cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The influence of chemical environment upon the mercury 5d electronic structure

We have investigated one and two monolayers of Hg adsorbed on Cu(100) by angle-resolved photoemission. The electronic structure of one monolayer of Hg on Cu(100) is very similar to that of the free atom. Two monolayers of Hg on Cu(100) has an electronic structure that closely resembles that of bulk Hg. These results are compared to those obtained for Hg overlayers on Ag(100). We have also observed that the shallow 5d core levels of the first monolayer of Hg shift by 0.38 ± 0.05 eV to greater binding energy following the adsorption of the second monolayer of Hg.
SYRINGAMMINA CORBICULA SP. NOV. (XENOPHYOPHOREA) FROM THE CAPE VERDE PLATEAU, E. ATLANTIC

A new xenophyophore species, Syringammina corbicula, is described and illustrated from live specimens collected at 3106 m on the Cape Verde Plateau, off West Africa. This species is characterized by its epibenthic habitat and the unique basket-like depressions that rim the periphery of its hemispherically-shaped test of anastomosing, agglutinated tubes. Morphological features of the test and cytoplasm of S. corbicula are described in detail and contrasted with other known xenophyophore species grouped in the genus Syringammina. Laboratory observations of the pseudopodia extruded by live individuals are presented and the potential feeding behavior of S. corbicula is discussed briefly.
Identification of Substrates and Regulators of the Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase ERK5 Using Chimeric Protein Kinases

Extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 5 (ERK5) is a recently discovered orphan mitogen-activated protein kinase for which no substrates or strong activators have been described. Two ERK5 chimeras were created as a novel approach to discover its substrates and upstream regulators. One chimeric protein contained the N-terminal domain of the ERK5 catalytic core (subdomains I-IV) and the C-terminal domain of the ERK2 catalytic core (subdomains V-XI). This chimera was highly responsive to stimuli that regulate ERK2 in vitro and in cells. A second chimeric protein consisted of the N-terminal domain of ERK2 (subdomains I-IV) and the C-terminal domain of the ERK5 catalytic core (subdomains V-XI). This chimera was activated in bacteria by coexpression with a constitutively active mutant of MEK1. Using the activated chimera, we identified three in vitro substrates of ERK5. Assaying ERK5 activity in immune complexes with one of these substrates, c-Myc, we determined that the ERK5 catalytic domain is activated by V12 H-Ras and to a lesser extent by phorbol ester but not by constitutively active mutants of Raf-1. Thus, ERK5 is a target of a novel Ras effector pathway that may communicate with c-Myc.
Construction by Autonomous Agents in a Simulated Environment

A connectionist behavior-based architecture enables a society of agents to navigate efficiently and construct specified structures within a simulated environment. The architecture incorporates both reactive and planning behaviors so that agents can manage multiple goals. The agents use cognitive maps to internally represent the environment for navigational planning. Simulations within a continuous 2-D environment demonstrate the abilities of the group of agents to construct structures. The effect of various placement strategies on the time to complete the construction task are studied.
Anaerobic biotransformation of nitrocellulose

In this investigation, first the toxic effect of nitrocellulose (NC) on anaerobic microorganisms with and without the presence of a supplementary carbon source was evaluated. Then it was observed that with the addition of a supplementary carbon source, such as cellulose or acetate, biotransformation of NC was enhanced. The biodegradation rate of NC in a staged-feed and in a two-phase reactor under anaerobic conditions was evaluated. The results showed that providing cellulose as the supplementary carbon source, NC was degraded at a higher rate in a staged-feed reactor than in a two-phase reactor or in a batch reactor.
Pore‐size constraints on the activity and survival of subsurface bacteria in a late cretaceous shale‐sandstone sequence, northwestern New Mexico

To investigate the distribution of microbial biomass and activities to gain insights into the physical controls on microbial activity and potential long‐term survival in the subsurface, 24 shale and sandstone cores were collected from a site in northwestern New Mexico. Bacterial biomass in the core samples ranged from below detection to 31.9 pmol total phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) g‐1 of rock with no apparent relationship between lithology and PLFA abundance. No metabolic activities, as determined by anaerobic mineralization of [14C]acetate and [14C]glucose and 35SO4 2‐ reduction, were detected in core samples with pore throats <0.2 fan in diameter, smaller than the size of known bacteria. However, enrichments revealed the presence of sulfate‐re‐ducing bacteria, and 35SO4 2‐ reduction was detected upon extended (14 days) incubation in some small‐pore‐throat samples. In contrast, relatively rapid rates of metabolic activity were more common in core samples containing a significant fraction of pore throat...
Progress in 3-circuit theory

AFTER some 10 years of experience in the application of “3-circuit theory” to a variety of transformer problems, some limitations are encountered in the application of the elementary theory to certain types of problems. The purpose of this paper is to point out what these limitations are and how they may be circumvented.
Research issues related to exchanging information from heterogeneous data sources

This paper highlights a project designed to help FEMA's Region VI address their information needs as well as extend the current technology for integrating heterogeneous databases. The successful completion of this project should lead to new and innovative ways to integrate multiple autonomous data sources. On the experimental side, the project is examining (1) architectural solutions to constructing mediated databases, and (2) new methods for supporting collaborative database activities. More specifically, the project is demonstrating the feasibility of representing the mappings between the virtual global database and the various data sources as XQuery queries [4]. We have chosen to use XQuery because of its efficiencies in processing the data, its ability to describe the data mappings, and its potential for improving standardization. The project's second task will address the collaborative interface problem. We are extending our current interface to support database activities such as viewing reports, sharing information, and editing data.
Laws and Models in a Theory of Idealization

In this paper, I first give a brief summary of a critique of the traditional theories of approximation and idealization; and after identifying one of the major roles of idealization as detaching component processes or systems from joints of nature, a detailed analysis is given of idealized laws -- which are discoverable and/or applicable -- in such processes and systems (i.e. idealized model systems). Then, arguments are given for the inclusion of dispositional properties in the class of admissible properties for laws; and such an inclusion turns out to be crucial to our understanding of the relation between idealized models and the laws they 'produce' or 'accommodate'. And then I argue that idealized laws so produced or accommodated in the models are either true simpliciter or only approximately true but not so because of the idealizations in question. Finally I compare my theory with some existing theories of laws of nature.
Neuritic plaques in the Lewy body variant of Alzheimer disease lack paired helical filaments

The Lewy body variant of Alzheimer disease (LBV) is a distinct category of dementia which, unlike pure diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD), meets clinical and neuropathologic criteria for Alzheimer disease (AD) but differs from pure AD in having a neocortical predominance of diffuse and neuritic plaques (NP), with very few neurofibrillary tangles (NFT). We investigated the immunoreactivity of NP with a monoclonal antibody against paired helical filaments (PHF) composed of phosphorylated microtubule associated protein tau. With routine thioflavin-S preparations, 12 LBV and 14 AD cases had similar numbers of NP, but the LBV had significantly (P < 0.05) fewer NFT per microscopic field in the midfrontal cortex. Among subjects with midfrontal NFT, 81-84% of NP in AD and LBV were anti-PHF positive. Among subjects without midfrontal NFT, 52% of NP in AD but only 12% of NP in LBV cases were anti-PHF positive (P < 0.05). LBV differs from AD in that its NP generally do not contain PHF, unless they are accompanied by neocortical NFT.
A distributed wireless testbed for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle control algorithms

There is a desire within the scientific community to use the inherent storage capabilities of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle batteries to enable demand-side management in power systems, increasing the usability of variable generation such as wind and solar power. The potential advantages of increased grid control must be tempered against the harmful effects of charge/discharge cycles on car battery health as well as user constraints on maximum allowable charge time. This paper reviews past research on communication and control architectures for PHEV charging and proposes a novel testbed to allow physical testing of several of the proposed schemes.
Middle Eocene-lower Miocene calcareous nannofossil magnetobiochronology of ODP Holes 699A and 703A in the subantarctic South Atlantic

Abstract The distribution of calcareous nannofossils is documented for the middle Eocene through lowermost Miocene cores from Ocean Drilling Program Holes 699A and 703A in the subantarctic South Atlantic. The detailed nannofossil biostratigraphies established, in combination with published magnetostratigraphic data, have provided a fairly detailed age model for each hole. This study suggests that the middle Eocene through lowermost Miocene section from Hole 699A is virtually complete. A major hiatus has been identified in Hole 703A in the earliest Oligocene, coincident with an abrupt cooling in the Southern Ocean. Comparison of the nannofossil datum ages calibrated with magnetostratigraphy in the two holes with those from mid and southern high latitudes demonstrates synchroneity or diachroneity for the following nannofossil datums: (1) The last occurrence (LO) of Reticulofenestra bisecta is a consistent and reliable biostratigraphic marker for the Oligocene/Miocene boundary from mid- to high latitudes but not in extreme high latitudes; (2) similarly, the LO of Chiasmolithus altus has a consistent age of about 26.8 Ma in the Southern Ocean except in the extreme high latitudes where the datum appears to be substantially younger; (3) the LO of Reticulofenestra umbilica is about 32.9 Ma in the Southern Ocean; (4) the LO of Isthmolithus recurvus is reliable and consistent from mid through high latitudes and correlates with the lower part of Subchron C12R (∼34.4 Ma); (5) the LO of Reticulofenestra oamaruensis has a consistent age of 36.0 Ma at all four Southern Ocean sites that have yielded a lower Oligocene magnetostratigraphy; (6) the first occurrence (FO) of R. oamaruensis is at 38.4 Ma in the Southern Ocean; and (7) the FO of I. recurvus shows some age variations from mid to high latitudes and the age range is 38.5–39.0 Ma at the five Southern Ocean sites.
Yes We Did! Basking in Reflected Glory and Cutting Off Reflected Failure in the 2008 Presidential Election

In two studies, the tendency to Bask in Reflected Glory (BIRG) or Cut Off Reflected Failure (CORF) was examined in the context of the 2008 presidential election. Experiment 1, a field study, found that yard or window signs endorsing successful Democratic candidate Barack Obama were displayed longer than signs endorsing his opponent. Experiment 2 utilized a survey methodology to explore moderators of the BIRG effect implied by prior research. Self-esteem was shown to moderate CORF, such that individuals with lower self-esteem distanced themselves from the unsuccessful presidential candidate. Other moderators consistent with the cognitive consistency basis of BIRG, strength of identification and self-serving attributions, were not. Reasons for these findings are discussed, and future directions for research on BIRG are proposed.
Outcomes of Living Versus Deceased Donor Liver Transplantation for Acute Liver Failure in the United States

Clinical outcomes for living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for acute liver failure (ALF) in the United States remain to be determined. To address this gap in knowledge, we examined post-liver transplantation outcomes of adults with ALF undergoing LDLT and deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) in the United States. We analyzed Organ and Procurement and Transplantation Network data for adults with ALF who were listed for liver transplantation as status 1 or 1A and who underwent LDLT (N = 21) or DDLT (N = 2316) between October 1987 and April 2011. We found no strong evidence that the survival probabilities for adults with ALF who underwent LDLT were inferior to those who underwent DDLT (P = .764). In adults with ALF who underwent LDLT, 1- and 5-year survival probabilities were both 71%; for DDLT these probabilities were 79% and 71%, respectively. In adults with ALF, 1- and 5-year liver graft survival probabilities, respectively, were 62% and 57% for LDLT, and 74% and 66% for DDLT. In these series of adults with ALF who were listed as status 1 or 1A, patient and graft survival rates for LDLT were similar to those for DDLT. Our findings suggest that if deceased donor livers are unavailable, LDLT is an acceptable option in experienced centers for adults with ALF.
On selecting thek largest with median tests

LetWitk(n) be the minimax complexity of selecting thek largest elements ofn numbersx1,x2,...,xn by pairwise comparisonsxi:xj. It is well known thatW2(n) =n−2+ [lgn], andWk(n) = n + (k−1)lg n +O(1) for all fixed k ≥ 3. In this paper we studyW′k(n), the minimax complexity of selecting thek largest, when tests of the form “Isxi the median of {xi,xj,xt}?” are also allowed. It is proved thatW′2(n) =n−2+ [lgn], andW′k(n) =n + (k−1)lg2n +O(1) for all fixedk≥3.
Acute phase proteins and peritoneal dialysate albumin loss are the main determinants of serum albumin in peritoneal dialysis patients

Hypoalbuminemia predicts mortality in dialysis patients. It has been postulated that hypoalbuminemia in the dialysis population is a consequence of poor protein intake resulting from inadequate dialysis. To establish the cause of hypoalbuminemia in a group of 27 patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD), we determined the relationship between serum albumin concentration and a group of parameters including dialysis dose delivered (Kt/V), normalized protein catabolic rate (PCRn), transperitoneal and urinary albumin losses, and the serum concentration of two acute-phase proteins, C-reactive protein (CRP), and serum amyloid A (SAA). Serum albumin concentration could be predicted by a combination of transperitoneal albumin loss and either the serum concentration of CRP or of SAA. There was no relationship between weekly Kt/V or PCRn and serum albumin concentration. CRP and SAA significantly correlated with one another, but neither correlated with transperitoneal albumin losses. Hypoalbuminemia in PD patients is a consequence of transperitoneal albumin losses and of the acute phase response.
Structural and dielectric properties of the phase Pb1−2xKxM3+xNb2O6, M = La or Bi

Abstract The Pb 1−2x K x M 3+ x Nb 2 O 6 , M = La or Bi, solid solutions have been prepared by solid state reaction and their structural and ferroelectric properties have been established. Complete crystalline solid solubility exists in both systems; in addition, three structurally related phases, namely, the ferroelectric orthorhombic and tetragonal tungsten bronze phases and the paraelectric tetragonal K. 5 La. 5 Nb 2 O 6 type phase, have been identified at room temperature. The composition ranges for three phases are 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.47, 0.48 ≤ x ≤ 0.85, 0.86 ≤ x ≤ 1.0, respectively. The ferroelectric phase transition temperature, T c , decreases with increasing concentration of K + and La 3+ or Bi 3+ in the orthorhombic tungsten bronze phase. A few compositions from each system exhibit excellent dielectric and piezoelectric characteristics, indicating that they could be future materials for piezoelectric and high frequency dielectric studies.
Sparse grid collocation schemes for stochastic natural convection problems

In recent years, there has been an interest in analyzing and quantifying the effects of random inputs in the solution of partial differential equations that describe thermal and fluid flow problems. Spectral stochastic methods and Monte-Carlo based sampling methods are two approaches that have been used to analyze these problems. As the complexity of the problem or the number of random variables involved in describing the input uncertainties increases, these approaches become highly impractical from implementation and convergence points-of-view. This is especially true in the context of realistic thermal flow problems, where uncertainties in the topology of the boundary domain, boundary flux conditions and heterogeneous physical properties usually require high-dimensional random descriptors. The sparse grid collocation method based on the Smolyak algorithm offers a viable alternate method for solving high-dimensional stochastic partial differential equations. An extension of the collocation approach to include adaptive refinement in important stochastic dimensions is utilized to further reduce the numerical effort necessary for simulation. We show case the collocation based approach to efficiently solve natural convection problems involving large stochastic dimensions. Equilibrium jumps occurring due to surface roughness and heterogeneous porosity are captured. Comparison of the present method with the generalized polynomial chaos expansion and Monte-Carlo methods are made.
Effects of Surface Charge on the Processing of Nonaqueous Silicon Slurries

The influence of surface charge on the dispersion aspects of the nonaqueous processing of silicon powder is explained by the relationship between the liquid medium's dielectric constant and the maximum particle size that is stabilized by colloidal forces. The effects of surface charge, derived from the chemistry of the solid-liquid pair or the adsorption of ionic processing aids, are either great, significantly increasing the maximum particle size that is stable against agglomeration from the nanometer range to the micrometer range, or virtually undetectable, contributing nothing to enhanced stability. Guidelines for the processing of silicon powder when surface charge exists are discussed.
Dimer/monomer equilibrium and domain separations of Escherichia coli ribosomal protein L7/L12

The dimer to monomer equilibrium and interdomain separations of cysteine variants of L7/L12 have been investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy. Steady-state polarization measurements on cysteine containing variants of L7/L12, labeled with 5-(iodoacetamido)fluorescein, demonstrated dimer to monomer dissociation constants near 30 nM for variants labeled at position 33, in the N-terminal domain, and positions 63 and 89, in the C-terminal domain. A dissociation constant near 300 nM was determined for a variant labeled at position 12, in the N-terminal domain. The polarization of a labeled C-terminal fragment did not change over the range of 200 microM to 1 nM, indicating that this construct remains monomeric at these concentrations, whereas a dimer to monomer dissociation constant near 300 nM was observed for an FITC labeled N-terminal fragment. Intersubunit fluorescence resonance energy self-transfer was observed when appropriate probes were attached to cysteines at residues 12 or 33, located in the N-terminal domain. Probes attached to cysteines at positions 63 or 89 in the C-terminal domain, however, did not exhibit intersubunit self-transfer. These results indicate that these residues in the C-terminal domains are, on average, separated by greater than 85 A. Intersubunit self-transfer does occur in a C-89 double mutation variant lacking 11 residues in the putative hinge region, indicating that the loss of the hinge region brings the two C-terminal domains closer together. Rapid subunit exchange between unlabeled wild-type L7/L12 and L7/L12 variants labeled in the N-terminal domain was also demonstrated by the loss of self-transfer upon mixing of the two proteins.
A Systematic Review of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for the Treatment of Eating Disorders

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has been proposed as an effective treatment for eating disorders (EDs). We conducted a systematic literature review to locate refereed journal articles testing DBT for the treatment of EDs. We identified 13 studies empirically evaluating treatment efficacy across various settings. Findings, based on mostly uncontrolled trials, indicate that DBT treatments appear effective in addressing ED behaviors and other forms of psychopathology in ED samples. The expectation that improvements in emotion regulation capabilities drive reductions in ED pathology was not fully supported. Further research is necessary to confirm the efficacy of modified DBT treatments for EDs.
Changing postdoctoral career patterns for biomedical scientists

Between 1973 and 1977 the total number of Ph.D.'s holding postdoctoral appointments in the biomedical sciences increased at a rate of more than 550 individuals (12.5 percent) per year. During this same period the total number of doctorates awarded each year in these disciplines showed very little change. The postdoctoral growth can be attributed to substantial increases in both the numbers of recent graduates taking postdoctorals and the length of stay on these appointments. The lack of alternative employment opportunities has contributed heavily to the postdoctoral buildup. Continued growth is likely to have important consequences for biomedical research and research training.
A stochastic approach to nonequilibrium chain reactions in disordered systems: Breakdown of eikonal approximation

A stochastic description of chain reactions occurring in disordered systems is suggested by considering a statistical distribution of time-dependent rate coefficients. The possibilities of constructing a thermodynamic formalism for non-equilibrium chain reactions are investigated by testing the validity of the eikonal approximation in the thermodynamic limit. If the fluctuations of the rate coefficient are restricted to a finite range, then for large systems the probability of concentration fluctuations obeys the eikonal scaling condition, which makes possible the development of a nonequilibrium thermodynamic formalism. For an infinite range of variation of the rate coefficient, however, the eikonal scaling does not hold anymore: the probability of concentration fluctuations has a long tail of the negative power-law type and the system displays statistical fractal features. The passage from the stochastic eikonal behavior to the fractal scaling is characterized by a change in the deterministic kinetic equations of the process: in the eikonal regime the effective reaction order with respect to the active intermediate is 1, whereas for fractal scaling it is equal to 2. Due to this change in the effective reaction order for fractal scaling, the reaction is much faster than in the eikonal regime and the explosion threshold may be reached after a finite time interval.
Language reorganization in aphasics: an electrical stimulation mapping investigation.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether clinical speech deficits after brain injury are associated with functional speech reorganization. METHODS: Across an 1 8-year interval, 11 patients with mild-to-moderate speech deficits underwent language mapping as part of their treatment for intractable epilepsy. These "aphasics" were compared with 14 matched "control" patients with normal speech who also were undergoing epilepsy surgery. Neuroanatomic data were compared with quantitative language profiles and clinical variables. RESULTS: Cortical lesions were evident near speech areas in all aphasia cases. As expected, aphasic and control patients were distinguished by quantitative language profiles. The groups were further distinguished by the anatomic distribution of their speech sites. A significantly greater proportion of frontal speech sites was found in patients with previous brain injury, consistent with frontal site recruitment. The degree of frontal recruitment varied as a function of patient age at the time of initial brain injury; earlier injuries were associated with greater recruitment. The overall number of speech sites remained the same after injury. Significant associations were found between the number of the speech sites, naming fluency, and the lesion proximity in the temporal lobe. CONCLUSION: Language maps in aphasics demonstrated evidence for age-dependent functional recruitment in the frontal, but not temporal, lobe. The proximity of cortical lesions to temporal speech sites predicted the overall extent of temporal lobe speech representation and performance on naming fluency. These findings have implications for neurosurgical planning in patients with preoperative speech deficits.
Rethinking neuromyelitis optica (Devic disease).

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO), or Devic disease, has been distinguished from multiple sclerosis (MS) by the presence of optic neuritis that is usually bilateral, simultaneous, and often severe, myelopathic findings accompanied by longitudinally extensive spinal cord imaging abnormalities, no brain imaging abnormalities typical of MS, and often rapid progression to debility and even death. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have identified an immunoglobulin marker of NMO (the "NMO antibody") that binds selectively to the aquaphorin-4 water channel and may play a causative role. This marker has been found in Japanese patients with opticospinal MS, prompting the suggestion that NMO and Japanese opticospinal MS are the same disorder. The NMO antibody, which predicts frequent relapse of myelopathy and optic neuritis, is also found in patients with lupus erythematosus and Sjogren syndrome who also have severe optic neuritis and longitudinally extensive myelitis. Because this antibody is also found in patients with optic neuritis and myelitis who have brain signal abnormalities atypical of MS, the diagnosis of NMO has been revised to allow inclusion of these brain imaging abnormalities. Proper distinction of NMO from MS is important because the two disorders may respond differently to immune modulatory therapy.
The French and South African Walkouts and Domestic Jurisdiction

THE WALKOUTS of the French and South African delegations in the United Nations General Assembly in protest to the inclusion of the Algerian question and the racial problem in South Africa on the Assembly's agenda' raise again the question of the dividing line between the jurisdictions of the United Nations and its members. The problem of separating jurisdictions in an international organization is in many ways similar to that in the American federal system, but the terms used are different. "States' rights" refers to the reserved domain of states in the federal system; "domestic jurisdiction" refers to the reserved domain of members of the United Nations and other international organizations.2 Article 2, paragraph 7, of the Charter of the United Nations contains the formula for dividing powers between the international organization and its members. That much-used clause provides that "Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state." Except for minor technical changes, this formula derives from a similar one in Article 15, paragraph 8, of the Covenant of the League of Nations. Apparently "domestic jurisdiction" was used for the first time in the Covenant. Since President Woodrow Wilson introduced the term in the Paris Peace Conference without a ready-made usage and without any explanation of its meaning, it has presented problems in application. A state that was reluctant to answer a charge brought against it in a League organ was quick to make use of the domestic jurisdiction reservation to the international organ's competence. A successful domestic jurisdiction plea left the defendant free to con-
Phase II trial of autologous tumor vaccination, anti-CD3-activated vaccine-primed lymphocytes, and interleukin-2 in stage IV renal cell cancer.

Purpose: Previous preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that autologous tumor vaccines can induce relatively specific tumor-reactive T cells in draining lymph nodes. The adoptive transfer of these cells can result in tumor regression. Patients and Methods: Patients with stage IV renal cell cancer (RCC) were vaccinated with irradiated autologous tumor cells admixed with Calmette-Guerin bacillus. Approximately 7 days later, vaccine-primed lymph nodes (VPLNs) were harvested and the lymphoid cells secondarily activated with anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody and expanded in interleukin 2 (IL-2). The activated cells were subsequently infused intravenously along with the concomitant administration of bolus IL-2 (360,000 U/kg intravenously × 15 doses). Results: Thirty-nine patients were entered onto the study, of whom 34 completed an initial course of cell therapy consisting of a mean (SEM) number of 4.3 (2.2) × 1010 VPLN cells. Among subjects who received cell therapy, there were nine responses (four com...
Improved selectivity of carbon-supported palladium catalysts for the hydrogenation of acetylene in excess ethylene

In this study we examine the role of the support for selective hydrogenation of acetylene. Palladium (Pd) nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution were deposited on three supports, carbon, alumina and magnesia. The Pd particles ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 nm in diameter. A novel synthesis based on room temperature alcohol reduction of the Pd acetate precursor allowed us to deposit similar sized Pd particles on all three supports. We used electron microscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS) to characterize these samples and to confirm the similarity of the distribution and the size of the nanoparticles on all three supports. The carbon-supported Pd yielded a higher selectivity to ethylene at 100% acetylene conversions (from acetylene/ethylene mixtures) when compared to the oxide-supported samples. This work provides clear evidence that the support can play an important role in the selective hydrogenation of acetylene. While alumina is extensively used in industry as the support for Pd and Pd alloys, considerable improvements in selectivity could be made by the use of carbon supports.
From Olympia to Atlanta: A Cultural-Historical Perspective on Diet and Athletic Training

Greek and Roman writers described diet and training of Olympic athletes. Lucian (A.D. 120-ca. 180) described distance and speed work in runners; Galen (A.D. 131-201) recommended ball-related exercises to train vision and the body; Philostratos (A.D. 170-249) suggested cross training by endurance running, weight training, and wrestling with animals. The ancient Greek training system, the tetrad (eta tau epsilon tau rho alpha sigma), was a four-day cycle with each day devoted to a different activity. Diogenes Laertius (died A.D. 222) wrote that Greek athletes trained on dried figs, moist cheese and wheat; then the pattern changed and focused on meat. Epictetus (2nd century A.D.) wrote that Olympic victors avoided desserts and cold water and took wine sparingly. Philostratos deprecated athletic diet in his era, a pattern based on white bread sprinkled with poppy seeds, fish and pork. Americans at the XIth Olympiad in Berlin (1936) consumed beefsteak with average daily intake of 125 grams of butter or cotton oil, three eggs, custard for dessert and 1.5 L of milk. The American pattern at Berlin was characterized by ad libitum intake of white bread, dinner rolls, fresh vegetables and salads. At Atlanta, more than 5 million meals will be served during the Olympic festival. The highly varied menu will include fresh vegetables and dips; fruits, cheeses and breads; salads; pasta, rice and fruit salads; soups; meat and seafood entrees; hot vegetables; desserts; and beverages. American Southern specialties will be served.
Some results on the effect of turbulence on phase-compensated systems

We have studied the effect of residual log-amplitude fluctuations and imperfect phase compensation on the characteristics of a phase-compensated optical link operating through atmospheric turbulence.
Anisotropic adaptive filtering for speckle reduction in synthetic aperture radar images

The speckle reduction is an important problem in coherent imaging, such as synthetic aperture radar or ultrasound imagery. Speckle is a nonadditive and nonwhite process, and the reduction of speckle with- out blurring sharp features is known to be difficult. We present a new speckle reduction algorithm that utilizes an anisotropic directional filter that adapts to the proximity and direction of nearest important features. To remove speckle without blurring important features, the locations and direction of edges in the image are estimated. Then for each pixel in the image, the distance and angle to the nearest edge are computed by an efficient algorithm and stored in distance and angle maps. Finally, for each pixel,ananisotropicdirectionalfilteralignedtothenearestedgeisapplied. The shape and the orientation of the filter are determined from the dis- tance and the angle maps. The new speckle reduction algorithm is tested with both synthesized and real synthetic aperture radar images. The per- formance of the new algorithm is also compared to those of earlier speckle reduction approaches. We show that the new algorithm performs favor- ably compared to other speckle reduction algorithms in reducing speckle without blurring important features. C
CCAAT/Enhancer-Binding Protein β Isoforms and the Regulation of α-Smooth Muscle Actin Gene Expression by IL-1β

The role of IL-1β in inflammation is amply documented, but its ability to inhibit myofibroblast differentiation and, in particular, the suppression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) gene expression is less well understood. Because IL-1β can induce C/EBPβ expression, the role of C/EBPβ isoforms in IL-1β regulation of α-SMA gene expression was investigated in rat lung myofibroblasts. The results showed that IL-1β inhibited α-SMA expression in a dose-dependent manner, which was associated with stimulation of the expression of both C/EBPβ isoforms, liver-enriched activating protein (LAP) and liver-enriched inhibitory protein (LIP). However, a greater increase in LIP relative to LAP expression resulted in a reduced LAP/LIP ratio after IL-1β treatment. Transfection with an LAP-expressing plasmid stimulated, whereas an LIP-expressing plasmid inhibited, α-SMA expression. Cells from C/EBPβ-deficient mice had reduced levels of α-SMA expression and promoter activity, which failed to respond to IL-1β treatment. Sequence analysis identified the presence of a C/EBPβ consensus binding sequence in the α-SMA promoter, which, when mutated, resulted in diminished promoter activity and abolished its responsiveness to IL-1β treatment. EMSA revealed binding of C/EBPβ to this C/EBPβ consensus binding sequence from the α-SMA promoter. Finally, IL-1β enhanced the expression of eukaryotic initiation factor 4E, a stimulator of LIP expression, which may account for a mechanism by which IL-1β could alter the LAP/LIP ratio. These data taken together suggest that C/EBPβ isoforms regulate α-SMA gene expression, and that its inhibition by IL-1β was due to preferential stimulation of LIP expression.
The evolution of androconia in mimetic tiger moths (noctuoidea: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Ctenuchina and euchromiina)

ABSTRACT Tiger moth courtship involves an intricate interplay of female calling and male responses, involving pheromones, ultrasound, or both. A comparative phylogenetic approach is needed to separate proximal (ecological) from ultimate (evolutionary) explanations for observed behaviors. This study focused on mimetic tiger moths (Ctenuchina and Euchromiina) to provide a phylogeny to understand the evolution of male courtship structures (androconia). Genetic data from one mitochondrial gene (1,173 basepairs [bp] of COI) and two nuclear genes (238 bp of 28S rRNA D1 loop; 650 bp of EF1-α) were sampled for 29 species and analyzed using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods to estimate phylogenetic relationships. The ancestral reconstruction of androconia was optimized using parsimony and Bayesian approaches. Excluding three species, Euchromiina and Ctenuchina were recovered as reciprocally monophyletic, contradicting earlier molecular phylogenies. The genus Cosmosoma was found to be poly...
Role of haptics in teaching structural molecular biology

Physical models such as ball-and-stick have long been used in teaching basic chemistry and structural molecular biology. As the size and complexity of known molecular structures increases, it is difficult if not impossible to show all of their features in a physical model alone. Recent advances in automated model fabrication technology now afford physical models of more complex molecular structures. In this multi-institutional collaborative project we are creating multi-modality enhancements of such tangible models by superimposing graphical (augmented reality) information on top of the fabricated physical models, by incorporating support for voice commands, and by providing haptic feedback. The user of such an interface can request a variety of overlay representations and can interact with these virtual enhancements haptically while manipulating the physical model. This multi-modality interface appears to be quite intuitive for observing complex molecular structure. We are currently evaluating its usefulness in teaching molecular biology to high school students.
Coordinating Computation and I/O in Massively Parallel Sequence Search

With the explosive growth of genomic information, the searching of sequence databases has emerged as one of the most computation and data-intensive scientific applications. Our previous studies suggested that parallel genomic sequence-search possesses highly irregular computation and I/O patterns. Effectively addressing these runtime irregularities is thus the key to designing scalable sequence-search tools on massively parallel computers. While the computation scheduling for irregular scientific applications and the optimization of noncontiguous file accesses have been well-studied independently, little attention has been paid to the interplay between the two. In this paper, we systematically investigate the computation and I/O scheduling for data-intensive, irregular scientific applications within the context of genomic sequence search. Our study reveals that the lack of coordination between computation scheduling and I/O optimization could result in severe performance issues. We then propose an integrated scheduling approach that effectively improves sequence-search throughput by gracefully coordinating the dynamic load balancing of computation and high-performance noncontiguous I/O.
Chemosurgical Reports: Perineural Spread of Basal‐Cell Carcinoma

. Basal-cell carcinoma with perineural invasion is a rare occurrence. Ten patients with this phenomenon are described. Review of our cases and cases in the literature indicates that perineural spread of basal-cell carcinoma is most common in men with recurrent tumors. The horizontally cut frozen sections that are utilized in Mohs surgery maximize the chances of discovering basal-cell carcinoma wih undiagnosed involvement.
Boundary Condition Design to Heat a Moving Object at Uniform Transient Temperature Using Inverse Formulation

The boundary condition design of a three-dimensional furnace that heats an object mov-ing along a conveyor belt of an assembly line is considered. A furnace of this type can beused by the manufacturing industry for applications such as industrial baking, curing ofpaint, annealing or manufacturing through chemical deposition. The object that is to beheated moves along the furnace as it is heated following a speciﬁed temperature history.The spatial temperature distribution on the object is kept isothermal through the wholeprocess. The temperature distribution of the heaters of the furnace should be changed asthe object moves so that the speciﬁed temperature history can be satisﬁed. The designproblem is transient where a series of inverse problems are solved. The process furnaceconsidered is in the shape of a rectangular tunnel where the heaters are located on the topand the design object moves along the bottom. The inverse design approach is used for thesolution, which is advantageous over a traditional trial-and-error solution where an it-erative solution is required for every position as the object moves. The inverse formula-tion of the design problem is ill-posed and involves a set of Fredholm equations of the ﬁrstkind. The use of advanced solvers that are able to regularize the resulting system isessential. These include the conjugate gradient method, the truncated singular valuedecomposition or Tikhonov regularization, rather than an ordinary solver, like Gauss-Seidel or Gauss elimination. @DOI: 10.1115/1.1763179#
Recent results derived from the diurnal‐variation observations of the atmospheric‐electric potential‐gradient on board the Carnegie

The Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, in accordance with its director's plans, has for many years been making not only magnetic but also atmospheric-electric observations aboard its survey vessel, the Carnegie. It is thus contributing the chief data for mapping both the earth's magnetic field and its electric field. Furthermore, since 1915 numerous observations have been made aboard the Carnegie to determine the nature and magnitude of the changes in the electric condition of the atmosphere which take place during a 24-hour cycle. For the potential-gradient the general procedure in the diurnal-variation observations is to make a set of 20 observations during each of 24 consecutive hours. The observations for such a set require about 20 minutes and their mean value is referred to the mean time for the set. From deductions based on the observations made prior to April, 1916, it appeared that the diurnal variation of the potential-gradient over the oceans probably did not differ much from that which has been found at many land stations; that is, they indicated two rather pronounced maxima and two minima during a 24-hour period. However, very few data were available from oceans other than the Pacific, and as pointed out in the report just cited, a large percentage was derived from series of observations which were terminated by the advent of unfavorable weather. It should also be noted in passing that Swann a year later in discussing the results of the observations for the year ending February 20, 1917, states that “the effect of the 12-hour Fourier wave is less important in the present curves than in those already published.”
Urease Activity of Ureolytic Bacteria Isolated from Six Soils in which Calcite was Precipitated by Indigenous Bacteria

Ten distinct and phylogenetically diverse bacterial strains able to produce urease constitutively, even in the presence of high levels of ammonia, were isolated. Each isolate was characterized with respect to morphology, growth conditions, 16S rRNA sequence identity and the urease specific activity each isolate was measured. At least one bacteria that was able to hydrolyze urea in the presence of high concentration of ammonia was isolated from each soil tested. These results indicate that constitutive production of urease is a common trait in soil bacteria. This makes the general application of biomineralization process based on stimulation of urea hydrolysis possible and potentially useful for a variety of soil bioengineering and environmental bioremediation applications.
CONVEX SOLUTIONS OF SYSTEMS ARISING FROM MONGE-AMP ` ERE EQUATIONS

We establish two criteria for the existence of convex solutions to a boundary value problem for weakly coupled systems arising from the Monge-Ampere equations. We shall use fixed point theorems in a cone.
Exercise-induced changes in insulin action are associated with ACE gene polymorphisms in older adults

We evaluated the association between insulin resistance and the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion (I)/deletion (D) gene polymorphism in a group of older hypertensive subjects (63 ± 1 yr...
Adult male emigration and a female-based social organization in swift foxes, Vulpes velox

Abstract Members of the family Canidae are distinguished from other carnivore families by pair bonding and male care of the young. Because of the importance of food provisioning and territorial defence by males, social structure among canids is shared or even dominated by males. However, small, insectivorous species of canids show little male parental care, although whether social structure differs from other canids is unknown. We combined data from three independent research projects on a small canid, the swift fox, to help elucidate the social organization of this species. Based on data on movements of 35 adult mated pairs and the fate of litters, we found that adult females maintained territories and family structure, whereas adult males tended to emigrate. This is the first evidence of a female-based social organization among any canid species. This type of social organization probably resulted from the decreased importance of territorial defence and food provisioning by males, as their diet is primarily insectivorous during summer when young are weaned. Our results, along with others, indicate that variations in social structure among canid species are strongly influenced by the importance of food provisioning and territorial defence by males.
Enzyme replacement therapy with idursulfase in patients with mucopolysaccharidosis type II.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II; Hunter syndrome) is a rare X-linked recessive disease caused by deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme iduronate-2-sulphatase. This leads to the progressive accumulation of glycosaminoglycans in tissues throughout the body. As a result, patients may suffer from severe airway obstruction, skeletal deformities, cardiomyopathy and, in severely affected patients, there may be progressive neurological decline. Despite the early onset of signs and symptoms, diagnosis is often delayed. Until recently, treatment for MPS II has been largely palliative; however, enzyme replacement therapy with recombinant iduronate-2-sulphatase, which is produced in a human cell line and targets the underlying cause of the disease, has now been approved. Conclusion: This short review provides an overview of the natural history of MPS II and current experience of enzyme replacement therapy with idursulfase.
Post-route optimization for improved yield using a rubber-band wiring model

This paper presents a unique approach to improve yield given a routed layout. Currently after routing has been completed and compacted, it generally proceeds to verification without further modifications. However, to improve manufacturability, we introduce a concept called even wire distribution, a key element of the SURF physical design tool. To alleviate congestion, we first move vias and wires torwards less dense areas in a manner which preserves the existing wiring paths. Depending on locally available area, we then increase wire spacing to reduce defect sensitivity, without changing the area of the design. Carafe, an inductive fault analysis tool is used to evaluate the new layout.