cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SDRBench: Scientific Data Reduction Benchmark for Lossy Compressors

Efficient error-controlled lossy compressors are becoming critical to the success of today’s large-scale scientific applications because of the ever-increasing volume of data produced by the applications. In the past decade, many lossless and lossy compressors have been developed with distinct design principles for different scientific datasets in largely diverse scientific domains. In order to support researchers and users assessing and comparing compressors in a fair and convenient way, we establish a standard compression assessment benchmark – Scientific Data Reduction Benchmark (SDRBench)1. SDRBench contains a vast variety of real-world scientific datasets across different domains, summarizes several critical compression quality evaluation metrics, and integrates many state-of-the-art lossy and lossless compressors. We demonstrate evaluation results using SDRBench and summarize six valuable takeaways that are helpful to the in-depth understanding of lossy compressors.
Popliteal Artery Occlusion with Collateral Blood Flow in a Reducible Knee Dislocation During Pregnancy: A Case Report.

Case A 29-year-old healthy woman, 19 weeks pregnant, sustained a right posterolateral knee dislocation with multiligamentous injury and a complete occlusive injury to the right popliteal artery yet had adequate distal perfusion. She declined operative management for both the knee dislocation and the arterial injury, and successful collaboration between obstetrical, vascular, and orthopaedic surgical services resulted in limb preservation and restoration of function. Conclusion This is a unique case of traumatic complete popliteal artery occlusion with adequate collateral arterial perfusion after a reducible posterolateral knee dislocation in a pregnant patient that resulted in limb preservation with nonoperative management.
The Wretched of the Research: Disenchanting Man2-as-Educational Researcher and Entering the 36th Chamber of Education Research:

Compulsory state-sanctioned schooling continues to be constructed as the “great equalizer,” and accordingly education research as a benevolent contributor to this material and ideological project o...
Information asymmetry in fire insurance: a frontier approach

The composed error stochastic frontier model is used to separate random variations in fire insurance losses from systematic unexpected losses due to adverse selection or moral hazard. Net premiums are an ex-ante predictor of losses, based on information available to insurers. Losses due to information unknown to the insurer are picked up by the half-normal part of the error term. Loss data for 275 stock fire companies operating in 51 states and territories in 1917 are analyzed in a random effects panel data model. The mean cost per insurer of adverse selection and moral hazard amounts to 15% of fire losses. This is an upper bound estimate because some portion of this cost may be due to failure to operate efficiently rather than incomplete information.
Novel spacesuit boot design developed from dynamic foot shape modeling

Future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars will require spacesuits that allow astronauts to walk safely and comfortably. Gas-pressurized spacesuits limit the operator’s motion, resulting in mismat...
Integrated system architectures for high-performance internet servers

Network server systems play a significant role in the modern computing infra-structure and represent a sizable portion of computer industry revenue. Though network communication is central to today's computing environment, current high-performance computer systems are unable to saturate the latest available high-bandwidth networks such as 10 Gigabit Ethernet. A key obstacle in achieving 10 gigabits per second is the high overhead of communication between the CPU and the network interface controller (NIC), which typically resides on a standard I/O bus with high access latency. Given that networking is a primary concern of computer systems and current technology can easily accommodate the integration of the NIC onto the CPU die, it is no longer necessary for the NIC to be treated as a conventional peripheral device. This dissertation demonstrates the importance of tighter integration between the NIC and CPU. It begins by showing that simple integration of a traditional NIC onto the CPU die can result in bandwidth improvements of more than a factor of two relative to more conventional designs. Tighter integration alone provides significant benefits, but also enables a redesign of the NIC itself to take advantage of the new properties of the interactions between the NIC and CPU, particularly lower latency. This leads to a NIC design that is significantly simpler than current high performance NICs. This design, which I call the simple integrated NIC or SINIC, moves more of the intelligence of network processing to the CPU core allowing system software programmers significantly more flexibility in the way that system software uses the NIC. Thus, a suitably redesigned NIC enables software optimizations not possible with traditional NIC designs. V-SINIC, an extended version of SINIC, provides virtual per-packet registers; enabling packet-level parallel processing while maintaining a FIFO model. V-SINIC also enables deferring the copy of the packet payload when receiving, which I exploit to implement, a zero-copy receive optimization in the Linux 2.6 kernel. Because no existing tool was capable of detailed performance analysis of networked hosts, a significant component of this dissertation was the development of these capabilities within the M5 simulator. The resulting software is freely accessible so that others can perform similar research.
Mobility-Pattern based localization update algorithms for mobile wireless sensor networks

In mobile wireless sensor networks, sensors move in the monitored area at any direction and at any speed. Unlike many other networking hosts, sensor nodes do not have global addresses. Very often they are identified by using a location-based addressing scheme. Therefore, it is important to have the knowledge of the sensor location indicating where the data came from. In this paper, we design three mobility-pattern based localization update algorithms. Specifically, we divide sensor movements into three states, Pause, Linear, and Random. Each state adopts different localization update algorithms. Analytical and simulation results are provided to study the localization cost and location accuracy of the proposed localization-update algorithm in different mobility patterns. The analysis to these results indicates that the localization cost is minimized and the location accuracy is improved.
Side Effects of 5-Alpha Reductase Inhibitors: A Comprehensive Review.

Abstract Introduction 5α‐reductase inhibitors (5ARI) include finasteride and dutasteride, and are commonly prescribed in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia and androgenic alopecia. 5ARIs are associated with several known adverse effects (AEs), with varying reported prevalence rates. Aim The aim was to review and summarize findings from published literature detailing AEs associated with 5ARI use. A secondary aim was to review potential mechanisms of action, which may account for these observed and reported AEs. Methods A PubMed search was conducted on articles published from 1992 to 2012, which reported AEs with 5ARIs. Priority was given to randomized, placebo‐controlled trials. Studies investigating potential mechanisms of action for 5ARIs were included for review. Main Outcome Measures AE data reported from available trials were summarized and reviewed. Results Reported AEs with 5ARIs include sexual dysfunction, infertility, mood disorders, gynecomastia, high‐grade prostate cancer, breast cancer, and cardiovascular morbidity/risk factors, although their true association, prevalence, causality, and clinical significance remain unclear. A pooled summary of all randomized, placebo‐controlled trials evaluating 5ARIs (N = 62,827) revealed slightly increased rates over placebo for decreased libido (1.5%), erectile dysfunction (ED) (1.6%), ejaculatory dysfunction (EjD) (3.4%), and gynecomastia (1.3%). The limited data available on the impact of 5ARIs on mood disorders demonstrate statistically significant (although clinically minimal) differences in rates of depression and/or anxiety. Similarly, there are limited reports of reversible, diminished fertility among susceptible individuals. Post‐marketing surveillance reports have questioned the actual prevalence of AEs associated with 5ARI use and suggest the possibility of persistent symptoms after drug discontinuation. Well‐designed studies evaluating these reports are needed. Conclusions 5ARIs are associated with slightly increased rates of decreased libido, ED, EjD, gynecomastia, depression, and/or anxiety. Further studies directed at identifying prevalence rates and persistence of symptoms beyond drug discontinuation are required to assess causality. Trost L, Saitz TR, and Hellstrom WJG. Side effects of 5‐alpha reductase inhibitors: A comprehensive review. Sex Med Rev 2013;1:24–41.
Ontogeny of cellular immunity in the human fetus: development of responses to phytohemagglutinin and to allogeneic cells.

Abstract Human fetal lymphoid cells from thymus, spleen, blood, liver, and bone marrow of 22 fetuses (5–19 weeks of fetal age) were studied for their ability to respond to phytohemagglutinin and to adult allogeneic lymphocytes by the mixed lymphocyte reaction. The earliest detectable response was that by hepatic cells in the mixed lymphocyte reaction at 7.5 weeks of fetal age. Phytohemagglutinin reactivity was initially seen in the thymus at 10 weeks, in blood at 14.5 weeks, and in spleen at 13 weeks. Mixed lymphocyte reaction reactivity was first detected in the thymus at 12.5 weeks; it appeared somewhat later in peripheral organs. Few significant responses to phytohemagglutinin were detected in bone marrow or hepatic cells, and virtually no response to allogeneic cells was found in bone marrow. All lymphoid cells studied showed stimulatory ability in the mixed lymphocyte reaction. However, spleen, blood, and marrow cells produced higher stimulation of allogeneic cells than did thymic or hepatic cells.
A decrease in the addition of new cells in the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex between puberty and adulthood in male rats

Adolescence involves shifts in social behaviors, behavioral flexibility, and adaptive risk-taking that coincide with structural remodeling of the brain. We previously showed that new cells are added to brain regions associated with sexual behaviors, suggesting that cytogenesis may be a mechanism for acquiring adult-typical behaviors during adolescence. Whether pubertal cell addition occurs in brain regions associated with behavioral flexibility or motivation and whether these patterns differ between pubertal and adult animals had not been determined. Therefore, we assessed patterns of cell proliferation or survival in the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. Pubertal and adult male rats were given injections of bromo-deoxyuridine (BrdU). To assess cell proliferation, half of the animals from each group were sacrificed 24 h following the last injection. The remaining animals were sacrificed at Day 30 following the last injection to evaluate cell survival. Adult animals had significantly lower densities of BrdU-immunoreactive (ir) cells in the prefrontal cortex, irrespective of post-BrdU survival time, whereas in the nucleus accumbens, adult animals had a lower density of BrdU-ir cells at the short survival time; however, the density of BrdU-ir cells was equivalent in pubertal and adult animals at the longer survival time. These data provide evidence that cell addition during puberty may contribute to the remodeling of brain regions associated with behavioral flexibility and motivation, and this cell addition continues into adulthood, albeit at lower levels. Higher levels of cell proliferation or survival in younger animals may reflect a higher level of plasticity, possibly contributing to the dynamic remodeling of the pubertal brain. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 74: 633–642, 2014
Fulminant Guillain-Barre Syndrome Mimicking Clinical Brain Death: A Rare Condition With Bad Outcomes

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is a disease of the peripheral nervous system characterized by acute areflexic paralysis and albuminocytological dissociation on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Fulminant GBS mimicking clinical brain death has been described in the literature and has overall poor prognosis since patients either die or are left with severe disability. We describe a case of fulminant GBS mimicking clinical brain death where patient died of unexplained asystolic cardiac arrest related to severe dysautonomia. Dysautonomia is a marker of poor prognosis in this patient population. J Med Cases. 2015;6(7):320-321 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc2181w
Molecular analysis of atrazine-degrading bacteria and catabolic genes in the water column and sediment of a created wetland in an agricultural/urban watershed

Abstract Atrazine-mineralizing bacteria were enriched from water and sediment samples from a constructed flow-through wetland that received water from a river with an agricultural watershed. Bio–Sep beads laden with atrazine were submerged in the wetland sediment and water column in an attempt to sorb atrazine-metabolizing microbes on beads. Biometer experiments with in-situ incubated beads did not detect 14CO2 formation from 14C-atrazine. HPLC analysis was used to rank atrazine biodegradation by enrichment cultures from wetland samples. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences of 60 clones from aerobic enrichment cultures revealed the predominance of the genera Acidovorax (33%), Ralstonia (22%), Azorhizobium (12%), and Xanthobacter (12%) with sequence match ≥0.90 in wetland samples. Similar analysis of 12 clones from anaerobic enrichment cultures revealed the predominance of the genera Hydrogenophaga (42%) and Rhizobium (25%). Pure culture isolates (n = 18) were primarily Arthrobacter spp. (89%) at sequence match ≥0.97. Pure cultures were screened qualitatively for the presence of 8 catabolic genes associated with known pathways of atrazine biodegradation. None of the cultures had all Atz pathway genes and none contained atzD and trzD genes. AtzC was found in all isolates. The data indicate that the diversity of atrazine degraders was comparable to findings in agricultural soil studies, with the notable cluster of Arthrobacter spp. which may be favored by the culture conditions used for isolation.
Nearby variables with nearby conditional laws and a strong approximation theorem for Hilbert space valued martingales

In this paper we focus on sequences of random vectors which do not admit a strong approximation of their partial sums by sums of independent random vectors. In the first part we prove conditional versions of the Strassen-Dudley theorem. We apply these in the second part of the paper to obtain strong invariance principles for vector-valued martingales which, when properly normalized, converge in law to a mixture of Gaussian distributions.
Confrontation with blood and disgust stimuli precipitates respiratory dysregulation in blood–injection–injury phobia

Blood-injection-injury (BII) phobia patients sometimes faint during exposure to relevant stimuli. However, mechanisms and timing of physiological adjustments in BII phobia remain poorly understood. In a larger sample of 60 patients and 20 controls, we sought to replicate findings of a prior study demonstrating the role of hyperventilation in the phobic response. We also investigated the timing of respiratory adjustment across an extended exposure recovery period. In addition, because intense disgust is commonly reported by patients, responses to surgery films were compared to a pure disgust film. End-tidal PCO(2) dropped significantly while volume and flow increased during the surgery film in patients compared to controls and to other emotional films except disgust. Patients recovered quickly following the disgust film but not the surgery film. PCO(2), volume, and flow parameters showed robust associations with anxiety, disgust, and physical symptoms. Findings suggest that respiratory adjustments during and after phobic exposure may provide a critical missing link in the understanding of the psychophysiology of this singular disorder, including why fainting often occurs after the stimulus is removed.
Mode of Action of Diethyl Ether in Blocking Neuromuscular Transmission

The action of diethyl ether has been studied on frog sciatic nerve-sartorius muscle preparations in vitro using modern single fiber techniques. At a concentration of ether which blocks the indirect twitch, the muscle fibers can be stimulated directly. They have normal resting potentials and the action potentials elicited show only minor changes in form. The neuromuscular block produced by ether is not effectively antagonized by edrophonium or succinylcholine. Ether causes reduction in the amplitude, and prolongation of the time course, of both the end-plate potential, and the miniature end-plate potential. Ether diminishes the sensitivity of the muscle postjunctional membrane to quaternary ammonium compounds such as carbamylcholine. The mechanism of the neuromuscular blocking action of ether differs from that of d-tubocurarine. It is suggested that ether causes changes in the behavior of the permeability controlling mechanisms which are engaged subsequent to receptor site activation.
New stereo video coding in redundant wavelet domain

The 3D technology has been one of the fastest growing technologies in the recent years. This paper proposed a high performance 3D stereoscopic video coding system in redundant wavelet domain utilizing a multiband variable size block motion compensation technique. Our approach is based on structure from motion techniques and uses Depth-based rendering to reconstruct the desired stereo views for each video frame. The depth image has a low energy and does not have sharp boundaries; therefore, it is not an easy task to obtain an accurate motion vector. Fortunately, the redundant wavelet domain provides a good solution by retaining all the phase information and provides a multiple prediction possibilities for motion techniques.
Anther culture with different genotypes of opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.): effect of cold treatment

This study concerns anther culture and the production of microspore-derived calluses and plants of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.). It was confirmed that growth regulators were necessary for microspore callus production. Cold treatment (7 d at 7°C) of the buds prior to culture lead to a twofold increase in the frequency of responsive anthers and in the number of calluses per 100 anthers plated. Callus was produced from cultured anthers of several genotypes, covering a wide genetic background. Step by step removal of growth regulators from the culture medium promoted organogenesis and plant regeneration. Most regenerated plants were diploid. The overall process of microspore embryogenesis closely resembled that described in previous reports on somatic callus production and plant regeneration from poppy hypocotyls in vitro.
Amorphous alloys formed by solid state reaction

Abstract Many binary systems exhibit an amorphization reaction in the solid state. Closely related to this phenomenon is the formation of disordered interfaces in metal multilayers during vapor deposition. We have observed an amorphization reaction in the Gd/Co system in situ during sputter deposition by using grazing incidence X-ray scattering. We relate this observation to disordered interface development in other systems, and present a simple model for bulk diffusion limited growth of the disordered layer during deposition. From the large chemical interdiffusivity calculated from this model, we conclude that other effects, perhaps surface diffusion of Co to Gd grain boundaries, are responsible for the rapid amorphization of Gd by Co.
Impact of malaria on genetic polymorphism and genetic diseases in Africans and African Americans

Abstract The high mortality from malaria in sub-Sahara Africa selected multiple genes that give the population a selective advantage. Identification of the genetic basis for resistance may suggest unusual approaches to development of malarial vaccines and antimalarial drugs. Some of these genes may be deleterious, although of selective advantage within the African setting, and need to be identified for counseling for disease prevention.
Relationship Between the Lactic Dehydrogenase-Elevating Virus and Transplantable Murine Tumors.

SummaryThe following murine tumors were propagated serially in vitro: Sarcoma 180, Hauschka-Klein ascites tumor, and hepa-tomas 129 and 134. The lactic dehydrogenase-elevating virus initially associated with all of these tumors in vivo did not multiply in cell cultures and by serial propagation in vitro the tumors were freed from the virus. The results indicate that the relationship between the lactic dehydrogenase-elevating virus and transplantable mouse tumors is that of a common contaminant. The “virus-free” tumor cells produced tumors when implanted into mice. The growth rate and transplant-ability of these tumors was the same in normal mice and in mice infected intentionally with the virus.
Mental Causes and the Will

Examinant les explications neuro-physiologiques des actions humaines en termes de lois ou connexions causales semblables a la description du mouvement d'une machine, l'A. souligne le caractere particulier des situations dans lesquelles se manifeste la volonte de la personne. Distinguant les causes mecaniques qui expliquent le fait d'eternuer des causes mentales qui expliquent le fait de pleurer, l'A. montre que les jeux de langage et la grammaire ordinaire du vouloir (Wittgenstein) sont lies a la signification des desirs et des besoins de la vie humaine dans tous ses contextes (Freud)
Anthropomorphizing the Mouse Cardiac Action Potential via a Novel Dynamic Clamp Method

Interspecies differences can limit the translational value of excitable cells isolated from model organisms. It can be difficult to extrapolate from a drug- or mutation-induced phenotype in mice to human pathophysiology because mouse and human cardiac electrodynamics differ greatly. We present a hybrid computational-experimental technique, the cell-type transforming clamp, which is designed to overcome such differences by using a calculated compensatory current to convert the macroscopic electrical behavior of an isolated cell into that of a different cell type. We demonstrate the technique's utility by evaluating drug arrhythmogenicity in murine cardiomyocytes that are transformed to behave like human myocytes. Whereas we use the cell-type transforming clamp in this work to convert between mouse and human electrodynamics, the technique could be adapted to convert between the action potential morphologies of any two cell types of interest.
Mineralogy, Correlation, and Grain-Size Distributions of Mazama Tephra and Other Postglacial Pyroclastic Layers, Pacific Northwest

Mazama air-fall tephra is a pumiceous pyroclastic deposit dispersed over almost a million square kilometers by an eruption about 7,000 yr ago of ancient Mount Mazama, the precursor of Crater Lake caldera, Oregon. The tephra layer is valuable as a stratigraphic marker and for what it reveals about the production and dispersal of tephra. The tephra is characterized by its minerals, which include plagioclase (73.1 ± 1.2 percent), hypersthene (9.4 ± 0.5 percent), magnetite (10.2 ± 1.1 percent), hornblende (3.9 ± 0.4 percent), and clinopyroxene (2.8 ± 0.3 percent). Mean refractive index of glass is 1.508 ± 0.001. Mineral abundances and refractive index are homogeneous, and over the region sampled the variances of these properties are no greater than in a single fragment of pumice. Within about 300 km of Crater Lake, the abundance of discrete mineral grains increases, but the proportion of heavy minerals does not change with increasing distance. Tephra at 14 localities can be correlated with Mazama tephra mineralogically. The localities are at Blue Mountains, Columbia Gorge, and China Hat Butte in Oregon; Curelom Cirque in Utah; and at archaeologic sites at Fort Rock Cave, Paisley Cave, Connley Cave, Three Sheep Rockshelter, Everyone, Hobo Cave, Wildcat Canyon, and Big Eddy in Oregon; and Night-fire Island in California. Other tephra layers in the region studied contain assemblages of minerals similar to the Mazama assemblage, perhaps because all have sources among volcanoes of the Cascade Range. This makes discrimination difficult, and no layers could be definitively correlated or identified with a specific source. Mazama tephra has heterogeneous size-frequency distributions that fit Rosin9s distribution. Heterogeneity is caused by intermingling of coarse pumiceous fragments and finer crystalline grains; however, if grain size is expressed as terminal velocity, then frequency distributions are log-normal and homogeneous; grains of disparate size or density occur together because they have equivalent terminal velocities. Phi median diameter varies curvilinearly with distance from Crater Lake, but the relation is not readily interpreted in terms of mechanism of deposition. Median terminal velocity, however, varies as V t * = K 3 · D − r , where V t * is median terminal velocity and D is distance. The parameters K 3 and r may characterize individual eruptions and facilitate understanding of the production and dispersal of air-fall tephra.
Heparin and heparan sulfate delimit nephron formation in fetal metanephric kidneys

Formation of nephrons from primitive mesenchyme in fetal kidneys is induced by ureteric buds. Nephron induction is closely coordinated with branching morphogenesis of the ureteric bud. Having previously shown that branching of the primitive ureter is associated with de novo synthesis of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan and release of free heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycan chains, we asked whether glycosaminoglycans influence nephron development. Fetal mouse kidneys were incubated in organ cultures containing heparan sulfate, heparin, chondroitin sulfate, or hyaluronate. After 48 hr the number of nephrons at each developmental stage was enumerated by light microscopic analysis of serial tissue sections. Kidneys incubated in heparin or in heparan sulfate contained up to 10-fold fewer nephrons than did kidneys incubated in control conditions or in chondroitin sulfate or hyaluronic acid. Maturation of nephrons, however, was unaffected. Inhibition of nephron development was associated with binding of labeled heparin to primitive mesenchyme and altered tissue distribution of fibronectin. Branching morphogenesis was impaired in kidneys exposed to heparin but not to heparan sulfate or to de-N-sulfated, N-acetylated heparin. The capacity of glycosaminoglycans to inhibit nephron formation depended on sugar composition and O-sulfation but not GAG chain size or charge density. Thus, heparan sulfate may have the capacity to specifically control formation of nephrons in fetal metanephric kidneys in vitro.
An investigation of Staudinger reactions involving cis-1,3,5-triazidocyclohexane and tri(alkylamino)phosphines.

The reaction of 1,3,5-cis-triazidocyclohexane with the electron-rich tris(dialkylamino)phosphines P(NMe2)3 (1) and N(CH2CH2NMe)3P (2b) in acetonitrile for 3 h furnished the corresponding tris-phosphazides 1,3,5-cis-(R3PN3)3C6H9, 3a (R3P = 1) and 3b (R3P = 2b), in 90% and 92% yields, respectively. The same reaction with the relatively electron-poor tris(dialkylamino)phosphine MeC(CH2NMe)3P (4) for 2 days gave the tris-iminophosphorane, 1,3,5-cis-(R3PN)3C6H9, 5a (R3P = 4), in 60% yield. Compound 3b is a thermally stable solid that did not lose dinitrogen when refluxed in toluene for 24 h or when heated as a neat sample at 100 °C /0.5 Torr for 10 h. By contrast, tris-phosphazide 3a decomposed to the tris-iminophosphorane 1,3,5-cis-(R3PN)3C6H9, 5b (R3P = 1), in 3 h in quantitative yield upon heating to 100 °C in toluene. Factors influencing the formation of the phosphazides or the iminophosphoranes in these reactions are discussed. The reaction of 3b with 4 equiv of benzoic acid gave [N(CH2CH2NMe)3PNH2]PhCO2 ...
Tracking invariant manifolds up to exponentially small errors

This work establishes a new tool for proving the existence of multiple-pulse homoclinic orbits in perturbed Hamiltonian systems and general multidimensional singular-perturbation problems. The center-stable and center-unstable manifolds of slow manifolds in these problems intersect transversely at angles that are of the same order as the asymptotically small parameter in the problem, which can be either an amplitude or a frequency. To deal with the difficulties associated with small angles of intersection, we develop the exchange lemma with exponentially small error (ELESE), which is the main technical result of this work. This lemma enables highly accurate tracking of invariant manifolds while orbits on them spend long intervals of time near slow manifolds.
Investigation of multi-component lead-free solders

Binary phase diagrams of interest for lead-free solder development have been entered into the THERMO-CALC data base. These may be used directly to calculate multi-component phase relations vs temperature provided there are no ternary or higher order interactions. Such occur in the Sn-Ag-Zn system and are being evaluated. Contact angles of a number of solder-flux combinations on copper were directly measured in spreading tests. With a rosin-isopropyl alcohol flux, the contact angles of binary eutectic solders were in degrees: Sn-Bi at 166°C, 40; Sn-Zn at 225°C, 60; Sn-Ag at 250°C, 45. These angles were little affected by a number of 1% ternary additions to the solder. The contact angles were 20 degrees or less when SnCl2 was used as a flux. The SnCl2 reacts with Cu to form Cu3Sn. The most likely successful approach to obtain satisfactory wetting with lead-free solders appears to be development of a satisfactory flux.
Mechanisms of plaque vulnerability and rupture.

Rupture of atherosclerotic plaque has been identified as the proximate event in the majority of cases of acute ischemic syndromes. Plaque rupture exposes thrombogenic components of the plaque, activating the clotting cascade and promoting thrombus formation. Future culprit lesions are difficult to identify, however, and angiographic assessment of stenosis severity is prone to underestimation. Compared with plaques that cause severe luminal stenosis, vulnerable plaques may cause relatively minor stenosis, although they account for more cases of rupture and thrombosis. Such unstable, vulnerable plaques may be associated with outward remodeling of the vessel. Because severely stenotic plaques are more likely to stimulate collateral circulation to the post-stenotic segment, plaque rupture and thrombosis at such sites may be clinically silent. Characteristic histomorphologic features of vulnerable plaques include a high lipid content, increased numbers of inflammatory cells, and extensive adventitial and intimal neovascularity. The fibrous cap of an atherosclerotic plaque may become thin and rupture as a result of the depletion of matrix components through the activation of enzymes, such as matrix-degrading proteinases and cystcine and aspartate proteases, and through the reduction in the number of smooth muscle cells. Activated T cells may also inhibit matrix synthesis through the production of interferon-gamma. A number of triggers of plaque rupture have been identified. Also, some thrombi may occur without rupture of the fibrous cap. Reducing the lipid component and inflammation in atherosclerotic plaques may help reduce the risk of plaque rupture. This may account for the clinical benefit of risk-factor reduction gained from changes in lifestyle and from drug therapy.
Relationships between the WAIS and neuropsychological measures for neuropsychiatric inpatients.

Abstract The current study examines the sensitivity of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale in predicting performance on a modified Halstead Neuropsychological Test Buttery for lower-functioning neuropsychiatric inpatients (97 men, 54 women). Regression analyses support earlier-reported findings that the WAIS's subtests more accurately predict neuropsychological test performance than do the WAIS IQ's alone. The IQ's and scaled scores respectively predicted 27% and 39% of the variance in the Halstead's measures. The overall relationship between neurocognitive and WAIS indices is somewhat greater than previous reports and is apparently due to the fact that the lower the overall level of cognitive ability, the lower is neuropsychological functioning in general. However, since most of the variance in the modified Halstead Battery was not common with the WAIS's indices, these findings continue to support the practice of including both sets of measures as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment paradigm for such patients. The importance of developing instruments and procedures which more precisely measure “fluid” neurocognitive abilities is underscored.
Thermal effects on a passive wireless antenna sensor for strain and crack sensing

For application in structural health monitoring, a folded patch antenna has been previously designed as a wireless sensor that monitors strain and crack in metallic structures. Resonance frequency of the RFID patch antenna is closely related with its dimension. To measure stress concentration in a base structure, the sensor is bonded to the structure like a traditional strain gage. When the antenna sensor is under strain/deformation together with the base structure, the antenna resonance frequency varies accordingly. The strain-related resonance frequency variation is wirelessly interrogated and recorded by a reader, and can be used to derive strain/deformation. Material properties of the antenna components can have significant effects on sensor performance. This paper investigates thermal effects through both numerical simulation and temperature chamber testing. When temperature fluctuates, previous sensor design (with a glass microfiber-reinforced PTFE substrate) shows relatively large variation in resonance frequency. To improve sensor performance, a new ceramic-filled PTFE substrate material is chosen for re-designing the antenna sensor. Temperature chamber experiments are also conducted to the sensor with new substrate material, and compared with previous design.
Plastic deformation of hafnium-oxygen alloys

The plastic flow kinetics of hafnium single crystals and polycrystals of a range of oxygen contents were investigated over the temperature range of 77 to 873 K employing the technique of incrementally changing the temperature and strain rate. It was found that τ*0 ≈ 2.4 x 10−3 μ0√Ci, where τ*0 is the effective CRSS extrapolated to 0K, μ0 the modulus at OK, and Ci the total interstitial content (0.05 to 1.16 at. pct). Using the theory of thermally activated deformation, it is concluded that overcoming local interstitial obstacles is rate controlling over the temperature range of 77 to 750 K and that the obstacles are characterized by a Gibbs activation free energy δG at 0K and zero effective stress of ∼1.7 eV (0.14 μ0b3). Results for single crystals and polycrystals are in agreement using a Taylor factor of 3.5 for the ratio of tensile to shear stress.
Coaching the Multiplicity of Mind: A Strengths-based Model

Professional health and wellness coaches are passionate about helping people learn, change, and grow. We are lifelong students of what enables humans to perform at our best. The phrase coaching the whole person is common coaching parlance; full engagement in self-care often requires that clients shift a spectrum of beliefs, motives, and perspectives in order to make changes that are sustainable. Just as important is the need for coaches to fully engage in their own self-care in order to best serve their clients.
Teacher Self-Disclosure: Amount, Relevance, and Negativity

This study focused on teacher self-disclosure in the classroom and the introduction of a measure that encompasses three dimensions of teacher self-disclosure: amount, relevance, and valence. Although other measures of self-disclosure exist, including a unidimensional scale for quantity of teacher self-disclosure, past research indicated that teacher self-disclosure entails more than just the amount. Specifically, we determined that relevance and valence are important dimensions of teacher self-disclosure. Additionally, the three dimensions of teacher self-disclosure related to course affect, affect for the instructor, student motivation, teacher clarity, and student interest. The Teacher Self-Disclosure Scale revealed a suitable level of reliability (α = .80 amount; α = .88 relevance; α = .84 negativity) and evidence of criterion validity.
Improving flood forecasting in international river basins

In flood-prone international river basins (IRBs), many riparian nations that are located close to a basin's outlet face a major problem in effectively forecasting flooding because they are unable to assimilate in situ rainfall data in real time across geopolitical boundaries. NASA's propose Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, which is expected to begin in 2010, will comprise high-resolution passive microwave (PM) sensors (at resolution ∼3-6 hours, 10 x 10 square kilometers) that may provide new opportunities to improve flood forecasting in these river basins. Research is now needed to realize the potential of GPM. With adequate research in the coming years, it may be possible to identify the specific IRBs that would benefit cost-effectively from a preprogrammed satellite-based forecasting system in anticipation of GPM. Acceleration of such a research initiative is worthwhile because it could reduce the risk of the cancellation of GPM [see Zielinski, 2005].
Power Flow and Energy Balance Between Nonconservatively Coupled Oscillators

The concept of power flow, which has been found to be a powerful tool in the dynamic analysis of complex systems with conservative connecting elements, is extended to the case of nonconservatively coupled mechanical or structural systems. In order to avoid any ambiguity in the definition of power flow in this situation, the nonconservatively coupled oscillators are considered as a limiting case of oscillators with conservative connections. Through the introduction of dissipative power and penetrating power flow, this approach is shown to produce a physical consistent formulation. Some important and distinguishing properties of this formulation are demonstrated and discussed through numerical examples.
Silencing Mediator for Retinoid and Thyroid Hormone Receptor and Nuclear Receptor Corepressor Attenuate Transcriptional Activation by the β-Catenin-TCF4 Complex

β-Catenin is a multifunctional mediator of cellular signaling and an oncogene. Nuclear β-catenin, when complexed with members of the T-cell factor (TCF)/leukocyte enhancer factor family of DNA-binding proteins, mediates transcriptional activation important for embryonic development and adult cell homeostasis. Deregulation of intracellular levels of β-catenin is an early event in the development of a variety of cancers. We observed that the proteins silencing mediator for retinoid and thyroid hormone receptor (SMRT) and the nuclear receptor corepressor (NCoR) are negative regulators of transcription induced by the β-catenin-TCF4 complex. Overexpression of SMRT and NCoR attenuated the transcription of β-catenin-TCF4-specific reporter gene and of CCND1, an endogenous β-catenin target gene. Knockdown of endogenous SMRT or NCoR by short interfering RNA augmented the β-catenin-TCF4-mediated reporter gene expression. Glutathione S-transferase pulldown experiments showed there was a direct physical association of SMRT and NCoR with both β-catenin and TCF4. DNA-protein interaction studies revealed that the interactions between either SMRT or NCoR and β-catenin or TCF4 occurred at the promoter regions of CCND1 and other target genes. These findings demonstrate an important role for corepressors SMRT and NCoR in the regulation of β-catenin-TCF4-mediated gene transcription.
Evidence for a single structural polypeptide in foot-and-mouth disease virus.

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) degraded at low ionic-strength as well as purified viral protein (E276 mμ1%=11.1; max.276 mμ/min.250 mμ =3.0) were examined for heterogeneity by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These preparations, each 8M in urea, 1% in sodium dodecylsulfate and 0.14M in mercaptoethanol (ME), all gave rise to a single, fast-moving protein zone when electrophoresed in 6% acrylamide gels not containing urea. In smaller pore-size gels (7.5 and 10%), slower-migrating zones were also present. When urea was present in the 6% gels, slower zones were always present when the protein was reduced with 0.14M ME. However, only the fast zone was seen after treatment with 4M ME. These findings indicate that the slower-migrating zones are due to discrete classes of aggregated protein and that FMDV structural protein is comprised of an electrophoretically homogeneous polypeptide.
Understanding the mechanism of uranium removal from groundwater by zero- valent iron using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The contaminant of most concern in groundwater at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant's Bear Creek Valley Characterization Area is soluble uranium. The removal mechanism of soluble uranium from groundwater by...
Melanocyte pigmentation inversely correlates with MCP-1 production and angiogenesis-inducing potential

The incidence of certain angiogenesis-dependent diseases is higher in Caucasians than in African Americans. Angiogenesis is amplified in wound healing and cornea models in albino C57 mice compared with black C57 mice. Moreover, mouse and human melanocytes with low pigmentation stimulate endothelial cell (EC) proliferation and migration in vitro more than melanocytes with high pigmentation. This effect is due, in part, to the secretion of an angiogenic protein called fibromodulin (FMOD) from lowly pigmented melanocytes. Herein, we expand upon the mechanism contributing to increased angiogenesis in lighter skin and report that monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) is secreted by nonpigmented mouse melanocytes by 5- to 10-fold more than pigmented melanocytes. MCP-1 protein stimulates EC proliferation and migration in vitro and angiogenesis in vivo. Mechanistic studies determine that FMOD is upstream of MCP-1 and promotes its secretion from both melanocytes and activated ECs via stimulation of NF-κB activity. Mice injected with FMOD-neutralizing antibodies show 2.3-fold decreased levels of circulating MCP-1. Human studies confirmed that, on average, Caucasians have 2-fold higher serum levels of MCP-1 than African Americans. Taken together, this study implicates the FMOD/MCP-1 pathway in the regulation of angiogenesis by local melanocytes and suggests that melanogenic activity may protect against aberrant angiogenic diseases.
Emotional pain without sensory pain--dream on?

The article by Danziger and colleagues in this issue of Neuron evaluates empathy in a unique population—individuals with congenital insensitivity to pain. As such, it provides insights into the brain's ability to evaluate others' feeling to observed pain without having a specific sensory experience of pain itself.
The fate of ear asymmetries in short-term memory.

Abstract Recognition memory for word lists presented to left or right ears was tested after filled retention intervals of 0-to 60-sec duration. Experiment 1 showed that the right-ear advantage (REA) for immediate recognition in dichotic listening does not occur after 10 sec delay. In Experiment 2, monaural presentation produced a nonsignificant REA which did not appear to be affected by delay. These data suggest that the REA for immediate report usually observed in the dichotic listening situation is a transient phenomenon which is based on phonetic encoding. The left hemisphere seems to be specialized for the initial reception of verbal information, but not for the storage or retention of such information over time.
Contrasting copper-dioxygen chemistry arising from alike tridentate alkyltriamine copper(I) complexes.

Copper(I)−dioxygen interactions are of great interest due to their role in biological O2-processing as well as their importance in industrial oxidation processes. We describe here the study of syst...
Data Mining Approaches for Geo-Spatial Big Data: Uncertainty Issues

The availability of a vast amount of heterogeneous information from a variety of sources ranging from satellite imagery to the Internet has been termed as the problem of Big Data. Currently there is a great emphasis on the huge amount of geophysical data that has a spatial basis or spatial aspects. To effectively utilize such volumes of data, data mining techniques are needed to manage discovery from such volumes of data. An important consideration for this sort of data mining is to extend techniques to manage the inherent uncertainty involved in such spatial data. In this paper the authors first provide overviews of uncertainty representations based on fuzzy, intuitionistic, and rough sets theory and data mining techniques. To illustrate the issues they focus on the application of the discovery of association rules in approaches for vague spatial data. The extensions of association rule extraction for uncertain data as represented by rough and fuzzy sets are described. Finally an example of rule extraction for both fuzzy and rough set types of uncertainty representations is given
Flavin reduction potential tuning by substitution and bending

Abstract Computations on a series of flavin derivatives with the B3LYP hybrid density functional and 6-311G(2d,2p) basis set indicate that the ionization potentials (IPs) of the anionic semiquinone and hydroquinone states serve as accurate predictors of the flavin one- and two-electron reduction potentials. The relation between the semiquinone IPs and the two-electron reduction potentials, Em, is ΔIPsq−/ΔEm=3.69±0.18 meV/mV, with a very similar relation obtained for the flavin derivatives' Kohn–Sham highest occupied molecular orbital (KS-HOMO) energies, EKS-HOMO vs. Em. Interestingly, these good correlations between vertical IPs and Ems are observed even though the second reduction step, Flsq⇌Flred− involves significant conformational changes for a number of the derivatives. In fact, the flavin derivatives can be divided roughly into two categories. Those derivatives with high Ems are either planar in the anionic reduced state, or else a negligible amount of energy ( kT), and tend to have larger butterfly bends. The flavin parent compound, lumiflavin, represents the dividing point between these two categories, a result with possibly interesting biological implications for the conformational control of flavin redox potentials by enzymes. B3LYP/6-311G(2d,2p) calculations on lumiflavin constrained to various butterfly bend angles show that the oxidized and semiquinone states (both anionic and protonated at N5) resist bending, with the oxidized state being by far the stiffest. On the other hand, the optimum geometry of the fully reduced state is bent by 15.9° in the anionic state and 24.4° in the neutral state. Full MP2 geometry optimizations confirm the reduced flavin butterfly bend, however the bend angles are larger than the DFT results: 28.7° and 32.6° for the anionic and neutral states, respectively. The relation of the N5 and N10 pyramidalization to the flavin butterfly bend is discussed. The results indicate that a protein-enforced flavin conformation should have significant and differing effect on each of the one electron reduction steps.
Box-counting algorithm and dimensional analysis of a pulsar

Abstract It is argued that the use of the box-counting algorithm to calculate the correlation dimension is a better choice than the Grassberger-Procaccia (correlation integral) algorithm for dealing with an experimental data set. This is illuminated by treating three classical examples: the logistic map, the Hdnon map and the Lorenz equation. The intensity data of a pulsar is also treated which is revealed to have a least embedding dimension of 14 and the correlation dimension of about 4.5.