cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The impact of technology dependency on device acceptance and quality of life in persons with implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

BACKGROUND: The impact of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) technology on the quality of life (QOL) experienced by recipients has been a major focus of recent research. Numerous studies have found psychological distress to be important in determining QOL in persons receiving ICDs, yet the source of psychological distress is not well understood. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of technology dependency on psychological outcomes in ICD recipients. METHODS: With the use of a cross-sectional design, 161 ICD recipients from 1 device clinic were mailed self-administered questionnaires, including the Dependency on Technology Scale, Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, Florida Shock Anxiety Scale, Florida Patient Acceptance Survey, and Short Form-12 (SF-12). Hierarchical multiple regressions and analyses of variance were performed. RESULTS: The final sample size was 101 participants. Mean (SD) age was 68 (13) years; 72% of the participants were men, 99% were white, and 30% reported receiving a shock(s). A total of 80% reported positive attitudes toward technology dependency; 14%, neutral; and 6%, negative (Dependency on Technology Scale). Illness perceptions were positive (Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire; mean[SD], 34.5 [12.6]), shock anxiety was elevated (Florida Shock Anxiety Scale; mean [SD], 16.5 [6.7]), and device acceptance was good (Florida Patient Acceptance Survey; mean [SD], 74.9 [17.0]). Physical health QOL was low (SF-12; mean [SD], 38.6 [11.3]) and mental health QOL was moderate (SF-12; mean [SD], 50.6 [10.0]). Attitudes toward technology dependency significantly accounted for the variance seen in device acceptance and mental health QOL beyond age, gender, number of shocks, illness perceptions, and shock anxiety by 5.7% (P = .001) and 3.3% (P = .04), respectively. Significant differences were seen in device acceptance between those with negative and neutral attitudes (P = .001) and those with negative and positive attitudes (P < .001) and in shock anxiety and mental health QOL between those with negative and those with positive attitudes (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Attitudes toward technology dependency is significantly associated with psychological outcomes and may explain the psychological distress in some ICD recipients. Degree of positivity toward technology dependency influences these outcomes. Research evaluating attitudes toward technology dependency and testing of interventions focusing on these attitudes is warranted.
Development of a Flow Solver with Complex Kinetics on the Graphic Processing Units

Abstract : In the current work, we have implemented a numerical solver on the Graphic Processing Units (GPU) to solve the reactive Euler equations with detailed chemical kinetics. The solver incorporates high-order finite volume methods for solving the fluid dynamical equations and an implicit point solver for the chemical kinetics. Generally, the computing time is dominated by the time spent on solving the kinetics which can be benefitted from the computing power of the GPUs. Preliminary investigation shows that the performance of the kinetics solver strongly depends on the mechanism used in the simulations. The speed-up factor obtained in the simulation of an ideal gas ranges from 30 to 55 compared to the CPU. For a 9-species gas mixture, we obtained a speed-up factor of 7.5 to 9.5 compared to the CPU. For such a small mechanism, the achieved speed-up factor is quite promising. This factor is expected to go much higher when the size of the mechanism is increased. The numerical formulation for solving the reactive Euler equations is briefly discussed in this paper along with the GPU implementation strategy. We also discussed some preliminary performance results obtained with the current solver.
High-temperature superconductivity in a single copper-oxygen plane.

The question of how thin cuprate layers can be while still retaining high-temperature superconductivity (HTS) has been challenging to address, in part because experimental studies require the synthesis of near-perfect ultrathin HTS layers and ways to profile the superconducting properties such as the critical temperature and the superfluid density across interfaces with atomic resolution. We used atomic-layer molecular beam epitaxy to synthesize bilayers of a cuprate metal (La1.65Sr0.45CuO4) and a cuprate insulator (La2CuO4) in which each layer is just three unit cells thick. We selectively doped layers with isovalent Zn atoms, which suppress superconductivity and act as markers, to show that this interface HTS occurs within a single CuO2 plane. This approach may also be useful in fabricating HTS devices.
Reactivity of mononuclear rhodium(II) compounds

Abstract Mononuclear rhodium(II) compounds reported in the literature are tabulated, classified according to functionality and placed in one of four stability categories. The reactions reported for mononuclear Rh(II) compounds are presented and grouped according to reactivity type: adduct formation, ligand dissociation and substitution, dimerization, disproportionation, oxidation and reduction. Observed reactivity is rationalized on the basis of the factors that influence stability. Ligands that are sufficiently bulky can protect the metal from external attack by all but the smallest reagent molecules. Polydentate ligands can protect the metal from external attack or can impose coordination environments that destabilize Rh(I) or Rh(III). Electronic features of ligands that withdraw electron density or delocalize the unpaired electron from the metal promote stability. Reactivity can also depend on whether the Rh(II) complex is four coordinate (15 electron), five coordinate (17 electron) or six coordinate (19 electron). Because conventional two-electron oxidative addition and reductive elimination processes are not possible for Rh(II), redox behavior is of special interest. Mechanisms proposed for unusual oxidation and CH activation behavior in some Rh(II) systems are presented. Factors giving rise to differences in reactivity between different classes of Rh(II) compounds are evaluated.
Effect of deposition conditions on cation composition during reactive magnetron sputtering of high-Tc superconductors

Abstract Superconducting BiSrCaCuO thin films were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering from a single stoichiometric target on (100)MgO substatrate The effect of depositon conditions on the chemistry and superconducting properties of deposited films have been studied. Films undergo extensive resuttering during deposition which makes control of the chemistry very difficult. The two most important parameters which require close control in order to minimize resputtering are the sputtering pressure and the oxygen partial pressure in the sputtering gas. A low total sputtering pressure and a high oxygen content in the sputtering gas cause the films to be sub-stoichiometric and effect the superconducting properties. Films of correct stoichiometry can only be deposited at relatively higher sputtering pressures and lower oxygen partial pressures. Films under these sputtering conditions were reproducibly grown which have a Tc(onset)=5 K, Tc(R=0)=87 K, and a critical current density of 5×105 A cm−2 at 4.2 K.
Analysis of the impedance resonance of piezoelectric multi-fiber composite stacks

Abstract  Multi-Fiber Composites TM (MFCs) produced by Smart Materials Corp behave essentially like thin planar stacks where each piezoel ectric layer is composed of a multitude of fibers. We investigate the suitability of using previously published inversion techniques [9] for the impedance resonances of monolithic co-fired piezoelectric stacks to the MFC TM to determine the complex material constants from the impedance data. The impedance equations examined in this paper are those based on the derivation by Martin [5,6,10]. The utility of resonance techniques to invert the impedance data to determine the small signal complex material constants are presented for a series of MFCs. The technique was applied to actuators with different geometries and the real coefficients were determined to be similar within changes of the boundary c onditions due to change of geometry. The scatter in the imaginary coefficient was found to be larg er. The technique was also applied to the same actuator type but manufactured in different batches with some design changes in the non active portion of the actuator and differences in the dielectric and the el ectromechanical coupling between the tw o batches were easily measureable. It is interesting to note that strain predicted by small signal impedance analysis is much lower than high field stains. Since the model is based on material properties rather than circuit constants, it could be used for the direct evaluation of specific aging or degradation mechanisms in the actuator as well as batch sorting and adjustment of manufacturing processes.
Explaining away ambiguity: learning verb selectional preference with Bayesian networks

This paper presents a Bayesian model for unsupervised learning of verb selectional preferences. For each verb the model creates a Bayesian network whose architecture is determined by the lexical hicrarchy of Wordnet and whose parameters are estimated from a list of verb-object pairs found from a corpus. "Explaining away", a well-known property of Bayesian networks, helps the model deal in a natural fashion with word sense ambiguity in the training data. On a word sense disambiguation test our model performed better than other state of the art systems for unsupervised learning of selectional preferences. Computational complexity problems, ways of improving this approach and methods for implementing "explaining away" in other graphical frameworks are discussed.
Intramolecular photochemical reactions of 2-acyl-4-oxa-1,5-hexadienes

Abstract Photolysis of alkyl-substituted 2-(2-oxa-3-butenyl)cyclopent-2-enones gives rise to derivatives of bicyclo[2.1.1]hexanes (“rule of five” product), and α-methylenecyclopentanones(photo-Claisen rearrangement). Methyl substitution remote from the bond forming centers produces a regioselective reaction yielding only the “rule of five” product.
A mild and efficient synthesis of intermediates for the Pomeranz‐Fritsch reaction

Reaction of 1-chloro-2,2-dimethoxyethane with sodium azide affords 1-azido-2,2-dimethoxyethane which, upon treatment with triphenylphosphine followed by aromatic aldehydes, alkyl bromides, or isocyanates, gives the corresponding dimethyl α-arylimino-, α-alkylamino-, and α-carbodiimido-acetals, respectively, in good to excellent yields.
Straight to the Source: Detecting Aggregate Objects in Astronomical Images With Proper Error Control

The next generation of telescopes, coming online in the next decade, will acquire terabytes of image data each night. Collectively, these large images will contain billions of interesting objects, which astronomers call sources. One critical task for astronomers is to construct from the image data a detailed source catalog that gives the sky coordinates and other properties of all detected sources. The source catalog is the primary data product produced by most telescopes and serves as an important input for studies that build and test new astrophysical theories. To construct an accurate catalog, the sources must first be detected in the image. A variety of effective source detection algorithms exist in the astronomical literature, but few, if any, provide rigorous statistical control of error rates. A variety of multiple testing procedures exist in the statistical literature that can provide rigorous error control over pixelwise errors, but these do not provide control over errors at the level of sources...
Axially symmetric volume constrained anisotropic mean curvature flow

We study the long time existence theory for a non local flow associated to a free boundary problem for a trapped non liquid drop. The drop has free boundary components on two horizontal plates and its free energy is anisotropic and axially symmetric. For axially symmetric initial surfaces with sufficiently large volume in comparison with their initial surface energy, we show that the flow exists for all time. Numerical simulations of the curvature flow are presented.
Body of Research — Ownership and Use of Human Tissue

Nearly 20 years after Moore v. Regents, U.S. jurisprudence still has no coherent answer to a deceptively simple question: Do we own our own bodies? R. Alta Charo discusses the multiple controversies concerning the use of bits and pieces of bodies that are scattered among laboratories, clinics, and forensic DNA collections.
Ultra-Compact High-Speed Electro-Optic Switch Utilizing Hybrid Metal-Silicon Waveguides

Hybrid Metal-Silicon waveguides are a novel novel form of waveguide with wide ranging applications in photonics. This paper describes the basic properties of such waveguides, discusses the behavior of hybrid waveguide directional couplers and presents a design for an ultra-compact electro-optic switch based on these properties. At 1 V drive voltage, switching at speeds up to 30 Gbits/sec can be achieved in a device that is 30 μm long.
Controlling Adaptive Antenna Arrays with the Sample Matrix Inversion Algorithm

Considerations are given leading to the selection of the samplematrix inversion algorithm for the control of an airborne narrowbandand adaptive receiving array for use in omnidirecti com communications. Performance is measured for a laboratory nulling system which implements this design concept. This performance ance is compared with predictions based on the component tolerances of the laboratory system.
Scalar Modifications to Gravity from Unparticle Effects May Be Testable

Interest has focused recently on low energy implications of a nontrivial scale invariant sector of an effective field theory with an IR fixed point, manifest in terms of ``unparticles'' with peculiar properties. If unparticle stuff exists it could couple to the stress tensor and mediate a new ``fifth'' force (``ungravity''). Under the assumption of strict conformal invariance in the hidden sector down to low energies, we compute the lowest order ungravity correction to the Newtonian gravitational potential and find scale invariant power law corrections of type $({R}_{G}/r{)}^{2{d}_{\mathcal{U}}\ensuremath{-}1}$, where ${d}_{\mathcal{U}}$ is an anomalous unparticle dimension and ${R}_{G}$ is a characteristic length scale where the ungravity interactions become significant. It is shown that a discrimination between extra dimension models and ungravity is possible in future improved submillimeter tests of gravity.
Antimicrobial algal metabolites of unusual structure. Concise synthesis of the highly oxygenated [4.4]spirononene dimethyl gloiosiphone A by ring expansion of dimethyl squarate

Abstract A synthesis of dimethyl gloiosiphone A (2) has been realized. The key step involves the boron trifluoride-catalyzed eliminative ring expansion of a 2′-(dimethoxymethyl)-1′-(cyclopenten-1′-yl)-4-hydroxy-2-cyclobuten-1-one, which was directly assembled by condensation of the appropriate cycloalkenyllithium with dimethyl squarate. Following arrival at spirocyclic diketone 17 in only two steps, the cyclopentenedione A-ring was subjected to controlled reductive removal of one carbonyl group. Subsequent oxidation of the enol ether to unsaturated aldehyde 21 set the stage for proper elaboration of the α-hydroxy ketone part structure in ring B. The spectral properties of the synthetic material were identical to those of natural 2, which was originally isolated as a racemate.
Geometrical structure, multifractal spectra and localized optical modes of aperiodic Vogel spirals

We present a numerical study of the structural properties, photonic density of states and bandedge modes of Vogel spiral arrays of dielectric cylinders in air. Specifically, we systematically investigate different types of Vogel spirals obtained by the modulation of the divergence angle parameter above and below the golden angle value (≈137.507°). We found that these arrays exhibit large fluctuations in the distribution of neighboring particles characterized by multifractal singularity spectra and pair correlation functions that can be tuned between amorphous and random structures. We also show that the rich structural complexity of Vogel spirals results in a multifractal photonic mode density and isotropic bandedge modes with distinctive spatial localization character. Vogel spiral structures offer the opportunity to create novel photonic devices that leverage radially localized and isotropic bandedge modes to enhance light-matter coupling, such as optical sensors, light sources, concentrators, and broadband optical couplers.
Wireless device-to-device communications with distributed caching

We introduce a novel wireless device-to-device (D2D) collaboration architecture that exploits distributed storage of popular content to enable frequency reuse. We identify a fundamental conflict between collaboration distance and interference and show how to optimize the transmission power to maximize frequency reuse. Our analysis depends on the user content request statistics which are modeled by a Zipf distribution. Our main result is a closed form expression of the optimal collaboration distance as a function of the content reuse distribution parameters. We show that if the Zipf exponent of the content reuse distribution is greater than 1, it is possible to have a number of D2D interference-free collaboration pairs that scales linearly in the number of nodes. If the Zipf exponent is smaller than 1, we identify the best possible scaling in the number of D2D collaborating links. Surprisingly, a very simple distributed caching policy achieves the optimal scaling behavior and therefore there is no need to centrally coordinate what each node is caching.
The infrared sky

Abstract The infrared sky from space is the sum of a cosmic signal from galaxies, quasars, and perhaps more exotic sources; and foregrounds from the Milky Way and from the Solar System. At a distance of 1 AU from the Sun, the foreground from interplanetary dust is very bright between 5 and 100 μm, but “very bright” is still several million times fainter than the background produced by ground-based telescopes. In the near infrared 1–2.2 μm range the space infrared sky is a thousand times fainter than the OH nightglow from the Earth’s atmosphere. As a result of these advantages, wide-field imaging from space in the infrared can be an incredibly sensitive method to study the Universe.
Rhodium catalyzed synthesis of isoindolinones via C-H activation of N-benzoylsulfonamides.

Abstract An efficient approach to a wide range of isoindolinones, including 3-monosubstituted and 3,3-disubstituted isoindolinones, from the annulation of N -benzoylsulfonamides with olefins and diazoacetate has been developed. The transformation is broadly compatible with both terminal and internal olefins. Moreover, diazoacetate is for the first time incorporated into an amide-directed C–H functionalization reaction. Specifically, the rhodium complex [{RhCl 2 Cp*} 2 ] enables the in situ dimerization of diazoacetate in addition to its role in catalyzing C–H functionalization/cross-coupling.
Gravitationally lensed gamma-ray bursts as probes of dark compact objects

If dark matter in the form of compact objects comprises a large fraction of the mass of the universe, then gravitational lensing effects on gamma-ray bursts are expected. We utilize BATSE and Ulysses data to search for lenses of different mass ranges, which cause lensing in the milli, pico, and femto regimes. Null results are used to set weak limits on the cosmological abundance of compact objects in mass ranges from 10-16 to 10-9 M☉. A stronger limit is found for a much-discussed Ω=0.15 universe dominated by black holes of mass ~106.5 M☉, which is ruled out at the ~90% confidence level.
Can racially unbiased police perpetuate long-run discrimination?

Abstract We develop a stylized dynamic model of highway policing in which a non-racist police officer exhibits a cognitive bias: relative overconfidence. The officer is given incentives to arrest criminals but faces a per stop cost that increases when the racial mix of her stops differs from that of the population. By observing the racial composition of jail inmates, she estimates crime rates of each race. Her overconfidence regarding eventual incarceration of criminals is shown to lead her to overestimate the crime rate of one race causing the long-run racial composition of the jail population to deviate from the “fair” one.
Unprecedented reactivity in the Morita–Baylis–Hillman reaction; intramolecular α-alkylation of enones using saturated alkyl halides

sp3 Hybridized electrophiles, never before used in the organomediated Morita–Baylis–Hillman reaction, now facilitate the formation of five- and six-membered enone cycloalkylation products.
Catalytic, stereospecific syn-dichlorination of alkenes

The synthetic challenge of constructing arrays of contiguous, chlorinated stereogenic centres in natural products, like the chlorosulfolipids, has sparked recent interest in new methods for stereocontrolled chlorination. Now the first catalytic, syn-stereospecific dichlorination of alkenes, employing a redox-active main group element as a group transfer catalyst is described.
The distribution of income between labor and capital is not stable: But why is that so and why does it matter?

Abstract I review the literature on labor's share of national income in developed and developing countries. These shares have varied systematically over the post-World War II period, rising until the late 1970s and then falling until now. Explanations for the decline in labor's share include technical progress, globalization and a decline in labor's bargaining power, but none of these explanations can account for both the rise and the decline of labor shares over time and for the similar pattern in developed and developing countries. However, movements in oil prices can account for these movements if energy is included in the production function. Such an explanation has broad implications for income distribution, energy conservation and for the modern theory of growth.
Learning mixtures of spherical gaussians: moment methods and spectral decompositions

This work provides a computationally efficient and statistically consistent moment-based estimator for mixtures of spherical Gaussians. Under the condition that component means are in general position, a simple spectral decomposition technique yields consistent parameter estimates from low-order observable moments, without additional minimum separation assumptions needed by previous computationally efficient estimation procedures. Thus computational and information-theoretic barriers to efficient estimation in mixture models are precluded when the mixture components have means in general position and spherical covariances. Some connections are made to estimation problems related to independent component analysis.
Triton's Surface Roughness Is Not Unusual

Abstract Previous estimates of Triton's macroscopic roughness have been hampered by the presence of atmospheric aerosols in Triton's atmosphere: only a loose constraint on the macroscopic roughness (
Central charges without finite-size effects

We show how to obtain the ultraviolet central charge from the exact S-matrix for a wide variety of models with a U(1) symmetry. This is done by coupling the U(1) current J to a background field. In an N=2 superconformal theory with J the fermion number current, the OPE of J with itself and hence the free energy are proportional to c. By deforming the supersymmetry into affine quantum-group symmetry, this result can be generalized to many U(1)-invariant theories, including the N=0 and N=1 sine-Gordon models and the SU(2)kWZW models. This provides a consistency check on a conjectured S-matrix completely independent of the finite-size effects expressed in terms of dilogarithms resulting from the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz.
Decreasing the temporal complexity for nonlinear, implicit reduced-order models by forecasting

Abstract Implicit numerical integration of nonlinear ODEs requires solving a system of nonlinear algebraic equations at each time step. Each of these systems is often solved by a Newton-like method, which incurs a sequence of linear-system solves. Most model-reduction techniques for nonlinear ODEs exploit knowledge of a system’s spatial behavior to reduce the computational complexity of each linear-system solve. However, the number of linear-system solves for the reduced-order simulation often remains roughly the same as that for the full-order simulation. We propose exploiting knowledge of the model’s temporal behavior to (1) forecast the unknown variable of the reduced-order system of nonlinear equations at future time steps, and (2) use this forecast as an initial guess for the Newton-like solver during the reduced-order-model simulation. To compute the forecast, we propose using the Gappy POD technique. The goal is to generate an accurate initial guess so that the Newton solver requires many fewer iterations to converge, thereby decreasing the number of linear-system solves in the reduced-order-model simulation.
Rate constants of the combination of methyl radicals with nitric oxide and oxygen

Rate constants for the combination of methyl radicals with NO and O2 have been measured by flash photolysis of azomethane coupled with product analysis by gas chromatography. Values of the rate constants have been obtained over the pressure region from 50 to 700 torr with He, N2, and Ar as quenching molecules. The high-pressure limits were obtained through an RRKM model calculation and were found to be The rate constants were measured relative to the methyl combination reaction k1 with k1 = 9.5 × 10−11 cm3/molec · sec. The RRKM model suggests D0(CH3O2) = 32 ± 3 kcal/mole.
THE PREPARATION OF HIGHLY PURIFIED PR8 INFLUENZA VIRUS FROM INFECTED MOUSE LUNGS

Highly purified preparations of PR8 influenza virus were obtained from perfused, infected mouse lungs by a combination of methods involving adsorption of the virus on and elution from chicken red cells and differential centrifugation. Such preparations were found to possess 50 per cent infectivity end-points at 10(-11) to 10(-11.8), and 10(-13) to 10(-14.3) gm. of nitrogen in mice and in chick embryos, respectively. A sedimentation constant of 683 S was obtained for the material and electron micrographs revealed essentially spherical particles about 100 mmicro in diameter. The material was isoelectric at pH 5.4 and chemical analyses on several of the preparations indicated the presence of 10.1 per cent of nitrogen, 1.06 per cent of phosphorus, 6.2 per cent of carbohydrate and about 33 per cent of lipid. Positive tests were obtained for both ribonucleic and desoxyribonucleic acids. The virus was precipitated strongly by antisenim to purified PR8 virus obtained from the allantoic fluid of infected chick embryos and this serum inhibited the agglutination of red cells by the mouse virus to a dilution of about 40,000. In general, the properties of the virus isolated from infected mouse lungs were found to coincide with those of the virus obtained from the allantoic fluid of infected chick embryos.
Heavy arsenic doping of silicon by molecular beam epitaxy

Surface segregation and incorporation of arsenic in Si molecular beam epitaxy has been investigated. It is shown that segregation is kinetically suppressed at low temperatures and extremely high As concentrations can be achieved. Effects of As on critical thickness and surface morphology are discussed. Electrical properties in both as-grown materials and annealed materials are studied and correlated with atomic structure.
Formation of benzo[ghi]fluoranthenes by palladium catalyzed intramolecular coupling

Abstract A novel synthesis of benzo[ ghi ]fluoranthenes by palladium mediated coupling is reported. The high yields, mild reaction conditions and functional group tolerance are an advantage of this method.
Varieties of Keynesianism

Recent claims, particularly in Paul Krugman's column and blog, on the superiority of the Hicks-Modigliani version of Keynesian economics calls for a re-thinking of the issues raised in the early controversies over what Joan Robinson called "bastard Keynesianism." "Good old-fashioned Keynesian economics" (GOKE) substitutes the general and unmotivated assumption of downward money wage rigidity for the detailed examination of the varied social coordination problems that characterize modern capitalist economies. This underrates Keynes's role as a precursor of modern information economics, and risks losing significant policy insights. The political economy background of the New Classical counterrevolution in economic theory, stemming from the unraveling of the "capital-labor accord" of the Second World War, provides some important lessons for the development of a macroeconomic analysis that is relevant to the real problems of modern capitalist economies.
System architecture for large-scale integration

The developing capability of the semiconductor industry to fabricate and interconnect a hundred or more logic gates on a single silicon chip promises to have a substantial impact upon the performance and reliability of today's computers. In just a decade, computer fabrication techniques have progressed from a single vacuum tube gate occupying many cubic inches in volume, to second generation discrete transistor circuitry, and to integrated circuit flat-packs in the third generation machines. Each successive generation has offered more computing power through faster circuitry and increased packing densities. Approximately 99% of the volume, even in densely packaged third generation computers, represents packaging and circuit interconnection material, and this separation between computer components still represents a severe speed bottleneck. It is not uncommon for 75% of the machine delay to occur in interconnection wiring with only 25% of the delay inherent in the flat-packs. Large-scale integration of logic gates on a single silicon chip offers promise of breaking this speed bottleneck in the larger and faster fourth generation machines.
Social potential fields : A distributed behavioral control for autonomous robots

Abstract A Very Large Scale Robotic (VLSR) system may consist of from hundreds to perhaps tens of thousands or more autonomous robots. The costs of robots are going down, and the robots are getting more compact, more capable, and more flexible. Hence, in the near future, we expect to see many industrial and military applications of VLSR systems in tasks such as assembling, transporting, hazardous inspection, patrolling, guarding and attacking. In this paper, we propose a new approach for distributed autonomous control of VLSR systems. We define simple artificial force laws between pairs of robots or robot groups. The force laws are inverse-power force laws, incorporating both attraction and repulsion. The force laws can be distinct and to some degree they reflect the ‘social relations’ among robots. Therefore we call our method social potential fields. An individual robot's motion is controlled by the resultant artificial force imposed by other robots and other components of the system. The approach is distributed in that the force calculations and motion control can be done in an asynchronous and distributed manner. We also extend the social potential fields model to use spring laws as force laws. This paper presents the first and a preliminary study on applying potential fields to distributed autonomous multi-robot control. We describe the genetic framework of our social potential fields method. We show with computer simulations that the method can yield interesting and useful behaviors among robots, and we give examples of possible industrial and military applications. We also identify theoretical problems for future studies.
Naturally occurring isocyano/isothiocyanato and related compounds.

The first review on the origin and chemistry of naturally-occurring isocyanides by Edenborough and Herbert (1) appeared in 1988. In this review the isocyanides, more commonly named as isonitriles (RNC), were divided into non-marine and marine groups. The non-marine isocyanides were divided into xanthocillin-type or cyclopentyltype isocyanides. A few others which did not fit into either category were placed in a miscellaneous section. All isocyanides of marine origin, which had been isolated from sponges and their predators, were sesquiterpenes and diterpenes.
Electromagnetic Penetration into a Conducting Circular Cylinder through a Narrow Slot, TM Case

A procedure is presented for calculating the electromagnetic field in the vicinity of an infinitesimally thin conducting circular cylindrical shell with an infinitely long slot illuminated by a TE plane wave. This field is the short-circuit field plus the field due to the slot. The short-circuit field is the field that would exist if there were no slot. The field due to the slot stems from the Φ -component of the electric field in the slot. Approximated by a linear combination of expansion functions that satisfy the edge conditions, this field component is determined by testing the equation of continuity of the axial magnetic field in the slot with non-negative powers of Φ where |Φ| is the angular distance from the center of the slot. Alternative expansion functions are introduced to preserve the accuracy of the solution in the vicinity of an internal resonance. Containing the resonant electric field, the first alternative expansion function is normalized so that its axial magnetic field remains finite as...
Ultra sensitive measurement of endogenous epinephrine and norepinephrine in human plasma by semi-automated SPE-LC–MS/MS

Measurement of endogenous epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE) in human plasma is very challenging due to lower endogenous concentrations as compared with animal plasma. An LC-MS/MS in combination with alumina-based SPE and derivatization procedure was validated for the measurement of E and NE in human plasma with acceptable intra-day and inter-day accuracy and precision. Sample was extracted with semi-automated alumina 96-well solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. The resulting eluent was dried and derivatized using d4-acetaldehyde. The analytes were separated on a monolithic C(18) column. Extraction efficiencies were >66% for E and NE. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was 5.00 pg/mL for E and 20.0 pg/mL for NE.
On Severi Varieties on Hirzebruch Surfaces

In the current paper we prove that any Severi variety on a Hirzebruch surface contains a unique component parameterizing irreducible nodal curves of the given genus in characteristic zero.
A formal synthesis of crinipellin B based on the arene-alkene meta-photocycloaddition reaction

Abstract Starting from triethyl phosphonopropionate and 3-nitro-2-methylbenzoic acid, a formal synthesis of crinipellin B was achieved. The strategy draws on the use of a novel version of the arene-alkene meta -photocycloaddition reaction that proceeds with the generation of 4 rings and 4 quaternary stereocenters in one synthetic operation.
Sustained exposure to hexafluorodiethyl ether (indoklon) in mental illness.

Abstract The sustained exposure to the vapor of Indoklon has been studied in monkeys and dogs. The repetitious tonic-clonic seizures and the comatose state do not appear to produce demonstrable damage to the nervous system, blood, or viscera. Based on this observation a preliminary study of the effect of the sustained exposure to Indoklon in man was instituted.
α-Lithioalkoxysilanes: applications to alkene synthesis

Abstract α-Lithioalkoxysilanes [RO(Me2)Si]CH(Li)(X), where R=Me or Et and X=H or SiMe3, react with carbonyl compounds in hydrocarbon solution to produce alkenes in moderate to high yield via Peterson-type reactions. For X=SiMe3, the corresponding vinylsilanes are isolated directly following work-up. The reaction is regiospecific and shows fair stereoselectivity. When the carbonyl substrates are cyclic ketones in six- or seven-membered rings, the products are exocyclic alkenes. For X=H, the initial product is a β-hydroxysilane, which is then efficiently converted to the corresponding terminal alkene by heating with sodium acetate in acetic acid. Both types of α-lithioalkoxysilane reagents are amenable to reaction with enolizable carbonyl compounds.
Multi-scale k-distribution model for gas mixtures in hypersonic nonequilibrium flows

Abstract A k-distribution model is presented for gas mixtures in thermodynamic nonequilibrium, containing strongly radiating atomic species N and O together with molecular species of N2, N2+, NO and O2. In the VUV range of the spectrum there is strong absorption of atomic radiation by bands of N2. For this spectral range, a multi-scale model is presented, where RTEs are solved separately for each emitting species and overlap with other species is treated in an approximate way. Methodology for splitting the gas mixture into scales and evaluation of the overlap parameter between different scales is presented. The accuracy of the new model is demonstrated by solving the radiative transfer equation along the stagnation line flow field of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV).
Large Social Networks Can Be Targeted for Viral Marketing with Small Seed Sets

In a "tipping" model, each node in a social network, representing an individual, adopts a behavior if a certain number of his incoming neighbors previously held that property. A key problem for viral marketers is to determine an initial "seed" set in a network such that if given a property then the entire network adopts the behavior. Here we introduce a method for quickly finding seed sets that scales to very large networks. Our approach finds a set of nodes that guarantees spreading to the entire network under the tipping model. After experimentally evaluating 31 real-world networks, we found that our approach often finds such sets that are several orders of magnitude smaller than the population size. Our approach also scales well - on a Friendster social network consisting of 5.6 million nodes and 28 million edges we found a seed sets in under 3.6 hours. We also find that highly clustered local neighborhoods and dense network-wide community structure together suppress the ability of a trend to spread under the tipping model.
Higher algebraic structures and quantization

We derive (quasi-)quantum groups in 2+1 dimensional topological field theory directly from the classical action and the path integral. Detailed computations are carried out for the Chern-Simons theory with finite gauge group. The principles behind our computations are presumably more general. We extend the classical action in ad+1 dimensional topological theory to manifolds of dimension less thand+1. We then “construct” a generalized path integral which ind+1 dimensions reduces to the standard one and ind dimensions reproduces the quantum Hilbert space. In a 2+1 dimensional topological theory the path integral over the circle is the category of representations of a quasi-quantum group. In this paper we only consider finite theories, in which the generalized path integral reduces to a finite sum. New ideas are needed to extend beyond the finite theories treated here.
Hepatic iron overload: diagnosis and quantification by noninvasive imaging.

The diagnostic efficacy of magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) for detection and quantification of hepatic iron was assessed in a series of patients under investigation for clinical or biochemical evidence of hepatic iron overload. Thirty patients underwent MR imaging (SE 30,60/1000 or SE 30,60/2000) at 0.5 Tesla with calculation of hepatic T2 and liver to paraspinous muscle signal intensity ratios. Twenty-nine patients also had measurement of hepatic attenuation on noncontrast CT images. Results of these imaging studies were correlated in all patients with quantitative iron determination from liver biopsy specimens. The best predictor of liver iron among parameters studied was the ratio of the signal intensities of liver and paraspinous muscle (L/M) on a SE 60/1000 sequence. Both MR using L/M ratios and CT were sensitive methods for detection of severe degrees of hepatic iron overload with 100% of patients with hepatic iron on biopsy > 600 Μg/ 100 mg liver dry weight detected on the basis of L/M 70 Hounsfield units (HU). The MR parameter, however, was more specific than CT (100 vs 50%) and showed a higher degree of correlation with quantitated hepatic iron from biopsy. T2 measurements showed poor correlation with hepatic iron, due to difficulty in obtaining precise T2 measurements in vivo when the signal intensity is low. None of the parameters utilized was sensitive for detecting mild or moderate degrees of hepatic iron overload.
Calculation of annular nozzle trisonic flowfields by the method of characteristics

A numerical algorithm based on the unsteady two-dimensional method of characteristics is presented for calculating axisymmetric inviscid trisonic (i.e., subsonic-transonic-supersonic) flowfields in annular nozzles. The algorithm is an explicit second-order accurate predictor-corrector procedure. An inverse marching method based on a local network of wavelines and the pathline is employed wherein the solution grid in physical space is prespecified. An orthogonal uniform transformed space, obtained by an algebraic grid generation method, is used for flow property interpolation in the initial-data surface. Steady flow solutions are obtained as the asymptotic solution in time. Results for four annular nozzles are presented. Comparison of the predicted and measured wall pressure distributions and nozzle efficiencies shows good agreement.
High Speed Infrared Detectors Using Y-Ba-Cu-O Thin Films

Y-Ba-Cu-O thin films were used for CO2 laser detection. Operation of the Y-Ba-Cu-O detector in both the bolometric and nonbolometric modes were studied. It was found that the detectivity of the superconducting detector was competitive with conventional detectors. The speed was within the instrument resolution of 10 ns. The superconducting film quality is critical to the performance of these detectors.
Recent widening of the tropical belt from global tropopause statistics: Sensitivities

[1] Several recent studies have shown evidence for a widening of the tropical belt over the past few decades. One line of evidence uses statistics of the tropopause height to distinguish between tropics and extratropics and defines tropical edge latitudes as those latitudes at which the number of days per year with tropopause heights greater than 15 km exceeds a certain threshold (typically 200 days/yr). This definition involves two somewhat arbitrary thresholds. Here the sensitivity of the resulting widening trend of the tropical belt to these thresholds is investigated using four different reanalysis data sets. Widening trends are found to be particularly sensitive to changes in the tropopause height threshold. Ways to objectively determine appropriate thresholds to define tropical edge latitudes based on tropopause statistics are presented. Trend estimates for the width of the tropical belt from different reanalysis data sets are found to be mostly inconsistent with each other despite consistent seasonal and interannual variations.
Solar-generated steam for oil recovery: Reservoir simulation, economic analysis, and life cycle assessment

Abstract The viability of solar thermal steam generation for thermal enhanced oil recovery (TEOR) in heavy-oil sands was evaluated using San Joaquin Valley, CA data. The effectiveness of solar TEOR was quantified through reservoir simulation, economic analysis, and life-cycle assessment. Reservoir simulations with continuous but variable rate steam injection were compared with a base-case Tulare Sand steamflood project. For equivalent average injection rates, comparable breakthrough times and recovery factors of 65% of the original oil in place were predicted, in agreement with simulations in the literature. Daily cyclic fluctuations in steam injection rate do not greatly impact recovery. Oil production rates do, however, show seasonal variation. Economic viability was established using historical prices and injection/production volumes from the Kern River oil field. For comparison, this model assumes that present day steam generation technologies were implemented at TEOR startup in 1980. All natural gas cogeneration and 100% solar fraction scenarios had the largest and nearly equal net present values (NPV) of $12.54 B and $12.55 B, respectively. Solar fraction refers to the steam provided by solar steam generation. Given its large capital cost, the 100% solar case shows the greatest sensitivity to discount rate and no sensitivity to natural gas price. Because there are very little emissions associated with day-to-day operations from the solar thermal system, life-cycle emissions are significantly lower than conventional systems even when the embodied energy of the structure is considered. We estimate that less than 1 g of CO 2 /MJ of refined gasoline results from the TEOR stage of production if solar energy provides all steam. By this assessment, solar thermal or supplemental solar generation systems appear to be a preferred alternative to fully conventional systems using natural gas in areas with large solar insolation.
Memory in an aging molecular glass

The dielectric susceptibility of the molecular liquid sorbitol below its calorimetric glass transition displays memory strikingly similar to that of a variety of glassy materials. During a temporary stop in cooling, the susceptibility changes with time, and upon reheating the susceptibility retraces these changes. To investigate the out-of-equilibrium state of the liquid as it displays this memory, the heating stage of this cycle is interrupted and the subsequent aging characterized. At temperatures above that of the original cooling stop, the liquid enters a state on heating with an effective age that is proportional to the duration of the stop, while at lower temperatures no effective age can be assigned and subtler behavior emerges. These results, which reveal differences with memory displayed by spin glasses, are discussed in the context of the liquid's energy landscape.
Upconversion fiber lasers

Upconversion fiber lasers appear as promising candidates of infrared diode pumpable sources of blue and green radiation at moderate output power levels ( ~50 - 200 mW). Despite significant technological advances made by direct doubled-diode sources and doubled diode- pumped solid state lasers, recent improvements in the reliability and cost of fluoride fibers have made upconversion fiber lasers competitive as compact blue and green sources, particularly with regard to choices of specific wavelengths and power levels needed for numerous applications such as full color displays, high performance imaging and printing (e.g. for digital radiography), high capacity optical storage, satellite-to-satellite communications, semiconductor wafer inspection systems, and biotechnology (specifically for flow cytometry and phase fluorometry systems). In this paper, we will review the work on the development of blue and green upconversion fiber lasers that is being pursued at the University of New Mexico.
Transformation to zero offset in transversely isotropic media

Nearly all dip‐moveout correction (DMO) implementations to date assume isotropic homogeneous media. Usually, this has been acceptable considering the tremendous cost savings of homogeneous isotropic DMO and considering the difficulty of obtaining the anisotropy parameters required for effective implementation. In the presence of typical anisotropy, however, ignoring the anisotropy can yield inadequate results. Since anisotropy may introduce large deviations from hyperbolic moveout, accurate transformation to zero‐offset in anisotropic media should address such nonhyperbolic moveout behavior of reflections. Artley and Hale’s v(z) ray‐tracing‐based DMO, developed for isotropic media, provides an attractive approach to treating such problems. By using a ray‐tracing procedure crafted for anisotropic media, I modify some aspects of their DMO so that it can work for v(z) anisotropic media. DMO impulse responses in typical transversely isotropic (TI) models (such as those associated with shales) deviate substant...