cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of proximity to an offshore hard-bottom reef on infaunal abundances

Rock outcrops represent an extensive, commercially important habitat along the southeast coast of North America, supporting large abundances of algae, invertebrates and fish. These rock outcrops have often been viewed as largely self-supporting systems, but some studies have suggested that the fish and invertebrate predators that use the ledges for shelter are strongly dependent on food from adjacent, soft-bottom habitats. We examined benthic macrofaunal abundances along two 75-m transects away from a rock ledge near Wrightsville Beach. North Carolina (depth ca. 30 m) in July 1990 and April 1991. The July 1990 samples indicated significantly higher abundances of total infauna, and of polychaetes, bivalves, isopods, and scaphopods, at a distance of 75 m from the rock ledge. In April 1991, when macrofaunal abundances were generally higher than in the previous summer, distributions of major taxa with distance from the rock ledge were more variable. Caging studies on macrofaunal abundances 10 m from the ledge, and video observations of fish abundances at 10 and 75 m from the ledge, provide support for a trophic link between the rock ledge and the adjacent soft-bottom communities. Our studies suggest that there are potentially important indirect effects of predator-prey interactions among the rock ledge-associated predators and soft-bottom prey.
Social Learning System: A Reference Model

Abstract This paper is built upon the work of Frank Blackler, Jane Lave and Harry Collins that the fluency in practice language can produce interactive experts. The authors believe the reference model of social learning systems will benefit and shorten the training time to equip novice knowledge managers and researchers with the required knowledge to practice the construction of an effective social learning system. The paper provides a description of social learning systems, a reference model for the activity “Initiate Social Learning System” and the practice language - inputs, constraints, outputs and mechanisms (ICOMs) of the model.
A New Operation on Sequences

A generalization of the Seidel?Entringer?Arnold method for calculating the alternating permutation numbers (or secant?tangent numbers) leads to a new operation on sequences, the boustrophedon transform.
Desensitization: Diminishing returns

Any external stimulus triggering a response inside the cell also triggers a process inhibiting the response to further exposure to the same stimulus.
Spectral signatures for volatile impurities in TNT and RDX based explosives

Vapor phase sensing and detection of TNT-based explosives is extremely challenging due in part to the low vapor pressure of TNT. We believe one effective strategy for optically based sensing of TNT-based explosives involves focusing not on the spectral signature for pure TNT, but rather on a more volatile series of compounds that are present in TNT as impurities. To date we have catalogued and reported a number of rotationally resolved infrared transition frequencies for nitrobenzene, toluene, o-nitrotoluene, and m-nitrotoluene in the 14 micron region. Here we describe the use of an in-house spectral calibration program that while designed for calibration of Pb-salt diode laser spectra, is quite general and could be utilized for many spectroscopic detection and/or analysis applications. Finally, a sensing measurement for a volatile organic impurity related to RDX-based explosives such as C4 is presented and discussed.
Topological duality and lattice expansions, II: Lattice expansions with quasioperators

The main objective of this paper (the second of two parts) is to show that quasioperators can be dealt with smoothly in the topological duality established in Part I. A quasioperator is an operation on a lattice that either is join preserving and meet reversing in each argument or is meet preserving and join reversing in each argument. The paper discusses several common examples, including orthocomplementation on the closed subspaces of a fixed Hilbert space (sending meets to joins), modal operators ◊ and □ on a bounded modal lattice (preserving joins, resp. meets), residuation on a bounded residuated lattice (sending joins to meets in the first argument and meets to meets in the second). This paper introduces a refinement of the topological duality of Part I that makes explicit the topological distinction between the duals of meet homomorphisms and of join homomorphisms. As a result, quasioperators can be represented by certain continuous maps on the topological duals.
An empirical methodology for investigating geocognition in the field

The investigation of how geologists engage in field mapping, including strategies and behaviors, is an open area of research with significant potential for identifying connections to best instructi...
Mapping sensory circuits by anterograde transsynaptic transfer of recombinant rabies virus

Primary sensory neurons convey information from the external world to relay circuits within the CNS, but the identity and organization of the neurons that process incoming sensory information remains sketchy. Within the CNS, viral tracing techniques that rely on retrograde transsynaptic transfer provide a powerful tool for delineating circuit organization. Viral tracing of the circuits engaged by primary sensory neurons has, however, been hampered by the absence of a genetically tractable anterograde transfer system. In this study, we demonstrate that rabies virus can infect sensory neurons in the somatosensory system, is subject to anterograde transsynaptic transfer from primary sensory to spinal target neurons, and can delineate output connectivity with third-order neurons. Anterograde transsynaptic transfer is a feature shared by other classes of primary sensory neurons, permitting the identification and potentially the manipulation of neural circuits processing sensory feedback within the mammalian CNS.
Variable selection in classification of environmental soil samples for partial least square and neural network models

Abstract Two variable selection methods were evaluated by comparing their predictions with respect to differentiating among environmental soil samples. The focus of this work is to determine which input variables are most relevant for prediction of soil sources using discriminant partial least square (D-PLS) and back-propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN) models. The methods investigated were stepwise variable selection method and genetic algorithms (GAs). Microbial community DNA was extracted from 48 environmental soil samples derived from different field crops and soil sources. After amplification of bacterial ribosomal RNA genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the products were separated by gel electrophoresis. Characteristic complex band patterns were obtained, indicating high bacterial diversity. Two hundred and twenty-three DNA band patterns produced in the gels of the soil samples were used in the analysis, after removal of included DNA standard markers. Based on the brightness of the bands, densitometric curves of the selected DNA band pattern were extracted from the gel images. The curves were smoothed using Savitsky–Golay method and scaled to the DNA standard markers. The prediction results based on the two variable selection methods for PLS and ANN models are presented and compared. Both methods gave good results before any variable selection methods, with the ANN being better than D-PLS. The prediction performance of both methods specially the D-PLS were improved by applying the stepwise variable selection and the GA variable selection method. The study also shows that GA variable selection had a significant improvement of the predictive ability than the stepwise variable selection method.
Randomized robust subspace recovery for big data

In this paper, a randomized PCA algorithm that is robust to the presence of outliers and whose complexity is independent of the dimension of the given data matrix is proposed. Using random sampling and random embedding techniques, the given data matrix is turned to a small compressed data. A subspace learning approach is proposed to extract the columns subspace of the low rank matrix from the compressed data. Two ideas for robust subspace learning are proposed to work under two different model assumptions. The first idea is based on the linear dependence between the columns of the low rank matrix, and the second is based on the independence between the columns subspace of the low rank matrix and the subspace spanned by the outlying columns. We derive sufficient conditions to guarantee the performance of the proposed approach with high probability. It is shown that the proposed algorithm can successfully identify the outliers just by using roughly O(r2) random linear data observations, where r is the rank of the low rank matrix, and provably achieve notable speedups in comparison to existing approaches.
The Threat from Within: Account Managers' Concern About Opportunism by Their Own Team Members

It is well known that transaction-specific investments (TSIs) made in customers by account managers makes them vulnerable to opportunism by customers (i.e., the targets of the investments). The present research shows that TSIs made in customers by account managers can also lead them to be concerned about internal opportunism by nontargets of the investments (e.g., information technology or finance specialists in their own teams). Furthermore, it shows that concern about internal opportunism leads account managers to engage in internal blocking of their own team members (i.e., restricting their access to customers and to customer information), which results in lower performance with customers. This phenomenon is a conundrum in that account managers interested in stronger performance with customers appear to block the very functional specialists who can help them attain better performance. This research also identifies two types of continuities (account manager--customer continuity and specialist--customer continuity) that moderate the relationship between TSIs and concern about internal opportunism. Building on the literature in economics and organization theory, our research suggests that cross-functional teams that are designed to bring different functional areas together are more complex to manage than previously believed. This paper was accepted by Pradeep Chintagunta and Preyas Desai, special issue editors. This paper was accepted by Pradeep Chintagunta and Preyas Desai, special issue editors.
Identification of scapular kinematics using surface mapping: A validation study

The immediate goal of this study was to develop and validate a noninvasive, computational surface mapping approach for measuring scapular kinematics by using available motion capture technology in an innovative manner. The long-term goal is to facilitate clinical determination of the role of the scapula in children with brachial plexus birth palsy (BPBP). The population for this study consisted of fourteen healthy adults with prominent scapulae. Subject-specific scapular templates were created using the coordinates of five scapular landmarks obtained from palpation with subjects seated and arms relaxed in a neutral position. The scapular landmarks were re-palpated and their locations recorded in the six arm positions of the modified Mallet classification. The six Mallet positions were repeated with approximately 300 markers covering the scapula. The markers formed a surface map covering the tissue over the scapula. The scapular template created in the neutral position was iteratively fit to the surface map of each trial, providing an estimate of the orientation of the scapula. These estimates of scapular orientation were compared to the known scapular orientation determined from the scapular landmarks palpated in each Mallet position. The magnitude of the largest mean difference about an anatomical axis between the two measures of scapular orientation was 3.8° with an RMS error of 5.9°. This technique is practical for populations with visibly prominent scapulae (e.g., BPBP patients), for which it is a viable alternative to existing clinical methods with comparable accuracy.
Sentences in discourse: an analysis of a discourse by Bertrand Russell

In this paper I present a stylistic analysis of a short discourse by Bertrand Russell. My purpose is twofold: first, to suggest an approach to syntactically based stylistic analysis that goes beyond mere frequency counts, and, second, to draw out some linguistic ramifications of the approach.
Optical Fresnel diffraction system for inspecting VLSI leads

The leads on VLSI semiconductor flat pack chips are becoming more delicate and more closely spaced with time. Inspection is becoming more expensive because of the higher lead density and more necessary because of the increased risk of damage. A new optical system for lead inspection is proposed that uses self-interference of coherent light passing between the leads. According to the fractional Talbot effect, explained in the paper, there are planes of uniform intensity behind a perfect periodic structure such as an undamaged set of leads. Damage to leads takes a variety of forms. One or more leads may be skewed sideways with a potential for a subsequent short circuit to a neighboring lead after flow soldering. Alternatively, a lead may be bent up with a potential for an open connection on flow soldering. In our system, damage shows up as a deviation in intensity across the self-uniform plane. A computer simulation was written showing that small amounts of damage may be detected, measured and classified as skew or coplanarity or some combination. Laboratory experiments were performed to demonstrate the inspection capability and assess the difficulty in constructing a competitive system using this approach.
Technology-based architectural analysis of operand bypass networks for efficient operand transport

As semiconductor feature sizes decrease, interconnect delay is becoming a dominant component of processor cycle times. This creates a critical need to shift micro-architectural design focus from operation computation to operand transport. Operand bypass networks of out-of-order superscalar processors are particularly demanding of wiring resources. Forwarding path delay has become a limiting factor of processor performance. This paper proposes a novel technology-based methodology to evaluate bypass network configurations by predicting operand transport cost. It combines technology modeling techniques with cycle-accurate simulation of benchmark applications to characterize operand movement and storage requirements. Our analysis shows that the operand transport cost heavily depends on the physical location of functional units (FUs) and instruction steering strategy. We propose a traffic-based placement which places FUs based on the transport distribution pattern; and a geometry-driven instruction steering which tries to assign each pair of dependent instructions to adjacent computing resources. Performance is evaluated on an aggressive eight-way, 16 functional unit processor operating at 1.9 GHz in 100 nm technology. Combining these two techniques, the IPC penalties resulting from wire delay latency can be kept within 6.8% of the ideal zero bypass delay processor for Spec2000Int and within 5.5% for MediaBench.
Accelerating Structures for Superconducting Electron Linacs

A study to determine the optuimum slow wave structure for a superconducting linear accelerator is being conducted. Vacuum, thermal, and mechanical problems at cryogenic temperatures impose limitations on such structures. Ultimately, the maximum energy gradient in a superconducting structure is limited by the critical magnetic field or electric field breakdown. At present a ?/2, biperiodic, standing-wave structure is favored. Calculations of the dispersion diagram and longitudinal electric field profile has been obtained from a coupled resonator, normal mode analysis. A comparison is made with room temperature measurements on stacked test cells. The effects of full end cells and of incorrectly tuned cells on the flatness of the electric field profile are considered. The relationship between cell tuning and the presence of a stop band in the dispersion curve is shown. Problems of coupling to a high Q superconducting structure and tuning the frequencies of sections in a multi-section linac are considered. Results are given for the Q, the dispersion diagram, and the energy gain for a 952 MHz lead-plated superconducting structure 5 feet in length operating near 2°K.
Correlations of climate and plant ecology to leaf size and shape: Potential proxies for the fossil record

The sizes and shapes (physiognomy) of fossil leaves are widely applied as proxies for paleoclimatic and paleoecological variables. However, significant improvements to leaf-margin analysis, used for nearly a century to reconstruct mean annual temperature (MAT), have been elusive; also, relationships between physiognomy and many leaf ecological variables have not been quantified. Using the recently developed technique of digital leaf physiognomy, correlations of leaf physiognomy to MAT, leaf mass per area, and nitrogen content are quantified for a set of test sites from North and Central America. Many physiognomic variables correlate significantly with MAT, indicating a coordinated, convergent evolutionary response of fewer teeth, smaller tooth area, and lower degree of blade dissection in warmer environments. In addition, tooth area correlates negatively with leaf mass per area and positively with nitrogen content. Multiple linear regressions based on a subset of variables produce more accurate MAT estimates than leaf-margin analysis (standard errors of 62 vs. 638C); improvements are greatest at sites with shallow water tables that are analogous to many fossil sites. The multivariate regressions remain robust even when based on one leaf per species, and the model most applicable to fossils shows no more signal degradation from leaf fragmentation than leaf-margin analysis.
On the automatic modularization of software systems using the Bunch tool

Since modern software systems are large and complex, appropriate abstractions of their structure are needed to make them more understandable and, thus, easier to maintain. Software clustering techniques are useful to support the creation of these abstractions by producing architectural-level views of a system's structure directly from its source code. This paper examines the Bunch clustering system which, unlike other software clustering tools, uses search techniques to perform clustering. Bunch produces a subsystem decomposition by partitioning a graph of the entities (e.g., classes) and relations (e.g., function calls) in the source code. Bunch uses a fitness function to evaluate the quality of graph partitions and uses search algorithms to find a satisfactory solution. This paper presents a case study to demonstrate how Bunch can be used to create views of the structure of significant software systems. This paper also outlines research to evaluate the software clustering results produced by Bunch.
Synthesis and biological activity of enantiomers of a conformationally restricted muscarone analog

Abstract A short and efficient synthesis of both enantiomers of 2,8-dimethyl-1-oxa-8-azaspiro[4.5]-decan-3-one is described. The biological activity of the racemate resides predominantly in the S-enantiomer. While the S-isomer is a full M2-agonist, the R-isomer is devoid of M2 efficacy.
AMERICAN 200 GeV ACCELERATOR.

The 200 GeV accelerator at Batavia is due to begin operations in 1972. It differs from earlier designs in having a booster synchrotron. As a consequence, the main ring magnets are considerably smaller than previously.
Management of rectal injury during cystectomy.

Abstract Rectal injury during radical cystectomy for bladder malignancy occurs in about 4 per cent of cases. Between 1975 and 1980, we performed 70 cystectomies; 5 rectal injuries occurred. The plan of management based on this experience includes careful inspection, good nutrition, avoidance of sepsis, adequate drainage, and decompression of the disruption often requiring a sigmoid loop colostomy.
Identification of cerium in the presence of other rare earths

Abstract In the presence of other rare earths, cerium is best identified with redox indicators. p-Sulfanilic acid is a fairly specific indicator for cerium(IV), giving a red coloration with more than 6 p.p.m. o-Tolidine and diphenylamine sulfonate can identify smaller amounts of cerium(IV), but many oxidants interfere.
Self-adaptive feed flow reversal operation of reverse osmosis desalination

Abstract The technical feasibility of operating a spiral-wound RO plant in a cyclic mode of feed-flow reversal (FFR) was evaluated for brackish water desalting under conditions of high mineral scaling propensity. Scale-free and continuous permeate productivity was demonstrated, with calcium sulfate as the model scalant, in an automated spiral-wound RO pilot system in which FFR was triggered by scale detection in an external membrane monitor (MeMo). Real-time detection of mineral scaling in an external RO MeMo cell, receiving its feed from the concentrate of the RO plant tail element, enabled cyclic FFR operation in a self-adaptive mode accomplished by feed-back RO plant control in which permeate productivity was maintained. Membrane permeability was restored after each FFR cycle even with the initiation of membrane cleaning (i.e., via FFR) after a measurable level of scale formation in the MeMo and spiral-wound RO pilot. FFR cycle periods varied in length given the stochastic nature of crystal nucleation on the membranes in both the RO plant and in the MeMo RO cell. Scale-free FFR operation was demonstrated, without anticalant addition, with the RO plant operating (up to 81% recovery) such that the gypsum saturation index was up to 3.45 at the membrane surface of the tail element.
Molecular hydrogen uptake by soils in forest, desert, and marsh ecosystems in California

The mechanism and environmental controls on soil hydrogen (H_2) uptake are not well understood but are essential for understanding the atmospheric H_2 budget. Field observations of soil H_2 uptake are limited, and here we present the results from a series of measurements in forest, desert, and marsh ecosystems in southern California. We measured soil H_2 fluxes using flux chambers from September 2004 to July 2005. Mean H2 flux rates and standard deviations were −7.9 + −4.2, −7.6 + −5.3 and −7.5 + −3.4 nmol m^(−2) s^(−1) for the forest, desert, and marsh, respectively (corresponding to deposition velocities of 0.063 + −0.029, 0.051 + −0.036, 0.035 + −0.013 cm s^(−1)). Soil profile measurements showed that H_2 mixing ratios were between 3% and 51% of atmospheric levels at 10 cm and that the penetration of H_2 into deeper soil layers increased with soil drying. Soil removal experiments in the forest demonstrated that the litter layer did not actively consume H_2, the removal of this layer increased uptake by deeper soil layers, and the exposure of subsurface soil layers to ambient atmospheric H_2 levels substantially increased their rate of uptake. Similar soil removal experiments at the desert site showed that extremely dry surface soils did not consume H2 and that fluxes at the surface increased when these inactive layers were removed. We present a model of soil H_2 fluxes and show that the diffusivity of soils, along with the vertical distribution of layers that actively consume H_2 regulate surface fluxes. We found that soil organic matter, CO_2 fluxes, and ecosystem type were not strong controllers of H_2 uptake. Our experiments highlight H_2 diffusion into soils as an important limit on fluxes and that minimum moisture level is needed to initiate microbial uptake.
SFAS 142, Conditional Conservatism, and Acquisition Profitability and Risk

We reexamine the relationship between accounting conservatism and the profitability and risk of acquisitions, by comparing acquisition-related profitability and risk before and after SFAS 142 (2001). SFAS 142 eliminated the periodic amortization of goodwill, replacing it with an annual fair value test for impairment with write-offs if necessary, and required that a firm’s goodwill be allocated to its reporting units. Subsequently, the frequency of goodwill impairments increased, suggesting that SFAS 142 resulted in an increase in conditional conservatism, as firms were now forced to recognize losses that would have been deferred as periodic expenses under the previous gradual amortization regime. Using both market- and accounting-based measures, we find a decrease in both acquisition profitability and risk in the post-SFAS 142 period, relative to acquisitions pre-SFAS 142. By contrast, Canadian firms, which were not affected by SFAS 142, did not experience such changes. Thus, our results suggest that conditional conservatism is associated with decreased risk taking but is not associated with increased acquisition profitability. More generally, our results call into question the benefits of conditional conservatism that have been documented in the literature.
Microarray and Fluidic Chip for Extracellular Sensing

In the past two decades, the biological and medical fields have seen great advances in the development of biosensors and biochips capable of characterizing and quantifying biomolecules. Biosensors incorporate a biological sensing element that converts a change in an immediate environment to signals conducive for processing. Biosensors have been implemented for a number of applications ranging from environmental pollutant detection to defense monitoring. This chapter first provides an overview of the various types of biosensors and biochips that have been developed for biological applications, along with significant advances over the last several years in these technologies. It also describes the various classification schemes that can be used for categorizing the different biosensors and provides relevant examples of these classification schemes from recent literature. Finally it elucidates a sensing scheme based on cell based sensors. This technique is based on the development of single cell arrays that are used as biosensors that show parts per billion sensitivity and have the capability of identifying specific chemical analytes based on unique electrical identification tags also known as “Signature Patterns”. The reliability of this technique is verified using conventional fluorescence based techniques.
Enterprise Systems for Florida Schools

The purpose of this paper is to show the impact of decision making about technology in school districts. During our research we found a lot of important information about decision making and forecasting. Furthermore, we also found information on EBusiness, along with Business Strategy, Structure, and Impact. All these important factors come together to help us understand where the Charlotte County’s district went wrong in their decisions with their upgraded system. We explore our findings and present the results of how better planning can help other districts.
Abstract 256: Downregulation of Pim-3 kinase inhibits cell growth and chemosensitizes pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine

Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common cancer of the pancreas, comprising over 85% of all cases. PDAC has a relative 1-year survival rate of 24% and a 5-year survival rate of 5%. Recent clinical studies indicate that patients with advanced pancreatic cancer show a 12% tumor response rate after treatment with the chemotherapeutic drug gemcitabine. Even in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents such as erlotinib, survival rates are only increased by a few weeks. Past studies have shown that members of the oncogenic Pim kinase family are aberrantly expressed in a variety of solid tumors, including prostate and pancreatic cancers. Most recently, Pim kinase has been correlated with chemoresistance in prostate cancer cells. Our study aimed to investigate the role of Pim-3 kinase in the chemoresistance of PDAC cancer cells to gemcitabine. We hypothesize that inhibition of Pim-3 will decrease cell growth and sensitize PDAC cells to gemcitabine treatment. Initially, we confirmed by immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis that Pim-3 is aberrantly expressed in PDAC tissues and cell lines, respectively. We found that inhibition of Pim-3 expression by shRNA decreased PDAC cell growth and resulted in an accumulation of cells in G1 or S phase of the cell cycle. Additionally, we demonstrated that PDAC cells expressing Pim-3 shRNA had increased apoptosis after gemcitabine treatment compared to controls. To determine a possible mechanism for this resensitization of PDAC cells to gemcitabine, we measured multidrug resistance (MDR)1 activity in the Pim-3 shRNA cells. We found that inhibition of Pim-3 protein expression in PDAC cells promoted gemcitabine sensitivity, in part, by lowering MDR1 activity. Our results suggest that downregulation of Pim-3 potentiates the efficacy of gemcitabine in combating pancreatic cancer. These findings support the idea that inhibiting Pim kinases, in combination with chemotherapeutic agents, could play an important role in pancreatic cancer treatment by targeting the clinical problem of chemoresistance. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 256. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-256
Lipid peroxidation-derived aldehydes and oxidative stress in the failing heart: role of aldose reductase

Lipid peroxidation-derived aldehydes (LP-DA) can propagate oxidative injury and are detoxified by the aldose reductase (AR) enzyme pathway in myocardium. Whether there are alterations in the AR axis in heart failure (HF) is unknown. Sixteen instrumented dogs were studied before and after either 24 h or 4 wk of rapid left ventricular (LV) pacing (early and late HF, respectively). Six unpaced dogs served as controls. In early HF, there was subtle depression of LV performance (maximum rate of LV pressure rise, P 50% in late HF (P < 0.025 vs. control). We conclude that AR levels and attendant myocardial capacity to detoxify LP-DA decline during the development of HF. In early HF, decreased AR occurs due to a translational or posttranslational mechanism, whereas in late HF reduced TonEBP transcriptional activation and AR downregulation contribute significantly. Reduced AR-mediated LP-DA metabolism contributes importantly to LP-DA accumulation in the failing heart and thus may augment chronic oxidative injury.
Migration-Enhanced Molecular Beam Epitaxial Growth and Characterization of GaAs on Si Substrates

We first report on migration-enhanced molecular beam epitaxial (MEMBE) growth and characterization of the GaAs layers on Si substrates (GaAs/Si). Excellent surface morphology GaAs layers were successfully grown on (100) Sisubstrates misoriented 4 toward [110] direction. The MEMBE growth method isdescribed and material properties are compared with those of normal two-step MBE-grown or in-situ annealed layers. Micrographs of cross-sectional view transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning surface electron microscopy (SEM) of MEMBE-grown GaAs/Si showed dislocation densities of 107 cm-2 over ten times lower than those of two-step MBE-grown or in-situ annealedlayers. AlGaAs/GaAs double heterostructure lasers and light-emitting diodeshave been successfully grown on MEMBE GaAs/Si by both metal organic chemical vapor deposition and liquid phase epitaxy. MOCVD-grown lasers showed peak output power as high as 184 mW/facet, pulsed threshold currents as low as150 mA at 300 K, and differential quantum efficiencies of up to 30 %. The LPE-grown light-emitting diodes showed output powers of 1.5 mW and external quantum efficiencies of 3.3 mW/A per facet.
Physics of nanoporation and water entry driven by a high-intensity, ultrashort electrical pulse in the presence of membrane hydrophobic interactions

The electroporation process in response to a high-intensity, ultrashort (\ensuremath{\sim}ns) electric pulse is probed based on molecular-dynamics simulations and shown to be a very rapid, twofold process. The electric driving force produces a Maxwell stress at the membrane and works to rearrange lipid dipoles and cause openings. However, water entry, which is essential for useful transport, is facilitated by electrowetting, which is an important component of the overall process. The molecular system can thus function as an electrically driven hydrophobic toggle switch that changes the water permeability. Furthermore, our results show that once they are fully formed, the nanopores do not close rapidly after cessation of the external electric field, in keeping with recent experiments. Finally, it is suggested that multiple pore formation in close proximity, as in situations involving high driving electric fields, is likely to be a rapid sequential process.
Effect of Newly Renovated Office Environment on Human Health

[Objective]To understand the effect of newly renovated office environment on human health.[Methods]The environment of newly renovated office was detected,23 workers were examined physically.[Results]The Concentrations of formaldehyde(0.493±0.067) mg/m3 and ammonia (1.894±0.156)mg/m3 exceeded standards seriously in newly renovated office,compared with control group (0.182±0.052) mg/m3,(0.661±0.089)mg/m3,the differences were significant(P0.01).The above were the main reasons which induced workers' symptoms such as dizziness,dry eyes,tearing,decreased visual acuity,irregular menstruation. Secondly,indoor illumination and catanionic index were lower than the control group,was also one of the reasons for the above-mentioned syndromes.[Conclusion]The environment of newly renovated office has adverse effect on human health. Environmental protection decoration material and furniture,normal ventilation of air-conditioning and adequate volume of fresh air are important for human health protection.
College Students’ Drinking and Posting About Alcohol: Forwarding a Model of Motivations, Behaviors, and Consequences

College drinking continues to remain a public health problem that has been exacerbated by alcohol-related posts on social networking sites (SNSs). Although existing research has linked alcohol consumption, alcohol posts, and adverse consequences to one another, comprehensive explanations for these associations have been largely unexplored. Thus, we reasoned that students' personal motivations (i.e., espousing an alcohol identity, needing entertainment, and adhering to social norms) influence their behaviors (i.e., alcohol consumption and alcohol-related posting on SNSs), which can lead to alcohol problems. Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed data from 364 undergraduate students and found general support for our model. In particular, espousing an alcohol identity predicted alcohol consumption and alcohol-related SNS posting, needing entertainment predicted alcohol consumption but not alcohol-related SNS posting, and adhering to social norms predicted alcohol-related SNS posting but not alcohol consumption. In turn, alcohol consumption and alcohol-related SNS posting predicted alcohol problems. It is surprising that alcohol-related SNS posting was a stronger predictor of alcohol problems than alcohol consumption. We discuss the findings within their applied applications for college student health.
Nucleoside Transport in Lymphocytes from Alcoholics and Non-Alcoholics

Our laboratory is studying the biochemical mechanisms underlying tolerance and dependence on ethanol. Another aspect of our work is to identify genes that may predispose individuals to alcoholism. Our initial studies centered on the effects of ethanol on the cAMP signal transduction system. Using model cell culture systems, we found that acute exposure to ethanol causes increased receptor-stimulated cAMP production. After chronic exposure to ethanol, there is an “adaptive” response resulting in heterologous desensitization of receptor-stimulated cAMP production (1). We examined circulating lymphocytes obtained from actively drinking alcoholics and found they had a 76% decrease in receptor-dependent cAMP production when compared to lymphocytes from non-alcoholics (2).
Joint spectrum/beampattern design of wideband FM MIMO radar emissions

The co-design of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar waveforms and the associated beampattern is desirable to maximize transmitted power in directions of interest while still maintaining acceptable waveform correlation properties. While MIMO is an emerging technology in radar, one must also consider the stringent spectral requirements that are currently being imposed now and that may become even more stringent in the future. In this paper a MIMO optimization method based on alternating projections is introduced that optimizes, for a uniform linear array, the constant-modulus, continuous-time, element-level waveforms to produce a spectral shape in various desired spatial directions denoted "beams of interest". The resulting beampattern is directly related to these chosen "beams of interest". To address the physical nature of the MIMO emission, the energy stored in the invisible space (i.e. not radiated into the far-field) is considered. It is shown that this stored energy, which could damage the transmitter if operated at high power, can effectively be minimized by optimizing the beampattern based on the visible emission space.
Who to Blame? learning and control strategies with information asymmetry

The rise of robot-robot interactions (RRI) is pushing for novel controller design techniques. Instead of using fixed control laws, robots should choose actions to minimize some cost functions specified by the designer. However, since the cost function of one robot may not be known to other robots (information asymmetry), special reasoning strategies are needed for multiple robots to learn to cooperate. Analysis shows that conventional learning and control strategies can lead to instability in a multi-agent system since the imperfection of other agents is not considered. In this paper, a new learning and control strategy that deals with interactions among imperfect agents is proposed. Analysis and simulation results show that the proposed strategy improves the performance of the system.
Hysterosalpingography with oil contrast medium enhances fertility in patients with infertility of unknown etiology

Previous studies have suggested increased fertility rates following hysterosalpingography (HSG) using oil as compared with aqueous contrast medium. To compare the possible fertility-enhancing effects of two agents used for HSG, this prospective randomized study evaluated the subsequent fertility rates in 121 patients who underwent HSG, in which either oil or aqueous contrast medium was used. After random assignment to either agent, patients were observed for four menstrual cycles after HSG without resorting to any therapy other than clomiphene citrate where indicated. The pregnancy rates for the four cycles after HSG were compared with chisquare analysis in the total study and in the diagnostic subgroups. The subgroup with infertility of unknown cause had a significantly higher pregnancy rate after HSG with oil than after HSG with aqueous contrast medium. No significant difference was seen for any other subgroup or for the overall cohort.
Granular computing: structures, representations, and applications

The structure and representation theories of (crisp/fuzzy) granulations are presented. The results are applied to data mining, fuzzy control, security and etc.
A Potential Antithrombotic Trick for an Old Drug: Quinine Inhibits the Binding of Antiphospholipid Antibody-β2-Glycoprotein I Immune Complexes to Phospholipid Bilayers in Vitro

Abstract 3423 Background: Quinine, an old drug extracted from bark of the cinchona tree, was the first effective antimalarial. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a synthetic antimalarial developed over 60 years ago was subsequently found to be effective for treating autoimmune disorders and is widely used to treat systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Observational clinical studies have indicated that HCQ is associated with reduced risk of thrombosis in SLE and the antiphospholipid (aPL) syndrome (APS). Autoimmune recognition of β2-glycoprotein I (β2GPI) by aPL autoantibodies is a key thrombogenic step in the mechanism for APS. We recently demonstrated that HCQ targets aPL immune complexes and disrupts their assembly on membranes. Objective: Since quinine shares structural similarities to HCQ, we wondered whether it might have a similar effect on aPL immune complexes in vitro. Furthermore, structural differences between the two drugs could affect their activities and provide valuable information on therapeutic targeting of APS disease process. Methods: Phospholipid bilayers containing 70% phosphatidyl choline (PC) and 30 % phosphatidyl serine (PS) were formed on reflective silicon slides. Adsorption of β2GPI and the formation of aPL-β2GPI immune complexes on the supported lipid bilayers were measured using ellipsometry. Dose response of quinine and HCQ were performed and adsorption was measured in real time. The efficacy of the two drugs at desorbing immune complexes was quantified by half maximal effective concentrations (EC50) values. Experiments were also performed to gauge the ability of the drugs at preventing complex formation. Furthermore, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to gauge the morphological changes associated with addition of quinine to lipid-supported aPL-β2GPI immune complexes. Results: Quinine inhibited the formation of immune complexes with a higher efficacy than HCQ at equivalent drug concentrations of 0.2 mg/mL (0.192 ± 0.025 μg/cm2 for quinine vs. 0.352 ± 0.011 μg/cm2 for HCQ, p Conclusions: Quinine is more effective than HCQ in impeding the formation of aPL-β2GPI immune complexes in vitro and in disintegrating immune complexes after they form. The disruptive effect that quinine and HCQ have on immune complexes suggests that the quinolone core of the molecule is an essential moiety conferring unique pharmacologic properties to the two drugs. Quinine and analogous molecules may offer novel approaches to targeting the APS disease mechanism and to reducing the thrombotic complications of APS without the inherent hemorrhagic risks of anticoagulant therapy. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Comparison of respiratory inductive plethysmography versus head-out plethysmography for anesthetized nonhuman primates in an animal biosafety level 4 facility

For inhalational studies and aerosol exposures to viruses, head-out plethysmography acquisition has been traditionally used for the determination of estimated inhaled dose in anesthetized nonhuman primates prior to or during an aerosol exposure. A pressure drop across a pneumotachograph is measured within a sealed chamber during inspiration/exhalation of the nonhuman primate, generating respiratory values and breathing frequencies. Due to the fluctuation of depth of anesthesia, pre-exposure respiratory values can be variable, leading to less precise and accurate dosing calculations downstream. Although an anesthesia infusion pump may help stabilize the depth of sedation, pumps are difficult to use within a sealed head-out plethysmography chamber. Real-time, head-out plethysmography acquisition could increase precision and accuracy of the measurements, but the bulky equipment needed for head-out plethysmography precludes real-time use inside a Class III biological safety cabinet, where most aerosol exposures occur. However, the respiratory inductive plethysmography (RIP) acquisition method measures the same respiratory parameters by detecting movement of the chest and abdomen during breathing using two elastic bands within the Class III biological safety cabinet. As respiratory values are relayed to a computer for software integration and analysis real-time, adjustment of aerosol exposure duration is based on the depth of sedation of the animal. The objective of this study was to compare values obtained using two methodologies (pre-exposure head-out plethysmography and real-time RIP). Transitioning to RIP technology with real-time acquisition provides more consistent, precise, and accurate aerosol dosing by reducing reported errors in respiratory values from anesthesia variability when using pre-exposure head-out plethysmography acquisition.
A yield criterion for cubic single crystals

Abstract In this paper a three-dimensional analytical criterion for description of the onset of plastic deformation in cubic single crystals is presented. The criterion is pressure-insensitive and form-invariant to any transformation belonging to the symmetries of the material. Specialization of this criterion for each class of the cubic system is presented. For most metallic single crystals, the criterion involves five independent parameters, which can be determined based on the yield stresses in different crystal orientations. Comparisons with single crystal data show that the criterion can successfully describe the difference in yielding anisotropy between FCC crystals.
CABG at 50 (or 107?) - The Complex Course of Therapeutic Innovation.

On May 9, 1967, Cleveland Clinic surgeon Rene Favaloro performed his first CABG procedure. But although Favaloro’s work popularized the operation, CABG, like all significant medical interventions, is the product of innumerable innovations by many physicians.
3D Printing All-Aromatic Polyimides using Mask-Projection Stereolithography: Processing the Nonprocessable

High-performance, all-aromatic, insoluble, engineering thermoplastic polyimides, such as pyromellitic dianhydride and 4,4′-oxydianiline (PMDA–ODA) (Kapton), exhibit exceptional thermal stability (up to ≈600 °C) and mechanical properties (Young's modulus exceeding 2 GPa). However, their thermal resistance, which is a consequence of the all-aromatic molecular structure, prohibits processing using conventional techniques. Previous reports describe an energy-intensive sintering technique as an alternative technique for processing polyimides with limited resolution and part fidelity. This study demonstrates the unprecedented 3D printing of PMDA–ODA using mask-projection stereolithography, and the preparation of high-resolution 3D structures without sacrificing bulk material properties. Synthesis of a soluble precursor polymer containing photo-crosslinkable acrylate groups enables light-induced, chemical crosslinking for spatial control in the gel state. Postprinting thermal treatment transforms the crosslinked precursor polymer to PMDA–ODA. The dimensional shrinkage is isotropic, and postprocessing preserves geometric integrity. Furthermore, large-area mask-projection scanning stereolithography demonstrates the scalability of 3D structures. These unique high-performance 3D structures offer potential in fields ranging from water filtration and gas separation to automotive and aerospace technologies.