cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surface reflectance spectroscopy studies of chemisorption on W(100)

Surface reflectance spectroscopy (SRS) has been used to study chemisorption-induced changes in the electronic structure of a clean W(100) surface. The relative changes in optical reflectance, $\frac{\ensuremath{\Delta}R}{R}$, caused by chemisorption of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ CO, and ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ have been measured as a function of exposure and photon energy $\ensuremath{\hbar}\ensuremath{\omega}$ in the range $0.6l\ensuremath{\hbar}\ensuremath{\omega}l4.8$ eV for adatom coverages up to \ensuremath{\sim}1 monolayer. Structure in the exposure and coverage dependence of $\frac{\ensuremath{\Delta}R}{R}$ displays the various adatom binding states and also indicates the presence of adatom-adatom interactions within a given binding state. The model of McIntyre and Aspnes (MA) is adopted to relate the observed $\frac{\ensuremath{\Delta}R}{R}(\ensuremath{\hbar}\ensuremath{\omega})$ to changes in an effective complex surface dielectric function $\ensuremath{\Delta}{\stackrel{^}{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}}^{s}(\ensuremath{\hbar}\ensuremath{\omega})$; by assuming a simple form for $\ensuremath{\Delta}{\stackrel{^}{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}}^{s}(\ensuremath{\hbar}\ensuremath{\omega})$, we fit $\frac{\ensuremath{\Delta}R}{R}(\ensuremath{\hbar}\ensuremath{\omega})$ spectra calculated using the MA model to the experimental data and thereby obtain difference spectra $\ensuremath{\Delta}{\stackrel{^}{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}}^{s}(\ensuremath{\hbar}\ensuremath{\omega})$ which show the chemisorption-induced changes in the optical response of the surface region. The positions of prominent peaks and dips in $\ensuremath{\Delta}{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}_{2}^{s}(=\mathrm{Im}\ensuremath{\Delta}{\stackrel{^}{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}}^{s})$ give the energies of important optical transitions associated with the surface electronic structure which are produced or quenched by chemisorption. These energies show a strong correlation with the position of surface levels (relative to the Fermi energy ${E}_{F}$) seen in ultraviolet photoemission and field-emission spectroscopies. As a result, the excitations obtained from SRS are attributed to optical transitions from intrinsic surface states and adsorbate-induced surface orbitals to final states concentrated primarily at ${E}_{F}$, which are most likely the tails of extended (Bloch) states of the metal as modified at the surface.
Counterion structure and dynamics in polyelectrolyte solutions

Abstract Investigations of the counterion distribution and correlations to polyelectrolytes have seen increased activity to understand intrinsically stiff and flexible polyelectrolytes in good solvents as functions of ionic strength, charge valence, and concentration. In particular, anomalous (resonant) small-angle X-ray scattering and small-angle neutron scattering have provided new insights on counterion association/condensation. An area of expected growth is counterion dynamics studied via techniques such as electron paramagnetic resonance and neutron-spin echo spectroscopy where the counterion can be labeled along with pulsed-field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance, which can examine a wide range of time and length scales. Along with these experimental studies, theory and simulations provide important predictions and insight.
Volatile Compounds in Scrambled Eggs

Volatile compounds in scrambled eggs were analyzed by dynamic headspace sampling, high resolution gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Thirty-eight compounds were identified including aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, furans, esters, benzene derivatives, alkancs, sulfur-containing compounds and a terpene. Selected compounds were quantified. Aldehydes were the most abundant volatile compounds in the egg samples. Volatile styrene monomer increased in scrambled egg samples during 2 wk storage of shell eggs in polystyrene containers. Scrambled eggs prepared from supermarket shell eggs contained 7 times more ethylbenzene and styrene than those prepared from fresh farm eggs stored in polystyrene containers for 2 wk.
The New Public: Professional Communication and the Means of Social Influence

Professional specialists, using market research and promotional campaigns, have come to dominate public communication. The modern public of the Enlightenment, based on free discussion, has, in Leon Mayhew's terms, been replaced by a 'New Public,' subject to mass persuasion through systematic advertising, lobbying, and other forms of media manipulation. Mayhew examines this sociological development in terms of discourse and social influence, offering an original theory which bridges Talcott Parsons and Jurgen Habermas. Most importantly, he shows how the rhetorical techniques of the professional communicators are designed to avoid having to defend their claims, thereby precluding meaningful discussion of public issues. As a result, institutions providing forums for good-faith, two-way discourse no longer exist, community through communication cannot be achieved, and the social order is unstable.
Strand specific RNA-seq data for higher specificity

High-throughput RNA Sequencing (RNA-seq) has become a popular tool for transcriptome analysis. An important application of RNA-seq is to detect differential alternative splicing, that is, differences in exon splicing patterns under different biological conditions. Accurate estimation of the inclusion or exclusion level of alternatively spliced exons is essential for the detection of differential alternative splicing. Recently, RNA-seq technology improved greatly in throughput as well as quality. It also became very common to have strand specific RNA-seq reads, (i.e., the original strand, sense or anti-sense, of each RNA-seq read is known). In this work, we demonstrated that utilizing strand information obtained from strand specific RNA-seq reads substantially reduced the number of false positives and thus provided higher specificity in estimating alternatively spliced exons.
Polyethylene glycol diacrylate and thermoplastic polymers based semi-IPNs for asymmetric membranes

Commercially available thermoplastic polymers were modified by forming semi Interpenetrated Polymer Networks (semi-IPNs) with poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA). These semi-IPNs were used to prepare asymmetric flat sheet membranes. The successful formation of the semi-IPNs was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infra Red (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The property enhancement of the semi-IPN asymmetric membranes compared to commercial polymer was evaluated by characterizing thermal, morphological and gaseous permeation properties. The semi-IPNs showed two-step degradation pattern indicating the incorporation of polyethylene glycol moieties into the thermoplastic polymers. The thermal stability of all the membranes was above 360°C indicating their suitability for high temperature applications. The presence of asymmetric morphology was confirmed by the scanning electron microscopy. Enhancement in gas permeation properties, particularly for the carbon dioxide transport, was observed for the synthesized semi-IPNs, o...
The importance and characteristics of communication in high performance data analytics

Social networks and business analytics typically need to process vast amounts of data that are often modeled as graphs. The scale of the data that such applications have to handle requires large-scale distributed computing systems, together with scalable parallel algorithms, to efficiently process the graphs. Representative of the graph-based analytics class of applications is the Graph 500 benchmark [1], which is designed to assess the performance of supercomputing systems by solving the Breadth-First Search (BFS) graph traversal problem. In this work, we analyze the network data motion of a Graph 500 MPI version of the graph traversal problem, using a large-scale high-performance computing system, i.e., the MareNostrum III supercomputer [2]. We focus our analysis on the node-to-node communication and show that the application runtime is communication-bound, the communication making up as much as 80% of the execution time of each BFS iteration. We also show that the dominating communication pattern is an overall all-to-all exchange (every process communicates to every other process and roughly the same amount of data is exchanged between any two processes), thus providing preliminary guidance for future application or network design optimization efforts.
Anomalous radiation loss of curved dielectric ridge waveguides

The radiation loss of curved ridge dielectric waveguides can show an oscillatory dependence on radius for the TM-polarisation. This effect is predicted only by a three-dimensional full vectorial analysis and is confirmed experimentally in S-bend dielectric ridge waveguides.
Radical intermediates in monooxygenase reactions of rieske dioxygenases.

Rieske dioxygenases catalyze the cis-dihydroxylation of a wide range of aromatic compounds to initiate their biodegradation. The archetypal Rieske dioxygenase naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase (NDOS) catalyzes dioxygenation of naphthalene to form (+)-cis-(1R,2S)-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydronaphthalene. NDOS is composed of three proteins: a reductase, a ferredoxin, and an α3β3 oxygenase (NDO). In each α subunit, NDO contains a Rieske Fe2S2 cluster and a mononuclear iron site where substrate dihydroxylation occurs. NDOS also catalyzes monooxygenase reactions for many substrates. The mechanism of the reaction is unknown for either the mono- or dioxygenase reactions but has been postulated to involve direct reaction of either a structurally characterized Fe(III)−hydroperoxy intermediate or the electronically equivalent Fe(V)−oxo−hydroxo intermediate formed by O−O bond cleavage before reaction with substrate. The reaction for the former intermediate is expected to proceed through cationic intermediates, while the latter i...
Echocardiographic papillary rarity.

From the Cardiac Anesthesia Group, Department of Anesthesia and ritical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical chool, Boston, MA. Address reprint requests to Theodore A. Alston, MD, PhD, Departent of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, 5 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114. E-mail: talston@partners.org © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1053-0770/05/1901-0025$30.00/0 doi:10.1053/j.jvca.2004.11.023 Fig 1. Malpositioned papillary mus
Selective encoding from multielement visual displays

When a multiletter display is preceded by a bar designating one of the letters for report, reaction time (RT) to voice the indicated letter decreases. Previous research had indicated that the efficiency of this selective mechanism decreases as the number of display elements increases. Two experiments were conducted to determine whether the effect of display size could be eliminated when the indicator precedes the display at long intervals. Results indicated that the display size effect was maintained. The results could not be attributed to eye movements, but were interpreted in terms of a central encoding mechanism that is limited in its precision of localization and exclusion. At the phenomenal level, we can look at an object and see it as an entire object without concentrating on specific details. For example, we may look at the clock on the wall, even noticing what time it is, but not paying "attention" to specific characteristics of the numerals. Or we can phenomenally direct our attention to one of the numerals on the clock such as the 3 and in the process seem to exclude the details of the other numerals. This experience can occur even though our distance from the clock is such that the whole clock face is falling within the fovea and assuring adequate resolution of detail for all parts of the clock. It is as though we had a limited capacity for processing information per unit of time, and we can select which information and in what order it is going to be processed and encoded. We have been employing an experimental analog of this phenomenal experience. Circular displays of a small subset of letters are presented to Ss with a black bar indicator designating one of the letters in the display. The display as a whole is foveal. sub tending approximately 2 deg of visual angle on the diameter. The bar indicator is quite conspicuous, both in terms of its size and shape, but primarily in terms of its location as an extension of an imaginary radius from the center of the display extending beyond the circumference of the imaginary circle along which the letters are arrayed. Ss are instructed to name the designated or target letter as quickly as possible. By manipulating the display variables, we have hoped to delineate some of the characteristics by which selective attention or encoding occurs.
Inferring gene regulatory networks from time series data using the minimum description length principle

Motivation: A central question in reverse engineering of genetic networks consists in determining the dependencies and regulating relationships among genes. This paper addresses the problem of inferring genetic regulatory networks from time-series gene-expression profiles. By adopting a probabilistic modeling framework compatible with the family of models represented by dynamic Bayesian networks and probabilistic Boolean networks, this paper proposes a network inference algorithm to recover not only the direct gene connectivity but also the regulating orientations. Results: Based on the minimum description length principle, a novel network inference algorithm is proposed that greatly shrinks the search space for graphical solutions and achieves a good trade-off between modeling complexity and data fitting. Simulation results show that the algorithm achieves good performance in the case of synthetic networks. Compared with existing state-of-the-art results in the literature, the proposed algorithm exceptionally excels in efficiency, accuracy, robustness and scalability. Given a time-series dataset for Drosophila melanogaster, the paper proposes a genetic regulatory network involved in Drosophila's muscle development. Availability: Available from the authors upon request. Contact: wtzhao@ece.tamu.edu
Surface Activity−Compressibility Relationship of Proteins at the Air−Water Interface

The surface concentration versus surface pressure relationship of 39 proteins under dynamic adsorption conditions at the air−water interface has been studied. It was found that the slope of these plots, ϑ (in ergs/mg), which is defined as surface activity, showed a positive correlation (r = 0.86) with the adiabatic compressibility of the proteins. The linear regression line passed almost through the origin, suggesting that, theoretically, rigid and inflexible globular proteins would not be able to reduce the surface tension of water even at a saturated monolayer coverage. Some empirical equations were derived for the estimation of the ϑ values of unknown proteins on the basis of their amino acid compositions as well as secondary structure contents. The compressibility values predicted from these calculated ϑ values agreed with the experimental values. The experimental ϑ values of globular proteins also showed a negative linear correlation (r = 0.77) with the ΔG° of thermal unfolding of the proteins. The r...
Spatial and angular distributions for irradiance from blackbody cavities

Blackbody cavities are commonly used in calibration of optical sensors; that is, they provoke an instrument response to a known incident flux. The so-called cavity effect produces an effective emissivity near unity so that, if a uniform temperature distribution is maintained across the cavity wall, the flux exiting the cavity approaches that of a blackbody at that temperature. The effort described here employs Monte Carlo ray-trace (MCRT) models to simulate radiation within a blackbody cavity in order to define the spatial and angular distributions of exiting flux. These models may be used to evaluate the suitability of various cavity geometries for the calibration of radiometers. The sensitivity of exiting flux properties to variations of interior surface properties and temperature may also be evaluated. Described is an effort to develop a tool that can be used to enhance the design and utilization of blackbody cavities as a calibration source.
A novel method to study cerebrospinal fluid dynamics in rats.

Background Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow dynamics play critical roles in both the immature and adult brain, with implications for neurodevelopment and disease processes such as hydrocephalus and neurodegeneration. Remarkably, the only reported method to date for measuring CSF formation in laboratory rats is the indirect tracer dilution method (a.k.a., ventriculocisternal perfusion), which has limitations.
Managers’ outward influence tactics and their consequences: an exploratory study

An exploratory investigation of the outward influence tactics used by practicing managers. Narrative accounts of 117 successful and unsuccessful influence attempts were content analyzed and categorized using Flanagan’s critical incident approach. Chi‐square analyses and Spearman Rank‐Order correlations were used to compare successful and unsuccessful influence tactics and determine the reasons these methods were employed. Similar to previous investigations, which focused on lateral and upward influence tactics, communicating facts and data in a rational manner was the most frequently used outward influence approach. Success was more likely when a combination of tactics was used and when more than one agent was involved. Successful attempts were associated with the achievement of objectives, creation of a positive image, and improved business relationships. Negative attempts were associated with a jeopardized future business relationship and generation of negative feelings. The implications of the findings and future research directions are identified.
Effects of β-hydroxyethyl rutosides (H-R) administered post burn after thermal-injury-induced plasma volume loss in the nonresuscitated dog

The effects of H-R, a mixture of beta-hydroxyethyl rutosides, administered post burn, upon thermal-injury-induced plasma volume loss were studied in the anaesthetized dog. All animals received a 15 per cent total body surface area third-degree flame burn and were not fluid resuscitated. Plasma volume, cardiac output and mean arterial blood pressure were measured prior to burn and at 2, 4 and 6 hours post burn. One group of animals received a single 100 mg/kg dose of H-R by intravenous injection at 2.75 hours post burn. One group of animals received two doses of 100 mg/kg of H-R. One dose was administered 2.75 hours post burn and the second dose was administered 4.75 hours post burn. The results of this study showed that H-R administered after burn is capable of reducing the continuing plasma volume loss. The duration of this response is relatively short and a second dose of H-R was necessary to maintain the reduction of continuing plasma volume loss beyond 2 hours. The effects of H-R on thermal-injury-induced changes in cardiac output and mean arterial pressure were less dramatic than the reduction in continuing plasma volume loss. These effects were observed only in the group of animals receiving two doses of H-R.
Distributed recognition codes, catastrophic forgetting, and the rules of synaptic transmission

Analysis of catastrophic forgetting by distributed codes leads to the unexpected conclusion that the standard synaptic transmission rule may not be optimal in certain neural networks. The distributed outstar generalizes the outstar network for spatial pattern learning, replacing the outstar source node with a source field, of arbitrarily many nodes, where the activity pattern may be arbitrarily distributed or compressed. Distributed outstar learning proceeds according to a principle of atrophy due to disuse whereby a path weight decreases in joint proportion to the transmitted path signal and the degree of disuse of the target node. During learning, the total signal to target node converges toward that node's activity level. Weight changes at a node are apportioned according to the distributed pattern of converging signals. Three types of synaptic transmission, the standard product rule, a fuzzy capacity rule, and an adaptive threshold rule, are examined for this system. Only the threshold rule solves the catastrophic forgetting problem of fast learning. Analysis of spatial distributed coding hereby leads to the conjecture that the unit of long-term memory is a spatial pattern learning system may be a subtractive threshold, rather than a multiplicative weight.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Legal abortion as a positive mental health measure in family planning.

Abstract Abortion is the most ancient, most inefficient, and most unsatisfactory way of limiting family size ever devised by man. Yet millions of abortions, most of them illegal, are performed each year throughout the world, leaving in their wake thousands of cases of maternal sepsis, sterility, and death at the worst; emotional and psychic trauma in most cases at the best. Abortions, legal and illegal, are still practiced in all countries regardless of politics or race and often in defiance of legal or religious restrictions. It is only within the past decade that physicians, demographers, sociologists, family planners, and other scientists, have been able to study with objectivity this almost universal practice. In spite of the wide availability of contraceptives, none is yet foolproof and unwanted pregnancies will continue to occur. Until we develop some safe nonsurgical method of terminating unwanted pregnancies, women will persist in resorting to abortion. Psychiatry by its very nature should become more deeply concerned about the positive aspects of family planning and the quality of life that results from such planning. The population explosion with its dire effects on the total environment has already made dangerous inroads on the quality of life on this planet. It is altogether fitting that psychiatry become involved in these areas since the sexual act begins first in the psyches of men and women. Abortion will continue to be practiced all over the world whether it is legal or illegal. Therefore, it is imperative that we give intelligent and objective thought to this problem as physicians and psychiatrists without religious or moral bias. We must assume the lead in making it possible for women, regardless of socio-economic status, to terminate unwanted pregnancies with medical safety, dignity, and privacy and without public stigma. We must make it possible for women to limit family size to their own needs and desires and make every child a wanted child. We must remove the moral and social stigmata from the practice of legal abortion and make it as acceptable as any other surgical procedure. This would be the practice of humanitarian medicine at the very best.
Can We Teach Character? An Aristotelian Answer

Business ethics courses can help improve our students' ethics by teaching them about character, as opposed to just principles, the application of which creates difficulties. In particular, we can h...
Molecular mapping of a gene for stripe rust resistance in spring wheat cultivar IDO377s

Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, is one of the most important diseases of wheat worldwide. The best strategy to control stripe rust is to grow resistant cultivars. One such cultivar resistant to most races in North America is ‘IDO377s’. To study the genetics of its resistance this spring wheat cultivar was crossed with ‘Avocet Susceptible’ (AvS). Seedlings of the parents, F2 plants, and F3 lines were tested under controlled greenhouse conditions with races PST-43 and PST-45 of P. striiformis f. sp. tritici. IDO377s carries a single dominant gene for resistance. Resistance gene analog polymorphism (RGAP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) techniques were used to identify molecular markers linked to the resistance gene. A total of ten markers were identified, two of which flanked the locus at 4.4 and 5.5 cM. These flanking RGAP markers were located on chromosome 2B with nulli-tetrasomic lines of ‘Chinese Spring’. Their presence in the ditelosomic 2BL line localized them to the long arm. The chromosomal location of the resistance gene was further confirmed with two 2BL-specific SSR markers and a sequence tagged site (STS) marker previously mapped to 2BL. Based on the chromosomal location, reactions to various races of the pathogen and tests of allelism, the IDO377s gene is different from all previously designated genes for stripe rust resistance, and is therefore designated Yr43. A total of 108 wheat breeding lines and cultivars with IDO377s or related cultivars in their parentage were assayed to assess the status of the closest flanking markers and to select lines carrying Yr43. The results showed that the flanking markers were reliable for assisting selection of breeding lines carrying the resistance gene. A linked stripe rust resistance gene, previously identified as YrZak, in cultivar Zak was designated Yr44.
Double slide viewing as a cytology quality improvement initiative.

Few studies have measured the effect of pro-sign out double viewing of cytology cases as a means to decrease error. Three Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality-funded project sites performed pre-sign out double viewing of 431 pulmonary cytology cases. Two-step or more differences in diagnosis were arbitrated as interpretive errors, and the effect of double viewing was measured by comparing the frequencey of cytologic-histologic correlation-detected errors in the previous 2 years with the double-viewing period. The number of interpretive errors detected by double viewing for the 3 institutions was 2.7%, 0%, and 1.9%, respectively. Double viewing did not lower the frequency of cytologic-histologic correlation false-negative errors. We conclude that double viewing detects errors in up to 1 of every 37 cases and that biases in the double-viewing process limit error detection.
Digital video architecture for OS/2 2.1

With the release of IBM's preemptive multitasking OS/2 2.1 operating system, a 32-bit multimedia environment supporting digital video and audio is now available for widespread commercial use. While digital audio architectures and subsystems are becoming common, digital video architectures are relatively new, and the OS/2 2.1 implementation is one of the first to come standard with an operating system. This paper gives an overview of the general architecture of OS/2 2.1 multimedia, followed by a focused description of the architectural aspects unique to digital video.
Polycyclic aromatic compounds as anticancer agents: structure–activity relationships of chrysene and pyrene derivatives

A large number of diamides and diamines were synthesized using 6-amino chrysene and 1-amino pyrene as starting materials. A structure activity study with cis-platinum as internal control against animal and human tumor lines was carried out in vitro. This study indicated that the in vitro cytotoxicity toward these lines depends on the functionality present in the molecules. The diamino compounds were found to be more potent than the diamides, and these were equally active irrespective of the end heterocyclic group, whereas the activity of the diamides was strongly dependent on the terminal unit. In general, the diamides containing chrysene as the chromophore were more active than those with a pyrene ring. The size of the end heterocyclic ring, along with the nature of the spacer connecting the polycyclic ring to the heterocyclic ring, seemed to affect the biological activity in certain cell lines. Hemolysis experiments on a lead compound established that it had activities similar to those described for membrane-stabilizing agents. This agent also demonstrated the capacity to produce differentiation in leukemia cell lines.
Score certificates for tournaments

The score of a vertex in a tournament is its out-degree. A score certificate for a labeled tournament T is a labeled subdigraph D of T which together with the score sequence of T allows errorless reconstruction of T. In this paper we prove a general lower bound on the sizes of score certificates. Our main theorem can be stated as follows: Except for the regular tournaments on 3 and 5 vertices, every tournament T on n vertices requires at least n−1 arcs in a score certificate for T. This is best possible since every transitive tournament on n vertices has a score certificate with exactly n−1 arcs. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Lumped correction of the multipole content in large synchrotrons

Abstract A new method of correcting dynamic nonlinearities due to the multipole content of the dipoles in a large alternating-gradient synchrotron is discussed. The method uses lumped multipole elements placed at the center (C) of the accelerator half-cells as well as elements near the focusing (F) and defocusing (D) quadrupoles at the half/cell ends. In a first approximation, the corrector strengths follow Simpson's rule. Correction of second-order sextupole nonlinearities may also be obtained with the F, C, and D octupoles. Correction of nonlinearities by more than two orders of magnitude is obtained.
Foam‐Like Behavior in Compliant, Continuously Reinforced Nanocomposites

In the pursuit of advanced polymer composites, nanoscale fillers have long been championed as promising candidates for structural reinforcement. Despite progress, questions remain as to how these diminutive fillers influence the distribution of stresses within the matrix and, in turn, influence bulk mechanical properties. The dynamic mechanical behavior of elastomer-impregnated forests of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has revealed distinct orientation-dependent behavior that sheds light on these complicated interactions. When compressed along the axis of the fillers, the composite will mimic open-cell foams and exhibit strain softening for increasing amplitudes due to the collective Euler buckling of the slender nanotubes. In contrast, the same material will behave similarly to the neat polymer when compressed orthogonal to the alignment direction of the nanotubes. However, in this orientation the material is incapable of achieving the same ultimate compressive strain due to the role that the embedded nanotubes play in augmenting the effective cross-link density of the polymer network. Both of these responses are recoverable, robust, and show little dependency on the diameter and wall-number of the included CNTs. Such observations give insight into the mechanics of polymer/nanoparticle interactions in nanocomposite structures under strain, and the thoughtful control of such coordinated buckling behavior opens the possibility for the development of foam-like materials with large Poisson ratios.
Documenting Desegregation: Segregation in American Workplaces by Race, Ethnicity, and Sex, 1966–2003

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act made employment discrimination and segregation on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex illegal in the United States. Previous research based on analyses of ag...
Combinatorial RNA interference indicates GLH-4 can compensate for GLH-1; these two P granule components are critical for fertility in C. elegans.

We report that four putative germline RNA helicases, GLHs, are components of the germline-specific P granules in Caenorhabditis elegans. GLH-3 and GLH-4, newly discovered, belong to a multi-gene glh family. Although GLHs are homologous to Drosophila VASA, a polar granule component necessary for oogenesis and embryonic pattern formation, the GLHs are distinguished by containing multiple CCHC zinc fingers. RNA-mediated interference (RNAi) reveals the GLHs are critical for oogenesis. By RNAi at 20 degrees C, when either loss of GLH-1 or GLH-4 alone has no effect, loss of both GLH-1 and GLH-4 results in 97% sterility in the glh-1/4(RNAi) offspring of injected hermaphrodites. glh-1/4(RNAi) germlines are under-proliferated and are without oocytes. glh-1/4(RNAi) animals produce sperm; however, spermatogenesis is delayed and the sperm are defective. P granules are still present in glh-1/4(RNAi) sterile worms as revealed with antibodies against the remaining GLH-2 and GLH-3 proteins, indicating the GLHs function independently in P granule assembly. These studies reveal that C.elegans can use GLH-1 or GLH-4 to promote germline development.
On the performance of the differential cascode amplifier

Analysis is made of the differential cascode amplifier stage, an amplifier made of a differential common-emitter input pair driving a differential common-base output pair referenced to the emitter potential of the input pair. The analysis shows the differential cascode amplifier to have one or more orders of magnitude increase in common-mode input resistance and common-mode rejection ratio compared to that of a conventional differential pair. Consideration is also given to the use of junction field-effect transistors for either pair in the differential cascode stage. The frequency response of the stage is studied, and a potentially troublesome common-mode complex pole pair is identified as the one disadvantage of the differential cascode circuit.
The structure and distribution of carbon in 3.5 Ga Apex chert: Implications for the biogenicity of Earth`s oldest putative microfossils

The oldest putative microfossils on Earth occur in the 3.5 Ga Apex chert of the Warrawoona Group, Western Australia. We have analyzed disseminated interstitial carbon found within Apex chert using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) to address the controversy regarding its state of structural disorder. We found that the carbonaceous material is structurally amorphous, with no evidence of graphitization, and contains aromatic domains, most likely as polyaromatic ring structures, similar to preserved kerogen in bona fide microfossils. In addition, amorphous carbonaceous material occurs as a grain boundary phase between quartz crystals and within fluid inclusions in quartz crystals, indicating that hydrocarbons moved through the chert during crystallization and hydrothermal alteration. The results suggest that the carbonaceous material is similar in structure to microfossil kerogen, implying the microbe-like features within Apex chert are also microfossils. However, this kerogen-like material may also be produced abiotically via Fischer-Tropsch-type (FTT) synthesis reactions in an ancient hydrothermal vent.
THE NASAL AIRWAY AND OBSTRUCTED BREATHING DURING SLEEP

Nasal obstruction whether partial or complete can influence the quality of sleep and has been strongly linked to the genesis of obstructed breathing during sleep (OBS). The relationship between nasal airflow and the process of upper airway collapse is complex. The first part of this article reviews the nasal anatomy with an emphasis on the sites of nasal obstruction, the effect of the nasal reflexes on the pulmonary system, and the pathophysiology of the development of OBS. The second part reviews the common causes of increased nasal resistance, the assessment of nasal passages, and the treatment options. This article also includes literature in support of and refuting the postulated mechanisms by which nasal obstruction can effect the respiratory system during sleep.
US Preventive Services Task Force Vision Screening Recommendations

We commend the recent recommendation by the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) for vision screening of all children at least once between the ages of 3 and 5 years.1 Amblyopia is the leading cause of monocular visual impairment in US children. Several high-quality, randomized controlled clinical studies have shown that amblyopia treatment is highly successful.2 Early detection is critical, because there is a window for successful treatment. Hence, this recommendation is an important step toward the elimination of a major preventable cause of lifelong visual loss. The USPSTF recommendation is consistent with the American Academy of Pediatrics “Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care,”3 and Bright Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants Children and Adolescents ,4 both of which recommend universal screening for vision at the 3-, 4-, and 5-year health supervision visits. Although we support the task force recommendation to provide vision screening for children aged 3 to 5 years, we are concerned about the finding of “insufficient evidence” (I) for screening children under the age of 3. Figure 1 in the recommendation1 notes that current practice for these younger children is “assessment … Address correspondence to Sean P. Donahue, MD, PhD, Departments of Pediatrics, Ophthalmology, and Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center/Vanderbilt Eye Institute, 2311 Pierce Ave, Nashville, TN 37232-8808. E-mail: sean.donahue{at}vanderbilt.edu
Ocean Seismic Network Pilot Experiment

[1] The primary goal of the Ocean Seismic Network Pilot Experiment (OSNPE) was to learn how to make high quality broadband seismic measurements on the ocean bottom in preparation for a permanent ocean seismic network. The experiment also had implications for the development of a capability for temporary (e.g., 1 year duration) seismic experiments on the ocean floor. Equipment for installing, operating and monitoring borehole observatories in the deep sea was also tested including a lead-in package, a logging probe, a wire line packer and a control vehicle. The control vehicle was used in three modes during the experiment: for observation of seafloor features and equipment, for equipment launch and recovery, and for power supply and telemetry between ocean bottom units and the ship. The OSNPE which was completed in June 1998 acquired almost four months of continuous data and it demonstrated clearly that a combination of shallow buried and borehole broadband sensors could provide comparable quality data to broadband seismic installations on islands and continents. Burial in soft mud appears to be adequate at frequencies below the microseism peak. Although the borehole sensor was subject to installation noise at low frequencies (0.6 to 50 mHz), analysis of the OSNPE data provides new insights into our understanding of ocean bottom ambient noise. The OSNPE results clearly demonstrate the importance of sediment borne shear modes in ocean bottom ambient noise behavior. Ambient noise drops significantly at high frequencies for a sensor placed just at the sediment basalt interface. At frequencies above the microseism peak, there are two reasons that ocean bottom stations have been generally regarded as noisier than island or land stations: ocean bottom stations are closer to the noise source (the surface gravity waves) and most ocean bottom stations to date have been installed on low rigidity sediments where they are subject to the effects of shear wave resonances. When sensors are placed in boreholes in basement the performance of ocean bottom seismic stations approaches that of continental and island stations. A broadband borehole seismic station should be included in any real-time ocean bottom observatory.
The Jefferson Lab quality assurance program for the SNS superconducting linac accelerator project

As part of a multi-laboratory collaboration, Jefferson Lab is currently engaged in the fabrication, assembly, and testing of 23 cryomodules for the superconducting linac portion of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) being built at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. As with any large accelerator construction project, it is vitally important that these components be built in a cost effective and timely manner, and that they meet the stringent performance requirements dictated by the project specifications. A comprehensive Quality Assurance (QA) program designed to help accomplish these goals has been implemented as an inherent component of Jlab's SNS construction effort. This QA program encompasses the traditional spectrum of component performance, from incoming parts inspection, raw materials testing, through to sub-assembly and finished article performance evaluation. Additionally, process and procedure control, vendor performance and oversight, and design and test program reviews constitute complementary areas where QA involvement contributes to successful production performance.
Russia's True Economy: More Inviting to Investors

Financial analysts' opinions about investing in Russia are often based on incomplete and misleading official Russian data and on observations made during short trips to Russia. In Russia, what you see is not what you get. This study provides an assessment of Russia's true economy and its attractiveness to foreign investment. Based on personal interviews with Russian managers and with experts working in Russia, investing in that country appears to be potentially twice as lucrative as previously thought. Russia's true economy may be twice as large as officially reported, because private-sector companies, which constitute more than half of Russia's economy, do not report 90 percent of their revenues and profits. Investors and mutual fund managers must find unconventional ways to interpret Russian data and supplement that information with additional primary research.
Socioeconomic Status and Psychiatric Disorder among Blacks and Whites

This article examines the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and current (six-month) and lifetime rates of psychiatric disorders among blacks and whites. Overall, SES is inversely related to psychiatric disorderfor both racial groups. This association is weakerfor black males than for white males. There is some variation among specific disorders, with the strongest relationship with SES occurringfor alcohol abuse. The sixmonth rate of depression is unrelated to SES among blacks but inversely related for whites. In contrast to our expectations, we found that lower-SES white males have higher rates of psychiatric illness than their black peers. Lower-SES black females have higher rates of substance abuse disorders than their white counterparts. These findings underscore the need for research efforts to identify the mechanisms and processes that link social stratification to disease.
Correlates of dietary intake of lactating women in South Turkana.

Previous studies of nutrition among nomadic pastoralists in South Turkana, Kenya, have suggested that social mechanisms may be used to buffer vulnerable members of the group from acute nutritional stress. During 1989-1990, 24-hour dietary recall data were collected from 101 lactating women in Ngisonyoka, Turkana. Multivariate regression was then used to quantify the effects of environmental, socioeconomic, and demographic variables on dietary intake. The location of individual herding camps had the greatest impact on maternal diet. After the site of camps, rainfall patterns, the socioeconomic ranking of the herding unit, and the age and rank of wives were the most significant predictors of maternal food consumption. The results suggest that some women in the study were buffered from moderate seasonal nutritional stress by the practice of food-sharing among members of their social network, as well as by voluntary reduction in dietary intake by other women. Maternal dietary intake differed both qualitatively and quantitatively between herding camps of higher and lower socioeconomic ranking. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
LEAFY and the evolution of rosette flowering in violet cress (Jonopsidium acaule, Brassicaceae).

from violet cress. Their exon sequences show ;90% nucleotide similarity with Arabidopsis LFYand 99% similarity to each other. We used in situ hybridization to study vcLFY expression in violet cress. The patterns were very similar to LFY in Arabidopsis except for stronger expression in the shoot apical meristem outside of the region of flower meristem initiation. It is possible that the relatively diffuse expression of vcLFY contributes to the lack of bract suppression in violet cress. Additionally, the earliest flowers produced by violet cress express vcLFY, suggesting that accelerated flowering in violet cress could also result from changes in the regulation of vcLFY. The placement of flowers on a plant has profound ecological significance. It is, therefore, desirable that we understand how flower disposition is regulated in a given species and how it becomes modified in the course of evolution. The approach taken in this paper is to compare a well-studied model system, Arabidopsis [Arabidopsis thaliana (L.)Heynh.], with another member of Brassicaceae, violet cress [Jonopsidium acaule (Desf.)Rchb.]. Whereas Arabidopsisflowers are borne on elongated, leafless, inflorescences, violet cress flowers emerge from the axils of rosette leaves (Figs. 1‐2). Here we explore the possible role of a floral meristem identity gene, LEAFY (LFY), in the evolution of rosette flowering. The vegetative phase of development in Arabidopsis, violet cress, and almost all other Brassicaceae involves the formation of a rosette: a series of spirally arranged leaves with relatively short internodes. The meristems in the axils of these rosette leaves have the potential to pro
Large intrathecal volume: a cause of true failed spinal anesthesia

A 37-year-old woman scheduled for postpartum tubal ligation received two intrathecal doses of 2% hyperbaric mepivacaine (44 mg and 40 mg) and a subsequent single dose of 5% hyperbaric lidocaine (62.5 mg). Her sensory level never extended beyond S1. She subsequently underwent an uneventful general anesthetic, and had no residual sensory or motor deficits. An examination of the patient's lumbosacral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan revealed an unusually large thecal volume. A large lumbosacral intrathecal volume may result in significant dilution or poor redistribution of hyperbaric local anesthetic. The final sensory level may be reduced or absent as a result. Intrathecal volume may be the most important non-modifiable factor affecting intrathecal distribution of local anesthetics; however, it cannot be easily measured or predicted. True failed spinal anesthesia should be distinguished from technical mishap, i.e., failing to introduce the anesthetic into the intrathecal space. The differential of a truly failed single-injection spinal anesthetic may include a large thecal volume, dural ectasias, cysts, and simple anatomic sacral restriction. To minimize maldistribution and neurotoxicity, the sum dose of all intrathecal local anesthetics administered for a single procedure should not significantly exceed the maximum recommended single-dose amount.
Information-Optimal Transcriptional Response to Oscillatory Driving

Intracellular transmission of information via chemical and transcriptional networks is thwarted by a physical limitation: The finite copy number of the constituent chemical species introduces unavoidable intrinsic noise. Here we solve for the complete probabilistic description of the intrinsically noisy response to an oscillatory driving signal. We derive and numerically verify a number of simple scaling laws. Unlike in the case of measuring a static quantity, response to an oscillatory signal can exhibit a resonant frequency which maximizes information transmission. Furthermore, we show that the optimal regulatory design is dependent on biophysical constraints (i.e., the allowed copy number and response time). The resulting phase diagram illustrates under what conditions threshold regulation outperforms linear regulation.