cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structures and chemistry of tungsten powder from doped and undoped tungsten blue oxide

Blue tungsten oxide, both without dopant and doped with aluminium, silicon and potassium was reduced to tungsten by heating at 750 and 900° C in flowing hydrogen. The morphology, chemistry, and crystal structure were determined by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. Undoped oxide reduced at a lower rate than did the doped oxide. The potassium, silicon and aluminium appeared to be distributed non-uniformly on the surface of the doped oxide particles. Nucleation of tungsten crystals began earlier in the doped oxides leading to a bimodal distribution of crystal sizes in the doped material. There were pockets of potassium inside the tungsten crystals from the doped blue oxide. This suggests that the tungsten crystals nucleated earlier and at regions of high potassium concentration on the surface of the doped blue oxide. Tungsten was then transported from the surrounding oxide to the nucleus to grow the crystals trapping the potassium inside the crystal. Nucleation of the tungsten crystals occurred more homogeneously on the surface of the oxide that was low in potassium and, of course, on the undoped oxide particles, leading to the smaller size of the tungsten crystals from the undoped oxide.
Specialized wavefront sensors for adaptive optics

The performance of an adaptive optical system is strongly dependent upon correctly measuring the wavefront of the arriving light. The most common wavefront measurement techniques used to date are the shearing interferometer and the Shack-Hartmann sensor. Shack-Hartmann sensors rely on the use of lenslet arrays to sample the aperture appropriately. These have traditionally been constructed using ULM or step and repeat technology, and more recently with binary optics technology. Diffractive optics fabrication methodology can be used to remove some of the limitations of the previous technologies and can allow for low-cost production of sophisticated elements. We have investigated several different specialized wavefront sensor configurations using both Shack-Hartmann and shearing interferometer principles. We have taken advantage of the arbitrary nature of these elements to match pupil shapes of detector and telescope aperture and to introduce magnification between the lenslet array and the detector. We have fabricated elements that facilitate matching the sampling to the current atmospheric conditions. The sensors were designed using a far-field diffraction model and a photolithography layout program. They were fabricated using photolithography and RIE etching. Several different designs will be presented with some experimental results from a small-scale adaptive optics brass-board.
Dynamic indentation response of ZrHf-based bulk metallic glasses

Static and dynamic Vickers indentations were performed on ZrHf-based bulk amorphous alloys. A decrease in indentation hardness was observed at higher strain rates compared with static indentation hardness. For equivalent loads, dynamic indentations produced more severe deformation features on the loading surface than static indentations. Using bonded interface technique, the induced shear band patterns beneath the indentations were studied. In static indentations, the majority of the deformation was primarily accommodated by closely spaced semicircular shear bands surrounding the indentation. In dynamic indentations two sets of widely spaced semicircular shear bands with two different curvatures were observed. The observed shear band patterns and softening in hardness were rationalized based on the variations in the confinement pressure, strain rate, and temperature within the indentation region during dynamic indentations. It is also proposed that free volume migration and formation of nano-voids leading to cracking are favored due to adiabatic heating and consequently cause the observed softening at high strain rates.
Building customer relationships in an electronic age: The role of interactivity of E-commerce Web sites

This study examines the role of perceived interactivity and other marketing tactics in relationship building with customers in the online retail environment by applying a relationship investment model adapted from De Wulf, Odekerken-Schroder, and Iacobucci (2001). A proposed structure model was tested with data collected from an online survey of 571 respondents. In the model, three subdimensions of perceived interactivity and three marketing tactic variables were incorporated as the antecedents of perceived relationship investment that subsequently influenced perceived relationship quality and behavioral loyalty. Results suggest that two marketing tactics—direct mail (e-mail) and tangible rewards—and two dimensions of perceived interactivity—synchronicity and two-way communication—play as significant antecedents for the relationshipbuilding process of online retail brands. In addition, the findings confirm the relationships among perceived relationship investment, relationship quality, and behavioral loyalty, which indicates that the fundamental process of relationship building remains similar in the online environment. Reflecting the unique nature of the online retail environment, the model also clarifies the roles of interactivity as well as traditional relationship investment strategies in facilitating online retailers' relationship building with customers. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Notch constraint effects on the dynamic fracture toughness of an unaged beta titanium alloy

Abstract The influence of notch included angle and root radius on the apparent dynamic fracture toughness of an unaged metastle beta titanium alloy, Ti3Al8V6Cr4Zr4Mo, has been examined. The apparent fracture toughness, KId (p), increases with both notch radius, ϱ, and included angle, ω. These results have been compared with the theoretical predictions of Tetelman et al. and Smith. The comparisons show that neither theory accurately describes the effect of varying notch constraint on the apparent dynamic fracture toughness. Although preliminary considerations indicate that qualitative descriptions of notch acuity effects may be given by recent finite element analysis of the stress and strain distributions below a notch root, there is at present no quantitative basis for determining the true dynamic fracture toughness of materials from the results of blunt notch experiments.
Channel properties determine the transient activation kinetics of recombinant GABAA receptors

Abstract To understand the mechanisms underlying activation and deactivation of GABAA receptor (GABAR) channels, we studied the properties of an identified GABAR isoform under conditions similar to those present at central GABAergic synapses. Recombinant α5β3γ2L GABARs were expressed in L929 fibroblasts and studied using patch-clamp recording techniques. Brief application of a high GABA concentration to outside-out membrane patches elicited transient currents that resembled those reported for miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs), as well as native GABAR currents recorded under similar conditions. Characteristic of these currents was a rapid activation phase followed by a prolonged biphasic deactivation phase that far outlasted GABA application. Single-channel recordings revealed unique patterns of channel activity with two channel conductance states of 22 and 16 pS. The prolonged deactivation phase appeared to be sustained by entry into and reopening from long-lasting closures or desensitized states. Agonist affinity determined the time course of deactivation, indicating that occupied receptors drove the channel activity underlying the decay of current. The time course of deactivation was also longer at depolarized membrane potentials. The similarities between transient activation kinetics of recombinant α5β3γ2L GABARs to activation of synaptic GABARs (rapid activation and prolonged, voltage-dependent deactivation) suggest that intrinsic channel properties determine much of the response patterns of native GABARs.
Development and evaluation of a portable sham transcranial magnetic stimulation system.

Background Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a relatively noninvasive brain stimulation technology that can focally stimulate the human cortex. One significant limitation of much of the TMS research to date concerns the nature of the placebo or sham conditions used. When TMS pulses are delivered repetitively (especially prefrontal TMS), it is often experienced as painful. Most sham TMS techniques produce identical sounds to active TMS, but they do not cause much, if any, scalp or facial sensation or discomfort. This is a serious problem when investigators are attempting to evaluate the effects of TMS by using traditional sham techniques because of unintended systematic differences between real and sham TMS groups (ie, confounds). As long as traditional approaches to sham TMS are used, the validity of the inferences regarding the efficacy of TMS will be limited. Although some other sophisticated systems have been developed to address these concerns, they tend to be expensive and lack portability. Portability will likely become more and more important as TMS applications expand into different clinical areas (eg, TMS in the postanesthesia care unit after surgery). Methods This study describes a portable electrical TMS sham system (eSham system) modeled after the James Long System that was designed to produce similar scalp sensations as real TMS. Preliminary results are presented on 9 healthy adults who received both real and eSham 10 Hz repetitive TMS (rTMS) (at 80%, 100%, and 120% of resting motor threshold) over the prefrontal cortex and rated the sensation quality (pain, tingling, sharpness, piercing, electric, tugging, pinching), tolerability, and location. Results Real TMS and eSham TMS were rated similarly across all seven sensory dimensions examined. Real and eSham TMS were also rated similarly with respect to tolerability and perceived location of the TMS-induced sensations. Conclusions The eSham system may be a simple, affordable, and portable approach to providing convincing sham TMS for future clinical trials. This study provides preliminary evidence supporting the use of the eSham system. Future larger-scale studies are warranted.
Barriers to Supported Education Implementation: Implications for Administrators and Policy Makers

The economic impact of a lack of educational achievement for individuals with psychiatric disabilities is profound. Current poor economic conditions exacerbate the effects of low educational levels. This article presents the current educational barriers faced by individuals with psychiatric disabilities and introduces one potential solution: supported education. Supported education is an emerging best practice which holds promise for helping individuals with psychiatric disabilities in their pursuit of educational goals. However, additional barriers stand in the way of widespread supported education implementation. Recommendations are included for policymakers and community mental health centers to help increase the penetration of this much-needed service.
Immigrant families’ use of early childcare: Predictors of care type☆

Abstract Early care and education (ECE) settings are important developmental contexts for young children, with nearly half of all U.S. children experiencing non-parental care during infancy and toddlerhood. However, there is little research examining patterns and predictors of ECE selection among immigrant families even though children of immigrants represent the fastest growing population in the U.S. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort ( N ≈ 10,700), including a diverse group of children with immigrant parents ( N ≈ 2950), this study aims to fill gaps in the literature by examining predictors of the type of ECE (parent, relative, home-based, or center-based) children experience during infancy and toddlerhood (children aged 7–38 months). It examines how immigrant, family, child, and contextual characteristics predict ECE selection within immigrant families and whether these correlates of ECE selection differ across native and immigrant families. Results show distinct patterns of infant and toddler ECE related to immigrant status, particularly when it came to socioeconomic advantage predicting increased relative care for children of immigrants but not native families. Furthermore, several immigrant-specific characteristics, including region of origin, English proficiency, and availability of non-English ECE options, were associated with immigrant families’ ECE choices for their infants and toddlers.
An EM-CKT simulator for analyzing transient scattering from nonlinearly loaded periodic structures

Periodic arrangements of nonlinearly loaded scatterers (unit cells) are important components in phased array antenna systems, frequency selective surfaces, metamaterials, etc. For instance, metamaterials loaded with non-Foster circuits can exhibit enhanced bandwidth of operation (P.-Y. Chen, C. Argyropoulos, and A. Alu, Phys. Rev. Lett., 2013).
Diamagnetic to paramagnetic transition in LaCoO 3

The diamagnetic to paramagnetic spin state transition in ${\text{LaCoO}}_{3}$ (LCO) that occurs in the temperature range 30--120 K is generally attributed to the small energy gap between the ${\text{Co}}^{3+}\text{ }{t}_{2g}$ and ${e}_{g}$ states. Evidence for this thermally activated transition has been interpreted as leading to either the intermediate spin state, ${t}_{2g}^{5}{e}_{g}^{1}(S=1)$, or, alternatively, to the high-spin state, ${t}_{2g}^{4}{e}_{g}^{2}(S=2)$ of the ${\text{Co}}^{3+}$ ion, with the issue proving highly controversial. In an effort to obtain a consistent description of the temperature dependence of the magnetic and thermal properties of this system, we have made measurements of both the magnetization in applied fields of up to 33 T and the specific heat at 0 and 9 T on a single crystal of LCO. In addition, EPR measurements were made on the same sample using high-field EPR spectrometers. The spin-Hamiltonian parameters are consistent with the previous pulsed-field EPR work and support the atomic-like energy level description of the Co ion. The low-lying first-excited state is part of the ${^{5}T}_{2g}$ $(^{5}D)$ set and is a triplet state with effective spin ${S}_{\text{eff}}=1$. The magnetization results are analyzed using a mean-field model allowing for antiferromagnetic correlations between the spins. The model is used to estimate the spin contribution to the specific heat.
Role of physical fitness in heat acclimatisation, decay and reinduction.

Abstract Loss of heat acclimatisation was investigated, in winter after decay periods of 3, 6, 12 and 18 days, by evaluation or the residual retention and the time necessary for reinduction. Twenty-four fit soldiers (mean [Vdot]o2 max = 49.5 ml kg−1min−1) were concurrently heat acclimatised for 9 days, walking 1.34 ms−1 for 110 min each day at 49°C, 20% R.H., 1.4 ms−1 wind. Physiological measurements included heart rate (HR), rectal temperature (Tre) mean skin temperature (T¯s) and sweat rate. Final mean Tre at 110 min decreased from 39.1°C (day 1) to 38.3°C (day 9). and final moan HR from 160 beats min−1 to 124 boats min−1 (p 0.05) for all grou...
DETECTION OF REACTIVE FREE RADICALS IN FRESH COAL MINE DUST AND THEIR IMPLICATION FOR PULMONARY INJURY

Freshly ground and aged anthracite and bituminous coal samples were investigated by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy to detect the presence, concentration and reactivity of free radicals. Freshly ground anthracite coal produced greater concentration of free radicals than the bituminous coal, and the radical reactivity was also greater for the anthracite. The reactivity of the newly produced free radicals in the anthracite dust correlated with the dust's toxicity. Furthermore, similar coal-based free radicals were detected in the lung tissue of autopsied coal miners, suggestive of persistent reactivity by the embedded coal dust leading to the progressive disease process. Results of the studies on the severity of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) and free radical concentration in lung tissue support this hypothesis.
Ultrananocrystalline diamond, a new nanocarbon enabled by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Summary form only given. The idea of making use of the highly energetic carbon dimer molecular species, C2, to nucleate and grow diamond was conceived in 1991. Importantly, this approach obviates the presence of atomic hydrogen to perform sequential hydrogen abstraction reactions, a requirement essential for conventional CVD diamond synthesis. The C2 process uniquely results in the synthesis of ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films composed of 3-5 nm crystallites that along with fullerenes and nanotubes constitute the fascinating triad of new nanocarbons. Surface to volume considerations in UNCD dictate that about 10% of the carbon in the films is at grain boundaries where sp2+x carbon-carbon bond rehybridization occurs reminiscent of the bonding in fullerenes and nanotubes. The UNCD films are very smooth and have a Young's modulus close to that of single crystal diamond. They can be conformally coated even on AFM tips and are potentially useful as NEMS and MEMS devices, coatings for rotating seals, hermetic sealing of retinal implants as well as other applications. Microwave plasma processes play a crucial role in many aspects of UNCD film properties such as the profound changes in electrical conductivity correlated with the formation of CN species when nitrogen, N2, is added to the synthesis gas. The ratios of the plasma generated CN and C2 molecules can be precisely controlled. By doing so, we are able to control the n-type conductivity of the films over many orders of magnitude. The fascinating recently determined relationship CN/C2=log(Ktimeselectrical conductivity) will be elucidated in terms of non-equilibrium plasma induced reactions, equilibrium reactions dictated by thermodynamics and changes in film microstructure. Various applications of highly conducting n-type UNCD will be enumerated
Second-Harmonic Generation and Parametric Amplification in Negative-Index Metamaterials

Extraordinary nonlinear-optical properties originating from contra-directed wave vector and Poynting vector are investigated. The feasibility of light-controlled transparency, cavityless oscillation and generation of counter-propagating entangled right- and left-handed photons is shown.
Plasmonic conveyor belt

We develop a plasmonic trapping and conveyor system based on resonant C-shaped engravings driven by polarization rotation and wavelength switching.
WebCN: A web-based computation tool for in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides

Abstract Cosmogenic nuclide techniques are increasingly being utilized in geoscience research. For this it is critical to establish an effective, easily accessible and well defined tool for cosmogenic nuclide computations. We have been developing a web-based tool (WebCN) to calculate surface exposure ages and erosion rates based on the nuclide concentrations measured by the accelerator mass spectrometry. WebCN for 10 Be and 26 Al has been finished and published at http://www.physics.purdue.edu/primelab/for_users/rockage.html . WebCN for 36 Cl is under construction. WebCN is designed as a three-tier client/server model and uses the open source PostgreSQL for the database management and PHP for the interface design and calculations. On the client side, an internet browser and Microsoft Access are used as application interfaces to access the system. Open Database Connectivity is used to link PostgreSQL and Microsoft Access. WebCN accounts for both spatial and temporal distributions of the cosmic ray flux to calculate the production rates of in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides at the Earth’s surface.
High throughput production of uniformly-sized fluorocarbon emulsions for ultrasonic therapy using a silicon-based microfluidic system

Sonosensitive particles such as microbubbles and emulsions are typically produced using methods that generate a wide range of particle sizes. These polydisperse distributions are not ideal and thus research efforts have focused on developing techniques to generate more uniformly-sized particles. This works demonstrates the fabrication of a massively parallel microfluidic device consisting of 2,500 channels, which enables fast production rates compared to single channel microfluidic devices. Fluorocarbon emulsions were generated using this device and sized with a Coulter counter. The mean droplet diameters ranged from 5 to 8 µm with coefficients of variance in the range of 14–40%. Production rates as high as 6.5 MHz were observed. Overall, these results indicate that uniformly-sized emulsions can be generated at rates feasible for scale-up.
Net and total shallow impurity analysis of silicon by low temperature fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Abstract A method for determining net and total shallow impurity concentrations in s silicon by low temperature IR measurements was developed. Calibration factors for quantitative analysis of boron, phosphorus and arsenic were experimentally determined, and estimates for the other shallow impurities were made. Detection sensitivities of better than 5 × 10 11 atoms cm -3 were demonstrated.
Mixed affine surface area

Various means (over the unit sphere) of powers of the curvature function of a convex body arise in geometric convexity. For example, both the surface area and the affine surface area of sufficiently smooth bodies can be expressed as such means. The survey of Gruber [ 111 on approximation of convex bodies contains a number of examples of means of powers of the curvature function arising in approximation problems (see, pp. 137 141. 143, and 1466148 of [ 11 I). These means arise, surprisingly, in questions related to approximating convex bodies by polytopes (see, e.g., McClure and Vitale [18], Schneider [24], and Schneider and Wieacker [27]). An interesting conjecture of Firey [9, p. S] (also [26, p. 2571). which was recently proved by Gage [lo] for plane convex bodies, is that a certain weighted mean of the curvature function lies between the arithmetic and harmonic means of the curvature function. It turns out that there is also a close connection between various means of the curvature function of a convex body and some mixed volumes involving the body. In this note we investigate means of the curvature function of a convex body which arise as coefficients in the expansion of the afftne surface area of outer and inner Blaschke parallel bodies. For a variety of reasons we will take a general approach to the study of these means, an approach similar to that taken in [14] (see also [4, pp. 164.-1671) in presenting dual mixed volumes. Let .X” denote the set of convex bodies (compact convex sets with interior points) in Euclidean n-space R”. We use h( K, .) to denote the support function of a convex body K; i.e..
The Effect of Child Gender on Teachers' Responses to Oppositional Defiant Disorder

This study investigated whether child gender influences teachers' responses to oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Teachers (N = 145) read a vignette describing a fictional child's oppositional behavior. Two forms of the vignette were administered, identical with the exception of child gender, and included ODD symptoms descriptive of both boys and girls. Child gender did not affect teachers' ratings of disruptiveness or severity, or most responses to oppositional behavior. Teachers were more likely to have had actual oppositional boys than girls in their classes, and were more likely to refer the vignette student if they had referred a similar student in the past. The potential roles of gendered symptom expression, comorbidity, and recent changes in school referral procedures are discussed.
Effects of electroconvulsive shock and puromycin on operant responding in goldfish

Abstract Goldfish were conditioned to strike an operandum for food reward on a variable interval schedule. Well-established patterns of operant responding were disrupted for up to several days when the fish were convulsed by a 1 sec transcranial shock immediately following a regular daily session. No lasting interference was seen when fish were shocked 19.5 hr postsession. The results suggest that the convulsive shock has aversive consequences which can be conditioned to stimuli associated with the training environment in a single presentation. Intracranial administration of 170 μg of puromycin immediately following a session did not disrupt responding.
Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Passive Consumption in Internet Media

Internet users can be classified as two types: (a) active users —actively contribute to blogs, publish opinions, write comments in Youtube, tweet messages, etc. and (b) passive consumers who only consume Internet information without contributing to it. While the majority of current social media research deals with active user analysis, there is very little work in understanding the dynamics of passive consumers and their influence. Our global scale Internet measurement of user access patterns of a diverse set of Internet media services indicates conclusively that majority of consumers are passive. In this paper, we develop a spatio-temporal mathematical model and the corresponding stochastic analysis to understand the passive consumer dynamics. Both discrete and continuous time analysis are presented. We also show how the analysis can be used to identify spatial points of influence, i.e., spatial locations that have maximum expertise or influence on a topic. The analysis takes into account, the initial level of consumption at each spatial location and the influence of different passive consumers at different geographic locations on each other. The effect of information noise is taken into account to derive fundamental limits of passive information consumption. Theoretical results are verified using real Internet measurement data. The large scale data have been made available for other researchers.
Effects of phonetic symbolism on paired-associate learning

To investigate relations, if any, between phonetic symbolism and learning, a paired-associate learning experiment was conducted with two stimulus variations (complete vs. incomplete figures) and three response variations [repetitive vs. nonrepetitive same (S) vs. nonrepetitive different (D) disyllables, where S and D were defined in terms of the first vowel of the repetitive group]. Disyllables produced significant effects in all aspects of data. Effects of figures were complex: First-trial data (approximating word matching) indicated suggestive differences, with significant Figure by Disyllable interactions; but overall performance produced insignificant differences between figures. Both figures and disyllables significantly interacted with learning trials. The advantage of the complete-repetitive combination was observed only early in learning, and that of the incomplete-nonrepetitive combination only late in learning. The second sound of disyllables produced significant effects on learning. Phonetic symbolism research may be facilitated by taking learning processes into account.
Formation, Characterization, and Sub-50-nm Patterning of Organosilane Monolayers with Embedded Disulfide Bonds: An Engineered Self-Assembled Monolayer Resist for Electron-Beam Lithography

This paper describes self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) that contain embedded disulfide bonds and the selective cleavage of the disulfides by electron-beam lithography (EBL). Phenyl(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl)disulfide (I) forms siloxane SAMs with a root-mean-square roughness of 1.8 A. The disulfide bonds in I remain intact in the SAM and can react with dithiothreitol after monolayer formation, forming surface thiols, which can be derivatized with maleimide dyes. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) anodization and EBL have been used to create high-resolution patterns on the disulfide-containing monolayer. AFM anodization on monolayer I achieves 20-nm resolution lines with both topographic and chemical alterations in the patterned region. EBL with an accelerating voltage of 30 kV generates trenches 3−4 A deep and 30 nm wide. According to AFM topographic and friction images, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy damage simulation, and chemical rebinding tests, the chemical changes induced by EBL are consistent with cleavag...
Vibrotactile subjective magnitude as a function of hand preference

Abstract The vibrotactile subjective magnitudes of test stimuli were determined by a psycho-physical matching technique as a function of the time interval between conditioning and test stimuli in right-, left-, and ambi-handed subjects. Ipsilateral stimulation on either hand produced equal amounts of enhancement of subjective magnitude in all subjects. Contralateral stimulation produced suppression, followed by enhancement in right- and left-handers, but produced no effect in ambi-handers. The results suggest that the bilateral neural connections of ambi-handers is different from those of right- and left-handers.
Japanese college students' attitudes towards Japan English and American English

This study investigated contemporary Japanese college students' attitudes towards Japan English (JE) and American English (AE) through a verbal guise test (VGT) as well as a questionnaire. Forty-four Japanese college students listened to four Japanese and four North Americans reading a text in English, rated them in terms of solidarity-related (e.g. kind versus mean) and power-related (e.g. rich versus poor) words and then answered a questionnaire. The results of the guise test revealed that the Japanese respondents evaluated AE more highly than JE for power items, but preferred JE to AE when it came to solidarity items overall. These results suggest that Japanese college students' language attitudes are not monolithic and may change depending on which aspects of their perceptions are investigated. In addition, the results of the questionnaire revealed that, although the respondents personally preferred AE, they also wanted JE to be accepted internationally. These findings, I argue, suggest a growing poss...
Acute hypertension promotes hemorrhagic transformation in a rabbit embolic stroke model: effect of labetalol.

We examined the relationship between acute hypertension following cerebral embolization and subsequent hemorrhagic transformation (HT) in a rabbit embolic stroke model. We have shown previously that the likelihood and severity of hemorrhage were significantly correlated with the magnitude of an acute hypertensive response to embolization. It was not clear, however, whether hypertension actually caused hemorrhage or was merely a marker of more severe stroke. In the current studies, we attempted to clarify the relationship between acute hypertension and HT by either pharmacologically inducing or attenuating the brief hypertensive response to embolization in rabbits. Under halothane anesthesia, two catheters were implanted in the right carotid arteries of male New Zealand white rabbits, one oriented toward the heart and one toward the brain. The animals were allowed to awaken and were embolized using blood clot emboli injected into the middle cerebral artery. Blood pressure was monitored via the second carotid catheter. In the first experiment, hypertension was induced with angiotensin II, administered at the time of embolization or 1 h later. In the second experiment, we attempted to attenuate the hypertensive response using intravenous labetalol. The animals were sacrificed 18 h after embolization and the brains evaluated for hemorrhage. In the first experiment, administration of angiotensin II immediately after embolization did not increase the hypertensive response to embolization further than that spontaneously occurring, and no angiotensin II-related HT was observed. In contrast, an additional angiotensin-II-induced hypertensive episode 1 h after embolization significantly increased the number of 5-mm serial brain sections displaying HT, from 3.0 ± .3 (mean ± SE) in Controls to 5.4 ± .8 in treated animals. In the second experiment, administration of labetalol (15 mg/kg) significantly reduced the number of brain sections with visible HT, from 3.2 ± .5 in controls to 1.6 ± .4 in treated animals. Acute hypertension during the first hour after cerebral embolization promotes HT in this rabbit embolic stroke model. Labetalol prevents blood pressure elevation and reduces the extent of HT in the same model.
Aesthetic Surgical Training: The Lenox Hill Model

This program enhances residency training in aesthetic surgery. It provides hands-on operating experience in a supervised hospital setting. Concerns of financial support and liability are addressed. Four chief residents from two university programs each spend 3 months conducting a private practice in a service population. A separate resident operative consent form unambiguously specifies the resident as the operating surgeon. Patients are derived from an advertised, free screening clinic every 3 months. The hospital has a special aesthetic surgical fee schedule for the residents. A resident operative fee is collected in support of resident salaries and insurance. An additional fee is collected on behalf of our anesthesiologists. During their 3 months the residents perform 30 to 40 operations as primary surgeon and 50 to 60 as the first assistant. Patient discontent, though rare, is resolved in conference with the patient, the resident, the attending surgeon, and the chief of section. Didactic training consists of monthly surgical conferences, journal club, and guest speaker presentations. Residents experience a practice setting by overseeing appointments to their clinic, booking operating room cases, and providing all paperwork for preadmission testing and certification, as well as fulfilling utilization and quality assurance requirements. They are responsible for their operative patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The program is in its seventh year and its success is noted by continued full certification of the two participating university programs and absence of litigation.
Should all ischemic mitral regurgitation be repaired? When should we replace?

Purpose of review Ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) is a major source of morbidity and mortality. Although mitral valve repair has become recently popularized for the treatment of IMR, select patients may derive benefits from replacement. The purpose of this review is to describe current surgical options for IMR and to discuss when mitral valve replacement (MVR) may be favored over mitral valve repair. Recent findings Current surgical options for the treatment of IMR include surgical revascularization alone, mitral valve repair, or MVR. Although surgical revascularization alone may benefit patients with mild-moderate IMR, most surgeons advocate the performance of revascularization in combination with either mitral valve repair or replacement. In the current era, mitral valve repair has proven to offer improved short-term and long-term survival, decreased valve-related morbidity, and improved left ventricular function compared with MVR. However, MVR should be considered for high-risk patients and those with specific underlying mechanisms of IMR. Summary In the absence of level one evidence, mitral valve repair offers an effective and durable surgical approach to the treatment of mitral insufficiency and remains the operation of choice for IMR. MVR, however, is preferred for select patients. Future randomized, prospective clinical trials are needed to directly compare these surgical techniques.
OpenADN: mobile apps on global clouds using software defined networking

In recent years, there has been an explosive growth in mobile applications (apps), most of which need to serve global audiences using cloud based computing facilities. Cloud computing provides unique opportunities for the application service providers (ASPs) to manage and optimize application delivery over geographically distributed computing resources. We propose the design of an open application delivery network (openADN) platform which allows ISPs to offer custom application delivery services. This is possible using Software Defined Networks (SDN), which provides new opportunities for designing control architectures for networks by providing cleaner abstraction between the network control and data planes.We make a case for augmenting the flow abstraction layer of SDN to add adequate support for application-level flows. Using several other recent innovations such as cross-layer communication, ID/Locator split, MPLS-like label switching, OpenADN allows ISPs to offer load balancing, fault tolerance, and other similar middle-box services to ASPs. We validate our claims about the usefulness of OpenADN through the implementation of a use-case scenario designed over a prototype switch implementation.The proposed design is evolutionary in the sense that it can coexist and is backward compatible with the current Internet and can be deployed incrementally now with a small number of new devices. Those ISPs that deploy these OpenADN aware OpenFlow switches and those ASPs that connect to these switches will be able to benefit immediately from the technology. ISPs and CSPs (Cloud Service Providers) can also offer middle-box services to ASPs. Best of all, this can be done now while the SDN technology is still evolving.
Colorimetric determination of iron in plant material using ferrozine

Ferrozine [3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-bis(4-phenylsulfonic acid)-1,2,4-triazine] was found to be a satisfactory colorimetric reagent for the quantitative determination of iron in the leaves of Spinacia oleracea and Porphyra petens and, by inference, in all plant materials.
Representation of temporal coherence: CHAINS algorithm and FPGA implementation

CHAINS is a conceptual framework and a computational theory for separating temporal events that are mixed together and is proposed as a model of auditory scene analysis. It relies on computational structures that involve competition and co-operation between low-level event predictors, which are represented by graphs. CHAINS attempts to capture streaming phenomena, i.e. dynamic percepts of a group of successive and/or simultaneous sounds as a coherent whole appearing from a single source. The CHAINS algorithm as originally casted is a bottom up algorithm for self organization. It captures sequential processes at multiple scales from tens of milli-seconds to 100s of milli-seconds and up to a few seconds long.
Tissue Expander-Assisted Ventral Hernia Repair for the Skin-Grafted Damage Control Abdomen

Purpose To describe a novel technique using tissue expanders that allows skin coverage over large ventral hernia repairs after damage control laparotomy, including patients with stomas.
Person Perception as a Function of the Personal Consequences and Immediacy of a Decision

Summary The hypothesis that situational variables differentially influence the direction and magnitude of person perception was tested in this study. Ss read identical biographical descriptions of two fictitious graduate assistants under one of three conditions: (a) instructions established no personal consequences, (b) instructions required S to choose the assistant who would write and grade an examination, (c) instructions required S to indicate a preference for one of the assistants although an assignment had already been made. S then rated each of the two assistants on Evaluation and Potency semantic differential scales. Sharply differentiated ratings occurred under the first condition and, to a lesser degree, under the third. Under the second condition ratings of the assistants were not significantly different, suggesting an “error cost” conservatism in differential perception when a decision has personal consequences. It was concluded that situational demands may be more potent determinants of perso...
THE USE OF AN AUTOMATIC DATA-ACQUISITION SYSTEM FOR THE SACHS' RESIDUAL STRESS MEASUREMENT METHOD

The use of an automatic data-acquisition system in conjunction with a programmable WEDM significantly reduces cycle time for the Sachs’ residual-stress measuring technique. However, only electrically conductive materials can be WEDM’ed because of the nature of this material removal process.
Does cardiovascular risk reduction alleviate erectile dysfunction in men with type II diabetes mellitus

Veterans (N=41) with type II diabetes were enrolled in a behavioral and pharmacologic intervention for cardiac risk reduction for 4 weeks at the Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center during 2004-2007 and were followed up 3 months post intervention. Erectile dysfunction (ED) was assessed using the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5). Participants experienced significant improvements in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), diastolic blood pressure and total cholesterol levels over the course of the intervention. Change in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and reduction in or maintenance of HbA1c below 7.0% were significantly associated with change in IIEF-5 (P=0.01, P=0.01, P=0.04, respectively). These results suggest that improved blood pressure and glycemic control in men with diabetes may lead to an improvement in ED.
‘Talking Both Languages‘: 20 Perspectives on the Use of Spanish and English Inside and Outside the Workplace

Strategies for deciding which language to use when forms part of the sociolinguistic competence of speakers who can speak more than one language. Language choices are shaped by a number of factors, including linguistic proficiency of both speaker and interlocutor, the ingroup or outgroup status of each, and the setting in which an exchange takes place. Language choices in the workplace are further influenced by company policies and by the asymmetrical power dynamic in worker–customer interactions. This paper reports on interviews with 20 Latino workers who each use Spanish and English in a different workplace in New York City. Participants were asked about their use of the two languages with customers, coworkers and supervisors in the workplace, and with friends, family members and strangers outside the workplace. The major themes that emerged from the interviews are presented, including some commonalities found with other studies of language pairs in the commercial setting.
Single-reflection film–substrate half-wave retarders with nearly stationary reflection properties over a wide range of incidence angles

The complex reflection coefficient for the p polarization of a transparent film on an absorbing or transparent substrate can be made equal to the negative of that for the s polarization, and hence the film–substrate system acts as a half-wave retarder (HWR), by proper selection of film refractive index N1, film thickness d, and angle of incidence ϕ.This condition, which generally holds only at normal incidence, becomes possible at oblique incidence also if N1 is within a certain range, 1<N1<N1. For a given substrate and given N1, a procedure is described to determine ϕHWR and dHWR that achieve a HWR. As N1 is increased from 1 to the upper limit N1, ϕHWR decreases from 90° to 0 monotonically. dHWR approximately equals (exactly equals when the substrate is a perfect dielectric or a perfect conductor) an odd multiple of half of the film-thickness period evaluated at ϕHWR. Significantly, we find that the film–substrate HWR retains nearly the same characteristics of normal-incidence reflection over the range of angle from 0 up to (and beyond) ϕHWR. Detailed data are presented of HWR’s that use transparent films on metallic (Al and Ag), semiconducting (Si), and dielectric (glass) substrates at two laser wavelengths (0.6328 and 10.6 μm). Film–substrate HWR’s permit the realization of simple polarization-insensitive parallel-mirror beam displacers, 90° rooftop reflectors, and biconical axicons and waxicons.
Contralateral monocular dominance in anterior visual cortex confirmed by functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Abstract PURPOSE: Although it is known that the damage to anterior striate cortex results in temporal peripheral visual field loss of the contralateral eye in patients with cerebral visual disturbance, the monocularity of anterior striate cortex has not been demonstrated in normal living humans. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this could be shown noninvasively using functional magnetic resonance imaging of the human visual cortex. METHODS: Eleven normal volunteers were studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging during alternating monocular visual stimulation using a 1.5 Tesla scanner. The data were motion corrected and spatially normalized to the standard brain. The monocular activation of the visual cortex was compared with the activation by the other eye. RESULTS: In the individual data analysis, contralateral eye dominance was always observed in the anterior striate cortex. In the group analysis from 11 subjects, the area with contralateral eye dominance was found in the most anterior part of primary visual cortex where the calcarine fissure merged with the parieto-occipital sulcus. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the contralateral eye dominance of anterior striate cortex can be detected noninvasively with functional magnetic resonance imaging during monocular visual stimulation. The finding confirms that the anterior striate cortex, where the monocular temporal crescent is represented, is primarily monocular, but the fact that greatest density of retinal ganglion cells and photoreceptors is in the nasal hemiretina must also be taken into account when interpreting these results.
Update on the safe use of methadone for pain management in adults

Abstract Methadone is a synthetic opioid increasingly used for pain management, yet it can be challenging to use safely. The most serious and potentially fatal side effects of methadone are respiratory depression and cardiac arrhythmias. Preventing these side effects is of paramount importance to ensuring the safe use of methadone for pain management. The safe use of methadone is being guided by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the manufacturer of methadone (Roxane Laboratories, Inc., Columbus, OH, USA), the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), and experts in the field of pain management. The purpose of this paper is to discuss actions taken by the FDA, DEA and the drug manufacturer and to review recommendations made by the ISMP and other experts for initiating, prescribing, dispensing, administering, and monitoring methadone in adults. The main emphasis is on translating practice recommendations into actions that healthcare practitioners sho...
Multi-hypothesis motion planning for visual object tracking

In this paper, we propose a long-term motion model for visual object tracking. In crowded street scenes, persistent occlusions are a frequent challenge for tracking algorithm and a robust, long-term motion model could help in these situations. Motivated by progresses in robot motion planning, we propose to construct a set of ‘plausible’ plans for each person, which are composed of multiple long-term motion prediction hypotheses that do not include redundancies, unnecessary loops or collisions with other objects. Constructing plausible plan is the key step in utilizing motion planning in object tracking, which has not been fully investigate in robot motion planning. We propose a novel method of efficiently constructing disjoint plans in different homotopy classes, based on winding numbers and winding angles of planned paths around all obstacles. As the goals can be specified by winding numbers and winding angles, we can avoid redundant plans in the same homotopy class and multiple whirls or loops around a single obstacle. We test our algorithm on a challenging, real-world dataset, and compare our algorithm with Linear Trajectory Avoidance and a simplified linear planning model. We find that our algorithm outperforms both algorithms in most sequences.