cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thermal management strategies for high power semiconductor pump lasers

Semiconductor pump lasers are an important component in erbium-doped fiber amplifiers and Raman amplifiers. Thermal management has become one of the major obstacles of pump laser development. Understanding of the thermal behavior of high-power laser packages is crucial to the thermal design and optimization of pump lasers. In this paper, we report on the thermal characteristics of a high-power pump laser and discuss the issues associated with heat dissipation. The thermal management of high-power pump laser modules mainly consists of three aspects. One is the thermal resistance reduction which reduces bulk temperature rise in the laser diode chip. The second is facet temperature control, and the third is the thermoelectric cooler (TEC) coefficient of performance improvement. In this paper, the approaches to reduce thermal resistance and facet temperature at the chip level and package level will be reviewed, and the thermal design and optimization of the package assembly to improve the TEC coefficient of performance will be discussed. The thermal resistance of a pump laser could be reduced up to 40% by the proper design of the laser chip and epi-down bonding. An unpumped window design in the pump laser diode is proven to be very effective in reducing the facet temperature and increasing the catastrophic optical mirror damage level. Assembly and package optimization can provide more uniform temperature distribution on TEC cold plate which is critical in improving the TEC coefficient of performance
A novel method for the quantification of fatty infiltration in skeletal muscle

Fatty infiltration of the skeletal muscle is a common but poorly understood feature of many myopathies. It is best described in human muscle, where non-invasive imaging techniques and representative histology have been optimized to view and quantify infiltrating fat. However, human studies are limited in their ability to identify cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating fatty infiltration, a likely prerequisite to developing targeted interventions. As mechanistic investigations move to small animals, studies may benefit from new or adapted imaging tools optimized for high resolution and whole muscle quantification. Here, we describe a novel method to evaluate fatty infiltration, developed for use with mouse muscle. In this methodology, muscle cellular membranes and proteins are removed via decellularization, but fatty infiltrate lipid is spared, trapped in its native distribution in a transparent extracellular matrix construct. This lipid can then be stained with visible or fluorescent dyes and imaged. We present three methods to stain and evaluate lipid in decellularized muscles which can be used individually or combined: (1) qualitative visualization of the amount and 3D spatial distribution of fatty infiltration using visible lipid soluble dye Oil Red O (ORO), (2) quantitative analysis of individual lipid droplet metrics (e.g., volume) via confocal imaging of fluorescent lipid soluble dye boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY), and (3) quantitative analysis of total lipid content by optical density reading of extracted stained lipid. This methodology was validated by comparing glycerol-induced fatty infiltration between two commonly used mouse strains: 129S1/SvlmJ (129S1) and C57BL/6J (BL/6J). All three methods were able to detect a significant increase in fatty infiltrate volume in the 129S1 muscle compared with that in BL/6J, and methods 1 and 2 additionally described a difference in the distribution of fatty infiltrate, indicating susceptibility to glycerol-induced fatty infiltration is strain-specific. With more mechanistic studies of fatty infiltration moving to small animal models, having an alternative to expensive non-invasive imaging techniques and selective representative histology will be beneficial. In this work, we present a method that can quantify both individual adipocyte lipids and whole muscle total fatty infiltrate lipid.
Some Economic and Ethical Problems with Trade Sanctions

Numerous articles have been written on economic sanctions over the past few decades. Most papers take an overall approach, focusing on the utilities and dis-utilities of sanctions in general or on a specific sanction. While this paper also looks at general aspects of sanctions, it goes beyond the usual focus and also examines some particular aspects of economic sanctions that are often overlooked in both the economic and ethical literature. Rather than limiting itself to utilitarian aspects of sanction policy, the paper also applies other ethical approaches to evaluate whether sanctions pass the ethical test. The possibility of compensation for losses caused by the imposition of sanctions is also discussed.
Thigh exploration for excision of a transobturator sling

Introduction and hypothesis Groin pain is a known complication of transobturator mesh placement. The objective of this instructional video is to present the surgical technique used to excise the thigh portion of a sling in a patient with persistent thigh pain after placement of a transobturator sling.
Risk of Cyber-Physical Attack via Load With Emulated Inertia Control

The intrinsic electromechanical coupling of power and frequency across a power system creates the possibility of indirect cyber-physical attacks, where the attack’s impact occurs at locations far removed from the intrusion point. The work here explores this vulnerability, demonstrating mechanisms by which an attacker could cause system-wide unstable oscillations and trips of generators, by an attack altering only local control characteristics of customer loads. This extends previous work on malicious control in generator governor control loops in three ways. First, the fidelity and size of the study system is improved, with each generator represented via detailed models in a non-linear dynamic simulation. Second, we study an increasingly plausible attack, in which loads (prior to attack) are enlisted to enhance system stability through the exercise of emulated inertia control. Finally, the work demonstrates methodologies which an attacker might employ to choose the generator(s) targeted to experience large oscillations (and tripping through protective relay action) and the locations, where compromised control systems would have greatest impact. Nonlinear simulation results indicate that malicious control destabilizes the power system, with targeted generators experiencing large magnitude oscillations, and probable tripping of rate of change of frequency protective relays. These results are demonstrated as robust over variations in parameters, topology, and loading.
Solutions for the H∞(Dn) Corona Problem Belonging to exp(L1/2n-1

For a countable number of input functions in H ∞ (D n ), we find explicit analytic solutions belonging to the Orlicz-type space, \( \exp (L^{\tfrac{1} {{2n - 1}}} ) \). Note that \( H^\infty (D^n ) - BMO(D^n ) \subsetneqq \exp (L^{\tfrac{1} {{2n - 1}}} ) \subsetneqq \cap _1^\infty H^p (D^n ) \)
Noise-assisted energy transfer from the dilation of the set of one-electron reduced density matrices

Noise-assisted energy transfer can be explained geometrically in terms of the set of one-electron reduced density matrices (1-RDMs) [R. Chakraborty and D. A. Mazziotti, Phys. Rev. A 91, 010101(R) (2015)]. In this paper, we examine the geometric picture of quantum noise for the seven-chromophore Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex. Noise expands the feasible set of orbital occupation trajectories to the target state through the violation of the pure-state N-representability conditions on the 1-RDM, known as the generalized Pauli constraints. While the generalized Pauli constraints are not explicitly known for seven-electron systems, we are able to treat a seven-exciton model of the FMO complex through the use of generalized Pauli constraints for p qubits which are known for arbitrary p. In the model, we find that while dephasing noise alone produces a trajectory of ensemble states that neither expands the set of 1-RDMs nor reaches the reaction center, the inclusion of both dephasing and dissipation expands ...
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy and the History of Coastal Defence

Throughout Chinese history, coastal defence (haifang) has been one of the ruling dynasty’s most vital military concerns. The goals are threefold: to fight off marauding pirates, to halt foreign attempts to claim territory, and to oppose efforts to usurp the power and authority of the imperial throne. By necessity, coastal defence has long been one of the most important cornerstones of China’s national defence. To understand the PLA Navy’s modern coastal defence challenges, this chapter examines coastal defence theory and practice prior to the nineteenth century, the impact of the Opium Wars (1839–42, 1856–60) on Chinese views of coastal defence, and the influence of China’s defeat in the first Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) on Beijing’s decision to adopt Westernizing reforms and to build a modern navy. The conclusion evaluates how Chinese history impacted the PLA Navy’s coastal defence policies after 1949, in particular the navy’s stated goal to ‘to safeguard territorial waters as well as waters under that nation’s jurisdiction, uphold maritime rights and interests, and defend against the possibility of encroachment on one’s own waters, etc. Strong coastal defense is vital to guarantee the security and development of a country bordering on the ocean’ (Zhongguo haijun baike quanshu [Chinese Naval Encyclopedia], 1998, p. 371).
Petroleum Property Income and Market Valuation Approaches (Transactions Beware

Characteristics exhibited by producing liquid-rich shale formations often cause inaccurate forecasts of natural gas and oil production when multistage hydraulic fracking is used for extraction. Poor cash flow estimates can be avoided by practicing due diligence when appraising petroleum property value and income. Due diligence is satisfied by comparing volumes recorded on actual royalty check stubs or monthly statements to state-reported production volumes, by relying on petroleum reserve appraisals instead of transaction multipliers or rules of thumb, and by using nearby analog wells in proximity found in subscription databases for good “type” well decline curves. In addition, properly referencing the contributing work of other appraisers, maps, and analyses improves understanding and reduces errors.
The Night That Repeats Itself: Social Dystopia in Managua, Salsa City (¡Devórame Otra Vez!), by Franz Galich

Broadly speaking, Central America experienced a political and cultural shift in the 1990s away from periods of Civil War to implementations of neoliberal economic policies marked by elitism and corruption. Perkowska contextualizes how Franz Galich’s novel Managua, Salsa City (!Devorame otra vez) represents the transitions occurring within Nicaraguan society, showing a disillusionment with the utopian promises of Revolution. In addition, the novel expresses a new type of violence. The novel highlights this social critique by focusing on the symbolic battle between light and dark, day and night, via a wandering journey through the nightlife of Managua. Perkowska argues that Galich’s novel questions the idea of the city as the center of progress and modernization as seen in idealistic liberal notions of the city in Latin American literature from the nineteenth century on. Galich’s novel presents an image of the city not as utopia, but as dystopia.
Melanesia: Sociocultural Aspects

Anthropologists continue to use broadly etched contrasts—equality versus hierarchy, gift exchange versus commodity sale—as abbreviations for complex differences between Melanesian social forms and cultural practices, and those of the modern West. These contrasts, although problematic, effectively highlight the transactional nature of Melanesian economies and polities, kinship and social organization; they similarly underscore the malleability of gender identity, personhood, and the body in Melanesia. Recent Melanesianist anthropology has given fuller attention to processes of colonial history and postcolonial change, including Christian missionization, the spread of capitalist markets, and nation-state formation. This research foregrounds the variety of local modernities and creative adaptations that Melanesians have produced since the nineteenth century out of their uneven and contested encounters with agents and institutions of exogenous origin.
Magnetic Field Effect on Thermal Conductivity of Selected Metals

Thermal conductivity of materials is a major concern in the design of most equipment to be used at cryogenic temperatures. Factors affecting this material property include thermal history, composition, and the presence of a magnetic field. The development of superconducting rotating machinery provided the impetus for a recently completed program to measure the effect of magnetic fields on the low-temperature thermal conductivity of construction materials. The materials studied are presently being used, or are candidates for use, in contemporary machines. Included in this category are superconductor stabilizing materials, such as copper and aluminum, and the structural alloys of iron and titanium. Comparison of the effects of magnetic field, material variability, and thermal treatment is important in that all three may affect design tolerances.
15 – Oriented Tensor Reconstruction

Geometrically, a diffusion tensor can be thought of as an ellipsoid with its three axes oriented along the tensor's three perpendicular eigenvectors and semi-axis lengths proportional to the square root of eigenvalues of the tensor mean diffusion distances. This chapter develops a new technique for tracing anatomical fibers from 3D diffusion-tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) tensor fields, recovering identifiable anatomical structures that correspond to many of the white matter brain-fiber pathways. It is found that simple component-wise interpolation of the tensors, forming a crude continuous approximate tensor field, worked well for extracting brain-fiber directions when combined with a moving least-squares filtering approach. Noninvasive DT-MRI brain-mapping techniques could have many important future diagnostic applications, ranging from research techniques for determining the wiring in a live human brain to clinical applications for patients with disruption of fiber tracts due to brain injuries such as stroke or physical trauma.
Dopamine Deficiency Reduces Striatal Cholinergic Interneuron Function in Models of Parkinson's Disease.

Summary Motor and cognitive functions depend on the coordinated interactions between dopamine (DA) and acetylcholine (ACh) at striatal synapses. Increased ACh availability was assumed to accompany DA deficiency based on the outcome of pharmacological treatments and measurements in animals that were critically depleted of DA. Using Slc6a3DTR/+ diphtheria-toxin-sensitive mice, we demonstrate that a progressive and L-dopa-responsive DA deficiency reduces ACh availability and the transcription of hyperpolarization-activated cation (HCN) channels that encode the spike timing of ACh-releasing tonically active striatal interneurons (ChIs). Although the production and release of ACh and DA are reduced, the preponderance of ACh over DA contributes to the motor deficit. The increase in striatal ACh relative to DA is heightened via D1-type DA receptors that activate ChIs in response to DA release from residual axons. These results suggest that stabilizing the expression of HCN channels may improve ACh-DA reciprocity and motor function in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Video Abstract Download : Download video (19MB)
From honourable to villainous: political competition and sectarianisation in Turkey

This contribution examines how political considerations influence the creation of religious discourses and interpretations among rival religious actors. It analyses how the religio-political discou...
A Computational Approach to Sign Language Understanding

Sign language is the primary mode of communication in the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) communities. Unfortunately, sign language is not as well understood among the non-signing hearing population leading to limited access and services to the DHH community, and also acts as a barrier between non-signing and DHH people. In my Ph.D. thesis, I am working on improving the sequence modeling for sign language translation and understanding by considering different types of sequence models, various input features, and by understanding the semantic relation between the words and the signs. Currently, my research focuses on a popular publicly available German Sign Language dataset.
Copper Electrode on Flexible Substrate by Intense Pulsed Light Sintering of Microsized Copper Particles

Metal electrodes deposited in a grid pattern onto flexible polymer substrates have been shown to be a viable alternative to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) as the transparent anode for organic photovoltaics. copper may be a better alternative in terms of cost and stability for large area low-cost solar modules, specifically on roll-to-roll platforms. These customized electrode patterns can be fabricated from copper nanoparticles through various printing techniques applicable to solution phase processing. The Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) technique has been used to sinter copper nanoparticles (~100nm) to fabricate conductive copper electrodes on flexible polymer substrates. However, compared to nanosized (~100 nm) copper particles, microsized (~2 um) copper is much cheaper. In this work, microsized (~2 um) copper is used to produce high conductive copper inks. The conductivity of the print can be adjusted through the use of surfactant. IPL sintering was optimized to obtain high conductivity copper films. Several microscopic and electrical spectroscopic characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), 4-point probe resistivity measurements were employed to characterize the copper electrodes.
Nanopore sequencing methods detect cell-free DNA associated with minimal residual disease and central nervous system infiltration in pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) patients that have minimal residual disease (MRD) after therapy or infiltration of ALL into the central nervous system (CNS) are considered high risk. These patients are often given intensified and/or additional rounds of chemotherapy in the hopes of eliminating their disease. Current methods to diagnose MRD and CNS infiltration rely on detecting ALL cells in patient samples using pathology, flow cytometry, or isolation of ALL genomic DNA for next-generation sequencing. However, blasts may be present in the patient but not detectable in a bone marrow biopsy or cerebrospinal (CSF) fluid sample, leading to incorrect or delayed patient diagnosis. We have developed a nanopore sequencing assay to detect B-ALL-associated cell-free DNA in patient blood and CSF samples. Quantitation of B-cell specific VDJ recombination events in cell-free DNA samples defined B-ALL clonal heterogeneity. Monitoring cfDNA in blood and CSF samples allowed us to track the response of individual B-ALL clones throughout the course of treatment for each patient. Detection of cell-free DNA predicted the clinical diagnosis of MRD and CNS disease. We also identified patients diagnosed as CNS negative who had low levels of cell-free DNA in their CSF sample. These data suggest that cell-free DNA assays may be useful in detecting the presence of ALL in the patient even when blasts are not in the biofluid sample. In total, nanopore analysis of cell-free DNA is a simple, rapid, and inexpensive assay that can serve as a useful complement to traditional clinical diagnostic approaches in the treatment of ALL.
Natriuretic Peptide-guided therapy for heart failure.

Chronic heart failure (HF) remains a major medical problem in the developed world, with rapidly rising prevalence, substantial morbidity, and high costs. The concept of titrating chronic HF therapies using physiologic markers, so called "biomarker guided therapy (BGT)", has become an area of substantial interest in HF given the underutilization of evidence-based medications and suboptimal outcomes with current management strategies. Several recent trials of BGT have had mixed results, with some demonstrating improved outcomes and others showing no benefit. The heterogeneity of patient populations compounded by the lack of standardized BGT algorithms and trial endpoints has complicated interpretation of these results. This article reviews the rationale, accumulated data, and unanswered questions for BGT in chronic HF. (Circ J 2011; 75: 2031-2037)
Distributed Plasticity for Olfactory Learning and Memory in the Honey Bee Brain

Honey bees have a number of sophisticated learning abilities to track rapidly changing distributions of nectar and pollen resources the colony needs for survival. The honey bee is an excellent animal in which to study learning because these abilities can be evaluated both in the field and under laboratory conditions that permit use of physiological analyses. Our focus is on how the neural bases for these learning abilities can be tracked into different levels of processing in the CNS (central nervous system). We specifically review two kinds of conditioning protocols to show first how behavior changes over conditioning and second how plasticity can be tracked into the antennal lobe (AL) as well as in the mushroom body (MB). We begin by pointing out that, particularly when the learning problem becomes difficult, the behavioral response to conditioned stimuli proceeds in a nonlinear manner. Honey bees may have difficulty in making an appropriate response until some point when a precipitous change in their behavior occurs. We then discuss how plasticity related to behavioral conditioning has been reported at subsequent processing levels in the AL as well as in the MB, which receives input from the AL. We point out that this distributed plasticity in the CNS for any kind of learning raises an important conceptual issue, which regards how changes at a higher level of processing (the MB) can be adapted to track and perhaps be augmented by changes at an earlier level (the AL). We show by example how coupled behavioral and physiological analyses combined with computation modeling can begin to address these important issues.
Embedded governance in technology and the development of the smart grid

What does it mean to embed governance in technology? In short it refers to the ability to transpose the criteria or characteristics of standards, understandings, rules, laws, policy and even design constraints into technical components or systems. The resulting technology and accompanying governance is driven by either directly including those criteria and characteristics in the technologies or by excluding them. It is this constructive nature of technology which in turn imposes norms on society by defining how people can interact with the technology and by defining how the technology should be built and deployed. Essentially those criteria and characteristics become the code by which the technology becomes developed and the regulations which permit its use. Lawrence Lessig would explain this use of regulation as “One that focuses on more than the single influence of any one force such as government, norms or the market, and instead integrates these factors into a single account” [1]. When looking at the embedded governance of technology it is easy to see how Lessig’s idea could be applicable to technologies as well.
Employee Incentive Stock Options: To Be Expensed or Not to Be, that Is Not the Question

Many companies have granted large numbers of employee incentive stock options, and there is intense debate as to how they should be reported on financial statements. According to the mission statements of the regulatory organizations responsible for financial statements, the primary purpose of financial reporting is to help investors evaluate a company so that capital can be efficiently allocated. I show that to accomplish this purpose, investors need financial statements that: (1) report the estimated aggregate market value of all outstanding stock options as a balance sheet line-item separate from common equity accounts, similar to the way preferred stock is reported; (2) update the estimated aggregate market value of the stock options (i.e., "mark to market" the stock options) each reporting period; and (3) reduce stockholders' common equity by the amount that the market value of outstanding options increases during the reporting period (or increase stockholders' equity by the amount that the stock options' aggregate market value decreases). This change in stockholders' equity could be accomplished either indirectly (via an expense on the income statement that flows through to retained earnings) or directly (without affecting reported net income, in the same way that an unrealized change in value due to a foreign currency translation adjustment is reported). Although either method is satisfactory for purposes of valuation, reporting ISO grants as an operating expense on the income statement actually complicates the analysis for investors, since they must "undo" this non-cash charge when estimating cash flows. Thus, investors do not need option grants to be reported as an expense, if the estimated aggregate market value of option grants is reported as a separate balance sheet line-item and is updated each reporting period.
Composite type, change of type, and degeneracy in first order systems with applications to viscoelastic flows

In this paper we discuss some features of systems of partial differential equations of first order related to change of type, to composite type and to degeneracy. We are interested in these effects with respect to viscoelastic fluid flow and hence we focus on the properties of two particular models of differential type, the Upper Convected Maxwell model and the Bird-DeAguiar model. Friedrichs’ theory of symmetric positive operators is discussed as a means for treating these indefinite type systems and its use is illustrated for two simple systems, one of composite type and one of degenerate elliptic type.
Enzymatic formation of zinc-protoporphyrin by rat liver and its potential effect on hepatic heme metabolism

Abstract The mitochondrial enzyme heme synthase (ferrochelatase) catalyzes the formation of heme from ferrous iron and protoporphyrin. Using a fluorometric assay, the enzymatic formation of zinc-protoporphyrin in rat liver tissue was compared with heme formation. With sonicated liver homogenate, the rate of zinc-protoporphyrin formation was similar to that of heme when each metal was present alone in the reaction mixture. When combined in the reaction mixture, the two metals competed for the enzyme. With intact mitochondria, zinc was a better substrate, as 90% of the product was zinc-protoporphyrin in the presence of 50 μM zinc and 50 μM iron. The effect of zinc-protoporphyrin on the induction of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase, the rate-limiting enzyme in hepatic heme biosynthesis, was also examined in the rat. Intraperitoneal injection of allylisopropylacetamide (350 μmol) induced activity of the enzyme fourfold. Concomitant administration of zinc-protoporphyrin (4 μmol) suppressed the induction by 52%, nearly as effectively as the same amount of heme. These findings indicate that the formation of zinc-protoporphyrin in liver may (a) inhibit the synthesis of heme and (b) exert negative feedback regulation on δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase. This combination would reduce the hepatic heme level.
Characterization of parylene-assisted wafer bonding: long-term stability and influence of process chemicals

This paper presents wafer bonding using a thin parylene layer and reports detailed experimental data on: 1) bond strength and its dependence on bonding temperature, pressure, ambient, and time, 2) bond strength variation and stability up to two years post bond, and 3) bond strength variation after exposure to frequently used microfabrication process chemicals. The test results show that bond strength is mainly dependent on bonding temperature, does not vary more than 7% after two years under standard laboratory conditions when bonding is performed at or above 210/spl deg/C, and remains within 89% of its original strength after one hour exposure to process chemicals such as AZ400K, BHF, MF319, Acetone, and IPA.
Depth of the Gingival Sulcus Surrounding Young Permanent Teeth

* Instructor in Dentistry, The University of Michigan, School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Mich. **Associate Professor of Dentistry, The University of Alabama Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama. ***The gingival sulcus also may be known as the gingival crevice, gingival through, or subgingival space. Gingival pocket, however, in correct usage, refers to a pathologic sulcus about a tooth, deeper than the normal sulcus. (Arey, L. B., ed. Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary. 23 rd ed. Philadelphia, Saunders, 19 57. XVII 1598 p.) tachment was thought to mark the bottom of the gingival sulcus which, then, could not be situated at the cemento-enamel junction but had to be located on the surface of the enamel of the crown of the tooth. Other inves t iga tors 1 1 , 1 6 , 1 7 , 1 9 , 2 0 agreed with Gottlieb's concept of a shallow gingival sulcus.
Chapter 15 Scanning Electron Microscopy of Garnet from Southern Michigan Soils: Etching Rates and Inheritance of Pre-Glacial and Pre-Pedogenic Grain-Surface Textures

Abstract Garnet surface textures are known to be modified by processes in several portions of the sedimentary cycle: (1) weathering (first-cycle), (2) erosion, transportation, and deposition by moving water or ice, and (3) sandstone diagenesis. Previous studies have not assessed, however, the relative importance of inherited and newly formed grain-surface features of sand-size garnet grains. Garnets from soils developed by weathering of glacial (till and outwash) deposits at agricultural and forested sites in Michigan's Lower Peninsula were examined by scanning electron microscope to determine possible associations of grain-surface textures with parent material provenance and soil processes. All Michigan soil localities examined contain garnets that exhibit surface features apparently inherited from their pre-existing sedimentary source rocks, and/or features formed during glacial transport. Widespread preservation of inherited pre-pedogenic surface textures suggests that garnet in Michigan soils has undergone little weathering since deglaciation. Some garnet grains from both forested and agricultural soils, however, have well-formed 1–10 μm etch pits on their surfaces that may have formed either in garnet source-area regoliths or by weathering in the present soil. At published garnet dissolution rates experimentally determined under weathering conditions, formation of 1–10 μm etch pits would take decades to centuries. Given that mineral weathering rates in nature are almost invariably one to three orders of magnitude slower than in the laboratory, the small size of the observed Michigan soil–garnet etch pits is broadly consistent with the age of the Michigan soils. This suggests that the “response time” of garnet surface textures to environmental perturbations is long relative to the time since the last deglaciation; the time required to develop large, extensive, and abundant weathering textures on garnet is longer than the age of Michigan soils. Even millennia under present weathering conditions are not sufficient to destroy pre-pedogenic and pre-glacial (e.g., source-rock) garnet surface textures and replace them with characteristic garnet weathering textures.
Comparisons of Two Wind Tunnel Pressure Databases and Partial Validation against Full-Scale Measurements

AbstractDatabase-assisted design (DAD) is an integrated methodology that calculates wind loadings and wind-induced internal forces. It can also calculate demand-to-capacity indexes for each structural member, and by checking whether they differ significantly from unity, determine the adequacy of the members’ structural design. Its practical usefulness depends on the availability of comprehensive aerodynamic databases. A public domain aerodynamic database produced in 2003 by the University of Western Ontario (UWO) is not sufficiently extensive to satisfy design needs generally encountered in practice. For this reason, the Tokyo Polytechnic University (TPU) recently developed comprehensive sets of aerodynamic databases that are publicly available and would fill large voids present in the UWO database. This paper presents comparisons of aerodynamic pressures and forces based on TPU and UWO data for low-rise buildings to help assess the extent to which the respective aerodynamic pressure measurements are comp...
Thermodynamic Modeling Of Infrared Radiation From Scene Components In The 8- to 12-micron Spectral Range

The performance of many infrared seekers and sensor systems operating in the far infrared spectral region of 8 to 12 microns is critically dependent on the magnitude of thermal signatures (i.e., thermal contrasts, or, equivalently, differences in thermal radiance values between various scene components). This paper describes the Thermodynamic Armored Vehicle and Environment Thermal Signatures (TAVETS) Model for estimating the day-to-day diurnal variations in thermal radiance and signatures for armored vehicles and selected scene components. Because precipitation effects were not present in the selected field test data analyzed, the modeling accuracies reported in this paper are valid only for moderately good weather.
The carbon dioxide system and net community production within a cyclonic eddy in the lee of Hawaii

Abstract The dynamics of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and processes controlling net community production (NCP) were investigated within a mature cyclonic eddy, Cyclone Opal , which formed in the lee of the main Hawaiian Islands in the subtropical North Pacific Gyre. Within the eddy core, physical and biogeochemical properties suggested that nutrient- and DIC-rich deep waters were uplifted by ∼80 m relative to surrounding waters, enhancing biological production. A salt budget indicates that the eddy core was a mixture of deep water (68%) and surface water (32%). NCP was estimated from mass balances of DIC, nitrate+nitrite, total organic carbon, and dissolved organic nitrogen, making rational inferences about the unobserved initial conditions at the time of eddy formation. Results consistently suggest that NCP in the center of the eddy was substantially enhanced relative to the surrounding waters, ranging from 14.1±10.6 (0–110 m: within the euphotic zone) to 14.2±9.2 (0–50 m: within the mixed layer) to 18.5±10.7 (0–75 m: within the deep chlorophyll-maximum layer) mmol C m −2 d −1 depending on the depth of integration. NCP in the ambient waters outside the eddy averaged about 2.37±4.24 mmol C m −2 d −1 in the mixed layer (∼0–95 m). Most of the enhanced NCP inside the eddy appears to have accumulated as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) rather than exported as particulate organic carbon (POC) to the mesopelagic. Our results also suggest that the upper euphotic zone (0–75 m) above the deep chlorophyll maximum is characterized by positive NCP, while NCP in the lower layer (>75 m) is close to zero or negative.
Simulating (log/sup c/n)-wise independence in NC

A general framework is developed for removing randomness from randomized NC algorithms whose analysis uses only polylogarithmic independence. Previously, no techniques were known to determinize those RNC algorithms depending on more than constant independence. One application of the techniques is an NC algorithm for the set discrepancy problem, which can be used to obtain many other NC algorithms, including a better NC edge-coloring algorithm. As another application an NC algorithm for the hypergraph coloring problem is provided. >
Dynamic one-dimensional modeling of secondary settling tanks and system robustness evaluation.

One-dimensional secondary settling tank models are widely used in current engineering practice for design and optimization, and usually can be expressed as a nonlinear hyperbolic or nonlinear strongly degenerate parabolic partial differential equation (PDE). Reliable numerical methods are needed to produce approximate solutions that converge to the exact analytical solutions. In this study, we introduced a reliable numerical technique, the Yee–Roe–Davis (YRD) method as the governing PDE solver, and compared its reliability with the prevalent Stenstrom–Vitasovic–Takacs (SVT) method by assessing their simulation results at various operating conditions. The YRD method also produced a similar solution to the previously developed Method G and Enquist–Osher method. The YRD and SVT methods were also used for a time-to-failure evaluation, and the results show that the choice of numerical method can greatly impact the solution. Reliable numerical methods, such as the YRD method, are strongly recommended.
Two-potential eikonal approximation for electron-atom collisions

The Glauber approximation is known to be in appreciable error at all angles when applied to the elastic electron-atom scattering at medium and lower energies. It is shown that this is not due to the frozen-target approximation but mainly a result of the inadequate semiclassical treatment of close-encounter collisions in the Glauber approximation. A simple method is proposed to correct this inadequacy and is applied to $e$-H elastic scattering at energies from 20 to 100 eV. A remarkable improvement over the Glauber approximation is obtained, and the results agree with experiments very well at all angles where measurements are available.
Very Low Rate of Gene Conversion in the Yeast Genome

Gene duplication is a major driver of organismal adaptation and evolution and plays an important role in multiple human diseases. Whole-genome analyses have shown similar and high rates of gene duplication across a variety of eukaryotic species. Most of these studies, however, did not address the possible impact of interlocus gene conversion (IGC) on the evolution of gene duplicates. Because IGC homogenizes pairs of duplicates, widespread conversion would cause gene duplication events that happened long ago to appear more recent, resulting in artificially high estimates of duplication rates. Although the majority of genome-wide studies (including in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae [Scer]) point to levels of IGC between paralogs ranging from 2% to 18%, Gao and Innan (Gao LZ, Innan H. 2004. Very low gene duplication rate in the yeast genome. Science 306:1367-1370.) found that gene conversion in yeast affected >80% of paralog pairs. If conversion rates really are this high, it would imply that the rate of gene duplication in eukaryotes is much lower than previously reported. In this work, we apply four different methodologies-including one approach that closely mirrors Gao and Innan's method-to estimate the level of IGC in Scer. Our analyses point to a maximum conversion level of 13% between paralogs in this species, in close agreement with most estimates of IGC in eukaryotes. We also show that the exceedingly high levels of conversion found previously derive from application of an accurate method to an inappropriate data set. In conclusion, our work provides the most striking evidence to date supporting the reduced incidence of IGC among Scer paralogs and sets up a framework for future analyses in other eukaryotes.
Biologic activity of mitochondrial metabolites on aging and age-related hearing loss.

Hypothesis: Compounds that upregulate mitochondrial function in an aging model will improve hearing and reduce some of the effects of aging. Background: Reactive oxygen metabolites (ROM) are known products of oxidative metabolism and are continuously generated in vivo. More than 100 human clinical conditions have been associated with ROM, including atherosclerosis, arthritis, autoimmune diseases, cancers, heart disease, cerebrovascular accidents, and aging. The ROM are extremely reactive and cause extensive DNA, cellular, and tissue damage. Specific deletions within the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) occur with increasing frequency in age and presbyacusis. These deletions are the result of chronic exposure to ROM. When enough mtDNA damage accrues, the cell becomes bioenergetically deficient. This mechanism is the basis of the mitochondrial clock theory of aging, also known as the membrane hypothesis of aging. Nutritional compounds have been identified that enhance mitochondrial function and reverse several age-related processes. It is the purpose of this article to describe the effects of two mitochondrial metabolites, α-lipoic acid and acetyl L-carnitine, on the preservation of age-related hearing loss. Methods: Twenty-one Fischer rats, aged 24 months, were divided into three groups: acetyl-1-carnitine, α-lipoic acid, and control. The subjects were orally supplemented with either a placebo or one of the two nutritional compounds for 6 weeks. Auditory brainstem response testing was used to obtain baseline and posttreatment hearing thresholds. Cochlear, brain, and skeletal muscle tissues were obtained to assess for mtDNA mutations. Results: The control group demonstrated an expected age-associated threshold deterioration of 3 to 7 dB in the 6-week study. The treated subjects experienced a delay in progression of hearing loss. Acetyl-1-carnitine improved auditory thresholds during the same time period (p < 0.05). The mtDNA deletions associated with aging and presbyacusis were reduced in the treated groups in comparison with controls. Conclusions: These results indicate that in the proposed decline in mitochondrial function with age, senescence may be delayed by treatment with mitochondrial metabolites. Acetyl-carnitine and α-lipoic acid reduce age-associated deterioration in auditory sensitivity and improve cochlear function. This effect appears to be related to the mitochondrial metabolite ability to protect and repair age-induced cochlear mtDNA damage, thereby upregulating mitochondrial function and improving energy-producing capabilities.
Responses of lean and obese subjects to preloads, deprivation, and palatability.

Abstract The effects of preloads, deprivation, and palatability on the eating behavior of nondieting lean and obese subjects were studied during laboratory meals, using small solid food units (SFUs) to measure the rate of ingestion over the time-course of the meals. In both weight groups, rate of intake decreased from the beginning to the end of meals. The smaller the preloads and the longer the deprivation interval, the faster subjects ate at the beginning of meals and the higher their hunger ratings were. The longest deprivation interval also increased palatability ratings, meal length, and the total amount that subjects ate. Increasing the palatability of the food increased the rate of intake at the beginning of meals, meal length, and the amount of food that subjects ate. Obese subjects were more sensitive to palatability and less responsive to deprivation than lean subjects. For example, while lean subjects became less discriminating about the palatability of the food at the beginning of meals as deprivation increased, obese subjects did not. The satiation mechanism of obese subjects was also different from lean subjects. For example, obese subjects overate after preloads while lean subjects underate compared to their baselines.
Costs of Collective Decisions, Choice of Tax Base, and Median Voter Equilibrium

This note examines the relationship between public expenditure growth and tax base elasticity in the context of the median voter model. If the revenue elasticity of the tax base and the median voter's income elasticity of demand for public services are not identical, the automatic increase in public revenue resulting from an increase in voter income will not match the median voter's increase in demand for public service expenditures. If adjusting tax rates is costly, the short-run rate of growth ofpublic expenditures will be biased in the direction of the automatic growth in tax revenue rather than being tied directly to changes in the median voter's demand for public services. The welfare loss occasioned by these positive decision-making costs can be reduced by choosing that tax base for which revenue elasticity most closely corresponds to income elasticity and also by evaluating tax rates in a multiperiod context at the time they are imposed.
Netropsin specifically recognizes one of the two conformationally equivalent strands of poly(dA).poly(dT). One dimensional NMR study at 500 MHz involving NOE transfer between netropsin and DNA protons.

Abstract Recent observations that the heteronomous structural model for poly(dA)·poly(dT) is not found in solution and that in this DNA, the two strands are conformationally equivalent (J. Biomole. Str. Dyns. 2, 1057 (1985)), has added a new dimension to the structural dynamics of DNA-netropsin complex. Does the antibiotic somehow distinguish between the two strands and specifically interact with only one of the conformationally equivalent strands? Model-building studies suggest that netropsin can either bind to the dA-strand in the minor groove such that H-bonds are formed between the imino protons N4-H, N6-H, N8-H of netropsin and N3 atoms of A or can bind to the dT-strand in the minor groove and form H-bonds between the imino-protons N4-H, N6-H, N8-H of netropsin and O2 atoms of T. If netropsin binds to the dA-strand, AH2 atoms of poly(dA)-poly(dT) would be in closer proximity to the imino protrons N4-H, N6-H, N8-H and pyrrole ring protons C5-H, Cll-H of netropsin than they would be, if netropsin binds...
Smoothing of rough a-Si:H surfaces by ion-assisted deposition and sputter erosion

We examine the smoothing of initially rough, amorphous silicon surfaces by sputter erosion and ion-assisted surface diffusion during deposition. We have found both to be able to reduce surface roughness, although, we believe, by apparently different mechanisms. For the case of ion sputter erosion, preferential removal of porous over dense material regions initially occurs that actually increases the surface roughness; at some point, surface roughness decreases from preferential sputtering of peaks over valleys. Ion-enhanced deposition is believed to increase surface diffusion of film precursor species, allowing them access to high sticking coefficient sites such as those found in valleys. Effects of these smoothing processes on the material near the surface is also different as ion sputtering results in an optically porous material relative to a dense surface cap resulting from ion-assisted deposition.
The Economics of Szasz: Preferences, Constraints and Mental Illness

Even confirmed economic imperialists typically acknowledge that economic theory does not apply to the seriously mentally ill. Building on psychiatrist Thomas Szasz’s philosophy of mind, this article argues that most mental illnesses are best modeled as extreme preferences, not constraining diseases. This perspective sheds light not only on relatively easy cases like personality disorders, but also on the more extreme cases of delusions and hallucinations. Contrary to Szasz’s critics, empirical advances in brain science and behavioral genetics are largely orthogonal to his position. While involuntary psychiatric treatment might still be rationalized as a way to correct intra-family externalities, it is misleading to think about it as a benefit for the patient.
Ring size effects. II. An examination of conditions for the pinacol rearrangement

Abstract The pinacol rearrangement, when performed at 0°C with concentrated sulfuric acid results in products reflecting rearrangement rather than dehydration. Also, under these conditions secondary skeletal reorganization does not occur.
Biology-inspired sensor design

This article aims to introduce the reader to biology-inspired design, commonly referred to as biomimetic design or biomimicry; the study and imitation of nature's methods, mechanisms, and processes to solve human problems. Furthermore, biology-inspired design includes mimicry at many levels. We will not not discuss biosensors, devices that use specific biochemical reactions mediated by isolated substances to detect chemical compounds. Rather, the focus is on imitating nature by electrical and mechanical means without the incorporation of biological elements.