cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Photo-Induced Linkage Isomerism of Transition Metal Nitrosyl and Dinitrogen Complexes Studied by Photocrystallographic Techniques

New metastable species are formed by low-temperature irradiation of crystals of transition metal nitrosyl complexes. In the work described, photocrystallographic techniques, in which crystals are exposed in situ, are combined with differential scanning calorimetry measurements, IR spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. The new species are identified as isonitrosyl and h 2 -NO linkage isomers, which revert to the ground state on subsequent warming. The stability of the linkage isomers increases with increasing p-withdrawing ability of the ligand trans to NO, indicating the crucial role of electronic factors in determining relative stability of the isomers of different complexes. Isomers with decay temperatures up to ,08C have been prepared. Solid state effects are evident from comparison of the behavior of different salts of the same ion, of sodiumnitroprusside in the neat crystal and in a co-crystal with 18-crown-6 ether, and from the observation of different photochemical behavior when (Ru(NO)(NH3)5)(NO3)3 is absorbed in a sol-gel glass. The two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit of (Ni(NO)(h 5 -Cp p )) show different orientations of the h 2 -NO ligand after irradiation, the difference being related to the shape of the reaction cavities at the two sites. A previously unknown side-on binding mode, similar to that occurring for NO, has been discovered for the dinitrogen ligand in (Os(NH3)5(N2))(PF6)2, indicating the potential of the techniques used in the search for new species and novel binding modes of transition metal atoms. q 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
CHANGE: a concept of organizational learning and change

Purpose – This article presents a new concept of organizational learning and subsequent organizational change, called CHANGE.Design/methodology/approach – This concept was developed as a result of workshops executed for Los Angeles based business leaders; employees in for‐profit as well as non‐profit organizations, and three in‐depth interviews with business leaders. The presented concept reviews and elaborates on six steps toward change, resulting from a practice of continuous surveying and consequential questioning of existing rules and processes. The article also presents a simple figure to explain this process.Findings – Each letter of the word CHANGE represents a step in a continuously applicable process. These steps are: checking; harvesting; advising; navigating; granting; and executing.Originality/value – One thing that became very clear throughout the workshops and the interviews used for data collection toward this paper is, that CHANGE will work in for‐profit, non‐profit, small, medium sized, a...
Hyperfractionated irradiation for adults with brainstem gliomas

Abstract Hyperfractionated irradiation appears to have improved survival for pediatric patients with brainstem gliomas However, the efficacy and safety of this technique are less well established for adults with brainstem tumors. In 1984 the UCSF Department of Radiation Oncology began treating adults with brainstem gliomas using 100 cGy fractions given twice daily to total doses ranging between 6600–7800 cGy (median dose 7200 cGy). By the end of 1989, a total of 14 patients had been irradiated with follow-up times for surviving patients ranging between 4–69 months (median follow-up 33 months). Tumor histologies included five moderately anaplastic astrocytomas, one highly anaplastic astrocytoma, and eight which were unbiopsied. At the time of this analysis, six patients had failed locally, with five dying as a result of recurrent tumor. There were no deaths caused by complications or intercurrent illness. The 3-year actuarial survival rate was 59%, with a corresponding 3-year actuarial local control rate of 48%. The projected median survival was in excess of 5 years, whereas the actuarial median time to progression was 31 months (134 weeks). The treatments were well tolerated: the mean pretreatment Karnofsky Performance Status was 74% (range 60–90%); at the end of treatment the mean KPS was 78% (range 60–100%). In terms of neurologic status, six patients improved by the end of treatment, seven were stable, and one experienced only minor deterioration without change in KPS. There were no significant long-term complications (specifically, no instances of either radiation brain necrosis or myelitis). Seven patients required prolonged steroid administration after completing radiotherapy; six of these eventually recurred locally. These results appear to be substantially better than those achieved using conventional radiotherapy regimens, and suggest that this technique merits further investigation.
FREEZE SURVIVAL IN PEACH AND PRUNE FLOWERS

A laboratory study was carried out using field grown peach (Prunus persica) and prune (P. domestica) flowers. The object was to find out why prune flowers are more freeze tolerant than peach flowers. After the flowers are fully open, it was found that the ovaries may still supercool, even with ice crystals present in the flower stem. The mechanics involved were explored with a computer model of the simultaneous heat, water and solute flow in the flower and stem tissue during freezing. Water flow toward growing ice crystals may cause a discontinuity in the liquid phase between the flower stem and the ovary, creating a barrier to nucleation. It was concluded that the prune flowers survive lower temperatures than the peach because the water in their ovaries is more apt to supercool, particularly when the dew point of the air is not reached.
Analysis of the interaction between segmental relaxation patterns and global diastolic function by strain echocardiography.

Background Strain echocardiography can depict segmental mechanical activity with high temporal and spatial accuracy, and may allow assessment of segmental relaxation not possible with conventional echocardiography. Methods Conventional and strain echocardiography were performed in healthy volunteers (young [group 1] and old [group 2]) and patients with normal 2-dimensional and stress echocardiography, with either normal global diastolic function (group 3a) or grade I or II global diastolic dysfunction (DD) (group 3b). Standard echocardiography criteria were used to define global DD. Early to late diastolic strain rate ratio less than 1.1 was defined as altered segmental relaxation. Results All participants had normal wall motion and ejection fraction. Participants of group 1 had normal segmental and global diastolic function. Participants of groups 2 and 3a demonstrated a wide range of altered segmental relaxation in the absence of global DD. All patients of group 3b had 12 or more segments with altered relaxation and global DD. Age and hypertension were associated with a larger number of altered segments, a lower mean early to late diastolic strain rate ratio, and global DD. Conclusions A wide range of altered segmental relaxation can exist in the absence of global DD. Age and hypertension are associated with altered segmental relaxation and global DD. Assessment of segmental relaxation may be beneficial in the elderly and patients with hypertension.
The acid-secreting parietal cell as an endocrine source of Sonic Hedgehog during gastric repair.

Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) has been shown to regulate wound healing in various tissues. Despite its known function in tissue regeneration, the role of Shh secreted from the gastric epithelium during tissue repair in the stomach remains unknown. Here we tested the hypothesis that Shh secreted from the acid-secreting parietal cell is a fundamental circulating factor that drives gastric repair. A mouse model expressing a parietal cell-specific deletion of Shh (PC-ShhKO) was generated using animals bearing loxP sites flanking exon 2 of the Shh gene (Shhflx/flx) and mice expressing a Cre transgene under the control of the H+,K+-ATPase β-subunit promoter. Shhflx/flx, the H+,K+-ATPase β-subunit promoter, and C57BL/6 mice served as controls. Ulcers were induced via acetic acid injury. At 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 days after the ulcer induction, gastric tissue and blood samples were collected. Parabiosis experiments were used to establish the effect of circulating Shh on ulcer repair. Control mice exhibited an increased expression of Shh in the gastric tissue and plasma that correlated with the repair of injury within 7 days after surgery. PC-ShhKO mice showed a loss of ulcer repair and reduced Shh tissue and plasma concentrations. In a parabiosis experiment whereby a control mouse was paired with a PC-ShhKO littermate and both animals subjected to gastric injury, a significant increase in the circulating Shh was measured in both parabionts. Elevated circulating Shh concentrations correlated with the repair of gastric ulcers in the PC-ShhKO parabionts. Therefore, the acid-secreting parietal cell within the stomach acts as an endocrine source of Shh during repair.
SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTION OF SUBCELLULAR LOCATION FOR INTEGRATION WITH PROTEOMICS DATABASES AND SYSTEMS BIOLOGY MODELING

Approaches for automatically analyzing subcellular location on a proteome-wide basis have been developed. This permits proteins to be grouped into subcellular location families that share a statistically-indistinguishable pattern. This in turn creates a need for methods to connect these automatically determined locations to existing information in literature and databases, and to communicate the nature of the pattern for each family. The building of generative models is proposed to meet this need and their utility for simulations of cell behavior is discussed.
William C. Mitchell

William C. Mitchell died January 2, 2006, at his home in Eugene, Oregon. He had suffered from pulmonary fibrosis. He was 80. His wife since 1959, Joyce Mitchell, died in 1996; he is survived by a brother James W. Mitchell, of Kingsford, Michigan, and two sisters, Jeanine Watt of Iron River, Michigan and Waverly Jarvis of Withee, Wisconsin.
Action of Nicotinic Acid on Coagulation of the Blood

SummaryNicotinic acid has no coagulant effect when tested in vitro with heparinized recalcified plasma. Its coagulant action is comparable to that of distilled water when tested in vitro with heparinized whole blood. Nicotinic acid is an active hemolytic agent and its coagulant effect is apparently due to the release of thromboplastin from the disrupted elements of the blood. Compounds of nicotinic acid which do not produce significant hemolysis have no appreciable coagulative potency.
Use of the Shore Durometer for Measuring the Hardness of Synthetic and Natural Rubbers

Abstract The manner in which the readings of the Shore durometer vary with time was studied for 16 different compounds of natural and synthetic rubbers. The data were obtained from motion pictures showing a durometer and a stop watch in the same field of view. To eliminate the personal factor, the durometer was mounted in a frame, and pressure was applied by dead-weight loading. The results indicate both the necessity and the practicability of specifying that measurements be taken at a definite time after the application of the durometer to the specimen. The results also indicate the possibility of using readings taken at two different times as a rough measure of the relative creep of different rubbers.
Availability of Other Aliphatic Polycarbonates Derived from Geometric Isomers of Butene Oxide and Carbon Dioxide Coupling Reactions

In this study, we investigate the selectivity for copolymer versus cyclic carbonate production from the coupling of isomeric forms of butene oxide with carbon dioxide in the presence of binary and bifunctional cobalt(III) and chromium(III) salicylaldimine catalysts. Use of the less problematic 1-butene oxide has previously been reported to preferentially afford copolymer from its coupling with CO2. Of the epoxides, cis- and trans-2-butene oxide and isobutene oxide, only cis-2-butene oxide was shown to selectively provide polycarbonate, with both cobalt(III) catalysts being more effective than their chromium(III) analogues. The binary chromium catalyst system produced both cis- and trans-cyclic carbonates from the cycloaddition of CO2 and cis-2-butene oxide, whereas, the corresponding cobalt(III) catalyst selectively yielded 75.4% copolymer at 40 °C with the remaining product being trans-cyclic carbonate. In this instance, the trans-cyclic carbonate results from copolymer degradation, consistent with the o...
The effects of defoliation and competition on regrowth of tillers of two North American mixed-grass prairie graminoids.

Field defoliation experiments were employed on a mixed-grass prairie site to ascertain the tradeoff between competition and intraplant resource sharing. Tillers (ramets) of Andropogon gerardi (big bluestem) and Carex filifolia (threadleaf sedge) were subjected to various defoliation regimes under full and reduced competition. Subsequent trends in leaf biomass production, leaf exsertion kinetics, tiller mortality, and biomass of storage organs were measured over 70 days. Tillers defoliated under conditions of full competition produced significantly less leaf biomass than tillers defoliated under reduced competition. Apparent mortality of tillers defoliated biweekly was 95% under full competition and 20% under reduced competition. Andropogon tillers subjected to multiple defoliation under reduced competition produced approximately three more leaves per tiller than nondefoliated tillers or tillers similarly defoliated under full competition. All defoliated tillers had substantial reductions in biomass of storage organs relative to nondefoliated tillers. Tillers defoliated under full competition had stembase biomass reductions comparable to those of tillers defoliated under reduced competition but produced significantly less leaf biomass. The results suggest that the positive aspects of resource sharing among interconnected tillers were outweighed by the negative aspects of intraand interspecific competition. Because of the potential importance of competitive interactions on individual plant response to defoliation, care must be taken when designing field and laboratory defoliation experiments and interpreting and extrapolating their results. At the community level, herbivores may mediate competitive interactions among primary producers through the differential defoliation of plants.
Growth and Development in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants After the Introduction of Exclusive Human Milk Feedings.

Objective To estimate associations of exclusive human milk (EHM) feedings with growth and neurodevelopment through 18 months corrected age (CA) in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. Study Design ELBW infants admitted from July 2011 to June 2013 who survived were reviewed. Infants managed from July 2011 to June 2012 were fed with bovine milk-based fortifiers and formula (BOV). Beginning in July 2012, initial feedings used a human milk-based fortifier to provide EHM feedings. Infants were grouped on the basis of feeding regimen. Primary outcomes were the Bayley-III cognitive scores at 6, 12, and 18 months and growth. Results Infants (n = 85; 46% received EHM) were born at 26 ± 1.9 weeks (p = 0.92 between groups) weighing 776 ± 139 g (p = 0.67 between groups). Cognitive domain scores were similar at 6 months (BOV: 96 ± 7; EHM: 95 ± 14; p = 0.70), 12 months (BOV: 97 ± 10; EHM: 98 ± 9; p = 0.86), and 18 months (BOV: 97 ± 16; EHM: 98 ± 14; p = 0.71) CA. Growth velocity prior to discharge (BOV: 12.1 ± 5.2 g/kg/day; EHM: 13.1 ± 4.0 g/kg/day; p = 0.33) and subsequent growth was similar between groups. Conclusion EHM feedings appear to support similar growth and neurodevelopment in ELBW infants as compared with feedings containing primarily bovine milk-based products.
Eosinophils, probiotics, and the microbiome

There is currently substantial interest in the therapeutic properties of probiotic microorganisms as recent research suggests that oral administration of specific bacterial strains may reduce inflammation and alter the nature of endogenous microflora in the gastrointestinal tract. Eosinophils are multifunctional tissue leukocytes, prominent among the resident cells of the gastrointestinal mucosa that promote local immunity. Recent studies with genetically altered mice indicate that eosinophils not only participate in maintaining gut homeostasis, but that the absence of eosinophils may have significant impact on the nature of the endogenous gut microflora and responses to gut pathogens, notably Clostridium difficile Furthermore, in human subjects, there is an intriguing relationship between eosinophils, allergic inflammation, and the nature of the lung microflora, notably a distinct association between eosinophil infiltration and detection of bacteria of the phylum Actinobacteria. Among topics for future research, it will be important to determine whether homeostatic mechanisms involve direct interactions between eosinophils and bacteria or whether they involve primarily eosinophil-mediated responses to cytokine signaling in the local microenvironment. Likewise, although is it clear that eosinophils can and do interact with bacteria in vivo, their ability to discern between pathogenic and probiotic species in various settings remains to be explored.
Outside perspectives and local traditions: charting a strategic course for the Middle East

When culturally distinct peoples are presented with opportunities, outsiders and their advocates often emphasise mainstream goals, paradigms, and methods of analysis. Robust and more appropriate methods of evaluation, however, are often needed because economic and social intervention can lead to unanticipated side effects that trigger unexpected and negative consequences. The methods of conventional business and the 'new public administration' offer alternative views that often conflict with each other, offering distinct insights. Their value to the Middle East is discussed.
S-band eight watt power amplifier MMICs

The design and performance of a pair of S-band GaAs MMIC (monolithic microwave integrated-circuit) power amplifier chips with greater than 8.0-W power output are reported. The design, fabricated in 1.0- mu m-gate-length epitaxial technology, also has 26% power-added efficiency at 3.7 GHz and 8.0 W, and up to 31% at lower drain bias. The 0.5- mu m-gate-length selective implant design is capable of an output of 6.0 to 8.3 W from 2.8 GHz to 4.8 GHz. A Wilkinson power-combined pair of MMICs has delivered 12 W at 21% power-added efficiency from 3.1 to 3.5 GHz, and 13.5 W with increased drain voltage. >
Black from White: How the Rights of White and Black Workers Became “Labor” and “Civil” Rights after the U.S. Civil War

Drawing on primary and secondary sources on the nineteenth-century U.S. labor movement both nationally and in Chicago, I argue that the major postbellum labor federations foundered on the shoals of...
Mo2C Modification by CO2, H2O, and O2: Effects of Oxygen Content and Oxygen Source on Rates and Selectivity of m-Cresol Hydrodeoxygenation

Vapor-phase m-cresol hydrodeoxygenation rates on oxygenate-modified Mo2C catalysts prepared by pretreating fresh Mo2C catalysts in 1 kPa of O2, H2O, and CO2 at 333 K showed that (i) molecular oxygen has a higher propensity to deposit oxygen (O/Mobulk before HDO = 0.23 ± 0.02) on fresh Mo2C, compared to CO2 and H2O (O/Mobulk before HDO ≈ 0.036), as assessed from temperature-programmed surface reaction with H2, and (ii) oxygen adsorbed in amounts exceeding ∼0.06 ± 0.01 of O/Mobulk poisons the metal-like sites for toluene synthesis as inferred from a 10-fold decrease in toluene synthesis rate per gram on the O2–1 kPa (333 K)–Mo2C compared to that on fresh Mo2C, H2O–1 kPa (333 K)–Mo2C, and CO2–1 kPa (333 K)–Mo2C catalysts. Invariant turnover frequencies of toluene synthesis measured from in situ CO titration among the O2-, H2O-, and CO2-modified samples demonstrate that the effect of adsorbed oxygen is independent of the oxygen source.
Rai's Travels

Rai music has traveled far and undergone remarkable transmutations since the early days of its development in Wahran (Oran) during the first decades of the twentieth century. Originally performed at weddings and in bars, mostly by women singers known as cheikhat , the instrumentation was simple (a reed flute known as a qasba, a single-stringed viol or rbab , and a hand drum known as the gellal ) and the vocals, raucous and sometimes bawdy. The lyrics consisted of formulaic couplets, and mostly dealt with relations between men and women. The early recordings of rai's greatest female vocalist, Cheikha Rimitti are the essential foundation of any collection of rai music.
Digital Limits of Government: The Failure of E-Democracy

While the Internet is often touted as a revolutionary technology, it might be noted that democratic institutions have witnessed no digital revolution through the Internet. This observation leads this chapter to argue that the field of e-democracy has generally failed to live up to its own reformist rhetoric. It argues that instead of reforming government processes through technology, e-democracy projects have tended to focus either on lowering the costs and increasing the efficiency of existing political processes or on analysing the civic participation that occurs outside of purpose-built e-democracy platforms. The chapter suggests that this lack of attention to the Internet’s potential for systemic change in formal political institutions has little normative impact on the democratization of society and may even re-enforce, rather than challenge, the sociopolitical status quo. Further, it suggests that the current approach of e-democracy risks normalizing the Internet to the norms and expectations of the offline world. To elucidate this argument, this chapter overviews both the general trend of e-democracy projects and criticisms of those projects. Finally, the chapter proposes a more radical vision of e-democracy that, it suggests, would usher a larger potential for democratization. This more radical vision of e-democracy consists of recognizing the attributes of the Internet that transcend the limits of the analogue world and applying these to democracy. Such an approach would open the path for envisaging new political processes and systems, allowing the field of e-democracy to live up to its own rhetoric, and affording society the means to address multiple of the centuries-old problems faced by democracy.
Confusing Faith and Reason? Malebranche and Scepticism

When we consider early modern philosophers who engage with sceptical arguments, Nicolas Malebranche is not usually among the first names to come to mind. But, while Malebranche does not spend much time with this topic, the way in which he responds to it when he does is nevertheless valuable. This is because his response underlines the central role of a particular principle in his system: the utter dependence of all created things on God. In this paper, I argue that the end of Malebranche’s engagement with scepticism in general is to show that it is a position, like atheism, that is only possible if one has a disordered imagination. And, importantly, one feature of a disordered imagination is the questioning or denial of what Malebranche takes to be a foundational principle of human knowledge: that we, and all other finite things, utterly depend on God for everything.
Radiation-Induced Cardiovascular Toxicity: Mechanisms, Prevention, and Treatment.

Ionizing radiation is a highly effective treatment for a wide range of malignancies, yet the cardiovascular (CV) toxicity that can result from chest radiotherapy impairs the long-term health of cancer survivors and can be a limiting factor for its use. Despite over 100 years of successful clinical use, the mechanisms by which high-energy photons damage critical components within cells of the heart’s myocardium, pericardium, vasculature, and valves remain unclear. Recent studies exploring the acute and chronic effects of radiation therapy on cardiac and vascular tissue have provided new insights into the development and progression of heart disease, including the identification and understanding of age- and complication-associated risk factors. However, key questions relating to the connection from upstream signaling to fibrotic changes remain. In addition, advances in the delivery of chest radiotherapy have helped to limit heart exposure and damage, but additional refinements to delivery techniques and cardioprotective therapeutics are absolutely necessary to reduce patient mortality and morbidity. Radiation therapy (RT)-driven CV toxicity remains a major issue for cancer survivors and more research is needed to define the precise mechanisms of toxicity. However, recent findings provide meaningful insights that may help improve patient outcomes.
Structural Design of Transcatheter Aortic Valves: General Concepts Related to Imaging

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is an alternative approach in patients deemed “high risk” or “inoperable” for surgical aortic valve replacement (sAVR) [1–4]. A number of novel transcatheter heart valves (THVs) have been developed over the past decade, each with unique features that may provide potential advantages in patients undergoing TAVR. Unlike surgical valves, wherein the native aortic valve is resected, directly visualized, and a surgical valve is sewn into the aortic annulus, aortic THVs must expand and both conform to the native aortic annulus and interact with critical structures in the aortic valvar complex, including the thickened and rigid native valve leaflets and left ventricular outflow tract and membranous septum.
Exploring the alternatives of biological nitrogen fixation

Most biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) results from the activity of the molybdenum nitrogenase (Mo-nitrogenase, Nif), an oxygen-sensitive metalloenzyme complex found in all known diazotrophs. Two alternative forms of nitrogenase, the vanadium nitrogenase (V-nitrogenase, Vnf) and the iron-only nitrogenase (Fe-only nitrogenase, Anf) have also been identified in the genome of some organisms that encode for Nif. It has been suggested that alternative nitrogenases were responsible for N2-fixation on early Earth because oceans were depleted of bioavailable Mo. Results of recent phylogenetic- and structure-based studies suggest, however, that such an evolutionary path is unlikely, and favor a new model for a stepwise evolution of nitrogenase where the V-nitrogenase and the Fe-only nitrogenase are not the ancestor of the Mo-nitrogenase. Rather, Mo-nitrogenase emerged within the methanogenic archaea and then gave rise to the alternative forms suggesting they arose later in response to the availability of fixed N2 and local environmental factors that influenced metal availability. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on (1) the biochemistry of these complex systems highlighting the common and specific structural features and catalytic activities of the enzymes, (2) the recent progress in defining the discrete set of genes associated to N2-fixation and the regulatory features that coordinate the differential expression of genes in response to metal availability, and (3) the diverse taxonomic and phylogenic distribution of nitrogenase enzymes and the evolutionary history of BNF from the perspective of metal content and metal availability.
New Paleogene Notohippids and Leontiniids (Toxodontia; Notoungulata; Mammalia) from the Early Oligocene Tinguiririca Fauna of the Andean Main Range, Central Chile

Here we describe three new notohippid notoungulate species from the early Oligocene-aged Tinguiririca Fauna (Tinguirirican SALMA), recovered from volcaniclastic deposits of the Abanico Formation in the central Chilean Andes, two of which are known from material sufficiently complete to warrant formal naming. These include Eomorphippus bondi, sp. nov., a form of moderate size distinguished by hypsodont incisors and cheekteeth, as well as distinctive proportions of the upper incisors. A closely similar but more diminutive form is described as Eomorphippus neilopdykei, sp. nov. A third previously unrecognized notohippid in the Tinguiririca Fauna, best represented by a large, low-crowned, lower incisor battery, almost certainly represents a new taxon, but remains too fragmentary to warrant naming now. We also propose a new binomial for a previously named notohippid, ?Eomorphippus pascuali, originally described from Gran Barranca in Argentina but which is now also recorded in Chile. This taxon, here named Rosendo pascuali, is markedly less hypsodont than E. bondi and E. neilopdykei and retains lingual cingula on at least p4-m1. As least one leontiniid notoungulate occurs in the Tinguiririca Fauna, Termastherium flacoensis, gen. et sp. nov., best represented by two partial upper cheek toothrows and a tentatively referred maxillary fragment bearing three deciduous teeth. Collectively, description of these new fossils from Termas del Flaco, Chile helps to more fully characterize the Tinguiririca Fauna, facilitating correlation and comparison to other South American land mammal faunas spanning the Eocene-Oligocene transition.
Optimality for Coherent Systems When the Dimensionality Is Restricted to D ≤ M − K, Where K ≤ M/2

We have obtained solutions to the signal-design problem for the following cases: (1) where the allowed bandwidth, and therefore the allowed dimensionality, is unrestricted, in which case the solution is the regular simplex signal structure (requiring M − 1 dimensions); (2) where the dimensionality is restricted to be such that it is less than that required for the regular simplex, D ≤ M − 2, in which case the solution consists of two lower-dimensional regular simplices placed orthogonal to one another, one simplex containing two signals and the other M − 2; and (3) where the dimensionality is D = 2. In this chapter we look for optimal signal structures in the class of admissible signal sets whose dimensionality is restricted to D ≤ M − K, where K is any given positive integer which is at most M/2. We shall prove that the concept of placing lower-dimensional regular simplices mutually orthogonal to one another can be extended and is indeed the solution for these cases. That is, for a given K the solution to the signal-design problem is shown to consist of K lower-dimensional regular simplices placed mutually orthogonal to one another, where the number of signals in each regular simplex is at least 2. More precisely, in the class of all admissible signal structures whose dimensionality is D ≤ M − K, such signal structures are proved to be local extrema for all signal-to-noise ratios.
International Bank Capital Standards: Next Steps

The Basel bank capital standards constitute one of the most ambitious international efforts ever undertaken to set common rules for firms competing within and across national borders. After several years of negotiation among the central banks on the Basel Committee—named after the city in which it was formed in 1975—the Basel standards responded to two concerns. One was a fear about the fragility of international banks and the cross-border implications of their failure—initially prompted by the failure of Bankhaus Herstatt in 1974 and later reinforced in the 1980s by the precarious positions of many larger banks that had large exposures to Latin American sovereign governments. Central banks and their governments who were represented on the committee, however, did not want to strengthen bank capital requirementsthe obvious solution for reducing cross-border risks—unless all countries did so simultaneously. Otherwise, banks in countries that tightened the standards would be put at a competitive disadvantage relative to those countries that stood still. Accordingly, a second strong motivation for the standards was the desire to level the playing field for large international banks.
Sequential Stress Testing to Predict Photovoltaic Module Durability

The challenge to the PV industry is to find test methods which assess the durability of modules and their components to multiple stresses. The effectiveness of these methods can be assessed by comparison to known degradation modes observed in the field. We have developed sequential test methods which apply an accelerated exposure of a key environmental stress including UV, temperature, humidity, and mechanical stress in a sequential fashion. These stresses are applied sequentially to address the need for using established environmental equipment and methods. This methodology has been effective in predicting backsheet failures in the field and examples will be provided. Efforts to reduce the total test time will also be discussed.
Self-Assembled Metal Molecular Networks by Nanoconfinement.

Quasi-two-dimensional (2D) metal molecular networks (MMNs) often exhibit a nanoconfinement effect and high degree of anisotropy, which are highly diverse in their mechanical, electronic, and magnetic functionalities. Here we report an interfacial self-assembly of mechanically robust 2D MMNs, in which 3d transition metals are interconnected via molecular thiol bridges. The Langmuir–Schafer assembled freestanding 2D nanosheets exhibit highly desired anisotropic charge transport and spin susceptibility, in which light and magnetic field induced charge transfer regulates the electronic interactions. Meanwhile, the mechanistic studies involving electronic structure reveal the molecular metal packing structure-controlled nanoconfinement and charge transfer. This study opens the door to 2D ultrathin metal coordination nanostructures for emerging functional materials and devices.
Efficient Ultrathin Liquid Junction Photovoltaics Based on Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Ultrathin photovoltaics made of MoS2 or WSe2 have the potential to convert solar energy to electricity with high efficiency because all photogenerated carriers are produced at a charge-collecting interface. However, solid-state monolayer photovoltaic devices typically require that charge carriers travel parallel to, instead of perpendicular to, the three atom-thick material toward charge-collecting contacts. Parallel charge transport across long distances decreases energy conversion efficiency. Here we demonstrate proof-of-concept monolayer and bilayer TMD|I–,I3–|Pt photoelectrochemical solar cells that use a conformal liquid electrolyte junction for efficient perpendicular charge transport over significantly larger active areas than solid state systems. Efficient perpendicular charge transport is evidenced by high peak internal quantum efficiencies (IQE) of 44.2, 9.1, and 10.5% for 0.4 mm2 MoS2, WSe2, and MoS2/WSe2 domains in a predominantly monolayer MoS2/WSe2 film. The monochromatic energy conversion e...
Array-based target localisation in ATSC DTV passive radar

This work investigates the use of passive radar array-based localisation, with a focus on experimental demonstration and practical array calibration aspects. Passive radar target localisation often employs multilateration, where a set of hyperbolic equations from range differences or elliptic equations from bistatic ranges are solved to determine the three-dimensional (3D) target position. An alternative uses array-based direction finding to provide an accurate measurement of target bearing, and intersects the bearing vector with a bistatic range ellipsoid to obtain a 3D target position. Continuous-wave digitally modulated signals like digital television (DTV) provides stable power spectra and long integration times, and these support fine range and Doppler resolutions to isolate multiple targets without the association difficulties of multilateration. The Bartlett method can then be used on individual targets, giving bearing estimates of much higher accuracy than the array beamwidth. This was shown experimentally with an electrically small array yielding small angular errors in both azimuth and elevation. Using a DTV-based passive radar, a target at 20 km receiver range was located with an accuracy of ~250 m in a 3D position. Furthermore, a procedure for in-situ array calibration using opportunistic air targets is reported.
Techniques for Nonlinear Identification and Maximizing Modal Response

Recent research has shown that weakly nonlinear structures can be modeled as a combination of nonlinear pseudo-modal models. These modal models consist of a linear spring, mass, and damper with the addition of a nonlinear element often identified using a restoring force surface technique. This approach is limited by force level achieved when exciting the system for identification. Extrapolation leads to poor results when predicting the nonlinear response; thus, there is a need to maximize the modal amplitude excited in these weakly nonlinear structures. Previous works have compared hammer testing to shaker testing using windowed sinusoidal input forces. This appeared to be a promising technique to increasing the excited modal amplitude. In this work the windowed sinusoidal technique is further investigated to understand how window parameters (such as window width) can be optimized to maximize the modal amplitude obtained during the identification process.
PREVALENCE AND OUTCOMES OF MITRAL STENOSIS IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING TRANSCATHETER AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT: FINDINGS FROM THE SOCIETY OF THORACIC SURGEONS/AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY (STS/ACC) TRANSCATHETER VALVE THERAPIES (TVT) REGISTRY

Background: The prevalence of mitral stenosis (MS) and its impact on in-hospital and 1 year clinical outcomes in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are unknown. Methods: We included 44,755 adult patients who underwent TAVR (11/1/2011 – 9/30/2015) in the STS/ACC TVT
The Sum Is Greater than its Parts: Intersectionality and Measurement Validity of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) in Latinx Undergraduates in the United States

Previous research has demonstrated disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders for men and ethnic minorities. The current study sought to investigate differences in eating pathology and measurement validity of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) at the intersection of gender and ethnicity in a nonclinical sample of undergraduates. A total sample of 1173 undergraduates (177 Latino men, 133 non-Latino White men, 554 Latina women, 309 non-Latina White women) completed the EDE-Q as part of a larger study on eating habits. A series of ANOVAs indicated a similar pattern of effects for gender and ethnicity for the original four-factor, 22-item EDE-Q and an alternative three-factor, seven-item variant. Women scored significantly higher than men on all subscales, and Latinx participants scored significantly higher than non-Latinx White participants on the Shape Concern and Weight Concern subscales. A significant interaction of gender by ethnicity was observed on the Shape Concern subscale in which larger effects of ethnicity were observed for men compared to women. Tests of confirmatory factor analysis suggested only the three-factor, seven-item EDE-Q provided acceptable fit and demonstrated scalar invariance across gender and ethnicity. Our study highlights the importance of examining eating pathology and measurement validity at the intersection of demographic characteristics. Results suggest that Latino men may be at higher risk of eating pathology relative to non-Latino White men and that a three-factor, seven-item EDE-Q appears to be a valid measure of eating pathology across gender and ethnicity among U.S. undergraduates.
TBX4 syndrome: a systemic disease highlighted by pulmonary arterial hypertension in its most severe form.

Thore and co-workers add to our understanding of TBX4-associated pulmonary vascular disease as a precapillary form of pulmonary hypertension (PH), showing that TBX4 mutations may also cause multisystem anomalies concurrent with, or independent of, PHhttps://bit.ly/2yIqb9v
Pursuing agroecosystem resilience in a long-term Mediterranean agricultural experiment

Abstract Semiarid and Mediterranean agroecosystems represent the bread and produce baskets of the world food supply, but they are also some of the most susceptible ecosystems to negative effects from rising global temperatures. It is no coincidence that as concern about climate change and food security grows, so has worldwide interest in soil health and carbon storage. Long-term cropping experiments provide hubs, or convening places, for growers, students, and policymakers to come together in one place and observe the effects and implications of different crop management practices that manifest over time. At the Century Experiment in California, the effects of winter cover crop and compost addition to annual row crop systems have caused observable and in some cases substantial changes in soil properties that led to greater yield stability of some cash crops over time, compared to conventional management systems that rely on winter fallow and chemical nutrient inputs alone. We argue that the greater yield stability, soil health indicators, and soil–water–physical properties associated with compost + cover crop inputs in a Mediterranean agroecosystem, compared to systems based solely on chemical fertilizer inputs, can increase agroecosystem resilience to climate change–induced disturbances and ultimately contribute to greater food security. However, scientific conclusions derived from long-term systems are not made with caveats, and some challenges inherent to long-term cropping systems studies, as well as the decision-making process that must occur over their long lifetimes, are discussed. Finally, the potential of long-term agricultural experiments to convene diverse groups of stakeholders, to inspire on-farm research, and to inform state and federal agricultural policy makes these experiments invaluable to science and society.
A framework for measuring weak-lensing magnification using the Fundamental Plane

Galaxy-galaxy lensing is an essential tool for probing dark matter halos and constraining cosmological parameters. While galaxy-galaxy lensing measurements usually rely on shear, weak-lensing magnification contains additional constraining information. Using the fundamental plane (FP) of elliptical galaxies to anchor the size distribution of a background population is one method that has been proposed for performing a magnification measurement. We present a formalism for using the FP residuals of elliptical galaxies to jointly estimate the foreground mass and background redshift errors for a stacked lens scenario. The FP residuals include information about weak-lensing magnification $\kappa$, and therefore foreground mass, since to first order, nonzero $\kappa$ affects galaxy size but not other FP properties. We also present a modular, extensible code that implements the formalism using emulated galaxy catalogs of a photometric galaxy survey. We find that combining FP information with observed number counts of the source galaxies constrains mass and photo-z error parameters significantly better than an estimator that includes number counts only. In particular, the constraint on the mass is 17.0\% if FP residuals are included, as opposed to 27.7\% when only number counts are included. The effective size noise for a foreground lens of mass $M_H=10^{14}M_\odot$, with a conservative selection function in size and surface brightness applied to the source population, is $\sigma_{\kappa,\mathrm{eff}}=0.250$. We discuss the improvements to our FP model necessary to make this formalism a practical companion to shear analyses in weak lensing surveys.
Isoscalar and Isovector Giant Resonances in Closed Shells Nuclei and Bulk Properties of Nuclear Matter

Centroid energies, $$E_{\textrm{CEN}}$$ , of the isoscalar ( $$T=0$$ ) and isovector ( $$T=1$$ ) giant resonances of multipolarities $$L_{m}=0$$ –3 in $${}^{\mathrm{40,48}}$$ Ca, $${}^{\mathrm{68}}$$ Ni, $${}^{\mathrm{90}}$$ Zr, $${}^{\mathrm{116}}$$ Sn, $${}^{\mathrm{144}}$$ Sm, and $${}^{\mathrm{208}}$$ Pb, were calculated within the fully self-consistent spherical Hartree–Fock (HF)-based random-phase approximation (RPA) theory, using 33 different energy density functionals associated with Skyrme-type effective nucleon–nucleon interactions of the standard form commonly employed in the literature. We also calculate the Pearson linear correlation coefficients between each $$E_{\mathrm{CEN}}$$ and each bulk property of nuclear matter (NM), associated with the Skyrme interactions used in the calculations, and determine the sensitivity of $$E_{\mathrm{CEN}}$$ to bulk properties of NM. By comparing the calculated values of $$E_{\textrm{CEN}}$$ to the experimental data, we constrain the values of the bulk NM properties. We find that interactions associated with the values of the NM effective mass, $$m^{\ast}/m=0.70$$ –0.90, incompressibility coefficient, $$K_{\textrm{NM}}=210$$ –240 MeV, and the enhancement coefficient of the energy-weighted sum rule of the isovector giant dipole resonance, $$\kappa=0.25$$ –0.70, best reproduce the experimental data.
Flow Regime Transition in the Post-CHF Flow Regimes under Subcooled and Low-quality Conditions

Abstract Post critical heat flux (post-CHF) heat transfer may occur during loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs) in water-cooled nuclear reactors when makeup water quenches the uncovered portion of fuel rods in the reactor cores. Post-CHF flow regimes include inverted annular film boiling (IAFB), dispersed flow film boiling (DFFB), and a transition regime between these two, i.e., inverted slug film boiling (ISFB) for low mass fluxes or agitated inverted annular film boiling (AIAFB) for high mass fluxes. Flow regime transition is important for modeling heat transfer characteristics in the post-CHF flow regimes. Breakup of the liquid core in the IAFB regime represents the flow regime transition from the IAFB to ISFB/AIAFB regimes. This paper first presents a literature review of previous experimental and theoretical studies of the mechanisms of breakup of the liquid core in the IAFB regime and flow regime transition in the post-CHF regimes. To physically explain the breakup of the liquid core in the IAFB regime, the Weber number is calculated from the experimental data obtained from steady-state post-CHF experiments at subcooled and low-quality conditions and a critical Weber number is obtained to describe the flow regime transition from the IAFB to ISFB/AIAFB regimes. Parametric effects of the inlet subcooling, mass flux, and system pressure on the critical Weber number are then studied, based on which a new correlation for the critical Weber number is proposed to predict the flow regime transition from the IAFB to ISFB/AIAFB regimes. Due to the different flow patterns in the transition regime, i.e., ISFB and AIAFB respectively for low and high mass fluxes, the heat transfer characteristics show different trends. The indication of the flow regime transition from the IAFB to ISFB/AIAFB regimes by the critical Weber number criterion matches well with the trend of the wall heat transfer coefficient.