cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Magnetic Properties of Diluted Ferrites Near Ferromagnetic Resonance in Millimeter Waves

Magnetic permeability and dielectric permittivity characteristics of barium and strontium ferrite materials in broad band millimeter wave frequency range have been obtained. The measurements have been done using free-space quasi-optical millimeter wave spectrometer in tunable magnetic field up to 8.5 kOe. A set of backward wave oscillators have been used as sources of high power coherent radiation tunable in 34 -120 GHz frequency range. Magneto-optical approach has been successfully employed for the separation of dielectric and magnetic effects in ferrites and simultaneous determination of complex dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability of materials. Zone of strong absorption in the transmittance through the samples due to ferromagnetic resonance in millimeter waves has been observed. Shift of the ferromagnetic resonance to higher frequencies and broadening of the zone of strong absorption in transverse magnetic field have been observed. It has been shown that a variation in the chemical composition of ferrites leads to a change in the magnetic properties as well as absorption of materials in the millimeter wave range.
Harvesting Energy From the Nonlinear Oscillations of a Bistable Piezoelectric Inertial Energy Generator

Piezoelectric materials constitute an efficient transduction medium for passive power generation from ambient vibrations. As such, the unimorph and bimorph piezoelectric laminate linear beam is a prolifically researched energy harvesting device. The linear modeling framework is amenable to analytical solutions and frequency matching inertial energy generators to environmental oscillations is a seemingly ideal solution. Realistically, however, environmental disturbances are rarely of one particular frequency and linear oscillators are capable of strong responses only within a limited frequency range about system resonance. In view of these shortcomings, this paper builds upon a new research direction and shift in design philosophy toward purposefully incorporating nonlinearity into energy harvesting systems. In particular, the nonlinear magnetic forces of repulsion are introduced at the free end of a cantilevered bimorph piezoelectric beam, where the separation distance between two opposing permanent magnets doubles as a controllable bifurcation parameter. The numerical results demonstrate the efficacy of the nonlinear responses to yield markedly increased power levels when subject to deterministic excitations of varying forcing frequency and amplitude.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
The Changing Roles of the Systems Analyst

The role of the systems analyst continues to be integral to the backbone of the organization-the organization's information system. The nature of the systems analysts' activities and work environment has undergone many changes in recent years. A more computer literate user community, new systems innovations, and a move toward cooperative systems development have contributed to these changes. This study attempted to develop and clarify the roles of the systems analyst based upon the frequency of selected systems analyst activities within the context of human relationships encountered by the systems analyst.
Complicating the Political Scientist as Blogger

In our efforts to make blogging an acceptable component of an academic career in political science, we ought not tame the practice of blogging beyond recognition. Multiple models exist under which blogging can contribute to the discipline of political science and through which political scientists can contribute to the public sphere.
Evidence for Hominid Predation at Klasies River Mouth, South Africa, and its Implications for the Behaviour of Early Modern Humans

Abstract I report the results of a microscopic study of the bone modification in the identified bovid assemblage from Cave 1 at Klasies River Mouth (KRM), in South Africa. The study was undertaken in an effort to resolve divergent interpretations of the predatory competence of the early modern humans there. The microscopic data suggest that the hominids had relatively unrestricted access to the choicest parts of bovids in all size classes. The carnivore damage signature is ephemeral; it does not support assertions that large carcasses were carnivore-ravaged before their appropriation by hominids or that carnivores contributed a meaningful number of smaller bovids to the faunal assemblage. The data therefore lead to the conclusion that hominids were the sole, regular accumulators of bovids in all size classes. That many of those bovids were obtained by active hunting is suggested by the tip of a stone point embedded in a cervical vertebra of the extinct giant buffalo, Pelorovis antiquus . Finally, some attributes of the butchering patterning hint that the Klasies hominids formed socially mediated task groups to accomplish labour-intensive tasks. These results challenge the general perception that modern morphology pre-dated modern behaviour and the specific assertion that the KRM hominids were behaviourally very primitive. The KRM hominids were apparently active hunters who produced composite tools and who planned and executed complex tasks within a social framework. To the extent that these behaviours presage the modern condition, the KRM hominids were as behaviourally near-modern as they were anatomically near-modern.
Structure—Reactivity Relationships of Metallothionein, a Unique Metal-Binding Protein

Abstract Metallothionein is an intensively studied protein, which binds a variety of essential, toxic, and pharmacologically active metals, including Zn, Cd, Au, and Pt. Until recently, attention focused primarily on its biological properties and static features of its chemistry. It is now apparent that metallothionein is a remarkably reactive protein in metal exchange and ligand substitution reactions and in its interactions with a number of electrophilic compounds, which are both metallic and organic in nature. This unique behavior finds its basis in the dynamic character of its metal—ligand structure, which is sensitively probed by 113Cd NMR techniques. In an effort to relate the chemistry of metallothionein to its cellular activities, it is shown that the kinetic reactivity of the metal binding sites of metallothionein distinguishes it from other typical metalloproteins involved in enzyme catalysis. The rich inorganic chemistry of this structure is clearly important for some of its known functions and...
A feasibility study of chiropractic spinal manipulation versus sham spinal manipulation for chronic otitis media with effusion in children.

Abstract Background: Pediatric otitis media with effusion is a common and costly condition. Although chiropractors have anecdotally claimed success in treating otitis media, there is little research to support their claims. Objective: A pilot study was undertaken for the purpose of assessing the feasibility of conducting a full-scale randomized clinical trial investigating the efficacy of chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) for children with chronic otitis media with effusion. Methods: This study was a prospective, parallel-group, observer-blinded, randomized feasibility study. Twenty-two patients, ages 6 months to 6 years, received either active chiropractic SMT or placebo chiropractic SMT. Otoscopy and tympanometry were used to create a middle ear status profile, and daily diaries were collected. Results: Five newspaper advertisements over 6 months generated 105 responses. Twenty patients subsequently qualified and were randomized into the study. Collection of tympanometric and otoscopic data proved to be challenging. Compliance with the treatment and evaluation protocols and daily diaries was excellent. There were no reports of serious side effects as a result of either the active or placebo chiropractic treatments. Conclusion: Recruitment for a randomized controlled trial is feasible and could be enhanced by medical collaboration. Patients and parents are able and willing to participate in a study comparing active SMT and placebo SMT. Parents were extremely compliant with the daily diaries, suggesting that similar quality-of-life and functional status measures can be successfully used in a larger trial. We found the objective outcomes assessment involving tympanometry and otoscopy extremely challenging and should be performed by experienced examiners in future studies. (J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1999; 22:292–8)
1,1'-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene ligand substitution in the benzylidyne-capped cluster PhCCo3 (CO)9. Synthesis, X-ray structure, and redox reactivity of PhCCo3(CO)7(dppf)

Abstract The reaction between 1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (dppf) and the tricobalt cluster PhCCo 3 (CO) 9 ( 1 ) yields the disubstituted cluster PhCCo 3 (CO) 7 (dppf) ( 2 ). The dppf ligand in 2 bridges adjacent cobalt centers via axial coordination. Ligand substitution leading to 2 may be achieved by thermolysis, oxidative decarbonylation using trimethylamine oxide, and by electrontransfer chain (ETC) catalysis using sodium benzophenone ketyl. The isolated yield of 2 ranged from 50 to 70% in all cases. Solution characterization of 2 by FT-IR and 31 P NMR spectroscopy is presented along with the single-crystal X-ray diffraction results. The dppf-bridged cluster PhCCo 3 (CO) 7 (dppf)·(toluene) crystallized in the monoclinic space group P 2 1 / c with a = 13.560(3), b = 17.339(3), c = 21.482(3) A, β = 106.81(1)°, V = 4835(1) A 3 and Z = 4. Block-cascade least-squares refinement yielded R = 0.0630 for 5055 ( I > 3σ( I )) reflections. The redox reactivity of 2 was examined by cyclic voltammetry, which revealed the presence of two irreversible oxidations that are attributed to the oxidation of the dppf ligand and the cluster core along with the observation of an irreversible reduction that exhibits cyclic voltammetric curve crossing. All of the redox processes are discussed with respect to existing tricobalt cluster redox chemistry.
Butterfly-shaped pigment dystrophy of the fovea caused by a point mutation in codon 167 of the RDS gene.

Butterfly–shaped pigment dystrophy of the fovea is an autosomal dominant eye disease characterized by a bilateral accumulation of yellowish or pigmented material at the level of the retinal pigment epithelium. It shares some clinical and histopathologic features with age related macular degeneration which is the most common cause of legal blindness in older patients. We screened affected patients from a three generation family with butterfly dystrophy for mutations in candidate genes. A base substitution was identified in the peripherin (RDS) gene and DMA sequencing revealed a G to A transition in codon 167 that substitutes aspartic acid for a highly conserved glycine. The mutation segregates with the disease phenotype (Zmax = 4, Θ = 0) strongly suggesting that it causes the macular disease in this family.
Matrix metalloproteinase triple-helical peptidase activities are differentially regulated by substrate stability.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are involved in physiological remodeling as well as pathological destruction of tissues. The turnover of the collagen triple-helical structure has been ascribed to several members of the MMP family, but the determinants for collagenolytic specificity have not been identified. The present study has compared the triple-helical peptidase activities of MMP-1 and MMP-14 (membrane-type 1 MMP; MT1-MMP). The ability of each enzyme to efficiently hydrolyze the triple helix was quantified using chemically synthesized fluorogenic triple-helical substrates that, via addition of N-terminal alkyl chains, differ in their thermal stabilities. One series of substrates was modeled after a collagenolytic MMP consensus cleavage site from types I−III collagen, while the other series had a single substitution in the P1‘ subsite of the consensus sequence. The substitution of Cys(4-methoxybenzyl) for Leu in the P1‘ subsite was greatly favored by MMP-14 but disfavored by MMP-1. An increase in subs...
Surface Properties of Native Human Plasma Lipoproteins and Lipoprotein Models

Plasma lipoprotein surface properties are important but poorly understood determinants of lipoprotein catabolism. To elucidate the relation between surface properties and surface reactivity, the physical properties of surface monolayers of native lipoproteins and lipoprotein models were investigated by fluorescent probes of surface lipid fluidity, surface lateral diffusion, and interfacial polarity, and by their reactivity to Naja melanoleuca phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Native lipoproteins were human very low, low-, and subclass 3 high-density lipoproteins (VLDL, LDL, and HDL3); models were 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) or its ether analog in single-bilayer vesicles, large and small microemulsions of POPC and triolein, and reassembled HDL (apolipoprotein A-I plus phospholipid). Among lipoproteins, surface lipid fluidity increased in the order HDL3 < LDL < VLDL, varying inversely with their (protein + cholesterol)/phospholipid ratios. Models resembled VLDL in fluidity. Both lateral mobility in the surface monolayer and polarity of the interfacial region were lower in native lipoproteins than in models. Among native lipoproteins and models, increased fluidity in the surface monolayer was associated with increased reactivity to PLA2. Addition of cholesterol (up to 20 mol%) to models had little effect on PLA2 activity, whereas the addition of apolipoprotein C-III stimulated it. Single-bilayer vesicles, phospholipid-triolein microemulsions, and VLDL have surface monolayers that are quantitatively similar, and distinct from those of LDL and HDL3. Surface property and enzymatic reactivity differences between lipoproteins and models were associated with differences in surface monolayer protein and cholesterol contents. Thus differences in the surface properties that regulate lipolytic reactivity are a predictable function of surface composition.
The effect of language experience on perceptual normalization of Mandarin tones and non-speech pitch contours

Context-dependent pitch perception helps listeners recognize tones produced by speakers with different fundamental frequencies (f0s). The role of language experience in tone normalization remains unclear. In this cross-language study of tone normalization, native Mandarin and English listeners were asked to recognize Mandarin Tone 1 (high-flat) and Tone 2 (mid-rising) with a preceding Mandarin sentence. To further test whether context-dependent pitch perception is speech-specific or domain-general, both language groups were asked to identify non-speech flat and rising pitch contours with a preceding non-speech flat pitch contour. Results showed that both Mandarin and English listeners made more rising responses with non-speech than with speech stimuli, due to differences in spectral complexity and listening task between the two stimulus types. English listeners made more rising responses than Mandarin listeners with both speech and non-speech stimuli. Contrastive context effects (more rising responses in the high-f0 context than in the low-f0 context) were found with both speech and non-speech stimuli for Mandarin listeners, but not for English listeners. English listeners' lack of tone experience may have caused more rising responses and limited use of context f0 cues. These results suggest that context-dependent pitch perception in tone normalization is domain-general, but influenced by long-term language experience.
The regulation of lipid synthesis in primary cultures of hepatocytes from nonketotic streptozotocin diabetic rats.

Abstract Primary cultures of rat hepatocytes were utilized to study insulin resistance in the liver of nonketotic streptozotocin diabetic animals. Normal control and 72-hr fasted animals were also studied for comparison. Basal lipogenesis in primary cultures of hepatocytes from fasted rats is 47% of that in hepatocytes from normal animals and is resistant to the acute effects of insulin. In contrast, the lipogenic response to the chronic (20 hr) exposure to insulin is the same as that of primary cultures of hepatocytes from normal rats. In addition, the acute responsiveness to insulin is restored to normal when primary cultures are incubated for 20 hr with 10−9M insulin. Basal lipogenesis in primary cultures of hepatocytes from diabetic rats is only 20% of that in hepatocytes from normal control animals and is resistent to both the acute and chronic exposure to insulin. Furthermore, hepatocytes from diabetic animals cultured for 20 hr in the presence of insulin (10−9M) remain resistant to the acute effects of insulin on lipid synthesis. Insulin administration to diabetic rats, however, markedly enhances both basal and insulin responsive lipogenesis in subsequently cultured hepatocytes. The chronic (20 hr) exposure to glucose, fructose, glycerol, pyruvate, and acetate has no enhancing effect on the rate of lipid synthesis and insulin responsiveness in primary cultures from diabetic rats. This was true whether lipid synthesis was evaluated from (14C)-acetate or 3H2O. The present studies demonstrate that neither insulin, a variety of glycolytic intermediates, nor a combination of the two leads to a recovery of lipogenesis or insulin responsiveness in primary cultures of hepatocytes from diabetic animals. The data suggest that in vivo factors other than insulin are important in the recovery of lipogenesis and insulin responsiveness in the liver of diabetic animals.
Donnan Dialysis Matrix Normalization for Cathodic Stripping Voltammetry

Abstract Previously reported cathodic stripping methods for the determination of phosphate and arsenate which were based upon reversible oxidation of Fe (II) to sparingly soluble salts at an inert electrode were subject to several interferences and were influenced by the sample matrix. In the present study Donnan dialysis was used to transfer the test ions from the sample into a controlled electrolyte. Subsequently, stripping analysis was performed. The resulting determinations were independent of the matrix of the original sample over a wide variety of conditions. Using lake water and wastewater samples, results were obtained which were statistically equivalent to widely accepted analytical procedures for trace level determinations.
Metastasis Suppressors and Their Roles in Breast Carcinoma

Metastasis remains the most deadly aspect of cancer and still evades direct treatment. Clinically and experimentally, primary tumor development and metastasis are distinct processes-locally growing tumors can progress without the development of metastases. The discovery of endogenous molecules that exclusively inhibit metastasis suggests that metastasis is an amenable therapeutic target. By definition, metastasis suppressors inhibit metastasis without inhibiting tumorigenicity and are thus distinct from tumor suppressors. As the biology underlying functional mechanisms of metastasis suppressors becomes clearer, it is evident that metastasis suppressors could be harnessed as direct drug targets, prognostic markers, and to understand the fundamental biology of the metastatic process. Metastasis suppressors vary widely in their cellular localization: they are found in every cellular compartment and some are secreted. In general, metastasis suppressors appear to regulate selectively how cells respond to exogenous signals, by affecting signaling cascades which regulate downstream gene expression. This review briefly summarizes current functional and biochemical data on metastasis suppressors implicated in breast cancer. We also present a schematic integrating known mechanisms for these metastasis suppressors highlighting potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
A further evaluation of the effect of age on striate cortex of the rhesus monkey

The brains of 14 rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) between 4 and 35 years old were examined to determine the effects of aging on the thickness, neuronal frequency, fine structure, surface area, and volume of striate cortex. The effects of aging were ascertained by comparing the striate cortex in the six monkeys between 4 and 12 years of age with that of the eight monkeys over 25 years of age. The brains of the monkeys were all fixed by vascular perfusion and except for one of the old monkeys, whose age was estimated, the exact ages of all of the monkeys are known. One micron thick sections of plastic embedded cortex from one hemisphere of each monkey were examined by light microscopy to determine the thickness of the striate cortex, and neuronal frequency was determined by counting the numbers of neurons displaying nuclei in 250 microns-wide strips passing through the thickness of the cortex. When young monkeys were compared with the old ones, no differences were found in either the thickness of the cortex or in the numbers of neuronal profiles beneath unit areas of cortical surface. This suggests that neurons are not lost with age, and when the cortices were examined by electron microscopy there was no indication that the cell bodies of neurons are degenerating, except possibly in layer 1. Serial, 30 microns-thick, Nissl stained frozen sections from the other hemisphere of each monkey were used to determine both the surface area and the volume of the striate cortex. Overall, the surface area varied between 702 and 1480 mm2, with a mean value of 956 mm2, but there was no indication that the surface area decreased with age, and the same is true for the volume of striate cortex. The conclusion is that while there is a large variation in the amount of cortex occupied by area 17, there is no indication that its thickness, volume, or number of neurons is altered by age.
Neutral and stereospecific Tc-99m complexes: [99mTc]N-benzyl-3,4-di-(N-2-mercaptoethyl)-amino- pyrrolidines (P-BAT)

Technetium-99m-labeled radiopharmaceuticals are currently the most commonly used agents in nuclear medicine. To prepare binding site-specific small molecules containing a Tc-99m complexing core, it is important to consider a ligand system, which selectively forms only one stereoisomer. A novel series of bisaminoethanethiol (BAT) derivatives as a model system were prepared. Stereoisomers of N-benzyl-3,4-di(N-2-mercaptoethyl)-amino pyrrolidines (P-BAT): (3R,4R)-P-BAT (R,R-4) and (3,4)meso-P-BAT (8), the trans and meso isomer, respectively, as a chelating group were prepared successfully. The desired Tc-99m P-BAT complexes were obtained by using Sn(II)/glucoheptonate as the reducing agent for [99mTc]pertechnetate. As predicted, after complexation with [99mTc]Tc'O, the trans isomer, (3R,4R)-P-BAT (R,R-4), showed only one isomer; whereas the corresponding meso isomer, (3,4)meso-P-BAT (8), produced two distinctive complexes isolated readily by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The [99mTc](R,S) meso-P-BAT (8) isomers showed a different lipophilicity (partition coefficient [P.C.] = 54.3 and 55.4 for peak A and peak B, respectively), as compared with that of the corresponding [99mTc](3R,4R)-P-BAT (R,R-4), trans isomer (P.C. = 163). Results of the biodistribution study in rats of these isomers show different heart and brain uptake, suggesting that the intrinsic differences in biodistribution are due to structural and stereospecific factors. Examples in this report confirm that it is possible to design stereospecific Tc-99m complexes based on the bisaminoethanethiol (N2S2, BAT) ligand system. Consideration on stereoselectivity of site-specific agents labeled with Tc-99m is likely an essential requirement on developing binding-site specific radiopharmaceuticals.
Association between amino acid alterations and hallucinations in alcoholic patients

Because available evidence suggests that alterations in the serotonergic as well as dopaminergic tones underlie hallucinatory activity, we decided to investigate whether serotonin and dopamine pathways are modified in alcoholics with a history of hallucinosis. Brain serotonin has been shown to depend on the plasma ratio of its precursor tryptophan over other amino acids competing with it for brain entry. Similarly, brain dopamine depends on the plasma ratio of its precursors phenylalanine and dopamine over their competitors. Amino acid abnormalities are common in alcoholics. For this reason, we assessed whether alcoholics who had experienced hallucinations have alterations in amino acids believed to be associated with neurotransmitter modifications. Patients with a history of hallucinations were found to have a tryptophan ratio significantly lower than that of patients without such a history, and a tyrosine + phenylalanine ratio significantly higher. These data suggest that amino acid abnormalities believed to result in decreased brain serotonin and in increased brain dopamine render certain individuals more vulnerable to hallucinatory experiences.
Quantisation of scalar and vector fields inside the cosmological event horizon and its application to the Hawking effect

Discusses the quantisation of the scalar and vector fields with non-zero masses inside the event horizon of de Sitter spacetime by using the static coordinate system. The commutators for creation and annihilation operators are derived from the local canonical commutation relations. The author then calculates the response of these fields to monochromatic multipole sources in the vacuum defined in the coordinate system which describes the expanding half of de Sitter spacetime. It is found, as expected, that it is the same as that in thermal equilibrium in the static coordinate system with the well known Hawking temperature.
Kinetics of Reactions Relevant to the Chemical Vapor Deposition of Indium Compounds

The kinetics of trimethylindium pyrolysis are investigated in a flow reactor equipped with a molecular-beam mass-spectrometric sampling system. Data are analyzed using a new computational approach that accounts for heat and mass transport in the reactor. The measured activation energy, 46.2 kcal mol1−, is in good agreement with previously reported values.
TURBIDITY CURRENTS ON STEEP SLOPES: APPLICATION OF AN AVALANCHE-TYPE NUMERIC MODEL FOR OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION DESIGN

Abstract To minimize cold water pipe lengths, the most favorable land or fixed platform based Ocean Thermal Energy Conversions (OTEC) sites have subbottom slopes greater than 5°. Observations at OTEC sites in Hawaii indicate that turbidity currents of an impulsive or episodic nature can occur with frontal speeds of several meters per second. Such speeds and the attendant potential for sediment transport and abrasion along routes containing OTEC installations indicate that the pertinent features of these flows are an important design criteria for OTEC or any other steep-slope marine installation. To satisfy this need, models of oceanic turbidity flows and similar flows have been examined. The model that addresses OTEC steep-slope conditions most succinctly was developed originally by Hopfinger and Tochon-Danguy (1977) for snow avalanches on land. This two-dimensional avalanche model is used to estimate the speed and growth characteristics of potential turbidity currents downslope for various postulated marine conditions of initial flow density, height, volume, and length at slopes from 5 to 60°. The areas of additional research required to increase reliability of the analyses are in the initiation and initial development of a turbidity plume, the mechanisms of sediment entrainment to and loss from the plume, and three-dimensional in addition to two-dimensional studies.
REENGINEERING PROCESS OF A CORPORATE FINANCIAL SYSTEM: A SYSTEMS ENGINEERING SOLUTION

This paper analyzes, evaluates, and recommends Reengineering of a Corporate Financial System (CFS) that is currently in operation in a leading global communication company. The analysis highlights the problem areas in the CFS regulatory financial statements of the Fortune 500 Company. As a result of this Reengineering process, a new state-of-the-art system will be proposed that will eliminate the existing bottlenecks. The initial purpose of the CFS was to serve the regulatory requirements inherent in the communication services line of the business. Over time, however, the system has evolved to support multiple business units. Today, the CFS General Ledger process serves the financial community of the corporate Communications, Communications Products, Information Management Services and Corporate Headquarters business units and divisions. The purpose of the CFS General Ledger System is to receive, on-line, detailed financial data from various feeder systems, perform validations and balancing, allocations, update the General Ledger data base, and provide financial data for downstream systems in order to satisfy legal, regulatory, accounting and management decision making requirements. These functions are supported by numerous systems referred to as the “CFS Family of Systems”. They include the Corporate Financial Input System (CFIS), CFS Daily, Individual Allocation Systems, Corporate Financial Inquiry and Reporting System (CFIRS), and the Financial Reporting System. The on-line interaction among these systems is analyzed in this paper.
Difficulties in using power laws for wind energy assessment

Abstract A 1/7 power law is often used to estimate atmospheric wind profiles. The use of this relationship, while perhaps appropriate in a climatological sense for daytime wind profiles in the lower atmosphere, frequently results in serious underestimates of wind speeds aloft at night. Several years of wind speed data from a 45 m tower and from use of a Doppler acoustic sounder (sodar) indicate that low-level wind speed maxima seem to form on 50 per cent of summer nights and 15 per cent of winter nights in northeastern Illinois. Even with 24 hr averages, the extrapolation of 6 m wind speeds to those at 45 m calculated with the 1/7 power law expression are found to be approximately 15 per cent too small, corresponding to a 40 per cent underestimate of wind power potential.
Deconstructing sickle cell disease: Reappraisal of the role of hemolysis in the development of clinical subphenotypes

Hemolysis, long discounted as a critical measure of sickle cell disease severity when compared with sickle vaso-occlusion, may be the proximate cause of some disease complications. New mechanistic information about hemolysis and its effects on nitric oxide (NO) biology and further examination of the subphenotypes of disease requires a reappraisal and deconstruction of the clinical features of sickle cell disease. The biology underlying clinical phenotypes linked to hemolysis may increase our understanding of the pathogenesis of other chronic hemolytic diseases while providing new insights into treating sickle cell disease. The pathophysiological roles of dysregulated NO homeostasis and sickle reticulocyte adherence have linked hemolysis and hemolytic rate to sickle vasculopathy. Nitric oxide binds soluble guanylate cyclase which converts GTP to cGMP, relaxing vascular smooth muscle and causing vasodilatation. When plasma hemoglobin liberated from intravascularly hemolyzed sickle erythrocytes consumes NO, the normal balance of vasoconstriction:vasodilation is skewed toward vasoconstriction. Pulmonary hypertension, priapism, leg ulceration and stroke, all subphenotypes of sickle cell disease, can be linked to the intensity of hemolysis. Hemolysis plays less of a role in the vaso-occlusive-viscosity complications of disease like the acute painful episode, osteonecrosis of bone and the acute chest syndrome. Agents that decrease hemolysis or restore NO bioavailability or responsiveness may have potential to reduce the incidence and severity of the hemolytic subphenotypes of sickle cell disease. Some of these drugs are now being studied in clinical trials.
Oxygen affinity of hemoglobin and peripheral nerve degeneration in experimental diabetes

Peripheral neuropathy remains a major complication of diabetes. Numerous etiological theories of metabolic and/or vascular disturbances have been suggested including decreased endoneurial oxygen tension with presumed tissue hypoxia. Increases in the affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen (Hb-O2 affinity) may also produce tissue hypoxia and such Hb-O2 affinity changes have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic microangiopathy. In order to test whether affinity hypoxia might contribute to the development of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, we have utilized a rat model of high and normal Hb-O2 affinity produced by backcrossing animals with increased and decreased levels of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG). Diabetes was induced in ten high and ten low DPG animals with a tail vein injection of 55 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ). Five animals in each group were treated with 2.4 U protamine zinc insulin (PZI)/day while the remaining animals were untreated. All rats were killed after 30 days, sections of tibial and sural nerve were rapidly removed and processed for teased fiber analysis. A minimum of 125 axons were assessed per nerve for E degeneration (myelin ovoids) using the classification developed by Dyck et al. Untreated animals, regardless of DPG levels, demonstrated 0% neuropathy. In contrast, all insulin-treated animals showed degeneration (0.4-17%) that inversely correlated with the DPG level (r = -0.59, P less than 0.04). The results of this study suggest that the level of RBC DPG (and presumably the Hb-O2 affinity) with its attendant effect on tissue oxygen release may play a role in the development of peripheral neuropathy in STZ-induced diabetic rats treated with insulin.
Comparison of Cost and Function in Reconstruction of the Posterior Oral Cavity and Oropharynx: Free vs Pedicled Soft Tissue Transfer

Objective: To compare the cost and functional results of free and pedicled soft tissue reconstruction after posterior oral cavity and oropharyngeal extirpation. Design: Retrospective study of 53 consecutive patients undergoing extirpation with primary soft tissue reconstruction from January 1, 1991, to December 31, 1995. Median follow-up was 298 days. Setting: Academic tertiary care medical center. Intervention: Twenty-four patients underwent reconstruction with a pedicled pectoralis major myocutaneous flap (PMMF); 29 patients, with a fasciocutaneous free flap (FF) (27 radial forearm, 1 lateral arm, and 1 scapular). Main Outcome Measures: Direct (inpatient hospital resources used and monetary costs) and intangible (postoperative complications and function) costs. Results: Operative time was longer for FF reconstructions (P=.003), but both patient groups had similar intensive care unit and hospital stays. Treatment cost for FF reconstructions was $41 122, compared with $37 160 for PMMF reconstructions (P=.003). This difference was due to increased professional fees for FF reconstruction (P Conclusions: Comparison of direct costs reveals only a modest difference in reconstruction costs that is outweighed by the intangible costs of PMMF reconstruction. The functional benefits of FF reconstruction appear to justify its slight increased expense and its use rather than PMMF reconstruction after extirpation in the posterior oral cavity and oropharynx. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1997;123:731-737
Product Attribute Function Deployment (PAFD) for decision-based conceptual design

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a method that links the “Voice of the Customer” to product planning activities within design, production and marketing. It utilizes weighting factors and relationship matrices to rank order the importance of product attributes. However, fundamental flaws have been identified in using QFD, which result in irrational and unrealistic results when used for design concept selection and setting target levels of attributes for a design team. In this paper, based on the principles of Decision-Based Design (DBD), a new tool called the Product Attribute Function Deployment (PAFD) is introduced as an improvement to the QFD process. The PAFD method extends the qualitative matrix principles of QFD and utilizes the quantitative decision making processes of DBD, which incorporates the needs from both the producer and consumers in a rigorous decision making framework. The DBD method takes an enterprise view in problem formulation and optimizes a single criterion to avoid the difficulties associated with weighting factors and multi-objective optimization. In addition to the quantitative improvement, the definition of engineering attributes in the QFD method is formalized to include corporate, regulatory, manufacturing and other technical requirements to facilitate conceptualization of design alternatives and constraints. The conceptual design of the automotive Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP) sensor is used as a case study to demonstrate the benefits of the PAFD method.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Nitrogen Fertilization of Tall Fescue-Birdsfoot Trefoil Mixtures

In mixtures with birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) growth during early spring and autumn in north Georgia is limited. A study was conducted to determine if supplemental N fertilizer could extend the productive season of tall fescue-birdsfoot trefoil mixtures. Field experiments were conducted for 3 yr in the Mountain and Piedmont regions of Georgia. Mixtures grown included AU Triumph' tall fescue with Fergus' or AU Dewey' birdsfoot trefoil and tall fescue alone, all with N rates of 0, 56, or 112 kg ha −1 in February, or 56 kg ha −1 in February and September (...)
Statistical study of substorm timing sequence

[1] Observations of timing sequences of substorms expected in various onset mechanisms are examined by using a space-time diagram, which correlates observed space signatures and auroral signatures on the ground during substorm onset. Results from a statistical study of 11 substorms show that signatures in the midtail (x ∼ 15–25 RE) typically occur before the ground signatures and those in the near-Earth tail (x ∼ 10 RE) and that signatures in the midtail region observed prior to the substorm onset often occur at a time which was shorter than that expected from MHD wave propagation between the different regions. This suggests that the disturbance onsets in different active regions do not seem to have a simple causal relationship between them as described by the reconnection or current disruption models of substorms. The activation of perturbed fields and plasma flows in space including the signatures of reconnection and current disruption may occur in multiple localized regions throughout the stressed tail current sheet. The activation seems to be continuously observed well after the substorm onset. These results to some extent are consistent with suggested global Alfvenic interaction considerations, in which the substorm onset is the result of Alfvenic interaction in the global current systems.
Dynacortin Is a Novel Actin Bundling Protein That Localizes to Dynamic Actin Structures

Dynacortin is a novel protein that was discovered in a genetic suppressor screen of a Dictyostelium discoideum cytokinesis-deficient mutant cell line devoid of the cleavage furrow actin bundling protein, cortexillin I. While dynacortin is highly enriched in the cortex, particularly in cell-surface protrusions, it is excluded from the cleavage furrow cortex during cytokinesis. Here, we describe the biochemical characterization of this new protein. Purified dynacortin is an 80-kDa dimer with a large 5.7-nm Stokes radius. Dynacortin cross-links actin filaments into parallel arrays with a mole ratio of one dimer to 1.3 actin monomers and a 3.1 microm K(d). Using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, GFP-dynacortin and the actin bundling protein coronin-GFP are seen to concentrate in highly dynamic cortical structures with assembly and disassembly half-lives of about 15 s. These results indicate that cells have evolved different actin-filament cross-linking proteins with complementary cellular distributions that collaborate to orchestrate complex cell shape changes.
Motivational Profiles of Adult Basic Education Students

This study explores the reasons why low-literate adults participate in Adult Basic Education (ABE). A 62-item scale to measure motivations was constructed based on in-depth interviews with learners; the scale was embedded into a questionnaire surveying a broad array of back-ground variables. Questionnaire data were collected by means of face-to-face, structured inter- views from a large random sample (N= 323) of learners currently enrolled in ABE programs in the state of Iowa; a 50%o random subsample was also administered a test of academic ability. Through factor analysis of the motivation items, ten dimensions were identified: (a) self-improvement, (b) family responsibilities, (c) diversion, (d) literacy development, (e) community/church involvement, (f) job advancement, (g) launching, (h) economic need, (i) educational advancement, and (j) urging of others. Cluster analyses based on factor scores revealed six distinct subgroups of students. Implications are discussed.
Micrococcal nuclease digestion study of spermidine-condensed DNA.

Abstract Spermidine-condensed lambda DNA tertiary structures have been studied by micrococcal nuclease digestion. Broad but discrete DNA bands were observed in gel electrophoresis experiments of digests at sizes of: 1003 ± 115 bp , 1972 ± 190 bp and 3100 ± 350 bp . These bands comprise an arithmetic series, similar to, but larger than, arithmetic DNA band series sizes we have observed previously in calf thymus and φx-174 DNA condensates. The 1003 bp monomer lambda DNA band size corresponds to wrapping B DNA once circumferentially about the toroidal-shaped tertiary structures, the predominant condensed structures present in these preparations, and is consistent with the measured electron microscopic dimensions for hydrated lambda DNA toruses previously presented. DNA fragment length stability was determined by release from the digested condensates. Fragments of 80–85 bp and sizes below are thermodynamically unstable in the lambda DNA condensates. This fragment size agrees well with a recent determination of the cooperativity size in DNA condensates.
Model reduction of linear multivariable control systems via frequency matching

A computer-aided method for model reduction of linear multivariable continuous control systems via frequency matching is presented in the paper. The objective is to obtain a simplified transfer function matrix from a given large-order transfer function matrix, so that the vital characteristics of the given system are retained in the simpler system. This is accomplished by matching the frequency responses of the given and the reduced systems by means of the weighted mean square error. As a result of this minimisation, formulas for computing the optimal coefficients for the simplified transfer function matrix are obtained. The technique is illustrated by a numerical example and the results are compared with those in the literature.
Vibrational relaxation of azide in formamide reverse micelles.

Static and ultrafast infrared spectroscopy have been used to measure absorption spectra and vibrational energy relaxation (VER) times for the antisymmetric stretching vibrational band of azide, N3-, in formamide-containing reverse micelles (RMs). RMs were formed in n-heptane using the surfactant AOT, sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate. The VER times were found to be significantly longer than in bulk formamide. The VER times became longer as the molar ratio of formamide to AOT, ωF, was decreased. Decreasing ωF also resulted in substantial blue shifts of the azide static absorption band compared to the frequency in bulk formamide. The ωF dependent studies are consistent with expected size trends, where a larger RM results in more bulklike polar solvent and faster VER rates. These results are in contrast to aqueous AOT RMs where VER times were indistinguishable from those in the bulk and the static spectral shifts were much smaller. The differences between the static and dynamic behavior in aqueous and ...
On the elastic and rigid forms of constrictive pericarditis

This article discusses a thesis regarding the pathophysiology of constrictive pericarditis. The thesis is that there are two forms of constriction, one being elastic and the other more analogous to a rigid shell. The two forms of constriction are considered to cause different patterns of the diagnostic signs of constriction. The elastic form is similar to cardiac tamponade, and is associated with prominent paradoxical pulse and systolic descent in the venous pressure waveform. The rigid shell type has less prominent paradoxical pulse and a more conspicuous diastolic descent in the venous pressure waveform, often associated with an early diastolic sound (pericardial knock). Recognition of these two types of constriction may be helpful in clinical diagnosis and in understanding the pathophysiology of pericardial disease.
Farm work-related asthma among US primary farm operators.

The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of current asthma and the proportion of current asthma that is related to work on the farm among primary farm operators. The 2011 Farm and Ranch Safety Survey data were used to produce estimates and prevalence odds ratios. An estimated 5.1% of farm operators had asthma. Of these, 15.4% had farm work-related asthma. Among operators with farm work-related asthma, 54.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 41.8%–68.2%) had an asthma attack in the prior 12 months and 33.3% (95% CI: 21.2%–45.4%) had an asthma attack that occurred while doing farm work. Of those who had an asthma attack that occurred while doing farm work, 65.0% associated their asthma attack with plant/tree materials. This study provides updated information on asthma and the proportion of current asthma that is related to work on the farm and identifies certain groups of farm operators that might benefit from workplace asthma prevention intervention.
Nonlinear Deflection Control of Laminated Plates Using Third-Order Shear Deformation Theory

In this paper, the third-order shear deformation theory is employed to study static and dynamic deflection control of laminated composite plates. The effects of shear deformation and geometric nonlinearity (in the von Karman sense) on the bending and transient response are investigated using the finite element method. Magnetostrictive material, Terfenol-D, layers are used to actively control the deflection via simple negative velocity feedback control in a closed loop. The effects of the lamination scheme, types of load, and boundary conditions on the deflection are investigated.