cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A phenomenological model of near-field fire entrainment

A phenomenological model of air entrainment into combusting regions of axisymmetric fire plumes is developed and compared with some existing experimental entrainment data. The model considers engulfment of ambient air into a fire plume due to the action of the toroidal vortices that are formed periodically close to the source of an axisymmetric fire. It is shown that the diffusive entrainment rates of air towards a wrinkled flame sheet representing the turbulent diffusion flame severely underpredicts the entrainment rates by at least two orders of magnitude, suggesting that the turbulent large-scale engulfment is the primary mechanism of entrainment. By describing the entrainment process as periodic engulfment of ambient air around the toroidal vortex rings and the frequency of formation and passage of these vortex rings in combusting regions of fire plumes, it is shown that the modeled entrainment process gives good agreement with the experimentally determined fire plume entrainment or plume mass fluxes. This model accounts for the physical processes of unsteady fire plume dynamics, including the effects of pulsations for the first time. The model predicts the plume mass flux to grow linearly with height above the fire source and to be independent of the fire heat release in the visible flame region. The predicted scaling with respect to the source diameter appears to be in the range suggested by the experimental data. Overall, this new model provides a better foundation for the scaling of entrainment rates in the near-field of fire plumes. The methodology can be extended to predict entrainment rates in other periodic unsteady vortex dominated flows, such as pulsating buoyant non-reacting plumes.
Infrared and Raman spectra of aluminum borohydride, Al(BH4)3

Abstract Gaseous, solid and matrix isolated infrared spectra and liquid and solid Raman spectra are presented for Al(BH 4 ) 3 and Al(BD 4 ) 3 and there is no evidence for any significant structural change in the different phases. The data are consistent with a D 3 h prismatic structure and all 23 of the optically allowed fundamental transitions are assigned for each molecular isotope. A number of modifications are made of a previous partial fundamental assignment and the results are in satisfactory agreement with the Product Rule. Finally, some correlated NMR-Raman spectra were obtained over the temperature range −60 to +80°C and the results suggest that traces of decomposition products may act in a catalytic manner to profoundly change the NMR spectra of Al(BH 4 ) 3 .
EXCRETION OF ELECTROLYTES BY ADRENALECTOMIZED AND CONTROL RATS GIVEN A MID-LETHAL DOSE OF TOTAL-BODY X-IRRADIATION.

Abstract It is indeed curious that even animals without adrenal glands excrete an excess of potassium immediately following a midlethal dose of total-body irradiation. It is difficult to attribute such an enormous immediate loss of potassium entirely to tissue destruction, since this represents an increased excretion of approximately one-third their control output for a six-hr period. It is also difficult not to conclude that some kidney changes must occur either during or very rapidly following irradiation of these animals. Since adrenalectomized rats do not exhibit increased polyuria following whole body irradiation but do exhibit the increased potassium excretion, the two phenomena must be considered to be independent.
Using Search Engine to Construct a Scalable Corpus for Vietnamese Lexical Development for Word Segmentation

As the web content becomes more accessible to the Vietnamese community across the globe, there is a need to process Vietnamese query texts properly to find relevant information. The recent deployment of a Vietnamese translation tool on a well-known search engine justifies its importance in gaining popularity with the World Wide Web. There are still problems in the translation and retrieval of Vietnamese language as its word recognition is not fully addressed. In this paper we introduce a semi-supervised approach in building a general scalable web corpus for Vietnamese using search engine to facilitate the word segmentation process. Moreover, we also propose a segmentation algorithm which recognizes effectively Out-Of-Vocabulary (OOV) words. The result indicates that our solution is scalable and can be applied for real time translation program and other linguistic applications. This work is here is a continuation of the work of Nguyen D. (2008).
Oberon: Color photometry from voyager and its geological implications

The surface of the Uranian satellite Oberon is characterized on the basis of ground-based and Voyager photometric observations. Disk-integrated phase-curve and disk-resolved data are presented in extensive tables, graphs, maps, and black-and-white and false-color images and discussed in terms of fits to the Hapke (1986) parameters, local variations in albedo and color, and their possible geological significance. It is found that most of the leading hemisphere is covered with dark materials like those in the crater floors, while the trailing hemisphere has patches of the dark material on a surface with a higher proportion of icy materials which are spectrally neutral.
Effects on ingestive behavior in rats of the α1-adrenoceptor agonist cirazoline

Abstract Microinjections of various α 1 -adrenoceptor agonists including phenylephrine and phenylpropanolamine into the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVN) suppress food intake in rats, suggesting that this receptor type might act in opposition to previously identified facilatory PVN α 2 -adrenoceptors in the modulation of feeding. In the present experiments, we examine the effects on food and water intake of intra-PVN as well as systemic injection of cirazoline, a highly potent α 1 -adrenoceptor agonist. In Experiment 1, intra-PVN microinjection of cirazoline (0, 3, 6, 12 and 24 nmol) suppressed food intake (ED 50 = 23.4 nmol) without significant effects on water intake. In Experiment 2, systemic injection of cirazoline (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 mg/kg) also markedly suppressed food intake (ED 50 = 0.05 mg/kg i.p.), with a less potent action on water intake (ED 50 = 0.22 mg/kg i.p.). The results of this study as well as our previous investigations strongly support the notion that α 1 -adrenoceptors within rat PVN act to reliably suppress food intake.
Conjugated linoleic acid reduces phorbol ester-induced prostaglandin F2alpha production by bovine endometrial cells

Recent interest in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) research stems from the well-documented anticarcinogenic, antiatherogenic, antidiabetic, and antiobesity properties of CLA in animal models. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of 2 CLA isomers (cis-9,trans-11 and trans-10,cis-12) on phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu)-induced PGF2alpha production in cultured bovine endometrial (BEND) cells. Confluent BEND cells were incubated in the absence (control) or presence of 100 microM each of linoleic acid, cis-9,trans-11 CLA, or trans-10,cis-12 CLA for 24 h. After incubation, cells were rinsed and then stimulated with PDBu (100 ng/mL) for 6 h. Compared with untreated cells, PDBu stimulated PGF2alpha secretion (+25-fold) within 6 h. The increases in PGF(2alpha) secretion were paralleled by signifi-cant induction of prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase-2 (PGHS-2) mRNA (+63-fold) and protein (+1.6-fold) expression. In spite of stimulatory effects on PGHS-2 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARdelta) mRNA responses, CLA greatly decreased PGF2alpha production by PDBu-stimulated BEND cells. There was no evidence for PDBu or CLA modulation of PPARdelta protein synthesis in cultured BEND cells. Results indicated that CLA modulation of PGF2alpha production by BEND cells was not mediated through PGHS-2 or PPARdelta gene repression.
Quantum fluctuations of flexible chain molecules and rods and molecular nanotechnology.

The classical ground state of a flexible chain molecule (polymer) is well known to be simple, just a straight line. Here we consider quantum fluctuations of flexible chains. In their presence, the straight ground (zero-temperature) state becomes rough, whereas the Hookean, linear elastic theory breaks down: For a weak tensile force applied to the chain ends, the increment of the chain length is \ensuremath{\sim}(force${)}^{1/2}$. In non-self-avoiding chains, quantum fluctuations alone may induce a zero-temperature phase transition from the straight to a crumpled ground state. Self-avoiding chains, however, appear to have only straight ground states. We discuss these phenomena in physical systems of interest for molecular nanotechnology.
Expression and characterization of recombinant fungal acetyl-CoA carboxylase and isolation of a soraphen-binding domain

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) catalyses the first step in fatty-acid biosynthesis. Owing to its role in primary metabolism, ACC has been exploited as a commercial herbicide target and identified as a chemically validated fungicide target. In animals, ACC is also a key regulator of fat metabolism. This function has made ACC a prime target for the development of anti-obesity and anti-Type II diabetes therapeutics. Despite its economic importance, there is a lack of published information on recombinant expression of ACC. We report here the expression of enzymically active fungal (Ustilago maydis ) ACC in Escherichia coli. The recombinant enzyme exhibited Km values of 0.14+/-0.013 mM and 0.19+/-0.041 mM for acetyl-CoA and ATP respectively, which are comparable with those reported for the endogenous enzyme. The polyketide natural product soraphen is a potent inhibitor of the BC (biotin carboxylase) domain of endogenous fungal ACC. Similarly, recombinant ACC activity was inhibited by soraphen with a K(i) of 2.1+/-0.9 nM. A truncated BC domain that included amino acids 2-560 of the full-length protein was also expressed in E. coli. The isolated BC domain was expressed to higher levels, and was more stable than full-length ACC. Although incapable of enzymic turnover, the BC domain exhibited high-affinity soraphen binding (Kd 1.1+/-0.3 nM), demonstrating a native conformation. Additional BC domains from the phytopathogenic fungi Magnaporthe grisea and Phytophthora infestans were also cloned and expressed, and were shown to exhibit high-affinity soraphen binding. Together, these reagents will be useful for structural studies and assay development.
Migrating to internet-based e-commerce: Factors affecting e-commerce adoption and migration at the firm level

Web technology has enabled e-commerce. However, in our review of the literature, we found little research on how firms can better position themselves when adopting e-commerce for revenue generation. Drawing upon technology diffusion theory, we developed a conceptual model for assessing e-commerce adoption and migration, incorporating six factors unique to e-commerce. A series of propositions were then developed. Survey data of 1036 firms in a broad range of industries were collected and used to test our model. Our analysis based on multi-nominal logistic regression demonstrated that technology integration, web functionalities, web spending, and partner usage were significant adoption predictors. The model showed that these variables could successfully differentiate non-adopters from adopters. Further, the migration model demonstrated that web functionalities, web spending, and integration of externally oriented inter-organizational systems tend to be the most influential drivers in firms' migration toward e-commerce, while firm size, partner usage, electronic data interchange (EDI) usage, and perceived obstacles were found to negatively affect e-commerce migration. This suggests that large firms, as well as those that have been relying on outsourcing or EDI, tended to be slow to migrate to the internet platform.
Perception of sinewave vowels

There is a significant body of research examining the intelligibility of sinusoidal replicas of natural speech. Discussion has followed about what the sinewave speech phenomenon might imply about the mechanisms underlying phonetic recognition. However, most of this work has been conducted using sentence material, making it unclear what the contributions are of listeners’ use of linguistic constraints versus lower level phonetic mechanisms. This study was designed to measure vowel intelligibility using sinusoidal replicas of naturally spoken vowels. The sinusoidal signals were modeled after 300 /hVd/ syllables spoken by men, women, and children. Students enrolled in an introductory phonetics course served as listeners. Recognition rates for the sinusoidal vowels averaged 55%, which is much lower than the ∼95% intelligibility of the original signals. Attempts to improve performance using three different training methods met with modest success, with post-training recognition rates rising by ∼5–11 percentage points. Follow-up work showed that more extensive training produced further improvements, with performance leveling off at ∼73%–74%. Finally, modeling work showed that a fairly simple pattern-matching algorithm trained on naturally spoken vowels classified sinewave vowels with 78.3% accuracy, showing that the sinewave speech phenomenon does not necessarily rule out template matching as a mechanism underlying phonetic recognition.
Development of sensitivity to information for impending collision

Infants were tested in three experiments to study the development of sensitivity to information for impending collision and to investigate the hypothesis that postural changes of very young infants in response to an approaching object are of a tracking rather than of a defensive nature. Experiment 1 involved the presentation of three types of shadow projection displays, specifying (1) collision, (2) noncollision, and (3) a nonexpanding rising contour, to infants from 1 to 9 months of age. Avoidance of collision appears to be absent in 1- to 2-month-olds, begins to develop in 4- to 6-month-olds, and is present in 8- to 9-month-old infants. In Experiment 2, 1- to 2-month-old infants were presented with optical expansion patterns which specified collision and noncollision. The top contour of these displays stayed at eye level. No significant difference was observed between reaction to the collision and the noncollision displays, suggesting that the young infants were tracking the displays and not attempting to avoid collision. Experiment 3 was designed to determine whether an approaching real object might elicit an avoidance response in infants not sensitive to an optical display specifying collision. No evidence of avoidance behavior was observed in the 1- to 2-month-olds; however, avoidance, as indexed by blinking, does appear to be present at 4 months of age.
The Clinical Pharmacology of Piroxicam

Piroxicam, a potent inhibitor of prostaglandins, is effective and well-tolerated in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea. A single 40 mg dose has been shown to rapidly reduce the uterine hypercontractility of primary dysmenorrhea. In clinical trials vs placebo, piroxicam in a dose of 40 mg once daily for two days followed by 20 mg once daily thereafter demonstrated superior efficacy. In more than 1400 piroxicam-treated menstrual cycles and more than 200 placebo-controlled cycles, a similar incidence of side effects—7% and 8.4% respectively—was observed.
Electron microscopic evaluation of brain edema in rabbits with galactosamine-induced fulminant hepatic failure: Ultrastructure and integrity of the blood-brain barrier

Brain edema is a major complication of fulminant hepatic failure and is responsible for death in a large percentage of patients. We previously demonstrated the progressive accumulation of water in grey matter areas of the brain in the rabbit with galactosamine-induced fulminant hepatic failure. We now report the electron microscopic morphology of the brain in the same model of acute hepatic failure following the intravenous injection of horseradish peroxidase, an intravascular tracer which forms an electron-dense reaction product. Rabbits with both mild and severe encephalopathy had normal blood pressures and blood gases at the time of study. Fixation of brain tissue was obtained by whole-body perfusion. Marked swelling of the cytoplasm, perineuronal and perivascular processes of astrocytes were noted in cortical gray, but not white, matter areas; the other cellular components of the brain had normal morphology. Capillary endothelial cells were normal, and there was no evidence of horseradish peroxidase in endothelial cell vesicles, basement membranes or the brain parenchyma, suggesting that the blood-brain barrier was impermeable to large molecules. Histologic evidence of brain edema is seen in this model, with swelling of astrocytes as the primary manifestation of the accumulation of water. Damage to astrocytes or inhibition of their function may contribute to the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy in this model.
The peculiar variable star R Aquarii and its jet

Observations of the variable star R Aquarii from 1928 to the present are examined to conclude that the star is a binary system with a jet. The orbital period of the objects is estimated at 22 yr, and a supercritical mass transfer that occurs once every 44 yr is suggested as a mechanism to explain deep minima observed on two occasions that many years apart. Calculations presented for the critical accretion rate of the two Miras indicated that one of the objects possesses a substantially stronger gravitational field than the other and features a large accretion disk. Oriental astronomical records from 930 AD are cited as evidence that a nova occurred in the vicinity of R Aquarii at that time. The system is noted to be the closest jet thus far observed, and the accretion disk may be visible with the Space Telescope.
From ambiguity to dogma: The rhetorical symbols of Lyndon B. Johnson on Vietnam

The authors analyze and evaluate President Johnson's casting of political policy into evocative symbols, the invention and operation of those rhetorical forms, the resulting conflict over the symbolization of the Vietnam War, and the theoretical and ethical implications of those rhetorical choices.
Rapid Temporal Changes of Boundary Layer Winds

The statistical distribution of the magnitude of the vector wind change over 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2-h periods based on data from November 1999 through August 2001 is presented. The distributions of the 2-h u and v component wind changes are also presented for comparison. The wind changes at altitudes from 500 to 3000 m were measured using the Eastern Range network of five 915 MHz Doppler radar wind profilers. Quality controlled profiles were produced every 15 minutes for up to sixty gates, each representing 101 m in altitude over the range from 130 m to 6089 m. Five levels, each constituting three consecutive gates, were selected for analysis because of their significance to aerodynamic loads during the Space Shuttle ascent roll maneuver. The distribution of the magnitude of the vector wind change is found to be lognormal consistent with earlier work in the mid-troposphere. The parameters of the distribution vary with time lag, season and altitude. The component wind changes are symmetrically distributed with near-zero means, but the kurtosis coefficient is larger than that of a Gaussian distribution.
A status report on the SURF II synchrotron radiation facility at NBS

Abstract Recent work to upgrade the SURF II (Sychrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility) storage ring is described, resulting in reliable operation up to 252 MeV at currents in the range 10–20 mA. A wide variety of experiments is now in progress at the facility, encompassing solid state physics, atomic and molecular physics and molecular biology, as well as the all-important radiometric standards work. The instrumentation used for these experiments is described; brief details of the experiments themeselves are also given.
The knives of Frank J. Richtig as featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!®

Abstract Unusual claims, resulting from “secret” heat treatment methods, surround the toughness and sharpness of the knives manufactured during the 20th century by a cutler named Frank J. Richtig. Richtig became famous because of his dramatic demonstrations of the toughness of his blades by hammering them through iron and steel objects and then illustrating their subsequent sharpness. Two of Richtig's blades have been examined and their microstructure and mechanical behavior determined. Comparisons with contemporary steels of similar composition, which are themselves related to ancient Damascus steels, have been made. As a result, proposals regarding Richtig's “secret” heat treatments are given. Some comments are made regarding historical methods of testing blades and thereby provide a context regarding the degree of difficulty in mimicking the remarkable toughness and cutting properties described by Richtig. Finally, some observations are made regarding the contemporary specialty knifemaking industry in the U.S.
Gene triplication deduced from the tertiary structure of a muscle calcium binding protein.

GENE duplication was first observed cytologically in the bar gene of drosophila1. The idea, extended by Dixon2, has been used to explain the obvious repeats in amino-acid sequence in the immunoglobulins, in bacterial ferredoxins, in haptoglobin α-2 (summarized in ref. 3) and in neurophysin4.
Early Newborn Hospital Discharge and Readmission for Mild and Severe Jaundice

Objectives To further explore the relationship of early newborn hospital discharge and readmission for jaundice, and to determine if early hospital discharge was associated with increased severity of jaundice among those readmitted. Methods We performed a population-based case-control study using Washington State vital statistics, birth certificates, and hospital discharge abstracts from 1991 to 1995. Cases included 750 infants readmitted to the hospital for jaundice in the first 2 weeks of life; controls included 3192 infants not readmitted. Infants with severe medical conditions and those delivered by cesarean section were excluded. Early hospital discharge was defined as fewer than 30 hours in the hospital; late hospital discharge, 30 to 78 hours. We assessed the risk for hospital readmission for jaundice, for hospital readmissions classified as brief (≤2 days) or prolonged (>2 days), and for hospital readmissions classified as uncomplicated or complicated. Results Infants discharged from the hospital early were at increased risk for jaundice (odds ratio, 1.34 [95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.64] adjusted for birth year, gestational age, maternal race and age, parity, payer, and infant sex). The risk associated with early hospital discharge was similar regardless of whether the hospital readmission was brief or prolonged and complicated or uncomplicated. One hundred twenty-two infants would have to stay for longer than 30 hours to avoid 1 jaundice readmission. Conclusions While newborns discharged from the hospital early are at increased risk for hospital readmission for jaundice, the clinical significance is limited. Mandating longer neonatal stays may not be the most effective strategy to prevent hospital readmission for jaundice and its complications.
Mean Reversion in Annual Earnings and Its Implications for Security Valuation

This article documents the long-horizon mean reverting character of annual earnings and tests the implications of such mean reversion for security valuation. First, both theory-based and nonparametric measures of earnings persistence decrease as the estimation order increases, revealing 40 percent less long-horizon persistence than expected under the commonly used random walk model. Second, the return responses to the earnings shocks are more closely related across firms to the higher-order measures of persistence that reflect significant long-horizon mean reversion. Third, the persistence measure derived from classical valuation theory outperforms the generic measure in explaining the return responses. Taken as a whole, these results provide evidence for significant mean reversion in the higher-order properties of earnings and for the stock market incorporating these properties in a manner consistent with classical valuation theory.
Phosphor preparation by ion implantation

Abstract 6H silicon carbide crystals have been subjected to 11B+ ion implantation and subsequent annealing and found to show the yellow boron photoluminescence.
La guerre du Liban à/et l’écran des souvenirs dans : Le Jeu des hirondelles et Je me souviens. Beyrouth de Zeina AbiRached

Cet article examine deux recits graphiques de Zeina AbiRached dans lesquels l’artiste se penche sur des souvenirs d’enfance precis, vecus dans son immeuble de la rue Semaani situe pres de la ligne ...
On a Flap and a Foot: Aerial Locomotion in the “Flying” Gecko, Ptychozoon kuhli

We quantified the flight trajectories of Ptychozoon kuhli dropped from distances of 300 and 825 cm and the effects of removing the cutaneous flaps and binding the feet Analyses suggested there is a threshold speed of approximately 650 cm/sec below which the lift generated does not significantly retard acceleration of the animal or permit shallow glide angles. Removal of cutaneous flaps from specimens gliding at airspeeds below 650 cm/sec had no effect on the flight; above 650 cm/sec the presence of the cutaneous flaps significantly slowed the specimen and produced shallower glide angles. Binding of the feet eliminated all maneuverability and led to a significant increase in airspeed as well as a significant decrease in glide angle. We propose that the webbed feet of Ptychozoon play a key function in gliding and that aerial locomotion in this taxon may be more similar to "flying" treefrogs than to other reptilian gliders.
Longitudinal stress fractures of the tibia: diagnosis by magnetic resonance imaging

Objective. Previous works describe magnetic resonance (MR) imaging characteristics of stress fractures. Diagnosis of the atypical, longitudinal type of stress fracture has been reported using computed tomography (CT). This report focuses on MR imaging of longitudinal stress fractures of the tibia. Materials and methods. Six cases are presented in which a longitudinal linear abnormal marrow signal was detected in the middle and distal parts of the tibial shaft. Five patients were imaged using a 1.5 Tesla MR unit. Axial, sagittal and coronal T1 and T2-weighted or fat suppressed proton density fast spin echo images were obtained in all but one patient. One patient was imaged using a 0.5 Tesla MR unit with axial and coronal T1- and T2-weighted sequences. Initial conventional radiographs seen at clinical presentation were interpreted as normal in all cases. Two patients underwent radionuclide bone scan, and one patient was imaged with CT prior to MR imaging. Results. In each instance, MR imaging demonstrated linear marrow signal abnormalities orientated along the long axis of the tibial shaft. Endosteal and periosteal callus was identified on axial images. In all cases, MR imaging clearly demonstrated a fracture extending through one cortex with abnormal signal in both the marrow cavity as well as adjacent soft tissues indicating edema. Conclusion. MR imaging was shown to be excellent for demonstration of fracture lines, callus, and marrow and soft tissue abnormalities seen in association with longitudinal stress fractures.
The spectrum of IIB supergravity on AdS5 × S5/ {{\mathbb{Z}}_3} and a 1/N2 test of AdS/CFT

We present the complete Kaluza-Klein spectrum resulting from the compactification of IIB supergravity on S 5 / $ {{\mathbb{Z}}_3} $ . Knowledge of this spectrum allows us to perform a holographic computation of the difference of central charges c − a of the dual SU(N)3 quiver gauge theory. We find the numerical value c − a = 3/16, in exact agreement with the field theory result.
Complex Regulation of Pulmonary Inflammation and Fibrosis by CCL18

Elevated pulmonary levels of CCL18 have been associated with influx of T lymphocytes, collagen accumulation, and a decline in lung function in pulmonary fibrosis patients. We previously reported that overexpression of CCL18 in mouse lungs triggers selective infiltration of T lymphocytes and moderate lymphocyte-dependent collagen accumulation. We hypothesized that in combination with bleomycin injury, overexpression of CCL18 will worsen the severity of lung inflammation and fibrosis. Mice were infected with a replication-deficient adenovirus encoding CCL18 and then instilled with bleomycin; control mice were challenged with either CCL18 overexpression or bleomycin. Additive effects of CCL18 overexpression and bleomycin injury were observed on pulmonary inflammation, particularly on T-cell infiltration, and increased levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon-γ, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, and MMP-9. Despite the additive effect on inflammation, CCL18 overexpression unexpectedly attenuated the bleomycin-induced collagen accumulation. Pulmonary levels of active transforming growth factor-β1 mirrored the changes in collagen levels. Depletion of T cells with antilymphocyte serum or pharmacological inhibition of MMPs with GM6001 abrogated accumulation of collagen and increases in the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon-γ, and active transforming growth factor-β1. Thus, CCL18-stimulated T-lymphocytic infiltration is by itself mildly profibrotic to a healthy lung, whereas it partially protects against lung fibrosis in an inflammatory profibrotic pulmonary milieu.
Geodetic and Seismic Constraints on Recent Activity at Long Valley Caldera, California: Evidence for Viscoelastic Rheology

Long Valley Caldera is an active volcanic region in east central California. Surface deformation on the resurgent dome within the caldera was an order of magnitude higher for the five-month period September 1997 through January 1998 compared to the previous three-year average. However, the location of the immediate (shallow) source of deformation remained essentially constant, 5‐7 km beneath the dome, near the top of a region of probable magma accumulation defined by seismic data. Similarly, although the rate of seismic moment release increased dramatically, earthquake locations remained similar to earlier periods. The rate of deformation increased exponentially between April‐May 1997 and late November 1997 with a time constant of ,55‐65 days, after which it decreased exponentially with about the same time constant. We develop a model consistent with these observations and also consistent with independent constraints on sub-surface rheology from thermal, geochemical and laboratory data. Deformation at sites on the resurgent dome most sensitive to the shallow deformation source are well fit by a model with a single pressure source at 6 km depth which experienced a pressure pulse that began in late 1996, peaked in November 1997, close to the time of major seismic moment release, and essentially ended in mid-1999. The pressure source in our model is surrounded by a 1 km thick “shell” of Maxwell viscoelastic material (shell viscosity 10 16 Pa s) within an elastic half space, and has peak values that are much lower than corresponding purely elastic half space models. The shell viscosity is characteristic of a weak, deformable solid, e.g. quartz-bearing country rock surrounding the magma chamber at temperatures in the range 500‐6008C, i.e. above the brittle‐ductile transition, and/or largely crystallized rhyolite near its solidus temperature of ,6708C, material that probably exists near the top of the zoned magma chamber at Long Valley. q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Nonlinear state estimation using sliding observers

Sliding controllers have recently been shown to feature excellent robustness and performance properties for specific classes of nonlinear tracking problems. This paper examines the potential use of sliding surfaces for observer design. A particular observer structure including switching terms is shown to have promising properties in the presence of modelling errors and sensor noise.
Organizational identity and Space of Action

Post-Structuralism has been criticized for reducing individuals to subject positions. This essay responds to this criticism by illustrating how individuals positioned as subjects reflect upon and challenge their socially ascribed identities. More specifically, it examines how a group of women 'service workers' employed by a public university respond to patriarchical, bureaucratic and capitalist articulations of their identity. The essay argues that the women's experiences of the contradictions and antagonisms that rupture these discourses generate a sense of 'lack' that has the effect of opening up alternative possibilities for action and self-understanding. However, these alternatives are not autonomously generated but are always/already specific to the individual's existential situation.
Designing an aerial robot for hover-and-stare surveillance

When disasters and crises arise visual information needs to be rapidly gathered and assessed in order to assist rescue workers and emergency personnel. Often such situations are life-threatening and people cannot safely obtain such information. Disasters in urban areas are particularly taxing. Structural collapse, damaged staircases and the loss communication infrastructures aggravate rescue efforts. Robots, equipped with camera, can be employed to visually capture situational awareness. As such, the focus of our work is designing a backpackable aerial robot that can hover-and-stare. Such a robot would ascend, peer through windows, and transmits video to an operator. This paper presents a backpackable tandem-rotor prototype that can carry a wireless camera
3-D Deep penetration photoacoustic imaging with a 2-D CMUT array

In this work, we demonstrate 3-D photoacoustic imaging of optically absorbing targets embedded as deep as 5 cm inside a highly scattering background medium using a 2-D capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) array with a center frequency of 5.5 MHz. 3-D volumetric images and 2-D maximum intensity projection images are presented to show the objects imaged at different depths. Due to the close proximity of the CMUT to the integrated frontend circuits, the CMUT array imaging system has a low noise floor. This makes the CMUT a promising technology for deep tissue photoacoustic imaging.
A dual-band vehicular planar inverted-F antenna for ultra high frequency (UHF) applications

A small dual-band R-shaped planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) is introduced for vehicular application. Utilizing this unique geometry dual-frequency operation is achieved with a single feed. The proposed antenna operates in the 237-240 MHz and the 450-500 MHz bands with bandwidths of 15% and 4.3% respectively within VSWR of 2:1. Parametric data pertaining to the antenna impedance and VSWR are presented along with representative radiation patterns.
Specificity and affinity quantification of protein–protein interactions

Motivation: Most biological processes are mediated by the protein–protein interactions. Determination of the protein–protein structures and insight into their interactions are vital to understand the mechanisms of protein functions. Currently, compared with the isolated protein structures, only a small fraction of protein–protein structures are experimentally solved. Therefore, the computational docking methods play an increasing role in predicting the structures and interactions of protein–protein complexes. The scoring function of protein–protein interactions is the key responsible for the accuracy of the computational docking. Previous scoring functions were mostly developed by optimizing the binding affinity which determines the stability of the protein–protein complex, but they are often lack of the consideration of specificity which determines the discrimination of native protein–protein complex against competitive ones. Results: We developed a scoring function (named as SPA-PP, specificity and affinity of the protein–protein interactions) by incorporating both the specificity and affinity into the optimization strategy. The testing results and comparisons with other scoring functions show that SPA-PP performs remarkably on both predictions of binding pose and binding affinity. Thus, SPA-PP is a promising quantification of protein–protein interactions, which can be implemented into the protein docking tools and applied for the predictions of protein–protein structure and affinity. Availability: The algorithm is implemented in C language, and the code can be downloaded from http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1865642/Optimization.cpp. Contact: jin.wang.1@stonybrook.edu Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Membrane topography of ColE1 gene products: the immunity protein.

Abstract The topography of the colicin E1 immunity (Imm) protein was determined from the positions of TnphoA and complementary lacZ fusions relative to the three long hydrophobic segments of the protein and site-directed substitution of charged for nonpolar residues in the proposed membrane-spanning segments. Inactivation of the Imm protein function required substitution and insertion of two such charges. It was concluded that the 113-residue colicin E1 Imm protein folds in the membrane as three trans-membrane alpha-helices, with the NH2 and COOH termini on the cytoplasmic and periplasmic sides of the membrane, respectively. The approximate spans of the three helices are Asn-9 to Ser-28, Ile-43 to Phe-62, and Leu-84 to Leu-104. An extrinsic highly charged segment, Lys-66 to Lys-74, containing seven charges in nine residues, extends into the cytoplasmic domain. The specificity of the colicin E1 Imm protein for interaction with the translocation apparatus and the colicin E1 ion channel is proposed to reside in its peripheral segments exposed on the surface of the inner membrane. These regions include the highly charged segment Lys-66 to Lys-83 (loop 2) and the short (approximately eight-residue) NH2 terminus on the cytoplasmic side, and Glu-29 to Val-44 (loop 1) and the COOH-terminal segment Gly-105 to Asn-113 on the periplasmic side.
Magnetic field assisted growth of highly dense α-Fe2O3 single crystal nanosheets and their application in water treatment

Highly dense 2D nanostructures are desirable in photocatalysis, water treatment and energy storage, due to their high surface to volume areas. This paper describes a novel approach combining thermal stress and magnetic force to generate highly dense α-Fe2O3 nanosheets on the surface of various iron substrates, including plates and powders. This technique involves the thermal oxidation of iron substrates on a hot plate with a magnetic field. The Lorentz force acting on the ions induced by the magnetic field facilitates the lateral growth of nanosheets. This effect results in a highly porous nanostructure consisting of dense 2D nanosheets with extremely large BET surface areas. The application of these nanosheets is explored in water treatment. Electron microscopic studies indicate that these nanosheets show a parabolic relation with time of thermal oxidation for the growth in the width direction. A comparison of heavy metal (As, Cr) ion adsorption of nanosheets and nanowires was also performed, which shows that nanosheets have a much better adsorption rate than nanowires.
Universal Fixed-Length Coding Redundancy

We consider the problem of choosing a block-length to achieve a desired probability of error for fixed-length lossless source coding and channel coding of a finite amount of payload data. This is closely related to the issue of redundancy. While Baron, et al. studied this problem for rates in the vicinity of entropy for known source distributions and for rates in the vicinity of capacity for known channels using central-limit-theorem style asymptotics, we are interested in all rates for unknown source distributions and unknown channels. By using the universal lower bound on the source coding error exponents and the similar universal lower-bound to the channel coding error exponent, we derive universal upper bounds to the redundancy rate that are non-asymptotic in that they are explicitly valid for all alphabet sizes, all block lengths, and all target error probabilities. Because of the simplicity of the bounds, they also shed light on the large alphabet asymptotics for both source and channel coding.
Biological psychiatry: Is there any other kind?

It has been my custom as Head of the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University to interview as many as possible of the medical students applying for positions in our residency training programme. I typically ask the candidates how they decided to apply to us, what they know about our programme, and what they have heard from others about our department. The answers to these questions have been interesting and informative to me and have characteristically provided a good basis for the discussions that followed, designed to help us decide about the applicants and, equally important, to help the applicants decide about us.
Creating Hybrid Distributed Learning Environments by Implementing Distributed Collaborative Writing in Traditional Educational Environments

This paper summarizes three field experiments involving distributed collaborative writing (CW) in traditional educational settings creating a hybrid form of distributed education. One finding shows that specialized collaborative tools allowed for parallel work, group awareness, and coordination, providing substantial advantages over traditional word processors in distributed CW. However, it was also found that advanced CW tools alone did not provide optimal results in distributed CW groups; such groups also needed high levels of process structure, which can be delivered through carefully constructed scripts. Moreover, it was found that introducing face-to-face meetings in distributed CW work did not necessarily provide advantages over work that was performed in all-distributed settings. Given these findings, this paper concludes by discussing the contributions, implications, limitations, and future research possibilities for hybrid-distributed education.
Microcomputer‐Aided Instruction of Structural Steel Design

An innovative approach is reported for teaching structural steel design in a civil engineering undergraduate curriculum. It is based on the interactive environment and graphic capabilities of inexpensive microcomputers. Ten BASIC interactive microcomputer-aided design programs have been developed and used in a senior-level structural steel design course at the Ohio State University. The approach of interactive design and the interactive microcomputer-aided design programs make the learning of structural steel design more exciting and result in more effective training of future designers. Students can gain experience and develop insight in structural design while they are still in an academic environment.
Efficient influence spread estimation for influence maximization under the linear threshold model

This paper investigates the influence maximization (IM) problem in social networks under the linear threshold (LT) model. Kempe et al. (ACM SIGKDD Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, pp. 137–146, 2003) showed that the standard greedy algorithm, which selects the node with the maximum marginal gain repeatedly, brings a -factor approximation solution to this problem. However, Chen et al. (International Conference on Data Mining, pp. 88–97, 2010) proved that the problem of computing the expected influence spread (EIS) of a node is #P-hard. Therefore, to compute the marginal gain exactly is computational intractable. We step-up on investigating efficient algorithm to compute EIS. We show that the EIS of a node can be computed by finding cycles through it, and we further develop an exact algorithm to compute EIS within a small number of hops and an approximation algorithm to estimate EIS without the hop constraint. Based on the proposed EIS algorithms, we finally develop an efficient greedy based algorithm for IM. We compare our algorithm with some well-known IM algorithms on four real-world social networks. The experimental results show that our algorithm is more accurate than others in finding the most influential nodes, and it is also better than or competitive with them in terms of running time. IM is a big topic in social network analysis. In this paper, we investigate efficient influence spread estimation for IM under the LT model. We develop two influence spread estimation algorithms and a new greedy based algorithm for IM under the LT model. The performance of the proposed algorithms are analyzed theoretically and evaluated through simulations.
Caught in the middle: apical ballooning syndrome with dynamic mid-ventricular obstruction

A 73-year-old female with a history of hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement presented to the emergency department with constant, substernal, non-radiating chest discomfort that awoke her from sleep 30 min before arrival. She recently suffered from vertebral diskitis and had been receiving intravenous antibiotics at a skilled …
Breast Cancer Survivors' Knowledge of Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer following Genetic Counseling: An Exploration of General and Survivor-Specific Knowledge Items.

Background: Previous studies found genetic counseling increased participants' knowledge about hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC). However, most explored knowledge gain in unaffected women and the scale most commonly used does not include items that may be more pertinent to breast cancer (BC) survivors. Aims: To explore whether genetic counseling impacts BC survivors' knowledge about HBOC and BC survivor-specific information. Methods: The National Center for Human Genome Research Knowledge Scale and 5 additional items specific to BC survivors were tested among BC survivors; before genetic counseling (time 1), 2-3 weeks after genetic counseling (time 2), and 6 months following genetic counseling (time 3). Results: A statistically significant change in knowledge over time was found. Post hoc analyses revealed statistically significant increases in knowledge between time 1 (median = 7.00) and time 2 (median = 10.00; p Conclusion: Knowledge increased following genetic counseling, but the highest total average score at any time was
Vegetation and soil responses to livestock grazing in Central Asian grasslands: a review of Chinese literature

Grasslands in northern China and the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau are particularly important to both ecosystem functioning and pastoral livelihoods. Although there are numerous degradation studies on the effect of livestock grazing across the region, they are largely only published in Chinese, and most focus on single sites. Based on case studies from 100 sites, covering a mean annual precipitation gradient of 95–744 mm, we present a comprehensive, internationally accessible review on the impact of livestock grazing on vegetation and soils. We compared ungrazed or slightly grazed sites with moderately and heavily grazed sites by evaluating changes in two indicator groups: vegetation (plant species richness, vegetation cover, aboveground biomass, belowground biomass and root/shoot ratio) and soil (pH, bulk density, organic C, total N, total P and available P). Most indicators declined with intensified grazing, while soil pH, bulk density and belowground biomass increased. Available P showed no clear response. Variables within indicator groups were mostly linearly correlated at a given grazing intensity. Relative grazing effects on different indicators varied along specific abiotic gradients. Grazing responses of plant species richness, aboveground biomass, soil bulk density, total N and available P interacted with precipitation patterns, while grazing effects on belowground biomass were influenced by temperature. Elevation had impact on grazing responses of aboveground biomass and soil organic carbon. Complex grazing effects reflect both methodological inconsistency and ecological complexity. Further assessments should consider specific characteristics of different indicators in the context of the local environment.