cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Public health dentistry pioneer : Alfred kantorowicz in exile from nazi rule

This paper discusses a dimly-lit and largely unknown time in the life of a great pediatric and public health dentistry pioneer. Alfred Kantorowicz survived extermination thanks to the fact that in 1933, Turkey began to reform its higher education using invitees fleeing the Nazis and for whom America was out of reach because of restrictive immigration laws and widespread anti-Semitic hiring policies at its universities. Kantorowicz introduced public health dentistry to Turkey years before it was practiced in the United States.
Planning Manpower Education and Economic Growth

This paper deals with the planning of manpower hours between study and work in order to maximise the growth of an economic system. The focus of the paper is the central planning agency of the economy, which takes into account the relationship of education and technical skill to productivity. Our results can indicate guidelines for education, which can be applied more or less stringently, according to the degree of centralisation of the system.
Secondary protective control for mitigation of protection misoperations in electric power systems

This paper investigates the feasibility of a selective secondary protective control strategy proposed to maximize the likelihood of recovery from misoperations of the existing (primary) protection in a power system. A scalable stochastic discrete-state model is established, taking into consideration of the processes of protection misoperations and their mitigations. Such misoperations have been a main culprit of cascading failures in modern power systems. The likelihood of recovery from protection misoperations is quantified by a set of security indices that formally incorporate the uncertain knowledge of the continuous-state of rotor angles/speed deviations of synchronous generators and that of the discrete-state of equipment faults and primary protection misoperations. The proposed secondary protection leverages on the ever more available time-synchronized samples of networked sensors for diagnosis and fault-tolerant control to cost effectively improving power system reliability without altering the existing protection system. The technology readiness for implementing the secondary protective control is examined through a three-area test system.
Low-Temperature Magnetotransport in InAs-GaSb Quantum Wells

We report measurements of the magneto and Hall resistance in GaSb-InAs-GaSb heterostructures at magnetic fields up to 28T and temperatures as low as 0.005K. In addition to the quantized Hall effect, extraordinary structures are observed, which cannot be accounted for in the framework of fractional Hall quantization present in one-carrier systems. These new features are attributed to the uniqueness of the InAs-GaSb system, where two-dimensional electrons and holes coexist.
The Career Connection—Foreign Languages as a Career Asset: The Importance of Foreign Language Knowledge and Intercultural Competence

While our national and economic security are critical to all citizens, our individual careers are also important to us individually. Foreign language skills can be a considerable career asset, providing the professional edge in a broad spectrum of careers. In addition to this ongoing public conversation about the importance of foreign language skills for our national and economic security, the importance of foreign language skills for individual careers cannot be overstated. Foreign language skills open the door to a wide range of career and employment opportunities, from language services and education, to the government, military, business, and the private sector. Careers in the export sector and within foreign-owned companies operating within the U.S. are also part of the broader employment picture that needs to be considered.
Classical testing in functional linear models

We extend four tests common in classical regression – Wald, score, likelihood ratio and F tests – to functional linear regression, for testing the null hypothesis, that there is no association betw...
Diagnosis and treatment of guillain-barre syndrome.

Clinical diagnosis of Guillain Barre Syndrome begins with complaints of symmetric weakness, and absence of deep tendon reflexes on examination. The clinical diagnosis is confirmed by cerebrospinal fluid analysis and nerve conduction studies. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Color Richness in Cephalopod Chromatophores Originating from High Refractive Index Biomolecules

Cephalopods are arguably one of the most photonically sophisticated marine animals, as they can rapidly adapt their dermal color and texture to their surroundings using both structural and pigmentary coloration. Their chromatophore organs facilitate this process, but the molecular mechanism potentiating color change is not well understood. We hypothesize that the pigments, which are localized within nanostructured granules in the chromatophore, enhance the scattering of light within the dermal tissue. To test this, we extracted the phenoxazone-based pigments from the chromatophore and extrapolated their complex refractive index (RI) from experimentally determined real and approximated imaginary portions of the RI. Mie theory was used to calculate the absorbance and scattering cross sections (cm2/particle) across a broad diameter range at λ = 589 nm. We observed that the pigments were more likely to scatter attenuated light than absorb it and that these characteristics may contribute to the color richness ...
High-level planner synthesis for whole-body locomotion in unstructured environments

Contact-based decision and planning methods are increasingly being sought for task execution in humanoid robots. However, formal methods from the verification and synthesis communities have not been yet incorporated into the motion planning sequence for complex mobility behaviors in humanoid robots. This study takes a step toward formally synthesizing high-level reactive task planners for whole-body locomotion in unstructured environments. We formulate a two-player temporal logic game between the contact planner and its possibly adversarial environment. The resulting discrete planner satisfies the given task specifications expressed in a fragment of temporal logic. The resulting commands are executed by a low-level 3D phase-space motion planner algorithm. We devise various low-level locomotion modes based on centroidal momentum dynamics. Provable correctness of the low-level execution of the synthesized discrete task planner is guaranteed through the so-called simulation relations. Simulations of dynamic locomotion in unstructured environments support the effectiveness of the hierarchical planner protocol.
Modular probes for enriching and detecting complex nucleic acid sequences

Complex DNA sequences are difficult to detect and profile, but are important contributors to human health and disease. Existing hybridization probes lack the capability to selectively bind and enrich hypervariable, long or repetitive sequences. Here, we present a generalized strategy for constructing modular hybridization probes (M-Probes) that overcomes these challenges. We demonstrate that M-Probes can tolerate sequence variations of up to 7 nt at prescribed positions while maintaining single nucleotide sensitivity at other positions. M-Probes are also shown to be capable of sequence-selectively binding a continuous DNA sequence of more than 500 nt. Furthermore, we show that M-Probes can detect genes with triplet repeats exceeding a programmed threshold. As a demonstration of this technology, we have developed a hybrid capture method to determine the exact triplet repeat expansion number in the Huntington's gene of genomic DNA using quantitative PCR. Modular hybridization probes (M-Probes) have been developed that enable sequence-selective binding of complex nucleic acid targets. The M-probes can target sequences that: are hypervariable at prescribed loci, are long continuous sequences of over 500 nucleotides, or contain repetitive sequences. A hybrid-capture assay using the M-probes was developed that was capable of determining the exact triplet repeat expansion number in the Huntington's gene from genomic DNA.
Examining Instructor and Learner Experiences and Attitude Change in a Journalism for Social Change Massive Open Online Course: A Mixed-Methods Case Study:

This study examined instructor and learner experiences in a Journalism for Social Change (JSC) Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) designed to introduce learners around the world to constructive, sol...
Adjunctive Diagnostic Techniques for Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer Discovery

The most important prognostic factor in predicting the outcome of oral and oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is the stage at which it is diagnosed. Only 30% of patients are diagnosed with early-stage disease. The oral health care provider performs an important role in early diagnosis of oral cancer. The conventional oral examination consists of a visual and tactile assessment of accessible oral, and head and neck structures. Any suspicious or equivocal lesion should be reevaluated within 4 weeks. Evidence supporting the use of adjunctive devices to improve the ability to screen for and identify OPCs and oral premalignant lesions remains low.
On Boundary Observation of a Simply Supported Beam via a Backstepping Design

In this paper the first part of a full-state boundary observer for a simply supported Euler-Bernoulli beam is developed using a backstepping method. The fourth order partial differential equation (PDE) system is first transformed into a second order coupled system using a variable transformation available in the literature. The feedback information available to the observer is limited to only two values related to the slope and the shear force of the beam at one boundary. Using the methods developed in this paper, an observer is derived such that the estimate of the full beam displacement converges exponentially to the actual beam displacement. This is a necessary complement to the feedback control problem, where full state knowledge is required but is practically impossible to measure directly. Due to format restrictions, the full observer will not be presented here, as a complete estimation must be coupled with a secondary observer that recovers information about the initial velocity of the beam. This information cannot be assumed to be known generally, but is taken as a given for the preliminary developments in this paper.
A Luciferase-fluorescent Reporter Influenza Virus for Live Imaging and Quantification of Viral Infection

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) cause human respiratory disease that is associated with significant health and economic consequences. As with other viruses, studying IAV requires the use of laborious secondary approaches to detect the presence of the virus in infected cells and/or in animal models of infection. This limitation has been recently circumvented with the generation of recombinant IAVs expressing easily traceable fluorescent or bioluminescent (luciferase) reporter proteins. However, researchers have been forced to select fluorescent or luciferase reporter genes due to the restricted capacity of the IAV genome for including foreign sequences. To overcome this limitation, we have generated a recombinant replication-competent bi-reporter IAV (BIRFLU) stably expressing both a fluorescent and a luciferase reporter gene to easily track IAV infections in vitro and in vivo. To this end, the viral non-structural (NS) and hemagglutinin (HA) viral segments of influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/34 H1N1 (PR8) were modified to encode the fluorescent Venus and the bioluminescent Nanoluc luciferase proteins, respectively. Here, we describe the use of BIRFLU in a mouse model of IAV infection and the detection of both reporter genes using an in vivo imaging system. Notably, we have observed a good correlation between the expressions of both reporters and viral replication. The combination of cutting-edge techniques in molecular biology, animal research and imaging technologies, provides researchers the unique opportunity to use this tool for influenza research, including the study of virus-host interactions and dynamics of viral infections. Importantly, the feasibility to genetically alter the viral genome to express two foreign genes from different viral segments opens up opportunities to use this approach for: (i) the development of novel IAV vaccines, (ii) the generation of recombinant IAVs that can be used as vaccine vectors for the treatment of other human pathogen infections.
Argumentativeness and Verbal Aggressiveness as Predictors of Partner-Perceptions of Conflict Styles During a Simulated Downsizing Activity

The present study examined how the traits of argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness are associated with perceptions of communication competence and conflict styles during a simulated downsizing activity. Participants were placed into dyads and asked to determine which two out of four employees they should terminate, with each participant being given private motivations for keeping a different pair of employees so that they would initially have incompatible goals. Findings suggest that the concept of argumentativeness is complex and nuanced and that argumentativeness sometimes works with verbal aggressiveness to predict how a person is perceived during decision-making tasks. Additionally, findings illustrate how critical it is to examine both actor and partner effects when studying conflict and decision-making.
Direct Conversion of Biomass Carbohydrates to Platform Chemicals: 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and Furfural

5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural are promising platform molecules which can be converted to fuel intermediates and hydrocarbon fuels. Herein, one-step, direct conversion of the carbohydra...
Adjustment dynamics between broker–dealer leverage and stock market: a threshold cointegration analysis

We empirically investigate the short- and long-run dynamic relationship between security broker–dealer leverage and stock prices. To explore various potential adjustment dynamics, we use the error correction term to construct several threshold indicators that distinguish the deviation from long-run equilibrium. Using these indicators, we estimate different types of threshold cointegration and error correction models and analyze the results in the context of boom and bust cycles in financial markets. Our results show that, in the long run, a 1% increase in the stock price leads to approximately a 0.43% increase in leverage. We show that a momentum autoregressive model with an endogenous threshold does a better job of fitting the financial data. The asymmetric error correction structure shows that changes in leverage experience significant corrective measures when the stock prices plunge during recessions.
Endocytosis of Intestinal Tight Junction Proteins: In Time and Space

Eukaryotic cells take up macromolecules and particles from the surrounding milieu and also internalize membrane proteins via a precise process of endocytosis. The role of endocytosis in diverse physiological processes such as cell adhesion, cell signaling, tissue remodeling, and healing is well recognized. The epithelial tight junctions (TJs), present at the apical lateral membrane, play a key role in cell adhesion and regulation of paracellular pathway. These vital functions of the TJ are achieved through the dynamic regulation of the presence of pore and barrier-forming proteins within the TJ complex on the plasma membrane. In response to various intracellular and extracellular clues, the TJ complexes are actively regulated by intracellular trafficking. The intracellular trafficking consists of endocytosis and recycling cargos to the plasma membrane or targeting them to the lysosomes for degradation. Increased intestinal TJ permeability is a pathological factor in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and the TJ permeability could be increased due to the altered endocytosis or recycling of TJ proteins. This review discusses the current information on endocytosis of intestinal epithelial TJ proteins. The knowledge of the endocytic regulation of the epithelial TJ barrier will provide further understanding of pathogenesis and potential targets for IBD and a wide variety of human disease conditions.
Air Flow Inversion for Enhanced Electronics Cooling in Additively Manufactured Air Channels

In this study, CFD analysis and experimental validation of additively manufactured air cooling channels with enhanced heat rejection through flow inversion was investigated for use in a medium voltage solar inverter. Design methodology implemented revolved around flow isolation in channel groupings divided vertically in orientation to the heat source. By interchanging the flow paths of the top and bottom groups of channels halfway through the length of the channel, relatively cooler air is allowed to flow over the heat source contact region on the back end of the channel. Preliminary CFD analysis was performed, and two designs demonstrating the greatest enhancement of heat removal, as well as a comparable straight channel design for comparison, were manufactured from AlSi10Mg powder using direct metal laser sintering. Experimental validation was performed using a custom air channel to deliver consistent flow conditions with ceramic AC strip heaters providing thermal dissipation into the channel. Thermal profiles were determined through temperature readings taken with type-K thermocouples at key locations on the channel and flow path. Flow inversion channels showed reduced thermal gradients across the simulated dies, over the straight channel design. However, this enhancement of heat removal comes at the cost of additional pressure drop.
Gamblers’ beliefs about responsibility for minimizing gambling harm: Associations with problem gambling screening and gambling involvement

Abstract Increasingly, gambling stakeholders communicate that minimizing gambling harm is a shared societal responsibility. Individual gamblers’ beliefs about responsibility for minimizing gambling harm are worthy of study because these beliefs might influence gambling behavior. In this study, using a sample of casino loyalty program subscribers (N = 4,795), we observed that respondents who had a positive result on a brief gambling disorder screen were more likely than those who screened negative to hold seven stakeholder groups (i.e., scientists, clinicians, casino employees, government regulators, public health officials, casino industry lobbyists, public safety officials) responsible for helping to minimize gambling harm. The sum of stakeholder groups held responsible for minimizing gambling harm, along with beliefs that casinos share responsibility for encouraging responsible gambling behavior, predicted gambling disorder screening status after controlling for established problem gambling risk factors. These results replicated our previous study using a mostly independent sample. Contrary to our expectations, beliefs about responsibility for mitigating gambling harm were mostly unrelated to measures of gambling involvement. These results provided additional support for the notion that those who are at risk for gambling harm are especially likely to hold others responsible for minimizing such harm. However, they call into question the role of gambling involvement in this relationship.
Weed Management Guide for Florida Lawns

Weeds can be defined as unwanted plants or plants growing out of place. Proper identification and some understanding of how and why weeds are present in a lawn are important when selecting the best control strategy. Knowing if weeds were previously present in an area also helps homeowners prepare control measures in the future. Weed control should be a carefully planned and coordinated program.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep141 Previous version: Unruh, Joseph, Ramon Leon, Barry Brecke, and Laurie Trenholm. 2013. “Weed Management Guide for Florida Lawns”. EDIS 2013 (7). https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/121086.
Fragile X Syndrome

This review highlights recent advances in improving our understanding of the fragile X syndrome. This syndrome has generated increasing interest because of its unique inheritance pattern and its presentation with a wide range of disabilities. It is estimated that the fragile X syndrome accounts for one third to one half of the families with X-linked mental retardation (Gerald and Meryash, 1983). It is now believed to be the most common cause of hereditary mental retardation in males (Turner et al., 1986) and second only to Down’s syndrome as the chromosomal cause of mental retardation.
Preparedness and Response to Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies in Animal Production Systems in the Context of IAEA Safety Standards

The IAEA has published Safety Standards and Scientific and Technical Publications to assist in developing an adequate level of preparedness and response for a NRE. This Chapter outlines and summarises the relevant content the Requirements and Safety Standards to assist the stakeholders in animal production systems to adequately prepare and respond to a NRE.
Digital Learning for North Carolina Educational Leaders

In response to national and state emphasis implementing digital technologies in the K-12 classroom, the North Carolina (NC) state board of education approved the integration of the Digital Learning Competencies for Teachers (DLCT) and the Digital Learning Competencies for School Administrators (DLCSA) for schools statewide. DLCSA support school and district administrators to improve practice, build capacity in the staff, and drive student learning within their schools. Following a mixed method sequential explanatory design, this study was conducted to explore the perceptions of NC school administrators about the DLCSA to develop digital age learning organizations and identify best practices to support teachers and students. Data were collected during the 2018–2019 academic year through a web-based questionnaire distributed to current and former Educational Leadership program students (n = 21/52) and 6 semistructured interviews. The findings supported the development of a new digital learning certificate for educational leaders.
Advanced Assemblers, Linkers, and Loaders

This chapter focuses on the complementary ideas of cross-assembler and downloader. The cross-assembler is a special kind of assembler. A true assembler is a program that runs on a computer that generates machine code for that same computer. It is common for a microcontroller to be too limited to be able to assemble code for itself, particularly for a microcontroller that is used in a laboratory for a university course. If the personal computer has a cross-assembler, it also has a downloader. The downloader is a program running on the personal computer that takes the object code of the cross-assembler from the personal computer's disk or its primary memory and writes it into the target microcontroller's memory. A monitor program in the microcontroller receives data from the downloader; it generally does not need to be loaded because it is stored once and for all time in the microcontroller's ROM. The chapter also discusses relocatable assembler and linker program. To achieve merging of programs that are assembled separately, one needs to assemble each program segment as if it began at location zero. Such a program segment is called a relocatable section. A linker program determines the sizes of each section and allocates the nonoverlapping areas of target memory to each.
Token Ring: A Shared-Media Network with Media Access Control

This chapter illustrates the implementation of a token-ring network. It helps in examining the performance of the token-ring network under different scenarios. A token-ring network consists of a set of nodes connected in a ring. The ring is a single shared medium. The token-ring technology involves a distributed algorithm that controls when each node is allowed to transmit. All nodes visualize all frames, and the node identified as the destination in the frame header saves a copy of the frame as it flows past. The token is just a special sequence of bits that circulates around the ring. Each node receives and then forwards the token. When a node that has a frame to transmit sees the token, it takes the token off the ring and instead inserts its frame into the ring. When the frame makes its way back around to the sender, this node strips its frame off the ring and reinserts the token. The token holding time (THT) generally is the time a given node is allowed to hold the token.
Law-Governed Internet Communities

We consider the problem of coordination and control of large heterogeneous groups of agents distributed over the Internet in the context of Law-Governed Interaction (LGI) [2][5]. LGI is a mode of interaction that allows a group of distributed heterogeneous agents to interact with each other with confidence that an explicitly specified policy, called the law of the group, is complied with by everyone in the group. The originalLGI model5. supported only explicit groups, whose membership is maintained and controlled by a central server. Such a central server is necessary for applications that require each member of the group to know about the membership of the entire group. However, in the case where members do not need to know the membership of the entire group, such a central server can become an unnecessary performance bottleneck, as group size increases, as well as a single point of failure. In this paper, we present an extension to LGI allowing it to support implicit groups, also called communities, which require no centralcon trol of any kind, and whose membership does not have to be regulated, and might not be completely known to anybody.
Nonprimate models of HIV-1 infection and pathogenesis.

Publisher Summary Nonprimate models of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV‐1) infection and pathogenesis have played an important role in HIV research. Several types of nonprimate model have been used. Immunodeficiency mice implanted with human lymphoid tissue or cells have proven to be useful systems for numerous studies of HIV‐1 replication, cytopathic effects (CPE), and immunity. The recent development of more profoundly immunodeficient mice allows a greater diversity of human leukocytes to develop and persist in chimeric animals, thereby increasing the utility of this approach. Mice, rats, and rabbits expressing human CD4 and other molecules known to be needed for HIV replication have been of limited utility to date since HIV‐1 replicates poorly in these animals as currently developed. In contrast, transgenic mice bearing the entire HIV‐1 genome or one or more HIV‐1 genes have provided insights into the mechanisms of HIV‐1 pathogenesis and continue to be useful tools.
CTLA4Ig inhibits alloantibody responses to repeated blood transfusions

Allosensitization is a fundamental problem that limits the effectiveness of blood transfusions. Patients who receive multiple transfusions of blood or blood components frequently develop alloantibodies against donor alloantigens. Allosensitized patients are refractory to further transfusion and difficult to transplant successfully. CTLA4Ig fusion protein, which blocks the CD28-B7 costimulatory pathway in T-lymphocyte activation, was tested for its capacity to inhibit allosensitization to blood transfusions. Groups of LEW (RT1′) rats were transfused with ACI blood (RT1a) together with L6 (a human immunoglobulin G1 [IgG1] antibody as isotype control) or CTLA4Ig in different doses (0.004, 0.02, 0.1, and 0.5 mg). Rats were retransfused with ACI blood after 28 and 84 days without any additional CTLA4Ig therapy. Weekly sera samples were tested for alloantibody against donor leukocytes using flow cytometry. CTLA4Ig caused a dose-dependent decrease in the IgM alloantibody response against donor major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigens. In addition, 0.02-, 0.1-, and 0.50-mg doses of CTLA4Ig totally inhibited the IgG responses to the first transfusion, and this immunosuppressive effect persisted for the second and third transfusions. To study the capacity of CTLA4Ig to prevent a secondary immune response, three groups of LEW rats were transfused with ACI blood with no accompanying treatment. Animals were retransfused 28 days later with ACI blood together with L6 control antibody or 0.5 or 2.5 mg CTLA4Ig. CTLA4Ig, but not L6, prevented an increase in IgG alloantibody response despite repeated transfusions. The effects of CTLA4Ig treatment on helper T-lymphocyte proliferation was tested by limiting dilution analysis (LDA). Peripheral blood cells taken 30 days after blood transfusion and CTLA4Ig treatment contained significantly decreased donor-specific T-lymphocyte precursors compared with L6-treated rats. These data support the idea that blocking the B7/CD28 signal of T-lymphocyte activation by CTLA4Ig treatment at the time of transfusion may be an important therapeutic tool to inhibit
Evaluation of dielectric physical optics in electromagnetic scattering

The theoretical basis, relative accuracy, and limitations of dielectric PO (physical optics) are discussed. Example calculations are compared with numerically exact results obtained using the moment method in order to determine the accuracy of the PO approximation for several canonical problems. The example calculations indicate that dielectric PO provides surprisingly good results for thin dielectric sheets. This method is very useful for situations involving relatively large curved dielectric shells provided multiple reflection effects are taken into account. The most significant inherent limitation involves grazing incidence. >
Quantity of Coronary Artery Calcium Detected by Electron Beam Computed Tomography in Asymptomatic Subjects and Angiographically Studied Patients

Objective To determine the prevalence and quantity of coronary artery calcium (CAC) in asymptomatic subjects from the general population, to identify asymptomatic subjects without risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) with CAC scores in the top quartile of the distribution, and to compare CAC scores in patients who underwent angiography with percentiles in asymptomatic subjects of the same age and sex. Design We studied two samples from Rochester, Minnesota, which consisted of 772 asymptomatic subjects from the general population and 145 patients who underwent angiograpby, all of whom were 20 to S9 years of age. Methods Asymptomatic subjects were classified on the basis of their CAD risk profile. All subjects in both study samples underwent electron beam computed tomography. Age- and sex-specific calcium score percentiles were calculated in the asymptomatic sample. RESULTS CAC prevalence in the asymptomatic subjects was lower in female than in male subjects and increased with advancing age. Of the asymp tomatic sample, 8% had a low-risk profile with calcium scores in the top quartile of the distribution. More patients than expected in the angiography sample had calcium scores above the 50th through 95th score percentiles. Conclusion The quantity of CAC was substantially increased in patients who underwent angiography. Subjects with large amounts of CAC but without known CAD risk factors may be a valuable subset of the population to investigate for previously unidentified CAD risk factors.
Enhanced polycarbonate toughness. II: Mechanisms

Glassy shell-rubbery core polymer particles, 0.1 to 0.2 μm in diameter, increase the plane strain J IC values of 3. 175 mm thick polycarbonate from 3.05 kJ/m 2 (no particles) to 9.5 kJ/m 2 (7.5 phr particles) at 23 o C. Some modest decreases in these values are caused by tests at -20 o C in samples 9.525 and 3. 175 mm thick. If only the particle concentration is varied, J IC increases monotonically to 7.5 phr (by wt), then levels off or decreases slightly at 10.0 phr. The total volume of 1 to 2 μm diameter cavities formed in the matrix by the apparently unbonded particles behaves similarly; cavity volume and J IC are directly related. With increasing particle concentration the tensile modulus is unchanged, the yield stress and strain decrease modestly, the strain at fracture decreases appreciably, and the heat recoverable orientation in the fractured samples decreases. Few cavities are formed. The particles reduce the extent of shear deformation in the tensile samples
On the Role of the Escherichia coli RNA Polymerase σ70 Region 4.2 and α-Subunit C-terminal Domains in Promoter Complex Formation on the Extended –10 galP1 Promoter

Bacterial promoters of the extended –10 class contain a single consensus element, and the DNA sequence upstream of this element is not critical for promoter activity. Open promoter complexes can be formed on an extended –10 Escherichia coli galP1 promoter at temperatures as low as 6 °C, when complexes on most promoters are closed. Here, we studied the contribution of upstream contacts to promoter complex formation using galP1 and its derivatives lacking the extended –10 motif and/or containing the –35 promoter consensus element. A panel of E. coli RNA polymerase holoenzymes containing two, one, or no α-subunit C-terminal domains (αCTD) and either wild-type σ70 subunit or σ70 lacking region 4.2 was assembled and tested for promoter complex formation. At 37 °C, αCTD and σ70 region 4.2 were individually dispensable for promoter complex formation on galP1 derivatives with extended –10 motif. However, no promoter complexes formed when both αCTD and σ70 region 4.2 were absent. Thus, in the context of an extended –10 promoter, αCTD and σ70 region 4.2 interactions with upstream DNA can functionally substitute for each other. In contrast, at low temperature, αCTD and σ70 region 4.2 interactions with upstream DNA were found to be functionally distinct, for σ70 region 4.2 but not αCTD was required for open promoter complex formation on galP1 derivatives with extended –10 motif. We propose a model involving σ70 region 4.2 interaction with the β flap domain that explains these observations.
Laser cooling of semiconductors using three-photon excitation

An energy-balance equation for excited carriers and phonons is established for studying the laser cooling of wide-bandgap semiconductors using three-photon excitation process. The power-exchange densities of the system are calculated for different strengths of the excitation filed. When the power-exchange density is positive, it implies laser cooling of the lattice. The effects of initial lattice temperature and field-frequency detuning on the laser-cooling phenomenon under the three-photon excitation process is demonstrated. The power-exchange densities are compared for both laser cooling and heating using nonlinear excitation.
Mooers' Law: in and out of context

Mooers' Law, widely referenced in the literature of Library and Information Science, has generally been misinterpreted as concluding that customers will tend not to use Information Retrieval systems that are too difficult or frustrating, when in fact the law addresses the reluctance of customers to use any type of IR system, regardless of its faults or merits, within an environment in which having information requires more effort than not having it. An expansion of Mooers' original law is proposed, based upon a “Scale of Information Retrieval Environments,” which includes not only those types of environments addressed by Mooers, but those in which a premium is placed upon having information, as well as those in which the effort required from having information vs. not having it is fairly evenly balanced.
The role of target position in smooth pursuit deceleration and termination.

Abstract Subjects smoothly pursued a target moving horizontally at 15 deg/s. After pursuit for 1 s, the target jumped 3 deg ahead of the fovea. At the moment of the jump, target velocity became 0 and ‘effective visual feedback’ assumed a value of either 0 (target retinally stabilized), −0.2, −0.4, or −1.0 (target fixed in space). With 0 visual feedback the eye continued to move smoothly at a moderate velocity, an apparent response to target position relative to the fovea. When negative visual feedback was present eye velocity decreased. With −0.2 and −0.4 feedback, this decrease was not a simple exponential, but often consisted of an initial fast decrease followed by slower decrease. With −1.0 feedback, eye velocity quickly decreased in an approximately exponential manner, and stopped. We were able to simulate these pursuit responses using a simple model of the pursuit system. Key features of the model are: (a) a target-velocity channel whose output decreases with target offset from the fovea, and whose gain switches from high to low as pursuit velocity approaches zero; (b) a target-position channel with a saturation non-linearity at 1–3 deg; and (c) a positive feedback loop with gain of less than 1.0. All of these features are essential to simulate the pursuit responses, especially with visual feedback values of −0.2 and −0.4. Our results and model suggest that target position serves as an important stimulus in guiding smooth pursuit as pursuit velocity decreases, and especially during pursuit termination.
Are Call Center and Hospital Arrivals Well Modeled by Nonhomogeneous Poisson Processes

Service systems such as call centers and hospitals typically have strongly time-varying arrivals. A natural model for such an arrival process is a nonhomogeneous Poisson process (NHPP), but that should be tested by applying appropriate statistical tests to arrival data. Assuming that the NHPP has a rate that can be regarded as approximately piecewise-constant, a Kolmogorov‐Smirnov (KS) statistical test of a Poisson process (PP) can be applied to test for a NHPP by combining data from separate subintervals, exploiting the classical conditional-uniform property. In this paper, we apply KS tests to banking call center and hospital emergency department arrival data and show that they are consistent with the NHPP property, but only if that data is analyzed carefully. Initial testing rejected the NHPP null hypothesis because it failed to account for three common features of arrival data: (i) data rounding, e.g., to seconds; (ii) choosing subintervals over which the rate varies too much; and (iii) overdispersion caused by combining data from fixed hours on a fixed day of the week over multiple weeks that do not have the same arrival rate. In this paper, we investigate how to address each of these three problems.
The Role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Management of Patients With Nonlobar Hypertensive Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Background and Purpose:Despite the increased use and availability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), its role in hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains uncertain. In this retrospective study, we assessed the utility of MRI in diagnosis and management of patients with hypertensive ICH.Methods:We retrospectively reviewed the charts of patients with ICH presenting to our hospital over an 18-month period. We included patients who presented with hypertensive ICH in typical locations and excluded lobar hemorrhages. We further isolated cases that had undergone MRI. Collected data included mean age, gender, location of hematoma, neuroradiologist’s interpretative report of the MRI, and management steps taken in response to the results of the MRI. Logistic regression was used to determine whether the overall yield of MRI in these patients was significant.Results:We found 222 patients with ICH in our database. Forty-eight patients met our inclusion criteria, of which 24 had brain MRI done as a part of...
Using multi criteria decision making in analysis of alternatives for selection of enabling technology

In September 2009 the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported, “Defense Acquisitions: Many Analyses of Alternatives Have Not Provided a Robust Assessment of Weapon System Options” [U.S. Government Accountability Office, Pub. No. GAO-09-665, 2009, p. 1]. In their focused review of 32 Acquisition Category I programs, it was found that 10 did not conduct an Analysis of Alternatives (AoA), but rather focused on an already selected weapon system solution. Prior to Milestone A, the Department of Defense (DoD) requires that service sponsors conduct an Analysis of Alternatives (AoA). The AoA is an analytical comparison of multiple alternatives to be completed prior to committing and investing costly resources to one project or decision. Typically, however, sponsors will circumvent the process in an effort to save money or schedule, and capability requirements are proposed that are so specific that they effectively eliminate all but the preferred concepts, practically ignoring other alternatives. Decision making is one of the most challenging parts of Systems Engineering. How one feeds the decision making process is key to eliminating long term waste. “About three-quarters of a program”s total life cycle cost is influenced by decisions made before it is approved to start development“[U.S. Government Accountability Office, Pub. No. GAO-09-665, 2009, pp. “2]. This study evaluates the positive benefits of defining the problem domain prior to expeditiously turning to the solution domain. The goal in any decision making process is to provide the decision maker with the ability to look into the future, and to make the best possible decision based on past and present information and future predictions. There is a need for approaches that combine available quantitative data with the more subjective knowledge of experts. Decision theory techniques have been successfully used for contrasting expert judgments and making educated choices for many years. For a successful analysis, one must focus on selection of specific criteria that are key performance drivers that can lead to an informed selection of the enabling technology. Understanding the requirements of the end state goal is key to a successful analysis and should also assist in the selection of key performance parameters. A case study example is presented to demonstrate a third tier AoA identifying an enabling technology using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) while successfully accounting for tacit knowledge of expert practitioners. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 16
An economic model of the life-cycle research productivity of scientists

Scientific productivity is constant as a scientist ages according to recent studies relying mainly on quantity measures of productivity. An economic model of the life-cycle productivity of scientists is presented which implies that the number of citations made to a scientist's previous work will decline with age. The implication could be consistent with the finding of constant quantity output with age if the decline in quality (as measured by number of citations per article) is large enough.
EPA-0023 – Diabetes and major depressive disorder interaction: no effect of baseline diabetic control on six month depression outcomes

Introduction Prior studies have demonstrated an inter-relationship between the diagnosis of diabetes, obesity and depression. Our prior studies have shown that the diagnosis of diabetes or baseline body mass index (BMI) did not impact six month depression remission rates. Objectives/Aims Our hypothesis was that level of control of diabetes (hemoglobulin A1c Methods This study was retrospective analysis of 451 diabetic primary care patients diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder or Dysthymia with a PHQ-9 score of 10 or greater. ▪ Outcome variable was clinical remission (PHQ-9 ▪ Logistic regression modeling included the demographic variables of age, gender, marital status, the clinical variables of BMI, baseline PHQ-9 score, hemoglobin A1c level (at date of diagnosis of depression) and clinical diagnosis (recurrent or first episode of depression, or dysthymia). Results 78.5% (354) of depressed diabetics were in good control of diabetes (hemoglobin A1c Download : Download full-size image Figure 1 . Odds ratio for clinical remission (PHQ-9 Controlling for age, gender, marital status, race, clinical diagnosis and clinical site. Conclusion ▪ Baseline control of diabetes was not an independent predictor for depression outcome at six months. This data suggests that poor diabetic control was not associated worsening clinical outcomes in depression management.
The Role of Oceanic Feedback in the Climate Response to Doubling CO2

AbstractTwo suites of partial coupling experiments are devised with the upper-ocean dynamics version (UOM) of the CCSM3 to isolate the effects of the feedbacks from the change of the wind-driven ocean circulation and air–sea heat flux in the global climate response to the forcing of doubling CO2. The partial coupling is achieved by implementing a so-called overriding technique, which helps quantitatively partition the total response in the fully coupled model to the feedback component in question and the response to external forcing in the absence of the former. By overriding the wind stress seen by the ocean and the wind speed through the bulk formula for evaporation, the experiments help to reveal that (i) the wind–evaporation–SST (WES) feedback is the main formation mechanism for the tropical SST pattern under the CO2 forcing, verifying the hypothesis proposed by Xie et al.; (ii) the weakened tropical Pacific wind is shown in this UOM model not to be the cause for the enhanced equatorial Pacific warmin...
Isotope exchange of the oxygen atoms in molecular sieve adsorbents with water and carbon dioxide

The use of molecular sieve adsorbents for the continuous recovery of H/ sub 2/O from the gas stream of an isotope separation system is complicated by the exchange of oxygen atoms between the water and the adsorbents. The 75 per cent of the oxygen atoms in the molecular sieve adsorbents exchange with H/sub 2/O/sup 18/ in 2 hr at 250 un. Concent 85% C. At 135 un. Concent 85% C, only 24 per cent of the oxygen atoms exchange in 64 hr, and at room temperature the exchange is very slow. Carbon dioxide exchanges with about the same fraction of oxygen atoms in the molecular sieve adsorbents as water does. This exchange probably occurs through small quantities of water vapor since, after prolonged drying under high vacuum at 250 un. Concent 85% C, the rate of exchange with carbon dioxide is somewhat slower. Oxygen gas does not exchange at 250 un. Concent 85% C with molecular sieve adsorbents in the presence or absence of water vapor. (auth)
Fast-scanning continuously variable THz spectrum analyzers based on the Fabry-Perot

A THz Fabry-Perot spectrum analyzer is presented that uses substrate-based, wire-grid polarizers as the reflectors. Previous THz scanning Fabry-Perot concepts have used wiremeshes or thin metallic layers as the reflectors, both of which are effective to some degree, but lack tunability. The use of wire-grid polarizers allows for fully tunable resolution and throughput, thus enhancing the Fabry-Perot by increasing its operational flexibility. Here the Fabry-Perot concept for a fast-scanning THz spectrum analyzer is presented, potential applications are shown, and the wire-grid reflector concept is demonstrated.