cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Wear mechanisms in a reliability methodology

The main thrust in any reliability work is identifying failure modes and mechanisms. This is especially true for the new technology of MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS). The methods are sometimes just as important as the results achieved. This paper will review some of the methods developed specifically for MEMS. Our methodology uses statistical characterization and testing of complex MEMS devices to help us identify dominant failure modes. We strive to determine the root cause of each failure mode and to gain a fundamental understanding of that mechanism. Test structures designed to be sensitive to a particular failure mechanism are typically used to gain understanding. The development of predictive models follows from this basic understanding. This paper will focus on the failure mechanism of wear and how our methodology was exercised to provide a predictive model. The MEMS device stressed in these studies was a Sandia-developed microengine with orthogonal electrostatic linear actuators connected to a gear on a hub. The dominant failure mechanism was wear in the sliding/contacting regions. A sliding beam-on-post test structure was also used to measure friction coefficients and wear morphology for different surface coatings and environments. Results show that a predictive model of failure-time as a function of drive frequency based on wear fits the functional form of the reliability data quite well, and demonstrates the benefit of a fundamental understanding of wear. The results also show that while debris of similar chemistry and morphology was created in the two types of devices, the dependence of debris generation on the operating environment was entirely different. The differences are discussed in terms of wear maps for ceramics, and the mechanical and thermal contact conditions in each device.
First Report of Gummy Stem Blight, Caused by Didymella bryoniae, on Watermelon Transplants in California.

In 1997, greenhouse-produced transplants of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) developed water-soaked lesions on leaf petioles and main stems. As disease progressed, petioles and stems became necrotic and shriveled, and exuded a sticky, translucent tan liquid. Symptoms spread to leaves, which wilted and collapsed. Affected transplants eventually died. Although fruiting bodies were not observed on diseased plants, a fungal agent was consistently isolated from symptomatic tissues. When incubated under lights (12 h light/12 h dark cycle), isolates on potato dextrose agar produced numerous pycnidia with hyaline, cylindrical, one-septate conidia with mean dimensions of 5.6 × 2.8 μm. Under the same incubation conditions, isolates on V8 juice agar produced sparse ostiolate pseudothecia with bitunicate asci and hyaline, oval, one-septate ascospores with mean dimensions of 12.0 × 4.0 μm. Based on these characters, the isolates were identified as Didymella bryoniae (anamorph Phoma cucurbitacearum) (1,2). Pathogenicity ...
Long-term storage of information in DNA.

In this digital age, the technology used for information storage is undergoing rapid advances. Data currently being stored in magnetic or optical media will probably become unrecoverable within a century or less, through the combined effects of hardware and software obsolescence and decay of the
Diagenetic Capping of Carbonate Reservoir Facies: ABSTRACT

Submarine cementation commonly forms a narrow zone of low permeability within a carbonate unit that may act as a diagenetic seal over potential reservoir facies. Although the process of submarine cementation still is not clearly understood, it does appear to be a near-surface, rock or sediment/water interface phenomenon. The diagenetic model proposed here involves the effect of submarine cementation on previously lithified carbonates, such as submerged relict shelf-margin buildups (e.g., drowned reefs, ooid shoals) or previously subaerially exposed formations (e.g., dune ridges) that were submerged by later sea level rise. These deposits generally have pronounced topographic relief (visible on seismic), good reservoir geometries, and high internal porosity of either prima y or secondary origin. Petrologic studies on examples of both of these situations--a submerged early Holocene barrier reef off Florida and a 175-km (110-m) long submerged Pleistocene eolian ridge in the Bahamas--show that their exposed surface and uppermost facies (0-1 m, or 0.3 ft, below top) are further infilled and cemented, creating an extensively lithified, low porosity/low permeability zone or "diagenetic cap rock." Quantitative mineralogic studies of occluding cements reveal an exponential reduction in porosity while moving upward into the seal zone. Submarine cements effectively infill and form a surficial permeability barrier that acts to impede further diagenesis and porosity reduction within underlying potential reservoir facies. To form this diagenetic seal only requires that the original carbonate buildup be resubmerged for some brief period of time prior to subsequent burial by sediments. If buildup accumulation later resumes without intermediate sediment burial--a common stratigraphic situation--the diagenetic seal would represent a disconformity separating two similar facies. The early formation of a diagenetic cap rock lends support to models of early hydrocarbon migration and emplacement. Prediction and recognition of submarine diagenetic seals will aid in exploration and development of obvious buildup reservoirs as well as subtle intraformational traps. End_of_Article - Last_Page 500------------
Assessing potential accounting manipulation: The financial characteristics of charitable organizations with higher than expected program-spending ratios

Accounting manipulation is defined as when the managers of an organization intentionally misstate their financial information to favorably represent the entity’s financial performance.Managers of n...
Viewing television talk shows

We examined how motivation, audience activity, and attitudes influenced the likelihood of watching societal‐issue and relational topics on television talk programs. Path analysis supported differences in ritualized and instrumental motives for watching talk shows. Information and exciting‐entertainment motivation predicted greater’ realism of, affinity with, involvement with, and intent to watch talk television. Pass‐time motivation predicted reduced affinity with and intent to watch talk television, and reduced likelihood of watching relational topics. Information motivation predicted greater likelihood of watching relational topics. We discussed these findings in light of the concept of audience activity.
Lung biopsy with frozen section as a diagnostic aid in patients with congenital heart defects

Abstract In eight patients with congenital heart defects and equivocal preoperative hemodynamic data, lung biopsy with frozen section was performed and quantitative morphometric analysis carried out to help select a palliative or corrective surgical procedure. During catheterization it had been possible in only six of the eight patients to enter the pulmonary artery and obtain pressure measurements; four patients had moderate to severe elevation of pulmonary vascular resistance whereas the other two had only mild elevation of pulmonary arterial pressure, but they were being considered for a Fontan procedure. The lung biopsy tissue was taken inflated and fixed inflated in hot glutaraldehyde. From cryostat sections arterial concentration was assessed relative to alveolar concentration, and the degree of arterial muscularity was assessed by wall thickness and extension of muscle; the more advanced Heath-Edwards arterial changes were also evaluated. On the basis of the morphologic assessment, six of the eight patients underwent corrective surgery and two underwent a palliative procedure. Postoperative hemodynamic data available in four of the patients who underwent corrective surgery revealed either a significant reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance or return to a normal level of pulmonary arterial pressure, whereas no change has occurred in the one patient studied who underwent a palliative procedure. Assessment of pulmonary arterial development and structure on lung biopsy with frozen section proved helpful in deciding between a palliative and corrective surgical procedure.
The Nonlinear Gaussian Spectrum of Log-Normal Stochastic Processes and Variables

A procedure is presented in this paper for developing a representation of lognormal stochastic processes via the polynomial chaos expansion. These are processes obtained by applying the exponential operator to a gaussian process. The polynomial chaos expansion results in a representation of a stochastic process in terms of multidimensional polynomials orthogonal with respect to the gaussian measure with the dimension defined through a set of independent normalized gaussian random variables. Such a representation is useful in the context of the spectral stochastic finite element method, as well as for the analytical investigation of the mathematical properties of lognormal processes.
Karyology, nuclear genome quantification and characterization of the carrageenophytes Eucheuma and Kappaphycus (Gigartinales)

DNA reassociation kinetics were used to determine nuclear genome organization and complexity in the carrageenophyteKappaphycus alvarezii. Results indicate the presence of three second order components corresponding to fast (12%), intermediate (38%) and slow (50%) fractions. Microspectrophotometry with the DNA-localizing fluorochrome DAPI confirmed ploidy level differences in the gametophytic and tetrasporophytic phases. Comparison of mean nuclear DNA (I f ) values to chicken erythrocytes (RBC) resulted in pg/2C genome estimates:Eucheuma denticulatum=0.35,E. isiforme=0.44,Kappaphycus alvarezii=0.32 andK. striatum=0.42. Karyological studies of tetraspore mother cells during diakinesis using aceto-orcein revealed a chromosome complement of 10 forEucheuma denticulatum andKappaphycus alvarezii.
Measuring interest rate sensitivity of consumer depositors

The impetus for the deregulation of consumer deposits presumed that institutions need flexibility in setting rates to control deposit levels. Previous research indicated that institutions may find varying levels of sensitivity of depositors which will make it difficult to predict volume response. This study examined the timed response of interest rate changes on deposit volume changes. Using available time series techniques, it found that volume response varied with market characteristics as well as money market conditions. In some markets, deposit volume responded significantly to interest rate differentials, while in others the deposits were insensitive to small differentials. Thus, an institution is well advised to study its particular deposit market before implementing a liability rate strategy.
Keeping Blood Transfusion Safe From West Nile Virus: American Red Cross Experience, 2003 to 2012

West Nile virus (WNV) appeared for the first time in the United States in 1999 and rapidly spread across the Western hemisphere within a few years causing hundreds of thousands of human infections and significant disease. In 2002, it was found to be transmissible by blood transfusion, and within less than a year, nucleic acid testing for WNV RNA was in place for all US donations. The American Red Cross (ARC) collects approximately 40% of blood donations in the United States and closely monitors the results of such testing and evaluates donors found to be reactive. This review describes the 10-year results of the ARC testing program during the period 2003 to 2012. Overall, more than 27 million donations were tested during the transmission periods with 1576 RNA-positive donations identified. The temporal and geographic distributions of the infected donors are described. Methods to initiate and discontinue periods of individual donation testing were developed and validated to maximize safety. The nature of WNV infection among donors was investigated, and the distribution of viral titers was defined and was found to be no greater than 720000 RNA copies per milliliter. The distribution of titers by time sequence of appearance of antibodies was determined. Donors who were identified as being in the earliest stages of infection were evaluated for the appearance of symptoms, and 26% developed at least 3 characteristic symptoms. The testing program has been successful in preventing transmission of WNV by transfusion, and only 1 of the 13 reported cases since the initiation of testing was attributable to the Red Cross; it was from a granulocyte product transfused before availability of the test result.
A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method for quantification of curcuminoids in cell medium and mouse plasma.

Abstract Curcumin and tetrahydrocurcumin (THC) have been found as potent DNMT1 inhibitors, but they suffer from low oral bioavailability and rapid metabolism in vivo. To circumvent these problems, two curcumin analogs: 1,7-bis(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione (TMC) and 1,7-bis(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-4-cyclohexyl-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione (DMCHC) have been synthesized to enhance their stability by blocking the two metabolic sites, the phenolic and C4 methylene moieties. Both compounds have shown inhibitory activity on M. SssI similar to that of curcumin and THC (Poster, M1114, AAPS, 2009). Preclinical pharmacokinetics has yet to be performed. In this paper, a simple liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometric method was developed for the determination of these four curcuminoids in cell medium and mouse plasma. The method showed linearity from 1 to 1000 ng/mL with the lower limit of quantification of 1 ng/mL in cell medium, and 5 ng/mL in mouse plasma for all test curcuminoids. The within-day coefficients of variation were found to be below 15% and the accuracy was in the range of 85–115%. This method was subsequently used to evaluate their stability in these matrices and a pilot pharmacokinetics of curcumin, DMCHC and TMC in mice after an intraperitoneal (i.p.) cassette dosing of 10 mg/kg each. Curcuminoids degraded in two phases with terminal half lives of 186, 813, 724, and 2000 min for curcumin, THC, TMC, and DMCHC, respectively, in cell culture medium. In plasma, their respective half lives were 111, 232, 1202 and 3000 min. These data demonstrated that their stability is in the order curcumin
Laparoscopic upper pole and lower pole heminephrectomy in patients less than one year of age

Purpose Growing evidence suggests that laparoscopic surgery can be successfully performed in pediatric population. The purpose of this study was to review and report our experience with laparoscopic heminephrectomy in patients less than 1 year of age. Material and Methods A total of 28 unilateral laparoscopic heminephrectomies for non-functioning duplicated renal moiety were performed on 21 girls and 7 boys less than 1 year of age (45 days - Results All procedures were completed laparoscopically. Two procedures started retroperitoneally were completed transperitoneally due to development of pneumoperitoneum. The mean operative time was 135 minutes (95-300 min) with longer duration observed in patients who also had ancillary procedure performed. The average blood loss was 10 ml. and feeds were resumed within 24 hours in all patients. Complications were observed in 4 patients (14%). One patient (3%) had intraoperative pneumothorax, managed with chest tube drainage. Two patients (6%) had post operative collection which was managed conservatively. One patient developed hypertension (3%) following an upper pole excision requiring anti-hypertensives. The mean duration of hospital stay was 2.3 days. Conclusions Laparoscopic procedures can be safely performed for benign renal disease in infants with minimal morbidity. Transperitoneal approach is the preferable due to limited retroperitoneal space. Complications rates are low and other open procedures can be easily preformed concomitantly with good results.
Transepidermal chloride flux through hydrated skin: combination chloride electrode.

SUMMARY A combination chloride electrode was used to determine quantitatively the outward rate of epidermal chloride transport in vivo. Regional anatomical variation and the effects of topical agents and cellophane tape strippings on the rate of chloride diffusion were determined. Transepidermal chloride flux through hydrated skin appears to be an alternative method for determining stratum corneum function in vivo.
Hormone replacement therapy: effect of progestin dose and time since menopause on endometrial bleeding

Abstract Objective: To analyze the effects of two continuous combined hormone replacement regimens on bleeding profiles in postmenopausal women, based on progestin dose and time since the patient’s last spontaneous menstrual period. Methods: A randomized, double-masked, multicenter trial was conducted in 1724 women recruited from 99 sites. Six hundred seventy-eight women received a continuous regimen of oral conjugated equine estrogens (CEE), 0.625 mg/day, combined with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), 2.5 or 5.0 mg/day, for 1 year. Results: After 1 year, no bleeding was reported by over 89% of women. More women in the 5.0 mg/day MPA group than in the 2.5 mg/day MPA group reported no bleeding (93.8% versus 89.5%; P P Conclusion: A continuous combined regimen of CEE plus 5.0 mg MPA may be more suitable for women closer to the onset of menopause or for women starting therapy who are unwilling to tolerate irregular bleeding. The improved bleeding profile with CEE and 5.0 mg/day MPA is likely to enhance compliance with hormone replacement therapy.
Conspecific trailing behaviour of red-sided garter snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis, in the natural environment

The ability of animals to orient based on pheromonal cues in the environment can have significant consequences to their reproductive success and survival. For example, it is hypothesized that snakes use pheromone trails to locate potential mates during the breeding season and to locate winter hibernacula. Numerous studies have demonstrated that snakes are capable of detecting and following pheromone trails in the laboratory, but it has yet to be shown experimentally whether snakes use such behaviour in their natural environment. In this study, we conducted trailing experiments to test the response of adult red-sided garter snakes to pheromone trails on the natural substrate under naturally occurring conditions during two periods, the spring breeding season and the autumn migration back to the hibernacula. Male snakes detected and followed female trails in the spring, while neither sex displayed trailing behaviour during the period of autumn migration. Our results suggest that adult garter snakes use pheromone trails for locating potential mates during the breeding season and most likely rely on other mechanisms (e.g. visual cues) for navigation to overwintering hibernacula.
Geldanamycin reduces necrotic and apoptotic injury due to oxygen-glucose deprivation in astrocytes

Abstract Recent data show that geldanamycin can protect the brain against stroke in vivo, and this may be due to induction of heat shock proteins. Our previous results show that heat shock protein 70 expression by retroviral transfection protects astrocytes from necrotic injury by combined oxygen-glucose deprivation, an in vitro model of ischemia. This study tested the ability of geldanamycin to protect astrocytes from either necrotic or apoptotic injury induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation. Astrocytes were pre-treated with 0.1 µg ml-1 geldanamycin in the medium 4, 8, or 16 h before as well as during oxygen-glucose deprivation. Increased protein levels of heat shock protein 70 were observed after 8 h pre-treatment with geldanamycin and increased further at 16 h pre-treatment, as detected by immunoblotting. Geldanamycin pre-treatment protected mature astrocytes from necrotic cell death and young astrocytes from apoptotic death. Geldanamycin protection of astrocytes against in vitro ischemia is likely due ...
Free radicals as probes of cell surface charge

Abstract Surface charge plays an important role in determining the energetics of biomembrane interactions and influences the electrical field that acts across the lipid bilayer and its intrinsic proteins. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy can be employed to estimate surface charge either through the use of amphiphilic spin label probes or by the determination of membrane-surface free radical scavenging kinetics. A major advantage in the magnetic resonance approach to probing surface charge is its freedom from optical and mechanical constraints inherent in other approaches. The two free radical methods are briefly reviewed and the assumptions inherent in the deduction of surface charge from experimental data are discussed.
Introduction to computer modeling of aquaculture pond ecosystems

The application of computer modeling to the study of aquaculture ponds is reviewed. Two basic types of models are identified: empirical and mechanistic. In empirical models, the pond system is treated as a ‘black box’, and the relationship between inputs and outputs is determined by statistical analysis of data. In mechanistic models (‘internally descriptive’), processes taking place within the pond are identified and described mathematically. A framework for the development of a mechanistic model of an aquacullure pond is presented. Sample formulations for some critical variables are discussed.
Information technologies for the 1990s: an organizational impact perspective

When a thing is new, people say: "It is not true." Later, when its truth becomes obvious, they say: "It is not important." Finally, when its importance cannot be denied, they say: "Anyway, it is not new."Adapted from William James
Temporal Distribution of Faecal Pollution Indicators and Opportunistic Pathogens at a Lake Ontario Bathing Beach

Abstract In order to examine the temporal relationship between bather load and water quality indicator levels, faecal pollution indicator (faecal coliforms and faecal streptococci) and opportunistic pathogen (Candida albicans and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) levels were monitored hourly in the nearshore waters of a shallow Lake Ontario bathing beach on a hot August day when the bather load was high, and on two overcast August days when the bather load was negligible. On the high bather load day, an increase occurred in the numbers of faecal coliforms and faecal streptococci in the beach water in conjunction with an increase in the bather load; P. aeruginosa levels increased later in the day. There was little apparent relationship between C. albicans levels and the other parameters on the high bather load day. No corresponding increases were observed for any of the monitored parameters on the low bather load days. The results indicate that bather load and sample collection time may influence estimations of recreational water quality based on faecal pollution indicator and P. aeruginosa levels.
Delamination characteristics of double-cantilever beam and end-notched flexure composite specimens

The distributions of strain energy release rate, G, at the crack fronts of double-cantilever beam (DCB) and end-notched flexure (ENF) specimens have been analysed by means of the plate finite element. A boundary layer phenomenon in the distribution of G at the crack front is found. The applicability of beam theories as data reduction tools for DCB testing is examined. The effect of a curved crack front on the use of beam theories in the calculation of strain energy release rate for a DCB specimen is also discussed. Except for unidirectional and cross-ply laminates, the distribution of strain energy release rate at the crack front is found to be skewed, and a parameter is introduced to measure this skewness. Recommendations on DCB specimen design are made for the fracture toughness test to minimize the non-uniform and skewness effect. Finally, it is found that the boundary layer effect in the ENF specimen is not as severe as that in the DCB specimen.
High-efficiency design of multiphase synchronous mode soft-switching converter for wide input and load range

A four-phase interleaved bidirectional dc-dc converter with coupled inductor is adopted in both boost- and buck-mode operations. The circuit allows synchronous mode operation to achieve zero-voltage switching. Together with the use of low R ds-on power MOSFET as the switching device, ultra high efficiency can be obtained. This paper shows a high-voltage example system operating completely in synchronous mode with 99.2% efficiency at the full load, but only 93% at 10% load. A low-voltage system example is then proposed to operate in synchronous mode under light-load condition and in continuous conducting mode under heavy load condition to achieve high efficiency over a wide load range. The peak efficiency of the second example system reaches 99.5% in between 10 and 20% load and maintains above 98% throughout the rest of load range.
Chaotic behaviour in the solar system.

There are several physical situations in the Solar System where chaotic behaviour plays an important role. Saturn's satellite Hyperion is currently tumbling chaotically. Many of the other irregularly shaped satellites in the Solar System had chaotic rotations in the past. There are also examples of chaotic orbital evolution. Meteorites are most probably transported to Earth from the asteroid belt by way of a chaotic zone. Chaotic behaviour also seems to be an essential ingredient in the explanation of certain non-uniformities in the distribution of asteroids. The long-term motion of Pluto is suspiciously complicated, but objective criteria have not yet indicated that the motion is chaotic. The Solar System is generally perceived as evolving with clockwork regularity. Indeed, it was a search for the principles that underlie the perceived regularities in the mnotions of the planets that culminated in Newton's formulation of the laws of mechanics and universal gravitation 300 years ago. Recently it has been widely recognized that dynamical systems possess irregular as well as regular solutions. Irregular solutions of deterministic equations of motion are termed 'chaotic'. The Solar System is just another -dynamical system; the study of this preeminent dynamical system-is not untouched by the discoveries in nonlinear dynamics. Solar System dynamics encompasses the orbital and rotational dynamics of the planets and their natural satellites, the coupling between them, and the slow evolution of the orbits and spins due to tidal friction. It is primarily the dynamics of resonances and resonances are almost always associated with chaotic zones. Chaotic behaviour must be considered a possibility in almost any dynamical situation in the Solar System. In this paper a number of physical applications of modern dynamics to the Solar System will be reviewed. Applications to rotational dynamics will be considered first, followed by applications to orbital dynamics.
Agostic interactions and dissociation in the first layer of water on Pt(111).

Recent quantum mechanical (QM) calculations for a monolayer of H_2O on Ru(0001) suggested a novel stable structure with half the waters dissociated. However, different studies on Pt(111) suggested an undissociated bilayer structure in which the outer half of the water has the OH bonds toward the surface rather than the O lone pair. Since water layers on Pt are important in many catalytic processes (e.g., the fuel cell cathode), we calculated the energetics and structure of the first monolayer of water on the Pt(111) surface using QM [periodic slab using density functional calculations (DFT) with the PBE-flavor of exchange-correlation functional]. We find that the fully saturated surface (2/3 ML) has half the water almost parallel to the surface (forming a Pt−O Lewis acid−base bond), whereas the other half are perpendicular to the surface, but with the H down toward the surface (forming a Pt−HO agostic bond). This leads to a net bond energy of 0.60 eV/water = 13.8 kcal/mol (the standard ice model with the H up configuration of the water molecules perpendicular to the surface is less stable by 0.092 eV/water = 2.1 kcal/mol). We examined whether the partial dissociation of water proposed for Ru(0001) could occur on Pt(111). For the saturated water layer (2/3 ML) we find a stable structure with half the H_2O dissociated (forming Pt−OH and Pt−H covalent bonds), which is less favorable by only 0.066 eV/water = 1.51 kcal/mol. These results confirm the interpretation of combined experimental (XAS, XES, XPS) and theoretical (DFT cluster and periodic including spectrum calculations) studies, which find only the H down undissociated case. We find that the undissociated structure leads to a vertical displacement between the two layers of oxygens of ∼0.42 A (for both H down and H up). In contrast, the partially dissociated system leads to a flat structure with a separation of the oxygen layers of 0.08 A. Among the partially dissociated systems, we find that all subsurface positions for the dissociated hydrogen are less favorable than adsorbing on top of the free Pt surface atom. Our results suggest that for less than 1/3 ML, clustering would be observed rather than ordered monolayer structures.
Fostering Critical Dialogue Across Cultural Differences: A Study of Immigrant Teachers' Interventions in Diverse Schools

There is limited research in the field of social studies that documents how immigrant teachers are working to make social studies classrooms a space for critical dialogue, especially within settings where immigrant and nonimmigrant students interact. By using data from a yearlong qualitative study in which interviews and observations were conducted, the author examines the ways in which two immigrant teachers created a climate for critical dialogue to teach about cultural differences. The findings demonstrate how the teachers emphasized the need to critique stereotypes and discriminatory acts and valued the need to engage in cross-cultural interactions. The findings also illustrate the need to examine how teaching about differences is complex and messy. The author argues that social studies teachers need to be more accountable to how honest dialogue takes place in classrooms and how teachers need to recognize and validate the subject position of diverse learners.
Late Spring Frost and Postfrost Clipping Effect on Corn Growth and Yield

Lack of knowledge regarding early-season frost-damage effects on corn (Zea mays L.) restricts the ability of producers to make decisions regarding replanting and yield expectations. Our first objective was to monitor corn growth and yield within fields with a range of late-spring frost injury. The second objective was to evaluate post-frost clipping effects on plant growth and yield. Several days after a severe 21 June 1992 frost, plots were established at several Wisconsin sites in which within-field frost-damage to corn with 9 to 12 emerged leaves ranged from major (65 to 100 % of leaves damaged) to minor (less than 5 % of leaves damaged). Damage within fields varied primarily due to slight topography differences, with greatest damage in low-lying areas. Although nearly all plants recovered from the injury, plants with greatest damge were delayed in silking (7 to 10 d later), had reduced final plant (16 to 25 in. shorter) and ear (12 to 20 in. shorter) height and lower grain yield (42 to 59 % lower) compared with plants with least damage. Postfrost clipping reduced grain yield by 15 to 34 % at three sites, resulted in no differences at two sites, and increased yield about 10 % at one site. Based on these results and previous studies, there is little consistent benefit to clipping frost-damaged corn
Variation in trace metal concentrations along single hairs as measured by proton-induced x-ray emission photometry.

TRACE elements in human and animal hair have been studied using spectrophotometric, atomic absorption, emission spectrographic, neutron activation, and spark source mass spectrometric methods. We report here measurements of trace elements in human hair using the technique of proton induced X-ray production.
Using CAT ME on a Laptop

Since we became a test library for version 4.0 of the OCLC Cataloging Micro Enhancer software (CAT ME), several catalogers at Duke University Library have been experimenting with using laptop computers to edit OCLC records. We're investigating the advantages of offline editing during normal working hours, editing by the cataloger, and the convenience of working at a desk where books to be cataloged as well as reference sources (e.g., classification schedules and Cutter tables) are handy. We hope to determine if it's efficient for catalogers to do their own entry.
Fault slip rates, effects of elastic heterogeneity on geodetic data, and the strength of the lower crust in the Salton Trough region, southern California

[1] In southernmost California the Salton Trough sedimentary basin lies between the subparallel San Jacinto and San Andreas faults that together with the Elsinore fault, accommodate ∼80% of the 50 mm/yr of Pacific-North American relative motion. The slip rates on the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults have been a matter of recent debate, and one source of uncertainty has been the influence of crustal strength heterogeneity due to elastically weak basin sediments on geodetic data. To evaluate these effects, we have modeled regional kinematics with elastic and viscoelastic finite element models that incorporate laterally and vertically varying crustal material properties. We find that in general, the effects of the sedimentary basin on surface deformation are relatively small and that to explain the geodetic velocity data, the slip rate on the San Andreas must be higher than that on the San Jacinto fault, consistent with traditional geologic estimates. We also conclude that a relatively strong lower crust of viscosity >5 x 10 19 Pa s exists in this region.
Recent developments in light and electron microscope radioautography.

Publisher Summary This chapter describes and evaluates recent methods for visualizing diffusible radioactive materials within and between cells and developments in quantitative radioautography at both the light and electron microscope levels. Recently, advances have been made in several areas of the radioautographic technique. In addition, more complete knowledge of the resolution limits and efficiency of the available methods have evolved. Several methods have been developed that allow diffusible materials to be located in whole cells or frozen tissue sections. The success of these methods in the area of light microscope radioautography has stimulated renewed interest in ultra-thin frozen sectioning for electron microscopy. These studies are preparatory to the development of high resolution radioautographic methods for diffusible materials. It is likely that present and future work continues to lead to improved radioautographic efficiency and increased knowledge of the location of diffusible and nondiffusible substances in cells. Therefore, the current trend is to continue to develop radioautography as a qualitative and quantitative method for visualizing biochemical reactions within undisrupted cells and tissues.
Epidural analgesia improves early rehabilitation after total knee replacement

Abstract Study Objective To compare epidural anesthesia and analgesia with spinal anesthesia with intravenous morphine analgesia for its effect on range of motion (ROM) and early rehabilitation after total knee replacement. Design Randomized prospective study. Setting Tertiary care, academic medical center. Patients Thirty-eight patients scheduled for total knee replacement. Interventions Patients were randomized into 2 groups. One group received spinal anesthesia with 0.5% bupivacaine and analgesia with intravenous patient-controlled analgesia morphine, demand mode only. The other group was given epidural anesthesia with 1.0% ropivacaine with 1:200000 epinephrine and analgesia with 0.2% ropivacaine at 8 mL/h, maintained for 7 days. Both groups had compression stocking for deep venous thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis, urinary catheter for the first 24 hours, and duplex scanning at days 3 and 10. The spinal group received low molecular-weight heparin for DVT prophylaxis. Measurements Data collected included pain scores at rest, and with ROM, frequency of DVT, and patient satisfaction. Data were evaluated with Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables and Fisher exact test for categorical variables. Data were considered significant at P Main Results All 38 patients finished the study, 22 in the spinal group and 16 in the epidural group. There was no difference in demographics between groups. The pain sores at rest and with ROM were significantly less in the epidural group. ROM was better in the epidural group compared with the spinal group after day 1. No DVT was detected on day 3 or 10 in either group. No patient in either group required reinsertion of bladder catheter for urinary retention. Conclusion By using epidural analgesia in the first 7 days postoperatively, we achieved improved early rehabilitation due to excellent pain relief effect and an antithrombotic effect with an efficacy comparable to low molecular-weight heparin.
Molecular engineering of liquid crystalline polymers by living polymerization. XVII. Characterization of poly{10‐[4‐cyano‐4′‐biphenyl)oxy]decanyl vinyl ether}s by 1‐D and 2‐D 1H‐NMR spectroscopy

Abstract : Since the first examples of mesogenic vinyl ethers and liquid crystalline poly(vinyl ether)s were reported from our laboratory, several research groups became actively engaged in the synthesis of liquid crystalline poly(vinyl ether)s mainly because they can be polymerized by living cationic mechanism. So far, we have elucidated the influence of molecular weight on the phase transitions of poly(omega-((4-cyano-4'-biphenyl)oxy)alkyl vinyl ether)s with alkyl groups from ethyl to undecanyl. Binary copolymerization experiments performed with the same monomers at constant copolymer molecular weight allowed the molecular design of nematic, smectic A and reentrant nematic mesophases. Similar homopolymerization and copolymerization experiments were used to tailor make polymers exhibiting a chiral smectic C mesophase. In addition, it has been shown that many functional mesogenic vinyl ethers can be polymerized by our preferred initiating system CF3SO3H/S(CH3)2 in CH2Cl2(9). The experiments described so far required only a good control over the degree of polymerization and polydispersity of the polymer.
Functional Characterization of Spliceosomal Introns and Identification of U2, U4, and U5 snRNAs in the Deep-Branching Eukaryote Entamoeba histolytica

Pre-mRNA splicing is essential to ensure accurate expression of many genes in eukaryotic organisms. In Entamoeba histolytica, a deep-branching eukaryote, approximately 30% of the annotated genes are predicted to contain introns; however, the accuracy of these predictions has not been tested. In this study, we mined an expressed sequence tag (EST) library representing 7% of amoebic genes and found evidence supporting splicing of 60% of the testable intron predictions, the majority of which contain a GUUUGU 5′ splice site and a UAG 3′ splice site. Additionally, we identified several splice site misannotations, evidence for the existence of 30 novel introns in previously annotated genes, and identified novel genes through uncovering their spliced ESTs. Finally, we provided molecular evidence for the E. histolytica U2, U4, and U5 snRNAs. These data lay the foundation for further dissection of the role of RNA processing in E. histolytica gene expression.
Plasma-induced surface segregation and oxidation in nickel–iron thin films

Abstract Plasma-induced surface segregation and oxidation of Fe in nickel–iron (NiFe) thin films have been investigated. Reactive species in an oxygen plasma are found to be the driving force for Fe surface segregation and oxidation. Mapping of the film optical density change as a function of plasma exposure conditions indicates that segregation and oxidation are accelerated dramatically by the presence of reactive radicals and ion bombardment. For plasma oxidation protection, tantalum is found to be a more effective capping layer than tantalum oxide. With a tantalum capping layer, NiFe films maintain their magnetic properties until the tantalum capping layer is completely oxidized.
An algorithm for the management of resistant hypertension.

Before hypertension can be considered resistant to a rational triple drug regimen in maximal doses, the physician should rule out poor adherence to the regimen (including diet), adverse drug interactions, pseudotolerance (due to fluid retention), office hypertension, pseudohypertension, and an unrecognized secondary cause (e.g., renovascular disease, primary aldosteronism, and pheochromocytoma). When these have been excluded, hemodynamic measurements are indicated to identify the mechanism(s) at fault so that the therapeutic regimen can be modified appropriately.
Expert networks: Paradigmatic conflict, technological rapproachement

A rule-based expert system is demonstrated to have both a symbolic computational network representation and a sub-symbolic connectionist representation. These alternate views enhance the usefulness of the original system by facilitating introduction of connectionist learning methods into the symbolic domain. The connectionist representation learns and stores metaknowledge in highly connected subnetworks and domain knowledge in a sparsely connected expert network superstructure. The total connectivity of the neural network representation approximates that of real neural systems and hence avoids scaling and memory stability problems associated with other connectionist models.
X-Ray Studies of the Surface and Bulk Structure of the Isotropic and Nematic Phase of a Lyotropic Liquid Crystal

We have used x-ray specular reflection to study the structure of the air\char21{}liquid-crystal interface of the lyotropic liquid crystal formed from binary mixtures of cesium perfluoro-octanoate (CsPFO) and water. In the isotropic phase the surface is coated with a monolayer of CsPFO separated by layers of water from one or more smectic bilayers of CsPFO. As for the case of thermotropic liquid crystals, the isotropic-to-nematic phase transition has no effect on the surface structure, and as the temperature is lowered towards the nematic\char21{}to\char21{}smectic-A transition temperature, the number of surface-induced smectic layers increases dramatically (e.g., approximately 100 layers were observed). Theoretical modeling of the reflectivity excludes the possibility that the surface bilayers are arrays of micelles. X-ray scattering from critical smectic short-range order in the bulk, studied by tuning the spectrometer away from the specular condition, indicates that the scattering is fundamentally different from short-range smectic order in thermotropic systems.
Effect of Race on Fine Particle Deposition for Oral and Nasal Breathing

AbstractNasal efficiency for removing fine particles from inhaled air may be affected by variations in nasal structure associated with race. In 11 African American and 11 Caucasian adults (age 18–31 yr) we measured the fractional deposition (DF) of fine particles (1 and 2 μm mass median aerodynamic diameter) (MMAD) for oral and nasal breathing using individual breathing patterns previously measured by respiratory inductance plethysmography during a graded exercise protocol. DF for both nasal and mouth breathing was measured separately by laser photometry at the same tidal volume and breathing rate for resting and light exercise (20% of maximum work load) conditions. From these DF measures, nasal deposition efficiency (NDE) was calculated for each condition. For light exercise conditions, NDE for both 1- and 2-μm particles was less in African Americans versus Caucasians, 0.15 ± 0.07 (SD) versus 0.24 ± 0.11 for 1-μm particles (p = .03), and 0.29 ± 0.13 versus 0.44 ± 0.11 for 2-μm particles (p = .006). The r...
Improved Classification of Mass Spectrometry Database Search Results Using Newer Machine Learning Approaches

Manual analysis of mass spectrometry data is a current bottleneck in high throughput proteomics. In particular, the need to manually validate the results of mass spectrometry database searching algorithms can be prohibitively time-consuming. Development of software tools that attempt to quantify the confidence in the assignment of a protein or peptide identity to a mass spectrum is an area of active interest. We sought to extend work in this area by investigating the potential of recent machine learning algorithms to improve the accuracy of these approaches and as a flexible framework for accommodating new data features. Specifically we demonstrated the ability of boosting and random forest approaches to improve the discrimination of true hits from false positive identifications in the results of mass spectrometry database search engines compared with thresholding and other machine learning approaches. We accommodated additional attributes obtainable from database search results, including a factor addressing proton mobility. Performance was evaluated using publically available electrospray data and a new collection of MALDI data generated from purified human reference proteins.
Recent Advances in Central Airway Imaging

The purpose of this article is to familiarize chest physicians with recent advances in airway imaging, with an emphasis on the emerging role of two-dimensional reformatted and three-dimensional CT reconstructed images in the assessment of central airway disorders.
Power comparisons for barrel shifters

Data shifting is required in many key computer operations from address decoding to computer arithmetic. Full barrel shifters are often on the critical path, which has led most research to be directed toward speed optimizations. With the advent of mobile computing, power has become as important as speed for circuit designs. In this paper we present a power-delay analysis for a range of 32-bit barrel shifters that vary at the gate, architecture, and environment levels.
Compactly encoding unstructured inputs with differential compression

The subject of this article is differential compression, the algorithmic task of finding common strings between versions of data and using them to encode one version compactly by describing it as a set of changes from its companion. A main goal of this work is to present new differencing algorithms that (i) operate at a fine granularity (the atomic unit of change), (ii) make no assumptions about the format or alignment of input data, and (iii) in practice use linear time, use constant space, and give good compression. We present new algorithms, which do not always compress optimally but use considerably less time or space than existing algorithms. One new algorithm runs in O(n) time and O(1) space in the worst case (where each unit of space contains [log n] bits), as compared to algorithms that run in O(n) time and O(n) space or in O(n2) time and O(1) space. We introduce two new techniques for differential compression and apply these to give additional algorithms that improve compression and time performance. We experimentally explore the properties of our algorithms by running them on actual versioned data. Finally, we present theoretical results that limit the compression power of differencing algorithms that are restricted to making only a single pass over the data.