cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
TU-A-301-06: Image Quality, Dose Saving and Scatter Reduction in Dual-Resolution Cone Beam CT Breast Imaging Using Two Different VOI Scanning Techniques

Purpose: To estimate the image quality, dose saving and scatter reduction in the dual‐resolution cone beam CT(CBCT) breast imaging using two different VOI scanning techniques. Methods: There are two different VOI scanning techniques in dual‐resolution CBCT breast imaging: (1) breast‐ centered with a moving VOI mask technique and (2) the VOI‐centered with a stationary VOI mask technique. In either case, the breast is first scanned with a low resolution detector at a lower exposure level. The VOI in the breast is then scanned with a high resolution detector at a higher exposure level through the VOI mask. The two image sets are combined together to reconstruct high resolution CTimages. A bench‐top experimental CBCTsystem with a flat panel detector and a high resolution CMOSdetector was built. A paraffin cylinder with a diameter of 130 mm was used to simulate breast. A wire phantom, a 15 mm diameter paraffin cylinder with 8 vertically oriented aluminum wires of various diameters, was used to test the image quality. The wire phantom was inserted into the breast phantom 45 mm away from the center and designated as the VOI. The spatial resolution in the reconstructed images, phantom dose and scatter‐to‐primary ratio were measured for both scanning techniques. Results: For both techniques, a visual review of the reconstructed images showed that the diameter of thinnest resolvable wire is 254 μm for regular CBCT and 152 μm for dual resolution CBCT. The doses for dual‐resolution CBCT can be reduced by a factor of 2 inside of the VOI and up to a factor of 6 outside the VOI. The scatter components can be reduced by a factor of 6 inside the VOI. Conclusions: Both scanning techniques were found to result in improved image quality, substantially reduced dose and scatter in dual‐resolution CBCT. This work was supported in part by grants CA104759, CA13852 and CA124585 from NIH‐NCI, a grant EB00117 from NIH‐NIBIB, and a subcontract from NIST‐ATP.
On the stochastic theory of compartments: I. A single-compartment system

A stochastic model is developed for a compartment with a single time-dependent input, and generalized to include inputs from several sources. With the number of particles of a given molecular species in the compartment as the random variable, the mean, variance and third central moment of this variable are calculated from its generating function, and compared with previous results. The behavior of the calculated moments is discussed, and the possibility of applying the model to chemical and biological systems is considered.
Tape Cast Solid-Oxide Fuel Cells for the Direct Oxidation of Hydrocarbons

A tape casting method for fabricating solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) that are active for the direct oxidation of dry hydrocarbons is presented. The method relies on the inclusion of pyrolyzable pore formers in the anode green tape in order to produce a porous yttria-stabilized zirconia anode matrix. Wet impregnation was used to add both a metal current collector and an oxidation catalyst to the anode. The performance characteristics for cells produced using this method while operating on H 2 , CH 4 , and C 4 H 10 are presented.
SOLUBILIZATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MICROSOMAL-ASSOCIATED PHOSPHATIDYLINOSITOL: CERAMIDE PHOSPHOINOSITOL TRANSFERASE FROM SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

The membrane associated enzyme phosphatidylinositol :ceramide phosphoinositol transferase (IPC synthase) catalyzes an essential step in the biosynthesis of yeast inositol-containing sphingolipids. A variety of solubilization agents were examined for their ability to release IPC synthase activity from yeast membranes. The most effective solubilization agent was Triton X-100 which released over 90% of the IPC synthase activity. The basic enzymological properties of the solubilized enzyme were determined using a Triton X-100/phosphatidylinositol/ceramide/enzyme mixed micellar assay system. IPC synthase activity was dependent upon the surface concentrations of phosphatidylinositol and ceramide in a phosphatidylinositol/ceramide/Triton X-100 mixed micelle. Maximal enzyme activity was measured at 30C and pH 7.0 in the presence of 5 mM Triton X-100, 1 mM manganese and 5 mM magnesium ions.
The Diabetes Related Executive Functioning Scale (DREFS): Pilot Results

The assessment of youth executive functioning (EF) associated with diabetes management has been difficult to accomplish, yet is important to optimizing adherence. To improve EF assessment, we developed the Diabetes Related Executive Functioning Scale (DREFS) and piloted its administration to 50 youth with type 1 diabetes and their caregivers. Youth/caregiver dyads completed analogous versions of the DREFS, Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF), and the Self-Administered Diabetes Self-Management Profile (SA-DSMP). HbA1c assays were used as an index of glycemic control. Caregiver and youth DREFS scores were associated with BRIEF, SA-DSMP totals, and HbA1c.
Logistic-weighted Regression Improves Decoding of Finger Flexion from Electrocorticographic Signals

One of the most interesting applications of brain computer interfaces (BCIs) is movement prediction. With the development of invasive recording techniques and decoding algorithms in the past ten years, many single neuron-based and electrocorticography (ECoG)-based studies have been able to decode trajectories of limb movements. As the output variables are continuous in these studies, a regression model is commonly used. However, the decoding of limb movements is not a pure regression problem, because the trajectories can be apparently classified into a motion state and a resting state, which result in a binary property overlooked by previous studies. In this paper, we propose an algorithm called logistic-weighted regression to make use of the property, and apply the algorithm to a BCI system decoding flexion of human fingers from ECoG signals. Our results show that the application of logistic- weighted regression improves decoding performance compared to the application of linear regression or pace regression. The proposed algorithm is also immensely valuable in the other BCIs decoding continuous movements. I. INTRODUCTION
Introduction: Social and Cultural Diversity of the Oldest-Old.

This introduction describes a volume devoted to a much neglected topic and population, the social and cultural diversity among individuals eighty-five years old and older. Four articles come from the San Francisco 85+ Study: 1) comparisons by Colleen Johnson between whites and African Americans in socioeconomic status, health, and other outcomes; 2) Barbara Barer's analysis of gender differences in the stressors faced in late-life; 3) Charlotte Perry and Colleen Johnson's examination of the families of oldest-old African Americans; 4) Lillian Troll's analysis of white families. The fifth article by Gloria Clayton on rural/urban differences comes from the Georgia Centenarian Study. Finally the volume concludes with a commentary by Leonard Pearlin that places these studies into the broader context of aging research.
Improved prefix for OFDM-based cognitive radios

In OFDM-based cognitive radios several carriers are left unused to enable coexistence with other wireless systems. Proposed is a prefix design technique that depends on the wireless channel and on the set of unused carriers. It is shown that in this way considerable performance improvement can be obtained.
The command hypothesis: a new view using an old example.

Abstract The interneurons that underlie abdominal flexion and extension behaviors in crustaceans were among the first to be called command neurons. They fit the original operational definition as cells that produce a well-defined movement or behavior when stimulated. Many examples of these cells are now known to influence behaviors throughout the animal kingdom. The early observation that stimulation of a single command neuron in a crustacean was sufficient to generate an apparently complete behavior led to the erroneous belief that one neuron might be responsible for one behavior. We now know that the strong stimulation of one command element is sufficient to recruit synaptically a group of similar neurons. In addition to the synaptic recruitment of agonists there is also a synaptic inhibition of their antagonists, resulting in what appears to be a complete behavior with reciprocity. Importantly, there is also evidence for the operation of similar functional groups in behaving animals. During animal-initiated behavior, each neuron in the functional group apparently makes only a minor contribution to the total motor output with the result that no single neuron in the group is necessary to generate the behavior. If the necessity criterion is a requirement to define a command neuron, then abdominal positioning interneurons can no longer be considered command neurons. Instead, they are cells with lesser roles, perhaps command elements in larger command systems. In spite of their diminished status, command elements occupy key positions in this and other motor systems.
Testing Lognormal and Exponential Distributions: Estimation of Percentile Points

SYNOPTIC ABSTRACTTwo tables of percentiles of the asymptotic test statistics of separate families of hypotheses proposed by D. R. Cox are presented. The symmetrical probability levels of α at 0.025, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 0.975 are evaluated for various selected sample sizes. Three different methods for approximating these selected percentiles are compared. A comparison for small sample sizes is also presented. 95% confidence intervals are given for each of the percentile points estimated by the three methods. These results can be used for testing hypotheses involving lognormal and exponential distributions.
Plasma Focusing for High-Energy Beams

We analyze the self-focusing effect of a relativistic electron or positron beam traversing through a thin slab of plasma in a linearized fluid theory, and show that the effect is very strong. The idea of employing this effect for a plasma lens suggested by Chen is then reviewed. The self-focusing force can be made uniform over the length of the beam by injecting an appropriate precursor. Computer simulations on both thin and thick plasma lenses are presented, which show reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions.
Isotretinoin therapy for acne: Results of a multicenter dose-response study

One hundred fifty patients with treatment-resistant nodulocystic acne were entered into a double-blind clinical study. Three different dosing levels (0.1, 0.5, 1.0 mg/kg/day) were used in equal-sized groups. In addition to the clinical response, the clinical side effects, the laboratory abnormalities, and the duration of the induced remissions were evaluated with each dose of the drug. There was a highly significant clinical response to treatment with all three dosages of isotretinoin. There was no significant difference in the clinical response between dosages. However, 42% of the patients who received 0.1 mg/kg/day of isotretinoin required retreatment with the drug. This finding, coupled with only minor differences in the clinical side effects and the laboratory abnormalities, indicates that higher dose levels of isotretinoin are indicated for treatment of nodulocystic acne.
Catalytic Photooxidation of Alcohols by an Unsymmetrical Tetra(pyridyl)pyrazine‐Bridged Dinuclear Ru Complex

The dinuclear complexes [(tpy)Ru(tppz)Ru(bpy)(L)](n+) (where L is Cl(-) or H(2)O, tpy and bpy are the terminal ligands 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine and 2,2'-bipyridine, and tppz is the bridging backbone 2,3,5,6-tetrakis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine) were prepared and structurally and electronically characterized. The mononuclear complexes [(tpy)Ru(tppz)](2+) and [(tppz)Ru(bpy)(L)](m+) were also prepared and studied for comparison. The proton-coupled, multi-electron photooxidation reactivity of the aquo dinuclear species was shown through the photocatalytic dehydrogenation of a series of primary and secondary alcohols. Under simulated solar irradiation and in the presence of a sacrificial electron acceptor, the photoactivated chromophore-catalyst complex (in aqueous solutions at room temperature and ambient pressure conditions) can perform the visible-light-driven conversion of aliphatic and benzylic alcohols into the corresponding carbonyl products (i.e., aldehydes or ketones) with 100% product selectivity and several tens of turnover cycles, as probed by NMR spectroscopy and gas chromatography. Moreover, for aliphatic substrates, the activity of the photocatalyst was found to be highly selective toward secondary alcohols, with no significant product formed from primary alcohols. Comparison of the activity of this tppz-bridged complex with that of the analogue containing a back-to-back terpyridine bridge (tpy-tpy, i.e., 6',6''-bis(2-pyridyl)-2,2':4',4'':2'',2'''-quaterpyridine) demonstrated that the latter is a superior photocatalyst toward the oxidation of alcohols. The much stronger electronic coupling with significant delocalization across the strongly electron-accepting tppz bridge facilitates charge trapping between the chromophore and catalyst centers and therefore is presumably responsible for the decreased catalytic performance.
Kinematic analysis of a three degree-of-freedom spherical wrist actuator

Presents the kinematic analysis of a three degree-of-freedom (DOF) spherical motor which presents some attractive features by combining pitch, roll, and yaw motion in a single joint. Besides being a compact design, the spherical motor possesses no gears or linkages and has no singularities within its workspace. The spherical motor presented operates on the principle of variable-reluctance (VR). In particular, the theoretical design basic for spherical VR motor is established. The concept feasibility, the design methodology, the motion simulation of a particular design configuration are demonstrated. >
Sensitivity of polynomial composition and decomposition for signal processing applications

Polynomial composition is well studied in mathematics but has only been exploited indirectly and informally in signal processing. Potential future application of polynomial composition for filter implementation and data representation is dependent on its robustness both in forming higher degree polynomials from ones of lower degree and in exactly or approximately decomposing a polynomial into a composed form. This paper addresses robustness in this context, developing sensitivity bounds for both polynomial composition and decomposition and illustrates the sensitivity through simulations. It also demonstrates that sensitivity can be reduced by exploiting composition with first order polynomials and commutative polynomials.
Studies Toward the Synthesis of (−)-Zampanolide: Preparation of N-Acyl Hemiaminal Model Systems

Synthesis of N-acyl hemiaminal model systems related to the side chain of the antitumor natural product zampanolide is reported. Key steps involve oxidative decarboxylation of N-acyl-α-amino acid intermediates, followed by ytterbium triflate mediated solvolysis. Evidence for stabilization of the N-acyl hemiaminal moiety in model compounds by an intramolecular hydrogen-bonding network is described.
Imaging of Hemodynamic Effects in Arthritic Joints with Dynamic Optical Tomography

Optical probing of hemodynamics is often employed in areas such as brain, muscular, and breast-cancer imaging. In these studies an external stimulus is applied and changes in relevant physiological parameters, e.g. oxy or deoxyhemoglobin concentrations, are determined. In this work we present the first application of this method for characterizing joint diseases, especially effects of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the proximal-interphalangeal (PIP) finger joints. Using a dual-wavelength tomographic imaging system together with previously implemented model-based iterative image reconstruction schemes, we have performed dynamic imaging case studies on a limited number of healthy volunteers and patients diagnosed with RA. Inflating a sphygmomanometer cuff placed around the forearm we elicited a controlled vascular response. We observed pronounced differences between the hemodynamic effect occurring in healthy volunteers and patients affected by RA.
U.S. Monetary Policy in the Face of Asymmetric Risks

ABSTRACT How has monetary policy changed in the United States over the last five decades and where is it headed? Monetary policy in the United States has not been an unconditional success. However, during the last two decades, the United States has seen non-inflationary economic growth. What role did the Federal Reserve play in this “Great Moderation”? This paper offers insight into how the past five decades give us an indication as to how monetary policy might operate in the future in the United States. RESUMEN. ?Como ha cambiado la politica monetaria de los Estados Unidos a lo largo de las ultimas cinco decadas, y hacia donde se dirige? La politica monetaria no ha sido rotundamente exitosa en los Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, a lo largo de las ultimas dos decadas, el pais ha disfrutado el crecimiento no-inflacionario de su economia. ?Que papel jugo la Reserva Federal en esta “gran moderacion”? Este estudio ofrece algunas perspectivas sobre la forma en que estas ultimas cinco decadas nos muestran el rumbo...
Effects of Prenatal Exposure to a Low Dose Atrazine Metabolite Mixture on Pubertal Timing and Prostate Development of Male Long Evans Rats

The present study examines the postnatal reproductive development of male rats following prenatal exposure to an atrazine metabolite mixture (AMM) consisting of the herbicide atrazine and its environmental metabolites diaminochlorotriazine, hydroxyatrazine, deethylatrazine, and deisopropylatrazine. Pregnant Long-Evans rats were treated by gavage with 0.09, 0.87, or 8.73 mg AMM/kg body weight (BW), vehicle, or 100 mg ATR/kg BW positive control, on gestation days 15–19. Preputial separation was significantly delayed in 0.87 mg and 8.73 mg AMM-exposed males. AMM-exposed males demonstrated a significant treatment-related increase in incidence and severity of inflammation in the prostate on postnatal day (PND) 120. A dose-dependent increase in epididymal fat masses and prostate foci were grossly visible in AMM-exposed offspring. These results indicate that a short, late prenatal exposure to mixture of chlorotriazine metabolites can cause chronic prostatitis in male LE rats. The mode of action for these effects is presently unclear.
The effect of CO on growth and product formation in batch cultures of Clostridium acetobutylicum

Carbon monoxide sparged in batch fermentations ofC. acetobutylicum inhibits the production of H2 by the hydrogenase and enhances the production of solvents by making available larger amounts of NAD(P)H2 to the cells. CO also inhibits biomass growth and acid formation. Its effect is most pronounced under fermentation conditions of excess carbon- and nitrogen-source supply.
Molecular Epidemiology: Focus on Infection

Molecular biology techniques have become increasingly integrated into the practice of infectious disease epidemiology. The term "molecular epidemiology" routinely appears in the titles of articles that use molecular strain-typing ("fingerprinting") techniques-regardless of whether there is any epidemiologic application. What distinguishes molecular epidemiology is both the "molecular," the use of the techniques of molecular biology, and the "epidemiology," the study of the distribution and determinants of disease occurrence in human populations. The authors review various definitions of molecular epidemiology. They then comment on the range of molecular techniques available and present some examples of the benefits and challenges of applying these techniques to infectious agents and their affected host using tuberculosis and urinary tract infection as examples. They close with some thoughts about training future epidemiologists to best take advantage of the new opportunities that arise from integrating epidemiologic methods with modern molecular biology.
Age-related changes in neutrophil structure and function.

The elderly suffer higher rates of morbidity and mortality from infectious disease than younger adults. Since neutrophils are the first line of defense against infection the vulnerability to infection of the elderly may be due, at least in part, to age-related changes in neutrophils (PMNs). Previous studies have suggested that there is an age-related increase in plasma membrane microviscosity in lymphocytes and neurons of the elderly. We have explored the hypothesis that there is a similar change in plasma membrane viscosity in the neutrophil and that this alteration in the neutrophil plasma membrane leads to diminished neutrophil function. When we studied plasma membrane viscosity of neutrophils by determining the fluorescence anisotropy of 1-(4-trimethylaminophenyl)-6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hextriene labeled cells, we were surprised to find that plasma membrane viscosity is decreased in the neutrophils of the elderly as compared to young controls (microviscosity parameter, 1.33 ± 0.07, in the elderly, n = 21, versus 1.62 ± 0.06, in young controls, n = 19 P < 0.004). AS expected, stimulated (FMLP 0.1 μM) O2− generation by neutrophils from the elderly was significantly decreased compared with young controls (34 ± 7% decrease, n = 6, P < 0.04). Both resting and stimulated neutrophils demonstrated an age-related decline in adherence to a component of the extracellular matrix, denatured collagen (gelatin, P < 0.04, n = 22 elderly subjects). In contrast, neutrophils from the elderly adhered to fibrinogen at least as well as neutrophils from young controls. Moreover, chemotaxis to activated complement components (in zymosan activated plasma) and FMLP did not change with increased age whether studied in the Boyden chamber (92 ± 7% control, n = 14) or under agarose (90 ± 13% control, n = 11). These studies suggest that an age-related decrease in plasma membrane viscosity is associated with a decrease in O2− production and adherence of neutrophils to components of the extracellular matrix. Thus, age-related alterations in neutrophil structure may result in diminished neutrophil function and increased susceptibility to infection wit pyogenic bacteria.
Surface and Spectroscopic Properties of Acetylcholinesterase Monolayer at the Air/Water Interface

Abstract The behavior of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase was studied at the air/water interface. Surface pressure–area (π– A ) isotherms and UV–vis spectra recorded at different surface pressures were determined for different salt concentrations in the subphase. The ionic strength of the subphase does not influence the physical properties in consideration; however, the pH of the subphase has a great effect on its surface and optical properties. A subphase at pH 6.5 has shown that the enzyme is highly stable, based on the π– A compression/decompression isotherms. No changes in the area per molecule were observed when the surface pressure was maintained constant at 16 mN/m for a period of 120 min. The long-term stability of acetylcholinesterase at the air/water interface was demonstrated for pH 6.5 and a salt concentration of 10 −2 M (KCl). The absorption spectra of the monolayer, measured directly at the air/water interface, are considered good evidence of the organization of the enzyme molecules.
To Be Like All But Different: Germans in Soviet Trudarmee

Abstract This article analyses a peculiar form of labour mobilisation, known as the ‘trudarmee’, to which ethnic Germans in the Soviet Union, along with some other nationalities, were subjected in 1942–1945 after their initial deportations from the areas in which they had lived. The labour mobilisation of the war years was a form of forced labour obligation which existed outside of the immediate realm of the ‘traditional’ forced labour of the Gulag. The article considers the compatibility of the two forms of labour mobilisation and demonstrates that the ‘trudarmee’ labour mobilisation had features of both free and forced labour and thus deserves a space of its own in the existing historiography of Stalinism.
Recreating culture: Slow Food as a leisure education movement.

Though seemingly concerned only with food and agriculture, Slow Food ought to also be understood as a movement that addresses crises in societies’ use of leisure. Specifically, mealtime is examined as a site of conflict between gastronomic cultural traditions and the efficiency, standardisation, and profit-imperative of the global food infrastructure. Drawing on recent reconstructions of schole, this paper examines Slow Food as an organisation that promotes a critical and reflective leisure practice in the form of eating. Specifically, it seeks to recreate gastronomic culture by facilitating meal experiences that are convivial, mindful, and ethical. Understood in this way, Slow Food's mission and methodology have important implications for reconstructing the concept of leisure education in contemporary society.
Compact Subwavelength Cavities Using Reflecting Metasurfaces

Subwavelength cavities are obtained by replacing conventional mirrors with reflecting metasurfaces that introduce arbitrary phase-shifts compensating for reduced accumulated phase through the ultra-small cavity. 100-nm cavities showed resonance in the range (0.6 - 1.1mm).
Radioulnar synostosis, behavioral disturbance, and XYY chromosomes.

Two prepubertal boys with radioulnar synostosis, aggressive behavior, mild retardation, and tall stature were found to have an XYY chromosomal constitution. The chromosomal abnormality in one of them was found by testing 6 patients, 4 of whom were boys with radioulnar synostosis. This suggested a close relationship between the extra Y chromosome and this skeletal abnormality. Violent, criminal tendencies have been reported in male adults with extra Y chromosomes. Disturbance in childhood may be an expression of this pattern or an indication of a much broader relationship between chromosomal composition and behavior.
Standard errors for the class of orthomax-rotated factor loadings: Some matrix results

The partial derivative matrices of the class of orthomax-rotated factor loadings with respect to the unrotated maximum likelihood factor loadings are derived. The reported results are useful for obtaining standard errors of the orthomax-rotated factor loadings, with or without row normalization (standardization) of the initial factor loading matrix for rotation. Using a numerical example, we verify our analytic formulas by comparing the obtained standard error estimates with that from some existing methods. Some advantages of the current approach are discussed.
Relaxivity and binding of Mn2+ ions in solutions of phosphatidylserine vesicles

We report the magnetic field dependence (NMRD profiles) of 1/T1 of solvent protons in solutions of unilamellar phosphatidylserine vesicles with added Mn2+ ions, including studies of the variation of the profiles with temperature, extent of coverage of available binding sites by Mn2+ ions, ionic strength, and competition with (nonparamagnetic) Ca2+ ions. ions. In addition, we sketch the theory of screening of the negative surface charges of the vesicles due to both specific binding of Mn2+ ions and nonspecific effects of other mobile solute ions. The major result is that the NMRD profiles, although qualitatively similar, vary systematically as the parameters of the solutions are altered, in a manner consistent with the theory of screening. The profiles of the Mn2+-vesicle complexes are much like those of Mn2+-protein complexes that have the ions in an octahedral ligand environment. In addition, we find that the profiles are similar to those reported for Mn2+ ions in packed liver cells and liver tissue, supporting a previous conjecture that available Mn2+ in liver binds to the polar head groups of cell membranes, saturating these sites before binding elsewhere. Again, it is evident that results for in vitro model systems can be extrapolated reliably to tissue behavior.
Cyclosporine-A transport in isolated renal proximal tubular cells: inhibition by calcium channel blockers.

We have studied the transport characteristics of cyclosporine A (CSA) in isolated rabbit renal proximal tubular cells (PTC). The uptake as well as efflux was very rapid and dependent on temperature. PTC accumulated CSA by several fold above the incubation medium concentration. Kinetic analysis yielded an apparent Km and Vmax values of 5.1 μM and 47 Pmoles/106 cells/min respectively. Calcium channel blockers verapamil or diltiazem, at concentration (0.5–1.0 mM) that inhibited calcium uptake, reduced CSA uptake significantly. Other calcium transport modulators A23187 (5μM), trifluoroperazine (50μM) and ruthenium red (100μM) induced anticipated changes in calcium uptake but had no effect on CSA uptake. These results suggest a close association or interaction between the calcium channels and the CSA transporting/binding sites on PTC membranes.
Testing hypotheses in order

In certain circumstances, one wishes to test one hypothesis only if certain other hypotheses have been rejected. This ordering of hypotheses simplifies the task of controlling the probability of rejecting any true hypothesis. In an example from an observational study, a treated group is shown to be further from both of two control groups than the two control groups are from each other.
On the Gaussian‐Lobe Representation of Atomic Orbitals

The reliability of angularly dependent properties calculated from wavefunctions constructed over a nonnuclear‐centered Gaussian basis has been explored by examining the spherical harmonic expansion of the Gaussian‐lobe function representation of a pz function. It is found that the component of pz in the Y10 subspace is similar to a double‐zeta function while the component in the Y30 subspace is several orders of magnitude less than the Y10 component.Expectation values for several angularly dependent operators are evaluated over the Gaussian‐lobe function representation of a pz orbital and compared with the expectation value calculated over the corresponding double‐zeta function. The small angular asymmetry in the Gaussian‐lobe function representation of the atomic pz orbitals is reflected in the similarity between the two expectation values.
Spike detection, characterization, and discrimination using feature analysis software written in LabVIEW

Rapid and accurate discrimination of single units from extracellular recordings is a fundamental process for the analysis and interpretation of electrophysiological recordings. We present an algorithm that performs detection, characterization, discrimination, and analysis of action potentials from extracellular recording sessions. The program was entirely written in LabVIEW (National Instruments), and requires no external hardware devices or a priori information about action potential shapes. Waveform events are detected by scanning the digital record for voltages that exceed a user-adjustable trigger. Detected events are characterized to determine nine different time and voltage levels for each event. Various algebraic combinations of these waveform features are used as axis choices for 2-D Cartesian plots of events. The user selects axis choices that generate distinct clusters. Multiple clusters may be defined as action potentials by manually generating boundaries of arbitrary shape. Events defined as action potentials are validated by visual inspection of overlain waveforms. Stimulus-response relationships may be identified by selecting any recorded channel for comparison to continuous and average cycle histograms of binned unit data. The algorithm includes novel aspects of feature analysis and acquisition, including higher acquisition rates for electrophysiological data compared to other channels. The program confirms that electrophysiological data may be discriminated with high-speed and efficiency using algebraic combinations of waveform features derived from high-speed digital records.
The fragmentation of aliphatic ketones in the mass spectrometer: A detailed study of nonan‐4‐one using ion kinetic energy spectroscopy

The ion kinetic energy (IKE) spectra of nonan-4-one, 7,7-d2-nonan-4-one and 1,1,1-d3-nonan-4-one have been recorded and interpreted. The various fragmentations observed in the IKE spectra have been confirmed and some new fragmentations found by carrying out high voltage scans with the magnetic field set successively to collect ions at each mass to charge ratio throughout the mass spectrum. Several new fragmentation modes have been discovered, and their significance is discussed.
Ion channels as targets for treatment of gastrointestinal motility disorders.

Ion channels are found in every cell type. Ion channels are membrane proteins that allow regulated transfer of ions across the membrane. As a result, they often produce electrical signals that regulate cellular function and transduce signals into electrical events. Ion channels can be broadly classified into voltage-gated ion channels, ligand-gated ion channels and mechanosensitive ion channels according to their primary gating modality. Most ion channel gating is regulated by more that one mechanism, and therefore there is considerable overlap between the three classes. Due to the highly regulated nature of the opening and closing of most ion channels and the number of small molecules that have been shown to both activate (open) and inhibit (close or inactivate) ion channels, ion channels are often considered as attractive targets for drugs. There are over 400 ion channel genes representing over 1.5% of the human genome, yet less than 10 ion channels are currently the target of available drugs. This presents a potential opportunity. Classes of ion channels expressed in the gastrointestinal tract that are known targets for drugs include:
Role of Central β-Adrenergic Receptors in Regulating Proinflammatory Cytokine Responses to a Peripheral Bacterial Challenge

Elevation of proinflammatory cytokines in the brain have potent effects on altering physiological, behavioral, and cognitive processes. The mechanism(s) by which brain cytokines are induced during a peripheral immune challenge remains unclear since microorganisms/cytokines do not cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Recent studies indicate that central beta-adrenergic receptors (beta-ADRs) may mediate brain interleukin-1beta (IL-1) production. This has direct implications for the production of brain cytokines during a peripheral immune response since peripheral pathogens and cytokines rapidly stimulate brainstem catecholamine neurons via peripheral nerves and circumventricular pathways. Studies here examine the role of central beta-ADRs in regulating brain cytokine production following peripheral Escherichia coli (E. coli) challenge. Rats were centrally administered propranolol (beta-ADR antagonist) or vehicle followed by peripheral E. coli or saline and sacrificed 6h later for measurement of cytokines. Pre-treatment with propranolol completely blocked the induction of brain IL-1 following E. coli. Surprisingly, central propranolol also attenuated E. coli-induced peripheral cytokines. To examine whether the attenuated peripheral cytokine response following central propranolol administration was due leakage of propranolol into the general circulation and blockade of peripheral beta-blockade, nadolol (beta-ADR antagonist that does not cross the BBB) was administered peripherally prior to E. coli. Nadolol administration did not block central cytokine production following E. coli, but instead enhanced both peripheral and central proinflammatory cytokine production. Furthermore, central administration of isoproterenol (beta-ADR agonist) results in a time-dependent increase in brain IL-1 production. These data demonstrate central beta-ADRs may play a critical role to induce brain IL-1, while peripheral beta-ADRs inhibit cytokine response to bacterial challenge.
South Virgin–White Hills detachment fault system of SE Nevada and NW Arizona: Applying apatite fission track thermochronology to constrain the tectonic evolution of a major continental detachment fault

The South Virgin-White Hills detachment (SVWHD) in the central Basin and Range province with an along-strike extent of similar to 60 km is a major continental detachment fault system. Displacement on the SVWHD decreases north to south from similar to 17 to <6 km. This is accompanied by a change in fault and footwall rock type from mylonite overprinted by cataclasite to chlorite cataclasite and then fault breccia reflecting decreasing fault displacement and footwall exhumation. Apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology was applied both along-strike and across-strike to assess this displacement gradient. The overall thermal history reflects Laramide cooling (similar to 75 Ma) and then rapid cooling beginning in the late early Miocene. Age patterns reflect some complexity but extension along the SVWHD appears synchronous with rapid cooling initiated at similar to 17 Ma due to tectonic exhumation. Slip rate is more rapid (similar to 8.6 km/Ma) in the north compared to similar to 1 km/Ma in the south. The displacement gradient results from penecontemporaneous along-strike motion and formation of the SVWHD by linkage of originally separate fault segments that have differential displacements and hence differential slip rates. East west transverse structures likely play a role in linkage of different fault segments. The preextension paleogeothermal gradient is well constrained in the Gold Butte block as 18-20 degrees C/km. We present a new thermochronologic approach to constrain fault dip during slip, treating the vertical exhumation rate and the slip as vectors, with the angle between them used to constrain fault dip during slip through the closure temperature of a particular thermochronometer. AFT data from the western rim of the Colorado Plateau. Citation: Fitzgerald, P. G., E. M. Duebendorfer, J. E. Faulds, and P. O'Sullivan (2009), South Virgin-White Hills detachment fault system of SE Nevada and NW Arizona: Applying apatite fission track thermochronology to constrain the tectonic evolution of a major continental detachment fault, Tectonics, 28, TC2001, doi:10.1029/2007TC002194.
Wireless networking security: open issues in trust, management, interoperation and measurement

The pervasive availability and wide usage of wireless networks with different kinds of topologies, techniques and protocol suites have brought with them a need to improve security mechanisms. The design, development and evaluation of security techniques must begin with a thorough analysis of the requirements and a deeper understanding of the approaches that are practical within the system constraints. In this paper, we investigate the recent advances in wireless security from theoretical foundations to evaluation techniques, from network level management to end user trust inference and from individual protocol to hybrid systems. We identify the open security issues associated with trust, management, interoperation and measurement. These problems, whose solutions are different in nature and scale from their companions in wired networks, must be properly addressed to establish confidence in the security of wireless networking environments.
ArtTorchlight: an exploratory way of viewing paintings using handheld projectors and smart phones

Handheld projectors have lately been investigated as mobile interactive displays devices. In this paper we present ArtTorchlight, a novel interactive device to explore large digitalized paintings. Combining with handheld projectors and smart phones, ArtTorchlight is able to sense user gestures and utilize these sensing data to display explored content. Finally we create a scenario where visitors can use this device in an exploratory and virtual way to view large paintings in a museum.
Rationalism and Utopia as Languages of Nature: A Note

Joan Scott's provocative plea for a reconceptualization of labor history in terms of language and gender recognizes the importance for historians of the working class of the tempestuous discussions that have taken place over the past decade in literature and philosophy. It aims to relocate the agenda of fem inist history from the periphery of multiple social histories to the main currents and themes of historical understanding. Above all, her critique of the naive documentary realism of traditional social science history and her cautiously optimistic call for a new focus on "the construction of meaning" and the "complexities of language" reorients us towards the hermeneutic enterprise with all its attendant difficulties. Aware of these difficulties, Scott warns against the "remarkably unprob lematic" approach which even sophisticated cultural historians often apply to the "variables" of language and gender as data of a transparent and self-evi dent experience. As an example of the promise and problems of this new orien tation Scott has chosen a first-class piece of social and intellectual history, Gareth Stedman Jones's "Rethinking Chartism." While Jones succeeds in overcoming the traditional economism which would reduce social movements to the unmediated reflection of social interests, his notion of politics, she ar gues, does not escape such reduction. Scott's critique focuses on his conflation of two distinct conceptions of politics in the rhetoric of the Chartists: the crea tion of political identity in a contest for power and the more traditional view of politics as "participation in government." Whereas the first would require an analysis of the formation of new modes of narrative, discursive models, or ar ticulatory practices?"the construction of meaning"?the second is more con ventional in its emphasis on political vocabulary and on the Chartists' re sponses to state policies. Jones sees the language of Chartism as the political residue of the Whig ideal of "participation in government"; he does not make use of the more radical conception of power and language?a system of mean ing involving a complex play of metaphor, binary structures, or constructed social vision. Language is as instrumentalized in the notion of politics as eco nomic interest is in the notion of class.
Rigidity percolation model of polymer fracture

A theory of the fracture of polymers with network microstructure was developed that was based on the vector, or rigidity percolation (RP) model of Kantor and Webman, in which the modulus, E, is related to the lattice bond fraction p, via E ∼ [p − pc]τ. The Hamiltonian for the lattice was replaced by the strain energy density function of the bulk polymer, U = σ2/2E, where σ is the applied stress and p was expressed in terms of the lattice perfection via the bond density ν, with the entanglement molecular weight, ν = ρ/Me and appropriate measures of crosslink density for rubber, thermosets, and carbon nanotubes. The stored mechanical energy, U, was released by the random fracture of νDo[p − pc] over stressed hot bonds of energy Do ≈ 330 kJ/mol. The polymer fractured critically when p approached the percolation threshold pc, and the net solution was obtained as σ = (2EνDo [p − pc])1/2 with a fracture energy, G1c ∼ [p − pc]. The fracture strength of amorphous and semicrystalline polymers in the bulk was well described by, σ = [EDoρ/16 Me]1/2, or σ ≈ 4.6 GPa/Me1/2. Fracture by disentanglement was found to occur in a finite molecular weight range, Mc 4, such that the maximum stress, σ = E (λ − 1/λ) = 3.75E. The fracture properties of rubber were found to behave as σ ∼ ν, σ ∼ E, and G1c ∼ ν. For highly crosslinked thermosets, it was predicted that σ ∼ (Eν)1/2, σ ∼ (X − Xc)1/2, and G1c ∼ ν−1/2, where X is the degree of reaction of the crosslinking groups and Xc defines the gelation point. When applied to carbon nanotubes (SWNT and MWNT) of diameter d and hexagonal bond density ν = j/b2, the nominal stress as a function of diameter is σ(d) = [16 EDo(p − pc) j/b]1/2/d ≈ 211/d (GPa.nm) and the critical force, Fc(d) ≈ 166 d (nN/nm), in which j = 1.15, b = 0.142 nm, E ≈ 1 Tpa, and Do = 518 kJ/mol. For polymer interfaces with Σ chains per unit area of length L and width X ∼ L1/2, G1c is then ∼ [p − pc], where p ∼ ΣL/X. The results predicted by the RP fracture model were in good agreement with a considerable body of fracture data for linear polymers, rubbers, thermosets, and carbon nanotubes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 168–183, 2005
Integrated droplet routing and defect tolerance in the synthesis of digital microfluidic biochips

Microfluidic biochips are revolutionizing high-throughput DNA sequencing, immunoassays, and clinical diagnostics. As high-throughput bioassays are mapped to digital microfluidic platforms, the need for design automation techniques is being increasingly felt. Moreover, as most applications of biochips are safety-critical in nature, defect tolerance is an essential system attribute. Several synthesis tools have recently been proposed for the automated design of biochips from the specifications of laboratory protocols. However, only a few of these tools address the problem of defect tolerance. In addition, most of these methods do not consider the problem of droplet routing in microfluidic arrays. These methods typically rely on postsynthesis droplet routing to implement biochemical protocols. Such an approach is not only time consuming, but also imposes an undue burden on the chip user. Postsynthesis droplet routing does not guarantee that feasible droplet pathways can be found for area-constrained biochip layouts; nonroutable fabricated biochips must be discarded. We present a synthesis tool that integrates defect tolerance and droplet routing in the design flow. Droplet routability, defined as the ease with which droplet pathways can be determined, is estimated and integrated in the synthesis procedure. Presynthesis and postsynthesis defect-tolerance methods are also presented. We use a large-scale protein assay as a case study to evaluate the proposed synthesis method.
ENSO Influence on Intraseasonal Extreme Rainfall and Temperature Frequencies in the Contiguous United States: Implications for Long-Range Predictability

Potential ENSO-related predictability of wintertime daily extreme precipitation and temperature frequencies is investigated. This is done empirically using six decades of daily data at 168 stations distributed over the contiguous United States. ENSO sensitivity in the extreme ranges of intraseasonal precipitation and temperature probability density functions is demonstrated via a compositing technique. Potential predictability of extremes is then investigated with a simple statistical model. Given a perfect forecast of ENSO, the frequency of intraseasonal extremes is specified as the average frequency of occurrence during similar-phased ENSO winters on record. Specification skill is assessed as the cross-validated proportion of local variance explained by this method. The skill depends on varying ENSO sensitivity in different geographic regions and quantile ranges and on consistency or variability from one like-phased ENSO event to another. ENSO sensitivity also varies according to the intensity of the tropical forcing; however, not always in the expected sense. Good predictability is likely for variables and in regions displaying a strong and consistent ENSO signal. This is found in some coherent regions of the United States for various combinations of frequency variable and ENSO phase. ENSO-based predictability of heavy and extreme precipitation frequency is potentially good along the Gulf Coast, central plains, Southwest, and in the Ohio River