cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Processing of permeabilized Chlorella vulgaris biomass into lutein and protein-rich products

Chlorella vulgaris is rich in lutein, a high-value pigment known for its antioxidant properties. In this work, the effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) on enhancing the selective pigment extraction from fresh C. vulgaris was tested. PEF treatment enhanced the lutein (2.2 ± 0.1-fold) and chlorophyll yields (5.2 ± 3.4-fold) compared to non-treated cells when using a single-stage ethanol extraction process. A process simulation model was used to assess the viability of the pigment extraction process. The cost estimates showed that the PEF treatment reduced the processing costs and enhanced the economic feasibility of the process. The extraction of algal protein from lutein-depleted biomass was also simulated to determine the benefit of using low-cost microalgae meal for production of proteins concentrates. The cost estimates revealed that unless extraction yield and protein content of the concentrate were improved, the estimated protein cost (US$4.16 kg−1) would not be competitive to existing similar products from soybeans and peas.
Diagnosis and treatment for children with cerebral paragonimiasis

Objective To explore the clinical features,diagnosis and treatment for children with cerebral paragonimiasis.Methods Among all the 59 patients,52 had a history of consuming raw crabs or drinking contaminated water,49 got intracranial hypertension,10 suffered hemiparalysis or hemiablepsia,19 had epileptic seizure,and 6 complicated with pulmonary symptoms.Forty-five got increased eosinophilic leukocytes in peripheral blood,36 had increased leucocytes.Skin test of Paragonimus westernami antigen was positive in 45 cases and ELISA test was positive in 15 cases.Intracerebral lesions were found in all the cases by CT or MRI examination.Results All patients underwent oral administration of Praziquantel.and 14 got craniotomy.Forty-one cases were cured and 18 cases partially recovered.Forty-three patients who were followed up for 6 months to 2 years had good prognosis.Conclusions Cerebral paragonimiasis in children has complex clinical manifestations,which is often misdiagnosed in the early stage.Epidemiology,increased eosinophilic leukocytes in peripheral blood.positive results of paragonimiasis immunology test and MRI contribute to early diagnosis.Drug or surgical treatment according to patient's different conditions can promise the good prognosis in children with cerebral cerebral paragonimiasis. Key words: Schistosomiasis; Diagnosis; Treatment
Dynamic operating reserve procurement improves scarcity pricing in PJM

Abstract Competitive electricity markets can procure reserve generation through a market in which the demand for reserves is administratively established. A downward sloping or stepped administrative demand curve is commonly termed an operating reserve demand curve (ORDC). We propose a dynamic formulation of an ORDC with generator forced outage probabilities conditional on ambient temperature to implement scarcity pricing in a wholesale electricity market. This formulation improves on common existing methods used by wholesale market operators to articulate ORDCs by explicitly accounting for a large source of observed variability in generator forced outages, whereby for a fixed load, more reserves are required during times of extreme heat and cold to maintain a constant risk of reserve shortage. Such a dynamic ORDC increases social welfare by $17.1 million compared to current practice in the PJM Interconnection during a high load week in a welfare-maximizing electricity market with co-optimized procurement of energy and reserves. A dynamic ORDC increases reserve prices under scarcity conditions, but has minimal effects on total market payments. The results are directly relevant to the modeled two-settlement electricity market in PJM, which is currently undergoing enhancements to its ORDC.
High concordance between chart review adjudication and electronic medical record data to identify prevalent and incident diabetes mellitus among persons with and without HIV.

Background Electronic medical records (EMR) represent a rich source of data, but the value of EMR for health research relies on accurate ascertainment of clinical diagnoses. Identifying diabetes in EMR is complicated by the variety of accepted diagnostic criteria, some of which can be confounded by conditions such as HIV infection. We compared EMR-based criteria for estimating diabetes prevalence and incidence in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), overall and by HIV status, against physician chart review and adjudication. Research design and methods We used laboratory values (serum glucose and hemoglobin A1c% [HbA1c]), ICD-9 codes, and medication records from the United States Veterans Aging Cohort Study Biomarker Cohort to identify veterans with any indication of diabetes in the EMR for subsequent physician adjudication. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and kappa statistics were used to evaluate agreement of EMR-based diabetes diagnoses with chart review adjudicated diagnoses. Results EMR entries were reviewed for 1546 persons with HIV (PWH) and 843 HIV-negative participants through 2015. Agreement was at least moderate overall (kappa ≥ 0.42) for all pre-specified measures and among PWH vs HIV-negative, and African-American vs white sub-groups. Having at least one HbA1c ≥6.5% provided substantial agreement with chart adjudication for prevalent and incident diabetes (kappa = 0.89 and 0.73). Conclusions Identification of those with diabetes nationally within the VHA can be used in future studies to evaluate treatments, health outcomes, and adjust for diabetes in epidemiologic studies. Our methodology may provide insights for other organizations seeking to use EMR data for accurate determination of diabetes.
Increased PV Soiling from High Module Voltages

Natural soiling has reduced the energy output of PV systems since the technology was first used, and viable mitigation strategies have remained elusive ever since. With the ever-increasing deployments around the world, especially in dusty environments, soiling is becoming a billion-dollar problem, worldwide. Furthermore, as plant operators continue to look for ways to increase revenue, the PV operating voltages have increased to between 1000 V and 1500 V when the sun is shining. This has resulted in some unforeseen consequences nominally combined into what is termed “Potential Induced Degradation.”1 Recent work by Jiang et. al., 2 at NREL using Atomic Force Microscopy has demonstrated that these large potentials also affect soiling by substantially increasing the attraction of dust to the surface, but also by increasing the adhesion force. Jiang et. al., have also shown that these higher soiling attraction and adhesion forces continue long into the night when the PV is no longer producing power. In this paper, we present a set of field results that demonstrate enhanced soiling rates that is due to the strong electric fields induced by these high voltage PV arrays. This includes observation of enhanced soiling rates measured in the field when a module is held at ±1000 V. This is critical information for installation operators because soiling losses may be higher on some panels than what is measured by typical soiling stations, and because the high voltages are not uniform across an array, some modules may have more soiling than others, leading to potential issues with non-uniform soiling problems at the array level. We present this set of compelling electric field induced soiling results in this paper.
ZIP Codes as Geographic Bases of Representation

We consider the desirability of ZIP codes as the basis for configuring congressional districts. There are several issues. First, it is likely that voters lack knowledge of ZIP code boundaries. Seco...
Comprehensive generation, visualization, and reporting of quality control metrics for single-cell RNA sequencing data

Abstract Performing comprehensive quality control is necessary to remove technical or biological artifacts in single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. Artifacts in the scRNA-seq data, such as doublets or ambient RNA, can also hinder downstream clustering and marker selection and need to be assessed. While several algorithms have been developed to perform various quality control tasks, they are only available in different packages across various programming environments. No standardized workflow has been developed to streamline the generation and reporting of all quality control metrics from these tools. We have built an easy-to-use pipeline, named SCTK-QC, in the singleCellTK package that generates a comprehensive set of quality control metrics from a plethora of packages for quality control. We are able to import data from several preprocessing tools including CellRanger, STARSolo, BUSTools, dropEST, Optimus, and SEQC. Standard quality control metrics for each cell are calculated including the total number of UMIs, total number of genes detected, and the percentage of counts mapping to predefined gene sets such as mitochondrial genes. Doublet detection algorithms employed include scrublet, scds, doubletCells, and doubletFinder. DecontX is used to identify contamination in each individual cell. To make the data accessible in downstream analysis workflows, the results can be exported to common data structures in R and Python or to text files for use in any generic workflow. Overall, this pipeline will streamline and standardize quality control analyses for single cell RNA-seq data across different platforms.
Emerging Professional Identity in Patient Hand-Off Routines: A Practical Application of Performative Face Theory

Recent research of healthcare providers identifies the critical role that professional identity plays in the provision of healthcare, interactions within healthcare teams, and healthcare provider p...
Implementation and Analysis of Low Power Consumption Full Swing GDI Full Adders

Power efficiency of any design can be obtained in terms of PDP. The approach used to design any system defines the performance of system. Here, Gate Diffusion Input (GDI) design techniques as well as CMOS design techniques are used for designing full adder circuits. Full swing GDI technique is utilized to reduce power consumption and delay. Full swing GDI technique gives better speed of operation as compared to CMOS technique. While keeping these parameters at best GDI maintains low complexity of design. Full adder circuits are designed using 180 nm technology node in Cadence Virtuoso with supply voltage of 1.8 V.
Flexible on-site halogenation paired with hydrogenation using halide electrolysis

Direct electrochemical halogenation has appeared as an appealing approach in synthesizing organic halides in which inexpensive inorganic halide sources are employed and electrical power is the sole driving force. However, the intrinsic characteristics of direct electrochemical halogenation limit its reaction scope. Herein, we report an on-site halogenation strategy utilizing halogen gas produced from halide electrolysis while the halogenation reaction takes place in a reactor spatially isolated from the electrochemical cell. Such a flexible approach is able to successfully halogenate substrates bearing oxidatively labile functionalities, which are challenging for direct electrochemical halogenation. In addition, low-polar organic solvents, redox-active metal catalysts, and variable temperature conditions, inconvenient for direct electrochemical reactions, could be readily employed for our on-site halogenation. Hence, a wide range of substrates including arenes, heteroarenes, alkenes, alkynes, and ketones all exhibit excellent halogenation yields. Moreover, the simultaneously generated H2 at the cathode during halide electrolysis can also be utilized for on-site hydrogenation. Such a strategy of paired halogenation/hydrogenation maximizes the atom economy and energy efficiency of halide electrolysis. Taking advantage of the on-site production of halogen and H2 gases using portable halide electrolysis but not being suffered from electrolyte separation and restricted reaction conditions, our approach of flexible halogenation coupled with hydrogenation enables green and scalable synthesis of organic halides and value-added products.
Multispectral anti-spoofing and liveness detection based on the front-view camera and the screen of a smartphone

Current fingerprint anti-spoofing and liveness detection techniques heavily relied on image processing algorithms and did not fully explore other hardware of a smartphone. In this study, we utilize the phone’s front-facing teardrop notch camera and LED display for multi-spectral imaging and liveness detection. We programmed the phone to illuminate different RGB colors patterns while the camera captures images of the illuminated finger. A custom-designed software allows for the distinct detection between spoof and live fingers based on resulting images and video. The method was implemented and tested in a Samsung Galaxy A50 with a teardrop notch camera. Utilizing a MATLAB program, we were able to distinguish a real finger from eight different-colored spoofs based on the images captured from the front-facing camera.
The Interaction between Corporate Bonds Yields, Aggregate Equity Market Valuations and the Macro Economy: Evidence that BAA Bond Premiums are Not Free from Biases Favoring the 'More Immediate' Time Horizon

The paper argues that bond investors (and, implicitly large creditors in general) creditors, may not necessarily demonstrate the “Investors Smartness” that some previous studies attributed to large institutional holders, when it comes to pricing in economic shocks further into the future. This study compares the credit-equity-macro economy inter-connectivity under various discount rates such as the Long and Short Term Treasury rates and the Average Risk (BAA rated) corporate bond rate, and in doing so introduces a new proxy for the macro economy’s wealth that is broader than typical household wealth measures. The approach here goes beyond multivariate regressions by showing that the inter connectivity reflects a multidimensional interaction which is captured by the Macro Economy’s Wealth with the credit and equity markets and with investors interpretation of incoming news in forming forward expectations. Hence, the evidence here suggests that behavioral biases of focusing on the “immediate horizon”, that some previous studies have attributed to stock investors, are also applicable and sometimes even more so, to bond investors as well. The indirect implications of these findings may explain some of the troubles that affected the credit markets in recent years and earlier.
Effects of a Web-Based Pediatric Oncology Legacy Intervention on Parental Coping.

Objectives To examine the effects of a legacy intervention for children with advanced cancer and their parents on parental coping strategies. Sample & setting The authors recruited 150 children with advanced cancer and their parents via Facebook. Methods & variables Child-parent dyads were randomly assigned to the intervention or usual care. Children in the intervention group created electronic digital storyboards to assist in documenting their legacies. Parents completed the Responses to Stress Questionnaire at baseline/preintervention (T1) and postintervention (T2). Linear regressions were used to test for differences between the groups in the amount of change from T1 to T2 for each parent coping score. Results Although not statistically significant, the legacy intervention showed trends toward increasing use of primary control and disengagement coping strategies in parents over time relative to usual care. Implications for nursing Nurses can help to facilitate opportunities for parents to use adaptive coping strategies. More work is needed to determine how legacy interventions in pediatric oncology can facilitate adaptive coping strategies for parents of children with cancer.
Single-level fusion without decompression for high-grade spondylolithesis in adolescents: a novel surgical strategy.

There is no consensus on the optimal surgical treatment for high-grade spondylolisthesis (HGS) in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to assess the radiographic and clinical outcomes of a novel surgical approach to HGS consisting of a single-level anterior reduction, placement of a lordotic cage, and circumferential fixation without decompression. This was a retrospective consecutive case series of 11 adolescents who underwent anterior reduction through placement of a lordotic cage followed by posterior fusion using pedicle screws and rods confined to L5–S1. Radiographic data included slip percentage, slip angle, lumbar lordosis, and pelvic sagittal parameters assessed at clinical visits preoperatively and at 2 years postoperatively. A telephone survey was conducted to obtain current information about function, activity level, work status, and retrograde ejaculation. Patients were followed for an average of 7.8 years (range 2–16). Mean age was 15.5 years (range 12–19). The mean percent slip corrected from 55 to 18%. The average slip angle was + 17.1° preoperatively and − 14.1° at final assessment (average correction of 20.7°). Thirty-six percent (4/11) of patients improved by three Meyerding grades and an additional 55% (6/11) improved by two grades. Complications included one instance each of superficial infection, wound dehiscence, and transient neuralgia. There were no cases of instrumentation failure, cage subsidence, pseudoarthrosis, or retrograde ejaculation. Radiographic evidence of fusion was observed in all cases. Single-level anterior reduction and circumferential fusion without decompression appears to be a safe and effective alternative for the surgical treatment of pediatric HGS. IV.
Restoring Trade's Social Contract

As we write, the United States, Canada, and Mexico are renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). These talks—and their possible failure—represent the biggest shift in U.S. economic policy in a generation. Since NAFTA came into force in 1994, it has transformed the North American economy. NAFTA has made possible continent-wide supply chains, in industries like the auto sector, that have reduced costs and allowed American automakers to remain competitive; it has opened markets for American agriculture; it has greatly increased the standard of living in Mexico; and it has reduced consumer prices across the continent. Despite these gains, President Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull the United States out of NAFTA if he cannot get a deal that is “fair” for American workers. These repeated threats, coupled with aggressive U.S. government proposals to roll back liberalization in NAFTA 2.0, have sent the Canadian and Mexican governments and the U.S. business community searching for new policy ideas to save free trade. Restoring Trade’s Social Contract answers this call by proposing a financial transaction tax (FTT) in NAFTA and future trade agreements. The tax, no more than .1% of the value of securities or currency sales within the free trade area, would raise revenue to fund an expansion of adjustment assistance for workers who are displaced due to trade liberalization. An Economic Development Chapter in NAFTA and future trade agreements would mandate that this revenue be spent on expanded domestic trade adjustment assistance programs, such retraining, relocation assistance, and infrastructure investment. Our proposed tax would thus directly harness the wealth-creating potential of trade agreements and explicitly tie funding for adjustment assistance to major financial institutions, the parties benefitting the most from trade agreements. In so doing, it would restore what we term the social contract of trade—a bargain whereby trade liberalization occurs in a way that ensures that the least well off among us are, at a minimum, not harmed. Despite its huge contributions to poverty reduction and increased human welfare since World War II, trade liberalization has contributed to significant job losses, leading to economic calamity and social disruption in industrial heartlands from the mid-Western United States to Manchester, England and Wallonia, Belgium. These economic losses, in turn, have spurred the political backlash that now threatens the international economic order. Securing the long-term benefits of trade liberalization for ourselves and our fellow citizens—making free trade politically sustainable—thus requires including in trade law itself measures to address these significant costs. With NAFTA talks ongoing and the United States debating tax reform, the time is right for an FTT dedicated to expanded adjustment assistance.
Characterization of novel competitive inhibitors of P. falciparum cGMP-dependent protein kinase

Abstract P. falciparum cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PfPKG) is an enticing anti-malarial drug target. Structurally novel isoxazole-based compounds were shown to be ATP competitive inhibitors of PfPKG. Isoxazoles 3 and 5 had Ki values of 0.7 ± 0.2 and 2.3 ± 0.9 nM, respectively, that are comparable to a known standard, 4-[2-(4-fluorophenyl)-5-(1-methylpiperidine-4-yl)-1H pyrrol-3-yl] pyridine (1.4 ± 0.5 nM). They also exhibited excellent selectivity for PfPKG over the human ortholog and the gatekeeper mutant T618Q PfPKG, which mimics the less accessible binding site of the human ortholog. The human ortholog’s larger binding site volume was predicted to explain the selectivity of the inhibitors for the P. falciparum enzyme. Analogs 4 and 6 were at least 20-fold less potent compared to 3 and 5, suggesting that removing the carbonyl group in 3 or altering the diethylamino moiety in 5 reduced affinity.
Recording central neurophysiological output from mosquito larvae for neuropharmacological and insecticide resistance studies.

Abstract Resistance to currently utilized chemical insecticidal agents represents a significant threat to public health and food security worldwide. Better understanding the neurophysiological effects of available and candidate insecticidal molecules is valuable for characterizing the mechanisms of insecticide resistance, as well as the design and study of novel control chemistries. In this paper, we describe a method of recording nerve firing from the central nervous system of Aedes aegypti fourth instar larvae. In short, mosquito larvae were immobilized by placing small pins through the head and siphon of the larvae in a wax dish, ventral side down. A single, longitudinal, dorsal incision from the distal abdomen to the pronotum of the larva was made, the alimentary canal removed, and the ventral nerve cord severed between the second and third abdominal ganglia. A recording suction electrode was connected directly to axons within the severed end of the connective in a novel way to record nerve firing in the ventral nerve cord at a high signal-to-noise ratio with conventional electrophysiological equipment. Using this novel method, we report the effects of four neuroactive compounds using this method: octopamine, pilocarpine, nicotine, and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The utility of this recording technique for elucidating target site mechanisms involved in insecticide resistance is demonstrated with p,p’-dichlorodiphenyltrichlorethane (DDT) and its difluoro analog (DFDT).
Chapter 16 Antifungal Agents

Publisher Summary Fungal infections in man remain an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Topical treatment of superficial infections is adequate in most cases. However, safe, orally active agents for use in more problematic diseases, for example, extensive dermatophytosis or recurrent fungal vaginitis, are still needed. Despite the advances made in the recent years, the number of drugs with proven efficacy against life-threatening systemic mycoses is small. Thus, the ideal agent, with potent, broadspectrum activity and lacking side effects, is yet to be developed. The chapter discusses the azole anti-fungals and, in particular, on the triazole derivatives. Itraconazole continues to show promise in the oral treatment of superficial and systemic infections. A recent development is fluconazole, a water-soluble triazole derivative that offers, for the first time, the opportunity for both oral and parenteral therapy. In the field of topical azole antifungals, bifonazole has the advantage of once-daily application. Limited studies with liposomal amphotericin B continue to suggest this method of formulation maintains efficacy while reducing toxicity. However, till date no commercial formulation is available. Terbinafine, an orally active allylamine derivative, has shown clinical efficacy in the treatment of dermatophytoses.
Studies on Turbatrix aceti β-N-acetylglucosaminidase: 2. Kinetic studies on the active site☆

Abstract The purified β- N -acetylglucosaminidase isolated from Turbatrix aceti hydrolyzes both p -nitrophenyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β- d -gluco- and β- d -galactopyranosides. The enzyme had K m values of 0.28 and 0.23 m m , V max values of 104 and 69 μmol min −1 mg protein −1 , and activation energies of 11.7 and 9.9 kcal/mol for the two substrates, respectively. Several lines of experimental evidence show that both β- N -acetylglucosaminidase and β- N -acetylgalactosaminidase activities reside in the same molecule at a single catalytic site. Substrate analogs were synthesized in which the acetamido group of p -nitrophenyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β- d -gluco- and galactopyranoside, and their 1-thio analogs was modified by replacement of the amido-carbonyl oxygen with sulfur. These substrate analogs competitively inhibited both enzymatic activities. Analysis of the inhibition data indicates that a single catalytic site of the enzyme is responsible for both β- N -acetylglucosaminidase and β- N -acetylgalactosaminidase activities. Competition kinetics between the two substrates further confirm the presence of a single active site for both activities. The pH dependence of the hydrolysis of p -nitrophenyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β- d -gluco- and β- d -galactopyranosides has been determined. pK e 1 and pK e 2 values of 4.7 and 5.2, determined from the dependence of log V max K m on pH, suggest that two carboxyl groups are involved in the reaction mechanism. The heats of ionization of the groups further confirm the above results.
Small angle scattering by a three component system

The intensity of small angle scattering and the characteristic length a of the correlation function for a swollen, semi-crystalline polymer were calculated on the basis of a three component system: crystals, amorphous polymer, and solvent assuming that the distribution of the crystalline and amorphous components can be characterized by two independent correlation functions. The minimum of the scattering intensity occurs when the refractive index or electron density of the solvent (component 3) equals the mean refractive index of the polymer (components 1 and 2). The correlation function of the system is the sum of the individual correlation functions of the crystalline and amorphous component and of an interaction correlation function. The contribution of the latter decreases as 1/q with increasing swelling ratio q and hence can be neglected with sufficiently high q. The theory agrees very well with the experimental data for small angle light scattering by swollen gel cellulose samples as function of the refractive index of the solvent. In particular, the theory explains the minimum of scattering intensity when the liquid has the average refractive index of the crystalline and amorphous phase of the polymer. The theory also describes accurately the variation of correlation parameter a between that of the isolated crystalline and that for the amorphous phase. Unter der Annahme eines Dreikomponentensystems, Kristalle/amorphes Polymeres/Losungsmittel, und unter der Voraussetzung, das die Verteilung der kristallinen und amorphen Komponente durch zwei unabhangige Korrelationsfunktionen wiedergegeben werden kann, wurde die Intensitat der Kleinwinkelstreuung und die charakteristische Lange a der Korrelationsfunktion fur ein gequollenes, halbkristallines Hochpolymeres ausgerechnet. Die Streuintensitat hat ihr Minimum, wenn der Brechungsindex bzw. die Elektronendichte des Losungsmittels (3. Komponente) dem Mittelwert des Brechungsindex bzw. der Elektronendichte des Polymeren (1. und 2. Komponente) gleich wird. Die Korrelationsfunktion eines solchen Systems setzt sich aus der Summe der Einzelkorrelationsfunktionen der kristatllinen und amorphen Komponente und einer gemischten Wechselwirkungskorrelationsfunktion beider Komponenten zusammen. Der Beitrag der letzteren nimmt mit wachsendem Quellungsgrad q wie 1/q ab und kann deshalb bei genugend grosem q vernachlassigt werden. Die Theorie gibt befriedigend gut die Mesergebnisse der Kleinwinkelstreuung von sichtbarem Licht an gequollenen Cellulosegelproben, bei denen das Quellungsmittel durch ein indifferentes Siliconol ersetzt wurde, als Funktion des Brechungsindex des Siliconols wieder. Insbesondere wird die Lage des Streuminimums und der Verlauf des Korrelationsparameters a richtig vorausgesagt.
Collective Signature for Efficient Authentication of XML Documents

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is the de-facto standard for document representation and exchange on the Web. Researchers have previously proposed access control models and schemes for XML documents that allow one to disseminate selectively, portions of an XML document to the user community based on different policies. Such selective dissemination of an XML document creates a new problem, namely, how to authenticate portions of the XML document independent of other portions andlor the complete document. In this paper, we present a novel scheme based on one-way accumulator functions that allows the user to have a guarantee that a portion of an XML document does indeed belong to the original document.
H1N1 vaccine and narcolepsy link discovered

Researchers have found a clue to the cases of narcolepsy seen after H1N1 infection and vaccination that also sheds light on the safety of vaccines and adjuvants. A study published July 1 in [ Science Translational Medicine ][1] shows that a nuclear protein found in both H1N1 influenza virus and some
Crossing relations for the infinite-momentum frame helicity scattering amplitudes

Crossing properties of infinite-momentum frame helicity amplitudes are studied. It is found that the crossing matrix simplifies drastically in the limit when an appropriate channel energy tends to infinity, while the momentum transfers are kept fixed. Thus infinite-momentum frame techniques constitute an appropriate kinematical framework for the description of high-energy fixed-momentum-transfer processes.
Multiple cutaneous myxomas : report of a case without other elements of Carney's complex

An 11-year-old hispanic female was referred for evaluation of multiple asymptomatic papules which had slowly developed since age two. The patient had no significant medical history and no family members, including an older sibling, were similarly affected. Physical examination revealed multiple 2-6 mm flesh-colored to erythematous papules over the posterior scalp, trunk, and extremities, predominantly in a midline distribution. No lentigines, blue nevi, or evidence of endocrine ab-normalities were noted. Echocardiogram was normal with no evidence of myxoma. Six cutaneous biopsies showed myxomas, as evidenced by well-circumscribed dermal tumors composed of stellate, dendritic cells embedded in a mucinous stroma. Special stains and electron microscopy confirmed the H&E finding. Immunoperoxidase staining for Factor XIIIa was positive in the dendritic tumor cells, suggesting a relationship with dermal dendrocytes. This patient represents a case of multiple cutaneous myxomas without other components of Carney's complex of myxomas, spotty pigmentation, endocrine overactivity, and a variety of uncommon tumors. A long-term follow-up is indicated since some of the above cited elements of the syndrome could appear over time.
An overview of MMW radar reflectivity

An overview is given of millimeter-wave (MMW) reflectivity data that is being used to form a reflectivity database for radar systems' developers. A summary of land reflectivity at 35 GHz and 95 GHz is presented. The material discussed is limited to land clutter reflectivity at 35 GHz and 95 GHz in terms of its spatial distributions, i.e. averages (means) and standard deviations. These are compared as a function of type or class of land clutter. The dependence on incident angle, frequency, frequency bandwidth, polarization, and resolution is described. The data consistency problems are noted. This summary is based on readily available reports and articles generated over the last 10 years. The general dependencies seen in the data, the type of information available, and caution which the user must exercise when applying the data are discussed. >
Two kinds of nonlinear matrix equations and their corresponding matrix sequences

We studied the existence and uniqueness of solutions of the following two kinds of nonlinear matrix equations , and , and the convergence of the matrix sequences {Xi } recursively defined by and where for k −1 and are initial positive definite matrices.
Reliable Measurement-Based System Design: A New Paradigm

Abstract In this paper we introduce a new approach to the design of fault-tolerant systems. Unlike traditional methods which rely on a mathematical model of the system, the proposed method is based on measurements only and a model is not required. The key elements of this approach are the determination of the design element values to preserve acceptable system performance under predetermined failures of fault prone elements. It is shown that such designs can be carried out without the necessity of a model and based only on strategic processing of measurements. An illustrative example of an electrical circuit that continues to maintain acceptable operation despite component failures is included.
Carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum alters acute-phase response induced by lipopolysaccharide

Background: As laparoscopic surgery continues to expand in scope, septic patients will be exposed to carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) pneumoperitoneum in increasing numbers. The biologic advantages or disadvantages of laparoscopic surgery in the setting of sepsis/inflammation are not known. In a rat model, we investigated whether CO 2 pneumoperitoneum alters the inflammatory response induced by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Methods: Male rats were injected via the penile vein with LPS (1 mg/kg). Five hours later, the animals (n = 5) were subjected to CO 2 pneumoperitoneum (group I) for 1h; the animals of group II (n = 5) served as controls (no pneumoperitoneum). At 6 h, all animals were killed and the liver harvested for analysis of hepatic acute-phase gene expression. Total RNA was isolated and analyzed by Northern blot hybridization with probes for alpha-2 macroglobulin (A2M) and detected by autoradiography. The film in the linear range of exposure was quantitated using an imaging system. The signal intensity corresponding to A2M mRNA was normalized by the signal corresponding to 28S rRNA detected by staining with methylene blue. Results: The mRNA levels in group II was 6.5 ± 0.9 vs 2.8 ± 0.4 in group I. As compared with rats that received LPS only, those that received a combination of LPS and CO 2 showed a reduction in A2M mRNA levels (57.4%, p = 0.006). Conclusions: These data demonstrate that the presence of CO 2 pneumoperitoneum reduces the inflammatory response established by LPS. This finding challenges the generally accepted notion that smaller incisions alone account for the observed benefits of laparoscopic surgery. It further suggests that CO 2 pneumoperitoneum -aided laparoscopic surgery impedes the inflammatory response and may therefore offer specific benefits over conventional surgery.
Field Evaluation Of Aerial Infrared Surveys For Residential Applications

The effectiveness of aerial infrared thermography as an energy audit procedure for residences having pitched ventilated roofs is investigated. Three adjacent unoccupied houses were instrumented to provide ground-truth comparison data under various weather conditions. Factors affecting the accuracy of this technique are identified and analyzed, and guidelines are presented concerning the recommended use of aerial infrared thermography as a procedure for assessing the thermal performance of residences. Keywords: aerial scanning; energy conservation; infrared halo analysis; infrared thermography; roof heat-loss survey.© (1982) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Systematic comparison of experimental surface core level shifts with semi-empirical surface segregation energies

Abstract The thermodynamic interpretation of photoemission core level energies leads to the assertion that the surface core level shift of a metal with atomic number Z is equivalent to the segregation energy of a Z + 1 atom to the surface of the Z metal. This assertion is tested by systematically comparing all available experimental surface core level shift data to the results of a simple computation of the relevant surface segregation energies using a bond-breaking model. The model includes effects of nearest-neighbor bonds, next-nearest-neighbor bonds, coordination-dependent bond energies at the surface, and the Z + 1 in Z heat of solution. Most of the discrepancy between the results of the model computation and experiment can be accounted for by the uncertainties inherent in the model, indicating that the thermodynamic interpretation is valid within those uncertainty limits.
The effect of acute kidney injury after revascularization on the development of chronic kidney disease and mortality in patients with chronic limb ischemia

Objective This study examined the effect of perioperative acute kidney injury (AKI) on long-term kidney dysfunction and death after lower extremity revascularization. Perioperative AKI is commonly seen in the form of mild rises of serum creatinine after major cardiovascular surgeries. Its effect on long-term survival and development of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is well established in cardiac surgery patients. However, there are no data on the effect of AKI on long-term outcomes after revascularization for lower limb ischemia. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the patients with peripheral arterial occlusive diseases who underwent endovascular or surgical revascularization of the lower extremities from 2001 through 2010. All demographic and clinical information have been maintained prospectively by the surgeon and followed up by the research team. Perioperative AKI was defined as rises of ≥0.3 mg/dL in serum creatinine from the values measured preoperatively. The primary end points were development of CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate Results Within the study period, 717 patients underwent 875 procedures. Mean follow-up was 42 ± 14 months. AKI developed in 86 patients after the index procedure. Overall prevalence of CKD diagnosed postoperatively was 14.9%. Overall mortality reported within the follow-up period was 55.9%. Perioperative AKI was a significant predictor of CKD (area under the curve, 0.84 ± 0.13) and all cause mortality (area under the curve, 0.82 ± 0.12). Conclusions Perioperative AKI is associated with an increased occurrence of CKD and a higher mortality rate after revascularization procedures of the lower extremities.
Sustainable food processing systems - Path to a zero discharge: reduction of water, waste and energy

Abstract Since food processing systems consume extensive amounts of water and energy, the food industry has the incentive to reduce water and energy with the goal of developing a zero discharge process that utilizes substantially less water and energy, and generates no waste. The objective of this study is to evaluate water/energy consumption and to propose alternatives that reduce water and energy in the processing of three food products; 1) edible bean, 2) dairy products, and 3) corn masa. Three main approaches were; 1) plant-scale audit data collection to determine energy consumption, 2) laboratory scale experiments to assess product quality changes with a reduction in water and energy usage, and 3) computer-aided simulation to design systems for reduced water and energy consumption and wastewater generation. The results suggest that a zero discharge process is feasible by reducing water and energy. Modifications to the edible bean process reduced water input up to 55% and wastewater generation was decreased up to 91%. In dairy plant, the optimal heat recovery option could economically decrease the boiler fuel requirement by 50 times, and reduce the operating cost to 2.7% of the present cost. The water reuse process in redesigned corn masa process could reduce 90% of wastewater and 55% of water usage compared to the traditional process. The amount of energy required for heating was saved by 70% in the water reuse process. When scaling-up to plant-scale, reusing water could reduce water consumption by 95% and reduce energy requirement by about 80%.
Wind-tunnel preflight test program for aeroassist flight experiment

A proposed Aeroassist Flight Experiment (AFE) will simulate return from geosynchronous orbit to low-earth orbit to provide fundamental information about the hypersonic flow conditions surrounding aeroassisted orbital transfer vehicles (AOTV's). Future AOTV design must rely heavily on computational fluid dynamic (CFD) computer codes now under development, since the entry conditions are beyond the simulation capabilities of ground-based test facilities. However, existing codes and best available ground-based test facilities must provide for design of the AFE. The AFE ground-based test program provides data for calibration of existing and developing pertinent CFD codes. Confidence in code prediction capability increases with ability to predict forces and moments, pressure and heat-transfer distributions, shock shapes, and surface streamline directions. The ground-based test program provides these data over a wide range of hypersonic test parameters. This paper describes the test program, models, facilities, and some representative results.
Model for random telegraph signals in sub-micron MOSFETS

Abstract Random telegraph signals (RTS) are two or more level switching events observed at the drain current or voltage of a MOSFET, which originate from the traps at the Si/SiO2 interface through the process of capture and emission of charge carriers. Even though there are several available models for low-frequency noise in MOSFETs today, none of them provide modeling tools for RTS. A model has been developed for RTS at the drain of sub-micron scale MOSFETs. The RTS power spectral density is given in terms of three parameters, which fully characterize the RTS, namely capture time, emission time and RTS amplitude. These three parameters are expressed in the terms of the device physical parameters, biasing conditions and temperature, through seven independent modeling parameters: the trap position, xT and yT, trap energy, ET−ECox, capture cross-section, σ0, trap binding energy, ΔEB, and empirical fitting constants for the screened scattering coefficient, K1 and K2. The model was tested through RTS data obtained on sub-micron LDD n-MOSFETs. Results were compared with the model and fitting parameters were extracted. The trap position xT was found to be 13 A, close to the Si–SiO2 interface compared to the oxide thickness of 50 A. yT is 0.12 μm, indicating the trap is located close to the drain side. The σ0 obtained from the fittings was 7 × 10−20 cm2 at VGS=1.2 V and increased with gate voltage. ΔEB was 0.3 eV. The K1 and K2 values were evaluated to be 3 × 10−13 and −2.5 × 10−16 V s, respectively. The extracted parameters are comparable to the reported values measured on similar devices.
E-commerce and computer science education

Electronic commerce is gradually changing the way the commerce is conducted. Computer science graduates will need to be prepared for the challenge posed by the increasing demand for professionals who can develop and maintain electronic commerce systems. By examining the standard computer science curriculum, some suggestions are proposed.
Kohonen neural network as a pattern recognition method based on the weight interpretation

Abstract The Kohonen self-organizing neural network is a useful tool for pattern recognition. Based on the Kohonen map obtained from the training set, predictions can be made for the unknown objects. The problem is how to determine the membership of new objects hitting empty neurons which were not activated by any training set objects. The K-nearest neighbor technique has been previously used to solve this problem based on the relative geometric position of the neurons in the two-dimensional Kohonen map (Kohonen-KNN). However, during the projection into a low-dimensional subspace for the Kohonen neural network, some information about the correct neighbor relationships between the object vectors is lost. Thus, the Kohonen-KNN method may not give the best prediction results. In this paper, an alternative method is proposed for the Kohonen neural network to be used in a supervised way based on the weight interpretation (Kohonen-WI). The membership of the samples hitting the empty neurons during the prediction process is determined to be the same as that of the nearest active neuron based on a distance measure from the trained weight vectors. The Italian olive oil data set is used to test this method. Moreover, the learning vector quantization (LVQ) method has also been used to treat the same data set. This method explicitly uses the class membership of samples in the training set for the fine adaptions of network weights. It has been found that the Kohonen-WI method gives better prediction results than Kohonen-KNN, indicating that the weight interpretation can partly compensate for the information loss about the correct neighbor relationship between the neurons in the Kohonen map. The LVQ method gives very similar and satisfactory classification results as Kohonen-WI, though their working mechanisms are different. By comparison, the Kohonen-WI method is easier to use.
Teaching the Linkages Between the International Credit and Foreign Exchange Markets

ABSTRACT This paper presents a teaching model which provides an analytical framework that encourages students to think about economic events in a global context. It ties the international credit and foreign exchange markets together and shows how international capital flows represent the crucial linkage between them. This model is primarily a teaching tool which illustrates how changes in monetary and fiscal policies in one country, say Japan, impact world interest rates, exchange rates, and trade and capital imbalances for other countries. This approach can also be used to illustrate the impacts of changes in savings and investment behavior by businesses and households, as well as central bank interventions.