cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bone marrow cell cotransplantation with islets improves their vascularization and function.

Background. To test the angiogenesis-promoting effects of bone marrow cells when cotransplanted with islets. Methods. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic BALB/c mice were transplanted syngeneically under the kidney capsule: (1) 200 islets, (2) 1 to 5×10 6 bone marrow cells, or (3) 200 islets and 1 to 5×10 6 bone marrow cells. All mice were evaluated for blood glucose, serum insulin, and glucose tolerance up to postoperative day (POD) 28, and a subset was monitored for 3 months after transplantation. Histologic assessment was performed at PODs 3, 7, 14, 28, and 84 for the detection of von Willebrand factor (vWF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), insulin, cluster of differentiation-34, and pancreatic duodenal homeobox-1 (PDX-1) protein. Results. Blood glucose was the lowest and serum insulin was the highest in the islet+bone marrow group at POD 7. Blood glucose was significantly lower in the islet + bone marrow group relative to the islet only group after 63 days of transplantation (P<0.05). Significantly more new periislet vessels were detected in the islet+bone marrow group compared with the islet group (P<0.05). Vascular endothelial growth factor staining was more prominent in bone marrow than in islets (P<0.05). Pancreatic duodenal homeobox-1-positive areas were identified in bone marrow cells with an increase in staining over time. However, there were no normoglycemic mice and no insulin-positive cells in the bone marrow alone group. Conclusions. Cotransplantation of bone marrow cells with islets is associated with enhanced islet graft vascularization and function.
INHIBITION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN CHLORELLA PYRENOIDOSA BY THE IODO-ACETYL RADICAL

Photosynthesis in Chlorella pyrenoidosa is inhibited by iodo-acetic acid and iodo-acetamide, both of which attack the Blackman reaction. Since acetamide is without effect, the iodo-acetyl radical must be responsible. The study of the action of the acid is complicated by the fact that its ions penetrate slowly, if at all, so that negative results with this agent are without significance unless penetration can be established. The absorption spectrum of the cells is not affected by concentrations of iodo-acetamide which completely inhibit photosynthesis. This establishes that the chromophore groups of chlorophyll are not involved, and renders it unlikely that any other part of the molecule is. Inasmuch as cyanide likewise inhibits by way of the Blackman reaction, it would seem necessary to postulate that this complex can be attacked at two different loci, which may or may not be on the same molecule. The presence of the iodo-acetyl radical also gives rise to three other effects. (1) Concentrations (10–5 M or less) too small to inhibit photosynthesis may increase the rate by interacting with the photochemical complex. (2) Concentrations (ca. 10–4 M) which inhibit photosynthesis increase the rate of respiration. (3) Concentrations (10–3 M or more) higher than those required to inhibit photosynthesis inhibit respiration.
Destruction of Definity® Microbubbles Used for Ultrasound Imaging and Drug Delivery

Microbubble based contrast agents improves medical ultrasound images. Destruction of contrast agent Definity® (Bristol Meyer-Squibb Imaging, North Ballerina, MA) is studied using broadband attenuation technique. Single-cycle ultrasound pulses are sent through a bubble suspension at different pulse repetition frequencies (PRF) and pressure amplitudes. For each PRF, there is a critical pressure amplitude (~1.1–1.2MPa for 50, 100, 200 Hz PRFs studied), below which there is no evidence of bubble destruction. Above the critical pressure amplitudes the rate of destruction depends on PRF and pressure. But at high pressure amplitudes (e.g. 2.97 MPa) destruction becomes independent at higher PRFs.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Purification and properties of phosphoglucomutase from Fleischmann's yeast.

1 A procedure has been described for the purification of the major isozyme of yeast phosphoglucomutase of highest known specific activity. 2 The native enzyme has a molecular weight of about 65400 and was found to be homogeneous as judged by sucrose density gradient centrifugation, gel filtration, electrophoresis on acrylamide gel and ultracentrifugal analysis. In the presence of denaturing agents such as guanidine hydrochloride or sodium dodecyl sulfate, the enzyme dissociated into 32000-molecular-weight subunits. 3 As isolated, the enzyme has one mole of phosphate bound per mole of enzyme. Preparations incubated with 1.0 mM EDTA in 10 mM citrate buffer, pH 5.5 and dialysed against 10 mM metal-free citrate buffer, pH 5.5, contain no intrinsically bound Zn2+ and were enzymically inactive but fully active in the presence of 5 mM Mg2+ and 84% as active with 0.5 mM Zn2+. Simultaneous presence of both ions at these concentrations did not enhance activity. Enzyme was completely and irreversibly inactivated by preincubation with Be2+. Inactive enzyme had one mole of Be2+ bound per mole of enzyme. 4 Enzyme exhibited “ping-pong” kinetics rather than “random sequential”. Km values for glucose 1-phosphate and for glucose 1,6-bisphosphate were calculated to be 2.34 × 10−5 M and 2.24 × 10−6 M, respectively. Rate of enzyme phosphate turnover was studied with rapid-mixing technique. The rates of 32P release from 32P-labeled enzyme and its appearance as glucose 6-[32P]phosphate were comparable and remained unaffected by addition of glucose 1,6-bisphosphate.
α-Particle model of 16O

Abstract A simple α-particle model is constructed for 16 O. By making suitable approximations on the wave function of four interacting particles, we reduce the Schrodinger equation to a onedimensional equation. The equation is solved using empirical α-α interactions. Reasonable agreement with experiment is obtained on the radius of the ground state, and the energies of the ground and first excited 0 + states. The model qualitatively explains the predominantly deformed structure of the excited state, and the mixing of a deformed component into the ground state. The value obtained for the mixing is somewhat too large.
A self-awareness approach to computer-mediated communication

Many explanations of both pro- and anti-social behaviors in computer-mediated communication (CMC) appear to hinge on changes in individual self-awareness. In spite of this, little research has been devoted to understanding the effects of self-awareness in CMC. To fill this void, this study examined the effects of individuals' public and private self-awareness in anonymous, time-restricted, and synchronous CMC. Two experiments were conducted. A pilot experiment tested and confirmed the effectiveness of using a Web camera combined with an alleged online audience to enhance users' public self-awareness. In the main study users' private and public self-awareness were manipulated in a crossed 2x2 factorial design. Pairs of participants completed a Desert Survival Problem via a synchronous, text-only chat program. After the task, they evaluated each other on intimacy, task/social orientation, formality, politeness, attraction, and group identification. The results suggest that a lack of private and public self-awareness does not automatically lead to impersonal tendencies in CMC as deindividuation perspectives of CMC would argue. Moreover, participants in this study were able to form favorable impressions in a completely anonymous environment based on brief interaction, which lends strong support to the idealization proposed by hyperpersonal theory. Findings are used to modify and extend current theoretical perspectives on CMC.
Spatio-temporal processing of massive glottic images from high-speed videoendoscopy

We present here development and application of new approaches for quantitative spatio-temporal analyses of vocal fold (VF) vibrations derived from high-speed digital imaging (HSDI) data of the glottis. We develop image processing methods to track the motion of the VF and target the analysis of HSDI-derived glottal area waveform (GAW), glottal width function (GWF) and displacements of the VF tissues for the characterization of the VF dynamic properties. In particular, a combined threshold and region growing method is used for the glottis segmentation, and an analytic signal approach and the Nyquist plot and associated parameters are used to represent and to characterize the VF vibratory behaviors in normal and specific pathologic voice productions.
Food-borne illness: high stakes health threat for older adults.

National outbreaks of food-borne illness (FBI) are dramatic events; media reports keep us informed about cases with symptoms that are severe and life threatening and warn us about avoiding otherwis...
Nitrogen Mineralization Responses to Cropping, Tillage, and Nitrogen Rate in the Northern Great Plains

Nitrogen-mineralization rates are needed to accurately determine N fertilization requirements to meet plant needs while minimizing environmental contamination. A spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-fallow (SW-F) system was compared with a spring wheat-winter wheat-sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) (SW-WW-SF) system on a Temvik-Wilton silt loam (fine-silty, mixed Typic and Pachic Haploborolls) at three N rates (0, 22, and 45 kg ha -1 for SW-F and 34, 67, and 101 kg ha - 1 for SW-WW-SF) under conventional, minimum, and no-tillage. After 10 yr, soil samples were incubated to determine N-mineralization rates. Cropping intensity, N rate, and tillage intensity interacted to affect N-mineralization rates. Within the SW-F system N-mineralization rates in 0- to 0.05-m depth were 8.2 ± 0.8 kg ha -1 wk -1 in the fallow phase vs. 5.0 ± 0.7 kg ha 1 wk -1 in the crop phase under conventional tillage and were 6.2 ± 0.3 kg ha -1 wk -1 under minimum and no-tillage in both phases. The N-mineralization rates were 2.3 ± 0.4 kg ha -1 wk -1 in 0.05- to 0.15-m depth soils of the SW-F system. In spring wheat, N-mineralization rates in 0- to 0.05-m depth soil were 9.9 ± 0.8 kg ha 1 wk -1 in the SW-WW-SF system vs. 5.6 ± 0.4 kg ha -1 wk ' in the SW-F system and in the 0.05- to 0.15-m depth were 3.6 ± 0.1 kg ha -1 wk -1 in the SW-WW-SF system vs. 2.4 ± 0.2 kg ha -1 wk -1 in the SW-F system. Within the SW-WW-SF system, N-mineralization rates in the 0- to 0.05-m soil layer were 6.8 ± 0.5 kg ha -1 wk 1 under winter wheat vs. 9.9 ± 0.8 kg ha 1 wk -1 under spring wheat and 9.2 ± 0.6 kg ha -1 wk -1 under sunflower. In the 0.05- to 0.15-m soil layer, N-mineralization rates were 3.3 ± 1.0 kg ha 1 wk '. More intensive cropping and conservation tillage increased N-mineralization rates in this soil and may ameliorate the decline in N fertility associated with crop-fallow systems.
Electrogenic properties of the cloned Na+/glucose cotransporter: I. Voltage-clamp studies.

The cloned rabbit intestinal Na+/glucose cotransporter was expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Presteady-state and steady-state currents associated with cotransporter activity were measured with the two-electrode voltage-clamp technique. Steady-state sugar-dependent currents were measured between −150 and +90 mV as a function of external Na+ ([Na]0) and α-methyl-d-glucopyranoside concentrations ([αMDG]0). K0.5αMDGwas found to be dependent upon [Na]0 and the membrane potential. At Vm=−50 mV, increasing [Na]0 from 10 to 100 mm decreased K0.5αMDGfrom 1.5 mm to 180 μm. Increasing membrane potential toward negative values decreased K0.5αMDGat nonsaturating [Na]0. For instance, at 10 mM [Na]0, K0.5αMDGdecreased from 1.5 mm to 360 μm on increasing the membrane potential from −50 to −150 mV. The imaxαMDGwas relatively insensitive to [Na]0 between 10 and 100 mm and weakly voltage dependent (e-fold increase per 140 mV). K0.5Naand imaxNawere found to be dependent upon membrane potential and [sugar]0. In the presence of 1 mm [αMDG]0, K0.5Nadecreased from 50 to 5 mm between 0 and −150 mV and imaxNaincreased twofold between −30 and −200 mV. The voltage dependence of K0.5Nais consistent with an effect of potential on Na+ binding (Na+-well effect), whereas the voltage dependence of imaxNais compatible with the translocation step being voltage dependent. It is concluded that voltage influences both Na+ binding and translocation. Presteady-state currents were observed for depolarization pulses in the presence of 100 mm [Na]0. The transient current relaxed with a half time of =10 msec, and both the half time and magnitude of the transient varied with the holding potential and the size of depolarization pulse. Presteady-state currents were not observed after the addition of phlorizin or αMDG to the external Na+ solution and were not observed for water-injected control oocytes. We conclude that presteady-state currents are due to the activity of the carrier and that they may give a novel insight to the transport mechanism of the Na+/ glucose cotransporter.
Effective NEMS Education and Training in an Undergraduate Course

Increasing demand on workforce for nanotechnology implementation has resulted in an exponential increase of demand on educational material and methods to qualify this workforce. However, nanotechnology is a field that integrates many areas of science and engineering requiring a significant amount of background knowledge in both theory and application to build upon. This challenge is significantly magnified when trying to teach nanotechnology concepts and applications at the undergraduate engineering level. A considerable amount of time is needed for an undergraduate engineering student to be able to design and build a useful device applying nanotechnology concepts, within one course time.This paper presents an actual experience in teaching hands-on applications in nanotechnology to undergraduate engineering students through an optimized model, within a normal course time. The model significantly reduces the time needed by undergraduate students to learn the necessary manufacturing techniques and apply them to produce useful products at the micro and nano levels, by ensuring that infrastructure and legwork related to the educational process are partially completed and verified, before the course starts. The model also provides improved outcomes as all its pre-course work is also tested with students working under different arrangements of professors’ supervision. The result is an optimized infrastructure setup for micro and nanotechnology design and manufacturing education, built with students in mind, to be completed within the frame of one semester course.The model was implemented at GVSU-SOE as the core hands-on part of a senior undergraduate course titled (EGR 457 nano/micro systems engineering). Students in the course were able to go through the design and build steps of different MEMS and NEMS products, while learning and utilizing cleanroom equipment and procedures. This was based on infrastructural arrangements by students preceding this class by a semester and working closely with the professors. Assessment was conducted on both sides of the model and results were collected for evaluation and improvement of the model.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Fact or artifact? An empirical test of Spearman's Hypothesis

The possibility that Spearman's Hypothesis is a statistical artifact is tested with studies of deaf children's intelligence. Six published and unpublished sources yielded 37 instances in which the magnitude of deaf-hearing differences, and the g loading of the test for deaf children, could be determined on intelligence tests. The magnitude of differences between deaf and normal-hearing children are negatively correlated with g loadings (r = −.14, NS), and are significantly different from positive correlations reported for black-white differences (zs > 2.51, ps < .01). Post hoc analyses show the lack of positive relationship between deaf-hearing differences and g loadings is consistent across psychometric and subject samples. The results clearly refute Schonemann's (1985) proposal that the positive relationship between black-white differences and g loadings is a statistical artifact, and the results provide evidence of divergent validity for Spearman's Hypothesis.
National evaluation of the effect of graduated driver licensing laws on teenager fatality and injury crashes

PROBLEM: Automobile crashes remain a prominent cause of death and injury for teenagers in the United States. While it is generally agreed that graduated drivers licensing (GDL) influences crash rates, it is unclear which components have the strongest effect on any specific types of crashes. METHOD: We analyze the relative effect of different stages of GDL on teenage fatal and injury crash risk via a negative binomial generalized linear model with random state effects. Overall, nighttime, and crashes with multiple teenage passengers are considered. RESULTS: The strongest effects are seen by 16-year-olds, for which a strict permit stage is associated with a 58% reduction in fatal crash risk over a lenient permit stage. Similar reductions are seen for injury crashes. The intermediate stage, involving nighttime and passenger restrictions, is associated with a 44% reduction in fatalities but has relatively little effect on injury crashes. The strongest effects are generally seen for passenger crashes, followed by nighttime, and then overall crashes. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This study identifies stronger relationships between GDL and crash risk than has previously been discovered and captures the relative effects of permit and intermediate licensing restrictions, two high-level components of GDL which differ in intent and implementation. Language: en
Therapy of Nonnecrotizing Anterior Scleritis with Subconjunctival Corticosteroid Injection

Objective: To determine the safety and efficacy of subconjunctival triamcinolone (Kenalog) in treating nonnecrotizing anterior scleritis. Design: The authors conducted a retrospective review of all patients treated with depot subconjunctival Corticosteroid injection for scleritis from January 1988 to May 1993. Response to therapy was determined by subjective improvement in pain and a decrease in clinical signs of ocular inflammation. All patients received subconjunctival injections of triamcinolone by the same technique, and the minimum observation period for complications was 6 weeks. Results: Eighteen patients (90%) had relief of their symptoms with clinically observable improvement in inflammation, whereas two patients (10%)responded poorly. Nine patients (45%)required no further therapy. Average symptom-free interval was 18 weeks in patients with recurrent scleritis. No complications of scleral thinning, perforation, or glaucoma occurred in any patients. Conclusion: Subconjunctival triamcinolone injection is highly efficacious in treating nonnecrotizing anterior scleritis without unreasonable risk of thinning and jor perforation and should be considered as adjunctive therapy in localized disease.
Homosexual and Drug Behavior in Prison: A Test of the Functional and Importation Models of the Inmate System

Which of the two major models of the inmate system, the importation or the functional, better accounts for two forms of in-prison behavior of inmates, drug use and homosexual behavior, is tested in a sample of inmates from seven U.S. prisons. The prisons were classified into three types along a custody-treatment continuum. The reported levels of these two kinds of behavior in the different types of prisons are examined against their relationship to seven inmate background characteristics. The analysis reveals that the amount of drug and homosexual behavior among inmates is more a function of the type of prison which holds them than the social characteristics which they bring with them from the outside.
Plane‐wave reflection and transmission coefficients for a transversely isotropic solid

Numerous investigators have studied the P-SV reflection and transmission coefficients of an isotropic solid (Zoeppritz, 1919; Nafe, 1957; Frasier, 1970; Young and Braile, 1976; Kind, 1976; Aki and Richards, 1980).
Intentions in and relations among design drawings

Abstract Designers use drawings to explore alternatives and to test ideas. We report here on two studies on design and drawing. The first study of design drawing symbols aims to determine whether and to what extent it is possible to infer, interpret, or even guess what a designer was thinking about by looking at the drawings she has made. In the second study we examined a collection of drawings for the design of a house to investigate the systems of design transformations. Drawings are characterized by drawing style, projection type, and key elements. We analyzed the relationships among the drawings and developed a notation system for documenting these relationships.
High-Pressure Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Amitriptyline and Its Major Metabolites in Human Whole Blood

A sensitive, specific, high-pressure liquid chromatographic method using an internal standard was developed for the determination of amitriptyline and its major metabolites in whole blood. Analysis was carried out on a microparticulate silica column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-methanol-aqueous ammonium hydroxide (93:7:0.4). Linear calibration curves ranging to 250 ng/ml were obtained for all compounds using UV absorbance detection at 220 nm. The lower limit of detection was 2 ng/ml for amitriptyline and 10-hydroxyami-triptyline, and 6 and 16 ng/ml for nortriptyline and its 10-hydroxylated metabolite, respectively. Human whole blood samples collected after single intravenous and single oral doses can be analyzed using this procedure.
CLASSIFICATION OF HIGHLY NOISY SIGNALS USING GLOBAL DYNAMICAL MODELS

Abstract We present a classification scheme for time series with nonlinear correlations, using global models of chaotic dynamical systems theory. We demonstrate classification in high-noise regimes, and argue that classification probabilities can be directly computed from ensemble statistics in the model coefficient space. We also develop a modification for nonstationary signals.
Raman lineshape study of the A1 skeletal modes in tert-butyl chloride

The polarized and depolarized Raman spectra of the ν6 (CC3 stretch), ν7 (CCl stretch) and ν8 (CC3 bend) modes of tert-butyl chloride have been studied as a function of temperature in the liquid phase. Isotropic correlation times for the bending mode were found to be 3–4 times longer than values obtained for the two stretching vibrations. An analysis of the isotropic correlation functions using the Kubo lineshape formalism revealed that the less efficient vibrational relaxation of the deformation arises primarily from the lower second monents of this mode. Reorientational times calculated from the two stretching vibrations were almost three times shorter than the earlier reported dipolar relaxation time, indicating that the tumbling motion of tert- butyl chloride is close to the small-step diffusion limit.
Segmenting an Audience into the Own, the Wise, and Normals: A Latent Class Analysis of Stigma-Related Categories

Goffman introduced a classification scheme of three stigma-related categories of people: the own, the wise, and normals. This study presents the first known empirical test of this taxonomy using latent class analysis. Participants (N = 144) completed a survey. Latent class analysis was used to analyze the data. The results showed that a four-class model best fit the data. The profiles of the stigmatizer and stigmatized were very similar to Goffman's descriptions of the normal and the own; the wise (labeled supporters) were split into two categories based on their encouragement of educating stigmatizers and challenging stigmatization. The stigma groups considered by participants and participants’ social networks were significant covariates of class membership. Understanding how many audience segments exist and which indicators differentiate them could provide critical information for anti-stigma campaigns, such as those that attempt to reduce stigmatization by influencing stigmatizers to become supporters.
Limiting Analytical Solutions for Complex Saturated and Unsaturated Transport Problems

Non-linear diffusion and velocity-dependent dispersion problems are under consideration. The necessary and sufficient conditions allowing the comparison of solutions to the two dimensional convection-dispersion equations with different coefficients are obtained. These conditions provide a framework within which solutions to the complex non-linear problems mentioned above can be estimated by solutions to the problems possessing analytical solvability.
Smartphones and pediatric apps to mobilize the medical home

Objectives To assess digital access and mobile health in urban pediatric clinics by measuring demographics of smartphone ownership, primary uses of mobile devices by teens vs parents/caregivers, and interest levels in using smartphone health apps. Study design This cross-sectional survey studied teenagers and caregivers from 2 urban pediatric practices in Bronx, New York; 148 surveys were administered verbally in waiting rooms using a 24-item “iHealthNYC” questionnaire. A demonstration of smartphone health apps was then conducted and data analyzed using bivariate analysis and χ 2 statistics. Results Overall, 84% of subjects were smartphone owners, with 57% using smartphones as their primary internet source. There was no statistical difference in smartphone ownership between age groups or demographics of sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Smartphone users had a mean 14.5 apps, with 70.4% accessing apps >3 times a day. The majority of participants stated interest in medical apps, although caregivers were significantly more motivated. Likewise, caregivers are more likely to search health topics via their phone (76.7% vs 47.9%, P P = .02). Conclusion The prevalence of smartphone and app use in urban pediatric populations is high. With increased interest in mobile health, smartphones are an attractive modality for patient education, disease management, and streamlining health care communication in diverse settings, thus “mobilizing” the medical home. Further research is needed so that pediatricians can promote evidence-based apps, thus enabling patients to take ownership of their health.
Fred Terman, the Father of Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley, located on the San Francisco, California, peninsula, radiates outward from Stanford University. It is contained by the San Francisco Bayon the east, the Santa Cruz Mountains on the west, and the Coast Range to the southeast. At the turn of the century, when fruit orchards predominated, the area was known as the Valley of Heart's Delight. Today, semiconductor chips, made of silicon, are the principal product of the local high-tech industries. It has been said that an institution is but the lengthened shadow of one great man. Inasmuch as Silicon Valley is an institution, Fred Terman was such a man.
The Development and Estimation of a Latent Choice Multinomial Logit Model with Application to Contingent Valuation

We offer a new approach to investigate hypothetical bias in contingent valuation using a latent choice multinomial logit model. To develop this model, we extend Dempster, Laird, and Rubin’s 1977 work on the expectations maximization algorithm to the estimation of a multinomial logit model with missing information on category membership. Our model can be used to determine within-choice heterogeneity. Using data on the preservation of Saginaw wetlands in Michigan, we find evidence for two types of Yes responders in the data. We suggest that one set of Yes responders consists of yea-sayers who answer Yes to the hypothetical question but are less likely to pay the bid amount if it were real. We suggest that the second group of respondents does not suffer from hypothetical bias and are more likely to pay the bid amount if it were real. Even if the connection to hypothetical bias cannot be made, our method can be used in sensitivity analyses of willingness-to-pay estimates.
Reappraising the Spite Lithium Plateau: Extremely Thin and Marginally Consistent with WMAP Data

The lithium abundance in 62 halo dwarfs is determined from accurate equivalent widths reported in the literature and an improved infrared flux method temperature scale. The Li abundance of 41 plateau stars (those with Teff > 6000 K) is found to be independent of temperature and metallicity, with a star-to-star scatter of only 0.06 dex over a broad range of temperatures (6000 K < Teff < 6800 K) and metallicities (-3.4 < [Fe/H] < -1), thus imposing stringent constraints on depletion by mixing and production by Galactic chemical evolution. We find a mean Li plateau abundance of ALi = 2.37 dex (7Li/H = 2.34 × 10-10), which, considering errors of the order of 0.1 dex in the absolute abundance scale, is just in borderline agreement with the constraints imposed by the theory of primordial nucleosynthesis and Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data (2.51 dex < A < 2.66 dex).
Inversion of lime mud and papermaking pulp filtration data to determine compressibility and permeability relationships

Abstract It is possible to obtain the porosity and permeability of filter cakes formed during cake filtration by fitting power law type relationships to experimental data. Specifically, local filtration data of the form of pressure and concentration profiles can be used to determine the constitutive relationships. However, when applied to data on the filtration of suspensions encountered in the pulp and paper industry, methods of minimization such as the Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) method fail to produce unique sets of model parameters representing the constitutive relationships. Recourse to more sophisticated methods such as simulated annealing (SA) has to be made in order to obtain suitable global minima for describing wide ranging experimental data. In this paper, we chose experimental filtration data of pulp mill lime muds (essentially CaCO 3 particulate suspensions) reported by ‘5 (1995) 165’ to study the best means of obtaining robust parameter sets for use in the permeability and compressibility relationships. The efficacy of a heuristic algorithm based on SA over a straightforward LM algorithm as applied to the filtration of lime muds and papermaking pulps is demonstrated. A second example of constant pressure filtration of papermaking pulps reported by ‘TAPPI 35 (1952) 439’ was also chosen. The parameters in the permeability relationship for pulp mats consist of the specific surface area (hydrodynamic) and the specific volume of the papermaking fibers. By using the SA method, it is shown that these two parameters as well as the compressibility parameters could be determined directly.
Commentary on “Living Within the Cellular Envelope: Subjectivity and Self from an Evolutionary Neuropsychoanalytic Perspective” by Harry R. Brickman

Harry Brickman’s article on evolution and subjectivity is a significant contribution to the effort to reunite psychoanalysis and traditional science, the so–called third psychoanalytic revolution. As required by work in this arena, his vision is broad, and his scholarship is impressive. His work reminds us that those with an interest in the scientific future of psychoanalysis must become at least conversant with neuroscience, ecology, animal behavior, behavioral genetics, philosophy of mind, cultural anthropology and paleontology. At the heart of this enterprise lies the mysterious mind/body problem, the so–called hard problem of neuroscience. As a preamble to this discussion, it is worth remembering that until about 10 years ago, physicists were unaware of over half of the cosmos which they now term dark matter and dark energy. In the same vein, neuroscientists are beginning to recognize that about 70% of the brain’s energy consumption is devoted to a poorly understood “intrinsic activity,” termed brain dark energy (Raichle, 2006). Modesty remains appropriate if rare, and one suspects that the next decade will bring great surprises indeed. Brickman’s approach is based on two major gambits. In the first approach, the human condition is considered from the prospect of natural science, a Darwinian neuropsychoanalysis. This viewpoint, of crucial importance in the third psychoanalytic revolution, offers great promise in the reunion with traditional science. The second gambit, which describes the brain as a closed membrane or cellular envelope, unavoidably brings us to the mind–body problem. For the present discussion, we will begin with this second metapsychological argument concerning the cellular envelope and subjectivity.
The influence of heat capacity assumptions on the estimation of solubility parameters from solubility data

Abstract Regular solution theory indicates that solubility parameters of crystalline organic compounds can be estimated from solubilities in London solvents. The equation for this purpose is: IN X 2 − Δ H f RT f (T f −T) T + ΔC p R (T f − T) T − ln T f T − V 2 θ 2 1 RT (δ 1 − δ 2 ) 2 where X2 is the mole fraction solubility of a compound in a solvent with a solubility parameter of δ1. With the exception of ΔCp, all parameters in the equation necessary to estimate the solute parameter, δ2, can either be suitably approximated or readily determined experimentally. In order to use the equation, simplifying assumptions have been made concerning ΔCp, namely: ΔCp = 0 or ΔCp = ΔSf, the entropy of fusion. In the present work, we have considered the extent to which these assumptions influence the magnitude of solubility parameters estimated from solubilities in n-hexane, n-heptane, n-dodecane, cyclohexane, carbon tetrachloride, toluene and benzene. Using n-alkyl p-aminobenzoates as test compounds, it is shown that solubility-based solubility parameters are relatively insensitive to the form of the equation used to calculate δ2. Specifically, solubility parameter estimations based on the two simplifying assumptions differ by no more than 0.2 ( cal/ml ) 1 2 , an increment of the order of the presumed inherent error of estimation.
An Isotropic Hopping Model for Singly Charged Xe Clusters

This work introduces a theoretical model for the description of charged xenon clusters. It is based on the assumption that the charge migrates inside the cluster by isotropic hopping through a Hubb...
Investigating the Utility of Using Cross-Oceanic Training Sets for Superensemble Forecasting of Eastern Pacific Tropical Cyclone Track and Intensity

Abstract This paper examines how combining training-set forecasts from two separate oceanic basins affects the resulting tropical cyclone track and intensity forecasts in a particular oceanic basin. Atlantic and eastern Pacific training sets for 2002 and 2003 are combined and used to forecast 2004 eastern Pacific tropical cyclones in a real-time setting. These experiments show that the addition of Atlantic training improves the 2004 eastern Pacific forecasts. Finally, a detailed study of training-set and real-time model biases is completed in an effort to determine why cross-oceanic training may have helped in this instance.
Therapeutic role and potential mechanisms of active Vitamin D in renal interstitial fibrosis

Vitamin D, especially its most active metabolite 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) or calcitriol, is essential in regulating a wide variety of biologic processes, such as calcium homeostasis, immune modulation, cell proliferation and differentiation. Clinical studies show that the circulating level of calcitriol is substantially reduced in patients with chronic renal insufficiency. Administration of active Vitamin D results in significant amelioration of renal dysfunction and fibrotic lesions in various experimental models of chronic kidney diseases. Active Vitamin D elicits its renal protective activity through multiple mechanisms, such as inhibiting renal inflammation, regulating renin-angiotensin system and blocking mesangial cell activation. Recent studies indicate that calcitriol induces anti-fibrotic hepatocyte growth factor expression, which in turn blocks the myofibroblastic activation and matrix production in interstitial fibroblasts. Furthermore, in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrate that active Vitamin D effectively blocks tubular epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), a phenotypic conversion process that plays a central role in the evolution of renal interstitial fibrosis. Together, it is becoming increasingly clear that a high level of active Vitamin D may be obligatory in the maintenance of normal kidney structure and function. Thus, supplementation of active Vitamin D could be a rational strategy for the therapeutics of chronic kidney diseases.
TSMU: A Time Synchronization Scheme for Mobile Underwater Sensor Networks

Time synchronization plays a critical role in distributed network systems. In this paper, we investigate the time synchronization problem in the context of underwater sensor networks (UWSNs). We propose a pairwise, cross-layer, time synchronization scheme for mobile underwater sensor networks, called TSMU. Facilitated by the Kalman Filter, the proposed method greatly improves the dynamic propagation delay estimation by exploring the Doppler effect. Simulation results show that TSMU outperforms existing synchronization schemes in both accuracy and energy efficiency.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor regulates the expression of D1 dopamine receptors

We have previously demonstrated that the CAD catecholaminergic neuronal cell line is an appropriate model system to study the regulation of D(1) dopamine receptor expression. In this report, we show that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) up-regulates the expression of D(1) dopamine receptor in CAD cells. In addition, by comparing D(1) receptor mRNA expression in wild-type, heterozygous and homozygous trkB knockout mice, we show that TrkB receptor signaling up-regulates D(1) receptor expression in vivo. In CAD cells expressing the TrkB receptor, BDNF increased D(1) receptor mRNA in a time- and dose-dependent manner with a fourfold increase in D(1) receptor mRNA observed as early as 3 h with 10 ng/mL of BDNF. Using different classes and concentrations of kinase inhibitors, we determined that BDNF-induced increase of D(1) receptor mRNA is mediated by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling pathway. The increase required both new transcription and protein synthesis, as it was blocked by actinomycin D and cyclohexamide, respectively. Promoter deletion analysis identified a D(1) promoter region necessary for mediating the effect of BDNF. These results provide novel evidence that D(1) dopamine receptor expression is regulated by BDNF and its signaling pathway.
Development of colorimetric field screening methods for munitions compounds in soil

Simple colorimetric tests have been developed to screen for the presence of TNT, TNB, DNT, DNB, tetryl, RDX, HMX, nitroglycerine (NG), PETN, nitrocellulose (NC), nitroguanidine (NQ), picric acid and ammonium picrate in soil. Soils are extracted by manual shaking with acetone. For the nitroaromatics, the extracts are reacted with potassium hydroxide and sodium sulfite to form their colored Janowsky complexes. For RDX, HMX, NG, PETN, NC and NQ, extracts are passed through an anion exchange resin to remove nitrate, and then acidified with acetic acid; the nitramines and nitrate esters are reduced with zinc to form nitrous acid. The nitrous acid is detected by the Griess reaction using a Hach Nitriver 3 powder pillow, which produces a highly colored azo dye. Detection of these analytes can be obtained visually and concentrations estimated from absorbance measurements at 540 nm for TNT, TNB and tetryl, 570 nm for DNTs and DNB, and at 510 nm for RDX, HMX, NG, PETN, NC and NQ. For picric acid/ammonium picrate, the acetone extract is passed through a basic ion-exchange column that retains picrate ion. The column is rinsed with methanol to elute interferences, and the picrate is desorbed with acetone containing several drops of sulfuric acid. The extract is diluted with deionized water, and the concentration of picrate is obtained from the absorbance at 400 nm. Detection limits are about 1 (mu) g/g for all analytes except NG, NC and NQ, which are slightly higher. Results from field screening at a number of sites have been correlated with laboratory analyses for TNT and RDX. The results indicate that the field screening methods do not suffer from false negatives and the rate of false positives is low. Concentration estimates from field screening compared favorably with results from the standard laboratory methods.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Expectations, Performance, and Citizen Satisfaction with Urban Services.

The expectancy disconfirmation model has dominated private-sector research on customer satisfaction for several decades, yet it has not been applied to citizen satisfaction with urban services. The model views satisfaction judgments as determined—not just by product or service performance—but by a process in which consumers compare performance with their prior expectations. Using data from a New York City citizen survey, this study finds that citizen expectations, and especially the disconfirmation of expectations—factors that previously have not been considered in empirical studies of the determinants of citizen satisfaction—play a fundamental role in the formation of satisfaction judgments regarding the quality of urban services. Interestingly, the modeling results suggest that urban managers should seek to promote not only high-quality services, but also high expectations among citizens. Additional implications for research and public management practice are discussed. © 2004 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
Surface Charge and Calcium Channel Saturation in Bullfrog Sympathetic Neurons

Currents carried by Ba2+ through calcium channels were recorded in the whole-cell configuration in isolated frog sympathetic neurons. The effect of surface charge on the apparent saturation of the channel with Ba2+ was examined by varying [Ba2+]o and ionic strength. The current increased with [Ba2+]o, and the I-V relation and the activation curve shifted to more positive voltages. The shift of activation could be described by Gouy-Chapman theory, with a surface charge density of 1 e-/140 A2, calculated from the Grahame equation. Changes in ionic strength (replacing N-methyl-D-glucamine with sucrose) shifted the activation curve as expected for a surface charge density of 1 e-/85 A2, in reasonable agreement with the value from changing [Ba2+]o. The instantaneous I-V for fully activated channels also changed with ionic strength, which could be described either by a low surface charge density (less than 1 e-/1,500 A2), or by block by NMG with Kd approximately 300 mM (assuming no surface charge). We conclude that the channel permeation mechanism sees much less surface charge than the gating mechanism. The peak inward current saturated with an apparent Kd = 11.6 mM for Ba2+, while the instantaneous I-V saturated with an apparent Kd = 23.5 mM at 0 mV. This discrepancy can be explained by a lower surface charge near the pore, compared to the voltage sensor. After correction for a surface charge near the pore of 1 e-/1,500 A2, the instantaneous I-V saturated as a function of local [Ba2+]o, with Kd = 65 mM. These results suggest that the channel pore does bind Ba2+ in a saturable manner, but the current-[Ba2+]o relationship may be significantly affected by surface charge.
James and Husserl: Time-consciousness and the Intentionality of Presence and Absence

During one of his visits to Heidelberg, William James was impressed by Wilhelm Wundt’s efforts to determine experimentally the duration of our immediate consciousness of unified clusters of successive musical notes and of differently spaced monotonous clicks. Subjects were asked to indicate the point at which they no longer enjoyed an intuitive grasp of the series of sounds as a present whole. They were also asked not to attempt to count the successive notes or clicks, because counting introduces linguistic expressions which carry us away from the immediate context by permitting reference to identities across presence and absence. Counting might thus incline the subjects to conflate their perceptions of a series as a present whole with a series “whose beginnings have faded from our mind, and of whose totality we retain no sensible impression at all.”1 Wundt and his students concluded that the duration of our immediate consciousness of successive impressions varies from five to twelve seconds, depending on our manner of grouping the strokes and on the length of the intervals between the successive components of the whole.2 James took these conclusions as a confirmation of his theory of the “specious present” an expression that he borrowed from the work of a little remembered writer, E. R. Clay, who had claimed that the experienced present “..is really a part of the past — a recent past given as being a time that intervenes between the [obvious] past and the future”.3
Comparative morphology of the carpel in the Liliaceae: Neodregeae

The structure of the carpel has been studied in flowers of the Neodregeae (Dipidax and Neodregea). Except in D. triquetra, which is syncarpous, the carpels are united below and free above. A dorsal bundle, two or more lateral bundles, and two placental bundles supply each multiovulate carpel. The six placental bundles of the tricarpellate pistil are united by twos in the lower part of the pistil, forming three opposite compound placental bundles in most species of Dipidax and three alternate bundles in D. triquetra and Neodregea: In the latter, an additional septal bundle continues upward as a branch from the compound placental bundle. Sutural openings are usually short and restricted to the top of the locule. All the Neodregeae have monotegmic ovules.
State variable extraction to reduce problem complexity for ATPG and design validation

We present a new algorithm to extract characteristic flip-flops, which form a characteristic state set, using state correlation information. The extracted characteristic state set allows us to focus on a significantly smaller set of flip-flops while ignoring other flip-flops, thereby simplifying the target problem and reducing state explosion in very large sequential circuits. Next, partitioning is applied only on the characteristic state variables, and partial state transition graphs (STGs) are built. During test generation, test vectors are generated using a two-fold criteria: (1) whether the vector expand the overall STGs, and (2) whether this vector break the relationship among flip-flops within the correlated sets. Experiments showed that our extraction algorithm can reduce the original complete state set by up to 97%. In addition, with the reduced state variables, we achieve not only equal or better coverages for both stuck-at faults and design errors, the execution time is also significantly reduced due to the much smaller set of flip-flops. For some large sequential circuits, highest coverages have been obtained.
The Evolution of Critical Literacy at Montgomery College.

Critical Literacy, a special approach to teaching critical thinking, has survived and thrived at Montgomery College in the face of a shifting political and pedagogical climate, thanks to programmatic adaptability and alertness to opportunities.