cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inactivation of Snake Venom l-Amino Acid Oxidase by Freezing

Abstract The l-amino acid oxidase of Crotalus adamanteus is inactivated by storage in the frozen state at temperatures between -5° and -60°, with maximal inactivation being observed at approximately -20°. The rate of inactivation is dependent on the pH of storage and on the ionic composition of the medium. The inactivation is accompanied by changes in the visible absorption spectrum and by a decrease in the rate of photoreduction with ethylenediaminetetraacetate. The frozen, inactivated enzyme in most cases (depending on the conditions of storage) can be reactivated completely by heating at pH 5, with a full return of the spectrum of native enzyme. The reactivation process is extremely dependent on temperature, with a calculated ΔH of approximately 40,000 cal per mole. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the inactivation is due to a limited conformational change of the enzyme structure, particularly in the vicinity of the flavin prosthetic group. The similarities and differences between this type of inactivation and the reversible heat inactivation of this enzyme observed by previous workers are discussed.
Pharmacologic Blockade of 5-Lipoxygenase Improves the Amyloidotic Phenotype of an Alzheimer's Disease Transgenic Mouse Model : Involvement of γ-Secretase

The 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) enzyme is widely distributed within the central nervous system. Previous works showed that this protein is up-regulated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and that its genetic absence results in a reduction of amyloid β (Aβ) levels in Tg2576 mice. In the present study, we examined the effect of 5-LO pharmacological inhibition on the amyloidotic phenotype of these mice. Aβ deposition in the brains of mice receiving zileuton, a selective and specific 5-LO inhibitor, was significantly reduced when compared with control Tg2576 mice receiving vehicle. This reduction was associated with a similar decrease in brain Aβ peptides levels. Zileuton treatment did not induce any change in the steady state levels of amyloid-β precursor protein (APP), BACE1 or ADAM10. By contrast, it resulted in a significant reduction of presenilin 1 (PSEN1, alias PS1), nicastrin (NCSTN) , presenilin enhancer 2 homolog (PSNEN, alias, Pen-2), and anterior pharynx defective 1 (APH-1), the four components of the γ-secretase complex—at the protein and message level. Furthermore, in vitro studies confirmed that zileuton prevents Aβ formation by modulating γ-secretase complex levels without affecting Notch signaling. These data establish a functional role for 5-LO in the pathogenesis of AD-like amyloidosis, whereby it modulates the γ-secretase pathway. They suggest that pharmacological inhibition of 5-LO could provide a novel therapeutic opportunity for AD.
Soybean transcription factor ORFeome associated with drought resistance: a valuable resource to accelerate research on abiotic stress resistance

Background Whole genome sequencing provides the most comprehensive collection of an organism’s genetic information. The availability of complete genome sequences is expected to dramatically deliver a high impact on biology. However, to achieve this impact in the area of crop improvement, significant efforts are still required on functional genomics, including the areas of gene annotation, cloning, expression profiling, and functional validation.
Marxian competition versus perfect competition: further comments on the so-called choice of technique

In my notes on Dobb, I chose to focus on his discussion of Marx's theory of the falling rate of profit, for three reasons : first, because I believed that Dobb's representation of Marx is inadequate; second, because I wished to disentangle Dobb's version from Marx's, since the former has become quite influential and is often presented as being identical to the latter;! last, and most important, because I believed that Marx's own argument is both more interesting and more powerful than that of Dobb. I remain firmly unrepentant on all three points. J
The case against Monolingual Bias in Multilingualism

Driven primarily by globalization, multilingualism has become a topic du jour in the field of applied linguistics in general and in critical applied linguistics in particular (May, 2013). Especially in the last decade, the field has witnessed an intensive period of research into multilingualism and multiple language acquisition. A fundamental premise for research in the field is that a multilingual is not the sum of many monolinguals in the same person. Hence an individual with more than one language needs to be studied as a multilingual, with researchers avoiding a so-called “monolingual bias” (Grosjean, 2008). This commentary presents a short description of the so-called monolingual bias, followed by a brief discussion of the critique mounted over this notion from within SLA, and concludes with a brief analysis of the proposed solution for a way out and forward by Ortega (2010).
Sensory Mechanisms in Paramecium : II. Ionic Basis of the Hyperpolarizing Mechanoreceptor Potential

1. Small, brief mechanical stimuli were delivered with a microstylus to the surface of Paramecium caudatum bathed in solutions of 1 mM-CaCl 2 , 1 mM KCl + 1 mM Tris HCl, pH 7.2. 2. Stimulation of the caudal end produced a graded hyperpolarizing receptor potential which reached a maximum within 50 msec and decayed more slowly. 3. The input conductance at the peak of the caudal receptor potential increased to a value of at least 6 times that of the resting membrane. 4. The potential diminished in amplitude when the membrane was hyperpolarized by injected d.c. current, and reversed sign with sufficient hyperpolarization. The reversal potential in a solution of 1 mM-CaCl 2 + 4 mM-KCl was -37 mV, while the resting potential was -20 mV. 5. The peak of the receptor potential was shifted about + 50 mV per 10-fold increase in extracellular K + . Cl - and Ca 2+ and other cations produced little or no shift in the potential peak of the response. It is concluded that mechanical stimulation of the caudal surface produces a local increase in conductance, predominantly to K + . 6. Extracellular tetraethylammonium converts the normally hyperpolarizing receptor potential to a depolarization similar to the potential produced in response to mechanical stimulation of the anterior surface. The TEA effect is antagonized by calcium ions.
Guerrilla System Administration: Scaling Small Group Systems Administration To a Larger Installed Base

Many university sites have a large number of machines that consist of a variety of platforms and operating systems. Because of limited budgets, many use a small number of full-time systems administrators supervising a group of undergraduates to administrate the campus network. The usual solution is to have the full-time administrators act as managers for a pool of junior and senior undergraduates. The junior administrators learn on their own, with limited help from the senior administrators and managers. This model works well for a small group of undergraduates who can remain in close contact. However, recent increase in demand for system administration requires hiring more undergraduates, causing the small group system to break down -- junior administrators do not get as much contact with senior administra tors and management, and some lose touch altogether. This paper presents modifications to the small group model intended to improve training of junior administrators, and associated changes to improve customer service. The driving idea is to give undergraduates as much authority as they can handle responsibly. This means making current undergraduates a part of the interviewing process for new administrators; taking advantage of the benefits of the small group model by forming small groups of junior administrators lead by senior undergraduates, who receive minimal guidance from management; and creating standing orders that extend the authority of a staff member in a crisis situation. These improvements, as a whole, have worked very well. New hires take less time to become part of the team; small groups of undergraduates provide better support for junior administrators, and free full-time administrators from dealing with the details of a large project; competent junior administrators are able to handle most situations without help.
Molecular weight–viscosity relationships for poly(1,4‐butylene terephthalate)

The correlation between number-average molecular weight and intrinsic viscosity in 60:40 phenol-sym-tetrachloroethane at 30°C for poly(1,4-butylene terephthalate) was established from endgroup determinations as well as by gel permeation chromatography, eqs. (1) and (10a). The GPC data also yielded relationships between weight- and z-average molecular weight and intrinsic viscosity, eqs. (10b) and (10c). Melt viscosities, corrected for the thermal history of the melt, were measured at shear stresses in the range of 0.02–0.55 MPa. Linear PBT melts were found to become non-Newtonian at a shear stress of approximately 0.11 MPa, independent of molecular weight within the range studied. Correlations between melt viscosity at low shear stress versus intrinsic viscosity are presented, as well as the dependence of melt viscosity in the non-Newtonian region on shear stress and low-stress (Newtonian) melt viscosity.
Hydraulic permeability of hollow‐fiber membranes

Two experimental methods have been developed to characterize the pressure-driven flow of a liquid through the walls of single hollow-fiber membranes. In one method, the permeation rate is measured directly by following the air-water interface in a pressurized pipet connected to a hollow fiber which is sealed at one end. With the second method, the permeation rate is determined by tracking the decent of an air bubble inside a pressurized hollow fiber sealed at one end. Results obtained by the two experimental methods are in good agreement. Darcy's law is used to analyze the experimental data because the Darcy permeability constant, k is an intrinsic property of the material. The membrane dimensions and the Darcy permeability constant for reconstituted collagen hollow fibers are shown to be quite sensitive to hydrogen ion concentration and ionic strength. A conceptual link between the Darcy permeability constant and the membrane microstructure is obtained by combining the the aligned-rod structural model for reconstituted collagen proposed by Kramer with a hydrodynamic calculation due to Happel and electrical double-layer theory. On the average, the predictions of this model for volume fraction solids and microstructure dimensions are in reasonable agreement with experimental observations.
Sr+88 445-THz Single-Ion Reference at the 10 -17 Level via Control and Cancellation of Systematic Uncertainties and Its Measurement against the SI Second

We describe experiments and measurements on a trapped and laser-cooled single ion of $^{88}\mathrm{Sr}^{+}$ which, when probed on its reference $5s\text{ }^{2}S_{1/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}4d\text{ }^{2}D_{5/2}$ transition at 445 THz, provides an optical frequency standard of evaluated accuracy outperforming the current realization of the SI second. Studies are presented showing that micromotion-associated shifts of the standard can be reduced to the ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}18}$ level and uncertainties in the blackbody-induced shifts for the current system are at the low ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}17}$ level due to the relatively well-known polarizability of the strontium ion system and careful choice of the trap structure. The current evaluated systematic shifts for the ion transition are at a fractional uncertainty of $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}17}$. An absolute frequency measurement performed over a two-month period relative to a maser referenced to the SI second via Global Positioning System time transfer has determined the center frequency for the transition at ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{SD}=444\text{ }779\text{ }044\text{ }095\text{ }485.5\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.9\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{Hz}$ ($1\ensuremath{\sigma}$).
Influences of Continental Monsoons and Air–Sea Coupling on the Climate of the Equatorial Pacific*

Abstract An air–sea–land coupled model of intermediate complexity was used to reveal the important roles of air–sea coupling and adjacent continental monsoons (i.e., American monsoons and Asian–Australian monsoons) on the annual cycle and mean state of the equatorial Pacific. Excluding the effects of adjacent continental monsoons, the simulated mean SST in the western Pacific displays a warm bias; the SST seasonal cycle exhibits an erroneous, dominant annual component in the western Pacific, and insufficient strength and a 2-month phase delay in the equatorial eastern Pacific. The air–sea coupling alone cannot sustain the full strength of the annual marches of the ITCZ/cold tongue complex. This is because the diabatic heating associated with the ITCZ rainfall generates both a southerly and a westerly component to its equatorward side; while the southerly cools the cold tongue establishing a positive feedback to enhance the ITCZ, and the equatorial westerly favors cold tongue warming inducing a negative fe...
Approximate Wave Functions for High Energy Electrons in Coulomb Fields

In this paper we construct approximate solutions of the Dirac equations for an electron in a Coulomb field of force, which reduce at large distance to plane waves. For very high energy electrons these functions satisfy the wave equations to terms of the orders $(\frac{{\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{2}}{r})\frac{{sin}^{2}\ensuremath{\theta}}{2}$, $(\frac{{\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{2}}{r})\frac{sin\ensuremath{\theta}}{2}$. Thus they are everywhere at least as accurate as the functions obtained by first order approximation methods, and for $\ensuremath{\theta}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$ they satisfy the equations exactly. They therefore give an improved method for treating problems in which high energy electrons are ejected in a narrow angular range. The functions are simple in form and quite similar to the Gordon-Temple solutions of the Schr\"odinger equation in parabolic coordinates.
DWEPP: a dynamic soil erosion model based on WEPP source terms

A new rangeland overland-flow erosion model was developed based on Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) sediment source and sink terms. Total sediment yield was estimated for rainfall simulation plots from the WEPP field experiments as well as for a small watershed without a well developed channel network. Both WEPP and DWEPP gave a similar level of prediction accuracy for total event soil losses measured from both rainfall simulation and small watershed experiments. Predictions for plot and hillslope scale erosion simulations were in the range of expected natural variability. Sediment yield dynamics were plotted and compared with experimental results for plots and hillslope, and the results were satisfactory. Effects of cover and canopy on the predicted sediment yields were well represented by the model. DWEPP provides a new tool for assessing erosion rates and dynamics, has physically based erosion mechanics descriptions, is sensitive to treatment differences on the experimental plots and has a well developed parameter database inherited from WEPP. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Modulation of the African easterly jet by a mesoscale convective system

The modulation of the African easterly jet (AEJ) by a mesoscale convective system (MCS) is examined in a numerical simulation. An AEJ with a strong and confined core is simulated before the formation of the MCS north of the AEJ axis, and the jet is ‘split’ with two separate cores after the passage of the MCS. Our diagnosis suggests that the MCS may be triggered by a wave propagating south of the AEJ axis. A momentum budget analysis indicates that the meridional circulation associated with the MCS weakens the jet to its south and forms the secondary jet to its north. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society
Surface microlayers and foams—source and metal transport in aquatic systems

Abstract Natural surface films and foams are formed from allocthonous surfactants obtained from the leaching of terrestrial materials by rain water. The surfactants result from the decomposition of organic materials and exudates from trees. The resulting organic compounds are capable of complexing metals so as to concentrate them in foams and films in amounts in excess of those found in the carrier water in streams and lakes. Aeration and/or mechanical mixing induces the formation of foams which explains their presence on almost all streams, especially following heavy rains.
The importance of placebo effects in pain treatment and research.

Objective. —To estimate the importance and implications of placebo effects in pain treatment and research from the existing literature, with emphasis on their magnitude and duration, the conditions influencing them, and proposed explanations. Data Sources. —English-language articles and books identified through MEDLINE (1980 through 1993) and PsycLIT (1967 through 1993) database searching, bibliography review, and expert consultation. Study Selection. —Articles were included if they pertained to the review objectives. Results. —Placebo response rates vary greatly and are frequently much higher than the often-cited one third. Placebos have time-effect curves, and peak, cumulative, and carryover effects similar to those of active medications. As with medication, surgery can produce substantial placebo effects, and this possibility is commonly overlooked in case series reports on back surgery. Individuals are not consistent in their placebo responses, and a placebo-responder personality has not been identified. Models advanced to explain placebo effects emphasize the role of anxiety, expectations, and learning. Conclusions. —Placebo effects influence patient outcomes after any treatment, including surgery, that the clinician and patient believe is effective. Placebo effects plus disease natural history and regression to the mean can result in high rates of good outcomes, which may be misattributed to specific treatment effects. The true causes of improvements in pain after treatment remain unknown in the absence of independently evaluated randomized controlled trials. ( JAMA . 1994;271:1609-1614)
Three Probable Cases of Parthenogenesis in Lizards (Agamidae, Chamaeleontidae, Gekkonidae)

Nachweis von Triploidie und Parthenogenese bei Reptilien (Agamidae, Chamaleontidae und Gekkonidae).
Invertible Darboux Transformations

For operators of many different kinds it has been proved that (generalized) Darboux transformations can be built using so called Wronskian formulae. Such Darboux transformations are not invertible in the sense that the corresponding mappings of the opera- tor kernels are not invertible. The only known invertible ones were Laplace transformations (and their compositions), which are special cases of Darboux transformations for hyperbolic bivariate operators of order 2. In the present paper we find a criteria for a bivariate linear partial differential operator of an arbitrary order d to have an invertible Darboux trans- formation. We show that Wronkian formulae may fail in some cases, and find sufficient conditions for such formulae to work.
Asymptotic states of the bounce geometry

We consider the question of asymptotic observables in cosmology. We assume that string theory contains a landscape of vacua, and that metastable de Sitter regions can decay to a zero cosmological constant by bubble nucleation. The asymptotic properties of the corresponding bounce solution should be incorporated in a nonperturbative quantum theory of cosmology. A recent proposal for such a framework defines an S matrix between the past and future boundaries of the bounce. We analyze in detail the properties of asymptotic states in this proposal, finding that generic small perturbations of the initial state cause a global crunch. We conclude that late-time amplitudes should be computed directly. This would require a string theory analog of the no-boundary proposal.
Review of "Artificial Intelligence: An MIT Perspective, Volume 2: Understanding Vision, Manipulation, Computer Design, Symbol Manipulation by Patrick Henry Winston and Richard Henry Brown"; The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Second printing, 1980, ISBN 0-262-23097-6.

Artificial Intelligence: An MIT Perspective consists of two volumes. In my previous review of Volume I (which has sections on Expert Problem Solving, Natural Language Understanding, Intelligent Computer Coaches, and Representation and Learning) I evaluated this set from a general perspective. For brevity, I will not repeat my comments here. Instead, I refer the reader who has not seen the first part of this article to the preceding issue of the Sigart Newsletter. Nevertheless, for the anxious reader I present my point of view concisely: These two volumes make up an excellent set of references and belong to the library of every serious Al researcher.
Amoeba proteus: Studying the Contractile Vacuole by Micropuncture

Direct measurements of the freezing point depression of the protoplasm and of the fluid from the contractile vacuole of fresh-water amoebae showed that the fluid in the vacuole is distinctly hypoosmotic to the protoplasm. Fourteen samples of protoplasm from amoebae, placed in a medium with a milliosmolality of 7, had an average osmolality of 101 milliosmoles with a range of 73 to 116. Eleven samples of vacuolar fluid had an average osmolality of 32 milliosmoles, with a range of 24 to 38. It is suggested that the fluid may be isoosmotic to the protoplasm when secreted and that salt is subsequently reabsorbed, leaving the vacuolar fluid hypoosmotic to the protoplasm.
Free-field formulation of topological supergravity

Abstract Two-dimensional topological supergravity is taken to be defined by topological OSP(2, 1) Yang-Mills gauge theory. A free-field formulation is achieved by choosing a suitable contraction of the gauge group. This formulation enables us to represent explicitly the complete det of BRST invariant local operators. Because of an inadequate understanding of supermoduli space, the physical content of the theory remains to be fully explored.
Life cycle and production of Isoperla signata (Banks) in a Central Wisconsin trout stream

The life history and production of the stonefly Isoperla signata (Banks) was studied in a central Wisconsin trout stream for one year. Adults exhibited a 2 week spontaneous emergence beginning in early May when mean daily stream temperatures were approximately 10°C. Emergence was completed and no larvae remained in the stream when mean daily stream temperatures reached 18°C. Ova were oval in shape, round in cross section and measured 250μm (ira long by 195 μm wide. Ova exhibited a differential hatch which lasted approximately 51 days and underwent a mean incubation period of approximately 36 days. Larvae exhibited an S2 (slow) univoltine life cycle and were present in the stream for approximately 11 months. The cohort production interval (CPI) was 329 days. Size frequency distributions indicated ca. 14 instars for both males and females. Size of male and female larvae were similar until the 9th instar, but females always weighed more than males. The mean cohort standing crop and biomass were 119 N m‐2 and...
Numerical Experiments on the Stochastic Behavior of a Lennard-Jones Gas System

It is known that the hard-sphere gas exhibits strongly stochastic properties. For it, most initially close phase-space-trajectory pairs separate exponentially with time, and Sinai has used this so-called $C$-system behavior to develop a rigorous proof of ergodicity and mixing in the hard-sphere gas. In this paper we numerically integrate the equations of motion for a Lennard-Jones gas, which has attractive as well as repulsive interparticle forces, and we demonstrate that this exponential separation of initially close trajectory pairs persists even in the presence of attractive forces over a fairly wide range of particle densities. In our calculations, this range extends from the dilute-gas region up to densities at which three-body and four-body collisions become significant. Moreover for this density range, we show that an expression for the trajectory-pair rate of exponential separation, rather crudely derived for a hard-sphere gas, fits the empirical Lennard-Jones data quite nicely. Our evidence thus indicates that a gas system with attractive forces can exhibit $C$-system behavior similar to that of the hard-sphere gas. Finally we point out that the exponential separation of trajectories as empirically observed here involves an unusual type of correlated collision sequence.
Production of bound quark-antiquark systems

We use the technique of averaging low-order quantum-chromodynamics diagrams over the range from quark threshold to meson threshold to compute the photoproduction of psi and UPSILON vector mesons and the hadroproduction of UPSILON. We find that the energy dependence of psi photoproduction is reproduced quite well. The model then implies a very rapid energy variation for UPSILON photoproduction at Fermilab energies. Calculations for hadroproduction of UPSILON show that at Fermilab energies the Drell-Yan mechanism is much more important for the production of b quarks than it is for the production of charmed quarks. We compute rates for the production of UPSILON at Fermilab and CERN ISR energies and compare with experiment. Because the model has well defined dependence on the mass of the quark involved, we can compute the expected rates for hadroproduction of higher-mass bound systems. The variation of these rates with mass is comparable to that observed for experimental ..mu../sup +/..mu../sup -/ pair production in this mass region, leading us to conclude that the signal/noise ratio for production of higher vector mesons should be roughly comparable to that for the UPSILON.
Confidence Intervals for the Number Showing a Certain Characteristic in a Population when Sampling is Without Replacement

IN A number of different sampling situations, we encounter a problem which may be stated as follows: From a population of N objects, each of which possesses or does not possess a certain characteristic, we select without replacement a random sample of n objects. Observing that m of these possess the characteristic in question, we wish to estimate the total number M having the property. This problem arises in sample surveys of human populations and in sampling inspection of manufactured articles as well as in other, less obvious, situations. It is well known (see e.g., F. F. Stephan's solution, quoted by Deming [2, p. 294]) that the maximum likelihood estimate for M is the largest integer in (m/n) (N+ 1). The problem of confidence interval estimation for M, however, seems to have escaped systematic investigation in the literature. In this paper, the problem is considered and two approximate methods are given for construction of these confidence intervals. On the basis of some preliminary investigations, it appears that the second approximation, which allows for correction for discontinuity in the observations, agrees quite closely with the exact computations.
Investigation by microarray analysis of effects of cigarette design characteristics on gene expression in human lung mucoepidermoid cancer cells NCI-H292 exposed to cigarette smoke.

Abstract The effects of tobacco leaf types and the presence or absence of charcoal in the cigarette filters on gene expression were investigated using cigarette prototypes made of either flue-cured (FC) leaf or burley (BLY) leaf and Kentucky Reference 2R4F as a representative blend cigarette with cellulose acetate filters or charcoal filters. NCI-H292, human lung mucoepidermoid carcinoma cell line, was exposed to the total particulate matter (TPM) and gas/vapor phase (GVP) from each prototype for 8 h and then the changes in gene expression from microarray data were analyzed. A number of genes associated with oxidative stress, inflammation, DNA damage and xenobiotic response were modified by the two fractions, TPM and GVP, from the three prototypes with cellulose acetate filters. Both TPM and GVP fractions strongly enhanced the gene expression of HMOX1 , which is encoding the limiting enzyme in heme degradation and a key regulator of oxidative stress and inflammatory process. Comparing the effects of TPM and GVP fraction, TPM strongly activated Nrf2 pathway-mediated anti-oxidative stress reaction, whereas GVP caused notable DNA damage response. In comparison of FC and BLY, TPM from FC more strongly induced the expression of histone family proteins than that from BLY. GVP from FC markedly induced gene expression associated with HSP70-mediated inflammation relative to that from BLY. Charcoal included in the filter strongly reduced the effects of GVP from each cigarette on gene expression. However, charcoal did not modified the effects of TPM. As a whole, charcoal is a useful material for reducing the biological effects of GVP.
Collimation of high-speed flow with thermal spread losses

The operation of the neutral beam collimator designed for the mass spectrometer inlet system of the Space Shuttle Induced Environment Contamination Monitor system is discussed. The collimator will allow selective views of a 10 deg half-angle conical volume of space so that backscattered molecules from within this volume can be measured and related to the column densities of outgassing species. Gas molecules which enter the collimator but do not have a view from the entrance orifice to the exit are directed to a gas getter and eliminated. The loss of properly directed molecules in the collimator due to their thermal distribution is calculated for the case of a directed flow, which would occur when the collimator is pointed in the direction of motion of the spacecraft. Inlet to outlet flux ratios are also computed as a function of angle of attack.
Oligo(ethylene glycol)-functionalized disiloxanes as electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract Functionalized disiloxane compounds were synthesized by attaching oligo(ethylene glycol) chains, –(CH 2 CH 2 O)– n , n = 2–7, via hydrosilation, dehydrocoupling, and nucleophilic substitution reactions and were examined as non-aqueous electrolyte solvents in lithium-ion cells. The compounds were fully characterized by 1 H, 13 C, and 29 Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Upon doping with lithium bis(oxalato)borate (LiBOB) or LiPF 6 , the disiloxane electrolytes showed conductivities up to 6.2 × 10 −4 S cm −1 at room temperature. The thermal behavior of the electrolytes was studied by differential scanning calorimetry, which revealed very low glass transition temperatures before and after LiBOB doping and much higher thermal stability compared to organic carbonate electrolytes. Cyclic voltammetry measurements showed that disiloxane-based electrolytes with 0.8 M LiBOB salt concentration are stable to 4.7 V. The LiBOB/disiloxane combinations were found to be good electrolytes for lithium-ion cells; unlike LiPF 6 , LiBOB can provide a good passivation film on the graphite anode. The LiPF 6 /disiloxane electrolyte was enabled in lithium-ion cells by adding 1 wt% vinyl ethylene carbonate (VEC). Full cell performance tests with LiNi 0.80 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 as the cathode and mesocarbon microbead (MCMB) graphite as the anode show stable cyclability. The results demonstrate that disiloxane-based electrolytes have considerable potential as electrolytes for use in lithium-ion batteries.
Semi-automatic restructuring of offloadable tasks for many-core accelerators

Work division between the processor and accelerator is a common theme in modern heterogenous computing. Recent efforts (such as LEO and OpenAcc) provide directives that allow the developer to mark code regions in the original application from which offloadable tasks can be generated by the compiler. Auto-tuners and runtime schedulers work with the options (i.e., offloadable tasks) generated at compile time, which is limited by the directives specified by the developer. There is no provision for offload restructuring. We propose a new directive to add relaxed semantics to directive-based languages. The compiler identifies and generates one or more offloadable tasks in the neighbourhood of the code region marked by the directive. Central to our contribution is the idea of sub-offload and super-offload. In sub-offload, only a part of the code region marked by the developer is offloaded to the accelerator, while the other part executes on the CPU in parallel. This is done by splitting the index range of the main parallel loop into two or more parts and declaring one of the subloops as the offloadable task. Support is added to handle reduction variables and critical sections across subloops. Sub-offload enables concurrent execution of a task on the CPU and accelerator. In super-offload, a code region larger than the one specified by the developer is declared as the offloadable task (e.g., a parent loop). Super-offload reduces data transfers between CPU and accelerator memory. We develop Elastic Offload Compiler(EOC) for use alongside existing directive-based languages. The current implementation supports LEO for the new Intel Xeon Phi (MIC) architecture. We evaluate EOC with respect to SpecOMP and NAS Parallel Benchmarks. Speedups range between 1.3x-4.4x with the CPU version as baseline and 1.2x-24x with the offload (CPU-MIC) version as baseline.
Smart Staff Recruiting

The objective of this article is to help readers better prepare to recruit smart people to work for them.Three case studies can help illustrate the right and wrong way to hire a smart staff. The first describes how to identify technical people with good technical backgrounds, the second demonstrates how IT people without personal skills are worse than those without technical skill, and the third shows how a potential applicant might or might not be willing to work for you.
Thermo-mechanical response of nylon 101 under uniaxial and multi-axial loadings: Part I, Experimental results over wide ranges of temperatures and strain rates

Abstract A comprehensive study of the thermo-mechanical response of a thermoplastic polymer, nylon 101 is presented. Quasi-static and dynamic compression uniaxial and multi-axial experiments (stress states) were performed at a wide range of strain rates (10 −5 to 5000 s −1 ) and temperatures (−60 to 177 °C or −76 to 350 °F). The material is found to be non-linearly dependent on strain rate and temperature. The change in volume after plastic deformation is investigated and is found to be negligibly small. The relaxation and creep responses at room temperature are found to be dependent on strain rate and the stress–strain level at which these phenomena are initiated. Total deformation is decomposed into visco-elastic and visco-plastic components; these components have been determined at different levels of deformation. Results from non-proportional uniaxial to biaxial compression, and torsion experiments, are also reported for three different strain rates at room temperature. It is shown that nylon 101 has a response dependent on the hydrostatic pressure.
Micro-CT of rodents: state-of-the-art and future perspectives

Micron-scale computed tomography (micro-CT) is an essential tool for phenotyping and for elucidating diseases and their therapies. This work is focused on preclinical micro-CT imaging, reviewing relevant principles, technologies, and applications. Commonly, micro-CT provides high-resolution anatomic information, either on its own or in conjunction with lower-resolution functional imaging modalities such as positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). More recently, however, advanced applications of micro-CT produce functional information by translating clinical applications to model systems (e.g. measuring cardiac functional metrics) and by pioneering new ones (e.g. measuring tumor vascular permeability with nanoparticle contrast agents). The primary limitations of micro-CT imaging are the associated radiation dose and relatively poor soft tissue contrast. We review several image reconstruction strategies based on iterative, statistical, and gradient sparsity regularization, demonstrating that high image quality is achievable with low radiation dose given ever more powerful computational resources. We also review two contrast mechanisms under intense development. The first is spectral contrast for quantitative material discrimination in combination with passive or actively targeted nanoparticle contrast agents. The second is phase contrast which measures refraction in biological tissues for improved contrast and potentially reduced radiation dose relative to standard absorption imaging. These technological advancements promise to develop micro-CT into a commonplace, functional and even molecular imaging modality.
Current opinions: Zeros in host-parasite food webs: Are they real?

As the data have poured in, and the number of published food webs containing parasites has increased, questions have been raised as to why free-living species consistently outnumber parasites, even though most general reviews on the subject of host:parasite species richness suggest the contrary. Here, I describe this pattern as it exists in the literature, posit both real and artifactual sources of these findings, and suggest ways that we might interpret existing parasite-inclusive food webs. In large part, the reporting of free-living species devoid of any associated parasites (termed here in the coding of food web matrices as “zeros”) is a consequence of either sampling issues or the intent of the study. However, there are also several powerful explanatory features that validate real cases of this phenomenon. Some hosts appear to authentically lack parasitism in portions of their geographic ranges, and parasites are often lost from systems that are either in early phases of community re-colonization or are compromised by environmental perturbation. Additionally, multi-stage parasite life cycles and broad host spectra allow some parasite species to partially saturate systems without providing a corresponding increase in parasite species richness, leading to low parasite species richness values relative to the free-living community. On the whole, the existing published food webs are sufficient to, at least in principle, determine basic patterns and pathways associated with parasite establishment and persistence in free-living communities because (1) for the purpose of those features, species rarity is roughly analogous to absence and (2) the existing data seem to suggest that the addition of more parasite taxa would reinforce the patterns already observed. This is particularly true for helminth parasites, in which our understanding and the resolution of our work is most robust.
Microporous vascular grafts do not require neointima for resistance to bacteremic infection.

Infection of a prosthetic graft is the most serious complication of vascular reconstructive surgery. Although graft sepsis is uncommon, it significantly increases the risk of loss of life or limb. 1-3 Therefore, the prevention of prosthetic graft infection is an important concern of vascular surgeons. The three main postulated mechanisms of vascular graft infection are operative contamination, mechanical erosion of intestine, and bacteremia, a Strict aseptic techniques and prophylactic antibiotics should obviate operative contamination and separation of the intestine from the graft can be achieved surgically, but the prevention of bacteremic infection would require methods applicable throughout the period that grafts are vulnerable to colonization by circulating bacteria. Although proven bacteremic graft infection in humans has been uncommon, canine experiments suggest that grafts remain vulnerable to bacteremia for months after insertion and that resistance is related to the rate of neointimal formation, with healed grafts resistant, and 95% of unhealed grafts infected after a bacteremic challenge. <s We report the effects of bacteremia studied in a new rabbit aortic graft model, which challenges this conventional point of view.
SOME THERMOANALYTIC STUDIES OF ORGAN AND WHOLE ANIMAL RESPIRATION

Data on the respiratory rates of frog liver, kidney, and striated muscle were obtained at various temperatures by the Warburg method. Fundamental differences in the curves of Q(O(O2) )vs. T exist among the tissues and between the tissues and the whole animal. The Arrhenius plots of these curves show that at least for some tissues the availability of oxygen at the tissue, as limited by the diffusion of gas through the skin and lungs, governs the Q(O(O2) ) of the tissue. Inferences are drawn regarding the comparative metabolism of the tissues and the fallacy of using whole animal Q(O(O2) ) alone as a metabolic index.
The Unpublished Rhetoric Lectures of Robert Watson, Professor of Logic, Rhetoric, and Metaphysics at the University of St. Andrews, 1756?1778

Abstract: Robert Watson, historian, minister, and professor, delivered a series of lectures on rhetoric and belles lettres in Edinburgh from 1752 to 1756, between the time Adam Smith and Hugh Blair delivered similar public lectures. Watson9s unpublished manuscript lectures are described and discussed here for the first time and are compared to the lectures on rhetoric and belles lettres of Blair and Smith. Watson9s lectures demonstrate a practical, moral rhetoric which, in its emphasis upon critical understanding and analysis of literary texts, provides additional evidence for an emerging "belletristic rhetoric" in eighteenth-century Scotland.
How Small‐Share Firms Can Uncover Winning Strategies

Can small‐share firms step out of the shadow of the market leader? Yes. Here is how to evaluate a strategy's potential success.
An optical fiber-based high contrast imager

Arrays of single mode fibers can be used to form segmented pupils of almost arbitrary geometry. Such pupil arrays can be used both for interferometric imaging, for example by non-redundant aperture masking or in direct imaging systems such as the phased array coronagraph. Achieving control over the optical coupling, phase and dispersion for fiber arrays of reasonable size is a technological challenge. Progress has been made using a monolithic block of single mode fibers, lens arrays and masks, and mirror arrays. On one testbed, arrays of up to 37 beamlets are being combined to form a single image. On a second testbed, control of dispersion between fibers of slightly different length is being evaluated. The combination of the techniques being demonstrated has a range of potential uses in astronomy. In this paper we discuss the initial testbed results.
The interacting role of media violence exposure and aggressive–disruptive behavior in adolescent brain activation during an emotional Stroop task

Only recently have investigations of the relationship between media violence exposure (MVE) and aggressive behavior focused on brain functioning. In this study, we examined the relationship between brain activation and history of media violence exposure in adolescents, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Samples of adolescents with no psychiatric diagnosis or with disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) with aggression were compared to investigate whether the association of MVE history and brain activation is moderated by aggressive behavior/personality. Twenty-two adolescents with a history of aggressive behavior and diagnosis of either conduct disorder or oppositional-defiant disorder (DBD sample) and 22 controls completed an emotional Stroop task during fMRI. Primary imaging results indicated that controls with a history of low MVE demonstrated greater activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus and rostral anterior cingulate during the violent word condition. In contrast, in adolescents with DBD, those with high MVE exhibited decreased activation in the right amygdala, compared with those with low MVE. These findings are consistent with research demonstrating the importance of fronto-limbic structures for processing emotional stimuli, and with research suggesting that media violence may affect individuals in different ways depending on the presence of aggressive traits.
90 Vascular Responses to Oxygen Breathing in the Newborn Infant

During the course of measurements of pulmonary function in newborn infants breathing 60–100 % oxygen, we have previously noted frequent, rapid and significant decreases in hematocrit and hemoglobin levels. The present investigation has been designed to confirm and elucidate this finding. 14 newborn infants varying in gestational age from 36–37 weeks, in birth weight from 2.7–4.6 kg and in postnatal age from 1–18 h breathed 60 % O2 by demand valve for periods of 60–70 min. Hematocrit (Hct), hemoglobin (Hb), total protein (TP) and blood gases were followed throughout and blood volume (CO method) was measured in 3 infants. Within 10 min of onset of O2 breathing prompt decreases of Hb, Hct, TP were seen reaching levels of 20 % below control values by 60 min. These changes promptly reversed upon resumption of air breathing. TP changes were seen to be more consistent and marked than changes in Hct or Hb. The response was seen with arterial O2 tensions of as low as 116 mm Hg. Total blood volume increases of 40–60 ml/kg were noted during O2 breathing in 3 infants. These data suggest auto-infusion of tissue fluid from some vascular bed in response to O2 breathing; this may imply an increase in precapillary resistance with consequent decrease in capillary pressure and derangement of the Starling equilibrium. Preliminary investigations indicate that bradycardia and increased peripheral vascular resistance are involved in this phenomenon. (APS)
First principles calculations: The elemental transition metals and their compounds

If done with sufficient care, present day a priori theory yields calculated enthalpies of formation whose agreement with experiment (when such data is available) is of the order of the experimental scatter. Comparisons will be made for the Pt-Ti system for which such data exist and for which one crystal structure involves atomic sites of low symmetry. Two other cases will be considered for which there is no direct experimental heats data. The first of these will be the structural stabilities of the 4d elemental metals. Such structural stabilities have been an issue of contention between electronic structure theorists and those who construct phase diagrams for some 25 years. The second involves the energetics of forming metal adlayers and artificial multilayers. The distortion energies associated with the requirement that adlayers (or multilayers) conform to some given substrate are often the controlling factors in the fabrication of multilayer materials. This contribution is best understood by invoking a combination of elemental structural promotion energies plus elastic distortions from these structures. As will be seen, the fabrication of multilayers also involves a term not normally encountered in bulk phase diagram considerations, namely the difference in surface energies of the two multilayer constituents.