cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structures, Rotational Barriers, Thermochemical Properties, and Additivity Groups for 2-Propanol, 2-Chloro-2-propanol and the Corresponding Alkoxy and Hydroxyalkyl Radicals

Structures, internal rotational barriers, and thermochemical properties of 2-propanol, 2-chloro-2-propanol, isopropoxy radical, 1-chloro-1-methylethoxy, 2-hydroxypropyl, and 2-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl were computed by ab initio and density functional calculations. Molecular structures and vibration frequencies were determined at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) density functional level, with single-point calculations for the energy at the B3LYP/6-311+G(3df,2p) and CBSQ//B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) levels. The and Cp(T)'s (0 ≤ T ≤ 5000 K) from vibrational, translational, and external rotational contributions were calculated using statistical mechanics based on the vibrational frequencies and structures obtained from the density functional study. Potential barriers for the internal rotations were calculated at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level, and hindered rotational contributions to and Cp(T)'s were calculated by using direct integration over energy levels of the internal rotational potentials. The Δ values for the above species were ca...
How can we find an optimal dose

Abstract Controlled clinical therapeutic trials are designed to compare one treatment with another. Sometimes at the end of such a trial readers draw the inference that “Drug A is better than Drug B” when the experimenter has carefully drawn the limited conclusion that some treatment involving Drug A was better than some other treatment which involved Drug B. In one sense the reader is really on the right track, for we all wish to generalize to a wider class than the internal limits of the experiment. If A is the old drug (or treatment), it is more likely to have been given in an optimal way. Thus even well-planned clinical trials are likely to be biased against the new. To reduce this bias, techniques are needed to find optimal arrangements for the new treatment—quickly and efficiently—so that it may be given every possible chance to show itself at its best. At present, optimum-seeking techniques are very limited, and no organized body of theory exists to help us find optima optimally. Monte Carlo experiments are described in which a technique which takes account of activity and toxicity of a drug is used to converge to a “best dose”. The procedure has many defects, with many involved research problems. A few of the more glaring of these are described.
Critical investigation of the infrared-transmission-data analysis of hydrogenated amorphous silicon alloys.

Infrared-transmission spectroscopy is widely used to obtain quantitative information about hydrogen bonding in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), silicon-germanium (a-SiGe:H), and silicon-carbon (a-SiC:H) alloys. To simplify the conversion of transmission spectra to absorption spectra the most commonly used methods, suggested by Brodsky, Cardona, and Cuomo (BCC) [Phys. Rev. B 16, 3556 (1977)] and Connell and Lewis (CL) [Phys. Status Solidi B 60, 291 (1973)], assume incoherent multiple reflections in the film as well as the substrate. We show that the absorption in a-Si:H alloy films on c-Si substrates is different for coherent and incoherent reflections in the film. This difference causes the BCC and CL methods to overestimate or underestimate the absorption coefficient (\ensuremath{\alpha}) in many experimental situations. The most notable feature is an overestimate of \ensuremath{\alpha} if the film thickness d is below a critical value (${\mathit{d}}_{\mathrm{min}}$). For dg${\mathit{d}}_{\mathrm{min}}$, the error in absorption coefficient is usually less than 10%. Below ${\mathit{d}}_{\mathrm{min}}$, the error in \ensuremath{\alpha} increases as d decreases. The maximum error, which occurs in the limit d\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0, increases with the refractive index of the film and is \ensuremath{\ge}30% for a-SiC:H alloys, \ensuremath{\sim}70% for a-Si:H, and \ensuremath{\le}90% for a-SiGe:H alloys. The value of ${\mathit{d}}_{\mathrm{min}}$ decreases as the refractive index of the film and the frequency of the vibrational mode increase. For a-Si:H, for example, the hydrogen content determined from the 640-${\mathrm{cm}}^{1}$ Si-H wagging-mode absorption is overestimated if d is less than \ensuremath{\sim}1 \ensuremath{\mu}m. We show that experimental data are consistent with the predictions of this analysis. In most cases it is possible to correct the results from the BCC and CL methods so that they are accurate to within 10%. For greater accuracy, infrared-transmission data should be analyzed by taking the effects of optical interference into account.
A study of mean boundary-layer structures over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal during active and break monsoon periods

Observations from research ships which took part in the Indo-Soviet Monsoon Experiment of 1977 (MONSOON 77) and the International Monsoon Experiments (MONEX 79) over the central Arabian Sea and the north central Bay of Bengal were analyzed to study the mean wind and temperature structure of the monsoon boundary layer during active and break conditions. Mean profiles of wind speed and direction along with virtual potential temperature obtained by averaging data from several research ships during 1977 and 1979 indicate that onset conditions were associated with substantial increases in wind speed over the Arabian Sea and a shift to strong southwest flow. Monsoon onset was also characterized by near-neutral to slightly unstable temperature profiles in the lowest kilometer. Break conditions in 1977 in which the monsoon trough moved northward and substantial (5 mb) pressure rises were noted over the Arabian Sea show wind speeds typically decreasing from approximately 18 m s−1 during active conditions to roughly 8 m s −1. Temperature profiles during break conditions are similar to those observed in pre-monsoon conditions in that the boundary layer is observed to be generally much more stable up to 900 mb. Above 900 mb, profiles of virtual potential temperature show little variation.
Crystallographic evolution of microstructure in thin film processing: part II: grain boundary structure

The technique of electron backscattered diffraction is used to charactcrize the microtexture and mesotexture of grain neighborhoods in an annealed thin film of Al97Ge3 on thermally oxidized silicon. Of the microstructural features present in this material, a “sunken” (or “collapsed”) grain neighborhood is examined in terms of its mesotexture. The representation of crystallographic orientation between a “sunken” grain and its surrounding neighbors is assessed using inverse pole figures and Rodrigues-Frank (R-F) space orientation mapping. The two types of mappings are compared and detailed calculations of R-F space are shown. The advantages of the R-F space representation are illustrated. The total number of grains examined is 78 while the number of axis-angle pairs is 72. The microtexture is a strongly preferred parallel to the substrate normal while the mesotexture is comprised of low angle boundaries and fiber mesotexture as indicated by a R-F map.
Test methodologies and design automation for IBM ASICs

IBM manufactures a very large number of different application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips each year. Although these chips are designed by many different customers having various levels of test experience and all having tight deadlines, IBM ASICs have a reputation for their high quality. This quality is due in large part to the heavy focus on design for test (DFT) and the use of design automation to help ensure that customers' chips can be manufactured, tested, and diagnosed with minimal engineering effort. Prospective customers of IBM ASIC technologies find an explicit set of DFT methodologies to follow which provide a relatively painless, almost push-button approach to the generation of high-quality, “sign-off” test vectors for their chips. This paper discusses the DFT methodologies used for IBM ASICs and the design automation support that enables designers to be so productive with these methodologies. Data are given for several recently processed chips, some designed outside IBM.
A new era in reproductive technology. In vitro fertilization, gamete intrafallopian transfer, and donated gametes and embryos.

IT has been estimated that there are at least 2.8 million infertile couples in the United States who want to have children.1 A decade ago many of these couples remained childless, despite the many ...
Effect of grain size on remotely sensed spectral reflectance of sandy desert surfaces

The effect of soil surface texture on spectral reflectance is reported for a site in the Mojave Desert. Abandoned central-pivot agricultural fields in the Manix Basin of southeastern California have introduced deflationary surfaces into the otherwise stable, armored desert surface. This has resulted in sand plumes, eroded from the fields by wind, transported by saltation, and deposited downwind of the fields. Grain size analysis of this wind-transported material reveals a fractionation by size within the plume, with smaller effective particle size toward the toe of the plume. This fractionation results from the greater mobility of smaller particles, and the longer saltation paths they take once airborne. Radiative transfer modeling of quartz grains with absorbing rinds indicates that the differences in grain size observed in the field should be revealed in apparent surface reflectance and are resolvable within the noise-equivalent delta-reflectance of the Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) instrument. Analysis of AVIRIS-derived apparent surface reflectance demonstrates the expected negative correlation between effective grain size of sand in the plume and reflectance, with the most significant correlations in the short-wave infrared. The change in reflectance per mm change in particle diameter was -0.06 at λ∼1.7 μm and -0.08 at λ∼2.2 μm with R2=0.89 and 0.93, respectively.
An ultra-low power spike detector for implantable biomedical systems

An ultra-low power spike detector has been developed for implantable neural recording microsystems. The proposed circuit amplifies neural spikes with a pre-amplifier with a gain of 25.5 dB and then signals are compared with a detection threshold in a 25 dB comparator circuit. The spike detector simulated in a 0.13 μm standard CMOS process consumes 56.5 μW while being biased from a 0.7 V power supply.
Dynamics of plastic deformation based on restoring and energy dissipative mechanisms in plasticity

The dynamics of plasticity is considered based on the field theoretical approach developed by physical mesomechanics. The equation of motion governing mesoscopic volume elements in plastically deforming media is derived from the mesomechanical field equation. Theoretical analysis on this equation of motion indicates that in the plastic regime solid-state media exert two types of forces; the restoring force and energy dissipating force. The former is associated with the shear modulus, and causes the displacement field to be oscillatory. The latter is associated with a quantity analogous to the electric charge, and causes the displacement field to be decaying. Experimental observations that support these theoretical considerations are presented.
Too Many Men? Sex Ratios and Women's Partnering Behavior in China

The relative numbers of women and men are changing dramatically in China, but the consequences of these imbalanced sex ratios have received little empirical attention. We merge data from the Chinese Health and Family Life Survey with community-level data from Chinese censuses to examine the relationship between cohort- and community-specific sex ratios and women's partnering behavior. Consistent with demographic-opportunity theory and sociocultural theory, we find that high sex ratios (indicating more men relative to women) are associated with an increased likelihood that women marry before age 25. However, high sex ratios are also associated with an increased likelihood that women engage in premarital and extramarital sexual relationships and have more than one sexual partner, findings consistent with demographic-opportunity theory but inconsistent with sociocultural theory.
Search for solar-type nitrogen in the gas-rich Pesyanoe meteorite

An initial study carried out to isolate and characterize solar wind N in the dark portion of the enstatite achondrite Pesyanoe is presented. Nitrogen isotopic data obtained from a stepwise gas release of two grain-size fractions of the gas-rich meteorite are given. It is determined that more than one trapped N component is present and that indigenous N is released above 1000 C with an isotopic signature of delta N-15 = -33 per mil. A heavy N component is detected at 700-800 C, and coincides with a major release of solar-type noble gases. A lower limit of delta N-15 = -6 per mil is defined by the isotopic shifts at this range of temperature for the second element of a two-component mixture, whereas the delta N-15 signature depends on the adopted elemental abundances for a solar-type component. It is pointed out that the timing of solar wind loading of Pesyanoe is only constrained to correspond to the cosmic ray exposure age (less than 60 Ma), although it is generally assumed that this irradiation took place during an early stage.
Hepatitis B Virus Capsid Assembly Is Enhanced by Naturally Occurring Mutation F97L

In chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections, one of the most common mutations to the virus occurs at amino acid 97 of the core protein, where leucine replaces either phenylalanine or isoleucine, depending on strain. This mutation correlates with changes in viral nucleic acid metabolism and/or secretion. We hypothesize that this phenotype is due in part to altered core assembly, a process required for DNA synthesis. We examined in vitro assembly of empty HBV capsids from wild-type and F97L core protein assembly domains. The mutation enhanced both the rate and extent of assembly relative to those for the wild-type protein. The difference between the two proteins was most obvious in the temperature dependence of assembly, which was dramatically stronger for the mutant protein, indicating a much more positive enthalpy. Since the structures of the mutant and wild-type capsids are essentially the same and the mutation is not involved in the contact between dimers, we suggest that the F97L mutation affects the dynamic behavior of dimer and capsid.
Second-order epi-derivatives of integral functionals

Epi-derivatives have many applications in optimization as approached through nonsmooth analysis. In particular, second-order epi-derivatives can be used to obtain optimality conditions and carry out sensitivity analysis. Therefore the existence of second-order epi-derivatives for various classes of functions is a topic of considerable interest. A broad class of composite functions on ℝ n called ‘fully amenable’ functions (which include general penalty functions composed withC 2 mappings, possibly under a constraint qualification) are now known to be twice epi-differentiable. Integral functionals appear widely in problems in infinite-dimensional optimization, yet to date, only integral functionals defined by convex integrands have been shown to be twice epi-differentiable, provided that the integrands are twice epi-differentiable. Here it is shown that integral functionals are twice epi-differentiable even without convexity, provided only that their defining integrands are twice epi-differentiable and satisfy a uniform lower boundedness condition. In particular, integral functionals defined by fully amenable integrands are twice epi-differentiable under mild conditions on the behavior of the integrands.
Imaging New Transient Nanostructures Using a Microfluidic Chip Integrated with a Controlled Environment Vitrification System for Cryogenic Transmission Electron Microscopy

Nanostructures (vesicles, micelles, bilayers) are important in nanomedicine and biochemical processes. They are agents for encapsulation and eventual release of drugs, flavors, and fragrances. The structural transition from micelles to vesicles through disk-like intermediate states has been demonstrated previously. Here, we disclose a new route for the micelle-vesicle transition, where micelles aggregate to first form long tubules that become unstable, and break up into vesicles. A simple theory, based on energy principles, is presented to explain the tubule-vesicle transition. Observation of this new tubular intermediate state has been facilitated by the development of an integrated microfluidic chip/cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) unit. Although this transition has been observed in a specific amphiphilic system where micellar solutions of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (HDBS) are mixed to form vesicles, this new tool can be applied broadly to study transient structures in nanoscale systems under the very controlled conditions provided by microfluidics.
Lumbar hernia after breast reconstruction.

INTRODUCTION Lumbar hernia is a rare complication that can occur after breast reconstruction using a latissimus dorsi flap. The defect occurs within the superior lumbar triangle and may result in visceral incarceration.
Is baryon number violated when electroweak strings intercommute

We reexamine the self-helicity and the intercommutation of electroweak strings. A final field configuration when electroweak strings intersect and intercommute is proposed. It conserves helicity and hence baryon number. The connection between a segment of electroweak string and a sphaleron is also discussed.
Evidence for Synergism in Nonionic Surfactant Mixtures: Enhancement of Solubilization in Water-in-Oil Microemulsions

It is well-known that certain mixtures of surfactants can provide better performance than pure surfactants for a wide variety of applications,1,2 and thus it is expected that enhanced solubilization ofwater inwater-in-oil (w/o) microemulsions will also be achieved with certain surfactant mixtures. The formation of w/o microemulsions involves dissolving an aqueous phase into an oil phase, creating a transparent and thermodynamically stable suspension of dropletswith diameters in the range of 10100nm. It is desirable to accomplish thiswithaminimum amount of surfactant,3 and in order to achieve this goal, mixtures of surfactants canbeused. We intend toaddress different surfactant mixtures that exhibit synergism in the solubilizationofwater inw/omicroemulsions, showing the existence of at least two different mechanisms of synergism. Synergism in surfactants may be defined as any situation where mixtures of surfactants have superior properties when compared to the properties of any of the single components alone. Although certain mixtures of dissimilar surfactants canbe expected to showsynergism, enhancement in properties may also occur withmixtures of similar structures. Shinoda et al.4,5 havedemonstrated thatmacroemulsionsmadewithnonionic surfactants that have been purified to a single poly(ethylene oxide) chain length are generally less able to solubilize the dispersed phase into the continuous phase, when compared to macroemulsions made with surfactant having the same average length, but an ethylene oxide size distribution. Ordinarily, onewouldnot expect strong synergistic effects in mixtures of nonionic surfactants, as synergism in anionic/nonionic surfactantmixtures has beenattributed to Coulombic, ion-dipole, or hydrogen-bonding interactions among the polar groups. Nonionics, which have minimum intermolecular interactions, should have, by comparison, the lowest synergism of all mixtures.6 In light of this previous work, we are able to demonstrate strong synergism in nonionic surfactant mixtures. When formulating water-in-oil microemulsions, one mustaccount for several factors, including thepartitioning of thesurfactant (or its components)betweentheoil,water, and interfacial domains (Figure 1). For maximum solubilization it is desirable to have most of the surfactant at the interface between the oil and water, rather than dissolved in the oil or water phases. Increasing the interfacial area should also increase solubilization. Synergism in microemulsion solubilization has been previously reported for a nonionic-anionic system designed for pharmaceutical applications, using mixtures of AOT (sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate) and Arlacel 20 (sorbitan laurate) in different proportions.7,8 The present paper reports similar improvements using nonionicnonionic surfactant mixtures for solubilization of water in water-in-oil microemulsions and provides evidence for two different synergism mechanisms.
Performance and Modeling of a Liquid-Fed Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

Systematic experiments have been conducted to study the effects of various operating parameters on the performance of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The effects of cell operating temperature, anode flow rate, air flow rate, and methanol concentration have been studied. The experimental results showed that the operating parameters have significant effects on the DMFC performances, and some of the effects are complicated and deserve further detailed studies. Selected results are presented in this paper. A three dimensional, single-phase, multi-component model has been developed for liquid-feed DMFC. The traditional continuity, momentum, and species conservation equations are used. At the anode, liquid phase is considered, and at the cathode, only gas phase is considered. In addition to the regular electrochemical kinetics at the anode and cathode, the mixed potential effects due to methanol crossover are also included in the model. The modeling results compared well with our experimental data.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Case 5 Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease W Ith Clinical Budd-Chiari Syndrome

This 12 year old girl noticed increasing abdominal girth and a 5.4 kg weight loss over 3 or 4 months time, as well as anorexia, spontaneous bruising, and probable yellow sclerae on and off for 2 months. The patient was a junior high school student of middle-European extraction, born and raised in urban Ohio. She had been born at term and had an unremarkable newborn course.
PRIORITIZATION OF DELAYED VACCINATION FOR PANDEMIC INFLUENZA

Limited production capacity and delays in vaccine development are major obstacles to vaccination programs that are designed to mitigate a pandemic influenza. In order to evaluate and compare the impact of various vaccination strategies during a pandemic influenza, we developed an age/risk-structured model of influenza transmission, and parameterized it with epidemiological data from the 2009 H1N1 influenza A pandemic. Our model predicts that the impact of vaccination would be considerably diminished by delays in vaccination and staggered vaccine supply. Nonetheless, prioritizing limited H1N1 vaccine to individuals with a high risk of complications, followed by school-age children, and then preschool-age children, would minimize an overall attack rate as well as hospitalizations and deaths. This vaccination scheme would maximize the benefits of vaccination by protecting the high-risk people directly, and generating indirect protection by vaccinating children who are most likely to transmit the disease.
Comparing Two Bayesian Methods for Gene Tree/Species Tree Reconstruction: Simulations with Incomplete Lineage Sorting and Horizontal Gene Transfer

With the increasing interest in recognizing the discordance between gene genealogies, various gene tree/species tree reconciliation methods have been developed. We present here the first attempt to assess and compare two such Bayesian methods, Bayesian estimation of species trees (BEST) and BUCKy (Bayesian untangling of concordance knots), in the presence of several known processes of gene tree discordance. DNA alignments were simulated under the influence of incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) and of horizontal gene transfer (HGT). BEST and BUCKy both account for uncertainty in gene tree estimation but differ substantially in their assumptions of what caused gene tree discordance. BEST estimates a species tree using the coalescent model, assuming that all gene tree discordance is due to ILS. BUCKy does not assume any specific biological process of gene tree discordance through the use of a nonparametric clustering of concordant genes. BUCKy estimates the concordance factor (CF) of a clade, which is defined as the proportion of genes that truly have the clade in their trees. The estimated concordance tree is then built from clades with the highest estimated CFs. Because of their different assumptions, it was expected that BEST would perform better in the presence of ILS and that BUCKy would perform better in the presence of HGT. As expected, the species tree was more accurately reconstructed by BUCKy in the presence of HGT, when the HGT events were unevenly placed across the species tree. BUCKy and BEST performed similarly in most other cases, including in the presence of strong ILS and of HGT events that were evenly placed across the tree. However, BUCKy was shown to underestimate the uncertainty in CF estimation, with short credibility intervals. Despite this, the discordance pattern estimated by BUCKy could be compared with the signature of ILS. The resulting test for the adequacy of the coalescent model proved to have low Type I error. It was powerful when HGT was the major source of discordance and when HGT events were unevenly placed across the species tree.
Online commentary during the physical examination: A communication tool for avoiding inappropriate antibiotic prescribing?

A previously identified communication behavior, online commentary, is physician talk that describes what he/she is seeing, feeling, or hearing during the physical examination of the patient. The investigators who identified this communication behavior hypothesized that its use may be associated with successful physician resistance to perceived or actual patient expectations for inappropriate antibiotic medication. This paper examines the relationship between actual and perceived parental expectations for antibiotics and physician use of online commentary as well as the relationship between online commentary use and the physician's prescribing decision. We conducted a prospective observational study in two private pediatric practices. Study procedures included a pre-visit parent survey, audiotaping of study consultations, and post-visit surveys of the participating physicians. Ten pediatricians participated (participation rate=77%) and 306 eligible parents participated (participation rate=86%) who were attending sick visits for their children with upper respiratory tract infections between October 1996 and March 1997. The main outcomes measured were the proportion of consultations with online commentary and the proportion of consultations where antibiotics were prescribed. Two primary types of online commentaries were observed: (1) online commentary suggestive of a problematic finding on physical examination that might require antibiotic treatment ('problem' online commentary), e.g., "That cough sounds very chesty"; and (2) online commentary that indicated the physical examination findings were not problematic and antibiotics were probably not necessary ('no problem' online commentary), e.g., "Her throat is only slightly red". For presumed viral cases where the physician thought the parent expected to receive antibiotics, if the physician used at least some 'problem' online commentary, he/she prescribed antibiotics in 91% (10/11) of cases. Conversely, when the physician exclusively employed 'no problem' online commentary, antibiotics were prescribed 27% (4/15) of the time (p = 0.07). Use of 'no problem' online commentary did not add significantly to visit length. 'No problem' online commentary is a communication technique that may provide an effective and efficient method for resisting perceived expectations to prescribe antibiotics.
Getting to “Fair” Justice Interactions as Identity Negotiation

The vast majority of justice studies reflect the “event paradigm,” focusing on how subordinates form fairness perceptions in discrete situations and how managers can alter perceptions of isolated e...
Electronic Signatures and Interpersonal Trustworthiness in Online Negotiations

Corporate-mandated signature lines in professional e-mail messages (i.e., those required and often added automatically by the company’s server) are an increasingly common practice in organizations. This research empirically explores the impact of one such electronic signature upon judgments of interpersonal trustworthiness in online negotiations. Specifically, we compare the impact of what we call the “disclaimer” signature (statements that the e-mail represents the opinion of the sender and not necessarily the organization) to “non-disclaimer” signatures (statements of confidentiality.) Findings indicate that negotiators who received such a disclaimer signature tended to judge the sender as less trustworthy and also receive lower objective outcomes than did those who either did not have any statement, or those who had one with different (non-disclaimer) content.
An aggregating U -Test for a genetic association study of quantitative traits

We propose a novel aggregating U-test for gene-based association analysis. The method considers both rare and common variants. It adaptively searches for potential disease-susceptibility rare variants and collapses them into a single “supervariant.” A forward U-test is then used to assess the joint association of the supervariant and other common variants with quantitative traits. Using 200 simulated replicates from the Genetic Analysis Workshop 17 mini-exome data, we compare the performance of the proposed method with that of a commonly used approach, QuTie. We find that our method has an equivalent or greater power than QuTie to detect nine genes that influence the quantitative trait Q1. This new approach provides a powerful tool for detecting both common and rare variants associated with quantitative traits.
Utilizing horizontal and vertical parallelism with a no-instruction-set compiler for custom datapaths

Performance of programs can be improved by utilizing their horizontal and vertical parallelism. In some processors (VLIW based), compiler can utilize horizontal parallelism by controlling the schedule of independent operations. Vertical parallelism is utilized through pipelining. However, in all processors, structure of pipeline is fixed and compiler has no control over it. In application-specific-instruction set-processors (ASIPs), pipeline structure can be customized and utilized in the program through custom instructions. Practical constraints on the instruction decoder limit the number and complexity of custom instructions in ASIPs. Detecting the frequent and beneficial custom instructions and incorporating them in the compiler are complex and sometimes very time consuming tasks. In this paper, we present an architecture that does not limit the number of custom functionalities that can be implemented on its datapath. Instead of using custom instructions and then relying on the decoder in hardware to generate the control signals, we generate the control signal values in compiler. Since there are no predefined instructions in this architecture, we call it no-instruction-set-computer (NISC). The NISC compiler maps the application directly on the datapath. It has complete fine grain control over datapath and hence can very well utilize resources in the hardware as well as horizontal and vertical parallelism in the program. We also explain the algorithm for mapping the CDFG of a program on a given datapath in NISC. Using our algorithm and a NISC architecture with the datapath of a MIPS, we achieved up to 70% speedup over the traditional MIPS compiler. In another experiment, we started from a base architecture and customized it by adding resources and interconnect to increase its horizontal and vertical parallelism. The algorithm achieved up to 15.5 times speedup by utilizing the available parallelism in the program and the datapath.
Unconventional Processing In Interferometry

The term unconventional is relative in both time and the area of application. Today's unconventional processing may become tomorrow's common practice if it proves to be of sufficient utility. Also, workers in one area may be unaware of methods in another which could be useful. Processing techniques in both of these categories are discussed. Time and space do not permit the inclusion of all of the specialized forms of processing now practiced in FT-IR. However, several processing topics of special interest to remote sensing but which should be of interest to other applications of spectroscopy are discussed. These are: radiometric calibration, interferogram dynamic range reduction and correlation interferometry.
Fragmentation of protonated oligopeptides XLDVLQ (X=L, H, K or R) by surface induced dissociation: additional evidence for the 'mobile proton' model

Abstract The fragmentation of a series of singly protonated peptides, X-Leu-Asp-Val-Leu-Gln (XLDVLQ, X = Leu(L), His(H), Lys(K), or Arg(R) ), was investigated by surface induced dissociation (SID) in a tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer. The SID collision energies required for the fragmentation were found to increase with increasing gas-phase basicity of the ‘X’ amino acid residue. The results are consistent with previous observations reported for other series of peptides and can be explained based on the ‘mobile proton’ model. Enhanced cleavage at the C(O)–N bond located C-terminal to the Asp residue (Asp-Xxx) was observed only in the presence of Arg, the most basic common amino acid residue. The results suggest that the acidic hydrogen of the Asp side chain becomes significant as an alternative source of proton to promote the ‘charge-directed’ cleavage of the amide linkage of Asp-Xxx (e.g., via a cyclic intramolecular hydrogen bond), when the ‘ionizing’ proton is ‘sequestered’ by the Arg residue. Lower abundances of side chain cleavage d ions by SID were observed relative to those previously detected by high energy CID in sector and sector-hybrid instruments.
Brittle-to-ductile transitions in the fracture of silicon single crystals by dynamic crack arrest

Abstract Experiments have been conducted on the brittle-to-ductile transition of fracture in silicon single crystals through the arrest of cleavage cracks made to propagate on the (110) cleavage planes up a temperature gradient. An activation energy of 1.82 eV has been determined for the transition process based on the dependence of the T BD on an averaged crack velocity, inferred from a jerky mode of crack advance. The dislocation patterns in the arrest zones have been studied in detail by a combination of etch pitting and Berg–Barrett X-ray topographic imaging after the arrest. These observations indicated that the plasticity of the entire arrest process is accomplished by slip activity on a set of two symmetrically placed vertical slip planes in which only one type of dislocation was involved. These planes do not have the highest resolved shear stresses but have the advantage of a very low energy barrier to the nucleation of dislocations from crack tip cleavage ledges. A close correspondence was noted ...
Body composition and protein utilization of chicks fed graded levels of fat.

Abstract Two experiments involving chicks fed a complete crystalline amino acid diet from day 8 to day 21 posthatching were employed to evaluate body composition changes and protein utilization as a function of dietary caloric density. In experiment 1 graded levels of corn oil from 5 to 25% of the diet were fed. Chicks gained as rapidly and utilized the dietary nitrogen as efficiently when 5% corn oil was fed as when higher levels were fed. As caloric density of the diet increased, chicks ate to meet their energy need and therefore cut back on feed (hence, protein) intake. Nonetheless, each increment of protein intake was used at the same efficiency. Body fat increased and body protein decreased with each incremental increase in dietary corn oil. In experiment 2 it was established that protein utilization remained constant over a wide range of protein intake (below the requirement for maximal protein retention), regardless of whether protein intake differences resulted from a change in caloric density of the diet or from a change in the dietary concentration of the complete amino acid mixture. Energy retention appeared to reach a maxima at a dietary concentration of 15% corn oil or 4.19 kcal. M.E./g.
Influence of Dissolved Organic Matter and Invertebrates on the Function of Microbial Films in Groundwater

Microbial films play a central role in mediating energy flux in groundwater ecosystems. The activity of these microbes is likely to be influenced by the availability of resources, especially dissolved organic matter (DOM), and also by consumers, such as invertebrates that feed on microbial films. We used microcosm experiments to examine how bacterial production and extracellular enzyme activity on rocks and fine sediments from cave streams responded to amendments of DOM of varying form and to cave amphipods (Gammarus minus) that feed on microbial films. Glucose and mixtures of DOM extracted from soils and leaves stimulated bacterial production on rocks by 89-166% relative to unamended controls. In contrast, tannic acid amendment did not influence production. Microbial films on fine sediment were not consistently responsive to DOM amendment. Glucose amendment led to increased activity of enzymes associated with C acquisition, but other forms of DOM generally did not alter enzyme activity. DOM amendment led to removal of nitrate and this was correlated with bacterial production, suggesting microbes can link carbon and nitrogen cycling in groundwater as is the case in surface systems. Amphipods reduced bacterial production on rocks, but not fine sediments. The reduction caused by amphipods offset the stimulatory effect of glucose amendment, but there was no interactive effect of DOM and grazing on bacterial production or enzyme activity. Both resources and consumers play important roles in regulating microbial activity in groundwater with important implications for higher trophic levels that use microbes for food.
Intestinal lipoprotein assembly in apobec-1–/– mice reveals subtle alterations in triglyceride secretion coupled with a shift to larger lipoproteins

Mammalian enterocytes express apolipoprotein (apo)B-48, which is produced after posttranscriptional RNA editing of the nuclear apoB-100 transcript by the catalytic deaminase apobec-1. Earlier studi...
Syllable asymmetries in comparative Yoruba phonology

Syllables display symmetrical and asymmetrical properties in two Yoruba dialects. In the asymmetrical dialect, only a vowel with an onset participates in syllable-conditioned processes; an onsetless vowel is syllabically inert. In the symmetrical dialect, a vowel, with or without an onset, participates in syllable processes. It is argued that onsetless vowels are not syllabified in the asymmetrical dialect. Since there is no phonological contrast between syllables with onsets and those without onsets in the symmetrical dialect, all vowels are parsed into syllables exhaustively. Using ideas from Optimality Theory, attested interdialectal variation is shown to follow from different rankings of the same syllable and faithfulness constraints.
Corruption in Higher Education: Does it Differ across the Nations and Why?

Corruption in higher education is a newly emerging topic in the field of education research. Some aspects of corruption in education have been addressed in recent works by Eckstein, Hallak & Poisson, Heyneman, Noah & Eckstein, Segal, and Washburn. However, rigorous systematic research is lacking. This article considers corruption in higher education as reported in the media, following publications in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation. It addresses the differences in forms of corruption across the nations, identifying how exactly they differ and why. Major findings point to the following: some forms of corruption are region-specific while others are universal; types of corruption are connected to the characteristics of the national systems; the general trend in the media attention reflects growing concern about corruption in academia; in the United States more attention is now paid to fraud, plagiarism, and cheating, but in Russia to bribery in admissions. The findings help ...
Microfluidic Devices for Quantifying the Role of Soluble Gradients in Early Angiogenesis

Early angiogenesis, as defined by endothelial polarization and directional sprouting, is regulated by gradients of soluble factors in addition to a multitude of other anisotropic cues including interstitial flow, insoluble gradients, and topography of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Adding to this complexity, other microenvironmental inputs, such as matrix density and rigidity, are known to modulate the extent to which vascular endothelial cells react to these anisotropic cues. Given this complexity, novel platforms are needed to decouple and systematically assess signals regulating early angiogenesis. To this end, we discuss a microfluidic device that achieves stable, matrix-independent soluble gradients via passive diffusion, which shields the culture chamber from shear-induced anisotropy. These devices enable direct time-lapse imaging of single cell and collective cell phenomena within both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) cultures. These experimental platforms have been used to quantify the growth factor concentration requirements that induce endothelial cell chemotaxis, to identify previously unknown regulators of brain angiogenesis, to screen biomaterials for their angiogenic potential, and to investigate the navigational ability of nascent sprouts.
Exendin-4 induces myocardial protection through MKK3 and Akt-1 in infarcted hearts

We have demonstrated that glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) protects the heart against ischemic injury. However, the physiological mechanism by which GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) initiates cardioprotection remains to be determined. The objective of this study is to elucidate the functional roles of MAPK kinase 3 (MKK3) and Akt-1 in mediating exendin-4-elicited protection in the infarcted hearts. Adult mouse myocardial infarction (MI) was created by ligation of the left descending artery. Wild-type, MKK3(-/-), Akt-1(-/-), and Akt-1(-/-);MKK3(-/-) mice were divided into one of several groups: 1) sham: animals underwent thoracotomy without ligation; 2) MI: animals underwent MI and received a daily dose of intraperitoneal injection of vehicle (saline); 3) MI + exendin-4: infarcted mice received daily injections of exendin-4, a GLP-1R agonist (0.1 mg/kg, ip). Echocardiographic measurements indicate that exendin-4 treatment resulted in the preservation of ventricular function and increases in the survival rate, but these effects were diminished in MKK3(-/-), Akt-1(-/-), and Akt-1(-/-);MKK3(-/-) mice. Exendin-4 treatments suppressed cardiac hypotrophy and reduced scar size and cardiac interstitial fibrosis, respectively, but these beneficial effects were lost in genetic elimination of MKK3, Akt-1, or Akt-1(-/-);MKK3(-/-) mice. GLP-1R stimulation stimulated angiogenic responses, which were also mitigated by deletion of MKK3 and Akt-1. Exendin-4 treatment increased phosphorylation of MKK3, p38, and Akt-1 at Ser129 but decreased levels of active caspase-3 and cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase; these proteins were diminished in MKK3(-/-), Akt-1(-/-), and Akt-1(-/-);MKK3(-/-) mice. These results reveal that exendin-4 treatment improves cardiac function, attenuates cardiac remodeling, and promotes angiogenesis in the infarcted myocardium through MKK3 and Akt-1 pathway.
Observations and model simulations of wave‐current interaction on the inner shelf

Wave directions and mean currents observed for two 1 month long periods in 7 and 2 m water depths along 11 km of the southern shoreline of Martha's Vineyard, MA, have strong tidal modulations. Wave directions are modulated by as much as 70° over a tidal cycle. The magnitude of the tidal modulations in the wavefield decreases alongshore to the west, consistent with the observed decrease in tidal currents from 2.1 to 0.2 m/s along the shoreline. A numerical model (SWAN and Deflt3D-FLOW) simulating waves and currents reproduces the observations accurately. Model simulations with and without wave-current interaction and tidal depth changes demonstrate that the observed tidal modulations of the wavefield primarily are caused by wave-current interaction and not by tidal changes to water depths over the nearby complex shoals.
Bidder Gains and Losses: Evidence from Terminated Merger Proposals

In most cases market returns around merger announcements are difficult to interpret as the announcement of a bid usually conveys more information than the synergy from combination. Using a unique, hand-collected dataset on terminated merger proposals, we investigate termination returns in deals canceled for exogenous reasons unrelated to the bidder's valuation. This methodology permits a new assessment of value improvements from acquisitions. We find that bidder gains and losses vary significantly with the type of target acquired. Further evidence suggests that the liquidity needs of private targets significantly contribute to the positive gains to bidders.
Cloaking an Object Near an Obstacle with Plasmonic Materials

We have recently explored theoretically the possibility of using anomalous properties of plasmonic materials to cloak dielectric and metallic objects. Here we numerically analyze this setup in presence of an obstacle or a ground plane.
Characteristics of Boundary Spanning Communicators

This article presents the results and implications of an empirical study designed to explore the descriptive characteristics of boundary spanning individuals. Boundary spanners are individuals in a...
Linearized Lambert's Solution for Computationally Efficient Applications

Lambert’s problem is the well known problem to determine the orbit that allows an object to travel between two given position vectors in a given time-of-flight under Keplerian dynamics. One drawback of solving this problem is that it requires an iterative solution of a transcendental equation, which is not desirable for autonomous on-board applications. In this paper, we present a linearized solution to Lambert’s problem. Given a nominal solution to Lambert’s problem, this linearized solution gives the corrections to the Lambert’s solution if perturbations in the position vectors and time-of-flight are introduced. It is shown that for a wide variety of cases, high-accuracy can be achieved using the linearized solution. The accuracy is detailed through numerical examples in orbits around a small near-Earth asteroid, around the Earth, and in a heliocentric orbit. Applications to orbit determination, targeting, and guidance are discussed.
Kinetics of the oral antiarrhythmie lidocaine congener, tocainide

Tocainide, a primary amine analogue of lidocaine, is effective against some experimental and clinical arrhythmias. Its pharmacokinetic behavior was studied in 6 healthy male subjects. Peak blood levels (CB max) and area under the blood concentration-time curve (AUC) were linearly related to dose with slopes of 0.0067 mcg/ml and 6 min mcg/ml per milligram of dose, respectively. Renal clearance of tocainide averaged 59 ml/min when urinary pH was uncontrolled or acidified, while it was reduced to 13 ml/min during intense sodium bicarbonate loading. Blood levels following intravenous infusion were well described by a 2-compartment open model with a volume of the central compartment of 0.92 L/kg. The t 1/2 beta was 11 hr and total body clearance was 166 ml/min. Loo-Riegelman analysis of the absorption rate did not allow unequivocal assignment of an "order" to the absorption process. Bioavailability approached 100%. Administration of drug 5 min after a test meal suppressed CB max 40% but minimally affected AUC. Approximately 50% of the drug was found to be plasma protein bound at clinically effective concentrations.