cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assessing a disaggregated energy input: Using confidence intervals around translog elasticity estimates☆

The role of energy in the production of manufacturing output has been debated extensively in the literature, particularly its relationship with capital and labor. In an attempt to provide some clarification in this debate, a two-step methodology was used. First, under the assumption of a five-factor production function specification, we distinguished between electric and non-electric energy and assessed each component's relationship with capital and labor. Second, we calculated both the Allen and price elasticities and constructed 95% confidence intervals around these values. Our approach led to the following conclusions: that the disaggregation of the energy input into electric and non-electric energy is justified; that capital and electric energy and capital and non-electric energy are substitutes, while labor and electric energy and labor and non-electric energy are complements in production; and that capital and energy are substitutes, while labor and energy are complements.
Growth, employment and poverty : an analysis of the vital nexus based on some recent UNDP and ILO/SIDA studies

Paper prepared under the joint ILO-UNDP programme on ‘Promoting Employment for Poverty Reduction’ Based on 13 case studies, finds evidence that employment growth has not matched the dynamic growth envisioned by development theory.
Market Access Rivalry and Eco-labeling Standards: Are Eco-labels Non-tariff Barriers in Disguise?

Despite the merits of eco-labeling as a consumer information and market-based environmental policy alternative, the promise that green consumerism holds in encouraging environmentally conscious production decisions also raises concerns over whether eco-labeling deters the market access of developing countries in high income countries, and e®ectively serves the role of a non-tari® barrier to trade. In this paper, we disentangle the role of eco-labeling in world trade, and show that (i) imperfectly informed consumption decision making in the absence of labeling has a pro-trade bias; (ii) eco-labeling can guide green consumption and production decisions to reach the e±ciency frontier, provided that (iii) the choice of eco-labeling standards in the two countries are not subject to coordination failure. Taking labeling standards as endogenously determined by market share rivalry between the two countries, we show that strategic use of eco-labeling gives rise to opposing incentives, and results in a \tari®-like" outcome that further reduces the volume of trade. Speci¯cally, net importers deviate from the e±ciency frontier by choosing labeling standards that are too high, while net exporters choose labeling standards that are too low.
Neuronal control of swimming in the medicinal leech. I. Dynamics of the swimming rhythm

Leeches swim by undulating their extended and flattened body in the dorsoventral direction, to form a wave that travels backwards along the animal. The troughs and crests of this body wave are produced by a metachronal rhythm of antiphasic contractions of the dorsal and ventral longitudinal musculature of the body wall of successive segments. Cinematographic records of swimming leeches show that over a range of cycle periods from 390 to 1100 msec the animal maintains one full wave along the length of its body. This constant wave form is achieved by compensating for the increase in the cycle period by an increase in the intersegmental travel time of the wave from 19 to 77 msec per segment. Direct muscle tension measurements of the segmental body wall during the swimming movement of a restrained, brainless and partially denervated leech lead to values for the dynamic parameters of the body wave which are in agreement with those abstracted from cinematographic records. In order to study the neuronal control of the swimming movement, a semi-intact leech preparation was developed. This preparation carries out movements that are clearly vestiges of the swimming rhythm while allowing the taking of electrophysiological records from exposed and immobilized parts of its peripheral and central nervous systems. The records reveal a nerve cell activity rhythm whose period matches that of the swimming rhythm. The swimming rhythm and its body wave must be generated by a system of distributed, phase-locked segmental oscillators that cause an antiphasic activity of the motor neurons innervating the segmental dorsal and ventral longitudinal muscles. The cycle of these oscillators can be inferred to consist of a variable time sector whose changes in length are responsible for changes in the cycle period, and of a constant time sector whose length is independent of the cycle period.
Gender, Race, and Mourning in American Modernism: The Professor's House : primitivist melancholy and the gender of utopian forms

Willa Cather might seem an anomalous figure to include in a book on modernism and masculinity. This is so, first and most obviously, because she was a woman. What can it mean to approach her work as a response to transformations in the meanings of manhood at the turn of the twentieth century rather, say, than the meanings of womanhood? Can she have been so male-identified that the waning of a certain model of manhood provoked a tortured textual grief-work like that of her male contemporaries? To answer “yes” to this second question is to stress even more than I have till now the fantasmatic character of gender, the way it is formed through identifications that can take unruly, non-normative directions. My assumption in what follows is that this is what happened in Cather's case; her psychic formation included a constitutive and unusually intense identification with the masculine that had profound consequences for her work. This identification explains but is not reducible to the well-known adolescent period during which she dressed in men's clothing, cropped her hair, and signed her name “William.” It was not, that is, as even some of her most astute critics have argued, a phase that Cather outgrew to become a “real” (female-identified) woman, but rather a constitutive component of her identity, ambivalently embraced but more or less lasting, that continued throughout her life to trouble the female-solidaristic and feminist elements of her work.
Performance Optimization of Combined Variable-Cost Computations and I/O

For applications involving large data sets yielding variablecost computations, achieving both efficient I/O and load balancing may become particularly challenging though performance-critical tasks. In this work, we introduce a data scheduling approach that integrates several optimizing techniques, including dynamic allocation, prefetching, and asynchronous I/O and communications. We show that good scalability is obtained by both hiding the I/O latency and appropriately balancing the workloads. We use a statistical metric for data skewness to further improve the performance by adequately selecting among data-scheduling. We test our approach on sparse benchmark matrices for matrix-vector computations and show experimentally that our method can accurately predict the relative performance of different input/output schemes for a given data set and choose the best technique accordingly.
Phosphorylation of the duck hepatitis B virus capsid protein associated with conformational changes in the C terminus.

Abstract The capsid protein of duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) is phosphorylated at multiple sites during viral infection. A cluster of sites is located near the C terminus of the 262-amino-acid protein. We have used site-directed mutagenesis to show that three serines and one threonine serve as phosphate acceptor amino acids in the C terminus. An additional six potential phosphate acceptor sites in this region were apparently not utilized. Each serine or threonine that served as a phosphate acceptor was adjacent to a downstream proline, while all six serines that were not acceptors for phosphate residues lacked adjacent downstream prolines. Mutation of the downstream proline to glycine at each site had the same effect as mutating the serine itself, suggesting an SP or TP motif as an essential feature for capsid protein phosphorylation. Phosphorylation at these four sites resulted in complex shifts in electrophoretic mobility in sodium dodecyl sulfate gels of the capsid protein or of a C-terminal peptide containing the phosphorylated sites, suggesting that specific conformations of the C terminus are associated with different combinations of phosphorylated serines. We speculate that distinct functions of the C terminus may be associated with different phosphorylated domains on the intact capsid.
Dispensing Picoliter Droplets Using DEP Micro-Actuation

Non-uniform, AC electric fields created by coplanar electrodes patterned on a substrate are used to move and manipulate aqueous liquid masses, and to dispense very small droplets. This liquid dielectrophoretic microactuation scheme has potential applications for microfluidic systems in the laboratory on a chip. Simple, co-planar electrode strips are used to divide microliter-sized, sessile water droplets into large numbers of droplets down to ∼40 picoliters. The dispensing system uses the electrodes to draw a long finger or rivulet of liquid from the parent microliter droplet. When the voltage is removed, the rivulet breaks up into numbers of droplets as a result of the familiar capillary instability. We propose and provide data that supports a very simple power law dependence of the finger length upon time: Z(t)∝t, which governs the time required to fill a structure. A capillary instability, very similar to the case of the cylindrical jet, leads to droplet formation when voltage is removed. The hydrodynamic instability features a critical wavelength, below which instability is not possible, and a most unstable wavelength, which controls the volume and spacing of the droplets formed.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Lateral cephalometry changes after SARPE

Surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion (SARPE) is associated with postoperative cephalometric changes. In this study we analyse these changes in the sagittal plane in orthognathic patients undergoing SARPE followed by orthodontic treatment and Le Fort I, bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO), or bimaxillary surgery. This is a retrospective review of 50 patients (20 males, 30 females) undergoing orthognathic treatment with SARPE to correct transversal deficiency of the maxilla as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. PP-SN, SNA, and ANB angles were increased and U1-SN and U1-PP angles were decreased. All changes were statistically significant. Changes of SNB, PP-Mand plane angle, and SN-Mand. plane angle were not statistically significant. Surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion using a bone-borne appliance as a preparative step for later orthognathic surgery results in clockwise rotation of the maxilla.
Relative optimum grip span as a function of hand anthropometry

Abstract This study investigates the optimum grip span relative to an individual's hand anthropometry (ROGS) for an isometric power grip exertion. Maximum voluntary isometric grip force (MVGF), muscular activity (EMG) and subjective rating (SR) were used as criteria. Two complementary experiments were conducted. In both experiments, nine different widths of span, separated with 0.5 cm intervals, were tested across 12 subjects. The span size was a function of one's modified thumb crotch length (TCLm). In the first experiment, the grip spans were tested as a function of MVGF and SR. The results of this experiment indicate TCLm-2 as the ROGS. The SR was also supportive of this result. In the second experiment, EMG at a constant force (30% MVGF) was evaluated as a function of the grip span. The EMG based efficiency coefficients indicate TCLm-2.5 as the optimum span, resulting in the least muscular activity. Based on the analysis of MVGF, EMG and SR, the ROGS is in the interval, TCLm-2.5⩽ROGS⩽TCLm-2, indicating a precise location of optimum grip span as a function of one's TCLm. This result suggests that hand-powered tools with two-handles should be designed for adjustability as a function of TCLm. Relevance to industry Excessive grip force exertion is one of the most important factors contributing to the occurrence of upper extremity cumulative trauma disorders, in addition to reducing workers’ productivity. This study suggests a new tool design criterion for minimizing unnecessary effort and increasing productivity.
Luteal phase estradiol versus luteal phase estradiol and antagonist protocol for controlled ovarian stimulation before in vitro fertilization in poor responders

Luteal phase synchronization of follicular growth has been suggested as a means to improve ovarian response in low responders. We compared luteal E 2 and antagonist (n = 256) with luteal E 2 only (n = 57) before antagonist protocol in low responders. The addition of GnRH antagonist to luteal E 2 for luteal suppression before ovarian stimulation for IVF does not improve IVF outcomes in poor responders.
Predictors of long-acting reversible contraception use among unmarried young adults.

Objective The objective of the study was to improve the understanding of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) use patterns among unmarried, young adults at risk of unintended pregnancy. Study Design We performed a secondary data analysis of a national survey conducted by Guttmacher Institute of unmarried women and men aged 18-29 years. LARC is defined as an intrauterine device (IUD) or implant. Predictors of LARC use and IUD knowledge among those at risk for unintended pregnancy (n = 1222) were assessed using χ 2 analysis and logistic regression models. Results LARC use was associated with older age, high IUD knowledge, and earlier onset of sexual activity. Respondents with high IUD knowledge were 6 times more likely to be current LARC users (odds ratio [OR], 6.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4–28.8). Sociodemographic variables did not predict use. Respondents with lower education (OR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.0–3.0), an external locus of control (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1–2.3), male sex (OR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.9–4.1), and foreign language had less knowledge of IUD. Conclusion Increasing knowledge of IUD among certain groups may improve LARC use among young, unmarried adults and in turn decrease unintended pregnancy.
Fermentation pathway kinetics and metabolic flux control in suspended and immobilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract Measurements of rates of glucose uptake and of glycerol and ethanol formation combined with knowledge of the metabolic pathways involved in S. cerevisiae were employed to obtain in vivo rates of reaction catalysed by pathway enzymes for suspended and alginate-entrapped cells at pH 4.5 and 5.5. Intracellular concentrations of substrates and effectors for most key pathway enzymes were estimated from in vivo phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance measurements. These data show the validity in vivo of kinetic models previously proposed for phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase based on in vitro studies. Kinetic representations of hexokinase, glycogen synthetase, and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, which incorporate major regulatory properties of these enzymes, are all consistent with the in vivo data. This detailed model of pathway kinetics and these data on intracellular metabolite concentrations allow evaluation of flux-control coefficients for all key enzymes involved in glucose catabolism under the four different cell environments examined. This analysis indicates that alginate entrapment increases the glucose uptake rate and shifts the step most influencing ethanol production from glucose uptake to phosphofructokinase. The rate of ATP utilization in these nongrowing cells strongly limits ethanol production at pH 5.5 but is relatively insignificant at pH 4.5.
Oscillographic Solution of Electromechanical Systems

A simple and practical method has been developed for investigating certain important classes of dynamic systems, as represented, for instance, by a power system comprising synchronous or induction generating units, with prime movers, connected through transmission lines to receiving apparatus of the same character. The behavior of individual units, of course, can also be investigated, ?such as the important case of determining the current pulsation of a synchronous motor driving a reciprocating compressor, or purely mechanical systemns involving moving masses and resilient members, such as beams, bus bars, etc., under the influence of suddenly applied load. In the present paper, the method is described and its application to a few of the possible cases is illustrated. The method is to have an ``equivalent electrical circuit'' solve the problem, and the oscillograph plot the solution. The idea is based on the fact that if the differential equation for an electric circuit is identical with that for the dynamic mechanical system in question, then the corresponding electrical quantities can be taken to represent quantitatively the actual mechanical quantities. The equivalent circuit can be easily set up, and oscillographic records of the voltages and currents constitute the plotted solutions. The chief value of the scheme lies not only in one's being able to easily solve a given complicated problem, but also in the facility with which the effect of change in design factors may be determined. The method is capable of considerable extension.
The interaction of CO and O2 with thin islands of Pd

Abstract The adsorption and coadsorption of CO and O 2 on islands of Pd about 7 monolayers thin was investigated by TPD and AES. It was found that CO decomposes much less on the Pd islands grown on W(110)-c(14 × 7)-0 than on small particles of Pd on bulk oxide substrates (mica, sapphire). Also, oxygen interacts unusually strong with the island surfaces at temperatures as low as about 600 K. These new results are attributed mainly to SMSI (strong metal/support interaction). Detailed studies of Pd island growth on W(110)-c(14 × 7)-O show that the island thickness can be varied systematically from ∼ 3 to ∼ 8 monolayers.
Effects of Some Environmental and Test Conditions on Tire Treadwear Indices

Abstract A treadwear investigation was carried out with four brands of radial tires having different tread rubber compounds. The tires were randomly selected, except for one brand in which they were selected from the same mold and date. Identical series of tests were conducted in cold and hot weather. Treadwear was measured by both tire weight and groove depth. A discussion of the results is included.
Silicon photonics cloud (SiCloud)

Silicon Photonics Cloud (SiCloud.org) is the first silicon photonics interactive web tool. Here we report new features of this tool including mode propagation parameters and mode distribution galleries for user specified waveguide dimensions and wavelengths.
Rapid stabilization of thawing soils: field experience and application

Abstract Thawing soils can severely restrict vehicle travel on unpaved surfaces. However, a variety of materials and construction techniques can be used to stabilize thawing soils to reduce immobilization problems. The US Engineer Research and Development Center's Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) and the Wisconsin National Guard evaluated several stabilization techniques in a field demonstration project during spring thaw at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, in 1995. Additional tests on chemical stabilizing techniques were conducted at CRREL's Frost Effects Research Facility. The results of these test programs were reduced to a decision matrix for stabilizing thawing ground, and used during the deployment of US troops in Bosnia during January and February of 1996. The soil frost and moisture conditions expected during this time frame were predicted using MIDFROCAL (MIDwest FROst CALculator). This paper is an overview of the stabilization techniques evaluated and their recommended application based on the expected soil frost conditions and traffic requirements. Although the experiments were performed with military vehicles in mind, the techniques are suitable for many civilian applications such as forestry, construction, mining, and oil exploration.
Effects of Multiple Wildland Fires on Ponderosa Pine Stand Structure in Two Southwestern Wilderness Areas, USA

The effects of 30 years (1972–2003) of Wildland Fire Use for Resource Benefit (WFU) fires on ponderosa pine forest stand structure were evaluated in the Gila Wilderness, New Mexico, and the Saguaro Wilderness, Arizona. Tree density, diameter-class distributions, basal area, and stand density index were compared among areas that burned with different frequencies since 1972 and areas that burned mid-century (1940–1950) and again during the WFU era (1972–2003). In both the Saguaro Wilderness and the Gila Wilderness, significantly fewer small-diameter (5 cm to 22.5 cm) trees occurred in areas that burned multiple times since 1972 compared to areas that were unburned (p 45 cm diameter breast height) trees in the Gila Wilderness was highly variable and did not differ significantly among fire treatments (p > 0.32). In the Saguaro Wilderness, significantly more large-diameter trees (>45 cm dbh) occurred in areas that burned mid-century and again during WFU than in all other fire treatments. Mean 10-year basal area increment growth rates (1840 to the present) of trees in the Gila Wilderness that experienced mid-century fires suggest that those fires may have had a thinning effect. Ponderosa pine forests in the Gila Wilderness and Saguaro Wilderness are structurally diverse and resistant to fires burning during the natural fire season, suggesting that repeated WFU fires have restored forest resilience to fire.
Viral respiratory disease in pregnancy.

Purpose of review Recently there has been an increased concern over viral respiratory infections and their potential for a pandemic. This concern makes it important to review the most current guidelines for the management of viral respiratory diseases in pregnancy. Recent findings The topics covered are influenza, avian influenza, and severe acute respiratory syndrome. Summary Pregnant women have an increased susceptibility to viral respiratory diseases. The most common respiratory virus to infect pregnant women is influenza. All women who intend to become pregnant or are pregnant should receive the influenza vaccine. If a pregnant woman develops influenza she should be treated with supportive care. Antiviral medications should be reserved for cases where the benefits outweigh the risks. Avian influenza (H5N1) is a new emerging virus usually contracted from direct contact with diseased birds. There is no commercially available vaccine at this time to prevent infection. Pregnant women should be treated aggressively with supportive care and antiviral medications, as the significant risk of maternal mortality outweighs the potential fetal risks. Pregnant women diagnosed clinically with severe acute respiratory syndrome should be treated empirically, as a serologic diagnosis can take weeks to confirm. The treatment of pregnant women with severe acute respiratory syndrome should be without ribavirin.
Transmission of Infection by Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Bronchoscopy

Objective: To review reports on the transmission of infections by flexible gastrointestinal endoscopy and bronchoscopy in order to determine common infecting microorganisms, circumstances of transm...
Cellular mechanisms and physiological consequences of redox-dependent signalling

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), which were originally characterized in terms of their harmful effects on cells and invading microorganisms, are increasingly implicated in various cell fate decisions and signal transduction pathways. The mechanism involved in ROS-dependent signalling involves the reversible oxidation and reduction of specific amino acids, with crucial reactive Cys residues being the most frequent target. In this Review, we discuss the sources of ROS within cells and what is known regarding how intracellular oxidant levels are regulated. We further discuss the recent observations that reduction-oxidation (redox)-dependent regulation has a crucial role in an ever-widening range of biological activities - from immune function to stem cell self-renewal, and from tumorigenesis to ageing.
Residualization Rates of Near-Infrared Dyes for the Rational Design of Molecular Imaging Agents

Purpose Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging is widely used for tracking antibodies and biomolecules in vivo. Clinical and preclinical applications include intraoperative imaging, tracking therapeutics, and fluorescent labeling as a surrogate for subsequent radiolabeling. Despite their extensive use, one of the fundamental properties of NIR dyes, the residualization rate within cells following internalization, has not been systematically studied. This rate is required for the rational design of probes and proper interpretation of in vivo results.
A new genus and species of Hemisarcoptidae from Malaysia (Acari: Astigmata)

Abstract Pasohopus labrynthus n. gen., n. sp. is described from a deutonymph collected in a Malaise trap in the Pasoh Forest Reserve, Malaysia.
Use of Incremental Adaptation and Habituation Regimens for Mitigating Optokinetic Side Effects

The use of incremental and repeated exposures regimens have been put forth as effective means to mitigating visually induced motion sickness based on the Dual Process Theory (DPT) (Groves & Thompson, 1970) of neural plasticity. In essence, DPT suggests that by incrementing stimulus intensity the depression opponent process should exert greater control over the net outcome (e.g. motion sickness) than the sensitization opponent process, thereby minimizing side effects. This conceptual model was tested by empirically validating the effectiveness of adaptation, incremental adaptation, habituation, and incremental habituation regimens to mitigate side effects arising from exposure to an optokinetic drum. Forty college students from the University of Central Florida participated in the experiment and were randomly assigned to a treatment with efforts taken to balance for gender and motion sickness susceptibility. Results indicated that overall, the application of an incremental regimen is effective in reducing ...
Vascular reconstructive options in the ischemic foot.

In this article, arterial occlusive disease and its role in the treatment of foot lesions are discussed. Indications for vascular reconstruction, diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease, and the vascular procedures used to treat these patients are reviewed. Atherosclerosis is the main cause of peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Risk factors contributing to the formation of atherosclerotic disease include diabetes mellitus, smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, and certain dietary habits. Risk-factor management, especially smoking cessation, is important in slowing disease progression although there is little evidence that treating diabetes stops the progression of atherosclerotic disease [17]. Proper foot care is also important in preventing the formation of foot lesions that become difficult to heal in the presence of vascular occlusion and ischemia. The concept of diabetic, small-vessel, occlusive disease often leads to inappropriate management of patients with diabetes and who have nonhealing foot lesions. The formation of these lesions in the presence of normal palpable foot pulses led to the misconception that diabetic patients have arteriolar and capillary occlusive disease that causes skin ischemia and formation of foot lesions. The review by LoGerfo and Coffman demonstrated that most of these lesions are caused by trauma to the insensate diabetic foot [19]. This is an important concept in the management of diabetic lesions. Daily foot examination by the diabetic patient, wearing appropriately fitting shoes, and immediately reporting any abnormal finding to the physician are important points in the prevention of foot lesions in diabetic patients. The management of established foot lesions should be directed toward the contributing factors, namely, neuropathy, infection, and vascular insufficiency. In planning the strategy to improve arterial blood flow with revascularization techniques, it is important to understand the distribution of peripheral vascular disease. Although the femoral-popliteal segment is affected most commonly,
Ristocetin cofactor activity of purified canine factor VIII: inhibition by plasma proteins.

Abstract Canine plasma does not support the ristocetin-induced agglutination of fixed washed human platelets (FWP) under conditions that readily produce agglutination with human plasma. Purified canine factor VIII (FVIII) resembles purified human FVIII as it supported a pronounced ristocetin-induced agglutination of FWP in a system essentially free of extraneous proteins. Susceptibilities of these ristocetin cofactor activities (RCoF) to inhibition by plasmas or bovine serum albumin (BSA) were compared. Canine plasma, canine or human von Willebrand's disease (VWD) plasmas, and BSA completely inhibited the RCoF of purified canine FVIII at concentrations that had minimal effects on this activity of purified human FVIII.
Sodium channel Nav1.6 accumulates at the site of infraorbital nerve injury.

Background Sodium channel (NaCh) expressions change following nerve and inflammatory lesions and this change may contribute to the activation of pain pathways. In a previous study we found a dramatic increase in the size and density of NaCh accumulations, and a remodeling of NaChs at intact and altered myelinated sites at a location just proximal to a combined partial axotomy and chromic suture lesion of the rat infraorbital nerve (ION) with the use of an antibody that identifies all NaCh isoforms. Here we evaluate the contribution of the major nodal NaCh isoform, Nav1.6, to this remodeling of NaChs following the same lesion. Sections of the ION from normal and ION lesioned subjects were double-stained with antibodies against Nav1.6 and caspr (contactin-associated protein; a paranodal protein to identify nodes of Ranvier) and then z-series of optically sectioned images were captured with a confocal microscope. ImageJ (NIH) software was used to quantify the average size and density of Nav1.6 accumulations, while additional single fiber analyses measured the axial length of the nodal gap, and the immunofluorescence intensity of Nav1.6 in nodes and of caspr in the paranodal region.
Bioethanol supply chain system planning under supply and demand uncertainties

Abstract A mixed integer stochastic programming model is established to support strategic planning of bioenergy supply chain systems and optimal feedstock resource allocation in an uncertain decision environment. The two-stage stochastic programming model, together with a Lagrange relaxation based decomposition solution algorithm, was implemented in a real-world case study in California to explore the potential of waste-based bioethanol production. The model results show that biowaste-based ethanol can be a viable part of sustainable energy solution for the future.
When agreeing with the patient is not enough: a schizophrenic woman requests pregnancy termination

In this article, we discuss the ethical dilemma health care providers faced when Rebecca, a pregnant schizophrenic patient who lacked decision-making capacity, inconsistently requested elective pregnancy termination. When a patient's decision-making capacity is severely impaired, how does the physician balance obligations to protect the patient from harm (beneficence) while also respecting her reproductive preferences and decisions (respect for autonomy)? Rebecca suffers from polysubstance abuse and paranoid schizophrenia characterized by disorganized thought and speech, auditory hallucinations, and delusional ideas. She arrived 14+ weeks pregnant and unaccompanied at an obstetric clinic requesting an abortion. This is her second and final request. On all prior and subsequent occasions, she was either ambivalent or said she wanted to continue the pregnancy. After the consulting psychiatrist determined that she lacked decision-making capacity, steps were taken to address ethical and clinical issues. The steps included treating her schizophrenia to see if she could regain decision-making capacity; identifying a surrogate and using a shared decision-making model; and devising strategies to protect Rebecca and her fetus without resorting to excessive paternalism. Rebecca continued her pregnancy. Due to poor adherence to medical regimen and inadequate social support, Rebecca's schizophrenia was poorly controlled and she continued to use drugs during the pregnancy. She delivered a term baby who was soon removed from her custody. Despite some people's desire to protect Rebecca by complying with her request for abortion, we conclude that to do so would be ethically unjustified. To treat a decisionally impaired patient's requests for abortion as autonomous is disrespectful of the vulnerable patient because such paternalism fails to respect the patient's liberty and the surrogate's authority.
Electrophoretic concentration of proteins at laser-patterned nanoporous membranes in microchips.

Laser-patterning of nanoporous membranes at the junction of a cross channel in a microchip is used to integrate protein concentration with an electrokinetic injection scheme. Upon application of voltage, linear electrophoretic concentration of charged proteins is achieved at the membrane surface because buffer ions can easily pass through the membrane while proteins larger than the molecular weight cutoff of the membrane (>5700) are retained. Simple buffer systems can be used, and the concentration results constitute outward evidence that the uniformity of buffer ion concentration is maintained throughout the process. Local and spatially averaged concentration are increased by 4 and 2 orders of magnitude, respectively, upon injection with moderate voltages (70−150 V) and concentration times (100 s). The degree of concentration is limited only by the solubility limit of the proteins. The porous polymer membrane can be used repeatedly as long as care is taken to avoid protein precipitation.
A Total Fibrinogen Deficiency Is Compatible with the Development of Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice

In addition to their well-known roles in hemostasis, fibrinogen (Fg) and fibrin (Fn) have been implicated in a number of other physiological and pathophysiological events. One of these involves the fibroproliferative response after acute lung injury, which is the focus of the current study. Mice with a total Fg deficiency (FG−/−) were generated by breeding heterozygous (FG+/−) pairs, each of which contained an allele with a targeted deletion of its Fg-γ-chain gene. The resulting FG−/− animals did not possess detectable plasma Fg. FG−/− mice were then used to assess the roles of Fg and Fn in a bleomycin-induced acute lung injury model. Intratracheal administration of bleomycin in wild-type and FG−/− mice resulted in equivalent deposition of interstitial collagen and fibrotic lesions at days 7 and 14 after administration. This indicates that Fg and/or Fn are not essential for the development of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis.
Cognitive Processes in Response to Goal Failure: A Study of Ruminative Thought and its Affective Consequences

Failure to make progress toward personal goals can lead to negative affective states, such as depression and anxiety. Past research suggests that rumination in response to goal failure may prolong and intensify those acute emotional responses, but that process remains unclear. We examined ruminative thought processes following experimentally manipulated exposure to past failures to attain advancement (promotion) goals and safety (prevention) goals. We predicted that priming of past promotion and prevention goal failures would lead individuals to think repetitively about these failures and that negative affect would be evoked by their recognition of their failures. Further, we predicted that when people experience a sufficient magnitude of negative affect, ruminative thought would intensify and prolong the negative affect associated with that type of goal failure. Results yielded strong support for our predictions regarding promotion goal failure and modest support for those regarding prevention goal failure.
Tetraaquabis(carbamoyldicyanomethanido-κN)manganese(II) dihydrate

The crystal structure of [Mn(C 4 H 2 N 3 O) 2 (H 2 O) 4 ].2H 2 O, conventionally abbreviated [Mn(cdm) 2 (H 2 O) 4 ].2H 2 O, where cdm is carbamoyldicyanomethanide, is described. The bond lengths and distances are comparable to those previously reported for the isomorphous Ni and Co analogs. Molecular units are formed by coordination of the nitrile N atoms of two cdm anions and four water molecules to the manganese(II) cation. Although these mononuclear molecular species are connected via hydrogen bonding, no magnetic ordering was observed down to 1.55 K.
On the modeling of resistance in graphene nanoribbon (GNR) for future interconnect applications

In this paper, we present a comprehensive model for the resistance in graphene nanoribbon (GNR) interconnects. We use the recent experimental and theoretical results to model the impact of stacking of graphene layers in multi-layer GNR interconnects. We compare the resistance of GNR interconnects with both single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) bundle interconnects and conventional copper interconnects. Our simulation results demonstrate the performance superiority of multi-layer GNR interconnects over conventional copper interconnects at small widths (Lt 15 nm). Consequently, multi-layer GNR interconnects demonstrate a great potential to replace conventional copper interconnects in future technologies.
Effect of Thin Films on Dynamic Performance of Resonating MEMS

Continued advances in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology have led to development of a multitude of new sensors and their corresponding advanced applications. Great many of these sensors (e.g., microgyroscopes, accelerometers, biological, chemical, security, medical, etc.) rely on either sensing elements or elastic suspensions that resonate. Regardless of their applications, sensors are always designed to provide the most exact responses to the signals they are developed to detect and/or monitor. One way to quantify this exactness is to use the Quality factor (Q-factor). MEMS sensors are typically fabricated out of materials that are mechanically sound at the microscale, but can be relatively poor electrical conductors. For this reason, areas of MEMS are coated with various thin metal films to provide electrical pathways. These films, however, adversely alter resonant properties of a device. To facilitate our study, microcantilever configurations were selected to test influence that thin metal films have on resonators. This paper reviews a theoretical analysis of the effect that thermoelastic internal friction has on the Q-factor of microscale resonators and shows that the internal friction relating to TED is a fundamental damping mechanism in determination of quality of high-Q resonators over a range of operating conditions. Using silicon microcantilevers coated with aluminum films from 5 nm to 30 nm thick, on one as well as both sides, Q-factors were experimentally determined using the ring-down method. From the ring-down curve, the Q-factor of each microcantilever was determined. Experimental results show that as thickness of the aluminum film increases, Q-factor of the device decreases. Comparison of analytical and experimental results indicates good correlation, well within the limits based on uncertainty analysis. In addition, preliminary results also show a significant temperature dependence of the Q-factor of aluminum coated microcantilevers.
Many-body van der Waals forces involving chains

Van der Waals (VDW) forces arise from quantum mechanical fluctuations of local charge densities. Whereas computing VDW interactions between two atoms requires only 2-body interactions, by definition, computing interactions between macroscopic bodies required multi-body interactions, where the presence of a third atom affects how any two atoms interact, and a fourth atom affects the first three, and so on. Often, 3-body interactions have been found to be small, and 4-body and higher interactions are almost always neglected in calculating interactions between atoms. But is it possible that 4-body and higher order interactions can actually be more important than 3-body interactions, and indeed comparable to 2-body interactions? We explored the following question: how important is the sum of 4-body and higher order interactions? A set of problems involving finite and infinite chains was explored numerically and analytically, including a single chain, a pair of parallel, long chains and a two-dimensional array of long, parallel chains. The "coupled dipole method" was used, providing a type of "nanoscale Lifshitz theory" for calculations of nanoscale VDW interactions. Calculations were made for the static polarizability, as well as the VDW interaction between chains. This latter energy was compared with that found by summing 2-body interactions for the chains. It was found that when a "coupling constant" ν, which is the polarizability per unit volume of the material, is large, then the sum of 4-body and higher order interactions dominates both the 2-body and the 3-body interactions. In addition, it was found that for all geometries examined, a divergence of the polarizability and a dynamical energy instability occur simultaneously when ν reaches a limiting value ν max , giving a well-known polarization catastrophe.
Direct Role for the Replication Protein Treslin (Ticrr) in the ATR Kinase-mediated Checkpoint Response

TopBP1 (topoisomerase IIβ-binding protein 1) is a dual replication/checkpoint protein. Treslin/Ticrr, an essential replication protein, was discovered as a binding partner for TopBP1 and also in a genetic screen for checkpoint regulators in zebrafish. Treslin is phosphorylated by CDK2/cyclin E in a cell cycle-dependent manner, and its phosphorylation state dictates its interaction with TopBP1. The role of Treslin in the initiation of DNA replication has been partially elucidated; however, its role in the checkpoint response remained elusive. In this study, we show that Treslin stimulates ATR phosphorylation of Chk1 both in vitro and in vivo in a TopBP1-dependent manner. Moreover, we show that the phosphorylation state of Treslin at Ser-1000 is important for its checkpoint activity. Overall, our results indicate that, like TopBP1, Treslin is a dual replication/checkpoint protein that directly participates in ATR-mediated checkpoint signaling.
Anharmonic Phonon Interactions at Interfaces and Contributions to Thermal Boundary Conductance

Continued reduction in characteristic dimensions in nanosystems has given rise to increasing importance of material interfaces on the overall system performance. With regard to thermal transport, this increases the need for a better fundamental understanding of the processes affecting interfacial thermal transport, as characterized by the thermal boundary conductance. When thermal boundary conductance is driven by phononic scattering events, accurate predictions of interfacial transport must account for anharmonic phononic coupling as this affects the thermal transmission. In this paper, a new model for phononic thermal boundary conductance is developed that takes into account anharmonic coupling, or inelastic scattering events, at the interface between two materials. Previous models for thermal boundary conductance are first reviewed, including the diffuse mismatch model, which only considers elastic phonon scattering events, and earlier attempts to account for inelastic phonon scattering, namely, the maximum transmission model and the higher harmonic inelastic model. A new model is derived, the anharmonic inelastic model, which provides a more physical consideration of the effects of inelastic scattering on thermal boundary conductance. This is accomplished by considering specific ranges of phonon frequency interactions and phonon number density conservation. Thus, this model considers the contributions of anharmonic, inelastically scattered phonons to thermal boundary conductance. This new anharmonic inelastic model shows improved agreement between the thermal boundary conductance predictions and experimental data at the Pb/diamond and Au/diamond interfaces due to its ability to account for the temperature dependent changing phonon population in diamond, which can couple anharmonically with multiple phonons in Pb and Au. We conclude by discussing phonon scattering selection rules at interfaces and the probability of occurrence of these higher order anharmonic interfacial phonon processes quantified in this work.
Multisensor feature fusion methods and results

Analysts responsible for supporting time dominated threat decisions are faced with a growing volume of sensor data. Most efforts to increase discrimination among targets using multiple types of sensors encounter the same problems: Â¸ Sensor data are received in large volumes. Â¸ Sensor data are highly variable. Â¸ Signature features are represented by many dimensions. Â¸ Feature values are inter-correlated, random, or not related to target differences. Â¸ Decision rules for classifying new target data are difficult to define. This paper describes a new methodology for solving several problems: selecting signature features, reducing variability, increasing discrimination accuracy, and developing decision rules for classifying new target signatures. The results from using a combination of exploratory and multi-variate statistical techniques show potential improvements over the traditional Dempster-Shafer approach. This project uses data from operational prototype sensors and vehicles of interest for threat analysis. Acoustic and seismic sensor data came from an unattended ground sensor and three military vehicles. Although the resulting algorithms are specific to the data set, the data screening and fusion methods tested in this project may be useful with other types of sensor and target data.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Sex Differences in Physiological Responses to Stress and in Coronary Heart Disease: A Causal Link?

This editorial offers and provides preliminary support for the hypothesis that sex differences exist in physiological responses to acute behavioral stress, which may aid in understanding the enormous sex differences in risk for coronary heart disease. Epidemiological data regarding the differential sex experience of coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality are discussed, followed by a meta-analytic review of available psychophysiological data on sex differences in stress-induced cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses. The implications of the meta-analysis for conceptual and methodological issues in psychophysiological research are highlighted.