cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Loss Model and Output Impedance Analysis of a 48V-to-1V High Current Point-of-Load Converter

Single-stage, high step-down DC-DC converters for high current point-of-load (POL) applications have become a prominent area of research in order to support new 48V bus architectures. Recently, several converter topologies including resonant-based, hybrid switched-capacitor, and other buck variants have been proposed as high efficiency solutions. However, regardless of topology, the dominant loss in low voltage high current POL converters is the conduction loss, which must be carefully analyzed and minimized. In this paper, a detailed loss breakdown and design methodology for high voltage conversion ratio and high current POL converters are explained. The half-bridge current doubler topology is used as a baseline for analysis and verified with an experimental prototype designed around a nominal operating point of 48V-to-1.2V/80A. Total effective DC output resistance (DCR), frequency dependent resistance (ACR), and the remaining switching losses are addressed as well as integration and layout challenges.
On Building Modular and Elastic Data Structures with Bulk Operations

This paper introduces MEDS, a modular and elastic framework that simplifies the development of high-performance concurrent data structures that support linearizable primitive (i.e., add, remove, contains) and bulk (e.g., range query) operations.
Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein level and the relationship to ventriculomegaly in fetal neural tube defect: A retrospective cohort study.

Abstract Objective To estimate the significance of the association between mid-trimester maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) level and fetal neuroanatomic findings in cases of open neural tube defect (ONTD). Methods Retrospective study of patients referred for prenatal ONTD repair between 2012 and 2018. Cases were classified into three groups based on their MSAFP level: 1)High MSAFP (>3.8MoM – n = 22), 2)Moderately high MSAFP (≤3.8 and ≥2.5MoM – n = 28), 3)Normal MSAFP ( Results Having a high MSAFP level was more likely to be associated ventriculomegaly at mid-gestation than a moderately high or normal MSAFP level (OR = 8.4;CI95[0.9–73.4];p = 0.05 and OR = 2.8;CI95[0.9–8.8];p = 0.07). There were no differences between the three groups regarding type of lesion, size of the myeloschisis lesion, anatomic LL, or volume of the myelomeningocele sac. Myeloschisis cases with normal MSAFP had a larger surface area when compared to myeloschisis cases with moderately high MSAFP (219.8[104.4−551] vs 155.4[38.5−502.4] mm², p = 0.04). Conclusion A 2nd trimester MSAFP level >3.8MoM in a fetus with ONTD is associated with mid-gestation ventriculomegaly.
An optical, endoscopic brush for high-yield diagnostics in esophageal cancer

Barrett’s esophagus is the main pre-cancer risk factor for the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Over the last decades, the incidence rate of esophageal adenocarcinoma increases exponentially in the Western World. Endoscopic screening and minimally-invasive treatment of Barrett’s esophagus are challenging due to large surface area of the lining (1-20 cm). Current microendoscopy technologies have shown high specificity; however, its sensitivity is low due to tiny field-of-view (the probe diameter is 100-1000 μm). Therefore, we proposed a novel approach with end-expandable optical fiber brush to collect endoscopic sparse imaging data and deep learning super-resolution enhancement to provide high yield diagnostics.
Central Nervous System Tumors

Tumors of the central nervous system account for a substantial amount of morbidity and mortality annually. Radiation therapy (RT) has played an increasingly larger role in the treatment of CNS tumors as technology has advanced and radiation delivery has become more accurate and conformal. In the modern era of radiation therapy normal structures can be delineated and avoided with extreme precision and accuracy, maximizing the delivery of RT to the tumor and minimizing the RT to normal structures. For patients with tumors not amenable to surgical resection radiotherapy often plays a definitive role in the management of these malignancies. Additionally the ability of radiotherapy to control brain tumors is increasing in the era of modern day chemotherapy which can frequently be used to increase the sensitivity of various malignancies to radiotherapy. As RT technology advances the role of RT in the management of CNS malignancies will likely continue to increase over the coming years. The future of radiation delivery in the CNS is exciting and rapidly changing. The following chapter servers as a general overview to the management and treatment of a variety of CNS tumors, and presents some exciting advances in radiation therapy that may play a larger role in the future.
Generalized Multinucleate Cell Angiohistiocytoma: Histopathological and Immunohistochemical Analyses of 10 Lesions.

ABSTRACT Multinucleate cell angiohistiocytoma (MCAH) is an uncommon fibrohistiocytic disorder that usually presents as a localized solitary papule or multiple grouped papules. Generalized presentation is very rare with less than 20 cases reported in the literature. In this article, we present histopathological and immunohistochemical studies of 10 lesions from a patient with generalized MCAH. In all lesions, the histopathological changes were confined to a discrete zone of the superficial dermis that consisted of (1) an increase in the number of capillary-sized vessels with thickened walls, (2) presence of oval to dendritic spindle cells and stellate hyperchromatic multinucleated cells, (3) fibrosis marked by compact collagen, (4) hypertrophy and hyperplasia of small nerve fibers, and (5) a moderately dense lymphocytic infiltrate. The entire population of the cellular component including the multinucleated cells stained for CD10, whereas a subpopulation of the mononuclear spindle cells stained for factor XIIIa and CD68. CD34 highlighted only the blood vessels. The results confirm that the multinucleated cells lack expression of CD68 and factor XIIIa and that CD10 may be used to highlight the entire cellular component. The rarely reported hypertrophy and hyperplasia of nerve fibers in MCAH may be a common finding as it was observed in all 10 lesions.
“We Are All Humans and Deserve a Decent Way to Go”: Examining Professional’s Experiences With Providing End-of-Life Care in Correctional Institutions:

The aging prison population has increased dramatically over the past two decades. As this population increases, correctional institutions are faced with health care challenges. Specifically, provid...
Using Qualified On-Site Nuclear Power Plant Simulators in Human Factors Validations of Control Room Upgrades

Existing commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs) are valuable assets in the infrastructure portfolio of the United States because they safely and reliably generate about 1/5th of all the electricity used. The instrumentation and control (I&C) systems in commercial NPPs are the ‘eyes and earsʼ of the operator, allowing operators to maintain situation awareness, thereby allowing the plant to operate safely and efficiently for all phases of operation. Because the I&C systems in NPPs are still mostly based on analog technologies, which are reliable but not especially cost-effective, upgrading the existing I&C in commercial NPPs to new digital I&C is very important. Furthermore, simulators and simulation are critical human factors engineering tools for this I&C modernization work. NPP control room simulators are essential test beds to simulate normal, abnormal, and emergency operations that allow human factors researchers to safely and realistically evaluate early design phase prototypes of the upgraded digital I&C and validate final as-built digital I&C systems that have been modernized and deployed in NPPs. This paper describes research performed using qualified on-site NPP simulators to perform human factors validations of digital I&C control room upgrades.
Human Rights Education: Is Social Work Behind the Curve?

Abstract This article presents a descriptive assessment of human rights education within schools of social work and law. A review of course titles and descriptions within MSW programs and law programs was conducted for identification of human rights content. The results suggest a dearth of human rights content in social work curricula and a great disparity between schools of social work and schools of law in the integration of human rights in graduate level education. Recommendations for further development of human rights education are provided.
Lattice thermal conductivity in β-Ga2O3 from first principles

The lattice thermal conductivity for bulk β-Ga2O3 is computed from the phonon Boltzmann transport equation using first-principles methods to obtain scattering rates. Force constants for both the second and third order potential interactions are computed with a real-space finite-displacement approach. Phonon band structures as well as anharmonic properties are then computed and used to calculate the bulk thermal conductivity tensor κ, for temperatures ranging from 25 K to 1050 K. The calculated conductivity tensor components and analytic fits to their temperature dependences are elaborated. We compare our results with available data and show good agreement with experimentally observed values. Decomposing κ into mode contributions reveals that optical phonon modes contribute significantly to the overall thermal conductivity, as much as 44% at 300 K in the [010] direction, which differs from previous interpretations of experimentally observed thermal conductivity tensor anisotropy.
The consistency of temporal speech characteristics in a repetitive oral reading task.

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the consistency of subjects' temporal speech characteristics in a repetitive oral reading task. Thirteen subjects read " The Rainbow Passage " fifteen consecutive times in each of three experimental sessions. Analysis of the readings indicates that the subjects' temporal speech characteristics, including overall rate, total time, speech time, total pause time, intra-sentence pause time, inter-sentence pause time, number of intra-sentence pauses, number of inter-sentence pauses, speech-time ratio, and pause-time ratio appear to be highly consistent from reading to reading as well as from session to session. Implications of these findings for future research on oral reading rate are discussed.
Understanding and Monitoring Embedded Web Scripts

Modern web applications make frequent use of third-party scripts, often in ways that allow scripts loaded from external servers to make unrestricted changes to the embedding page and access critical resources including private user information. This paper introduces tools to assist site administrators in understanding, monitoring, and restricting the behavior of third-party scripts embedded in their site. We developed Script Inspector, a modified browser that can intercept, record, and check third-party script accesses to critical resources against security policies, along with a Visualizer tool that allows users to conveniently view recorded script behaviors and candidate policies and a Policy Generator tool that aids script providers and site administrators in writing policies. Site administrators can manually refine these policies with minimal effort to produce policies that effectively and robustly limit the behavior of embedded scripts. Policy Generator is able to generate effective policies for all scripts embedded on 72 out of the 100 test sites with minor human assistance. In this paper, we present the designs of our tools, report on what we've learned about script behaviors using them, evaluate the value of our approach for website administrator.
Decompositional verification of component-based systems-a hybrid approach

Component-based software development has been increasingly adopted as a standard engineering practice to build large systems with prefabricated components. Although this development method enjoys the great benefits of reusing valuable software assets, reducing development costs, improving productivity, etc., it also poses serious challenges to the quality assurance problem of component-based systems, since prefabricated components can not be simply trusted and they could be a new source of system failures. Solving this problem is of vital importance to safety-critical and mission-critical systems. This paper introduces a decompositional verification approach for component-based systems through both formal analysis (model-checking) and traditional software testing
The Confession as Subtext in The Death of Ivan Il'ich

In the late 1870's, Leo Tolstoy experienced a dramatic spiritual transformation as a result of which he devoted himself almost exclusively to the writing of such religious treatises as The Confession, An Investigation of Dogmatic Theology, and A Union and Translation of the Four Gospels. Although his faith and the works that stemmed from it gave him great joy and satisfaction, they created considerable dissension in the Tolstoy household. His wife Sofia Andreevna, frequendy complained that her husband's scholarly pursuits were ruining his health, introducing an alien and unwanted element into their domestic life, and incurring the wrath of the authorities both ecclesiastic and civil. Against this background of protest Tolstoy completed The Death of Ivan Wich in 1886. As a work of fiction and consequently a radical break with his theological preoccupations, it was meant to be a concession to his long-suffering wife. Sofia Andreevna was quite pleased. Yet she failed to notice that The Death of Ivan Il'ich is thematically and even stylistically a fictional recasting of The Confession, the first of Tolstoy's major statements on the subject of religion. The parallels are not always exact, but they are sufficiently numerous and close to suggest an organic link between the two works. While it is true that Tolstoy never abandoned art, it is also true that he never renounced his interest in religion. The Death of Ivan Il'ich may indeed be a concession to Sofia Andreevna and odiers, who longed for Tolstoy to write "in the former spirit" once more, but it is far from a complete capitulation. It is, instead, a restatement of the fundamental dilemma so brilliantly outlined in The Confession and a ratification of the resolution Tolstoy found to his agonizing spiritual malaise.
A Hardware Genetic Algorithm for the Travelling Salesman Problem on SPLASH 2

With the introduction of Splash, Splash 2, PAM, and other reconfigurable computers, a wide variety of algorithms can now be feasibly constructed in hardware. In this paper, we describe the Splash 2 Parallel Genetic Algorithm (SPGA), which is a parallel genetic algorithm for optimizing symmetric traveling salesman problems (TSPs) using Splash 2. Each processor in SPGA consists of four Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and associated memories and was found to perform 6.8 to 10.6 times the speed of equivalent software on a state-of-the-art workstation. Multiple processor SPGA systems, which use up to eight processors, find good TSP solutions much more quickly than single processor and software-based implementations of the genetic algorithm. The four-processor island-parallel SPGA implementation out performed all other SPGA configurations tested. We conclude noting that the described parallel genetic algorithm appears to be a good match for reconfigurable computing machines and that Splash 2's various interconnect resources and support for linear systolic and MIMD computing models was important for the implementation of SPGA.
Insights into the structure and dynamics of unfolded proteins from nuclear magnetic resonance.

Publisher Summary Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is unique in being able to provide detailed insights into the conformation of unfolded and partly folded proteins. This chapter presents the structure and dynamics of unfolded states, that is, equilibrium NMR studies of apomyoglobin; characterization of proteins that are unstructured under nondenaturing conditions; and intrinsically unstructured proteins (coupled folding and binding events). NMR is the method of choice to determine the conformational preferences inherent in these domains. NMR is also of the greatest utility in the elucidation of pathways of protein folding by allowing structural characterization of equilibrium and kinetic folding intermediates. Through the application of state-of-the-art heteronuclear NMR methods, new insights have been obtained into the nature of the conformational ensemble and the dynamics of denatured proteins. These studies show that the behavior of denatured proteins is typically far from that of a statistical random coil. This new view of the denatured state provides a basis for understanding the earliest events that occur during protein folding.
Scaling the Semantics of Satisfaction

Self-assessed satisfaction is typically measured on an ordinal scale ofverbal categories (``very satisfied,'' ``somewhat satisfied,'' etc.).Are the boundaries that persons implicitly set between contiguouscategories uniformly set across persons and/or across domains ofsatisfaction? Or are they variably sensitive to status characteristicsand/or to domain? Analysis of relevant data demonstrate systematicvariations and sensitivities in the semantics of satisfaction.Moreover, this semantic elasticity affects other estimates inmodels of self-assessed satisfaction.
Cutting edge: the Ets1 transcription factor is required for the development of NK T cells in mice.

Ets1-deficient mice develop B and T cells but display a severe defect in the development of the NK cell lineage. In this report, we demonstrate that Ets1 is also required for the development of NK1.1+ T (NK T) cells. We observed significantly decreased numbers of NK T cells in the thymus, spleen, and liver of Ets1-deficient mice. These organs also contained markedly decreased levels of the canonical Vα14-Jα281 TCRα transcript seen in NK T cells. Unlike wild-type NK T cells, Ets1-deficient thymocytes failed to produce detectable levels of IL-4 following anti-CD3 stimulation. The absence of NK T cells in the Ets1-deficient mice was not associated with defective expression of CD1, an MHC class I molecule required for NK T cell development. We conclude that Ets1 defines a novel transcriptional regulatory pathway that is required for the development of both the NK and NK T cell lineages.
Approximations to optimal feedback control using a successive wavelet collocation algorithm

Wavelets, which have many good properties such as time/frequency localization and compact support, are considered for solving the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation as appears in optimal control problems. Specifically, we propose a successive wavelet collocation algorithm that uses interpolating wavelets in a collocation scheme to iteratively solve the generalized-Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (GHJB) equation and the corresponding optimal control law. Numerical examples illustrate the proposed approach.
Synthesis of a polarization-controlled pattern for a wideband array by solving a second-order cone program

Jointly optimizing complex baseband FIR filters as element weights using second-order cone programming (SOCP) can synthesize a wideband array pattern having an arbitrarily polarized main beam with, in terms of L/sub 1/, L/sub 2/, L/sub /spl infin//, or other norms, its frequency response flattened and cross-polarization components strictly limited across the entire beam. Sidelobes and SNR measures can be just as flexibly controlled. A high-level interface to a fast solver minimizes the required programming.
Effect of double and triple bonds in fatty acid inhibitors upon desaturation of stearic acid by rat liver microsomes.

cis- and trans-octadecenoic acid isomers and octadecynoic acid isomers were used to test the bond specificity of unsaturated inhibitors upon desaturation of 18:0 by rat liver microsomes. Among the cis-octadecenoic acids, the 10- and 11-isomers were the strongest inhibitors. Comparison of isomeric cis-octadecenoic acids with isomeric octadecynoic acids revealed that an additional π-bond did not cause significantly stronger depressive effects. trans-Octadecenoic acids were equally or less inhibitory than corresponding cis-isomers.
Radiative mass generation and suppression of supersymmetric contributions to flavor changing processes

We explore the possibility that the masses for the first two generations of fermions and the quark flavor violation are generated radiatively in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. We assume that the source of all flavor violation resides in the the supersymmetry-breaking sector and is transmitted radiatively to the Standard Model fermion sector through finite corrections at low-energy. The approximate radiative alignment between the Yukawa and soft supersymmetry-breaking matrices, helps to suppress some of the supersymmetric contributions to flavor changing processes, overcoming current experimental constraints. This mechanism may also explain the nonobservation of proton decay, since flavor conservation in the superpotential would imply the suppression of dimension-five operators in supersymmetric grand unified theories.
Irrational thinking and negative emotionality in college students and applicants for mental health services.

Although Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET) would posit that greater levels of irrationality and negative emotionality will be found in distressed persons, this basic hypothesis has never been examined. In this study, 60 normal university students and 45 new client applicants for mental health services completed the Survey of Personal Beliefs to assess irrational ideation and the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the State-Trait Anger Inventory, the Problematic Situations Questionnaire, and the Profile of Mood States to assess negative emotionality. As predicted, the clinical group was found to be more anxious (p less than .01), more depressed (p less than .01), more confused (p less than .01), less vigorous (p less than .05), and to report lower frustration tolerance (p less than .05) as compared to the normal group. Overall, clinical subjects did not show higher levels of irrational thinking. However, clinical subjects with high depression scores had significantly higher overall irrational ideation in contrast to those in the normal group with low depression scores (p less than .05). Finally, significant correlations were found between overall irrational ideation and Trait Anger (p less than .01) and between overall irrational ideation and Total Guilt (p less than .05). Because the clinical group was significantly older by 10 years, replication with a larger number of subjects of equal ages is recommended.
Light reversal of a morphine-induced analgesia susceptibility rhythm in mice.

Durch Tag-Nacht-Umkehr konnte bei Mausen eine entsprechende Phasenverschiebung beim Muster der Sensibilitat fur die schmerzstillende Wirkung des Morphins erzielt werden.
Dispelling 10 common disaster recovery myths: Lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and other disasters

Disasters happen all the time; yet despite this, many organizations are caught unprepared or make unrealistic assumptions. These factors create environments that will fail during a disaster. Most information technology (IT) curricula do not cover disaster recovery (DR) plans and strategies in depth. The unfortunate result is that most new computer systems are implemented without sufficient disaster recovery plans and testing. Courses on network security need to examine DR as a real threat and cover it as a core module. By dispelling the 10 common myths, organizations can better plan, develop, and test true DR plans.
A defense of Collingwood's theory of presuppositions

Collingwood's theory of presuppositions has never been taken very seriously. But critics have completely overlooked its significance as a theory or model of inquiry intimately tied to certain aspects of discourse in a context of investigation. Viewed this way, Collingwood's theory is on very strong ground, especially when it is reconstructed with the aid of a formal language. The reconstruction shows what is essential to the theory and what is not, allowing us to disregard those of Collingwood's extravagant claims which have frustrated an understanding of his theory's real strength. The reconstruction also provides a general framework within which recent discussion of presuppositions can be unified.
Comparison between two vegetation indices for measuring different types of forest damage in the north-eastern United States

The relative effectiveness of the Landsat TM-derived normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) and the short-wave IR to NIR ratio (SWIR/NIR) index was examined in measurements of different types of damage in several forest communities. The forests examined included a site with well-defined fir waves in New Hampshire, a site undergoing well-documented coniferous forest decline in Vermont, and predominantly deciduous regions in Vermont and northwestern Massachusetts seriously impacted by pear thrips. Both NDVI and SWIR/NIR images were produced for each area. Results demonstrated that the SWIR/NIR index was superior to NDVI in distinguishing between high and low conifer damage at both fir-wave and forest decline sites; high and low deciduous-forest damage sites were easily separable using either NDVI or SWIR/NIR, but the NDVI was superior in separation between medium and low deciduous damage.
Phosphorus Bioavailability following Incorporation of Green Manure Crops

Incorporating green manure crops into soil may increase P bioavail-ability for succeeding crops. We conducted a greenhouse study to evaluate the effects of green manures on biomass and P utilization of a succeeding grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] crop. Four perennial forages and four winter annual cover crops were grown in pots, killed, and incorporated into the soil before planting sorghum in the same pots. Sorghum P uptake was positively correlated with perennial forage P uptake. Among winter cover crops, sorghum P uptake following white lupine (Lupinus albus L.) was lower than in all other treatments, including the control (no previous cover crop), even though lupine biomass, N content, and P uptake were two to three times greater than those of the other winter cover crops. Phosphorus uptake differed slightly among the other three winter cover crops but sorghum P uptake was not correlated to winter cover crop P uptake. Thus, among winter cover crops, plant type rather than P uptake seemed to influence the subsequent sorghum crop's P uptake. However, sorghum biomass following the three winter cover crops other than lupine was greater than sorghum biomass in the control treatment, indicating that there was a beneficial cover crop rotation effect among these three winter cover crops. Soil samples were collected and analyzed for Bray-1 P when green manure crops were planted, when they were incorporated into the soil, when sorghum was planted and when sorghum was harvested. These data showed that the Bray-1 soil P test has little potential to predict differences in P uptake and release among different types of green manures and it has limited potential to predict P uptake by sorghum following incorporation of green manures.
Experiments and modeling of the transport of trichloroethene vapor in unsaturated aquifer material

A bench-scale reactor system was used to investigate mass-transfer dynamics and transport of trichloroethene (TCE) vapor in a column of unsaturated aquifer material under conditions of advective gas flow, at 25 C and 90% relative humidity. Two gas flows and two relative vapor pressures of TCE (10% and 90% P/P{sub o}, where P is vapor pressure and P{sub o} is the saturation vapor pressure) were selected as experimental variables. Breakthrough curves were generated for week-long inputs of TCE-laden air and for short pulses of a nonsorbing tracer gas. Equilibrium sorption isotherms for TCE were also measured and used as tools for interpreting the column experiment results. Slow mass-transfer kinetics were observed in all of the transport experiments. Evidence from the breakthrough curves and the sorption isotherms suggested that, at 90% P/P{sub o}, a significant amount of TCE was condensed in pores or sorbed at the gas-water interface. Desorption and volatilization of interfacially sorbed TCE appeared to be rapid processes. The applicability of a recently developed mathematical transport model using a statistical {gamma} distribution of desorption rate constants was tested using the experimental data. The {gamma} distribution provides two adjustable parameters to account for sorption site heterogeneity and multiple mechanisms ofmore » sorption. When fit to the breakthrough curve obtained at high flow and high relative pressure, the model successfully predicted TCE frontal breakthrough and elution profiles at all other experimental conditions with no adjustable parameters. The predictive capability of the {gamma} model was shown to be superior to that of two commonly used alternative model paradigms: the two-site first-order and two-site spherical diffusion models.« less
Phase structures of binary lipid bilayers as revealed by permeability of small molecules.

The effects of changes in bilayer phase structure on the permeability of acetic acid and trimethylacetic acid were studied in large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) composed of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC)/cholesterol (CHOL), dihexadecylphosphatidylcholine (DHPC)/CHOL, or DPPC/dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) using an NMR line-broadening method. Phase transitions were induced by changes in temperature and lipid composition (i.e., XCHOL was varied from 0.0 to 0.5 and XDMPC from 0.0 to 1.0). In DPPC/CHOL and DHPC/CHOL bilayers, the addition of CHOL induces only a modest change in the permeability coefficient (Pm) of acetic acid in the gel-phase (Pbeta') but significantly reduces Pm in ordered and disordered liquid-crystalline phases (Lo and Lalpha). Abrupt changes in slopes in semi-logarithmic plots of Pm vs. XCHOL occur at specific values of XCHOL and temperature corresponding to the boundaries between Pbeta' and Lo or between Lalpha and Lo phases. In most respects, phase diagrams generated from the break points in plots of Pm vs. XCHOL obtained at various temperatures in DHPC/CHOL and DPPC/CHOL bilayers closely resemble those constructed previously for DPPC/CHOL bilayers using NMR and DSC methods. Above Tm, the phase diagrams generated from permeability data reveal the presence of both the disordered (Lalpha) and the ordered (Lo) liquid-crystalline phases, as well as the two-phase coexistence region. In DPPC/DMPC bilayers, the addition of DMPC increases Pm dramatically in the gel phase but only slightly in the liquid-crystalline phase. Abrupt changes in slopes in semi-logarithmic plots of Pm vs. XDMPC also occur at specific values of XDMPC and temperature, from which a phase diagram can be constructed which closely resembles diagrams obtained previously by other methods. These correlations indicate that trans-bilayer permeability measurements can be used to construct lipid bilayer phase diagrams. Positive deviations of Pm from predicted values based on the phase lever rule are observed in the two-phase coexistence regions with the degree of the deviation depending on bilayer chemical composition and temperature. These results may reflect a specific contribution of the interfacial region between two phases to higher solute permeability or may be due to the higher lateral compressibility of lipid bilayers in the two-phase coexistence region.
Effect of artificial light on the drift of aquatic insects in urban central Texas streams

Light pollution can reduce night time drift of larval aquatic insects in urban streams by disrupting their circadian rhythms. Previous studies on larval insect drift show that disruption in drift leads to changes in reproduction as well as intraspecific and interspecific interactions. The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary investigation into the effects of extreme artificial light on insect drift in urbanized, high clarity spring systems of the karst Edwards Plateau, TX. We quantified taxa richness, diversity, and abundance in aquatic insect night time drift under two treatments (ambient night time light and artificial light addition) and among five streams using a paired design. Richness and diversity of drifting aquatic insects were similar between treatments but abundance was 37% less in the light addition treatment than that of the control. Effects of light addition on mean abundance was more notable in large streams with a 58% decrease in Simuliidae (compared to that of the control) a...
Multi-objective and constrained optimization for DS-CDMA code design based on the clonal selection principle

This paper proposes two new algorithms based on the clonal selection principle for the design of spreading codes for DS-CDMA. The first algorithm follows a multi-objective approach, generating complex spreading codes with ''good'' auto as well as cross-correlation properties. It also enables spreading code design with no restrictions on the number of users or code length. The algorithm maintains a repertoire of codes that are subject to cloning and undergo a process of affinity maturation to obtain better codes. Results indicate that the produced code sets lie very close to the theoretical Pareto front. A second penalty function-based constrained optimization algorithm based on clonal selection is proposed. It is applied to the design of spreading codes with pre-defined power spectral density requirement. The results suggest that the algorithm is capable of lowering significantly, the power spectra at undesired frequencies. Therefore, with the proposed algorithm, a DS-CDMA transmitter can, for the first time, selectively transmit power across the transmission bandwidth and adjust to jammers and other interferers. This study illustrates that using two stages of multi-objective and constrained optimization, using the proposed clonal selection algorithms, is an effective code design strategy.
Mitral valve “anular” calcium forming a complete circle or “O” configuration: Clinical and necropsy observations

Attention is called to the occurrence of a complete circle or "O"-shaped ring of calcium at the mitral anular region in each of two women, aged 67 and 82 years. Extension of mitral anular calcium from behind the posterior mitral leaflet across the ventricular aspect of the anterior mitral leaflet to form a complete circle has not been reported previously.
Multiple Perspectives on Internationalizing the Business School Curriculum: The Why, What, and How

Internationalization is the incorporation of international contents, materials, activities and understandings into the teaching, research, and public service functions of universities to enhance their relevance in an interdependent world. (Definition adopted at the conference on Internationalizing U.S. Universities: A Time for Leadership, Spokane, WA, June 5–7, 1990)
Laboratory experiments demonstrate that bubble curtains can effectively inhibit movement of common carp

Abstract Although bubble curtains have been proposed many times as practical and inexpensive solutions to hinder the movement of invasive fish, few studies have examined why or how they might work. By understanding how bubble curtains influence fish behavior, management tools could be developed to control movement of invasive fish. In this study, the common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) was used to examine the performance of three different bubble curtains (fine-, graded-, and coarse-bubble) and acoustically enhanced systems in an indoor channel. Trials revealed that the graded- and coarse-bubble systems reduced common carp passage across the curtain by 75–85% in both up- and down-stream directions. Concurrent acoustic field measurements revealed that these bubble curtains generated sound near 200 Hz at approximately 130 dB (ref 1 μPa), well above the common carp hearing threshold. Further testing with speaker arrays and lighting indicated that carp avoidance of the bubble curtain involved responses to sound and fluid motion rather than visual cues. Although field tests are warranted, our results suggest that bubble curtains may be a viable and inexpensive deterrence system to limit common carp movement.
Multi-objective optimization of an actively shielded superconducting field winding

An important challenge in the design of air-core superconducting machines is the containment of the magnetic fields within the electric machine. Current solutions result in large reductions of the high power density achievable through the use of superconducting windings. To address this challenge, an actively shielded electromagnet design, an approach commonly used in MRI magnet designs, is considered. This topology utilizes a set of main coils to produce armature MMF, while including another set of oppositely excited compensating coils to mitigate the fields radiating outside the machine. This approach eliminates or reduces the use of steel in a passive magnetic shield, allowing for very high power density machines. Furthermore, a multi-objective optimization scheme is introduced to minimize two competing objectives, superconducting coil usage and machine radius. Results show a 32% decrease in machine radius with a 33% increase in coil size.
Methylmercury in mosquitoes around a large coal-fired power plant in central Ohio.

Emissions from coal-fired power plants are the major anthropogenic source of mercury (Hg) in the environment. Because emitted Hg can be deposited near the source, concerns arise about the effects of coal-burning facilities on levels of toxic methylmercury (MeHg) in biota near such sources. We investigated the potential impact of a large Hg-emitting (450 kg in 2005) coal-fired power station in Conesville, Ohio, on MeHg levels in adult mosquitoes near the plant. In July 2010, mosquitoes were sampled at 23 locations within a 60-km radius of the plant and at three reference sites distant from major combustion sources of Hg. Nearly all of the Hg in mosquitoes appeared in the form of MeHg (mean = 91%). Concentrations of MeHg in mosquitoes were unrelated to either distance or direction from the Conesville plant and did not differ from those at the three reference sites. Moreover, measured levels of MeHg in mosquitoes near Conesville are in good agreement with those predicted from an empirical relationship to wet atmospheric Hg fluxes alone. This suggests that either little of the Hg emitted from the Conesville plant is deposited locally or near-source deposition of Hg does not have a significant impact on MeHg in mosquitoes and, by extension, other insects with similar life histories in the local food web. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012; 31: 1657–1661. © 2012 SETAC
Inversion of refraction data from the Fram and Nansen Basins of the Arctic Ocean

Abstract As a part of the Fram 2 experiment (March–May 1980) six refraction lines were shot in the Pole Abyssal Plain or Fram Basin of the eastern Arctic Ocean. During the Fram 4 experiment (March–May 1982), four refraction lines were also shot in the Nansen basin just northeast of the Yermak Plateau. The Fram 2 lines at 86°N, 24°W cover both the abyssal plain region and the northern flank of the Morris Jessup Rise near magnetic anomalies 22 and 23. The Fram 4 lines near 83°N, 15°–20°E are on slightly younger crust at anomaly 12. In this paper we introduce new methods for processing and inversion of Arctic refraction data and contrast the results from these tectonically similar regions on opposite sides of the spreading center at the Arctic Mid-Ocean (Nansen) Ridge. In both experiments the data were recorded digitally on a two-dimensional array of 24 hydrophones located 93 m below the floe camps. These multi-channel data are processed by high-resolution array processing techniques to yield velocity spectra over the short 1 km apertures of the arrays. These velocity spectra are transformed to tau-slowness and offset-slowness parameterizations and are inverted by 1. (1) velocity-depth migration 2. (2) tau-sum 3. (3) extremal inversion techniques to obtain crustal velocity models down to the Moho. Without the ability of the array processing to discern late breaking primaries, multiples, and shear arrivals, the sparsely shot lines with 5–15 offsets over the 30–100 km line lengths would not be invertible by these methods. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of arrays in determining crustal structure under the constraints of Arctic ice pack environment.
In situ ultraviolet spectrophotometry for high resolution and long-term monitoring of nitrate, bromide and bisulfide in the ocean

Abstract The design for an in situ ultraviolet spectrophotometer (ISUS) that can operate while submerged to depths of at least 2000 m is reported. We show that the ISUS can be used to make high resolution (∼1/s and 0.5 cm) and long-term (>3 months) measurements of the concentration of nitrate, bisulfide and bromide in seawater using the distinctive, ultraviolet absorption spectra of these chemical species. The precision, accuracy and stability of the chemical concentrations derived with the ISUS are sufficient for many biogeochemical studies. One standard deviation of the nitrate concentration in seawater is ∼0.5 μM and the limit of detection (3 SD) for one observation would be ∼1.5 μM. However, the noise is nearly random and significant reductions in the detection limit are possible by averaging multiple observations. The 95% confidence interval for a 30 s scan is 0.2 μM. Low temperatures appear to produce a bias (∼10% at 400 m depth in the ocean) in the nitrate concentration and in the salinity estimated from the bromide concentration. If an independent estimate of salinity is available, then the bias in nitrate can be eliminated by correcting nitrate concentrations by the same amount that the optical estimate of salinity is in error. The instrument has been deployed on a mooring in the equatorial Pacific for a 6-month period with no apparent degradation in performance during the first 3 months. Measurements of UV spectra at a height of 1 cm over the bottom in a cold seep at 960 m depth demonstrate the capability to detect bisulfide ion within the benthic boundary layer.
Islamic banking in theory and practice: the experience of Bangladesh

Defines an Islamic bank, notes their rapid growth in the last twenty years and explains the financial instruments they use to conform with the prohibition on interest. Considers how they might enhance both urban and rural development in Islamic countries, and the feasibility of an Islamic futures market. Describes the operations of the Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (the first in SE Asia) and assesses its domestic and international performance, providing many statistical appendices. Recognizes some outstanding problems (e.g. suitable training, legal framework etc.) but believes the bank has great potential for assisting development and shows that “banking without interest is feasible”,
Putting the Subject back into Color: Accessibility in Goethe's Zur Farbenlehre

This article discusses Goethe’s theory of color and his (at times vitriolic) diatribes against the Newtonians by situating his work within two contexts, one political and the other intellectual. The political context is Goethe’s dismay over the rise of obscurantism, typified by the Illuminati movement of the late eighteenth century, with secrecy and elitism as its hallmarks. The intellectual context is the tradition of German Idealism. He was fundamentally committed to understanding the relationship between the subject, or the investigator of nature (or Naturforscher), and the object, or nature itself. How can a Naturforscher, who is a part of nature, be able to depict it objectively?
Teaching recursion as a problem-solving tool using standard ML

Standard ML is a state of the art functional programming language, with features that make it excellent for teaching recursion and problem solving at the introductory level. Among the many pedagogically interesting characteristics of ML are its simple and uniform syntax, its type polymorphism and type inferencing system, and datatype declaration facilities. With little formal ML instruction, after several weeks first year students were able to use recursively defined data structures and to define fairly powerful recursive functions in ML. Standard ML is highly recommended as a tool for teaching recursive problem solving in the context of a course on the foundations of computer science.
On Steady Rate Coupling Between an Elastic Upper Crust and a Viscous Interior

Although it is commonly accepted that the upper (seismogenic) layer of the Earth's crust deforms elastically except in localized zones (faults) where deformation is discontinuous, the sub-seismogenic layer is not as well understand. Possibilities for the rheology include viscous or viscoelastic behavior, and localization of shear to relatively thin zones (that can sometimes be >1 km in width). If the sub-seismogenic layer is viscous or viscoelastic, then during interseismic periods a steady rate of deformation will be achieved after transients associated with viscoelastic relaxation have decayed away (for sufficiently long earthquake cycles). I find that in this situation the motion in the elastic layer is decoupled from that deep within the viscous layer, and they may be very different from each other. This implies that one can not use contemporary geodetic data to infer steady motion in a viscous sub-seismogenic layer (although it may be used to study viscoelastic relaxation).
Fluorescent multicolor multiplex homogeneous assay for the simultaneous analysis of the two most common hemochromatosis mutations.

Abstract We report the development of a qualitative fluorescent multiplex homogeneous assay designed for the detection of the two most common hemochromatosis mutations using dual-labeled fluorescent probes. The assay is able to detect four allelic variants in a single closed tube using a single thermocycling protocol. The procedure combines the great sensitivity of the polymerase chain reaction, the specificity provided by allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization using the 5′ nuclease assay format, and the higher throughput of a multicolor fluorescence detection procedure. Genomic DNA was prepared from whole blood specimens using standard procedures. Following DNA sample preparation, two regions of the hemochromatosis gene (HFE) including the H63D and C282Y mutations were coamplified and detected in real-time by four different fluorescently labeled allele-specific oligonucleotide probes. Assay specificity was demonstrated by a blind methods comparison study that included 37 DNA samples from individuals with a known HFE genotype. Results from the study showed that the multicolor multiplex HFE assay unambiguously classified all possible genotypes for the HFE gene C282Y and H63D mutations 1 . This technique will be useful for research and molecular diagnostic laboratories and can be easily adapted for the detection of other single nucleotide polymorphisms.
Existence-uniqueness and monotone approximation for a phytoplankton-zooplankton aggregation model

In this paper, we study a model that describes the dynamics of phytoplankton and zooplankton prey-predator system within the context of phytoplankton aggregation. Existence-uniqueness results of the solution are established via a comparison principle and the upper-lower solution technique.
‘I Am Elena’: rhetorical analysis as the first step to a ‘best practices’ formula for sex trafficking Public Service Announcements

This paper utilizes rhetorical analysis and feminist semiotic methodology to examine an anti-trafficking Public Service Announcement video produced in the United Kingdom and widely distributed online for a global audience. Rhetorical analysis necessitates looking not just at the meanings and possible interpretations of a communicated message, but also at the creators’ intent and the effect of the message through actual – or potential – audience response. All of these sites of meaning and interpretation are examined in this research project, and the author concludes with several guidelines for future anti-trafficking mass media campaigns, as well as suggestions for further research, specifically audience studies.