cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modeling simple experiments of biochar erosion from soil

Summary Biochar is often promoted as an amendment to improve soil quality. However, researchers have recently noted that biochar and similar substances preferentially erode from soil, which may reduce its effectiveness. Identifying the erosion mechanisms may help develop strategies for retaining biochar in soil. To investigate the role of raindrop impact biochar erosion, we applied the Hairsine–Rose erosion model to small-scale experiments that simulated rainfall on a simple biochar-soil mixture. The Hairsine–Rose model simulated the biochar concentrations in runoff well for the early part of the experiments but under-predicted the concentrations for longer times. At the end of the simulated rainfall experiments, biochar content in the soil increased with depth in the soil column from 1% near the surface to 8% in underlying soil layers; similar distributions have been observed for soil, which drives upwards diffusion. By superimposing the Wallach diffusion model on the Hairsine–Rose model we were able to simulate biochar concentrations at both short and long times. We speculate that the relatively dense sand particles are displacing the biochar and we are investigating this further. Our findings suggest that long-term sequestration of biochar in soil is unlikely in soils or parts of the landscape with limited infiltration capacity.
Copper toxicity to larval Mercenaria mercenaria (hard clam)

Preset larval Mercenaria mercenaria were exposed to nominal concentrations of 1 (control) to 495 μg Cu/L in artificial seawater and monitored for mortality, activity, development, and metamorphosis in sealed 30-mm plastic petri plates containing 1.5 ml of artificial seawater or toxicant solution. The plastic petri plates sorbed only about 2.6 μg/L at any dose and allowed direct observation of larval clams under a light microscope for a period of two weeks; control survivorship was in excess of 60% at 400 h. The dose-response curve for mortality for clams exposed to copper and fed Isochrysis galbana was characterized by survival similar to or better than controls at doses of 5 and 14 μg Cu/L, while doses of 7 and ≥29 μg Cu/L exhibited mortality greater than controls. Values of lowest concentration at which 50% of the organisms died (LC50) were 62.4, 21.2, and 11.7 μg Cu/L, and the lowest observed adverse effect concentration values of 57, 29, and 29 μg Cu/L were determined at 48, 96, and 192 h, respectively. In contrast, activity, as judged by swimming, exhibited a typical exponentially decreasing response at these same concentrations. Experiments on the uptake of dissolved copper by I. galbana confirmed literature reports that these algae concentrate copper. Ingesting copper-containing algae was demonstrated to be a source of copper toxicity for larval clams.
Fatal pulmonary embolus associated with asymptomatic popliteal venous aneurysm.

A 64 year-old male presented with chronic pain of the right knee and initial plain films revealed a soft tissue mass in the popliteal fossa (Fig A). Subsequent MRI demonstrated a torn medial meniscus as well as an incidental 5cm popliteal venous aneurysm (Fig B). Duplex ultrasound showed femoral and popliteal vein reflux on the affected side, but no thrombus or obstruction in the deep veins of either leg (Fig C). He reported only occasional symptoms of venous insufficiency, and to exam, the leg was without varicosities, edema, or ulceration. An ascending venogram was obtained to further characterize the aneurysm’s morphology and confirm patency of the outflow in order to plan the operative approach (cover). This study depicted a saccular aneurysm of an otherwise normal femoral/popliteal vein which would be amenable to simple resection and lateral venorrhaphy. Given an incidentally discovered popliteal aneurysm which was without thrombus, we scheduled the repair electively. Unfortunately, ten days following venogram the patient had a sudden arrest at his residence and could not be revived. Autopsy revealed multiple bilateral subsegmental pulmonary emboli which were identified as the cause of death. Popliteal venous aneurysms are a rare entity, with slightly more than 100 cases documented in the world literature. 1 Approximately 75% of these patients presented with symptoms, most commonly pulmonary embolus (PE), and the risk of recurrent PE is felt to be high, even with anticoagulation. For this reason, most authors have recommended prompt repair in symptomatic patients with excision and either interposition graft or lateral venorrhaphy. While there is some literature support for observation of incidentally discovered popliteal venous aneurysms, the risk of pulmonary embolism is unpredictable and may be unrelated to the presence or absence of thrombus on imaging studies. 2 In this case, our patient presented with an asymptomatic venous aneurysm and subsequently sustained a massive PE despite the absence of thrombus on imaging studies. The possibility of an increased DVT risk with any invasive procedures should be considered, and expeditious repair of all large or saccular popliteal venous aneurysms is recommended to avoid the possibility of fatal pulmonary embolus.
Synthesis and evaluation of 2-halogenated-1,1-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-ethylenes as potential estrogen receptor-targeted radiodiagnostic and radiotherapeutic agents.

Abstract A series of three 1,1-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-ethylene derivatives was prepared and evaluated as potential estrogen receptor imaging agents. The compounds display high binding affinity compared to estradiol, with the 2-iodo and 2-bromo-derivatives expressing higher affinity than the parent 2-nonhalogenated derivative. Evaluation in immature female rats also indicate that the compounds were all full estrogenic agonists with potencies in the same order of activity (I ∼ Br > H). Computational analysis of the interactions between the ligands and ERα-LBD demonstrated positive contribution of halide to binding properties. In preparation for studies using the radiohalogenated analogs, the corresponding protected 2-(tributylstannyl) derivative was prepared and converted to the corresponding 2-iodo-product.
Computer simulation of stress‐induced crystallization in injection molded thermoplastics

Injection molding of semicrystalline plastics was simulated with the proposed stress-induced crystallization model. A pseudo-concentration method was used to track the melt front advancement. Stress relaxation was considered using the WFL model. Simulations were carried out under different processing conditions to investigate the effect of processing parameters on the crystallinity of the final part. The simulation results reproduced most of the experimental results in the literature. Comparison is made between the slow-crystallizing polymer (PET) and fast-crystallizing polymer (PP) to demonstrate the effect of stress on the crystallization kinetics during the injection molding process for materials with different crystallization properties. The results show that for fast-crystallizing plastics, stress has little effect on the final crystallinity in the injection molded parts.
Accurate simulation of near-wall turbulence over a compliant tensegrity fabric

This paper presents a new class of compliant surfaces, dubbed tensegrity fabrics, for the problem of reducing the drag induced by near-wall turbulent flows. The substructure upon which this compliant surface is built is based on the "tensegrity" structural paradigm, and is formed as a stable pretensioned network of compressive members ("bars") interconnected by tensile members ("tendons"). Compared with existing compliant surface studies, most of which are based on spring-supported plates or membranes, tensegrity fabrics appear to be better configured to respond to the shear stress fluctuations (in addition to the pressure fluctuations) generated by near-wall turbulence. As a result, once the several parameters affecting the compliance characteristics of the structure are tuned appropriately, the tensegrity fabric might exhibit an improved capacity for dampening the fluctuations of near-wall turbulence, thereby reducing drag. This paper improves our previous work (SPIE Paper 5049-57) and uses a 3D time-dependent coordinate transformation in the flow simulations to account for the motion of the channel walls, and the Cartesian components of the velocity are used as the flow variables. For the spatial discretization, a dealiased pseudospectral scheme is used in the homogeneous directions and a second-order finite difference scheme is used in the wall-normal direction. The code is first validated with several benchmark results that are available in the published literature for flows past both stationary and nonstationary walls. Direct numerical simulations of turbulent flows at Re_tau=150 over the compliant tensegrity fabric are then presented. It is found that, when the stiffness, mass, damping, and orientation of the members of the the unit cell defining the tensegrity fabric are selected appropriately, the near-wall statistics of the turbulence are altered significantly. The flow/structure interface is found to form streamwise-travelling waves reminiscent of those found at air-water interfaces, but traveling at a faster phase velocity. Under certain conditions, the coupled flow/structure system is found to resonate, exhibiting a synchronized, almost sinusoidal interfacial motion with relatively long streamwise correlation.
Phase-based Ranging of RFID Tags with Applications to Shopping Cart Localization

In this work, we investigate the problem of localizing RFID tags using a ranging method used in frequency-modulated radars. The idea is to exploit the phase change of the tag response due to frequency changes that normally happen as the RFID reader frequency hops. We demonstrate the general feasibility of this technique in ranging standard RFID tags using commodity readers. We then use it for a localization application - localizing shopping carts in supermarket aisles. We show that the ranging and localization accuracies are very good (median errors 5cm and 10cm respectively) even at distances over 4m making the technique competitive with existing techniques that require more complex set up.
Laminated low temperature co-fired ceramic ferrite materials and the applications for high current POL converters

Low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) ferrite materials are a group of materials for magnetic substrate of integrated power converters. The inductors can be fabricated in the substrate so that the power density of the converter can be dramatically increased. There are three types of commercial LTCC ferrite materials from ESL ElectroScience®: 40010, 40011 and 40012. However, these materials are not optimized for high current integrated point-of-load (POL) converters. In this paper, the LTCC materials are improved by laminating different LTCC green tapes. The lamination impact to the microstructure and composition is analyzed and discussed. After comparisons, a new LTCC material with better composition for power converters is found. Both magnetic characterization and planar inductor demonstration have shown that the new material is more suitable for high current integrated POL converter applications.
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)-induced changes in activities of nuclear protein kinases and phosphatases affecting DNA binding activity of c-Myc and AP-1 in the livers of guinea pigs.

To study the effect of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) on nuclear protein phosphorylation activities, male guinea pigs were treated in vivo with a single 1 μg/kg i.p. injection of TCDD, and the state of protein kinases and phosphatases in the nuclei of the hepatocytes was examined after 1, 10, and 40 days. TCDD was found to cause a rise in nuclear protein tyrosine kinase on day 1, and to a lesser extent on day 10, but this effect diminished almost completely on day 40. TCDD also caused a reduction in nuclear casein kinase II (CKII) activity at all time points. To study the biochemical events taking place at the early stage of the action of TCDD, a short-term in vitro model system was established using explant liver tissues maintained in tissue culture medium. It was found that TCDD caused a rapid reduction of the activity of nuclear CKII with an accompanying increase in the cytosol. Such changes in protein phosphorylation activities were also accompanied by an increase in the DNA binding activity of activator protein 1 (AP-1). The effect of TCDD on nuclear proteins binding to the c-Myc response element DNA was, on the other hand, biphasic: an initial increase of protein binding to the c-Myc response element was followed by suppression. To test the hypothesis that some of the above changes were caused by TCDD-induced changes in protein kinase activity, nuclear proteins isolated from hepatocytes of in vivo treated guinea pigs were incubated with exogenously added Mg2+ and ATP under cell-free conditions. The results showed that this in vitro phosphorylation treatment exacerbated this tendency of increased AP-1 and decreased c-Myc binding to their respective response element DNAs, indicating that kinases and phosphatases present in the isolated nuclear protein preparation were active and capable of modifying protein binding to DNA. Such effects of Mg2+ and ATP on AP-1 were blocked by heparin, indicating that CKII plays an important role in transducing the signal of TCDD into the nucleus.
An autonomous mobile manipulator for assembly tasks

The fundamental difference between autonomous robotic assembly and traditional hard automation, currently utilized in large-scale manufacturing production, lies in the specific approaches used in locating, acquiring, manipulating, aligning, and assembling parts. An autonomous robotic assembly manipulator offers high flexibility and high capability to deal with the inherent system uncertainties, unknowns, and exceptions. This paper presents an autonomous mobile manipulator that effectively overcomes inherent system uncertainties and exceptions by utilizing control strategies that employ coordinated control, combine visual and force servoing, and incorporate sophisticated reactive task control. The mobile manipulation system has been demonstrated experimentally to achieve high reliability for a "peg-in-hole" type of insertion assembly task that is commonly encountered in automotive wiring harness assembly.
309 A Case of Iliac- Enteric Fistula in a Patient with Simultaneous Kidney Pancreas Transplant

A CASE OF ILIACENTERIC FISTULA IN A PATIENT WITH SIMULTANEOUS KIDNEY PANCREAS TRANSPLANT Nitesh Thakker M.D, Muhammad S. Yaqub M.D, Division of Nephrology, Indiana University, Indianapolis IN Iliac-enteric fistula formation is an uncommon complication following transplantation. The diagnosis of iliac-enteric fistula requires a high-index of suspicion that may be confounded by negative or equivocal endoscopic and CT imaging studies. A 41 year old Caucasian male with history of simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplant in December 2005 was admitted as a transfer from an outside hospital for gastrointestinal bleed, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and dizziness on/off over the past 8-10 weeks. Patient had failure of both pancreas and kidney due to non-compliance, and was taken off immunosuppressants in early 2009. His admission hemoglobin was 6. Colonoscopy done in 2009 due to lower GI bleed was negative.
Preoperative renal embolization as adjunct to radical nephrectomy

Radical nephrectomy preceded by preoperative renal artery embolization using Gianturco-Anderson-Wallace steel coils has objective value as determined by comparing records of 15 patients who had adjunctive embolization with 15 patients who did not. Embolization of the major renal artery facilitated surgery allowing initial renal vein ligation resulting in reduction of blood loss and operative time. The described experience and current literature review support adjunctive embolization and document minimal risk to the patient.
Deception and the tet offensive

(1990). Deception and the tet offensive. Journal of Strategic Studies: Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 82-98.
Multivariate fault detection (MVFD) EP/FDC implementation

The increase in the complexity of interrelations between multiple process input variables has led to the rise of multivariate fault detection (MVFD) as the next generation statistical process control methodology. Two or more variables (e.g. flow, power, temperature, pressure...) may appear to be within standard population while their combination indicates a non standard condition within the multi-dimensional space, which leads to discrepant material. Eight dimensional MVFD applied to the "excursion prevention" (EP/FDC) tool parameters of a medium current implanter has been demonstrated at an Intel fab. This paper describes how multivariate statistics such as principal component analysis (PCA). Hotelling T/sup 2/ SPC charts and contribution plots are being used to provide an on-line multivariate statistical control and excursion alert system. The system has detected problems that traditional univariate SPC systems could not detect.
Deconstructing Mus gemischus: advances in understanding ancestry, structure, and variation in the genome of the laboratory mouse

The laboratory mouse is an artificial construct with a complex relationship to its natural ancestors. In 2002, the mouse became the first mammalian model organism with a reference genome. Importantly, the mouse genome sequence was assembled from data on a single inbred laboratory strain, C57BL/6. Several large-scale genetic variant discovery efforts have been conducted, resulting in a catalog of tens of millions of SNPs and structural variants. High-density genotyping arrays covering a subset of those variants have been used to produce hundreds of millions of genotypes in laboratory stocks and a small number of wild mice. These landmark resources now enable us to determine relationships among laboratory mice, assign local ancestry at fine scale, resolve important controversies, and identify a new set of challenges—most importantly, the troubling scarcity of genetic data on the very natural populations from which the laboratory mouse was derived. Our aim with this review is to provide the reader with an historical context for the mouse as a model organism and to explain how practical decisions made in the past have influenced both the architecture of the laboratory mouse genome and the design and execution of current large-scale resources. We also provide examples on how the accomplishments of the past decade can be used by researchers to streamline the use of mice in their experiments and correctly interpret results. Finally, we propose future steps that will enable the mouse community to extend its successes in the decade to come.
Chemospecific alkynylation of organic iodides

Abstract Organic iodides undergo chemospecific alkynylation with triisopropylsilylacetylenic triflone under photochemical irradiation. Examples include primary, secondary, and tertiary iodides. The reaction is compatible with many functional groups, such as alcohol, ester, amide, thiazole, and a potential β-elimination substrate.
Influence of soil softening and liquefaction on spectral acceleration

To provide design guidance on the influence of soil softening on ground response, we analyzed ground motions recorded at five instrumented liquefaction sites, including the Wildlife Liquefaction Array, Calif.; the Port Island Downhole Array, Japan, the Treasure Island and Alameda Naval Air Station sites, Calif., and the Kawagiahi-cho apartment buildings, Niigata, Japan. Conclusions from these analyses are (1) where soil softening occurs early in a strong ground motion sequence, soil softening leads to reduced short period (T 1.0 s) spectral accelerations, particularly if ground oscillation develops. Comparison of actual spectra calculated from motions measured at liquefaction sites...
Using a marketing-team approach to introduce students to pharmaceutical advertising and promotion: A focus on direct-to-consumer advertising appeals and executions

Abstract Objective By using a student marketing-team approach in a college of pharmacy professional elective, many of the course-learning objectives were achieved by the application of a marketing-team development of a hypothetical new product launch and preparation of an abbreviated marketing plan, with a partial focus upon development of an FDA compliant direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisement for a prescription drug product. A variety of advertising appeals and creative execution styles were chosen by the students to sell their products. This assessment compiles such advertising appeals and creative executions used during 10 years of these projects. Methods The team creates a hypothetical prescription drug product or is given a project concept drug and develops an abbreviated marketing plan for the product, consisting in part of a 60-second FDA-compliant DTC TV commercial designed to sell the product to the consumer. In this study, the author identifies the appeal and execution style used, based upon literature definitions, personal and participant evaluation postproduction, and review of past commercials by current students. Results/outcomes This article gives descriptions of the products hypothesized by the students, identification of the advertising appeal and advertising creative execution styles used in their FDA-compliant DTC advertising TV commercials. Conclusions Students apply many specific course-learning objectives, gain an appreciation of marketing concepts, experiment with their creative/artistic side, and gain a better understanding of the need for FDA regulation of DTC advertising.
The Tricksters of Karamoja

Karamojong oral tradition provides several trickster characters such as the rabbit, the self-appointed moral guard. This rabbit pretends to defend the weak and the powerless, yet secretly steals from them, but in the end gets exposed for what it really is. Then there is the clever fox, which skilfully tricks people with its clever manipulations, convincing them that it is honest and upright, not unlike the rabbit, but then it too gets caught stealing. Napeikisina, the one-breasted villain trickster, the symbol of humanity's penchant for evil, masquerades her insatiable cannibalistic propensities and desire for recognition, but her penchant for evil eventually becomes apparent, thus frightening people, and like all the other tricksters she too gets caught.Ben Knighton seems to possess some of the attributes of some of these tricksters. With amazing legerdemain, he skilfully manages to conjure up oral and written texts in an attempt to persuade people to believe that what they read is authentic, in order to offer himself as the paramount authority on all matters Karamoja. But he too ends up getting caught, like all the Karamojong tricksters.
The preparation and some reactions of 1,3,2-thiazaphospholidine-2-ones

Abstract 1,3,2-Thiazaphospholidine-2-ones have been prepared by rearrangement of the corresponding 1,3,2-oxazaphospholidine-2-thiones. The stereochemical course of ring opening reactions has been investigated.
Electrical breakdown experiments with application to alkali metal thermal-to-electric converters

Electrical breakdown in alkali metal thermal-to-electric converters (AMTECs) limits the number of solid electrolytes that could be connected in series and, hence, the output voltage. Experiments are conducted to measure the DC electrical breakdown voltage in cesium vapor between two planar molybdenum electrodes, 1.6 cm in diameter, separated by a 0.5 mm gap, and relate the results to potential electrical breakdown on the cathode side of AMTECs. Two sets of experiments are conducted. In the first set, in which the electrodes are kept at 560 and 650 K and the cesium pressure varied from 0.71 to 29 Pa, when the cooler electrode is positively biased, breakdown occurs at ∼500 V. When the cooler electrode is negatively biased, breakdown occurs at 700 V. In the second set of experiments, in which the electrodes are held at 625 and 1100 K and the cesium pressure varied from 1.7 to 235 Pa, when the cooler electrode is positively biased, the breakdown voltage is <4 V but in excess of 400 V when the cooler electrode is negatively biased. Because the first ionization potential (3.89 V) and the ionization rate constant of cesium are lower and higher, respectively, than for sodium (5.14 V) and potassium (4.34 V) vapors, the DC electrical breakdown voltage in AMTECs with either a potassium or a sodium working fluid is expected to be higher than measured in this work for cesium vapor. In such converters, the wall should be negatively biased relative to the highest voltage cathode in order to avoid electrical breakdown up to 400 V, or even higher.
Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects of diltiazem.

Abstract The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects of diltiazem were studied in 8 patients after a short intravenous infusion (20 mg over 10 minutes), a single oral dose (60 or 90 mg), and repeated oral administration (60 or 90 mg every 6 hours for 16 doses). Diltiazem levels decreased in a triexponential manner after intravenous infusion. Terminal half-lives after intravenous, single oral, and repeated oral administration were not significantly different (4.5 ± 1.3, 3.7 ± 0.6, and 4.9 ± 0.4 hours, respectively). The kinetic effects of oral diltiazem were nonlinear. With repeated oral administration, there was accumulation of both diltiazem and its metabolite, deacetyldiltiazem. The diltiazem area under the time versus concentration curve increased by a factor of 2.39 ± 0.42 (p = 0.00002). Most patients showed a double peaked time versus concentration curve after oral administration, indicating possible enterohepatic recirculation. After intravenous administration, there was a substantial increase in the P-R interval (14.3 ± 5.4%). Although only small changes in P-R interval were seen with a single oral dose, with chronic administration there was persistent P-R interval prolongation, peaking at 17.3 ± 5.6% over control. Counterclockwise hysteresis was present in the P-R interval versus plasma diltiazem concentration curve after intravenous administration. Only small changes were seen in heart rate and blood pressure.
On the jumping constant conjecture for multigraphs

Abstract Let G be an infinite family of graphs closed under taking subgraphs. For each n, set e(n,G) = max {|E(G)|: G∈G,|V(G)| = n} Let density τ( G ) of a family G be defined by τ(G) = lim n→∞ e(n,G) n 2 The set of all possible densities of graph families was determined by Erdos and Stone in 1946. The analogous problem for multigraphs with multiplicity of edges not exceeding q (where q = 2, 3, …) appears to be much harder. In 1973 Brown, Erdos, and Simonovits conjectured that the set of all possible densities is well-ordered. They verified their conjecture for q = 2. If q = 1, this follows from the Erdos-Stone theorem. We disprove this conjecture for all q ≥ 4.
Kinetics of the self-reaction of hydroxymethylperoxyl radicals

Abstract The rate constant for the self-reaction of the peroxyl radical derived from methanol, HOCH 2 OO . , has been measured over the temperature range 5–53°C. The radical has a maximum absorptivity of 970 l mol −1 cm −1 at 240 nm and an absorptivity of about 510 l mol −1 cm −1 at 280 nm. From a modified Arrhenius fit to the data, the rate constant at 25°C was calculated to be k 298K = (7.4±0.1)×10 8 l mol −1 s −1 and the temperature dependence of the reaction to be E/R = 1395 ± 66 K. As part of this study, the rate constant for the recombination of the sulfate radical, SO −. 4 , was found to be (4.4±0.4)×10 8 l mol − s −1 , independent of temperature over the range 12 to 53°C.
Quinine tolerance during self-stimulation in cats

Thirsty cats, offered a choice between distilled water and quinine solution, preferred the latter to distilled water and accepted quinine concentrations greater than those they accepted in control sessions when drinking quinine solution was rewarded by hypothalamic stimulation, whereas drinking distilled water was not. When the same stimulation rewarded drinking distilled water only, the cats switched to distilled water and refused quinine solutions at concentrations even less than those previously accepted in control sessions. It was concluded that drinking quinine solution was an instrumental response which secured the desirable hypothalamic stimulation.
Direct constructions of additive codes

A code is qm-ary q-linear if its alphabet forms an m-dimensional vector space over q and the code is linear over q. These additive codes form a natural generalization of linear codes. Our main results are direct constructions of certain families of additive codes. These comprise the additive generalization of the Kasami codes, an additive generalization of the Bose-Bush construction of orthogonal arrays of strength 2 as well as a class of additive codes which are being used for deep space communication. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 10: 207–216, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/jcd.20000
High-order perturbation expansion of non-Hermitian Floquet theory for multiphoton and above-threshold ionization processes

A high-order perturbation theory is presented for efficient and accurate computation of multiphoton and above-threshold ionization cross sections of atoms and molecules in weak to medium strength laser fields. The procedure is based on a Raleigh-Schrodinger perturbative expansion of the time-independent non-Hermitian Floquet Hamiltonian. The reduced Green function and generalized pseudospectral discretization techniques are extended to facilitate the calculation of complex quasienergy resonance states without the need of diagonaliz- ing the full Floquet Hamiltonian. Explicit expressions are presented for the determination of intensity- dependent total and partial rates and electron angular distributions. The theory is applied to a case study of multiphoton detachment of H 2 for a range of laser frequencies ~corresponding to the absorption of a minimum of two photons! and laser intensities from 10 7 to 10 12 W/cm 2 . It is found that a 16th-order perturbative Floquet procedure provides an excellent description of the two-photon-dominant detachment processes for laser inten- sity up to 2310 11 W/cm 2 . The predicted electron angular distributions are in good agreement with recent experimental data.
Home rule and the size of county government in Pennsylvania

The fiscal behavior of county governments in Pennsylvania is constrained by state law. Counties can adopt a home rule charter, allowing the county government to set tax rates higher than the statutory limits. Opponents argue that home rule leads to higher taxes and an expansion of county government so the legislative tax limitations are necessary to restrain its growth. This paper finds that government expenditures are, indeed, higher in those coun- ties which have freed themselves from the tax limitations imposed by the state legislature; however, the removal of such limitations is not associated with significantly higher per capita tax levels.
NMR structure of a DNA duplex containing nucleoside analog 1-(2′-deoxy-β-d-ribofuranosyl)-3-nitropyrrole and the structure of the unmodified control

The three-dimensional structures of two DNA duplexes d(CATGAGTAC). d(GTACXCATG) (1) and d(CATGAGTAC).d(GTACTCATG) (2), where X represents 1-(2'-deoxy-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)-3-nitropyrrole, were solved using high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and restrained molecular dynamics. Good convergence was observed between final structures derived from A- and B-form starting geometries for both 1 and 2. Structures of 1 and 2 are right-handed duplexes within the B-form conformational regime. Furthermore, the structures of 1 and 2 are highly similar, with differences in the structures localized to the vicinity of residue 14 (X versus T). The pyrrole group of 1 is in the syn conformation and it is displaced towards the major groove. Furthermore, unlike T14 in 2, the base of X14 has reduced pi-pi stacking interactions with C13 and C15 and the nitro group of X14 is pointing out of the major groove. The structures presented here establish the basis of the thermal data of DNA duplexes containing X and should be informative during the design of improved wild card nucleobase analogs.
Fitting a generalized log-normal distribution to hydrologic data

A statistical distribution is developed which makes it possible to fit a wide range of positively skewed hydrologic data. It is shown that the general least-squares fitting equations will reduce to simple forms for fitting a normal, log-normal or extreme-value distribution to data. Two fitting processes are developed for fitting data by the so-called generalized log-normal distributions. Examples are given for illustrating the fitting procedures.
Climate adaptation as mitigation: the case of agricultural investments

Successful adaptation of agriculture to ongoing climate changes would help to maintain productivity growth and thereby reduce pressure to bring new lands into agriculture. In this paper we investigate the potential co-benefits of adaptation in terms of the avoided emissions from land use change. A model of global agricultural trade and land use, called SIMPLE, is utilized to link adaptation investments, yield growth rates, land conversion rates, and land use emissions. A scenario of global adaptation to offset negative yield impacts of temperature and precipitation changes to 2050, which requires a cumulative 225 billion USD of additional investment, results in 61 Mha less conversion of cropland and 15 Gt carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) fewer emissions by 2050. Thus our estimates imply an annual mitigation co-benefit of 0:35 GtCO2e yr 1 while spending $15 per tonne CO2e of avoided emissions. Uncertainty analysis is used to estimate a 5‐95% confidence interval around these numbers of 0.25‐0.43 Gt and $11‐$22 per tonne CO2e. A scenario of adaptation focused only on Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, while less costly in aggregate, results in much smaller mitigation potentials and higher per tonne costs. These results indicate that although investing in the least developed areas may be most desirable for the main objectives of adaptation, it has little net effect on mitigation because production gains are offset by greater rates of land clearing in the benefited regions, which are relatively low yielding and land abundant. Adaptation investments in high yielding, land scarce regions such as Asia and North America are more effective for mitigation. To identify data needs, we conduct a sensitivity analysis using the Morris method (Morris 1991 Technometrics 33 161‐74). The three most critical parameters for improving estimates of mitigation potential are (in descending order) the emissions factors for converting land to agriculture, the price elasticity of land supply with respect to land rents, and the elasticity of substitution between land and non-land inputs. For assessing the mitigation costs, the elasticity of productivity with respect to investments in research and development is also very important. Overall, this study finds that broad-based efforts to adapt agriculture to climate change have mitigation co-benefits that, even when forced to shoulder the entire expense of adaptation, are inexpensive relative to many activities whose main purpose is mitigation. These results therefore challenge the current approach of most climate financing portfolios, which support adaptation from funds completely separate from—and often much smaller than—mitigation ones.
A production study on controlled coarticulation: a case of contextual fronting of /u/ in American English *

UC Berkeley Phonology Lab Annual Report (2010) A production study on controlled coarticulation: a case of contextual fronting of /u/ in American English * Reiko Kataoka Department of Linguistics, University of California at Berkeley, 1203 Dwinelle Hall, Berkeley, California 94720-2650 kataoka@berkeley.edu Introduction The study reported in this paper addresses the question of whether in American English fronting of the high back vowel /u/ in alveolar contexts is the result of physical and physiological constraints alone or it is under the speakers‟ deliberate control. If fronting of /u/ is a result of purely biomechanical constraints, then the production of the fronted variant does not require any specification in the input to the motor control system. However, if the fronted variant is produced by the speaker‟s deliberate control over the articulatory sequence of the alveolar consonant and the vowel /u/, then such control requires context-specific target specification for the vowel. What the question asks, then, is this: do speakers maintain two separate articulation targets for fronted and non-fronted variants of /u/? A larger question that motivates the present study is an issue of phonologization (Hyman, 1972, 1975, 1976). Phonologization is a process whereby a speech sound acquires/loses phonetic feature, based on physical and physiological constraints in a given phonetic environment, which is exaggerated to the degree that the feature (or lack of feature) is no longer perceived as induced by the phonetic context but rather independently controlled as a distinctive specification of the sound. It is generally considered that main mechanism of assimilatory sound changes is phonologization of acoustic perturbations that originate in coarticualtion. One assumption underlying the concepts of phonologization is that context-specific speech variation can become a production goal in its own right and thus mentally represented as such. However, exactly what types of coarticulatory variations should be considered as phonologized variations are still open questions. Hyman (2008) discusses two stages of phonologization, as in (1). a. universal phonetics (“automatic”) b. Language-specific phonetics (“speaker-controlled”) c. phonology (“structured”) * This paper is a preliminary draft of Chapter 3 (Production study) of my dissertation “Phonetic and Cognitive Bases of Sound Change.” Minor modifications were made to make this paper a stand-alone version of Chapter 3. I would like to thank Ronald Sprouse for editorial assistance.
Left-handed Z-DNA helices in polymers, restriction fragments, and recombinant plasmids.

Abstract Studies on DNA polymers, restriction fragments, and recombinant plasmids have revealed the following: A) A family of left-handed DNA conformations exists for (dC-dG)n·(dC-dG)n. The observation of a particular conformation is dependent on the salt, the salt concentration and dehydrating agent. B) In sodium acetate solutions, (dC-dG)n·(dC-dG)n forms left-handed, ψ(+)-condensed structures as detected by Raman spectroscopy and circular dichroism. C) (dT-dG)n·(dC-dA)n undergoes a right-to-left-handed transition only when reacted with AAF and at high salt concentrations. D) Transitions observed for polymer DNAs also are observed for restriction fragments containing both (dC-dG)·(dC-dG) and (dT-dG)·(dC-dA) sequences, but the transitions in the fragments generally require higher salt concentrations than observed for the polymers. E) Studies with recombinant plasmids containing (dC-dG) sequences from 10 to 58 bp in length demonstrate that left-handed Z-DNA segments can exist contiguous to B-DNA segments. ...
Clathrin Adaptor Proteins in Cargo Endocytosis

Eukaryotic cells continuously remodel the protein and lipid composition of the plasma membrane in response to the extracellular milieu. Membrane retrieval typically involves inward budding of small bilayer-encapsulated vesicles that shuttle protein and lipid from the surface to internal endosomal elements. Clathrin-mediated endocytosis is a dominant pathway for internalization in many cell types, and a range of dedicated signals are used to ensure selective sorting in this pathway. Evidence suggests that the clathrin coat utilizes a diverse collection of clathrin-associated sorting proteins (CLASPs) to ensure the efficient and noncompetitive concentration of a wide variety of sorting signals within transport vesicles forming at the cell surface.
Outer membrane protein A of E. coli folds into detergent micelles, but not in the presence of monomeric detergent.

Outer membrane protein A ~OmpA! of Escherichia coli is a b-barrel membrane protein that unfolds in 8 M urea to a random coil. OmpA refolds upon urea dilution in the presence of certain detergents or lipids. To examine the minimal requirements for secondary and tertiary structure formation in b-barrel membrane proteins, folding of OmpA was studied as a function of the hydrophobic chain length, the chemical structure of the polar headgroup, and the concentration of a large array of amphiphiles. OmpA folded in the presence of detergents only above a critical minimal chain length of the apolar chain as determined by circular dichroism spectroscopy and a SDS-PAGE assay that measures tertiary structure formation. Details of the chemical structure of the polar headgroup were unimportant for folding. The minimal chain length required for folding correlated with the critical micelle concentration in each detergent series. Therefore, OmpA requires preformed detergent micelles for folding and does not adsorb monomeric detergent to its perimeter after folding. Formation of secondary and tertiary structure is thermodynamically coupled and strictly dependent on the interaction with aggregated amphiphiles.
Amyloid β-peptide1-40 increases neuronal membrane fluidity: role of cholesterol and brain region

There is increasing evidence of an interaction between cholesterol dynamics and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and amyloid beta-peptide may play an important role in this interaction. Abeta destabilizes brain membranes and this action of Abeta may be dependent on the amount of membrane cholesterol. We tested this hypothesis by examining effects of Abeta1-40 on the annular fluidity (i.e., lipid environment adjacent to proteins) and bulk fluidity of rat synaptic plasma membranes (SPM) of the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and hippocampus using the fluorescent probe pyrene and energy transfer. Amounts of cholesterol and phospholipid of SPM from each brain region were determined. SPM of the cerebellum were significantly more fluid as compared with SPM of the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Abeta significantly increased (P < or = 0.01) annular and bulk fluidity in SPM of cerebral cortex and hippocampus. In contrast, Abeta had no effect on annular fluidity and bulk fluidity of SPM of cerebellum. The amounts of cholesterol in SPM of cerebral cortex and hippocampus were significantly higher (P < or = 0.05) than amount of cholesterol in SPM of cerebellum. There was significantly less (P < or = 0.05) total phospholipid in cerebellar SPM as compared with SPM of cerebral cortex. Neuronal membranes enriched in cholesterol may promote accumulation of Abeta by hydrophobic interaction, and such an interpretation is consistent with recent studies showing that soluble Abeta can act as a seed for fibrillogenesis in the presence of cholesterol.
Witness to Progress

Clinicians caring for patients with heart failure appreciate that their patients are surviving longer in this century. This has been shown for patients discharged after heart failure hospitalization in Scotland1 and Sweden,2 for the Framingham community,3 and for outpatients with reduced ejection fraction in Olmsted County.4 The current UK-HEART study by Cubbon and colleagues, published in this issue of Circulation: Heart Failure , provides convincing evidence of improved outcomes, particularly for reduced sudden death, after outpatient referral for predominantly New York Heart Association class II heart failure (mean ejection fraction, 0.30), showing a 38% decrease in 1-year mortality rate from 12.5% to 7.8%.5 Although increasing awareness of the diagnosis may trigger earlier referral, patients from the 2 eras evaluated here appear similar in terms of objective disease severity. The average ejection fraction is similar, and a lower loop diuretic dose in the recent cohort is rendered more potent by the broader use of aldosterone antagonists. The major progress in therapy in this population of mild-moderate heart failure was an almost 10-fold increase in the use of β-blockers. When evaluating absolute survival, it should be noted that both cohorts excluded atrial fibrillation and diabetes, which affect approximately one-third of patients with heart failure and are generally associated with higher mortality rates. Article see p 396 This improved journey aligns with the impression that the heart failure journey has become a different one. Many patients even with advanced disease return for longer than 10 years to heart failure referral clinics where 2-year survival was rare when we began 25 years ago. The data reported in this study of mild-moderate outpatient heart failure parallel the experience of more advanced heart failure reported by Pande from Brigham and Women's Hospital, comparing patients referred with class III–IV symptoms before 2000 …
Macroeconomic policies of developed democracies

This book synthesizes and extends modern political-economic theory to explain the postwar evolution of macroeconomic policy in developed democracies. Chapters 2-4 study transfers, debt, and monetary/wage policy-making and outcomes, stressing that participation enhances transfer-policy responsiveness to inequality and vice versa, that policy-making veto actors retard fiscal-policy adjustments, inducing greater long-run debt-responses to all other political-economic stimuli, and that monetary policy's nominal and real effects depend, respectively, on the broader political-economic interest-structure and on wage-price bargainers' sectorial composition and coordination. Broadly, the book argues that these developments have exacerbated the distributional conflicts inherent in the policies to which postwar governments had committed while undermining their more-universally desired efficiency-fostering roles. Battles that once raged primarily over policies conducted within postwar-commitment frameworks now rage over the putative 'reforms' of the frameworks that will set the institutional rules within which democratic struggle over macroeconomic policy and free-market competition will continue.
Loss of stem cell regenerative capacity within aged niches

This work uncovers novel mechanisms of aging within stem cell niches that are evolutionarily conserved between mice and humans and affect both embryonic and adult stem cells. Specifically, we have examined the effects of aged muscle and systemic niches on key molecular identifiers of regenerative potential of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and post-natal muscle stem cells (satellite cells). Our results reveal that aged differentiated niches dominantly inhibit the expression of Oct4 in hESCs and Myf-5 in activated satellite cells, and reduce proliferation and myogenic differentiation of both embryonic and tissue-specific adult stem cells (ASCs). Therefore, despite their general neoorganogenesis potential, the ability of hESCs, and the more differentiated myogenic ASCs to contribute to tissue repair in the old will be greatly restricted due to the conserved inhibitory influence of aged differentiated niches. Significantly, this work establishes that hESC-derived factors enhance the regenerative potential of both young and, importantly, aged muscle stem cells in vitro and in vivo; thus, suggesting that the regenerative outcome of stem cell-based replacement therapies will be determined by a balance between negative influences of aged tissues on transplanted cells and positive effects of embryonic cells on the endogenous regenerative capacity. Comprehensively, this work points toward novel venues for in situ restoration of tissue repair in the old and identifies critical determinants of successful cell-replacement therapies for aged degenerating organs.
A group dynamic activity for learning the cardiac cycle and action potential

To learn best, a person must be engaged in a subject that leads to a genuine interest and promotes lifelong learning ([1][1]). Some students consider physiology difficult mainly due to the breadth of content and the complexity of body functions ([2][2], [3][3]). Teaching cardiovascular physiology to