cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adaptive output rejection of unmatched input disturbances

Abstract To adaptively reject the effect of certain unmatched input disturbances on the output of a linear time-invariant system, a transfer function matching condition is needed. A lemma which presents a novel basic property of linear systems is derived to characterize system conditions for such transfer function matching. An adaptive disturbance rejection control scheme is developed for such systems with uncertain dynamics parameters and disturbance parameters. This adaptive control technique is applicable to control of systems with actuator failures whose failure values, failure time instants, and failure patterns are unknown. A solution is presented to this adaptive actuator failure compensation problem, which ensures closed-loop stability and asymptotic output tracking, in the presence of any up to m −1 uncertain failures of the total m actuators. Desired adaptive system performance is verified by simulation results.
Anti-breast cancer potential of daidzein in rodents.

Abstract Aims This study was carried out to explore anti-breast cancer potential of isoflavone daidzein or its related compounds using appropriate animal models and their anti-tumor mechanism. Main methods Daidzein or its major metabolite equol at a dose molar equivalent to tamoxifen [1.0 mg (2.7 μmol)/kg or 10 mg (27 μmol)/kg/day] was treated orally to rats bearing 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary tumors or ovariectomized athymic nude mice implanted with human MCF-7 breast cancer xenograft and an estrogen pellet. The growth of tumors was monitored for several weeks after the treatment. The cell-cycle and apoptotic stages in mammary tumors collected from rats were analyzed by flow cytometry. Immunohistochemistry analysis was also used to determine the expression of caspase-3. Key findings Oral treatment with daidzein or equol at a human equivalent dose suppressed the growth of both DMBA-induced mammary tumors and human MCF-7 breast cancer xenografts in rodents, the inhibitory activity being superior to that of genistein or tamoxifen. Strong apoptosis induced by daidzein or equol contributes to the anti-tumor potential. Significance Daidzein and its metabolite equol showed the potential of inhibiting the growth of mammary tumors in rodents. Daidzein or equol could be used as a core structure to design new drugs for breast cancer therapy. Our results indicate that consumption of daidzein may protect against breast cancer.
Physical activity beliefs and behaviour of adults with physical disabilities.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to elicit the physical activity (PA) beliefs from adults with physical disabilities; and second, to examine their self-reported PA participation.Method. Participants were 223 adults (M age = 45.4 years, SD = 10.8), with self-reported physical disabilities who completed a web-based survey. Six open-ended questions were used to assess PA beliefs and the PA Scale for Individuals with Physical Disabilities measured self-reported PA.Results. A qualitative analysis showed that the most accessible behavioural advantages are that PA improves emotional functioning and assists with weight management. The most accessible behavioural disadvantages are that PA causes pain or soreness and consumes time. The most accessible normative influences that approve of PA are family, friends, and healthcare professionals. The most accessible control beliefs obstructing PA are disability and associated symptoms, and a lack of access to adequate facilities, equipment, or programs. The most ac...
A new approach for unsupervised restoring images based on Wavelet-Domain Projection Pursuit Learning Network

The Wavelet-Domain Projection Pursuit Learning Network (WDPPLN) is proposed for restoring degraded image. The new network combines the advantages of both projection pursuit and wavelet shrinkage. Restoring image is very difficult when little is known about a priori knowledge for multisource degraded factors. WDPPLN successfully resolves this problem by separately processing wavelet coefficients and scale coefficients. Parameters in WDPPLN, which are used to simulate degraded factors, are estimated via WDPPLN training, using scale coefficients. Also, WDPPLN uses soft-threshold of wavelet shrinkage technique to suppress noise in three high frequency subbands. The new method is compared with the traditional methods and the Projection Pursuit Learning Network (PPLN) method. Experimental results demonstrate that it is an effective method for unsupervised restoring degraded image.
Avoidance and escape components of leg position learning in the prothoracic and mesothoracic ganglia of the cockroach, P. americana

Prothoracic and mesothoracic legs of headless cockroaches with only a ventral nerve cord were trained to lift their legs when shock occurred. The prothoracic leg showed both avoidance learning (a decrease over time in the frequency of leg extension) and escape learning (a decrease in extension duration following shock receipt). The mesothoracic leg showed avoidance learning as fast and as well as the prothoracic leg but was unable to support escape learning. Furthermore, the avoidance component of prothoracic learning showed longer-term retention of several hours whereas the escape component showed only shorter-term retention which did not last 15 minutes.
New Inclusion Methods for Separations Problems

Abstract Liquid inclusion complexes called liquid clathrates have been used to effect separations of aromatics from aliphatics, monoenes, and dienes. Conventional separation factors of near 10 are typical for the first two, while 2–4 are found for the latter. The liquid clathrate is based on a parent complex which is a cation-anion pair in combination with an aromatic solvent. New parent complexes are revealed and the direction for diene separations from other dienes and from monoenes is indicated.
Evaluating the role of contracting and expanding rainforest in initiating cycles of speciation across the Isthmus of Panama.

Climatic and geological changes across time are presumed to have shaped the rich biodiversity of tropical regions. However, the impact climatic drying and subsequent tropical rainforest contraction had on speciation has been controversial because of inconsistent palaeoecological and genetic data. Despite the strong interest in examining the role of climatic change on speciation in the Neotropics there has been few comparative studies, particularly, those that include non-rainforest taxa. We used bird species that inhabit humid or dry habitats that dispersed across the Panamanian Isthmus to characterize temporal and spatial patterns of speciation across this barrier. Here, we show that these two assemblages of birds exhibit temporally different speciation time patterns that supports multiple cycles of speciation. Evidence for these cycles is further corroborated by the finding that both assemblages consist of ‘young’ and ‘old’ species, despite dry habitat species pairs being geographically more distant than pairs of humid habitat species. The matrix of humid and dry habitats in the tropics not only allows for the maintenance of high species richness, but additionally this study suggests that these environments may have promoted speciation. We conclude that differentially expanding and contracting distributions of dry and humid habitats was probably an important contributor to speciation in the tropics.
Defect of receptor-G protein coupling in human gallbladder with cholesterol stones

Human gallbladders with cholesterol stones (ChS) exhibit an impaired muscle contraction and relaxation and a lower CCK receptor-binding capacity compared with those with pigment stones (PS). This s...
RADIATIVE TRANSPORT OF HEAT IN LUNAR AND PLANETARY INTERIORS

Abstract The aim of the present investigation has been to formulate and solve the problem of the radiative transfer of energy in solid globes of planetary size-both in their interiors as well as surface layer-with the radiative loss into space taken into account. Following a general statement of this problem in the introductory section, the time-dependent partial differential equation of radiative transfer has been formulated in Section II in terms of spherical polar coordinates, and a method developed which permits us to construct a solution of this equation, to an arbitrary order of accuracy, both for the emissivity or temperature as the dependent variable. In the latter case, the well-known equation of heat conduction is shown to obtain a as a limiting case if the mean free path of the energy-carrying photons tends to zero. In the third section, the problem of the radiative transfer of energy in planetary interiors, with radiative loss at the boundary, is solved analytically for the case of a homogeneous globe characterized by constant absorption coefficient. It is pointed out that, in such a case, a suitable substitution can render the problem linear if the emissivity—rather than temperature—is adopted as the dependent variable; the problem is then solvable in terms of Fourier series arising by the inversion of a certain finite Fourier sine transform of the emissivity. In Section IV, the same technique is applied to the solution of a plane-parallel problem of radiative energy transfer in surface layers subjected to a periodic insolation from above; and Section V contains the derivation of an explicit analytical solution of this problem in a closed form. The Appendix has been devoted to a formulation of the integral equation of the time-dependent and spherically symmetrical transfer problem, and the errors arising from the neglect of the time-dependence of the intensity (as distinct from that of the emissivity) of the radiation, committed by all earlier investigators of the problem, are explicitly evaluated.
Determination of low‐level (sub‐microgram) sulfur concentrations by isotope dilution multi‐collector inductively couple plasma mass spectrometry using a 33S spike and internal normalization for mass bias correction

RATIONALE The certification of sulfur (S) in Standard Reference Materials™ by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been exclusively performed using isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS). The ID-TIMS measurement method is limited in its capability for low concentration measurements (<1 µg/g) due to the blank associated with the chemical reduction procedure (≈0.2 S µg). Newly developed materials and applications, such as biofuels made from soy and nanomedicine, pose a challenge to the ID-TIMS technique because of their very low concentrations (<<1 µg/g) of S. As described here, a measurement technique with low S blanks is essential for low-level S measurements. METHODS An isotope dilution (ID) multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) method combined with an internal normalization approach for mass bias correction has been used to determine low-level S concentrations in synthetically prepared mixtures using a (33)S-enriched spike material. Dilute sulfur solutions (1 µg S/g) were prepared from NIST SRM 3154 (Sulfate Spectrometric Solution) to test the capability of this technique for measuring very low-level S concentrations. RESULTS The concentration results for each solution were 0.983 ± 0.004 µg/g (95% CI, n = 2, k = 2), 1.006 ± 0.005 µg/g (95% CI, n = 2, k = 2), and 0.999 ± 0.003 µg/g (95% CI, n = 2, k = 2), in excellent agreement with the gravimetric determination, deviating less than 0.35% and suggesting the technique can yield unbiased and accurate results. The blanks averaged 13 ± 0.0017 ng S (1s). CONCLUSIONS The data results provide a clear indication that the ID-MC-ICP-MS method for the determination of low-level S concentrations is feasible. The more than one order of magnitude reduction of the blanks suggests that it is a better alternative to the ID-TIMS method for very low S materials such as are encountered in biofuels and some biochemical species. Published 2012. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Biomedical nanotechnology for molecular imaging, diagnostics, and targeted therapy

Biomedical nanotechnology is a cross-disciplinary area of research in science, engineering and medicine with broad applications for molecular imaging, molecular diagnosis, and targeted therapy. The basic rationale is that nanometer-sized particles such as semiconductor quantum dots and iron oxide nanocrystals have optical, magnetic or structural properties that are not available from either molecules or bulk solids. When linked with biotargeting ligands such as monoclonal antibodies, peptides or small molecules, these nanoparticles can be used to target diseased cells and organs (such as malignant tumors and cardiovascular plaques) with high affinity and specificity. In the “mesoscopic” size range of 5-100 nm diameter, nanoparticles also have large surface areas and functional groups for conjugating to multiple diagnostic (e.g., optical, radioisotopic, or magnetic) and therapeutic (e.g., anticancer) agents.
Methods to our madness.

Article and publication date are at http://www.rnajournal.org/cgi/doi/10.1261/rna.049684.115. Freely available online through the RNA Open Access option.
Growth of a Pine Tree.

The growth of a pine tree is examined by preparing “tree cookies” (cross-sectional disks) between whorls of branches. The use of Christmas trees allows the tree cookies to be obtained with inexpensive, commonly available tools. Students use the tree cookies to investigate the annual growth of the tree and how it corresponds to the number of whorls on the tree. Height–diameter and height–age relationships are also investigated. While aimed at high school classes, the procedure can be adapted for younger students.
A better estimate of lognormal means on pharmacokinetic data

It is well accepted that pharmacokinetic parameters, especially area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) and maximum concentration (Cmax), should be analyzed on the log-scale with the assumption of lognormality. Currently pharmacokinetic data are typically summarized by arithmetic means and geometric means. A deeper look at the lognormal distribution reveals that they are actually estimating different parameters of the distribution. Arithmetic means are naIve estimates of population means, while geometric means are plug-in estimates of population medians. Suppose population means are the primary interest then we propose another procedure to estimate them. This procedure can provide an alternative way to summarize pharmacokinetic data. In fact, we show that this procedure is a more precise estimate for population means, especially when the standard deviation is large. The procedure is compared with the existing ones via simulations and applied to real pharmacokinetic studies. Some simulation results based on a four-period crossover study are illustrated in the following table, which shows our estimates have much smaller mean squared errors in most cases. (See table) Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2004) 75, P42–P42; doi: 10.1016/j.clpt.2003.11.160 Table 1. Regimen MSEOE/MSEAR MSEOE/MSEGM AR- Arithmetic means; OE-Our Estimates; GM- Geometric means. A 0.97 0.79 B 0.96 0.78 C 0.86 0.59 D 0.84 0.55
2008 Special Issue: Reinforcement learning of motor skills with policy gradients

Autonomous learning is one of the hallmarks of human and animal behavior, and understanding the principles of learning will be crucial in order to achieve true autonomy in advanced machines like humanoid robots. In this paper, we examine learning of complex motor skills with human-like limbs. While supervised learning can offer useful tools for bootstrapping behavior, e.g., by learning from demonstration, it is only reinforcement learning that offers a general approach to the final trial-and-error improvement that is needed by each individual acquiring a skill. Neither neurobiological nor machine learning studies have, so far, offered compelling results on how reinforcement learning can be scaled to the high-dimensional continuous state and action spaces of humans or humanoids. Here, we combine two recent research developments on learning motor control in order to achieve this scaling. First, we interpret the idea of modular motor control by means of motor primitives as a suitable way to generate parameterized control policies for reinforcement learning. Second, we combine motor primitives with the theory of stochastic policy gradient learning, which currently seems to be the only feasible framework for reinforcement learning for humanoids. We evaluate different policy gradient methods with a focus on their applicability to parameterized motor primitives. We compare these algorithms in the context of motor primitive learning, and show that our most modern algorithm, the Episodic Natural Actor-Critic outperforms previous algorithms by at least an order of magnitude. We demonstrate the efficiency of this reinforcement learning method in the application of learning to hit a baseball with an anthropomorphic robot arm.
The Effects of Weaponry on Human Violence

This article assesses the impact of weapons, especially firearms, on three types of outcomes of threatening or hostile interactions : (1) whether a threatening situation escalates to an actual physical attack, (2) wether the attack is completed, i.e., results in an injury, and (3) wether the injury inflicted results in death. Data on violent incidents among strangers, taken from the 1979-1985 National Crime Surveys and the 1982 Supplementary Homicide Reports, were used to estimate bivariate probit equations with a correction for sample selection bias. Results indicate that deadly weapons, including firearms, appear to inhibit attack and, in the case of an attack, to reduce the probability of injury, whereas, once an injury occurs, they appear to increase the probability of death. The overall net effect of the availability of guns on the probability of the victim's death is very close to zero
Free triiodothyronine: a novel predictor of postoperative atrial fibrillation.

Objective: Despite improved perioperative management, atrial fibrillation (AF) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains a relevant clinical problem, whose pathogenetic mechanisms remain incompletely explained. A reduced incidence of postoperative AF has been described in CABG patients receiving IV tri-iodothyronine (T3). This study was designed to define the role of thyroid metabolism on the genesis of postoperative AF. Methods and results: Free T3 (fT3), free thyroxine (fT4), and thyroid stimulating hormone were assayed at admission in 107 consecutive patients undergoing isolated CABG surgery. Patients with thyroid disease or taking drugs known to interfere with thyroid function were excluded. A preoperative rhythm other than sinus rhythm was considered an exclusion criterion. Thirty-three patients (30.8%) had postoperative AF. An older age (P ¼ 0:03), no therapy with b-blockers (P ¼ 0:08), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (P ¼ 0:08), lower left ventricle ejection fraction (P ¼ 0:09) and lower fT3 concentration (P ¼ 0:001), were univariate predictors of postoperative AF. On multivariate analysis, low fT3 concentration and lack of b-blocking therapy were independently related with the development of postoperative AF (odds ratio, OR, 4.425; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.745‐ 11.235; P ¼ 0:001 and OR 3.107; 95% CI 1.087 ‐8.875; P ¼ 0:03, respectively). Postoperative AF significantly prolonged postoperative hospital stay (P ¼ 0:002). Conclusions: Low basal fT3 concentration can reliably predict the occurrence of postoperative AF in CABG patients. q 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Simulation of brittle and ductile fracture in an impact loaded prenotched plate

We analyze the initiation and propagation of a crack from a point on the surface of a circular notch-tip in an impact loaded prenotched plate. The material of the plate is assumed to exhibit strain hardening, strain-rate hardening, and softening due to the rise in temperature and porosity. The degradation of material parameters due to the evolution of damage in the form of porosity is considered. Brittle failure is assumed to initiate when the maximum tensile principal stress at a point reaches a critical level. Ductile failure is assumed to ensue when the effective plastic strain reaches a critical value. A crack initiating from the node where a failure first occurs is taken to propagate to the adjacent node that has the highest value of the failure parameter (the maximum tensile principal stress or the effective plastic strain). The opening and propagation of a crack are modeled by the node release technique. Surface tractions and the normal component of the heat flux are taken to be null on the newly created crack surfaces. For the brittle failure, the stress field around the crack tip resembles that in mode-I deformations of a prenotched plate loaded in tension. The distribution of the effective plastic strain in a small region around the surface of the notch-tip is not affected much by the initiation of a ductile fracture there except for a shift in the location of the point where the effective plastic strain is maximum. The initiation of the ductile failure is delayed when a crack is opened at the point where the brittle failure ensues.
Interferon regulatory factors and TFIIB cooperatively regulate interferon-responsive promoter activity in vivo and in vitro.

Interferonregulatoryfactors(IRFs)bindtotheinterferon-stimulatedresponseelement(ISRE)andregulate interferon- and virus-mediated gene expression. IRF-1 acts as a transcriptional activator, while IRF-2 acts as a repressor. Here we show that IRF-1 and IRF-2 bind to both cellular TFIIB, a component of the basal transcriptionmachinery,andrecombinantTFIIB(rTFIIB)andthatthisprotein-proteininteractionfacilitates binding of IRFs to the ISRE. A functional interaction between TFIIB and IRF was assessed by a newly established in vitro transcription assay in which recombinant IRF-1 (rIRF-1) stimulated transcription specifically from an ISRE-containing template. With this assay we show that rIRF-1 and rTFIIB cooperatively enhance the ISRE promoter in vitro. We found that the activity of an ISRE-containing promoter was cooperatively enhanced upon cotransfection of TFIIB and IRF-1 cDNAs into P19 embryonal carcinoma cells, further demonstrating functional interactions in vivo. The cooperative enhancement by TFIIB and IRF-1 was independent of the TATA sequence in the ISRE promoter but dependent on the initiator sequence (Inr) and was abolished when P19 cells were induced to differentiate by retinoic acid treatment. In contrast, cotransfection of TFIIB and IRF-1 into NIH 3T3 cells resulted in a dose-dependent repression of promoter activation which occurred in a TATA-dependent manner. Our results indicate the presence of a cell type-specific factor that mediatesthefunctionalinteractionbetweenIRFsandTFIIBandthatactsinconjunctionwiththerequirement of TATA and Inr for promoter activation.
Interaction of DNA methyltransferase with aminofluorene and N-acetylaminofluorene modified poly(dC-dG)

Poly(dC-dG) was reacted in vitro to yield templates containing similar amounts of aminofluorene (AF) or acetylaminofluorene (AAF) adducts. These modified poly(dC-dG) templates were tested in an in vitro DNA methylation system utilizing 1500-fold purified rat liver methyltransferase (DMase) to compare and quantitate the effects of these adducts on the kinetics of methylation and the interaction of DMase with such templates. Enzymatic methylation is severely impaired by arylamine adducts, with bound AF inhibiting more than AAF (relative Vmax 0.24 for AAF-poly(dC-dG) and 0.066 for AF-poly(dC-dG). The apparent km for the reaction is not appreciably altered by AAF modification: 10 microM for dCdG dinucleotide units, but it is threefold lower (3 microM) for AF-poly(dC-dG). In competition experiments it was demonstrated that a translocational block is imposed by the adducts. From differential salt inhibition assays and preincubation assays, no change in the ionic binding to the altered templates could be detected, which suggests that the enzyme interacts very strongly through hydrophobic interactions with the fluorene ring. Evidence that the fluorene ring is exposed is supported by circular dichroism spectra of the templates under the conditions of the assay, which indicated that the AF adducts do not appreciably change the normal B conformation of the template, while the template with 9.5% modification by AAF adducts adopted a Z form. These results suggest that the inhibitory effects of AAF and, in particular, AF upon DMase-catalyzed methylation reactions are not dependent upon helix conformation. Instead, they appear to depend upon DMase recognition of an altered dG base configuration, which is responsible for altered binding and methylation kinetics.
Less conservative robust control of constrained linear systems with bounded disturbances

This paper develops a novel robust control method for linear systems subject to additive and bounded disturbances. The approach is based on constraint tightening method. The proposed method is computationally efficient in the sense that it does not require solving any online optimization problem, in contrast to several other robust model predictive control approaches proposed in the literature. The algorithm elaborated in this paper guarantees convergence to a minimal disturbance invariant set and the terminal predicted state constraint set is allowed to be larger than the minimal disturbance invariant set.
Hub Location and the p-Hub Median Problem

Hub facilities serve as switching and transshipment points in transportation and communication networks. Hub networks concentrate flows on the hub-to-hub links and benefit from economies of scale in interhub transportation. Most hub location research has focused on problems where each origin/destination is allocated to a single hub. However, multiple allocation to more than one hub is necessary to minimize total transportation costs. This paper defines a p-hub median, analogous to a p-median, and presents integer programming formulations for the multiple and single allocation p-hub median problems. Two new heuristics for the single allocation p-hub median problem are evaluated. These heuristics derive a solution to the single allocation p-hub median problem from the solution to the multiple allocation p-hub median problem. Computational results are presented for problems with 10-40 origins/destinations and up to eight hubs. The new heuristics generally perform well in comparison with other heuristics.
Psychosocial adjustment in children and adolescents with a craniofacial anomaly: age and sex patterns.

Abstract Objective: To examine rates of psychosocial adjustment problems and competencies in a sample of children with congenital craniofacial anomalies (CFAs). Methods: Retrospective chart review. Setting: Urban hospital plastic surgery primary care unit. Patients: A total of 724 children aged 2 to 18 years with completed Child Behavior Checklists in their medical charts. Main Outcome Measure: Child Behavior Checklist. Results: Higher rates of problems in the clinical range were seen for withdrawn, attention, social, thought, and internalizing problems and lower rates for externalizing and somatic complaints; specific patterns varied according to age and sex. Elevated rates of competency deficits were seen in some groups. Conclusions: Most children with CFAs do not appear to experience psychosocial adjustment problems. Although elevated risk may be seen for certain problems, this group may be protected in other areas. Research identifying the mechanisms responsible for varying age and sex patterns of adj...
An Algorithm for Allocation and Temperature, and Its Consequences for the Chemistry of H2-O2 Combustion

We will outline a non numerical algorithm for calculation of chemical species in the burned gas, temperature increase, and overall chemistries for plane premixed laminar flames with arbitrarily complex chemistry. We will then apply this algorithm to H2-O2 combustion between 1100° and 1600°, using reaction data from Westbrook and Chase [1]. We will study the system $$ \begin{gathered} {1}.{\text{ H }} + { }{{\text{O}}_{{2}}} = {\text{ O }} + {\text{ OH}}, \hfill \\ {2}.{\text{ O }} + { }{{\text{H}}_{{2}}} = {\text{ H }} + {\text{ OH}}, \hfill \\ {3}.{ }{{\text{H}}_{{2}}}{\text{O }} + {\text{ H }} = { }{{\text{H}}_{{2}}} + {\text{ OH,}} \hfill \\ {4}.{\text{ O }} + { }{{\text{H}}_{{2}}}{\text{O }} = {\text{ OH }} + {\text{ OH}}, \hfill \\ {5}.{ }{{\text{H}}_{{2}}} + {\text{ M }} = {\text{ H }} + {\text{ H }} + {\text{ M}}, \hfill \\ {6}.{ }{{\text{O}}_{{2}}} + {\text{ M }} = {\text{ O }} + {\text{ O }} + {\text{ M}}, \hfill \\ {7}.{\text{ OH}} + {\text{M }} = {\text{ O }} + {\text{ H }} + {\text{ M}}, \hfill \\ {8}.{ }{{\text{H}}_{{2}}}{\text{O }} + {\text{ M }} = {\text{ H }} + {\text{ OH }} + {\text{ M}}, \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ (1.1) where M denotes a chaperone species. For convenience, we will refer to reaction i in the forward direction as Ri+ and define Ri- similarly. Rl+ competes directly with the reaction H + O2 + M = HO2 + M, and is faster when T>1100°, so we can assume (Westbrook and Dryer, [2]) that H2O2 and HO2 will not be present in significant amounts. We assume that the only input species that are not inert are H2 and O2.
Electromagnetic activity before initial breakdown pulses of lightning

Lightning flash initiation is studied using electric field change (E-change) measurements made in Florida. An initial E-change (IEC) was found immediately before the first initial breakdown (IB) pulse in both cloud-to-ground (CG) and intracloud (IC) flashes if the E-change sensor was within 80% of the reversal distance of the IEC. For 18 CG flashes, the IECs had an average point dipole moment of 23 C m and an average duration of 0.18 ms; these parameters for 18 IC flashes were −170 C m and 1.53 ms. The IECs of CG flashes began with a change in the slope of the E-change (with respect to time) from zero slope to a positive slope, consistent with downward motion of negative charge and/or upward motion of positive charge. For IECs of IC flashes, the beginning slope change was from zero to negative slope, consistent with upward motion of negative charge and/or downward motion of positive charge. During an IEC, the E-change monotonically increased for CG flashes and monotonically decreased for IC flashes. In 14 of 36 cases, the IEC beginning was coincident with a discrete, impulsive source of VHF radiation; another 13 cases had at least one VHF source during the IEC or the first IB pulse. Before the IECs, there were no preliminary variations detected in the 36 flashes. It is hypothesized that lightning initiation begins with an ionizing event that causes the IEC and that the IEC enhances the ambient electric field to produce the first IB pulse.
Effects of humidity on shear behavior of bamboo

Abstract Bamboo is a naturally occurring biological composite, however its microstructure and hence its properties are very complex compared to the manmade composites. Due to optimization, it can be assumed that the variation in properties along the thickness of the culm be a smooth transition for better bonding strength between layers and to prevent non uniformity in stress concentration. As a consequence, biological structures are complicated and functionally graded. Hence, a realistic model that can capture the mechanical performance of bamboo is valuable in future design of robust multifunctional composites. This paper presents the results of experimental and numerical studies on the torsional (shear) properties of bamboo. The hierarchical and multi-scale structure of bamboo and the distribution of micro-scale fibers are revealed via laser scanning and atomic force microscopy. This information was incorporated into a finite element model to analyze the mechanical behavior of bamboo under torsion and to estimate the shear modulus of bamboo along the fibers. Moreover, the effects of humidity and therefore water content on the mechanical properties of bamboo were evaluated by performing torsion tests on samples maintained in environments with different humidities. Increasing the humidity does not cause a drop in the shear modulus, however, a jump in the shear modulus did occur at around 60% humidity. Results of this study indicate that the highest strength values in samples occurred in environments with humidity levels between 60% and 80% and undergo a significant drop after that. In higher humidities, the samples behave more ductile.
LASER RECOIL COMBUSTION RESPONSE OF HNF OXIDIZER FROM 1 TO 6 ATMOSPHERES

Solid oxidizer HNF, hydrazinium nitroformate, crystals were pressed into pellets and burned as a monopropellant in the laser recoil device at pressures from 1 to 6 atm. The laser flux was set at 2 different mean power levels with sinusoidal oscillations of 21 ± 11.5 W/cm2 or 52 ± 5.9 W/cm2. Oscillations were logarithmically swept over the range from 4 to 80 Hz. A Russian inductive force transducer was used in these tests. The force transducer has a resonant frequency at 140 Hz, but performs well at frequencies below 100 Hz. HNF pellets were inhibited with a glass ring on the sample pedestal. HNF burns nicely with a steep burn rate slope of 0.892 down to 5 psia. Burn rate vs. laser flux was measured up to 60 W/cm2 at 1,2, 3,4, and 6 atm pressure. The slope of the bum rate vs laser flux was nearly the same at each pressure. At one atmosphere the rate vs. flux slope of HNF is slightly lower than HMX and about the same rate as HMX. Ignition times decreased from 760 ms to 78 ms as the laser flux increased from 21 to 67 W/cm2. Ignition times also decreased as pressure increased. HNF thrust oscillations decreased from 65 to 20 mg/cm2 over the frequency range of 4 to 80 Hz. The thrust oscillations also decreased 50% in amplitude as the pressure increased to 4 atm. The thrust oscillations are about the same order of magnitude as for HMX, less than N5 and greater than RDX. A phase crossover frequency was not determined as it was below the 4 Hz frequency range of these tests. The phase lag decreased very slightly with pressure, but was nearly the same at low frequencies.
Nerve-Stimulation-Induced Near-Infrared Optical Signals Distinguish Diabetic Muscles from Healthy Muscles (P07.199)

Objective: To test the hypothesis that signals obtained using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) following nerve stimulation are sensitive to changes in muscle function that accompany diabetes. Background The tools available for monitoring changes in muscle and nerve function (EMG) are sensitive to the electrical health of nerve and muscle. We have been studying the biological origin of an optical signal that occurs immediately following brief (0.1 ms) nerve stimulation. We have previously shown that the signal, which lasts approximately 160 ms, is eliminated by a curariform neuromuscular block and that its time course carries information about the speed of muscle contraction. These facts suggest that the signal reports on the kinematic properties of muscle and could be useful as a biomarker for diabetic myopathy. Design/Methods: 70 subjects participated, including healthy subjects and subjects diagnosed with diabetes. Three experimental protocols were used: (1) While stimulating the median nerve in the wrist, we simultaneously measured the force generated by the thumb and optical signals from abductor pollicis brevis (APB). (2) While stimulating the common peroneal nerve, we simultaneously measured the force generated by dorsiflexion of the foot and optical signals obtained tibialis anterior (TA). (3) While stimulating the tibial nerve, we measured the force generated by plantarflexion of the foot and optical signals from gasctrocnemius (Gast.). Results: In all subjects, NIRS signals had multiple peaks and were more complex than force signals. NIRS signals obtained from TA and Gast. were broader than those obtained from APB. Moreover, NIRS signals from APB had smaller amplitudes in subjects with diabetes compared to control subjects. Conclusions: NIRS has been widely used to investigate hemodynamic and metabolic events in both CNS tissue and muscle. Our results suggest that information about muscle structure and kinematics may also be available using NIRS. Supported by: NIH Grants NIA T32-001, T32-AG00277, and by CIMIT/U.S. Army Medical Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) funding under cooperative agreement no. W81XWH-07-2-0011. Disclosure: Dr. Erb has nothing to disclose. Dr. Macomber has nothing to disclose. Dr. Bergethon has nothing to disclose.
Lipide analysis of cellular fractions in liver necrosis.

Summary(1) Lipide analyses of cellular fractions in liver necrosis produced by the administration of bromobenzene was studied in the rat. (2) A statistically significant decrease occurred in the total lipide, lecithin and cephalin phosphorus in the homogenate fraction of the necrotic livers as compared to the controls. However, the total cholesterol content was significantly increased. (3) In the nuclei of the necrotic livers a decrease in the concentration of the lecithin phosphorus and an increase of total cholesterol were noted.
The Victorian aetiology of Wilsonian liberal internationalism

Woodrow Wilson's proclamation of the “Fourteen Points” in 1918 appeared to herald a thoroughly new chapter in international relations. Whatever would come to muddy the limpid water of those promisi...
A multi-panel direction-sensitive gamma-ray detector for low-altitude radiological searches

Abstract A lightweight, low-cost multi-panel direction-sensitive radiation detector prototype has been developed at Oregon State University that is designed to be mounted on a small unmanned aerial system to autonomously search for radiation sources while flying close to the ground. The detection system comprises sixteen BGO-SiPM detector panels with an adjustable view angle, and signal outputs are processed in parallel in an FPGA. The minimum detectable activity was calculated to be 1.3 μCi of 137 Cs at 1 m in under 60 s. The counting response of the detector panels were characterized and found to have 4.7% relative standard deviation, indicating good uniformity in overall design and assembly. The detector was also able to estimate the direction of a 12.3 μCi 137 Cs source 100 cm from the device center with 2.3° accuracy in a 95% confidence width of 10.8° in 60 s.
Leibniz’s Animals: Where Teleology Meets Mechanism

Glenn Hartz claims that Leibniz’s theory of corporeal substance helps resolve the problem of the incompatibility of extension (the realm of mechanism) and thought (that of teleology). He maintains that this resolution makes that theory unattractive to defenders of the “idealist” account of Leibniz’s metaphysics, since according to them mechanism (body) grows out of what’s teleological (the monads) and no deep incompatibility can arise. Hartz goes on to take Leibniz’s account of intentional action as a test case, in order to determine whether the “all explained mechanistically” doctrine is always upheld, or whether the guidance of the dominant substance is sometimes needed to explain what is going on in the organic body under its command.
The Mystics of al-Andalus: Ibn Barrajān and Islamic Thought in the Twelfth Century

The twelfth century CE was a watershed moment for mysticism in the Muslim West. In al-Andalus, the pioneers of this mystical tradition, the Mu'tabirun or 'Contemplators', championed a synthesis between Muslim scriptural sources and Neoplatonic cosmology. Ibn Barrajān of Seville was most responsible for shaping this new intellectual approach, and is the focus of Yousef Casewit's book. Ibn Barrajān's extensive commentaries on the divine names and the Qur'ān stress the significance of God's signs in nature, the Arabic bible as a means of interpreting the Qur'ān, and the mystical crossing from the visible to the unseen. With an examination of the understudied writings of both Ibn Barrajān and his contemporaries, Ibn al-'Arif and Ibn Qasi, as well as the wider socio-political and scholarly context in al-Andalus, this book will appeal to researchers of the medieval Islamic world and the history of mysticism and Sufism in the Muslim West.
Bilirubin suppresses Th17 immunity in colitis by upregulating CD39

Unconjugated bilirubin (UCB), a product of heme oxidation, has known immunosuppressant properties but the molecular mechanisms, other than antioxidant effects, remain largely unexplored. We note that UCB modulates T helper type 17 (Th17) immune responses, in a manner dependent upon heightened expression of CD39 ectonucleotidase. UCB has protective effects in experimental colitis, where it enhances recovery after injury and preferentially boosts IL-10 production by colonic intraepithelial CD4+ cells. In vitro, UCB confers immunoregulatory properties on human control Th17 cells, as reflected by increased levels of FOXP3 and CD39 with heightened cellular suppressor ability. Upregulation of CD39 by Th17 cells is dependent upon ligation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) by UCB. Genetic deletion of CD39, as in Entpd1-/- mice, or dysfunction of AHR, as in Ahrd mice, abrogates these UCB salutary effects in experimental colitis. However, in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) samples, UCB fails to confer substantive immunosuppressive properties upon Th17 cells, because of decreased AHR levels under the conditions tested in vitro. Immunosuppressive effects of UCB are mediated by AHR resulting in CD39 upregulation by Th17. Boosting downstream effects of AHR via UCB or enhancing CD39-mediated ectoenzymatic activity might provide therapeutic options to address development of Th17 dysfunction in IBD.
An Electromechanically Modulated Permanent Magnet Antenna for Wireless Communication in Harsh Electromagnetic Environments

High-frequency electromagnetic waves are greatly scattered and attenuated by soil, rocks, water, and the human body, which impede their propagation across these media. However, low-frequency magnetic waves propagate with low attenuations through these dispersive media as long as these media are nonmagnetic. Unlike static electric fields that can be produced by “free” positive/negative charges, static magnetic fields are divergence-free and thus can be produced only by particles with noninteger spins (i.e., electrons), or permanent magnets, or current loops. Fields produced by these dipoles decay steeply as a third-order function of distance. Hence, magnetic current loops require excessively large currents to produce detectable magnetic field at large distances. However, rare-earth magnets with surface magnetic flux densities of 0.3–0.6 T, provide sufficiently large fields at large distances, thus the fields produced by these magnets that can be modulated by mechanically modulating the magnets for portable wireless magnetic field communication. Here, we present the development of an electromechanically modulated permanent magnet antenna operating at a frequency of 22 Hz, producing a magnetic flux density of $0.6~\mu \text{T}$ amplitude at 1 m. This antenna requires a starting energy of 0.48 J and it is capable of data rate of 8 b/s. This magnet antenna can reliably transmit binary data over a distance of up to 70 cm through obstacles that would severely hamper electromagnetic wave propagation.
Defending psychiatry or defending the trivial effects of therapeutic interventions? A citation content analysis of an influential paper.

Aims Leucht et al. in 2012 described an overview of meta-analyses of the efficacy of medication in psychiatry and general medicine, concluding that psychiatric drugs were not less efficacious than other drugs. Our goal was to explore the dissemination of this highly cited paper, which combined a thought provoking message with a series of caveats. Methods We conducted a prospectively registered citation content analysis. All papers published before June 1st citing the target paper were independently rated by two investigators. The primary outcome coded dichotomously was whether the citation was used to justify a small or modest effect observed for a given treatment. Secondary outcomes regarded mentioning any caveats when citing the target paper, the point the citation was making (treatment effectiveness in psychiatry closely resembles that in general medicine, others), the type of condition (psychiatric, medical or both), specific disease, treatment category and specific type. We also extracted information about the type of citing paper, financial conflict of interest (COI) declared and any industry support. The primary analysis was descriptive by tabulating the extracted variables, with numbers and percentages where appropriate. Co-authorship networks were constructed to identify possible clusters of citing authors. An exploratory univariate logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between each of a subset of pre-specified secondary outcomes and the primary outcome. Results We identified 135 records and retrieved and analysed 120. Sixty-three (53%) quoted Leucht et al.'s paper to justify a small or modest effect observed for a given therapy, and 113 (94%) did not mention any caveats. Seventy-two (60%) used the citation to claim that treatment effectiveness in psychiatry closely resembles that in general medicine; 110 (91%) paper were about psychiatric conditions. Forty-one (34%) papers quoted it without pointing towards any specific treatment category, 28 (23%) were about antidepressants, 18 (15%) about antipsychotics. Forty (33%) of the citing papers included data. COIs were reported in 55 papers (46%). Univariate and multivariate regressions showed an association between a quote justifying small or modest effects and the point that treatment effectiveness in psychiatry closely resembles that in general medicine. Conclusions Our evaluation revealed an overwhelmingly uncritical reception and seemed to indicate that beyond defending psychiatry as a discipline, the paper by Leucht et al. served to lend support and credibility to a therapeutic myth: trivial effects of mental health interventions, most often drugs, are to be expected and therefore accepted.Protocol registration: https://osf.io/9dqat/.
Fixation of Traumatic Chondral-Only Fragments of the Knee in Pediatric and Adolescent Athletes: A Retrospective Multicenter Report.

Background:While traditional biological principles have suggested that fragments consisting of cartilage alone cannot be reaffixed to bone with expectable long-term healing, case reports of success...
LATE GADOLINIUM ENHANCEMENT ON CARDIAC MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING IN HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY OF THE YOUNG

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common inherited cardiomyopathy, with varied timing of phenotypic and clinical presentation. Literature describing cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in young patients with HCM is limited. This study included
'Look What Market She Hath Made': Women, Commerce, and Power in A Chaste Maid in Cheapside and Bartholomew Fair

This essay examines the effects of women’s roles in early modern English food marketplaces, highlighting ways that ordinary women could use their participation in food transactions to destabilize (and even subvert) power structures and garner authority. In Thomas Middleton’s A Chaste Maid in Cheapside (1613) and Ben Jonson’s Bartholomew Fair (1614), food informs a complete understanding of early modern attitudes toward shifting gender roles in the ever-evolving and expanding food economy.