cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Protein dynamics: imidazole binding to class I C-type cytochromes.

The oxidized cytochrome c(2) from the purple phototrophic bacteria, Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Rhodobacter capsulatus, bind the neutral species of imidazole (K(a) = 1440 +/- 40 M(-1)) 50 times more strongly than does horse mitochondrial cytochrome c (K(a) = 30 +/- 1 M(-1)). The kinetics of imidazole binding are consistent with a change in rate-limiting step at high ligand concentrations for all three proteins. This is attributed to a conformational change leading to breakage of the iron-methionine bond which precedes imidazole binding. The three-dimensional structure of the Rb. sphaeroides cytochrome c(2) imidazole complex (Axelrod et al., Acta Crystalogr. D50, 596-602) supports the view that the conformational changes are essentially localized to approximately seven residues on either side of the ligated methionine and there is a hydrogen bond between the Phe 102 carbonyl, an internal water, and the bound imidazole. Insertions and deletions in this region of cytochrome c(2), the presence of a proline near the methionine, and the smaller size of the dynamic region of horse cytochrome c suggest that the stabilizing hydrogen bond is not present in horse cytochrome c, hence, the dramatic difference in affinity for imidazole. The kinetics of ligand binding do not correlate with either the strength of the iron-methionine bond as measured by the pK of the 695-nm absorption band or the overall stability of the cytochromes studied. However, the very similar imidazole binding properties of the two cytochromes c(2) indicate that the Rb. sphaeroides cytochrome c(2)-imidazole complex structure is an excellent model for the corresponding Rb. capsulatus cytochrome c(2) complex. It is notable that the movement of the peptide chain in the vicinity of the ligated methionine has been preserved throughout evolution and suggests a role in the function of c-type cytochromes.
Some determinants of attrition in prospective studies on aging

Abstract Demographic measures, psychosocial variables, and objective and subjective measures of physical impairment were assessed in elderly men twice at intervals of 12 to 18 months. Canonical discriminant function analysis of the relationship between these predictor variables on the first testing and whether participants (a) resumed for retesting, (b) did not return because of apparent disinterest, or (c) did not return because of illness or death, revealed two significani canonical variates. The first, characterized by decreased mental and physical capacity, discriminated between the deceased/ill group and the other two groups. The second was characterized by decreased social interaction and life satisfaction, and increased life events, and distinguished between the disinterested group and the other two groups. However, both groups that failed to return for retesting showed evidence of impaired physical health and a general disengagement from social and personal activities, compared to the retested group.
Latency and infectious complications after preterm premature rupture of membranes: impact of body mass index.

Objective Obesity has been associated with chronic inflammation. We hypothesized that body mass index may be inversely related to latency and directly related to infectious complications after preterm premature rupture of membranes. Study Design This secondary analysis of a randomized trial of antibiotics for preterm premature rupture of membranes had information available for 562 subjects. We analyzed the association between body mass index and latency, the occurrence of chorioamnionitis, endometritis, and maternal infectious morbidity after controlling for gestational age at rupture and treatment group. Survival analysis, regression, and test of proportions were used as appropriate. Results When evaluated as a categorical or continuous variable, body mass index did not reveal any significant associations. Latency to delivery was affected by gestational age at rupture of membrane and antibiotic therapy but not by body mass index group. Conclusion Body mass index was not associated with latency or the occurrence of maternal infectious complications during conservative management of premature rupture of membranes before 32 weeks' gestation.
Spinal muscular atrophy: molecular genetics and diagnostics

Spinal muscular atrophy is one of the most common autosomal recessive diseases, affecting approximately one in 10,000 live births and with a carrier frequency of approximately one in 50. Spinal muscular atrophy is caused by a deficiency of the ubiquitous protein survival of motor neuron (SMN), which is encoded by the SMN genes, SMN1 and SMN2. Due to a single nucleotide polymorphism (840C>T), SMN2 produces less full-length transcript than SMN1 and cannot entirely prevent neuronal cell death at physiologic gene dosages. The 38-kDa SMN protein comprises 294 amino acids and is involved in the biogenesis of uridine-rich small nuclear ribonucleoproteins, facilitating their cytoplasmic assembly into the spliceosome. Various animal models have been developed to study the pathogenesis of spinal muscular atrophy, as well as to test novel therapeutics. Common PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism assays can detect the homozygous absence of SMN1 in approximately 94% of patients with clinically typical spinal m...
Randomized controlled feasibility trial of two telemedicine medication reminder systems for older adults with heart failure

We conducted a feasibility study of a telehealth intervention (an electronic pill box) and an m-health intervention (an app on a smartphone) for improving medication adherence in older adults with heart failure. A secondary aim was to compare patient acceptance of the devices. The participants were 60 adults with HF (65% male). Their average age was 69 years and 83% were Caucasian. Patients were randomized using a 2 × 2 design to one of four groups: pillbox silent, pillbox reminding, smartphone silent, smartphone reminding. We examined adherence to 4 medications over 28 days. The overall adherence rate was 78% (SD 35). People with the telehealth device adhered 80% of the time and people with the smartphone adhered 76% of the time. Those who received reminders adhered 79% of the time, and those with passive medication reminder devices adhered 78% of the time, i.e. reminding did not improve adherence. Patients preferred the m-health approach. Future interventions may need to address other contributors to po...
Factors associated with macular thickness in the COMET myopic cohort.

Myopia is a risk factor for glaucoma, retinal detachments, and degenerative changes in the central retina, conditions which can lead to significant vision loss.1, 2 Because the prevalence of myopia is increasing, the economic and visual burden of these related diseases may also increase.3 It is therefore important to understand why the myopic eye seems to be more susceptible to disease. Some previous studies have utilized more traditional examination methods, such as binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy.4–6 However, retinal structures can now be visualized in vivo using optical coherence tomography (OCT). 7 The resolution of commercially available OCT systems is approximately 5 to 10 microns, allowing visualization of distinct layers within the retina.8 This technology allows more sensitive and standardized measures of the retina in the living eye, which should enhance our understanding of the pathophysiology of myopia and its relationship to the development of other ocular diseases. Previous OCT studies have suggested that macular thickness is associated with age, gender, ethnicity, axial length, and refractive error.9–21 These studies have used different instruments and algorithms and include populations that differ by age, gender, ethnicity, country of origin, and refractive status. Despite these differences, most 10,11,15–18 but not all 9,14 studies report that females have thinner maculas than males. In addition, persons of African descent have thinner central foveas and some quadrants of the outer foveal regions compared to other ethnic groups, with some variation among studies.9–15 Some OCT studies, mainly performed in Asia, have explored the potential relationship between macular thickness and axial length and/or amount of myopia.15–21 In these studies, increased axial length has been associated with thicker central foveas17–20 and some thinner quadrants in the para- and peri-foveal regions, 16–20 with one study finding no association.15 Results for refractive error are more mixed; some studies find that myopia is associated with a thicker central fovea and some thinner para- and peri-foveal quadrants, 18–21 while others find no association.15–17 No prior studies have included large numbers of myopic young adults of different ethnic backgrounds. Data from the Correction of Myopia Evaluation Trial (COMET) allow the investigation of macular thickness and related factors in a large, multi-ethnic group who were aged 6–11 years with low to moderate myopia when they enrolled in COMET in 1997 and aged 17–22 years at the time of OCT measurements, 11 years later. The purpose of this study is to determine whether macular thickness is related to ethnicity, gender, axial length and amount of myopia in a large cohort of myopic young adults, in which over one-quarter have high myopia (worse than –6.0 D). These data should enhance our understanding of factors associated with macular thickness in individuals with myopia, which has increased in prevalence in recent years to 40% of the population aged 12–54 years living in the United States.3
The Effect of Intravenous Fat Emulsions in Patients with Pancreatic Fistula

ABSTRACT. Three patients with pancreatic fistulae were given parenteral 10% fat emulsion (Intralipid) to study the effect of intravenous fat on pancreatic fistula output. Each patient received nutritional support with isovolumetric, isoni-trogenous, and isocaloric solutions containing either hypertonic dextrose and amino acids, or hypertonic dextrose, amino acids, and a fat emulsion. Measurements of fistula volume, fistula amylase, lipase, and chloride concentrations, and fistula trypsin activity were performed. The patients were studied for periods of 10 to 26 days. No significant increases in any of the above parameters were noted during the periods when the fat emulsions were infused. In one patient the fistula closed spontaneously. We conclude that intravenous fat emulsions may be used to provide nutritional support for patients with pancreatic fistula without increasing pancreatic juice volume or enzyme content.
Scanning tunneling microscopy studies of metal clusters supported on TiO2 (110): Morphology and electronic structure

Abstract A brief review of our laboratory's recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies on nanoclusters supported on TiO2(110) is presented. Particular emphasis is placed on the system Au TiO 2 (110) . The nucleation and growth of the clusters, which were vapor-deposited on TiO2(110) under ultra high vacuum (UHV) conditions, were investigated using STM. It was found that Au, Pd, and Ag clusters all grow in a three-dimensional (3D) (Volmer-Weber) fashion on TiO2(110), but that at low coverages, quasi-two dimensional (quasi-2D) Au and Pd clusters were observed. These quasi-2D clusters are characterized by heights of 1–2 atomic layers. Annealing studies show that Au and Pd clusters form large microcrystals with well-defined hexagonal shapes. Al clusters, which have a strong interaction with the substrate, are oxidized upon deposition, “wetting” the surface and forming small clusters. In addition to the topographic studies, the local electronic properties of these clusters have been studied using scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) to measure the cluster band gaps. The electronic structure was found to be cluster size-dependent, as seen by the appearance of a band gap as the cluster size decreased. More specifically, the onset of cluster metallic properties correlates with the transition from quasi-2D to 3D cluster growth.
Three-dimensional aerodynamics of an annular airfoil cascade including loading effects

A series of experiments are described which investigate and quantify the effect of loading on the three-dimensional flow through a subsonic annular cascade of cambered airfoils. At two levels of loading, detailed data quantify the cascade inlet velocity, the intrapassage flow field, the airfoil surface pressure distributions, the exit flow field, and the total pressure loss distributions. Aerodynamic loading is shown to strengthen the radial pressure gradient, the passage vortex structure, the vortex-endwall boundary layer interactions, and the losses.
International Environmental Law After Rio: The Continuing Search for Equity

Springer focuses on the nature and challenges of “leadership” in contemporary environmental diplomacy since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He raises the importance of the issue of equity in international environmental law. Springer argues that competing conceptions of what is fair and just lie at the heart of much of the diplomatic disagreement over major environmental initiatives such as those debated at the Rio conference.
Ostomy Surgery: An Overview of Historical, Current, and Future Perspectives

T HIS ISSUE of Seminars in Oncology Nursing focuses on the care of patients who have had cancer of the bowel, bladder, or gynecologic systems, necessitating the surgical creation of a permanent stoma. The amount of literature on all aspects of cancer of these organs/systems is awesome. The following articles will concentrate on those circumstances in which the surgical creation of a stoma is performed for usually curative (though sometimes palliative) reasons. Adjuvant therapy (ie, radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy) that either precedes surgery or follows it will also be discussed. While fully recognizing that stomas for feeding and drainage, ie, esophagostomy, gastrostomy, are sometimes created temporarily or for supportive care, they will not be discussed in this issue. However, it is important to bear in mind that pouching and skin care techniques, which apply to colostomies and urinary diversions, are applicable to these stomas as well. This introductory article provides an overview of the epidemiological aspects, advances in public awareness, and advances in diagnosis and treatment. In addition, though very briefly, enterostoma1 therapy nursing, equipment, quality of life with a stoma, and resources available to patients with stomas are discussed. These topics are included as integral parts of the three sections in this issue that discuss colorectal cancer, cancer of the bladder, and cancers of the female reproductive organs. Finally, an article on the care of patients with fistulas and draining wounds describes the care of patients who develop complications related to their surgery or their treatment.
Male vocal imitation produces call convergence during pair bonding in budgerigars, Melopsittacus undulatus

The budgerigar, a small species of parrot, can learn new vocalizations throughout life and is therefore widely used as a model system for studying various aspects of vocal learning. It is not known, however, why parrots imitate sounds. To test the hypothesis that vocal imitation in budgerigars is related to pair bonding, we recorded approximately 100 contact calls from each of nine male and nine female adult budgerigars that were unfamiliar with one another and then placed them into pairs. We sampled their contact call repertoire weekly and conducted twice-weekly behavioural observation sessions. We compared contact calls by sonagram cross-correlation and classified them by means of a hierarchical clustering algorithm. This analysis showed that all pairs developed a shared call within an average of 2.1 weeks. Further analysis revealed that eight of the nine male budgerigars imitated the contact calls of their assigned mates, while none of the females imitated the calls of their males. We conclude that contact call imitation in adult budgerigars probably contributes to pair bond formation and maintenance. Prior studies on budgerigars were limited by the lack of a behavioural paradigm to elicit vocal imitation reliably. Our study remedies this and thereby serves as a foundation for future studies on vocal learning in adult animals.
Exploring access to and satisfaction with health services

To describe the quality of health services for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI), we studied satisfaction and access among a sample of National Spinal Cord Injury Database participants surveyed between 2000 and 2005. Respondents generally reported positive experiences, although exploratory analyses revealed less education and lack of private health insurance as significant risk factors for difficulty with obtaining medications, and whites were significantly more likely to report difficulties with obtaining medical equipment. Interpretation of these results is complicated and warrants further detailed studies of these issues to help improve the quality of health care provided to individuals living with SCI.
Utilization of mathematical models to investigate the bifurcation and chaotic behavior of ethanol fermentors

This paper uses an experimentally verified model to explore the conditions for increasing productivity and yield of the ethanol fermentation process. Detailed bifurcation analysis is carried out to uncover the rich static and dynamic behavior of the fermentor with/without ethanol removal membranes. The emphasis is on producing higher ethanol yield and productivity through unconventional modes of operation. Possible increase of sugar conversion and ethanol productivity using periodic and chaotic operation at high sugar concentrations is investigated for continuous stirred tank fermentors with/without ethanol removal membranes. This study is the prelude to an extensive experimental program to investigate the chaotic behavior of an experimental fermentor with/without ethanol selective membrane leading to scaling up the experimental fermentor to an industrial sized fermentor.
Semipermeable Dressings Improve Epidermal Barrier Function in Premature Infants

Infants of less than 32 wk gestation have a defective epidermal barrier, with increased skin permeability and transepidermal water loss (TEWL). We studied the effect of a nonadhesive semipermeable dressing on the epidermal barrier of premature infants and on fetal skin transplanted to nude mice. Fifteen infants with a mean estimated gestational age of 27.7 wk and 16 human fetal skin grafts (estimated gestational age, 23-26 wk) transplanted to eight nude mice were studied. One lower leg (or skin graft) was treated and the other left untreated as a control. In the infants, TEWL was measured on control skin and treated skin (both through the dressing and after temporary dressing removal) on d 0, 1, 2, 4, and 7. Bacterial and fungal cultures were also performed. In the mice, TEWL and skin blood flow were measured on d 0, 2, and 4. Biopsies were obtained on d 4 for a cell proliferation assay, histology, and electron microscopy. Treated infant skin showed a consistently lower bacterial number and a significantly decreased TEWL (measured through the dressing). There was also a significantly lower TEWL on the treated side, measured after temporary dressing removal, on d 1, 2, 4, and 7, documenting improved epidermal barrier function. The animal study revealed decreased TEWL and a nearly 2-fold greater d-4 keratinocyte proliferation (p = 0.01) in treated skin and decreased blood flow on d 4 in control skin (p = 0.01). There was no significant difference in the volume density of membrane coating granules or the morphology of intercorneocyte spaces.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Improving scientific software component quality through assertions

We are proposing research on self-adaptive interface assertion enforcement for the purposes of improving scientific software component quality. Demonstrating software correctness through assertions is a well-known technique for quality improvement. However, the performance penalty is often considered too high for deployment. In order to determine if partial enforcement based on adaptive sampling is a viable solution in performance critical environments, we are pursuing research on mechanisms combining static and dynamic analyses to efficiently maximize assertion checking within performance constraints. This paper gives an overview of our initial experiments, current work, and plans.
Rationing rules and Bertrand-Edgeworth equilibria in large markets

Abstract In a market with concave downward sloping demand and symmetric firms which compete in prices with constant marginal costs and capacity limits it is shown that the supports of the symmetric (mixed strategy) Nash equilibria converge to the unique competitive price provided that unsatisfied demand is allocated according to the surplus-maximizing rationing rule.
Arginine 177 is involved in Mn(II) binding by manganese peroxidase.

Site-directed mutations R177A and R177K in the gene encoding manganese peroxidase isozyme 1 (mnp1) from Phanerochaete chrysosporium were generated. The mutant enzymes were expressed in P. chrysosporium during primary metabolic growth under the control of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene promoter, purified to homogeneity, and characterized by spectroscopic and kinetic methods. The UV−vis spectra of the ferric and oxidized states and resonance Raman spectra of the ferric state were similar to those of the wild-type enzyme, indicating that the heme environment was not significantly affected by the mutations at Arg177. Apparent Km values for MnII were ∼20-fold greater for the R177A and R177K MnPs than for wild-type MnP. However, the apparent Km values for the substrates, H2O2 and ferrocyanide, and the kcat values for MnII and ferrocyanide oxidation were similar to those of the wild-type enzyme. The second-order rate constants for compound I (MnPI) reduction of the mutant MnPs by MnII were ∼10...
Mapping interaction forces with the atomic force microscope

Force curves were recorded as the sample was raster-scanned under the tip. This opens new opportunities for imaging with the atomic force microscope: several characteristics of the samples can be measured simultaneously, for example, topography, adhesion forces, elasticity, van der Waals, and electrostatic interactions. The new opportunities are illustrated by images of several characteristics of thin metal films, aggregates of lysozyme, and single molecules of DNA.
Relativistic time-dependent multipole analysis for scalar, electromagnetic, and gravitational fields

That one can, in principle, calculate multipole fields for rapidly varying bounded sources, that is, in situations where the long-wavelength approximation is not valid, is well known. However, the usual procedure of doing these calculations using the time-Fourier-transformed fields masks the fact that the multipole moments are indeed true spatial moments of time-dependent source functions. A time-dependent multipole analysis is presented here for scalar, electromagnetic, and linear gravitational fields which shows that multipole moments can always be defined in the form $\ensuremath{\int}{r}^{\ensuremath{'}l}{Y}_{\mathrm{lm}}^{*}({\ensuremath{\theta}}^{\ensuremath{'}},{\ensuremath{\varphi}}^{\ensuremath{'}}){\overline{\ensuremath{\rho}}}_{l}({\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{r}}^{\ensuremath{'}},t \ensuremath{-} \frac{r}{c}){d}^{3}{r}^{\ensuremath{'}}$, where ${\overline{\ensuremath{\rho}}}_{l}$ is a suitable $l$-dependent weighted time average of appropriate source functions. The analysis is done first for the scalar field where new expansions for the retarded Green's function are discussed. Debye potentials are then used to extend the analysis to electromagnetism and linear gravitation.
Influence of branch length asymmetry on the electrophoretic mobility of rigid rod-like DNA

The electrophoretic mobility of three-arm asymmetric star DNA molecules, produced by incorporating a short DNA branch at the midpoint of rigid-rod linear DNA fragments, is investigated in polyacrylamide gels. We determine how long the added branch must be to separate asymmetric star DNA from linear DNA with the same total molecular weight. This work focuses on two different geometric progressions of small DNA molecules. First, branches of increasing length were introduced at the center of a linear DNA fragment of constant length. At a given gel concentration, we find that relatively small branch lengths are enough to cause a detectable reduction in electrophoretic mobility. The second geometric progression starts with a small branch on a linear DNA fragment. As the length of this branch is increased, the DNA backbone length is decreased such that the total molar mass of the molecule remains constant. The branch length was then increased until the asymmetric branched molecule becomes a symmetric three-arm star polymer, allowing the effect of molecular topology on mobility to be studied independent of size effects. DNA molecules with very short branches have a mobility smaller than linear DNA of identical molar mass. The reason for this change in mobility when branching is introduced is not known, however, we explore two possible explanations in this article. (i) The branched DNA could have a greater interaction with the gel than linear DNA, causing it to move slower; (ii) the linear DNA could have modes of motion or access to pores that are unavailable to the branched DNA.
A Novel Small Molecule FL118 That Selectively Inhibits Survivin, Mcl-1, XIAP and cIAP2 in a p53-Independent Manner, Shows Superior Antitumor Activity

Drug/radiation resistance to treatment and tumor relapse are major obstacles in identifying a cure for cancer. Development of novel agents that address these challenges would therefore be of the upmost importance in the fight against cancer. In this regard, studies show that the antiapoptotic protein survivin is a central molecule involved in both hurdles. Using cancer cell-based survivin-reporter systems (US 7,569,221 B2) via high throughput screening (HTS) of compound libraries, followed by in vitro and in vivo analyses of HTS-derived hit-lead compounds, we identified a novel anticancer compound (designated FL118). FL118 shows structural similarity to irinotecan. However, while the inhibition of DNA topoisomerase 1 activity by FL118 was no better than the active form of irinotecan, SN-38 at 1 µM, FL118 effectively inhibited cancer cell growth at less than nM levels in a p53 status-independent manner. Moreover, FL118 selectively inhibited survivin promoter activity and gene expression also in a p53 status-independent manner. Although the survivin promoter-reporter system was used for the identification of FL118, our studies revealed that FL118 not only inhibits survivin expression but also selectively and independently inhibits three additional cancer-associated survival genes (Mcl-1, XIAP and cIAP2) in a p53 status-independent manner, while showing no inhibitory effects on control genes. Genetic silencing or overexpression of FL118 targets demonstrated a role for these targets in FL118’s effects. Follow-up in vivo studies revealed that FL118 exhibits superior antitumor efficacy in human tumor xenograft models in comparison with irinotecan, topotecan, doxorubicin, 5-FU, gemcitabine, docetaxel, oxaliplatin, cytoxan and cisplatin, and a majority of mice treated with FL118 showed tumor regression with a weekly × 4 schedule. FL118 induced favorable body-weight-loss profiles (temporary and reversible) and was able to eliminate large tumors. Together, the molecular targeting features of FL118 plus its superior antitumor activity warrant its further development toward clinical trials.
Biopolymer Stabilization of Mine Tailings

AbstractA feasibility study was performed on using xanthan gum and guar gum, two biopolymers that are naturally occurring and inexpensive, to stabilize mine tailings (MT). The simple fall cone method was adopted to evaluate the liquid limit and undrained shear strength of sun-dried MT mixed with xanthan gum or guar gum solutions at different concentrations. Environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) imaging was also conducted to study the microstructure of the biopolymer-MT system. The results indicate that the inclusion of xanthan gum or guar gum increases both the liquid limit and the undrained shear strength of the MT, higher biopolymer concentrations leading to greater increases. The increase of the liquid limit and undrained shear strength of the MT mixed with a biopolymer solution is mainly attributable to the high viscosity of the biopolymer pore fluid and the bonding between the biopolymer and the MT particles. Guar gum is more effective than xanthan gum in increasing the liquid limit and u...
Polymer monitoring with mid-IR fibers

Polymeric materials, specifically polyurethanes, have been investigated with the use of mid- infrared transmitting fibers. The fibers are used as internal reflection elements for attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectrometry. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometers were used to collect the data. Spectra were collected at rates of three spectra per second to 5 seconds per spectrum. The spectral bandpass of the systems was from approximately 5500 cm-1 to 850 cm-1. Not only was the reaction chemistry monitored, but chemical morphological changes were recorded as well. Water slabstock polyurethane foams were studied as were reaction injection molded (RIM) polyurethanes.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Some extremal connectivity results for matroids

Abstract Let n be an integer exceeding one and M be a matroid having at least n + 2 elements. In this paper, we prove that every n -element subset X of E ( M ) is in an ( n + 1)-element circuit if and only if (i) for every such subset, M X is disconnected, and (ii) for every subset Y with at most n elements, M Y is connected. Various extensions and consequences of this result are also derived including characterizations in terms of connectivity of the 4-point line and of Murty's Sylvester matroids. The former is a result of Seymour.
Controlling ESD in Automated Handling Equipment

Manufactures of Automated Handler Equipment (AHE) are or should be continuously striving to control ESD in their equipment and protect the product being processed. As the product sensitivities to ESD become increasingly lower, controlling ESD is becoming more of a significant problem in the electronic assembly equipment. This paper deals with researching, and experimentation of many types of materials, finishes, grounding methods, and testing, using the ESD Associations Standard ESD SP10.1–2000. The results were a reduction in voltage levels in a magnitude of several thousand volts to less than 10 volts in prototype equipment.
Perfusion-decellularized matrix: using nature's platform to engineer a bioartificial heart

About 3,000 individuals in the United States are awaiting a donor heart; worldwide, 22 million individuals are living with heart failure. A bioartificial heart is a theoretical alternative to transplantation or mechanical left ventricular support. Generating a bioartificial heart requires engineering of cardiac architecture, appropriate cellular constituents and pump function. We decellularized hearts by coronary perfusion with detergents, preserved the underlying extracellular matrix, and produced an acellular, perfusable vascular architecture, competent acellular valves and intact chamber geometry. To mimic cardiac cell composition, we reseeded these constructs with cardiac or endothelial cells. To establish function, we maintained eight constructs for up to 28 d by coronary perfusion in a bioreactor that simulated cardiac physiology. By day 4, we observed macroscopic contractions. By day 8, under physiological load and electrical stimulation, constructs could generate pump function (equivalent to about 2% of adult or 25% of 16-week fetal heart function) in a modified working heart preparation.
Discounted warranty cost of minimally repaired series systems

Many factors should be considered in modeling DWC (discounted warranty cost) of repairable systems or products including system structure, components' failure processes, methods of discounting as well as the warranty policy itself. In this paper, we present DWC models for repairable series systems. In particular, a free repair warranty policy and a pro-rata warranty policy are studied. The impact of repair actions on components' failure times is assumed to be minimal, hence NHPPs are used to describe the failure processes. Two types of discounting methods are considered in this paper: a continuous discount function and a discrete discount function. Expressions for both the expected value and variance of DWC are derived. The applications of our findings can be seen in warranty design, warranty reserve determination and risk analysis. Our approach incorporates the information of system structure, the value of time and the impact of repair actions, which are of great importance to warranty cost prediction and evaluation, but have not been sufficiently studied in the literature of warranty analysis.
Control of cell lineage-specific development and transcription by bHLH- PAS proteins

The basic–helix–loop–helix-PAS (bHLH–PAS) proteins comprise a prominent class of transcriptional regulators that control a variety of developmental and physiological events including neurogenesis, tracheal and salivary duct formation, toxin metabolism, circadian rhythms, response to hypoxia, and hormone receptor function. The bHLH–PAS proteins have a number of similarities with other bHLH protein subfamilies (Littlewood and Evan 1995). bHLH–PAS proteins usually function as dimeric DNA-binding protein complexes; although some bHLH–PAS proteins can form homodimers, the most common functional unit is comprised of heterodimers. These heterodimers consist of one partner that is broadly expressed, and another whose expression or function is restricted spatially, temporally, or by the presence of inducers. Just as other vertebrate and invertebrate bHLH proteins control cell lineage specification (Weintraub et al. 1991; Jan and Jan 1993), bHLH–PAS proteins are also important cell lineage regulators (Thomas et al. 1988, Isaacs and Andrew 1996; Wilk et al. 1996). The combinatorial and interactive properties of bHLH–PAS proteins provide a variety of potential mechanisms to control their function as transcriptional regulators, which may help explain their widespread use in complex biological events. The purpose of this review is to describe characteristics of the bHLH–PAS protein subfamily, in particular, how bHLH–PAS proteins control lineage-specific gene transcription and development of the Drosophila CNS midline cells and respiratory system, and to discuss the evolutionary implications of the bHLH–PAS/ Arnt regulatory cassette. The underlying mechanisms employed by the bHLH–PAS developmental regulatory proteins discussed here may prove to be common in both vertebrates and invertebrates, and provide a general understanding into how regulatory proteins control the formation of cell lineages.
Book-tax differences: are they affected by equity-based compensation?

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the moderating effect of equity-based compensation on the sources of book-tax differences. The authors investigate whether equity-based compensation affects the association between book-tax differences and tax planning, and the association between book-tax differences and earnings management. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a sample of 9,024 firm-year observations (913 firms) spanning the period 1992-2011, obtained from ExecuComp and Compustat. They estimate cross-sectional regressions of the proxy for tax planning, discretionary accruals and their interactions with equity-based compensation on book-tax differences. Findings – The authors find that tax planning-related book-tax differences increase as the equity-based pay of executives does, and that earnings management-related book-tax differences decrease as the equity-based pay of executives increases. The results are robust across three alternative measures of tax planning. Originality/value – Equ...
Relationship between fatness level and size attainment in Central America

As shown in 15,085 individuals from six Central American countries, the level of fatness is related to size attainment not only during the growing period but also during adulthood. The fatness effect, manifest in all six Central American countries, tends to be higher in females than in males and bears a hierarchical relationship to the extent of impoverishment and undernutrition among the countries considered. The effect of fatness level on size attainment is parallelled by hematologic measures, serum and urinary vitamins and serum cholesterol, indicating a nutritional origin rather than energy balance alone.
Consumer perceptions of organizations that use cause-related marketing

This study investigates gender and proximity effects in cause-related marketing (CRM). Attitudes of a cross-sectional sample of adult consumers were analyzed Females were more favorably inclined than males toward firms that employ cause-related marketing. The hypothesized proximity effect was nonsignificant.
Preparation and study of conductive polymer/high-TC superconductor assemblies

In this report, a monolayer of N-(3-aminopropyl) pyrrole is used as a template layer for the controlled growth of polypyrrole on polycrystalline and oriented films of the high temperature superconductor, YBa2Cu3O7. Large increases in the growth rate and smoothness of the polymer layer are obtained with the use of the monolayer template as compared with the bare superconductor electrodes. Observation of the electrochemical growth characteristics as well as polymer morphological properties allows for an evaluation of the local surface conductive properties of superconductor-based ceramic and thin film samples. The use of the amine substituted pyrrole self-assembled monolayer serves to drastically alter the polymer growth characteristics and the surface adhesion properties.
Heat and salt balances over the New England continental shelf, August 1996 to June 1997

[1] Heat and salt balances over the New England shelf are examined using 10 month time series of currents, temperature, and salinity from a four element moored array and surface heat and freshwater fluxes from a meteorological buoy. A principal result is closure of the heat budget to 10 W m−2. The seasonal variation in depth-average temperature, from 14°C in September to 5°C in March, was primarily due to the seasonal variation in surface heat flux and a heat loss in winter caused by along-shelf advection of colder water from the northeast. Conductivity sensor drifts precluded closing the salt balance on time scales of months or longer. For time scales of days to weeks, depth-average temperature and salinity variability were primarily due to advection. Advective heat and salt flux divergences were strongest and most complex in winter, when there were large cross-shelf temperature and salinity gradients at the site due to the shelf-slope front that separates cooler, fresher shelf water from warmer, saltier slope water. Onshore flow of warm, salty slope water near the bottom and offshore flow of cooler, fresher shelf water due to persistent eastward (upwelling-favorable) winds caused a temperature increase of nearly 3°C and a salinity increase of 0.8 in winter. Along-shelf barotropic tidal currents caused a temperature decrease of 1.5°C and a salinity decrease of 0.7. Wave-driven Stokes drift caused a temperature increase of 0.5°C and a salinity increase of 0.4 from mid December to January when there were large waves and large near-surface cross-shelf temperature and salinity gradients.
Scalable FFT architecture vs. multiple pipeline FFT architectures — Hardware implementation and cost

This paper presents a family of architectures for FFT implementation based on the decomposition of the perfect shuffle permutation, which can be designed with variable number of processing elements. This provides designers with a trade-off choice of speed vs. complexity (cost and area.). Hardware comparison to other existing pipeline architecture presented based on implementation of 1024-point FFT with 4 processing elements using 45nm process technology. The proposed architecture is most suitable for handheld and portable multimedia applications
Super-resolution via Nonlinearity in Computational Optics

All computational methods suffer from resolution limits due to finite-aperture effects. Using digital holography, we show that nonlinearity surpasses linear limits, as formulated by Abbe, as high-frequency spatial modes mix with low-frequency ones.
Racial Differences in Sleep Medication Use: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project

BackgroundLittle is known about racial differences in the use of sleep medications.Objectives:To compare sleep medication use among African Americans and whites with self-reported current sleep problems.MethodsParticipants were 1910 individuals (69% female. 34% African American, 66% white) from the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project. We examined racial differences in self-reported current use of prescription, nonprescription, herbal, and other medications for sleep. Muitivariable logistic regression models controlled for age, sex, education, health insurance, symptomatic hip or knee osteoarthritis, depressive symptoms, obesity, fair or poor general health, and self-reported annual days of sleep problems. Models were conducted separately for the whole sample and for men and women.Results:Among participants with current sleep problems, 31% were using one or more types of sleep medication: 17% prescription, 12% nonprescription, 1% herbal, and 3% other products. African Americans were less likely than whi...
Electrostrictive self-focusing of picosecond laser pulse trains

A nanosecond-long train of picosecond laser pulses theoretically can produce self-focusing by electrostriction, even though the trapping threshold for a single picosecond pulse is very high. The relative roles of electrostriction and various types of Kerr effect in picosecond pulse train self-focusing should be assessed.
Moving horizon numerical observers of nonlinear control systems

In this note, we develop moving horizon numerical observers and analyze the error. In the error estimation, we take into consideration both the integration error and the optimization error. The design facilitates the use of a variety of numerical algorithms to form different observers. As a special case, an Euler-Newton observer is introduced. The numerical observer is independent of any optimization software or toolbox. Furthermore, the observer is formulated in a way that is especially efficient for systems with sampled measurement.
Two-Dimensional Phononic-Photonic Band Gap Optomechanical Crystal Cavity

We present the fabrication and characterization of an artificial crystal structure formed from a thin film of silicon that has a full phononic band gap for microwave X-band phonons and a two-dimensional pseudo-band gap for near-infrared photons. An engineered defect in the crystal structure is used to localize optical and mechanical resonances in the band gap of the planar crystal. Two-tone optical spectroscopy is used to characterize the cavity system, showing a large coupling (g_0/2π≈220 kHz) between the fundamental optical cavity resonance at ω_o/2π=195 THz and colocalized mechanical resonances at frequency ω_m/2π≈9.3 GHz.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND RELATIONAL INTERDEPENDENCES IN SOCIAL INTERACTION

This research argues for the integration of individual difference and relational models in understanding social interaction. Two longitudinal studies are reported that investigate dyadic perceptions within a small group context. A round-robin design and variance partitioning procedures were used to isolate consistent individual differences and unique relational interdependencies in perceptions of leadership, openness, and liking. Both studies indicate that the magnitudes of individual level consistencies and unique relational interdependence vary as a function of characteristics assessed and the length of the relationship. The implications for conceptualizing and measuring relational aspects of interaction and for understanding the interface between individual difference and relational explanations for social interaction are discussed.
Some of my simple results

A number of interesting problems that I have addressed over the years which yielded surprisingly simple results will be presented. Many of these had intuitively pleasing interpretations or especially simple proofs and/or insights.
Generative representations for the automated design of modular physical robots

The field of evolutionary robotics has demonstrated the ability to automatically design the morphology and controller of simple physical robots through synthetic evolutionary processes. However, it is not clear if variation-based search processes can attain the complexity of design necessary for practical engineering of robots. Here, we demonstrate an automatic design system that produces complex robots by exploiting the principles of regularity, modularity, hierarchy, and reuse. These techniques are already established principles of scaling in engineering design and have been observed in nature, but have not been broadly used in artificial evolution. We gain these advantages through the use of a generative representation, which combines a programmatic representation with an algorithmic process that compiles the representation into a detailed construction plan. This approach is shown to have two benefits: it can reuse components in regular and hierarchical ways, providing a systematic way to create more complex modules from simpler ones; and the evolved representations can capture intrinsic properties of the design space, so that variations in the representations move through the design space more effectively than equivalent-sized changes in a nongenerative representation. Using this system, we demonstrate for the first time the evolution and construction of modular, three-dimensional, physically locomoting robots, comprising many more components than previous work on body-brain evolution.
do the natives prefer Durkheim

The Moral Order of a Suburb. M. P. BAUMGARTNER. Pilgrims of Paradox: Calvinism and Experience among the Primitive Baptists of the Blue Ridge. JAMES L. PEACOCK and RUEL W. TYSON, JR. The Southern Baptists: A Subculture in Transition. ELLEN M. ROSENBERG.
Radiative Heating Errors in Naturally Ventilated Air Temperature Measurements Made from Buoys

Abstract Solar radiative heating errors in buoy-mounted, naturally ventilated air temperature sensors are examined. Data from sensors with multiplate radiation shields and collocated, fan-aspirated air temperature sensors from three buoy deployments during TOGA COARE (Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment) and the Arabian Sea Mixed Layer Dynamics Experiment are used to describe the errors in the naturally ventilated measurements. The naturally ventilated sensors have mean daytime errors of 0.27°C and maximum instantaneous errors of 3.4°C. The errors are at times larger than the difference between the air and sea surface temperatures. These errors lead to mean daytime biases in sensible and latent heat fluxes of 1–4 W m−2 and instantaneous errors up to 22 W m−2. The heating errors increase with increasing shortwave radiation and diminish with increasing wind speed. The radiative heating is also found to be a function of sun elevation with maximum heating errors occur...