cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A 500-kHz, 3.3-kW Power Factor Correction Circuit With Low-Loss Auxiliary ZVT Circuit

A new, low-loss, auxiliary zero-voltage-transition (ZVT) circuit for a boost-based power factor correction (PFC) circuit is proposed for a battery charger application in an electric vehicle. The auxiliary circuit comprises of a resonant inductor, an auxiliary mosfet, and a diode. This inductor resonates with the capacitances of the main mosfet and main diode during the turn-on transition to achieve zero-voltage switching, whereas the auxiliary mosfet itself turns off with zero-current switching. The conduction time of the auxiliary circuit is very small compared to the switching period of the main boost converter, and hence it processes only a small fraction of the output power. This allows efficient operation of the boost converter even while using Silicon mosfet s at relatively high switching frequencies. A discharge mechanism comprising of a capacitor and low-frequency diode helps transfer the energy processed in the auxiliary circuit to the output. The proposed ZVT circuit has no effect on the control scheme of the main PFC, and is easy to implement with a digital processor. The operating principles, waveforms in different intervals, and the design of the auxiliary ZVT circuit are presented in detail. Some extensions of the proposed concept in terms of different discharge mechanisms and coupled-inductor implementations are also discussed. The analysis and performance of PFC with ZVT circuit and its benefits are validated through extensive simulation and experimental results from a 3.3-kW/500-kHz hardware prototype.
Abstract P050: Perceived Discrimination and Incident Type 2 Diabetes: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

Introduction: Perceived discrimination is associated with risk factors for type 2 diabetes, including measures of adiposity. However, the relationship between perceived discrimination and incident diabetes is unknown. Objectives: To determine whether perceived discrimination is related to incident diabetes, and whether this association varies by race/ethnicity, age or sex. Methods: Included in this analysis were 5,310 MESA participants aged 45-84 years, without a history of diabetes at baseline. Perceived discrimination was measured using the Lifetime Discrimination scale, which assessed experiences of unfair treatment in 6 life domains (e.g. fired or denied a promotion, unfair treatment by police, not hired for a job, having life made difficult by neighbors). Participants were also asked to attribute their experiences of discrimination to various factors (e.g. race/ethnicity, age, sex, religion). Incident diabetes was identified at four follow-up examinations as fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dL or use of diabe...
Use of Aborted Fetal Tissue in Vaccines and Medical Research Obscures the Value of All Human Life.

This opinion addresses the licitness, quasi-benefits, and consequences of using aborted fetal tissue in vaccines and in medical research. The Catholic Church permits temporary use of vaccines gener...
A quick aphasia battery for efficient, reliable, and multidimensional assessment of language function

This paper describes a quick aphasia battery (QAB) that aims to provide a reliable and multidimensional assessment of language function in about a quarter of an hour, bridging the gap between comprehensive batteries that are time-consuming to administer, and rapid screening instruments that provide limited detail regarding individual profiles of deficits. The QAB is made up of eight subtests, each comprising sets of items that probe different language domains, vary in difficulty, and are scored with a graded system to maximize the informativeness of each item. From the eight subtests, eight summary measures are derived, which constitute a multidimensional profile of language function, quantifying strengths and weaknesses across core language domains. The QAB was administered to 28 individuals with acute stroke and aphasia, 25 individuals with acute stroke but no aphasia, 16 individuals with chronic post-stroke aphasia, and 14 healthy controls. The patients with chronic post-stroke aphasia were tested 3 times each and scored independently by 2 raters to establish test-retest and inter-rater reliability. The Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) was also administered to these patients to assess concurrent validity. We found that all QAB summary measures were sensitive to aphasic deficits in the two groups with aphasia. All measures showed good or excellent test-retest reliability (overall summary measure: intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.98), and excellent inter-rater reliability (overall summary measure: ICC = 0.99). Sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of aphasia (relative to clinical impression) were 0.91 and 0.95 respectively. All QAB measures were highly correlated with corresponding WAB measures where available. Individual patients showed distinct profiles of spared and impaired function across different language domains. In sum, the QAB efficiently and reliably characterized individual profiles of language deficits.
Toxicity of Propellants

This report summarizes the available information on the toxicity of 15 propellants used in aerosols. After reviewing the results derived from various animal species, the following classifications are proposed: Low-pressure propellants of high toxicity: trichlorofluoromethane (FC 11), dichloromonofluoromethane (FC 21), trichlorotrifluoroethane (FC 113), trich­loroethane and methylene chloride. Low-pressure propellants of intermediate toxicity: dichlorotetrafluoroethane (FC 114), monochlorodifluoroethane (FC 142b), isobutane and octafluorocy­clobutane (FC C-318). High-pressure propellants of intermediate toxicity: dichlorodifluoromethane (FC 12), monochlorodifluoromethane (FC 22), propane and vinyl chloride. High-pressure propellants of low toxicity: chloropentafluoroethane (FC 115) and difluoroethane (FC 152 a). This report does not include the toxicity of the propellants when administered in aerosol form. A subsequent report will review this topic as well as the fatalities resulting from the use and abuse of aerosols. It is, however, apparent at the present time that the continued use of propellants belonging to the high toxicity group should be seriously examined.
Foodborne Agents Causing Illness

Throughout our lifetimes we are subjected to risks and hazards of all kinds. The food supply in the United States is one of the most abundant, nutritious, and safest on earth. However, there is no absolute degree of safety, not even for the food we consume.
The Impact of a Responsive Endogenous Pancreas in Critical Care Glucose Control

Critical care patients suffer from stress hyperglycemia, but differ from ambulatory diabetics by the presence of a working, albeit malfunctioning, endogenous pancreas. Control systems for diabetics can be designed without concern for a pancreas, as the pancreas is no longer responsive; critical care glucose control algorithms must be able to respond to the working, and presumably healing, pancreas in the recovering patient. We construct herein a PID-derived algorithm to capture the pancreatic response of ICU patients. Using clinical data from UPMC, the PID parameters from intensive care unit (ICU) patients are shown to be both variable, and potentially malfunctioning, e.g., possessing an integral gain of 0 – clearly demonstrative of the loss of glucose control commonly observed in post-surgical ICU patients. The impacts of this endogenous responsivity, in the context of commonly employed diabetic challenges as administered to in silico virtual patients developed from clinical data, demonstrate the need to incorporate this responsive system in critical care controller design, and to design ICU controllers with adaptive elements to manage the return to health of critical care patients.
Diethyl phosphite production from phosphorothioate degradation with molybdenum peroxides and hydrogen peroxide in ethanol

Abstract A polystyrene-supported molybdate-peroxide polymer (Mo-Y(s)) destroys phosphorothioate pesticides of the form (ArO)P(=S)(OEt)2 in EtOH under mild oxidative (H2O2) conditions and produces a commodity organophosphate. This is the first report of a metal-based system that successfully degrades the “live” pesticides parathion, diazinon and coumaphos. In addition to the operational advantages of heterogeneous reaction chemistry, the Mo-Y(s) support degrades multiple equivalents of the pesticide in H2O2(aq). Of particular importance is the predominant production of diethyl phosphite, a commodity chemical, from diazinon degradation over Mo-Y(s) in EtOH; no toxic oxon is found. Coumaphos and parathion produce the corresponding oxon which have ΔHǂ (kcal/mol) of 15.4 (0.5) and 21.7 (0.8), respectively; these activation parameters are consistent with key observations found in the relative amount of coumoxon and paraoxon produced. Finally, a discrete molybdate-peroxide complex is presented as a possible solution model for this heterogeneous reaction.
Understanding Salespeople's Intention to Behave Unethically: The Effects of Perceived Competitive Intensity, Cognitive Moral Development and Moral Judgment

Three factors considered to potentially influence salespeople's intentions to behave unethically are empirically examined. Although moral judgment is commonly considered a precursor to moral intentions, the effects of cognitive moral development and perceived competitive intensity on moral intentions are not well understood. Results suggest that all three factors influence salespeople's intention to behave unethically. Implications and directions for future research are provided.
Evidence for a nonrotational interpretation of in /sup 180/Hf. [Angular distributions from /sup 180/(. cap alpha. ,. cap alpha. ') at 21 and 24 MeV]

Angular distributions for the reaction /sup 180/Hf(..cap alpha..,..cap alpha..') were measured for laboratory ..cap alpha..-particle energies of 21 and 24 MeV. Data were obtained for 0/sup +/, 2/sup +/, 4/sup +/, and 6/sup +/ members of the ground-state rotational band. Data for the 4/sup +/ state show unambiguously that the reduced matrix element of M(E4) between O/sup +/ and 4/sup +/ states is large and negative. Data for the 6/sup +/ state are not well-fitted by rotational-model coupled-channels calculations. These results may indicate that the interpretation of the E4 matrix element as arising from a static ..beta../sub 4/ deformation in the framework of the simple rotational model is incorrect.
The Sec63/BiP complex suppresses higher-order oligomerization and RNase activity of IRE1α during ER stress

IRE1α is a conserved branch of the unfolded protein response (UPR) that detects unfolded proteins in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and propagates the signal to the cytosol. We have previously shown that IRE1α forms a complex with the Sec61 translocon to cleave its substrate mRNAs (Plumb et al., 2015). This complex also regulates IRE1α activation dynamics during ER stress in cells (Sundaram et al., 2017), but the underlying mechanism is unclear. Here, we show that Sec63 is a subunit of the IRE1α/Sec61 translocon complex. Sec63 recruits and activates BiP ATPase through its luminal J-domain to bind onto IRE1α. This Sec63-mediated BiP binding to IRE1α suppresses the formation of higher-order oligomers of IRE1α, leading to proper attenuation of IRE1α RNase activity during persistent ER stress. Thus, our data suggest that the Sec61 translocon bridges IRE1α with Sec63/BiP to regulate the dynamics of IRE1α activity in cells.
P-wave axis is associated with all-cause mortality in diabetes: The ACCORD trial

Abnormal P-wave axis (PWA) has emerged as a novel marker of risk for both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality (ACM) in the general population, though this relationship has not been adequately explored among those with type 2 diabetes (DM2). We aimed to explore the association between abnormal PWA and ACM among a large, well-phenotyped group of participants with DM2 from the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial. This analysis included 8899 ACCORD participants with available PWA data on baseline electrocardiogram. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the association between PWA and ACM in models adjusted for demographics, ACCORD trial treatment assignment, and potential confounders. PWA was modeled as either normal (0° -75°) or abnormal ( 75°). Over 44,000 person-years of follow up, there were 609 deaths. Participants with abnormal PWA had increased risk of ACM (HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.25-2.08). After multivariable adjustment, the association remained significant (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.03-1.72). This relationship was similar in subgroups stratified by age, race, sex, and history of CVD. Among ACCORD trial participants, abnormal PWA was associated with an increased risk of mortality. Abnormal PWA may have added value beyond traditional risk factors in prediction models.
Resolving unknown isomers of emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in environmental samples using COSMO-RS-derived retention factor and mass fragmentation patterns.

Abstract Chromatographic retention factors (k) and mass spectral fragmentation patterns of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were determined using the optimized parameters in liquid chromatography with tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) analysis. Characteristic fragment ions obtained at various collision energies (MS2 fragmentation) were used to determine the structures of newly discovered (emerging) PFASs detected from industrial effluent and surface water samples. Moreover, COnductor-like Screening MOdel for Realistic Solvents (COSMO-RS) derived octanol-water partition coefficients (Kow), along with mean isotropic polarizabilities calculated from Density Functional Theory (DFT), of known PFASs were plotted against their experimental k values (kexp) to obtain a multivariable regression model that can be used to predict k values of unknown PFASs. The k values of different structural isomers of unknown PFASs were calculated and compared to kexp. The predicted k value for the isomer that matches the MS2 fragmentation observed was found to be within 4.2 % of kexp. This study demonstrates the applicability of an approach that combines the observed MS2 fragmentation patterns and k values, together with computationally-derived log Kow and polarizabilities, in assigning the structures of unknown PFASs at environmentally relevant conditions when no reference standards are available.
Strain Sensing Using Colloidal Quantum Dots Integrated With Epoxy

A colloidal quantum dot loaded polymer coated onto the surface of a sample pre-coated with epoxy was found to linearly change photoluminescence intensity around a 611.5 nm peak while under tensile strain. This peak was the epoxy’s photoluminescence emission wavelength while the wavelengths around it were attributed to the colloidal quantum dot loaded polymer. From the spectra emitted from both the epoxy and the colloidal quantum dot loaded polymer, an empirical relation was made to calculate the changes in photoluminescence intensity between them. A calibration was then devised to create an optical stress-strain curve. The relationship found between both the optical and mechanical stress-strain curves indicated that this measurement technique followed the sample towards failure in the plastic region better than when only measuring from a colloidal quantum dot loaded polymer peak. For the first time, the results demonstrated here show that an epoxy’s photoluminescence emission peak utilized in tandem with colloidal quantum dot loaded polymer can be used for strain sensing. Potential applications that could benefit from this finding would be: quality control, strain gauge for systems, and materials science.
A cross-stressor adaptation perspective on challenge stressors, dietary behavior, and exercise of college students

Previous research has shown much variation in the stress-dietary behavior relationship. To better understand this relationship, we draw on insights from cross-stressor adaptation theory to investig...
Gender in Politics

Women's political participation and representation vary dramatically within and between countries. We selectively review the literature on gender in politics, focusing on women's formal political participation. We discuss both traditional explanations for women's political participation and representation, such as the supply of women and the demand for women, and newer explanations such as the role of international actors and gender quotas. We also ask whether women are distinctive; does having more women in office make a difference to public policy? Throughout the review we demonstrate that a full understanding of women's political representation requires both deep knowledge of individual cases such as the United States and broad knowledge comparing women's participation across countries. We end with four recommended directions for future research: (a) globalizing theory and research, (b) expanding data collection, (c) remembering alternative forms of women's agency, and (d) addressing intersectionality.
Long-term Outcomes from Proton Therapy for Sinonasal Cancers.

Purpose To report long-term disease control, survival, and toxicity after proton therapy for sinonasal cancer. Patients and Methods We reviewed 143 cases of adults with nonmetastatic sinonasal cancers treated with primary (18%; n = 26) or adjuvant (82%; n = 117) proton therapy. The most common histologies were squamous cell carcinoma (29%; n = 42), olfactory neuroblastoma (23%; n = 33), and adenoid cystic carcinoma (16%; n = 23). Patients had predominantly advanced-stage disease (T3, 24%, n = 35; T4, 66%, n = 94) and high-grade histology (52%; n = 74). Surgery included endoscopic resection alone (50%) with craniotomy (10%) or open resection (40%), and 31% had gross disease present at radiotherapy. Most (91%) received high-dose (median, 73.6 Gy radiobiological equivalent [GyRBE]; 84% >70 GyRBE) passive-scatter proton therapy using accelerated hyperfractionation (1.2 GyRBE twice daily) and concurrent chemotherapy (70%). Univariate and multivariate models assessed prognostic factors. Grade 3+ toxicities were recorded per Common Terminology Criteria, version 4. Median follow-up was 3.4 years (range, 0.1-12.5 years) overall and 4.9 years (range, 0.9-12.5 years) for living patients. Results The 5-year outcomes were as follows: local control (LC), 80%; neck control, 96%; local-regional control, 78%; freedom from distant metastases, 71%; and disease-free survival, 62%; cause-specific survival, 64%; and overall survival, 59%. Surgery improved LC, but only with gross total resection (5-year LC 87% versus subtotal resection 62.9%, and biopsy alone 55% (P < 0.001). Gross residual disease was the only significant prognostic factor for local-regional control on multivariate analysis. High-grade, T4, and local recurrence were associated with decreased overall survival. Late (G3+) toxicity occurred in 22% (32 of 143), including central nervous system necrosis and vision loss in 6% (9 of 143) and 3.5% (5 of 143), respectively. Conclusion Proton therapy after gross-total resection provides excellent long-term LC in patients with locally advanced, high-grade sinonasal cancer. Moreover, LC remains strongly associated with long-term survival. With gross disease, about 60% of patients had long-term LC with proton therapy and induction or concurrent chemotherapy.
Union Dispossession of Labor Protection: A Paradox, in Two Legal Systems

It is not uncommon for legislatures, in fabricating labor law protections, to permit unions to agree to derogate downward from them – to dispossess the workers they represent of rights the workers would enjoy were they not to be union-represented. This is so, for example, of the United States and Germany. This article explores labor dispossession in these two jurisdictions: on what matters, for what reasons, with what consequences and subject to what cautions is collective derogation allowed; and to see what conclusions can be drawn that are generalizable across these jurisdictions or that are cabined to them.
Trade Liberalization and Firm Productivity: The Case of India

Abstract This paper exploits India's rapid, comprehensive, and externally imposed trade reform to establish a causal link between changes in tariffs and firm productivity. Pro-competitive forces, resulting from lower tariffs on final goods, as well as access to better inputs, due to lower input tariffs, both appear to have increased firm-level productivity, with input tariffs having a larger impact. The effect was strongest in import-competing industries and industries not subject to excessive domestic regulation. While we find no evidence of a differential impact according to state-level characteristics, we observe complementarities between trade liberalization and additional industrial policy reforms.
Magnet Injuries in Children: An Analysis of the National Poison Data System from 2008 to 2019.

Objective To examine, using the National Poison Data System (the data warehouse for poison control centers in the US), magnet foreign body injuries in pediatric patients. We sought to report demographic data, outcome data, and case trends between 2008 and 2019. Study design We conducted a retrospective analysis of the National Poison Data System for patients younger than 19 years of age with a magnet “exposure,” which poison centers define as an ingestion, inhalation, injection, or dermal exposure to a poison. Results A total of 5738 magnet exposures were identified. Most were male (3169; 55%), Conclusions Significant increases in magnet injuries correspond to time periods in which high-powered magnet sets were sold, including a 444% increase since 2018. These results reflect the increased need for preventative or legislative efforts.
Form processing and attention effects in the somatosensory system

Tactile spatial form is initially encoded as an isomorphic representation across the peripheral SAI afferent population. This representation appears to be preserved in the dorsal column nuclei and thalamus since neurons in the input granular layers of area 3b of SI cortex are also isomorphic. The information progresses from the granular to the supra granular layers where it is partially transformed by neurons that are sensitive to local spatial gradients. Neurons in SII cortex show complex responses suggesting that neurons in SII lie at a higher processing stage than SI. The behavioral relevance of the stimuli has a large effect on the responses of neurons in both SI and SII cortex. Neurons show both enhanced (SI and SII) and suppressed (SII only) responses to stimuli that are relevant for the animal’s perceptual goals.
The Evolution of Galaxies: Evidence from Optical Observations

The clearest evidence that galaxies evolve comes from the Milky Way: here we see stars with ages and lifetimes differing by 4 orders of magnitude, and with chemical compositions indicating a hundred-fold enrichment in metals between the times of formation of the halo and most disc stars. The general resolution of Olbers’ Paradox also gives evidence for cosmological change: the sky is dark because galaxies turned on a finite time ago (Harrison, 1974). Here I discuss some of the further evidence for galactic evolution that is emerging from observations probing billions of years in lookback time.
Vertical migration of Mysis relicta Lovén

This review discusses the known features of diurnal vertical migration in the opossum shrimp Mysis relicta. Field observations describe a nocturnal pattern which is correlated to changing patterns of illumination. Hypotheses that offer evolutionary origins of vertical migration are presented which link trophic interactions of the migrator to their predators and prey. These couplings are examined for the case of Mysis relicta. All of the hypotheses are partially supported by Mysis behavior.
Features of fossil soils

Compared with cross-bedded sandstone or coarsely crystalline granite, paleosols at first sight may seem massive and featureless. Despite these nondescript first impressions, paleosols do have distinctive features. For the most part these are characteristics also found in modern soils, yet many paleosols are no longer loose, cracked, and at the land surface. Important differences result from compaction and alteration upon burial which change many of the diagnostic chemical properties of modern soils such as pH, Eh and base saturation. Thus, identification of paleosols can be a problem for both geologists and soil scientists alike.
Women and Drug Addiction: A Historical Perspective

The history of women and addiction in America extends back more than 150 years. Although the true epidemiology of women and addiction has always been difficult to determine, the spectrum of female addicts extends well beyond those women who make sensationalistic headlines by "abandoning" or "battering" their children. Historically, female addiction has been largely the result of inappropriate overmedication practices by physicians and pharmacists, media manipulation, or individuals own attempts to cope with social or occupational barriers preventing equality and self-fulfillment. From the mid-nineteenth century, uneasy tolerance, social ostracism, vilification, persecution, and legal prosecution have grudgingly, but not completely, given way to more humane treatment opportunities in the setting of more enlightened comprehensive care.
Evidence for tidal triggering of high‐amplitude rapid tremor reversals and tremor streaks in northern Cascadia

[1] We provide a new link between tectonic tremor propagation, tremor amplitude, and tidal stresses by analyzing high-resolution tremor locations and amplitudes determined by multibeam backprojection of data from an array of subarrays. For two Cascadia episodic tremor and slip events, we observe repeating, high-amplitude rapid tremor reversals (RTRs) and tremor streaks. They tend to occur when tremor amplitudes are highest and occur almost exclusively during periods of thrust-encouraging, tidally induced shear stress on the fault. We speculate that thrust-encouraging shear stress from tidal loading forces trigger RTRs and streaks that energetically rerupture the weakened fault behind the slow slip front. The high rate and amplitude of tremor during RTRs and streaks stands in contrast to the hypothesis that activity at the leading edge of the slow slip zone is the most energetic and loudest. This implies that the spatiotemportal pattern of slow earthquake slip migration is even more intricate than previously reported.
Persistence of the axis artery of the lower limb.

Three negro cadavers examined during routine dissection showed remnants of the axis artery acting as important adult arterial routes through the lower extremity. In two of the three cases, the anomalous condition involved persistent ischiatic portions of the axis artery continued into the genicular region as the popliteal artery. In these cases, the function of the much reduced femoral artery was assumed by an over-developed profunda femoris artery which, with its perforating branches, then entered the persistent ischiatic artery to give rise to the popliteal. In one of these cases, the infragenicular circulatory pattern was completely typical. In two of the three cases, one of which is included above, the anomalous condition of the axis artery involved the infragenicular circulatory pattern. In these, two anomalous conditions were obvious: (1) the peroneal artery rather than the anterior tibial, which was incomplete distally, carried the blood supply to the dorsalis pedis artery, and (2) the peroneal artery, by virtue of its position relative to the tibialis posterior muscle, represented the old interosseous part of the axis artery distal to the ramus communicans medius rather than the more recently developed superficial peroneal artery. The sequence of embryonic development of the arterial supply of the lower extremity is presented along with comments as to the cause and time of origin of the anomalous conditions presented herein.
HIV-1 and Breastfeeding: Biology of Transmission and Advances in Prevention

Breastfeeding accounts for about 40% of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 worldwide and carries an estimated risk of transmission of 0.9% per month after the first month of breastfeeding. It is recommended that HIV-1-infected women completely avoid breastfeeding in settings where safe feeding alternatives exist. However, as replacement feeding is not safely available in many parts of the world, and because breastfeeding provides optimal nutrition and protection against other infant infections, there is intense ongoing research to make breastfeeding safe for HIV-1-infected mothers in resource-limited settings. More research is needed to determine the optimal duration of breastfeeding, optimal weaning practices, and which individual antiretroviral prophylactic regimen is best for HIV-1-infected mothers and their infants in a particular setting.
Decomposition of tetrafluorohydrazine in the presence of oxygen and water

Abstract Gas phase reactions between tetrafluorohydrazine (N2F4), oxygen and water have been followed by i.r. measurements in a Teflon cell with silver chloride windows. The reaction proceeds via formation of nitrosyl fluoride (NOF) to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and presumably hydrogen fluoride. No evidence for formation of nitrogen trifluoride was obtained.
Changes in Rat Plasma and Serum Calcium during Storage

PREVIOUS to conducting a clinical field experiment it became necessary to determine how components of the (circulating) blood, serum and plasma, would withstand storage and remain suitable for accurate and reproducible calcium analytical data.
DARWIN'S Coral Reef Research - a Review and Tribute

. In rememberance of the death of CHARLES DARWIN 100 years ago, a review is given on his coral reef research from the point of view of present knowledge. Although during DARWIN'S time no one was aware of the changing level of the glacial sea or of the important function of the symbiotic zooxanthellae in the life of hermatypic corals, his observations and considerations on the ecology of corals and on the formation of coral reefs are relevant to this day. But of course his ideas need new causal interpretations. The origin of the different reef types can no longer be explained by subsidence alone, but by different modes biologists and geologists described during the following century. To summarize all the many existing theories, the all enclosing “theory of compensation” is put forward here in honour of this great man.
Synoptic circulation and stream discharge in the Great Lakes basin, USA

Abstract Impacts on water resources caused by human activity, natural climate variation and long-term climate change are unclear in the US Great Lakes region. Improved understanding of the impact of atmospheric circulation on stream discharge variability into the Lakes is thus important. In this analysis, monthly surface and mid-tropospheric circulation patterns suggest that surface pressure variations over Missouri and Illinois are most strongly correlated to discharge. The mid-tropospheric patterns most directly related to discharge place the Great Lakes in a trough-to-ridge flow pattern. The analysis confirms that at this scale, lee shore advection resulting in ‘lake-effect’ precipitation is not very important to regional discharge, and neither are variations in the Pacific–North American teleconnection.
The effect of dialect on speech audiometry testing.

Purpose In this study, the authors examined the validity of using materials from 2 nonregional yet mutually intelligible dialects to evaluate an individual's speech recognition threshold (SRT) and word recognition (WR) abilities and whether a speaker of 1 dialect could accurately administer and score materials in the other dialect. Method Previously created SRT and WR materials were presented to 32 Mandarin listeners with normal hearing: 16 speakers of Mainland Mandarin and 16 speakers of Taiwan Mandarin. Hearing abilities were examined using SRT and WR materials created for speakers from 2 different regional dialects. Presentation of the materials occurred during 2 test sessions, counterbalanced across material and listener dialect. Listener responses were evaluated by 2 judges; 1 spoke Mainland Mandarin, and the other spoke Taiwan Mandarin. Results For the SRT and WR results, differences in listener performance were statistically significant across material and listener dialect, with threshold differenc...
Toward a theory of spontaneous law

Legal scholars have long recognized the significance of strategic behavior when considering how legal rules affect, individuals. In the principal applications of game theory to the law, legal rules have been analyzed as corrective devices for game inefficiencies. Law promotes what individuals cannot spontaneously achieve or helps them avoid the traps of strategic social interaction. The logic of this argument, however, needs to be reversed if one wishes to use game theory to explain the spontaneous emergence of law. The challenge is to apply the sophisticated tools of game theory to an appraisal of spontaneous sources of law and to consider the incentive structure of the originating environment as well as the possible role of strategic behavior in affecting the equilibrium outcome.
Factors affecting outcome of open and hybrid reconstructions for nonmalignant obstruction of iliofemoral veins and inferior vena cava.

Objectives To identify factors affecting long-term outcome after open surgical reconstructions (OSR) and hybrid reconstructions (HR) for chronic venous obstructions. Methods Retrospective review of clinical data of 60 patients with 64 OSR or HR for chronic obstruction of iliofemoral (IF) veins or inferior vena cava (IVC) between January 1985 and September 2009. Primary end points were patency and clinical outcome. Results Sixty patients (26 men, mean age 43 years, range 16-81) underwent 64 procedures. Ninety-four percent had leg swelling, 90% had venous claudication, and 31% had active or healed ulcers (CEAP classes: C3=30, C4=12, C5=8, C6=12). Fifty-two OSRs included 29 femorofemoral (Palma vein: 25, polytetrafluoroethylene [PTFE]: 4), 17 femoroiliac-inferior vena cava (IVC) (vein: 3, PTFE: 14) and six complex bypasses. Twelve patients had HR, which included endophlebectomy, patch angioplasty, and stenting. Early graft occlusion occurred after 17% of OSR and 33% HR. Discharge patency was 96% after OSR, 92% after HR. No mortality or pulmonary embolism occurred. Five-year primary and secondary patency was 42% (95% confidence interval [CI] 29%-55%) and 59% (CI 43%-72%), respectively. For Palma vein grafts it was 70% and 78%, for femoroiliac and ilio-infrahepatic IVC bypasses it was 63% and 86%, and for femoro-infrahepatic IVC bypasses it was 31% and 57%, respectively. Complex OSRs and hybrid procedures had 28% and 30% 2-year secondary patency, respectively. The only factor that significantly affected graft patency in multivariate analysis was May-Thurner syndrome with associated chronic venous thrombosis. For HR, stenting into the common femoral vein patch vs iliac stents only significantly increased patency. At last follow-up, 60% of the patients had no venous claudication and no or minimal swelling. All ulcers with patent grafts healed but 50% of these recurred. Conclusions Both OSR and HR are viable options if endovascular procedures fail or are not feasible. Palma vein bypass and femoroiliac or iliocaval PTFE bypasses have excellent outcomes with good symptomatic relief.
Tornadogenesis: Our current understanding, forecasting considerations, and questions to guide future research

Abstract This paper reviews our present understanding of tornadogenesis and some of the outstanding questions that remain. The emphasis is on tornadogenesis within supercell thunderstorms. The origin of updraft-scale rotation, i.e., mesocyclogenesis, above the ground is reviewed first, followed by the requisites for the development of rotation near the ground. Forecasting strategies also are discussed, and some speculations are made about the relationships between the dynamics of tornadogenesis and the forecasting parameters that have been somewhat successful discriminators between tornadic and nontornadic supercells. When preexisting rotation is absent at the ground, a downdraft is required for tornadogenesis. Not surprisingly, decades of tornado observations and supercell simulations have revealed that downdrafts are present in close proximity to tornadoes and significant nontornadic vortices at the surface. Tornadic supercells are favored when the outflow associated with downdrafts is not too negatively buoyant. Cold outflow may inhibit vorticity stretching and/or lead to updrafts that are undercut by their own outflow. It may be for this reason that climatological studies of supercell environments have found that the likelihood of tornadic supercells increases as the environmental, boundary layer relative humidity increases (there is some tendency for supercell outflow to be less negatively buoyant in relatively humid environments). Interestingly, although supercells can modify the environmental horizontal vorticity (associated with the environmental vertical wind shear) by virtue of the baroclinic vorticity generation that accompanies horizontal buoyancy gradients within the storms, tornadic supercells appear to be favored when the environmental horizontal vorticity is large on its own without storm-scale enhancements, and when the thermodynamic properties of the environment actually suppress the formation of strong cold pools and their attendant baroclinic vorticity generation.
The Motion of a Compliantly Suspended Rigid Body Constrained by Multipoint Frictional Contact

This paper addresses methods for determining the motion of an elastically suspended rigid body in frictional contact at multiple distinct locations. The methods developed assume that: (1) The motion of the support from which the body is suspended and the elastic behavior of the suspension are known; (2) inertial forces are negligible (motion is quasi-static); and (3) the contact is characterized by Coulomb friction. The derived coupled set of spatial rigid body equations is used to determine both the unknown direction of the friction force (at each point of contact) and the unknown motion of the rigid body. The uniqueness of the set of active constraints when considering multipoint contact is also addressed. We show that, for any passive compliant system, if the coefficient of friction at each contact is upper bounded, the set of active constraints is unique. A procedure to determine both the set of active constraints and the motion of the constrained body is provided.
Trade, Environment, and Welfare in a Model of Monopolistic Competition

In a North–South model of trade in which the market structure is monopolistically competitive, though North's attempt to reduce pollution creates a ‘pollution haven’ in South, its terms of trade improve and total number of varieties produced in the world economy may increase. The paper distinguishes between the direct and indirect welfare effects of North's environmental policy. While the direct effect on welfare is due to abatement, indirect effects are results of the policy's impact on prices, wages, outputs and varieties. A complex set of forces operate to determine indirect welfare effects of a tax or tariff on a pollution-causing raw material: the crucial factors are price elasticity of demand, elasticity of substitution between labor and raw material, South's trade orientation and the dependency ratios. An optimally chosen pollution tax directly hurts but indirectly benefits South. The indirect welfare effect of a tariff is similar to that of a pollution tax. However, a positive optimum tariff may not exist, in which case North's optimum policy would be free trade.
Histone chaperones in nucleosome assembly and human disease

Nucleosome assembly following DNA replication, DNA repair and gene transcription is critical for the maintenance of genome stability and epigenetic information. Nucleosomes are assembled by replication-coupled or replication-independent pathways with the aid of histone chaperone proteins. How these different nucleosome assembly pathways are regulated remains relatively unclear. Recent studies have provided insight into the mechanisms and the roles of histone chaperones in regulating nucleosome assembly. Alterations or mutations in factors involved in nucleosome assembly have also been implicated in cancer and other human diseases. This review highlights the recent progress and outlines future challenges in the field.
Qualitative differences in tactuo-spatial motor learning by left-handers.

Abstract Tactuo-spatial performance was studied as a function of subject handedness and hand employed in learning and transfer. Seventy-eight dextral and 75 sinistral blindfolded subjects learned a finger-maze with either dominant or nondominant hand. Transfer to the untrained hand was assessed with either an identical or a mirro-image version of the maze. Left hand acquisition required fewer trials; latencies were shorter when the dominant hand was used. All dextrals and those sinistral subjects who used the right hand in acquisition showed superior transfer to the identical maze. Sinistral subjects who used the left hand in acquisition demonstrated facilitated transfer to the mirror image maze. Results are suggested to provide evidence of two qualitatively different hemispheric strategies for encoding tactuo-spatial information.
Specific detection of bacillus anthracis using a TaqMan mismatch amplification mutation assay.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are increasingly recognized as important diagnos- tic markers for the detection and differentiation of Bacillus anthracis. The use of SNP mark- ers for identifying B. anthracis DNA in environmental samples containing genetically similar bacteria requires the ability to amplify and detect DNA with single nucleotide specificity. We designed a TaqMan ® mismatch amplification mutation assay (TaqMAMA) around a SNP in the plcR gene of B. anthracis. The assay permits specific, low-level detection (25 fg DNA) of this B. anthracis-specific SNP, even in the presence of environmental DNA extracts contain- ing a 20,000-fold excess of the alternate allele. We anticipate that the ability to selectively amplify and detect low copy number DNAs with single nucleotide specificity will represent a valuable tool in the arena of biodefense and microbial forensics.
A Quantitative Test for Carrageenin Ester Sulphate in Milk Products

Summary A method was developed to determine gravimetrically the concentration of carrageenin in some milk products by the sulphate content of a dialyzed milk-carrageenin system after hydrolysis with hydrochloric acid and decolorization with activated carbon. The effects of the variables involved were studied. The method was employed to determine the ester-sulphate content of the carrageenin anions of various salts of κ- and λ-carrageenin. The results obtained for the λ-carrageenin were in agreemnt with those predicted from the commonly accepted structure of this fraction, whereas the value for the κ-fraction suggested a slight alteration in its reported structure. It is suggested that this method could also be used to determine the sulphate content of milk if the dialysis step were omitted.
Personalized medicine: Bring clinical standards to human-genetics research.

Study protocols need to be rigorous, because more than science is at stake. Sometimes participants' lives depend on the results, writes Gholson J. Lyon.
Metabolic rate and prehibernation fattening in free-living arctic ground squirrels.

AbstractHibernating mammals become sequestered and cease foraging during prolonged seasonal periods of reduced or unpredictable food availability and instead rely on cached food and/or endogenous reserves of fat and protein accumulated during the previous active season. The gain in weight is due to increased food consumption, but it also has been hypothesized that hibernators maximize rates of fattening by decreasing costs of maintenance before weight gain, reflected in reduced resting metabolic rate (RMR). We recorded repeated measures of total body, lean, and fat mass in individual adult male and female arctic ground squirrels across their active season and found that squirrels increased body mass by 42% (males) and 62% (females). This gain was achieved through a 17% increase in lean mass and a 7–8-fold increase in fat mass; however, mass gain was not linear and patterns differed between sexes. Contrary to our hypothesis, decreases in RMR were not associated with rapid mass gain. We found RMR of males i...
Phase evolution during laser In-Situ carbide coating

With the help of laser surface engineering, in-situ carbide composite coating on the surface of plain carbon steel was achieved. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) in supplement with X-ray diffractometry indicated the evolution of TiC, Fe−Cr, and M7C3 as major phases in the coating. A variation in the evolution of M7C3 phase was observed with respect to the laser power over the range of 900 to 2100 W (3 mm×600 μm rectangular beam spot) during processing. Computational techniques were employed with the aim of studying possible reasons for phase evolution, stability of phases, solidification path, and optimization of parameters to stabilize the M7C3 phase and hence tailor properties.
Drosophila E-cadherin and its binding partner Armadillo/ β-catenin are required for axonal pathway choices in the developing larval brain

The fly brain is formed by approximately hundred paired lineages of neurons, each lineage derived from one neuroblast. Embryonic neuroblasts undergo a small number of divisions and produce the primary neurons that form the functioning larval brain. In the larva, neuroblasts produce the secondary lineages that make up the bulk of the adult brain. Axons of a given secondary lineage fasciculate with each other and form a discrete bundle, the secondary axon tract (SAT). Secondary axon tracts prefigure the long axon connections of the adult brain, and therefore pathway choices of SATs made in the larva determine adult brain circuitry. Drosophila Shotgun/E-cadherin (DE-cad) and its binding partner Armadillo/beta-catenin (beta-cat) are expressed in newly born secondary neurons and their axons. The fact that the highly diverse, yet invariant pattern of secondary lineages and SATs has been recently mapped in the wild-type brain enabled us to investigate the role of DE-cad and beta-cat with the help of MARCM clones. Clones were validated by their absence of DE-cad immuno-reactivity. The most significant phenotype consists in the defasciculation and an increased amount of branching of SATs at the neuropile-cortex boundary, as well as subtle changes in the trajectory of SATs within the neuropile. In general, only a fraction of mutant clones in a given lineage showed structural abnormalities. Furthermore, although they all globally express DE-cad and beta-cat, lineages differ in their requirement for DE-cad function. Some lineages never showed morphological abnormalities in MARCM clones, whereas others reacted with abnormal branching and changes in SAT trajectory at a high frequency. We conclude that DE-cad/beta-cat form part of the mechanism that control branching and trajectory of axon tracts in the larval brain.
New demodulation scheme for laser-scanned acoustical-imaging systems

Several acousto-optical imaging systems are described in the literature where the image information is obtained by scanning a focused beam over a flexible mirror located at the acoustical image plane. The small dynamic deformation of the mirror induces a shallow phase modulation in the scanning beam. This paper describes a time-delay filter that transforms the phase-modulated beam into an amplitude-modulated beam and compares the proposed method with other demodulation schemes described in the literature. Specifically, stability, resolution, sensitivity, and frequency responses are considered.