cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Foreign Direct Investment in Brazil and China: A Comparative Study

The history of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in Brazil and China was briefly reviewed. We examinefrom a contemporary policy perspective, trends and patterns, sector distribution, and productivity and growth inboth countries. The comparative study of FDI in Brazil and China from the historical and contemporaryperspective examines the importance of foreign capital in each stage of development in terms of various aspectswe have proposed. This study also provides an understanding of FDI in both countries on the policy grounds. Asfar as growth and productivity is concerned. FDI has contributed to the economic development in both Braziland China. However, the impact on the growth is only partial and will rely on other factors as well.
Extracellular-regulated kinase activation regulates replication of Mycobacterium avium intracellularly in primary human monocytes

Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare (MAI) is a ubiquitous environmental pathogen that causes disseminated infection in immunocompromised patients, such as those with human immunodeficiency virus, interleukin-12 deficiency, or interferon-γ receptor mutation. Colony morphotypes are associated with MAI pathogenicity. Our previous studies have reported that smooth-transparent (SmT) morphotypes are more virulent and induce less cytokine (interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α) production by human monocytes than the smooth-domed (SmD) morphotypes. Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases such as extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) are activated by the phagocytosis of particle antigens in macrophages, and this ERK activation subsequently influences cytokine expression and the control of intracellular pathogen growth. The influence of MAP kinase activation on MAI replication in human monocytes was examined. Peripheral blood monocytes isolated from healthy subjects by Ficoll-Hypaque sedimentation were infected with virulent SmT or avirulent SmD MAI without or with MAP kinase inhibitors. MAP kinase activities were determined by in vitro kinase assay, intracellular MAI growth by CFU assay, and cytokines by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. MAI infection induced ERK and p38 activation. Inhibition of ERK by PD98059, but not p38, significantly increased intracellular MAI growth. Tumor necrosis factor-α release and interleukin-1β production in response to MAI were reduced by MAP kinase inhibition. p38 inhibition tended to reduce cytokine production more substantially. These data suggest that ERK activation limits intra-monocytic MAI replication and enhances monocytic cytokine release, whereas p38 activation influences only cytokine release. The effect of MAP kinases on MAI growth might thus be mediated by the modulation of cytokine production.
Image Indexing and Retrieval Using Object-based Point Feature Maps

Multimedia data such as audios, images, and videos are semantically richer than standard alphanumeric data. Because of the nature of images as combinations of objects, content-based image retrieval should allow users to query by image objects with finer granularity than a whole image. In this paper, we address a web-based object-based image retrieval (OBIR) system . Its prototype implementation particularly explores image indexing and retrieval using object-based point feature maps. An important contribution of this work is its ability to allow a user to easily incorporate both low- and high-level semantics into an image query. This is accomplished through the inclusion of the spatial distribution of point-based image object features, the spatial distribution of the image objects themselves, and image object class identifiers. We introduce a generic image model, give our ideas on how to represent the low- and high-level semantics of an image object, discuss our notion of image object similarity, and define four types of image queries supported by the OBIR system. We also propose an application of our approach to neurological surgery training.
Off-shell amplitudes from bosonic open string field theory

Abstract The off-shell amplitudes in Witten's open bosonic string field theory are calculated in a way which is explicitly independent of world-sheet parametrization. The off-shell four-tachyon and two-tachyon two-vector particle amplitudes are computed. Some of the properties of the amplitudes are discussed.
The Bacillus subtilis flagellin gene (hag) is transcribed by the sigma 28 form of RNA polymerase.

Abstract The Bacillus subtilis gene hag, which codes for the flagellin structural protein, was identified by DNA sequence analysis in a collection of DNA fragments bearing in vitro promoters for the sigma 28 form of RNA polymerase. The hag gene and adjacent regions of the B. subtilis chromosome were restriction mapped, and the nucleotide sequence was determined. The hag gene was transcribed at all stages of growth from a single promoter that had sequences in the promoter recognition region characteristic of the consensus sequence for the sigma 28 holoenzyme. Transcription of hag was eliminated by insertion mutations that blocked synthesis of the sigma 28 protein. These findings provide strong support for the previous proposal that the sigma 28 form of RNA polymerase controls transcription of a regulon specifying flagellar, chemotaxis, and motility functions in B. subtilis (J. D. Helmann and M. J. Chamberlin, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:6422-6424, 1987). The steady-state levels of hag mRNA increased during exponential growth and peaked as the B. subtilis cells entered the stationary phase. The transcript levels then decreased to zero within 4 h after the onset of sporulation. Hence, sigma 28 RNA polymerase function is temporally regulated.
Carcinoma of lung with rhabdoid features.

Abstract Lung tumors with rhabdoid features, included as variants of large cell carcinoma in the 1999 World Health Organization classification of lung tumors, are rare and have an aggressive clinical course. We report 11 patients with primary lung tumors with rhabdoid features and review the literature on this uncommon tumor. We examined samples from 7 primary (6 resections, 1 biopsy) and 4 metastatic tumor samples. All specimens were stained with immunohistochemical stains for pancytokeratin (CK), cytokeratin 7 (CK7), cytokeratin (CK20), thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1), and vimentin. The patients were 7 men and 4 women whose ages ranged from 35 to 70 years. Nine patients presented with respiratory symptoms, and 9 patients had a history of heavy smoking. One patient had TNM stage I tumor, 3 had stage III tumors, and 6 had stage IV tumors at presentation; tumor stage could not be determined in 1 patient. Histological examination of these tumors showed typical rhabdoid cells: large cells with abundant cytoplasm, a large eccentric nucleus with a central macronucleolus, and a rounded eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusion that sometimes caused nuclear indentation. These cells constituted 10% to 90% of the tumor. The "parent" neoplasm was sarcomatoid carcinoma and adenocarcinoma in 4 cases each and was large cell undifferentiated carcinoma in 3 cases. Cytoplasmic staining in the rhabdoid cells was seen in 9 of 11 cases for CK, in 4 of 10 cases for CK7, and in all 11 cases for vimentin. Nuclear staining for TTF-1 in the rhabdoid cells was absent in all 11 cases, and cytoplasmic staining for CK20 was negative in the rhabdoid cells in all 10 cases studied. Of the 9 patients with available follow-up information, 8 died of disease, and 1 is alive with no evidence of disease 20 months after the initial diagnosis. We conclude that rhabdoid features can occur in a variety of lung tumors, including sarcomatoid carcinoma. Recognizing these lesions is important because of their possibly aggressive clinical course.
Microscale Laser Shock Peening of Thin Films, Part 2: High Spatial Resolution Material Characterization

Microscale Laser Shock Peening (LSP) is a technique that can be potentially applied to manipulate the residual stress distributions in metal film structures and thus improve the reliability of micro-devices. This paper reports high-spatial-resolution characterization of shock treated copper thin films on single-crystal silicon substrates, where scanning x-ray microtopography is used to map the relative variation of the stress/strain field with micron spatial resolution, and instrumented nanoindentation is applied to measure the distribution of hardness and deduce the sign of the stress/strain field. The measurement results are also compared with 3-D simulation results. The general trends in simulations agree with those from experimental measurements. Simulations and experiments show that there is a near linear correlation between strain energy density at the film-substrate interface and the X-ray diffraction intensity contrast.
On the Path from Materials Chemistry to Clinical Use

Over the last 2 decades, a plethora of new diagnostic methods have been proposed in the academic literature, but few have made it to end users (1). A hurdle is that for a new diagnostic method to take hold, vastly different facets of the technology, including sample handling, assay chemistry, and device hardware, must be considered from the outset to function together seamlessly in the final implementation. For example, to develop a faster test, improved chemical reagents alone are insufficient; rather, the reagents must also work with equipment easily accessible to the end users. In this issue of Clinical Chemistry , Sakamoto et al. (2) present the use of novel materials that can be detected with equipment accessible to clinical laboratories. The heart of their technology is the synthesis of multifunctional nanoscale beads. The beads, 140 nm in diameter, were composed of a copolymer of styrene and glycidyl methacrylate. The polymers were chemically functionalized to attach to antibodies and encapsulated both fluorescent europium complexes …
Asynchronous detection with clock and data recovery in optical CDMA networks using a dispersion-imbalanced loop mirror

We experimentally demonstrate asynchronous detection of optical CDMA signals with a dispersion-imbalanced loop mirror, which makes the signals compatible with off-the-shelf CDR units by removing multiple-access interference and interferometric noise.
A sensitivity analysis of low-power repeater insertion

In this paper, we perform the first quantitative study on the sensitivities of repeater power to available repeater width and candidate location, two key parameters of the dynamic programming (DP) based repeater insertion algorithms. Based on our analysis, we propose a simple yet effective scheme to select repeater widths and locations for DP-based algorithms, achieving an excellent trade-off between the solution quality and runtime. Experimental results have shown that, when combined with our sensitivity-guided scheme, the DP algorithm can attain more than 6 times speedup with negligible power degradation.
Prediction and prescription in systems modeling

Modeling is a principal tool for studying complex systems. Since models may be used for predictions, for analysis, or for prescription, we must ask what our goals are before we build our models. Historically, predictive numerical models have dominated our practice. Since the world we are modeling is orders of magnitude more complex than even the largest models our computers can handle, we must conserve computational power, first, by asking how much temporal detail we need and how much can be supported by available data and theories, second, by asking whether knowledge of steady states may not be more important than knowledge of temporal paths, third, by using the hierarchical properties of systems to aggregate and thereby simplify them, and, fourth, by substituting symbolic modeling, where appropriate, for numerical modeling.
Logic partitioning to pseudo-exhaustive test for BIST design

Built-In Self-Test (BIST) has been proposed as a powerful solution to VLSI testing problem and pseudo-exhaustive test is a BIST design methodology that provides effective, 100% fault coverage for all testable stuck-at faults. A circuit partitioning method is presented to partition the digital combinational portions of a circuit into different structural subcircuits so that each subcircuit can be pseudo-exhaustively tested. Furthermore, a tight lower bound on the number of interconnections between distinct subcircuits is derived. These interconnections are required for self-testing each subcircuit when the circuit is partitioned into a specified number of groups of specified sizes. We demonstrate the effectiveness of partitioning method by illustrations of applying the method to circuit examples, benchmark circuits and practical VLSI designs.
Approach to the diagnosis and treatment of vulvar pain

Vulvar pain is a common problem, affecting up to 16% of women. The pain and discomfort seriously impacts their quality of life, and is compounded by the increasing frustration encountered in their search for appropriate medical advice. Their pain can be localized or generalized, constant or intermittent, with or without visible changes. For practitioners, the correct diagnosis and treatment of vulvar pain is a challenge. There is an extensive differential diagnosis, from problems that are simple and immediately visible to those that are much more complex and truly invisible. This review provides an approach to the diagnosis of vulvar pain. It outlines the wide range of etiologies for vulvar pain, and provides details of the most vexing in a comprehensive look at vulvodynia, including definition, theory, diagnosis, and therapy.
Servo control of a dual-stage actuator for a high performance disk drive. Part 2: controller design and implementation

For Part 1, see ibid., vol. 3, no. 6, p. 2523-8 (2003). In this paper we describe the controller design and implementation for a dual stage servo actuation system for a high performance disk drive. The system utilizes a standard voice coil motor (VCM) combined with a piezoelectric microactuator in a dual stage drive. The VCM provides low-speed motion with a very large stroke enabling coarse positioning and rejection of large amplitude low-frequency disturbances. The microactuator provides very high-speed motion but with limited stroke, enabling fine positioning and rejection of high frequency disturbances. The overall dual-stage system provides a high bandwidth actuation system, capable of very fine positioning despite disturbances with a wide variety of spectral content. In this paper we focus on the drive and its analysis, modeling, and simulation.
Analyzing information intermediaries in electronic brokerage

In the past, full-service stock brokerage firms had a strategic advantage over discount brokers because of the control full-service brokers had over the information provided to the customer. Full-service stockbrokers acted as information intermediaries in that they were able to capture residual value from the transfer of information to make a profit. Strategic vulnerability occurs, in this case, when technology makes the information intermediaries' market contestable, by allowing easy transfer of information, thus allowing competitors to establish themselves as alternatives to market leaders. This research explores how technological innovation sets the stage for strategic vulnerability for information intermediaries. We develop a model of the phases of strategic vulnerability and discuss three propositions that involve strategic vulnerability, stalling of technological adoption and value creation. We show how strategic vulnerability affects information intermediaries. We examine the electronic brokerage industry to illustrate how firms can retain competitive advantage by rebundling their product offerings to separate contestable from noncontestable products.
State plane approach to frequency response of resonant convertors

The steady state response of a resonant convertor can be represented graphically by the state plane diagram. On using the perturbation method on the steady state trajectory, a discrete small signal model for the convertor can be derived from the input voltage, controlled switching frequency and state variable perturbations. The conventional series resonant convertor is used as an example to demonstrate an analytical approach. However, this method of analysis can be applied to resonant convertors in general. From the small signal model derived, the frequency response of the convertor can be calculated.
First Metatarsophalangeal Joint Arthrodesis

Arthrodesis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) is used primarily for end-stage hallux rigidus whereby pain, crepitus, and limitation of motion is noted at the joint. Arthrodesis at the first MTPJ also has it uses as a primary procedure for rheumatoid arthritis when severe deformity is present, as well as for salvage procedures for failed joint arthroplasties with or without implant, fractures with intra-articular extension, avascular necrosis, and infection management. A first MTPJ arthrodesis should provide stable fixation, attain suitable positioning for a reasonable gait, maintain adequate length, and create a stable platform for a plantigrade foot type.
Skin temperature: its role in thermoregulation

This review analyses whether skin temperature represents ambient temperature and serves as a feedforward signal for the thermoregulation system, or whether it is one of the body's temperatures and provides feedback. The body is covered mostly by hairy (non-glabrous) skin, which is typically insulated from the environment (with clothes in humans and with fur in non-human mammals). Thermal signals from hairy skin represent a temperature of the insulated superficial layer of the body and provide feedback to the thermoregulation system. It is explained that this feedback is auxiliary, both negative and positive, and that it reduces the system's response time and load error. Non-hairy (glabrous) skin covers specialized heat-exchange organs (e.g. the hand), which are also used to explore the environment. In thermoregulation, these organs are primarily effectors. Their main thermosensory-related role is to assess local temperatures of objects explored; these local temperatures are feedforward signals for various behaviours. Non-hairy skin also contributes to the feedback for thermoregulation, but this contribution is limited. Autonomic (physiological) thermoregulation does not use feedforward signals. Thermoregulatory behaviours use both feedback and feedforward signals. Implications of these principles to thermopharmacology, a new approach to achieving biological effects by blocking temperature signals with drugs, are discussed.
Regulation of Bone Morphogenetic Protein Activity by Pro Domains and Proprotein Convertases

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are derived from inactive precursor proteins by endoproteolytic cleavage. Here we show that processing of Nodal and Myc-tagged BMP4 is significantly enhanced by SPC1/Furin or SPC4/PACE4, providing direct evidence that regulation of BMP signaling is likely to be controlled by subtilisin-like proprotein convertase (SPC) activities. Nodal processing is dramatically enhanced if two residues adjacent to the precursor cleavage site are substituted with amino acids found at the equivalent positions of Activin, demonstrating that structural constraints at the precursor cleavage site limit the processing efficiency. However, in transfection assays, mature Nodal is undetectable either in culture supernatants or in cell lysates, despite efficient cleavage of the precursor protein, suggesting that mature Nodal is highly unstable. Domain swap experiments support this conclusion since mature BMP4 or Dorsalin are also destabilized when expressed in conjunction with the Nodal pro domain. By contrast, mature Nodal is stabilized by the Dorsalin pro domain, which mediates the formation of stable complexes. Collectively, these data show that the half-life of mature BMPs is greatly influenced by the identity of their pro regions.
Acoustic Analysis of Voice: A Tutorial

This tutorial reviews acoustic methods that have been used to characterize vocal function. The most persuasive argument for the use of acoustic measures is that all of the information used by liste...
Association of Antinuclear and Antiphospholipid Antibodies with Unexplained Elevations of Maternal Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein

We hypothesized that antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and antiphospholipid antibodies (APLA) are a common etiology for midtrimester unexplained elevations of maternal serum alpha-fetopro-tein (MSAFP) and that their presence may correlate with perinatal outcome. Sixty-eight patients with unexplained elevations of MSAFP were identified and screened for the presence of ANA and APLA, then prospectively followed. Perinatal outcome was compared between patients with and without autoantibodies. Of the study population 39.7% had evidence of autoantibody formation. When compared to patients without autoantibodies, these patients exhibited higher mean multiples of the median for MSAFP and significantly higher perinatal morbidity. We conclude that the presence of autoantibodies in association with unexplained elevations of MSAFP seems to identify a group of pregnancies at increased risk for perinatal morbidity.
Emotional Reactivity and Internalizing Symptoms: Moderating Role of Emotion Regulation

Emotion dysregulation has been associated with increases in many forms of psychopathology in adolescents and adults. The development of effective emotion regulation skills is important during adolescence, especially as stressful life events increase during this time. The current study examined two emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and affective suppression, in interaction with self-report and biological measures of emotional reactivity as predictors of internalizing symptoms. A community sample of adolescents (n = 127), at an age of risk for depression and anxiety, completed self-report measures of emotional reactivity and internalizing symptoms. In addition, they completed a modified social stress task and were assessed on biological measures of reactivity and regulation. Findings suggested that the trait tendency to reappraise was associated with a reduced impact of emotional reactivity on depressive, but not anxiety symptoms. Implications for shared and specific aspects of emotional reactivity and regulation are discussed.
Circumscribed choroidal hemangioma: A case report and literature review

Choroidal hemangioma is a rare congenital ocular tumor that can present as either circumscribed or diffuse. Circumscribed choroidal hemangioma (CCH) typically manifests as a red-orange mass within the posterior pole and appears similar to other ocular conditions, such as choroidal melanoma and choroidal metastasis. Proper diagnosis is crucial and is aided by the use of ancillary testing. CCH itself is benign but can cause secondary complications such as subretinal fluid accumulation and subsequent retinal detachment. If these conditions should arise, several treatment options are available.
Outcomes of Depression in Black Single Mothers

Despite suggestions in the literature that depression has serious consequences, few studies have examined specific health and psychosocial outcomes of depression in Black single mothers. The purpose of this study was to estimate paths in a just-identified theoretical model of outcomes of depression for Black single mothers based on theoretical propositions and empirical findings. The model included the variables, depressive cognitions, depressive symptomatology, perceived social support, and positive health practices. Five direct and two indirect hypothesized relationships were estimated using structural equation modeling. A nonprobability sample of convenience of 159 Black single mothers aged 18 to 45 years was recruited for the study. This study used a cross-sectional correlational design. The participants responded in person or via the U.S. mail to the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale, the Depressive Cognition Scale, the Personal Resource Questionnaire 85-Part 2, and the Personal Lifestyle Questionnaire. Beta and Gamma path coefficients were statistically significant for four out of five hypothesized direct relationships within the model ( p .05). The two indirect paths were weak but statistically significant ( p < .01). Depressive symptoms and perceived social support were outcomes of depressive cognitions. Positive health practices was not a direct outcome of depressive cognitions. Perceived social support and positive health practices were outcomes of depressive symptoms.
The Method of Optimized Valence Configurations: A Reasonable Application of the Multiconfiguration Self-Consistent-Field Technique to the Quantitative Description of Chemical Bonding*

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the method of optimized valence configurations, which is reasonable application of the multi-configuration self-consistent field technique to the quantitative description of chemical bonding. It is the purpose of this chapter to review and bring up to date the conceptual features, the analysis, and results obtained by the application of the method of Optimized Valence Configurations to diatomic molecules. Several significant conclusions can be drawn from the experience obtained in developing this method, and in assessing its relationship to other schemes. (1) It is possible to quantitatively separate the “molecular” aspects of the changing correlation energy of two approaching atoms from the remaining correlation. (2) The number of significant configurations representing extra molecular correlation is small and readily obtainable by a sequence of limited multi-configurational self-consistent-field computations, followed by a single configuration interaction involving all new orbitals thus obtained while those configurations representing atomic correlation are indeed numerous, but are easily accounted for by a suitable perturbation technique. (3) An excellent initial guess for excited starting orbitals can be obtained by maximization of the exchange integral between the orbital of the Hartree-Fock configuration being correlated and the excited orbital.
Is Theocracy Our Politics? Thoughts on William Baude's 'Is Originalism Our Law?'

William Baude argues that the prevailing practices of the American judiciary are originalist. But perhaps they are so, if they are so, at the level of discourse rather than at the level of decisionmaking. Judges do speak respectfully of original meanings, but it is not clear that this speech constrains (or should constrain) the substance of their decisions. It does not follow that judges are being purposefully duplicitous about their engagement with original meanings, but perhaps the function of that speech is not best understood as sounding in decisionmaking. Perhaps it is something like the practice among senior American political officials of invoking God in public settings -- a practice that tells us something about the self-conceptions of the speakers and the audiences to whom they speak, but not something that shapes, or that should shape, decisionmaking on contested issues.
Tuning the Electrochemical Interface of Ag/C Electrodes in Alkaline Media with Metallophthalocyanine Molecules

Transition metal phthalocyanine (MPc) molecules were shown to be able to modify the electrochemical interface of the Ag catalyst in the alkaline electrolyte. Depending on the binding strength of the MPc (M = Fe, Co, Ni, and Mn) molecules with the OH– species, the electrochemically active sites of the Ag electrode surfaces can be altered accordingly. A structural model for illustrating the electrochemical interface of the Ag/C catalysts modified by the MPc molecules in alkaline media is proposed, which can be used to elucidate the ORR kinetics observed on various MPc@Ag/C catalysts in AEMFCs. The optimal CoPc–OH and Ag–CoPc interactions resulted in the highest kinetic current density and power density (536 mW cm–2 at 50 °C) observed with the AEMFCs using CoPc modified Ag/C cathode catalysts in comparison with the Ag/C and other MPc (M = Fe, Ni, and Mn) modified Ag/C catalysts .
Lead toxicity in chickens. Interaction with toxic dietary levels of selenium.

Two experiments were conducted in which varying levels of lead (up to 2000 ppm as lead acetate trihydrate) and selenium (up to 40 ppm as Na2SeO3) were fed, either alone or in combination, to chicks from day-old through 18 or 20 d. Lead additions depressed growth in a dose-dependent manner without affecting mortality. Selenium addition at 20 ppm was severely growth inhibitory, but mortality was not affected. The growth inhibition of 20 ppm Se was partially alleviated by feeding it in combination with 2000 ppm Pb; however, mortality was increased significantly by the combination. In contrast 40 ppm Se resulted in almost complete cessation of growth and 85% mortality, whereas the combination with 2000 ppm Pb partially overcame the growth inhibition and eliminated the excess mortality. When Pb or Se were fed alone, hepatic levels of the fed element were elevated. There were further significant elevations of hepatic levels of both elements when fed in combination at identical dietary concentrations as the single element additions.
Design of income-equitable toll prices for high occupancy toll lanes in a single toll facility

ABSTRACTIncome inequity potentially exists under high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes whereby higher-income travelers may reap the benefits of the facility. An income-based multi-toll pricing approach is proposed for a single HOT lane facility in a network to maximize simultaneously the toll revenue and address the income equity concern, while ensuring a minimum level-of-service on the HOT lanes and that the toll prices do not exceed pre-specified thresholds. The problem is modeled as a bi-level optimization formulation. The upper level model maximizes revenue for the tolling authority subject to pre-specified upper bounds on tolls. The lower level model solves the stochastic user equilibrium problem. An agent-based solution approach is used to determine the toll prices by considering the tolling authority and commuters as agents. Results from numerical experiments indicate that a multi-toll pricing scheme is more equitable and can yield higher revenues compared to a single toll price scheme across travelers.
High Step-Up/Down Ratio Isolated Modular Multilevel DC-DC Converter for Battery Energy Storage Systems on Microgrids

This paper presents the analysis and design ofa line interactive uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to a microgrid through a high step-up/down(bidirectional) dc-dc isolated modular multilevelconverter with a high input to output voltage ratio.Resonant switching is used on the MMC to improveoverall efficiency of the converter. The input source forthis converter is a set of series and parallel batteriesand the output of the converter is connected to amicrogrid. The proposed converter steps up the inputvoltage with a 1:15 conversion ratio, and steps down theinput voltage with a 15:1 conversion ratio. Atransformer is used to both isolate the converter and tofurther increase the step-up/down ratio.
Design of Additional Damping Controller for VSC Based HVDC Transmission System by Use of Prony Identification Method

Based on voltage source converter (VSC) and pulse width modulation (PWM) technology, the VSC based HVDC (VSC-HVDC) transmission system possesses the capability of controlling active power similar to conventional high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system as well as that of controlling reactive power similar to static synchronous compensator (STATCOM). On the basis of dynamic model of VSC-HVDC transmission system and by use of the user-defined function provided by Power System Analysis Software Package (PSASP), the dynamic simulation of multi-machine power system incorporated with VSC-HVDC is implemented. Taking VSC’s active power set point as input and active power of VSC-HVDC parallel AC line as output, the reduced-order linear opened-loop model between input and output is obtained by use of the Prony identification of time-domain response data at output port under specified input. Using this reduced-order linear opened-loop model, an additional damping controller for VSC-HVDC with the structure of single input and single output is designed. The simulation of VSC-HVDC transmission system with additional damping controller is performed by modified CEPRI-36 multi-machine power system. Simulation results show that the system damping for low frequency oscillation can be obviously increased and system stability can be rapidly recovered while the additional damping controller is equipped.
Nonlinear cochlear mechanics.

An earlier paper characterizing the linear mechanical response of the organ of Corti [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 138, 1102–1121 (2015)] is extended to the nonlinear domain. Assuming the existence of nonlinear oscillators nonlocally coupled through the pressure they help create, the oscillator equations are derived and examined when the stimuli are modulated tones and clicks. The nonlinearities are constrained by the requirements of oscillator stability and the invariance of zero crossings in the click response to changes in click amplitude. The nonlinear oscillator equations for tones are solved in terms of the fluid pressure that drives them, and its time derivative, presumably a proxy for forces created by outer hair cells. The pressure equation is reduced to quadrature, the integrand depending on the oscillators' responses. The resulting nonlocally coupled nonlinear equations for the pressure, and oscillator amplitudes and phases, are solved numerically in terms of the fluid pressure at the stapes. Methods fo...
Carotid Body Chemotransduction

Organisms have a fundamental dependence on their environment for continued survival. Most organisms can do without solid and liquid nutrition for several hours, sometimes days or even weeks. However, the other substrate needed to convert nutrition into biological energy is oxygen. Virtually all aerobic organisms cannot survive without environmental oxygen for longer than a few minutes. Diving mammals seem to be an exception to this dependence. In the course of evolution part of the machinery which these organisms have developed for delivering environmental oxygen to their tissues is the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems. Essentially each involves a pump, a series of collapsible tubes through which a fluid flows, and a gas exchanging surface. The control of these systems in the face of a challenge such as exercise or an unfavorable environment is of critical importance. The pumps might have to beat faster, the tubes may have to alter their resistance in general or regionally to redistribute the flow to various organs or parts of organs. The cardiopulmonary system may have to change overall or regional compliances to facilitate flow. These mechanical variables are controlled by local, humoral, and neural input. The neural control of the cardiopulmonary system is frequently described as the input/output of Receptors-Afferent Pathways-Central Nervous System-Efferent Pathways-Effectors. The carotid body is one of the Receptors in this model. Sampling the arterial blood, it increases its neural input into the nucleus tractus solitarius when the partial pressure of oxygen in the arterial blood falls, the carbon dioxide partial pressure or hydrogen ion concentration rises. Presently it is unclear how the carotid body converts hypoxia, hypercapnia, or acidosis into increased neural activity; that is, how it chemotransduces.
Protective effect of methylprednisolone on the heart during ischemic arrest.

Although corticosteriods have been shown to stabilize lysosomal membranes and prevent release of hydrolytic enzymes, the mechanism of membrane stabilization remains obscure. The few reports regarding the use of steroids in myocardial ischemia have been conflicting. This study was undertaken to determine if a pharmacologic dose of the glucocorticoid methylprednisolone would protect the heart during ischemic cardiac arrest. A randomized double-blind study was performed in 25 dogs. Biochemical and hemodynamic parameters were assessed during and after cardiopulmonary bypass and after 30 minutes of ischemic cardiac arrest. Animals were divided into two groups. Group I served as controls and consisted of dogs injected intravenously with the vehicle of methylprednisolone 18 hours and 1 hour prior to the experiment. Group II comprised dogs injected with methylprednisolone, 30 mg. per kilogram, IV, at the same time periods. Blood pH, gases, and electrolytes were measured; aortic, left atrial, and left ventricular pressures were monitored; the first derivative of the left ventricular pressure (dp/dt max.) was also determined. Arterial and coronary sinus blood samples were assayed for lactate levels and activity of the lysosomal enzyme, beta-glucuronidase. Left ventricular muscle was assayed for the nucleotides cyclic adenosine 3′,5′ monophosphate (AMP) and cyclic guanosine 3′,5′ monophosphate (GMP). Following restoration of coronary flow, mean aortic and left ventricular systolic pressures and left ventricular contractility as determined by dp/dt max. and dp/dt max./IP were depressed in both groups as expected but were significantly higher in Group II than in Group I (p
Tyrosine kinase activation is necessary for inducible nitric oxide synthase expression by interleukin-1 beta

The inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1) induces the inducible form of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) with an increase in nitric oxide in rat mesangial cells. However, the cellular mechanisms that underlie the induction of iNOS by IL-1 beta in mesangial cells has not been clarified. Because we have shown that tyrosine kinase inhibitors attenuate IL-1 beta-induced cyclooxygenase expression and prostaglandin production, we investigated the effect of tyrosine kinase inhibitors on IL-1 beta-induced nitrite production and iNOS mRNA expression in rat mesangial cells. The tyrosine kinase inhibitors genistein and herbimycin A attenuated IL-1 beta-induced nitrite production in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, both of these inhibitors blocked IL-1 beta-induced iNOS mRNA expression. These data suggest that tyrosine kinase(s) plays a central role in IL-1 beta signaling to induce iNOS in rat mesangial cells.
Jochen Seidel: Word Drawings

When written language was new, when it represented the very furthest advance of technology (and what is technology but the amelioration of the environment by knowledge) writing and drawing were the same thing. Today we often forget that the acquisition of writing by children involves acquiring two separate skills. First we must learn to scan a page just above its surface. If we look too closely we see the texture of the paper and the ink, ragged at the letters’ edges. The second skill, the one that is easier to observe in practice, is the physical dexterity that needs to be acquired to form the letters. A difficult and demanding job to teach a child, it is almost impossible to teach an illiterate adult to form letters precisely because the muscular dexterity involved is so great; the hand-eye coordination for writing is so imperiously insistent to very strict tolerances that, like a musical instrument, it is best learned in childhood. Thus, during the dawn of the age of writing, the craft of the scribe was a closed guild, and a mysterious and exhalted one. The professional scribe drew sounds on a page or tablet or scroll that shaped the breath of those who saw his work, however far away or even after the scribe’s death.
Narratives of ‘mixed race’ youth in South Korea: racial order and in-betweenness

South Korea has long been regarded as a country with a single ethnicity. Honhyeol, which literally means ‘mixed blood’ in Korean, exemplifies this orientation. In recent years, the number of ‘mixed race’ children in the country has been on the rise due to the increase in international marriages, particularly between Korean men and foreign women. Drawing on the personal narratives of 56 youths (aged between 9 and 17) obtained from three essay contests, this article examines how, why, and in which contexts the racial hierarchies of ‘mixed race’ children in Korea are constructed. Narratives of ‘mixed race’ children and their peers show that a ‘hierarchical racial order’ – characterized by a color-coding system that simultaneously operates along the lines of national origin – is channeled into ‘mixed race’ people’s everyday lives, thus shaping their identity constructions.
Technology, Everyday Life, and Hope

Here I turn to Ernst Bloch’s The Principle of Hope in order to put technological wish images in their larger context of the wishful images in social and cultural artifacts and practices. Even though hope is often misdirected in daily life under capitalism, Bloch demonstrates that daily life is nonetheless saturated with hopes just waiting to be channeled into more socially productive directions. The phenomenon of technological wish images is therefore neither an isolated nor a hopeless one: in order to be properly understood, they must be set alongside the culture’s encyclopedic set of wishful images and seen through the dimension of real possibility that helps to constitute the full picture of reality and suggests that the world, no matter how static and determined it has come to look, is still in “a state of unfinishedness.”
Effect of Low Temperatures on Growth of Clostridium botulinum Spores in Meat of the Blue Crab.

The ability of unheated and heated spores of Clostridium botulinum types B. E, and F to grow and produce toxin in crabmeat from the blue crab at low temperatures was investigated. Sterilized crabmeat was seeded with 103 unheated spores/g or 104 heated spores/g and incubated anaerobically at 4, 8, 12, and 26 C. Broth cultures served as controls. Both unheated and heated spores of the three strains grew and produced toxin in crabmeat at 26 C in 3 and 6 days, respectively. In addition, unheated spores of the nonproteolytic type E strain grew and produced toxin in crabmeat at 12 C in 14 days. Neither heated spores of type E nor heated or unheated spores of types B and F grew in crabmeat at any refrigerated temperature within 180 days.
Automated Microfluidic Droplet-Based Sample Chopper for Detection of Small Fluorescence Differences Using Lock-In Analysis

Fluorescence is widely used for small-volume analysis and is a primary tool for on-chip detection in microfluidic devices, yet additional expertise, more elaborate optics, and phase-locked detectors are needed for ultrasensitive measurements. Recently, we designed a microfluidic analog to an optical beam chopper (μChopper) that alternated formation of picoliter volume sample and reference droplets. Without complex optics, the device negated large signal drifts (1/f noise), allowing absorbance detection in a mere 27 μm optical path. Here, we extend the μChopper concept to fluorescence detection with standard wide-field microscope optics. Precision of droplet control in the μChopper was improved by automation with pneumatic valves, allowing fluorescence measurements to be strictly phase locked at 0.04 Hz bandwidth to droplets generated at 3.50 Hz. A detection limit of 12 pM fluorescein was achieved when sampling 20 droplets, and as few as 310 zeptomoles (3.1 × 10–19 mol) were detectable in single droplets (...
Path independent integrals in equilibrium electro-chemo-elasticity

Abstract By using the Noether's first theorem, this paper constructed two types of path-independent integrals in equilibrium electro-chemo-elasticity and proved their uniqueness. These path-independent integrals are the electro-chemo-elastic extensions of the classical J- and l -integrals in elasticity. Similar to their elastic counterparts, the electro-chemo-elastic J- and l -integrals represent energy release when a crack or a cavity undergoes a translation and rotation, respectively. Also shown in this paper is that the M-integral in elasticity cannot be extended to electro-chemo-elasticity. Results of this study established a theoretical foundation for energy conservation laws in equilibrium electro-chemo-elasticity. Such conservation laws are useful in modeling various phenomena in electro-chemo-elastic systems. In addition, the path-independent integrals obtained here provide a theoretical tool for understanding and a practical tool for numerical evaluation of singular fields.
Science not art: statistically sound methods for identifying subsets in multi-dimensional flow and mass cytometry data sets.

Science not art: statistically sound methods for identifying subsets in multi-dimensional flow and mass cytometry data sets
Wrap-Around Appearance: Underrecognized Radiologic Feature of Spinal Lymphoma.

A 71-year-old man presented with neck and upper back pain to the emergency department. Magnetic resonance imaging of the thoracic demonstrated a T2 vertebral lesion with epidural spinal cord compression. Considering the degree of severe spinal cord compression and the absence of a pathologic diagnosis, an urgent separation surgery was planned. A frozen section of the tumor from the paraspinal mass during initial exposure confirmed the presence of lymphoma, and hence only a T2 laminectomy and decompression were performed. Final pathology was non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Careful evaluation of the magnetic resonance image shows the presence of circumferential epidural spinal cord compression along with involvement of the posterior elements in a characteristic “wrap-around” fashion. Recognition of this finding may steer the surgeon toward a differential of spinal lymphoma, and its clinical importance cannot be overemphasized.
Notes on q-Electroweak

A gauged SU q (2) theory is characterized by two dual algebras, the first lying close to the Lie algebra of SU(2) while the second introduces new degrees of freedom that may be associated with nonlocality or solitonic structure. The first and second algebras, here called the external and internal algebras respectively, define two sets of fields, also called external and internal. The gauged external fields agree with the Weinberg–Salam model at the level of the doublet representation but differ at the level of the adjoint representation. For example, the g-factor of the charged W-boson differs in the two models. The gauged internal fields remain speculative but are analogous to color fields.
Work Practices of Web Practitioners

Creating a site that is of universal benefit to its users is a far more complex task than most new (and some experienced) web practitioners1 realize. Although it may be straightforward to code HTML pages, creating an effective site requires practitioners to follow practices, such as user-centered design or guideline application. In this chapter, we discuss the web site design and development process and the incorporation of usability engineering into it. We describe several studies of web practitioners that were aimed at understanding the steps that they take to ensure that their sites are universally beneficial, including following a user-centered design process, using design guidelines,2 and using automated evaluation tools. We also surmise the effect of these work practices on the current state of the Web.
Shining a light on amorphous U2O7: A computational approach to understanding amorphous uranium materials

Abstract Mixed-phase and low-symmetry systems are widely observed among uranium oxide materials. Amorphous-U2O7 forms during the calcination of studtite, a uranyl peroxide mineral. Using a genetic algorithm search for stable crystalline phases, we have identified a potentially stable phase of U2O7 that shares structural features with experimentally observed amorphous U2O7 samples. The crystalline structure is expected to undergo a solid–solid phase change around 12 GPa.