cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Treatment With Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor Efavirenz Leads to Increase of Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Mice

Since the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) are living longer lives. However, HIV-1-positive (HIV-1+) patients are now experiencing many non-AIDS related comorbidities including myocardial infarction, atherosclerotic lesions, and other preclinical markers of atherosclerosis including increased carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), arterial stiffness, and impaired flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Studies have implicated the virus, the treatment, or both in the progression of these co-morbidities, causing the exact mechanisms of cardiovascular disease progression to remain unclear.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Epimorphisms and Dominions

According to Grothendieck’s definition, which is by now standard in part of the literature, an epimorphism is a map f: A → B such that for any maps g: B → C, h: B → C, if g ≠ h, then gf ≠ hf. In groups, for example, epimorphisms are onto, but in rings, for example, they are not.
Assessing scientific performance

Abstract A method for assessing scientific performance is proposed and illustrated. Advantages over existing methods are: (1) increased objectivity; (2) increased emphasis on what was rather than who contributed; and (3) increased accuracy in theme identification. The procedure is based on relationships displayed numerically in the published documents. These relationships are extracted and organized as a graphic display representing the conceptual structure for a subject. Individuals or groups contributing to the knowledge of the discipline can be identified. The extent of their contributions also can be documented. The method is illustrated using published documents in Pediatric Oncology for the period 1979–1982. The contributions of a major clinical investigations group, the Childrens Cancer Study Group, are analyzed. The results show increasing contributions by the Group as the conceptual structure changes from the simplest measure of survival to ones requiring sophisticated follow-up and clinical evaluation procedures.
Quantum mechanical effects in enzyme-catalysed hydrogen transfer reactions

Hydrogen tunneling at room temperature has recently been demonstrated in the reactions catalysed by yeast alcohol dehydrogenase and bovine serum amine oxidase. These results suggest that quantum mechanical effects may be a fundamental and pervasive feature of enzyme-catalysed hydrogen transfer reactions. Our ability to detect such behavior introduces a new probe for the investigation of reaction barrier shape and protein dynamics in enzyme catalysis.
Binge Neonatal Alcohol Intubations Induce Dose-Dependent Loss of Purkinje Cells

Previous work using artificial rearing methods to administer alcohol to neonatal rats identified postnatal days (PD) 4-6 as a period of enhanced vulnerability to alcohol-induced Purkinje cell loss. To develop an alternative to artificial rearing, alcohol was administered to pups in a binge pattern of exposure using acute intubations, and dose-related effects on blood alcohol concentrations (BACs), somatic growth, and cerebellar Purkinje cell survival were assessed. Pups were intubated with alcohol in milk formula, twice a day, 2 h apart, with total daily doses of 4.5, 5.25, or 6.0 g/kg of alcohol. After intubations on PD 4, the blood alcohol concentration (BAC)-time curves systematically increased with increasing dose. Intubation of these doses on PD 4-6 produced significant, dose-dependent reductions in the total number of cerebellar Purkinje cells on PD 10, counted using the stereological optical fractionator. Somatic growth was significantly affected only by the highest dose. These dose manipulations using intubations confirmed that Purkinje cell death systematically increased as a function of BAC profiles within the PD 4-6 window of vulnerability.
Effects of flash luminance and positional expectancies on visual response latency

It is well established that human observers respond more quickly to visual targets that appear in expected locations than they do to ones in unexpected locations. These variations in simple reaction time have been attributed to a covert alignment of an attentional mechanism to the expected target location. The present experiments investigated the influence of strength of signal and strength of subject’s positional expectancy on the magnitude of this attentional effect. In the first experiment, target luminance was varied over a range of three log units, and it was found that the effects of luminance were essentially additive with the effect of the positional expectancy (i.e., the attention effect). The second experiment found that the magnitude of visual attention interacts with the information value of the precue used to create the spatial expectancy, although, once again, luminance had additive effects. The resuls are interpreted as indicating that, rather than influencing early visual processing, the act of attending to a spatial location operates fairly late in the detection process.
The influence of potential evaporation on the variabilities of simulated soil wetness and climate

Abstract An atmospheric general circulation model with prescribed sea surface temperature and cloudiness was integrated for 50 years in order to study atmosphere-land surface interactions. The temporal variability of model soil moisture and precipitation have been studied in an effort to understand the interactions of these variables with other components of the climate system. Temporal variability analysis has shown that the spectra of monthly mean precipitation over land are close to white at all latitudes, with total variance decreasing poleward. In contrasts, the spectra of soil moisture are red, and become more red with increasing latitude. As a measure of this redness, half of the total variance of a composite tropical soil moisture spectrum occurs at periods longer than nine months, while at high latitudes, half of the total variance of a composite soil moisture spectrum occurs at periods longer than 22 months. The spectra of soil moisture also exhibit marked longitudinal variations. These spectral...
An empirical analysis of the determinants of high bonus bids for petroleum leases in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)

This paper shows that neither aggregate measures used to analyze concentrated market and industry structures, nor patterns of joint bidding among firms active in the offshore Gulf of Mexico suggest either a decrease or a deficiency in the competitiveness of the lease sales held by the US Minerals Management Service. Our empirical results show that the relative change in the mean value of high bonus bids for leases with multiple bids (competitive leases) is greater than the change in the mean value of single-bid leases. Further, the mean value of high bonus bids for deepwater leases is also found to be significantly higher than that of shallow water leases. The results also suggest that variation in crude petroleum price index may lead to a higher mean value of the high bids, certeris paribus.
Learning of Syllable-Object Relations by Preverbal Infants: The Role of Temporal Synchrony and Syllable Distinctiveness.

Abstract The role of temporal synchrony and syllable distinctiveness in preverbal infants’ learning of word–object relations was investigated. In Experiment 1, 7- and 8-month-olds ( N = 64) were habituated under conditions where two similar-sounding syllables, /tah/ and /gah/, were spoken simultaneously with the motions of one of two sets of objects ( synchronous ) or out of phase with the motions ( asynchronous ). On test trials, 8-month-olds, but not 7-month-olds, showed learning of the relations in the synchronous condition but not in the asynchronous condition. Furthermore, in Experiment 2, following habituation to one of the synchronous syllable–object pairs, 7-month-olds ( n = 8) discriminated the syllables and the objects. In Experiment 3, following habituation to two distinct syllables, /tah/–/gih/ or /gah/–/tih/, paired with identical objects, 7-month-olds ( n = 40) showed learning of the relations, again only in the synchronous condition. Thus, synchrony, which mothers naturally provide between words and object motions, facilitated the mapping onto objects of similar-sounding syllables at 8 months of age and distinct syllables at 7 months of age. These findings suggest an interaction between infants’ synchrony and syllable distinctiveness perception during early word mapping development.
Demonstration of a transparent router for wavelength-hopping time-spreading optical CDMA

We propose and demonstrate a two-dimensional wavelength-hopping time-spreading optical code division multiple access (OCDMA) node architecture for all-optical path networks. An OCDMA-based network can provide optically transparent and reconfigurable paths for on-demand high-bandwidth optical connections. The network node consists of parallel code converter routers (PCCRs), which perform routing by passive code conversion, the destination address of the data sent being an OCDMA code. We present an experimental demonstration of this OCDMA node in a 4-station mesh network operating at 253 Gchips/s with a single user bit rate of 2.5 Gb/s. We show the capability of the node to create reconfigurable code paths (CPs) and virtual code paths (VCPs). Our proposed architecture provides an all-optical method to create reconfigurable paths, while reducing switching delays and node complexity. Due to the inherent flexibility of OCDMA, path networks can rapidly respond to failure or changes in load condition while accommodating a large number of users.
Effect of environmental complexity on size of the superior colliculus

The present study examined effects of environmental complexity on the size of the superior colliculus, a subcortical structure involved in visuomotor functions. Long-Evans hooded rats raised together in a complex environment for 48 weeks were compared with their littermates housed in individual cages. The depth and area of the superficial gray layer of the superior colliculus were about 5–6% greater in the group from the complex environment, while the deeper layers of the superior colliculus showed no significant differences. The magnitude of the differences approached those reported for the neocortex, which has been considered to be distinctive in its morphological responsiveness to differential environmental complexity. The findings also extend previous observations that visual deprivation leads to shrinkage of the superficial gray layer and indicate that the morphology of this subcortical visual area is responsive to varying degrees of environmental stimulation.
Spectrum baseline artefacts and correction of gas-phase species signal during diffuse reflectance FT-IR analyses of catalysts at variable temperatures

Abstract Diffuse reflectance FT-IR spectroscopy (DRIFTS) is commonly used to investigate catalytic reactions. CO is a reagent of many reactions of interest for environmental catalysis and fuel and chemical synthesis, as well as being a surface probe to investigate the structure and oxidation state of metal-based particles by in situ and operando FT-IR spectroscopy. It is crucial to avoid IR signal distortion that may affect the IR spectrum in the region corresponding to adsorbed CO, which spans from ca. 2250 cm−1 down to 1600 cm−1. Such bands can appear in the DRIFTS spectra of silica-based solids when the temperature and/or the hydration level of the sample are modified. These bands are merely due to variations in the vibrations modes of the silica solids and are not related to adsorbed CO. Accurate correction of gas-phase CO signal during DRIFTS analyses can be obtained by collecting a subtrahend spectrum under identical reaction conditions over an inert material such as SiC. Spurious bands may otherwise arise if a subtrahend is collected at a different temperature.
Potential effects of air pollutants on epidemics of plant diseases

Abstract Air pollutants potentially can affect plant disease epidemics in numerous ways. The initial disease level ( y 0 ) and the apparent infection rate ( r , a parameter measuring the rate of disease increase) can be altered by pollutants. For compound interest diseases, final disease intensity is more sensitive to changes in r than to y o . The effective multiplication factor ( R ), the latent ( p ) and infectious ( i ) periods determine r . These values, however, are not equally important in affecting r . One can use fairly simple equations to relate constant values of R , p , and i to r during the early stages of an epidemic. Nonconstancy of these characteristics, due either to changing environment or inherent variability of the population, generally requires computer simulation for a thorough understanding. Spatial variability and pathogen dispersal further complicate the effect of pollutants on plant disease epidemics. Some reported examples of the effects of 03, SO, and acid deposition on epidemic characteristics are discussed.
Infrared vibrational spectra of tert-butyl halides in low-aluminum H-Y Faujasite: Vibrational excitation exchange and other effects of guest–host interactions

Abstract Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) studies at 295 K of low-aluminum H-Y (LAHY, Si/Al = 40) faujasite zeolite supercage-included tert -butyl halides, (CH 3 ) 3 C–X (X = Cl, Br, I), are presented in comparison with the adsorbate molecular gas-phase and unloaded host solid-state spectra. The FTIR results, aided by computer modeling studies, reveal a propensity toward the exchange of quanta of vibrational excitation between guest modes, and between guest and host modes. The exchange phenomenon and some pseudo-hydrogen bonding effects are related to the siting of the guest molecules in the host supercage, and to the guest–host interactions at the guest site.
Mapping experiments with bacteriophage T2L

Abstract Twelve new mutants of bacteriophage T2L, most of which were induced by 5-bromouracil, are described. The new mutants and four previously isolated mutants have been mapped by two-factor crosses. All these mutants can be placed upon a single linkage structure which corresponds to linkage groups I and II of Hershey and Rotman (1949) . In conjunction with the results of Baylor et al . (1957), this provides direct evidence for the commonly held assumption that the genetic structure of the T-even phages consists of a single “chromosome.”
Optimizing area under the ROC curve using semi-supervised learning

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis is a standard methodology to evaluate the performance of a binary classification system. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) is a performance metric that summarizes how well a classifier separates two classes. Traditional AUC optimization techniques are supervised learning methods that utilize only labeled data (i.e., the true class is known for all data) to train the classifiers. In this work, inspired by semi-supervised and transductive learning, we propose two new AUC optimization algorithms hereby referred to as semi-supervised learning receiver operating characteristic (SSLROC) algorithms, which utilize unlabeled test samples in classifier training to maximize AUC. Unlabeled samples are incorporated into the AUC optimization process, and their ranking relationships to labeled positive and negative training samples are considered as optimization constraints. The introduced test samples will cause the learned decision boundary in a multi-dimensional feature space to adapt not only to the distribution of labeled training data, but also to the distribution of unlabeled test data. We formulate the semi-supervised AUC optimization problem as a semi-definite programming problem based on the margin maximization theory. The proposed methods SSLROC1 (1-norm) and SSLROC2 (2-norm) were evaluated using 34 (determined by power analysis) randomly selected datasets from the University of California, Irvine machine learning repository. Wilcoxon signed rank tests showed that the proposed methods achieved significant improvement compared with state-of-the-art methods. The proposed methods were also applied to a CT colonography dataset for colonic polyp classification and showed promising results.11Matlab code of the proposed methods will be released on http://clinicalcenter.nih.gov/drd/summers.html once the paper is published. HighlightsOptimizing area under the ROC curve using semi-supervised learning.A large margin maximization semi-supervised learning framework for AUC maximization.Closed-form solution based on semi-definite programming.Superior performance on 34 UCI machine learning datasets determined by power analysis.Showed efficacy on a CT colonography dataset for colonic polyp classification.
Coping and Personality: Third Time's the Charm?

In this special issue, a third generation of research is represented which recognizes and demonstrates that individual differences in personality play an important role in the coping process. Although progress is apparent, there are several unresolved issues, including the best way to measure coping and whether "type of coping" matters in naturalistic settings. Three potentially important parameters of coping-range, patterning, and competence-are described, but only the first has received systematic empirical attention. The study of coping might also be advanced by researchers giving more attention to the differences between problem situations in which traits are more easily expressed ("weak" situations) versus those where normative criteria and constraints are explicit ("strong" situations).
Long Term Infusion of Subpressor Doses of Angiotensin II Causes a Delayed Vasoconstriction in the Fetal Placental Circulation of the Sheep † 949

The kidney plays a pivotal role in long term regulation of arterial blood pressure (BP) in the postnatal mammal. Fetal BP may also be controlled by the kidney through a mechanism that alters the rate of net transplacental water acquisition. Prolonged angiotensin (Ang) infusion at a rate that does not change in BP in the short term, causes a slow but substantial rise in BP in both intact and nephrectomized fetal lambs. Angiotensin infusion at the same rate also increases water transfer from mother to conceptus, resulting in polyhydramnios or hydrops fetalis. The present studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that a crucial regulatory role for Ang II in the process of transplacental water acquisition is to cause precapillary vasoconstriction of the placental circulation. This would decrease fetal placental blood flow and the hydrostatic pressure in the fetal placental capillaries, thereby promoting filtration of water towards the fetus. Two intact and 4 bilaterally nephrectomized fetuses at 117-125 d of gestation were instrumented with flow sensor (Transonics), and arterial and venous cathethers. After 2 days of recovery, 5 days of control measurements demonstrated stable BP and umbilical flow. A continuous fetal infusion of Ang II (132 ± μg/d per kg autopsy weight, mean ± SD) was given for 5 days. Ang II rose from 17± 3 pg/ml to 244 ± 51 pg/ml, and did not change over the 5 days. Control BP was 41.5 ± 5 mm Hg. One h after start of infusion BP was 44.5 ± 5 mm Hg, a nonsignificant change. BP then rose at a rate of 3.8 mm Hg per day. One h after stopping Ang II infusion, BP fell by 17.6 ± 3.8 mm Hg, but it remained 8.3 ± 3.0 mm Hg above control, p<0.025. Also, 1 h after starting Ang II infusion, umbilical flow was not significantly decreased. There was no later change in mean flow despite the large increase in BP. After 1 hr of infusion, fetal placental resistance was only 9% greater than control, NS; but after 5 days of Ang II infusion, resistance had almost tripled. This increased resistance was not dependent on circulating Ang II; 1 h after infusion, 69% of the increase in resistance remained. Ang II, continuously infused at a rate that causes a negligible immediate increase in fetal BP and resistance, results in a very slow, but very large increase in fetal placental resistance that is not due to a direct action of circulating Ang II. This result is compatible with a structural alteration of the umbilical vascular bed with long term exposure to a high physiological concentration of Ang II.
Immunoglobulins or similar substances in invertebrate body fluids: A preliminary study

Abstract Radial immunodiffusion was performed with body fluids from a variety of marine invertebrates to detect the presence of any vertebrate-type immunoglobulin, viz., IgG, IgA and IgM, or antigenically similar substances. The results indicate that a number of these animals, particularly molluscs, contain one or more of these substances.
Asymptotics of the total net direct pharmacological effect for large drug doses

The direct pharmacological effect E is described by the E max model relating E to the drug plasma concentration C p . The area under the effect vs. time curve (AUC E ) is used as the measurement of the total net pharmacological effect. The drug plasma concentrations are solutions of compartmental systems of ordinary differential equations with the input terminated after a finite time and controlled in a proportional manner by a single dose-like parameter. The asymptotics of the time derivative of C p for large doses are derived and used as conditions which have to be satisfied by functions for which the asymptotics of the integral defining AUC E are derived. The AUC E is proportional to the time T C>EC50 for which the drug concentration stays above the threshold level EC 50. The threshold EC 50 denotes the drug plasma concentration which elicits 50% of the maximum effect. The parameter T C>EC50 is proportional to the logarithm of drug dose for large doses and its asymptotics is calculated up to the order o(1) as dose increases to infinity. The results are applied to basic pharmacokinetic systems.
Healthcare Workplace Conversations on Race and the Perspectives of Physicians of African Descent

Background Although experts recommend that healthcare organizations create forums for honest dialogue about race, there is little insight into the physician perspectives that may influence these conversations across the healthcare workforce.
Protein kinase C activity in the rat ovary: increasing enzyme activity and presence of an endogenous inhibitor during pregnancy.

Abstract 1. 1. Protein kinase C (PKC) activity was measured in corpora lutea and ovarian interstitial tissues obtained from rats on days 7, 13/14 and 20 of normal pregnancy. 2. 2. PKC activity increased steadily from day 7 to day 20 of pregnancy in luteal tissue but not in ovarian interstitial tissues. 3. 3. Cytosolic fractions of both tissue types inhibited PKC activity in a control preparation of the enzyme, suggesting that both tissues contain an endogenous inhibitor of PKC throughout pregnancy.
Religion as Moderator of the Sense of Control–Health Connection: Gender Differences

ABSTRACT Objectives. Sense of personal control is a key marker of successful aging, yet little is known about its relation to religiousness and personal adversity among older adults. This study investigated the relation between two different religious orientations, a church-centered religiousness and a non-church-based spiritual seeking, sense of control, physical health, and gender in late adulthood. Methods. The participants consisted of a community sample of men and women (N = 156) in their late sixties and mid-seventies who were born in the San Francisco Bay Area. Three-way ANOVAs were used to test in separate analyses, the effects of religiousness and spiritual seeking on sense of control among men and women who were either in good or poor physical health. Results. Both religiousness and spiritual seeking buffered women, but not men, against loss of sense of control due to poor physical health. The buffering effect of religiousness and spiritual seeking was associated with different psychological cha...
Proteinuria: Potential Causes and Approach to Evaluation

Proteinuria may be associated with a renal or systemic disease, or it may be isolated. The latter occurs in asymptomatic patients without evidence of any disease or abnormality of the urine sediment. Isolated proteinuria may be subdivided into two broad groups: (1) benign forms, with a favorable-to-excellent prognosis and (2) persistent forms, some of which have a worrisome prognosis. Functional proteinuria may occur in disorders with altered renal hemodynamics, usually resolves, and is not associated with progressive renal disease. Idiopathic transient proteinuria is typically discovered on routine screening and usually disappears on subsequent testing. In idiopathic intermittent proteinuria, a significant number (50%) of urine samples exhibit abnormal rates of protein excretion. Although structural abnormalities may be observed on renal biopsy, progressive renal insufficiency is unusual. In orthostatic proteinuria, the rate of protein excretion completely normalizes in the recumbent position. Long-term studies show this to be a benign condition. In persistent isolated proteinuria, at least 80% of random urine samples exhibit abnormal protein excretion. This represents a heterogeneous group, but a significant proportion of these patients have prominent renal pathologic findings and progress to serious renal disease. Proteinuria with significant renal disease may be non-nephrotic or nephrotic range. The former does not exclude glomerular disease, but tubulointerstitial or vascular disorders are also likely when proteinuria is less than 2 g/24 hours. Patients with nephrotic-range proteinuria generally have a glomerular disorder. Distinction between benign and more ominous forms of proteinuria requires careful evaluation.
Ligand and DNA-dependent phosphorylation of human progesterone receptor in vitro

Abstract The progesterone receptor (PR), like other members of the steroid receptor family, is a ligand-induced transcription factor. We have demonstrated previously that progesterone-induced binding of PR to a progesterone response element (PRE)-linked promoter stimulates RNA synthesis from that promoter in a cell-free transcription extract. It has been established that a hormone-mediated activation of PR beyond the removal of associated heat shock proteins is essential for efficient transactivation of the target gene. We now report that treatment with hormone leads rapidly to multiple phosphorylations of both the A and B forms of human PR in a HeLa nuclear extract. The putative kinase is present in the transcriptional extract but fails to phosphorylate the receptor significantly in the absence of specific hormone or DNA. Efficient phosphorylation of the PR occurs only in the presence of PREs, indicating that ligand-induced binding of PR to its cognate DNA response element makes it a preferred substrate for the kinase. The kinetics of the phosphorylation reaction overlap the kinetics of hormone-dependent RNA synthesis from a PRE-containing target promoter in vitro. We postulate that ligand and DNA-dependent phosphorylation of PR is an important functional event in the process leading to receptor-mediated transactivation of target genes.
An iron isotope signature related to electron transfer between aqueous ferrous iron and goethite

Abstract We measured the Fe isotope fractionation during the reactions of Fe(II) with goethite in the presence and absence of a strong Fe(III) chelator (desferrioxamine mesylate, DFAM). All experiments were completed in an O 2 -free glove box. The concentrations of aqueous Fe(II) ([Fe(II) aq ]) decreased below the initial total dissolved Fe concentrations ([Fe(II) total ], 2.15 mM) due to fast adsorption within 0.2 day. The concentration of adsorbed Fe(II) ([Fe(II) ads ]) was determined as the difference between [Fe(II) aq ] and the concentration of extracted Fe(II) in 0.5 M HCl ([Fe(II) extr ]) (i.e., [Fe(II) ads ] = [Fe(II) extr ] − [Fe(II) aq ]). [Fe(II) ads ] also decreased with time in experiments with and without DFAM, documenting that fast adsorption was accompanied by a second, slower reaction. Interestingly, [Fe(II) extr ] was always smaller than [Fe(II) total ], indicating that some Fe(II) was sequestered into a pool that is not HCl-extractable. The difference was attributed to Fe(II) incorporated into goethite structure (i.e., [Fe(II) inc ] = [Fe(II) total ] −[Fe(II) extr ]). More Fe(II) was incorporated in the presence of DFAM than in its absence at all time steps. Regardless of the presence of DFAM, both aqueous and extracted Fe(II) ( δ 56/54 Fe(II) aq and δ 56/54 Fe(II) extr ) became isotopically lighter than or similar to goethite (− 0.27‰) at day 7, implying that the isotope exchange occurred between bulk goethite and aqueous Fe. Consistently, the mass balance indicated that the incorporated Fe is isotopically heavier than extracted Fe. These observations suggested that (i) co-adsorption of Fe(II) with DFAM resulted in more pervasive electron transfer, (ii) the electron transfer from heavy Fe(II) in the adsorbed Fe(II) to light Fe(III) in goethite results in the fixation of heavy adsorbed Fe(III) on the surface and accumulation of Fe(II) within the goethite, and (iii) desorption of the reduced, light Fe from goethite does not necessarily occur at the same surface sites where adsorption occurred.
Analytic Solutions for Evolving Size Distributions of Spherical Crystals or Droplets Undergoing Diffusional Growth in Different Regimes

AbstractMotivated by simulations of slow-growing contrail cirrus, the solution of the diffusional growth equations for a population of spherical ice crystals or water droplets is reexamined. For forcing specified by the evolution of the total water content above saturation within a parcel (whether driven by vertical motions, radiative heating, turbulent mixing, etc.) three behavior regimes are identified: “very fast growth” that cannot equilibrate, “fast growth” with a narrowing size spectrum, and “slow growth” with a broadening spectrum. The boundaries between regimes, time scales involved, and evolution of the condensate mass, number, and supersaturation are determined. The slow-growth regime represents an example of “spectral ripening,” with crystal or droplet numbers falling in time because of surface tension effects. Surprisingly the diffusional growth equations for the size spectrum evolution can be solved exactly in this case: in appropriate coordinates the spectral shape becomes steady, crystal or...
Formation and characterization of simple, stable, coordinated water complexes of rhodiumand iridium. The crystal structure of trans-[Rh(PPh3)2(CO)(H3O]+CF3SO3−

Abstract Reaction of trans -(Ph 3 P) 2 Rh(CO)(OSO 2 CF 3 ) and trans -(Ph 3 P) 2 Ir(CO)(OSO 2 CF 3 ) with water in benzene results in the formation of stable trans -[(Ph 3 P) 2 Rh(CO)(H 2 O)] + CF 3 SO − 3 and trans -[(Ph 3 P) 3 Ir(CO)(H 2 )(H 2 O)] + CF 3 SO 3 − , respectively. The crystal structure of the Rh-complex is reported.
Low Correlation between Subjective and Objective Measures of Knowledge on Surgery Clerkships

Background Medical student knowledge is assessed during surgical clerkships subjectively and objectively. Subjective evaluation depends on faculty assessment during clinical and didactic interactions. Objective measurement derives from standardized tools, such as the National Board of Medical Examiners Surgery Subject test (shelf). Few efforts have been made to characterize the correlation between subjective and objective measures of medical knowledge. Study Design All 308 third-year medical students who completed the 8-week surgery clerkship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill between July 2005 and June 2007 received subjective assessment of knowledge on 3 clinical rotations (one 4-week core and two 2-week elective rotations) and a longitudinal small-group tutorial. Faculty evaluators assigned percentile scores to rate students' knowledge base relative to their peers. In addition, students took the shelf test the last day of clerkship, and percentile scores were assigned based on National Board of Medical Examiners−supplied normative data from first-time test-takers within the same academic quarter. Subjective versus objective knowledge scores were plotted overall, and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were generated for core, elective, and tutorial assessments. Results There were only weak linear relationships noted between subjective faculty-assigned knowledge scores and objective shelf scores. Pearson correlations were 0.24 for core rotations (4 weeks exposure), 0.14 for elective rotations (2 weeks exposure), and 0.22 for tutorials (1-hour exposure/week during 8 weeks), with p values Conclusions Faculty assessment of knowledge is only weakly correlated with shelf performance. Faculty evaluations after 4-week rotations or longitudinal small-group interactions are better correlated with shelf scores than after 2-week electives.
Spectroscopic ellipsometry study of the diluted magnetic semiconductor system Zn(Mn,Fe,Co)Se.

Single-crystal films of (001)${\mathrm{Zn}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathit{A}}_{\mathit{x}}$Se (A=Mn, Fe, Co) (0\ensuremath{\le}x0.14) grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on (001)GaAs have been studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry in the 3.5--5.5 eV photon-energy range. Using fits of the ${\mathit{E}}_{1}$ and ${\mathit{E}}_{1}$+${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{1}$ peaks with a standard analytic expression, we find that the linewidths increase with x for all samples, the energies increase with x for ${\mathrm{Zn}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Fe}}_{\mathit{x}}$Se and ${\mathrm{Zn}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Co}}_{\mathit{x}}$Se, and the energies decrease with x for ${\mathrm{Zn}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Mn}}_{\mathit{x}}$Se. A model describing the effects of the sp-d exchange interaction on the L point band-gap energy is developed and applied. We find that the strength of the energy correction due to this interaction, which is proportional to the product of the square of the exchange integrals and the magnetic susceptibility of the material, is largest in Mn-doped and smallest in Co-doped ZnSe. While the sp-d exchange interaction model is consistent with the composition dependence of the ${\mathit{E}}_{1}$ and ${\mathit{E}}_{1}$+${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{1}$ band-gap energies in ${\mathrm{Zn}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Mn}}_{\mathit{x}}$Se, it does not describe the behavior observed in ${\mathrm{Zn}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Fe}}_{\mathit{x}}$Se and ${\mathrm{Zn}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Co}}_{\mathit{x}}$Se. We show that an sp-d hybridization model, which includes the location of the energy levels of the magnetic impurity d levels, can account for the composition dependence of ${\mathit{E}}_{1}$ and ${\mathit{E}}_{1}$+${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{1}$ band-gap energies of all three materials.
THE COMPATIBILITY OF PRODUCT QUALITY AND PROCESS FLEXIBILITY

In response to challenging market needs, an increasingly critical factor in designing manufacturing systems is the inclusion of process flexibility. Although flexibility is considered by most to be a positive step in the evolution of manufacturing proce..
On similarity between finite sets in plane

We present a Θ(n log n) time algorithm to check similarity, under isogonal affine transformation (i.e. translation, rotation and scaling), of two given sets of n points in plane. We obtain an O(n log n) time algorithm and establish Ω(n log n) lower bound for this problem under the linear search tree model. Our analysis implies that the main source of complexity for this problem arises from the “combinatorial” nature rather than the “affiness” of the problem.
Engineered metal?oxide?metal heterojunction nanowires

Using a unique combination of template-based synthesis methods involving anodization, electroplating, and selective oxidation, we have synthesized engineered metal-oxide-metal (MOM) heterojunction nanowires in the Au-SnO2-Au and Au-NiO-Au systems for possible use in nanoelectronics. The template-based synthesis method used here is generic, and it has the potential to provide control over the structure and characteristics of the resulting MOM nanowires. By virtue of their heterojunction structure, MOM nanowires have the potential to overcome some of the drawbacks associated with all-oxide nanowire building blocks, and they present a rare opportunity to measure directly fundamental functional properties of nanoscale oxides.
Intermedia: the concept and the construction of a seamless information environment

A description is given of Intermedia, a tool designed to support both teaching and research in a university environment. This multiapplication hypermedia system provides linking capabilities integrated into a desktop user environment. Hypermedia is simply an extension of hypertext that incorporates other media in addition to text. To promote consistency, the applications were built with an object-oriented framework. A sample Intermedia session is presented. >
Performance limits of plasmon-enhanced organic photovoltaics

We use a combination of experiment and modeling to explore the promise and limitations of using plasmon-resonant metal nanoparticles to enhance the device performance of organic photovoltaics (OPVs). We focus on optical properties typical of the current generation of low-bandgap donor polymers blended with the fullerene (6,6)-phenyl C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) and use the polymer poly(indacenodithiophene-co-phenanthro[9,10-b]quinoxaline) (PIDT-PhanQ) as our test case. We model the optical properties and performance of these devices both in the presence and absence of a variety of colloidal silver nanoparticles. We show that for these materials, device performance is sensitive to the relative z-position and the density of nanoparticles inside the active layer. Using conservative estimates of the internal quantum efficiency for the PIDT-PhanQ/PC71BM blend, we calculate that optimally placed silver nanoparticles could yield an enhancement in short-circuit current density of over 31% when used with ∼ 80-nm-thick active layers, resulting in an absolute increase in power conversion efficiency of up to ∼2% for the device based on optical engineering.
When is an intervening line‐up most likely to affect eyewitness identification accuracy?

Method. In each of the 3 experiments, a forensically relevant factor known to affect the accuracy of face recognition memory was manipulated to assess how the factor impacted the suggestive influence of an intervening line-up on eyewitness identification accuracy in a subsequent test line-up. These factors were (a) in Experiment 1, samerace versus cross race target faces, (b) in Experiment 2, whether the intervening line-up occurred on the day of the presentation phase (close to presentation) or 1 month later on the day of the subsequent test line-up (far from presentation), and (c) in Experiment 3, whether the target face was presented for 10 seconds or 60 seconds. Results. In each experiment, factors associated with poorer memory for the target face led to a greater suggestive influence of the intervening line-up on identification accuracy in the subsequent line-up, evidenced by lower hit rates and higher false-alarm rates. Conclusions. These findings suggest that the problem of decreased identification accuracy following the viewing of an intervening photograph is especially of concern when memory for the perpetrator is likely to be poor. Implications of these findings for interpreting line-up results in the courtroom are discussed.
Pseudo C-2C ladder-based data converter technique

A C-2C ladder-based DAC architecture is potentially very attractive because of its small area, high speed and low power consumption. However, the parasitic capacitances on the interconnecting nodes of a C-2C ladder significantly deteriorate the linearity of the DAC and restrict its application. In this paper, a pseudo C-2C ladder structure is proposed. It maintains the advantages of conventional C-2C ladders and effectively compensates for the parasitic effects by adjusting the capacitor ratio a in a C-2/spl alpha/C ladder. As a result, high linearity may be achieved in standard CMOS technologies. The technique is illustrated with the design of a 12-bit CMOS DAC.
Perceptions of Open Access Publishing among Academic Journal Editors in China

Open access publishing is examined from the perspective of academic journal editors in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In addition to providing background information on academic publishing in China, the author incorporates interviews with two editors from open access and four from traditional subscription-based journals in the region. The editors share their general views on Chinese academic publishing and reflect on how open access has or could affect their publications. The editors comment on such issues as the economic viability of open access publishing in China and the potential benefits and challenges faced by Chinese academic journal editors who pursue open access.
Adaptation of the in situ adaptive tabulation (ISAT) procedure for efficient computation of surface reactions

Abstract In this article, the in situ adaptive tabulation (ISAT) procedure, originally developed [Pope, S. (1997). Computationally efficient implementation of combustion chemistry using in situ adaptive tabulation. Combustion Theory and Modeling, 1, 41–63] for the efficient computation of homogeneous reactions in chemically reacting flows, is adapted for the efficient computation of heterogeneous surface reactions. The main difference between the treatment of homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions is that heterogeneous reaction calculations require solution of a set of nonlinear algebraic equations at boundary faces/nodes, as opposed to the solution of an initial value problem, for which the original ISAT procedure was developed. The article first explains how the ISAT procedure is adapted for repetitive solution of a single nonlinear equation (scalar case), and subsequently presents the mathematical formulation for a system of nonlinear equations with multiple inputs and outputs (vector case). The new procedure is tested for catalytic combustion of a methane–hydrogen mixture on platinum using a reaction mechanism that involves 24 steps and 19 species (8 gas-phase and 11 surface-adsorbed). For this particular test case, the computational speed-up factor was found to be close to two orders of magnitude. Strategies to minimize memory requirements, while retaining optimum efficiency and accuracy are also outlined in the article.
Superconducting Radio-Frequency Fundamentals for Particle Accelerators

An overview of fundamentals of superconductors under radio-frequency electromagnetic fields in particle accelerators is given, with emphasis on intrinsic physics and materials mechanisms which limit the performance of the superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) resonator cavities. Multiscale mechanisms which control the surface resistance and the quality factor of the SRF cavities at low and high rf fields are discussed. We also discuss possible ways of pushing the limit of the SRF performance by materials impurities and multilayer nanostructuring which may open up opportunities of using materials other than Nb to significantly increase the maximum accelerating fields and improve the performance of the SRF cavities operating at 4.2 K.
IBBEA Implementation and the Relative Profitability of Small Banks

The enactment of Riegle‐Neal IBBEA in 1994 encouraged bank mergers and acquisitions. Empirical evidence indicates that large banks benefited from IBBEA enactment. However, there is little, if any, evidence of the impact of the act on small banks’ profitability relative to large banks. This study examines the impact of IBBEA on the performance of small banks in the period preceding and following IBBEA implementation. Evidence is presented that indicates the return on assets of small banks was significantly less than that of larger banks in the post‐IBBEA period. This is contrary to the results of the pre‐IBBEA period when small banks’ profitability was competitive with and in some cases even better than large banks’ profitability. It is concluded that the enactment of IBBEA has placed small banks at a competitive disadvantage which could eventually lead to their demise.
Electrical Stimulation of the Rectus Femoris During Pre-swing Diminishes Hip and Knee Flexion During the Swing Phase of Normal Gait

Individuals who have suffered cerebral insults often exhibit stiff-knee gait, a condition characterized by reduced knee flexion during swing. We investigated the effect that an increment in normal rectus femoris (RF) activity can have on hip and knee joint angles during swing, as a first step to determining this muscle's involvement in stiff-knee gait. For this, we developed a protocol that electrically stimulated the RF during pre-swing or after toe-off in randomly selected strides of treadmill walking, consistent with the timing of RF activity during normal gait. Seven healthy young adults participated in the study. Pre-swing stimulation induced a significant ( p<;;0.05) reduction in peak knee flexion (avg 7.5° ) in all subjects, with an accompanying decrease in hip flexion in four of the subjects. RF stimulation after toe-off diminished peak knee flexion in three subjects and reduced hip flexion in four subjects. When compared to muscle-actuated gait simulations that were similarly perturbed, the induced motion measures were generally consistent in direction but exhibited greater variability across strides and subjects. We conclude that excess RF activity during pre-swing has the potential to contribute to stiff-knee gait, and that clinical treatment should consider the “counter-intuitive” function that the RF has in extending the hip.
A comparison of feature representations for speaker-independent voiced-stop-consonant recognition

The authors investigated various feature representations of speech which seem to provide robust estimates of machine-recognition-relevant parameters for the voiced-stop-consonant phoneme class. Instances of a block-windowed neural network (BWNN) were trained and tested using feature vectors extracted from data of up to four dialect regions in the TIMIT database. Three feature representations were chosen for use in this research based on their past performance in consulted feature representation studies. It is concluded that the feature representations produced by Seneff's (1988) auditory model particularly the mean-rate response representation, are good representations for voiced-stop consonant speech as well as vowel speech. It is also concluded that the addition of dynamic feature information in the form of differenced cepstral coefficients to the conglomerate mel-cepstral representative vectors made a difference in the recognition rate for voiced-stop consonants over the use of the mel-frequency cepstral coefficients alone. It can be hypothesized that the use of the BWNN architectures produced better recognition results than the use of other architectures that do not take into account the time and frequency variabilities encountered in utterances from different speakers. >