cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On-chip circuit for measuring jitter and skew with picosecond resolution

A circuit for on-chip measurement of long-term jitter, period jitter, and clock skew, is demonstrated. The circuit uses a single latch and a voltage-controlled delay element, and is evaluated in a stand-alone pad frame. Excellent reproduction of jitter measured by oscilloscope is shown. Measured jitter resolution is 1 ps or better. The circuit is also incorporated into a 2 GHz clock distribution network to obtain on-chip period jitter and clock skew measurements.
Low temperature water–gas shift: comparison of thoria and ceria catalysts

Abstract The water–gas shift activity for metal-promoted ceria catalysts has recently been explained by researchers in terms of a redox mechanism, whereby CO adsorbed on a metal reduces ceria surface to generate CO2, and water reoxidizes the ceria surface to CeO2, liberating hydrogen in the process. In contrast, a number of results (steady-state and transient diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS), XANES, and kinetic isotope effect studies) support a formate mechanism. In this study, a reduction promoter loaded actinide, Pt/thoria, is utilized and it is found to be an interesting analog to its lower molecular weight counterpart, ceria. Utilizing the urea precipitation–decomposition method, a surface area of 165 m2/g was achieved. The Pt/thoria catalyst exhibited a higher concentration of formate bands upon CO addition than Pt/ceria (105 m2/g), indicating higher active site densities on a per gram catalyst basis, and the catalyst exhibited slightly higher conversion on a fixed weight basis than ceria. As with ceria, the Pt was a necessary component for catalyzing the removal of surface oxygen atoms and possibly carbonates to activate the OH groups. A normal kinetic isotope effect was observed (1.6) which is similar to the one obtained with Pt-ceria. The data support a formate mechanism for the thoria catalyst.
The effect of a rotating night-float coverage scheme on preventable and potentially preventable morbidity at a level 1 trauma center.

Abstract Background The effect of resident work-hour restriction on patient outcome remains controversial. Methods Demographic data, mechanism of injury, length of hospital stay length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, ventilator days, mortality, and complication data were prospectively collected for 11 months before and 11 months after institution of a rotating night-float system. Seven attending surgeons reviewed all complications and categorized each as preventable, potentially preventable, or nonpreventable. Results Both study periods were comparable with respect to demographic data, mean Injury Severity Score, mechanism of injury, and admissions. Limitation of resident work hours had no effect on length of hospital or ICU stay, ventilator days, or mortality. Work-hour restrictions did not increase or decrease the total number of complications nor did it alter the distribution of those determined to be preventable or potentially preventable. Conclusions Resident work-hour restrictions were not associated with significant improvement or deterioration in patient outcome.
Methane from swine manure: Effect of temperature and influent substrate concentration on kinetic parameter (K)

The effects of temperature (35 and 55° C) and influent Volatile Solids (VS) concentration (S0 = 33·5, 43·6, 54·3, 61·8 and 77·1 kg VS m−3) on the kinetic parameter K (an increase in K indicates inhibition of fermentation) of swine manure were evaluated using 3-dm3 laboratory-scale fermentors. Ultimate methane (CH4) yield (B0) of the swine manure was 0·48 ± 0·02m3 CH4 (kg VS fed)−1 as determined by 109-day batch fermentations. K increased exponentially as S0 increased, and was described by: K = 0·6 + 0·0206 exp (0·051 × S0) Temperature had no significant (P > 0·05) effect on K for S0 between 33·5 and 61·8 kg VS m−3.
Detection of asperity dynamic impacts on lightly loaded random surfaces

Abstract A general formulation is presented for the analysis of dynamic interactions of random surfaces. The analysis is applied to the case of two surfaces whose topographical spacings follow a gaussian distribution and is used to predict theoretically the characteristics of the frequency content in the vibration response of a simplified elastic system. An experimental investigation of the fundamental parameters of the phenomenon, using a special test rig and data acquisition system, was also conducted. In the experiment, hard surfaces covered with silicon carbide grains were rubbed under light normal loading to simulate a dry friction interface where asperity failure becomes most likely owing to fatigue of coupling junctions. Experimentally obtained results were observed to be consistent with the theoretical predictions in that random micro-impacts between surface asperities make a distinct contribution at the onset of individual friction resistances developed in the interface.
Kinetic Gelation Modeling: Structural Inhomogeneity during Cross-Linking Polymerization

Kinetic gelation models simulate free-radical polymerization on fixed lattices, where propagation and termination reactions are restricted to occur only between nearest neighbors. Here such a model is used with bifunctional sites and with kinetics recast as a Markov process through a stochastic approach. The reaction time is calculated by employing the probability density function and associated Monte Carlo method devised originally by Gillespie. As polymerization proceeds, the evolution of structure is characterized by pair correlation functions of three typesof reacted sites, of doubly reacted sites, and of monomers. These show that as polymerization proceeds, reacted sites and doubly reacted sites come to be distributed more uniformly in space; monomers come to be distributed less uniformly. A higher initiation rate constant, a higher initiator concentration, and a lower propagation rate constant lead to more uniform distribution of reacted sites, of doubly reacted sites, and of monomers. These factors...
The involvement of microtubules in chloroplast rotation in the alga Mougeotia

Abstract We have examined what effect several microtubule inhibitors have on the rate of the light-induced rotation of the chloroplast in the green alga, Mougeotia . The exposure of the algal filaments to colchicine, nocodazole or vinblastine, all microtubule assembly inhibitors, results in rotation appearing normal but with the process occuring in less time. Depending on the compound and the time of exposure, the duration of the re-orientation event could be shortened by more than 50%. When Mougeotia cells were treated with taxol, a microtubule polymerizing agent, rotation could be inhibited completely. Involvement of the microtubules in the chloroplast re-orientation process is suggested.
Magnesium transport in humans with hypomagnesemia.

ABSTRACT The kinetics of radiomagnesium exchange were measured in 9 human subjects with moderate hypomagnesemia and 1 normomagnesemic patient with demonstrated magnesium deficiency. Eight of the 10 patients were alcoholics with associated hepatic dysfunction and disturbances in the plasma concentrations of other electrolytes as well as hypomagnesemia. Three normomagnesemic patients with alcoholism and hepatic cirrhosis were also studied. A digital computer program utilizing a parallel 3-compartment open model of magnesium exchange was employed for quantitation of the primary data. At the time of study, 2–9 weeks after hospital admission, normal kinetics of magnesium exchange were found in almost all subjects. The data also indicated that conventionally calculated apparent exchangeable body pools of magnesium show a borderline correlation with computer derived values for the exchangeability of magnesium and are therefore not reliable parameters of magnesium turnover. Despite moderate hypomagnesemia and/or ...
Influence of pulsatile perfusion preservation on outcomes in kidney transplantation from expanded criteria donors.

Background Expanded criteria donors (ECDs) increase the donor organ pool, but the value of transplanting these kidneys has been questioned because of concerns about diminished survival, poorer renal function, and higher rates of delayed graft function. Study Design Retrospective analysis of intermediate-term outcomes in ECD kidney transplantations according to method of preservation at a single center using a standardized approach. Results Over a 5-year period, we performed 141 donations-after-brain-death ECD kidney transplantations into adult recipients. A total of 114 kidneys (81%) were managed with combined cold-storage and pulsatile perfusion preservation (PPP), and the remaining 27 (19%) were preserved with cold storage (CS). The PPP group had a higher proportion of kidneys preserved for longer than 30 hours (28% versus 0, p Conclusions Despite longer cold ischemia times, recipients of ECD kidneys managed with PPP had similar survival and functional outcomes, but experienced a marked reduction in the rate of delayed graft function.
Computer simulations of the wiggler spectrum

The amount of structure seen in the wiggler spectrum, particularly at energies below the critical energy, depends on several parameters such as the beam emittance, magnetic field errors and the amount of tapering of the device. Simulations will be presented using the proposed Wiggler A at the Advanced Photon Source, which may be operated both in the undulator regime and the wiggler regime. A simple description of the wiggler spectrum is presented that emphasizes the importance of the magnitude of the deflection parameter K in practical computer simulations. Results will be given for the on-axis angular flux density for K between 6 and about 8, and comparison will be made with the bending magnet approximation. It is verified that a small beam emittance will not completely smooth fluctuations in the spectrum, even for energies well above the critical energy, for an otherwise ideal insertion device. It is shown that a small gap-taper dramatically smears the harmonics and provides a bending-magnet-type spectrum well below the critical energy. The importance of being able to simulate random magnetic field errors is addressed.
Detection of an Fe2+−Protoporphyrin-IX Intermediate during Aspirin-Treated Prostaglandin H2 Synthase II Catalysis of Arachidonic Acid to 15-HETE†,‡

Spectral intermediates associated with the dioxygenase and peroxidase activities of prostaglandin H2 (PGH2) synthase I and II were monitored by stopped-flow spectrometry. During reactions of PGH2 synthase I with arachidonic acid (AA) and ethyl hydrogen peroxide (EtOOH), compound I (Fe5+; formally (protoporphyrin-IX) x +Fe4+=O) and compound II (Fe4+; formally (protoporphyrin-IX)Fe4+=O) were detected. These intermediates were observed sooner with EtOOH (within 50 ms) than with AA (within 200 ms). Compound I and compound II were found to be kinetically competent with respect to AA-dependent O2 uptake. These findings are consistent with a mechanism in which peroxidative cleavage precedes AA dioxygenation. During reactions with PGH2 synthase II with AA, compound I and compound II were again observed within 200 ms and were kinetically competent to participate in dioxygenation. However, during reactions of PGH2 synthase II with EtOOH, compound I and compound II were detected much later (after 10 s). These findings would be inconsistent with a mechanism in which peroxidative cleavage precedes AA dioxygenation. When aspirin-treated PGH2 synthase II was reacted with EtOOH, a normal peroxidase cycle occurred with compound I and compound II formation occurring over 10 s. However, when aspirin-treated PGH2 synthase II was reacted with AA, a unique spectral intermediate with lambda(max) at 446 nm was detected within 3 ms and was strikingly similar to ferrous (Fe2+) protoporphyrin-IX. Aspirin-treated PGH2 synthase II was found to produce 15-HETE, and the appearance of the Fe2+ intermediate (within 3 ms) indicated that it was kinetically competent to participate in the 15-dioxygenation event. The detection of this Fe2+ intermediate and the slow formation of compound I and compound II observed with EtOOH in PGH2 synthase II suggest that peroxidative cleavage is not the initiating event in dioxygenation. Instead, it is proposed that the reduction of Fe3+ in heme to Fe2+ oxidizes a peroxide to yield an initiating peroxy radical. Since it is unlikely that 11- and 15-dioxygenation occurs via different mechanisms, our findings question mechanisms of catalysis in both PGH2 synthases.
An innovative and multi-functional smart vibration platform

Recently, there has been increasing efforts to incorporate vibration damping or energy dissipation mechanisms into civil structures, particularly by using smart materials technologies. Although papers about structural vibration control using smart materials have been published for more than two decades, there has been little research in developing teaching equipment to introduce smart materials to students via in-classroom demonstration or hands-on experiments. In this paper, an innovative and multi-functional smart vibration platform (SVP) has been developed by the Smart Materials and Structures Laboratory at the University of Houston to demonstrate vibration control techniques using multiple smart materials for educational and research purposes. The vibration is generated by a motor with a mass imbalance mounted on top of the frame. Shape memory alloys (SMA) and magneto-rheological (MR) fluid are used to increase the stiffness and damping ratio, respectively, while a piezoceramic sensor (lead zirconate titanate, or PZT) is used as a vibration sensing device. An electrical circuit has been designed to control the platform in computer-control or manual mode through the use of knobs. The former mode allows for an automated demonstration, while the latter requires the user to manually adjust the stiffness and damping ratio of the frame. In addition, the system accepts network connections and can be used in a remote experiment via the internet. This platform has great potential to become an effective tool for teaching vibration control and smart materials technologies to students in civil, mechanical and electrical engineering for both education and research purposes.
A method for continuous estimation of clear‐sky downwelling longwave radiative flux developed using ARM surface measurements

We present a methodology for the continuous estimation of downwelling clear-sky longwave (LW) radiative flux based on analysis of surface irradiance, air temperature, and humidity measurements. While there is no exact means of determining the uncertainty associated with the clear-sky LW estimations, our analyses and comparison with detailed radiative transfer model calculations suggest that our estimations on average are no worse than model calculations that require temporally and spatially averaged input information. Our technique exhibits a high degree of repeatability for the downwelling LW cloud effect, with agreement at about the 3 Wm-2 level even including the results for a measurement system with a known calibration offset problem. Applying our technique, as well as that of Long and Ackerman (2000) for the shortwave (SW) radiative flux, to 15 years of data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Southern Great Plains site shows that the maximum downwelling LW lags the SW maximum by about a month on yearly time scales, and by about 3 hours diurnally. The maximum all-sky and clear-sky SW and LW occurs during the summer months, with the greatest year-to-year clear-sky SW variability occurring in the fall, but the yearto-year clear- and all-sky LW variability is about themore » same in all seasons. The downwelling LW cloud effect is fairly constant in the aggregate across the seasons, but the greatest SW cloud effect occurs in the spring. Overall, the downwelling net cloud effect is dominated by the SW, with the greatest decrease in radiative energy reaching the surface due to clouds occurring in the spring (-64 Wm-2), and the smallest magnitude net cloud effect occurring during winter (-21 Wm-2).« less
Integration of a Chemical-Responsive Hydrogel into a Porous Silicon Photonic Sensor for Visual Colorimetric Readout.

The incorporation of a chemo-responsive hydrogel into a 1D photonic porous silicon (PSi) transducer is demonstrated. A versatile hydrogel backbone is designed via the synthesis of an amine-functionalized polyacrylamide copolymer where further amine-specific biochemical reactions can enable control of cross-links between copolymer chains based on complementary target–probe systems. As an initial demonstration, the incorporation of disulfide chemistry to control cross-linking of this hydrogel system within a PSi Bragg mirror sensor is reported. Direct optical monitoring of a characteristic peak in the white light reflectivity spectrum of the incorporated PSi Bragg mirror facilitates real-time detection of the hydrogel dissolution in response to the target analyte (reducing agent) over a timescale of minutes. The hybrid sensor response characteristics are shown to systematically depend on hydrogel cross-linking density and applied target analyte concentration. Additionally, effects due to responsive hydrogel confinement in a porous template are shown to depend on pore size and architecture of the PSi transducer substrate. Sufficient copolymer and water is removed from the PSi transducer upon dissolution and drying of the hydrogel to induce color changes that can be detected by the unaided eye. This highlights the potential for future development for point-of-care diagnostic biosensing.
Production of weak-interaction bosons in high-energy proton-proton collisions

Assuming the validity of the Drell-Yan, parton-antiparton annihilation mechanism, we estimate the cross sections for production in inelastic proton-proton scattering of the massive bosons that populate the various gauge models of weak interactiobs: charged and neutral vectors (W±, Z0) and neutral “Higgs” scalars (o). Presently available data imply MZ ⪆ 13 GeV but give no useful bound on MW. These bounds can be substantially improved by future experiments at the ISR.
Pathologic complete response in breast cancer patients receiving anthracycline- and taxane-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy: evaluating the effect of race/ethnicity.

BACKGROUND: The current study was conducted to evaluate the influence of race/ethnicity and tumor subtype in pathologic complete response (pCR) following treatment with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: A total of 2074 patients diagnosed with breast cancer between 1994 and 2008 who were treated with neoadjuvant anthracycline- and taxane-based chemotherapy were included. pCR was defined as no residual invasive cancer in the breast and axilla. The Kaplan-Meier product-limit was used to calculate survival outcomes. Cox proportional hazards models were fitted to determine the relationship of patient and tumor variables with outcome. RESULTS: The median patient age was 50 years; 14.6% of patients were black, were 15.2% Hispanic, 64.3% were white, and 5.9% were of other race. There were no differences in pCR rates among race/ethnicity (12.3% in black, 14.2% in Hispanics, 12.3% in whites, and 11.5% in others, P = .788). Lack of pCR, breast cancer subtype, grade 3 tumors, and lymphovascular invasion were associated with worse recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) (P ≤ .0001). Differences in RFS by race/ethnicity were noted in the patients with hormone receptor-positive disease (P = .007). On multivariate analysis, Hispanics had improved RFS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.69; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.49-0.97) and OS (HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.41-0.97); blacks had a trend toward worse outcomes (RFS: HR, 1.28 [95% CI, 0.97-1.68] and OS: HR, 1.32 [95% CI, 0.97-1.81]) when compared with whites. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of patients, race/ethnicity was not found to be significantly associated with pCR rates. On a multivariate analysis, improved outcomes were observed in Hispanics and a trend toward worse outcomes in black patients, when compared with white patients. Further research was needed to explore the potential differences in biology and outcomes. Cancer 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society.
Discriminant efficiency of antisocial and borderline personality disorder criteria in Hispanic men with substance use disorders

The authors examined the discriminant efficiency of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition ( DSM-IV ) criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD) and antisocial personality disorder (APD). Subjects were 74 men admitted to an outpatient substance abuse program for monolingual Hispanic adults. All were reliably assessed with the Spanish-language version of the Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders. Conditional probabilities were calculated to determine the diagnostic efficiency and discriminant efficiency of BPD and APD symptoms. Twenty-five (34%) subjects met diagnostic criteria for BPD, and 16 (22%) met criteria for APD. The diagnostic co-occurrence of these disorders was statistically significant. Whereas the diagnostic efficiency of the BPD criterion set was comparable to that reported in other clinical studies, these criteria were not significantly more efficient in diagnosing BPD than APD. By contrast, the APD criteria were more efficient in diagnosing APD than BPD; this was true for both the "adult" and the "conduct disorder" APD criterion subsets. In male Hispanic outpatients with substance use disorders, BPD and APD show significant diagnostic overlap. The APD criteria are useful in discriminating these 2 disorders, whereas the BPD criteria are not. These findings have implications for the discriminant validity of the BPD and APD criteria and support the value of the conduct disorder criteria in predicting APD in adulthood.
Blind polarimetric calibration of ultrawideband SAR imagery

Polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery is susceptible to degradation because of variations in transmit and receiver antenna patterns and hardware limitations on achievable polarimetric isolation. A number of polarimetric calibration procedures have been developed to compensate for these effects. However, most of these techniques were formulated with narrowband radar systems in mind. The few that are applicable to ultrawideband (UWB) SAR depend on very high quality antenna measurements or detailed electromagnetic scattering models of test targets. In this paper we develop and implement a blind polarimetric equalization (BPE) procedure suitable for UWB SAR. BPE uses second-order statistics from clutter and targets of opportunity to derive parameters describing the polarimetric response of the radar system. Knowledge of these parameters permits the removal of crosstalk and the correction of imbalances between the polarimetric channels. While not a complete calibration solution, BPE is shown to greatly simplify any subsequent calibration procedure. For UWB applications BPE is implemented as a series of frequency domain operations, a feature that sets this approach apart from previously reported clutter calibration algorithms. The performance of the technique was verified using narrowband inverse SAR measurements, UWB SAR simulations, and UWB SAR data collected by the Army Research Laboratory's BoomSAR system.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Prediction of polyethylene melt rheological properties from molecular weight distribution data obtained by gel permeation chromatography

A method is presented for predicting rheological characteristics, such as shear dependent (non-Newtonian) viscosity and components of linear oscillatory (complex) response functions for polyethylene melts from molecular weight distribution data obtained from gel permeation chromatographic (GPC) analysis. The results are compared with measured values of the rheological functions obtained from a variety of instruments over an extensive range of shear rates-and frequencies. The agreement between predicted and measured rheological functions is quite good for high density resins. However, for a low density resin the agreement is not as good, although still reasonable over a considerable range of conditions. It is concluded that the quality of the GPC data is the key factor in the degree of success of the method.
Interface science of controlled metal/metal and metal/ceramic interfaces prepared using ultrahigh vacuum diffusion bonding

We have designed, constructed, and are operating a unique capability for the production of highly controlled homophase and heterophase interfaces: an ultrahigh vacuum diffusion bonding machine. This machine is based on a previous design which is operating at the Max Planck Institut fur Metallforschung, Institut fur Werkstoff wissenschaft, Stuttgart, FRG. In this method, flat-polished single or polycrystals of materials with controlled surface topography can be heat treated up to 1500°C in ultrahigh vacuum. Surfaces of annealed samples can be sputter cleaned and characterized prior to bonding. Samples can then be precisely aligned crystallographically to obtain desired grain boundary misorientations. Material couples can then be bonded at temperatures up to 1500°C and pressures up to 10 MPa. Results are presented from our initial work on Mo grain boundaries and Cu/Al2O3 interfaces.
Personality and Perceptual Correlates of Primary Beginning Strokes in Handwriting

The term, ~ecottdmy beginning stroke, was introduced by Epscein and Hartford (1757) to identify the initial upstroke in handwriting that is frequently found on words beginning with the small letters u, u, w, and y (see Fig. Although the secondary beginning stroke continues to be taught in nearly every modern system of cursive writing, it constitutes an addition to the "essential letter form" (Lewinson & Zubin, 1742) and is superfluous for purposes of legibility. W e can observe that a tendency to eliminate rhe secondary beginning stroke often develops with age and with writing experience.
C(8)-substituted 1-azabicyclo[3.3.1]non-3-enes: a novel scaffold for muscarinic receptor ligands.

Abstract The [3.3.1]-bicyclic amine, exo -8-benzyloxymethyl-3-ethoxycarbonyl-4-hydroxy-1-azabicyclo[3.3.1]non-3-ene ( 1 ), has been shown to be a potent competitive antagonist against the hM 1 –hM 5 muscarinic receptors. This heterocyclic system has not been extensively evaluated despite the notable activities reported for other bicyclic amines. Synthetic strategies permitted the selective alteration of five structural sites in 1 . Pharmacological evaluation demonstrated that modification of either the C(3) alkoxycarbonyl or the C(4) enol units in 1 gave compounds with high affinity for the hM 1 –hM 5 muscarinic receptors with selectivity for the hM 2 receptor.
Cushing's Syndrome Attributable to Ectopic Secretion of Corticotropin in a Patient with Two Neuroendocrine Tumors

Objective: To report a case of ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) syndrome (EAS) in a patient with two distinct neuroendocrine tumors and to highlight the difficulties of establishing the differential diagnosis of EAS.Methods: We describe the clinical presentation of the current case, discuss its management, and report the results of molecular studies undertaken to determine whether the two tumors had a common origin.Results: A 52-year-old woman presented with obvious features of Cushing's syndrome. Findings on hormonal evaluation were consistent with EAS. Pituitary magnetic resonance imaging revealed normal findings. Computed tomographic imaging disclosed two masses, one in the lung and one in the pancreas. Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy showed uptake only in the pancreatic mass, which was surgically removed. It was a well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor, with negative immunostaining for ACTH. Hypercortisolemia did not resolve after removal of the pancreatic tumor. The lung mass was subse...
Distribution and characterization of iron in implanted silicon carbide

Analytical electron microscopy (AEM) and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy-ion channeling (RBS-C) have been used to characterize single crystal {alpha}-silicon carbide implanted at room temperature with 160 keV {sup 57}Fe ions to fluences of 1, 3, and 6 {times} 10{sup 16} ions/cm{sup 2}. Best correlations among AEM, RBS, and TRIM calculations were obtained assuming a density of the amorphized implanted regions equal to that of crystalline SiC. No iron-rich precipitates or clusters were detected by AEM. Inspection of the electron energy loss fine structure for iron in the implanted specimens suggests that the iron is not metallically-bonded, supporting conclusions from earlier conversion electron Moessbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) studies. In-situ annealing surprisingly resulted in crystallization at 600{degrees}C with some redistribution of the implanted iron.
Induction of Cell Signaling Events by the Cholera Toxin B Subunit in Antigen-Presenting Cells

Cholera toxin (CT) is one of the most effective and widely studied mucosal adjuvants. Although the ADP-ribosylating A subunit has been implicated in augmenting immune responses, the receptor-binding B subunit (CT-B) has greater immunogenicity and may be a repository of adjuvant activity without potential toxicity. In order to elucidate mechanisms of immune modulation by CT-B alone, primary B cells and macrophages were assessed for responses to CT-B in vitro, as measured by the expression of cell surface markers, cellular signaling events, and cytokine secretion. Increased phosphorylation of multiple signaling molecules, including Erk1/2 and p38, was detected. CT-B also induced transactivation of the transcription elements cyclic AMP-responsive element and NF-κB, the latter of which was inhibited by phosphotyrosine inhibition. While specific inhibition of MEK1/2 did not reduce CT-B induction of cell surface marker expression, it did attenuate CT-B-mediated interleukin-6 secretion. These data show that CT-B induces a set of signaling events related to cellular activation, surface molecule expression, and cytokine production that has potential implications for elucidating CT-B adjuvant activity in the absence of enzymatically active holotoxin.
Keynote: Variation-tolerant adaptive and resilient designs in nanoscale CMOS

Summary form only given, as follows. Process, voltage and temperature (PVT) variations pose major challenges to achieving energy-efficient performance in multi-core & many-core processors and SoC designs in nanoscale CMOS. Aging-induced transistor and interconnect degradations limit power and performance. Impacts of variations and aging are further aggravated in the Near-Threshold Voltage (NTV) operating regime where energy efficiency peaks. Interconnect delays are becoming bottlenecks to efficient global communications across the die. We will discuss variation-tolerant logic and memory design techniques that enable robust operation in nanoscale CMOS. We will present voltage-frequency adaptation and resiliency schemes that can mitigate impacts of dynamic variations and aging. Many-core processor designs that use a mesochronous Network-on-Chip (NoC) mesh to overcome clock distribution and global interconnect challenges will be presented. Opportunities offered by fully asynchronous designs to further improve tolerance to extreme variations will be discussed.
Resonant reflection of surface water waves by periodic sandbars

One of the possible mechanisms of forming offshore sandbars parallel to a coast is the wave-induced mass transport in the boundary layer near the sea bottom. For this mechanism to be effective, sufficient reflection must be present so that the waves are partially standing. The main part of this paper is to explain a theory that strong reflection can be induced by the sandbars themselves, once the so-called Bragg resonance condition is met. For constant mean depth and simple harmonic waves this resonance has been studied by Davies (1982), whose theory, is however, limited to weak reflection and fails at resonance. Comparison of the strong reflection theory with Heathershaw's (1982) experiments is made. Furthermore, if the incident waves are slightly detuned or slowly modulated in time, the scattering process is found to depend critically on whether the modulational frequency lies above or below a threshold frequency. The effects of mean beach slope are also studied. In addition, it is found for periodically modulated wave groups that nonlinear effects can radiate long waves over the bars far beyond the reach of the short waves themselves. Finally it is argued that the breakpoint bar of ordinary size formed by plunging breakers can provide enough reflection to initiate the first few bars, thereby setting the stage for resonant reflection for more bars.
The Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT)--importance then and now.

The 356 222 men aged 35 to 57 years, who were free of a history of hospitalization for myocardial infarction, screened by the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT) in its recruitment effort, constitute the largest cohort with standardized serum cholesterol measurements and long-term mortality follow-up. For each five-year age group, the relationship between serum cholesterol and coronary heart disease (CHD) death rate was continuous, graded, and strong. For the entire group aged 35 to 57 years at entry, the age-adjusted risks of CHD death in cholesterol quintiles 2 through 5 (182 to 202, 203 to 220, 221 to 244, and ≥245 mg/dL [4.71 to 5.22, 5.25 to 5.69, 5.72 to 6.31, and ≥6.34 mmol/L]) relative to the lowest quintile were 1.29, 1.73, 2.21, and 3.42. Of all CHD deaths, 46% were estimated to be excess deaths attributable to serum cholesterol levels 180 mg/dL or greater (≥4.65 mmol/L), with almost half the excess deaths in serum cholesterol quintiles 2 through 4. The pattern of a continuous, graded, strong relationship between serum cholesterol and six-year age-adjusted CHD death rate prevailed for nonhypertensive nonsmokers, nonhypertensive smokers, hypertensive nonsmokers, and hypertensive smokers. These data of high precision show that the relationship between serum cholesterol and CHD is not a threshold one, with increased risk confined to the two highest quintiles, but rather is a continuously graded one that powerfully affects risk for the great majority of middle-aged American men.See PDF for full text of the original JAMA article.
Modeling Drug Mechanism Knowledge Using Evidence and Truth Maintenance

To protect the safety of patients, it is vital that researchers find methods for representing drug mechanism knowledge that support making clinically relevant drug-drug interaction (DDI) predictions. Our research aims to identify the challenges of representing and reasoning with drug mechanism knowledge and to evaluate potential informatics solutions to these challenges through the process of developing a knowledge-based system capable of predicting clinically relevant DDIs that occur via metabolic mechanisms. In previous work, we designed a simple, rule-based, model of metabolic inhibition and induction and applied it to a database containing assertions about 267 drugs. This pilot system taught us that drug mechanism knowledge is often dynamic, missing, or uncertain. In this paper, we propose methods to address these properties of mechanism knowledge and describe a new prototype system, the Drug Interaction Knowledge-base (DIKB), that implements our proposed methods so that we can explore their strengths and limitations. A novel feature of the DIKB is its use of a truth maintenance system to link changes in the evidence support for assertions about drug properties to the set of interactions and non-interactions the system predicts.
Role of Osteocyte-derived Insulin-Like Growth Factor I in Developmental Growth, Modeling, Remodeling, and Regeneration of the Bone

The osteocyte has long been considered to be the primary mechanosensory cell in the bone. Recent evidence has emerged that the osteocyte is also a key regulator of various bone and mineral metabolism and that its regulatory effects are in part mediated through locally produced osteocyte-derived factors, such as sclerostin, receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL), and fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-23. Osteocytes secrete large amounts of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I in bone. Although IGF-I produced locally by other bone cells, such as osteoblasts and chondrocytes, has been shown to play important regulatory roles in bone turnover and developmental bone growth, the functional role of osteocyte-derived IGF-I in the bone and mineral metabolism has not been investigated and remains unclear. However, results of recent studies in osteocyte Igf1 conditional knockout transgenic mice have suggested potential regulatory roles of osteocyte-derived IGF-I in various aspects of bone and mineral metabolism. In this review, evidence supporting a regulatory role for osteocyte-derived IGF-I in the osteogenic response to mechanical loading, the developmental bone growth, the bone response to dietary calcium depletion and repletion, and in fracture repair is discussed. A potential coordinated regulatory relationship between the effect of osteocyte-derived IGF-I on bone size and the internal organ size is also proposed.
Regulation of the Bacterial Cell Wall: Isolation and Characterization of Peptidoglycan Mutants of Staphylococcus aureus

Temperature-sensitive mutants of Staphylococcus aureus H which require 1.0 m NaCl for growth at 42 C can be divided into two major classes. Most of the mutants (class A) do not accumulate nucleotide precursors of cell wall biosynthesis in the absence of salt at the nonpermissive temperatures, whereas the class B mutants accumulate these precursors. The most extensively studied mutant RUS 1 (carrying peg-1) is defective in biosynthesis of peptidoglycan at the nonpermissive conditions as evidenced by: (i) reduced incorporation of cell wall precursors into peptidoglycan; (ii) accumulation of the nucleotide, uridine diphosphate (UDP) muramyl-l-alanyl-d-glutamic acid; (iii) reduced specific activity of UDP N-acetylmuramyl (MurNAc)-l-alanyl-d-glutamate: l-lysine ligase (EC 6.3.2.7); and (iv) an increased susceptibility to lysis with sodium dodecyl sulfate. Addition of 1.0 m NaCl reverses these defects with the exception of the specific activity of UDP-MurNAc-l-alanyl-d-glutamate: l-lysine ligase. Nevertheless, the structure of the cell wall is normal at the nonpermissive conditions if 1.0 m NaCl is present. An alteration in the binding of a fluorescent dye, 8-anilino-1-napthalene-4-sulfonic acid at the nonpermissive conditions in the absence of 1.0 m NaCl suggests that there may also be defects in the membrane in this strain.
Improved electrical and dielectric properties of La-doped Co ferrite

We report on the enhanced dielectric constant and electrical resistivity of the Co-ferrite (CoO.Fe2O3) by partially substituting Fe with La. Structural characteristics of La-doped Co ferrite namely CoO.Fe1.925La0.075O3 indicate the cubic inverse spinel phase with a small amount of LaFeO3 additional phase. The lattice parameter obtained is 8.401 A (±0.001 A), which is higher than that reported for Co ferrite (8.387 A, ±0.001 A). The dielectric constant and electrical resistivity of CoO.Fe1.925La0.075O3 are higher compared with pure Co ferrite. The dielectric constant dispersion of CoO.Fe1.925La0.075O3 in the frequency range of 100 Hz to 1 MHz fits to the modified Debye’s function with more than one ion contributing to the relaxation. Temperature-dependent electrical resistivity curves exhibit two distinct regions indicative of two different types of conduction mechanisms. Analysis of the data indicates that the small polaron and variable-range hopping mechanisms are operative in the 220 to 300 K and 160 to 220 K temperature regions, respectively.
Accurate Prediction of Stability Changes in Bacteriophage T4 Lysozyme upon Single Amino Acid Replacements

A computational mutagenesis methodology utilizing a four-body, knowledge-based, statistical contact potential is applied toward quantifying sequence-structure compatibility changes in bacteriophage T4 lysozyme upon single amino acid replacements. We show that these scalar scores correlate with experimentally measured stability changes to the protein due to the mutations. For each mutant, the approach also generates a vector of environmental perturbations occurring at every position in the protein. Implementation of the random forest algorithm, utilizing 521 experimental T4 lysozyme mutants each represented by its respective perturbation vector, correctly classifies mutants based on the direction of stability change with 88% cross-validation accuracy and 0.70 Matthew’s correlation coefficient while achieving 0.91 area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Learning curves are presented and reveal the dependence of training set size on model performance. The trained random forest model is used to infer stability changes for all remaining unexplored T4 lysozyme mutants.
Electron-Beam Moiré Study Of Local Deformation In Conductive Adhesives

Electron-beam (e-beam) moire is a recently developed technique for micro-mechanics. It allows one to combine the resolution of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) with the strain measurement capabilities of moire. With e-beam moire we are able to study locally the effect of temperatures ranging between −50 and 150 °C on conductive adhesives (CAs) and their interfaces. With this technique we measured the local displacements due to the thermal expansion of the copper and the CA. The modified lap-shear specimens were made of copper-to-copper attached with CAs and cured according to the manufacturer’s instructions. A cross section of each material was polished and a moire grating was written on the surface using e-beam lithography techniques. Digital images of the moire were collected from the SEM at regular temperature intervals. The images were compared and the displacements measured. Local regions of large displacements were observed in the paste specimen. Permanent deformations in the film specimen resulted from exceeding the glass transition temperature of the CA.
Design of reconfigurable composite microsystems based on hardware/software codesign principles

Composite microsystems that integrate mechanical and fluidic components with electronics are emerging as the next generation of system-on-a-chip. Custom microsystems are expensive, inflexible, and unsuitable for high-volume production. The authors address this problem by leveraging hardware/software codesign principles to design reconfigurable composite microsystems. They partition the system design parameters into nonreconfigurable and reconfigurable categories. In this way, operational flexibility is enhanced and the microsystems are designed for a wider range of application. In addition, the Taguchi robust design method is used to make the system robust, and response surface methodologies are used to explore the widest performance range for the system. A case study is presented for a microvalve, which serves as a representative microelectrofluidic device.
Reflections on the Experiences of Learning with Dr. Malcolm Shepherd Knowles

Malcolm S. Knowles stands as a giant catalyst at the juncture—past, present, and future— of andragogy (the art and science of helping adults learn) within the field of Adult Education and Human Resource Development. For more than 50 years until his death in 1997, Malcolm devoted his personal and professional life to exemplifying the theory and practice of andragogy: as a speaker to audiences of 10,000 or less; as a university professor with a multiplicity of adult learners (his students); as a consultant to numerous institutions and corporations in countries around the world; as a writer of 19 books and 225 articles; and, as a very caring human being for any person with whom he happened to be meeting. I observed him being sought out at national conferences, studied with him in my doctoral program, and worked with him in various educational settings. Malcolm was just Malcolm through and through. I believe Dusan Savicevic (from whom Malcolm got the concept of andragogy) is right when he said that the world-wide history of andragogy will put Knowles on a meritorious place in the development of this scientific discipline.
Culture and the Politics of Signification: The Case of Child Sexual Abuse

Social problems and issues may be signified in a number of ways, and social actors often struggle to imbue discussions of social and political issues with different meanings and associations. However, some emotionally charged topics are characterized as “valence” issues and seen as immune from such contestation. This analysis demonstrates that the framing of one valence issue — child sexual abuse — in media discourse has undergone significant transformation. The ability of social actors to contest the construction of this issue highlights the complex and contradictory nature of culture, as well as the importance of agency and contextuality for social problem careers.
Psychophysics of reading. XIV. The page navigation problem in using magnifiers

Most people with low vision require magnification to read. A magnifier's field of view often contains only a few letters at a time. Page navigation is the process by which the reader moves the magnifier from word to word, and from the end of one line to the beginning of the next line. Page navigation takes time and reduces reading speed. The major questions addressed in this paper are: (1) What role does page navigation play in limiting reading speed? and (2) Are the window width requirements for reading (number of characters in the field for a criterion performance level) increased by the need for page navigation? We measured the reading speeds of three normal-vision and seven low-vision subjects in two ways: with drifting-text requiring no page navigation, and with a closed-circuit TV (CCTV) magnifier which required page navigation. We built special hardware to record the location of the CCTV's magnified field in the text. These recordings were used to separate forward-reading time (left-to-right movement through the text) from retrace time (navigational movement). For normal-vision subjects, forward-reading and retrace times were about equal. For low-vision subjects, retrace times were shorter than forward-reading times, indicating that the forward-reading performance was limited by visual, not navigational, demands. The retrace time did have an impact, however, ranging from 17 to 50% of the overall time. The window requirements for reading with page navigation (CCTV) were larger than those for reading without page navigation (drifting-text). The difference was more than a factor of three for normal-vision subjects and close to a factor of two for low-vision subjects (10 characters for CCTV vs 5.2 characters for drifting-text for 85% of maximum reading speed.
Measuring a Utility-Scale Turbine Wake Using the TTUKa Mobile Research Radars

AbstractObservations of the wake generated by a single utility-scale turbine and collected by the Texas Tech University Ka-band mobile research radars on 27 October 2011 are introduced. Remotely sensed turbine wake observations using lidar technology have proven effective; however, the presented radar capabilities provide a larger observational footprint and greater along-beam resolution than current scanning lidar systems. Plan-position indicator and range–height indicator scanning techniques are utilized to produce various wake analyses. Preliminary analyses confirm radial velocity and wind speed deficits immediately downwind of the turbine hub to be on the order of 50%. This introduction lays the groundwork for more in-depth analyses of wake structure and evolution using the Texas Tech University Ka-band radar systems, including wake meandering and wake-to-wake interaction in large wind park deployments.