cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The surface tension of water

Abstract The air—water interfacial tension has been redetermined by the capillary rise and Wilhelmy plate methods at 25°C. The drop-volume method, using the Harkins—Brown corrections, gives good values for glass tips if appropriate precautions are taken. The effect of replacing air with He or N 2 at 1 atm. was not measurable, but CO 2 at 1 atm. gives a significant lowering of the interfacial tension. Measurements over the range 20–45°C are also reported.
Dissociation of anchorage independence from tumorigenicity in human cell hybrids

The association between anchorage independence and tumorigenicity was examined using a series of intraspecific human cell hybrids. The cell lines represented non-tumorigenic HeLa/fibroblast hybrids and tumorigenic segregants derived from them. These segregants had lost no more than 5% of the original chromosome complement. Both non-tumorigenic and tumorigenic cell populations formed colonies in methyl cellulose. The relative size of the colonies seemed to be inherited as a stable trait. Serial cloning of nontumorigenic hybrids in methyl cellulose led to an enhanced efficiency of colony formation but no selection for tumoregenic segregants. Thus, the property of anchorage independence is clearly dissociated from tumorigenicity in this human cell system. An ancillary observation was the chromosomal stability of the hybrids over many population doublings. This intraspecific human cell model therefore provides a genotypically and phenotypically stable system for examination of the genetic control of transformation and neoplasia.
Splitting Women, Producing Biocitizens, and Vilifying Obamacare in the 2012 Presidential Campaign

This article examines the 2012 Republican presidential campaign, exposing the articulation of two incongruous discourses: arguments for increasingly strict regulations on women's reproductive rights and antiregulatory attacks on Obamacare. Drawing on articulation theory and on a Foucauldian understanding of biocitizenship, we argue that women's reproductive and sexual capacities were discursively disarticulated or split from their status as free citizens and rhetorically affiliated with Obamacare as both entities came to be seen as potentially dangerous.
Characterization of freeze-dried alumina powders using electron microscopy

Abstract Aluminum oxide powders prepared from spray-frozen sulfates were examined using SEM, TEM and high resolution SEM (HRSEM). The combination of techniques was especially valuable in identifying the important morphological features (surface and internal) and their origins. The powders were found to contain two levels of porosity (micron scale and nanometer scale) which were traced to two different phase-separation processes. The juxtaposition of TEM and HRSEM was instrumental in determining the fine-scale microstructure of the powders and verifying the presence of the nanometer-scale porosity.
Pathologic fracture of the ulna secondary to metastatic vulvar carcinoma: report of a case.

Abstract Remote metastases secondary to vulvar carcinoma and particularly those involving distant bone are an infrequently reported clinical entity. A case is reported in which the patient presented with a pathologic fracture of the ulna and multiple osseous metastases 1 year following radical vulvectomy for squamous cell carcinoma. The incidence of osseous metastases secondary to various gynecologic malignancies is reviewed.
Silicon micromachining and its applications

Recent development of silicon micromachining technology has made possible the fabrication of many micromechanical devices. Applications of these micromechanical devices are many, but their use for smart structures and materials has just begun. Here, an updated report on the development of a drag-reducing smart skin is given. In order to facilitate the fabrication of the smart skin, we have first developed a new sacrificial-layer etching model for etching phosphosilicate-glass using hydrofluoric acid. This model then leads to the development of two key devices for the skin, including a shear-stress sensor and a magnetic microactuator.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A la Recherches du Temps Perdu

Richard Abel. French Cinema: The First Wave, 1915–1929. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1984. 672 pages.
Correlates of child abuse potential.

Coercion theory provided the theoretical rationale for the present study. The hypothesis was that mothers' reports of child behavior problems and mothers' reports of external locus of control would be related to abuse potential. A total of 95 mother-child pairs were screened for child abuse potential during visits to a hospital-based pediatrie clinic. Following brief interviews, mothers completed three measures: Milner's Child Abuse Potential Inventory, Levenson's Locus of Control Scales, and the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist. Perceptions of control by powerful others and by chance were related to abuse potential for mothers of both sexes. Mothers' reports of their sons' anxiety-withdrawal and conduct-disorder behavior problems were related to abuse potential. There was a significant association among lie scores, internality, and abuse potential for mothers of female children. Mothers with high abuse potential reported significantly more behavior problems in their children. The findings were discussed in relation to coercion theory.
Electron Reflection from Cobalt, and Electron Waves

MEASUREMENTS by a number of observers of the velocity distribution of the electrons leaving the surface of a metal under bombardment by a beam of electrons of known velocity, have shown that a part of the secondary electrons have the primary velocity, the rest having, in general, a lower velocity. No attempt appears to have been made to resolve the secondary emission into its two components when the secondary emission is studied as a function of the velocity of the primary electrons. This is a preliminary account of the results of such an experiment. Previous work (Davis, Proc. Nat. Aoad. Am., 14, p. 460; 1928) has shown that the total secondary emission from cobalt, when plotted against the primary velocity, exhibits a number of sharp maxima and minima extending over an unusually large range of voltages. This fact made it seem an ideal subject for the present type of investigation.
Rate of decay for solutions of stochastic differential equations

Abstract A theorem is given which demonstrates that solutions of a stochastic differential equation decay to zero at least as fast as a function ψ(t) provided L[ ln V] ⩽ (d dt) ( ln ψ) , where V is a Liapunov-like function and L is the operator associated with the stochastic equation. The result is an extension of a recent result of A. Friedman and M. Pinsky. A further generalization is discussed.
Antigen quantitation by a hemolytic radial immunodiffusion assay.

Abstract The radial immunoprecipitin assay for antigen quantitation (Mancini's assay) was modified into a radial immunohemolytic assay, whereby the antigen lyses erythrocytes coated with the complementary antibody. Thus, when rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) diffused in Petri dishes from wells into agar gels containing erythrocytes coated with purified antibody specific for rabbit IgG, hemolytic areas developed around the wells. The lysis of the erythrocytes which had bound the IgG antigen required treatment with an antiserum to rabbit IgG and complement. When all the antigen molecules had been bound, the hemolytic areas appeared to be linearly related to the antigen concentrations and independent of temperature. Intradish coefficients of variation of replicate assays in 10 dishes ranged from 3.6 to 11.3. Interdish coefficient of variation from the intradish means was 3.8. Analysis of variance of the intradish means indicated no significant differences. This hemolytic radial immuno-diffusion assay compares well with the conventional radial immunodiffusion assay: it is very sensitive (the lowest concentration of antigen still mediating lysis is about 0.1 μg/ml), the edges of the hemolytic areas are sharper than the edges of the precipitin rings at any antigen concentration and non-precipitating antibody or horse antibody may he used.
A Study of Cycle-to-Cycle Variations and the Influence of Charge Motion Control on In-Cylinder Flow in an IC Engine

An experimental study is performed to investigate the cycle-to-cycle variations and the influence of charge motion control on in-cylinder flow measurement inside an internal combustion engine assembly. Molecular tagging velocimetry (MTV) is used to obtain the multiple point measurement of the instantaneous velocity field. MTV is a molecular counterpart of particle-based techniques, and it eliminates the use of seed particles. A two-component velocity field is obtained at various crank angle degrees for tumble and swirl measurement planes inside an optical engine assembly (1500 rpm and 2500 rpm engine speeds). Effects of charge motion control are studied considering different cases of: (i) charge motion control valve (CMCV) deactivated and (ii) CMCV activated. Both the measurement planes are used in each case to study the cycle-to-cycle variability inside an engine cylinder. Probability density functions of the normalized circulation are calculated from the instantaneous planar velocity to quantify the cycle-to-cycle variations of in-cylinder flows. In addition, the turbulent kinetic energy of flow is calculated and compared with the results of the probability density function. Different geometries of CMCV produce different effects on the in-cylinder flow field. It is found that the charge motion control used in this study has a profound effect on cycle-to-cycle variations during the intake and early compression; however, its influence reduces during the late compression. Therefore, it can be assumed that CMCV enhances the fuel-air mixing more than the flame speed.
Playing scales in the methane cycle: from microbial ecology to the globe.

Two of the great challenges in understanding the planet's climate system are that (i) biogeochemical cycles (e.g., carbon, water, energy, etc.) are tightly coupled, and (ii) important drivers of those cycles occur at all scales of biogeochemical organization. At the largest scale of space and time are phenomena such as the “Great Ocean Conveyor” (1), which circulates water (plus chemicals and heat) through the oceans of the planet, or the Hadley convection cells (2), which produce the latitudinal climate belts. At the smallest scales of organization, however, there are equally critical processes. For example, in atmospheric chemistry, the kinetics of hydroxyl radical formation and consumption regulate the redox chemistry of the atmosphere (3), whereas the adsorption of nitrogen oxides to ice crystals in stratospheric clouds regulates ozone destruction (4). In biology, global models increasingly find that they must capture the physiology of plant photosynthesis to get the overall C cycle “right” (5).
Magnetic susceptibility tensors of alkanes

In order to bring additional evidence to bear on this question, we have examined the high-field (14.56 T) 95 MHz deuteron NMR spectra of ethane-d 1 , propane-2-d 1 , and 2-methylpropane-2-d 1 (isobutane-d)
The pathological interpretation and significance of prostate needle biopsy findings: Implications and current controversies

Purpose: The widespread use of prostate specific antigen testing and digital rectal examination has lead to the increasing application of prostate needle biopsy. A larger proportion of men undergoing biopsy have small foci of cancer, which coupled with the overall increase in needle biopsy has led to a surge in the number of equivocal biopsy specimens interpreted.Materials and Methods: We reviewed the literature with an overview of the topic of prostate needle biopsy pathology results with an emphasis on current controversies.Results: The diagnosis rendered on prostate needle biopsy pay be placed into 4 major categories, including 1) benign, 2) prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, 3) atypical and suspicious for cancer, and 4) prostate cancer. Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia or a diagnosis of atypical and suspicious for cancer mandates re-biopsy in a search for occult prostate cancer. Biopsy findings, including the location of positive cores, may help to guide re-biopsy strategies. Prostate cancer on n...
FETAL GROWTH AND PLACENTAL PATHOLOGY IN MATERNAL HYPERTENSIVE DISEASES

Among 252 pregnancies complicated by hypertension, the following associations were found: (1) At term, isolated chronic hypertension was associated with higher birthweight compared to normotensive controls and to preeclamptic pregnancies; only preeclampsia was independently related to low birthweight at term. (2) Preeclampsia was independently related to preterm intrauterine growth retardation as compared to normotensive preterm deliveries. (3) Decreased placental weight and the presence of placental infarction were both independently related to decreased birthweight and length (p<0.01). Decreased placental weight was inconsistently related to blood pressure elevation, and not independently related to other maternal characteristics. Placental infarction was associated with increasing levels of proteinuria. (4) Only proteinuria was associated with decreased fetal growth independent of placental pathology. We suggest that there is a “fetal syndrome” of chronic decreased fetal oxygenation and growth failure ...
Frequency- and Afterload-Dependent Cardiac Modulation In Vivo by Troponin I With Constitutively Active Protein Kinase A Phosphorylation Sites

Acute beta-adrenergic stimulation enhances cardiac contractility, accelerates muscle relaxation, and amplifies the inotropic and lusitropic response to increased stimulation frequency. These effects are modulated by phosphorylation of calcium handling and myofilament proteins such as troponin I (TnI) by protein kinase A (PKA). To more directly delineate the role of TnI PKA phosphorylation, transgenic mice were generated that overexpress cardiac TnI in which the serine residues normally targeted by PKA are mutated to aspartic acid to mimic constitutive phosphorylation (TnIDD22,23). Native cardiac TnI was near completely replaced in one transgenic line as assessed by in vitro phosphorylation, and this led to reduced calcium sensitivity of myofibrillar MgATPase, as expected. TnIDD22,23 mice had mildly enhanced basal systolic and diastolic function, and displayed marked augmentation of frequency-dependent inotropy and relaxation, with a peak frequency response 2-fold greater in mutants than controls (P<0.005). Increasing afterload prolonged relaxation more in nontransgenic than TnIDD22,23 (P<0.02), whereas contractile responses to afterload were similar between these strains. Isoproterenol treatment eliminated the differential force-frequency and afterload response between TnIDD22,23 and controls. In contrast to in vivo studies, isolated isometric trabeculae from nontransgenic and TnIDD22,23 mice had similar basal, isoproterenol-, and frequency-stimulated function, suggesting that muscle shortening may be important to TnI PKA effects. These results support a novel role for cardiac TnI PKA phosphorylation in the rate-dependent enhancement of systolic and diastolic function in vivo and afterload sensitivity of relaxation. These results have implications for cardiac failure in which force-frequency modulation is blunted and afterload relaxation sensitivity increased in association with diminished PKA TnI phosphorylation.
MODELING RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN THE EFFECTS OF RACIAL REPRESENTATION ON 2-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENT SUCCESS

The failure of many 2-year college students to persist and complete a postsecondary credential or degree remains a problem of paramount importance to higher education policymakers and practitioners. While racial representation—or the extent to which a student’s racial group is represented on their respective campus—might be one factor that influences the success of students at 2-year colleges, this relationship has received little attention in the higher education literature. The current inquiry focuses on the direct and indirect influences of racial representation on the academic success of Black, Latino, and White students at 2-year institutions. Results indicate that racial representation exhibits both direct and indirect effects on 2-year students’ academic success and that the nature of the relationship varies across racial groups. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Live Imaging of Cysteine-Cathepsin Activity Reveals Dynamics of Focal Inflammation, Angiogenesis, and Polyp Growth

It has been estimated that up to 30% of detectable polyps in patients regress spontaneously. One major challenge in the evaluation of effective therapy of cancer is the readout for tumor regression and favorable biological response to therapy. Inducible near infra-red (NIR) fluorescent probes were utilized to visualize intestinal polyps of mice hemizygous for a novel truncation of the Adenomatous Polyposis coli (APC) gene. Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy in live mice allowed visualization of cathepsin activity in richly vascularized benign dysplastic lesions. Using biotinylated suicide inhibitors we quantified increased activities of the Cathepsin B & Z in the polyps. More than ¾ of the probe signal was localized in CD11b+Gr1+ myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and CD11b+F4/80+ macrophages infiltrating the lesions. Polyposis was attenuated through genetic ablation of cathepsin B, and suppressed by neutralization of TNFα in mice. In both cases, diminished probe signal was accounted for by loss of MDSC. Thus, in vivo NIR imaging of focal cathepsin activity reveals inflammatory reactions etiologically linked with cancer progression and is a suitable approach for monitoring response to therapy.
A methodology for determining optimal thermal damage in magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia cancer treatment

SUMMARY Hyperthermia treatment of tumors uses localized heating to damage cancer cells and can also be utilized to increase the efficacy of other treatment methods such as chemotherapy. Magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia is one of the least invasive techniques of delivering heat. It is based on injecting magnetic nanoparticles into the tumor and subjecting them to an alternating magnetic field. The technique is aimed at damaging the tumor without affecting the surrounding healthy tissue. In this preliminary study, we consider a simplified model (two concentric spheres that represent the tumor and its surrounding tissues) that employs a numerical solution of the Pennes bioheat equation. The model assumes a Gaussian distribution for the spatial variation of the applied thermal energy and an exponential decay function for the time variation. The objective of the study is to optimize the parameters that control the spatial and the time variation of the thermal energy. The optimization process is performed by formulating a fitness function that rewards damage in the region representing the tumor but penalizes damage in the surrounding tissues. Because of the flatness of this fitness function near the optimum, a genetic algorithm is used as the optimization method for its robust non-gradient-based approach. The overall aim of this work is to propose a methodology that can be used for hyperthermia treatment in a clinical scenario. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Method for Maintaining Scale Stability in the Presence of Test Speededness

Administering tests under time constraints may result in poorly estimated item parameters, particularly for items at the end of the test (Douglas, Kim, Habing, & Gao, 1998; Oshima, 1994). Bolt, Cohen, and Wollack (2002) developed an item response theory mixture model to identify a latent group of examinees for whom a test is overly speeded, and found that item parameter estimates for end-of-test items in the nonspeeded group were similar to estimates for those same items when administered earlier in the test. In this study, we used the Bolt et al. (2002) method to study the effect of removing speeded examinees on the stability of a score scale over an II-year period. Results indicated that using only the nonspeeded examinees for equating and estimating item parameters provided a more unidimensional scale, smaller effects of item parameter drift (including fewer drifting items), and less scale drift (i.e., bias) and variability (i.e., root mean squared errors) when compared to the total group of examinees.
The discretized Schrödinger equation and simple models for semiconductor quantum wells

The discretized Schrodinger equation is one of the most commonly employed methods for solving one-dimensional quantum mechanics problems on the computer, yet many of its characteristics remain poorly understood. The differences with the continuous Schrodinger equation are generally viewed as shortcomings of the discrete model and are typically described in purely mathematical terms. This is unfortunate since the discretized equation is more productively viewed from the perspective of solid-state physics, which naturally links the discrete model to realistic semiconductor quantum wells and nanoelectronic devices. While the relationship between the discrete model and a one-dimensional tight-binding model has been known for some time, the fact that the discrete Schrodinger equation admits analytic solutions for quantum wells has gone unnoted. Here we present a solution to this new analytically solvable problem. We show that the differences between the discrete and continuous models are due to their fundamentally different bandstructures, and present evidence for our belief that the discrete model is the more physically reasonable one.
The Effects of Monetary Policy Shocks: Comparing Contemporaneous versus Long-Run Identifying Restrictions

This study compares the effects of monetary policy shocks on the macroeconomy using four different procedures for identifying policy shocks that use contemporaneous restrictions and a procedure that uses long-run restrictions. Impulse response functions are computed using the same vector autoregressive (VAR) model and sample period. The comparison is done for a model that includes only a short-term interest rate and for a model that adds a long-term rate as well. Sources of differences in the magnitude of effects across identification schemes are examined. Vector autoregressive (VAR) models have been widely used in recent years to analyze the effects of monetary policy shocks. However, estimates of the macroeconomic effects of monetary policy often differ across studies with regard to both timing and magnitude. The studies generating these estimates frequently differ in terms of the variables constituting the model, the sample period for estimation, and the method of identifying policy shocks (see, e.g., Christiano, Eichenbaum, and Evans 1994, 1996, 1998; Gordon and Leeper 1994; Lastrapes and Selgin 1995; Pagan and Robertson 1995, 1998; Leeper, Sims, and Zha 1996). Certainly, a critical element in the estimation of the effects of policy shocks is the identification of these policy shocks, that is, the determination of exogenous shocks to monetary policy. Two methods have been widely used in the VAR literature to identify structural shocks to monetary policy. One general approach employs restrictions on the contemporaneous relations among the variables of the VAR model, while the second general approach imposes restrictions on the long-run relations among the variables. Although economic and institutional arguments can be used to rationalize each identification scheme, there is no consensus as to which approach to identifying shocks is preferred, and the weaknesses of both approaches have been discussed in the literature.' Keating (1992), Lastrapes and Selgin (1995), and McCarthy (1995) consider limitations of the use of contemporaneous identifying restrictions. Faust and Leeper (1997) discuss potential drawbacks of imposing long-run restrictions. The aim of this study is to examine the implications of contemporaneous versus long-run
The proximity of predominantly African American and Hispanic rural communities to physicians and hospital services.

This study assesses how local physician concentrations and distances to hospitals differ for rural communities of varying African American and Hispanic compositions. The authors used data at the town-area level (i.e., towns and their immediately surrounding minor civil divisions and census civil divisions) for 9 Southern and 6 Western states, primarily for 1990. Data were from the US. Census, American Medical Association, and American Hospital Association. Analyses compared nonmetropolitan town-areas with low, medium, and high proportions of African Americans and Hispanics on their local physician-to-population ratios and distances to nearest hospitals offering each of four levels of services. The authors found that Western town-areas having over 50% Hispanic populations had lower physician densities than other Western town-areas that were predominantly non-Hispanic White (24.2 vs. 31.2 physicians per 100,000 population). In Southern town-areas, physician densities did not covary meaningfully with the proportion of African Americans. Distances to the nearest hospitals offering basic, intermediate, and tertiary subspecialty services were generally 25% to 35% farther for Southern town-areas composed of over 60% African Americans and for Western town-areas composed of over 50% Hispanics, compared to communities with more than 80% non-Hispanic White populations within each region. These relationships were not attributable to confounding by extraneous state factors, but in some cases were explained by community sociodemographic differences other than race. Thus, the authors learned that rural communities with populations that are predominantly Hispanic, but not those predominantly African American, face longer travel distances to physicians, and both groups face longer distances to some types of hospital services than rural communities with few minorities.
Pilot pollution interference reduction using multi-carrier interferometry

Mobile stations, in CDMA systems, have the capability to communicate with multiple base stations whenever it is located in the fringe areas covered by overlapping base station. However, it is not desirable for an overlay area to contain pilot signals from a large number of base stations. As this would create pilot pollution interference and overload the mobile station's RAKE receiver. Therefore, the mobile station's RAKE receiver attempts to separate paths from three or more dominant pilot signals in the time domain to utilize path diversity. In each diversity (path/branch/finger), a large interference component exists due to the finger's own signal and other's signals. We demonstrated the power of using novel multi-carrier chip pilot pollution interference. Simulation studies have been carried out to verify the appropriateness of the proposed approach and we have obtained very promising results.
Genetic Dissection of Functional Contributions of Specific Potassium Channel Subunits in Habituation of an Escape Circuit in Drosophila

Potassium channels have been implicated in central roles in activity-dependent neural plasticity. The giant fiber escape pathway of Drosophila has been established as a model for analyzing habituation and its modification by memory mutations in an identified circuit. Several genes in Drosophila encoding K+ channel subunits have been characterized, permitting examination of the contributions of specific channel subunits to simple conditioning in an identified circuit that is amenable to genetic analysis. Our results show that mutations altering each of four K+ channel subunits ( Sh , slo , eag , and Hk ) have distinct effects on habituation at least as strong as those of dunce and rutabaga , memory mutants with defective cAMP metabolism ([Engel and Wu, 1996][1]). Habituation, spontaneous recovery, and dishabituation of the electrically stimulated long-latency giant fiber pathway response were shown in each mutant type. Mutations of Sh (voltage-gated) and slo (Ca2+-gated) subunits enhanced and slowed habituation, respectively. However, mutations of eag and Hk subunits, which confer K+-current modulation, had even more extreme phenotypes, again enhancing and slowing habituation, respectively. In double mutants, Sh mutations moderated the strong phenotypes of eag and Hk , suggesting that their modulatory functions are best expressed in the presence of intact Sh subunits. Nonactivity-dependent responses (refractory period and latency) at two stages of the circuit were altered only in some mutants and do not account for modifications of habituation. Furthermore, failures of the long-latency response during habituation, which normally occur in labile connections in the brain, could be induced in the thoracic circuit stage in Hk mutants. Our work indicates that different K+ channel subunits play distinct roles in activity-dependent neural plasticity and thus can be incorporated along with second messenger “memory” loci to enrich the genetic analysis of learning and memory. [1]: #ref-32
Randomly Sampling Actions In Dynamic Programming

We describe an approach towards reducing the curse of dimensionality for deterministic dynamic programming with continuous actions by randomly sampling actions while computing a steady state value function and policy. This approach results in globally optimized actions, without searching over a discretized multidimensional grid. We present results on finding time invariant control laws for two, four, and six dimensional deterministic swing up problems with up to 480 million discretized states
A new architecture for deriving dynamic brain-machine interfaces

Great potential exists for future Brain Machine Interfaces (BMIs) to help paralyzed patients, and others with motor disabilities, regain (artificial) motor control and autonomy. This paper describes a novel approach towards the development of new design architectures and research test-beds for advanced BMIs. It addresses a critical design challenge in deriving the functional mapping between the subject’s movement intent and actuated behavior. Currently, adaptive signal processing techniques are used to correlate neuronal modulation with known movements generated by the subject. However, with patients who are paralyzed, access to the individual’s movement is unavailable. Inspired by motor control research, this paper considers a predictive framework for BMI using multiple adaptive models trained with supervised or reinforcement learning in a closed-loop architecture that requires real-time feedback. Here, movement trajectories can be inferred and incrementally updated using instantaneous knowledge of the movement target and the individual’s current neuronal activation. In this framework, BMIs require a computing infrastructure capable of selectively executing multiple models on the basis of signals received by and/or provided to the brain in real time. Middleware currently under investigation to provide this data-driven dynamic capability is discussed.
A cognitive radio antenna design based on optically pumped reconfigurable antenna system (OPRAS)

This paper presents a new antenna scheme for cognitive radio communication. The antenna structure consists of two ports. The first antenna port is a UWB structure for channel sensing while the second one is a reconfigurable structure for communication. The reconfigurability is based on integrating laser diodes within the antenna substrate in order to activate the photoconductive switches. A prototype was fabricated and tested. A good agreement between the simulation and the measurement data is noticed. A coupling of less than −20 dB is achieved between the 2 antenna ports.
Short‐term priority over exotic annuals increases the initial density and longer‐term cover of native perennial grasses

Temporal priority can affect individual performance and reproduction, as well as community assembly, but whether these effects persist over time remains unclear, and their demographic mechanisms have been little explored. The continued dominance of exotic annual grasses in California has been commonly attributed to their demonstrated early germination and rapid early growth relative to native perennial grasses. This advantage may play a crucial role in the structure of California exotic annual grasslands, as well as in the practice of native grassland restoration. We tested whether a two-week planting advantage under field conditions increased individual survival, growth, and reproduction for four native perennial grass species and whether these effects persisted over three years. We show that short-term priority significantly increased the establishment success of native perennial grasses. Increased density of native grass seedlings presaged later large increases in cover that were not evident in the first year after planting. Although priority effects at the individual level may diminish over time, short differences in emergence timing can have long-lasting effects on community structure. Earlier germination and faster initial growth of exotic annual species may help explain their unprecedented invasion and continued dominance of California grasslands. Finally, these results highlight the importance of priority effects for effective exotic annual control during native grassland restoration in California: initial control can increase the establishment of native perennial seedlings, which then results in long-term control by mature native individuals.
Localized release of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) by a fecal pellet regulates migrating motor complexes in murine colon.

Background & Aims: The colonic migrating motor complex (CMMC) is a motor pattern that regulates the movement of fecal matter through a rhythmic sequence of electrical activity and/or contractions along the large bowel. CMMCs have largely been studied in empty preparations; we investigated whether local reflexes generated by a fecal pellet modify the CMMC to initiate propulsive activity. Methods: Recordings of CMMCs were made from the isolated murine large bowel, with or without a fecal pellet. Transducers were placed along the colon to record muscle tension and propulsive force on the pellet and microelectrodes were used to record electrical activity from either side of a fecal pellet, circular muscle cells oral and anal of a pellet, and in colons without the mucosa. Results: Spontaneous CMMCs propagated in both an oral or anal direction. When a pellet was inserted, CMMCs increased in frequency and propagated anally, exerting propulsive force on the pellet. The amplitude of slow waves increased during the CMMC. Localized mucosal stimulation/circumferential stretch evoked a CMMC, regardless of stimulus strength. The serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine-3) receptor antagonist ondansetron reduced the amplitude of the CMMC, the propulsive force on the pellet, and the response to mucosal stroking, but increased the apparent conduction velocity of the CMMC. Removing the mucosa abolished spontaneous CMMCs, which still could be evoked by electrical stimulation. Conclusions: The fecal pellet activates local mucosal reflexes, which release serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) from enterochromaffin cells, and stretch reflexes that determine the site of origin and propagation of the CMMC, facilitating propulsion.
The carbon Cepheid RT Trianguli Australis: additional evidence of triple-α and CNO cycling

We have used echelle spectra of resolving power 35 000 to derive chemical abundances and the 12C/13C ratio in the 1.9-d carbon Cepheid RT TrA and the Cepheid U TrA, employed as a comparison star. We confirm that RT TrA is very metal-rich with [Fe/H]=+0.4. In addition, C and N are substantially in excess, and a small deficiency in O is present. We interpret these anomalies as resulting from the appearance on the stellar surface of material enriched in 12C by the 3-α process, followed by CNO cycling to convert 12C to 13C and 14N. In addition, some 16O has been processed to 14N. The partial processing of 16O to 14N indicates that substantial 17O may be present. Proton capture seems to have enhanced 23Na from the Ne isotopes.
Purchasing and Materials Management Textbooks

The article presents book reviews of management textbooks, including “Materials Management and Purchasing,” by D. S. Ammer, “Purchasing and Materials Management,” by J. L. Cavinato, and “Purchasing: Principles and Applications,” by S. F. Heinritz, P. V. Farrell, and C. L. Smith.
The Essays of Patrick Collinson: Or, Politics with the Religion Put Back: THE ESSAYS OF PATRICK COLLINSON

This essay analyses Patrick Collinson's contributions as an essayist and writer of short-form historical articles, with special attention to his concept of the ‘monarchical republic’ but more broadly focused on his vision of the interplay between religion and politics throughout his long career. It argues that Collinson saw politics as fundamentally a struggle of ideas, especially religious ideas, but that he downplayed the potential instability or violence of religious politics by emphasizing the sincerity with which early modern figures sought to reform their world. This might, the article concludes, be giving religious politics just a bit too much credit.
Advertising and Male Nudity: An Experimental Investigation:

This study examines the predictive capability of Peterson and Kerin's product/model congruency hypothesis when extended to the use of male models. The results indicate that too little male nudity and too much male nudity operate against the liking and belief of an ad. This is some-what consistent with the product/model congruency hypothesis but however, is not predictable. The authors conclude that the use of male nudity in advertising is a practice which requires further investigation before any consistent generalizations can be made.
Application of fast multipole method to finite-element boundary-integral solution of scattering problems

The finite-element boundary-integral method is a powerful technique for dealing with scattering and radiation problems involving complex geometries and inhomogeneous media. The capability of the technique is limited mainly by the full matrix generated by the discretization of the boundary integrals involving the Green's function. This limitation is lifted using the fast multipole method, which evaluates the boundary integrals at a reduced complexity. The resulting new technique is applied to the problem of electromagnetic scattering by cavity-backed apertures and microstrip antennas. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate its validity and capability.
The Scatter in Tropical Average Precipitation Anomalies

Tropical mean precipitation anomalies ^P9& for 3-month averages appear quite scattered in relation to tropical average sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies ^& , based on examination of a number of observational T9 datasets and of atmospheric general circulation model (GCM) results. Even though SST is locally important for determining precipitation, for a given warm SST anomaly, the tropical average precipitation anomalies can be of either sign due to the near cancellation of positive against negative values. No simple relation is found between ^P9& and ^& . On the other hand, tropical average tropospheric temperature anomalies ^T ˆ9& are approximately T9 linearly related to SST forcing. The scatter of ^P9& versus ^& and ^T9& challenges the prevailing view that T9 s tropical tropospheric temperature anomalies are proportional to tropical convective heating anomalies (i.e., precipitation anomalies), while the latter are governed by SST forcing. A simple analytical model shows that convective heating anomalies are more strongly influenced by dry static-energy transports into or out of the Tropics and by nonlinearities within the Tropics than are the tropospheric temperature anomalies. As convection maintains a quasi balance between surface and tropospheric temperature, the tropical average convective heating (i.e., precipitation) anomalies react to oppose any processes that would tend to cool the tropical troposphere. On interannual timescales, the integral constraint on tropical average precipitation is dominated by the dry static energy transport into or out of the Tropics. Thus while tropical average tropospheric temperature is closely related to SST, tropical‐midlatitude transports can create large scatter in tropical average precipitation.
Understanding Product Reviews: Information Search in Online Review Systems

While many consumers rely heavily on online reviews during their purchases, it is unrealistic to expect a consumer to read every online review and make an informed decision. Many online review systems provide summary views in the form of overall sentiment scores or rating distributions (e.g., Amazon, Alibaba etc.). While consumers rely on such high-level views that summarize the opinions of many, they also read individual reviews to understand the nature of the overall sentiment. In a way, product details, overall sentiment summaries and individual reviews form a network of information that users explore to make their purchase decisions. This work studies the user behavior when they are exploring this network of product and sentiment information; and how it may relate to online sales.
Improved Murine Blastocyst Quality and Development in a Single Culture Medium Compared to Sequential Culture Media

Objective:Validate single versus sequential culture media for murine embryo development.Design:Prospective laboratory experiment.Setting:Assisted Reproduction Laboratory.Animals:Murine embryos.Interventions:Thawed murine zygotes cultured for 3 or 5 days (d3 or d5) in single or sequential embryo culture media developed for human in vitro fertilization.Main Outcome Measures:On d3, zygotes developing to the 8 cell (8C) stage or greater were quantified using 4’,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), and quality was assessed by morphological analysis. On d5, the number of embryos reaching the blastocyst stage was counted. DAPI was used to quantify total nuclei and inner cell mass nuclei. Localization of ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L3 (UCHL3) was reference points for evaluating cell quality.Results:Comparing outcomes in single versus to sequential media, the odds of embryos developing to the 8C stage on d3 were 2.34 time greater (P = .06). On d5, more embryos reached...
Correlation between diode polarization and resistive switching polarity in Pt/TiO2/Pt memristive device

We have investigated the correlation between diode polarization and switching polarity in electroformed Pt/TiO2/Pt memristive device. Before forming, the diode direction of the Pt/TiO2/Pt device is reversible under the current pulses with varying current amplitude. The diode polarization arises from oxygen vacancy migration in fully depleted Pt/TiO2/Pt films. The measurement results indicated that only the polarized diode can be electroformed and the metallic suboxide filament is created in parallel to the diode with a switching polarity dependent on the polarization of stack prior to forming. The non-polar state inhibits field concentration at either end of the device at the specified current, preventing the electroforming. On and off state currents are measured at 0.2 V for 5 × 104 s showing good retention, which is promising for non-volatile memory application. (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The effect of reactive ion etching parameters on the electrical properties and the removal of residual organics in spin-coated colloidal ITO films

Spheroidal colloidal indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles, about 6 nm in diameter, were synthesized in-house and films were fabricated from them on glass substrates by spin coating. These films had high electrical resistivity due to the presence of organic capping ligands around each nanoparticle. Although high temperature annealing has been shown to reduce film resistivity by over eight orders of magnitude, lower temperature processing is desirable for applications like flexible electronics. Colloidal ITO films were subjected to a series of alternating RIE treatments in oxygen (5 minutes duration per cycle) and in argon (1 minute duration per cycle); and parameters such as gas pressure, RIE power and number of cycles were varied. These RIE treatments were found to reduce the film resistivity significantly. Among the parameters studied, gas pressure during RIE was found to be the most important parameter that determined the effectiveness of the treatment. Residual carbon content variation characterization done by XPS depth profiles also indicated similar trends.
Disparities in survival after female breast cancer diagnosis: a population-based study

Despite advances in treatment and increased screening, female breast cancer survival is affected by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). The purpose of this study was to substantiate disparities in breast cancer mortality in a large and unique dataset containing 7 distinct racial groups, 31 comorbidities, demographic and clinical/pathological patient characteristics, and neighborhood poverty information. Florida Cancer Data System registry (1996–2007) linked with the Agency for Health Care Administration and U.S. Census tract (n = 127,754) explored median survival and 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates by the Kaplan–Meier method. Log-rank tests compared survival curves by race/ethnicity/SES. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to obtain unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % confidence intervals. Native Americans had the lowest median survival (7.4 years) and Asians had the highest (12.6 years). For the univariate analysis, worse survival was seen for blacks (HR = 1.44; p < 0.001) and better survival for Asians (HR = 0.71; p < 0.001), Asian Indians or Pakistanis (HR = 0.65; p = 0.013), and Hispanics (HR = 0.92; p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated sustained survival detriment for blacks (HR = 1.28; p < 0.001) and improved survival for Hispanics (HR = 0.90; p = 0.001). For SES, there was an incremental improvement in survival for each higher SES category in all analyses (p < 0.001). Utilizing a large enriched state cancer registry controlling for multiple demographic, clinical, and comorbidities, we fully explored survival disparities in female breast cancer and found certain aspects of race, ethnicity, and SES to remain significantly associated with breast cancer survival. More research is needed to uncover the source of these ongoing disparities.
Relationships Between Cloud Thermodynamic Phase, Temperature, and Height from AIRS and CALIPSO

Hyperspectral infrared observations from AIRS are used to determine cloud thermodynamic phase. These phase retrievals are compared with co-located CALIPSO lidar products to investigate relationships between cloud phase, height, and temperature.
Analysis of potential impacts of climate change on intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) relationships for six regions in the United States

Potential changes in climate are expected to lead to future changes in the characteristics of precipitation events, including extreme rainfall intensity in most regions. In order for government agencies and design engineers to incorporate these trends and future changes into assessment and design processes, tools for planning and design should be capable of considering nonstationary climate conditions. In this work, potential changes are investigated in intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) curves, which are often used for assessment of extreme rainfall events, using historic data and future climate projections. An approach is proposed for calculating IDF curves that incorporates projected changes in rainfall intensity at a range of locations in the United States. The results elucidate strong regional patterns in projected changes in rainfall intensity, which are influenced by the rainfall characteristics of the region. Therefore, impacts of climate change on extreme hydrologic events will be highly regional and thus such assessments should be performed for specific project locations.