cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of finite-rate kinetics on carbon conversion in a high-pressure, single-stage entrained flow gasifier with coal–CO2 slurry feed

Abstract Coal–CO2 slurry feed has been suggested as an attractive alternative to coal–water slurry feed for single-stage, entrained-flow gasifiers. Previous work demonstrated the system-level advantages of gasification-based plants equipped with CO2 capture and CO2 slurry feed, under the assumption that carbon conversion remains unchanged. However, gasification in carbon dioxide has been observed to be slower than that in steam. In view of this, the impact of CO2 slurry feeding on gasification kinetics and ultimately on carbon conversion and oxygen consumption in a pressurized, single-stage entrained-flow gasifier processing bituminous coal is studied here using a 1-D reduced order model. Results show that the CO2 gasification reaction plays a dominant role in char conversion when the feeding system is CO2 slurry, increasing the CO content in the products by up to a factor of two. CO inhibition of the gasification reaction and a higher degree of internal mass transport limitations lead to an up to 60% slower gasification rate, when compared to a system based on coal–water slurry. Accordingly, a gasifier with CO2 slurry feed has 15% less oxygen consumption but a 7%-point lower carbon conversion for a given reactor outlet temperature. The gasifier outlet temperature must be raised by 90 K in order to achieve the same conversion as in a water slurry-fed reactor; the peak reactor temperature increases by 220 K as a result. Net oxygen savings of 8% are estimated for a system with a CO2 slurry-fed gasifier relative to one with water slurry and the same level of conversion.
Chimeric Equatorial Waves as a Better Descriptor for “Convectively-Coupled Equatorial Waves”

The term “convectively-coupled Kelvin waves” is misleading. That is because these waves have Rossby-wave components, comparable to their Kelvin-wave components and, in fact, bear a close resemblance to the Gill solution with a moving heating source. A better alternative would be to call these waves chimeric Kelvin waves, to signify their combined nature and the fact that they are implicitly convectively-coupled. By extension, chimeric Rossby waves and chimeric mixed Rossby-gravity waves would be better alternatives to “convectively-coupled Rossby waves” and “convectively-coupled mixed Rossby-gravity waves,” respectively. Collectively, these waves can be called chimeric equatorial waves. Recognizing the above misleading terms can help avoid confusion.
When Fibroblasts MET iPSCs

Two independent studies by Li et al. (2010) and Samavarchi-Tehrani et al. (2010) in this issue of Cell Stem Cell suggest that a mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition is a critical initiating event during the derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from fibroblasts, indicating remarkable similarities between cellular reprogramming, development, and cancer.
Irrational beliefs and the anxiety disorders

This study investigated the levels of irrationality reported by a clinical sample of anxiety disorder patients, including simple and social phobics, panic disorder patients, agoraphobics, and obssessive compulsive patients. The levels of irrationality were compared between these groups and a group of normal control subjects, using the Rational Behavior Inventory (RBI). Agoraphobic patients were significantly less rational than control subjects on six of the RBI's subfactors and the total score of the Inventory. Patients in all diagnostic categories except simple phobia were significantly different from control subjects on the projected misfortune subfactor, and patients in all categories except simple phobia and panic disorder were significantly different from controls on the total RBI score. There were only four instances where patients in anxiety disorder categories significantly differed from each other in levels of irrationality. The implications of these findings, methodological limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.
Retention of Minority Populations in Panel Studies of Drug Use

SUMMARY Sample retention is a potentially serious problem in panel studies of drug use that include minority respondents. Minority respondents may be more difficult to retain primarily because their disadvantaged economic status makes tracking and contacting them more difficult. It is suggested that with standard techniques of tracking applied aggressively, high retention rates can be obtained for these respondents. This paper describes strategies that are used in an ongoing panel study of drug use among primarily African American and Puerto Rican respondents and evaluates how effective these strategies have been. Over an eight year period involving ten waves of data collection, 86 percent of the initial 1000 adolescents have been retained. Among adolescents, there is little difference in attrition by racial/ethnic status. However, among the parents, Puerto Rican respondents have somewhat lower retention rates than white or African American respondents. Reasons for the attrition of the Puerto Rican parent...
Splenectomy differentially influences immune responses in various tissue compartments of the body.

Abstract Patients without spleens have an increased risk of infection. Previous studies have shown that splenectomy (Spx) influences Kupffer cells (KC), peritoneal macrophages (pMϕ) and alveolar macrophages (aMϕ) phagocytosis and bactericidal activity. This study examined the effect of Spx on the cytokine production by peripheral blood monocular cells (PBMC), KC, aMϕ, pMϕ and cells from mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN). We also determined if Spx influences survival following sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). C57BL/6J male mice (8–10 weeks old) underwent sham operation or Spx. Two weeks after sham or Spx, KC, pMϕ, aMϕ, PBMC and cells from MLN were isolated and stimulated with LPS. Cell-free supernatants were analyzed for TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10. A significant increase in KC, pMϕ and aMϕ TNF-α and IL-6 release was observed following Spx. The production of IL-10 was also significantly higher in KC under those conditions. In contrast, the release of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10 was significantly decreased in PBMC after Spx. Similarly, TNF-α and IL-6 was also decreased in MLN after Spx. Overall survival after CLP was not different in mice subjected to either sham or Spx. However, the mean time to death was significantly decreased in mice subjected to Spx compared to sham injured mice. These findings suggest that Spx modulates immune cell functions in various tissue compartments of the body and results in early deaths following sepsis.
Genetic aspects of cerebrovascular disease

The issues described above are important for understanding genetic diseases in populations. The techniques described below are used for studying the molecular genetic abnormalities responsible for these complex diseases
Recent applications of the maximal covering location planning (M.C.L.P.) model

To enhance the research and application of mathematical programming and any other O.R. methodologies, it is desirable to investigate some ‘general’ models. This is particulary important in the development of decision support systems, where models play a significant role in management support. This study examines several applications of the maximal covering location planning (M.C.L.P.) model. They include data abstraction, statistical classification, cognitive process modelling, etc. In addition to demonstrating the wide applicability of the model, we also address some implementation issues associated with the applications of the M.C.L.P. model.
Neurochemical and neuroendocrine responses to Newcastle disease virus administration in mice.

Mice injected intraperitoneally with Newcastle disease virus (NDV) responded with increased plasma concentrations of ACTH and corticosterone and increased hypothalamic concentrations of the tryptophan and of the norepinephrine catabolite, 3-methoxy,4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol (MHPG) and the serotonin catabolite, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA). Two different strains of NDV, a lentogenic and a mesogenic one, elicited dose-dependent effects in these responses. Both strains elicited near maximal responses at doses around 1000 hemagglutination units. The maximal effects on ACTH, corticosterone and MHPG occurred around 2 h, but the effects on tryptophan and 5-HIAA were greatest at 8 h. Similar responses in plasma corticosterone, and cerebral tryptophan and 5-HIAA were observed following i.p. injection of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid, but MHPG was not altered. The cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin, had little effect on the NDV-induced increases in plasma corticosterone and ACTH, and hypothalamic indolamines, but essentially ablated the MHPG response. The effect of NDV on plasma corticosterone, like that of endotoxin (LPS), was prevented by hypophysectomy, suggesting that the pituitary was required for these responses. These endocrine and neurochemical responses to NDV resemble those to interleukin-1 (IL-1) and LPS. Therefore we tested mice pretreated with the IL-1-receptor antagonist. This treatment prevented the neurochemical and plasma ACTH and corticosterone responses to IL-1, but did not alter those to LPS, and prevented the endocrine and neurochemical responses to NDV in approximately half of the animals. Thus IL-1 may be a mediator of the responses to NDV, but additional factors may also be involved.
3.2 Amino Acid Derived Heterocyclic Chiral Auxiliaries: The use of Oxazolidinones, Oxazolidinethiones, Thiazolidinethiones, and Imidazolidinones

Amino acid-derived heterocyclic chiral auxiliaries have become an integral tool for the preparation of enantiomerically pure intermediates in the synthesis of natural products and specialty chemicals. Over the last three decades, oxazolidinones, oxazolidinethiones, thiazolidinethiones, and imidazolidinones have become indispensable members of one of the most commonly used classes of chiral auxiliaries in organic synthesis. This class of auxiliaries is popular because of the ease in preparation, their reliable efficiency in providing excellent predictable diastereoselectivity, and their facile introduction and removal. This chapter covers various aspects of amino acid-derived heterocyclic chiral auxiliaries in organic synthesis, including their preparation, useful applications, mechanistic insights, and removal.
ViceROI: catching click-spam in search ad networks

Click-spam in online advertising, where unethical publishers use malware or trick users into clicking ads, siphons off hundreds of millions of advertiser dollars meant to support free websites and apps. Ad networks today, sadly, rely primarily on security through obscurity to defend against click-spam. In this paper, we present Viceroi, a principled approach to catching click-spam in search ad networks. It is designed based on the intuition that click-spam is a profit-making business that needs to deliver higher return on investment (ROI) for click-spammers than other (ethical) business models to offset the risk of getting caught. Viceroi operates at the ad network where it has visibility into all ad clicks. Working with a large real-world ad network, we find that the simple-yet-general Viceroi approach catches over six very different classes of click-spam attacks (e.g., malware-driven, search-hijacking, arbitrage) without any tuning knobs.
Robust and timely communication over highly dynamic sensor networks

Highly dynamic sensor networks, such as mobile robotic sensor networks, have been applied in various kinds of application scenarios such as real-time planet exploration and deep-ocean discovery. In these types of networks, mobility and energy management protocols change the connectivity among the neighboring nodes quickly. Traditional state-based protocols, designed for static and/or low-mobility networks, suffer excessive delay in updating their routing or neighborhood tables, leading to severe packet loss and communication delay in the highly dynamic situations. To provide robust and timely communication, we exploit the concept of Lazy-Binding to deal with the elevated network dynamics. Based on this concept and the knowledge of the node positions, we introduce Implicit Geographic Forwarding (IGF), a new protocol for highly dynamic sensor networks that is altogether state-free. We compare our work against several typical routing protocols in static, mobile and energy-conserving networks under a wide range of system and workload configurations. In the presence of mobility and other dynamics, IGF achieves as much as 10 times improvement in the delivery ratio and significant reduction in both the end-to-end delay and control overhead. In addition to extensive simulations, we also implement and evaluate the IGF protocol on the Berkeley mote platform.
Teacher‐student verbal communication patterns in regular and special classrooms

Patterns of verbal communications between a teacher and student can influence the classroom environment, quality of the instructional program, and student management in the classroom. This study examined teacher-student communication patterns in both regular and special education classes for behaviorally and emotionally handicapped students. It was expected that special class communication patterns would differ substantially from those used in regular classes. Those communications would result in more effective student management and more time on-task for learning. Webster's (1984, 1986) Process Interaction Model was used to analyze the communication patterns. Expected differences between how regular and special class teachers interact with students were not found. Implications of findings are discussed in relationship to teacher training, teacher effectiveness, and classroom management.
Development of vegetation based soil quality indices for mineralized terrane in arid and semi-arid regions

a b s t r a c t Soil quality indices (SQIs) are often management driven and attempt to describe key relationships between above- and below-ground parameters. In terrestrial systems, indices that were initially devel- oped and modified for agroecosystems have been applied to non-agricultural systems in increasing number. We develop an SQI in arid and semi-arid ecosystems of the Western US impacted by differ- ent types of geologic mineralization using the relationship between vegetation community parameters and soil abiotic and biotic properties. We analyze these relations in soils associated with three different mineralization types: podiform chromite, Cu/Mo porphyry, and acid-sulfate gold vein systems at four different sites in California and Nevada. Soil samples were collected from undisturbed soils in both min- eralized and nearby unmineralized substrates as well as from waste rock and tailings. Aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), canopy cover and shrub density were measured for the vegetative com- munities. Minimum data sets were developed based on correlations between the soil and vegetation parameters, refined using principal components analysis, scored using non-linear functions, and com- bined into an overall SQI. The indices are comprised of one or two microbial parameters and three to six abiotic parameters, the latter consisting of nutrients and metals. Given the preliminary development of this approach, the parameters and combinations to arrive at an SQI for a given site cannot at this time be correlated or compared with that of another site. This SQI approach provides a means of quantify- ing disturbed ecosystem recovery resulting from mining, and could be applied to other disturbances in a way that readily distills the information for potential use by land managers. However, severely dis- turbed areas with little to no aboveground biomass, such as unreclaimed tailings, have likely crossed an ecological threshold that precludes the use of this type of monitoring tool.
Quasi-optical cavity dumping at millimetre wave frequencies

A thin silicon wafer illuminated by a Q-switched frequency-doubled Nd-YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) laser is used as a very fast, ultra-low-loss, quasi-optical, photoconductive switch to cavity-dump a millimeter-wave open resonator. This novel scheme should provide short pulses at millimeter-wave frequencies with power gains of several hundred from conventional continuous-wave (CW) sources. The switch has extremely low insertion loss and can switch on timescales of a few nanoseconds. Potential applications are in high-resolution radar, plasma diagnostics, and pulsed electron spin resonance experiments. >
Design of a wearable device to study finger-object contact timing during prehension

A wearable device was developed to study the human grasping behavior. This device includes a custom-made glove with conductors at finger tips to detect the finger contact signals, a simple electronic circuit to enhance the signal quality, and a real-time data acquisition system to synchronize the acquisition of the finger contact signals with obtaining the optical marker signals in a motion capture system. A preliminary study shows that the new device is capable of detecting the moments of finger-object contacts with better resolution of time than the existing motion capture camera system by three orders of magnitude. This new device will be intensively used in experiments to understand human grasping.
The Impact of Random Device Variation on SRAM Cell Stability in Sub-90-nm CMOS Technologies

The impact of process variation on SRAM yield has become a serious concern in scaled technologies. In this paper, we propose a methodology to analyze the stability of an SRAM cell in the presence of random fluctuations in the device parameters. First, we develop a theoretical framework for characterizing the dc noise margin of a memory cell. The framework is based on the concept that an SRAM cell is on the verge of instability when the gain across the loop formed by the cross-coupled inverters in the cell is unity. The noise margin criteria developed in this manner can be used to verify a cell stability in the presence of arbitrary DC noise offsets at the two storage nodes in the cell. We also develop metrics for estimating the cell stability during read and write operations and verify these models by extensive Monte Carlo simulations in a 65-nm CMOS process. Our results show that the proposed robustness metrics can be used to estimate cell failure probabilities in an efficient and accurate manner.
The addition of cottonseed hulls to the starter and supplementation of live yeast or mannanoligosaccharide in the milk for young calves

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of the addition of cottonseed hulls (CSH) to the starter and the supplementation of live yeast product (YST) or mannanoligosaccharide product (MOS) to milk, on growth, intake, rumen development, and health parameters in young calves. Holstein (n = 116) and Jersey (n = 46) bull (n = 74) and heifer (n = 88) calves were assigned randomly within sex at birth to treatments. All calves were fed 3.8 L of colostrum daily for the first 2 d. Holstein calves were fed 3.8 L of whole milk, and Jersey calves were fed 2.8 L of whole milk through weaning at 42 d. Calves continued on trial through 63 d. Six treatments were arranged as a 2 x 3 factorial. Calves received either a corn-soybean meal-based starter (21% crude protein and 6% acid detergent fiber; -CSH) or a blend of 85% corn-soybean meal-based starter and 15% CSH (18% crude protein and 14% acid detergent fiber; +CSH) ad libitum. In addition, calves received whole milk with either no supplement (NONE) or supplemented with 3 g/d of mannanoligosaccharide product (MOS) or 4 g/d of live yeast product (YST) through weaning at 42 d. Twelve Holstein steers [n = 6 (per starter type); n = 4 (per supplement type)] were euthanized for collection and examination of rumen tissue samples. Dry matter intake (DMI) was greater for Holstein calves fed +CSH (0.90 kg/d) than -CSH (0.76 kg/d). Final body weight at 63 d of Holstein calves fed +CSH (75.8 kg) was greater than that of those fed -CSH (71.0 kg). Average daily gain (ADG) was greater for Holstein calves fed +CSH (0.58 kg/d) than -CSH (0.52 kg/d). However, Holstein calves fed -CSH had a greater feed efficiency (FE; 0.71 kg of ADG/kg of DMI) than those fed +CSH (0.65 kg of ADG/kg of DMI). Also, Holstein calves fed +CSH had narrower rumen papillae (0.32 mm) compared with those fed -CSH (0.41 mm). There were no significant effects of CSH on DMI, ADG, or FE in Jersey calves. There were no significant effects of YST or MOS on DMI, ADG, FE, or rumen papillae measures in Holstein calves. Jersey calves fed YST or MOS had greater final body weight at 63 d (51.2 kg and 51.0 kg, respectively) than calves fed NONE (47.5 kg). However, there were no significant effects of YST or MOS on DMI, ADG, or FE in Jersey calves.
Study Abroad Survey Instruments: A Comparison of Survey Types and Experiences.

This study examines different survey instruments used to assess the experiences of U.S. study abroad participants. The intended audience is international and area study practitioners interested in assessing study abroad programs through postprogram interviews. An interview with the top 20 universities for number of students sent on study abroad reveals a broad picture of the type of survey instruments used across the United States to assess student experiences. Within this context and based on 19 years of data collection from study abroad participants with four data collection modes (a standard questionnaire with multiple choice and open-ended questions, a multiple choice bubble sheet response format, a scanned form, and a Web-based survey), one university’s experience is analyzed in depth to expand on the benefits and drawbacks of specific survey types. Lessons learned about when each type might be appropriate for different institutional goals and situations are presented.
Highly Efficient, Near-Infrared Electrophosphorescence from a Pt-Metalloporphyrin Complex**

The efficiency ofOLEDs are markedly improved when fluorescent emissivedopants are replaced with phosphorescent heavy-metal com-plexes that can effectively harvest both the singlet and tripletexcitonsformedinelectroluminescence,withwavelengths(l)ranging from the near-ultraviolet into the red (with peakemission at l
Enhancing Detection of Subclinical End-Organ Damage Echocardiographic Left Ventricular Strain Holds Up a Mirror to the Brain

The turn of the 21st century marked an unprecedented achievement in the health of the United States and other developed countries, with the extension of life expectancy to >75 years, in comparison with ≈45 years recorded at the start of the previous century.1 This accomplishment, however, and the promise of further increases in longevity as the present century marches on, has brought to the fore a daunting new challenge posed by the burgeoning of chronic disabling conditions affecting our aging populations. Indeed, morbidity and chronic disability now account for almost half of the US health burden.2 Yet among such chronic conditions, a foremost concern is the rising epidemic of cognitive impairment and dementia.3 With a prevalence in developed countries of ≈7% among adults aged 60 and older, as many as half of whom require resource-intensive home or institution-based care, dementia alone imposes an outsized societal toll.3 At the economic level, healthcare expenditures in 2010 for the estimated 35.6 million people affected with dementia worldwide run to an astounding $604 billion, a figure that will push far higher with the disorder’s projected tripling in prevalence by 2050.3 Article see p 1105 Against this backdrop, studies of dementia have led to the growing recognition that vascular disease and its risk factors play a major role in pathogenesis.4 The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer disease, a neurodegenerative disorder characterized pathologically by the accumulation of β-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, followed in frequency by vascular dementia, which is defined pathologically by the detection of extensive ischemic lesions in the brain.3 But an autopsy series showed that, although 86% of patients with dementia exhibited pathology related to Alzheimer disease, only half had pure Alzheimer disease, and >25% had mixed Alzheimer disease and cerebrovascular pathology.5 Furthermore, …
Effects of changing reliability on trust of robot systems

Prior work in human-autonomy interaction has focused on plant systems that operate in highly structured environments. In contrast, many human-robot interaction (HRI) tasks are dynamic and unstructured, occurring in the open world. It is our belief that methods developed for the measurement and modeling of trust in traditional automation need alteration in order to be useful for HRI. Therefore, it is important to characterize the factors in HRI that influence trust. This study focused on the influence of changing autonomy reliability. Participants experienced a set of challenging robot handling scenarios that forced autonomy use and kept them focused on autonomy performance. The counterbalanced experiment included scenarios with different low reliability windows so that we could examine how drops in reliability altered trust and use of autonomy. Drops in reliability were shown to affect trust, the frequency and timing of autonomy mode switching, as well as participants' self-assessments of performance. A regression analysis on a number of robot, personal, and scenario factors revealed that participants tie trust more strongly to their own actions rather than robot performance.
Seafood consumption and umbilical cord blood mercury concentrations in a multiethnic maternal and child health cohort.

Background: Fish consumption is common among the cultures of Hawaii, and given public health attention to mercury exposure in pregnancy, it is important to better understand patterns of fish consumption and mercury in pregnancy. This study examined the influence of maternal fish consumption during pregnancy on umbilical cord mercury (Hg) concentrations in a multiethnic cohort of women in Hawaii. Methods: This secondary analysis of a prospective cohort pilot study examined antenatal seafood consumption and neonatal outcomes in Hawaii. The first 100 eligible women who consented were enrolled. After delivery, umbilical cord blood and a dietary survey were obtained. Results: Most women (86%) consumed seafood during the month prior to delivery. Overall, 9% of women consumed more than the recommended limit of 12 ounces/week. Seafood consumption varied significantly by ethnicity and income, with 30% of poor women consuming more than the recommended limit. Seafood consumption did not vary by age or education. Umbilical cord blood Hg levels were 5 μg/L or more in 44% of women. Filipina were significantly less likely to have elevated Hg levels compared with non- Filipina (p < .05). Mercury levels did not vary by other demographic characteristics. Women reporting consumption exceeding 12 ounces fish per week were significantly more likely to have cord blood Hg levels of 5 μg/L or more, but mean Hg concentrations were not significantly higher (6.1 ± 3.3 v 5.0 ± 3.7). The odds ratio for elevated Hg, however, was significant among seafood-consumers compared with non-consumers (5.7; 95% confidence interval: 1.2, 27.1). Conclusions: Despite Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines, a significant portion of pregnant women consumed more than the recommended amount of seafood, which was associated with race and income. Further, almost half of study participants had cord blood Hg concentrations at or exceeding 5 μg/L.
Comparison of Time-Series and Cross-Sectional Elasticities

In this chapter, we undertake a comparison of the elasticities estimated from the NIPA time-series data with their counterparts estimated in earlier chapters from the BLS consumer expenditure surveys. Two comparisons will be made. The first is of total-expenditure elasticities for the CES 29 categories of expenditure analyzed in Chapter 11, while the second is of both total-expenditure and price elasticities at the CES 6-category level analyzed in Chapter 6. In both cases, comparison is to steady-state NIPA elasticities.
KNITS: switch-based connection hand-off

This paper describes a mechanism allowing nodes to hand-off active connections by utilizing connection splicing at an edge-switch serving as a gateway to a server cluster. The mechanism is primarily intended to be used as part of a content aware request distribution strategy. Our approach uses an extended form of network address translation which maps inbound connection information (ie., address, port, and sequence number) to a separate outbound connection. A key difference in our approach is that while the switch performs network address translation and TCP splicing, the actual hand-off is triggered by the back-end nodes. This relieves the switch of performing any application layer responsibilities. Nodes may hand-off connections by first initiating a new connection to the destination and then sending a message to the gateway which splices the two connections together. The gateway modifies subsequent packet headers in order to create a transparent hand-off. This mechanism requires no modification to the operating system on the servers or the clients and supports HTTP/1.1 persistent connections and pipelined requests. To test our design, we implemented a soft-switch using Linux Netfilter which includes the extended network address translation. We provide some preliminary performance analysis and make recommendations for future work.
Beyond Hegel's Ontological Claim

Reading Charles Taylor's Hegel, one is quite struck by his view that Hegel's Logic offers us an ontology. To some degree this is an obvious observation in that the Logic certainly pretends to speak regarding “all that is”. Within the optic of Taylor's suggestion, it is possible to explore the primacy of the ontological claim for Hegel's work, the possibility of nihilism consequent upon its collapse, and an access to a post-Hegelian and post-nihilistic future for human thought and activity.
Photonic and relativistic approaches on the speed of microwave propagation

Analytical approaches based on theories of relativity and photons are presented. The relativistic approach does not permit the speed of propagation to become superluminal. The classical photon theory is limited to the TEM mode monochromatic CW electromagnetic waves only. The Maxwellian photonic approach permits the speed to become superluminal. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 33: 379–382, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.10328
Brief Paper: Global Control of Linear Systems with Saturating Actuators

This paper deals with the design of linear systems with saturating actuators where the actuator limitations have to be incorporated a priori into control design. We develop a scheduled low-and-high-gain design technique to solve severalcentral control problems for such systems. These problems include: global asymptotic stabilization, global disturbance rejection, and robust global asymptotic stabilization and robust global disturbance rejection in the presence of input-additive nonlinear uncertainties.
Exposure to Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields Does Not Alter HSP70 Expression or HSF-HSE Binding in HL60 Cells

Environmental exposure to extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF EMFs) has been identified as a possible contributor to increased cancer incidence and other diseases. In vitro studies designed to probe for biological mechanisms that might explain such relationships have included several studies of gene expression. While gene expression studies have focused on MYC, effects of ELF EMFs on the expression of beta-actin, histone H2B, beta-tubulin, SRC, FOS and JUN have also been reported. In addition, some investigators have reported both an induction of HSP70 expression and an increase in HSF-HSE binding in HL60 (human promyelocytic leukemia) cells after exposure to a 60 Hz magnetic field. In this study, HL60 cells were exposed to a weak 60 Hz magnetic field (6.3 or 8.0 microT) or to a positive control heat shock (42 or 44 degrees C). While heat shock led to reproducible induction of HSP70 expression and HSF-HSE binding, no significant effect of exposure to ELF EMFs on either of these end points was observed.
Variability of Behaviour of Aggregating Cellular Slime Moulds

1. A description is given of the development of certain structures--centre, stream, and ring--formed by the amoebae of four species of Dictyostelium and Polysphondyliumduring aggregation, and of the outcome of experimentally cutting a stream, recombining lengths of stream in simple geometrical relationships, and excising a centre. 2. In all cases there is a high degree of intraspecific variation in behaviour, and it is not possible to predict, except in terms of rough probability, what the future course of development will be. 3. An amoeba at this stage of the life cycle can exist in one of four main states. In the first, it is unaggregated and cannot react chemotactically; in the second, it is unaggregated but can react; in the third, it is in a stream moving towards a centre or has properties similar to those of a stream cell; and in the fourth, it is in a centre and nearly stationary. Though an enormous variety of patterns may be produced by large numbers of interacting amoebae, their behavioural repertory may be considered, without too much simplification, to be restricted to approaching these four states in various sequences and at various rates. 4. Most of these sequences can be observed over a wide range of environmental conditions. Changes in humidity produce the greatest effect: the drier the culture, the stronger the drift from the first state to the fourth. 5. It is suggested that variability is occasioned by the simplicity of the mechanisms controlling development.
Panopticon: A lock broker architecture for scalable transactions in the datacenter

For datacenter applications that require tight synchronization, transactions are commonly employed for achieving concurrency while preserving correctness. Unfortunately, distributed transactions are hard to scale due to the decentralized lock acquisition and coordination protocols they employ. We investigate the use of a centralized lock broker architecture to improve the efficiency/scalability for distributed transactions, and present the design and development of such a framework, called Panopticon. Panopticon achieves efficiency/scalability by divorcing locks from the data items and migrating locks to improve lock access locality. More specifically, the lock broker mediates the access to data shared across servers by migrating the associated locks like tokens, and in the process learns and improves the access locality of transactions. Our experiments show that Panopticon performs better than distributed transactions as the number of data items and number of servers involved in transactions increase. Moreover, as the history locality (the probability of using the same objects in consecutive transactions) increase, Panopticon's lock migration strategies improve lock-access locality and result in significantly better performance. Finally, we also show that, by employing simple learning techniques, the broker can further improve the lock access locality and, hence, the performance of distributed transactions.
The Relative Costs of Incorporating Trade Usage into Domestic Versus International Sales Contracts

This Comment expands upon Clayton Gillette's defense of Article 8(2) of the Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG), which directs tribunals to incorporate international trade usage into private contracts governed by the Convention, unless the parties agree otherwise. The Comment attempts to offer a more robust and systematic account of when substantive interpretative doctrines such as trade usage might be desirable, as well as why such doctrines appear to be especially useful in the transnational setting of the CISG. It argues that Gillette's account is incomplete because he does not provide an explanation of why international tribunals have been more restrained than US domestic courts in their use of trade usage, and because he focuses primarily on the costs of interpretative uncertainty to the exclusion of a fuller list of costs and benefits relevant to the choice of interpretative regime. Taking this fuller list of considerations into account renders the widespread use of trade usage and similar contextual standards in the transnational setting more comprehensible, and reinforces Gillette's conclusions regarding trade usage's commercial functionality.
Epithelial and organ-related marker expression in pituitary adenomas

The histologic expression of epithelial and organ-related immunohistochemical markers in primary sellar region tumors has received little attention to date. This lack of empirical data may lead to mistaken assumptions in the evaluation of sellar region neoplasms. To address this issue, the frequency and specificity of epithelial (cytokeratin 7(CK7), CK20) and organ-related differentiation markers (gross cystic disease fluid protein-15 (GCDFP-15), thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1), Napsin A, paired box 8 (PAX-8), hepatocyte paraffin 1 (HepPar1) and estrogen receptor (ER)) were studied in 40 patients with adenomas comprising five hormonal sub-types. Non-parametric statistical procedures were used to examine associations between marker expression and tumor sub-type. CK7 and CK20 immunoreactivity were seen in 48% and 8% of tumors, respectively, although never in a diffuse pattern. CK20 expression was nearly exclusive to corticotrophs, whereas CK7 frequently highlighted cells with dendritic-type morphology. The specificity of organ-related differentiation markers was 100% (monoclonal Napsin A, GCDFP-15 and TTF-1), 97% (HepPar1 and PAX-8), 90% (polyclonal Napsin A) and 72% (ER); no tumors demonstrated significant co-expression of these organ-related markers with either CK7 or CK20. The first major conclusion of this study is that CK7 staining in adenoma is more frequent than has been previously than has been previously described. CK7 immunoreactive cells often displayed a dendritic-type morphology, including within large macroadenomas, which raises the question as to whether these represent tumor cells with folliculo-stellate cell-type differentiation, as these also have dendritic cell-type morphology and express CK7 in non-neoplastic glands. The second major conclusion, which confirms earlier findings, is that CK20 staining is a very infrequent immunohistochemical finding in adenomas that is virtually limited to corticotrophs and thus is helpful in diagnostic confirmation of that sub-type. The final conclusion is in regard to those features that separate adenomas from sellar region metastases: adenomas do not demonstrate significant expression of TTF-1, monoclonal Napsin A, PAX-8, HepPar1 or GCDFP-15, nor do they exhibit diffuse expression of CK7 and CK20.
Harvey A. K. Whitney Lecture. Of perceived value.

Current issues in pharmacy are discussed and recommendations are made to help pharmacy demonstrate its value in health care. There is a need for pharmacy to actively demonstrate and communicate its value in health care. Educational requirements should reflect the values of the profession. In the debate over the entry-level Pharm.D. degree, the profession must not lose sight of the principal goal of elevating the basic competencies of all pharmacists. Graduate-level education will continue to be valuable, but the degrees and programs should be modified to meet current and future needs. Residency training will become increasingly essential. A well-defined corps of pharmacy technicians is needed. The profession should strive to meet the needs of society rather than confining itself to traditional practice definitions. This will involve increased interaction with patients. Also, pharmacy directors must become more creative in allocating existing resources and building arguments for expansion. When patients recognize the value of pharmacy services, they will seek out and demand those services. Pharmacists must get involved in deliberations regarding health-care reform. They have a responsibility to promote preventive medicine and healthy life-styles. They should actively promote the rational use of all medications. Although tremendous progress has been made in advancing the concept of pharmaceutical care, the profession still has work to do in communicating its value to the public.
Metaphysics in Aristotle's Embryology

Traditionally, discussion of Aristotle's metaphysics, including his theory of form and the ‘what it is to be’ any given substantial object, has dealt extensively with relevant texts in the Categories, Physics, De anima and, of course, the Metaphysics itself. But the biological works have been largely neglected as sources for knowledge about and insight into Aristotle's theory. This seems to me unfortunate. In his biological works Aristotle invokes the form of an animal constantly and in interesting physical and, one would have said, metaphysical detail, as the explanation for much, and that the crucial part, of what happens to it as it develops to maturity and maintains and reproduces itself. One would expect these explanations to reveal something about the character of Aristotelian forms and perhaps even to help resolve some of the many questions not clearly settled by him in his metaphysical writings. It might, I suppose, be argued, on the contrary, that Aristotle thought that the notion of form needed for metaphysical purposes is quite distinct from that needed in order to explain the biological phenomena addressed in the Parts and the Generation of Animals. Conceivably there is no, or only a very loose, systematic connection between what is said about forms in the two sets of works, so that one is not entitled to infer metaphysical consequences – consequences for the nature of forms as they appear and are argued about on metaphysical terrain – from what forms are taken to be like in the biological context. I will not attempt to argue against this line of interpretation here. In the belief that the philosophical interest of doing so will be sufficient justification, I will simply proceed on the natural assumption that Aristotle did intend his biological theory of forms to be a continuous development and extension of whatever theory of substantial forms he meant to be the upshot of his discussion in the central books of the Metaphysics.
Heterogeneity of surface potential in contact electrification under ambient conditions: A comparison of pre- and post-contact states

Abstract We measured the pattern of charging by contact electrification, following contact between a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp and a glass substrate with gold electrodes. We used scanning Kelvin probe microscopy to map the surface potential at the same regions before and after contact, allowing a point-by-point comparison. After contact, the mean surface potential of the glass shifted by 360 mV and micron-scale heterogeneity appeared with a magnitude of ∼100 mV. The gold electrodes showed charge transfer but no discernible heterogeneity. These results show that contact electrification causes heterogeneity of surface potential even on non-polymer surfaces such as glass under ambient conditions.
White Blood Cell Differentials as Performed by the Technicon H•1®: Evaluation and Implementation in a Tertiary Care Hospital

The performance of the Tecbnicon H•1® was evaluated in a tertiary care hospital. More than 500 samples, including those from 150 healthy subjects, were selected over a 1-week period and run on the H•1 and by reference methods. The study was performed following the guidelines outlined in the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards Leukocyte Differential Counting H20-T Tentative Standard, with minor revisions, to determine the clinical sensitivity of the H•1. Correlation studies yielded excellent data for both the complete blood count (CBC) and differential cell count, and all significant morphological abnormalities were reliably flagged. Guidelines for use of the H•1 differential were implemented, and after more than 1 year of online usage, a retrospective study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of the H•1 differential on the laboratory workload. Of the 975 differential counts that were requested by physicians, 60.1 % were reported from the H•1 without any further white blood cell (WBC) review, 14.7% required only a WB C morphology scan, 19.1% had a complete manual differential done, and 6.1% had an insufficient number of cells for a routine differential count. The H•1, therefore, is a suitable instrument for providing both CBCs and differential counts and has made a significant impact on the laboratory work flow.
Electronic Composites: Applications of electronic composites

We shall review applications of electronic composites in this chapter, which is subdivided into four areas: electronic packaging, MEMS, composites for sensors and actuators, and control of electromagnetic waves. Electronic packaging Electronic composites have been used extensively for electronic packaging materials, which often have conflicting requirements that are difficult to meet – high thermal conductivity, low electrical conductivity, and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). In addition, low density and low cost are normally required, particularly for commercial packaging applications. Thus polymer matrix composites are the most popular choice, while some military and space applications require the use of high-performance electronic composites, thus sometimes justifying the use of metal matrix composites and ceramic matrix composites. A detailed review of electronic packaging materials is summarized in a book by Chung (1995). Zweben (1995) made an extensive review of electronic composites for use in electronic packaging, which include all types of composites, polymer matrix composites (PMCs), metal matrix composites (MMCs), ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) and carbon/carbon (C/C) composites. Applications of electronic composites are quite extensive, covering computers, appliances, generators, and transformers, to name a few. Depending on their physical functions, one can categorize them into several types – housing, insulator, resistor, and conductor – which are discussed below. It is to be noted here that the housing material can be an insulator, a conductor, or an electromagnetic wave absorber, depending on the specific application.
Diagnostic reference levels for common paediatric fluoroscopic examinations performed at a dedicated paediatric Australian hospital.

Introduction Diagnostic reference levels (DRL) of procedures involving ionising radiation are important tools for optimising radiation doses delivered to patients and to identify cases where the levels of dose are unusually high. This is particularly important for paediatric patients undergoing fluoroscopic examinations as these examinations can be associated with a high radiation dose. In this study, a large amount of paediatric fluoroscopic data has been analysed to: establish local DRL, identify the most significant factors determining radiation dose to patients, and modify fluoroscopic techniques to optimise the examination protocols. Methods Paediatric fluoroscopic studies performed at our institution from April 2010 to May 2015 have been retrospectively analysed to determine range, mean, 75th and 95th percentiles of Dose–Area Product (DAP) and fluoroscopic screening time for Micturating Cystourethrography (MCU), Airway, Airway and Swallow, Barium Swallow and Meal, Barium Follow Through and Barium Enema studies. Results Currently, no Australian paediatric fluoroscopic DRL data are available for comparison and thus our data can only be compared with international published data. No major changes to examination protocols or modification to fluoroscopic techniques were found necessary as our data compared well with the international published values. Conclusion The dose delivered to patients depend on a number of factors particularly the experience of the operators. However, DRL are also important, as shown in this study, as they enable best practice by providing feedback to the operators on their performance and benchmarking the institution with other institutions.