cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Low molecular weight cadmium and selenium containing proteins unlike metallothionein in animals.

Since the assumed metallothionein (MT) fractions from testis did not respond to cadmium and zinc exposure like MT in other tissues, they were purified using gel filtration and ion exchange resins to determine if they were indeed MT or other proteins. The major amino acids were found to be aspartate, glutamate and glycine with a low cysteine (less than 3%) content. The amino acid content is remarkably similar to a low molecular weight (MW) cadmium-binding protein isolated from oysters with properties unlike MT. Selenium has been shown to be present in a low MW protein called the G protein in various tissues including the testis. The major amino acids in a partially purified preparation were found to be aspartate, glutamate, glycine and lysine with a low methionine (about 2.5%) but a very low cysteine (< 0.3%) content. The selenium is present in this protein as selenocysteine. The metabolic significance of this selenoprotein is not known, but it should be indicated that selenium will alter the binding of cadmium in testicular proteins.
The importance of structural factors on the rate and the extent of N,O-acyl migration in cyclic and linear peptides

The chemistry associated with the process of N,O-acyl migration was explored in both cyclic and linear peptides under aqueous acid conditions. The importance of backbone cyclization and N-methylation of the peptide bond on the kinetics of N,O-acyl migration in a series of linear and cyclic peptides related in structure to cyclosporin A (CsA) were examined. The similarity in the chemical reactivity of the cyclic peptide [MeLeu (3-OH)]1-CsA and the corresponding linear peptide [Val-MeLeu (3-OH)-Abu], suggested that for this series, cyclization of the peptide backbone may not play an important role in controlling the kinetics of N,O-acyl migration. In contrast, the disparity in the chemical reactivity of tripeptides [Val-MeLeu (3-OH)-Abu] and [Val-Leu (3-OH)-Abu], indicated that N-methylation of amide bond significantly impacted the kinetics. Various hypothesis are proposed to account for this observation.
Do Persistent Large Cash Reserves Lead to Poor Performance

Conservative financial policies are often criticized as serving the interests of managers rather than the interests of stockholders. We examine the operating performance and other characteristics of firms that for a five-year period held more than one-fourth of their assets in cash and cash equivalents. Following the five-year period operating performance of high cash firms is comparable to or greater than the performance of firms matched by size, industry, or prior performance. In addition, proxies for managerial incentive problems, such as ownership and board characteristics, are not unusual and do not explain differences in operating performance among high cash firms. We conclude that persistent large holdings of cash and equivalents have not hindered corporate performance.
Relationship between whole blood omega-3 fatty acid levels and dorsal cingulate gray matter volume: Sex differences and implications for impulse control.

During adolescence, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) undergoes substantial structural development, including cortical thinning, a process associated with improvements in behavioral control. The cingulat...
Speciation and Dynamics in the [Co4V2W18O68]10‒/Co(II)aq/CoOx Catalytic Water Oxidation System

Our group reported that the polyoxometalate Na10[Co4V2W18O68]·26H2O (Co4V2) is an active water oxidation catalyst and provided characterization of this system (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136 (26), 9268). Two recent publications called into question the stability of Co4V2, one noting the miss-assignment of a 51V NMR peak (Inorg. Chem. 2016, 55 (11), 5343) and another providing additional stability studies (ACS Catal., 2017, 7 (1), 7). We report here solution studies that further clarify stability limitations in this system by locating the correct 51V NMR resonance of Co4V2 and the other V-containing species present. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the observed catalytic activity cannot be explained simply by Co(II)aq, but arises from multiple active WOC species in solution. Key points about investigating such complex equilibrating aqueous catalyst systems are addressed.
Automatic Compilation of Diverse CNNs Onto High-Performance FPGA Accelerators

A broad range of applications are increasingly benefiting from the rapid and flourishing development of convolutional neural networks (CNNs). The FPGA-based CNN inference accelerator is gaining popularity due to its high-performance and low-power as well as FPGA’s conventional advantage of reconfigurability and flexibility. Without a general compiler to automate the implementation, however, significant efforts and expertise are still required to customize the design for each CNN model. In this paper, we present an register-transfer level (RTL)-level CNN compiler that automatically generates customized FPGA hardware for the inference tasks of various CNNs, in order to enable high-level fast prototyping of CNNs from software to FPGA and still keep the benefits of low-level hardware optimization. First, a general-purpose library of RTL modules is developed to model different operations at each layer. The integration and dataflow of physical modules are predefined in the top-level system template and reconfigured during compilation for a given CNN algorithm. The runtime control of layer-by-layer sequential computation is managed by the proposed execution schedule so that even highly irregular and complex network topology, e.g., GoogLeNet and ResNet, can be compiled. The proposed methodology is demonstrated with various CNN algorithms, e.g., NiN, VGG, GoogLeNet, and ResNet, on two standalone Intel FPGAs, Arria 10, and Stratix 10, achieving end-to-end inference throughputs of 969 GOPS and 1604 GOPS, respectively, with batch size of one.
Useful ignorance: The benefits of uncertainty during power shifts

ABSTRACTThis paper develops a formal model exploring how declining states allocate scarce military resources across multiple commitments under uncertainty. The model reveals that under certain conditions, states might actually benefit from their own uncertainty. In the model, a declining state’s uncertainty creates incentives for a revisionist rising power to misrepresent its intentions. But importantly, this misrepresentation requires the rising state to act cooperatively, implementing policies that immediately benefit the declining state. The model reveals how declining states can exploit these incentives in order to maximize the short-term benefits of their counterpart’s cooperation. Under some conditions, the benefits of this deceptive cooperation can outweigh the long-term costs of being deceived. These dynamics do not operate when the declining state is certain of the rising state’s type. I illustrate this logic through a case study of Great Britain’s pre-WWI naval withdrawal from East Asia.
Short- And Long-Term Impact of an Undergraduate Suicidology Course

Objective Suicide prevention models emphasize the importance of education as a foundational element for success. Yet, courses on suicidology are rare and those that do exist focus on clinical intervention skills at the graduate level, missing a critical population of undergraduate students. The current study evaluated the short and long-term impact of a semester long liberal education undergraduate course in suicidology. Method Students enrolled in either the experimental (Understanding Suicide) or control course completed pre- post- and 4-month follow-up surveys assessing objective knowledge about suicide, suicide stigma, attitudes towards suicidal persons, and suicide prevention advocacy. Results Mixed repeated measures ANCOVAs indicated significant interactions between course enrollment over time for all the outcome variables. Students in the suicidology course showed significant pre- to post- increases in knowledge and suicide prevention advocacy, alongside reductions in suicide stigma and negative attitudes compared to students in the control course, who showed no significant pre-/post changes. All effects were maintained over time. Conclusion Providing general education undergraduate courses in suicidology may be an important avenue for building a motivated and informed public that can sustain suicide prevention efforts in their communities.
A Survey for Weather Communicators: Twitter and Information Channel Preferences

AbstractIt has been almost a decade since researchers assessed user preferences in gathering weather information. Maturing channels and increasingly mobile audiences necessitate the need for unders...
Effective Medications for Treating Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

More than half of all children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder are prescribed psychotropic medication. This stands in contrast with the fact that there are no FDA-approved medications for the treatment of the core symptoms of ASD. ASD is commonly associated with challenging behaviors such as inattention, hyperactivity, irritability, aggression, and self-injury. Thus, pharmacologic treatment in children and adolescents with ASD is often targeted towards these associated problem behaviors. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the efficacy and effectiveness of psychotropic medications used in the treatment of school-aged children with ASD. Both the intended and side effects of medication treatments commonly used to treat associated symptoms of ASD are reviewed. A set of references and web-based materials are provided to readers for additional information.
I Get Money: A Therapeutic Financial Literacy Group for Black Teenagers

Literacy is an essential skill in the modern world, as having the ability to read, write, and communicate effectively is critical. Additionally, financial stability is imperative in a Western socie...
Discovering subgenomes of octoploid strawberry with repetitive sequences

Although its sequence was recently determined in a genomic tour de force, {Edger 2019} the ancestry of the cultivated octoploid strawberry Fragaria x ananassa remains controversial {Liston 2020; Edger 2020} Polyploids that arise by hybridization generally have chromosome sets, or subgenomes, of distinct ancestry. {Stebbins 1947; Garsmeur 2014} The conventional method for partitioning a polyploid genome into its constituent subgenomes relies on establishing phylogenetic relationships between protein coding genes of the polyploid and its extant diploid relatives,{Edger 2018-sub} but this approach has not led to a consensus for cultivated strawberry. {Liston 2020; Edger 2020} Here we resolve this controversy using a complementary strategy that focuses on the chromosomal distribution of transposable elements and depends only on the octoploid sequence itself. {Session 2016; Mitros 2020} Our method independently confirms the consensus that two of the four subgenomes derived from the diploid lineages of F. vesca and F. iinumae {Tennessen 2014; Edger 2019} For the remaining two subgenomes, however, we find a statistically well-supported partitioning that differs from ref. {Edger 2019} and other work (reviewed in {Hardigan 2020}). We also provide evidence for a shared allohexaploid intermediate and suggest a neutral explanation for the dominance of the F. vesca -related subgenome.
Does a reduced model reproduce the uncertainty of the original full-size model?

Abstract The present study addresses the title question by taking a detailed mechanism of a concrete combustion system, syngas ignition, deriving from it three reduced models with different levels of accuracy, and comparing propagation of uncertainty by the reduced and detailed models. Two reduced models were developed by the method of Detained Reduction and the third one was adopted from recent literature. The uncertainty quantification was carried out through the deterministic framework of Bound-to-Bound Data Collaboration (B2BDC). The numerical results demonstrate that assessment of the quality of a reduced model without considering parameter uncertainty may be misleading. By including parameter uncertainty, several numerical measures can be developed to quantify the reduced model performance and those tested in the present study showed mutually consistent and qualitatively similar outcomes. One of such measures, built on the B2BDC methodology, offers a numerically-efficient approach to quantifying the propagation of uncertainty and its sensitivity measures for models having time-demanding evaluations.
Ultra-Small Lung Cysts Impair Diffusion Without Obstructing Air Flow in Lymphangioleiomyomatosis

BACKGROUND Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare lung disease found primarily in women of childbearing age, characterized by the formation of air-filled cysts, which may be associated with reductions in lung function. An experimental, regional ultra-high resolution CT scan identified an additional volume of cysts relative to standard chest CT imaging, which consisted primarily of ultra-small cysts. RESEARCH QUESTION What is the impact of these ultra-small cysts on the pulmonary function of patients with LAM? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS A group of 103 patients with LAM received pulmonary function tests and a CT examination in the same visit. Cyst score, the percentage lung volume occupied by cysts, was measured by using commercial software approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The association between cyst scores and pulmonary function tests of diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (Dlco) (% predicted), FEV1 (% predicted), and FEV1/FVC (% predicted) was assessed with statistical analysis adjusted for demographic variables. The distributions of average cyst size and ultra-small cyst fraction among the patients were evaluated. RESULTS The additional cyst volume identified by the experimental, higher resolution scan consisted of cysts of 2.2 ± 0.8 mm diameter on average and are thus labeled the "ultra-small cyst fraction." It accounted for 27.9 ± 19.0% of the total cyst volume among the patients. The resulting adjusted, whole-lung cyst scores better explained the variance of Dlco (P < .001 adjusted for multiple comparisons) but not FEV1 and FEV1/FVC (P = 1.00). The ultra-small cyst fraction contributed to the reduction in Dlco (P < .001) but not to FEV1 and FEV1/FVC (P = .760 and .575, respectively). The ultra-small cyst fraction and average cyst size were correlated with cyst burden, FEV1, and FEV1/FVC but less with Dlco. INTERPRETATION The ultra-small cysts primarily contributed to the reduction in Dlco, with minimal effects on FEV1 and FEV1/FVC. Patients with lower cyst burden and better FEV1 and FEV1/FVC tended to have smaller average cyst size and higher ultra-small cyst fraction. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT00001465; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov.
Overcoming the “Trash Talk in Your Head”: Extending an Ethic of Care to Students Experiencing Intersectional Stigma in Community College:

Intersectional stigma is experienced by individuals who share both a minoritized identity and a socially stigmatized identity. This study examines not only both types of intersectional stigma (e.g....
Epidemiology of Craniofacial Pathology in Northern Vietnam Using Digital Platforms: Utilization of Electronic Medical Records and an SMS-Based Reporting System in a Low-Middle Income Country.

INTRODUCTION Current disease surveillance in Vietnam relies on underdeveloped electronic medical record (EMR) systems, which are insufficient for timely standardized data collection about craniofacial and cleft pathologies. Concurrently, the World Bank reports Vietnamese mobile cellular subscription rates (per 100 people) of 128, some of the highest in the world. Herein, we discuss the development of a short messaging service (SMS)-based surveillance system based in Hanoi, Vietnam, and its utility in contrast to an EMR-based approach to craniofacial epidemiology study. METHODS Vietnam National Children's Hospital (VNCH) is a pediatric tertiary care center serving approximately 12 million children. Four plastic surgeons were trained in SMS data entry. The SMS database was designed using FrontlineSMS, a 2-way mobile gateway software application with automated messaging capabilities. The VNCH EMR database was queried for individual demographic data for patients seen by the department from 2010 to 2019. RESULTS A corrected prevalence for cleft lip and palate of 0.098% (1 in 1020 live births) was calculated based on EMR data. Six rural provinces greater than 150 km from Hanoi were found to be significantly (P < 0.01) underserved surgically by the VNCH. A significantly (P < 0.01) higher rate of Pierre Robin in Lang Son province and facial clefts in Ha Tinh province were identified. The prospective data collection system received 7 patient data sets over 4 months, resulting in a capture rate of 2.9%. CONCLUSIONS This feasibility study offers valuable insight into the true cleft and craniofacial prevalence in Vietnam and alternative methods to study in low- and middle-income countries.
The Role of Procalcitonin in Antibiotic Decision-Making in Covid-19 Infection.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of procalcitonin (PCT) in antibiotic decisions for COVID-19 patients at hospital presentation. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Multicenter retrospective observational study of patients 18 years hospitalized due to COVID-19 at the Johns Hopkins Health system. Patients who were transferred from another facility with >24 hours stay and patients who died within 48 hours of hospitalization were excluded. METHODS: Elevated PCT values were determined based on each hospitals definition. Antibiotic therapy and PCT results were evaluated for patients with no evidence of bacterial community-acquired pneumonia (bCAP) and patients with confirmed, probable, or possible bCAP. The added value of PCT to clinical criteria in detecting bCAP were evaluated with receiving operating curve characteristics (ROC). RESULTS: 64% (611/962) of patients received a PCT. ROC curves for clinical criteria and clinical criteria plus PCT were similar (at 0.5ng/ml and 0.25ng/ml). By bCAP group, median initial PCT values were 0.58 ng/mL (IQR 0.24, 1.14), 0.23 ng/mL (IQR 0.1, 0.63) and 0.15 ng/mL (IQR 0.09, 0.35) for proven/probable, possible, and no bCAP groups. Among patients without bCAP, an elevatedPCT was associated with 1.8 additional days of CAP therapy (95% CI 1.01 2.75, P<0.01) compared to patients with a negative PCT after adjusting for potential confounders. Duration of CAP therapy was similar between patients without a PCT ordered and a low PCT for no bCAP and possible bCAP groups. CONCLUSIONS: PCT may be abnormal in COVID-19 patients without bCAP and may result in receipt of unnecessary antibiotics.
Suicide-related behaviors among American Indian and Alaska Native Veterans: A population-based analysis

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Veterans are at elevated risk for suicide, but currently, no population-based research exists on precursors, including ideation, plans, or attempts. We emp...
Point Blank: A Retrospective Review of Self-inflicted Gunshot Wounds to the Hand:

BackgroundA paucity of literature exists specifically examining self-inflicted (SI) gunshot wounds (GSWs) to the hand and wrist, which impart greater energy and have a higher risk of adverse events...
Short-Term Facilitation-Then-Depression Enables Adaptive Processing of Sensory Inputs by Ion Channels in Biomolecular Synapses

Providing AI platforms with perceptual capabilities at low energy cost is imperative to making them more human-like. This goal is contingent on developing stimuli-responsive materials that closely ...
Seasonal reproduction in the mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus III. Regulation of gonadotropin secretion in the male

Abstract The seasonal regulation of gonadotropin secretion in the male mongoose was investigated by evaluating in vitro responsiveness of anterior pituitaries to gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and by evaluating postcastration gonadotropin responses in vitro and in vivo during the breeding and inactive seasons. The relative increase of luteinizing hormone (LH) from in vitro GnRH-stimulated anterior pituitaries was significantly greater during the active season than during the inactive season. The reduced responsiveness during the inactive season was related to an increase in the negative feedback actions of the testes at the hypophyseal level. In vitro follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion from GnRH-treated anterior pituitaries was not significantly affected by season; however, a more potent negative feedback effect of the testes on basal FSH release was apparent during the inactive season. The postcastration serum LH response was more rapid during the active season than during the inactive season, whereas the postcastration serum FSH response was not affected by season.
Fracture Toughness of MgCr2O4‐ZrO2 Composites

On etudie l'influence de la teneur en inclusions de zircone non stabilisee sur la tenacite de refractaires au chromite de magnesium
Wilson's theory of local political culture revisited in today's police organizations: Findings from longitudinal panel study

Purpose – Over the course of the past 40 years Wilson's theory of local political culture has influenced many students of policing. Wilson argued that variation in structural arrangements in police organizations can be explained largely by the form of municipal government structure in place. For example, police departments using a strict law enforcement style of policing tend to work within a more bureaucratic structure (e.g. hierarchically differentiated) than their counterparts employing a watchman style of policing. The purpose of this study is to test the application of Wilson's theory of local political culture in today's police organizations.Design/methodology/approach – Longitudinal agency survey data for 280 police departments collected through the 1990s were analyzed using a random‐effects panel technique.Findings – The findings observed suggest that there was only a very limited relationship between local political culture and the five principal dimensions of organizational structure — formaliza...
Cross-National Social Welfare Policy Analysis in the Graduate Curriculum: A Comparative Process Model.

This article presents an analytical model for enabling social work graduate students to understand social welfare policies in a cross-national context. The author discusses a policy process model for comparative study that helps to explain why income, health, and social services programs are different among nations. The model examines governmental policies in other nations in terms of legal and assumed jurisdiction, obstacles and constraints to intervention, catalysts for intervention, needs identification, goals and strategies, program description, and evaluation.
Automation in Home Appliances

Home appliances, by their very nature, represent realizations of the principles of automation. Home appliances exist for the purpose of automating otherwise manual processes in the home. The operation of home appliances has been refined over the years, though the machine function has remained essentially the same. Advancements in the areas of microprocessor-based controls, sensors, displays, and interconnectivity, however, are enabling a new generation of appliances with advanced automation capabilities. Smart refrigerators, smart cooking appliances, and smart cleaning appliances are already appearing on the market. Along with these appliances we observe the viability of advanced applications in home automation. Software-based controls, appliance area networks (AANs), and display devices capable of creating a rich user experience are enabling advances in refrigeration automation, cooking integration automation, automated home utility management, automated fault and performance monitoring, and more. In this chapter we explore the enabling technologies and applications of advanced home appliance automation.
THE ALTMAN Z-SCORE REVISITED

This study replicates and extends the research that created the Altman z-score measure of bankruptcy. To eliminate criticisms of the original study, the replication uses a large sample, data from recent years, additional statistical methods, and eliminates the matched pair design of the original study, to rescale the z-score and identify additional models. This rescaling of the z-score greatly improves the predictive power of the measure both in the short term and over a long event window. The rese arch was exte nded by inc luding additional ratios beyond the original ratios included in the z-score. A further extension tests the ability of discretionary accruals to predict bankruptcy.
Computability, inference and modeling in probabilistic programming

We investigate the class of computable probability distributions and explore the fundamental limitations of using this class to describe and compute conditional distributions. In addition to proving the existence of noncomputable conditional distributions, and thus ruling out the possibility of generic probabilistic inference algorithms (even inefficient ones), we highlight some positive results showing that posterior inference is possible in the presence of additional structure like exchangeability and noise, both of which are common in Bayesian hierarchical modeling. This theoretical work bears on the development of probabilistic programming languages (which enable the specification of complex probabilistic models) and their implementations (which can be used to perform Bayesian reasoning). The probabilistic programming approach is particularly well suited for defining infinite-dimensional, recursively-defined stochastic processes of the sort used in nonparametric Bayesian statistics. We present a new construction of the Mondrian process as a partition-valued Markov process in continuous time, which can be viewed as placing a distribution on an infinite kd-tree data structure. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
The Size and Frequency of Price Changes: Evidence from Grocery Stores

We analyze a data set (on grocerystore prices for lettuce) with many advantages overthose used previously to explain firm heterogeneity inthe size and frequency of price changes. Despitecommon shocks to their input price, grocers' pricechanges vary widely in size and frequency. We testhypotheses emerging from a theoretical framework. Wefind that product, firm, and market characteristicsassociated with the benefits from and costs ofchanging price explain grocer-to-grocer variation inthe size and frequency of price changes. Moreconcentrated markets, larger firm size, and thinnerproduct markets lead to infrequent and large pricechanges.
Tagged MRI-based studies of cardiac function

Tagged MRI provides a potentially powerful new way to noninvasively assess the regional function of the heart. Although its potential has not yet been fully realized, due to remaining technical limitations in image acquisition and analysis, good progress is being made to overcome these limitations. Current research focuses on improving imaging methods to obtain high resolution 3D spatially registered tagged images, designing more efficient methods to extract the heart wall contours and tag positions within the wall from the tagged images, and implementing efficient ways to reconstruct the 3D motion of the heart from this data. In addition to the new regional motion and deformation data that tagged MRI can provide on normal and abnormal cardiac function, we can potentially use this motion data to model the corresponding forces within the heart wall.
On the development of ectopic eyes in Drosophila melanogaster produced by the mutation extra eye (ee).

The mutation ee often produces an ectopic eye on the vertex that is a mirror image partial duplication of the normal eye on the ipsilateral side of the head. The pattern of the duplication and a clonal analysis by mitotic recombination indicate that the duplications are of dorsal eye and orbital structures. Large ectopic eyes (more than 100 ommatidia) and their surrounding bristles may be produced without cuticular deficiencies. The penetrance of ee is temperature dependent with penetrance higher (72%) at 25° and 29° than at 19° (43%). Temperature shift experiments show two temperature-sensitive periods: one at midembryogenesis, the other at mid-first larval instar. Microscopic examination of ee late-second and third instar imaginal cephalic discs show no indication of growth of the extra tissue needed to produce the duplication until after mid-third instar. This was confirmed by cell counts of ee and wild-type discs. There is no evidence of differential cell death in the two types of discs at this stage, although much earlier cell death is postulated. Tests for cell autonomy of the mutation by the production of morphogenetic clones suggest nonautonomy. Formation of pattern duplications by mutant genes is discussed in terms of cell death that eliminates whole developmental compartments, restricted cell death that occurs within a compartment, extensive cell death within a compartment and proliferative growth unassociated with cell lethality.
Corrosion resistant three-dimensional nanotextured silicon for water photo-oxidation

We demonstrate the ability to chemically transform bulk silicon into a nanotextured surface that exhibits excellent electrochemical stability in aqueous conditions for water photo-oxidation. Conformal defective graphene coatings on nanotextured silicon formed by thermal treatment enable over 50× corrosion resistance in aqueous electrolytes based upon Tafel analysis and impedance spectroscopy. This enables nanotextured silicon as an effective oxygen-evolution photoanode for water splitting with saturation current density measured near 35 mA cm−2 under 100 mW cm−2 (1 sun) illumination. Our approach builds upon simple and scalable processing techniques with silicon to develop corrosion resistant electrodes that can benefit a broad range of catalytic and photocatalytic applications.
Amino acid directed mirror symmetry breaking and chiral amplification of ethylenediammonium sulfate crystals

Directed chiral symmetry breaking and asymmetric amplification of ethylenediammonium sulfate in the presence of chiral amino acids was achieved using an abrasion/grinding method.
Trimming Nanostructured Walls While Fluorinating their Surfaces: A Route to Making and Widening Pores of Nanoporous Materials and Efficient Catalysts

We report on the synthesis and characterization of highly ordered mesoporous fluorosilicas (OMFs) and nanoporous and corrugated fluorosilica nanospheres which contain 2.4−7.0 wt % F, corresponding to a loading of 1.3−3.7 mmol/g. Synthesis of these materials is carried out from parent mesoporous silicas (MCM-41 and SBA-15) and silica nanospheres under ambient conditions using dilute nonaqueous solutions of triethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate (Et3OBF4). As evidenced by nitrogen physisorption measurements, small angle powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fluorination of the mesostructures is accomplished with only minor alteration of the materials’ overall order. Detailed compositional analyses before and after fluorination are carried out with the aid of FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as well as elemental analysis proving the existence of silicon oxyfluoride species. FTIR studies show the appearance of new absorptions (730−750 cm−1) upon flu...
An Analytical Model for Local Heat Transfer Coefficients for Forced Convective Condensation Inside Smooth Horizontal Tubes

Abstract An analytical model based on annular flow is proposed for predicting the local heat transfer coefficient for forced convective condensation inside smooth horizontal tubes. The Prandtl mixing length theory, Van-Dreist's hypothesis and Reynolds analogy are used for the analysis. Experiments are conducted by condensing R-22 inside an 8.001 mm (0.315 in.) i.d. copper tube for a wide range of mass flux rates and condensing temperatures. The analytical results, compared with the experimental data and four other correlations reported in the literature indicate that 80% of the predictions are within ±25% of the experimental data, with a mean deviation of 15.3%.
Vocal communication and individual recognition in the pinon jay, Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus

Abstract Vocalizations and associated behaviour of six mated pairs of captive pinon jays ( Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus ) were recorded under various conditions in an effort to understand functions of the calls. One vocalization, the near, was analysed for components that would allow for individual recognition by pinon jays. Fifteen vocalizations are recognized and most are described quantitatively. Much gradation occurs within and between calls, which may allow for a subtle and complex system of communication in this highly social species. Wild flocks of pinon jays also were observed to corroborate the conclusions reached.
Single-cladding antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide-type diode laser.

A significantly simplified type of antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide (ARROW) laser, which is also immune to gain spatial hole burning, is proposed for achieving high-power, single-spatial-mode operation. Modal calculations, which include two-dimensional analysis, confirm strong intermodal discrimination (12–16 cm−1) between the fundamental and the first-order lateral modes. Above-threshold analysis shows that gain spatial hole burning has a negligible effect on the performance of this new type of ARROW device, which in turn dramatically enhances its single-mode, high-power capability by comparison with the conventional ARROW laser.
Animal models for autoimmune disease-associated xerostomia and xerophthalmia.

Numerous models of exocrine tissue pathology related to autoimmune initiation of disease have been described, primarily by either immunohistology or histopathology. These model systems include inbred mouse strains that develop systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, graft vs. host disease, and diabetes. Commonly observed features of these mice include organized lymphocytic foci, composed of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells, in both the salivary and the lacrimal glands. However, only the diabetic mouse model (NOD) undergoes a corresponding loss in exocrine gland function related to the presence of lymphocytic infiltrates. As we define the underlying pathophysiology of Sjogren's syndrome, the future of animal models for this disease will involve genetic exploration of candidate genes for development of autoimmune exocrinopathy.
Diffusion on deterministic and quasirandom models of diffusion-limited aggregates. I. Isotropic diffusion

We discuss the diffusion of a particle on deterministic and quasirandom fractal structures designed to mimic the properties of diffusion-limited aggregates. In this paper we deal with unbiased transport, while the following paper deals with transport in the presence of an external field. Our method is based on a renormalization procedure that allows us to calculate the scaling properties relating distance and time. We calculate the random-walk dimension ${\mathit{d}}_{\mathit{w}}$ for a variety of structures and show how this dimension depends on the branching properties of the model. We find that random walks on these structures become slower as the branching intricacies of the model increase.
Stable isotope compositions of sedimentary organic carbon in Tampa Bay, Florida, U.S.A.: implications for evaluating oil contamination

δ13Cpdb values for sedimentary organic carbon in Tampa Bay, Florida and adjacent riverine systems range from −28% up the rivers, to −20% in the middle of the bay, to −10% in several contiguous small bays along the Gulf of mexico coastline. These values reflect the compositions of the plant precursors, that is, C3-land plants, phytoplankton and sea grasses, respectively, which predominate in each of these areas. Organic carbon percentages range from 5.0 to less than 0.1 with a moderately good correlation relative to the<63gm sediment grain size fraction ( = 0.76for67samples). In addition to providing another interesting scenario of δ13C signatures that are useful in understanding the contemporary deposition of organic carbon on the one hand and ancient depositional environments on the other, these data are also shown to be useful in assessing the contribution of oil residues to the sediments should an oil spill occur in Tampa Bay at some time in the future.
Electric potential structures and propagation of electron beams injected from a spacecraft into a plasma

One-dimensional Vlasov simulations are used to study the propagation of electron beams injected from a spacecraft into an ambient plasma and the associated potential structures. It is shown that, for a given beam velocity, the propagation velocity and the potential structure depends on the beam density. In the case of moderate beams, a double layer forms near the beam head which propagates into the ambient plasma much more slowly than the initial beam velocity.
The mid-depth circulation of the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean as measured by subsurface floats

The multi-year mean, mid-depth circulation of the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean was estimated from direct velocity measurements obtained over a 7.5-year period by 211 neutrally-buoyant, profiling, subsurface floats. We present a statistical analysis of these drift velocity data, and describe the features of the circulation from 400–1500 m depth as measured by the floats. The time-lagged auto-covariances of velocity indicate a Lagrangian integral time scale of approximately 10 days at all drift depths and throughout the basin. Space–time averages of velocity and the associated error ellipses were constructed, and this information was used in an objective analysis to produce estimates of the multi-year mean flow. Estimates of eddy kinetic energy were also computed. The mapped flow depicts a basin-scale cyclonic gyre bounded in the south by the North Atlantic Current. The strongest currents are found along the coasts of Greenland and Labrador, where mean speeds exceed 10cms-1. Closed cyclonic recirculations appear just offshore of the boundary currents in the Labrador and Irminger Seas and in the Iceland basin, and also southwest of the Reykjanes Ridge. Topographic steering extends upwards to at least 400 m depth above bathymetry that is significantly deeper, and is most apparent in flow along basin boundaries, around the Reykjanes Ridge, and through gaps in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the center of the basin-scale gyre and to the south of the North Atlantic Current flow is characteristically weak with few large-scale circulation features. There is no indication of a strong linkage along the western boundary from the subpolar to subtropical gyre at depths sampled by floats.
The Manumeter: A non-obtrusive wearable device for monitoring spontaneous use of the wrist and fingers

This paper describes the design and pilot testing of a novel device for unobtrusive monitoring of wrist and hand movement through a sensorized watch and a magnetic ring system called the manumeter. The device senses the magnetic field of the ring through two triaxial magnetometers and records the data to onboard memory which can be analyzed later by connecting the watch unit to a computer. Wrist and finger joint angles are estimated using a radial basis function network. We compared joint angle estimates collected using the manumeter to direct measurements taken using a passive exoskeleton and found that after a 60 minute trial, 95% of the radial/ulnar deviation, wrist flexion/extension and finger flexion/extension estimates were within 2.4, 5.8, and 4.7 degrees of their actual values respectively. The device measured angular distance traveled for these three joints within 10.4%, 4.5%, and 14.3 % of their actual values. The manumeter has potential to improve monitoring of real world use of the hand after stroke and in other applications.
A transistorized decade amplifier for low-level audio-frequency applications

The amplifier descrbied in this paper has an input resistance of approximately 400,000 ohms in the audio-frequency range. The output noise level is equivalent to 5 µv at the input terminals with a response that is down 3 db at 5 cycles and at 100 kc. The amplifier has been designed in a self-contained package, the size of a frozen orange juice can suitable for plugging into the standard banana plug terminals of a sensitive vacuum tube voltmeter. The design may be modified, with considerable reduction in volume, to incorporate the amplifier in a small package with a low signal source.
Angular Momentum Loss by Gravitational Radiation

The angular momentum flux from a confined gravitational radiator is calculated in the linear approximation using the Landau-Lifshitz energy-momentum pseudotensor. This flux can be written in a simple form involving a total angular momentum operator, in complete analogy with the electromagnetic result. A multipole expansion is used which allows the flux to be expressed for the first time to all multipole orders.
Euclidean Fermi fields

This paper is intended to clarify the relationships among different approaches to Euclidean Fermi fields. The previous work being considered can be found in: Osterwalder and Schrader [7], Gross [5], Schrader and Uhlenbrock [IS] and Osterwalder [6]. The construction of the Osterwalder-Schrader fields is carried out in the first part of this paper. The smeared fields are defined directly in a standard FockCook representation. Thus no estimates are required to establish the existence of the smeared fields, and the consistency and rotational covariance of the construction are immediate. The free Dirac field is then defined. In the standard constructions of the free Dirac field [7] a certain amount of dedication is required to check consistency, Lorentz covariance, and locality. In the construction presented here some effort has been made to make the labor involved in checking the details as insignificant as possible. Once the Schwinger functions for the free Dirac field are defined their representation in terms of the Osterwalder-Schrader fields is demonstrated. This result is proved in much the same manner that Gross [5] used to prove a more complicated result for the Yukawa model. The proof is included partly because it is naturally simpler than that in [5] and partly because the different definitions adopted here make translations from [S] and (71 difficult. Incident]? the complications in this proof are absent from [7] because they use “Wick’s theorem.” the proof of which would necessarily involve similar considerations. ‘I’he next part of the paper is devoted to a comparison of the unitary dilation analysis in [ 151 and the map W constructed in [7]. It is shown that W =:. T(w) where ZL’ is a complex linear map from the ‘one particle’ Euclidean Hilbert space to the ‘one particle’ Dirac space which compresses the unitary Euclidean time translations into the contraction semi-group associated with the Dirac equation. The term ‘one particle’ is qualified since the Hilbert spaces involved are each double the size of the usual one particle spaces. The connection between this doubling and Euclidean rotational covariance is especially transparent.
A simple device for the computer quantification of depth measurements in thick light microscope sections.

Abstract The use of computerized techniques to characterize quantitatively the anatomy of individual neurons has been increasing. One difficulty has been the quantification of the z -axis or depth measurements within thick light microscopic sections. In the present report we describe a simple device which employs an incremental optical encoder to transduce the movements of the focusing knob of the microscope so that depth information can be recorded directly by a computer. A resolution of 0.13 μm over a range of approximately 8.5 cm is achieved. The mechanical interface to the microscope is simple and applicable to a wide variety of microscopes. Interfacing circuits which allow the optical encoder to be used with an IBM-PC compatible computer are presented and described. The accuracy of the depth measurements is limited only by the mechanical tolerances of the focusing mechanism and by the optics of the microscope.
Scratching the surface of advanced topics in software engineering: a workshop module for middle school students

A common approach for introducing computer science to middle school students is to teach them a simple yet engaging programming language A different approach is to teach them some advanced topic independent of any particular language or syntax We describe a 3-hour workshop module designed to do both This module has been piloted with a group of thirty 8th grade girls. It uses the Scratch programming language to develop the advanced software engineering concepts of specifications, refinement, and composition After this module, students were enthusiastic about continuing to program in Scratch independently and also felt they learned something about computer science as a discipline.
Thermal decomposition of energetic materials 22. The contrasting effects of pressure on the high-rate thermolysis of 34 energetic compounds

Abstract Rapid-scan infrared spectra with a temporal resolution of 0.2 s of the first observed gas products, several mm from the surface of 34 fast heated (100–130K s −1 ) energetic materials, were compared over a pressure range of 1–1000 psi Ar. The first observed gas products were strongly dependent on the pressure for many of the compounds and exhibited three distinct zones of products. This behavior is consistent with the model for HMX combustion. A second category of compounds, which was further subdivided three ways, contains compounds that lack the three zone behavior and were much less pressure dependent. Most of the patterns are best explained by the relative importance of heterogeneous gas-phase/condensed-phase reactions. For strongly pressure dependent compounds these heterophase reactions become progressively more important with increasing pressure.
Experimentally Derived Structural Constraints for Amyloid Fibrils of Wild-Type Transthyretin

Transthyretin (TTR) is a largely β-sheet serum protein responsible for transporting thyroxine and vitamin A. TTR is found in amyloid deposits of patients with senile systemic amyloidosis. TTR mutants lead to familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy and familial amyloid cardiomyopathy, with an earlier age of onset. Studies of amyloid fibrils of familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy mutant TTR suggest a structure similar to the native state with only a simple opening of a β-strand-loop-strand region exposing the two main β-sheets of the protein for fibril elongation. However, we find that the wild-type TTR sequence forms amyloid fibrils that are considerably different from the previously suggested amyloid structure. Using protease digestion with mass spectrometry, we observe the amyloid core to be primarily composed of the C-terminal region, starting around residue 50. Solid-state NMR measurements prove that TTR differs from other pathological amyloids in not having an in-register parallel β-sheet architecture. We also find that the TTR amyloid is incapable of binding thyroxine as monitored by either isothermal calorimetry or 1,8-anilinonaphthalene sulfonate competition. Taken together, our experiments are consistent with a significantly different configuration of the β-sheets compared to the previously suggested structure.