cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Acoustical penetration and shear strength in gas‐charged sediment

Abstract Methane concentrations and sediment shear strengths were measured in three foundation borings taken from areas of variable acoustical penetration in the Mississippi river delta front. Acoustically impenetrable or “turbid”; zones were associated with sedimentary methane concentrations above about 30 ml/liter, measured at atmospheric pressure. Sediments in the high‐gas, acoustically turbid zones demonstrated a smaller percentage increase in shear strength with depth than in zones of low gas concentration. The results indicate that a 3.5‐kHz system used for sub‐bottom profiles is unable to determine the thickness of gas‐charged sediments.
Common synaptic input across motor nuclei supplying intrinsic muscles involved in the precision grip.

To gain insight into the mechanism by which the nervous system orchestrates the activities of multiple muscles during voluntary motor behaviors, we measured the degree of synchrony in the discharge times across pairs of motor units recorded from two intrinsic hand muscles, the adductor pollicis (AdP) and first dorsal interosseous (FDI), in human subjects performing a precision grip. The magnitude of synchrony measured across muscles is thought to reflect the extent of divergent synaptic input delivered in common to the motor nuclei supplying the two muscles. Unlike the pronounced motor-unit synchrony observed across comparable extrinsic hand muscles during the precision grip, little synchrony was detected across these two intrinsic muscles. These results suggest that extrinsic and intrinsic muscles of the hand are controlled by descending pathways with distinctly different patterns of spinal connectivity—more widespread terminations across motor nuclei supplying extrinsic muscles whereas more focal input to individual motor nuclei innervating intrinsic muscles.
The room temperature ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate : Electrochemical couples and physical properties

Room temperature molten salts composed of the 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium cation and a chloroaluminate anion have received much attention for use in a variety of commercial applications such as batteries, photovoltaics, metal deposition, and capacitors. The room temperature ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMIBF{sub 4}) was demonstrated as a versatile electrolyte by examining three representative electrochemical couples: ferrocene and tetrathiafulvalene oxidations and lithium ion reduction. Square-wave voltammetric data for ferrocene oxidation were fit to a reversible one-electron process using the COOL algorithm to give a half-wave potential of 0.490 V vs. Al/Al(III) and a diffusion coefficient of 5.1 {times} 10{sup {minus}7} cm{sup 2}/s. The two-electron oxidation of tetrathiafulvalene was reversible and proceeded through two consecutive one-electron steps; although data collected at lower square-wave frequencies indicated a slow precipitation of the TTF{sup +} species. Lithium ion was reduced to lithium metal at a Pt electrode following the addition of water to the EMIBF{sub 4} electrolyte, whereas lithium ion reduction at an Al wire produced the {beta}-LiAl alloy. Conductivities and kinematic viscosities of EMIBF{sub 4} were measured from 20 to 100 C and had values of 14 mS/cm and 0.275 cm{sup 2}/s, respectively, at 25 C.
Malignancy and concomitant primary hyperparathyroidism

Hypercalcemia is associated with a few primary malignant neoplasms and with a variety of tumors that have spread by metastases. Hyperparathyroidism is a diagnosis that is usually not considered in these patients. At our institution, 18 patients with malignant tumors presented over a 6-year period with hypercalcemia caused by hyperparathyroidism. There were five men and 13 women with a mean age of 48 years (range 24-87 years). Primary tumors in these patients included colon carcinoma (four cases), breast carcinoma (four cases), lymphoma (four cases), thyroid carcinoma (four cases), Paget's disease (one case), and lung carcinoma (one case). Metastases of the primary tumor occurred in seven patients, and in 11 patients the tumor was not metastatic or recurrent. Serum levels of calcium, phosphate, and chloride averaged 11.8 mg/dl, and 100 mEq/liter, respectively. C-terminal parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels ranged from 300 to 1,900 pg/ml with an average of 1,150 pg/ml (normal 50-340 pg/ml). At operation, a single parathyroid adenoma was discovered in 15 patients, and four-gland hyperplasia was noted in three patients. In all cases, serum levels of calcium returned to normal after operation. We conclude that patients with malignant tumors and concomitant hypercalcemia should be evaluated for the possibility of hyperparathyroidism. In cases of primary hyperparathyroidism, elevated C-terminal PTH level should be diagnostic. If hyperparathyroidism is determined to be the cause of hypercalcemia, neck exploration and parathyroidectomy are indicated.
Efficacy and safety of venlafaxine for premenstrual dysphoric disorder

Objective: Some serotonergic antidepressants have been effective in treating premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). This study evaluated the efficacy of venlafaxine, a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, for treating PMDD. Method: One hunded fifty-seven women were randomly assigned to double-blind treatment with venlafaxine or placebo for four menstrual cycles. Dosing ranged from 50–200 mg/day with dose adjustments for lack of efficacy or AEs early in each cycle. Primary outcome was the total Daily Symptom Report (DSR) scores. Results: At the end of the first cycle, venlafaxine was significantly better than placebo (P < 0.001). Improvement slightly increased in the second cycle and was maintained for the remaining 2 months (P <0.001 versus placebo). Mean premenstrual-week dose ranged from 50–130 mg/day. Seven subjects (9%) in the venlafaxine group and 5 (6%) in the placebo group discontinued treatment because of adverse effects (AEs). Overall mild and transient, AEs included nausea (45% versus 13%), insomnia (35% versus 16%), and dizziness (32% versus 5%). Conclusions: Venlafaxine was effective and well tolerated in the treatment of PMDD. Improvement was seen early (first cycle) and at a relatively low dose.
Antimicrobial activity of BMS 284756 (T-3811) against Neisseria gonorrhoeae tested by three methods.

Abstract The potency of BMS 284756, a novel des-F(6)-quinolone, was tested against 137 clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae including 50 strains observed to be resistant to ciprofloxacin and other newer quinolones. The gonococci were tested using NCCLS methods (agar dilution, disk diffusion) and Etest. BMS 284756 potency versus N . gonorrhoeae was generally two- to four-fold greater than ciprofloxacin. Penicillin resistance in the absence of ciprofloxacin resistance did not affect BMS 284756 activity. However, elevated ciprofloxacin MICs were associated with higher BMS 284756 MIC results as follows (BMS 284756 MIC 50 /MIC range in mg/l): ciprofloxacin-susceptible strains (0.016 or 0.03/0.004–0.06), ciprofloxacin-intermediate strains (0.06 or 0.12/0.008–0.25) and ciprofloxacin-resistant strains (0.12 or 0.5/0.12–1). Etest MICs were routinely lower than those produced by the reference agar dilution method, but the correlation coefficient remained acceptable ( r =0.87). Similarly acceptable correlation was achieved with 5 μg disk zone diameters ( r =0.78), where all zones were ≥28 mm (MIC ≤1 mg/l). In conclusion, BMS 284756 was very active against N . gonorrhoeae (MIC 50 0.03 mg/l overall) including ciprofloxacin-resistant strains and could be considered as a single-dose therapeutic option for gonorrhoea.
Tumorlike Proliferation of “Granular Histiocytes” in a Lymph Node

(1984). Tumorlike Proliferation of “Granular Histiocytes” in a Lymph Node. Ultrastructural Pathology: Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 339-343.
Electronic Protective Relays

Although electromagnetic protective relays are adequate for present requirements, the ever-increasing demand for higher speeds and greater accuracy and dependability seems likely to exceed the capabilities of relays now available. However, the trend toward electronic control circuits in other branches of electrical engineering, coupled with the recent improvements in the design and manufacture of electronic circuit components, indicates a possibility of overcoming these limitations.
Office automation and IBM

Abstract Starting late, IBM has now put together an impressive array of office automation products, based around complex architectures. Some products overlap, and the weaker ones may disappear. It looks likely that IBM will eventually shrink its product range to centre around the IBM PC, especially the 3270 PC. Still missing is an IBM local area network.
Application of fuzzy implication to probe nonsymmetric relations: Part I

Abstract Nine fuzzy implication operators were studied to determine their ability to identify nonsymmetric relations. The fuzzy degrees of the antecedent and consequent propositions of each implication were evaluated using the cumulative distribution function, which has the property that fuzzy degrees are uniformly distributed between 0 and 1 and hence are as fuzzy as possible. Under these conditions, average implications from the nine operators are confined to small subintervals of [0, 1]. For eight out of nine implication operators, the average implication largely duplicates information from the correlation coefficient. These points are explained theoretically. Confidence limits for fuzzy implication are also discussed.
Magnetoelastic permeability measurement for stress monitoring in steel tendons and cables

The magnetic characteristics of ferromagnetic steels, such as hysteresis loops, total permeability and differential permeability, are dependent on mechanical stress and temperature. This dependency can be the basis for a sensitive and non invasive sensing method for measuring the active stress in steel tendons and cables. This paper describes the current status of a stress sensor which can reliably monitor stress in tendons and cables. A transient magnetic field generated by a solenoid is utilized to bring the material to technical saturation. The induced voltage, which is affected by the presence of the ferromagnetic material, is measured and related to material characteristics. In order to obtain a stable and linear calibration curve between permeability and monitoring stress for a given material, an optimal applied field H0 must be determined. Initially, this field is estimated from the measured relationship between permeability and input voltage. The optimal working point is determined by searching for a linear relationship between permeability and applied stress at different temperatures. Temperatures from -20 C to 40 C were used. Experimental results for two common tendons, at two sizes (0.5' and 0.6'), were investigated using this technique. The results were demonstrated to match the accuracy and repeatability of a reference load cell for loading up to 70% of the yield stress. Additional tests were conducted on multi-strand cable assemblies. The experimental results indicate that the calibration procedure can be extended without significant error to accommodate such assemblies.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Human allograft-derived T-cell lines: donor class I- and class II-directed cytotoxicity and repertoire stability in sequential biopsies.

Abstract In order to characterize directly the T-cell repertoire utilized in human renal allograft rejection, we analyzed 20 long-term T-cell lines established from lymphocytic infiltrates present in renal tissue obtained by needle biopsy from transplant patients with rejection indications. All cell lines are strongly cytotoxic against one or more of the HLA antigens for which the kidney donor and the recipient were mismatched. Traditionally, cytotoxicity in allograft rejection has been attributed to CD8-positive cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) directed against class I alloantigens. Cell lines described here are mixtures of distinct CD4-antigen-positive and CD8-antigen-positive subpopulations, and exhibit class I- as well as class II-directed killing. Using a cell line that demonstrates class II-directed cytoxicity and a set of class II deletion mutants as target cells, we show that class II antigens, in particular HLA-DP, can serve as targets in renal allograft rejection. The role of CD4-positive CTLs was shown by analysis of clonal populations or sorted CD8-positive and CD4-positive subpopulations. In several instances we have obtained cell lines from serial biopsies performed on the same patient at distinct time points during an ongoing rejection. Comparisons of the phenotype, function, and specificities allow for speculation regarding T-cell population dynamics within the rejection response.
The neural basis for learning of simple motor skills

The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is a simple movement that has been used to investigate the neural basis for motor learning in monkeys. The function of the VOR is to stabilize retinal images by generating smooth eye movements that are equal and opposite to each head movement. Learning occurs whenever image motion occurs persistently during head turns; as a result image stability is gradually restored. A hypothesis is proposed in which the output from the cerebellar cortex of the flocculus guides learning; the locus of learning is in the brain stem, in VOR pathways that are under inhibitory control from the flocculus. Other, parallel VOR pathways do not receive inputs from the flocculus and are not subject to learning. Similarities among the VOR and other motor systems suggest some organizing principles that may apply in many forms of motor learning.
Ethical orientations of state police recruits and one-year experienced officers

Abstract The ethical orientations of police recruits in a large state police organization were identified using an Ethical Orientation Questionnaire that measured scales of idealism and relativism. The ethical orientations of officers from the same organizations who had one year of experience were also identified. This research examined the ethical orientations of these two groups, the ethical orientation differences between the two groups, and characteristics associated with those differences. There were significant differences in the ethical orientation between the two groups. New recruits tend toward the idealistic ethical dimension more than one-year officers. One-year officers tend more toward the relativistic ethical dimension than new recruits. Education is a significant factor in ethical orientation.
Radish introduction affects soil biota and has a positive impact on the growth of a native plant.

Introduced plants may out-compete natives by belowground allelopathic effects on soil communities including the symbionts of native plants. We tested for an allelopathic effect of an introduced crucifer, Raphanus sativus, on a common neighboring legume, Lupinus nanus, on the legume’s rhizobium affiliates, and on the broader soil community. In both field observations and a greenhouse experiment, we found that R. sativus decreased the density of nodules on L. nanus roots. However, in the greenhouse experiment, R. sativus soils only decreased the density of small, likely non-beneficial rhizobium nodules. In the same experiment, R. sativus soils decreased fungivorous nematode abundance, though there was no effect of R. sativus introduction on fungal density. In the greenhouse experiment, R. sativus soils had a net positive effect on L. nanus biomass. One explanation of this effect is that R. sativus introduction might alter the mutualistic/parasitic relationship between L. nanus and its rhizobial associates with a net benefit to L. nanus. Our results suggest that introduced brassicas can quickly alter belowground communities, but that the net effect of this on neighboring plants is not necessarily negative.
A novel surgical approach to slow-transit constipation: report of two cases.

INTRODUCTION: Slow-transit constipation after proper diagnosis and extensive medical therapy may have a surgical solution. Total abdominal colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis, at our institution, is the surgical procedure of choice. Nonetheless, patients may reject this alternative because of morbidity. DISCUSSION: We report two cases of slow-transit constipation diagnosed after a thorough investigation with two colonic transit tests showing slow-transit constipation, a normal anorectal manometry, balloon expulsion test, small-bowel follow-through, defecography, laboratory and psychologic tests. The patients rejected standard surgical treatment (total colectomy + ileorectal anastomosis). A colonic bypass with an ileorectal anastomosis, leaving the colon in situ, was offered and accepted by the two patients. This was performed laparoscopically liberating the cecum and terminal ileum, transecting the terminal ileum through a small suprapubic incision, and anastomosing the terminal ileum to the rectosigmoid junction intracorporeally. The total surgical time was 50 and 60 minutes, respectively. Both patients made uneventful recoveries and were discharged on the fourth postoperative day. They have completed four and two months of close follow-up and at present have one to four bowel movements per day with mild abdominal distension and pain. To our knowledge this is the first report of colonic bypass for the treatment of slow-transit constipation.
Management of nonunions of the proximal humeral diaphysis

Abstract It has been reported that the majority of nonunions of the humeral shaft evaluated are within the proximal one-third of the diaphysis. We are not aware of any reported series of humeral nonunions dealing specifically with the proximal diaphysis. We therefore sought to identify patients with a humeral shaft nonunion from an orthopaedic trauma service database, determine the frequency of those within the proximal one-third and review our treatment strategy and resulting clinical outcomes for these difficult fractures. Clinical and radiographical follow-up was available for 19 patients with a mean age of 70 years (range 29–94 years). This represented 46% of all humeral shaft nonunions treated during the study period. Dual plating was used in 11 cases to get adequate fixation in the proximal segment. Post-operative alignment was within 5° of anatomic in all cases. All nonunions healed at an average of 15.2 weeks (range 8–36 weeks). The mean length of follow-up was 12.5 months (range 6–122 months). All patients reported significant improvement in pain. The mean range of motion following fracture union was forward flexion 137°, external rotation 41° and internal rotation 30°. There were two minor complications and neither required a secondary surgery. The surgical technique we have used emphasising a thorough debridement of the nonunion site, correction of the deformity, fracture site compression with a rigid construct and bone grafting provides excellent rates of union and clinical outcomes.
Oxidation of diamond films synthesized by hot filament assisted chemical vapor deposition

Oxidation of polycrystalline diamond films on (111) Si wafers in air at temperatures up to 1073 K was investigated by thermogravimetry. The diamond films before and after partial oxidation were characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy, x-ray, infrared, and Raman spectroscopy. The oxidation of synthetic diamond films started at a lower temperature than that for natural diamond. The rates of oxidation of the diamond films synthesized by the hot filament and the microwave plasma methods were intermediate between the rates of oxidation of the 111 and 100 planes of natural diamond crystals. The apparent activation energy for the oxidation of the synthetic diamond films agreed well with that for the oxidation of natural diamond via diamond to graphite transition at low oxygen pressures.
Catheter-based drug delivery for restenosis

Abstract Despite high initial success rates, balloon angioplasty and all other percutaneous revascularization procedures continue to be limited by abrupt vessel closure in up to 8% of cases and restenosis at the site of arterial injury in 30–50% of cases. With the possible exception of stents, the failure of mechanical devices and systemic pharmacologic therapies to prevent or even significantly modify the restenotic process has provoked intense interest in alternative approaches. Interest has therefore shifted from systemically administered agents for the prevention of restenosis to the direct delivery of potentially useful compounds to the site of arterial injury following coronary angioplasty. Rapid advances in intravascular imaging and molecular cardiology have expanded our understanding of the physical and biological components of the response to arterial injury increases, and targeted therapy taking individual patient and lesion characteristics into account promises to become a reality. An ideal local drug delivery system should achieve efficient site-specific drug transfer producing a high concentration of drug at the treatment site, while minimizing the systemic effects which would be expected from systemic doses sufficient to obtain similar local concentrations. Local delivery devices may be broadly classified as balloon catheter delivery systems, polymeric or coated stents, or devices for ‘facilitated diffusion’. Drug delivery may be directly via these devices, or may be enhanced by the use of local delivery vehicles such as controlled release matrices, gene vectors, cell targeting, or drug-loaded platelets. This review will concentrate on balloon catheter-based delivery devices. Recent approval of two balloon catheter local delivery systems for clinical use heralds the onset of an exciting new era of sophisticated, specific and effective vascular therapy.
Doomed reservoirs in Kansas, USA? Climate change and groundwater mining on the Great Plains lead to unsustainable surface water storage

Summary Streamflow declines on the Great Plains of the US are causing many Federal reservoirs to become profoundly inefficient, and will eventually drive them into unsustainability as negative annual reservoir water budgets become more common. The streamflow declines are historically related to groundwater mining, but since the mid-1980s correlate increasingly with climate. This study highlights that progression toward unsustainability, and shows that future climate change will continue streamflow declines at historical rates, with severe consequences for surface water supply. An object lesson is Optima Lake in the Oklahoma Panhandle, where streamflows have declined 99% since the 1960s and the reservoir has never been more than 5% full. Water balances for the four westernmost Federal reservoirs in Kansas (Cedar Bluff, Keith Sebelius, Webster and Kirwin) show similar tendencies. For these four, reservoir inflow has declined by 92%, 73%, 81% and 64% respectively since the 1950s. Since 1990 total evaporated volumes relative to total inflows amounted to 68%, 83%, 24% and 44% respectively. Predictions of streamflow and reservoir performance based on climate change models indicate 70% chance of steady decline after 2007, with a ∼ 50% chance of failure (releases by gravity flow impossible) of Cedar Bluff Reservoir between 2007 and 2050. Paradoxically, a 30% chance of storage increase prior 2020 is indicated, followed by steady declines through 2100. Within 95% confidence the models predict > 50% decline in surface water resources between 2007 and 2050. Ultimately, surface storage of water resources may prove unsustainable in this region, forcing conversion to subsurface storage.
Differences in airway responsiveness to leukotriene D4 in allergic sheep with and without late bronchial responses.

Abstract Allergic sheep respond to inhaled Ascaris suum antigen with either acute and late bronchial obstructions (dual responders) or only acute bronchoconstriction (acute responders). In this study we tested the hypothesis that one factor which may distinguish between these two populations is the difference in sensitivity to a specific mediator of airway anaphylaxis, leukotriene (LT) D4 (a major component of slow reacting substance of anaphylaxis). We postulated that if the hypothesis was correct than dual responders should demonstrate increased airway responses to inhaled LTD4 and that this increased responsiveness should also be reflected by a more severe response to inhaled antigen. To test this we used animals from both groups with the same degree of non-specific airway responsiveness to carbachol and determined their airway responses to controlled inhlation challenges with synthetic LTD4 and barAscaris suum antigen. Airway responsiveness to carbachol was determined by measuring the change in specific lung resistance (SRL) to increasing concentrations of carbachol aerosol, and then identifying, by linear interpolation, the provocative carbachol concentration which produced a 150% increase (PC150) in SRL. Airway responses to LTD4, and antigen were determined by measuring the percentage change in SRL after a controlled inhlation challenge with either aerosol. Airway responsiveness to carbachol was not different between the two groups. There was, however, a difference (p
The effects of alcohol and delta‐9‐tetrahydrocannabinol on human physical aggression

Forty male undergraduates were provoked following their ingestion of high or low doses of either alcohol or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The expression of physical aggression was related to the quantity of alcohol ingested. The high dose of alcohol instigated more intense aggression than the low dose. The high dose of THC, on the other hand, did not increase aggressive behavior. In fact, it tended to produce a weak suppression effect.
A Comparison of Four Estimators of a Population Measure of Model Fit in Covariance Structure Analysis

A major issue in the utilization of covariance structure analysis is model fit evaluation. Recent years have witnessed increasing interest in various test statistics and so-called fit indexes, most of which are actually based on or closely related to F 0, a measure of model fit in the population. This study aims to provide a systematic investigation about the performance of 4 available estimators of F 0. [Fcirc]01 is the conventional estimator and is based on noncentral chi-square approximation. [Fcirc]02 is newly proposed and does not assume noncentral chi-square approximation. [Fcirc]03 and [Fcirc]04 are variations of [Fcirc]02. A Monte Carlo simulation study is conducted to examine how these four estimators of F 0 perform across varying model misspecifications, data distributions, model sizes, and sample sizes. The results show that under normality all 4 quantities estimate F 0 equally well, and under nonnormality [Fcirc]02, [Fcirc]03, and [Fcirc]04 outperform [Fcirc]01. Issues related to these finding...
β2-adrenergic receptor knockout mice exhibit A diabetic retinopathy phenotype.

There is considerable evidence from our lab and others for a functional link between β-adrenergic receptor and insulin receptor signaling pathways in retina. Furthermore, we hypothesize that this link may contribute to lesions similar to diabetic retinopathy in that the loss of adrenergic input observed in diabetic retinopathy may disrupt normal anti-apoptotic insulin signaling, leading to retinal cell death. Our studies included assessment of neural retina function (ERG), vascular degeneration, and Muller glial cells (which express only β1 and β2-adrenergic receptor subtypes). In the current study, we produced β2-adrenergic receptor knockout mice to examine this deletion on retinal neurons and vasculature, and to identify specific pathways through which β2-adrenergic receptor modulates insulin signaling. As predicted from our hypothesis, β2-adrenergic receptor knockout mice display certain features similar to diabetic retinopathy. In addition, loss of β2-adrenergic input resulted in an increase in TNFα, a key inhibitor of insulin receptor signaling. Increased TNFα may be associated with insulin-dependent production of the anti-apoptotic factor, Akt. Since the effects occurred in vivo under normal glucose conditions, we postulate that aspects of the diabetic retinopathy phenotype might be triggered by loss of β2-adrenergic receptor signaling.
Micromachined integrated pressure–thermal sensors on flexible substrates

This paper presents the design, modeling and simulation of micromachined, integrated pressure–thermal sensors on flexible polyimide substrates. Finite element simulations were performed with polycrystalline silicon as the piezoresistor material on a suspended Si3N4 layer. These piezoresistors are connected to each other in a half-bridge Wheatstone configuration using flexible aluminum interconnects. Several different designs of integrated thermal–pressure sensors as well as pressure-only sensors were simulated to compute the sensor figures of merit such as the percentage change in piezoresistance in response to normal pressure, piezoresistor Wheatstone-bridge output voltage for varying skin curvature, bolometric response to broadband infrared radiation, thermal time constant and thermal conductance of the micromachined structures hosting the sensors to the substrate. For a perpendicular uniform pressure application of 50 kPa, a maximum Wheatstone-bridge output of 7.59 mV was computed for 1 V bias, corresponding to a piezoresistance change of 1.52%. When the skin is bent to a curvature of 2.2 mm, a maximum Wheatstone-bridge output voltage of 70 mV was calculated for the case when the sensors are aligned along the axis of bending. Thermal and optical calculations performed on the integrated thermal–pressure sensors showed a thermal time constant as low as 12.8 µs for a 1.9 µm thick silicon nitride membrane layer, with a responsivity of 270 V W−1 to a broad-band infrared radiation. This would be appropriate for applications requiring fast response but not high sensitivity. Integrated sensors on a thinner silicon nitride membrane layer of 0.5 µm, on the other hand, exhibited responsivity as high as 2000 V W−1, with a response time of 626 µs.
Induction of serum amyloid A (SAA) gene by SAA-activating sequence-binding factor (SAF) in monocyte/macrophage cells. Evidence for a functional synergy between SAF and Sp1.

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a plasma protein that is associated with many inflammatory diseases including amyloidosis, arthritis, and atherosclerosis. SAA level is significantly increased during inflammatory condition, and such abnormal expression of this protein is linked to the pathogenesis of the above-mentioned diseases. A promoter element, designated as SAA-activating sequence (SAS), located between −280 and −226 has been implicated in the induction mechanism and a nuclear factor, SAS-binding factor (SAF), has been shown to bind to this region. In this report, using a cloned SAF gene in transient transfection assay, we provide evidence that SAF potentiates SAA gene expression through SAS element. Furthermore, we show that during lipopolysaccharide-mediated induction of SAF, heteromeric complex with transcription factor Sp1 is formed. Transfection assays using both transcription factor genes have demonstrated that SAF-Sp1 heteromer is a highly potent transactivator of SAA expression.
Isolation of All Four Conformations of p-tert-Butylcalix[5]arene Using Bridging Silyl Groups

Treatment of p-tert-butylcalix[5]arene with RMeSi(NMe2)2 (R = Me, Ph) yields both di- and monosubstituted products: calix[5](RMeSi)2(OH) (1a, R = Me; 1b, R = Ph) and calix[5](RMeSi)(OH)3 (2a, R = Me; 2b, R = Ph). In all derivatives, the silicon atom bridges adjacent oxygens on the calix[5]arene. Isolation of the monosubstituted compounds requires careful control of stoichiometry using an excess of p-tert-butylcalix[5]arene. Variable-temperature NMR spectra of 2a suggest that at least two different exchange processes are occurring; the high-temperature process appears to involve complete inversion of the calixarene with an activation energy of 64.4 (1.6) kJ/mol. These compounds are isolated and structurally characterized. The four solid-state structures closely approximate the four different ideal conformations of calix[5]arenes.
Application of the disk method: responses to growth regulators

The paper disk method of screening several plant growth regulators was evaluated. Leaf explants ofVigna unguiculata (L) Walp. were placed on solidified Murashige and Skoog's minimal organics medium containing 0.5 mg/l nicotinic acid. Hormones were tested, singly and in combinations, on paper disks in large Petri plates (150×20 mm). Hormones tested were 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), 2,4,5-T (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid), IAA (indole-3-acetic acid), IBA (indole-3-butyric acid), picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid), dicamba (3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid), BA (6-benzyladenine), 2iP (2-isopentenyl adenine), and kinetin [6-(furfurylamino)-purine]. Root formation was stimulated by IAA and IBA; dicamba, picloram, 2,4-D, and 2,4,5-T stimulated callus formation. All cytokinins tested suppressed root formation. Dicamba in combination with either 2iP or kinetin induced the greatest callus formation. Root formation was optimal with kinetin and either IAA or IBA. The disk method provided a rapid, nonquantitative evaluation of callus and root formation from leaf disks.
Generalized Anisotropic Planar Rotor Model and Its Application to Polymer Intercalation Compounds

A diverse structural phase progression is observed in diffraction studies of an alkali-metal intercalated conducting polymer, poly(p-phenylene vinylene), as functions of both temperature and chemical potential. Despite the presence of translational displacements, extensive disorder, and other experimental host limitations, an equivalent heuristic structural counterpart appears in a phase diagram derived using a modified anisotropic planar rotor Hamiltonian (introduced and studied by Choi, Harris, and Mele). This model includes only rotational motions and therefore demonstrates that much of the underlying structural evolution is governed by only a few key degrees of freedom.
Age-related fibrillar deposits in brains of C57BL/6 mice. A review of localization, staining characteristics, and strain specificity.

The present article reviews findings regarding the age-related occurrence of clusters of unusual granules in the brains of C57BL/6 (B6) mice and discusses the potential relevance of this phenomenon as a model of specific aspects of brain aging in humans. The granules occur predominatly in the hippocampus of B6 mice and represent aggregations of fibrillar material that are mostly associated with astrocytes. The deposits become evident at about 4 to 6 mo of age, and increase markedly in both number and size thereafter. Similar structures have been observed in adult senescence accelerated mice (SAM) and have been noted, although very rarely, in older mice from other strains. The deposits appear to manifest dominant genetic heritability. Heparan sulfate proteoglycan and laminin or related molecules have been identified as components of the granular material. Although the deposits do not represent senile plaques with β-amyloid deposition, they might mimic the deposition of extracellular matrix molecules that is thought to be an early event in amyloidogenesis in the aged brain and in Alzheimer's disease.
Fast, wide-dynamic range, low-voltage tip/tilt mirror

Tip/tilt mirrors are widely used to stabilize astronomical images during integration because tip/tilt image stabilization systems provide a large gain in image quality with a relatively simple control system[KM93,Mc93,0193]. In solar vector magnetographs the polarization analysis section generally precedes the fip/tilt mirror to avoid systematic polarization errors[Ru88,R091]. This causes a magnification of the apparent pointing errors so that the dynamic range requirements for a tip/tilt mirror are multiplied by the magnification. We have used tip/tilt mirrors based on high voltage piezo electric stacks. These units have relatively limited throw of +/- 65 arcsec, and require stack voltages of 0 to 1000 volts. In addition these units displayed a high Q resonance around 200 Hz which limited the stable closed loop image stabilization bandwidth to around 20 to 30 Hz. The tip/tilt system in our ground based instrument at Sacramento Peak Observatory has always been limited by the limited dynamic range of the tip/tilt mirror[St90,St92].
Intermediate Bus Voltage Optimization for High Voltage Input VRM

Investigations have been carried on into improving the efficiency in the power delivery system. A new architecture is introduced in this paper, which is a high voltage (HV) DC input Voltage Regulator Module (VRM) to replace today's AC-DC silver box and 12V input VRM, i.e.. Study shows that the system efficiency will improve 8%, under the prediction that the efficiency of this kind of high voltage input VRM is about 85% based on paper research and simulations, if this is the case, a revolution will be taken place in the power delivery in the data center for the next generation server platform. A two-stage approach as the proposed circuit is evaluated, where the 1st stage is a unregulated DC to DC converter converting 400V input to low voltage intermediate bus, and the 2nd stage is a 2-phase buck converter converting the intermediate bus voltage to 2V to 3.3V variable voltages. This paper uses its major part to introduce a practical method on how to find the best intermediate bus voltage to trade off the efficiencies of the two stages in order to get the optimized efficiencies of the overall load range. Simulation /calculation on the commercial voltage levels of 5V, 6V, 7V to 12V show that 8V is the optimized bus voltage considered the efficiencies in the overall load range, the experimental results show the same conclusion as well.
A dual-compensated cryogenic microcalorimeter for radioactivity standardizations

Abstract Efforts are underway by our laboratory to develop a microcalorimeter that can be routinely used for radioactivity standardizations of nuclides that decay by pure β-emission or by low-Z electron capture. The prototype calorimeter consists of a cryostat with two temperature-controlled stages and a base stage that are operated at nominal temperatures of 8 K. A unique aspect of the calorimeter's design is the ability to repeatedly engage and disengage the radioactive source from the second stage heat path using a magnetically activated elevator. The measurement of the total power from a radioactive sample is obtained from the difference in the second stage power with and without the source in place. As a result of extensive performance evaluations using 90Sr–90Y and 32P brachytherapy seeds as well as with an internal calibration heater, many initial design flaws have been identified and are being addressed.
Ability of the R-Wave Change During Stress Testing to Accurately Detect Coronary Disease in the Presence of Left Bundle Branch Block at Rest

The treadmill stress test and antiographic records of 18 patients with left bundle block on resting ECG were reviewed retrospectively. Thirteen of the patients had significant coronary artery disease defined as greater than or equal to 70% cross-sectional narrowing of one or more vessels, while 5 patients were hemodynamically and angiographically normal. The R-wave and ST-segment response to exercise were determined in each case and compared. A positive R-wave response was an exercise-induced increase or no change in amplitude over the baseline level, while a positive ST-segment response was greater than or equal to 2 mm of excerise-induced depression over the baseline level. The sensitivity for the R-wave response was 69% (9 of 13), the specificity was 100% (5 of 5), and the predictive value was 100% (9 of 9). For ST depression these values were 46% (6 of 13), 40% (2 of 5)8 and 67% (6 of 9). Although the number of patients in this study is small--a reflection of the fact that ST depression in the presence of left bundle branch block with exercise is associated with many false positive responses and hence less referral for stress testing--it appears that the R-wave response to exercise in the presence of left bundle branch block can accurately detect coronary artery disease.
Technology Characterization Models and Their Use in Designing Complex Systems

Prior research suggests that set-based design representations can be useful for facilitating collaboration among engineers in a design project. However, existing set-based methods are limited in terms of how the sets are constructed and in their representational capability. The goal of this research is to demonstrate more general set-based design methods that are effective for characterizing and comparing competing technologies in a utility-based decision framework. To demonstrate the methods and compare their relative strengths and weaknesses, different technologies for a power plant condenser will be compared. The capabilities of different condenser technologies will be characterized in terms of sets defined over the space of common condenser attributes. It will be shown that designers can use the resulting sets to explore the space of possible condenser designs quickly and effectively. It is expected that this technique will be a useful tool for system designers to evaluate new technologies and compare them to existing ones. We compare four representational methods by measuring the solution accuracy (compared to another optimization procedure’s solution), computation time, and scalability (how results change with different data sizes). The results demonstrate that a support vector domain description-based method provides the best combination of these traits for this example.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
L3,2 core-hole lifetime widths of 3d transition metals.

Transition-metal x-ray-emission spectra, corresponding to transitions between the 3s level and the ${\mathit{L}}_{3,2}$ core holes, are studied. The spectra are synthesized from a superposition of two Lorentzian functions, where the relative weighting of the Lorentzians is calculated based on the assumptions of various models for the core-hole widths. For a model in which the true lifetime of the ${\mathit{L}}_{3}$ hole is given by gas-phase calculations, and the additional Coster-Kronig width of the ${\mathit{L}}_{2}$ hole is determined from existing photoemission data, excellent agreement is obtained with experimental x-ray spectra obtained by Hanzely. The disagreement between calculated and experimental total ${\mathit{L}}_{3}$ hole widths is therefore due to ``non-lifetime'' contributions to the ${\mathit{L}}_{3}$ and ${\mathit{L}}_{2}$ core widths in 3d transition metals.
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in HPV Vaccine Uptake Among a Sample of College Women

The aim of this study is to determine the association between racial/ethnic status and uptake and completion of the HPV vaccine series in college women. Participants were recruited from a large university in North Central Florida. Young women between 18 and 26 years of age who were currently enrolled in a college course comprised the study sample. Participants completed an anonymous online survey that assessed sociodemographic characteristics, sexual behaviors, gynecological healthcare utilization, and perception of risk to HPV-associated diseases. Multivariable analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between racial/ethnic status and HPV vaccination status. Of the 835 with complete data (51.0 % white, 16.5 % black, 13.8 % Hispanic, 8.3 % Asian, and 9.9 % other), 53 % had initiated (receipt of at least one dose) the three-dose HPV vaccine series. Of those who initiated, 70 % indicated that they had completed all three doses. In adjusted analysis, blacks were significantly less likely to report initiation [adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) = 0.78; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 0.63, 0.97] and completion (aPR = 0.64; 95 % CI: 0.48, 0.84) of the three dose HPV vaccine as compared to whites. Although completion rates were lower in all other racial/ethnic groups as compared to whites, these rates did not reach statistical significance. These findings are consistent with research from other types of settings and demonstrate lower initiation and completion rates of HPV vaccine among black women attending college as compared to their white counterparts. Additional research is needed to understand why black college women have low initiation and completion rates.
Cataract Extraction after Vitrectomy

Cataract extractions were performed in 25 patients who had previously undergone pars plana vitrectomy. Posterior chamber IOLs were implanted in 20 of 26 eyes. Modification of the usual surgical technique was often necessary because the zonules and/or posterior capsule were unusually mobile. Lens opacities were nuclear sclerotic in 17 eyes (65%) and posterior subcapsular in nine eyes (35%). Visual acuity improved an average of five lines, and final visual acuity was 20/50 or better in 13 eyes (50%). Visual acuity after cataract extraction closely paralleled the best visual acuity after vitreous surgery in all patients. Complications were tears in the posterior capsule in two eyes and postoperative vitreous hemorrhage in one eye. These complications did not limit final vision.
Development of the Glass Electrode and the pH Response

The glass electrode is the most commonly used device to access the pH of an aqueous solution. It attains highly accurate measurements via simple and well-established procedures. However, the reasons why the glass electrode potential scales with hydrogen ion concentration according to almost Nernstian potential values have been long-standing challenges to explain. Only in the past 50 years has an understanding of the glass electrode response to pH been achieved, as elucidated by Nikolsky and Baucke and other researchers. In essence, the potential of a glass electrode derives from a solid–liquid electrolyte ionic process that entails both hydrated glass surface groups and diverse ions in solution. Thus, a process that is deceptively complicated—and usually overlooked—underpins a boundary potential difference. This notwithstanding, other interpretations of the glass electrode response have been contributed. Most notably, Cheng has viewed the device as an electrical circuit condenser responding to adsorbed hy...
Analysis of polyethylenimine by spectrophotometry of its copper chelate.

Polyethylenimine (PEI) forms a copper chelate with a N/Cu ratio of about 5 and with extinction coefficients of about 175 at 6350 A. and 4250 at 2694 A. Solutions of PEI-copper chelate obey Lambert's and Beer's laws and show increased optical density in the presence of chloride ion. Above pH 4.25, hydrogen ion has little effect. A comparison with the copper chelate of polyvinylamine suggests that PEI has a highly, branched structure. Analysis of PEI via its copper chelate is described.