cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Geographic Environmental Modeling System: Towards an Object-Oriented Framework

This paper describes our experience in developing a software system for use in the environmental modeling community. The primary user of this software is intended to be a scientist or regulator working in the area of air quality management and pollution control strategies. The main objective of GEMS is to support the end user in performing various types of analysis requiring the processing of large amounts of data and the interaction between several high-performance computing platforms. The work described here provides the basis for an application-specific framework to support this and similar applications, including other areas of environmental modeling, chemical process control, earthquake modeling, and weather prediction. We developed our system by drawing on our experience with the object-oriented development paradigm and by using the concept of rapid prototyping. We describe the initial results of our development activities, talk about our successes, and about some of the problems we have encountered.
Fumarate Reductase Activity of Streptococcus faecalis

Some characteristics of a fumarate reductase from Streptococcus faecalis are described. The enzyme had a p H optimum of 7.4; optimal activity was observed when the ionic strength of the phosphate buffer was adjusted to 0.088. The K m value of the enzyme for reduced flavin mononucleotide was 2 × 10 −4 m as determined with a 26-fold preparation. In addition to fumarate, the enzyme reduced maleate and mesaconate. No succinate dehydrogenase activity was detected, but succinate did act as an inhibitor of the fumarate reductase activity. Other inhibitors were malonate, citraconate, and trans-, trans -muconate. Metal-chelating agents did not inhibit the enzyme. A limited inhibition by sulfhydryl-binding agents was observed, and the preparations were sensitive to air oxidation and storage. Glycine, alanine, histidine, and possibly lysine stimulated fumarate reductase activity in the cell-free extracts. However, growth in media supplemented with glycine did not enhance fumarate reductase activity. The enzymatic activity appears to be constitutive.
Uniqueness, Self Belonging and Intercourse in Nature, 2nd Version

Biological organization is discussed within a holistic framework. A new orientation is presented of natural processes with an approach in model construction that is focused strictly on physical form and centered away from abstractions that escape the perceptual senses, lead towards the postulation of non-verifiable and non-witnessible entities. A universal construction composed of first perspective representations of path, witness as unique loci in volumes of space delineated as surfaces that are rendered from planar projections, themselves projections from the coordinates of linear motion. A dynamic heterogeneous unit structure as a shape, existing at all loci, is shown to be emerging in both volume and number in a natural set, Natures’ Set, confined in test to the descriptive elements uniqueness, self belonging, self avoiding, emerging. Conceptual and physical form, self belonging, and non self belonging respectively, are proposed to exist in a unique shape that can be generated graphically. Memory, reduced in definition to the quality of path, is accounted for biologically as energy-matter transformation: the existence of DNA (a likewise linear set of loci from which surfaces and volumes are ultimately rendered) is attributed as ‘a piece of energetically active path’ arising as a failure of (path possessing) energy to find a ground state within a course outlined by a geometrical inversion of inside and out that is inherent to the presented model. An accounting of the universe, the existence of life, DNA, is suggested to entail a shape as a primary universal.
A cytochemical study of neurosecretory and other neuroplasmic inclusions in Periplaneta americana.

Abstract A variety of cytological and cytochemical techniques has been applied to the problem of identifying and classifying neuroplasmic inclusions in the American cockroach. Particular attention has been paid to those found in the supraesophageal ganglion. This has led to the recognition of three types which are believed to exist in addition to mitochondria, ribosomes, and the Golgi complex. To facilitate discussion these are called A-cell NSM, beta-granules, and delta-granules. Colorless vacuoles seen in freshly-teased preparations were identified as bipartite components present in paraffin sections. These occur as sudanophilic crescents or rings (“externa”) of variable thickness which surround less sudanophilic “interna”. Such regions lack cytochemically detectable RNA. Although complete evidence is lacking, it is suggested that the “externa” correspond to the multi-lamellar, nongranular membrane systems (Golgi complex) demonstrable in electron micrographs of nerve cells from a wide variety of different animals. The inability to detect RNA in these zones may simply be a reflection of the nongranular (ribosome-free) nature of the Golgi membranes. The cytochemical staining reactions used indicate that A-cell NSM contains a cystine- or cysteine-rich phospholipoprotein. There was no evidence to support the contention that polysaccharide is present. Yellow-pigmented inclusions occur within the perikarya of freshly-teased neurons. These are well-preserved in Helly-fixed paraffin sections. They are only occasionally found in early instar nymphs, but abound in older nymphs and adults. On the basis of morphological and tinctorial characteristics they are arbitrarily subdivided into two categories, called beta- and delta-granules. Both are intensely PAS-positive and sudanophilic. This seems to be due to the presence of glycolipid. Similarities between these inclusions and lipofuscins described in vertebrate neurons have been pointed out. The relationship between beta- and delta-granules and neurosecretory material remains undetermined.
Second‐Generation Immigrants? The “2.5 Generation” in the United States*

Objective. This article takes issue with the way that second-generation immigrants have been traditionally defined. In most studies, respondents are considered to be ‘‘second generation’’ if they are born in the United States and if at least one of their parents was born outside the United States. This article considers whether the experiences and outcomes of those with one U.S.-born parent and one foreign-born parent (the ‘‘2.5 generation’’) are different from those with no U.S.-born parents (the ‘‘2.0 generation’’) and those with two native-born parents (the ‘‘third generation’’). Methods. The article analyzes data from the March Current Population Survey (CPS) from 1999 to 2001. Results. The evidence indicates that the 2.5 generation is a numerically significant population, and that it varies from other groups in age structure, racial identification, educational attainment, and income. Conclusions. In studying the U.S.-born children of immigrants, scholars should avoid lumping together the 2.5 generation with those who have no nativeborn parents. The members of the 2.5 generation also should be treated as distinct from those born in the United States to two native-born parents. There is now a rich and growing scholarly tradition in the study of second-generation immigrants in the United States. From historical treatments of the early waves of European immigrants (Hansen, 1938; Handlin, 1951; Gordon, 1964) to contemporary research into the ‘‘new’’ second generation (Portes and Zhou, 1993; Perlmann and Waldinger, 1997; Waters, 1999; Portes and Rumbaut, 2001), scholars have viewed secondgeneration outcomes as central to the understanding of immigrant adaptation and progress. The second generation figures prominently in standard accounts of immigrant assimilation, in which outcomes such as educational attainment, earnings, and English-language ability improve markedly between the foreign born and their native-born children. The second generation has also received considerable attention from contemporary accounts of segmented assimilation, where socioeconomic
Effects of viewing aggression-laden cartoons on preschool-aged emotionally disturbed children.

In two separate studies preschool-aged emotionally disturbed (ED) children were exposed to both aggressive and control cartoons. Behavioral effects were assessed using direct observations of classroom behaviors. The findings from the first experiment with one class of ED youngsters failed to confirm the existence of a media effect. The two classes in Experiment II, however, showed a clear pattern of media reactivity. Their level of nonphysical aggression increased following both aggressive and control cartoons. Contrary to expectation, however, the children became less noncompliant and exhibited less play aggression following exposure to the cartoons.
The effect of advance notification of plant closings on the re-employment earnings of displaced blue-collar workers in the United States

This study uses the 1988 CPS Displaced Workers Surveyto analyse the effect of written advance notification of plant closings and relocations on the re-employment earnings of blue-collar and, for comparison purposes, white-collar workers in the United States. The results show that written notification given less than 60 days in advance of the layoffs did not have any significant effect on the re-employment earnings of either blue-collar or white-collar workers of either gender. However, the results show that dislocated male blue-collar workers who were given advance notification of 60 days or more before their layoffs had significantly higher re-employment earnings. This result is supportive of the federal plant closing legislation mandating 60-day advance notification to dislocated workers in the United States.
Cultured hippocampal neurons from trisomy 16 mouse, a model for Down's syndrome, have an abnormal action potential due to a reduced inward sodium current.

Abstract Mouse trisomy 16 is an animal model for Down's syndrome (human trisomy 21). The whole-cell patch-clamp technique was used to compare passive and active electrical properties of trisomy 16 and diploid mouse 16 fetal hippocampal neurons maintained in culture for 2–5 weeks. There was no significant difference in any mean passive property, including resting potential, membrane resistance, capacitance and time constant. However, in trisomic neurons, the action potential had a 20% significantly slower rising phase and a 20% significantly smaller inward sodium current and inward sodium conductance than did control neurons. The outward conductance was not altered. The ratio of maximum inward conductance to maximum outward conductance was 30% less in the trisomy 16 cells. These results indicate that trisomy 16 hippocampal neurons have abnormal active electrical properties, most likely reflecting reduced sodium channel membrane density. Such subtle differences may influence elaboration of the hippocampus during development.
On the coherent structure of the axisymmetric mixing layer: A flow-visualization study

In an effort to resolve some controversies regarding the turbulent mixing-layer structure, the near field of a large (18 cm diameter) air jet has been investigated for the jet exit speed of 30 m s−1. The smoke-laden axisymmetric mixing layer has been illuminated by a thin sheet of laser light in an azimuthal plane passing through the jet axis. High-speed visualization films of the mixing layer in the region of its self-preservation (of which a few picture sequences depicting space-time evolutions of the structure of the layer are presented) reveal that most of the time the mixing layer is in a state of disorganization, consisting of relatively smaller scale, random and diffuse turbulent motions; only occasionally are organized distinct large-scale coherent structures formed. The survival distances of the large-scale structures are found to be comparable to their average sizes. The survival time of these structures is about one ‘turnover’ time, each being roughly about five times the local characteristic time scale of the mixing layer. It is seen that tearing is as dominant a mode of large-scale interaction as pairing is; large-scale structures are continually sheared and typically fragmented due to a segment on the high-speed side being torn and swept away from the slower-moving outer portion. Evolution of the large structures occur not primarily through complete pairing as widely believed but quite frequently through ‘fractional pairing’ between segments which have been torn from different upstream large-scale coherent structures or through ‘partial pairing’ when one structure captures only a part of another. The movies show that along with entrainment of non-vortical ambient fluid, radially outward ejection of vortical fluid into the ambient is an important aspect of jet mixing. From aligned displays of cine film frame sequences, space-time trajectories of identifiable vortical fluid elements have been traced. The convection velocity variation across the shear layer and even the overall structure convection velocity measured from these trajectories agree with those determined from the wave-number-celerity spectra, obtained from double-Fourier transformation of longitudinal velocity space-time correlation measurements with hot-wires.The visualization films do not bear out the two-street vortex ring model recently propounded by Lau. Based on our observations, we propose that tearing, ‘slippage’ and fractional and partial pairings are responsible for the observed radial variation of structure passage frequency, and the causes of the different coherent structures educed by Bruun on the high- and low-speed sides of the mixing layer and for Yule's failure in educing a coherent structure on the low-speed side of the layer.
The influence of web monitoring tactics on the tracheal systems of spiders in the family Uloboridae (Arachnida, Araneida)

Uloborids that spin reduced webs more actively monitor them than those that construct orb webs. Hyptiotes use both their first and fourth legs to tense their triangle-webs, whereas Miagrammopes rely principally on their first legs to monitor and jerk the threads of their irregular webs. The respiratory systems of these spiders include tracheae that extend into the prosoma, bifurcate, and enter the legs. To determine if the legs responsible for active web-monitoring tactics have more extensive tracheal supplies, the total cross sectional area has been computed of the tracheae entering the legs of mature female orb web and reduced web uloborids. Each leg's value has been divided by the cross sectional area of the tracheal trunks that enter the prosoma. These indexes reveal no significant differences between the relative tracheal supplies of the orb weavers investigated (Waitkera waitkerensis, Tangaroa beattyi, Uloborus glomosus). But the first, third, and fourth legs of H. cavatus and the first legs of M. animotus and M. pinopus have greater relative tracheal supplies than those of the three orb weaving species. Relative to leg volume, the first and fourth legs of H. cavatus have the greatest and the first legs of Miagrammopes species the next greatest tracheal supplies. When tracheal lengths are considered, these differences in potential oxygen supplies remain, showing that area differences do not simply compensate for differences in the distances over which oxygen must diffuse. These differences are leg-specific and not species-specific, and uloborids with the most extensive tracheal supplies are found in moist habitats. Thus the observed differences are best explained as adaptations to meet the greater oxygen demands of legs responsible for active web-monitoring tactics and not as adaptations to reduce respiratory water loss.
Solvation Ultrafast Dynamics of Reactions. 14. Molecular Dynamics and ab Initio Studies of Charge-Transfer Reactions of Iodine in Benzene Clusters

Previous experiments have been carried out in this laboratory to investigate the dynamics of iodine−benzene charge-transfer reactions. Both 1:1 solute−solvent complexes and 1:n clusters were studied on the femtosecond time scale with kinetic energy time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Cheng, P. Y.; Zhong, D.; Zewail, A. H. J. Chem. Phys. 1996, 105, 6216). Here, we report theoretical studies of the structure and dynamics of iodine−benzene clusters with direct comparison to experimental findings. In particular, ab initio calculations confirm that iodine binds to benzene near-axially with an energy of 3.5 kcal/mol (MP2/6-311G^(**)), which is consistent with the experimental time scale of the reaction and with the angular and kinetic energy distributions of product fragments. Experimental observations have shown that the dynamics of iodine dissociation under cluster solvation is described by two caging time scales. Using Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations, we find that this effect arises from a fundamental asymmetry in the structure of 1:n iodine−benzene clusters. The benzenes tend to form mouth-shaped structures around the iodine, causing one of the iodine atoms to be more strongly solvated than the other. The dynamics therefore reflect two types of solvation forces, free and bound, in a homogeneous structure, rather than a distribution of structures. The two distinct time scales, femtosecond and picosecond, are a result of caging dynamics in the solvent structure. In this way, caging dynamics may be used as a probe of structural features of solvation.
Identification of C1q as the heat-labile serum cofactor required for immune complexes to stimulate endothelial expression of the adhesion molecules E-selectin and intercellular and vascular cell adhesion molecules 1

Abstract To examine the role of complement components as regulators of the expression of endothelial adhesive molecules in response to immune complexes (ICs), we determined whether ICs stimulate both endothelial adhesiveness for leukocytes and expression of E-selectin and intercellular and vascular cell adhesion molecules 1 (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1). We found that ICs [bovine serum albumin (BSA)-anti-BSA] stimulated endothelial cell adhesiveness for added leukocytes in the presence of complement-sufficient normal human serum (NHS) but not in the presence of heat-inactivated serum (HIS) or in tissue culture medium alone. Depletion of complement component C3 or C8 from serum did not prevent enhanced endothelial adhesiveness stimulated by ICs. In contrast, depletion of complement component C1q markedly inhibited IC-stimulated endothelial adhesiveness for leukocytes. When the heat-labile complement component C1q was added to HIS, the capacity of ICs to stimulate endothelial adhesiveness for leukocytes was completely restored. Further evidence for the possible role of C1q in mediating the effect of ICs on endothelial cells was the discovery of the presence of the 100- to 126-kDa C1q-binding protein on the surface of endothelial cells (by cytofluorography) and of message for the 33-kDa C1q receptor in resting endothelial cells (by reverse transcription-PCR). Inhibition of protein synthesis by cycloheximide blocked endothelial adhesiveness for leukocytes stimulated by either interleukin 1 or ICs in the presence of NHS. After stimulation with ICs in the presence of NHS, endothelial cells expressed increased numbers of adhesion molecules (E-selectin, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1). Endothelial expression of adhesion molecules mediated, at least in part, endothelial adhesiveness for leukocytes, since leukocyte adhesion was blocked by monoclonal antibodies directed against E-selectin. These studies show that ICs stimulate endothelial cells to express adhesive proteins for leukocytes in the presence of a heat-labile serum factor. That factor appears to be C1q.
Development of trailer attenuating cushion for variable message signs and arrow boards

In 1993, FHWA adopted a policy that requires all roadside features placed within the clear zone to be evaluated according to the guidelines contained in NCHRP Report 350. Variable message sign trailers and arrow board trailers have never been tested under these safety evaluation guidelines. A full-scale crash test and a review of work zone accident studies clearly indicate that these trailers are a serious roadside hazard and they are struck in approximately 15% of all work zone intrusion accidents. An attenuating cushion that safely treats the full range of these trailers was developed. Two full-scale crash tests of the trailer attenuating cushion were conducted to verify that the new designs meet NCHRP Report 350 guidelines. The new safety treatments are believed to be relatively inexpensive to build and easy to deploy. The new systems should reduce the severity of many run-off-road crashes without a major increase in the cost of using variable message signs and arrow boards.
Infection and xenotransplantation. Developing strategies to minimize risk.

Infection in transplantation results from interaction between the level of immune suppression and the epidemiologic exposures of the recipient. "Xenosis," infection in xenotransplantation, may be increased beyond that of allotransplantation because: (1) the xenograft may serve as a permissive focus of infection for donor-derived organisms; (2) these organisms may be unknown or xenotropic; (3) microbiologic assays may be unavailable; (4) clinical syndromes due to such novel pathogens may not be recognized; (5) the necessary level of immune suppression may be greater than for allotransplantation; (6) donor-derived organisms may acquire new (e.g., genetic) characteristics in the human host; (7) the presence of immune suppression and the high, intrinsic rate of infection may mask the presence of xenosis; and (8) MHC-incompatibility may reduce the efficacy of the immune response within the xenograft. Because immunocompromised individuals are sentinels for infection by many types of novel infectious agents, and because there is some unknown level of risk that such pathogens will spread to the general population, microbiologic studies must be initiated in tandem with preclinical and clinical studies of xenotransplantation.
Point-defect calculations for tungsten

Computer-model calculations have been carried out for vacancies, divacancies, and interstitials in tungsten using an interatomic potential developed by Johnson and White. Full relaxation of the 531 atoms closest to the defect is carried out by the model, and surrounding atoms are constrained to displace elastically. With an input into the model of a vacancy formation energy of 3.60 eV, the vacancy migration energy, formation volume, and migration volume were 2.00 eV, $0.79\ensuremath{\Omega}$, and $\ensuremath{-}0.08\ensuremath{\Omega}$, respectively ($\ensuremath{\Omega}$ is the atomic volume). The second-neighbor divacancy was most stable and migrated through partial separation to the fourth neighbor divacancy. The binding energy and volume were 0.78 eV and $0.08\ensuremath{\Omega}$, respectively, and migration was similar to that for single vacancies. The potential had to be modified for interstitial calculations to provide repulsion at near separations. For a hard repulsion, the formation energy was large (13.04 eV), the migration energy large (1.05 eV), and the formation volume small ($0.13\ensuremath{\Omega}$), while for a soft repulsion, the formation and migration energies were smaller (9.30 and 0.20 eV, respectively) and the formation volume was negative ($\ensuremath{-}0.65\ensuremath{\Omega}$). Although these calculations do not yield unambiguous results, they suggest that high-temperature curvature in self-diffusion data for tungsten is not caused by divacancies or by single interstitials.
Use of the Public Health Nursing Bag Reexamined

A stratified random sample of 104 NLN-accredited baccalaureate schools was surveyed regarding use of standard public health nursing bags by students in public health nursing courses. Return rate was 60 percent. Results indicated 66 percent of responding schools used public health nursing bags (Henry Street type) when students provided home care. It can be concluded that teaching of bag technique continues to be an applicable component of many nursing education programs despite rumors to the contrary.
Characterization of a silicon-photonic wideband switch in UCSD's MORDIA ring network

We demonstrate and investigate concurrent switching of twenty 10-Gbps channels using a silicon Mach-Zehnder interferometer switching structure with low on-state loss, low power, and microsecond-scale switching time.
A unique length polymorphism in the signal peptide region of the apolipoprotein B gene in Mexican-Americans

Source/Description: Amplification of the first exon of the apoB gene was carried out as previously described (1). The amplifying oligonucleotides were 5'-CAGCTGGCGATGGACCCGCCGA-3' as the 5' primer and 5'-ACCGGCCCTGGCGCCCGCCAGCA-3' as the 3' primer. Denaturation of the DNA was carried out at 94°C for 1 minute, annealing and extension were carried out for 1.5 minutes at 64°C. Ampification was carried out by 30 rounds of denaturation followed by resynthesis.
Glucose transporter immunoreactivity in the hypothalamus and area postrema

Abstract To study the glucose transporter (GT) protein in two glucose-sensitive areas of the rat brain, frozen coronal sections at the level of the median eminence (ME) and area postrema (AP) were stained immunocytochemically with an antibody raised against human erythrocyte glucose transporter. Immunoreactivity was mainly confined to blood vessels in most brain areas but was lacking in those of the ME and AP, which also lack a normal blood-brain barrier. This suggests that glucose entry into these brain areas, unlike others, is not limited or regulated by capillary glucose transport systems. Tanycyte processes stained strongly for GT and for glycogen and thus may have an unusual glucose metabolism.
Uncertainty in air flow calculations using tracer gas measurements

Abstract Tracer gas techniques are becoming widely used to measure the ventilation rates in buildings. As more detailed information is required for both energy and indoor air quality purposes, researchers are turning to complex, multizone tracer strategies. Both single gas and multiple gas techniques are being utilized, but only multigas techniques are capable of uniquely determining the entire matrix of air flows. In any of these measurement techniques, the determination of the precision of the result is critical for understanding its significance. This report derives expressions for determining the uncertainties in the air flows from the measured data. Examples indicate that real-time techniques are more precise than integrated techniques and that multigas techniques are more precise than single-gas techniques.
Cognitive disconnect: understanding facebook connect login permissions

We study Facebook Connect's permissions system using crawling, experimentation, and user surveys. We find several areas in which it it works differently than many users and developers expect. More permissions can be granted than developers intend. In particular, permissions that allow a site to post to the user's profile are granted on an all-or-nothing basis. While users generally understand what data sites can read from their profile, they generally do not understand the full extent of what sites can post. In the case of write permissions, we show that user expectations are influenced by the identity of the requesting site although this has no impact on what is actually enforced. We also find that users generally do not understand the way Facebook Connect permissions interact with Facebook's privacy settings. Our results suggest that users understand detailed, granular messages better than those that are broad and vague.
Carbon Dioxide Absorbers: An Engaging Experiment for the General Chemistry Laboratory

A simple and direct method for measuring the absorption of carbon dioxide by two different substances is described. Lithium hydroxide has been used for decades to remove the gas from enclosed living spaces, such as spacecraft and submarines. The ratio of the mass of carbon dioxide absorbed to the mass of lithium hydroxide used obtained from this static method compares favorably with results in the literature that use a more complex constant-flow method. The method also works well for ethanolamine, another commonly used carbon dioxide absorber. The experiment for the general chemistry laboratory serves both quantitative and qualitative learning goals. Students compare stoichiometric calculations that assume a complete reaction with their experimental results to motivate use of the latter in predicting the amount of lithium hydroxide required for space missions. They use the ideal gas law to determine the mass of carbon dioxide absorbed. Their data allow a comparison of the performance characteristics of th...
SAMA: Serverless Anonymous Mutual Authentication for Low-Cost RFID Tags

An RFID system generally consists of tags, readers, and backend servers with the readers charged with authenticating/identifying the tags with the help of the servers. Two important enhancements have been suggested for widespread adoption of RFIDs, namely the use of low cost (5¢ or less) passive RFID tags and serverless system design to overcome the need for persistent connection between the readers and the servers. Unfortunately, the low cost tags lack computation and storage capabilities to implement sophisticated security protocols to provide tag privacy and anonymous mutual authentication between the readers and the tags. Although several schemes (including some serverless schemes) have been proposed for authentication between tags and readers, they invariably have stringent computation and storage requirements and cannot be implemented in passive tags. In this paper, we propose SAMA, a novel serverless and anonymous mutual authentication scheme for a system consisting of passive tags and readers. Our scheme uses non-linear feedback shift registers and only logical operations to provide robust and anonymous mutual authentication. We perform security analyses and performance evaluation of SAMA and demonstrate its effectiveness and efficiency in comparison with other popular schemes in the literature. Our scheme requires only three message communications between the tag and the reader. Additionally, it requires only 1393 gates and 70 clock cycles at the tag.
Idiopathic ulcerative colitis in patients with primary sclerosing colitis undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT)

Idiopathic Ulcerative Colitis in Patients With Primary Sclerosing Colitis Undergoing Ortholopic Liver Transplantation (OLT)
Terahertz-regime realization and optical characterization of two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate

A terahertz-scale two-dimensional photonic-crystal waveguide based on a silicon-on-insulator was fabricated, and the optical transmission spectrum was measured. Terahertz beam propagation characteristics were observed using a thermal imaging camera, with incident light in the 10.1-10.7μm range. The measured transmission spectrum was in very good agreement with a three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain calculation.
Patterned femtosecond laser excitation of terahertz radiation in GaAs photonic crystals

GaAs terahertz (THz) photonic crystal (PC) slabs are fabricated. A spatially patterned femtosecond laser beam generates THz radiation inside the PCs. THz emission from dasialeaky modespsila above the light line is observed.
Anticipating human activities for reactive robotic response

An important aspect of human perception is anticipation, which we use extensively in our day-to-day activities when interacting with other humans as well as with our surroundings. Anticipating which activities will a human do next (and how to do them) can enable an assistive robot to plan ahead for reactive responses in the human environments. In this work, our goal is to enable robots to predict the future activities as well as the details of how a human is going to perform them in short-term (e.g., 1-10 seconds). For example, if a robot has seen a person move his hand to a coffee mug, it is possible he would move the coffee mug to a few potential places such as his mouth, to a kitchen sink or just move it to a different location on the table. If a robot can anticipate this, then it would rather not start pouring milk into the coffee when the person is moving his hand towards the mug, thus avoiding a spill. We represent each possible future using an anticipatory temporal conditional random field (ATCRF) that models the rich spatial-temporal relations through object affordances. We then consider each ATCRF as a particle and represent the distribution over the potential futures using a set of particles. We evaluate our anticipation approach extensively on CAD-120 human activity dataset, which contains 120 RGB-D videos of daily human activities, such as microwaving food, taking medicine, etc. For robotic evaluation, we measure how many times the robot anticipates and performs the correct reactive response. The accompanying video shows a PR2 robot performing assistive tasks based on the anticipations generated by our proposed method.
The role of computers in mechatronics

The author examines the role computers hold in the field of mechatronics, and what educators need to focus on for all engineering students, not just mechanical engineering students.
The developmental long trace profiler (DLTP) optimized for metrology of side-facing optics at the ALS

The autocollimator and moveable pentaprism based DLTP [NIM A 616 (2010) 212-223], a low-budget, NOM-like profiler at the Advanced Light Source (ALS), has been upgraded to provide fast, highly accurate surface slope metrology for long, side-facing, x-ray optics. This instrument arrangement decreases sensitivity to environmental conditions and removes the gravity effect on mirror shape. We provide design details of an affordable base tool, including clean-room environmental arrangements in the new ALS X-ray Optics Laboratory with advanced temperature stabilization and turbulence reduction, that yield measurements in under 8 hours with accuracy better than 30 nanoradians (rms) for super polished,190 mm flat optics, limited mainly by residual temporal instability of the experimental set-up. The upgraded DLTP has been calibrated for highly curved x-ray optics, allowing same day measurements of a 15 m ROC sphere with accuracy of better than 100 nanoradians (rms). The developed calibration procedure is discussed in detail. We propose this specific 15 m ROC sphere for use as a round-robin calibration test optic.
Fast Neutron Energy Absorption in Gases, Walls, and Tissue

The ionization produced by a collimated beam of fast neutrons, filtered for gamma-rays, resulting from neutron collisions in various hydrogenous and non-hydrogenous gases at pressures ranging from 3 mm to 3 atmospheres or resulting from collisions in various hydrogenous and non-hydrogenous wall materials has been measured in ionization chambers of various types. In large wire-defined gas-walled chambers the ionizing particles are the recoiling gas nuclei. The long range protons of hydrogenous gases expend part of their energy in the walls of the container at ordinary pressures; hence their ionization-pressure curves are quasiparabolic, becoming linear at higher pressures in accordance with theoretical predictions. The ionization-pressure curves for non-hydrogenous gases are linear except at low pressures. The limiting pressures at which linearity sets in lead to maximum values of the range and energy of the recoiling nuclei and indicate that in the beam of the 37-inch Berkeley cyclotron 5-Mev neutrons predominate. The slopes of the linear portions of the $i\ensuremath{-}p$ curves permit the calculation of the rate, ${E}_{j}$, at which energy is transferred from the neutron beam to nuclear constituents of the gas. The component of the ionization resulting from gamma-rays, produced in the target and in the walls of the collimator and chamber, was found less than 1 percent in hydrogenous gases and only 2-6 percent in other gases. From the rate of energy transfer and the neutron energy flux an approximate mean value of the $n\ensuremath{-}p$ cross section for neutron energy distribution of the beam was calculated; also the lower limits of similar cross sections for other nuclei have been estimated, these values containing both the scattering cross sections and those due to neutron absorption followed by disintegrations. In thimble chambers with 1-cm and in cylindrical chambers with 2-mm wall separations, the ionization results in large part from the recoiling wall nuclei. Ranges and energies of the heavier recoiling wall nuclei are indicated by the limiting pressures revealed in $i\ensuremath{-}p$ curves. The gamma-ray percentage is greater than in large volumed chambers. Neutron responses from most non-hydrogenous walls are practically independent of wall material. The excess response from hydrogenous walls is proportional to proton content. From the ${E}_{j}$ values measured in large chambers the energies absorbed per g of various biological substances and of hydrogenous and non-hydrogenous wall materials have been calculated, and (1) predict the respective responses measured in thimble chambers and (2) indicate that the energy absorption per g of tissue must be similar to that for a wall material like amber. Finally, analysis of the relative x-ray and neutron energy absorptions in such materials yields a factor ${k}_{n}g2$, which must be applied to reduce neutron exposures measured in certain hydrogenous-walled chambers to tissue doses.
"LIBERATING THE CITY: BETWEEN NEW YORK AND NEW ORLEANS"—A RESPONSE

Jamie Peck’s interesting and ambitious paper on New York and New Orleans examines the links between the discursive elaborations of the new urban right and the diffusion of neoliberal policy in the two cities since the late 1970s. He argues that by employing a narrative of crisis, members of conservative think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and the Manhattan Institute persuaded politicians of the necessity for a strong stance against welfarist tendencies and the simultaneous initiation and/or entrenchment of more neoliberal ones. He traces the geographical dissemination of this revanchist ideology primarily through the major journals and books of these think tanks and seeks to show crucial changes in the ideational climate of both cities. This shift in climate, he argues, guides a “neoliberal makeover” of both New York and New Orleans. As with all Peck’s work, the piece is thoughtful, nuanced, and well-researched. But it departs from much of his earlier work by virtue of its focus on ideas and personalities rather than structural forces per se. In this, it should be read as part of the broad corpus of scholarly work on the origins, extension, and entrenchment of neoliberalism worldwide. These began with broad analyses of capitalist restructuring and structural adjustment (mostly set in Latin America), but in recent years have become increasingly attuned to the particularities of place and the capacities of actors to produce different outcomes and trajectories. Here, Peck investigates the political ideologies through which neoliberalism is produced as the rational way of understanding the economy and society. He unpacks the constituent parts of the neoliberal project to investigate the ways that this ideational shift is rendered material through the links between thought and policy. Rather than emphasizing a capitalist “logic” to the growth and extension of neoliberalism he seeks to show the multiple ways that it is constituted by individuals and institutions. This gives more weight to the productive capacity of discourse and to the agency of actors and successfully depicts neoliberalism as a complex project always in motion, never perfect, and never complete. The paper is part of a pendulum shift away from economistic interpretations of a capital “P” “Neoliberal Project” and helps to bring balance to a debate that had occasionally swayed to overly structuralist accounts of crisis and reorganization. In this sense, it is a new story. Yet in many other respects, and despite the attention paid to actors and agency, the story here also remains the same story; it is still an account of the “victory”
The burden of prescription coverage of kidney failure patients in the United States: is Medicare Part D the answer?

I n the United States, there are currently about 400 000 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and about 19 million individuals have chronic kidney disease.1 In 1973, as a result of the Social Security Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92-603, section 299I), the Medicare ESRD Program was established, which covers dialysis and kidney transplantation. In the 30 years since its inception, the Medicare ESRD Program has provided life-saving dialysis treatments and transplants to over one million people and has been regarded as an unqualifi ed success. However, there are several limitations to this program, and one major issue has been prescription coverage. Because of their high cost, only two categories of outpatient prescription drugs are currently covered under the Medicare ESRD Program (Part B): immunosuppressant (anti-rejection) drugs for kidney transplant patients, and erythropoietin, which is used to treat anemia in dialysis patients.2 Th ere are several facets to the problems of prescription coverage in kidney failure patients.
Feeding chronology of juvenile piranhas, Pygocentrus notatus, in the Venezuelan llanos

During the 1988 rainy season, I studied the 24 h feeding chronology of juvenile (40–68 mm standard length) piranhas, Pygocentrus notatus (Characidae: Serrasalminae) from a natural population inhabiting a small savanna stream in Apure State, Venezuela. Stomach contents analyses, supported by laboratory determinations of digestion rate, showed that these fish are primarily diurnal carnivores. Predatory activity on 4–5 August 1988 increased markedly after sunrise, peaked around 1100 h, and essentially stopped after sunset. Means of stomach content weight-to-fish weight ratios among the periods sampled were significantly different. Small fish were the major prey at all hours (81% of total prey volume). Underlying factors responsible for the observed 24 h feeding patterns were not investigated, but avoidance of predation by adult piranhas, which were very active near sunset, may have been important.
Optimal Joint Power Allocation and Phase Control for DS-CDMA Cognitive Radio Networks

Efficient and fair resource allocation in cognitive radio (CR) networks under strict constraints imposed by the primary network is a challenging problem for underlay dynamic spectrum access (DSA) networks. Due to the distributed nature of secondary networks, traditional approaches are usually computationally inefficient in providing fair resource management while meeting severe constraints imposed by the primary network. In this paper we consider the scenario of homogeneous CDMA-based DSA network with one main primary receive-transmit pair and an arbitrary number of secondary users (SUs). Unlike the prior works, we consider the case where SUs can adaptively adjust their transmit directions besides transmit power according to available channel information. For such a scenario, we formulate the joint power allocation and phase control problem and find the optimal solution to maximize the total rate for the secondary network subject to interference and power constraints. Our method has a linear computational complexity and guarantees fairness among SUs. Numerical analysis show that introducing the phase control alleviates the restriction of strict interference constraint while keeping the efficiency of power allocation.
Vestibular activation of sympathetic nerve activity.

AIM: The vestibulosympathetic reflex refers to sympathetic nerve activation by the vestibular system. Animal studies indicate that the vestibular system assists in blood pressure regulation during orthostasis. Although human studies clearly demonstrate activation of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) during engagement of the otolith organs, the role of the vestibulosympathetic reflex in maintaining blood pressure during orthostasis is not well-established. Examination of the vestibulosympathetic reflex with other cardiovascular reflexes indicates that it is a powerful and independent reflex. Ageing, which is associated with an increased risk for orthostatic hypotension, attenuates the vestibulosympathetic reflex. The attenuated reflex is associated with a reduction in arterial pressure. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the vestibulosympathetic reflex assists in blood pressure regulation in humans, but future studies examining this reflex in other orthostatically intolerant populations are necessary to address this hypothesis.
Whole-body radiation dosimetry of 2-[18F]Fluoro-A-85380 in human PET imaging studies.

2-[F-18]Fluoro-A-85380 (2- [F-18]fluoro-3-(2(S)-azetidinylmethoxy)pyridine, 2-[18F]FA) is a recently developed PET radioligand for noninvasive imaging of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Previous radiation absorbed dose estimates for 2-[F-18]FA were limited to evaluation of activity in only several critical organs. Here, we performed 2-[F-18]FA radiation dosimetry studies on two healthy human volunteers to obtain data for all important body organs. Intravenous injection of 2.9 MBq/kg of 2-[F-18]FA was followed by dynamic PET imaging. Regions of interest were placed over images of each organ to generate time-activity curves, from which we computed residence times. Radiation absorbed doses were calculated from the residence times using the MIRDOSE 3.0 program (version 3.0, ORISE, Oak Ridge, TN). The urinary bladder wall receives the highest radiation absorbed dose (0.153 mGy/MBq, 0.566 rad/mCi, for a 2.4-h voiding interval), followed by the liver (0.0496 mGy/MBq, 0.184 rad/mCi) and the kidneys (0.0470 mGy/MBq, 0.174 rad/mCi). The mean effective dose equivalent is estimated to be 0.0278 mSv/MBq (0.103 rem/mCi), indicating that radiation dosimetry associated with 2-[F-18]FA is within acceptable limits. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Conjugate Thermal Transport in Gas Flow in Long Rectangular Microchannels

This paper is directed at the numerical simulation of pressure-driven nitrogen slip flow in long microchannels, focusing on conjugate heat transfer under uniform heat flux wall boundary condition. This problem has not been studied in detail despite its importance in many practical circumstances such as those related to the cooling of electronic devices and localized heat input in materials processing systems. For the gas phase, the two-dimensional momentum and energy equations are solved, considering variable properties, rarefaction, which involves velocity slip, thermal creep and temperature jump, compressibility, and viscous dissipation. For the solid, the energy equation is solved with variable properties. Four different substrate materials are studied, including commercial bronze, silicon nitride, pyroceram and fused silica. The effects of substrate axial conduction, material thermal conductivity and substrate thickness are investigated in detail. It is found that substrate axial conduction leads to a flatter bulk temperature profile along the channel, lower maximum temperature, and lower Nusselt number. The effect of substrate thickness on the conjugate heat transfer is very similar to that of the substrate thermal conductivity. That is, in terms of axial thermal resistance, the increase in substrate thickness has the same impact as that caused by an increase in its thermal conductivity. By comparing the results from constant and variable properties models, it is found that the effects of variation in substrate material properties are negligible.Copyright © 2009 by ASME