cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thermal denaturation of DNA and DNA:polypeptide complexes. Simultaneous absorption and circular dichroism measurements.

Summary A method for observing the thermal denaturation of DNA and DNA:polypeptide complexes by the simultaneous monitoring of the absorption and circular dichroism at a single wavelength is outlined. Previously it was known that both the extinction coefficient and the ellipticity were sensitive probes of the denaturation of the DNA double helix and herein it is shown that the same melting temperature is obtained by these two methods. In addition, the ellipticity at 280 nm versus temperature shows additional features not seen in the absorption curves. At temperatures less than the melting temperature of DNA, the ellipticity increases (premelt), and at temperatures higher than the melting temperature of DNA the ellipticity decreases (postmelt). A complex of poly-(L-Lysine 84.5 , L-Valine 15.5 ):DNA shows two distinct thermal transitions, one corresponding to free DNA and the other to bound complex. In addition the slope of the premelt with respect to temperature is different from that of pure DNA.
Fetal Surveillance in Multifetal Pregnancy

Multiple methods of tocolysis and fetal surveillance provide unprecedented ways to improve multifetal outcomes through meticulous antepartum care. Although few practitioners have much experience with these complicated pregnancies, knowledge is growing with the increasing incidence of multifetal pregnancy. A review of the current literature regarding antepartum surveillance provides the basis for a discussion of the techniques essential to quality nursing care during multifetal pregnancy. Guidelines are provided for nursing standards in documentation, terminology, and care during surveillance of multiple fetuses.
Disease severity and sex differences in knee performance and self-reports in patients with knee osteoarthritis

s / Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 20 (2012) S54–S296 S160 not significantly different between HOA patients and the control group [Table]. However, obesity was significantly more frequent in the HOA group (13/70 (18.6%) vs. 23/254 (9.1%), p <0.05), as was metabolic syndrome (9/70 (12.9%) vs. 13/254 (5.1%), p <0.05). When analyzing the presence of metabolic syndrome among patients with obesity in both groups, patients with HOA still showed a significantly higher rate as compared with the control group (8/13 (61.5%) vs. 5/23 (38.3%), p <0.05). [Table] HOA (n1⁄4 70) Control (n1⁄4 254) p % female 66.9% 72.3% age (years) 62.4 8.8 63.2 8.4 Diabetes 18.6% 18.1% Hypertension 38.6% 39% Dyslipemia 34.3% 29.5% Obesity 18.6% 9.1% p <0.05 Metabolic syndrome* 12.9% 5.1% p <0.05
Analysis and refinement of cross-lingual entity linking

In this paper we propose two novel approaches to enhance cross-lingual entity linking (CLEL). One is based on cross-lingual information networks, aligned based on monolingual information extraction, and the other uses topic modeling to ensure global consistency. We enhance a strong baseline system derived from a combination of state-of-the-art machine translation and monolingual entity linking to achieve 11.2% improvement in B-Cubed+ F-measure. Our system achieved highly competitive results in the NIST Text Analysis Conference (TAC) Knowledge Base Population (KBP2011) evaluation. We also provide detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis on the contributions of each approach and the remaining challenges.
Felon Disenfranchisement: The Judiciary’s Role in Renegotiating Racial Divisions

Felon disenfranchisement is deeply rooted in U.S. history as a form of punishment and as a tool to inhibit African Americans from voting. Today, there are 5.3 million U.S. residents politically disenfranchised due to a felony conviction—about 2 million of whom are African Americans. The overrepresentation of African Americans disen- franchised, and the U.S. history of racism, brings forth the question of how these laws continue to exist. The objective of this study is to demonstrate, through a socio-legal approach, the federal court system's role in perpetuating and maintaining the ethnoracial divisions in society through the validation and rationalization of felon disenfranchisement laws. We aim to demonstrate how over the past century many disenfranchisement laws have been ''whitewashed'' in order to eliminate any indica- tion of racially motivated practices, a practice that coincides with the historic expansion of the penal state in the controlling of minority populations.
Interpersonal Problem Areas and Alexithymia in Adolescent Girls with Loss of Control Eating

This study investigated the links among interpersonal problem areas, depression, and alexithymia in adolescent girls at high risk for excessive weight gain and binge eating disorder. Participants were 56 girls (Mage = 14.30, SD = 1.56; 53% non-Hispanic White) with a body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)) between the 75th and 97th percentiles (MBMI z = 1.57, SD = 0.32). By design, all participants reported loss of control eating patterns in the past month. Adolescents were individually interviewed prior to participating in a group interpersonal psychotherapy obesity and eating disorder prevention program, termed IPT for the prevention of excessive weight gain (IPT-WG). Participants' interpersonal problem areas were coded by trained raters. Participants also completed questionnaires assessing depression and alexithymia. Primary interpersonal problem areas were categorized as interpersonal deficits [as defined in the eating disorders (ED) literature] (n = 29), role disputes (n = 22), or role transitions (n = 5). Girls with interpersonal deficits-ED had greater depressive symptoms and alexithymia than girls with role disputes (p's ≤ 0.01). However, girls with role transitions did not differ from girls with interpersonal deficits-ED or role disputes. Interpersonal problem area had an indirect association with depression via alexithymia; interpersonal deficits-ED were related to greater alexithymia, which in turn, was related to greater depressive symptoms (p = 0.01). Among girls at risk for excess weight gain and eating disorders, those with interpersonal deficits-ED appear to have greater distress as compared to girls with role disputes or role transitions. Future research is required to elucidate the impact of interpersonal problem areas on psychotherapy outcomes.
The molecular perspective: restriction endonucleases.

The Oncologist 2002;7:82-83 www.TheOncologist.com We live in a remarkable age. Physicians now have an unprecedented range of options for helping their patients. Surgery and radiology are using advanced technologies to pinpoint treatments. Chemotherapeutic approaches are showing ever-greater effectiveness and specificity, approaching the goal of a “magic bullet.” And we are now entering a time when we can make changes at the most basic level, introducing changes directly into the genetic code. Gene therapy, the ability to introduce new genes into living cells, holds great promise for the treatment of many diseases, including cancer. Restriction endonucleases are the molecules that spawned the field of biotechnology, the first of the many molecular tools that make gene therapy a reality. Bacteria build restriction endonucleases to protect themselves from attack by viruses. These enzymes cleave DNA at a specific sequence of nucleotides: for instance, one enzyme from Escherichia coli cuts the sequence GAATTC and another enzyme from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens will not cut it, but instead cuts the similar sequence GGATCC. Each species of bacterium protects its own DNA at its personal sequence by adding a bulky methyl group on a few of the bases, so only invading viral DNA, which does not have the protective methyl groups, is chopped up and destroyed. There are hundreds of forms of these restriction enzymes, made by different bacteria to cut DNA at different sequences. Although this may seem merely like a scientific curiosity worthy of a few lines in a textbook, restriction endonucleases are almost unbelievably useful. We could not have designed a more perfect molecule-sized tool to manipulate DNA. They are custom molecular scissors, allowing us to cut DNA into well-defined, perfectly specified pieces. Hundreds of different restriction endonucleases are available commercially: you merely pick the sequence that you want cleaved and then go to the catalog and find the enzyme from the proper species of bacteria. With these tiny molecular tools, perfected by evolution, we are able to reassemble DNA, cutting out genes of interest Fundamentals of Cancer Medicine The Oncologist
Logistics service providers and their customers: Gaining commitment through organizational implants

The current research examines the following question: how can on-site representatives (i.e., organizational implants) be used to generate greater interorganizational relationship commitment? The relationship marketing literature explores many facets of interorganizational relationships and commitment, but until now, it has not considered the colocation of employees from separate firms. Dyadic survey data were collected from logistics service providers (LSPs) and their customers. The paired dyads were then analyzed using path analysis. Results indicate that organizational implantation can lead to greater levels of outcome interdependence between the organizations, which can then generate greater levels of commitment from the LSP toward the customer. Results also suggest that organizational implantation can lead to greater levels of relational capital and responsiveness, which is shown to generate greater levels of commitment from the customer toward the LSP.
Gap junctional communication in the early Xenopus embryo.

In the Xenopus embryo, blastomeres are joined by gap junctions that allow the movement of small molecules between neighboring cells. Previous studies using Lucifer yellow (LY) have reported asymmetries in the patterns of junctional communication suggesting involvement in dorso-ventral patterning. To explore that relationship, we systematically compared the transfer of LY and neurobiotin in embryos containing 16–128 cells. In all cases, the junction-permeable tracer was coinjected with a fluorescent dextran that cannot pass through gap junctions. Surprisingly, while LY appeared to transfer in whole-mount embryos, in no case did we observe junctional transfer of LY in fixed and sectioned embryos. The lack of correspondence between data obtained from whole-mounts and from sections results from two synergistic effects. First, uninjected blastomeres in whole-mounts reflect and scatter light originating from the intensely fluorescent injected cell, creating a diffuse background interpretable as dye transfer. Second, the heavier pigmentation in ventral blastomeres masks this scattered signal, giving the impression of an asymmetry in communication. Thus, inspection of whole-mount embryos is an unreliable method for the assessment of dye transfer between embryonic blastomeres. A rigorous and unambiguous demonstration of gap junctional intercellular communication demands both the coinjection of permeant and impermeant tracers followed by the examination of sectioned specimens. Whereas LY transfer was never observed, neurobiotin was consistently transferred in both ventral and dorsal aspects of the embryo, with no apparent asymmetry. Ventralization of embryos by UV irradiation and dorsalization by Xwnt-8 did not alter the patterns of communication. Thus, our results are not compatible with current models for a role of gap junctional communication in dorso-ventral patterning.
The origin of crystallographic texture produced during hot deformation in rapidly-quenched NdFeB permanent magnets

The authors present a model for the development of crystallographic texture by hot deformation in NdFeB magnets produced by rapid solidification. Favourably oriented grains, with their c-axis parallel to the compression axis, grow by mass transport through a Nd-rich liquid grain boundary phase, forming large platelet grains. The driving force is the elastic energy difference between grains with c-axes making different angles with the compression axis. Numerical calculations based on the known properties and conditions of these materials are consistent with a liquid diffusion model. >
THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF HADRONIC MULTIPLICITY DISTRIBUTIONS

The aims of the present paper are limited to a description of theoretical and phenomenological techniques which are, as far as possible, model independent, or at least valid for a class of models. It is the authors' experience that most of the gross measures of particle reaction data (e.g. total cross sections, inclusive distributions, KNO ''plots,'' etc.) do not discriminate among models unless supplemented with more fine grained information, especially correlations of various kinds. In the absence of a quantitative theory for the exclusive matrix elements, from which all else follows, it seems more constructive to work from the outside to the inside. (An especially powerful tool for this is intensity interferometry, much used in the statistical theory of optics but as yet rather undeveloped for the analysis of elementary particle data.) Whenever possible we emphasize the statistical essence of an observable, which can be rather independent of the particular dynamical process. A familiar example is the Maxwellian energy distribution of gas molecules in thermal equilibrium, whose form (as does the validity of hydrodynamic equations for the system) is independent of the detailed force law. This example illustrates both the strength and weakness of the approach.
A low power video encoder with power, memory and bandwidth scalability

This paper presents a low power video encoder with power, memory and bandwidth scalability for use in portable video applications. The encoder uses generic block transform based vector quantizer encoders implemented by table lookups. In these table lookup encoders, input vectors to the encoders are used directly as addresses in code tables to choose the codewords. There is no need to perform the forward or reverse transforms. They are implemented in the tables. In order to preserve manageable table sizes for large dimension VQs, we use hierarchical structures to quantize the vector successively in stages. Since both the encoder and decoder are implemented by table lookups, there are no arithmetic computations required in the final system implementation. Subjective distortion measures are used in the design of VQs. In this paper we study the memory-rate-distortion-power trade-off of a video encoder based on perceptually weighted hierarchical vector quantization. The video encoder allows to trade-off power and memory size for rate-distortion and vice-versa. The power consumption of our video encoder is orders of magnitude smaller than existing video encoders in similar technology. Measured performance shows that the video encoder consumes between 150 to 300 micro-watts with a 1.5 V power supply in 0.8 /spl mu/ CMOS technology for 160/spl times/240 resolution video at 30 frames per second.
Pseudobunocephalus, a new genus of banjo catfish with the description of a new species from the Orinoco River system of Colombia and Venezuela (Siluriformes: Aspredinidae)

Pseudobunocephalus, a new genus of small banjo catfishes (< 80 mm SL), is distinguished from all other aspredinid genera by the following unique features: mandibular teeth restricted to a patch near symphysis of lower jaw; no contact between the metapterygoid and quadrate; autopalatine posteriorly forked with two separate cartilages; absence of the fourth pharyngobranchial; absence of gill rakers on all branchial arches; and lack of bifid hemal spines on vertebrae that articulate with anal-fin pterygiophores. As defined Pseudobunocephalus contain a new species, P. lundbergi from the Orinoco River basin, along with five other species previously assigned to the genus Bunocephalus: P. amazonicus, P. bifidus, P. iheringii, P. quadriradiatus, and P. rugosus.
The Role of Oxygen in Lipid Oxidation Reactions: A Review

The susceptibility of food oil to quality loss is largely determined by the presence of oxygen. This article reviews the current understanding concerning the effect of oxygen types, location, and concentration on the oxidative stability of foods. It also discusses the major factors that influence the interaction between oxygen and lipids such as antioxidants, prooxidants, reactive oxygen species (ROS), environmental conditions, and oxygen scavengers. Research has shown that the amount of oxygen needed to cause oxidation is generally very small and that by reducing oxygen concentration in containers to less than 2%, oxidative stability can be greatly enhanced. However, very few studies have systematically examined the oxygen levels needed to reduce, or inhibit, lipid oxidation processes. Thus, a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between oxygen levels and lipid oxidation is necessary for the development of innovative antioxidant solutions and package designs that prolong the quality of foods containing lipids.
Genomics and Perinatal Care

Advances in genomic technologies and methods of assisted reproduction have opened up new possibilities for testing and screening of prospective parents, their fertilized eggs, their fetuses, and their newborn babies.
A dynamic Bayesian Markov model for phasing and characterizing haplotypes in next-generation sequencing

Motivation: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have enabled whole-genome discovery and analysis of genetic variants in many species of interest. Individuals are often sequenced at low coverage for detecting novel variants, phasing haplotypes and inferring population structures. Although several tools have been developed for SNP and genotype calling in NGS data, haplotype phasing is often done separately on the called genotypes. Results: We propose a dynamic Bayesian Markov model (DBM) for simultaneous genotype calling and haplotype phasing in low-coverage NGS data of unrelated individuals. Our method is fully probabilistic that produces consistent inference of genotypes, haplotypes and recombination probabilities. Using data from the 1000 Genomes Project, we demonstrate that DBM not only yields more accurate results than some popular methods, but also provides novel characterization of haplotype structures at the individual level for visualization, interpretation and comparison in downstream analysis. DBM is a powerful and flexible tool that can be applied to many sequencing studies. Its statistical framework can also be extended to accommodate broader scopes of data. Availability and implementation: http://stat.psu.edu/~yuzhang/software/dbm.tar Contact: yuzhang@stat.psu.edu Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Via design rule consideration in multilayer maze routing algorithms

Maze routing algorithms are widely used for finding an optimal path in detailed routing for very large scale integration, printed circuit board and multichip modules. In this paper, we show that finding an optimal route of a two-pin net in a multilayer routing environment under practical via design rules can be surprisingly difficult. A straightforward extension to the maze routing algorithm that disallows via-rule incorrect routes may either cause a suboptimal route to be found, or more seriously, cause the failure to find any route even if one exists. We present a refined heuristic to this problem by embedding the distance to the most recently placed via in an extended connection graph so that the maze routing algorithm has a higher chance of finding a via-rule correct optimum path in the extended connection graph. We further present efficient data-structures to implement the maze routing algorithm without the need to preconstruct the extended connection graph. Experimental results confirmed the usefulness of our algorithm and its applicability to a wide range of CMOS technologies.
Further Improvements in Competitive Guarantees for QoS Buffering

We study the behavior of algorithms for buffering packets weighted by different levels of Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees in a single queue. Buffer space is limited, and packet loss occurs when the buffer overflows. We describe a modification of the previously proposed “preemptive greedy” algorithm of for buffer management and give an analysis to show that this algorithm achieves a competitive ratio of at most 1.75. This improves upon recent work showing a 1.98 competitive ratio, and a previous result that shows a simple greedy algorithm has a competitive ratio of 2.
Climate Change Demands Behavioral Change: What Are the Challenges?

There is no silver bullet—no single solution to get us to a sustainable climate. There is, however, silver buckshot: a combination of political, technological, economic, and behavioral actions and interventions that will provide the necessary progress towards that goal. Far from being merely additive, behavioral interventions—i.e., changes in the “choice architecture” of environmentally-relevant decisions—have the potential to amplify and multiply the effectiveness of political, technological, and economic tools. Homo sapiens differ from homo economicus in ways that are both challenging and enriching. A more comprehensive understanding of human attention, motivation, judgment, and choice than that provided by the rational-economic model provides entry points for the design of decision environments that allow us—as consumers, citizens, or policy makers—to change our behavior in ways that bring us closer to a sustainable future.
The Complementary use of Multivariate Procedures to Investigate Nonlinear and Interactive Relationships between Personality and Product Usage

Several multivariate procedural approaches—canonical analysis, cluster analysis paired with multiple discriminant analysis, and Taylor expansion regressions with trend surface mapping—are used in a...
Vertical Distribution of Biting Midges in Coastal South Carolina

Vertical distribution studies of certain Culicoides species were conducted in both salt-marsh and wooded areas. In the salt-marsh, light trap collections of Culicoides furens (Poey) and C. melleus (Coquillett) were made at 4 heights above ground level. Numbers of midges were highest at 45 and 25 ft and fewest at 5 and 60 ft; results were similar for males and females of both species. Wind direction had no effect on vertical stratification of these 2 species. In a wooded area, the following species were more abundant in the tree canopy (42 ft above ground level) than below the canopy (20 ft above ground level): C. furens, C. haematopotus Malloch, C. stellifer (Coquillett), and C. villosipennis Root … Hoffman. Culicoides arboricola Root and Hoffman and C. spinosus Root and Hoffman were equally distributed at 20 and 42 ft, and C. chiopterus (Meigen), C. obsoletus grp., and C. travisi Vargas were more abundant at or below 20 ft than above (42 ft). The relationship between vertical stratification, reported breeding sites, and host preference is discussed for each of these species.
Behavior and Reproductive Status of Native Female Screwworms Attracted to a Host

Female screwworms, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel), responding to wounded hosts, began to feed immediately on the wound exudate, regardless of their stage of ovarian development. Vitellogenic parous females were more abundant than vitellogenic nulliparous females throughout the year. Twenty-eight and 45% of the early and late season females, respectively, completed at least one additional gonotrophic cycle. All parous females were mated. Virgin nulliparous females were 1st captured in Sept. and most (81%) were in the 1st stages of egg development.
The Role and Impact of Software Coding Standards On System Integrity

Coding standards are an integral part of today’s safety-critical computer systems. Software verification and validation (V&V) practices significantly impact the cost of achieving human-rated levels of system integrity. The choices of software used to meet realtime, hard deadline requirements in onboard flight critical systems are relatively narrow. The stringent technical demands and expertise of the domain and the limited and specialized availability of industrial grade software products are the primary limiting factors. Robustness of software is influenced by choices in what programming languages, coding standards and testing, which is the primary form of V&V practice, are used. As a result, in these systems the state-of-the-art software uses less current programming features and techniques than those found, on the whole, in the software industry. Application of coding standards in high integrity systems software development is central to such practices. The goal of these is to make the software robust and safe and thereby contributing to overall system integrity. This paper examines the role and impact of interactions between use of the C++ programming language, the organization’s own coding standards, and how these fit within V&V processes and procedures on robustness and testing as recently observed in NASA’s EFT-1 project. These observations will help future flight software managers and engineers to make better application of coding standards throughout the V&V life cycle and optimize their impact on robustness and affordability.
Polythiophene Thin Films by Surface-Initiated Polymerization: Mechanistic and Structural Studies

The ability to control nanoscale morphology and molecular organization in organic semiconducting polymer thin films is an important prerequisite for enhancing the efficiency of organic thin-film devices including organic light-emitting and photovoltaic devices. The current “top-down” paradigm for making such devices is based on utilizing solution-based processing (e.g., spin-casting) of soluble semiconducting polymers. This approach typically provides only modest control over nanoscale molecular organization and polymer chain alignment. A promising alternative to using solutions of presynthesized semiconducting polymers pursues instead a “bottom-up” approach to prepare surface-grafted semiconducting polymer thin films by surface-initiated polymerization of small-molecule monomers. Herein, we describe the development of an efficient method to prepare polythiophene thin films utilizing surface-initiated Kumada catalyst transfer polymerization. In this study, we provided evidence that the surface-initiated p...
Risk Rating System of X.509 Certificates

Abstract X.509 certificates enable to affirm the distinguishing proof of the parties involved in the communication. As of now, majority of individuals and communities are using X.509 certificates to demonstrate their ID during on-line exchanges, so the unwavering quality and risk level of these certificates come into a question. Hence, we have proposed a framework which assesses risk associated with X.509 Certificates with the help of certain trust criteria and characteristics. For evaluating risk related with certificate we use classification Technique with machine learning algorithm, which categorizes risk of certificate in three levels-High Risk, Medium Risk and Low risk. Our system is useful to find out risk associated with certificate while user carries out important transactions. User needs to input the certificate and system will provide risk associated with that certificate and if it is a high risk or medium risk certificate it will mention due to which parameter it bears risk. Our framework has application in browser-server communication and detecting phishing websites which have Https URLs.
Is the Drainage Problem in Agriculture Mainstream Resource Economics

This chapter assesses the findings of the book in the context of environmental and resource economics. In particular, it addresses the following issues: (1) The usefulness of research directions and methodologies in addressing drainage and water quality problems and (2) how issues of drainage and water management relate to and affect the research agenda in environmental and resource economics.
The quality of randomised controlled trials involving surgery from the hand to the elbow: a critical analysis of the literature.

AimsOur purpose was to determine the quality of current randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in hand surgery using standardised metrics.Materials and MethodsBased on five-year mean impact factors, w...
Application of Powers’ model to modern portland and portland limestone cement pastes

Powers’ model is a simple approach for estimating the relative volumes of hydration products, porosity, and chemical shrinkage present in portland cement paste as a function of its starting water-to-cement ratio (w/c) and current degree of hydration. It forms an important link between cement composition, microstructure, and performance, necessary for modeling cement-based systems. Previous researchers have adapted Powers’ model for inert fillers to illustrate their effects on the hydration, porosity, and chemical shrinkage of blended cements; however, it is well-documented that limestone is not, in fact, an inert filler, but rather participates in cement hydration through both chemical and physical processes. This research experimentally investigates the applicability of Powers’ model to modern portland cements containing up to 15% by mass finely divided limestone. The results demonstrate that the modified Powers’ model is insufficient for predicting the influence of finely divided limestone additions on the chemical shrinkage of both ordinary portland cement pastes and portland limestone cement pastes. Possible explanations for the discrepancy are discussed and a plausible source is proposed.
Numerical Methods for Valuing Advanced Option Contracts

Pricing different types of derivative contracts to minimize risk is a significant step for business sustainability. Whaley (2006) refers that for the European Puts and Calls, known as vanilla options, there is a closed form solution that delivers the ’fair’ price of the option with respect to the various input parameters. Unlike them, the American, Asian and some European ones (with multiple sources of underline price risk), have more than one exercise opportunity. Given that the global financial markets are complicated enough to trade advanced option contracts, the closed form solution may not be so easy to obtain and thus a numerical method would be required (Richardson, 2009). The purpose of this research is to provide an in-depth research and to discuss numerical methods for valuing such options.
Silyloxyarenes as Versatile Coupling Substrates Enabled by Nickel-Catalyzed C–O Bond Cleavage

Silyloxyarenes are demonstrated to be a versatile substrate class in a variety of nickel-catalyzed coupling processes. The C(sp2)–O bond of aryl silyl ethers is directly transformed into C–H or C–Si bonds using Ti(O-i-Pr)4 or trialkylsilanes as reagents using nickel catalysts with N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands. Paired with the useful characteristics of silyl protecting groups, these methods enable protected hydroxyls to directly participate in high-value bond-forming steps rather than requiring deprotection-activation strategies that conventional approaches require. These processes of silyloxyarenes provide reactivity complementary to widely used phenol derivatives such as aryl pivalates, carbamates, and methyl ethers, thus enabling a powerful strategy for sequential chemoselective derivatization of complex substrates without protecting group and activating group manipulations.
Monge–Ampére simulation of fourth order PDEs in two dimensions with application to elastic–electrostatic contact problems

Abstract We present an efficient moving mesh method for the simulation of fourth order nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) in two dimensions using the Parabolic Monge–Ampere (PMA) equation. PMA methods have been successfully applied to the simulation of second order problems, but not on systems with higher order equations which arise in many topical applications. Our main application is the resolution of fine scale behavior in PDEs describing elastic–electrostatic interactions. The PDE system considered has multiple parameter dependent singular solution modalities, including finite time singularities and sharp interface dynamics. We describe how to construct a dynamic mesh algorithm for such problems which incorporates known self similar or boundary layer scalings of the underlying equation to locate and dynamically resolve fine scale solution features in these singular regimes. We find a key step in using the PMA equation for mesh generation in fourth order problems is the adoption of a high order representation of the transformation from the computational to physical mesh. We demonstrate the efficacy of the new method on a variety of examples and establish several new results and conjectures on the nature of self-similar singularity formation in higher order PDEs.
FAULT-TOLERANT MICROCOMPUTER CONTROL OF A HEAT EXCHANGER NETWORK

Abstract As the use of digital computers in controlling chemical plants increases, loss of control due to computer failure becomes a major concern. A computer control system which is tolerant to faults of various degrees of severity was developed and experimentally tested using a heat exchanger network. Redundancy and diversity are created both in hardware and software. The computer in the control loop generates new alternatives in handling failures of other devices in the control loop by creating functional redundancy. Consequently, tolerance to sensor failure is achieved by control law reconfiguration. The reassignment of control duties due to hardware, software, or sensor failure creates process upsets similar to temporary process disturbances.
Climate Change and Cross-State Islamist Terrorism in Nigeria

This paper considers if increases in temperature and decreases in rain associated with climate change are a potential driver of Islamist terrorism across states in Nigeria. With state-level Islamist terrorism event, temperature, rainfall and sociodemographic data for Nigeria, we estimate latent variable and count data specifications of the relationship between the number of Islamist terrorism events and climactic variation in temperature and rainfall motivated by how the psychological costs of conflict can be decreased by increases in outdoor ambient temperature and decreases in rainfall. Our parameter estimates reveal that increases in temperature and decreases in rainfall increase the likelihood of Islamist terrorism in Nigeria. This suggests that global warming and reduced rainfall induced by climate change are potential drivers of terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa, and policy interventions designed to abate anthropogenic climate change can reduce violent conflict that is harmful for economic growth and development.
Risk assessment of human exposure to Ra-226 in oil produced water from the Bakken Shale.

Abstract Unconventional oil production in North Dakota (ND) and other states in the United States uses large amounts of water for hydraulic fracturing to stimulate oil flow. Most of the water used returns to the surface as produced water (PW) containing different constituents. Some of these contents are total dissolved solids and radionuclides. The most predominant radionuclide in PW is radium-226 (Ra-226) of which level depends on several factors including the content of certain cations. A multivariate regression model was developed to predict Ra-226 in PW from the Bakken Shale based on the levels of barium, strontium, and calcium. The simulated Ra-226 activity concentration in PW was 535 pCi/L supporting extremely limited actual data based on three PW samples from the Bakken (527, 816, and 1210 pCi/L). The simulated activity concentration was further analyzed by studying its impact in the event of a PW spill reaching a surface water body that provides drinking water, irrigation water for crops, and recreational fishing. Using food transfer factors found in the literature, the final annual effective dose rate for an adult in ND was estimated. The global average annual effective dose rate via food and drinking water is 0.30 mSv, while the predicted dose rate in this study was 0.49 mSv indicating that there is potential risk to human health in ND due to Ra-226 in PW spills. This predicted dose rate is considered the best case scenario as it is based on the simulated Ra-226 activity concentration in PW of 535 pCi/L which is close to the low end actual activity concentration of 527 pCi/L.
Riemann Surfaces with the Absolute AB-maximum Principle*' **

Let W be an open Riemann surface. We say that W satisfies the absolute A B-maximum principle if every subregion V of W with compact relative boundary Г has the property that each function which is bounded and analytic on V ∪ Г assumes its maximum on Г. Henceforth, we shall restrict ourselves to subregions whose relative boundaries consist of a finite number of piecewise analytic curves.
Thom-Whitney Stratification Theory

Stratification is one of the fundamental concepts in algebraic geometry and the theory of singularities. The study of stratifications originated with the work of Whitney and Thom ([71], [89]) on singularities of analytic varieties. Our purpose, in this chapter is to give a brief exposition of Thom-Whitney stratification theory. It is not our intention to provide ,the details in the development ([36,49,50,65,78,90]) of this theory. We do not prove those fundamental theorems stated in section 4. Our primary concerns in this chapter are a detail study of Whitney’s regularity conditions and how to decide whether a stratification of a variety is regular. Many examples have been provided to illustrate these points.
Combination of Chemotherapy and Death Ligands in Cancer Therapy

Killing of cancer cells by diverse cytotoxic therapies including chemotherapy, γ-irradiation, or immunotherapy is predominantly mediated by induction of apoptosis, the cell’s intrinsic death program. Failure to undergo apoptosis in response to anticancer therapy may result in resistance. Signaling through death receptors has been implicated to contribute to the efficacy of cancer therapy. Importantly, combined treatment with chemotherapy together with death ligands resulted in enhanced antitumor activity and may even overcome some forms of resistance. Understanding the molecular events that regulate apoptosis induced by anticancer therapy or by death ligands may provide new opportunities for drug development. Thus, novel strategies targeting tumor cell resistance will be based on further insights into the molecular mechanisms of cell death.
Source efficiency and sensor detectability factors in laser ultrasonics

Perhaps the greatest fundamental deterrent to the application of current laser ultrasonic technology has been the fact that the detection sensitivity or detectability of laser receiver systems, compared with their piezoelectric counterparts, is rather poor. That is to say that in general, and especially on a dollar-for-dollar basis, piezoelectric transducers are able to detect much smaller surface displacements than can easily be detected by laser methods. As will be discussed shortly, there are several strategies which may be used to overcome these detectability shortcomings. Indeed, several of these strategies have been investigated at the laboratory level and some implemented in full-scale systems which have been demonstrated to perform reliably and with good detectability even in an industrial or field inspection application [1]. In this latter case, however, the successful strategy pursued to improve laser ultrasonic detectability limits has not been inexpensive in terms of the cost of laser equipment necessary to reach satisfactory performance levels. Nevertheless, there are several inspection and process control applications where critical structural and materials property information can only be obtained by remote noncontact ultrasonic inspection, thus justifying the expense of such a sensor system.
Topological Components of the Set of Composition Operators on $$H^\infty (B_N)$$

This paper characterizes the component structure of the space of composition operators acting on $$H^\infty (B_N)$$ , both in the operator norm topology and in the topology induced by the essential norm.
Trends in the Use of Alternative Mobility Devices

This survey of 120 orientation and mobility instructors found that 75% have taught their students to use alternative mobility devices. The type of device taught most often was a two-shafted device ...
A New Measure of Health Numeracy: Brief Medical Numbers Test (BMNT)

Background Approximately half of Americans have inadequate health literacy, which leads to poorer health outcomes. Health numeracy is an important component of literacy, which reflects one's ability to understand and manipulate numbers. This is especially important for transplant candidates, as adherence to medical recommendations is essential for posttransplant care. Although validated measures of numeracy exist, they can be inconvenient and time consuming to administer. Objective The Brief Medical Numbers Test (BMNT) was created in 2011 to quickly assess the health numeracy of a patient during presurgical psychiatric transplant evaluations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the BMNT for this use via retrospective chart review. Methods There were 293 patients referred over a 2-year period for a presurgical psychiatric evaluation. The evaluation consisted of a semistructured interview and completion of several measures, including the BMNT, a measure of health literacy, and a brief test of cognitive functioning. Results The BMNT had acceptable internal consistency (α = .71), convergent validity with health literacy and cognitive functioning, and predictive validity with surgical outcomes. Conclusions Preliminary data suggests the BMNT is a reliable and valid measure of health numeracy in patients being evaluated for transplant.
Identification of a Molecular Latch that Regulates Staphylococcal Virulence.

Summary Virulence induction in the Staphylococcus aureus is under the control of a quorum sensing (QS) circuit encoded by the accessory gene regulator (agr) locus. Allelic variation within agr produces four QS specificity groups, each producing a unique secreted autoinducer peptide (AIP) and receptor histidine kinase (RHK), AgrC. Cognate AIP-AgrC interactions activate virulence through a two-component signaling cascade, whereas non-cognate pairs are generally inhibitory. Here we pinpoint a key hydrogen-bonding interaction within AgrC that acts as a switch to convert helical motions propagating from the receptor sensor domain into changes in inter-domain association within the kinase module. AgrC mutants lacking this interaction are constitutively active in vitro and in vivo, the latter leading to a pronounced attenuation of S. aureus biofilm formation. Thus, our work sheds light on the regulation of this biomedically important RHK.
Groups, Sorting, and Inequality in Constitutional Political Economy

The ability to voluntarily choose our memberships within political groups is an important mechanism for disciplining political actors and encouraging better decision making over the use of public resources. However, sorting between voluntarily chosen groups also creates the opportunity for people to become sorted into groups of haves and have-nots, leading to a concern that voluntary sorting across groups could generate or exacerbate inequality in harmful ways. In this essay, I refer to both the example of choice within public education systems and to J. M. Buchanan’s work on interstate externalities within Federal systems to explore this issue. The conclusion is that there is much work to be done on the subject, but that the answer to the question must be a constitutional one, and that therefore the insights of Buchanan are important to those wishing to better understand this difficult question.
A mathematical model of hysol 8705 under impact loading: A three-parameter mathematical model using nonlinear and strain-rate-dependent elements was found to reproduce the impact behavior of this material

The mechanical properties of Hysol 8705,a low-modulus viscoelastic material, were investigated experimentally under impact loading. The experimental results reveal that the material behavior under investigation is nonlinear. Empirical relationships between various important parameters, which characterize the mechanical properties of the material, were established.
Effects of endophyte-infected fescue and cimetidine on respiration rates, rectal temperatures and hepatic mixed function oxidase activity as measured by hepatic antipyrine metabolism in sheep.

The effects of endophyte-infected fescue (Kentucky 31) hay and cimetidine on respiration rates, rectal temperatures and hepatic antipyrine uptakes of three mature ewes were measured in 15 experiments. Hepatic antipyrine uptake was measured as an indirect indicator of hepatic mixed-function oxidase (MFO) activity. Five experiments on each ewe were conducted during consumption of endophyte-free (one exp/ewe, control), endophyte-infected (two exp/ewe, EIF) and endophyte-infected fescue hay plus cimetidine (800 mg/d i.v., two exp/ewe, EIFC). Respiration rates increased (P less than .05) 2.6-fold after 11 d on EIF from 26 to 68 and decreased (P less than .025) to 27 breaths/min after 4 d of cimetidine treatment. Rectal temperatures increased (P less than .05) 1.1 degrees C after 8 d on EIF. Cimetidine lowered temperatures to control levels by d 4. Endophyte-infected fescue hay increased (P less than .05) hepatic antipyrine uptake 70% after 11 d, but uptake was lowered to control levels by cimetidine by d 4. Increased respiration rates and rectal temperatures in animals consuming EIF seem to be related to increased MFO activity. Cimetidine reversed some of these effects.
Market Entry Strategies for City-Based Platforms

In this paper, we build a theoretical framework to study the dynamic entry interactions between two platforms with homogeneous products into city-based markets. This research is applicable for studying the entry strategies between, for example, Uber and Lyft; Groupon and Living Social, and other business models with the attributes of switching cost, network effect, and segregated markets. We address three questions in this paper: 1) What determines the expansion path of city-based platforms?; 2) What factors are affecting the market concentration structures; and 3) Under what conditions can a second mover become the market leader (with more than 50% of the market share)? We find that a significant degree of the network effect and large switching cost will build a natural barrier for the late entrant; Transaction-efficient markets with larger transaction volume are less likely to be concentrated than transaction-inefficient markets. We take consideration of entry cost and initial fund in our dynamic settings, and find that the uncertainty in market return will make the platforms’ expansion path and the final outcome less predictable. However, on average, the capability of capturing the largest market first is crucial for both players; if a platform loses the opportunity of being the first to capture the largest market, it may have to raise a considerable amount of money to overcome its disadvantages in the following competitions.
Rainfall Conditions in Equatorial East Africa during the Nineteenth Century as Inferred from the Record of Lake Victoria

The East African lakes have exhibited dramaticfluctuations on both historical and paleo-climatictime scales. Levels of these lakes, and otherhistorical indicators in Africa, suggested thatenvironmental conditions in the nineteenth centurywere much more extreme than anything evident in themodern record. In this study, a water balance modelis used to estimate the rainfall associated with theseconditions, based on the Lake Victoria record. Theresults suggest that the conditions were not unlikeanomalous periods found during the twentieth century,but they may have persisted for somewhat longerperiods of time. The paper also demonstrates ageneric tool that can be applied to interpretinghistorical and paleo-lake levels in quantitative termsof rainfall.