cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High Performance Miniaturized Piezoresistive Pressure Transducers

This paper describes recent advances for several silicon diaphragm piezoresistive pressure transducers. It also reviews the advantages of stress-concentrated micromachined diaphragms, in particular the two island design with transverse strain gages. Recent diaphragm designs have provided significantly smaller output errors over wide temperature ranges, such as −55°C to +125°C, and have added on-chip zero adjustment. This eliminates zero temperature compensation in many applications. Packaging approaches are also described which isolate the piezoresistors from the pressure media, but still allow the pressure diaphragm to be placed close to the pressure boundary to provide high frequency response.
Sagittal and coronal dimensions of the ethmoid roof : A radioanatomic study

BackgroundUnderstanding the anatomy of the ethmoid roof is critical to safe surgical outcomes. Normative data regarding the height and slope of this region have been somewhat limited, derived prima...
T-dominance: a stealthy propagation strategy for mobile botnet

Smartphone-based mobile computing is emerging as a preferred computing platform of the future. Mobile botnet, which has deep roots in traditional Internet botnet and exploits unique characteristics of mobile computing in propagation, is an imminent security threat to the emerging computing platform. In the spirit of "forewarned is forearmed", we play devil's advocate by proposing techniques that mobile botnets might use to circumvent defense. The key ideas of our work are a novel concept of stealthy botnet and the distinct strategies used in two consecutive phases, herding and attack, in the lifetime of a stealthy botnet. A few points distinguish our research in the context of previous works. 1) Based on proximity malware propagation, we propose the concept of botnet-level stealthiness and a novel structural property, T-dominance, for a mobile botnet; the T-dominance property is defined upon mobility and social pattern of smartphone users. 2) We design a distributed algorithm which maintains the T-dominance structural property for a mobile botnet; the algorithm is localized and delay-tolerant in the sense that it maintains the structural property based solely on local and potentially outdated information.
Prosocial Behavior in Infancy: The Role of Socialization

Human prosocial behavior emerges in the 2nd year of life, posing challenging questions about mechanism. An increasingly common claim is that prosocial behavior in the first 3 years of life is neither a result of nor affected by socialization. In this article, we argue that early socialization plays a critical role in the developmental origins of prosocial behavior. To support this argument, we highlight conceptual perspectives and empirical evidence for influences of socialization from parents' reports, direct observation, and experimental studies. We conclude that progress in explaining the ontogenetic origins of human prosocial behavior depends on more fully specifying mechanisms of socialization in infancy as well as what and how human infants learn from their social experiences.
As Organizações Vistas Como Culturas Sob a Ótica de Gareth Morgan e Sua Base Teórica: Uma Revisão Sistemática da Literatura

A cultura no ambiente organizacional influencia diretamente no comportamento dos colaboradores. A metafora, por conseguinte, auxilia na reflexao de muitos aspectos deste ambiente, dentre elas a estrategia, a estrutura e o tipo de lideranca desta organizacao. Dado este contexto, o objetivo da pesquisa foi analisar a producao de artigos internacionais acerca da evolucao dos estudos sobre as organizacoes vistas como culturas do autor Gareth Morgan e sua base teorica, encontrada na obra “Imagens da Organizacao”. A pesquisa utilizou como metodo uma revisao sistematica da literatura, com abordagem qualitativa e objetivo exploratorio e descritivo, utilizando a base de dados Scopus, selecionando-se todos os anos ate 2014. Como resultado da pesquisa, foram encontrados 53 artigos, antes da aplicacao dos criterios de exclusao, sendo posteriormente utilizado sete artigos para a construcao da metafora da cultura organizacional. E a principal contribuicao dos trabalhos selecionados foi que os estilos de lideranca sao fundamentais para a perpetuacao da cultura organizacional e esta, por sua vez, serve de suporte para a criacao de conhecimento, criatividade e inovacao.
Legion-based scientific data analytics on heterogeneous processors

We present a study of scientific data analytics on heterogeneous architectures using the Legion runtime system. Legion is a new programming model and runtime system targeting distributed heterogeneous architectures. It introduces logical regions as a new abstraction for describing the structures and usages of program data. We describe how to leverage logical regions to express important properties of program data, such as locality and independence, for scientific data analytics that can consist of multiple operations with different data types. Our approach can help users simplify programming on the data partition, data organization, and data movement for distributed-memory heterogeneous architectures, thereby facilitating a simultaneous execution of multiple analytics operations on modern and future supercomputers. We demonstrate the scalability and the usability of our approach by a hybrid data partitioning and distribution scheme for different data types using both CPUs and GPUs on a heterogeneous system.
Public Values for Biodiversity Conservation Policies in the Oregon Coast Range

This study uses a choice experiment framework to estimate Oregonians' willingness to pay (WTP) for changes in levels of biodiversity protection under different conservation programs in the Oregon Coast Range. We present biodiversity policy as an amalgam of four different conservation programs: salmon and aquatic habitat conservation, forest age-class management, endangered species protection, and large-scale conservation reserves. The results indicate substantial support for biodiversity protection, but significant differences in WTP across programs. Oregonians indicate the highest WTP for increasing the amount of forest devoted to achieving old-growth characteristics. On average, respondents indicate an annual household WTP of $380 to increase old-growth forests from 5% to 35% of the age-class distribution. Conversely, WTP for increasing conservation reserves peaks at $45 annually to double the current level to 20% of the landscape, whereas WTP is negative for any increase over 32%. We also find resistance to any change in conservation policy, which substantially offsets WTP for increases in all four conservation programs. FOR .S CI. 50(5):589-602.
Time-dependent patterns of failure and treatment benefit from adjuvant therapy for resectable colon cancer: Lessons from the 20,800-patient (pt) ACCENT dataset

4008 Background: To explore and inform 3 critical issues facing trialists and practicing oncologists testing adjuvant therapy (AT) for stage II and III colon cancer: 1) The nature and duration of A...
Impact of exotic invasion on the temporal stability of natural annual plant communities

Much work in ecology has focused on understanding how changes in community diversity and composition will affect the temporal stability of communities (the degree of fluctuations in community abundance or biomass over time). While theory suggests diversity and dominant species can enhance temporal stability, empirical work has tended to focus on testing the effect of diversity, often using synthetic communities created with high species evenness. We use a complementary approach by studying the temporal stability of natural plant communities invaded by a dominant exotic, Erodium cicutarium. Invasion was associated with a significant decline in community diversity and change in the identity of the dominant species allowing us to evaluate predictions about how these changes might affect temporal stability. Community temporal stability was not correlated with community richness or diversity prior to invasion. Following invasion, community stability was again not correlated with community richness but was negatively correlated with community diversity. Before and after invasion, community stability was positively correlated with the stability of the most dominant species in the community, even though the identity of the dominant species changed from a native (prior to invasion) to an exotic species. Our results demonstrate that invasion by a dominant exotic species may reduce diversity without negatively affecting the temporal stability of natural communities. These findings add support to the idea that dominant species can strongly affect temporal stability, independent of community diversity.
Towards Humanizing Education: Classroom Behavior Management Revisited

This paper describes evolving concepts and changes in our approach to teacher education. It includes some straight talk about the contribution of feelings to the interaction between ourselves and our practitioner students. Also discussed are issues of language, communication and value judgments. Some data are included for illustration purposes rather than to substantiate or prove.
Dynamic Mechanisms of Perception Exhibited by Bat Biosonar

Understanding the nature of the physiological processes that underlie perception means knowing the identity of the neuronal events whose occurrence causes a particular percept to happen. The most widely-accepted explanation for perception presently is based on analysis of stimuli into sets of parallel features, and the visual system is the sense from which most of the evidence is drawn. Individual neurons are observed to be sensitive to a specific range along one or more stimulus dimensions (the “receptive field”), and the stimulus as a whole is thought to be encoded by the inventory of features implicit in the collective activity of populations of neurons having different, but overlapping, selectivities. The response-rate or strength of the response in each neuron is the basis for feature coding; the content of the perceived image is derived from the profile of response strengths across these neuronal populations as a kind of “rate-place” image in the brain. The feature-inventory model assigns the timing of responses a vital role in grouping features into perceptual wholes (binding; see Singer, 1996; von der Malsburg, 1996), but it still leaves the content of the image along each feature dimension to be determined by the strength of the response, or response-rate in each neuron. In some perceptual systems, though, the timing of neural responses plays a role in defining the content of the image, at least at peripheral stages of neural processing (Carr, 1993; Heiligenberg, 1991; Konishi et al., 1988; O’Neill, 1995; Simmons et al., 1996; Suga et al., 1995). Most current evidence from these systems suggests that at least part of the information carried by the timing of responses at more peripheral locations is re-coded as feature information by coincidence-detecting neuronal circuits (see Hopfield, 1995).
Lower limb muscular power and its relationship to hitting performance measures in collegiate baseball and softball athletes.

Relationships between physiological characteristics and successful hitting performance in collegiate baseball and softball athletes have not been established. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the relationships between lower limb muscular power and hitting performance measures. Thirty-four subjects (20.4 ± 1.3 years, 176.8 ± 9.8 cm, and 77.7 ± 13.9 kg) were assessed for muscular power and swing velocity using a force plate and visual 3D technology. Hitting measures were obtained after the season for each athlete. Baseball (n=17) and softball (n=17) mean age, height (cm), and weight (kg) were 20.8 ± 1.3 years, 185.3 ± 4.4cm, 89.6 ± 10.6 kg and 20.1 ± 1.5 years, 178.2 ±11.5 cm, 66.5 ± 8.0 kg, respectively. Jump power and swing velocity means were 8298.3 ± 511.6 W, 38.7 ± 1.4 m/s and 6315.6 ± 382.3 W, 29.9 ± 1.7 m/s, respectively. Post-season hitting measures for baseball and softball, were batting average .338 ± .2 and .251 ± .1, slugging percentage .469 ± .2 and .340 ± .1, and home runs 4.5 ± 6.9 and 1.9 ± 2.8, respectively. Regression analysis revealed lower limb power, BMI, and height as significant contributors to swing velocity in baseball players, however, batting average, slugging percentage, and home runs did not generate a significant model. No significant models were generated for hitting measures in softball players. Predicting performance remains a challenge; however, leg power could serve as a moderate predictor of swing velocity in baseball athletes.
Live demonstration: A highly sensitive and quantitative fluorescence sensing platform, for disease diagnosis

This Live Demonstration shows a compact, low-cost, disposable fluorescence detection platform, using an LFA test strip or sample cartridge, with up to a 1000-fold enhancement in sensitivity over visual colorimetric readouts. The system achieves a high sensitivity by combining low-cost discrete electronic components with optical interference filters. A sample measurement takes less than a minuite, trading time for accuracy by using a charge integration amplifier. This system is capable of detecting HPV in human sera with a sensitivity of 10 pg/mL [1].
Lifelong Impression: Remembering One of Our Own During the Holiday Season .

In life, meeting someone who truly possesses the gift of teaching is a blessing. As an exceptional mentor and role model, this person will inspire us to be the best that we can be and make us want to be better human beings. As oncology nurses, we have the honor of caring for patients who have been devastated by the diagnosis of cancer. Establishing deep connections with some of these patients will enrich and give more meaning to our own lives. .
Subseasonal Forecasting with an Icosahedral, Vertically Quasi-Lagrangian Coupled Model. Part I: Model Overview and Evaluation of Systematic Errors

The atmospheric hydrostatic Flow-Following Icosahedral Model (FIM), developed for medium-range weather prediction, provides a unique three-dimensional grid structure—a quasi-uniform icosahedral horizontal grid and an adaptive quasi-Lagrangian vertical coordinate. To extend the FIM framework to subseasonal time scales, an icosahedral-grid rendition of the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (iHYCOM) was developed and coupled to FIM. By sharing a common horizontal mesh, air–sea fluxes between the two models are conserved locally and globally. Both models use similar adaptive hybrid vertical coordinates. Another unique aspect of the coupled model (referred to as FIM–iHYCOM) is the use of the Grell–Freitas scale-aware convective scheme in the atmosphere. A multiyear retrospective study is necessary to demonstrate the potential usefulness and allow for immediate bias correction of a subseasonal prediction model. In these two articles, results are shown based on a 16-yr period of hindcasts from FIM–iHYCOM, which has been providing real-time forecasts out to a lead time of 4 weeks for NOAA’s Subseasonal Experiment (SubX) starting July 2017. Part I provides an overview of FIM–iHYCOM and compares its systematic errors at subseasonal time scales to those of NOAA’s operational Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2). Part II uses bias-corrected hindcasts to assess both deterministic and probabilistic subseasonal skill of FIM–iHYCOM. FIM–iHYCOM has smaller biases than CFSv2 for some fields (including precipitation) and comparable biases for other fields (including sea surface temperature). FIM–iHYCOM also has less drift in bias between weeks 1 and 4 than CFSv2. The unique grid structure and physics suite of FIM–iHYCOM is expected to add diversity to multimodel ensemble forecasts at subseasonal time scales in SubX.
Microstructural characterization of as-cast U-20Pu-10Zr-3.86Pd and U-20Pu-10Zr-3.86Pd-4.3Ln

Abstract Palladium is being investigated as a potential additive to metallic fuel to bind fission product lanthanides, with the goal of reducing or preventing fuel-cladding chemical interactions (FCCI). A primary cause of FCCI is the lanthanide fission products moving to the fuel periphery and interacting with the cladding. This interaction will lead to wastage of the cladding and eventually to a cladding breach. The current study is the microstructural characterization of annealed U-20Pu-10Zr-3.86Pd and U-20Pu-10Zr-3.86Pd-4.3Ln in wt. %, where Ln = 53Nd-25Ce-16Pr-6La, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In both alloys, the matrix is comprised of ζ-U0.4Pu0.6 and δ-(U,Pu)Zr2. Based on the matrix compositions, modifications to the room temperature extrapolated U-Pu-Zr ternary phase diagram are suggested. In U-20Pu-10Zr-3.86Pd, there is very little δ phase, due to formation of PdZr2. In U-20Pu-10Zr-3.86Pd-4.3Ln, a lanthanide-rich phase is present, although it does not have the crystal structure for 53Nd-25Ce-16Pr-6La. This phase cannot be identified based on known compounds. (Ln,Pu)Pd is the primary lanthanide phase, with Pu substituting into the crystal structure in place of Nd.
The Structure and Surface Energy of Au(110) Studied by Monte Carlo Method

The surface energy and configuration of a Au(110) surface was calculated using a Monte Carlo technique based on a potential energy function containing two-body and three-body interactions. The potential function, with the parameters calculated from experimental quantities, reproduced the average surface energy and the cohesive energy of Au correctly. Simulation calculations were performed considering discrete atoms up to the third layer from the surface. An ideal defect-free (110) surface was first considered and calculations were performed at T =100 K. The relaxed surface preserved its (1×1) structure; however, the interlayer spacing d12 between the first and second layers displayed a contraction (Δd12 =-9.0%), while the spacing d23 between the second and third layers expanded (Δd23 =+4.9%).
Intestinal Calcium Absorption Efficiency in Women and the Influence of Menopause

Intestinal calcium absorption efficiency is the percentage of a given amount of consumed calcium that is absorbed. Estrogen deficiency secondary to menopause is associated with decreased intestinal calcium absorption efficiency. One possible mechanism by which menopause causes decreased calcium absorption is that estrogen deficiency leads to a down-regulation of key calcium transport molecules within intestinal cells. A second possible mechanism by which menopause causes decreased calcium absorption is that estrogen deficiency leads to decreased synthesis of calcitriol. A third possible mechanism by which menopause causes decreased calcium absorption is that estrogen deficiency leads to intestinal resistance to calcitriol. Efforts to elucidate the effect of menopause on serum calcitriol, calcium, and parathyroid hormone have been inconclusive. Decreased calcium absorption following menopause is associated with a negative change in calcium balance, decreased bone mineral density, and increased fracture risk. Optimization of calcium intake following menopause is important for maintaining skeletal health.
Teacher Education for Elementary Education

While many factors influence the quality of education, teacher preparation is arguably the central component. Therefore, the preservice preparation of elementary teachers and the ongoing professional development of in-service teachers merit special attention. This article takes a global perspective on teacher education in an effort to examine systems of elementary-education programs, components of preservice teacher-education programs, in-service education, quality control of elementary-teacher education programs, and universal concerns and problems with the education of elementary-school teachers. Comparisons and commonalities are highlighted in teacher education systems located in both industrialized and developing countries.
Development of Pre- and Postharvest Phytophthora Fruit Rot on Watermelons Treated with Fungicides in the Field

ABSTRACT Fruit rot, caused by Phytophthora capsici, is a serious disease in most watermelon producing regions in the southeastern United States and has caused devastating losses over the past few y...
Modulating Innate Inflammatory Reactions in the Application of Orthopedic Biomaterials

Orthopaedic biomaterials are used in a wide variety of surgical procedures including total joint replacement, spine reconstruction, and fracture repair. Despite the development of materials with enhanced mechanical and biological properties, the attachment of an implant to the surrounding bone is still occasionally lost and revision surgery is required in some of the patients with prolonged implantation of orthopaedic biomaterials. The macrophage-associated innate immune response plays a crucial role both in the successful integration and potential rejection of the implant. Acute inflammation is essential for the successful osseointegration and bone regeneration around the implants. Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, is associated with impaired bone formation and osteolysis in the presence of excessive macrophage infiltration and pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion. Here we summarize the current development of immunomodulating strategies to improve the application of orthopaedic biomaterials. The potential drug delivery and controlled release methods that could be applied to administrate immunomodulatory biomolecules are also discussed. In summary, modulations of the innate immune response with the goal of sequential transition from a pro-inflammatory to an anti-inflammatory reaction provides a promising strategy for successful bone regeneration and implant osseointegration.
CO2 Capture via Crystalline Hydrogen-Bonded Bicarbonate Dimers

Summary Limiting global temperature rises is increasingly dependent on the development of energy-efficient carbon-capture methods. Here, we report a simple CO2-separation cycle using an aqueous bis(iminoguanidine) (BIG) sorbent that reacts with CO2 and crystallizes into an insoluble bicarbonate salt. X-ray diffraction analysis of the bicarbonate crystals revealed “anti-electrostatic” hydrogen-bonded (HCO3−)2 dimers, stabilized by guanidinium cations and water. Mild heating of the crystals releases the CO2 and regenerates the BIG sorbent quantitatively, thereby closing the CO2-separation cycle. Experimental and computational investigations support a CO2-release mechanism consisting of surface-initiated low-barrier proton transfer from guanidinium groups to bicarbonate anions with the formation of carbonic acid dimers, followed by CO2 and H2O release in the rate-limiting step, with a measured activation energy of 102 ± 12 kJ/mol. The minimum energy required for sorbent regeneration is 151.5 kJ/mol CO2, which is 24% lower than the regeneration energy of monoethanolamine, a benchmark industrial sorbent.
Introducing Leadership & Professional Development: A New Series in JHM.

Leading change is never easy. Many a physician has joined a committee, hired a promising project manager, assumed responsibility for an operational or clinical task—only to have it painfully falter or agonizingly fail. Unfortunately, some of us become disillusioned with the process, donning our white coats to return to the safe ensconce of clinical work rather than take on another perilous change or leadership task. But ask those that have tried and failed and those that have succeeded and they will tell you this: the lessons learned in the journey were invaluable.
The visual spectrum of Jupiter's Great Red Spot accurately modeled with aerosols produced by photolyzed ammonia reacting with acetylene

Abstract We report results incorporating the optical properties of the red-tinted photochemically-generated aerosols of Carlson et al. (2016, Icarus 274, 106–115) in spectral models of Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS). This material - created in laboratory GRS simulations from acetylene reacting with photolytic products of ammonia produced by ~0.2-μm radiation, similar to solar radiation on Jupiter within and above the upper troposphere, provides an excellent match to 0.35–1.05-μm spectra of the core of the Great Red Spot obtained by the Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) during the 2000–2001 Cassini-Huygens flyby. Radiative transfer models of GRS spectra acquired near the central-meridian (CM) and limb by the visual channel of the Cassini/VIMS near closest approach on December 31, 2000 and January 2, 2001, respectively, show remarkable agreement for model morphologies where the following conditions all exist: (1) most of the optical depth of the Carlson et al. (2016) chromophore resides near the top or above the main cloud layer, rather than being uniformly distributed within it, (2) the chromophore consists of relatively small particles in the 0.1–0.2 μm range, and (3) the 1-μm optical depth of the chromophore layer is small, of the order of 0.1–0.2. For such models, the chromophore layer mass abundance is 32–40 μgm cm−2. Consideration of the availability of the acetylene and ammonia parent gas material near the observed chromophore layers gives powerful support for the chromophore residing at the top of the main cloud in the upper troposphere rather than residing as a detached layer in the stratosphere. Under steady-state formation/loss conditions, consideration of plausible eddy diffusion coefficients pertaining to the relatively quiescent Jovian upper atmosphere yield untenable vertical transport times of more than several centuries required to supply the acetylene needed to form the chromophore layer, with stratospheric chromophore models requiring more than half a millennium. Consideration of the convective nature of the GRS and possible presence of acetylene-generating thunderstorms yields upper-troposphere chromophore layer formation times ranging from 11 years to 1.5 months for (1) plausible eddy diffusion coefficients ranging from 104 to 106 cm2 s−1 and (2) efficient conversion of C2H2 and NH3 into the Carlson et al. (2016) chromophore. Thus, the enhanced red coloring of the GRS may be due to the combined effects of (1) the relatively high, 0.2-bar cloudtop where ammonia ice and gas are delivered to prime photo-dissociation altitudes, by (2) powerful convection, which also delivers acetylene from depth created by (3) lightning, which is itself a by-product and indicator of powerful convection, and aided by (4) the vortex nature of the GRS, which helps to confine and concentrate the chromophore as it forms over time within the GRS anticyclone.
DNA polymerase α and β activities during the cell cycle and their role in heat radiosensitization in Chinese hamster ovary cells

The levels of DNA polymerase ..cap alpha.. and ..beta.. activities were measured during the cell cycle using a total cell homogenate technique. The results indicate a decrease in the levels of both enzyme activities during G1 phase and a gradual increase as cells enter the S phase. The recovery of DNA polymerase activities was measured after heating for 10 min at 45.5/sup 0/C during the G1 phase or S phase. This treatment reduced the levels of DNA polymerase ..beta.. activity to 20-30% and DNA polymerase ..cap alpha.. activity to 40-50% of their control activity for both G1 and S phase. The activity of DNA polymerase ..beta.. recovered fully during 20-25 hr after heating for both G1 phase or S phase cells. There was no recovery of the activity of DNA polymerase ..cap alpha.. during this time. Survival was measured when cells were irradiated at various times after hyperthermia and for both G1 and S phase the interaction between heat and X rays disappeared by 20-25 hr after heating and the same increase was observed for the recovery of DNA polymerase ..beta.. activity. These results suggest that ..beta.. polymerase may be an important enzyme involved in repairing X-ray-induced damage that canmore » result in cell lethality.« less
Alloy Nanoparticle Fabrication by Mechanical Approach

This paper reports the results of preparing alloy nanoparticles by mechanical grinding followed by filtration to sort the particles according to size. Although the long-term goal of this work is to prepare icosahedral quasicrystalline nanoparticles, the alloy used in this study is of Al65Cu25Fe15 composition and multi phases, under the assumption that the established procedure is applicable to future quasicrystalline nanoparticle fabrication. The obtained particle size and elemental information were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Problems with filter fragment fall-out and salt contamination were encountered and procedures to address the problems have been suggested and tested. The study is successful in obtaining alloy particles with reduced sizes.
Cumulative Adherence to Secondary Prevention Guidelines and Mortality After Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Background The survival benefit associated with cumulative adherence to multiple clinical and lifestyle‐related guideline recommendations for secondary prevention after acute myocardial infarction ...
A 20 MHz On-Chip All-NMOS 3-Level DC–DC Converter With Interception Coupling Dead-Time Control and 3-Switch Bootstrap Gate Driver

In mobile applications, power density highly affects mobility, cost, form factor, and battery time. To improve power density, high switching frequency operation is highly desirable for a power converter. However, with high switching frequency, switching power loss increases significantly, compromising efficiency and battery time. This article presents an on-chip 3-level DC–DC converter, using all NMOS devices as power switches, which reduces switching power loss and silicon cost. To facilitate the all-NMOS power stage operation and enhance the robustness to input supply variation, a 3-switch boost-strap gate driver is designed. Meanwhile, an interception coupling dead-time (ICDT) control is introduced to minimize dead-time related power loss. An integrated circuit prototype was fabricated using a 0.35 μm CMOS process. Robustly working with a variable input voltage from 3 to 6 V, it regulates a programmable power output from 0.4 to 1.6 V, with a maximum power efficiency of 85.5% over a full power range of 800 mW and a maximum power density of 1.07 W/mm2. Thanks to the ICDT control, it achieves a 0.5 ns dead-time over a full-load range of 500 mA.
A Unified Model for Treadmilling and Nucleation of Single-Stranded FtsZ Protofilaments.

Bacterial cell division is tightly coupled to the dynamic behavior of FtsZ, a tubulin homolog. Recent experimental work in vitro and in vivo has attributed FtsZ's assembly dynamics to treadmilling, in which subunits add to the bottom and dissociate from the top of protofilaments. However, the molecular mechanisms producing treadmilling have yet to be characterized and quantified. We have developed a Monte Carlo model for FtsZ assembly that explains treadmilling, and also explains assembly nucleation by the same mechanisms. A key element of the model is a conformational change from R (relaxed), which is highly favored for monomers, to T (tense), which is favored for subunits in a protofilament. This model was created in MATLAB. Kinetic parameters were converted to probabilities of execution during a single, small time step. These were used to stochastically determine FtsZ dynamics. Our model is able to accurately describe the results of several in vitro and in vivo studies for a variety of FtsZ flavors. With standard conditions, the model FtsZ polymerized and produced protofilaments that treadmilled at 23 nm/s, hydrolyzed GTP at 3.6-3.7 GTP min-1 FtsZ-1, and had an average length of 30-40 subunits, all similar to experimental results. Adding a bottom capper resulted in shorter protofilaments and higher GTPase, similar to the effect of the known bottom capper protein MciZ. The model could match nucleation kinetics of several flavors of FtsZ using the same parameters as treadmilling and varying only the R to T transition of monomers.
Harmonic Forcing of Damped Non-homogeneous Euler-Bernoulli Beams

This work is an extension of previous studies on vibrations of non-homogeneous structures. It also explores the use of logistic functions. In the studies, frequency response functions (FRFs) were determined for segmented structures, using analytic and numerical approaches. The structures are composed of stacked cells, which are made of different materials and may have different geometric properties. Here the steady state response, due to harmonic forcing, of a segmented damped Euler-Bernoulli beam is investigated. FRFs for the system are sought via two methods. The first uses the displacement differential equations for each segment. Boundary and interface continuity conditions are used to determine the constants involved in the solutions. Then the response, as a function of forcing frequency, can be obtained. This procedure is unwieldy. In addition, determining particular integrals can become cumbersome for arbitrary spatial variations. The second approach uses logistic functions to model the segment discontinuities. The result is a single partial differential equation with variable coefficients. Approaches for numerical solutions are then developed with the aid of MAPLE® software. For free-fixed boundary conditions, spatially constant force and viscous damping, excellent agreement is found between the methods. The numerical approach is then used to obtain the FRF for the case of a spatially varying force.
Lasers in Dentoalveolar Surgery

SUMMARY Lasers continue to be developed for a wide range of medical and surgical applications. Indeed, a “tunable” laser encompassing most surgical applications and capable of being adjusted to most relevant wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum will be available in the future. It is important to be mindful that lasers are “light scalpels” and do not replace conventional surgical instruments if surgical problems can be solved as well by traditional technologies. The patient is the primary consideration, for whom we must strive to provide the most advanced surgical care but more importantly to protect from unnecessary exposure to potential harm.
Circadian Organization of the Gut Commensal Bacterium Klebsiella aerogenes

While the expression of circadian rhythmicity is nearly universal among eukaryotic organisms, demonstration of this phenomenon in prokaryotes has been largely restricted to photosynthetic cyanobacteria until very recently. Growing interest in gastrointestinal microbiomes has revealed a complex temporal relationship between the clock of gastrointestinal track and the microbiome within. We have discovered that at least one member of the gut microbiome, Klebsiella (nee Enterobacter) aerogenes, responds to the indoleamine hormone melatonin, secreted by the gastrointestinal system itself, in a specific, dose-dependent fashion such that melatonin increases bacterial motility. Further research revealed that K. aerogenes also express a circadian rhythm in motility and gene expression that is temperature compensated if maintained in constant temperatures ranging from 27 °C to 40 °C. Although rhythmicity is unaltered by changes in constant temperature, cycles of ambient temperature entrain circadian clock in K. aerogenes. Circadian rhythms in these bacteria rapidly decrease in amplitude following exposure to temperature cycles. The mechanisms of this damping are discussed.
Fabulous: Remarks on scenarism, simulations, and scenarios:

In “Governing the Future,” Limor Samimian-Darash does much to illuminate scenarism and the divergence between the simulations and the scenarios that constitute the chief apparatuses of anticipatory...
Mapping with LIDAR and structure-from-motion photogrammetry: accuracy assessment of point cloud over multiple platforms

Among emerging 3D scanning and imaging techniques that are commercially available, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is being substantially studied to generate 2D/3D maps of an unknown environment while reliably keeping track of the user’s pinpoint locations. Its ubiquitous mobility has demonstrated great mapping capabilities for infrastructures where vertical information may frequently be occluded using unmanned aircraft system (UAS) structure from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry. In addition, indoor mapping with terrestrial laser scanning can be a cumbersome task due to possible multiple scan locations. Intending to provide a cohesive 3D model by fusing point clouds collected via aerial SfM photogrammetry, terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), and SLAM, the purpose of this work is to assess the performance of SLAM point cloud generated by a proprietary mobile backpack laser scanner (BLS). Considering maximum scanning range and information integration strategy as variables, the point clouds generated by the BLS were evaluated against SfM and TLS datasets in terms of the internal consistency as well as external accuracy. TLS, SfM and SAM data collection efforts were made in a typical university campus environment. For the internal consistency, the SLAM-based point cloud with a maximum scanning range of 70 m presented a root mean square error (RMSE) of 2 mm. The SLAM+GNSS-based point cloud presented the lowest internal precision of RMSE = 0.861 m. The SLAM+GNSS 70 point cloud after a fine adjustment of misalignment presented the highest vertical accuracy with an RMSE = 0.069 m, while the point cloud generated from SfM photogrammetry presented RMSE = 0.297 m. The BLS was able to generate point cloud with an accuracy similar to GNSS-RTK surveying and it can be considered as a viable solution for indoor and outdoor mapping applications.
Über den Personenkreis, der sich wissenschaftlich mit den Problemen der Kooperation befaßt

Es ist eine eigenartige Tatsache, das diejenigen, die sich in den Unternehmungen mit den kooperativen Erscheinungen befassen, und diejenigen, die an den Universitaten auf diesem Gebiete arbeiten — mit Ausnahme der Wirtschaftswissenschaftler — einander selten kennen. Wir wollen deshalb mit diesem Kapitel den Versuch unternehmen, den Wirtschaftspraktikern einige Sozialwissenschaftler vorzustellen, von denen sie vielleicht nie gehort haben, die aber, so glauben wir, trotz ihrer oft grosen Worte, nicht ganzlich ignoriert werden sollten. Wir knupfen an diese zunachst noch unpersonliche Begegnung die Hoffnung, das sich daraus eine gewisse gegenseitige Befruchtung ergeben moge.
Commentary: Research on Short- and Long-Term Psychoanalytic Treatment – The Current State of the Art

It is a great pleasure to have the opportunity to read and comment on the chapters in this section. Some of the chapters provide superb summaries and updates on innovative psychoanalytic research programs. Others provide comprehensive reviews of the research on the psychoanalytic treatment of specific disorders. Together, they constitute an immensely satisfying summary of state-of-the-art research findings on psychoanalytic process and outcome.
TU-G-204-07: A Research Pipeline to Simulate a Wide Range of CT Image Acquisition and Reconstruction Parameters and Assess the Performance of Quantitative Imaging and CAD Systems

PURPOSE: Quantitative Imaging and CAD tasks performed with CT (e.g. lung nodule detection, assessment of tumor size, etc.) may be sensitive to image acquisition and reconstruction parameters such as dose level, image thickness and reconstruction method (FBP, iterative, etc.). The purpose of this work was to develop a research pipeline for generating CT image series that represent a wide variety of acquisition and reconstruction conditions under which CAD and Quantitative Imaging performance would be evaluated. METHODS: With IRB approval, we have collected the raw CT data from hundreds of patients. These raw sinogram files serve as the input to the research pipeline. To simulate a wide range of dose levels, we developed software which adds noise to the sinogram. Multiple reduced-dose sinograms can be generated for a single patient, and those reduced-dose sinograms are then fed either to the scanner's reconstruction engine or to our in-house reconstruction engine; each has conventional filtered back projection (FBP) and iterative reconstruction methods. After generating image series across a range of dose levels and reconstruction methods, we can evaluate the performance of various quantitative imaging or CAD tools in tasks such as automated and semi-automated lesion segmentation, assessment of lesion size, and measurement of density or texture. RESULTS: We have successfully applied this pipeline across a range of clinical CT applications, including: (1) chest oncology, where the pipeline was used to quantify the effects of dose and reconstruction method on nodule volumetry, and (2) lung cancer screening, where the pipeline is being used to measure the robustness of an automated CAD algorithm with respect to dose. CONCLUSION: The acquisition/reconstruction pipeline shows promise for investigating and quantifying the effects of dose and reconstruction method on various clinical CT applications. NCI grant U01 CA181156 (Quantitative Imaging Network); Tobacco Related Disease Research Project grant 22RT-0131.
[16] Application of pressure to biochemical equilibria: The other thermodynamic variable

Publisher Summary This chapter highlights the potential of pressure perturbation methodologies to provide an alternate means of perturbing biochemical equilibria and provides certain unique insights at the molecular level through an assessment of the magnitude and sign of the volume change. This chapter provides a more specific image of what high-pressure methodologies have to offer in the study of biomolecules. There is a discussion about the application of pressure to biochemical equilibria. As interest in the use of high pressure in applied fields such as virology and food science has slowly grown, a number of commercial high-pressure setups are introduced. These relatively low-cost, complete high-pressure systems are beginning to make the approach available to a much wider group of researchers in biochemistry and biophysics. The liquid high-pressure cell technology used in most optical spectroscopy measurements has been based chiefly on the unsupported area design for sealing the high-pressure cell from atmospheric pressure. Optical high-pressure cells used for fluorescence measurements are similar to those used in absorption, except that they require window plugs to be placed at 90°, and thus usually contain three or four windows rather than two. High-pressure electrophoresis, high-pressure stopped-flow enzyme kinetics, and volume perturbation calorimetry have been applied to the study of bilayers and macromolecular complexes.
The C--D ring cleavage of dihydrocorynantheine derivatives. The partial synthesis of dihydroburnamicine.

Abstract Two methods are described for the preparation of 3,4- seco -dihydrocorynantheine derivatives bearing an oxygen function at C-3. The first is the cyclization by Ac 2 O-AcONa of dihydrocorynantheic acid and its derivative lacking the methoxymethylene group. This cyclization yields acetoxylactams in which lactam formation has taken place between N b and the carboxyl group accompanied by cleavage of the C-3 N b bond with the introduction of an acetoxy group at C-3. The structures of the lactams are supported by spectroscopic evidence and degradative studies. The second method required 7-acetoxy-7H-dihydrocorynantheine methiodide prepared by treating dihydrocorynantheine successively with lead tetraacetate and methyl iodide. 7-Acetoxy-7H-dihydrocorynantheine-N b -methiodide is converted by the action of hot aqueous acetic acid-sodium acetate and extraction from strongly basic solution to 3-keto-3,4- seco -N b -methyldihydrocorynantheine. Dihydroburnamicine was obtained by a three-step sequence from 3-keto-3,4- seco -N x -methyldihydrocorynantheine and its mass spectrum is reported.
A reactive cysteine in avian liver phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase

Abstract The modification of avian phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase by a variety of sulfhydryl reagents leads to inhibition. The inhibition is related to the loss of 1 highly reactive cysteine residue of the 13 cysteines present in the enzyme. Inhibition by reagents which yield a mixed disulfide was rapidly reversed by thiols. Reagents specific for vicinal sulfhydryl configurations were not potent inhibitors. The cysteine-modified enzyme continues to bind Mn2+ with the same stoichiometry and dissociation constant as the native enzyme. All of the substrates also bind to thiol-modified inactive enzyme. The modification of the reactive cysteine with the spin-labeled iodoacetate derivative leads to inactive enzyme with spin label stoichiometrically incorporated. The EPR spectrum showed an immobilized spin label on the enzyme. EPR studies of the perturbation of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase-bound spin label by bound Mn2+ showed a dipolar interaction between the two spins, estimated to be 10 A apart. The perturbation of the 1/T1 and 1/T2 values of the 31P resonances of ITP by spin-labeled enzyme indicates that this portion of the nucleotide binds 8-10 A from the spin label. These results indicate that the reactive cysteine is close to but not at the active site of the enzyme. The thiol group must be free and in its reduced form for the enzyme to be active. Perhaps modification of this group prevents conformational change(s) upon ligand binding necessary for the catalytic process.
Risk factors for acute chemical releases with public health consequences: Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance in the U.S., 1996-2001.

Releases of hazardous materials can cause substantial morbidity and mortality. To reduce and prevent the public health consequences (victims or evacuations) from uncontrolled or illegally released hazardous substances, a more comprehensive analysis is needed to determine risk factors for hazardous materials incidents. Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) data from 1996 through 2001 were analyzed using bivariate and multiple logistic regression. Fixed-facility and transportation-related events were analyzed separately. For fixed-facility events, 2,327 (8%) resulted in at least one victim and 2,844 (10%) involved ordered evacuations. For transportation-related events, 759 (8%) resulted in at least one victim, and 405 (4%) caused evacuation orders. Fire and/or explosion were the strongest risk factors for events involving either victims or evacuations. Stratified analysis of fixed-facility events involving victims showed a strong association for acid releases in the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industry. Chlorine releases in fixed-facility events resulted in victims and evacuations in more industry categories than any other substance. Outreach efforts should focus on preventing and preparing for fires and explosions, acid releases in the agricultural industry, and chlorine releases in fixed facilities.
Arrhythmogenic adverse effects of cardiac glycosides are mediated by redox modification of ryanodine receptors

Non-technical summary Cardiac glycosides (CGs) have been routinely used in the treatment of congestive heart failure (HF). Unfortunately, the therapeutic use of CGs in treating HF is limited by their adverse side effects, including cardiac arrhythmias. The arrhythmic side effects of CGs have been traditionally ascribed to excessive cellular Ca2+ retention (Ca2+ overload) leading to spontaneous discharges of intracellular Ca2+ stores, or Ca2+ waves, in turn causing oscillations of the cardiac membrane potential. In the present study, we demonstrate that the proarrhythmic effects of CGs on Ca2+ cycling in cardiac myocytes involve alterations in the function of ryanodine receptor calcium channels caused by oxidative changes in the channel structure by reactive oxygen species. Our findings reveal a new mechanism for CG-induced Ca2+ waves and suggest a potential target for antiarrhythmic therapy in HF patients treated with CGs.