cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Treatment of wheat straw with alkaline hydrogen peroxide in a modified extruder.

Mise au point des conditions de pretraitement de materiel lignocellulosique, telle la paille, dans une presse a extrusion modifiee: dans ce cas, la paille est broyee dans une solution eau-peroxyde d'hydrogene, ajustee a un pH du 11,5. Cette approche presente l'avantage de minimiser la quantite de peroxyde d'hydrogene utilisee, ce qui reduit les couts de mise en œuvre, et elimine les manutentions
Rapid database prototyping of IR images using simplified physics laws

The acquisition a robust set of IR imagery is frequently impossible through the traditional image collection process. On the other hand, the use of a full-scale simulation is too time consuming and frequently produces unrealistic images. Therefore, other methods are sought that would exploit a small subset of sample real-world images for rapid database prototyping. This paper presents a fast and simple method of high-resolution target image insertion into a low-resolution image of a terrain. The method exploits a naive physics paradigm. First, a high-resolution target image is diffused using a Gaussian kernel and on-target zooming effect. A target binary mask guides the diffusion process. The diffused image is re-sampled onto a low-resolution target image. Next, a down-sampled target image is inserted into a given terrain image using two target insertion/diffusion processes and additional effects. These diffusion processes eliminate contrasts at the border area of a target and on the terrain/background. Background-to-target diffusion extends the heat of overlapped terrain pixels over a target section. Target-to-background diffusion radiates and overlaps target heat over the border area of the adjacent section of the terrain. Developed processes mirror the physics of heat propagation and diffusion, and apply weighted pixel mixing to eliminate target insertion contrasts. Given a set of high-resolution turntable data and a set of terrain images, a training database can be generated within a short time. The number of parameters controlling the insertion process has been decreased to the minimum and brought into a control panel. Each parameter has understandable physical meaning and has assigned a meaningful range of values.
Extension of a polar ionospheric current to the nightside equator

Abstract A detailed analysis of rapid-run magnetograms from Guam (geomagnetic latitude = 4.2°) revealed that there are two kinds of geomagnetic sudden commencement (SC) observed in nighttime. One is the ordinary SC consisting of a main impulse only which has a smooth rise of the H -component. The other is a superposition by a small positive impulse on the very beginning part of the smooth rise of the main impulse and consequently the SC starts with a small stepwise increase of the H -component. The latter type of SC occurs between 20 and 08 h L.T. and its occurrence rate takes the maximum value of about 50% around 03 h L.T. Corresponding magnetograms from a dayside equatorial station (Huancayo, geomagnetic latitude = −0.7°) were examined and a good correlation was found between the stepwise SC at the nightside (Guam) and SC ∗ with a preliminary reverse impulse (PRI) at the dayside (Huancayo). Since PRI observed at the dayside equator may be interpreted as an extension of an ionospheric current due to an dusk-to-dawn electric field impressed on the polar ionosphere, our results show that a polar originating ionospheric current can extend to the nightside equator and produce a small but observable magnetic effect in spite of much reduced nighttime ionospheric conductivity.
Learning physically-instantiated game play through visual observation

We present an integrated vision and robotic system that plays, and learns to play, simple physically-instantiated board games that are variants of TIC TAC TOE and HEXAPAWN. We employ novel custom vision and robotic hardware designed specifically for this learning task. The game rules can be parametrically specified. Two independent computational agents alternate playing the two opponents with the shared vision and robotic hardware, using pre-specified rule sets. A third independent computational agent, sharing the same hardware, learns the game rules solely by observing the physical play, without access to the pre-specified rule set, using inductive logic programming with minimal background knowledge possessed by human children. The vision component of our integrated system reliably detects the position of the board in the image and reconstructs the game state after every move, from a single image. The robotic component reliably moves pieces both between board positions and to and from off-board positions as needed by an arbitrary parametrically-specified legal-move generator. Thus the rules of games learned solely by observing physical play can drive further physical play. We demonstrate our system learning to play six different games.
Fuzzy-logic-based cell scheduling for input-buffered ATM switches

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based ATM cell scheduling technique for input buffered nonblocking (ATM) switches. Simulation results indicate that such scheduling significantly reduces the average wait time for high priority cells when compared with single and multiple priority FIFO buffers. Simulations were run on an actual trace of ATM video cells generated by an ATM camera. These ATM video cells were multiplexed with other ATM cells from different sources. The reduction in wait time for high priority traffic is expected to improve the quality-of-service requirements at the communicating ends.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Revisiting met expectations as a reason why realistic job previews work

This study reanalyzed data from an examination by Hom, Griffeth, Palich, and Bracker (1998) of the mechanisms by which posthire realistic job previews reduce turnover. Irving and Meyer (1999) argued that Hom et al. overstated support for their mediation theory by calculating residual difference scores (errors derived from predicting experienced attainment of job outcomes from initial expectations of outcomes) to operationalize met expectations. Rather, Irving and Meyer showed that methodological weaknesses associated with difference scores also plague residual difference scores. Prompted by their demonstration, this research applied partial correlations (partialing out experienced outcomes from residual differences) and Edwards' (1994) polynomial regression approach to verify whether met expectations underlie realistic previews' effectiveness. These reanalyses disputed met expectations. As a result, this inquiry revised the formulation advocated by Hom et al. (1998), positing that coping strategies and perceptions of employer concern account for how posthire previews work.
Abstract 2124: Analysis of FAM111A, a newly identified AR regulated gene, in prostate cancer

Prostate carcinoma (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in the United States. Most PCas are dependent on the androgen receptor (AR) for growth and survival, and this dependency is exploited as androgen deprivation is the major therapeutic intervention. However, PCa inevitably progress to become castration resistant, yet remain reliant on the activity of the AR. Further understanding the mechanisms that mediate castration resistance and the pathways downstream of the AR will enhance our ability to treat this stage of the disease. RNA-seq studies of two castrate resistant cell lines following AR ablation identified a number of transcripts that were AR regulated. The studies identified FAM111A as an AR regulated gene. While little is known about FAM111A, a previous study has shown that the FAM111A gene harbors a PCa susceptibility SNP and that the FAM111A protein interacts with SV40 T-Ag. Our studies indicate that AR represses FAM111A in cell culture and xenograft models of CaP. Additionally, the expression of the only known FAM111A paralogue, FAM111B, was reciprocally regulated in cell lines and in the xenograft. FAM111A is expressed in all cultured prostate derived cell lines we looked at, and we found that there are two FAM111A isoforms. Furthermore, a siRNA mediated ablation of FAM111A modified apoptotic responses to chemotherapeutic stimuli. An immunohistochemical analysis of a prostate tumor tissue array was used to assess the expression of FAM111A. FAM111A is expressed in the cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments and expression in the cytoplasmic compartment in non-tumor prostate tissue is higher than in adjacent tumor cells. In conclusions, FAM111a is an AR regulated gene, has been associated with PCa in a GWAS study, interacts with the SV40 T-antigen and is expressed at lower levels in tumor cells. This suggests that FAM111A may be have a role in prostate tumorigenesis. Citation Format: Maria Mudryj, Stephen J. Libertini, Alan P. Lombard, Salma Saddiqui, Paramita M. Ghosh. Analysis of FAM111A, a newly identified AR regulated gene, in prostate cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2124. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2124
The geochemistry of the Athabasca petroleum deposit. I. Elution and spectroscopic analysis of the petroleum from the vicinity of McMurray, Alberta

Abstract The sandstone and shale beds of the McMurray formation are impregnated with a semi-solid petroleum. The Athabasca deposit is the largest known petroleum deposit in the world. Sandstone samples from the bottom of the Abasand quarry, near McMurray, yielded 16.5 per cent organic matter upon extraction with methylene chloride. The extract contained approximately 22 per cent asphaltenes. It also contained large quantities of residuum upon distillation at 350°C temperature at atmospheric pressure. The extract was fractionated by elution chromatography on silica gel and aluminum oxide columns. Mass spectrometric methods of analysis revealed the presence of paraffin and naphthenic hydrocarbons in one eluate fraction (9 per cent of the total extract) and of alkyl benzenes, cyclo-alkyl benzenes, naphthalenes, phenanthrenes and some sulphur compounds in another fraction (18 per cent of the total extract). Nitrogenous compounds, such as pyrroles and pyridines, may also be present. In addition, the eluate fractions were also analysed by infra-red and ultra-violet spectroscopy. The study formed a part of an investigation of the chromatographic-type fluid flow in the sedimentary rock strata.
Effect of ester structure on flammability in poly(organophosphazenes)

Abstract The relationship between ester structure and flammability was studied for a series of organophosphazene ester polymers and oligomers. Aliphatic esters showed lowest oxygen index ( OI ) values, ranging from 16 to 26. Thermogravimetric and pyrolyzate analyses suggested that this low range was due to both volatility and ready fragmentation to hydrocarbons. Non-halogenated aryloxyphosphazenes showed moderately high OI values in the range of 25–33, and flammability was similar for both polymers and corresponding oligomers. Highest OI s were found in halogenated derivatives, presumably owing to chemical inertness and stability. Differences in flammability among organophosphazene esters are rationalized in terms of degradation mechanisms followed by individual structures and the resulting fuels which are formed.
Elevated serum müllerian-inhibiting substance may be a marker for ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in normal women undergoing in vitro fertilization

We identified patients who experienced ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) (n = 16) and compared their baseline pretreatment levels of mullerian-inhibiting substance (MIS) to age- and weight-matched patients with normal responses to gonadotropins (n = 14). Baseline serum MIS in patients with OHSS were sixfold higher than those seen in normal controls (3.62 ± 0.87 vs. 0.63 ± 0.09 ng/mL; P=.0036), indicating that MIS could potentially serve as a useful marker for identifying patients at risk for OHSS.
Weed Control in Navy Bean in Reduced Tillage Systems

Concern over soil erosion and high production costs in conventional tillage systems has led to interest in reduced tillage systems for navy bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Research was conducted for 2 yr at two sites with different soil textures to develop weed management strategies in reduced tillage systems for navy bean. Twelve weed management strategies were evaluated in conventional tillage, no-till, and zone-till systems in 1995 and 1996 in Michigan. Weed management strategies included hand-weeding, cultivation-only, preemergence herbicides, preemergence followed by postemergence herbicides, and postemergence herbicide treatments. Glyphosate was applied to control existing vegetation in the no-till and zone-till systems. Redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) and common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.) populations were lower in the no-till and zone-till systems than in the moldboard plow and chisel plow systems. Imazethapyr plus pendimethalin preemergence provided less weed control than preemergence followed by postemergence and total postemergence treatments in two of four site years. Preemergence followed by postemergence herbicides controlled annual broadleaf weeds better than postemergence herbicides alone. Navy bean seed yield at the sandy clay loam site was 50% higher in moldboard plow and chisel plow tillage systems than in the no-tillage system. The highest average gross margin was in the chisel plow system. There was no difference in navy bean seed yield due to tillage system at the sandy loam site and the no-tillage and zone-tillage systems had the highest gross margins. These data suggest that weeds can be controlled in reduced tillage systems and the success of reduced tillage systems in dry bean production varies by soil texture.
Mechanism of mitochondrial DNA replication in mouse L-cells: topology of circular daughter molecules and dynamics of catenated oligomer formation.

Pulse-chase studies were performed, and the topology and specific activity of pulso-label in closed circular molecules determined, to investigate the mechanism by which newly segregated open circular daughter molecules are converted to the major stable form of mitochondrial DNA, D-mtDNA. These and previous results suggest the following model: newly segregated daughter molecules are first converted to closed circular molecules with a superhelix density of approximately zero. Watson-Crick turns are then removed by an unwinding mechanism to produce a stable intermediate with a superhelix density of ≈−0·03. Initiation of heavy-strand synthesis and polymerization of 450 nucleotides then occurs without further unwinding of the parental strands to yield the D-mtDNA molecule. The specific activity of pulse-label in catenated dimer mitochondrial DNA is 0·71 and 0·96 of that of monomer mitochondrial DNA after 60 and 150 minutes of chase, respectively. The topology of the interlocked monomers in pulse-labeled catenated dimers indicates that catenanes are not formed by aberrant segregation of daughter molecules. No linear intermediates in the segregation and closure of daughter molecules were detected. The simplest interpretation of these results is that monomers and catenated oligomers are in rapid equilibrium.
False-negative fine-needle aspiration of thyroid nodules cannot be attributed to sampling error alone

Abstract Background The goal of this study was to determine whether sampling error was the major cause for false-negative fine needle aspiration (FNA) results for thyroid nodules. Methods Patients who underwent preoperative FNA between 1994 and 2008 were identified, and the results were compared with surgical pathology findings. Other related variables including nodule number and size were also recorded. Results Excluding the microcarcinomas, the false-negative rate was 4% (19/479). Sampling errors occurred in only 4 (21%) cases in which the malignant nodule was not actually biopsied. Of the other 15 cases, 8 (53%) were solitary nodules, 8 (53%) were ≥4 cm in size, and 5 (33%) had underlying thyroiditis. Because of the missed diagnosis, 9 patients (47%) had lobectomy only as the initial surgery, which then required a completion thyroidectomy. Conclusions Sampling error is a minor cause for false-negative FNAs, suggesting that there are some inherent limitations to cytological evaluation of the thyroid.
Computer Simulation of Impurity Diffusion in Semiconductors by the Monte Carlo Method

A methodology of impurity diffusion in semiconductors by the Monte Carlo method has been presented. The simulation is carried out by repeating the motion of both vacancies and self-interstitials with the complementary weighting factor for the jumps of respective point defects. This method is applied to impurity diffusion from a limited source in a virtual semiconductor crystal and its validity is confirmed.
A 9b 1GS/s 27mW two-stage pipeline ADC in 45nm SOI-CMOS

A novel, 9b 1GS/s 2-stage pipeline ADC architecture enables high performance with a low-gain op-amp and poor accuracy in the sub-ADC comparators. A reduced MDAC gain of two relaxes the op-amp gain and bandwidth requirements by a factor of 5.7. Deliberate and random comparator mismatch set the trip-points in the 2nd stage flash sub-converter and decouples performance from matching requirements. Digital trimming of a delay chain eliminates mismatch in the sampling paths to provide a simple, low power alternative to a dedicated front-end SAH. The ADC achieves an ENOB of 7.4b at Nyquist, consumes 27mW from a 1.0V supply, yielding an FOM of 160fJ/conversion-step.
Epidermal browning of saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantea): Surface and internal characteristics associated with browning

Abstract In some locations of Saguaro National Monument near Tucson, Arizona, there has been a decline in saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantea (Engelm.) Britt. and Rose). Injury to individual cacti is frequently characterized by epidermal browning and premature senescence. On green cactus surfaces, most epicuticular waxes flake off and stomata are not obscurred. As cactus surfaces become more yellow in color (less green), epicuticular waxes no longer flake off and the build up or sheeting of waxes obscures stomata. This sheeting eventually leads to visible scaling and barking. Epicuticular wax sheeting, scaling and barking of troughs were negatively correlated with depth of green chlorenchyma but were positively correlated with depth of discoloration of internal parenchyma. These results suggest that the first step in epidermal browning is an excessive accumulation of epicuticular waxes. Sheeting of epicuticular waxes results in scaling and barking of crests followed by these same events on troughs. Areoles deteriorate as crest scaling and barking occur. These events are well-correlated with trunk color and the depths of both the green chlorenchyma and discoloration of the internal parenchyma.
Remaking South Beach: metropolitan gayborhood trajectories under homonormative entrepreneurialism

This paper contributes to research on metropolitan gayborhood trajectories and homonormative urban entrepreneurialism by assessing a South Florida case study. We probe allegations of gay men being displaced from South Beach and the opposing narrative of a sexually diverse city with undiminished appeal. To that end, we present expert informant interviews, participant observation, media archives, and census data showing that the remade gayborhood coexists and competes with other, more affordable LGBT nodes. While socioeconomic, demographic and cultural characteristics differentiate these clusters, exploratory spatial data analysis indicates that the majority of metropolitan same-sex households reside elsewhere. We acknowledge Miami Beach’s recent pro-equality efforts, yet argue that homonormative politics conditions them. Public–private actions adopt corporate formats, prioritizing tourist-oriented initiatives and spectacular events that promote nonthreatening, market-friendly forms of sexual dissidence. Th...
Whence exchange rate overshooting: Money stock or flow?

Abstract Money stock innovations have two principal impact effects on the exchange rate. One is the direct effect as captured by the overshooting hypothesis. The second is the result of the change in money growth rate expectations induced by the stock innovation. Simulations using a stylized monetary process verify that the front-end loading of the growth rate effect is potentially much more important that the direct effect. Additional simulations using a calibrated monetary process demonstrate that growth rate effects are on average about twice the magnitude of stock innovation effects.
Typhoid spine: somatic versus psychosomatic diagnosisin Osler's time

Abstract Objective: To review the history of typhoidal spondylitis as a paradigm of conflicts between medical and psychiatric diagnoses. Methods: Because William Osler was the principal advocate for a psychogeniccause of this disease, all of his relevant writings are reviewed together with pertinent psychiatric concepts of the late 19th century, as well as the relevant bacteriologic and clinical research. Results: Bacteriologic research had advanced sufficiently by 1903 that “typhoidspine” could be proved an osteomyelitis. Nevertheless, the belief that at least some cases were manifestations of a traumatic neurosis analogous to “railway spine” persisted, the trauma having been the acute typhoid infection. The last vestiges of this concept were represented by Osler's article of 1919. Conclusions: Osler's 25 year struggle to understand typhoidal spondylitis is anexample of the persistent tendency of physicians to attribute a psychologic cause to a syndrome, often pejoratively, because of the absence of a sufficient pathophysiologic explanation or reluctance to acknowledge a new concept.
Scalable Mobile Data Streaming with Trajectory Preserving Partitioning

With the rise of sensor technology, ubiquitous mobile devices generate high-rate spatio-temporal data streams and send to backend servers in real time. While the mobile data streams are critical sources of mobility analytics supporting advanced mobile services, they also raise new challenges of scalable data processing for trajectory-featured data streams. In this paper, we develop a scalable framework for mobile data streaming and present its architectural strategy. By introducing the mobility localization theme for the core partition component, a geo-spatial partition method is proposed for high performance data stream dispatching. Experiments on real world data demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Increased Intrasubject Variability in Boys with ADHD Across Tests of Motor and Cognitive Control

Increased intrasubject variability (ISV), or short-term, within-person fluctuations in behavioral performance is consistently found in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is also associated with impairments in motor control, particularly in boys. The results of the few studies that have examined variability in self-generated motor output in children with ADHD have been inconsistent. The current study examined variability in motor control during a finger sequencing task among boys with and without ADHD as well as the relationship between intrasubject variability during motor and cognitive control tasks. Changes in performance over the course of the task and associations with ADHD symptom domains were also examined to elucidate the nature of impaired motor control in children with ADHD. Fifty-one boys (ages 8 to 12 years) participated in the study, including 28 boys with ADHD and 23 typically developing (TD) boys. Participants completed a finger sequencing task and a Go/No-Go task providing multiple measures of response speed and variability. Boys with ADHD were slower and more variable in both intertap interval on the finger sequencing task and reaction time on the Go/No-Go task, with measures of speed and variability correlated across the two tasks. For the entire cohort, the only unique predictor of parent ratings of hyperactive-impulsive symptoms was variability in intertap interval during finger sequencing, whereas inattentive symptoms were only predicted by reaction time variability on the Go/No-Go task. These findings suggest that inefficient motor control is implicated in the pathophysiology of ADHD, particularly in regards to developmentally inappropriate levels of hyperactivity and impulsivity.
A Click Chemistry Mediated in vivo Activity Probe for Dimethylarginine Dimethylaminohydrolase

Asymmetric Nω,Nω-dimethyl-l-arginine (ADMA) is an endogenously produced inhibitor of human nitric oxide synthase and an emerging biomarker for cardiovascular disease. Concentrations of ADMA are controlled by two isoforms of its catabolic enzyme dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), the dysregulation of which has been studied as a mediating factor for endothelial dysfunction. A two-part, click-chemistry mediated activity-based probe, N-but-3-ynyl-2-chloroacetamidine, is shown to label myc-tagged DDAH-1 expressed in HEK 293T cells, but not an inactive mutant or inhibited enzyme. A two-color Western blotting technique is used to determine the in vivo IC50 value for a reversible inhibitor of DDAH-1, N5-(1-iminopropyl)-l-ornithine, indicating this compound’s bioavailability and its competition for binding to the active site. This probe provides a novel tool for the analysis of DDAH-1 activity in normal and pathophysiological states and should allow more meaningful studies of the etiology of endotheli...
Comparison of calibration methods for flow heat-capacity calorimeters and heat capacities of concentrated NaCl(aq) to 598 K

Abstract A method is presented for calibrating flow heat-capacity calorimeters that is a factor of 10 more precise than that previously used. Comparison of the two methods shows that they give the same results if corrections are made for differences in experimental conditions. Calibration corrections for the calorimeter were found to depend strongly on the heat capacity of the solution being measured. Measurements of the heat capacity of NaCl(aq), from 1 to 6 mol · kg−1, are reported to 598 K at 20 MPa and at 523 K to 36 MPa. Comparison with literature values shows excellent agreement between 453 and 573 K, prompting recommendation of reference values for the heat capacity of concentrated NaCl(aq). Literature predictions of the pressure dependence of the apparent molar heat capacity are generally in poor agreement with those measured at 36 MPa.
Increasing Nurses' Awareness of Spiritual and Cultural Diversity in Health Care

Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation A department decision was made to improve and revise the nurse’s triage/scrub role. Duties included answering all triage phone calls, care for arriving triage patients, and surgical scrub availability for cesarean births. Two senior staff nurses agreed to create a program aimed at educating experienced labor and delivery nurses to the revised role. The educators collaborated with the operating room clinical nurse specialists, staff physicians, and equipment/material representatives. A review of triage literature revealed information on EMTALA, standard of care, and liability risks. The reviewed surgical literature included site preparation, sterile technique, and documentation. Class curriculum was based on evidence from literature review and expert opinion. Multiple teaching methods include slide presentation, demonstrations, videos, and hands-on training of trainees. Competency is documented with written examination and verbal evaluation. Only nurses meeting these requirements could function as a triage/scrub nurse.
Measuring Intra-Cellular and Intra-Mitochondrial Zinc Concentrations Following Hypoxia/Hypoglycemia with an Expressible Ratiometric Fluorescence Biosensor

Zinc is a “trace” metal necessary for proper cellular function. Studies have shown that the intra- and extra-cellular concentrations of labile zinc increase dramatically in models of cerebral ischemia (1) (2). Substantial evidence indicates that mitochondrial dysfunction plays a significant role in neuronal death following ischemia. Both mitochondrial dysfunction and increased intracellular zinc concentrations have been associated with increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and ultimately apoptosis (3, 4). We modified our fluorescent zinc biosensor (5) to be selectively expressed in the mitochondria of PC12 cells, enabling us to ratiometrically image the intra-mitochondrial concentration of labile zinc even at resting (picomolar) levels. We used this expressible biosensor and our previous sensor in cells which have undergone oxygen /glucose deprivation (OGD). Our initial results indicate that the concentration of labile, intra-mitochondrial zinc may not increase to the degree that we observed in the cytoplasm during hypoxic/hypoglycemic conditions, and may be lower than the concentrations observed in cells in more physiological conditions.1. Tonder, N., et al. (1990) Neuroscience Letters 109, 247-252.2. Frederickson, C.J., et al. (2006) Experimental Neurology 198, 285 - 293.3. Weiss, J. H., Sensi, S. L. & Koh, J.-y. (2000) Trends in Pharmacological Sciences 21, 395 - 401.4. Jiang, D., et al. (2001) Journal of Biological Chemistry 276, 47524 - 47529.5. Bozym, R. A., et al. (2006) ACS Chemical Biology 1, 103 - 111.
Helicity in supercritical temporal mixing layers

Databases of transitional states obtained from Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of temporal, supercritical mixing layers for two species systems, 02/H2 and C7Hle/N2, are analyzed to elucidate species-specific turbulence aspects.
Joint thresholding and quantizer selection for block-transform-based image coding with applications to baseline JPEG

We introduce a novel image-adaptive encoding scheme for the baseline JPEG standard that maximizes the decoded image quality without compromising compatibility with current JPEG decoders. Our algorithm jointly optimizes quantizer selection, coefficient 'thresholding', and entropy coding within a rate-distortion (R-D) framework. It unifies two previous approaches to image-adaptive JPEG encoding: R-D optimized quantizer selection by Wu and Gersho, and R-D optimal coefficient thresholding by Ramchandran and Vetterli. By formulating an algorithm which optimizes these two operations jointly, we have obtained performance that is the best in the reported literature for JPEG-compatible coding. In fact the performance of this JPEG coder is comparable to that of more complex 'state-of-the-art' image coding schemes: e.g., for the benchmark 512 by 512 'Lenna' image at a coding rate of 1 bit per pixel, our algorithm achieves a peak signal to noise ratio of 39.6 dB, which represents a gain of 1.7 dB over JPEG using the example Q- matrix with a customized Huffman entropy coder, and even slightly exceeds the published performance of Shapiro's celebrated embedded zerotree wavelet coding scheme. Furthermore, with the choice of appropriate visually-based error metrics, noticeable subjective improvement has been achieved as well. The reason for our algorithm's superior performance can be attributed to its conceptual equivalence to the application of entropy-constrained vector quantization design principles to a JPEG-compatible framework. Furthermore, our algorithm may be applied to other systems that use run-length encoding, including intra- frame MPEG and subband or wavelet coding.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Chromatographic analysis of carbamazepine binding to human serum albumin.

Abstract In this study, high-performance affinity chromatography was used to characterize the binding of carbamazepine to an immobilized human serum albumin (HSA) column. Frontal analysis was first used to determine the association equilibrium constant and binding capacity for carbamazepine on this column at various temperatures. The non-specific binding of carbamazepine within the column was also considered. The results indicated that carbamazepine had a single binding site on HSA with an association equilibrium constant of 5.3 × 10 3 M −1 at pH 7.4 and 37 °C. This was confirmed through zonal elution self-competition studies. The value of Δ G for this reaction was −5.35 kcal/mol at 37 °C, with an associated change in enthalpy (Δ H ) of −6.45 kcal/mol and a change in entropy (Δ S ) of −3.56 cal/mol K. The location of this binding region was examined by competitive zonal elution experiments using probe compounds with known sites on HSA. It was found that carbamazepine had direct competition with l -tryptophan, a probe for the indole–benzodiazepine site of HSA, but allosteric interactions with probes for the warfarin, tamoxifen and digitoxin sites. Changes in the pH, ionic strength, and organic modifier content of the mobile phase were used to identify the predominant forces in the carbamazepine–HSA interaction.
Trichotillomania: Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment

This article examines the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of trichotillomania (the recurrent desire to pull out one's hair). The authors provide a brief review both of proposed etiologies of trichotillomania and of the diagnostic and assessment issues related to this disorder, and they discuss interventions and treatments that have been shown to be most efficacious when working with clients diagnosed with trichotillomania.
SU‐FF‐T‐333: Monte Carlo Simulations Using Whole‐Body Pediatric and Adult Phantoms as Virtual Patients to Assess Secondary Organ Doses in Proton Radiation Therapy

Introduction: Early cancer detection combined with new treatment technologies has resulted in higher numbers of long‐term cancer survivors. The risk of radiation‐induced secondary cancers to tissues away from the PTV is a growing concern in particular for pediatric patients. The focus of this project is to use whole‐body pediatric phantoms in Monte Carlodose calculations in order to determine the effective dose from secondary radiation in patients undergoing protontreatment.Methods: Age and gender specific pediatric phantoms have been implemented into the Geant4 Monte Carlo package for organdose calculations. A proton therapytreatment plan for a pediatric head and neck tumor case was chosen to address the significance of age dependent phantoms for radiation protection calculations. To mimic radiation therapytreatment, the setup of the phantom position was based on field parameters (based on a full treatment head model), including gantry angle, couch angle, and iso‐center position. We distinguish between secondary radiation from the treatment head and secondary radiation generated within the patient. Results: Results using an adult phantom as well as phantoms of a 4‐year old female and an 11‐year old male were analyzed. Organdoses and radiation and tissue weighting factors were used to calculate the effective dose. For protontreatments with double‐scattering system, range modulator and aperture, a significant number of secondary neutrons are generated in the treatment head. More important, differences between phantoms (age dependent) were found with respect to dose to specific organs and relative importance of neutrons generated in the patient versus neutrons from the treatment head. Conclusion: We present results of doses to various anatomic sites in the human body for whole‐body phantoms. The magnitude of secondary dose in organs/tissues depends on the distance from the PTV. For the first time, the significance of age‐dependent phantoms for secondary dose calculations was studied.
Peripheral shock, implanted electrodes and artifactual interactions: A renewed warning

Peripheral shock delivered to animals with intracranial electrodes may induce flows of current through the electrodes that effectively stimulate the brain. This cross talk relates to the adequacy with which shock and electrode circuits are “;isolated”; from ground. Capacitive coupling to ground, which is less easy to measure, may be as important as resistive connections. Such artifactual brain stimulation may have motivational properties that attenuate aversive properties of the shock. It may also give rise to afterdischarges that are not evident behaviorally. This problem of cross talk cannot be ignored in research with peripheral shock of animals with intracranial electrodes.
Update on equine ICSI and cloning

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has recently become efficient enough to be considered for clinical use. With ICSI, one spermatozoa is injected into a mature oocyte. Harvesting of an oocyte ex vivo, followed by ICSI and transfer of the fertilized oocyte to the oviduct, may be applicable when semen quality is insufficient for standard insemination. Sperm injection, followed by in vitro embryo culture to the blastocyst stage, may be used in cases where multiple oocytes are to be fertilized (e.g. when oocytes are collected post-mortem). Nuclear transfer (cloning) of horses is possible but still inefficient; however, commercial companies currently will culture and store cells from privately owned animals for a reasonable fee. Horse owners are beginning to realize the potential of cloning for salvaging valuable equine genetics that may otherwise be lost.
Splitting for rare event simulation: analysis of simple cases

An approach to rare event simulation uses the technique of splitting. The basic idea is to split sample paths of the stochastic process into multiple copies when they approach closer to the rare set; this increases the overall number of hits to the rare set for a given amount of simulation time. This paper analyzes the bias and efficiency of some simple cases of this method.
Energy analysis for guiding the design of well systems of deep Enhanced Geothermal Systems

The focal objective of this work is to calculate the energy consumption for constructing the EGS (Enhanced Geothermal Systems) wells, to examine the energy (heat and power) performance of such well systems, and to propose and evaluate several ways for improving that performance. A model was developed to compute the pressure and temperature fields of the geofluid flowing in the production and injection wells to be able to calculate the flow pumping energy consumption, and the heat gain/loss during its flow in/out of the enhanced reservoir, for wells up to 10 km deep. The total well construction energy consumption was calculated to be 19.40 TJ/(km of well) for the considered well configurations, and increases approximately linearly with the flow cross section area of the well. Several ways to improve the energy performance of the wells, by increasing the heat output of the production wells and decreasing the required power for pumping the geofluid were evaluated: (1) increasing the number of injection/production wells to reduce the pressure drop in each, (2) increasing the flow cross section of the injection/projection well, and (3) adding thermal insulation to the circumference of the production wells (to reduce the geofluid heat loss to the rock). Most of these methods were found to indeed increase the power output of the geothermal system but have increased the construction energy requirement somewhat more. More energy efficient drilling methods and materials of lower embodied energy can lead to a higher EROI (energy return on investment). The EROI of the recommended EGS well system designs ranged from 33.8 to 286.2.
Fuzzy-Adaptive-Subspace-Iteration-Based Two-Way Clustering of Microarray Data

This paper presents fuzzy-adaptive-subspace-iteration-based two-way clustering (FASIC) of microarray data for finding differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from two-sample microarray experiments. The concept of fuzzy membership is introduced to transform the hard adaptive subspace iteration (ASI) algorithm into a fuzzy-ASI algorithm to perform two-way clustering. The proposed approach follows a progressive framework to assign a relevance value to genes associated with each cluster. Subsequently, each gene cluster is scored and ranked based on its potential to provide a correct classification of the sample classes. These ranks are converted into P values using the R-test, and the significance of each gene is determined. A fivefold validation is performed on the DEGs selected using the proposed approach. Empirical analyses on a number of simulated microarray data sets are conducted to quantify the results obtained using the proposed approach. To exemplify the efficacy of the proposed approach, further analyses on different real microarray data sets are also performed.
Using Super's Career Development Assessment and Counselling (C-DAC) Model to Link Theory to Practice

Super's Career Development Assessment and Counselling Model (C-DAC)represents an excellent translation of career development theory intopractice. After decades of developing the various segments of his theory(i.e., developmental stages and tasks, life span, self-concept) toexplain career development, Super focused on using these theory segmentsto help individuals resolve their career concerns. This uniqueassessment-based intervention model is the result of a multinationalresearch effort directed toward understanding the individual'ssubjective and objective career development experience. This paperprovides a brief overview of the C-DAC model and then discusses how theC-DAC model is useful for addressing career concerns in the post-modernera.
Four Applications of Nonlinear Analysis to Physics and Engineering

My goal is to describe, in as accessible terms as possible, four separate applications of nonlinear analysis to relativity, elasticity, chaotic dynamics and control theory that I have recently been involved with. The descriptions are in some sense superficial since many interesting technical points are glossed over. However, this is necessary to efficiently convey the flavor of the methods.
Patient-clinician agreement on signs and symptoms of 'strep throat': a MetroNet study.

Methods. In this cross-sectional study, each of 200 adult pharyngitis patients was instructed to examine him/herself and to record the symptoms and physical findings. Two clinicians independently interviewed and examined each patient and recorded their findings. Each patient then had a rapid GABHS antigen test, the results of which were blinded to both clinicians and patients. Each patient self-assessment was compared with the findings of each clinician, and the agreement and disagreement between them computed. Results. We found varying levels of agreement (κ = ‐0.05 to 0.71) between patients and clinicians on sore throat history and physical assessments. Importantly, there was fair to substantial agreement (κ = 0.20‐0.71) on the key signs and symptoms used in GABHS clinical prediction rules. As expected, history items had the highest agreement (κ = 0.52‐0.71). Patients were more likely than clinicians to report rather than deny a specific physical sign. Conclusion. Adult sore throat patients may reliably report their symptoms, but may not be able to assess and report accurately on relevant physical signs of pharyngitis. Patients have a tendency to over-report physical signs. This study indicates the potential difficulties associated with telephone triage of sore throat patients, or other illnesses that require assessment of physical signs.
The complexity of discretionary access control

A recent paper presented an access control scheme for discretionary access controls with a decidable safety problem. This paper deals with the complexity analysis of that access control, and finds it to be, in its worst cases, PSPACE-complete, but polynomial time for practical cases. The PSPACE-hardness reduction uses the theory of succinct problems in a more general manner than circuit representation.
Ordered Recruitment of Chromatin Modifying and General Transcription Factors to the IFN-β Promoter

Summary SAGA complex, together with the CBP/p300 proteins, bear intrinsic histone acetyltransferase activities and Here, we show that the IFN-b enhanceosome activates function as coactivators of transcription after their retranscription by directing the ordered recruitment of cruitment to promoters via their interaction with numerchromatin modifying and general transcription factors ous DNA binding proteins, and in several cases, the to the IFN-b promoter. The enhanceosome is assem- histone acetyltransferase activity of these complexes bled in the nucleosome-free enhancer region of the
Consumer decision-making, salespeople's adaptive selling and retail performance

Abstract In this era of “hypercompetition” and growth of “e-tailing,” salespeople are retailers' key advantage. In order to exploit this advantage, retailers need to better utilize their salespeople. Therefore, retailers should understand the role that salespeople play in consumer decision-making and design strategies to enhance the performance of their salespeople and stores. In this regard, the paper examines consumers' persuasion within the context of consumer–salesperson interaction. Some specific strategies to increase consumer persuasion are then discussed. The role of knowledge structures on salespeople's performance is then discussed. Finally, potential managerial implications of the research are discussed.
Teaching Generation Y College Students: Three Initiatives

This paper presents three initiatives created to teach Generation Y students in an undergraduate general education class. The Performance Contract, Investigative Report, and Class Game Show are described.
Multiphasic prolactin secretion during parturition in human subjects

Prolactin (PRL) secretion in the periparturitional period in patients undergoing labor and vaginal delivery follows a remarkable multiphasic pattern not found in patients who underwent elective cesarean section without labor. There is a highly significant decline in PRL levels during active labor which reaches a nadir about two hours prior to delivery. Immediately after delivery, a surge of PRL is noted, reaching peak levels within two hours post partum. Thereafter, PRL levels fall, reaching a second nadir about nine hours post partum, and this low level is maintained for nine to 24 hours after delivery. This multiphasic pattern of PRL secretion is not correlated with changes in serum concentrations of cortisol, progesterone, estradiol, or estrone. PRL levels in all pregnant patients at term were unaffected by the administration of synthetic narcotic analgesic agents, anesthesia, or the stress of operation. It is concluded that PRL secretion in the pregnant patient at term is unresponsive to usual stimuli and that the multiphasic pattern of PRL secretion uniquely found with labor and vaginal delivery may be associated with dopaminergic neuroendocrine processes during human parturition.