cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Model Reference Adaptive Control of Systems with Gain Scheduled Reference Models

Firstly, a new state feedback model reference adaptive control approach is developed for uncertain systems with gain scheduled reference models in a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) setting. Specifically, adaptive state feedback for output tracking control problem of MIMO nonlinear systems is studied and gain scheduled reference model system is used for generating desired state trajectories. Using convex optimization tools, a common Lyapunov matrix is computed for multiple linearizations near equilibrium and non-equilibrium points of the nonlinear closed loop gain scheduled reference system. This approach guarantees stability of the closed-loop gain scheduled system. Adaptive state feedback control scheme is then developed, and its stability is proven. The resulting closed-loop system is shown to have bounded solutions with bounded tracking error, with the proposed stable gain scheduled reference model. Secondly, the developed control approach is improved for systems with constraints on the control inputs. The resulting closed-loop system is shown to have bounded solutions with bounded tracking error. Sufficient conditions for ultimate boundedness of the closed-loop system are derived. A semi-global stability result is proved with respect to the level of saturation for open-loop unstable plants while the stability result is shown to be global for open-loop stable plants. Thirdly, a decentralized adaptive state feedback control architecture is developed and its stability is proved. Specifically, the resulting closed-loop system is shown to have bounded solutions with bounded tracking error for all the subsystems with the proposed stable gain scheduled reference model. Simulation results are presented for each control architecture.
Robust Coverage and Performance Testing for Large-Area Wireless Networks

As large-scale wireless networks continue to proliferate, a reliable way to test coverage and communicate requirements becomes increasingly important. In this paper we discuss concerns and provide guidelines to consider when developing a coverage testing methodology for large-scale wireless networks. We propose a method which complies with these guidelines and apply it to a large municipal mesh network in Portland, Oregon. This approach is at the same time simple, cost-effective, and rigorous. We use commodity hardware to perform both high and low-layer tests at a random sample of points. Our method provides insights into the “expected” performance and coverage of the network. We find that a greater density of nodes is required in Portland to provide the required level of coverage, but that at coverered areas, the performance is within specification. We are able to make these extrapolations with high statistical confidence, on a large network, using only 53 measurement points and a single measurement device which cost less than $200 USD to build.
American Muse: Anthropological Excursions into Art and Aesthetics

American Muse: Anthropological Excursions into Art and Aesthetics. Richard L. Anderson. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000. 235 pp.
2. CAN THE CRITIQUE OF CAPITALISM BE ANTIHUMANIST

This essay argues that to understand Foucault's attraction to neoliberalism, we must understand the elective theoretical affinities that he perceived between this current in economic thought and one of the central elements of his own philosophical project: the critique of humanism or “anthropologism” (that is, the tendency in modern thought to sift all knowledge through human knowledge). Specifically, the essay examines moments in Foucault's 1978 and 1979 lectures when Foucault clearly refers to the arguments of his earlier work, The Order of Things, the locus classicus of his philosophical antihumanism. In particular, Foucault claimed that economists of the Chicago School developed a theory of labor that escaped the limitations of the “anthropological” theory of labor associated with Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Karl Marx. He also interpreted the notion of homo oeconomicus and Smith's idea of the market's “invisible hand” as critiques of the characteristically modern attempt to make transcendental claims on the basis of human nature. The essay concludes by asking if Foucault's philosophical antihumanism provides an adequate vantage point from which to critique contemporary capitalism.
Crystal Structure of Manganese (II) and Cobalt (II) Bromide Dihydrate

The crystal structures at 298°K of MnBr2·2H2O and CoBr2·2H2O have been refined by full‐matrix least‐squares methods using three‐dimensional MoKα intensity data. In these compounds, polymeric chains of metal and bromine atoms arranged in a near‐square planar arrangement with each bromine atom shared by two metal atoms parallel the c axis. The water molecules which fill the remaining octahedral positions about the metal atom provide hydrogen bonds to link adjacent chains.
Dissolution of materials in artificial skin surface film liquids

The dissolution of chemical constituents from jewelry, textiles, cosmetics, drugs, industrial chemicals, and particles in direct and prolonged contact with human skin is often assessed in vitro using artificial skin surface film liquids (SSFL). To provide meaningful results, the composition of artificial SSFL should accurately mimic human sweat and sebum, and the conditions of the in vitro test system should accurately reflect in vivo skin conditions. We summarized the reported composition of human SSFL and compared it to 45 different formulations of artificial sweat and 18 formulations of artificial sebum (studies published from 1940 to 2005). Conditions of in vitro dissolution test systems were reviewed and compared to in vivo skin conditions. The concentrations of individual constituents and pH of artificial sweat and concentrations of artificial sebum constituents are not always within ranges reported for human SSFL. Nearly all artificial SSFL lack many of the constituents in human SSFL. To develop a comprehensive model SSFL, we propose a standard SSFL, modified from the two best published sweat and sebum formulations. Little is known concerning the influence of test system conditions on dissolution, including SSFL temperature, container material composition, agitation, and physicochemical properties of the test article on dissolution. Thus, both a need and an opportunity exist for standardizing the composition of artificial SSFL and in vitro dissolution test methodologies. To standardize in vitro dissolution test systems, we recommend: maintaining artificial SSFL at a biologically relevant temperature appropriate to the human activity being modeled, carefully selecting test and sample storage containers to avoid bias in dissolution measurements, accounting for friction between a test article and skin in a biologically plausible manner, and physicochemical characterization of the test article or material to better understand mechanisms of dissolution and potential mechanisms of toxic action of dissolved material. More accurate modeling and better understanding of chemical dissolution from articles in contact with the skin will ultimately improve risk decision making, thereby protecting even the most susceptible persons from adverse health effects resulting from skin exposure.
Isolation and characterization of aldose reductase from calf brain.

Abstract Aldose reductase activity (alditol: NADP+ 1-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.21) from calf brain was separated into two protein fractions by DEAE chromatography. Further purification by molecular sieve chromatography and electrofocusing yielded two distinctive enzymes, which were designated AR I and AR II. AR I was purified 646-fold and found to have an isoelectric point of 6.18. AR I was most active as a monomer with a molecular weight of 29 000 and appeared to be in equilibrium with a less active dimer. AR II was purified 425fold and found to have an isoelectric point of 4.88. The molecular weight of this enzyme was 30 000. Although both enzymes had specificity for aldoses as substrates, AR I had two to three times larger turnover numbers with aromatic aldehydes and hexonates than did AR II. AR I was activated by sulfhydryl compounds and exhibited biphasic double reciprocal plots. AR I was more sensitive to inhibition by high substrate and phenobarbital concentrations than was AR II. AR I and AR II did n ot have antigenic similarity as tested by Ouchterlony immunodiffusion and counter immunoelectrophoresis. An immunochemical cross-reaction was observed between AR II and lens aldose reductase.
Prognosis after suicide attempt: Standard of care and the consequences of not meeting it

A significant number of people who attempt suicide and survive eventually die by their own hands, many within a year of the index attempt. A history of multiple past attempts further increases risk of eventual suicide. That most attempters do not later die by suicide is a statistical fact that should not distract psychiatrists and other mental health professionals from the substantial increase in risk associated with a suicide attempt. Short-term intensive treatment, often with psychiatric hospitalization, reduces immediate risk, but the standard of care often requires more than just a few days of generic inpatient care. Before discharging patients, the psychiatrist should be reasonably certain that the conditions associated with the attempt and initial suicide risk have improved in some significant and lasting way. Although for many patients, severe suicide risk is a relatively transient condition, patients should not be discharged just because they say they feel better or show superficial signs of lessened risk. Before sending the patient into the community, the psychiatrist should have good reason to believe that the dangerous condition(s) that precipitated the attempt and hospital admission have been ameliorated, and that the important improvements in the patient and his or her environment, on which the patient's safety relies, are both real and stable.
Carcinogenic chromium(VI) induces cross-linking of vitamin C to DNA in vitro and in human lung A549 cells.

Reductive activation of carcinogenic Cr(VI) is required for the induction of DNA damage and mutations. Here, we examined the formation of Cr−DNA adducts in the reactions of Cr(VI) with its dominant biological reducer, vitamin C (ascorbate). Reductive conversion of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by ascorbate produced stable Cr−DNA adducts, of which approximately 25% constituted ascorbate−Cr(III)−DNA cross-links. No evidence was found for the involvement of Cr(V) or Cr(IV) intermediates in the formation of either binary or ternary adducts. The cross-linking reaction was consistent with the attack of DNA by transient Cr(III)−ascorbate complexes. The yield of Cr(III)−DNA adducts was similar on dsDNA and AGT, ACT, or CT oligonucleotides and was strongly inhibited by Mg2+, suggesting predominant coordination of Cr(III) to DNA phosphate oxygens. We also detected cross-linking of ascorbate to DNA in Cr(VI)-exposed human lung A549 cells that were preincubated with dehydroascorbic acid to create normal levels of intracellular a...
Photoabsorption cross section of O, S, Se, and Te

Photoabsorption cross sections of the ground state of four oxygen-group atoms are calculated using the eigenchannel [ital R]-matrix method. The calculation is performed in the energy range from the first to the third ionization threshold of the residual ions. The present calculations are in good agreement with experimental results except for Te. We investigate the origin for some of the generic features of the cross section. A systematic study of the convergence as a function of type of basis demonstrates the importance of the polarizability of the valence shell. The lessons learned from these atoms should be generally applicable to other columns of the periodic table.
Pbx1 is required for Hox D3-mediated angiogenesis

Our previous studies showed that the homeobox (Hox) D3 transcription factor induces expression of alphavbeta3 integrin and promotes endothelial cell (EC) migration and angiogenesis. Since binding of Hox 3 factors to target DNA is enhanced by the co-factor Pbx, we investigated whether Pbx1 is also required for angiogenesis. We observed that EC predominantly express the Pbx1b isoform. Nuclear extracts from angiogenic EC express higher levels of active Pbx1 and more effectively form complexes on Pbx1/Hox consensus DNA oligonucleotides as compared to nuclear extracts from quiescent EC. Introduction of anti-sense against Pbx1 impaired the formation of Pbx1/Hox complexes on target DNA consensus in nuclear extracts from angiogenic EC. Anti-sense against Pbx1 also impaired EC migration and blocked angiogenesis induced by bFGF in vivo. Furthermore, although the levels of Hox D3 were unchanged, expression of its target gene, beta3 integrin was reduced, consistent with impaired transcriptional activation by Hox D3. Together, these studies suggest that Pbx1 is required for pro-angiogenic Hox DNA binding and transcriptional activity in endothelial cells.
Approaches in cell biology teaching.

Why should students learn science? How should students learn science? How do we know when they learn science? Helping future teachers to find answers to these questions is a goal that appears in the mission statements of science pedagogy courses around the world. Once out of the college classroom and into our own, however, it becomes clear that finding the answers is a lifelong and not just a semester’s journey. Our goal in this regular feature of Cell Biology Education is to provide insights that come from educators at various stages and from various perspectives along the journey. To inform decisions about science teaching and learning and classroom practice, we present philosophies and research findings that underlie the practical tips that we offer. The online format of Cell Biology Education invites a reader response. We encourage you to contact us: 1) to ask questions about what you have read; 2) to tell us about specific examples of when you have tried an approach highlighted in the column, and whether it did or did not work; or 3) to share additional tips or resources that would be useful to others. We begin each new feature by sharing some of these comments, with your permission, of course. Please include your name, institution, and e-mail on all correspondence. We look forward to hearing insights and stories from you.
Pallidal and entopeduncular single unit activity in cats during drinking

It has been shown that pallidal units display changes in firing rate during food seeking and consummatory behavior. The purpose of the present work was to determine which properties of the ingested material or ingestive behavior were most potent in altering unit activity. Single unit activity was recorded in the globus pallidus and entopeduncular nucleus of awake restrained cats during introduction of fluid into the mouth. A very high proportion of pallidal and entopeduncular neurons showed changes in firing rate during fluid injection. Two patterns of response were observed. Typically, responses were phasic and time-locked to the occurrence of fluid presentation. Less frequently, a long lasting change in firing occurred which persisted throughout the period of fluid introduction. Additional observations indicated that both of these changes in firing rate seemed to be related to the sensory rather than the motor aspects of ingestion.
Dynamic effects in the mesh length theory of workhardening

Abstract According to the mesh length theory of workhardening, low-temperature strain rate effects in materials exhibiting a dislocation cell structure are due to the simultaneous operation of a number X of super-critically bowing links in the average, typically roughly equiaxed, cell of diameter L. The corresponding length of mobile dislocations per cell is then LX. Defining g = L l , with l the average link length in the cell walls, dislocation cell breakdown is expected for Xmax ≈ 0.3 g2, on the criterion that at the most 50% of all cell wall dislocations may be simultaneously destabilized and therefore at most 10% of all possible dislocation sources may be activated simultaneously since each destabilizes four adjoining links besides itself. When X = Xmax, the mobile dislocation density within the cells is about 30% of that in the walls, but significant interactions and thus extra hardening is expected only if the dislocation density in the cell interiors is about sixteen times the cell wall dislocation density. Therefore the mobile dislocations can add little, if anything, to the permanent strain hardening. However, on account of the decrease of average source length with increasing X a transient increase of flow stress and workhardening coefficient arises which typically amounts to a few percent per ten-fold increase of strain rate. Mobile dislocations remaining in the cell interiors decrease the elastic modulus and can give rise to anelastic creep as well as to recovery effects. Numerical estimates are in good agreement with observations.
Statistical Design and Analysis of RNA Sequencing Data

Next-generation sequencing technologies are quickly becoming the preferred approach for characterizing and quantifying entire genomes. Even though data produced from these technologies are proving to be the most informative of any thus far, very little attention has been paid to fundamental design aspects of data collection and analysis, namely sampling, randomization, replication, and blocking. We discuss these concepts in an RNA sequencing framework. Using simulations we demonstrate the benefits of collecting replicated RNA sequencing data according to well known statistical designs that partition the sources of biological and technical variation. Examples of these designs and their corresponding models are presented with the goal of testing differential expression.
End‐users in academia: meeting the information needs of university researchers in an electronic age: Part 2 Innovative information‐accessing opportunities and the researcher: user acceptance of IT‐based information resources in academia

This paper is the second part of a two‐part paper, which examines the transition to the electronic information era in academia. Seeks to establish from the published literature to what extent university researchers have accepted, and adapted to, the changes wrought in information activity by seemingly endless technological developments. Within the wider context of the impact of the changing information environment on each of the three clearly discernible components of academic research (the creation of knowledge and standards, the preservation of information, and the communication of knowledge and information to others), disciplinary‐rooted differences in the conduct of research and their influence on information needs are identified, and the resulting inter‐ and intra‐individual variations in researchers’ information seeking behaviour are explored. Reviewing a large number of studies investigating the integration of electronic media into academic work, an attempt is made to paint the picture of academics’ progressively harnessing the new technologies to scholarly information gathering endeavours, with the expressed hope of affording some insight into the directions and basic trends characterising the information activity of university faculty in an increasingly electronic environment.
Composite axion models and Planck scale physics

Abstract Recently it has been argued that global symmetry violating effects at the Planck scale could upset axion based solutions to the strong CP problem if there is no gauge symmetry to prevent the generation of global symmetry violating operators. We show that it is straightforward to construct composite axion models for which global symmetry violating effects are very suppressed. The PQ symmetry of these models an be legitimately regarded as an approximate accidental symmetry. Similar considerations apply to the texture scenario, although models are more constrained.
Brominated Flame Retardants in Tree Bark from North America

Brominated flame retardants were measured in 87 tree bark samples from 29 locations in North America. The concentrations of total polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) ranged from 2.3 to 5700 ng/g lipid weight, with the highest concentrations found near or in Arkansas. A simple radial dilution model nicely describes the distribution of total PBDE concentrations in these samples and indicates the likely sources of these chemicals are emissions from the two brominated flame retardant manufacturing facilities, operated by Great Lakes Chemicals and Albemarle, located in southern Arkansas. The congener profiles of PBDEs are similar for all the tree bark samples and can be described by a mixture of the congener profiles of the penta- and deca-BDE commercial products combined in a ratio of 1:2. Two unusual BFRs, 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane and decabromodiphenyl ethane, were also detected in tree bark samples collected in Arkansas, suggesting the two manufacturing facilities are the sources of these com...
Behavioural aspects of internal auditing “revisited”

Presents a series of issues related to the behavioural relationships between internal auditors and their auditees. Includes suggestions for the resolution of problems that occur in these issue areas. Covers such subjects as motivating the auditee, styles of management, managing change and conflict, communications, hostile relationships, participative auditing, understanding the auditee’s culture and the use of behavioural knowledge in the audit.
Prospective evaluation of the immunobead assay for the diagnosis of adult chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)

Chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an autoimmune disease characterized by antibody-induced platelet destruction. To better define the role of antigen-specific assays in adult chronic ITP, we prospectively measured platelet-associated autoantibody against either glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa or GPIb/IX in 282 patients with chronic ITP and 289 patients with thrombocytopenia of other causes. We divided chronic ITP into four subgroups: presplenectomy, mild (platelet count >30 000 micro (L-1) requiring no therapy), presplenectomy, severe (platelet count <30 000 micro L(-1) requiring therapy but not splenectomy), postsplenectomy, remission (postsplenectomy partial or complete remission without further therapy) and postsplenectomy refractory (required therapy after splenectomy failure). Positive results: total ITP group, 55.4%; presplenectomy, mild, 31.1%; presplenectomy, severe, 42.6%; postsplenectomy, remission, 50.0%; and postsplenectomy, refractory, 87.8%. In addition, the degree of positivity increased with the severity of the patient's disease. The assay had a minimum specificity of 84.4% if clinical factors, consistent with immune thrombocytopenia, were not considered in patients with thrombocytopenia associated with other diseases. However, if clinical factors consistent with immune thrombocytopenia were considered and only patients with questionable immune thrombocytopenia and patients 'lost to follow-up' were included in the false-positive group the specificity was 93.1%. We conclude that the presence of immune thrombocytopenia is highly probable if the immunobead assay is positive and that antigen-specific assays are diagnostically useful in adult chronic ITP.
The tail that wags the dog: p12, the smallest subunit of DNA polymerase δ, is degraded by ubiquitin ligases in response to DNA damage and during cell cycle progression.

DNA polymerase δ (Pol δ) is a key enzyme in eukaryotic DNA replication. Human Pol δ is a heterotetramer whose p12 subunit is degraded in response to DNA damage, leading to the in vivo conversion of Pol δ4 to Pol δ3. Two E3 ubiquitin ligases, RNF8 and CRL4Cdt2, participate in the DNA damage-induced degradation of p12. We discuss how these E3 ligases integrate the formation of Pol δ3 and ubiquitinated PCNA for DNA repair processes. CRL4Cdt2 partially degrades p12 during normal cell cycle progression, thereby generating Pol δ3 during S phase. This novel finding extends the current view of the role of Pol δ3 in DNA repair and leads to the hypothesis that it participates in DNA replication. The coordinated regulation of licensing factors and Pol δ3 by CRL4Cdt2 now opens new avenues for control of DNA replication. A parallel study of Pol δ4 and Pol δ3 in Okazaki fragment processing provides evidence for a role of Pol δ3 in DNA replication. We discuss several new perspectives of the role of the 2 forms of Pol δ ...
The Effects of Testicular Tissue and Prehatching Inhibition of Estrogen Synthesis on the Development of Courtship and Copulatory Behavior in Zebra Finches

As in many mammalian and avian species, testicular androgens or their metabolites activate courtship and copulatory behaviors in adult male zebra finches. However, studies of sexual differentiation of these behaviors and related anatomical structures provide conflicting results. For example, posthatching estradiol can both masculinize courtship and the neural structures involved in song in females and inhibit the development of masculine copulation in males. These and other results have led to the hypotheses that (1) testicular androgens are converted to estradiol in the brain of developing males, and estradiol serves to masculinize the song system, whereas (2) estradiol secretion by the female ovary allows feminine rather than masculine copulatory behavior to develop. Treating embryonic zebra finches with the estrogen synthesis inhibitor fadrozole causes functional testicular tissue to develop in genetic females. The present study investigated the effects of such treatment on the development of singing and copulatory behavior as well as song system anatomy in males and females. While exogenous testosterone facilitated the display of sexual behaviors in adult males, the testicular tissue in females had no masculinizing effect on the production of audible courtship song or copulation. Their song control nuclei were also not masculinized, even in individuals lacking ovarian tissue. In contrast, embryonic inhibition of estrogen synthesis in males significantly stimulated song production. These results suggest that while manipulations of steroid hormone exposure can influence the display of sexual behaviors, gonadal secretions may not be required for normal sexual differentiation of the song system in zebra finches.
Sums, products and ratios of generalized beta variables

Recent papers by Professor T. Pham-Gia derived distributions of sums, products and ratios of independent beta random variables. In this paper, we extend professor Pham-Gia's results when X 1 and X 2 are independent random variables distributed according to two generalized beta distributions. For each of these distributions, we derive exact expressions for the densities of S=X 1+X 2, D=X 1−X 2, P=X 1 X 2, and R=X 2/X 1. The expressions turn out to involve the incomplete beta function as well as the hypergeometric functions of one and two variables.
Self-consistent LCAO local density determination of anisotropic compton profile and X-ray structure factors in diamond

Abstract Our newly developed fully Self-Consistent Numerical Discrete Variational Method (which exactly treats all non-spherical parts of the crystal potential) yields X-ray scattering factors and anisotropies in the Compton profile of diamond in very good agreement with experiment.
The twenty-percent majority: Pro-union bias in prevailing rate determinations

Each individual wage rate set by Davis-Bacon or by any similar state or local prevailing wage determination petrifies the outcome of competing views of how construction work should be staffed and paid on public works projects. Although presented with great precision (to tenths of a cent for both wages and fringe benefits), the level of wages themselves are of surprisingly little consequence: Those set at union levels soon rise, being automatically updated to new contracts and conditions; the rest fast become obsolete in any rising market, because surveys to update them are rare. But in addition to setting wage levels, determinations also delineate which jobs get to have rates set for them, and perhaps most critically, whether those delineated are identified as union or notunion. Whatever pattern is found may remain in effect for years or even decades, influencing which journeymen and laborers own what job tasks and who may perform what. Also, if a particular job happens to be set as union, it may bring with it dozens or even hundreds of related special job categories, grades of sub-groups, fine distinctions of fringe benefits, and complex divisions of geographic applicability based on local union jurisdictional areas. This study uses determinations recently made in Pennsylvania as an example to examine the mechanics of the wage-setting process. I find that, in addition to the endemic problems one might expect associated with a complex and partly judgmental process, every step of finding and setting prevailing rates includes overwhelming deference on the part of government towards union views and methods. It shows why unions representing less than 20 percent of the private construction work force consistently set the parameters controlling most of public construction. It ends with some suggestions on how better surveys and determinations could be made.
Molecular dynamics simulations of highly concentrated salt solutions: Structural and transport effects in polymer electrolytes

Structural, thermodynamic and transport properties have been calculated in concentrated non-aqueous NaI solutions using molecular dynamics simulations. Although the solvent has been represented by a simplistic Stockmayer fluid (spherical particles with point dipoles), the general trends observed are still a useful indication of the behavior of real non-aqueous electrolyte systems. Results indicate that in low dielectric media, significant ion pairing and clustering occurs. Contact ion pairs become more prominent at higher temperatures, independent of the dielectric strength of the solvent. Thermodynamic analysis shows that this temperature behavior is predominantly entropically driven. Calculation of ionic diffusivities and conductivities in the NaI/ether system confirms the clustered nature of the salt, with the conductivities significantly lower than those predicted from the Nernst-Einstein relation. In systems where the solvent-ion interactions increase relative to ion-ion interactions (lower charge or higher solvent dipole moment), less clustering is observed and the transport properties indicate independent motion of the ions, with higher calculated conductivities. The solvent in this system is the most mobile species, in comparison with the polymer electrolytes where the solvent is practically immobile.
Zero‐Bias Locally Adaptive Density Estimators

Strategies for improving fixed non-negative kernel estimators have focused on reducing the bias, either by employing higher-order kernels or by adjusting the bandwidth locally. Intuitively, bandwidths in the tails should be relatively larger in order to reduce wiggles since there is less data available in the tails. We show that in regions where the density function is convex, it is theoretically possible to find local bandwidths such that the pointwise bias is exactly zero. The corresponding pointwise mean squared error converges at the parametric rate of O(n -1 ) rather than the slower O(n -4/5 ). These so-called zero-bias bandwidths are constant and are usually orders of magnitude larger than the optimal locally adaptive bandwidths predicted by asymptotic mean squared error analysis. We describe data-based algorithms for estimating zero-bias bandwidths over intervals where the density is convex. We find that our particular density estimator attains the usual O(n -4/5 ) rate. However, we demonstrate that the algorithms can provide significant improvement in mean squared error, often clearly visually superior curves, and a new operating point in the usual bias-variance tradeoff.
Studies of microwave-enhanced Suzuki-Miyaura vinylation of electron-rich sterically hindered substrates utilizing potassium vinyltrifluoroborate

The Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of sterically hindered and electron-rich ortho,ortho'-substituted aryl halides with potassium vinyltrifluoroborate utilizing microwave irradiation has been conducted while adjusting solvent ratio, irradiation time, and catalyst loading to find optimal conditions. Coupling of benzyl 3,5-bis(benzyloxy)-4-bromobenzoate leads to a mixture of the desired styrene derivative, and the reduced product. 4-Bromo-1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene, methyl 4-bromo-3,5-dimethoxybenzoate, and mesitylene bromide were also coupled to test the breadth and scope of this methodology. Of these substrates tested only 4-bromo-1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene was not vinylated successfully, which is believed to be due to the electron rich nature of this system.
An application of adaptive control to a continuous stirred tank reactor

This paper reports on an investigation of the effect of adaptive control on a closed-loop chemical plant. The plant controlled was a simple closed-loop feedback system, the elements of which were a proportional controller and an elementary continuous stirred-tank reactor. The reaction involved was an exothermic, single-reactant decomposition, with the control criterion being the integral of the square of the deviation of the output composition from a value determined by a reference model. The adaptive control system incorporated an automatic identification scheme and a decision process, and operated in the presence of disturbances in cooling water temperature and/or catalyst activity. The adaptive control system yielded excellent results. For all disturbances, the output of the adaptive controlled plant remained much closer to the reference model output than did the output of the simply controlled plant. Inclusion of an adaptive capability in a control system thus appears to be desirable and often feasible.
Lineage compartments in Drosophila

Stable, compartment-specific expression of the selector transcription factors is of central importance for compartments, as it regulates both compartmental identity and signaling between compartments. In most cases each imaginal disc primordium straddles the embryonic parasegment boundary and the state of En-Inv expression is inherited from the parasegmental expression of En-Inv in the embryonic epidermis. The A/P subdivision is thus largely regulated by the embryonic segmentation cascade.The dorsal-specific expression of Ap, however, does not appear until the wing disc contains several hundred cells. Recent work suggests that Ap expression is stimulated by Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) signaling, perhaps via the neuregulin-like signaling protein Vein, which is expressed in a small cluster of cells near the dorsal end of the wing disc. Once Ap expression is established, however, it becomes insensitive to this signal.And yet, even at later stages of development, selector gene expression can be altered, and the lineage restriction can be changed. For instance, during the regeneration of disc tissue that has been surgically or genetically removed, the compartmental lineage restrictions are lost and then reformed. This is puzzling, as it means that the stable inheritance of the embryonic state of selector expression is not the only way of establishing compartmental domains within the disc. Does this also mean that a regenerating imaginal disc can recapitulate the patterning that occurs within the much smaller embryonic segment? Perhaps, although it is unclear how the gap and pair-rule genes of the segmentation cascade could work in the quite different cellular context of an imaginal disc. However, the existence of compartmental cell affinities provides a possible alternative explanation. During regeneration cells might randomly lose or gain selector gene expression, and thus compartment-specific and boundary-specific cell affinities. As long as this occurred within a small enough region, cells that had regained similar affinities might be able to sort together, reforming the two compartments. After cell proliferation the result would look like spatially patterned gene expression, but in fact would result from random gene expression and regulated cell affinities. Or to put it another way, the same mechanisms that maintain the spatial coherence of compartments during normal development might just be capable of reforming compartments under duress.
First Principles Study of Structural and Thermodynamic Properties of Zirconia

Abstract Due to their high melting temperature and low thermal conductivity, zirconia (ZrO2) based ceramics have been widely used for thermal barrier coating materials. This study investigates zirconia's properties using the first principles calculations. Structural properties, including band structure, density of state, lattice parameter, as well as elastic constants for both monoclinic and tetragonal zirconia were computed. Pressure based phase transition of tetragonal zirconia (t-ZrO2) was also calculated, based on tetragonal distortion and band structure under compressive pressures. The results predicted a transition from monoclinic structure to a fluorite-type cubic structure at the pressure of 37 GPa. Moreover, monoclinic zirconia (m-ZrO2) thermodynamic property calculations were carried out. Temperature-dependent heat capacity, entropy, free energy, and the Debye temperature of monoclinic zirconia, from 0 to 1000 K, were computed and compared well with those reported in literature.
The Chaperone Activity of Heat Shock Protein 90 Is Critical for Maintaining the Stability of Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2

Parkinson's disease (PD), a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by bradykinesia, rigidity, and resting tremor, is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder. Although the majority of PD cases are sporadic, some are inherited, including those caused by leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) mutations. The substitution of serine for glycine at position 2019 (G2019S) in the kinase domain of LRRK2 represents the most prevalent genetic mutation in both familial and apparently sporadic cases of PD. Because mutations in LRRK2 are likely associated with a toxic gain of function, destabilization of LRRK2 may be a novel way to limit its detrimental effects. Here we show that LRRK2 forms a complex with heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) in vivo and that inhibition of Hsp90 disrupts the association of Hsp90 with LRRK2 and leads to proteasomal degradation of LRRK2. Hsp90 inhibitors may therefore limit the mutant LRRK2-elicited toxicity to neurons. As a proof of principle, we show that Hsp90 inhibitors rescue the axon growth retardation caused by overexpression of the LRRK2 G2019S mutation in neurons. Therefore, inhibition of LRRK2 kinase activity can be achieved by blocking Hsp90-mediated chaperone activity and Hsp90 inhibitors may serve as potential anti-PD drugs.
Protective role of dietary vitamin E on oxidative stress in aging

Free radical reactions and the peroxidation of membrane lipids have been implicated in the mechanism of aging and age-associated degenerative conditions. Vitamin E appears to play a critical role in protecting the cell membrane from free radical reactions and peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). In a series of human studies, the protective role of vitamin E supplementation against oxidative stress was investigated in young and older volunteers. Muscle biopsies taken from young ( 55 y) supplemented with vitamin E for 48 d excreted a lower level of lipid peroxidation products in urine compared to placebo control following eccentric exercise. In conditions where the composition of membrane fatty acids changes to more PUFA, older subjects may be at a greater risk of oxidative damage. In a study of 15 young ( 51 y) women receiving fish oil capsules for 3 months, older women showed a greater increase in plasma levels of eicosapentaenoic (EPA) (p<0.001) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) (p<0.5) acids compared to young subjects. By substituting membrane fatty acids with potentially unstable (n-3) fatty acids of fish oil, older subjects were found to be at a greater risk of oxidative stress than young subjects. This was indicated by decreased E/EPA+DHA (4.9 fold in older and 3.6 fold in young women) and a higher increase (p<0.05) in lipid peroxides (63.1% in older vs. 29.4% in young women) in their plasma. These findings indicate that vitamin E plays an important protective antioxidant role in older subjects, particularly in conditions where oxidative stress and free radicals are potentiated.
A five-phase model for mathematical problem solving: Identifying synergies in pre-service-teachers’ metacognitive and cognitive actions

Based on empirical data from a study of pre-service teachers engaged in non-routine mathematics problem solving, a five-phase model is proposed to describe the range of cognitive and metacognitive approaches used. The five phases are engagement, transformation-formulation, implementation, evaluation and internalization, with each phase being described in terms of sub-categories. The model caters for a variety of pathways that can be adopted during any problem-solving process by recognizing that the path between these five phases is neither linear nor unidirectional.
Time maximum disturbance switch curve and isochrones of linear second-order systems with numerator dynamics ☆

Abstract It has been established recently that the most stressful bounded (time maximum) disturbance for stabilized second-order systems with numerator dynamics is of bang–bang type. This bang–bang disturbance can be implemented with a switch curve that is constructed by using isochrones as the level sets for the disturbance index in a state-space setting. In this paper, the isochrones of linear second-order systems with numerator dynamics are shown to have a closed analytic form. This closed analytic form requires less computational effort and gives an intuitive feeling of just how the isochrones change with the other parameters of the system. Simulation results show how the isochrones evolve and approach a maximum limit cycle with different damping coefficients and finite zero locations. Furthermore, these isochrones could be utilized directly in synthesizing the time maximum disturbance and therefore, the ideas can be readily extended to higher order systems.
Determination of Residual Unsaturation in Photo-Cured Acrylate Formulations Using Photoacoustic FT-IR Spectroscopy

The advent of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has allowed for the use of the photoacoustic detection technique in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectra. Urban recently described the advantages of photoacoustic Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (PAS/FT-IR) in the characterization of polymeric coatings and interfaces at various depths at the molecular level. Nonetheless, because of the strong tendency for PAS/FT-IR spectra to be distorted due to saturation of peaks with strong absorbances, PAS/FT-IR has found only limited use as a quantitative procedure. In this report we describe how, with careful selection of a reference peak, one can use the strong peak saturation characteristic of PAS/FT-IR to advantage in the quantification of small amounts of residual unsaturation in a photo-cured acrylate coating.
Decontamination technologies for release from bioprocessing facilities. Part I. introduction. Part II. Decontamination of wastewater

The objective of this study was to assess the current state of knowledge regarding the effectiveness of available technologies to decontaminate or treat the air, equipment surfaces, wastewater, and sludge at the facilities that process biologically active materials such as genetically engineered microorganisms. Since published literature on the inactivation of these recombinant‐DNA (rDNA) organisms is very limited, data for representative naturally occurring microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, and fungi) and their subcellular components were obtained through an extensive literature search. The data indicate that ozone, chlorine, chlorine dioxide, heat, ultraviolet (UV) light, and ionizing radiation offer good performance potential for decontamination of rDNA processing wastewater. Treatment processes, such as incineration, heat treatment, gamma and electron radiation, and chemical decontamination, appear to be suitable for treatment of rDNA sludge. Prevention of the release of the microbial agents to air a...
Stimulation of Cloudman melanoma tyrosinase activity occurs predominantly in G2 phase of the cell cycle.

Abstract A widely accepted notion is that an increasing cellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) concentration is prerequisite for increasing tyrosinase activity and melanin synthesis and for regulating proliferation of pigment cells. α-Melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) increases cAMP and tyrosinase activity in Cloudman melanoma cells. Prostaglandins (PGs) E1 and E2 increase melanoma cell tyrosinase activity and inhibit proliferation. Both PGs, but not α-MSH, block the progression of Cloudman melanoma cells from G2 phase of the cell cycle into M or G1. Only PGE1 and not PGE2 causes an elevation of cellular cAMP concentrations. The adenylate cyclase inhibitor 2′,5′-dideoxyadenosine (DDA) at 5 × 10−4M effectively blocks the increased cAMP synthesis by cells treated with 10 μg/ml PGE1. The addition of DDA, however, enhances the melanogenic response of melanoma cells to 10 μg/ml PGE1 or PGE2, 10−7M α-MSH, 10−4M isobutylmethylxanthine, 10−4M dibutyryl cyclic AMP. DDA also augments the effects of PGE1 or PGE2 on the melanoma cell cycle. Moreover, when DDA is added concomitantly with α-MSH, more cells are recruited into G2 than observed in untreated controls. Neither α-MSH nor DDA alone has any effect on the cell cycle. These findings undermine the role of cAMP in the melanogenic process and suggest that blocking melanoma cells in G2 may be required for the remarkable stimulation of tyrosinase activity observed with PGE1 or PGE2 alone or in combination with DDA. The observed block in G2 may be essential for the synthesis of sufficient mRNA, which is required for stimulation of tyrosinase activity.
Autonomic microganglion cells: a source of acetylcholine in the rat carotid body.

Hypoxic chemosensitivity of peripheral arterial chemoreceptors and the ventilatory response to O2 deprivation increases with postnatal development. Multiple putative neurotransmitters, which are sy...
1005 IN VITRO EFFECTS OF COMMERCIAL FACTOR VIII CONCENTRATES (FC) ON THE FUNCTION OF NORMAL LYMPHOCYTES

Hemophiliac patients receiving FC have immunological abnormalities associated with AIDS. Although a high percentage of hemophiliacs have antibody titers to HTLV-III, the etiology of their altered immune status is unclear. We have studied the in vitro effects of FC on mitogenic responses of normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBM). Ten lots of FC (including one heat-treated and two associated with cases of AIDS) from 5 manufacturers were assayed. These were added in physiological concentrations to cultures of PBM stimulated with suboptimal and optimal concentrations of PHA (2 and 50 ug/ml, respectively). Addition of these FC significantly reduced the proliferative response in a dose dependent manner. One U/ml FC resulted in an average suppression of 40% at 2 ug/ml and 34% at 50 ug/ml PHA. At 0.5 U/ml, average suppression was 35% at 2 ug/ml and 18% at 50 ug/ml PHA. Two hour pre-incubation with PHA prior to addition of FC resulted in similar suppression; however, 24 hr preincubation resulted in less suppression. Neither column-purified Factor VIII activity or antigen had significant inhibitory effects. Cell viabilities in FC cultures were similar to control cultures. These results suggest that commericially available FC contains a factor(s) other than HTLV-III which inhibits the proliferative responses of normal lymphocytes. Efforts to isolate this factor(s) are currently in progress.