cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Complex effective Hamiltonian approach for ir multiphoton dissociation.

A complex effective Hamiltonian (CEH) approach is formulated in the semiclassical (quantum-molecule--classical-field) representation for the study of ir multiphoton-dissociation processes. This formulation enables one to evaluate the dissociation dynamics in terms of the discrete states only. The effects of the bound--continuum-state interactions are manifested in the CEH matrix by the addition of level shifts and imaginary decay widths to the unperturbed bound-state energies and bound-bound dipole-coupling elements. The periodicity of the CEH matrix in time is preserved, allowing the use of Floquet theory to exactly evaluate the time development of the system. This CEH formulation requires that transitions between continuum states can be safely ignored, that the bound-continuum dipole couplings vary slowly with the continuum state energy \ensuremath{\varepsilon}, and that time t is sufficiently long. High field intensities also tend to make these requirements more stringent. It is found that the CEH matrix in the semiclassical representation can be asymmetric with respect to the level shifts and decay widths. For the ir multiphoton dissociation of a nonrotating model diatomic molecule in the ground electronic state, a rather truncated form of the CEH is tested against a discretized continuum plus optical potential method. Despite the high field intensity and relatively short laser pulse used in these tests, the results indicate that this CEH method works well provided the bound-continuum dipole-coupling elements vary slowly with \ensuremath{\varepsilon}. As can be expected, the validity of the CEH is limited when the bound-continuum dipole couplings vary strongly with \ensuremath{\varepsilon}, which is the case with our model diatomic molecule. The nature of the bound-continuum interactions can apparently have considerable effect on the dissociation dynamics.
Auditory Processing Disorders: Earlier Diagnosis Possible?

Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) has been defined as the inability of the central nervous system to process incoming auditory information from the peripheral auditory system. It has been said that accurate representation of stimulus timing (latency) in the auditory brainstem is a hallmark of normal perception. Therefore, the diagnosis of APD is confirmed when functional listening difficulties are observed in the presence of both normal peripheral hearing and well-established deficits in one or several different auditory skill areas. In recent years, there has been an increased popular interest in these disorders; unfortunately, this interest has led to misconceptions and misinformation. There is now considerable confusion regarding what is and what are not an APD, how APD is diagnosed, and the methods for managing and treating the disorder.
Linear free energy relationship correlation of the distribution of solutes between water and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles and between gas and SDS micelles.

Data have been assembled from the published literature on the water-to-micellar sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) partition coefficient data for more than 200 compounds and on the gas-to-micellar SDS partition coefficient data for more than 140 compounds. It is shown that an Abraham solvation equation with only five descriptors can be used to correlate the observed partition coefficient data to within a standard deviation of 0.22 log units. Micellar electrokinetic chromatographic (MEKC) retention factor data measured on a micellar SDS pseudostationary phase was also gathered from the literature. The water-to-micellar SDS partition coefficient and MEKC retention factor data were combined into a single database and correlated with the Abraham model. The derived correlation described the 486 experimental values to within a standard deviation of 0.15 log units. The micellar SDS system has been compared to various liquid phases in terms of solubility of gases and vapors and has been shown to be a very selective sys...
Do cultured mammalian cells repair radiation injury by the “cut-and-patch” mechanism?

Abstract The repair of radiation induced DNA damage in some micro-organisms has been explained on the basis of the “cut-and-patch” hypothesis. This hypothesis postulates that radiation produces alteration of the DNA bond structure, nucleolytic enzymes convert the bond alterations into frank breaks, and then the breaks are repaired by an enzyme ( s ) which has properties similar to DNA polymerase. In this paper we give experimental and theoretical evidence to support the notion that the “cut-and-patch” mechanism very likely is responsible for the repair of radiation induced DNA damage in cultured mammalian cells.
Recent trends in railroad freight

Abstract A study of the tonnage despatched by rail of five principal commodity groups shows that the comparative ranking of these five groups has not changed. However the proportions of their tonnages to the total tonnage despatched by rail reveals an increase in agriculture, forests and manufactures, while mining and animal products have decreased. The national production of nine selected commodities has been studied and compared with the tonnages of these traffics despatched by rail. The impact on the railroad industry of strip mining of coal is studied. It appears that this development will be inimical to the railroads and conduce to their losing coal traffic.
Just-in-Time Simulation Using Artificial Intelligence

The shortcomings of process oriented simulation languages for modeling various types of kanbans in a Just-in-time (JIT) system are outlined in this paper. To circumvent these modeling difficulties, a rule-based simulator (JITSAI) has been designed and implemented using LISP/VM language on an IBM 4381 computer. The simulator includes efficient user interfaces, static and dynamic databases, primitives for each of the JIT modeling and simulation issues, a domain-specific rulebase interfaced with an event planner, an explanation subsystem and an inference mechanism. Two simulation experiments conducted on a JIT system to illustrate the current features of the JITSAI simulator are discussed.
Complete description of molecular photoionization from circular dichroism of rotationally resolved photoelectron angular distributions.

The photoionization process NO ${\mathit{A}}^{2}$${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{+}$(v=0, N=22)\ensuremath{\rightarrow}${\mathrm{NO}}^{+}$ ${\mathrm{X}}^{1}$${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{+}$(${\mathit{v}}^{+}$=0, ${\mathit{N}}^{+}$)+${\mathit{e}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$ is studied with sufficient energy resolution that the photoelectron angular distributions associated with individual rotational levels ${\mathit{N}}^{+}$ of the ion are determined. By ionizing with left and right circularly polarized light and observing the change in the rotationally resolved photoelectron angular distributions, we can deduce all dynamical information, including the signs of the relative phase shifts of the photoelectron partial waves. This information constitutes the first complete description of the photoionization of a molecule.
Informational Content of Government Hogs and Pigs Reports: Comment

In a recent article in this journal, Carter and Galopin (hereafter referred to as CG) propose an innovative method for testing the economic value of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop and livestock reports. The basic notion behind CG's test is that if a government report has informational value, a private futures trader would be willing to pay for the report before it becomes publicly available.' CG report that a trader would not have earned significant risk-adjusted profits from advance knowledge of the USDA Hogs and Pigs Report (HPR). They therefore conclude that the HPR does not contain valuable information and that the U.S.
The overjustification effect: A meta‐analysis

This article reports the results of a meta-analysis using 50 experimental studies (256 effect sizes) of the overjustification effect. In general, we found support for the effect across age, dependent measure, and design type in specific situations where it is predicted to occur. Findings are less supportive of the theory for situations where there should be no difference between experimental and control groups (e. g. non-contingent or unexpected reward). Suggestions for future research are made.
Effects of cognitive styles and decision setting on performance

Abstract The effects of cognitive style and decision setting on prediction accuracy were examined in the Multiple-cue Probability Learning Paradigm (MCPLP). Cognitive style was measured by the popular Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Decision setting was manipulated by varying sets of meaningful cue labels. Results indicate that task differences (decision settings) affect prediction accuracy. However, no main or interaction effects of cognitive styles on performance were found.
Genetic variation in the TNFA promoter region and TNFA gene expression in subjects with asthma.

Objective. Asthma is a chronic disease that affects millions of people. Messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of specific inflammatory markers has been associated with asthma and corticosteroid response. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, has been shown to have increased expression in airways of asthmatics and may be related to corticosteroid sensitivity. The purpose of this study was to determine how genetic variants within the promoter region of the TNFA gene differ between subjects with asthma and controls. We also investigated how genetic variation affects gene expression. Methods. We enrolled 94 subjects between 5 to 54 years of age who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. TNFA mRNA expression was determined by qRT-PCR on total RNA isolated from the buccal mucosa. Genotyping was performed for TNFA-1031T/C, -857C/T, and -308G/A on genomic DNA isolated from blood with commercially available assays. Gene expression was log-2 transformed and corrected with 2 normalization genes....
Simple b ions have cyclic oxazolone structures. A neutralization-reionization mass spectrometric and computational study of oxazolone radicals.

The 2-methyloxazol-5-on-2-yl radical (3) and its deuterium labeled analogs were generated in the gas-phase by femtosecond electron-transfer and studied by neutralization-reionization mass spectrometry and quantum chemical calculations. Radical 3 undergoes fast dissociation by ring opening and elimination of CO and CH3CO. Loss of hydrogen is less abundant and involves hydrogen atoms from both the ring and side-chain positions. The experimental results are corroborated by the analysis of the potential energy surface of the ground electronic state in 3 using density functional, perturbational, and coupled-cluster theories up to CCSD(T) and extrapolated to the 6-311 ++ G(3df,2p) basis set. RRKM calculations of radical dissociations gave branching ratios for loss of CO and H that were kCO/kH > 10 over an 80–300 kJ mol−1 range of internal energies. The driving force for the dissociations of 3 is provided by large Franck-Condon effects on vertical neutralization and possibly from involvement of excited electronic states. Calculations also provided the adiabatic ionization energy of 3, IEadiab = 5.48 eV and vertical recombination energy of cation 3+, REvert = 4.70 eV. The present results strongly indicate that oxazolone structures can explain fragmentations of b-type peptide ions upon electron capture, contrary to previous speculations.
Use of energy imparted as an optimization tool in CT

We have developed a patient dosimetry tool that will permit the optimization of image quality in CT. Published Monte Carlo CT dosimetry data were used to generate values of the energy imparted to an anthropomorphic phantom undergoing head and body CT examinations. Energy imparted factors E 5,n were computed for irradiation of 5 mm thick slabs of the anthropomorphic phantom, which were normalized to the free-in-air dose to muscle at the CT isocenter obtained in the absence of any phantom or patient. Calculations of E 5,n were obtained for CT scanners from five vendors and for 208 contiguous slabs of the anthropomorphic phantom ranging from the top of the head to the upper leg region. Values of E 5,n were relatively constant in the abdomen and chest region, but there was a large inter-scanner variability, with a mean of 170 ± 50 mJ/Gy for five vendors when E 5,n values were averaged over the whole trunk. The mean E 5,n for the neck region was 100 ± 20 mJ/Gy, which increased to 110 ± 30 mJ/Gy for the head region. Adding 0.25 mm Cu filtration increased the value of the normalized energy imparted value E 5,n by an average of 24%. Relative to 100 kVp, increasing the x-ray tube voltage by 20 and 30 kVp increased the normalized energy imparted value E 5,n by 10% and 14%, respectively. Patient energy imparted is useful for studying optimization strategies with respect to x-ray technique factors.
Decentralized Voltage Control to Minimize Distribution Losses in an Islanded Microgrid

Microgrids can bring electricity power to rural communities or isolated military forward operation bases. For many rural areas, renewable powers could be the cheapest power sources available. Utilizing renewable power sources and energy storage systems such as batteries requires new power and voltage control strategies. In addition, these microgrids may be reconfigured frequently. Therefore, the control strategies must be implemented in a plug-and-play fashion at individual nodes, and ideally they should not require much communication with neighboring nodes. Another issue of microgrids is the resistance loss in distribution lines due to the lower operating voltage. To reduce power losses, voltage control is required which again must work in a plug-and-play fashion. In this paper, we propose a decentralized real-time voltage control algorithm that minimizes power losses for a microgrid supported by inverter based distributed power sources. Its optimality and plug-and-play nature are demonstrated through simulations.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
A Testbed to Support Collaboration Among Distributed Designers for Reverse Engineering, Re-Engineering and Fast Manufacturing

This paper presents development of a testbed to support collaboration among a set of distributed engineers to reverse, re-engineer, and fast manufacture (RRF) components for aging aircrafts. This testbed allows a geographically distributed team to work on a design task both synchronously and asynchronously. Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software tools and equipment that support the RRF process have been identified, evaluated, and tested. An integration framework has also been developed and employed to create an RRF testbed. This testbed constructed using COTS software and equipment supports three major engineering tasks: the reverse engineering that supports recovering of technical data from worn sample parts, re-engineering that alters design for better performance or lower cost, and fast prototyping that incorporates advanced manufacturing technologies to produce functional or physical prototype of the part in small quantity in a short turnaround time. Traditional reverse engineering projects are ad-hoc, usually takes relatively long time to generate solid models from physical parts. The developed testbed utilizes commercial software to accomplish reverse engineering, re-engineer and fast manufacture using a systematic approach. A number of examples obtained from logistics centers have been employed to illustrate and demonstrate the capabilities established in the RRF testbed.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Neurobiological and memory models of risky decision making in adolescents versus young adults.

Predictions of fuzzy-trace theory and neurobiological approaches are examined regarding risk taking in a classic decision-making task-the framing task-as well as in the context of real-life risk taking. We report the 1st study of framing effects in adolescents versus adults, varying risk and reward, and relate choices to individual differences, sexual behavior, and behavioral intentions. As predicted by fuzzy-trace theory, adolescents modulated risk taking according to risk and reward. Adults showed standard framing, reflecting greater emphasis on gist-based (qualitative) reasoning, but adolescents displayed reverse framing when potential gains for risk taking were high, reflecting greater emphasis on verbatim-based (quantitative) reasoning. Reverse framing signals a different way of thinking compared with standard framing (reverse framing also differs from simply choosing the risky option). Measures of verbatim- and gist-based reasoning about risk, sensation seeking, behavioral activation, and inhibition were used to extract dimensions of risk proneness: Sensation seeking increased and then decreased, whereas inhibition increased from early adolescence to young adulthood, predicted by neurobiological theories. Two additional dimensions, verbatim- and gist-based reasoning about risk, loaded separately and predicted unique variance in risk taking. Importantly, framing responses predicted real-life risk taking. Reasoning was the most consistent predictor of real-life risk taking: (a) Intentions to have sex, sexual behavior, and number of partners decreased when gist-based reasoning was triggered by retrieval cues in questions about perceived risk, whereas (b) intentions to have sex and number of partners increased when verbatim-based reasoning was triggered by different retrieval cues in questions about perceived risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved). Language: en
Malfunction of a disc mitral valve prosthesis: detection by phonocardiography.

Obstruction of a disc mitral valve prosthesis (Beau valve, medium size) was detected clinically and confirmed by phonocardiography two months following its insertion. A very short interval from aortic closure to the opening sound of the prosthetic valve (0.05 sec) suggested a high transmitral gradient which was confirmed at cardiac catheterization. The patient died suddenly awaiting surgery and a large thrombus which obstructed more than 45 percent of the valve orifice was found at autopsy.
High Energy Laser Diagnostics - A Review

A DF cw laser system is used an an example to illustrate the requirements for HEL diagnostics. The laser device performance parameters are identified, with primary diagnostics being near field power, near field irradiance, wavelength, angular beam jitter, and beam quality. A variety of component/subsystem diagnostics are reviewed, for the gain generator, optical resonator, diffuser/ejector and fluid supply subsystems. Methods of characterizing these subsystems, as well as approaches to the primary diagnostics, provide an adequate data base for understanding the high energy laser system.
Multichannel television coupling modulation experiments using a CO2 laser.

Experiments are described in which a carbon dioxide laser oscillating at 28.4 THz has been modulated simultaneously by three commercial television signals with carriers at 54, 66, and 82 MHz. Signal-to-noise degradation in the system was measured to be less than 1 dB, corresponding to modulator drive power of 1 W. This combination of wide bandwidth and low power consumption was made possible by the application of coupling modulation. This technique employs an intracavity electrooptic crystal to which the modulating fields are applied. Despite the fact that the crystal is positioned inside the laser cavity, the maximum bandwidth attainable is independent of both the cavity Q and the laser transition linewidth, and is limited only by modulator characteristics and optical transit time. Rigrod's (1965) method has been adapted to obtain an expression for the power coupled out of the laser. Modulator frequency response and drive power requirements are also summarized. It is seen that the noise bandwidth performance of the system would allow simultaneous modulation by 17 color television channels, or equivalently, more than a 300-megabit/sec capacity.
Counseling Transgendered, Transsexual, and Gender‐Variant Clients

The emergent consciousness and political activism within the transgender community has important implications for the field of counseling. In the current paradigm, the focus has shifted from using surgical and hormonal interventions and thereby enabling transgendered persons to “pass” within the traditional gender binary of society to affirming the unique identities of transgendered persons. To prepare counselors, counselor educators, and counseling supervisors for this important challenge, the authors describe the evolving nature of the transgender community, discuss mental health issues and counseling interventions for use with transgendered clients, and present a case study detailing the progression of counseling with 1 transgendered client.
Models to guide system reform for at risk youth

Policy reform for at-risk youth is complicated by involvement of various service sectors. Issues related to coordinating systems of care in a dynamic policy environment are not new, but surprisingly little has been written to guide practitioners and policymakers in addressing them (Friedman in Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 11:11–18, 2003). To that end, a social worker, community psychologist, and nurse, working as part of a multidisciplinary team reviewed the practice literature on models to guide policy reform in justice and behavioral health systems. Five models are presented to assist community practitioners assessing similar policy reform.
Materials and design aspects of the RIGGATRONTM tokamak

Abstract The successful development of the RIGGATRONTM tokamak depends on the close coupling of analysis, design, materials/fabrication development and testing. Operating conditions in these compact, high-field copper alloy machines are considerably more severe than in conventional superconducting tokamaks. The design needs of the critical components, including the toroidal field coil, the ohmic heating coil, and the first wall/vacuum vessel have resulted in the development, testing and qualification of high-strength, high-conductivity copper alloys, new dielectric concepts and advanced fabrication techniques. Intensive materials property testing on conductor alloys and dielectric materials has led to the definition of specific design criteria for the relatively short lifetime RIGGATRON devices. To date, the key design and materials issues related to the construction of the FDX experimental machines have been resolved, and the program is moving into the design verification, subcomponent testing and prototype manufacturing stage.
Progress of Minimal Residual Disease Studies in Childhood Acute Leukemia

Submorphologic (ie, minimal) residual disease (MRD) can be monitored in virtually all children and adolescents with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) using methods such as flow cytometric detection of leukemic immunophenotypes or polymerase chain reaction amplification of fusion transcripts, gene mutations, and clonal rearrangements of antigen-receptor genes. Numerous studies have demonstrated the clinical importance of measuring MRD, spurring the design of clinical trials in which MRD is used for risk assignment and treatment selection. Emerging results from these trials suggest that the adverse prognostic impact of low levels of MRD during the early phases of therapy can be diminished by treatment intensification. This article discusses the methods used for detecting MRD in childhood AML and ALL, the data obtained in studies correlating MRD with treatment outcome, the results of the initial trials using MRD, and the practical aspects related to the design of MRD-based clinical studies.
Pustular Eruption in the ICU

p e l d d g t a I PRESENTATION Sometimes, appropriate treatment can introduce new problems for patients who are already seriously ill. This was true for a 62-year-old man with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, atrial fibrillation, and peripheral vascular disease. He was admitted to the hospital for a gangrenous right foot, and his medications on admission included aspirin, gabapentin, paroxetine, ranitidine, and tramadol. On the first day of admission, he was febrile to 101.5° F (38.6° C) and was started on piperacillin-tazobactam and vancomycin. These antibiotics were administered for 2 weeks and then discontinued the day before a below-theknee amputation. One day after the amputation, he was restarted on piperacillin-tazobactam and vancomycin. Within 24 hours of re-institution of the antibiotics, the patient became febrile to 101.7° F (38.7° C) and developed erythema of his face, which quickly progressed to his trunk and extremities. Subsequently, a thin yellowish scale arose on his entire face. He denied any pain, pruritus, facial swelling, or mucosal changes.
Progress in the regeneration and genetic manipulation of cereal crops

The economically important cereal and grass crops have generally proved to be notoriously recalcitrant to manipulation in vitro. Regeneration of plants from single cells, a prerequisite for cellular and molecular manipulation, has proven to be especially difficult. Consequently, this group of plants has until recently remained outside the main stream of plant biotechnology. The discovery and exploitation of embryogenic tissue cultures, in which plant regeneration takes place by the formation of embryos from single somatic cells, has led to the development of efficient procedures for plant regeneration in almost all of the important species of grasses, and recovery of mature plants from protoplasts in crops such as maize, rice and sugarcane. These results, along with the success in somatic hybridization and the demonstration of transient as well as stable expression of introduced genes in grass cells and plants, provide challenging opportunities for the genetic manipulation and improvement of this group of food crops. It is argued, however, that a far better understanding of growth, development (including morphogenesis in vitro), physiology and molecular biology/genetics of plants—and continuous dialogue and interaction with plant breeders and geneticists—are required for the effective and useful application of the modern tools of biotechnology to major crop species.
Model-based control of thermal stresses during LEC growth of GaAs II. Crystal growth experiments

Abstract A heat flux control system (HFCS) developed to provide for active control of the thermal environment of LEC growth process, and a numerical model capable of accurate prediction of the thermal field in the growth system are used to control stresses during growth and cool-down of GaAs crystals. Three crystal growth experiments using this combination of hardware and modeling capability are reported. Results indicate that by maintaining thermal stresses in the crystal at below the critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) of the matrix, low dislocation density (EPD approximately 3000 cm-2) material can be obtained. The EPD in crystals experiencing stresses larger than this value are one-order-of-magnitude higher. Issues related to crystal-melt separation and diameter control, as well as various approaches to integration of the model with the growth process, are discussed.
Abstract 576: Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) inhibits growth of human myeloid leukemia cells and downregulates the expression of CDK inhibitor, p18INK4C.

The cell cycle progression controlled by cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) is counterbalanced by CDK inhibitors (CKIs). The CKIs have two families: CIP/KIP and INK. The CIP/KIP members are composed of p21WAF1/CIP1, p27KIP1 and p57KIP2, which bind to and inhibit both cyclin D-CDK4/6 kinases and cyclin-E/A-CDK2. The INK members consist of p15INK4B, p16INK4A, p18INK4C and p19INK4D. The members in this family only bind to and inhibit G1CDKs (CDK4 and CDK6). We have previously reported that p27KIP1 plays both a positive and a negative role in human myeloid leukemia cells. In this study, we investigated whether p18INK4C plays any role in TGF-β-mediated cell cycle control of human myeloid leukemia cells. TGF-β significantly inhibited proliferation of MV4-11 and TF-1 cells, with upregulation of p27KIP1and downregulation of multiple CDKs and cyclins. Surprisingly, TGF-β significantly inhibited the expression of p18INK4C, a traditional G1 CDK inhibitor. The inhibitory effect of TGFβ on p18INK4C was time dependent. The time course showed that early inhibition of p18INK4C occurred at 3h after initiating TGFβ treatment in the cells with a maximal inhibition of 70% being observed at 72h incubation with TGF-β. The control cells treated with the solvent for TGFβ did not show any significant changes in the levels of p18INK4C. As a sample loading control, the cells treated with or without TGF-β expressed about the same levels of actin.TGFβ-induced p18INK4C inhibition is also dose dependent with a maximal inhibition being detected by Western blot when 30ng/ml of TGFβ was added to the culture. Low concentrations (5ng/ml or less) did not markedly affect the expression of p18INK4C. The association of p18INK4C with CDK4 was also decreased in response to TGF-β treatment detected by immunoprecipitation. Our data also showed that the two cell lines tested barely expresses p15INK4B, p16INK4A, p19INK4D, and p21WAF1/CIP1 and these inhibitors do not appear to play an important role, either positively or negatively, in the cell cycle control of the leukemia cells. Our data suggest that p18INK4C may be required for cell cycle progression in human myeloid leukemia cells tested. Whether such a positive role of p18INK4C is caused by a possible gene mutation(s) and thereby contributes to leoplasia of the leukemia cells is currently under investigation (supported by NIH-NIGMS MBRS RISE: R25 GM059244, Barry University). . Citation Format: Talia Guardia, Reshma Badaloo, Valentina Serrano, Alejandra Toro, Xiaotang Hu. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) inhibits growth of human myeloid leukemia cells and downregulates the expression of CDK inhibitor, p18INK4C. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 576. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-576
Investigations of ion-Size-Selective Synergism in Solvent Extraction

Abstract Organophilic crown ethers and other similar macrocyclic compounds produce a synergistic enhancement of the extraction of several metal ions by organic-phase—soluble carboxylic, phosphoric, and sulfonic acids. Ions examined include the alkali metals, the alkaline earths, and some first-row transition elements. In many cases, the synergistic effects are clearly related to the correspondence of the ion size to the macrocycle cavity diameter. In other cases this is less true, and occasionally, complete lack of syner-gism or even antagonism is observed. These phenomena have been investigated by systematic studies of the systems involved, by equilibrium studies of selected extraction systems, and by vapor-pressure osmometric studies of the iritermolecular bonding between the organic-phase macrocycles and acids. Lack of synergism (when it is expected from size correspondence) does not appear to be due to bonding interactions between the macrocycle and the extractant acid, Other considerations suggest th...
Challenging Domestic Politics? European Debates of National Parliaments in France, Germany and the UK

The thesis of a ‘politicisation’ of European integration has been influential both for research about the EU and comparative research on political parties. However, the debate triggered by this thesis remains elusive, inter alia, with regard to the thematic structure and the interaction modes of parties within controversies about EU multi-level governance. Against this background, the present article maps the thematic and party political dimension of controversies and asks for linkages between both dimensions in 31 parliamentary debates about the EU in France, Germany and the UK between 2005 and 2009. The empirical evidence from these debates suggests that a categorisation of different thematic aspects of debates can be used to map and explain the emergence of several types of polarisation between political parties, thus elucidating different variants of ‘politicisation’ of European affairs and working towards their systematic explanation.
Parenting of low birth weight infants: A review of issues and interventions.

Factors that may adversely affect parenting of low birth weight infants, including infant characteristics, parental emotional responses to premature birth, and patterns of parent-infant interaction, are reviewed. In addition, intervention studies designed to improve infant developmental outcomes through influencing parenting behaviors are examined. There was great diversity in theoretical frameworks, in timing of onset and frequency of interventions, and in measurement of outcomes. The interventions that were most effective in influencing behaviors and infant developmental outcomes were those in which there were multiple long-term contacts with parents and/or those that actively involved them in the intervention. The specific theoretical framework upon which the interventions were based appeared to be of less importance in influencing results. In order to increase our knowledge and ability to provide costeffective programs, there is a need to focus attention and data collection efforts on the process and intermediary steps of intervention as well as on outcome measures. There is also a need to improve our ability to recruit and retain those families who are most at risk for parenting and infant developmental problems including those with very low birth weight infants, those whose infants have serious perinatal complications, and those with indications of high social risk such as poverty-level incomes and problems of substance abuse.
A Simple Automated Continuous-Flow-Equilibration Method for Measuring Carbon Monoxide in Seawater

A simple, robust, low-maintenance method using air-segmented continuous-flow equilibration was developed and automated to measure carbon monoxide (CO) in natural waters precisely and accurately. Finely regulated flows of CO-free air and of seawater or standard water were pumped into a glass coil, forming discrete gas/liquid segments. The partially CO-equilibrated gas effluent was injected into a Trace Analytical reduction analyzer for CO detection. A semiempirical mass-balance model was established for predicting and optimizing the performance of the CO extractor. The optimized gas and water flow rates were ∼1.2 and ∼14 mL min-1, respectively, giving a response time of less than 15 min and a CO-extraction yield of ∼80%. The analytical blank, precision, and accuracy were, respectively, 0.02 nM, ±2.5% (at the ∼1 nM level), and better than 5%. Two extractors can be interfaced to one detector at 4−6 samples per hour for each extractor. Coupled with a continuous surface−water sampler, the system was successful...
Perception of Sonified Daily Weather Records

Human participants performed a perceptual task in which they sorted auditory (musical) displays of one-month long daily weather summaries (temperature, rainfall, and snowfall) based on perceived similarity of weather patterns. Displays for fifteen winter months and fifteen summer months were sorted by separate groups of participants. Each group sorted two sets of displays that varied in presentation speed. Multidimensional scaling analyses indicated that these displays were effective in conveying weather features important for climate comparisons for both winter and summer months, and that the faster (7.1 sec) displays were more effective than the slower (14.2 sec) displays. These results show that sonification can be an effective tool for exploring multivariate time series data, but that optimization of such displays may require consideration of the temporal constraints of auditory sensory memory and working memory.
Can nanotechnology potentiate photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses the combination of non-toxic dyes and harmless visible light to produce reactive oxygen species that can kill cancer cells and infectious microorganisms. Due to the tendency of most photosensitizers (PS) to be poorly soluble and to form nonphotoactive aggregates, drug-delivery vehicles have become of high importance. The nanotechnology revolution has provided many examples of nanoscale drug-delivery platforms that have been applied to PDT. These include liposomes, lipoplexes, nanoemulsions, micelles, polymer nanoparticles (degradable and nondegradable), and silica nanoparticles. In some cases (fullerenes and quantum dots), the actual nanoparticle itself is the PS. Targeting ligands such as antibodies and peptides can be used to increase specificity. Gold and silver nanoparticles can provide plasmonic enhancement of PDT. Two-photon excitation or optical upconversion can be used instead of one-photon excitation to increase tissue penetration at longer wavelengths. Finally, after sections on in vivo studies and nanotoxicology, we attempt to answer the title question, "can nano-technology potentiate PDT?"
Sex differences in interpersonal conflict

An experiment is described that compares and contrasts male and female behavior in response to various forms of threats that previous research had indicated elicited different perceptual and behavioral reactions. A fairly complex decision-making internation simulation game was employed in a computer-controlled laboratory. The results indicate that deterrent threats are somewhat more likely to result in compliance than are compellent threats. Further, there were no gross differences between male and female response patterns. It was found, however, that males are somewhat more likely to comply to a threat. But, of the noncompliers males are more likely to behave aggressively and attack the other. Evidence is presented that indicates that females respond to an emotion-evoking hostile situation by passively resisting or withdrawing.
CdZnTe x-ray detector for 30- to 100-keV energy

High-pressure-Bridgman grown CdZnTe x-ray detectors 1.25 approximately 1.7 mm thick were tested using monochromatic x-rays of 30 to 100 keV generated by a high energy x-ray generator. The results were compared with a commercially available 5 cm thick Nal detector. A linear dependence of the counting rate versus the x-ray generator tube current was observed at 58.9 keV. The measured pulse height of the photopeaks shows a linear dependence on energy. Electron and hole mobility-lifetime products were deduced by fitting bias dependent photopeak channel numbers at 30 keV x-ray energy. Values of 2 X 10-3 cm2/V and 2 X 10-4 cm2/V were obtained for (mu) (tau) e and (mu) (tau) p, respectively. The detector efficiency of CdZnTe at a 100 V bias was as high as, or higher than 90 percent compared to a Nal detector. At x-ray energies higher than 70 keV, the detection efficiency becomes a dominant factor and decreases to 75 percent at 100 keV.
Processes of care for community-acquired pneumonia

Clinical and economic outcomes in hospitalized patients with CAP directly are related to the way that certain processes of care are executed at the local-hospital level. For each process of care, a clear and evidence-based recommended course of action should be stated. Having an unambiguous action plan helps to develop process-of-care indicators and to educate healthcare workers. Improving processes of care is a secure way to improve outcomes in hospitalized patients with CAP.
A distributed congestion and power control algorithm to achieve bounded average queuing delay in wireless networks

Allocating limited resources such as bandwidth and power in a multi-hop wireless network can be formulated as a Network Utility Maximization (NUM) problem. In this approach, both transmitting source nodes and relaying link nodes exchange information allowing for the NUM problem to be solved in an iterative distributed manner. Some previous NUM formulations of wireless network problems have considered the parameters of data rate, reliability, and transmitter powers either in the source utility function which measures an application's performance or as constraints. However, delay is also an important factor in the performance of many applications. In this paper, we consider an additional constraint based on the average queueing delay requirements of the sources. In particular, we examine an augmented NUM formulation in which rate and power control in a wireless network are balanced to achieve bounded average queueing delays for sources. With the additional delay constraints, the augmented NUM problem is non-convex. Therefore, we present a change of variable to transform the problem to a convex problem and we develop a solution which results in a distributed rate and power control algorithm tailored to achieving bounded average queueing delays. Simulation results demonstrate the efficacy of the distributed algorithm.
Imagined spatial transformations of one's hands and feet

Abstract These experiments examine two related phenomena: (a) the judgment of whether a human body part belongs to the left or right half of the body and (b) the imagined spatial transformation of part of one's body. In three of the experiments, participants made left-right judgments of a hand or foot. They apparently made this judgment by imagining their own hand or foot passing to the orientation of the stimulus for comparison. Time for (a) left-right judgments and (b) corresponding imagined spatial transformations depended on the extent of the orientation difference between the stimulus and the task or “canonical” orientation of the subject's hand (or foot). More important, time for (a) and (b) depended strongly, and in the same way, on the direction of this orientation difference. RT increased with implicit awkwardness of stimulus orientation (i.e., extent of anatomical and physiological constraints on movement to that stimulus orientation). Familiarity with the hand (and foot) in some nonawkward orientations reduced RT (or increased the rate of imagined spatial transformation). However, the effect of implicit awkwardness was more often apparently due to differences in extent of imagined paths for awkward and nonawkward orientations. Paths of efficient length were apparently imagined to nonawkward orientations, and rather inefficient paths were imagined to awkward orientations. These imagined paths seemed to simulate the paths used for physically moving the hand or foot between their task orientation and the orientation of the stimulus. These results and others suggest that kinematic and temporal properties of imagined spatial transformations are more object-specific in nature than could be previously assumed.
Rate-based congestion control for many-to-many multicast ABR traffic

In this paper, we discuss issues of rate controlling many- to-many multicast connections. In particular, we present an end to end rate control algorithm for multicast ABR service in ATM networks. The algorithm is the extension of the SP- MRCA point-to-multicast congestion control algorithm proposed. The goal is to control the various multicast members input rates in order to achieve high bandwidth utilization without overflowing any queue along a multicast tree. We show that a multipoint-to-multipoint multicast connection can be viewed as a superposition of one-to-many multicast connections, and compute the multicast input rate for each multicast member separately. The algorithm proposed, called SP-MMRCA, inherits many of the properties of the point-to-multipoint SP-MRCA.
Europium-doped aluminum oxide phosphors as indicators for frontal polymerization dynamics

In this study, we present an inexpensive and practical method that allows the monitoring and visualization of front polymerization, propagation, and dynamics. Commercially available europium-doped aluminum oxide powders were combined with video imaging to visualize free-radical propagating polymer fronts. In order to demonstrate the applicability of this method, frontal copolymerization reactions of propoxylated glycerin triacrylate (EB53), pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA), and pentaerythritol tetra-acrylate (PETEA) with 1,1-Bis(tert-butylperoxy)-3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexane (Luperox 231®) as an initiator were studied and compared to the results obtained by IR imaging. Systems exhibiting higher filler loading, higher EB53 content, and less acrylated monomers showed a marked decrease in front velocity, while those with more acrylated monomers and higher crosslinking density showed a marked increase in front velocity. Finally, in order to show the potential of the imaging technique, we studied fronts propagating in planar and spherical geometries.
The scale for treatment integration of the dually diagnosed (STIDD): An instrument for assessing intervention strategies in the pharmacotherapy of mentally ill substance abusers

The authors developed a series of 15 multiple-choice vignettes which pose common clinical dilemmas in the pharmacotherapy of patients suffering from psychoactive substance use disorders coexisting with other mental disorders. Fourteen judges standardized the treatment options along a ‘treatment integration continuum’. The authors surveyed 112 psychiatrists with the vignettes and 3 subscales of the Substance Abuse Attitude Survey. Ten of the 15 vignettes were taken to form the normally distributed Scale for Treatment Integration of the Dually Diagnosed (STIDD), which is described in terms of its reliability, validity and potential use as a teaching and research tool.
Biochemical evidence of a chronic abnormality in platelet and vascular function in healthy individuals who smoke cigarettes.

Cigarette smoking is associated with increased mortality from cardiovascular disease that declines after cessation. This study extends the evidence regarding the effects of chronic smoking on platelets and the vessel wall in vivo. Excretion of a major urinary thromboxane metabolite, 2,3-dinor-thromboxane B2, is significantly (p less than .01) elevated in apparently healthy chronic smokers (20 cigarettes daily) compared with that in nonsmoking control subjects. This difference in excretion of 2,3-dinor-thromboxane B2 was abolished by the administration of 20 mg aspirin twice daily, a dose shown to selectively inhibit platelet cyclooxygenase. After aspirin, the return of the excretion of 2,3-dinor-thromboxane B2 to pretreatment levels paralleled the recovery of platelet cyclooxygenase. These findings indicate that excessive thromboxane A2 generation in chronic smokers predominantly derives from platelets. The urinary excretion of the prostacyclin metabolite 2,3-dinor-6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha also is increased during chronic cigarette smoking, as is the case with other diseases associated with accelerated interaction of platelets with the vessel wall. We have found evidence of platelet and vascular dysfunction in vivo in chronic cigarette smokers before the manifestation of overt cardiovascular disease. The results would also be consistent with the hypothesis that in chronic smokers, the platelet defect is largely reflective of smoking-induced vascular injury.