cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Polynucleotide duplexes based on poly(7-deazaadenylic acid).

In order to find a poly(A) · poly(U) analog which could not form a triple-stranded complex and which would have a sufficiently high thermal stability to survive under physiological conditions, the interaction of poly(7-deazaadenylic acid) (poly(c7 A)) with modified polyuridylic acids was examined. Mixing curves constructed by the method of continuous variation, isosbestic points and thermal melting profiles proved that poly(c7 A) formed only 1 : 1 complex with polyribothymidylic acid and poly(5-bromouridylic acid) (Tm values of 50 and 72°C respectively, in 0.15 M NaCl, 0.01 M KH2 PO4, 0.001 M MgCl2, pH 7). In addition poly(c7 A) formed a 1 : 1 complex with poly(I) (Tm = 22°C in 0.46 M salt, pH 7), and presumed duplexes were observed in the interaction of poly(c7 A) with poly(dT), poly(2′-azido-2′-deoxyuridylic acid) and poly(2′-O-methyluridylic acid) (Tm values of 35, 32 and 41°;C respectively, in 0.10 M NaCl, pH 7).
Passive acoustic threat detection in estuarine environments

The Maritime Security Laboratory (MSL) at Stevens Institute of Technology supports research in a range of areas relevant to harbor security, including passive acoustic detection of underwater threats. The difficulties in using passive detection in an urban estuarine environment include intensive and highly irregular ambient noise and the complexity of sound propagation in shallow water. MSL conducted a set of tests in the Hudson River near Manhattan in order to measure the main parameters defining the detection distance of a threat: source level of a scuba diver, transmission loss of acoustic signals, and ambient noise. The source level of the diver was measured by comparing the diver's sound with a reference signal from a calibrated emitter placed on his path. Transmission loss was measured by comparing noise levels of passing ships at various points along their routes, where their distance from the hydrophone was calculated with the help of cameras and custom software. The ambient noise in the Hudson River was recorded under varying environmental conditions and amounts of water traffic. The passive sonar equation was then applied to estimate the range of detection. Estimations were done for a subset of the recorded noise levels, and we demonstrated how variations in the noise level, attenuation, and the diver's source level influence the effective range of detection. Finally, we provided analytic estimates of how an array improves upon the detection distance calculated by a single hydrophone.
Effect of hyperthermia on cisplatin and carboplatin disposition in the isolated, perfused tumour and skin flap

The effect of hyperthermia on the disposition of platinum (Pt) from cisplatin (CDDP) and carboplatin (CBDCA) in the isolated, perfused tumour and skin flap (IPTSF) was evaluated. Flaps (n=4/treatment) were perfused with 3·0 µg CDDP or 15 µg CBDCA/ml perfusion medium at a rate of 1 ml/min for 3 h. Two-hour (CDDP experiments) or 3 h (CBDCA experiments) washout phases were then performed. The disposition kinetics of free Pt were characterized using a four-compartment, physiologically relevant, pharmacokinetic model. Hyperthermia (HT) may have enhanced the mobility of Pt but it did not increase total Pt mass in the tissue compartments in CDDP experiments. Conversely, HT significantly increased Pt mass in the fixed, non-tumour tissue compartment (p<0·05) in CBDCA experiments. While a similar trend was noted in the fixed, tumour tissue compartment of CBDCA-treated flaps, the difference was not significant (p=0·17). Total tissue Pt mass was significantly greater in CDDP compared with CBDCA experiments (p<0·05). ...
Hidden conservation laws in hydrodynamics: energy and dissipation rate fluctuation spectra in strong turbulence

Abstract The Hamiltonian formulation of hydrodynamics in Clebsch variables is used for construction of a statistical theory of turbulence. The statistics of the Clebsch field is assumed to be close to Gaussian. It is shown that the energy spectrum consists of two ranges with E(k)≈k -5 3 and E(k)≈k-1. The spectrum of the dissipation rate fluctuations has three scaling regimes: Eϵ(k)≈k-1; k -1 3 and k0 at the large, intermediate and small scales, respectively. The origin of the exponential distribution of velocity differences is discussed. The new scaling regime corresponds to a hidden conservation law, discovered in the Clebsch formulation of hydrodynamics. It is shown that viscous effects are responsible for production of the conserved quantity. The theoretical predictions are compared with results of numerical simulations of decaying turbulence.
Determinants of utilization of physical rehabilitation services for persons with chronic and disabling conditions: an exploratory study.

Abstract Elrod CS, DeJong G. Determinants of utilization of physical rehabilitation services for persons with chronic and disabling conditions: an exploratory study. Objective To determine which variables influence the receipt of physical rehabilitation services (ie, physical, occupational, speech therapy) for a population of people with chronic and disabling conditions. Design A convenience sample of 502 adults with cerebral palsy (CP), multiple sclerosis (MS), and spinal cord injury (SCI), drawn from diverse parts of the United States. Setting Respondents were surveyed in the general community. Participants Persons (91% under the age of 65y) with CP, MS, or SCI who responded to the 1999 component of a national longitudinal survey. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Self-reported need for physical rehabilitation services. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine variables that influenced utilization of services. Results Some 53% of respondents did not receive self-reported needed physical rehabilitation services. Respondents who had Medicaid were more likely than those with Medicare or private insurance to receive physical rehabilitation services. Respondents having a lower household income and poorer health were less likely to receive services. Conclusions Our findings indicate that health care funding sources provide widely disparate coverage for physical rehabilitation services to persons with 3 specific chronic and disabling conditions. Policy-makers and health plan administrators should re-evaluate their coverage of physical rehabilitation services designed to enhance quality of life and reduce the burden of lost independence.
Nonlinear natural control of an experimental beam

This paper is concerned with an experiment conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center that was designed to control the motion of a beam. The experimental setup consists of a free-free uniform beam acted upon by four electromagnetic force actuators, with the motion being measured by nine displacement sensors. The entire assembly is linked to a digital computer permitting on-line real-time computation of the control forces. The control scheme is based on the independent modal-space control method in conjuction with a nonlinear, on-off control law for the modal forces. The actuator forces are then synthesized from the modal forces by means of a linear transformation, resulting in quantized forces. The sensors' data are processed by modal filters. It is observed that the independent controls are very effective in suppressing the motion of the beam, even though there is about a 50% difference between the actual and the analytically computed natural frequencies.
Supplementary terminology for nonlinear iterative methods

The purpose of this note is to suggest a supplement to the terminology of [7] and [9] for nonlinear iterative methods for solving F(x) = 0. We feel such a supplement is needed because it is now clear that the so-called quasi-Newton [1], or variable metric [2], or modification [7] methods are here to stay. Furthermore, the current working terminology for these methods is separate, non-standard and not sufficiently suggestive of their proper place in an overview of nonlinear iterative methods. This is borne out by the comments one always encounters when explaining the subject to the uninitiated. One explanation for this dilemma could be that these methods have essentially arrived after the last systematic attempt to standardize nomenclature [7].
Lunar overlay depth in Mare Tranquillitatus, Alphonsus, and nearby highlands.

Lunar crater photographs obtained by Ranger VIII AND IX compared with those of laboratory craters overlain with granular material, for depth interpretation
Infrared photodetectors fabricated from self-organized quantum dot nanostructures

Intersubband carrier transitions in either the conduction or valence bands of III-V semiconductors are important for the design of a new generation of optoelectronic devices. These transitions have been successfully used to demonstrate the operation of a new class of infrared lasers and detectors. In this paper, we discuss the use of intersubband transitions in quantum dot nanostructures for infrared sensing. The quantum dot structures in our work allow the detection of normal-incidence light. This is promising for the design of future focal plane arrays that do not require a grating structure to scatter incident light into the correct polarization for detection via intersubband transitions. The quantum dot infrared photodetectors in this work also exhibit an intrinsic photovoltaic effect. Both photoconductive and photovoltaic operation has been demonstrated at low temperatures (40 K) with responsivities on the order of tens of mA/W for bias voltages less than 0.5 V. Detectivities ranging from 2 X 108 cmHz1/2/W to 7 X 109 cmHz1/2/W have been measured in devices operating in either the photovoltaic or photoconductive mode. We have demonstrated that the quantum dot structures have the capability to detect infrared light in the 9 to 13 micrometers spectral band.
Comparison of MOS capacitors on n- and p-type GaN

The electrical characteristics of both n- and p-type GaN metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitors utilizing plasma-enhanced CVD-SiO2 as the gate dielectric were measured. Both capacitance and conductance techniques were used to obtain the MOS properties (such as interface state density). Devices annealed at 1000°C/30 min. in N2 yielded an interface state density of 3.8×1010 cm−2 eV−1 at 0.19 eV from the conduction band edge, and it decreased to 1.1×1010 cm−2 eV−1 deeper into the band gap. A total fixed oxide charge density of 8×1012 q cm−2 near the valence band was estimated. Unlike the symmetric interface state density distribution in Si, an asymmetric interface state density distribution with lower density near the conduction band and higher density near the valence band was determined.
Use of a plating additive to enable continuous metallization of nanoscale electrochemically patterned chemical templates

Abstract This paper examines the use of amine-functionalized templates to create nanopatterned metal features. A key aspect of the work is the use of an additive to increase the plating density and enable continuous metallization of nanoscale features. Specifically, MPS (3-mercapto-1-propane sulfonate) was found to increase the plating density of copper on amine-functionalized surfaces by attaching to the surface via the sulfonic acid group, leaving the thiol free to attract palladium ions to the surface. Amine-functionalized nanotemplates were made by selective deposition of PAAm onto surface patterns created by nano-oxidation of OTS-coated silicon substrates. Selective, continuous metallization was observed for MPS-treated nanotemplates. These results demonstrate the successful creation of flexible amine-functionalized nanotemplates, and the enabling influence of MPS for the metallization of nanometer-scale features. In particular, MPS was found to reduce the pattern width for feasible metallization from 500 nm to less than 100 nm. While the PAAm templates were used in this paper to demonstrate selective metallization, they have the potential for broad application in areas such as selective surface attachment of biomolecules to nanometer-scale surface features.
Rotating magnetic neutron stars in general relativity

Abstract The effect of slow rotation on the dipole magnetic field of neutron stars is studied. It is shown that the differential rotation of inertial frames produced by the effect of “dragging of inertial frames” induces an additional component of electric field outside the star. This new component, as well as the usual electromagnetic components, vanishes as in the limit of collapse of a star to its Schwarzschild radius. For typical neutron stars, the electric quadrupole moment is about half that obtainable from a flat space analysis.
Web Marketing for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

Whether you intend to attract new customers, keep existing clients, or expand into new areas, marketing will play an important role. Most small businesses have very limited time and resources for marketing, so it is crucial that the investment receives a significant return. Advertising your business via the internet is a great way to stretch marketing dollars and have the information about your doctors, practice, and services available 24 hours a day.
Do Strong Group Identities Fuel Intolerance? Evidence From the South African Case

One conventional explanation of intergroup conflict is Social Identity Theory. That theory asserts that strong ingroup sympathies can give rise to outgroup antipathies which in turn fuel intolerance and conflict. While embraced by both macro- and microlevel analysts, this theory actually has not been widely investigated outside a laboratory environment. In this article, I test hypotheses linking group identities with intolerance, based on a 2001 survey in South Africa, a country where group identities have long been politicized. My empirical findings indicate that group identities are not useful predictors of South African intolerance. Indeed, for neither the black majority nor the white minority do ingroup identities activate very much outgroup intolerance. Moreover, group identities are positively, not negatively, correlated with holding a South African national identity. These findings, based on unusually broad indicators of both identity and tolerance, suggest that the causes of group conflict lie elsewhere than in group attachments. Language: en
Educational and Occupational Aspirations of Latino Youth and Their Parents

In-depth interviews of 10 rural Latino family triads (mother, father, and adolescent) investigated the educational and occupational aspirations of parents and youth, and factors affecting those asp...
Fabric PCBs, electronic sequins, and socket buttons: techniques for e-textile craft

The blossoming research field of electronic textiles (or e-textiles) seeks to integrate ubiquitous electronic and computational elements into fabric. This paper concerns one of the most challenging aspects of the design and construction of e-textile prototypes: namely, engineering the attachment of traditional hardware components to textiles. We present three new techniques for attaching off-the-shelf electrical hardware to e-textiles: (a) the design of fabric PCBs or iron-on circuits to attach electronics directly to a fabric substrate; (b) the use of electronic sequins to create wearable displays and other artifacts; and (c) the use of socket buttons to facilitate connecting pluggable devices to textiles. In this work we have focused on using easily obtained materials and developing user-friendly techniques; our aim is to develop methods that will make e-textile technology available to crafters, students, and hobbyists. This paper describes the techniques and employs them as a springboard for a wider-ranging discussion of "e-textile craft".
Automatic Mesh Adaptivity for Hybrid Monte Carlo/Deterministic Neutronics Modeling of Difficult Shielding Problems

The well-established Consistent Adjoint Driven Importance Sampling (CADIS) and the Forward Weighted Consistent Adjoint Driven Importance Sampling (FW-CADIS) hybrid Monte Carlo/deterministic techniq...
High T/sub c/ superconducting thin films: fabrication and electronic applications

Summary form only given. Many techniques have been utilized to produce high-quality, high-T/sub c/ superconducting films. These techniques include laser ablation, a variety of sputtering techniques, and electron beam vapor deposition. Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE), and resistance heating of the source materials are also being studied. These methods of film preparation have been applied to the three main classes of high T/sub c/ materials, i.e. YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-y/ (YBCO) and Tl-based and Bi-based films. The maximum supercurrent that these films can sustain appears to depend strongly on the fabrication parameters, and in general the highest values are obtained for epitaxial films of YBCO on polished, single-crystal,
Rate identification in multirate CDMA

Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a multiplexing technique that spreads the spectrum of user data so that it occupies a bandwidth much greater than that is necessary to send the information. CDMA systems have been highly successful due to the huge increase in capacity offered compared to other technologies. An effective technique to further increase the capacity of time-varying wireless channels is the employment of adaptive rate transmissions. Here, the transmission rate, bandwidth and power can be adaptively adjusted depending upon the instantaneous channel conditions. In this project, we analyzed the rate identification technique in such multirate systems. We saw how the concept of using the same PN sequence can significantly simplify the system.
Assessment of Web-Based Applications for Ambulatory Care Rotations

BACKGROUND:An interactive Web site was developed to supplement ambulatory care clinical rotations, optimize collaborative efforts of ambulatory care preceptors, and standardize the educational and evaluation experience.OBJECTIVE:To evaluate perceptions of residents and students using an interactive Web site for ambulatory care clinical pharmacy rotations.METHODS:An online anonymous survey comprised of 12 questions using a 5-point Likert scale (1–5, strongly disagree—strongly agree) and 4 open-ended questions was designed. Over a 3-year time frame, each student and resident rotating through the ambulatory care clinical rotation was instructed to complete the survey at the end of the rotation experience. Survey results were compiled and analyzed.RESULTS:Sixty-nine percent (18/26) of residents and 71% (54/76) of students completed the survey. Overall, the Web site was well accepted by all learners. Residents and students differed in opinion on a few aspects of the Web site; however, both appreciated the ease...
Congruence of faculty evaluations of internal attending teaching and learner medicine behaviors \[1]

SUMMARY This study examines congruence of evaluations of clinical teaching behaviors between 31 internal medicine teachers and their learners. Eighteen clinical teaching behaviors were evaluated on a Likert scale by teachers and learners following inpatient attending teaching rounds. Learners felt faculty were best at giving information, correcting without belittling, asking questions seeking knowledge, and giving direction. Faculty felt they were best at helping learners with factual knowledge, giving information, correcting without belittling, and asking questions seeking knowledge. Congruent relationships exist with providing learners opportunities to demonstrate physical exam and historytaking skills at the bedside, stimulating interest, and demonstrating physical exam/history-taking skills. Faculty development strategies can enhance repertoires of teaching microskills and teacher cognition of teaching behaviors with the goal of producing more efficient and effective teaching.
The Social-Psychological Implications of a Coaching Change at the Collegiate Level: Perceptions of Athletes

The purpose of this study was to better understand the social-psychological processes and outcomes athletes experience during a head coaching change. The authors conducted semistructured interviews with 47 NCAA Division I athletes, representing 11 different sports at 20 distinct institutions. Following inductive analysis of transcribed interviews, seven higher order themes emerged: emotions, academics, goals, leadership, negative effects, positive effects, and changing culture and structure of the team. According to the perceptions of athletes, results showed that coaches stressed the importance of academics and used goal setting principles with their new team. However, athletes also spoke to deficiencies in leadership and the emotional instability that resulted in a loss of confidence, increased stress, and feeling ignored by the new staff. Thus, open and honest lines of communication need to be formed early with athletes—by multiple athletic personnel—so that individuals have the support system necessary to prevent maladaptive results.
A Lowcomplexity Tree Algorithm for Pts-Based Papr Reduction in Wireless Ofdm

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) has several attributes which make it a preferred modulation scheme for high speed wireless communications. However, its high peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR) causes nonlinear distortion thus limiting the efficiency of the transmitter's high power amplifier. Among the approaches proposed for PAPR mitigation, the partial transmit sequence (PTS) technique is very promising since it does not generate any signal distortion. However, its high complexity makes it difficult for use in high speed communication systems. We present a new low-complexity tree algorithm to implement the PTS approach, which seeks the best trade-off between performance and complexity. Simulation results show that this new technique's performance is similar to that of the optimum case, however with significantly lower complexity
“. . . da ich dies Stück gern recht correct erscheinen sähe”: Philological and Textual Issues in Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture, Op. 26

“. . . da ich dies Stuck gern recht correct erscheinen sahe ”: Philological and Textual Issues in Mendelssohn 's Hebrides Overture, Op. 26
Determining structure in continuously recorded videos

In this paper, we present a scene detection framework on continuously recorded videos. Conventional temporal scene segmentation methods work for the videos composed of discrete shots, where shot boundaries are clearly defined. The proposed method detects scene segments by the spectral clustering technique and fuzzy analysis. The detected scenes are represented by the corresponding representative feature values of the feature clusters, rather than abrupt temporal boundaries. The feature clusters are generated using the spectral clustering technique. The video units have the fuzzy memberships to the feature clusters, which are generated using the Hyperbolic tangent fuzzy function. The final output is collected from the candidate scenes from all clusters. The proposed method has been tested on several video sequences, and very promising results have been obtained.
Making Sense of the Meaning Literature: An Integrative Review of Meaning Making and Its Effects on Adjustment to Stressful Life Events.

Interest in meaning and meaning making in the context of stressful life events continues to grow, but research is hampered by conceptual and methodological limitations. Drawing on current theories, the author first presents an integrated model of meaning making. This model distinguishes between the constructs of global and situational meaning and between "meaning-making efforts" and "meaning made," and it elaborates subconstructs within these constructs. Using this model, the author reviews the empirical research regarding meaning in the context of adjustment to stressful events, outlining what has been established to date and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of current empirical work. Results suggest that theory on meaning and meaning making has developed apace, but empirical research has failed to keep up with these developments, creating a significant gap between the rich but abstract theories and empirical tests of them. Given current empirical findings, some aspects of the meaning-making model appear to be well supported but others are not, and the quality of meaning-making efforts and meanings made may be at least as important as their quantity. This article concludes with specific suggestions for future research.
A video quality metric based on frame differencing

Assessment of visual quality is of great importance in several image and video processing applications. Various objective video quality metrics have been proposed recently to accord with the human visual perception. This paper proposes a simple and affordable objective quality metric for tracking moving objects in video streams. The proposed metric particularly takes the moving objects into account as visually important content. Foreground masks produced by frame difference-based background subtraction are incorporated as weighting function into the existing metrics. Test results show that our metrics are effective.
The Squirrel Monkey Stabil1metry

In order to characterize postural ataxia associated with peripheral vestibular lesions, we have developed a T-perch recording system suitable for squirrel monkeys (tree-living primates). This system includes strain gauges for detecting movement of the vertical shaft in the directions of anterior-posterior and left-right. Simultaneously we recorded electroencephalogram (EEG), vertical eye movement, electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiration (by pneumography). Representative Dynographic records (obtained during sleep) after unilateral and bilateral (two-staged) labyrinthectomy showed the frequent occurrence of phasic body movements: slow deviations to the lesion side and the frontward and subsequent quick rightings which occurred almost synchronously with the sleep becoming shallow (judged by EEG).
Tracking terrorism news threads by extracting event signatures

With the humongous amount of news stories published daily and the range of ways (RSS feeds, blogs etc) to disseminate them, even an expert at tracking new developing stories can feel the information overload. At most times, when a user is reading a news story, she would like to know “what happened before this?“ or “how things progressed after this incident?”. In this paper, we present a novel real-time yet simple method to detect and track new events related to violence and terrorism in news streams through their life over a time line. We do this by first extracting signature of the event, at microscopic level rather than topic or macroscopic level, and then tracking and linking this event with mentions of same event signature in other incoming news articles. There by forming a thread that links all the news articles that describe this specific event, with no training data used or machine learning algorithms employed. We also present our experimental evaluations conducted with Document Understand Conference (DUC) datasets that validate our observations and methodology.
Comparison of Spanish, English, and Bilingual Children's Performance Across Semantic Tasks

Purpose: This study investigated predominantly Spanish-speaking, predominantly English-speaking, and Spanish-English bilingual children’s performance on a battery of semantic tasks. Method: Six sem...
Integration of manufacturing systems: a vision and image processing system perspective

The issues of integration in a vision and image processing systems (VIPS) which has found an increasing number of applications in manufacturing are analyzed. It is pointed out that, to achieve fully integrated systems which are seamless and have a uniform occurrence of data and ways to process the data, it is essential that the semantics of components be identified and captured in advance. The semantics of a VIPS are identified in terms of data, processes, and knowledge. The system should have the features of handling large and heterogeneous knowledge bases, the ability to integrate knowledge and data, and a generic knowledge representation scheme. The basic system architecture to meet these features is discussed. >
A HYBRID FREQUENCY-TIME DOMAIN SOLUTION SCHEME FOR NONLINEAR TRANSIENT DYNAMIC RESPONSE

The development and application of an iterative frequency domain solution technique for nonlinear dynamic structural systems are presented. Numerical techniques such as zero minimization and nonlinear mode updating for improving the scheme's efficiency and artificial damping for s tabilizing the solution process are illustrated by a soil amplification problem. The results indicate that the solution scheme can accurately reproduce the response, and
Wearable computing for the developing world

The project was simple to describe: create a "world computer" that could assist the developing world in leapfrogging the industrial stage of economic development. The World Center for Computing and Human Resources carried out experiments with 6502 machines such as the Apple II, Atari 400, and Atari 800 and established a pilot project in Senegal. In the end, the expense of the computers and the weight of politics limited the project. Yet, several new efforts are reexamining the concept, commonly termed information and communication technologies (ICT) for development.
Is Retrieving a Measure of Maternal Behavior in the Rat

Lactating, pregnant and nonpregnant adult female, and adult male rats were exposed to a rat pup, a food pellet, and a plastic toy for 3 min. on 7 consecutive days. Lactating females were the most active retrievers and showed a marked preference for the pup. All other groups showed retrieving behavior but there was no preference for the pup relative to the inanimate objects. It is concluded that “maternal” behavior must be demonstrably oriented toward the young of the species rather than the execution of behavior which is merely within the repertoire of the animal.
Pencil beam scanning dosimetry for large animal irradiation.

The space radiation environment imposes increased dangers of exposure to ionizing radiation, particularly during a solar particle event. These events consist primarily of low-energy protons that produce a highly inhomogeneous depth–dose distribution. Here we describe a novel technique that uses pencil beam scanning at extended source-to-surface distances and range shifter (RS) to provide robust but easily modifiable delivery of simulated solar particle event radiation to large animals. Thorough characterization of spot profiles as a function of energy, distance and RS position is critical to accurate treatment planning. At 105 MeV, the spot sigma is 234 mm at 4800 mm from the isocentre when the RS is installed at the nozzle. With the energy increased to 220 MeV, the spot sigma is 66 mm. At a distance of 1200 mm from the isocentre, the Gaussian sigma is 68 mm and 23 mm at 105 MeV and 220 MeV, respectively, when the RS is located on the nozzle. At lower energies, the spot sigma exhibits large differences as a function of distance and RS position. Scan areas of 1400 mm (superior–inferior) by 940 mm (anterior–posterior) and 580 mm by 320 mm are achieved at the extended distances of 4800 mm and 1200 mm, respectively, with dose inhomogeneity <2%. To treat large animals with a more sophisticated dose distribution, spot size can be reduced by placing the RS closer than 70 mm to the surface of the animals, producing spot sigmas below 6 mm.
First Law of Thermodynamics

The first law of thermodynamics states that the total energy of a system remains constant, even if it is converted from one form to another.
Exploring the causal relationships between musical features and physiological indicators of emotion

The relationship between music and physiological indicators of emotion has attracted increased attention in the past two decades. However, the limitations of small sample sizes and the difficulty in designing ecological studies involving physiology and emotion make it hard to gain convincing and practical insight into the mechanisms behind them. In this paper, we propose a novel combination of spectral clustering and cross-correlation analysis that can group people who have similar response patterns to music, and show a causal relationship between changes in music and a human's electrodermal activity (EDA). We present some interesting findings on population differences in sensitivity to musical features and in emotional reactions by analyzing 344 valid listening samples of three classical pieces.
Powering up your Grade book: A Spreadsheet Designed to Teach Students Excel© Skills and to Make Assigning Students' Grades Easier

Abstract In a survey by Bain et al. (2002, Table 13), they found that 72% of business professionals recommended teaching spreadsheet applications as part of an AIS course while only 36% of the faculty polled reported using spreadsheets in the AIS course. This gap between what professionals thought should be taught and what professors teach could lead to students beginning the work force with less than desired spreadsheet skills. The purpose of this article is to provides a scenario (teacher's electronic grade book) in which students are taught advanced Excel© skills to better prepare them for future job requirements. An added bonus of this example tutorial to instructors is an efficient, re-usable spreadsheet to make assigning students' grades easier.
Compact Heat Rejection System Utilizing Integral Planar Variable Conductance Heat Pipe Radiator for Space Application

In order to meet heat rejection requirements for future NASA exploration, scientific, and discovery missions, it is proposed that research should be conducted into integral planar variable conductance heat pipe (VCPHP) technology. This represents a novel, low technology readiness level (TRL) heat rejection technology that, when developed, could operate efficiently and reliably across a wide range of thermal environments. The concept consists of a planar heat pipe whose evaporator acquires the excess thermal energy from the thermal control system and rejects it at its condenser whose outer surface acts as a radiating surface. The heat pipe is made from thermally conductive polymers in order to minimize its mass. It has a non-condensable gas that varies the active radiator surface depending on the heat load. A mathematical model of steady state variable-conductance heat pipe is developed. Two planar heat pipes are designed, fabricated, and tested to validate the theoretical model. The thermal behavior of the proposed VCPHP working in a space environment is predicted by the model.
The Ghost of Anyone's Father

This article analyzes the complexities of the basic mental operation of conceptual integration, especially double-scope conceptual integration, as revealed in texts by Shakespeare, especially Hamlet and King Henry the Sixth, part one, most notably the speech by Lord Talbot addressed to "Thou Antic Death."
Preparation and crystallographic characterization of C60{η1-Ru(CO)2(η5-C5H5)}2: a locally crowded organometallic fullerene without the usual η2-bonding.

The reaction of {(η5-C5H5)Ru(CO)2}2 with C60 in toluene solution under thermal or photolytic conditions produces C60{η1-Ru(CO)2(η5-C5H5)}2, whose structure has been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The two Ru(CO)2(η5-C5H5) units are bound at the opposite ends of a hexagon on the fullerene surface and are closely intertwined.
Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry Allows Determination of Electron-Transfer Kinetic Constants in Single Nanoparticle Collision

Here we report the use of Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry (FSCV) to study transient nanoparticle (NP) collision experiments and determine the apparent heterogeneous electron-transfer (ET) rate constant ko and electrocatalytic activity of single NPs. Continuous potential scanning at fast scan rates, for example, up to 500 V/s, and background subtraction enable voltammetric study of single NPs when they collide on a carbon ultramicroelectrode (UME). The FSCV results indicate a substantial potential shift in the CV response of single NPs due to increased mass transfer and it is necessary to consider this effect when analyzing single NP electrocatalysts. FSCV results also reveal that single particle deactivation is associated with a decrease in peak current and an increase in overpotential. Importantly, the use of FSCV coupled with numerical simulations enabled the determination of ko on single NPs, confirming an increase in catalytic activity with decreasing particle size. Moreover, the Gibbs free energy of act...
Spin-Spin Motional Analysis of Accelerated Sulfur Vulcanized Cis-Polyisoprene

Abstract Spin-spin relaxation (T2) measurements were used to analyze the motional behavior of accelerated-sulfur vulcanized cis-polyisoprene. Biexponential decay behavior was found in all samples studied. This was modeled to consist of T2s (short) and T2l (long) components, with the T2s due to crosslinked regions and T2l due to regions distant from nodal points. T2 behavior was shown to depend strongly on crosslink density, but not to vary with concentration of cyclic structures. A simplified model was used for calculation of the average correlation time.
Calculating Value Gaps Induced by Independent Requirements, Deterministic Modeling, and Fixed Targets

Requirements have traditionally been used in the design of Large-Scale Complex Engineered Systems for distributed decision making and as a form of communicating preferences. Often requirements are due to physical limitations, but quite often, they are also motivated by providing focus to the designers or contractors. While communicating what the stakeholder does not want, the requirements have the harmful impact of restricting the design space available to the designers. More importantly, when requirements are set independently to designers or contractors, without specifying trade-offs among requirements, they can induce sub-optimal designs leading to loss in value. In addition to requirements for individual design variables, overall system targets—even if framed in terms of value—may also result in suboptimal designs and lost value. This paper examines the loss in value that may occur in in the design of large-scale systems in three different instances: the application of independent requirements in the absence of tradeoffs, the use of a deterministic optimization when uncertainty is present, and the application of system value targets. The design of a satellite is used to illustrate how these value gaps are calculated.
Two New Species of Chiggers (Acari: Trombiculidae) from the Philippine Islands

Ascoschoengastia rousetti and Leptotrombidium sandfordi are described as new from the Common Rousette Bat, Rousettus amplexicaudatus , and the Barred Rail, Rallus torquatus sandfordi , respectively, taken on Mindanao Island in the Philippine Islands. Additional records are given for Walchiella impar and Walchiella oudemansi .
Is Smoking a Predictor for Acute Mountain Sickness? Findings From a Meta-Analysis.

AIM Studies of the potential association between cigarette smoking and acute mountain sickness (AMS) have reached contradictory conclusions. Our aim was to perform a meta-analysis of studies across a range of populations to ascertain better the true relationship between cigarette smoking and AMS. MATERIALS AND METHODS We used the PRISMA protocol to identify and screen eligible studies of smoking and AMS. Databases including Pubmed and Google Scholar were searched, using the terms "smoking" and "acute mountain sickness." We conducted a meta-analysis of the selected studies in order to evaluate causal inference, evaluate potential biases, and investigate possible sources of heterogeneity across studies. RESULTS We identified 3907 publications, of which 29 were eligible for inclusion by reporting smoking status and AMS. Of these, eight publications were excluded because they were duplicative or were lacking quantitative data. The 21 studies analyzed included 16 566 subjects. These fell into two groups: occupational/military (n = 8) or volunteers/trekkers/mixed (n = 13). Study heterogeneity was high (X (2) = 55.5, P < .001). Smoking was not statistically associated with increased risk of AMS: pooled OR = 0.88 (95% CI = 0.74-1.05). Stratification yielded similar risk estimates among the occupational/military studies versus all others and studies at relatively higher and lower altitudes. CONCLUSIONS Overall, smoking was not statistically significantly associated with AMS: there is no consistent effect of cigarette smoking acting as either a protective factor against or a risk factor for AMS. IMPLICATIONS This is the first quantitative assessment of published studies on smoking and AMS, which shows smoking to be neither a risk, nor protective. Studies specifically focusing on smoking as a risk factor, should guide further research on this issue. Although all smokers should be strongly advised to quit, studies on risk factors for AMS focusing on other exposures could shed light on the full range of risks for AMS.
Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of hand-foot-mouth disease deaths in Beijing 2010

Objective: To exmine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of hand-foot-mouth disease deaths case in Beijing 2010,to explore the risk factors of intensive case development of deaths case,to provide the treasures data for preventing and control hand-foot-mouth disease deaths case.Methods: Use monitoring data of hand-foot-mouth disease deaths case and case-control study,was analyze the characteristic of deaths case.Results: There were 18 reportrd hand-foot-mouth disease deaths case in Beijing 2010.88.9% deaths case was from May to August;male female ratio of deaths case was 3.5:1;age of patients was less than 4 years old for all of the case;most case were reported in floating of urban-rural population community;more deaths case were seen in scattered children and non-local census register children,and the rate was 83.3% and 94.4%.All of deaths case were suffered from rash,fever and mentally psychia-tric symptoms;overall mental status,respiratory function,and circulatory system were clear indicated.Compared with intensive recovered case,the risk factors of deaths case was infected with EV71 type virus(x2=4.774,P=0.029).Conclusion: Distribution of HFMD deaths case were consistent with severe disease.Prevention and control strategies should focus on the children under 4 years,especially those live in floating population community.
Dissolving the Other: Orientalism, Consumption, and Katy Perry’s Insatiable Dark Horse

Pop star Katy Perry courts controversy with the performance choices she makes. She has been accused of peddling sex to young girls and of perpetuating racist stereotypes in her music videos and live shows. In early 2014, Perry stirred up controversy when she destroyed a necklace with the word Allah—Arabic for god—on it in her Dark Horse video. What received less attention was her destruction of Orientalized men of color in Dark Horse. Informed by postcolonial scholarship and research on music videos, this qualitative textual analysis examines how Orientalism manifests in Katy Perry’s video. It uncovers a framing of Egypt as a mute object designed for consumption as well as a narrative that portrays men of color as a threat to Perry’s liberated, Western, female pharaoh.
Inflammasome-activated gasdermin D causes pyroptosis by forming membrane pores

Inflammatory caspases (caspases 1, 4, 5 and 11) are activated in response to microbial infection and danger signals. When activated, they cleave mouse and human gasdermin D (GSDMD) after Asp276 and Asp275, respectively, to generate an N-terminal cleavage product (GSDMD-NT) that triggers inflammatory death (pyroptosis) and release of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β. Cleavage removes the C-terminal fragment (GSDMD-CT), which is thought to fold back on GSDMD-NT to inhibit its activation. However, how GSDMD-NT causes cell death is unknown. Here we show that GSDMD-NT oligomerizes in membranes to form pores that are visible by electron microscopy. GSDMD-NT binds to phosphatidylinositol phosphates and phosphatidylserine (restricted to the cell membrane inner leaflet) and cardiolipin (present in the inner and outer leaflets of bacterial membranes). Mutation of four evolutionarily conserved basic residues blocks GSDMD-NT oligomerization, membrane binding, pore formation and pyroptosis. Because of its lipid-binding preferences, GSDMD-NT kills from within the cell, but does not harm neighbouring mammalian cells when it is released during pyroptosis. GSDMD-NT also kills cell-free bacteria in vitro and may have a direct bactericidal effect within the cytosol of host cells, but the importance of direct bacterial killing in controlling in vivo infection remains to be determined.
Creating neighborhood recreational space for youth and children in the urban environment: Play(ing in the) Streets in San Francisco

Abstract In 2013, San Francisco was one of eight sites funded by Partnership for a Healthier America to implement Play Streets, a smaller-scale Open Streets-type initiative, aimed at increasing physical activity (PA) among children and youth by closing neighborhood streets for recreational activities. This paper evaluates the pilot Play Streets events held in summer of 2013 in San Francisco with a focus on examining the characteristics of users of such events, the impact on youth and children's physical activities, use of open space and level of community engagement. The study uses survey data, observational data, existing secondary data as well as GIS mapping to measure the space created by Play Streets. Demographic characteristics, levels/types of PA and level of community engagement for a sample of 1364 participants were examined. Engagement in vigorous PA increased three-fold (11.5% to 35%) during PS and 93.3% of participants agreed that “PS strengthens our community.” Open space for PA and recreation added through Play Streets ranged from 47%–100% of available space depending on the site. Play Streets offers a significant opportunity for neighborhoods and small communities to implement a health-benefiting recreational event for its youth and families. However, specific programming is an important key to the success of Play Streets implementation and for attracting the targeted participants.
Imag(in)ing multiple sclerosis: Time to take better pictures.

Abstract Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has led to the identification of widespread brain abnormalities in multiple sclerosis (MS) that extend far beyond the classic white matter lesion. These findings have generated the idea that MS should be understood as a disease of the whole brain, not just the white matter. While it is no doubt the case that many different pathways are ultimately involved in the destruction of brain tissue that occurs in MS, the implications of the accumulated evidence for understanding disease pathophysiology – and hence the overall significance of these imaging findings – are doubtful. Here, I argue that the principled use of imaging can, in fact, address questions about the genesis of these whole-brain abnormalities, rather than simply describe them.
Output Feedback Control for Chaotic System via Generalized Fuzzy Hyperbolic Model

This paper studies the output feedback control for chaotic continuous-time systems whose dynamics may not be exactly known. A chaotic system is modelled based on the generalized fuzzy hyperbolic model (GFHM). A dynamic output feedback controller is designed such that the closed-loop system is asymptotic stable. All the results are presented based on the solvability of a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The effectiveness of the proposed method is shown by a simulation example.
DSBS and BIDs: Advocacy, Not Oversight

This chapter examines another dimension of BIDs’ publicness and privateness. It considers the quality of municipal oversight over BIDs. Chapter 1 posited that voluntary associations are free to operate without public standards of checks on their behavior such as scheduled evaluation reports and other oversight mechanisms.