endowed faculty position; the date established; the source of funding; and if plans were in place to establish an endowed position. Sixty-two chairs (100%) responded. There are currently five endowed chair positions in four ADEMs. Twenty-eight chairs (45%) replied they are in the process of establishing an endowed chair; of these, six chairs (10%) have partially funded the position. There are four endowed professorship positions in three ADEMs. Twenty-one chairs (34%) are in the process of establishing an endowed professorship; of these, two ADEMs (3%) have partially funded the positions. The most common funding sources cited for these endowed positions were “former residents” and “friends.” Nearly all chairs replied they were allowed to spend only 5% of the value of the endowment each year. In conclusion, there are currently only nine endowed faculty positions in six ADEMs in the United States. Another eight positions (six chairs and two professorships) are partially funded. Greater effort must be made in establishing more such positions in Emergency Medicine.
On the degrees of the vertices of a directed graph

Abstract In a previous paper the realizability of a finite set of positive integers as the degrees of the vertices of a linear graph was discussed. Here we are concerned with the realizability of a finite set of pairs of non-negative integers { (di+, di−): i = 1, 2 …, n} as the degrees of the vertices of a directed graph. The directed graphs considered in this paper are allowed to have parallel elements but it is assumed to contain no self-loop elements. The integers di+ and di− specify the number of arrowheads directed toward and away from vertex di respectively. Other related problems such as; realizability of a given set of non-negative integer pairs as a connected directed graph, strongly connected directed graph, and cycleless directed graph are discussed. The problem of orienting a given graph and the Runyon problem are also considered.
Effect of Dispersion on PD Pulse Propagation in Shielded Power Cable

High frequency attenuation and dispersion affect partial discharge detection and location in shielded power cables. The effect of high frequency attenuation is well understood through both measurement and computation, which cannot be said of dispersion. The electromagnetic propagation velocity as a function of frequency in concentric neural distribution cable has been computed from measured material properties, from which the dispersion deduced. The computed dispersion is in reasonable agreement measurements in the literature. The effect of dispersion on PD pulse propagation has been evaluated, including coupling between dispersion and high frequency attenuation, which are both functions of the same material parameters. The analysis indicates that dispersion causes a Gaussian PD pulse (at the source) to evolve into an asymmetric shape with faster rise than fall. The difference in pulse peak time of arrival with and without dispersion has been computed numerically, and a simple analytical basis for predicting this offset has been developed.
Evaluating Current Systems and Exploring the Potential of Social Networking Platforms to Increase User Engagement with Eco-Feedback Systems

For infrastructure energy efficiency to reach its full potential, new and improved ways for occupants to engage with their energy use are needed. Despite the recent advancements in eco-feedback systems, strategies to increase motivation and user engagement in these systems remain primitive for a number of reasons. Improving the efficiency of user driven energy conservation actions requires improvements in the delivery of energy consumption feedback, and methods that trigger occupant engagement with infrastructure data within eco-feedback systems. One approach to achieve increased engagement is through integrating feedback solutions with social networking platforms. This will enable feedback systems to address a larger population and to utilize persuasive engagement approaches such as: customized awareness, engagement motivations, and time/location sensitive alerts. In this paper, we explore potential interactions between the occupants, infrastructure, and ecofeedback systems to examine the relevance of exploiting social media to increase user engagement in energy conservation actions. We examine the applicability and effectiveness of four eco-feedback systems from an occupant engagement perspective and identify gaps in these interactive systems. Finally, we propose a dynamic and interactive approach to feedback to enhance infrastructure energy efficiency.