cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Deregulated Ca2+ cycling underlies the development of arrhythmia and heart disease due to mutant obscurin

Obscurins are cytoskeletal proteins with structural and regulatory roles encoded by OBSCN. Mutations in OBSCN are associated with the development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Specifically, the R4344Q mutation present in immunoglobulin domain 58 (Ig58) was the first to be linked with the development of HCM. To assess the effects of R4344Q in vivo, we generated the respective knock-in mouse model. Mutant obscurins are expressed and incorporated normally into sarcomeres. The expression patterns of sarcomeric and Ca2+-cycling proteins are unaltered in sedentary 1-year-old knock-in myocardia, with the exception of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ adenosine triphosphatase 2 (SERCA2) and pentameric phospholamban whose levels are significantly increased and decreased, respectively. Isolated cardiomyocytes from 1-year-old knock-in hearts exhibit increased Ca2+-transients and Ca2+-load in the sarcoplasmic reticulum and faster contractility kinetics. Moreover, sedentary 1-year-old knock-in animals develop tachycardia accompanied by premature ventricular contractions, whereas 2-month-old knock-in animals subjected to pressure overload develop a DCM-like phenotype. Structural analysis revealed that the R4344Q mutation alters the distribution of electrostatic charges over the Ig58 surface, thus interfering with its binding capabilities. Consistent with this, wild-type Ig58 interacts with phospholamban modestly, and this interaction is markedly enhanced in the presence of R4344Q. Together, our studies demonstrate that under sedentary conditions, the R4344Q mutation results in Ca2+ deregulation and spontaneous arrhythmia, whereas in the presence of chronic, pathological stress, it leads to cardiac remodeling and dilation. We postulate that enhanced binding between mutant obscurins and phospholamban leads to SERCA2 disinhibition, which may underlie the observed pathological alterations.
Disobedience as an Expression of Global Solidarity and Redefining Disobedience in a Global Perspective

The three preceding cases of civil disobedience in a global perspective are expressions of global solidarity. Besides the addition of a human right to be a political participant, wherever you are, to the minimalist list of human rights in Law of Peoples, such disobedience does not otherwise point to any particular changes or reforms of law and policy. Its function is highlighting the piecewise just and unfair terms of global cooperation and motivating reconsideration by decent peoples that could lead to different kinds of policy outcomes based on the resulting processes of global public communication and deliberation. To this extent, the global civil disobedience practice of diverse cosmopolitan citizens express global solidarity with the undocumented and the global poor. Likewise, executives and disclosers express solidarity with decent peoples whom they see as facing different kinds of existential threats qua decent peoples. They do so in that disobedient cosmopolitan citizens adopt a perspective of concern for the most vulnerable in the system of merely piecewise just or unfair global cooperation. Indeed, this perspective of concern expresses a global solidarity relation. I then build on the discussion of diverse global civil disobedience practices as expressing global solidarity relations by offering an analytical redefinition of civil disobedience in a global perspective. This redefinition synthesizes the various claims of the preceding chapters regarding my extension of Rawls’ state-centered definition and justification of civil disobedience in Theory to the Law of Peoples. It also identifies global solidarity as the principal aim of such an extension of justifiable civil disobedience to the global arena.
Shirakaba and Rodin: A Transnational Dialogue between Japan and France

This essay examines the role of Shirakaba (White Birch, 1910-1923) as an art magazine that aspired to create new audiences and foster the exchange of ideas by providing an alternate space to address diverse views about modern art, literature, theory, and identity. In addition to introducing European modernism to Japan through the writings of western artists, authors, and thinkers, Shirakaba created access to and direct exchange of artwork with a number of artists such as Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), Heinrich Vogeler (1872-1942), Max Klinger (1857-1920), and Bernard Leach (1887-1979). Among these, Shirakaba’s transnational dialogue with the French sculptor Auguste Rodin was the most significant. I argue that Shirakaba’s discourse with Rodin not only facilitated new forums for the public access and display of modern art in Japan, but also was emblematic of its humanist ideology rooted in artistic subjectivity and self-expression.
Upgrades of the CMS pixel detector for the HL-LHC

In 2023, the LHC will be upgraded to the HL-LHC, increasing the luminosity to 5 x 1034 cm-2 s-1. The increased luminosity will present new challenges, such as higher data rates and increased radiation. The CMS Phase 2 Pixel upgrade will require a high bandwidth readout system and high radiation tolerance for sensors and on-detector ASICs. Several technologies for the upgrade sensors are being considered, including thin planar and 3D options. DC-DC conversion or serial powering schemes are under consideration to accommodate significant constraints on the system. These prospective designs, as well as new layout geometries that include very forward pixel disks, will be presented. Presented at VERTEX 2015 VERTEX 2015 24th International Workshop on Vertex Detectors Upgrades of the CMS pixel detector for the HL-LHC Robert Stringer∗† University of Kansas E-mail: robert.stringer@ku.edu In 2023, the LHC will be upgraded to the HL-LHC, increasing the luminosity to 5 x 1034 cm-2 s-1. The increased luminosity will present new challenges, such as higher data rates and increased radiation. The CMS Phase 2 Pixel upgrade will require a high bandwidth readout system and high radiation tolerance for sensors and on-detector ASICs. Several technologies for the upgrade sensors are being considered, including thin planar and 3D options. DC-DC conversion or serial powering schemes are under consideration to accommodate significant constraints on the system. These prospective designs, as well as new layout geometries that include very forward pixel discs, will be presented. 24th International Workshop on Vertex Detector -VERTEX20151-5 June 2015 Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA ∗Speaker. †On behalf of the CMS Collaboration. c © Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). http://pos.sissa.it/ Upgrades of the CMS pixel detector for the HL-LHC Robert Stringer
Probabilistic Trajectory Optimization Under Uncertain Path Constraints for Close Proximity Operations

Rendezvous and docking operations have been an integral component of manned spaceflight from the beginning of the space age. However, there is now a growing interest in close proximity spacecraft o...
The Voice as Knowledge Operator of Choice

The voice knowledge operator is examined with three scenarios in this chapter: hesitation in the nonverbal but vocal part, language, and familiarity relationship which, then, directs to the mother tongue issue. Communication forwards to nonverbal channels with notions manifested in the responders’ replies, introducing paralanguage and hesitation as a medium of interaction. Scenarios are investigated in an interactive narrative with the implying question what would you have done and why for pilots and air traffic controllers who offer their own reading and evaluation. This question is commonly used in NASA’s ASRS, and the reader virtually interacts with the experts. Eleven responders with conventional alias names narrate their vivid insights: specialized fighter pilots (Neos Aghialos, Eleftherios Venizelos, Dimokritos Alexandroupolis), a multi-experienced helicopter commander (Ippokratis Koos), iconic civil aviation pilots (Ifaistos Limnios, Diagoras Rodios, Stan Dardman, Palios Ellinikos), a prominent accident investigator Megas Alexandros, and high-skill ATCs Ikaria Ikaros and Oia Santorinis.
Extending the Meaning of Social Equity in Leipzig

Social equity as an integral component of urban development must be understood and supported by policy makers and community leaders alike. Further, the underlying ethos of public policies has to be grounded in fair and inclusive principles in order to ensure development that is sustainable.
A Single-Cell Transcriptional Atlas of the Developing Murine Cerebellum.

Summary The cerebellum develops from a restricted number of cell types that precisely organize to form the circuitry that controls sensory-motor coordination and some higher-order cognitive processes. To acquire an enhanced understanding of the molecular processes that mediate cerebellar development, we performed single-cell RNA-sequencing of 39,245 murine cerebellar cells at twelve critical developmental time points. Using recognized lineage markers, we confirmed that the single-cell data accurately recapitulate cerebellar development. We then followed distinct populations from emergence through migration and differentiation, and determined the associated transcriptional cascades. After identifying key lineage commitment decisions, focused analyses uncovered waves of transcription factor expression at those branching points. Finally, we created Cell Seek, a flexible online interface that facilitates exploration of the dataset. Our study provides a transcriptional summarization of cerebellar development at single-cell resolution that will serve as a valuable resource for future investigations of cerebellar development, neurobiology, and disease.
Melanoma Cell Death Mechanisms

Over recent years, several new molecular and immunogenic therapeutic approaches to melanoma treatment have been approved and implemented in clinical practice. Mechanisms of resistance to these new therapies have become a major problem. Mutation-specific pharmacotherapy can result in simultaneous emergence of resistant clones at many separate body sites despite an initially positive therapeutic response. Additionally, treatments aimed at inducing apoptosis are subject to resistance due to escape through other known mechanisms of regulated cell death (RCD). In this review, we discuss the complexity in pharmacological manipulation of melanoma with c-Kit, BRAF, MEK, and/or mTOR mutant cell lines. This study also addresses melanoma evasion of cell death through modalities of RCD such as apoptosis, autophagy, and necroptosis. This study also examines new combination therapies which have been approved to target both cell cycle dysregulation and cell death pathways. Lastly, we recognize the importance of immunomodulation though manipulation of the body's natural killing mechanisms with CTLA4, PD1, and CSF1 inhibition. As we begin to recognize tumor cell activation of alternate pathways, evasion of programmed cell death, and manipulation of the tumor microenvironment, it is increasingly important to grasp the complexity of personalized therapy in melanoma treatment.
Philosophy of Language

This unique textbook introduces linguists to key issues in the philosophy of language. Accessible to students who have taken only a single course in linguistics, yet sophisticated enough to be used at the graduate level, the book provides an overview of the central issues in philosophy of language, a key topic in educating the next generation of researchers in semantics and pragmatics. Thoroughly grounded in contemporary linguistic theory, the book focus on the core foundational and philosophical issues in semantics and pragmatics, richly illustrated with historical case studies to show how linguistic questions are related to philosophical problems in areas such as metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Students are introduced in Part I to the issues at the core of semantics, including compositionality, reference and intentionality. Part II looks at pragmatics: context, conversational update, implicature and speech acts; whilst Part III discusses foundational questions about meaning. The book will encourage future collaboration and development between philosophy of language and linguistics.
Cultural and pragmatic aspects of L2 Spanish for academic purposes: new data on the current state of the question

In the 21st century, international mobility of university students is at an all-time high due to the proliferation of international exchange agreements between institutions around the globe as well as the increased popularity of long-established reciprocal programs. Consequently, courses in language for academic purposes (LAP) have multiplied in recent times to prepare students linguistically to study academic content in an L2. However, in Spanish-speaking universities there are pragmatic and cultural conventions that foreign students need to recognize in order to function appropriately and successfully during their period of study. This article presents the results of an international survey completed by university teachers of L2 Spanish in nine countries in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. The aim of the questionnaire was to investigate the current state of formal instruction of cultural and pragmatic aspects of L2 Spanish for academic purposes in higher education when transitioning to...
IoT-enabled fall verification of elderly and impaired people in smart cities

Internet of Things (IoT) technology enables the transformation of urban habitation towards Smart Cities. 70% of human habitation will live in Smart Cities by 2050. IoT is the backbone technology of Smart Cities enabling new services through certain structural parameters. One such parameter is the smart way of living which aims in providing all the necessary technology required to transform human lives to a viable environment of prosperity. Elderly people is a parameter of highly importance in Smart Cities. IoT provides the technical opportunities to elderly and/or impaired people to live and prosper in the context of smart way of living. In this paper, we propose a model for validating elderly and/or impaired people fall. The proposed model is able to define whether the event is a free fall or a bending of the individual towards the floor surface. The IoT equipment we use is the wearable in clothing altimeter sensor.
Suppressed Spontaneous Emission for Coherent Momentum Transfer.

Strong optical forces with minimal spontaneous emission are desired for molecular deceleration and atom interferometry applications. We report experimental benchmarking of such a stimulated optical force driven by ultrafast laser pulses. We apply this technique to accelerate atoms, demonstrating up to an average of $19\ensuremath{\hbar}k$ momentum transfers per spontaneous emission event. This represents more than an order of magnitude improvement in suppression of spontaneous emission compared to radiative scattering forces. For molecular beam slowing, this technique is capable of delivering a many-fold increase in the achievable time-averaged force to significantly reduce both the slowing distance and detrimental losses to dark vibrational states.
Synthesis of Barite, Celestite, Anglesite, Witherite, and Strontianite from Aqueous Solutions

Well-formed single crystals of barite, strontium barite, celestite, and anglesite have been synthesized in gram quantities from dilute aqueous solutions in borosilicate glass flasks by a slow precipitation procedure over a range of experimental conditions. The largest crystals were grown in a 0.03 molar HCI solution, near 95"C in a non-uniformly heated flask by combining dilute metal chloride and sodium sulfate solutions at a rate of less than 5 mllhour. The optimum metal concentrations for growing large crystals were 0.01 molar for barite, O.02 molar for celestite, and 0.03 molar for anglesite. The optimum Na,SOr solution concentrations were 0.01 molar for barites and 0.02 molar for the other sulfates. Maximum dimensions for the thick tabular single crystals were 0.8 mm for barite, 1.2 mm for celestite, and2.3 mm for anglesite, In contrast amorphous or submicron-sized precipitates resulted from the use of more concentrated solutions, too rapid a solution cornbination rate, the use of plastic ware, the use of magnetic stirring, inadequate cleaning of glassware, and uniform heating of the flask. For the carbonates, witherite and strontianite crystals over I mm long were grown in a flask designed to be completely filled with solution. The crystals were grown by combining 0.02 molar metal chloride and sodium bicarbonate solutions at a rate near 5 ml/hr. at 80"C in solutions that were initially 0.001 molar in HCl. Unlike the sulfate minerals, a uniformly heated flask resulted in larger carbonate crystals. The crystals of sulfate and carbonate minerals had the same indices of refraction as natural minerals. The spacing and intensities of powder diffraction peaks agreed with those published in the Powder Diffraction File for the minerals,
Alterations of skeletal muscle bioenergetics in a mouse with F508del mutation leading to a cystic fibrosis-like condition.

High energy expenditure is reported in cystic fibrosis (CF) animal models and patients. Alterations in skeletal muscle oxidative capacity, fuel utilization, and the creatine kinase-phosphocreatine ...
Clinical neurophysiology of demyelinating polyneuropathy.

Demyelinating neuropathies are remarkably varied in their clinical characteristics: In etiology they may be inherited or acquired, in their time course, acute or chronic, and in their distribution, multifocal or generalized. They present with phenotypes that range from an indolent disorder that begins in childhood and progresses slowly over decades (as might be seen in an inherited form) and leads to weakness but preserved ambulation, to a neuropathy with fulminant onset and rapid progression culminating in tetraparesis and respiratory failure (as seen in the Guillain-Barre syndrome). Often demyelinating neuropathies are amenable to treatment that greatly reduces the burden of disease and extent of disability. Thus, electrophysiologic studies are critically important as an investigatory tool in the evaluation of patients with suspected demyelinating neuropathies. In this chapter, we focus our discussion on the manifold electrophysiologic details regarding the demyelinating neuropathies and provide the reader with the clinical context and pathophysiological underpinnings to help appreciate the complex character of these disorders, including the Guillain-Barre syndrome; chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and its variants; the dysimmune demyelinating neuropathies that accompany systemic disease such as paraproteinemia, POEMS syndrome, and multifocal motor neuropathy; diabetic neuropathy; the demyelinating inherited polyneuropathies, and the demyelinating neuropathy from toxic exposures.
Direct Phase-Angle Detection for Three-Phase Inverters in Asymmetrical Power Grids

This article introduces a signal reformation-based direct phase-angle detection (DPD-SR) technique for three-phase inverters supporting asymmetrical grids. Asymmetries in three-phase systems may happen because of unbalanced three-phase loads, which can lead to the voltage asymmetry at the terminals of grid-tied inverters. The proposed DPD-SR technique can detect the voltage phase angle under asymmetrical conditions. The DPD-SR technique also offers precise and rapid phase-angle detection through signal reformation and trigonometric functions. In essence, the phase-angle detection is directly derived from the trigonometric properties of the line–line voltages, while signal reformation is implemented to handle asymmetrical voltages. The proposed method measures two line–line voltages and detects the phase angle of a three-phase system under both symmetrical and asymmetrical conditions. Unlike classical phase-locked loop (PLL) techniques, DPD-SR does not need any closed-loop proportional-integral (PI) controller, which significantly reduces the complexity and the delay in detecting the phase angle. In this article, the efficacy of the proposed technique is examined in comparison with the state-of-the-art PLLs under asymmetrical conditions through a set of laboratory experiments. The performance of the phase-angle detection is also tested as part of an inverter feeding an asymmetrical grid.
COMBINATORIAL TECHNIQUES IN FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the way in which some infinitary combinatorial techniques, long familiar and useful in set-theoretic topology, have recently been employed for the treatment and solution of fundamental problems in functional analysis, and in particular in the isomorphic theory of Banach spaces. All the results described in this chapter deal with the possibility of isomorphically embedding the sequence spaces of all absolutely summable real functions on α into various classes of Banach spaces. The combinatorial techniques associated with such questions bear strong relations with questions about calibers of various class of compact spaces.
Transformable Electronics Implantation in ROM for Anti-Reverse Engineering

The protection of intellectual property (IP) is increasingly critical for IP vendors in the semiconductor industry. Read Only Memories (ROMs) serve as important non-volatile memory in various hardw...
Therapeutic Trem2 activation ameliorates amyloid-beta deposition and improves cognition in the 5XFAD model of amyloid deposition

Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cell-2 (TREM2) is a lipid and lipoprotein binding receptor expressed by cells of myeloid origin. Homozygous TREM2 mutations cause early onset progressive presenile dementia while heterozygous, point mutations triple the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Although human genetic findings support the notion that loss of TREM2 function exacerbates neurodegeneration, it is not clear whether activation of TREM2 in a disease state would result in therapeutic benefits. To determine the viability of TREM2 activation as a therapeutic strategy, we sought to characterize an agonistic Trem2 antibody (AL002a) and test its efficacy and mechanism of action in an aggressive mouse model of amyloid deposition. To determine whether agonism of Trem2 results in therapeutic benefits, we designed both intracranial and systemic administration studies. 5XFAD mice in the intracranial administration study were assigned to one of two injection groups: AL002a, a Trem2-agonizing antibody, or MOPC, an isotype-matched control antibody. Mice were then subject to a single bilateral intracranial injection into the frontal cortex and hippocampus and euthanized 72 h later. The tissue from the left hemisphere was histologically examined for amyloid-beta and microglia activation, whereas the tissue from the right hemisphere was used for biochemical analyses. Similarly, mice in the systemic administration study were randomized to one of the aforementioned injection groups and the assigned antibody was administered intraperitoneally once a week for 14 weeks. Mice underwent behavioral assessment between the 12- and 14-week timepoints and were euthanized 24 h after their final injection. The tissue from the left hemisphere was used for histological analyses whereas the tissue from the right hemisphere was used for biochemical analyses. Here, we show that chronic activation of Trem2, in the 5XFAD mouse model of amyloid deposition, leads to reversal of the amyloid-associated gene expression signature, recruitment of microglia to plaques, decreased amyloid deposition, and improvement in spatial learning and novel object recognition memory. These findings indicate that Trem2 activators may be effective for the treatment of AD and possibly other neurodegenerative disorders.
Assuring Quality in Nursing Homes: The Black Box of Administrative and Clinical Leadership-A Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Licensed nursing home administrators (NHA) and directors of nursing (DON) are responsible for nursing home quality and assuring optimal performance and job satisfaction/retention of their nursing home workforce. NHA/DON-focused studies have generated important foundational knowledge over the last three decades; yet, targeted research is needed to understand and apply the complexities of the black box of this top management team. This scoping review identifies, reviews, synthesizes, and maps the topical areas of research in NHA/DON positions in U.S. nursing homes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We conducted searches of 5 databases, yielding 3,479 records; screening/review yielded 88 unique records. We used thematic analysis to code the primary foci of the studies and the variables associated with the concepts of interest. RESULTS Most papers (n = 40) focused on role characteristics, 23 examined approaches to management and leadership, 24 focused on perceptions about the role, and the remaining 12 examined role structure. The role-related themes linked to outcomes (n = 42), processes (n = 27), and structures (n = 30). DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS We highlight important gaps for future research and offer a call to action for research, policy, practice, and education collaborations to accelerate the rate of research and translate the findings into best practices for NHA/DON to lead and manage the nursing home workforce and build capacity to ensure person-centered, high-quality care. Based on foundational descriptive studies, it is time to use what is known to design and implement interventions that enhance the capacity of NHA/DON to improve the structures, processes, and outcomes of nursing homes.
Refugees and the Internally Displaced Persons in Africa

Unlike refugees who cross international borders and, in the process, prick the conscience of the international community, the plight and tribulations of the internally displaced person (IDP) have only just begun to receive the deserved attention. For instance, until the 1990s, there was no classification for the IDP; therefore, victims rarely attracted the attention of scholars and policymakers even though the phenomenon was and continues to be one of the most significant humanitarian crises in Africa continent and elsewhere. These phenomena – refugeeism and IDP – are due primarily to the policies of illiberal democracies and authoritarian leaders, natural disasters, terrorism, protracted ethnic conflicts, and wars.
Kidney cancer mortality disparities among Hispanics in the US.

Abstract Introduction Kidney cancer incidence is increasing among Hispanics but rate differences by distinct group, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Mexican have not been studied. To fill this knowledge gap, we use mortality data, reflecting fatal kidney cancers, to examine patterns by race-ethnicity, including detailed Hispanic groups, and correlate the mortality rates with each group’s prevalence of known kidney cancer risk factors: smoking, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. Methods We used individual-level death data for California, Florida, and New York (2008–2018), and population prevalence data from the National Health Interview Surveys (2008–2018). Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) and regression-derived mortality rate ratios (MRRs) were computed. Pearson correlation analyses assessed the extent to which group-specific risk factor prevalence explained variability in observed AAMRs. Results US-born Mexican Americans and American Indians had the highest rates and MRRs compared to Whites: 1.44 (95 %CI: 1.35−1.53) and 1.51 (1.38−1.64) for Mexican American men and women, respectively, and 1.54 (95 %CI: 1.25−1.89) and 1.53 (95 %CI: 1.15−2.04) for American Indians. In contrast, non-Mexican Hispanics had lower rates than Whites. Among males, positive correlations between AAMRs and smoking, obesity, and chronic kidney disease prevalence by race-ethnicity were found. Conclusion Mexican Americans and American Indians are high-risk for fatal kidney cancer. Disparities are only partially attributable to higher smoking and obesity prevalence, and more so among men than women. A shared risk factor profile, as well as possible genetic similarities, may explain their disproportionately higher kidney cancer mortality, but further research is warranted.
Factors Affecting the Stable Range of Damping and Mass in Admittance Type Haptic Devices

This work investigates the stability of admittance type haptic devices in the context of a wider range of impedances than previously considered. More specifically, we consider the stable range of mass and damping. The coupled human driving impedance, actuator position control bandwidth, and loop delay are identified as major factors affecting the range of stable impedances. Finally, theoretical results are experimentally verified using a custom one degree of freedom admittance type haptic device.
Romantic Identity and LGBTQ Identification: Variations of Experience in the Asexual Community

As a relatively new identity category, asexuality has received only a small amount of academic attention. With what little research has been done, it has been established that there is a great amount of variability of meaning within the label “asexual”, particularly within the domain of romantic orientation. In light of this, and of asexuality’s invisibility even in comparison to other marginalized sexual orientations, this research sought to investigate the possibility that romantic identity impacts asexual individual’s relationship with the larger LGBTQ+ community by distributing an online quantitative survey to self-identified asexuals. The hypothesis was that hetero-romantic and aromantic individuals may report a more negative relationship with the LGBTQ+ community while also believing that asexuals as a whole deserve to be included within the LGBTQ+ umbrella. The results showed several significant relationships showing that being heteroromantic predicted a more negative relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. However, many items did not prove statistically significant, and the data on aromantics did not display the same patterns as the heteroromantic data. In order to fully understand the relationships found, future qualitative research is needed.
Adaptive And Repetitive Digital Control Algorithms for Noncircular Machining

This paper presents experimental results of digital tracking control algorithms applied to a hydraulic linear actuating system for tool positioning in noncircular machining. Noncircular machining is accomplished by controlling the tool position in the direction normal to the surface of the rotating workpiece. Implementation of two robust tracking controllers is presented: one is the adaptive zero phase error tracking controller for tracking arbitrary shaped desired signals, and the other is the digital repetitive controller for tracking periodic desired signals.
Model for the effect of ramping rate on ferrofluid aggregates

In this paper, we investigate the impact of field ramping rate on the spacing between the aggregates. The focus of this paper is to present a model that explains the experimental results.
High-Temperature Hydrogen Combustion in Reactor Safety Applications

The effect of elevated temperature on the limits of the various modes of combustion of hydrogen-air-steam mixtures is reviewed. The modes include spontaneous combustion, diffusion flames, deflagrat...
There are More Than 2**(n/17) n-Letter Ternary Square-Free Words

We prove that the `connective constant' for ternary square-free words is at least $2^{1/17} = 1.0416 ... $, improving on Brinkhuis and Brandenburg's lower bounds of $2^{1/24}=1.0293 ...$ and $2^{1/22}=1.032 ...$ respectively. This is the first improvement since 1983.
Quantifying surface water–groundwater interactions using time series analysis of streambed thermal records: Method development

[1] We present a method for determining streambed seepage rates using time series thermal data. The new method is based on quantifying changes in phase and amplitude of temperature variations between pairs of subsurface sensors. For a reasonable range of streambed thermal properties and sensor spacings the time series method should allow reliable estimation of seepage rates for a range of at least ±10 m d � 1 (±1.2 � 10 � 2 ms � 1 ), with amplitude variations being most sensitive at low flow rates and phase variations retaining sensitivity out to much higher rates. Compared to forward modeling, the new method requires less observational data and less setup and data handling and is faster, particularly when interpreting many long data sets. The time series method is insensitive to streambed scour and sedimentation, which allows for application under a wide range of flow conditions and allows time series estimation of variable streambed hydraulic conductivity. This new approach should facilitate wider use of thermal methods and improve understanding of the complex spatial and temporal dynamics of surface water–groundwater interactions.
Changing Agency Practices Toward Openness in Adoption

Abstract The impact of openness in adoption on private adoption agencies' practices and services was examined. In 1987-89 and 1993 staff from private agencies participated in structured interviews concerning their current practices regarding openness and the services offered by the agency. Over time, agencies tended to offer a greater range of openness options. Agency personnel reported that client demand, changes in agency philosophy, and competition from independent or private adoptions were among the most salient reasons for this change. Compelled to adopt new roles in response to openness, many agencies now offer mediation services to help address requests for information or problems within the adoptive family-birthparent relationship. The perspectives of adoption staff regarding the main advantages and disadvantages of each type of openness are explored, and implications for practice are discussed.
Remembering Vincent Ostrom: unhorsing a dominant paradigm

This essay is a memorial piece about Vincent Ostrom (September 25, 1919–June 29, 2012). I start by reviewing his academic history and then turn to Professor Ostrom’s major intellectual legacy—his effort to overturn the dominant paradigm in public administration and political science on metropolitan government reform. The three most important contributions of his work are discussed, including the introduction of public goods theory into the study of public administration and his work on quasimarkets and the Tiebout model. Three controversies or conundrums raised by his work are then discussed. Finally, the essay considers whether Professor Ostrom was ultimately successful in his effort to overthrow the traditional approach to the production and delivery of public goods at the city government level.
Gaussian concentration for a class of spherically invariant measures

Concentration and logarithmic Sobolev inequalities are derived for a class of multidimensional probability distributions, including spherically invariant log-concave measures. Bibliography: 17 titles.
An Improved Parameterization for Estimating Effective Atmospheric Emissivity for Use in Calculating Daytime Downwelling Longwave Radiation

Abstract An improved parameterization is presented for estimating effective atmospheric emissivity for use in calculating downwelling longwave radiation based on temperature, humidity, pressure, and solar radiation observations. The first improvement is the incorporation of an annual sinusoidal variation in effective clear-sky atmospheric emissivity, based on typical climatological variations in near-surface vapor pressure. The second is the continuous estimation of fractional cloudiness by taking the ratio of observed solar radiation to a modeled clear-sky solar radiation. Previous methods employed observer-estimated fractional cloudiness. Data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program were used to develop these improvements. The estimation of cloudiness was then used to modify the effective clear-sky atmospheric emissivity in order to calculate 30-min averages of downwelling longwave radiation. Monthly mean bias errors (mbe’s) of −9 to +4 W m−2 and root-mean-square errors (rmse’s) of 11–2...
Spin Rabi flopping in the photocurrent of a polymer light-emitting diode.

Electron spin is fundamental in electrical and optical properties of organic electronic devices. Despite recent interest in spin mixing and spin transport in organic semiconductors, the actual spin coherence times in these materials have remained elusive. Measurements of spin coherence provide impartial insight into spin relaxation mechanisms, which is significant in view of recent models of spin-dependent transport and recombination involving high levels of spin mixing. We demonstrate coherent manipulation of spins in an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), using nanosecond pulsed electrically detected electron spin resonance to drive singlet–triplet spin Rabi oscillations. By measuring the change in photovoltaic response due to spin-dependent recombination, we demonstrate spin control of electronic transport and thus directly observe spin coherence over 0.5 μs. This surprisingly slow spin dephasing underlines that spin mixing is not responsible for magnetoresistance in OLEDs. The long coherence times and the spin manipulation demonstrated are crucially important for expanding the impact of organic spintronics. The observation of Rabi-oscillations between single and triplet states in an organic light-emitting diode demonstrates the possibility of manipulating the spin states in organic electronic devices. The data also provide direct evidence of very slow spin-dephasing, which should prove crucial for the development of organic spintronics.
Polynomial interpolation schemes for internal derivative distributions on structured grids

Abstract Computational fluid dynamics problems which use a streamfunction formulation require differentiation to obtain the velocity field. If the velocity components are required at internal points on the grid (for example, for particle trajectory calculations) this necessitates some form of interpolation. Similarly, N -body computations which include self-gravity and cannot afford the luxury of an O( N 2 ) 1 r 2 calculation, require interpolation to obtain the force components at locations internal to an overlaid grid. These two independent examples reduce to the same generalized problem. Given a function distribution on a structured grid, which interpolation schemes give the most suitable solutions in terms of accuracy, computational efficiency and smoothness properties? The best numerical schemes are those which use higher order finite difference approximations for the derivatives (but not vast templates), perform interpolation directly over the derivative (and not the function), and have an odd power as the leading term in the polynomial expansion for the derivative. These methods include forms of bicubic and quintic-cubic interpolation but although generating accurate and realistic internal derivative estimates, come at a higher computational price. For simulations where the interpolation routines need to be called frequently, the lower order schemes such as cubic-linear and biquadratic interpolation, although less accurate, are more computationally efficient and may be more appropriate.
Increased confinement and β by inductive poloidal current drive in the reversed field pinch

With the addition of inductive poloidal current drive for current profile control in the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) reversed field pinch, the magnetic fluctuation amplitude halves, leading to reduced energy and particle transport.A four- to five-fold increase in the energy confinement time to {tau}{sub E}{approximately}5 ms with both decreased Ohmic input power and increased stored thermal energy coincides with record low fluctuation amplitude and record high electron temperature {approximately}600 eV (for MST). {beta}[=2{mu}{sub o}{l_angle}p{r_angle}/B(a){sup 2}] increases from 6{percent} to 8{percent}. Other improvements include reduced electrostatic edge turbulence and plasma impurity content. {copyright} {ital 1996} {ital The American Physical Society}
Evaluating membrane potential and spike patterns by experimenter-controlled computer displays

Abstract Computer scope displays are used to inspect and measure raw data, so that the experimenter performs all pattern recognition judgments. These judgments are entered into computer memory by turning knobs which vary program constants. This allows the experimenter to measure, using rapid hand-to-eye coordination, data which one would not otherwise entrust to an automatic-type computer program except after extensive inspection on a film-reader or the like. This technique enables methods to the developed for the following new areas of neurophysiological data analysis: bursts during spontaneous firing; analysis of membrane potential during rhythmic firing; and analysis of spontaneous miniature postsynaptic potentials in the synaptic noise. Working models of the rhythmic firing process, developed from the intracellular measurements, may also be constructed on the computer using methods described here. The membrane potential and spike pattern analysis methods described are generally appliable to many other types of extracellular and intracellular data. The technique of doing one's film-reading on the computer display provides a middleground between punched cards and the completely automatic computer pattern recognition programs.
Processing natural language syntactic and semantic mechanisms

This paper describes a simple approach to language processing. Knowledge of the domain is stored in a three row numeric matrix or semantic net. The meaning of individual words is contained in pointers from each word to the objects in the environment and the relations between these objects. The intersections of these pointers resolves the ambiguity inherent in the multiple meanings of words. The input string is treated as a series of triads, where the result of processing one triad is passed as an argument for the next triad. Parsing into the required noun phrases and verb phrases is done by semantic means (intersection); when words have no semantic pointers, a syntactic parser is utilized.
Modeling seizure-related behavioral and endocrine phenotypes in adult zebrafish

Larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) have recently been suggested as a high-throughput experimental model of epilepsy-related pathogenetic states. Here we use adult zebrafish to study behavioral symptoms associated with drug-evoked seizures. Experimental epilepsy-like states were evoked in zebrafish by exposure for 20 min to three chemoconvulsant drugs: caffeine (250 mg/L; 1.3 mM), pentylenetetrazole (1.5 g/L; 11.0 mM) and picrotoxin (100 mg/L; 0.17 mM). Fish behavior was analyzed using manual and video-tracking methods (Noldus Ethovision XT7). Compared to their respective controls, all three drug-treated groups showed robust seizure-like responses (hyperactivity bouts, spasms, circular and corkscrew swimming) accompanied by elevated whole-body cortisol levels (assessed by ELISA). In contrast, control fish did not display seizure-like behaviors and had significantly lower cortisol levels. Paralleling behavioral and endocrine phenotypes observed in clinical and rodent studies, our data implicates adult zebrafish as an emerging experimental model for epilepsy research.
Comparison of a Very Low-Carbohydrate and Low-Fat Diet on Fasting Lipids, LDL Subclasses, Insulin Resistance, and Postprandial Lipemic Responses in Overweight Women

Objective: Very low-carbohydrate diets are widely used for weight loss yet few controlled studies have determined how these diets impact cardiovascular risk factors compared to more traditional low-fat weight loss diets. The primary purpose of this study was to compare a very low-carbohydrate and a low-fat diet on fasting blood lipids, LDL subclasses, postprandial lipemia, and insulin resistance in overweight and obese women.Methods: Thirteen normolipidemic, moderately overweight (body fat >30%) women were prescribed two hypocaloric (−500 kcal/day) diets for 4 week periods, a very low-carbohydrate (<10% carbohydrate) and a low-fat (<30% fat) diet. The diets were consumed in a balanced and randomized fashion. Two fasting blood draws were performed on separate days and an oral fat tolerance test was performed at baseline, after the very low-carbohydrate diet, and after the low-fat diet.Results: Compared to corresponding values after the very low-carbohydrate diet, fasting total cholesterol, LDL-C, and HDL-C...
Reaction Kinetics in the Ionic Liquid Methyltributylammonium Bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. Pulse Radiolysis Study of 4-Mercaptobenzoic Acid

Hydrogen-abstraction reactions of various radicals with 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (MB) to produce the 4-carboxyphenylthiyl radical have been studied by pulse radiolysis in aqueous solutions and in the ionic liquid methyltributylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (R4NNTf2). The rate constants in aqueous solutions are in the range of (1−3) × 108 L mol-1 s-1 for the reactions of MB with several alkyl radicals, are higher with reducing radicals (6.4 × 108 L mol-1 s-1 for CH3ĊHOH and 1.4 × 109 L mol-1 s-1 for (CH3)2ĊOH) and lower with oxidizing radicals (≤107 L mol-1 s-1 for •CH2COCH3). Because the bond dissociation energy for the S−H bond is much lower than that for the C−H bonds involved in these reactions, it appears that hydrogen abstraction from mercaptobenzoic acid is not controlled by the relative bond dissociation energies but rather by the electron density at the radical site through a polar transition state. The rate constants for similar reactions in alcohols are slightly lower than those in wa...
Dietary supplementation with (R)-α -lipoic acid reverses the age-related accumulation of iron and depletion of antioxidants in the rat cerebral cortex

Accumulation of divalent metal ions (e.g. iron and copper) has been proposed to contribute to heightened oxidative stress evident in aging and neurodegenerative disorders. To understand the extent of iron accumulation and its effect on antioxidant status, we monitored iron content in the cerebral cortex of F344 rats by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and found that the cerebral iron levels in 24-28-month-old rats were increased by 80% (p<0.01) relative to 3-month-old rats. Iron accumulation correlated with a decline in glutathione (GSH) and the GSH/GSSG ratio, indicating that iron accumulation altered antioxidant capacity and thiol redox state in aged animals. Because (R)-alpha-Lipoic acid (LA) is a potent chelator of divalent metal ions in vitro and also regenerates other antioxidants, we monitored whether feeding LA (0.2% [w/w]; 2 weeks) could lower cortical iron and improve antioxidant status. Results show that cerebral iron levels in old LA-fed animals were lower when compared to controls and were similar to levels seen in young rats. Antioxidant status and thiol redox state also improved markedly in old LA-fed rats versus controls. These results thus show that LA supplementation may be a means to modulate the age-related accumulation of cortical iron content, thereby lowering oxidative stress associated with aging.
Iatrogenic tension pneumothorax complicating outpatient heimlich valve chest drainage

Use of new technology makes possible the outpatient management of conditions previously requiring inpatient treatment. With increased use of such modalities comes a greater chance that the emergency physician will encounter patients with device-related complications. We report a case of such a complication, a tension pneumothorax presenting to the emergency department following misguided manipulation of a modified Heimlich chest drainage system. It is recommended that physicians opting to utilize such out-patient technology refrain from improvised modifications that may be unfamiliar to subsequent providers.