cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A dSPACE-based control of a hybrid renewable energy system with wind and photovoltaic power

In recent years, non-conventional sources of energy such as wind and solar have gained increased attention as viable means of power generation. This paper discusses a hybrid scheme consisting of a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG)-based wind energy system and photovoltaic panels which are integrated with a battery to store extra energy when available and to meet additional power requirement during shortage. The PV panel supplies the battery through a SEPIC converter for maximum power point tracking (MPPT). The PMSG supplies the battery through a boost converter which regulates the output. The outputs of the wind and photovoltaic systems share a common DC link through which the total power from the hybrid system is fed to a three-phase load using an inverter implementing space-vector pulse-width modulation (SV-PWM). The controller modeled in MATLAB/Simulink software is simple and is implemented through real-time simulation using dSPACE board.
Recent Progress with the JWST Observatory

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large aperture (6.5 meter), cryogenic space telescope with a suite of near and mid-infrared instruments covering the wavelength range of 0.6 micrometers - 28 micrometers. JWST's primary science goal is to detect and characterize the first galaxies. It will also study the assembly of galaxies, star formation, and the formation of evolution of planetary systems. JWST is a segmented mirror telescope operating at (is) approximately 40K, a temperature achieved by passive cooling of the observatory, via a large, 5-layer membrane-based sunshield. We present an overview of the observatory systems design, the science instruments and the mission science objectives. With the completion of the Spacecraft Critical Design Review, the spacecraft has also fully transitioned to fabrication. We will discuss recent highlights associated with the Observatory, including completion and delivery of the primary mirror segments, delivery of the primary mirror backplane and its wings, and the delivery of five template membrane layers. We will also summarize the current predicted performance of the telescope, including stray light, pointing and image quality following the completion of the final design review. Finally, the current schedule through to launch will be presented with a summary of integration and test activities planned when the science payload is delivered to Northrop Grumman following cryo-optical testing at the Johns Space Flight Center.
On ‘optimal’ technology and scale in industrialization: Steel-making☆

Abstract Questions of the appropriateness of technology transfers from industrialized countries, and of the concomitant implications for the optimal scale of operations, have formed a persistent topic in discussions of development schmes. Some of the theoretical assumptions underlying these discussions are examined on the basis of empirical observations on the establishment of steel-making facilities in developing economies. Steel mills have become regarded as part of the necessary infrastructure in many countries; thus, a sufficiently large number of installations have occurred to permit some generalizations. It is found that the achievement of optimal plant sizes, in the sense of static economic theory, proves elusive at best in the dynamic setting of ambitious growth objectives. Completely aside from political considerations, various economic factors not only militate against the projection of an optimal scale of operations, but also make a commitment to such a scale inadvisable. Besides, little evidence is found to suggest that advanced techniques are not sufficiently flexible in terms of input and size requirements to permit their transfer to developing countries. One may hazard the conclusion that market, rather than technological , rigidities could prevent the realization of a new industry's full potential.
Thermodynamics Of The Myosin Nucleotide-binding Pocket Measured By Epr Spectroscopy Using Spin Labeled Nucleotides

Structural models based upon crystal structures show the myosin nucleotide-binding pocket closes around the ATP. EPR spectroscopy using nitroxide spin label covalently attached to ADP on the ribose moiety detects the degree of closure around this pocket. Our work with spin labeled nucleotide indicates that the pocket opens up in actomyosin, presumably to facilitate ADP release. Actomyosin spectra show evidence that the open and closed states are in equilibrium. Deconvolution of the spectra allows a quantitative analysis of this equilibrium yielding a ΔG for this structural transition. We have looked at this equilibrium in a range of different myosins, ranging from slow myosins such as myosin V and smooth muscle to faster myosins from skeletal muscle and Drosophila flight muscle. Assuming the open state is a necessary intermediate for ADP release, we have found a counterintuitive result that the closed state is favored in faster myosins and the open state is favored in slow myosin. The ΔG for the closed to open transition is proportional to the in vitro motility and the ADP affinity. The ability to observe the structural equilibrium gives an insight into the energetics of the actomyosin ADP state. We hypothesize that this correlation represents a destabilization of the open state in actomyosin ADP that results in a faster ADP release rate. Extending the analysis, the ΔG also correlates to muscle efficiency, which suggests that the energetics in this state play a central roll in the tradeoff between speed and efficiency in myosin.
Controlling asynchronous team design environments by simulated annealing

An organizational strategy for design environments,asynchronous teams, is reviewed. Simulated annealing is used to implement the necessarycontracting search behavior of asynchronous teams. An example of an asynchronous team design environment controlled by simulated annealing is given from the building design domain. The simulated annealing algorithm used, which has been modified for distributed use and multi-criteria, non-preference objectives, is described.
Influence of Oxide Growth and Metal Creep on Strain Development in the Steam-Side Oxide in Boiler Tubes

This effort is concerned with developing a quantitative description of the exfoliation behavior of oxide scales grown inside steam tubes in a pressure boiler. Consideration of the development of stress/strain in growing oxides has included expansion mismatch-induced strains during thermal cycling as well as inelastic mechanical effects from oxide/alloy creep phenomena and volume change from oxide growth. The magnitude of the parameters used has been closely matched to actual boiler operating practice. The creep model used was validated against published data. Representation of oxide growth-induced strain was found to be a difficult challenge because the processes involved are not fully understood. In addition to the traditional uniaxial (radial) and dilatational models, ‘lateral’ growth models are discussed in the context of experimentally-derived criteria, such as the level of elastic strains involved in oxide exfoliation. It was found that strain variation in the oxide cannot be neglected.
Subcellular Localization of Cytoplasmic Lattice-Associated Proteins Is Dependent upon Fixation and Processing Procedures

We and others have recently demonstrated by immuno-EM and mutation analysis that two oocyte-restricted maternal effect genes, PADI6 and MATER, localize, in part, to the oocyte cytoplasmic lattices (CPLs). During these ongoing studies, however, we found that the localization of these factors by confocal immunofluorescence (IF) analysis can vary dramatically depending upon how the oocytes and embryos are processed, with the localization pattern sometimes appearing more uniformly cytoplasmic while at other times appearing to be primarily cortical. We set out to better understand this differential staining pattern by testing a range of IF protocol parameters, changing mainly time and temperature conditions of the primary antibody solution incubation, as well as fixation methods. We found by confocal IF whole mount analysis that PADI6 and MATER localization in germinal vesicle stage oocytes is mainly cytoplasmic when the oocytes are fixed and then incubated with primary antibodies at room temperature for 1 hour, while the localization of these factors is largely limited to the cortex when the oocytes are fixed and incubated in primary antibody at 4°C overnight. We then probed sections of fixed/embedded ovaries and isolated two-cell embryos with specific antibodies and found that, under these conditions, PADI6 and MATER were again primarily cytoplasmically localized, although the staining for these factors is slightly more cortical at the two-cell stage. Taken together, our results suggest that the localization of CPL-associated proteins by confocal IF is particularly affected by processing conditions. Further, based on our current observations, it appears that PADI6 and MATER are primarily distributed throughout the cytoplasm as opposed to the oocyte subcortex.
A semianalytical technique for solving nonlinear partial differential equations

A semianalytical technique is presented using Maple to solve coupled nonlinear partial differential equations PDEs. The technique is based on analytically solving the equations resulting from discretizing the spatial coordinate of the PDEs and using quasilinearization with Newton's method to treat nonlinear terms. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Analyzing statistical variability of fracture properties

A recently developed statistical analysis is applied to the estimation of lower-bound Charpy V-notch impact energies. Scatter of the impact-energy-absorption data, at any given temperature, is described using a two-parameter Weibull distribution, with the parameters allowed to vary with temperature. Values for the parameters are obtained using standard linear-regression techniques. As a result, the analysis naturally yields the temperature dependence of the pth percentile of the impact-energy distribution. Data with both large and small scatter are analyzed using this procedure.
Direct methanol fuel cell operation with pre-stretched recast Nafion®

Abstract Direct methanol fuel cell operation with uniaxially pre-stretched recast Nafion ® membranes (draw ratio of 4) was investigated and compared to that with commercial (un-stretched) Nafion ® . The effects of membrane thickness (60–250 μm) and methanol feed concentration (0.5–10.0 M) on fuel cell power output were quantified for a cell temperature of 60 °C, ambient pressure air, and anode/cathode catalyst loadings of 4.0 mg cm −2 . Pre-stretched recast Nafion ® in the 130–180 μm thickness range produced the highest power at 0.4 V (84 mW cm −2 ), as compared to 58 mW cm −2 for Nafion ® 117. MEAs with pre-stretched recast Nafion ® consistently out-performed Nafion ® 117 at all methanol feed concentrations, with 33–48% higher power densities at 0.4 V, due to a combination of low area-specific resistance (the use of a thinner pre-stretched membrane, where the conductivity was the same as that for commercial Nafion ® ) and low methanol crossover (due to low methanol solubility in the membrane). Very high power was generated with a 180-μm thick pre-stretched recast Nafion ® membrane by increasing the cell temperature to 80 °C, increasing the anode/cathode catalyst loading to 8.0 mg cm −2 , and increasing the cathode air pressure to 25 psig. Under these conditions the power density at 0.4 V for a 1.0-M methanol feed solution was 240 mW cm −2 and the maximum power density was 252 mW cm −2 .
Red team: Design of intelligent hardware trojans with known defense schemes

In the past few years, several Trojan detection approaches have been developed to prevent the damages caused by Trojans, making Trojan insertion more and more difficult. As part of the Embedded Systems Challenge (ESC), we were given two different designs with two different Trojan detection methods, and we tried to design Trojans which could avoid detection. We developed Trojans that remain undetectable by the delay fingerprinting and ring-oscillator monitoring Trojan detection methods embedded into these benchmarks. Experimental results on a Xilinx FPGA demonstrate that most of our hardware Trojans were undetected using the inserted detection mechanisms.
Bent bond, hybrid orbitals and photoelectron spectroscopy

Abstract Localized hybrid orbitals and “bent bonds”, valence bond concepts long associated with the work of Linus Pauling, have proven quite valuable in the description of molecular ground state properties, but excited or ion state properties such as in photoelectron spectroscope (PES) are usually intepreted within the molecular orbital (MO) context. Recent theoretical work gives new support to the ideas of hybrid orbitals and bent bonds. In the present work, the seeming conflict between “delocalize” states of PES and the local orbitals of a valence bond description is revealed to be superficial. In fact, the valence bond approach provides a simple physical picture of PES and as a consequence some new insight into the MO approximation.
How negative truths are made true

Identifying plausible truthmakers for negative truths has been a serious and perennial problem for truthmaker theory. I argue here that negative truths (in particular contingent negative existential truths) are indeed made true but not in the way that positive truths are. I rely on a distinction between “existence-independence” and “variation-independence” drawn by Hoffman and Horvath (2008) to characterize the unique form of dependence negative truths exhibit on reality. The notion of variation-independence is then used to motivate a principle of truthmaking for contingent negative truths.
Effect of additives on ablation of phenolic-silica composites.

The behavior of three additives, Cr2O3, Fe, and Fe2O3, incorporated into the resin phase of a typical phenolic-silica charring-ablatiye material, was investigated. The performance, as indicated by the over-all char depth, of additive-cont aining ablators relative to that of identically fabricated control material was evaluated during exposure to two different environments, provided by an arc-imaging furnace and by a small hybrid rocket motor employing polymethylmethacrylate/oxygen propellants. Important improvements in ablator performance were observed, particularly in the more extreme hybrid-rocket-motor tests. Char samples were examined by means of scanning-electron microscopy. Composites containing Cr2O3 exhibited the least reduction in char depth. The Cr2O3 particles did not appear to interact appreciably with either carbon or silica during exposure in the rocket motor. The effect of Fe was an over-all char-depth reduction of about 10%. Microscopically observed interactions between the Fe phase and silica were highly supportive of a mechanism of silica reduction by carbon dissolved in iron, as postulated. The largest reduction in the char depth, ranging up to 30%, was observed in composites containing Fe2O3. Results of microscopic examinations were consistent with the hypothesis that the decrease in char depth was due mainly to heat absorption by endothermic reduction of iron oxides. Nomenclature Kp = chemical equilibrium constant based on partial pressures N = mole fraction p = partial pressure a = activity y = activity coefficient AH = heat of reaction
A Modified Method of Latent Class Analysis for File Organization in Information Retrieval

The latent class structure is modified by requiring the number of latent classes to be equal to the number of keywords. This modification changes the latent structure to one that consists of matrices that are both symmetric and positive definite, therefore making a “computer solution” both possible and practical. The modified latent structure is derived, the numerical analysis considerations for a computer solution are presented, and an example illustrates the use of the latent class structure in both file organization and retrieval.
SU‐E‐T‐501: Immobilization System Design and Testing for Proton Therapy

Purpose: To evaluate the quality of new immobilization devices for our clinical proton treatment program. Methods: At the Loma Linda University proton treatment center, we are developing and integrating new immobilization devices (Qfix Systems, LLC) into our clinical proton treatment program. For proton therapy applications it is desirable to use devices that exhibit a very thin water equivalent thickness (WET) to minimize beam penumbra, while the immobilization device itself also needs to be uniform in nature, with the WET accurately represented in the planning CT. Device inhomogeneities or incorrect representation of the device within the treatment planning system will result in systematic range errors. An important task in commissioning this system is validating the WET uniformity of these immobilization devices, which are typically too large to be submerged into a water tank. The WET of these devices was evaluated with a new method that measures the shift in the distal edge of a proton beam using a variable thickness range shifter apparatus that attaches to the proton snout. Results: Testing has been completed on various immobilization devices with excellent WET uniformity results. For example, the head and neck device produced a WET of 2.705mm +/− 0.015mm. The measurement technique was also very reproducible with a standard deviation of 5.7×10‐4cm for multiple measurements of the same location Conclusions: The immobilization devices that have been developed and are being integrated into our proton program meet the stringent requirements of proton therapy. The method of WET evaluation developed in this work can be adapted by other centers for evaluation of their own immobilization devices prior to deployment in proton therapy applications.
CO2 Assimilation by Etiolated Hordeum vulgare Seedlings during the Onset of Photosynthesis

The assimilation of CO 2 by etiolated Hordeum vulgare seedlings during an illumination period indicates a conversion of the organisms to autotrophy. After 1 hour illumination, increases in the photo-assimilation of CO 2 are observed and the distribution of C 14 in the soluble fraction of the plants is predominantly in intermediates of the Calvin cycle.
What makes a good biocatalyst

A biocatalyst is an enzyme or cell with both the required activity in high enough levels to make its use cost-effective, and also the other characteristics necessary for its successful and cost-effective use on an industrial scale. The biocatalyst is usually the lynchpin of a process, without which the product could not be made, despite the biocatalyst being only a relatively small element of total production costs for most of the processes that have achieved commercial success. This paper attempts to identify some of the factors necessary for success and to give illustrative examples. These include improved process integration and downstream processing with a proper appreciation that the patentability and cost of the product are of vital importance. Screening is highlighted as very important in achieving successful processes, including the consideration of plant sources of enzymes as worthwhile. Because biocatalyst success is closely linked with how high a concentration of product can be made, the importance of finding or designing biocatalysts with increased resistance to product inhibition should be strongly encouraged especially as so little research effort has been carried out in this area so far.
Court-Ordered Alcohol Treatment for Patients with Medical Problems

The authors performed a retrospective analysis of medical records and death certificates for 99 consecutive patients who had an alcohol-related medical problem that prompted a petition for court-ordered alcohol treatment. Ninety percent voluntarily participated in initial evaluation. Two appeared to be alcohol-free 6 months after treatment. The number of alcohol-related hospital visits was not different before and after intervention. Death certificates revealed that at least 12% of the patients had died within 2 years of the petition. Court-ordered alcohol treatment for patients for serious medical sequelae of alcoholism does not appear to be successful.
Extremal solutions for nth order linear difference equations

Abstract After the fashion of Uri Elias, we analyze the characteristics of extremal solutions for linear difference equations of the form Ly ( t ) + p ( t ) y ( t ) = 0, where L is an n th order disconjugate linear difference operator given its Polya-Hartman factorization, and where p ( t ) is nonzero and of constant sign on the interval I = [ a , ∞) = { a , a + 1, …}. This work is based on and extends the work concerning the classification of solutions done by Allan Peterson and Darrel Hankerson.
The impact of ISO 14000 environmental management standards on small and medium sized enterprises

Abstract Environmental performance is fast becoming a selection criterion both in the consumer and industrial markets. Some consumer market segments use environmental criteria when selecting one brand over another. In the industrial market, supplier selection by multinational firms may soon be conditioned on vendor environmental performance. This paper attempts to explore the impact of ISO 14000 on SMEs and offers suggestions for future research.
Morphology and porosity of nanoporous Au thin films formed by dealloying of AuxSi1−x

We have investigated the morphology, structure, and annealing response of nanoporous Au films synthesized via electrochemical dealloying of amorphous AuxSi1−x co-deposited films on Si substrates. The starting Au alloy film concentrations were varied from x = 0.09 to 0.41 and the resulting nanoscale porous films were characterized by electron microscopy and Rutherford backscattering techniques. Our observations provide a systematic description of the nanoporous Au film morphology, porosity, and degree of collapse as a function of starting AuxSi1−x alloy composition. The characteristic pore sizes increased from 10 to 45 nm and the porosity increased from 45% to 70% for the nanoporous Au films with decrease in the starting Au concentrations. The degree of film collapse due to dealloying also increased with decreasing Au concentration. The electrochemical dealloying process for nanoporous film formation was observed to change from a layer-by-layer dealloying process to a localized, percolation-dominated proce...
The price of paradise: the costs of inequality and a vision for a more equitable America

Concerned social scientists, legal scholars, poverty activists, and legislators have posited various theories for why, 50 years after the civil rights movement, America is still plagued by unequal ...
Hepatoprotective and antibacterial activity of Lippia nodiflora Linn. against lipopolysaccharides on HepG2 cells.

Background: Lippia nodiflora (LN) Linn is a small herb distributed throughout the world. The plant extracts of LN is used traditionally as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antipyretic, antitumor, antidiabetic, and possess hepatoprotective properties. Materials and Methods: To study the antibacterial and hepatoprotective effect of LN, we used methanolic extracts of leaves on HepG2 cells. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) is a well-characterized hepatotoxin, so toxicity was induced on liver cells using LPS. Up-regulation of inflammation genes were quantified. Results and Conclusions: In our present study, we have showed that LN reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production against LPS induced toxicity on HepG2 cells, and ther by decreased the apoptotic gene expression and protect the liver cells against toxicity.
Inhaled corticosteroids in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: is there a long-term benefit?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The use of inhaled corticosteroids is one of the most controversial issues in COPD pharmacotherapy. Experts disagree about the benefits and harms of ICS for patients with COPD, yet a majority of patients with COPD are being treated with inhaled corticosteroids. This is a review of the most recent literature on this subject. RECENT FINDINGS Evidence suggests that ICS, with or without a long-acting beta2-agonist, are cost-effective in reducing exacerbation rates and retarding the decline in health status of COPD patients, although they do not significantly modify the rate of decline in FEV1 or change mortality. This discrepancy is likely related to the differences in pathology of COPD when compared with asthma. Evidence also suggests that ICS may be safe regarding the effects on adrenals and bone mineral density. We have yet to identify reliable criteria for predicting a response to ICS in COPD, but it has become clear that in mild disease, no beneficial effect has been demonstrated. SUMMARY In contrast to asthma, inhaled corticosteroids should not be used as a first-line medication in patients with COPD. Identification of patients with COPD who might benefit from long-term treatment with ICS remains paramount.
Hox genes, neural crest cells and branchial arch patterning

Proper craniofacial development requires the orchestrated integration of multiple specialized tissue interactions. Recent analyses suggest that craniofacial development is not dependent upon neural crest pre-programming as previously thought but is regulated by a more complex integration of cell and tissue interactions. In the absence of neural crest cells it is still possible to obtain normal arch patterning indicating that neural crest is not responsible for patterning all of arch development. The mesoderm, endoderm and surface ectoderm tissues play a role in the patterning of the branchial arches, and there is now strong evidence that Hoxa2 acts as a selector gene for the pathways that govern second arch structures.
A methodology for probabilistic simultaneous transfer capability analysis

This paper presents a methodology for simultaneous transfer capability analysis based on a probabilistic approach. All areas in a large scale power system are divided into three groups: (a) study area, (b) transfer participating areas, and (c) external areas which have no direct transactions or they have fixed transactions with the study area. A performance index based contingency selection procedure is applied within the study and transfer participating areas to rank those contingencies which will affect simultaneous transfer capability. The contingency ranking order is utilized by a variation of the Wind Chime diagram to selected contingencies which are then evaluated by an optimal power flow algorithm. Subsequently, the probability distribution of simultaneous transfer capability is computed based on the electric load, circuit and unit outage Markov models. The 24/spl times/3 bus IEEE RTS is utilized to evaluate the proposed method. The performance of the proposed method is also demonstrated on an actual large scale system (2182 bus, 8 area system).
Wire synthesizable global routing for timing closure

Despite remarkable progress in the area of global routing, the burdens imposed by modern physical synthesis flows are far greater than those expected or anticipated by available (academic) routing engines. As interconnects dominate the path delay, physical synthesis such as buffer insertion and gate sizing has to integrate with layer assignment. Layer directives — commonly generated during wire synthesis to meet tight frequency targets — play a critical role in reducing interconnect delay of smaller technology nodes. Unfortunately, they are not presently understood or honored by leading global routers, nor do existing techniques trivially extend toward their resolution. The shortcomings contribute to a dangerous blindspot in optimization and timing closure, leading to unroutable and/or underperforming designs. In this paper, we aim to resolve the layer compliance problem in routing congestion evaluation and global routing, which is very critical for timing closure with physical synthesis. We propose a method of progressive projection to account for wire tags and layer directives, in which classes of nets are successively applied and locked while performing partial aggregation. The method effectively models the resource contention of layer constraints by faithfully accumulating capacity of bounded layer ranges, enabling three-dimensional assignment to subsequently achieve complete directive compliance. The approach is general, and can piggyback on existing interfaces used to communicate with popular academic engines. Empirical results on the IC-CAD 2009 benchmarks demonstrate that our approach successfully routes many designs that are otherwise unroutable with existing techniques and na¨ive approaches.
A methodological analysis of user technology acceptance

The majority of research on user technology acceptance, e.g. technology acceptance model, focuses on individual users' beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral intentions toward technology use. In this paper, we attempt to examine prior research on user technology acceptance from a methodological angle by borrowing Markus and Robey's research framework (1988). We find that prior studies usually take technology imperative perspective, use variance theories, and emphasize the micro level of analysis. Therefore, we propose an "emergent perspective - process theories - mixed level of analysis" approach to analyze user technology acceptance. From this perspective, a new model is proposed and several propositions are derived and discussed. This paper draws on several prior theories and models, such as the technology acceptance model, computer self-efficacy and the task-technology fit model, but reassembles them in a novel way. The paper concludes with the research and practical implications.
A flexible and scalable message broker for sensor network integration

Sensor network technologies have experienced an enormous development with the proliferation of sensor devices, custom communication protocols, and methods to exploit the data gathered on such networks. The actual impact of this technology on the enterprise, however, has been quite limited. This is because the community has focused almost exclusively on the sensor devices themselves, while paying little attention to the means to integrate this novel technology into the current enterprise infrastructure. We argue that facilitating this integration would encourage the adoption of sensor networks. Thus we present a scalable message broker for message-oriented middleware that is able to interact with any sensor network by providing a flexible and extensible communication subsystem. This message broker then provides the link to the messaging middleware used in the enterprise network. We describe the architecture of such a broker's communication subsystem and its implementation in Java™. We present the performance of the broker, demonstrating that it scales to interconnect many sensor networks and is able to cope with potentially very large amounts of data from the sensors' readings. Finally, we present an overview of the sensor protocols we have developed, and how they are integrated into the broker, enabling for end-to-end interaction with external enterprise applications unaware of the sensor technology.
Lattice gauge theory with a fast highly parallel computer

Results for the temperature of the color deconfinement phase transition in pure SU(3) lattice gauge theory are described. These were obtained on a specially built 16-node, 256 Megaflop computer using the Metropolis algorithm. The architecture, performance, and expansion plans for this machine are also discussed.
Stirring Gender into the Mainstream: Constructivism, Feminism and the Uses of IR Theory

The point of “Gender Theory in World Politics: Contributions of a Non-Feminist Standpoint?” (Carpenter 2002) was not to delineate new parameters for gender in IR but to kindle some dialogue about the nature of those parameters, if indeed any could be said to exist. The basic premises of the argument are: mainstream IR scholars ignore gender at the risk of inadequately understanding social reality and at least some forms of gender analysis can be incorporated into mainstream constructivism as constructivism rather than as part of an explicitly feminist project. The comments that follow represent an ongoing rumination about these points with feminist and non-feminist colleagues. They address the following questions: (1) How is the gender-constructivism proposed in Carpenter (2002) similar to and different from IR feminism, and (2) where is the value-added of incorporating gender into conventional IR research without simultaneously claiming to be doing feminist theory? With respect to the original argument, two overall points are in order before going any further. First, the view that constructivists should incorporate gender does not entail an attempt to replace gender critique with the use of gender as a “mere variable.” Second, the viewpoint that normative concerns are constitutive of IR feminism should not be read as an attempt to diminish IR feminism as “ merely normative.” The distinction is between different ways of approaching subject matter—some consistent with critical theory, some consistent with conventional approaches to IR (be they quantitative or qualitative). A specifically feminist voice seems most appropriate when the researcher seeks to contribute directly to the political and transformative project of overcoming gender oppression (on uses of theory, see Zalewski 1996). Yet beyond being useful as critique or in theorizing everyday practice, gender is also an important explanatory tool in the merely “problem-solving” project of understanding and explaining the …
Social Comparison and Bystander Intervention in Emergencies

In a 2 × 2 experimental design, male subjects were exposed to a “lady in distress” in the presence of a confederate who was either similar or dissimilar to the subject and who reacted to the situation with either passive unconcern or with apparent alarm. Consistent with a social comparison interpretation, the confederate's reactions markedly influenced whether subjects intervened. While degree of similarity was unrelated to probability of occurrence of an intervention response, it exerted a strong effect on intervention response latency. It is proposed that social comparison processes not only may influence an observer's interpretation of a situation, but may also contribute to situational ambiguity and affect the observer's degree of confidence in the validity of his interpretation of the situation. Any of these factors may, in turn, determine whether and how quickly an intervention response occurs.
A New Approach For Discriminative Detection of Organophosphate Neurotoxins in the Presence of Other Cholinesterase Inhibitors

Abstract A radically new approach for the discriminative determination of various neurotoxins has been developed. This novel biosensor combines a highly sensitive acetylcholinesterase (AChE) biosensor with immobilized organophosphate hydrolase (OPH). The value of the new concept was demonstrated by the discrimination between carbamate and organophosphorus pesticides. It was shown that the response of traditional AChE-based biosensor to mixed samples containing paraoxon and carbofuran was not simply additive, and the measured concentrations of these pesticides were very different from their real concentrations. This combined OPH/AChE system was able to improve the accuracy of the AChE-based biosensor and to uniquely distinguish paraoxon in mixed solutions containing carbofuran. The presented approach promises a new perspective for “real world” analyses and opens a new area of discriminative determination of various species in multicomponent solutions.
Temporal and spatial control over soluble protein signaling for musculoskeletal tissue engineering

Orthopedic tissue engineering strategies have developed rapidly in response to large and growing clinical needs. However, current clinical methods for replacement of natural tissue function have significant limitations, and pragmatic challenges have hindered clinical use of emerging tissue engineering approaches. In addition, current methods are not yet capable of achieving complex spatial and temporal regulation of soluble signaling (e.g. growth factor signaling), which may be required for complex, functional tissue regeneration. We have begun to develop a series of new medical devices, which are designed to temporally and spatially regulate growth factor and cytokine signaling during tissue regeneration. The initial goal of these studies is to regulate the behavior of multipotent stem cells, and to promote formation of clinically relevant tissue interfaces (e.g. bone-tendon interfaces). The ultimate goal is to further understand and recapitulate the complex processes that lead to functional musculoskeletal development and regeneration.
Characterizing bandwidth/length uniformity in high speed data communication multimode optical fiber

Multimode optical fiber is sold every day with a specification list that includes a bandwidth value measured in MHz*km. Although multimode fiber is sold on a per kilometer basis, the desired manufacturing length is much greater than 1 km. Add to these facts that the application window for multimode fiber is generally less than 1 km, and it becomes clear that the fiber manufacturer does not measure the fiber length that will actually be deployed. Therefore, some work is required to ensure that the bandwidth measurement in the manufacturing plant will relate to the bandwidth of the fiber deployed in optical communication systems. G. Mahlke & P. Gossing (1997) provided an equation for the relationship between fiber bandwidth and length. This equation is examined and some test results are reported.
Dandelion: a framework for transparently programming phone-centered wireless body sensor applications for health

Many innovative mobile health applications can be enabled by augmenting wireless body sensors to mobile phones, e.g. monitoring personal fitness with on-body accelerometer and EKG sensors. However, it is difficult for the majority of smartphone developers to program wireless body sensors directly; current sensor nodes require developers to master node-level programming, implement the communication between the smartphone and sensors, and even learn new languages. The large gap between existing programming styles for smartphones and sensors prevents body sensors from being widely adopted by smartphone applications, despite the burgeoning Apple App Store and Android Market.To bridge this programming gap, we present Dandelion1, a novel framework for developing wireless body sensor applications on smartphones. Dandelion provides three major benefits: 1) platform-agnostic programming abstraction for in-sensor data processing, called senselet, 2) transparent integration of senselets and the smartphone code, and 3) platform-independent development and distribution of senselets.We provide an implementation of Dandelion on the Maemo Linux smartphone platform and the Rice Orbit body sensor platform. We evaluate Dandelion by implementing real-world applications, and show that Dandelion effectively eliminates the programming gap and significantly reduces the development efforts. We further show that Dandelion incurs a very small overhead; in total less than 5% of the memory capacity and less than 3% of the processor time of a typical ultra low power sensor.
Stepping stones in the path of glucocorticoid-driven apoptosis of lymphoid cells

Cumulative work on glucocorticoid (GC) regulation of genes in lymphoid cell cultures has revealed that apoptotic sensitivity to GCs depends on sufficient active GC receptors in the cells. The actions of the ligand-driven GC receptor that lead to apoptosis depend on interactions with other major cell-signaling systems, including the MAPK pathways, the cAMP/PKA pathway, the hedgehog pathway, the mTOR system and the c-myc system. The balance between these systems determines whether a given cell responds to GCs by undergoing apoptosis. A central core of networked genes may be found under GC control in many types of malignant, GC-sensitive cells. The partial core list identified should be tested in clinical cell samples from hematologic malignancies.
In situ observation of place exchange reactions of gold nanoparticles. Correlation of monolayer structure and stability

Place exchange reactions were studied using dye displacement: subtle changes in ligand structure greatly affected both the rate of displacement and the stability of the monolayer.
Race & Inheritance in Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father

When and how did Barack Obama's now well-known “hope” mantra take shape? Carpio's essay explores this question through close readings of key passages from Obama's autobiography. It is nearly three hundred pages into the autobiography before the phrase “the audacity of hope” appears, at the end of the “Chicago” section. Obama has just been accepted to Harvard Law School and has yet to take his first trip to Africa to find his paternal family when he hears the phrase from his infamous ex-pastor, Jeremiah Wright. The essay places this moment from the “Chicago” section in the context of the entire autobiography to illuminate why, for Obama, it takes audacity to hope that we can transcend America's history of racial conflict. In the process, the essay reveals Obama's dark view of race relations in America before he became the symbol of a supposedly post-racial America that he is now.
New Species of Euscelus Schoenherr from Central America (Coleoptera: Attelabidae)

Abstract Six new species of Euscelus Schoenherr from Central America are described, illustrated and mapped: E. oaxacensis new species, E. stockwelli new species, E. similis new species, E. spinosus new species, E. bivittatus new species, and E. maculicollis new species. These new species and new records for E. submaculatus Voss and E. vittaticollis Voss, previously known only from South America, brings the total number of euscelines in Central America to 22. Male genitalia, including unique endophallic structures, are illustrated for each new species. A key based on external characters is provided to separate the new species from all known Central American euscelines.
Research on Cellular Senescence: Present and Future Directions

In this last talk of this workshop, a few points which others have made will be repeated and expanded, and then some aspects of cellular senescence which call for attention in the future will be mentioned briefly.
Reflections on Medicare at 50: Breaking the Chains of Path Dependency for a New Era

On the occasion of Medicare’s 50th anniversary, this Article examines the evolution of this essential program from its enactment in 1965 through implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Persons who are, or soon will be, newly enrolled in Medicare may be especially interested in the first part of this Article, which addresses the coverages, exclusions, and costs of Medicare’s constituent parts and concludes (on pp. 20-21) with seven critical questions that every new beneficiary must consider before enrolling. The Article then proffers policy recommendations to better align Medicare with current models of health insurance and provide more appropriate coverage of long-term care expenses.
Looking Beyond Respiratory Cultures: Microbiome‐Cytokine Signatures of Bacterial Pneumonia and Tracheobronchitis in Lung Transplant Recipients

Abstract Bacterial pneumonia and tracheobronchitis are diagnosed frequently following lung transplantation. The diseases share clinical signs of inflammation and are often difficult to differentiate based on culture results. Microbiome and host immune-response signatures that distinguish between pneumonia and tracheobronchitis are undefined. Using a retrospective study design, we selected 49 bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples from 16 lung transplant recipients associated with pneumonia (n = 8), tracheobronchitis (n = 12) or colonization without respiratory infection (n = 29). We ensured an even distribution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staphylococcus aureus culture-positive samples across the groups. Bayesian regression analysis identified non-culture-based signatures comprising 16S ribosomal RNA microbiome profiles, cytokine levels and clinical variables that characterized the three diagnoses. Relative to samples associated with colonization, those from pneumonia had significantly lower microbial diversity, decreased levels of several bacterial genera and prominent multifunctional cytokine responses. In contrast, tracheobronchitis was characterized by high microbial diversity and multifunctional cytokine responses that differed from those of pneumonia-colonization comparisons. The dissimilar microbiomes and cytokine responses underlying bacterial pneumonia and tracheobronchitis following lung transplantation suggest that the diseases result from different pathogenic processes. Microbiomes and cytokine responses had complementary features, suggesting that they are closely interconnected in the pathogenesis of both diseases.
Pre-prostatectomy study of the effect of celecoxib versus placebo on androgen receptor (AR) expression in prostate cancer

15538 Background: Cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor drug use is associated with a reduction in prostate cancer incidence and mortality. Numerous potential mechanisms for the COX-2 inhibitor, celecoxib...
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Ants as Biological Control Agents of Pear Phyla (Homoptera: Psyllidae)

Ant exclusion barriers were constructed in two Chelan County, Wash., pear orchards to prevent ants from foraging in pear tree canopies. Orchard 1 had a naturally occurring high density of Formica neoclara (Emery), a predatory ant. Ants were introduced into Orchard 2 in August 1987. Exclusion studies were carried out in Orchard 1 during 1987-1989 and in Orchard 2 during 1988-1989. Each year, adult and immature pear psylla population densities in selected trees were estimated by beating tray and leaf sampling. During most years, adult and immature pear psylla, Cacopsylla pyricola (Foerster), population densities were significantly higher in ant-excluded trees. In Orchard 2, densities of immature psylla were significantly higher before ant introduction than after introduction on trees without exclusion barriers. Psylla densities did not differ from postant introduction densities in ant-excluded trees. This study showed that predatory ants can significantly reduce pear psylla population densities.
Highly Variable Zr–CH2–Ph Bond Angles in Tetrabenzylzirconium: Analysis of Benzyl Ligand Coordination Modes

Analysis of a monoclinic modification of Zr(CH2Ph)4 by single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that the bond angles Zr–CH2–Ph in this compound span a range of 25.1°, which is much larger than previously observed for the orthorhombic form (12.1°). In accord with this large range, density functional theory calculations demonstrate that little energy is required to perturb the Zr–CH2–Ph bond angles in this compound. Furthermore, density functional theory calculations on Me3ZrCH2Ph indicate that bending of the Zr–CH2–Ph moiety in the monobenzyl compound is also facile, thereby demonstrating that a benzyl ligand attached to zirconium is intrinsically flexible, such that its bending does not require a buffering effect involving another benzyl ligand.