cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ethanol Synthesis from Syngas on Transition Metal-Doped Rh(111) Surfaces: A Density Functional Kinetic Monte Carlo Study

Advances in methodology, software and power of supercomputers make computational approaches, specifically, density functional theory (DFT), capable of providing qualitative, and in many cases quantitative, insights into catalysis. In this article we adopted a multiscale modeling paradigm in combination of DFT calculations and kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) methods to provide better understanding of the promoting effect of doping metals (Fe, Mo, Mn) in ethanol synthesis from syngas on Rh(111). Our calculations show that metal-doping and the position of doped metals can have significant effects on the yield and selectivity of ethanol synthesis on Rh(111). Depending on the reaction conditions, Mo and Mn may stay either on the surface or in the subsurface region, while Fe prefers to stay at the surface and participate in the reaction directly. In term of the overall yield and ethanol yield, Mo–Rh(111) with Mo at the surface layer exhibits the highest activity, followed by Mn–Rh(111) with Mn at the subsurface > Fe–Rh(111) > Mo–Rh(111) with Mo at the subsurface, Mn–Rh(111) with Mn at the surface and Rh(111) in a decreasing sequence. In term of the ethanol selectivity, Fe–Rh(111) displays the highest to ethanol, followed by Mo–Rh(111) with Mo at the surface layer, Mn–Rh(111) with Mn at the subsurface > Mo–Rh(111) with Mo at the subsurface, Mn–Rh(111) with Mn at the surface and Rh(111) in a decreasing sequence. As long as Mo stays at the surface layer, Mo is the only dopant we studied here, being able to enhance both yield and selectivity of ethanol synthesis from syngas on Rh(111). Our results suggest that the design of alloy catalyst should be very careful and controlling the position of dopants is essential to the overall catalytic performance.
Oligomers Modulate Interfibril Branching and Mass Transport Properties of Collagen Matrices

Mass transport within collagen-based matrices is critical to tissue development, repair, and pathogenesis, as well as the design of next-generation tissue engineering strategies. This work shows how collagen precursors, specified by intermolecular cross-link composition, provide independent control of collagen matrix mechanical and transport properties. Collagen matrices were prepared from tissue-extracted monomers or oligomers. Viscoelastic behavior was measured in oscillatory shear and unconfined compression. Matrix permeability and diffusivity were measured using gravity-driven permeametry and integrated optical imaging, respectively. Both collagen types showed an increase in stiffness and permeability hindrance with increasing collagen concentration (fibril density); however, different physical property–concentration relationships were noted. Diffusivity was not affected by concentration for either collagen type over the range tested. In general, oligomer matrices exhibited a substantial increase in stiffness and only a modest decrease in transport properties when compared with monomer matrices prepared at the same concentration. The observed differences in viscoelastic and transport properties were largely attributed to increased levels of interfibril branching within oligomer matrices. The ability to relate physical properties to relevant microstructure parameters, including fibril density and interfibril branching, is expected to advance the understanding of cell–matrix signaling, as well as facilitate model-based prediction and design of matrix-based therapeutic strategies.
All our lost children: Trauma and testimony in the performance of childhood

The testimony of trauma in Mary Karr's memoir, The liar's Club, is used as a representative text for an analysis of contemporary constructions of childhood. The child as a repository for the true self, with childhood as an endangered space, enacts complexities and contradictions central to subjectivity. This paper also posits a theoretical framework for understanding childhood as performance.
Polarizable simulations with second order interaction model (POSSIM) force field: developing parameters for protein side-chain analogues.

A previously introduced POSSIM (POlarizable Simulations with Second order Interaction Model) force field has been extended to include parameters for small molecules serving as models for peptide and protein side-chains. Parameters have been fitted to permit reproducing many-body energies, gas-phase dimerization energies and geometries and liquid-phase heats of vaporization and densities. Quantum mechanical and experimental data have been used as the target for the fitting. The POSSIM framework combines accuracy of a polarizable force field and computational efficiency of the second-order approximation of the full-scale induced point dipole polarization formalism. The resulting parameters can be used for simulations of the parameterized molecules themselves or their analogues. In addition to this, these force field parameters are currently being employed in further development of the POSSIM fast polarizable force field for proteins.
The vagus nerve and the inflammatory reflex: wandering on a new treatment paradigm for systemic inflammation and sepsis.

Abstract Background: The immune system protects the host against dangerous pathogens and toxins. The central nervous system is charged with monitoring and coordinating appropriate responses to internal and external stimuli. The inflammatory reflex sits at the crossroads of these crucial homeostatic systems. This review highlights how the vagus nerve-mediated inflammatory reflex facilitates rapid and specific exchange of information between the nervous and immune systems to prevent tissue injury and infection. Methods: Review of the pertinent English-language literature. Nearly two decades of research has elucidated some of the essential anatomic, physiologic, and molecular connections of the inflammatory reflex. The original descriptions of how these key components contribute to afferent and efferent anti-inflammatory vagus nerve signaling are summarized. Results: The central nervous system recognizes peripheral inflammation via afferent vagus nerve signaling. The brain can attenuate peripheral innate imm...
Towards a Prototyping Tool for Behavior Oriented Authoring of Conversational Agents for Educational Applications

Our goal is to develop tools for facilitating the authoring of conversational agents for educational applications, and in particular to enable non-computational linguists to accomplish this task efficiently. Such a tool would benefit both learning researchers, allowing them to study dialogue in new ways, and educational technology researchers, allowing them to quickly build dialogue based help systems for tutoring systems. We argue in favor of a user-centered design methodology. We present our work-in-progress design for authoring, which is motivated by our previous tool development experiences and preliminary contextual interviews and then refined through user testing and iterative design.
Focusing on cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus: an introduction to bromocriptine QR.

AbstractCardiovascular risk reduction is a key priority in patients with diabetes. The relationship between glycemic control and macrovascular outcomes, such as the benefit of intensive glucose control and the importance of postprandial or fasting blood glucose, is still under debate. A number of pharmacologic options are available to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus and these options have differing evidence for their cardiovascular safety. In this article, the novel agent bromocriptine quick release is discussed. Recently approved, this once–daily treatment provides glycemic control as monotherapy or in combination with other antihyperglycemic medications and has been shown in a prospective phase 3 safety study to not increase cardiovascular risk. Therefore, bromocriptine quick release increases the range of options available to treat patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus without increasing cardiovascular risk.
Ablation of liver metastasis: Is preoperative imagingsufficiently accurate?

The recent introduction of cryotherapy and radiofrequency ablation of liver metastasis has expanded the indications for treatment. As technology has advanced, a percutaneous approach has been developed. Percutaneous treatment, however, requires accurate preoperative imaging. From 1993 to 1999, 179 patients underwent operative exploration for treatment of suspected hepatic metastases from colorectal carcinoma. One hundred seventy-seven patients were staged by preoperative CT, two patients were staged by MRI, and complete data were available in 176. Hepatic tumor count by preoperative imaging was compared to intraoperative tumor count obtained by inspection, palpation, ultrasonographic examination using a 3S/7.5 MHz T probe, and careful gross sectioning of the resected specimen. Post hoc analysis was performed on 35 CT scans by two radiologists who specialize in abdominal CT These radiologists were blinded to the intraoperative findings. Their interpretations were compared to the intraoperative counts and to each other. Thirty-four (19%) of 179 patients were deemed untreatable at operation because of unsuspected overwhelming liver involvement in 11 (6%) or extrahepatic metastases in 23 (13%). For the group, CT was accurate in 80 patients (45%), showed more lesions than were found in 16 (9%), and showed fewer metastases than were found in 80 (45%). When the preoperative scan predicted a solitary metastasis, it was correct in 45 (65%) of 69 patients and underestimated disease in 24 (35%). In the post hoc analysis, the mean numbers of lesions reported by the two radiologists did not differ from the mean number of tumors found; however, the radiologists’ counts agreed on 16 (59%) and disagreed on 11 (41 %) of the scans. The accuracy of CT decreased with increasing numbers of lesions. Regardless of the type of preoperative imaging, intraoperative findings altered the course of the operation in 96 (55%) of 176 patients. Preoperative imaging is not sufficiently accurate to permit adequate percutaneous treatment of hepatic metastases from colorectal carcinoma.
Vibrational spectra of CH3M(CCH)3 and (CH3)2M(CCH)2, with M = Si, Ge or Sn

Abstract Infrared spectra of CH 3 M(CCH) 3 (M = Si, Ge, Sn) have been measured from 33 to 4000 cm −1 for the vapor and liquid (only as a vapor for CH 3 Sn(CCH) 3 ). Spectra of (CH 3 ) 2 M(CCH) 2 have been measured over the same region as a vapor and for solutions in carbon tetrachloride and benzene. (CH 3 ) 2 Si(CCH) 2 was also measured in the liquid state. Raman spectra with polarizations were obtained for all the compounds except CH 3 Sn(CCH) 3 . C 3v symmetry was assumed for the CH 3 M(CCH) 3 compounds and was completely satisfactory. For the (CH 3 ) 2 M(CH) 2 compounds a combination of C 2v , symmetry, with the methyl internal modes classified under C 3v seemed to be the most satisfactory. Most of the spectroscopicallyactive fundamentals of the compounds could be assigned with little difficulty except for CH 3 Sn(CCH) 3 for which the data are incomplete.
Radiative Corrections in the Many-Particle and Dirac-Fock Approximations: Two Branches from a Common Origin

Abstract Starting from a common origin, the Bethe-Salpeter equation for an N-electron atom, expressions are derived for the energy through O(α5mc2) in the many-particle approach on the one hand and the Green′s function approach, leading to the Dirac-Fock equation in zeroth order on the other hand. For the sake of specificity, the case of He- and Li-like atoms is considered. The principal thrust of this, at first glance familiar, analysis is to emphasize the need for a careful treatment of the α5mc2 energy contributions, in order to avoid overlaps and double counting of contributions. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the problem. The variation in the final results between correct and incorrect expressions is small, but serves to emphasize the need for more precise future calculations and more accurate experiments.
Teenage Cohabitation, Marriage, and Childbearing

Cohabitation is an integral part of family research; however, little work examines cohabitation among teenagers or links between cohabitation and teenage childbearing. Drawing on the National Survey of Family Growth (2006-10), we examine family formation activities (i.e., cohabitation, marriage, and childbearing) of 3,945 15-19 year old women from the mid 1990s through 2010. One-third (34 %) of teenagers cohabit, marry, or have a child. Teenage cohabitation and marriage are both positively associated with higher odds of having a child. The vast majority of single pregnant teenagers do not form a union before the birth of their child; only 22 % cohabit and 5 % marry. Yet most single pregnant teenagers eventually cohabit, 59 % did so by the child's third birthday and about 9 % marry. Cohabitation is an important part of the landscape of the adolescent years, and many teenage mothers described as ''single mothers'' are actually in cohabiting relationships.
A class I (Senofilcon A) soft contact lens prevents UVB-induced ocular effects, including cataract, in the rabbit in vivo.

Purpose UVB radiation from sunlight is known to be a risk factor for human cataract. The purpose in this study was to investigate the ability of a class I UV-blocking soft contact lens to protect against UVB-induced effects on the ocular tissues of the rabbit in vivo. Methods Eyes of rabbits were exposed to UVB light for 30 minutes (270-360 nm, peak at 310 nm, 1.7 mW/cm(2) on the cornea). Eyes were irradiated in the presence of either a UV-blocking senofilcon A contact lens, a minimally UV-blocking lotrafilcon A contact lens, or no contact lens at all. Effects on the cornea and lens were evaluated at various times after exposure. Results Eyes irradiated with no contact lens protection showed corneal epithelial cell loss plus lens epithelial cell swelling, vacuole formation, and DNA single-strand breaks, as well as lens anterior subcapsular opacification. The senofilcon A lens protected nearly completely against the UVB-induced effects, whereas the lotrafilcon A lens showed no protection. Conclusions The results indicate that use of a senofilcon A contact lens is beneficial in protecting ocular tissues of the rabbit against the harmful effects of UVB light, including photokeratitis and cataract.
New Approaches to Estimation of White Matter Connectivity in Diffusion Tensor MRI: Elliptic PDEs and Geodesics in a Tensor-Warped Space

We investigate new approaches to quantifying the white matter connectivity in the brain using Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging data. Our first approach finds a steady-state concentration/ heat distribution using the three-dimensional tensor field as diffusion/ conductivity tensors. Our second approach casts the problem in a Riemannian framework, deriving from each tensor a local warping of space, and finding geodesic paths in the space. Both approaches use the information from the whole tensor, and can provide numerical measures of connectivity.
Absence of Erythrocyte-associated HIV-1 in vivo

A recent study found high levels of HIV-1 bound to erythrocytes in HIV-1-infected patients with long-term undetectable plasma HIV-1 viral load (VL), potentially representing a novel and important reservoir of HIV-1 infection. To attempt to confirm this finding, we purified erythrocytes from 13 HIV-1-infected patients with long-term undetectable plasma VL and depleted contaminating CD3+/CD4+ lymphocytes using magnetic beads. HIV-1 VL of the purified erythrocyte fraction was < 20 copies/mL in 11 of 13 patients and 42 and 52 copies/mL in 2 patients. Contrary to the prior report, therefore, erythrocytes do not represent a novel reservoir of HIV-1 infection in these patients.
A University-Sponsored Career Development Center for Nonstudents.

As colleges and universities grow increasingly more responsive to the communities in which they reside, programs are required that address the needs of the nonstudent. Georgia State University's program for nonstudents is reviewed after 5 years of operation, and recommendations are made for adapting it to other settings.
Dynamics of potentiation and activation: GAGA factor and its role in heat shock gene regulation

GAGA factor (GAF) binds to specific DNA sequences and participates in a complex spectrum of chromosomal activities. Products of the Trithorax-like locus (Trl), which encodes multiple GAF isoforms, are required for homeotic gene expression and are essential for Drosophila development. While homozygous null mutations in Trl are lethal, heterozygotes display enhanced position effect variegation (PEV) indicative of the broad role of GAF in chromatin architecture and its positive role in gene expression.The distribution of GAF on chromosomes is complex, as it is associated with hundreds of chromosomal loci in euchromatin of salivary gland polytene chromosomes, however, it also displays a strong association with pericentric heterochromatin in diploid cells, where it appears to have roles in chromosome condensation and segregation. At higher resolution GAF binding sites have been identified in the regulatory regions of many genes. In some cases, the positive role of GAF in gene expression has been examined in detail using a variety of genetic, biochemical, and cytological approaches. Here we review what is currently known of GAF and, in the context of the heat shock genes of Drosophila, we examine the effects of GAF on multiple steps in gene expression.
California's Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: The Campaign and its Effects on Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Individuals

When an anti-gay initiative is on the ballot, lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals must contend not only with the tangible consequences if the initiative passes (e.g., a lack of rights) but also with the stress of the campaign itself. The current research examined the consequences of the campaign associated with California's Proposition 8 on LGB individuals’ well-being and personal relationships. LGB participants (N= 354) completed a survey in the 5 days before the 2008 election. In both quantitative results and open-ended responses, participants revealed much personal ambivalence. Participants reported experiencing both negative and positive emotions (e.g., anger, pride) and were particularly ambivalent regarding the effect of Proposition 8 on relationships with friends, family, coworkers, and their intimate partner. The campaign created opportunities for support but also opportunities for stigmatization and conflict. These results demonstrate the powerful effects that campaigns themselves, and not just outcomes, have on targeted individuals.
The Electron Spectrometer Experiment on ISEE-1

A six-axis electron spectrometer for the ISEE-1 spacecraft is described and some typical early results presented. This instrument, designed for three-dimensional plasma distribution function studies in the solar wind, magnetosheath, outer magnetosphere, and near tail regions, has three energy ranges: 7.5-512 eV, 11-2062 eV, and 109-7285 cV, respectively. Two channel electron multipliers are used at the output of each of six cylindrical electrostatic analyzers. The total mass of two sensors and a data processing unit is 4.9 kg and the power comsumption is 3.5 W. Two hundred information bits/s telemetry rate is required.
On physical models of neural computation and their analog VLSI implementation

Examines computation in a framework where the problem is essentially that of extracting a signal from noise, filtering (selective amplification) or estimation. The discussion is relevant to computational tasks in sensory communication, such as vision, speech and natural language processing. We consider "real" systems, both natural (neural systems) and human engineered (silicon integrated circuits), where information processing takes the form of an irreversible physical process. We argue, and demonstrate experimentally, that it is possible to see the emergence of truly complex processing structures that are commensurate with the physical properties of the computational substrate and are therefore energetically efficient. >
NP-completeness of sensor selection problems arising in partially observed discrete-event systems

We consider the three properties of diagnosability, normality, and observability of discrete-event systems. In each case, we consider the problem of finding an observable event set with minimum cardinality such that the property under consideration holds. We prove that these search problems are computationally hard by showing that the corresponding decision problems are NP-complete.
KNOWING, TOTALITY AND POLITICS IN SIMONE WEIL AND ALBERT CAMUS

This essay interrogates the relationship of post-Enlightenment epistemology to the conduct of modern politics through the thought of Simone Weil and Albert Camus. Contemporaries and fellow members of the French Resistance, Weil and Camus begin their critiques of modern politics with critiques of modern epistemology. They begin from different orientations to reality: Weil's is a God-centered universe of “necessity,” while Camus's concern is to live with the “absurdity” of human existence. Their shared experience with the violence of modern politics, however, led them to similar conclusions: a calculative form of reason, presumably capable of unmasking the mysteries of (human) nature and positing totalizing explanations of human experience entails the perpetration of a destructive and dehumanizing violence on human existence and nature in general. Overcoming our epistemological prejudices is the first step to reclaiming politics for human beings.
Physiological studies in insulin treatment of acute schizophrenia. The blood minerals.

THE IMPORTANCE of phosphorus to the metabolic functioning of the body has long been recognized. Various compounds containing it are found in all the tissues of the body. These compounds are intimately involved in the intermediate metabolism of glucose inseveral types of protid synthesis and in the metabolism of lipids, nucleic acid and calcium. They are also involved in muscular contraction and are essential for the functioningof the central nervous system. Hence, any investigation of the effects of insulin would be incomplete without a study of the changes in phosphorus. Recently Verzar and Laszt (I) have postulated that the symptoms of adrenal insufficiency are due to an inhibition of posphorylation of phos phatids. Pijoan and Oberg (2) and Verzar and Laszt (3) have also suggested that the adrenals act to convert flavin to flavin phosphate. An indication of adrenal insufficiency may be found in part in the low bloodpressure of schizophrenic patients.
Forward error correcting biosensors: Modeling, algorithms and fabrication

Advances in micro-nano-biosensor fabrication are enabling the integration of a large number of biological recognition elements within a single package. As a result, hundreds to millions of tests can be performed simultaneously and can facilitate rapid detection of multiple pathogens in a given sample. However, it is an open question as to how to exploit the high-dimensional nature of the multi-pathogen testing for improving the detection reliability of typical biosensor systems. Our research over the past few years has addressed this question and in this paper we briefly summarize our approach. Our underlying principle is based on a forward error correcting (FEC) biosensor where redundant patterns are synthetically encoded on the biosensor. A decoding algorithm then exploits this redundancy to compensate for systematic errors due to experimental variations and for random errors due to stochastic biomolecular interactions. The key milestones in this research are : (a) fabrication and modeling of biomolecular circuit elements used for constructing the FEC biosensor; (b) development of a simulation environment for rapid evaluation of encoding/decoding algorithms and (c) development of a ldquoco-detectionrdquo protocol that exploits non-linear interaction between different biomolecular circuit elements. As a proof-of-concept our study and experimental results have been based on a conductimetric lateral flow immunosensor that uses antigen-antibody interaction in conjunction with a polyaniline transducer to detect the presence or absence of pathogens in a given sample.
A framework for numerical integration of crystal elasto-plastic constitutive equations compatible with explicit finite element codes

Abstract In this paper we summarize the elements of a numerical integration scheme for elasto-plastic response of single crystals. This is intended to be compatible with large-scale explicit finite element codes and therefore can be used for problems involving multiple crystals and also overall behavior of polycrystalline materials. The steps described here are general for anisotropic elastic and plastic response of crystals. The crystallographic axes of the lattice are explicitly stored and updated at each time step. A plastic predictor–elastic corrector scheme is used to calculate the plastic strain rates on all active slip systems based on a rate-dependent physics-based constitutive model without the need of further auxiliary assumptions. Finally we present the results of numerous calculations using a physics-based rate- and temperature-dependent model of copper and the effect of elastic unloading, elastic crystal anisotropy, and deformation-induced lattice rotation are emphasized.
A model for attribute-based user-role assignment

The role-based access control (RBAC) model is traditionally used to manually assign users to appropriate roles, based on a specific enterprise policy, thereby authorizing them to use the roles' permissions. In environments where the service-providing enterprise has a huge customer base this task becomes formidable. An appealing solution is to automatically assign users to roles. The central contribution of this paper is to describe a model to dynamically assign users to roles based on a finite set of rules defined by the enterprise. These rules take into consideration the attributes of users and any constraints set forth by the enterprise's security policy. The model also allows dynamic revocation of assigned roles based on conditions specified in the security policy. The model provides a language to express these rules and defines a mechanism to determine seniority among different rules. The paper also shows how to use the model to express mandatory access controls (MAC).
The trials and hopes for drug development in sickle cell disease.

Summary Although sickle cell disease (SCD) is highly prevalent worldwide, it is a rare disease in the United States and Europe. Over the past decade, there has been an increased understanding of the pathophysiology of SCD. While multiple drugs have been tested, only one drug, hydroxycarbamide, is approved by the relevant regulatory agencies specifically for this disease. Due to the combination of an improved understanding of disease pathophysiology, governmental support and the success of several recently approved drugs for other orphan diseases, there is an increased interest in the development of targeted drugs for SCD. Novel drugs that are currently being evaluated include haemoglobin F inducers, anti-sickling agents, anti-oxidants, anti-adhesive agents, anti-inflammatory agents, anticoagulants and anti-platelet agents. In addition to the evaluation of acute pain crisis as a study endpoint, clinical trials employing other SCD-related complications, exercise capacity, as well as patient reported outcomes are warranted and necessary in order to advance the development of these novel therapeutic agents. Finally, despite the availability of multiple biomarkers, many of these are of limited clinical value in SCD and require further assessment in prospective studies to validate their prognostic importance before they are acceptable as surrogate endpoints.
An analysis of rollover stability measurement for high-speed mobile robots

Mobile robots and passenger vehicles are frequently required to operate at high speeds, on terrain that is sloped or uneven. These systems can be susceptible to rollover, particularly during severe maneuvers. This paper presents an analysis of rollover stability measurement for mobile robots operating at high speeds. The analysis examines the accuracy of a commonly accepted rollover stability metric during operation on sloped and rough terrain. The effects of sensor placement, center-of-gravity position estimation error, and wheel dynamics are examined. It is shown that these effects can have a significant impact on stability measurement during high speed operation
Shielding and build-up considerations for radiation detection

Shielding for gamma radiation has traditionally focused on the reduction of dose effects. For these applications, reducing the energy of the radiation is important along with reducing the actual number of photons, and therefore large masses of high Z material are typically used. However, for measurements requiring low backgrounds or for detecting low activity signals, such as in homeland security applications, the primary use of shielding is to decrease the total number of background photons (perhaps in a region of interest), and therefore the processes of buildup and down scattering become important. In these applications, where the important measure is count rate instead of dose and low background are important, improved reduction in counts from background radiation may be achieved with specially designed configurations of thin layers of different materials instead of a single thick layer. This paper describes recent modeling and experimental investigations in layered-shielding methodology, provides results with comparison to single shielding material such as Pb, and discusses applications of detector systems for homeland security.
Vibrational spectra and structure of cyclopropyl isothiocyanate

$^{1}$C. J. Wurrey and A. B. Nease, “Vibrational Spectroscopy and Structure of Three Membered Ring Compounds,” Chapter 1 in Vibrational Spectra and Structure, Volume 7, J. R. Durig, ed., Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1978. $^{2}$R. N. Kniseley, R. P. Hirschmann, and V. A. Fassel, Spectrochim. Acta, 21, 2125 (1965). $^{3}$T. Torgrimsen, P. Klaboe, and F. Nicolaisen, J. Mol. Structure, 20, 213 (1974)
Toward domain-independent navigation: dynamic vision and control

Outlines a set of problems associated with constructing a robust, domain-independent vision-based navigation system suitable for both structured and unstructured environments. The system utilizes visual tracking to monitor a set of automatically selected image features (markers), and employs vision-based control to guide the motion of the robot from the image trajectory of a set of markers. An environment is represented as a graph which may be constructed either under human control (e.g. by giving the system a tour) or autonomously as the system explores. In the paper, we review the system architecture and present two image-based mobile robot controllers for following visually-defined trajectories.
Triosmium carbonyl complexes with multiple 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA) ligands: Synthesis of a new water-soluble Os 3 cluster

Abstract Microwave heating has been used to substitute carbonyl ligands for 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA) ligands on the Os3(CO)12 molecule. Os3(CO)11(PTA) (1) has been prepared in 66% yield by the reaction of Os3(CO)12 with MeCN, followed by reaction with one mole equivalent of PTA. Os3(CO)10(PTA)2 (2) has been prepared in 65% yield via a three-step reaction. First, Os3(CO)12 was heated in MeCN. Next, one mole equivalent of PTA was added to this reaction mixture. Finally, one mole equivalent of trimethylamine-N-oxide was added followed by another mole equivalent of PTA. Additionally, Os3(CO)9(PTA)3 (3) has been prepared in 85% yield by the reaction of Os3(CO)12 with 3.5 mol equivalents of PTA in 1,2-dichlorobenzene, and Os3(CO)8(PTA)4 (4) has been prepared in 36% yield by the reaction of Os3(CO)12 with 8 mol equivalents of PTA in a mixture of acetonitrile and 1,2-dichlorobenzene. The solubilities of clusters 1–4 in water at various pH levels have been studied, and 4 was found to be soluble in water with a neutral pH. X-ray diffraction has been used to determine the crystal structures of clusters 1 and 3. The X-ray crystal structure of a protonated form of 3, [Os3(CO)9(PTAH)3]Cl3 (5), has also been determined. All PTA ligands occupy equatorial coordination sites on the triangular Os3 units.
Determination of anisotropic mechanical properties of G-10 composite via Direct Strain Imaging

Abstract The mechanical properties of the glass-epoxy composite material known as “G-10,” which is primarily used for electrical insulation purposes in electromechanical systems, have long been a topic of uncertainty and controversy. In the present paper, we demonstrate the application of an experimental methodology that exploits the Direct Strain Imaging (DSI) full field method to fully assess the elastic anisotropic mechanical properties of G-10. Tension and compression experiments were conducted for three distinct inclinations of the specimen orthotropic axes relative to the loading directions, while strain and displacement were monitored at relevant locations on the specimens via digital image capturing and subsequent application of DSI. Based on these experiments, we present the stress-strain experimental data, the associated data post processing, the engineering properties, the anisotropic compliance matrix and the ultimate strength properties of the G-10 composite material. Confidence bounds on the material properties based on the results from repeated tests on identical specimens are also reported.
Marketing the Anthropology of Ice Hockey

In multiple cities and countries, ethnographic research unfolded in local ice rinks, Subway sandwich shops, high-school parking lots, and family homes. The objective was for a major hockey equipment company to learn more about their customers “off the ice” – challenging assumptions about consumption patterns, media choices and concepts such as authority, legacy, brotherhood and even the game of hockey itself. The researcher became an agent of transformation for the very way that the brand understood its place in the culture of ice hockey. Corporate marketers engaged this project in the middle of a yearly planning cycle – disrupting the allocation of resources for media spend and creative content and setting the company on a path to re-design their approach to customer communication. Returning from the ethnographic practice, the research team made recommendations for how to shift hundreds of thousands of dollars from celebrity, magazine and television contracts to locally executed communication. They led creative teams to change the marketing messages, to reimagine hockey players themselves as media and brand agents, and to build a digital experience that revolutionized the way that one of the largest marketing machines in the industry of consumer packaged goods mobilized its core customers.
Compounding the Loop: Fiscal Constraints, Economic Volatility, and Policy

As the United States begins to emerge from the worst economic decline since the Great Depression, many questions are still left unanswered. One fact seems to allude most of the main stream discussion — the impact of this recession on the individual American states has not been uniform. Some states have fared much better than others. One explanation for this lies in the specific fiscal institutions that states have adopted over the last 220 years. My work examines three state institutions — balanced budget rules, super-majority voting requirements, and tax and expenditure limitations — and their impacts on state economies, specifically in regards to state revenue volatility. Growth is the most common measure for economic success. However, there is a growing literature that argues that volatility, or risk, of state economies is equally important. By following a neo-institutional approach I deviate from much of the current behavioralist literature on political economy. My work looks at 49 states (Nebraska is dropped) over a 37 year period (1969-2005) to asses how fiscal institutions impact the volatility of state economies. What I find is states with strict balanced budget rules tend to have lower levels of revenue volatility, while states with super-majority requirements and tax and expenditure limitations tend to have higher levels of revenue volatility.
Physical Therapist Curricula for the 1990s: Educating the Reflective Practitioner

This article discusses why many current physical therapy entry-level programs may not be designed to educate the type of physical therapy practitioner needed for the 1990s. We suggest a framework for analyzing curriculum content to determine how the curriculum is influencing student outcomes. This framework includes three reference points of analysis, as suggested by Eisner's model of implicit, explicit, and null curricula. We also describe a new kind of physical therapy practitioner, the “reflective practitioner” (Schon's model), and suggest how various curricular components can support the development of this type of practitioner.
Light Guiding by Effective Gauge Field for Photons

Integrated photonics rely on optical waveguides in which light is confined to a core. Researchers theorize about a gauge-field waveguide that achieves single-mode, one-way guiding.
Envisioning and Re-envisioning the Himalayas

It began at a Christmas party, probably in 2002. I was describing my travels in the Himalayas to a geographer colleague, and he mentioned their importance in regulating world climate patterns. That led to further conversations in the following years, and we finally decided to propose an actual class. For 15 years the Carthage curriculum has had an interdisciplinary requirement, which since 2005 students have satisfied by taking a “Carthage Symposium,” a team-taught class involving faculty from different disciplines. Our class examined the cultural, natural, and human geography connected with three Hindu pilgrimage sites—two at 10,500 feet and one at nearly 12,000. The initial course plan included half a dozen hikes, usually around nine miles—partly to get students outdoors and give them firsthand cultural exposure, but also because some of these sites still lack road access. The class ran in summer 2006 and summer 2009, each time with a colleague who had never been to India, and comparing the two experiences produced some insights on preparing a “newbie” colleague that I hope will be helpful to others. I offer them below, each with a summarizing principle.
Management of chronic empyema with unexpandable lung in poor surgical risk patients using an empyema tube.

Objectives: High preoperative risk precludes decortication and other surgical interventions in some patients with chronic empyema. We manage such patients by converting the chest tube into an empyema tube, cutting the tube near the skin and securing the end with a sterile clip to allow for open pleural drainage. The patient is followed serially, and the tube gradually withdrawn based on radiological resolution and amount of drainage. Methods: Between 2010 and 2014, patients with chronic empyema and unexpandable lung, deemed high-risk surgical candidates, had staged chest tube removal, and were included for the study. The volume of fluid drained, culture results, duration of drainage, functional status, and comorbidities were recorded. Measurements and Results: Eight patients qualified. All had resolution of infection. The tube was removed after an average of 73.6 ± 49.73 (95% confidence interval [CI]) days. The mean duration of antibiotic treatment was 5.37 ± 1.04 (95% CI) weeks. None required surgery or experienced complications from an empyema tube. Conclusion: A strategy of empyema tube drainage with staged removal is an option in appropriately selected patients with chronic empyema, unexpandable lung, and poor surgical candidacy.
Direct Energy Conversion Principles as Applied to Lasers

Energetic ions from nuclear reactions have applications in research and industry. These uses include the intricate work of high energy physicists trying to probe the nucleus itself, radioisotope production, radiopharmaceuticals, ion implantation, ion thrusters, particle beam weapons, the initiation of thermonuclear fusion or direct energy conversion. In direct energy conversion the product can take one of several forms: electricity, chemicals (such as hydrogen for energy storage), or lasers [1]. The most exciting application centers about a spectra of ions (between ~1 and ~100 MeV) that are used as drivers for nuclear-pumped lasers.
Effects of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone on fetal survival in pregnant rabbits.

The effect of synthetic luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) on ovulation, implantation, and fetal survival rate was tested in pregnant rabbits. Single doses ranging from 2 to 900 μ g, injected intravenously on the 3rd, 5th, or 6th postmating day, did not prevent implantation. Following the intravenous infusion of 20 to 200 μ g of LH-RH on day 10 of pregnancy, the fetal survival rate was comparable to that of control rabbits laparotomized at the same stage of pregnancy. However, after repeated doses of 100 μ g of LH-RH injected subcutaneously in a delaying vehicle either once or twice daily between the 8th and 13th days of gestation, multiple ovulations and severe luteolysis of original corpora lutea occurred, and fetal survival to term was highly variable. The results suggest that, depending on the dosage administered, LH-RH may either interrupt pregnancy by luteolysis or support fetal survival by stimulating luteotropic activity.
Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair in the Ascending Aorta

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair has become an attractive alternative treatment option for thoracic aortic disease. New devices and advanced image-guided procedures are continuously expanding the indications. This article focuses on technical aspects of transapical stent graft deployment for ascending aortic pathologies. With improving device technology, diverse available stent grafts, and imaging modalities, thoracic endovascular aortic repair has become safer and holds promising potential to expand treatment options, especially for high-risk patients requiring ascending aorta treatment.
Exposure therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Publisher Summary This chapter summarizes the theoretical and empirical literature on exposure-based cognitive–behavioral therapy for obsessive–compulsive–disorder (OCD). The chapter illustrates the results of this treatment using descriptions of treatment procedures, verbatim dialogue from patient–therapist interactions, and data obtained throughout the course of therapy. The clinical work with adults are guided by the empirical work described in the chapter indicating that the most effective outcome results when treatment involves therapist-supervised prolonged and repeated exposure (including exposure to the most feared stimuli) and full response prevention. Because obsessional fear in OCD is evoked by both tangible external stimuli and internal cognitive stimuli, treatment must often include both situational and imaginal exposure. Cognitive techniques are often helpful in engaging patients in exposure exercises and helping the patient process their experiences of confronting feared stimuli and experiencing the nonoccurrence of anticipated negative consequences.
Radioisotopes as chronometers

Overview So far we have discussed the materials that make up the solar system and the processes that caused those materials to be in their current state. We will now investigate the chronology of the events that led to the current state of the solar system. There are several different approaches to determine the timing of events. The sequence of events can often be established from spatial relationships among objects (e.g. younger things rest on older things). Absolute ages are provided by long-lived radioactive nuclides. Time intervals can be determined using short-lived radionuclides. Production of nuclides through irradiation by cosmic rays can also be used for age determinations. For a complete chronological picture, it is often necessary to use more than one method of age determination. In this chapter, we focus on the basic principles of radiometric dating. We review individual isotopic clocks, the types of materials that each can date, and the measurements that are made to determine the ages of different objects. In Chapter 9, we discuss the chronology of the solar system derived from these clocks. Methods of age determination Placing events in chronological order and attaching an absolute time scale to that order constitute one of the major areas of research in cosmochemistry. There is no single clock that works for everything, so the chronology of the solar system has been built on a wide variety of observations and measurements. The methods of age determination can be divided into two main types.
What is a visual language

The visual language research community does not have a single, universally agreed-upon definition of exactly what a visual language is. This is surprising since the field of visual languages has been a vibrant research area for over three decades now. Disagreement about fundamental definitions can undermine a field, fragment the research community, and potentially harm the research progress. To address this issue we have analyzed two decades of VL/HCC publications to clarify the concept of visual language as accepted by the VL/HCC community, effectively adopting the approach of descriptive linguistics. As a result we have obtained a succinct visual language ontology, which captures the essential aspects of visual languages and which can be used to characterize individual languages through visual language profiles. These profiles can tell whether and in what sense a notation can be considered a visual language. We also report trends from and statistics about the field of visual languages.
Noninvasive tissue temperature estimation via state-covariance spectral estimation

We address noninvasive temperature estimation from pulse-echo radio frequency signals obtained by standard diagnostic ultrasound imaging equipment. In particular, we use a novel spectral estimation technique based on state-covariance subspace analysis for tracking frequency shifts at two or more harmonic frequencies associated with temperature change. The new approach is shown to produce superior frequency shift estimates when compared to conventional high-resolution spectral estimation methods. The experimental results validate the theoretical prediction of existing harmonically-related peaks in the echo signal spectrum.
Random Sampling for Analog-to-Information Conversion of Wideband Signals

We develop a framework for analog-to-information conversion that enables sub-Nyquist acquisition and processing of wideband signals that are sparse in a local Fourier representation. The first component of the framework is a random sampling system that can be implemented in practical hardware. The second is an efficient information recovery algorithm to compute the spectrogram of the signal, which we dub the sparsogram. A simulated acquisition of a frequency hopping signal operates at 33times sub-Nyquist average sampling rate with little degradation in signal quality
Conduction, breakdown and electronic-ionic phenomena in liquids

This chapter essentially covers the behavior of dielectric liquids subjected to electric fields. The separation of sections is generally self evident but for Conduction and Electronic and Ionic Phenomena, the division is less well defined. It will be found that topics involving carrier velocity and mobility have, for the most part, been included in the conduction section.