cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The crack problem for nonhomogeneous materials under antiplane shear loading — a displacement based formulation

Abstract This paper presents a displacement based integral equation formulation for the mode III crack problem in a nonhomogeneous medium with a continuously differentiable shear modulus, which is assumed to be an exponential function, i.e., G(x)=G0exp(βx). This formulation leads naturally to a hypersingular integral equation. The problem is solved for a finite crack and results are given for crack profiles and stress intensity factors. The results are affected by the parameter β describing the material nonhomogeneity. This study is motivated by crack problems in strain-gradient elasticity theories where higher order singular integral equations naturally arise even in the slope-based formulation.
Medical, legal, and ethical challenges associated with pregnancy and catastrophic brain injury.

In late 2013, two women from North America gained attention after sustaining catastrophic brain injuries while pregnant. After Marlise Munoz--who was at 14 weeks of pregnancy when she developed a pulmonary embolism--was pronounced brain dead, hospital officials initially refused to withdraw support, citing a Texas state law requiring them to maintain life-sustaining treatment for a pregnant patient to help to save the fetus. By contrast, when Robyn Benson was pronounced brain dead after a brain hemorrhage at 22 weeks of pregnancy, both her husband and the physicians agreed to continue support until a viable child could be delivered. The Munoz and Benson cases offer an opportunity to explore the medical, legal, and ethical issues surrounding catastrophic brain injury in pregnant women. It is hoped that the present article will enable clinicians to better appreciate the history and present state of issues involving advance directives for pregnant women, maternal versus fetal interests, and the impact of fetal viability on medical decision making, as well as offer a practical assessment of the various US state laws concerning the rare, yet catastrophic event of brain injury in a pregnant woman.
Health and mortality of migrant farm children.

This research examines preventive medical care, morbidity and mortality among children of migrant agricultural workers using a representative sample of migrant families in Wisconsin. Our findings support the view that this group is at substantially greater risk of health problems and early mortality than the general population. Fewer than half of migrant children under age 16 received the recommended annual physical checkup. Only one-third of migrant children under age 16 had received an annual dental checkup compared to 50% of children in the total population. A rough comparison between levels of chronic health conditions for migrant children and those reported for children in a national survey suggest that the incidence of chronic conditions is several times greater among migrant children. Childhood mortality appears to be 1.6 times higher than in the U.S. population. In analyzing variation in preventive care for migrant children, younger children are more likely to receive checkups, while older children are more likely to receive immunizations. In interpreting this finding, we suggest distinguishing between two types of preventive care: one under the direct control of the family, and the other controlled by the schools. Since immunizations are given to migrant children in schools, the older or school-age children are more likely to be immunized. In assessing reports of chronic conditions, we noted that mothers who spoke English were more likely to report that a child had a chronic condition. One possible interpretation is that women who do not speak English may not label various childhood conditions as chronic illnesses. Since a large proportion of women spoke only Spanish, the chronic conditions may be substantially under-reported among migrant children. The analysis of childhood mortality shows the level of mortality to be proportionally lower among women who spoke English, and higher among those who gave birth to a low birth weight child. But surprisingly, the most important characteristic related to loss of children was whether or not a mother smoked. Using smoking as one example of high risk behavior, we suggest that future studies should give closer attention to the impact of parental risk-taking behaviors on childhood morbidity and mortality experiences.
MMPI item subtlety: familiar vs unfamiliar constructs.

This research was designed to clarify several issues surrounding the assessment of MMPI item subtlety. Experiment 1 asked 30 college undergraduates to define hysteria and paranoia. Results showed that 17% of the descriptions given for hysteria agreed with professional definitions, while 58% of the descriptions given for paranoia were accurate. Experiment 2 had 60 other college students rate Hy and Pa items on a subtle-obvious dimension with half the subjects receiving short definitions of the construct and half long definitions. Results showed that the additional descriptors had little effect on the classification of items as subtle, neutral or obvious regardless of scale. Correlation between these ratings derived from the scale-specific format and those obtained from a general psychopathology point of view were in the .70's for both Hy and Pa. The less familiar Hy items were significantly differentiated from Christian et al.'s (1978) ratings while the more familiar Pa items were not. How subtlety should be defined depends on the questions being asked.
SU-E-T-537: Comparison of Intra-Operative Soft X-Rays to Low Energy Electron Beams for Treatment of Superficial Lesions

Purpose: Superficial soft x-ray applicators have recently been designed for use with existing intra-operative radiotherapy systems. These applicators may be used in treating superficial lesions which are conventionally treated with electron beams. The purpose of this abstract is to compare dose distributions of an intra-operative 50kV x-ray unit with low energy electrons for the treatment of superficial lesions. Methods: Dosimetric parameters for 1 & 3-cm diameter Intrabeam superficial x-ray applicators were measured with EBT3 Gafchromic film in a solid water phantom. Depth dose distributions and profiles (d=2, 5, 10 and 15mm) were obtained by prescribing a dose of 400cGy at 5mm depth below the phantom surface. Corresponding dose profiles for 6-MeV electrons were acquired from a Varian Clinac 21EX at 100 SSD. H&D calibration curves were generated for each modality for 0-800cGy. Results: Dose coverage, penumbra, dose uniformity, surface dose, and dose fall-off were examined. Compared to electrons, Intrabeam lateral dose coverage at 5mm depth was 70% larger with a much sharper (1/4) penumbra. Electron isodose levels bulged with depth, whereas Intrabeam isodose levels exhibited a convex cone shape. The Intrabeam dose profiles demonstrated horns in the dose distribution up to a 5mm depth and an exponential dose fall-off. Relative surface dose was higher for the Intrabeam applicators. Treatment times were comparable for both modalities. Conclusions: The very small penumbra of Intrabeam at shallow depths could be useful in treating superficial lesions adjacent to critical structures. The exponential dose fall-off of Intrabeam makes it appealing in the sparing of structures beyond the lesion. However, for lesions past a depth of 5mm, electrons would be desirable as they penetrate farther and provide skin sparing. Intrabeam may be preferable for sites that are difficult to treat with electrons due to mechanical and physical limitations.
Soil microorganisms antagonistic towards Rhizobium japonicum

Abstract Success in introducing Rhizobium japonicum strains into soil is related to their interaction with native microorganisms including some that are antagonistic. Actinomycetes, bacteria, fungi and rhizobiophages antagonistic towards strains of R. japonicum were counted directly using soil samples from field plots under different crop and soil management systems. The antagonistic actinomycete population varied from 1.3 × 103 to 4.5 × 105 g−1 dry soil and ranged up to 90% of total actinomycetes. Soybean rhizosphere soil samples included antagonistic actinomycetes ranging up to 70% of total actinomycetes. The antagonistic bacterial population was less than 10% of total bacteria and the proportion did not vary significantly with crop or soil management practices. Antagonistic fungi were observed for many of the soils examined but they could not be counted. There were few rhizobiophages and they were found most frequently in soybean rhizospheres. Occasional bacterial and actinomycete colonies that stimulated growth of R. japonicum were randomly observed among the soil samples tested.
Cylindrical milling of ruled surfaces

This paper exploits the differential geometry of ruled surfaces in terms of line geometry to develop a method for tool positioning and path planning in flank or cylindrical milling. The method presented results in more control over the machining error by reducing the effects of over and under cutting in the flank milling operation.
Simultaneous determination of 1,3-dinitro-2,4,6-trichlorobenzene and 1,3-dinitro-2,4,5,6-tetrachlorobenzene in 1,3,5-trichloro-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene

Abstract A gas chromatographic method is described for the determination of 1,3-dinitro-2,4,6-trichlorobenzene (DNTCB) and 1,3-dinitro-2,4,5,6-tetrachlorobenzene (DNtetraCB) in production-grade 1,3,5-trichloro-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TCTNB) samples. An aliquot is chromatographed on a 6-ft. long, 20% Dexsil 300 GC column, and the peak areas of the impurities are measured. The concentration of each component is determined from the calibration curves. Crude and recrystallized TCTNB's contain 2.1% DNTCB and 7.8% DNtetraCB, and 2.0% DNTCB and 4.8% DNtetraCB respectively.
The Mahabharata: Perspectives on Its Ends and Endings

bharata 's bringing to a close the many narrative lines it had opened earlier - in some cases, much earlier. I want to draw attention to earlier discussions of the Mahabharata 's endings and ends, both as context for these papers and as proper acknowledgement of some of those who have gone before. The so-called Trivandrum dramas sometimes associated with the name Bhasa famously reenvision the Mahabharata in various ways. Pancaratra depicts the Pandavas in disguise in Virata's kingdom; Duryodhana is in good spirits and offers Drona a boon. Drona asks that Duryodhana grant the Pandavas half the kingdom; Sakuni suggests that this be done only if word of the Pandavas is received within five days (hence the play's title). As in the epic, a Kaurava cattle raid causes the Pandavas to emerge from disguise in defense of the kingdom. Surprisingly, however, the play ends with word that Abhimanyu will marry Virata's princess and Duryodhana
Object oriented software construction at ALS

Abstract C++ class libraries have been developed and used for accelerator modeling and machine control at the Advanced Light Source. A class library for accelerator modeling is portable and supports multiple model instances dynamically at run time. A class library for machine control covers fields from virtual devices to simulation studies.
Activation of a common effector system by different brain neurotransmitter receptors in Xenopus oocytes.

Xenopus oocytes possess ‘native’ muscarinic receptors, which give rise to oscillatory chloride currents; similar responses are elicited by activa­tion of foreign receptors to serotonin, glutamate and noradrenaline, expressed in oocytes after injection of messenger RNA from rat brain. When low concentrations of two agonists are applied together, the combined response is greater than would be expected from the sum of the responses to each agonist applied alone. Potentiation of acetyl­choline by serotonin is blocked by the serotonin antagonist methysergide; conversely, the potentiation of serotonin by acetylcholine is blocked by the muscarinic antagonist atropine. This indicates that each agonist acts on a distinct receptor. The interactions between serotonin, acetylcholine and other agonists provide further evidence that the different receptors may all ‘link in’ to a common receptor–channel coupling system, in which phosphoinositide metabolism and calcium liberation lead to the opening of chloride channels in the oocyte membrane.
Optical power limiting in ZnO crystals

We report optical power limiting in undoped single crystals of the wide band-gap semiconductor Zinc Oxide (ZnO). The ZnO crystals were grown at the Sensors Directorate of the Air Force Research laboratory using the hydrothermal method. The crystals are of high optical quality and are transparent in the visible part of the spectrum. The contributions of the real and imaginary parts of the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility were studied using the Z-scan technique. The Z-scan experiments were carried out using picosecond pulses at 532 nm wavelength with the electric field polarization oriented orthogonal to the crystal c- axis. The nonlinear refractive index of the crystals is found to be negative. The ZnO samples exhibit two photon absorption and high damage thresholds. Our results indicate that the ZnO crystals may be good candidates for applications in optical power limiting and pulse stabilization.
GHox-7: A chicken homeobox-containing gene expressed in a fashion consistent with a role in patterning events during embryonic chick limb development

Abstract Homeobox-containing (HOX) genes are thought to be involved in the regulation of pattern formation and specification of positional information during vertebrate limb development. We report the isolation from a chick limb bud cDNA library of several overlapping chicken HOX cDNAs, which on the basis of their nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences have been identified as corresponding to the chicken cognate of mouse Hox-7.1. The gene encoding these chicken (Gallus) HOX cDNAs has been designated GHox-7, and is a member of a family of vertebrate HOX genes that are highly similar in sequence to the Drosophila msh gene. GHox-7 encodes an mRNA transcript of about 1.8–2.0 kb that is expressed at early stages of chick limb development. In situ hybridization analysis has revealed that GHox-7 is expressed in limb bud mesoderm in a temporal and spatial fashion. This is consistent with its involvement in specifying anterior positional identity and/or in the response of limb mesenchymal cells to the apical ectodermal ridge (AER), which directs polarized proximodistal limb outgrowth. At early stages (stages 20–21) of chick limb development when positional values along the anterior-posterior (A-P) axis are being specified, GHox-7 exhibits an asymmetric arc of expression extending from the anterior border of the limb bud to the mesenchymal cells directly subjacent to the AER. The graded expression domain of GHox-7 does not extend into the extreme posterior border of the limb bud that contains the zone of polarizing activity (ZPA) which is thought to be the source of a morphogen that is involved in the specification of positional identities along the A-P axis. At later stages of development (stages 23–25), GHox-7 is expressed in high amounts in the proximal anterior periphery of the wing bud, with no detectable expression in the proximal dorsal and ventral (myogenic) regions, or in the chondrogenic central core. In this posterior periphery of the wing bud at these later stages of development, expression of GHox-7 is limited to a small region in the mid-proximal periphery corresponding to the posterior necrotic zone in which programmed cell death is occurring. The possible involvement of GHox-7 in programmed cell death during limb development is also suggested by the fact that it is expressed in the necrotic interdigital mesenchyme in 6–7 day (stage 31–32) wing buds.
Inhaled corticosteroids in childhood asthma: the story continues

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are the most effective anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of persistent asthma in children. Treatment with ICS decreases asthma mortality and morbidity, reduces symptoms, improves lung function, reduces bronchial hyperresponsiveness and reduces the number of exacerbations. The efficacy of ICS in preschool wheezing is controversial. A recent task force from the European Respiratory Society on preschool wheeze defined two different phenotypes: episodic viral wheeze, wheeze that occurs only during respiratory viral infections, and multiple-trigger wheeze, where wheeze also occurs in between viral episodes. Treatment with ICS appears to be more efficacious in the latter phenotype. Small particle ICS may offer a potential benefit in preschool children because of the favourable spray characteristics. However, the efficacy of small particle ICS in preschool children has not yet been evaluated in prospective clinical trials. The use of ICS in school children with asthma is safe with regard to systemic side effects on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, growth and bone metabolism, when used in low to medium doses. Although safety data in wheezing preschoolers is limited, the data are reassuring. Also for this age group, adverse events tend to be minimal when the ICS is used in appropriate doses.
Local pressure stresses on lateral pipe-nozzle with various angles of intersection

This paper reports the variations of local pressure stress factors (local pressure stress/internal pressure) at the juncture of a pipe-nozzle when the angle of the pipe-nozzle intersection varies from the standard 90° to the 30° lateral. These stress factors in both the circumferential and longitudinal directions at four symmetric points around the pipe-nozzle juncture are plotted as functions of the angle. The ALGOR finite element software was employed to model the true pipe-nozzle geometry. The numerical stress results come from a pipe-nozzle with geometric parameters, beta, β, (nozzle mean radius/pipe mean radius) of 0.5, and gamma, γ, (pipe thickness/pipe mean radius) of 50.0. This study shows that the 90° intersection, a standard pipe-nozzle, exhibits relatively less severe local stresses. These stresses are increasing as the angle of intersection is decreasing from 90° and become more severe when the angle of intersection is further decreasing from 45°. The circumferential stress at the inside crotch point exhibits the worst stress value. The stress factor results in pipe circumferential direction at the inside crotch points are in good agreement with the stress factor equation from the ASME boiler and pressure vessel code.
jkk-1 and mek-1 regulate body movement coordination and response to heavy metals through jnk-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Although in vitro evidence suggests two c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) kinases, MKK4 and MKK7, transactivate JNK, in vivo confirmation is incomplete. In fact, JNK deficiency may differ from the composite deficiency of MKK4 and MKK7 in Drosophila and mice. Recently, the Caenorhabditis elegans homolog of human JNK, jnk-1, and two MKK-7s, mek-1 and jkk-1, were cloned. Here we characterize jnk-1, which encodes two isoforms JNK-1α and JNK-1β. A null allele, jnk-1(gk7), yielded worms with defective body movement coordination and modest mechanosensory deficits. Similarly to jkk-1 mutants, elimination of GABAergic signals suppressed the jnk-1(gk7) locomotion defect. Like mek-1 nulls, jnk-1(gk7) showed copper and cadmium hypersensitivity. Conditional expression of JNK-1 isoforms rescued these defects, suggesting that they are not due to developmental errors. While jkk-1 or mek-1 inactivation mimicked jnk-1(gk7) locomotion and heavy metal stress defects, respectively, mkk-4 inactivation did not, but rather yielded defective egg laying. Our results delineate at least two different JNK pathways through jkk-1 and mek-1 in C.elegans, and define interaction between MKK7, but not MKK4, and JNK.
Conformational Changes in the Metallo-β-lactamase ImiS During the Catalytic Reaction: an EPR Spectrokinetic Study of Co(II)-Spin Label Interactions

Metallo-β-lactamases are responsible for conferring antibiotic resistance on certain pathogenic bacteria. In consequence, the search for inhibitors that may be useful in combating antibiotic resistance has fueled much study of the active sites of these enzymes. There exists circumstantial evidence that the binding of substrates and inhibitors to metallo-β-lactamases may involve binding to the organic part of the molecule, in addition to or prior to binding to one or more active site metal ions. It has also been postulated that a conformational change may accompany this putative binding. In the present study, electron paramagnetic resonance spectrokinetic study of a spin-labeled variant of the class B2 metallo-β-lactamase ImiS identified movement of a component residue on a conserved α-helix in a catalytically competent time upon formation of a transient reaction intermediate with the substrate imipenem. In a significant subpopulation of ImiS, this conformational change was not associated with substrate binding to the active site metal ion but, rather, represents a distinct step in the reaction with ImiS. This observation has implications regarding the determinants of substrate specificity in metallo-β-lactamases and the design of potentially clinically useful inhibitors.
Reducing Ionospheric Effects in InSAR Data Using Accurate Coregistration

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is a valuable tool for the study of geophysical phenomena such as crustal deformation, ice motion and structure, and vegetation canopy depths, but it is adversely affected by uncharacterized inhomogeneities in ionospheric propagation delay. Ionospheric disturbances distort both InSAR phase and correlation maps. Here, we present a method to compensate ionospheric propagation variations using accurate image coregistration. This significantly improves both the interferometric coherence and phase accuracy. An azimuth gradient in the total electron content (TEC) from a spatially variable ionosphere results in a range-dependent azimuth phase gradient being added to the phase histories of the pixels being imaged. These phase gradients are equivalent to Doppler shifts, and thus they cause azimuth offsets between the actual and imaged positions of the pixels. Measuring these offsets accurately permits estimation of the gradient and correction of the interferograms for much of the phase distortion, resulting in more accurate estimates of coherence. We show an example over Greenland where the TEC variation causes the correlation to drop from about 0.7 to about 0.2 in one region if spatially varying offsets are not accounted for; it also adds an estimated 4.4 radians of interferometric phase over an 80 km InSAR scene. After applying our algorithm, we find that the correlation in regions affected by the ionospheric inhomogeneity becomes comparable to correlation in the rest of the image. In a more challenging example over Iceland, we show that our method improves the correlation from 0.15 to 0.25 in some areas.
Optical memory electronic computer interface

The output of parallel optical memories is a 2D set of data which propagates along the third dimension. Based on this characteristics we define a memory-computer optoelectronic interface and we analyze its functionality with respect to its degree of parallelism. Single-instruction multiple-data processing paradigms based on such interfaces are also discussed.
Interaction of brevetoxin A with a new receptor site on the sodium channel

Abstract W. A. Catterall and M. Gainer . Interaction of brevetoxin A with a receptor site on the sodium channel. Toxicon 23, 497 – 504, 1985. — Measurements of neurotoxin-activated 22 Na influx in neuroblastoma cells and neurotoxin binding in synaptosomes were used to define the site and mechanism of action of brevetoxins on sodium channels. Brevetoxin A alone did not enhance the sodium permeability of neuroblastoma cells, but markedly enhanced persistent activation of sodium channels by veratridine, aconitine and batrachotoxin, which act at neurotoxin receptor site 2. Enhancement of batrachotoxin action was accompanied by a 4.3-fold increase in the binding of [ 3 H]batrachotoxinin A 20-α-benzoate to receptor site 2 on sodium channels in synaptosomes. These results point to an allosteric mechanism of brevetoxin action involving preferential binding to active states of sodium channels which have high affinity for neurotoxins, causing persistent activation of sodium channels at receptor site 2. Brevetoxin A does not block [ 3 H]saxitoxin binding at neurotoxin receptor site 1 or 125 I-labeled scorpion toxin binding at neurotoxin receptor site 3. The brevetoxins appear to act at a new neurotoxin receptor site on the sodium channel.
East Africa: Extended Families with Many Rights:

The study by Khavul, Bruton, and Wood was an attempt to shed light on informal family businesses in East Africa, a group seldom studied. By applying the tenets of grounded theory the authors were a...
Measurements of the Polarization in π +/- p Elastic Scattering at 5.15 GeV/c

We report results obtained at the zero-gradient synchrotron for the polarization in ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}p$ and ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}p$ elastic scattering at 5.15 GeV/c, from $\ensuremath{-}t=0.2\mathrm{to}2.0$ ${(\mathrm{G}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}/\mathit{c})}^{2}$. The results may be qualitatively understood on the basis of a simple Regge-pole model. In addition to the flip amplitude due to $\ensuremath{\rho}$ exchange, a significant $I=0$ flip amplitude is required.
Genetic modification of dividing cells using episomally maintained S/MAR DNA vectors.

The development of episomally maintained DNA vectors to genetically modify dividing cells efficiently and stably, without the risk of integration-mediated genotoxicity, should prove to be a valuable tool in genetic research. In this study, we demonstrate the utility of Scaffold/Matrix Attachment Region (S/MAR) DNA vectors to model the restoration of a functional wild-type copy of the gene folliculin (FLCN) implicated in the renal cancer Birt-Hogg-Dube (BHD). Inactivation of FLCN has been shown to be involved in the development of sporadic renal neoplasia in BHD. S/MAR-modified BHD tumor cells (named UOK257-FS) show restored stable FLCN expression and have normalized downstream TGFβ signals. We demonstrate that UOK257-FS cells show a reduced growth rate in vitro and suppression of xenograft tumor development in vivo, compared with the original FLCN-null UOK257 cell line. In addition, we demonstrate that mTOR signaling in serum-starved FLCN-restored cells is differentially regulated compared with the FLCN-deficient cell. The novel UOK257-FS cell line will be useful for studying the signaling pathways affected in BHD pathogenesis. Significantly, this study demonstrates the suitability of S/MAR vectors to successfully model the functional expression of a therapeutic gene in a cancer cell line and will aid the identification of novel cancer markers for diagnosis and therapy.
Adaptive Optimization of IEEE 802.11 DCF Based on Bayesian Estimation of the Number of Competing Terminals

The performance of the distributed coordination function (DCF) of the IEEE 802.11 protocol has been shown to heavily depend on the number of terminals accessing the distributed medium. The DCF uses a carrier sense multiple access scheme with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA), where the backoff parameters are fixed and determined by the standard. While those parameters were chosen to provide a good protocol performance, they fail to provide an optimum utilization of the channel in many scenarios. In particular, under heavy load scenarios, the utilization of the medium can drop tenfold. Most of the optimization mechanisms proposed in the literature are based on adapting the DCF backoff parameters to the estimate of the number of competing terminals in the network. However, existing estimation algorithms are either inaccurate or too complex. In this paper, we propose an enhanced version of the IEEE 802.11 DCF that employs an adaptive estimator of the number of competing terminals based on sequential Monte Carlo methods. The algorithm uses a Bayesian approach, optimizing the backoff parameters of the DCF based on the predictive distribution of the number of competing terminals. We show that our algorithm is simple yet highly accurate even at small time scales. We implement our proposed new DCF in the ns-2 simulator and show that it outperforms existing methods. We also show that its accuracy can be used to improve the results of the protocol even when the terminals are not in saturation mode. Moreover, we show that there exists a Nash equilibrium strategy that prevents rogue terminals from changing their parameters for their own benefit, making the algorithm safely applicable in a complete distributed fashion
Settling of Gas Disks in Elliptical Galaxies

Many elliptical galaxies are known to have regular dust lanes and/or disks of cold gas (Ebneter & Balick 1985; Sadler & Gerhard 1985; Bertola 1987). These are usually aligned with the photometric axes of the galaxy, and are often warped. In many cases the gas appears to be kinematically decoupled from the stars, and it is therefore generally believed that this gas was accreted, most likely by capture of a small gas-rich disk galaxy (e.g., Athanassoula & Bosma 1985). The infalling gas is cold, and it will smear out into an inclined ring in a few orbital periods. Differential precession between neighboring orbits then causes cloud-cloud collisions, which are dissipative, and slowly change the orientation of the ring. The expected result is that the gas eventually settles on a set of simple non-selfintersecting closed orbits, which occur at most in a few preferred orientations, namely those where the differential precession vanishes (Tohline, Simonson & Caldwell 1982; Steiman-Cameron & Durisen 1982). Once the gas has reached a preferred plane, its subsequent evolution is expected to be very slow.
Mathematical Programming Algorithms for Two-Path Routing Problems with Reliability Considerations

Most traditional routing problems assume perfect operability of all arcs and nodes. However, when independent arc failure probabilities exist, a secondary objective must be present to retain some measure of expected functionality, introducing nonlinear, nonconvex constraints. We examine the robust two-path problem, which seeks to establish two paths between a source and destination node wherein at least one path must remain fully operable with some threshold probability. We consider the case where both paths must be arc disjoint and the case where arcs can be shared between the paths. We examine various strategies for solving the resulting nonlinear integer program, including pruning, coefficient tightening, lifting, and branch-and-bound partitioning schemes. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these methods and conclude with computational results.
A New Parametric Model of Vortex Tangential-Wind Profiles: Development, Testing, and Verification

AbstractA new parametric model of vortex tangential-wind profiles is presented that is primarily designed to depict realistic-looking tangential wind profiles such as those in intense atmospheric vortices arising in dust devils, waterspouts, tornadoes, mesocyclones, and tropical cyclones. The profile employs five key parameters: maximum tangential wind, radius of maximum tangential wind, and three power-law exponents that shape different portions of the velocity profile. In particular, a new parameter is included controlling the broadly or sharply peaked profile in the annular zone of tangential velocity maximum. Different combinations of varying the model parameters are considered to investigate and understand their effects on the physical behaviors of tangential wind and corresponding vertical vorticity profiles. Additionally, the parametric tangential velocity and vorticity profiles are favorably compared to those of an idealized Rankine model and also those of a theoretical stagnant core vortex model ...
Verification of composite Galois field multipliers over GF ((2 m ) n ) using computer algebra techniques

Galois field computations abound in many applications, such as in cryptography, error correction codes, signal processing, among many others. Multiplication usually lies at the core of such Galois field computations, and is one of the most complex operations. Hardware implementations of such multipliers become very expensive. Therefore, there have been efforts to reduce the design complexity by decomposing the Galois field GF(2k) as GF ((2m)n) where k = m × n. Such a decomposition introduces a hierarchical abstraction — lifting the ground field from GF (2) (bit-level) to GF (2m) (word-level) — thus simplifying the design. This paper addresses the formal verification problem of such multipliers designed over GF ((2m)n), using a computer algebra and algebraic geometry based approach. To prove that the composite field multiplier implementation matches the original specification, we hierarchically formulate the verification problem using the Hilbert's Nullstellensatz over Galois Fields. A Grobner basis engine is employed as the underlying computational framework. Experiments are performed with various variable/term orders to demonstrate the efficacy of our approach. We can verify the correctness of upto 1024bit multipliers, whereas SAT/SMT-based approaches are in-feasible.
Making Working Memory Work: A Computational Model of Learning in the Prefrontal Cortex and Basal Ganglia

The prefrontal cortex has long been thought to subserve both working memory (the holding of information online for processing) and executive functions (deciding how to manipulate working memory and perform processing). Although many computational models of working memory have been developed, the mechanistic basis of executive function remains elusive, often amounting to a homunculus. This article presents an attempt to deconstruct this homunculus through powerful learning mechanisms that allow a computational model of the prefrontal cortex to control both itself and other brain areas in a strategic, task-appropriate manner. These learning mechanisms are based on subcortical structures in the midbrain, basal ganglia, and amygdala, which together form an actor-critic architecture. The critic system learns which prefrontal representations are task relevant and trains the actor, which in turn provides a dynamic gating mechanism for controlling working memory updating. Computationally, the learning mechanism is designed to simultaneously solve the temporal and structural credit assignment problems. The model's performance compares favorably with standard backpropagation-based temporal learning mechanisms on the challenging 1-2-AX working memory task and other benchmark working memory tasks.
DAMAGE CHARACTERISTICS AND RESIDUAL STRENGTH OF COMPOSITE SANDWICH PANELS IMPACTED WITH AND WITHOUT COMPRESSION LOADING

The results of an experimental study of the impact damage characteristics and residual strength of composite sandwich panels impacted with and without a compression loading are presented. Results of impact damage screening tests conducted to identify the impact-energy levels at which damage initiates and at which barely visible impact damage occurs in the impacted facesheet are discussed. Parametric effects studied in these tests include the impactor diameter, dropped-weight versus airgun-launched impactors, and the effect of the location of the impact site with respect to the panel boundaries. Residual strength results of panels tested in compression after impact are presented and compared with results of panels that are subjected to a compressive preload prior to being impacted.
Lying and deception with visual evoked potentials

The recent urgency for counterterrorism and the fight to protect ones' homeland are of grave concern to nations throughout the world. Finding an efficient process that could have screened passengers prior to boarding a flight or even a train may have derailed many devastating events. Scientific research has continuously proved that there is an explicit marker of neuronal activity that correlates with awareness, past experience, and short-term interactions from the well-known P300 peak of an evoked potential. This study examines the effects of memory recognition to certain key stimuli mixed with irrelevant variables in an effort to identify if a trained terrorist, per se, could not only be identified from a group of subjects, but also validate that the willingness to withhold information is out of the control of the individual; it's simple, one has no control in concealing their brain's activity.
Ethno-Racial Composition and College Preference: Revisiting the Perpetuation of Segregation Hypothesis

Braddock’s perpetuation hypothesis argues that racial segregation is self-perpetuated over the life cycle and across institutional settings. Studies examining the relationship between segregation and college choice consistently show that black students who attend segregated schools are more likely to choose predominantly black colleges over predominantly white colleges. This study extends previous research by considering not only blacks but also Hispanics, Asians, and whites. Consistent with Braddock’s claim, results show a positive association between the ethno-racial composition of schools and first college preference for all demographic groups considered. However, this association disappears for blacks and Hispanics after controlling for the ethno-racial composition of the nearest two- and four-year colleges. These findings indicate that geographic context better explains the perpetuation of segregation than same-group preferences.
Biogeography: Washed up in Madagascar.

How, when and from where did Madagascar's unique mammalian fauna originate? The idea that the ancestors of that fauna rafted from Africa finds support in innovative simulations of ancient ocean currents.
Optimization of IGZO/Cu/IGZO Multilayers as Transparent Composite Electrode on Flexible Substrate by Room-temperature Sputtering and Post-Deposition Anneals

Highly transparent composite electrodes made of multilayers of In- and Ga-doped ZnO and Cu (IGZO/Cu/IGZO) thin films (30/3-9/30 nm thick) are deposited onto flexible substrates at room temperature and by using radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The effect of Cu thickness on the electrical and optical properties of the multilayer stack has been studied in accordance with the Cu morphology. The optical and electrical properties of the multilayers are studied with the UV–Vis spectrophotometry, Hall measurement and four point probe analyses. Results are compared with those from a single IGZO layered thin film. The average optical transmittance and sheet resistance both decreases with increase of copper thickness and has been optimized at 6 nm Cu middle layer thickness. The Haacke figure of merit (FOM) has been calculated to evaluate the performance of the films. The highest FOM achieved is 6 x 10 -3 Ω -1 for a Cu thickness of 6 nm with a sheet resistance of 12.2 Ω/sq and an average transmittance of 86%. The multilayered thin films are annealed upto 150 o C in vacuum, forming gas and O2 environments and the optical and electrical properties are studied and compared against the as-deposited samples. Thus IGZO/Cu/IGZO multilayer is a promising flexible electrode material for the nextgeneration flexible optoelectronics.
HCl-induced cell edema in rabbit esophageal epithelium: A bumetanide-sensitive process

Abstract Background & Aims: The morphology of acid damage to esophageal epithelium is characterized by marked cell (swelling) edema. This observation suggests that, in the process of acid damage, an increase in osmotic forces develops within the cell that accounts for the increase in cell water. The aim of this study was to document that esophageal cells swell at acidic pH and to explore the nature of the osmolytes and mechanisms responsible for it. Methods: Cell edema was assessed in sections of rabbit esophageal epithelium by correlating morphological change with change in tissue wet weight after immersion in acidic solutions for up to 4 hours. Results: At pH ≤ 2 for 2 hours, tissues gained weight and showed cell edema on both light and electron microscopy. In addition to being time- and pH-dependent, cell edema was dependent on bathing solution osmolytes, specifically Na + , K + , and Cl − , and could be inhibited by tissue pretreatment with bumetanide (or ethacrynic acid). Conclusions: HCl exposure can spontaneously produce cell edema in esophageal epithelium. The phenomenon is pH- and time-dependent and requires acid stimulation of osmolyte absorption through a bumetanide-sensitive process compatible with an NaK2Cl cotransporter in the epithelial cell membrane.
A spectral model of the beam attenuation coefficient in the ocean and coastal areas

A large set (- 100 data points at each wavelength) of multispectral beam attenuation, c(X), data at nine wavelengths (440, 450, 490, 520, 535, 550, 565, 630, and 670 nm) is used to develop a spectral model of the beam attenuation coefficient. The relationship c(X) - cW(X) = [c(490 nm) - cW(490 nm)](1.563 - 1.149 x 1O-3 X) describes the spectral variation of c(X) where cW(X) is the pure water beam attenuation and X is the wavelength in nm. From a subset of the data a relationship of chloropyll (Chl) to ~(490) was found to be ~(490) = 0.39 Ch1°.57; however there is significant scatter in this relationship. The spectral c model was tested with independent data sets and the average percent difference of the measured to predicted values ranged from 0.4 to 5% for the different spectral bands. The spectral beam attenuation coefficient c is an important property in optical oceanography. Because c (units given in list of notation) is an inherent optical property (Preisendorfer 1976) it is an important measurement in the optical characterization of a water sample. The inverse of the beam attenuation coefficient, the attenuation length, is important as a scaling parameter for problems in imaging and radiative transfer. When calibrated correctly, c can be used to determine the suspended particulate load in a water sample. Reported measurements of c have predominantly been in a single spectral band. Most often the photopic band has been used (with an instrument such as the Martek transmissometer) or more recently in a spectral band at 660 nm (with an instrument such as the SeaTech transmissometer). Comparisons between data sets of c in different spectral bands require knowledge of the spectral nature of c(X). Previous studies, in which measurements at multiple wave
Modeling the Performance of Lithium-Ion Batteries and Capacitors during Hybrid-Electric-Vehicle Operation

A system model has been adapted to simulate the hybrid-pulse-power-characterization test. Simulation results improve upon traditional Ragone plots by capturing the complexity of pulse performance during hybrid-electric-vehicle (HEV) operation. Using this approach, system design (electrode thicknesses and porosities) is optimized for a specific power-to-energy ratio. Lithium-ion batteries are capable of satisfying Department of Energy goals for pulse power and energy densities in HEVs. We show that a 2.7 V electrochemical double-layer capacitor (EDLC) available today is unable to meet these goals. It would be necessary to increase the intrinsic capacitance by a factor of 3, or to increase the voltage window to 3.7 V. We also investigate an asymmetric hybrid supercapacitor (a lithium titanate spinel/activated carbon system). We show that this technology, which has a higher energy density than a traditional EDLC, may obtain 13 Wh/kg (without accounting for packaging weight) and has promise for meeting the demands of an HEV.
A case of pulmonary cestodiasis in a simian immunodeficiency virus-infected pigtailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) in which virus-infected leukocytes are present within the lesion

The larvae of Mesocestoides are rarely encountered in nonhuman primates, with most cases reported in baboons. Infection of macaques has been occasionally diagnosed, but Mesocestoides in the lung parenchyma is extremely rare. We have previously demonstrated that in macaques with terminal AIDS, simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected leukocytes are rarely found in cellular infiltrates associated with opportunistic infections or preexisting disease. Here we describe larvae (tetrathyridia) of the cestode Mesocestoides in the lung of an adult, pigtailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) during acute SIV infection in which virus-positive cells are present within the cellular infiltrates. These results describe a rare parasitic disease in pigtailed macaques and demonstrate that lentivirus-infected leukocytes can be associated with inflammatory sites during acute infection.
MLT1 links cytoskeletal asymmetry to organelle placement in chlamydomonas

Asymmetric placement of the photosensory eyespot organelle in Chlamydomonas is patterned by mother-daughter differences between the two basal bodies, which template the anterior flagella. Each basal body is associated with two bundled microtubule rootlets, one with two microtubules and one with four, forming a cruciate pattern. In wild-type cells, the single eyespot is positioned at the equator in close proximity to the plus end of the daughter rootlet comprising four microtubules, the D4. Here we identify mutations in two linked loci, MLT1 and MLT2, which cause multiple eyespots. Antiserum raised against MLT1 localized the protein along the D4 rootlet microtubules, from the basal bodies to the eyespot. MLT1 associates immediately with the new D4 as it extends during cell division, before microtubule acetylation. MLT1 is a low-complexity protein of over 300,000 Daltons. The expression or stability of MLT1 is dependent on MLT2, predicted to encode a second large, low-complexity protein. MLT1 was not restricted to the D4 rootlet in cells with the vfl2-220 mutation in the gene encoding the basal body-associated protein centrin. The cumulative data highlight the role of mother-daughter basal body differences in establishing asymmetry in associated rootlets, and suggest that eyespot components are directed to the correct location by MLT1 on the D4 microtubules. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
SSALN: an alignment algorithm using structure-dependent substitution matrices and gap penalties learned from structurally aligned protein pairs.

In template-based modeling of protein structures, the generation of the alignment between the target and the template is a critical step that significantly affects the accuracy of the final model. This paper proposes an alignment algorithm SSALN that learns substitution matrices and position-specific gap penalties from a database of structurally aligned protein pairs. In addition to the amino acid sequence information, secondary structure and solvent accessibility information of a position are used to derive substitution scores and position-specific gap penalties. In a test set of CASP5 targets, SSALN outperforms sequence alignment methods such as a Smith-Waterman algorithm with BLOSUM50 and PSI_BLAST. SSALN also generates better alignments than PSI_BLAST in the CASP6 test set. LOOPP server prediction based on an SSALN alignment is ranked the best for target T0280_1 in CASP6. SSALN is also compared with several threading methods and sequence alignment methods on the ProSup benchmark. SSALN has the highest alignment accuracy among the methods compared. On the Fischer's benchmark, SSALN performs better than CLUSTALW and GenTHREADER, and generates more alignments with accuracy >50%, >60% or >70% than FUGUE, but fewer alignments with accuracy >80% than FUGUE. All the supplemental materials can be found at http://www.cs.cornell.edu/∼jianq/research.htm. Proteins 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.