cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of nicotine on behavioral arousal and brain 5-hydroxytryptamine function in female rats selected for differences in activity.

Abstract The effects of various doses (s.c.) of nicotine (200, 400 and 800 μg/kg) on exploratory behavior and forebrain 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) metabolism were studied in female rats selected for differences in spontaneous activity. The results of this study indicated that nicotine affected each activity group differently; high activity rats (H.A.) appeared more susceptable to the chemical effects of nicotine (200 and 400 μg/kg) as 5-HT accumulation in pargyline (MAOI) treated rats was significantly reduced, while low activity (L.A.) rats appeared more susceptable to behavioral stimulation due to nicotine (200 and 800 μg/kg). The 400 μg/kg dose, which induced both a maximal facilitation of arousal levels and a significant reduction of 5-HT accumulation was studied in greater detail, and was observed to initiate similar effects following repeated doses. However, in acute situations nicotine appeared to modulate behavior as evidenced by a stimulation of behavior in L.A. rats and a depression in the H.A. animal. Further chemical correlation studies indicated that nicotine (400 μg/kg) reduced 5-HT turnover (as measured using the MAOI, pargyline) to a greater extent in the forebrains of H.A. rats, while caudal (brainstem) areas were inhibited more in L.A. rats. This investigation presented evidence which indicated that the nicotine-induced elevation of arousal levels was correlated (at the 400 μg/kg dose) to an inhibition of 5-HT systems. While these data were essentially preliminary in nature, this study does give encouragement to the concept that nicotine's variable effects on the behavior of animals of different temperaments could be related to its effect on the forebrain 5-HT projection system. Furthermore, this study supports previous research in this laboratory which suggests that there may be a significant relationship between animal temperament and forebrain biogenic amine function.
Localization of superoxide dismutases in chloroplasts from Brassica campestris

Summary Chloroplasts isolated from Brassica campestris (mustard) leaves were examined for superoxide dismutase activity. Cyanide sensitive (cuprozinc superoxide dismutase) and cyanide insensitive enzymes, were found predominantly in the stroma. Cyanide insensitive superoxide dismutase, as visualized by bands on Polyacrylamide gels, consisted of an iron containing isozyme and an unidentified protein which might be either a mangano superoxide dismutase or a mangano protein with superoxide dismutase activity. Grana were observed to contain less total superoxide dismutase than stroma. Incubation of chloroplasts with 0.8 M Tris HCl pH 8.0 resulted in a loss of photosystem 2 activity without concomitant superoxide dismutase inhibition. Prolonged treatment with Tris resulted in a loss of chloroplast membrane integrity followed by loss of stromal contents. Isolated photosystem 1 particles prepared either by detergent treatment or by sonication, showed little superoxide dismutase associated with these subchloroplast fragments.
Prinzmetal’s Angina

A67-year-old woman with a history of arterial hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, and chronic atrial fibrillation presented with atypical chest pain for 1 year. The episodes occurred at rest and lasted 5 to 30 minutes, occasionally waking her from sleep. During the week before her admission, she developed recurrent short episodes of lightheadedness associated with the episodes of chest pain. She was referred to an outside hospital to undergo a stress test with nuclear imaging. The day of the test, she had several episodes of chest pain and 2 episodes of lightheadedness. However, she drove to the hospital. She was again feeling …
Transient wall pressures in an overexpanded and large area ratio nozzle

Surveys of the fluctuating wall pressure were conducted on a sub-scale parabolic-contour rocket nozzle to infer an understanding of the flow and shock structure pattern during fixed and transient operations of the nozzle. During start-up, the nozzle is highly overexpanded, which results in unsteady wall pressure signatures driven by shock foot unsteadiness. Wall pressure data are first analyzed using spatial Fourier transformations to extract the azimuthal modes during various operating states. A time-frequency analysis of the temporal azimuthal mode coefficients is then used to characterize the time-dependent spectral behavior of the wall pressure signatures during start-up. For both fixed and transient operations of the nozzle, the axisymmetric breathing mode (m = 0) comprises most of the resolved energy. As for the transient operations alone, slight deviations in ramp rate are shown to considerably influence the amount of unsteadiness that the nozzle wall is exposed to, even though the general spectral and temporal features remain similar. In particular, increased ramp rates result in increased wall pressure intensity. Secondly, three major low-frequency events (f ≲ 400 Hz) were observed during start-up and are attributed to: (1) \(\hbox{FSS} \rightarrow \hbox{RSS}\) transition, (2) the passing of the reattachment line from the first separation bubble, and (3) the ‘end-effects regime’. The last of these refers to a condition where a trapped separation bubble opens intermittently to ambient at the nozzle lip.
Transcriptional Repression of p53 Promoter by Hepatitis C Virus Core Protein

Our previous results have suggested that the putative core protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transcriptionally regulates cellular and viral genes, inhibits cisplatin and c-myc-mediated apoptotic cell death under certain conditions, and transforms primary rat embryo fibroblast cells with a cooperative oncogene. Because HCV appears to cause hepatocellular carcinoma, we evaluated the regulatory role of the HCV core protein on p53, a well known tumor suppressor gene, by an in vitro transfection assay. HCV core protein repressed transcriptional activity of the p53 promoter when tested separately in COS7 and HeLa cells. Deletion mutational analysis of the HCV core gene indicated that the regulatory domain involved in the repression of p53 transcriptional activity is located around amino acid residues 80-122 encompassing a putative DNA binding motif and two major phosphorylation sites. Results from this study suggest that the putative core protein may have an important biological role in the promotion of cell growth by repressing p53 transcription, and this appears to be consistent with certain earlier observations about HCV core moving into the nucleus.
Comparison of human and machine-based educational standard assignment networks

Increasing availability of digital libraries of K-12 educational resources, coupled with an increased emphasis on standard-based teaching necessitates assignment of the standards to those resources. Since manual assignment is a laborious and ongoing task, machine-based standard assignment tools have been under development for some time. Unfortunately, data on the performance of these machine-based classifiers are mostly lacking. In this article, we explore network modeling and layout to gain insight into the differences between assignments made by catalogers and those by the well-known Content Assignment Tool (CAT) machine-based classifier. To build the standard assignment networks, we define standards to be linked if they are jointly assigned to a learning resource. Comparative analysis of the topology and layout of the networks shows that whereas the cataloger-based network reflects the underlying curriculum, i.e., clusters of standards separate along lines of lesson content and pedagogical principles, the machine-based network lacks these relationships. This shortcoming is partially traced back to the machine classifier’s difficulties in recognizing standards that express ways and means of conducting science.
Modeling of the solar wind originated energy input for the study of effects on the terrestrial thermosphere and ionosphere-introduction

Abstract The development of a particle climatology for the purpose of studying solar particle fluxes and their effect on the terrestrial atmospheric system has been adopted as an activity of the International Solar Cycle Study, Working Group 1, Panel 2. The activity has been incorporated as a component of the Thermospheric-Ionospheric Geospheric Research (TIGER) Program. This climatology is an empirical model of particle input providing average spectral characteristics, precipitating particle fluxes, and ionization rate profiles as functions of latitude, local time, and activity level. It is being built upon a model already being developed with particle data from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). This paper provides an introduction to our development of the particle climatology, which is described in more detail in the following paper. We review particle input models currently used to study the effects of particle energy input on the thermosphere-ionosphere system. We describe the objective of the climatology development, the optimal low-altitude database to be used, and the selection of indices to be incorporated into the model.
5' transcript replacement in vitro catalyzed by a group I intron-derived ribozyme.

Group I intron-derived ribozymes can perform a variety of catalytic reactions, including the replacement of the 3‘ end of a mutant RNA transcript with a corrected version of the transcript [Sulleng...
Effect of surface immobilization on intramolecular and intermolecular electron transfer in a chromophore-donor-acceptor assembly.

A chromophore−donor−acceptor assembly [Ru(bpyCOOH)(bpyCH2MV2+) (bpyCH2PTZ)]4+ (1) (where bpyCOOH = 4-carboxylic acid-4‘-methyl-2,2‘-bipyridine, bpyCH2MV2+ = 1-[(4‘-methyl-2,2‘-bipyridin-4-yl)methyl...
An Integro-Differential Approach To Terrorism Dynamics

This article introduces integro-differential equations as a new technique to study terrorism dynamics. An integro-differential equation is a mathematical expression that contains derivatives of the required function and its integral transforms. The technique is applied to two different dynamic models in terrorism: terrorism and tourism, and terrorist innovations. In the first model the number of tourists that appears in an integral term and also in a derivative term is impacted by the number of terrorists. In the second model the integro-differential equation for terrorist innovations relates them to terrorist attacks. The article shows how to solve, analyze, interpret, and deal with integro-differential equations. Integro-differential equations shed light on aspects of the models ignored when other techniques are used. This is particularly important for the evaluation of current counterterrorist policies, as well as to the formulation of new ones.
Colorimetric sensor arrays: Interplay of geometry, substrate and immobilization

Abstract This study addresses the interplay of geometry, substrate, and dye immobilization method on colorimetric sensor array performance. Arrays of cross-responsive dyes were exposed to either ammonia or sulfur dioxide gas at their permissible exposure levels (PEL) or their immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) concentrations and their colorimetric responses analyzed. Two-dimensional and linear arrays in flow cells were compared for flow path uniformity. Substrate effects were explored using arrays of 36 dyes immobilized in organically modified silica sol–gel (ormosil) formulations printed on six common substrates in three classes: impermeable (glass slides and polyethylene terephthalate), cellulose based (printer paper and chromatography paper with silica gel), and porous polymer membranes (polypropylene and polyvinylidene difluoride). The effect of immobilization of dyes in an ormosil versus in a plasticizer (i.e., a viscous semi-liquid) was also compared. The linear geometry showed a more homogeneous flow path than obtained with the two-dimensional array, which contributes to higher overall response, faster response, and better reproducibility. Arrays printed on impermeable substrates showed long response times attributed to slow diffusion of the analyte through the spot, and those printed on cellulose based substrates showed high noise caused by macroscale surface texturing. Arrays printed on porous polymer substrates showed the best spot quality and reproducibility, fastest response, and lowest noise. Finally, plasticizer and ormosils proved to be comparable immobilization matrices for colorants, and the preferred choice depends on the combination of dye, immobilization method, and substrate.
Theory of thermomicrofluids

Abstract The simple microfluid theory of Eringen [1] is extended to include the heat conduction and heat dissipation effects. The exact nonlinear theory is presented and restricted by the axioms of constitution and the second law of thermodynamics. The constitutive equations are linearized for dissipative and thermal effects. The complete field equations and accompanying jump conditions are given. Several internally constrained fluids, e.g., micropolar, inertia rateless fluids, are obtained. Boundary and initial conditions are discussed.
Repeated Assessment by High-Throughput Assay Demonstrates that Sperm DNA Methylation Levels Are Highly Reproducible

Objective To assess reliability of a high-throughput assay of sperm DNA methylation. Design Observational study comparing DNA methylation of sperm isolated from 3 divided and 12 longitudinally collected semen samples. Setting Academic medical center. Patient(s) One man undergoing screening semen analysis during evaluation of an infertile couple and 2 healthy fertile male volunteers. Intervention(s) Spermatozoa were separated from seminal plasma and somatic cells using gradient separation. DNA was extracted from spermatozoa, and DNA methylation was assessed at 1,505 DNA sequence–specific sites. Main Outcome Measure(s) Repeatability of sperm DNA methylation measures, estimated by correlation coefficients. Result(s) DNA methylation levels were highly correlated within matched sets of divided samples (all r ≥ 0.97) and longitudinal samples (average r=0.97). Conclusion(s) The described methodology reliably assessed methylation of sperm DNA at large numbers of sites. Methylation profiles were consistent over time. High-throughput assessment of sperm DNA methylation is a promising tool for studying the role of epigenetic state in male fertility.
Modeling and characterization of urban vehicular mobility using web cameras

Realistic design and evaluation of vehicular mobility has been particularly challenging due to a lack of large-scale real-world measurements in the research community. Current mobility models and simulators rely on artificial scenarios, random connectivity, and use small and biased samples. In this paper, we perform a combined study to learn the structure and connectivity of urban streets and modeling and characterization of vehicular traffic densities on them. Our dataset is a collection of 154 thousand routes and 12 million vehicular mobility images from 730 online web cameras located in four different cities. First, our study shows that driving routes and visiting locations of cities demonstrate power law distribution, indicating a planned or recently designed road infrastructure. Second, we represent cities by network graphs in which nodes are camera locations and edges are urban streets that connect the nodes. Such representation exhibits small world properties with short path lengths and large clustering coefficient. Third, traffic densities show 80% temporal correlation during several hours of a day. Finally, modeling these densities against known theoretical distributions show less than 5% deviation for Log-logistic and Gamma distribution. We believe this work will provide a much-needed contribution to the research community for realistic and data-driven design and evaluation of vehicular networks.
Safety‐Considered Proactive Flare Minimization Strategy under Ethylene Plant Upsets

Ethylene plant upsets usually lead to flaring of off-spec products, resulting in significant losses of raw material and energy as well as to air emission problems. Under the premise of plant safe operation, establishing process recycles connecting off-spec streams to their upper-stream process can help to reduce flaring during plant upsets. Operational strategies for recycling the potential flaring sources, i.e., effluents from the acetylene reactor and ethylene tower overhead, under various process upsets are developed and analyzed based on rigorous plant-wide dynamic simulations. Safety considerations on the compressor system performance have been addressed by quantitative comparison of the effectiveness of various recycling strategies. Case studies demonstrate that the safety-considered flare minimization strategies can proactively reduce the flaring emission amount and upset time and thus have great potentials of economical and environmental benefits to ethylene plants.
Stable Isotopes of Oxygen and Natural and Fallout Radionuclides Used for Tracing Runoff During Snowmelt in an Arctic Watershed

Stable isotopes of oxygen, and natural and fallout radionuclides, have been used, respectively, to identify water sources and to quantify watershed fluxes of precipitation-borne solutes and particles that come in contact with tundra vegetation at Imnavait Creek, Alaska (68° 37′N, 149° 17′W). Oxygen 18/oxygen 16 ratios of water in the snowpack, stream, and unfrozen soil during the peak of snowmelt showed that less than ∼14% of streamwater was derived from sources other than snow. Within a month of snowmelt, 18O/16O ratios in the stream indicated that only negligible amounts of water derived from snow remained in the watershed, in contrast to the low degree of mixing between snow and underlying soil water, greater than 90% of the atmospherically derived 7Be (53-day half-life) that was deposited in the snowpack was adsorbed onto the surface 2–3 cm of frozen organic soils and vegetation. A slightly lower degree of absorption (∼2/3) on tundra was observed for atmospherically derived 35S (87-day half-life) released during snowmelt. These data indicate that atmospherically derived substances in the snowpack are often retained strongly by sorption or chemical interaction with vegetation and soil during snowmelt. This conclusion is also supported by the vegetation and soil inventories of 137Cs (30.2-year half-life), which are similar to values expected as a result of atmospheric deposition over the past 40 years.
Soluble mediators, not cilia, determine airway surface liquid volume in normal and cystic fibrosis superficial airway epithelia.

A key aspect of the lung's innate defense system is the ability of the superficial epithelium to regulate airway surface liquid (ASL) volume to maintain a 7-μm periciliary liquid layer (PCL), which is required for cilia to beat and produce mucus flow. The mechanisms whereby airway epithelia regulate ASL height to ≥7 μm are poorly understood. Using bumetanide as an inhibitor of Cl− secretion, and nystatin as an activator of Na+ absorption, we found that a coordinated “blending” of both Cl− secretion and Na+ absorption must occur to effect ASL volume homeostasis. We then investigated how ASL volume status is regulated by the underlying epithelia. Cilia were not critical to this process as (a) ASL volume was normal in cultures from patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia with immotile cilia, and (b) in normal cultures that had not yet undergone ciliogenesis. However, we found that maneuvers that mimic deposition of excess ASL onto the proximal airways, which occurs during mucociliary clearance and after glandular secretion, acutely stimulated Na+ absorption, suggesting that volume regulation was sensitive to changes in concentrations of soluble mediators in the ASL rather than alterations in ciliary beating. To investigate this hypothesis further, we added potential “soluble mediators” to the ASL. ASL volume regulation was sensitive to a channel-activating protein (CAP; trypsin) and a CAP inhibitor (aprotinin), which regulated Na+ absorption via changes in epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) activity in both normal and cystic fibrosis cultures. ATP was also found to acutely regulate ASL volume by inducing secretion in normal and cystic fibrosis (CF) cultures, while its metabolite adenosine (ADO) evoked secretion in normal cultures but stimulated absorption in CF cultures. Interestingly, the amount of ASL/Cl− secretion elicited by ATP/ADO was influenced by the level of CAP-induced Na+ absorption, suggesting that there are important interactions between the soluble regulators which finely tune ASL volume.
Human Resource Management and Corporate Entrepreneurship

This article discusses the connection between high performance work systems and corporate entrepreneurship. HR systems promise to play a prominent role in helping to develop the human and social capital necessary to build large firms with entrepreneurial capabilities. Specifically, systems that develop fit between knowledge management practices, compensation programs, and the design and administration of other HR policies will be more likely to produce entrepreneurial outcomes. These factors along with future challenges and directions are discussed. Keywords: corporate entrepreneurship; high performance work systems; knowledge management; compensation; incentives; HR policies and design; entrepreneurial orientation
Medium access control with channel state information for large sensor networks

Traditionally, random access protocols have been designed and studied by assuming simple models for the physical layer. We introduce a reception model that incorporates the channel states of the transmitting users and allows for multiple simultaneous successes. We assume that each user has access to his channel state and propose a variant of the Slotted ALOHA protocol for medium access where the transmit probability is chosen as a function of the channel state. We introduce the notion of asymptotic stable throughput and characterize the achievable asymptotic stable throughput through the use of channel state information. As an example, we consider the application of the results to sensor networks.
A theory for multiresolution signal decomposition: the wavelet representation

Multiresolution representations are effective for analyzing the information content of images. The properties of the operator which approximates a signal at a given resolution were studied. It is shown that the difference of information between the approximation of a signal at the resolutions 2/sup j+1/ and 2/sup j/ (where j is an integer) can be extracted by decomposing this signal on a wavelet orthonormal basis of L/sup 2/(R/sup n/), the vector space of measurable, square-integrable n-dimensional functions. In L/sup 2/(R), a wavelet orthonormal basis is a family of functions which is built by dilating and translating a unique function psi (x). This decomposition defines an orthogonal multiresolution representation called a wavelet representation. It is computed with a pyramidal algorithm based on convolutions with quadrature mirror filters. Wavelet representation lies between the spatial and Fourier domains. For images, the wavelet representation differentiates several spatial orientations. The application of this representation to data compression in image coding, texture discrimination and fractal analysis is discussed. >
Mechanical behavior of a composite interface: Calcium-silicate-hydrates

The generalized stacking fault (GSF) is a conceptual procedure historically used to assess shear behavior of defect-free crystalline structures through molecular dynamics or density functional theory simulations. We apply the GSF technique to the spatially and chemically complex quasi-layered structure of calcium-silicate-hydrates (C-S-H), the fundamental nanoscale binder within cementitious materials. A failure plane is enforced to calculate the shear traction-displacement response along a composite interface containing highly confined water molecules, hydroxyl groups, and calcium ions. GSF simulations are compared with affine (homogeneous) shear simulations, which allow strain to localize naturally in response to the local atomic environment. Comparison of strength and deformation behavior for the two loading methods shows the composite interface controls bulk shear deformation. Both models indicate the maximum shear strength of C-S-H exhibits a normal-stress dependency typical of cohesive-frictional materials. These findings suggest the applicability of GSF techniques to inhomogeneous structures and bonding environments, including other layered systems such as biological materials containing organic and inorganic interfaces.
Myth 17: Gifted and talented individuals do not have unique social and emotional needs

It is understandable that school peers, significant adults, and the public in general may assume that gifted and talented individuals do not have unique social and emotional needs. When common, positive stereotypes prevail based on images of confident and motivated students, athletes, and musicians, giftedness might be perceived as being unrelated to social and emotional concerns. Educators and others may therefore not recognize or address social and emotional needs, assuming that gifted students deal easily with developmental challenges. Early scholarly work related to giftedness may also have contributed to the notion that high capability means solid mental and physical health and success and satisfaction in career and relationships. Research samples have often not been inclusive enough to reflect concerns of a broad range of high-potential students and may have perpetuated positive stereotypes. In addition, deeply engrained societal attitudes as well as democratic and egalitarian political views may, for many citizens, preclude thinking that students with high-level abilities should be given special attention for social and emotional needs. Federal education mandates have also reflected little concern for the well-being of gifted and talented students. Even the field of gifted education may not have advocated as strongly as it could have for proactive approaches to promote healthy social and emotional development.
Opportunities and Challenges in Silicon Photonics

This paper will review recent work towards silicon-compatible lasers, including intrinsic, extrinsic, and hybrid materials technologies. Silicon photonics offers potential for much lower electrical power consumption for optical links and interconnections
Microphone arrays for speech processing

Microphone arrays can capture desired signals and attenuate interfering noise and reverberation in multipath environments. Hands-free speech technologies can therefore be supported using microphone arrays. This article considers delay-and-sum beamformers, advanced array technology using matched-filters and hands-free speaker identification using microphone arrays.
THE ARABIC PARTICLES ‘ INNA WA AḪAWĀTU-HĀ ’ AT THE SYNTAX-SEMANTICS INTERFACE

OF THESIS THE ARABIC PARTICLES ‘INNA WA AḪAWA TU-HA ’ AT THE SYNTAX-SEMANTICS INTERFACE In Arabic inna wa-aḫawātu-hā ‘inna and its related sisters’ are traditionally considered as verb-like particles. They are specified as introducing equational sentences and change their constituents’ case to a different pattern from what verbs do. Therefore, they are called nawāsiḫ in Arabic, or words that cause a shift to the accusative case (Ryding 2005). The medieval grammarians’ treatment of inna and its sisters as verb-like particles and of the equational sentence in general is based on the theory of ‘amal, ‘government’ which Sībawayhi has described it in his book Al-kitab. The theory presumes a grammatical operation (‘amal) in which an operator (‘āmil) assigns to a unique operand (ma’mūl) a grammatical function (Carter, 1973, 151). However, in modern linguistics, government is realized as a syntactic relation that imposes case agreement between the syntactic elements in the sentential structure. And this structure has a deep representation and surface representation. The Medieval treatment for the equational sentence introduced by inna is problematic, because it attributes to inna a verbal power to resolve the issue of the case assignment to the equational sentence which lacks an overt syntactic operator. Modern approaches to equational sentence differ totally from the traditional account. Some modern approaches propose a copula for the equational sentence; this copula is either covert or deleted. Other modern approaches propose a tense projection in deep structure that determines an equational sentence’s surface form. Neither sort of approach gives a reasonable explanation for the case assignment pattern, for the general properties of equational sentences, or for the status of inna. In this study, I propose a new approach focusing on the role of semantics in the assignment of case in equational sentences in Arabic. My hypothesis is based on a new interpretation to Sībawayhi’s description of the ‘ibtida’ sentence; according to this new interpretation ibtida’ is not a syntactic operator but rather a semantic one. I also propose that a sentence’s syntactic properties are sensitive to its semantic MODE, a specification of whether it expresses a topic-based proposition; or an event-based proposition. My new hypothesis is intended to apply to all varieties of Arabic including Classical Arabic, and Modern Standard Arabic, as well as the regional dialects of Arabic.
Development of novel Vitamin D Receptor-Coactivator Inhibitors.

Nuclear receptor coregulators are master regulators of transcription and selectively interact with the vitamin D receptor (VDR) to modulate cell differentiation, cell proliferation, and calcium homeostasis. Herein, we report the syntheses and evaluation of highly potent and selective VDR–coactivator inhibitors based on a recently identified 3-indolylmethanamine scaffold. The most active compound, PS121912, selectively inhibited VDR-mediated transcription among eight other nuclear receptors tested. PS121912 is also selectively disrupting the binding between VDR and the third nuclear receptor interaction domain of the coactivator SRC2. Genetic studies revealed that PS121912 behaves like a VDR antagonist by repressing 1,25-(OH)2D3 activated gene transcription. In addition, PS121912 induced apoptosis in HL-60.
Diffraction Studies of the Growth of Strained Epitaxial Layers

The molecular beam epitaxial growth of strained InGaAs films grown on GaAs(100) substrates has been studied using in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). Both the intensity, shape and position of the diffracted beams were monitored during growth. Growth was found to be layer-by-layer up to a strain dependent thickness, at which point three-dimensional clusters were formed. These clusters exhibited (114) facets and were elongated in the {fx[01⋏r{1}]} direction. The onset of 3D cluster formation was simultaneous with measurable lattice relaxation. The relaxation was determined using electromagnetic deflection of the RHEED pattern across two detectors. With this arrangement, the lattice constant could be measured to within 0.003°. The onset could be delayed by lowering the growth temperature. For misfit strain greater than about 2%, the onset occurs at thicknesses less than the Matthews-Blakeslee critical thickness. For smaller strains, the onset occurs at larger thicknesses.
Visible-Light-Controlled Living Radical Polymerization from a Trithiocarbonate Iniferter Mediated by an Organic Photoredox Catalyst

Living radical polymerization of acrylates and acrylamides from trithiocarbonate iniferters using a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulb and 10-phenylphenothiazine as an organic photoredox catalyst is reported. With this system, chain growth can be efficiently switched between “on” and “off” in response to visible light. Polymer molar masses increase linearly with conversion, and narrow molar mass distributions are obtained. The excellent fidelity of the trithiocarbonate-iniferter enables the preparation of triblock copolymers from macro-iniferters under the same visible-light mediated protocol, using UV light without a photoredox catalyst or under traditional thermally induced RAFT conditions. We expect that the simplicity and efficiency of this metal-free, visible-light-mediated polymerization will enable the synthesis and modification of a range of materials under mild conditions.
The Attitude of the Society of Friends toward Slavery in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Particularly in Relation to its Own Members

The Society of Friends took its origin in England, and it is therefore natural that slavery did not attract much attention from its members until some of them emigrated to countries where slavery was an established institution. Like the members of other denominations, these seem to have taken slavery as a matter of course, and some fell into the habit of owning slaves themselves, and when slaveholders joined the society they retained their slaves.
Designing, Building, and Testing a Mesh Ka-band Parabolic Deployable Antenna (KaPDA) for CubeSats

While the capabilities of CubeSats have greatly increased in the past years, one of the key problems hindering interplanetary CubeSats are data communication rates. To compensate, a Ka-band high gain antenna would provide a 10,000 times increase in data communication rates over an X-band patch antenna and a 100 times increase over state-of-the-art S-band parabolic antennas. Unfortunately, high gain antenna developments to this point have only focused on S-band, which does not provide the required gain. Two years ago, JPL initiated a research and technology development effort to design a half-meter Ka-band parabolic deployable antenna (KaPDA) which would stow in 1.5U (15 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm) and provide 42dB of gain (or 50% efficiency). The process of designing, building, and testing of KaPDA is discussed in this paper. The design uses folding ribs to fit in the stowage space, deep rib sections with precision hinges to maintain surface accuracy, and a combination of an innovative gas and spring system to deploy the antenna. The constructed antenna was demonstrated to achieve a gain of 42.5 dB before deployment, and a gain of 42 dB after deployment. KaPDA would create opportunities for a host of new CubeSat missions from enabling high rate deep space communications to radar science.
With Malice toward Some: Treason and Loyalty in the Civil War Era

Review of: "With Malice toward Some: Treason and Loyalty in the Civil War Era," by William A. Blair.
Differentiation Between Sickle Cell Anemia and S/β⁰ Thalassemia.

Patient: 37-year-old man of half African and half Italian ethnicity. Chief Complaint: Sickle cell crisis (SCC). History of Present Illness: The patient had severe pain in his lower back that radiated to both thighs. He had been admitted twice in the previous 2 weeks at another hospital due to SCC. Each time, he had been discharged with a prescription for oxycodone. His condition did not respond to the pain medicine; his pain remained uncontrollable. Medical History: The patient has had multiple sickle cell crises since childhood and is a former smoker. He denied alcohol consumption or illegal drug use. Physical Examination Findings: The patient had normal vital signs. No splenomegaly was present. Family History: Both parents carry sickle cell thalassemia. Principal Laboratory Findings: [Table 1][1], [Table 2][2], and [Image 1][3]. * SCC : sickle cell crisis NRBCs : nucleated red blood cells HbSS : sickle cell hemoglobin RBCs : red blood cells GTG : valine GAG : glutamic acid HbF : hemoglobin F HbA2 : hemoglobin A2 HbA : hemoglobin A WBC : white blood cell MCV : mean corpuscular volume MCH : mean corpuscular hemoglobin MCHC : mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration HbSC : hemoglobin SC HbS : hemoglobin S thal : thalassemia HPFH : hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin [1]: #T1 [2]: #T2 [3]: #F1
Analysis of the clinical distribution and drug sensitivity of 68 Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates in Bijie,Guizhou

The clinical distribution and drug sensitivity of 68 Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were analyzed retrospectively.Sixty-eight P.aeruginosa isolates were mainly from the ICU(35.29%),followed by Respiratory medicine(25.00%,17 strains),Burn units(16.18%,11 strains),Cardiovascular medicine(7.35%,5 strains),Hematology(5.88%,4 strains),General surgery(5.8%,4 strains)and Orthopedics(4.41%,3 strains).P.aeruginosa had resistance to ampicillin of up to 95.59%,followed by resistance to cefotetan of 92.65%,resistance to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim of 91.18%,resistance to cefazolin of 89.71%,and resistance to ceftriaxone of 85.29%.Its resistance to piperacillin/tazobactam,levofloxacin,imipenem,gentamicin,tobramycin,and amikacin was less than 30%.P.aeruginosa has a widespread clinical distribution and is highly resistant.The misuse of antimicrobials should be avoided.
Excessive Dynamic Airway Collapse of the Lower Airway: A Cause for Persistent Sleep Disordered Breathing after Tracheostomy

Tracheostomy has demonstrated effectiveness in the control of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in most patients; however, current evidence suggests significant sleep disordered breathing may persist, ...
Recall and treatment decisions of primary care providers in response to Pap smear reports.

Introduction Although the frequency of cervical cancer screening has been extensively studied, little is known about how clinicians decide to screen or recall patients for Pap smears. This study reports the management decisions made by office-based clinicians for 10 different Pap smear reports describing adequacy limitations and cytological diagnoses. Methods We surveyed 186 clinicians using a commercial laboratory in the southeastern United States and analyzed results by frequency and comparison statistics. Results Our respondents were 148 clinicians (79.6% response rate) from different specialties. There was variation in reported management of inflammation, atypia, and low-grade abnormalities (LGSIL), in regard to recall for repeat or routine testing as well as arranging colposcopy. In only 3 of 10 Pap smear results did more than 50% of respondents agree on a specific test recall interval. Conclusions The variation in responses from office-based clinicians suggests either uncertainty or different opinions in making recall and treatment decisions for smears of limited quality even when associated with cytologic abnormalities. These differences may have relevance to outcomes, clinician workload, and costs of care in cervical cancer screening.
A case for machine learning to optimize multicore performance

Multicore architectures have become so complex and diverse that there is no obvious path to achieving good performance. Hundreds of code transformations, compiler flags, architectural features and optimization parameters result in a search space that can take many machinemonths to explore exhaustively. Inspired by successes in the systems community, we apply state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to explore this space more intelligently. On 7-point and 27-point stencil code, our technique takes about two hours to discover a configuration whose performance is within 1% of and up to 18% better than that achieved by a human expert. This factor of 2000 speedup over manual exploration of the auto-tuning parameter space enables us to explore optimizations that were previously off-limits. We believe the opportunity for using machine learning in multicore autotuning is even more promising than the successes to date in the systems literature.
Differential sensitivity to learning from positive and negative outcomes in cocaine users.

Abstract Background Altered sensitivity to positive and negative outcomes may be linked to the maladaptive choices characteristic of substance use disorders. Few studies have determined the distinct roles that positive and negative outcomes play in stimulus-response learning in cocaine users. The purpose of the present study was to investigate sensitivity to learning from positive and negative outcomes on a probabilistic learning task in cocaine users employing human laboratory and crowdsourcing techniques. Methods Individuals who reported cocaine use were recruited for a laboratory study (Experiment 1) or an online study on Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk (mTurk) (Experiment 2). All participants completed a feedback-based probabilistic learning task in which images were classified into categories (A versus B). Positive and negative outcomes were provided in a probabilistic manner on separate trials. Proportion of optimal responses and response times were recorded. Results Active cocaine users were less sensitive to learning from positive relative to negative outcomes. These effects were consistent across image type and session in the laboratory sample. Similarly, reduced sensitivity to learning from positive outcomes was observed in cocaine users on mTurk. Control participants did not show suboptimal performance following positive or negative outcomes. Conclusions This study extends the limited research on feedback-based learning in drug users by demonstrating reduced sensitivity to positive outcomes in cocaine users recruited in the human laboratory and online. Future studies on the clinical significance and mechanisms underlying this bias are needed to understand its relevance as a target for intervention development.
Risk Becomes Personalized

Relatively early in the life of the Enron Corporation, the firm established a trading operation for oil under the direction of a man named Louis Borget. “Within Enron, he was a shadowy figure who divulged as little as possible about the details of his operation,” Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind report in their masterful history of the firm’s rise and fall. Borget’s operation began to generate substantial profits, and his confidence in his methods grew along with the profits. He sent a 1986 memo to the board in which he argued that highly trained “professionals” were using “sophisticated tools” to “generate substantial earnings with virtually no fixed investment and relatively low risk.”1
European black alder survival and growth responses to herbicide treatment on an eastern Kentucky vegetated coal surface mine excess spoil area after three and eight years

ABSTRACT A research area was established on a surface coal mine in eastern Kentucky in 1982 to test the effects of eight herbicide treatments, mechanical scalping and no treatment on the long term survival and growth of European black alder (Alnus glutinosa). After eight years, three treatments (mechanical scalping and glyphosate applied simultaneously with napropamide prior to planting or by using napropamide as a post planting treatment after initial applications of glyphosate as a pre-plant treatment) were superior to one or more of the other treatments for all eight parameters tested and were indifferent to each other. If the parameter, percent growth change over time, was not considered an important factor in establishing this species, no treatment was significantly different from the control. Such results indicate factors other than biological responses should be considered when selecting a woody vegetation establishment scheme on surface coal mine excess spoil areas with existing herbaceous cover.
Impact of Micro-Finance on Income Distribution of Rural Households in Andhra Pradesh

In recent years, micro-finance became an important intervention as a tool for poverty alleviation and rural development. Two important models dominate the sector i.e, the Micro-finance Institution Joint Liability Ground (JLG) model and the Self-Help Group (SHG) model. The study was undertaken in Kadapa and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh with a view to estimating the impact of micro-finance on income distribution of sample respondents. Gini coefficient, Atkinson's measures, Generalised entropy measures and Decile dispersion ratio were used to measure the income inequalities. All the measures revealed that inequality was highest among non-participants and lowest among the members participated in both the micro-finance programmes. The results further revealed that income from agriculture, dairy and non-farm labour were the increasing sources of income inequality and non-farm self-employment was the inequality decreasing source of income.
Potential of finely ground limestone powder to benefit ultra-high performance concrete mixtures

Abstract Ultra-high performance concrete is a specialized class of cementitious materials notable for very high compressive strength, increased toughness, and improved durability relative to conventional concrete. Due to its high cement content and the use of very finely ground crystalline silica, ultra-high performance concrete has a greater cost and CO2 footprint than normal concrete. Potential health concerns can also arise due to repeated inhalation of crystalline silica powder during production. Finely ground limestone powder was hypothesized as a potential filler to help minimize these negative aspects when used as either a partial or full mass replacement of similarly sized cement and silica powder. Limestone powder was shown to have a positive effect on fresh properties of the composite including mixing time and workability. Small replacements of cement were shown to have beneficial effects on compressive strength. Scanning electron microscopy showed that limestone powder replaced unreacted materials without significantly impacting hydration reactions.
Feasibility of SiC threshold voltage drift characterization for reliability assessment in production environments

We reviewed the practical challenges of assessing the threshold voltage drift of SiC MOSFETs in the context of a commercial production environment and qualification standards. Stress bias interruption is a key challenge owing to the rapid recovery of threshold following the removal of bias and the necessity of delays and bias interruptions when qualifying device lots. The test standards in use proscribe how such interruptions should be handled using a re-application of the stress once the device is ready for characterization, but these turn out to be completely inadequate when dealing with the trapping mechanics of SiC MOS. Our data indicates that a relatively short stress re-application can be successful at restoring a majority of the threshold voltage drift at room temperature, scaling with the square root of the interruption time. Additionally, it is important to re-apply the stress bias even for brief interruptions since the threshold recovers so quickly (as opposed to the 96-hour interrupt window allowed before reapplication is necessary in JESD22 A-108D).
A Guide for the Design of Pre-clinical Studies on Sex Differences in Metabolism

In animal models, the physiological systems involved in metabolic homeostasis exhibit a sex difference. Investigators often use male rodents because they show metabolic disease better than females. Thus, females are not used precisely because of an acknowledged sex difference that represents an opportunity to understand novel factors reducing metabolic disease more in one sex than the other. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) mandate to consider sex as a biological variable in preclinical research places new demands on investigators and peer reviewers who often lack expertise in model systems and experimental paradigms used in the study of sex differences. This Perspective discusses experimental design and interpretation in studies addressing the mechanisms of sex differences in metabolic homeostasis and disease, using animal models and cells. We also highlight current limitations in research tools and attitudes that threaten to delay progress in studies of sex differences in basic animal research.