cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Remote synchronous toenail procedure training using a sausage model.

Objectives: Social distancing practices brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have limited the ability of residency training programs to deliver procedure training via traditional in-person methods. Financial strains brought on by the pandemic also mean that fewer resources may be available to develop novel teaching processes. We sought to investigate a protocol meant to address the rising need for inexpensive procedure training that can be performed remotely or in a socially distanced manner. Methods: We used a sausage model to train 11 family medicine residents in toenail procedures. The training was delivered via two-way video telecommunication as the residents were separated into small groups in separate rooms. Learners were given a cognitive skills evaluation and were asked to perform a self-assessment of their confidence with procedures using a scale of 1-10. These assessments were administered before and after the procedure and the results were compared using a paired t-test. Results: The cognitive score improved from a pretest average of 73.6% to a posttest average of 86.0% (P = 0.022). The improvements in trainee self-assessment were significant for all performance characteristics of the procedure. Conclusions: This evidence supports the use of synchronous video communication to train family medicine residents in toenail procedures using a sausage model.
Hematologic manifestations of systemic illness

This chapter draws attention to hematologic manifestations of systemic illness in children. The hematologic manifestations are associated with a variety of systemic illnesses including acute and chronic infections, neoplastic diseases, connective tissue disorders, and storage diseases. The hematologic manifestations are resulted in the following mechanisms namely bone marrow dysfunction, hemolysis, immune cytopenias, alterations in hemostasis, and alterations in leukocyte function. The hematologic manifestation of diseases of various organs is as follows: heart, gastrointestinal tract, liver disease, kidneys, endocrine glands, lungs, and skin. The parasitic illnesses associated with marked hematologic sequelae are malaria, babesiosis, leishmaniasis, hookworm, tapeworm, and trypanosomiasis. The nutritional disorders related are protein calorie malnutrition, scurvy, and anorexia nervosa. The bone marrow may be infiltrated by nonneoplastic disease or neoplastic disease. A diagnosis is established on the basis of the clinical picture, enzyme assays of white cells or cultured fibroblasts, and bone marrow aspiration revealing the characteristic cells of the disorder. Neoplastic disease may arise in the marrow or invade the marrow as metastases from solid tumors. Enzyme replacement therapy is recommended for the treatment of symptomatic type 1 patients. Recombinant human macrophage-targeted human glucocerebrosidase is used for enzyme replacement therapy.
Trade Remedy Laws

This paper is a preliminary draft of a chapter for eventual inclusion in the Handbook of International Economic Law, edited by Andrew T. Guzman and Alan O. Sykes, forthcoming from Edward Elgar Publishing. The chapter is a survey of the law and economics of trade remedy laws, including safeguard actions, antidumping law, and countervailing duty law. It lays out the central legal obligations of the WTO in each subject area, and carefully reviews the pertinent economic commentary, both positive and normative.
Maximum likelihood dereverberation with applications in sonic well logging

In the sonic well logging application, an acoustic source and an array of receivers are deployed along the axis of a fluid-filled borehole for the purpose of learning about the formation [1]. Conventional sonic methods position the receiver array many wavelengths from the source and, in effect, perform a refraction experiment in the hole. In this paper, we introduce a new method in which a short-spaced array is used to perform a reflection experiment. Our interest is in the maximum likelihood estimate of the cylindrical wave reflection coefficient of the formation from measurements of the field within the borehole. The problem is fundamentally one of dereverberation and is nonlinear. We present an iterative ML solution which requires only linear estimation at each step. This solution is new and is based, on the iterative ML theory developed by Musicus [2]. Preliminary results are encouraging.
Empirical Model of the Earth’s Response to Astronomical Variations of Insolation

An empirical model of the Earth-atmosphere system is formulated from satellite observations of the response to monthly variations of insolation. Observations of reflectance at different latitude zones are portrayed as functions of insolation magnitude, its spatial gradient and variation in time during the year. Assuming heat transport and storage terms remain the same as today, conservation demands a radiant emittance (and corresponding surface temperature) which balances the energy equation.
Are Financially Distressed Firms Priced Differently

Unexpected stock returns are driven by changes in rational expectations of future cash flows and future returns. Since each of these two components reflects innovations concerning all future horizons, the relative importance of the components may be different between firms with short and long life expectancies. I argue that in firms with financial difficulties, which face high bankruptcy risk, the effect of cash-flow news is more dominant than that of expected-return news, comparing to healthy firms. I find empirical support for my prediction, both by applying Campbell's (1991) variance decomposition framework to three financial-distress-based indices, and by directly examining the sensitivity of stock returns to concurrent shocks to expected volatility. I also examine the relative effect of cash-flow and expected-return news on the occurrence of actual bankruptcies. Both market-level and firm-level tests show that although market prices are mainly affected by changes in expected future returns, more bankruptcies occur after market-declines that are driven by negative shocks to expected cash flows than after market-declines that are driven by positive shocks to expected returns.
Impacts of free market and US foreign policy on Colombian and Latin American revolution

After several coups assisted by US agencies since the fifties in Latin America, and deep economic crises in the eighties and the nineties in South America explained by “the rule of markets” enforced by multilateral organizations, the US leadership in the Americas has been lost, and democratic countries have turned against neoliberalism with wide popular support inside a new “South American revolution” with important projects of integration. Colombia has become the capital in South America for US leadership in economics and politics, and the only country that still has guerrillas, paramilitary armies, and internal conflict. What has been the role of the US in Colombian conflict? What is in stake with the new peace process in Colombia? How this process will affect the US leadership in Latin America? These are some questions that will be reviewed by Noam Chomsky, one of the most influential thinkers of our times.
Are relaxation oscillators an appropriate model of gastrointestinal electrical activity

Mathematical models based on relaxation oscillators have heavily influenced the terminology and experimental designs of investigations in gastrointestinal motility for nearly two decades. Relaxation oscillator equations have been used to stimulate the electrical activities of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, and rectosigmoid region. It has been suggested that many attributes of gastrointestinal electrical activity cannot be adequately explained by classic "core-conductor" or "cable" models of excitation and conduction. This article critically reviews the relaxation oscillator model and provides an explanation for each of the putative inadequacies of core-conductor theory. Furthermore, we question whether relaxation oscillator equations are able to simulate the waveforms of gastrointestinal slow waves, alterations in waveform in response to drugs or electrical stimulation, patterns of slow-wave activity when stimulated at physiological frequencies, prolonged periods of constant resting membrane potential between gastric slow waves and electrotonic spread into inactive regions. We conclude that the relaxation oscillator equations do not fully describe gastrointestinal electrical activity; excitation and propagation can be modeled by a theory that provides for morphological features, ionic conductances, and other elements included in the cable equations.
Lie Algebras and Lie Groups in Control Theory

The theory of differential equations and control have been linked very closely because most of the early applications of control theory were to engineering problems of the type which are most naturally described by ordinary differential equations. The questions of importance in control have helped to revitalize certain problem areas in differential equations and methods and tools from control have been useful in obtaining new results in differential equation theory. On the other hand, going back to the era of Lie himself, there has been close ties between Lie theory and differential equations. Thus it is not surprising that one finds that Lie theory and control are also closely connected. This „triangle“ is the subject of this set of notes.
Chronic dose due to a continuous tritium release calculated by CAP88-PC and NORMTRI

CAP88-PC, Version 2.0, and NORMTRI, which are based on the Gaussian plume model, were used to estimate the chronic dose due to a continuous, ground-level, atmospheric release of tritium as tritiated water. For the same conditions the predictions of CAP88-PC were found to be higher by a factor of 3 or less than those of NORMTRI. The major differences are due to the use of higher dose coefficients in CAP88-PC andNORMTRI's method of calculating the tritium content of food.
Twin Degenerate OPO for Quantum Random Bit Generation

We propose a new quantum random bit generator based on degenerate synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillators. The intrinsic randomness is due to the phase of noise photons. The resulting bit sequence satisfies statistical randomness tests.
Rules of engagement promote polarity in RNA trafficking

Many cell biological pathways exhibit overall polarity (net movement of molecules in one direction) even though individual molecular interactions in the pathway are freely reversible. The A2 RNA trafficking pathway exhibits polarity in moving specific RNA molecules from the nucleus to localization sites in the myelin compartment of oligodendrocytes or dendritic spines in neurons. The A2 pathway is mediated by a ubiquitously expressed trans-acting trafficking factor (hnRNP A2) that interacts with a specific 11 nucleotide cis-acting trafficking sequence termed the A2 response element (A2RE) found in several localized RNAs. Five different molecular partners for hnRNP A2 have been identified in the A2 pathway: hnRNP A2 itself, transportin, A2RE RNA, TOG (tumor overexpressed gene) and hnRNP E1, each playing a key role in one particular step of the A2 pathway. Sequential interactions of hnRNP A2 with different molecular partners at each step mediate directed movement of trafficking intermediates along the pathway. Specific "rules of engagement" (both and, either or, only if) govern sequential interactions of hnRNP A2 with each of its molecular partners. Rules of engagement are defined experimentally using three component binding assays to measure differential binding of hnRNP A2 to one partner in the presence of each of the other partners in the pathway. Here we describe rules of engagement for hnRNP A2 binding to each of its molecular partners and discuss how these rules of engagement promote polarity in the A2 RNA trafficking pathway. For molecules with multiple binding partners, specific rules of engagement govern different molecular interactions. Rules of engagement are ultimately determined by structural relationships between binding sites on individual molecules. In the A2 RNA trafficking pathway rules of engagement governing interactions of hnRNP A2 with different binding partners provide the basis for polarity of movement of intermediates along the pathway.
Assessing Students' Understanding of Macroevolution: Concerns regarding the validity of the MUM

In a recent article, Nadelson and Southerland (2010. Development and preliminary evaluation of the Measure of Understanding of Macroevolution: Introducing the MUM. The Journal of Experimental Education, 78, 151–190) reported on their development of a multiple-choice concept inventory intended to assess college students' understanding of macroevolutionary concepts, the Measure of Understanding Macroevolution (MUM). Given that the only existing evolution inventories assess understanding of natural selection, a microevolutionary concept, a valid assessment of students' understanding of macroevolution would be a welcome and necessary addition to the field of science education. Although the conceptual framework underlying Nadelson and Southerland's test is promising, we believe the test has serious shortcomings with respect to validity evidence for the construct being tested. We argue and provide evidence that these problems are serious enough that the MUM should not be used in its current form to measure stud...
Cryptanalysis and Improvement of a Unique Batch Authentication Protocol for Vehicle-to-Grid Communications

The concept of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) is that electric vehicles (EVs) communicate with the smart grid to sell demand response services by delivering electricity into the grid. By letting EVs discharge during peak hours and charge during off-peak hours, V2G networks could bring numerous social and technical benefits to the smart grid. Due to the scale of the network, the speed of the vehicles, their geographic positions, and the very sporadic connectivity between them, V2G communications have the crucial requirements of fast authentication. In 2011, Guo et al. proposed a unique batch authentication protocol for V2G communications. There are three parties in V2G communications, including an aggregator, a smart grid control centre, and individual EVs. The proposed idea is that instead of verifying each packet for each vehicle, the aggregator verifies the received batch of packets with only one signature verification. They used DSA signature for the batch authentication and claimed their protocol is strong enough to defend against security attacks. In this paper, we investigate the security of Guo et al.’s protocol. More precisely, we show that any attackers can easily forge signatures satisfying the batch verification criterion without the knowledge of the signer’s private key. To remedy the security flaw of Guo et al.’s protocol, we proposed a simple and secure improvement of Guo et al.’s protocol. The key point of the improved protocol is that we make multiple signatures in order. The attacker or the dishonest signer cannot transpose these digital signatures such that the aggregator passes the validation of the batch verifying multiple digital signatures. Based on Guo et al.’s protocol, the security of our proposed protocol is the same as that of their protocol except that our improved protocol has no security flaw of their protocol. Therefore, the improved protocol is secure to detect forged multiple signatures.
Simulation of the Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectrum of the Triplet Ground State Dimer Di-μ-(Pyridine N-Oxide)Bis[Bisnitrato(Pyridine N-Oxide)Copper(II)]

Abstract The EPR spectrum of the triplet ground state dimer di-μ-(pyridine N-oxide)bis[bisnitrato(pyridine N-oxide)copper(II)] has been reported recently1. Of the very few triplet ground state copper(II) dimers with resolved metal hyperfine structure2,3, the EPR spectrum of this complex is most complete. Previously, the analysis of the spectra of triplet ground state copper(II) complexes, in order to extract magnetic parameters, has been made using the equations reported by Wasserman et al.4 The best magnetic parameters should be obtained from a simulation of the experimental spectrum. We wish to report here the computer simulation of the EPR spectrum of a powdered sample of [Cu(II) (PYO)2 (NO3)2]2.
Paper 15: A New Family of Compact Cummins Turbochargers

About four years ago Cummins Engine Company embarked on developing a family of new turbochargers, employing similar design principles which emphasize a minimization of size, weight, number of parts, and manufacturing costs, concomitant with good aerodynamic performance and outstanding reliability. The resulting series of turbochargers is characterized by an extended vaneless diffuser, asymmetrical compressor volute, a simple V-clamp tying the compressor to the turbine, as well as novel features in the bearing and bushing design of these units.This paper describes the analytical studies, design features, and some performance aspects of this new family of turbochargers.
Extracting flexible, replayable models from large block traces

I/O traces are good sources of information about realworld workloads; replaying such traces is often used to reproduce the most realistic system behavior possible. But traces tend to be large, hard to use and share, and inflexible in representing more than the exact system conditions at the point the traces were captured. Often, however, researchers are not interested in the precise details stored in a bulky trace, but rather in some statistical properties found in the traces--properties that affect their system's behavior under load.We designed and built a system that (1) extracts many desired properties from a large block I/O trace, (2) builds a statistical model of the trace's salient characteristics, (3) converts the model into a concise description in the language of one or more synthetic load generators, and (4) can accurately replay the models in these load generators. Our system is modular and extensible. We experimented with several traces of varying types and sizes. Our concise models are 4-6% of the original trace size, and our modeling and replay accuracy are over 90%.
SELECTIVE EXPOSURE AND THE REINFORCEMENT HYPOTHESIS An Intergenerational Panel Study of the 1980 Presidential Campaign

This article tests the traditional two-part hypothesis that partisan predispositions motivate a person to be selectively exposed to political campaign communications, which in turn serve to reinforce those original predispositions. Five hundred one pairs of adolescents and their parents in Wisconsin were interviewed both early and late in the 1980 presidential campaign year. There is some evidence of selective exposure among the adolescents, less among the parents. Exposure to the campaigns of both candidates is associated with greater liking at the end of the campaign, with precampaign liking controlled. These positive effects of exposure contradict the notion that “reinforcement” would include a “negative reinforcement” effect with regard to the opposition candidate. The positive effects do not interact statistically with party identification, which indicates that partisan predispositions do not heighten any presumed reinforcement effect of exposure. In only one of four tests of a causal model in which ...
BST-2/tetherin: Structural biology, viral antagonism, and immunobiology of a potent host antiviral factor

BST-2 (also known as tetherin, CD317, or HM1.24) was first described as a potent interferon-inducible host antiviral factor nearly five years ago. Since that time, numerous reports have been published regarding the antiviral activity and immunological properties of this protein. BST-2 blocks viral replication by inhibiting enveloped virus budding from the surface of infected cells. To counteract this, most viruses have developed strategies to antagonize BST-2, each employing a unique mechanism. In this review, we summarize the antiviral function, structural biology and immunobiology of BST-2. Taken together, our current understanding of BST-2 suggests potential avenues as well as challenges to exploiting its action in the development of broad spectrum antiviral treatments.
Practice Patterns Of Clinicians: Assessment Of Malnutrition In Ckd Dialysis And Interventions

With limited information on the practice patterns regarding clinician identification of malnutrition and the use of nutritional interventions in malnourished CKD-5 dialysis patients, a market research survey was conducted by NKF sponsored by Pentec Health to evaluate this amongst renal clinicians. For dialysis patients, results for the top four assessment markers were: decreased appetite; albumin level; decrease in dry weight, quality of life. Most commonly recommended oral supplements (OS) were nutritionally complete renal, diabetic and standard products with most common barriers: out of pocket cost; patient resistance; and reimbursement issues. Nutrition support and food during dialysis responses for outpatients in table below: Nutrition Intervention % of clinicians who would recommend Barriers to Use (Top 3 ) Tube Feeding 28.0 % Not available at unit; patient resistance; family resistance Intradialytic Parenteral Nutrition (IDPN) 48.7 % Reimbursement ; not available at unit; MD resistance Intraperitoneal Nutrition (IPN) 22.0 % Not available at unit; reimbursement; MD resistance Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) 16.9 % Not available at unit; reimbursement, MD resistance Food During Hemodialysis 83.3 % OS 63.3% Food Drop in blood pressure, risk of aspiration; hygiene Findings: A clinician gap seems to exist around nutrition support interventions in CKD-5 dialysis patients. Meal provision during dialysis could be expanded. These interventions may improve the nutritional status of dialysis patients.
Vertical-cavity modulator for optical interconnection and its high-speed performance

Free-space smart-pixel optical interconnect architecture promises to relive the interconnect bottleneck in high-speed parallel interconnection and switching systems. Vertical cavity Fabry-Perot multiple quantum well modulators, which offers high on-off contrast, low insertion loss, low operating voltage swing, low chirp and easy to be integrated with silicon electronics ins one of the most promising devices. A low chirp vertical cavity Fabry-Perot modulator where the top and bottom mirrors are made of distributed Bragg reflector , the undoped regions between top mirrors and intracavity contact region contain 26 GaAs/Al0.35Ga0.65As quantum wells. By applying a voltage across the quantum well regions through intracavity contacts, the absorptive characteristics of the active region at the cavity's resonance wavelength can be modified through the quantum-confined Stark effect. The device under test is integrated with microwave probe for efficient wafer level GHZ probing without further high frequency packaging. To minimize the parasitic capacitance of the probe pads, the conducting region underneath probe pads is etched away and planarized with low dielectric material-electronics resins BCB. In this paper, we report the low switching voltage with only 3.5V, high contrast ratio of 10:1 and high bandwidth of 16GHz. The effects of incident laser power on the contrast ratio and modulation bandwidth were also discussed.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Formation of prechondrogenic mesenchymal cell aggregates in the regenerating newt limb

Abstract Development of the pattern of prechondrogenic condensations was documented by quantitating regional cell densities within blastemas of regenerating forelimbs of newts. The pattern of development resembles that of embryonic limb development in that the prechondrogenic pattern develops from proximal to distal, and by the presence of an apical epithelial thickening which is most prominent postaxially during the intermediate phase of mesenchymal cell accumulation. Development differs from that described previously in that an increased central cell density is present in the smallest blastemas analyzed, and the sequence of digit formation is from anterior to posterior. Also, a blister often intervenes between the epithelium and mesenchyme during the early phase of development. Cumulatively, these observations support models which suggest mechanisms for proximodistal development and a stimulatory role for apical epithelium. However, the presence of a central cell density prior to definitive aggregation implies a mechanism other than de novo condensation which is assumed in current models. Additionally, increased mesenchymal cell density subjacent to thickened epithelium is contrary to models which imply that such areas should be less dense. Finally, digital aggregates develop from preaxial to postaxial, which is opposite that of most amniotes, and is not predicted by current models of limb morphogenesis.
Proliferating macrophages associated with high grade, hormone receptor negative breast cancer and poor clinical outcome

Macrophages, a key cell in the inflammatory cascade, have been associated with poor prognosis in cancers, including breast cancer. In this study, we investigated the relationship of a subset of macrophages-proliferating macrophages (promacs)-with clinico-pathologic characteristics of breast cancer, including tumor size, grade, stage, lymph node metastases, hormone receptor status, subtype, as well as early recurrence, and survival. This study included a discovery and validation set that was conducted at two institutions and laboratories (University of California, San Francisco and University of Chicago) using two independent cohorts of patients with breast cancer. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections and/or tissue microarrays were double-stained with anti-CD68 (a macrophage marker) and anti-PCNA (a proliferation marker) antibodies. The presence of intratumoral promacs was significantly correlated with high grade, hormone receptor negative tumors, and a basal-like subtype. In contrast, there was no correlation between promacs and tumor size, stage, or the number of the involved lymph nodes. These findings were consistent between the two study cohorts. Finally, promac numbers were a significant predictor of recurrence and survival. In the pooled analysis, elevated promac levels were associated with a 77% increased risk of dying (P = 0.015). The presence of promacs in human breast cancer may serve as a prognostic indicator for poor outcomes and early recurrence and serve as a potential cellular target for novel therapeutic interventions.
AJR Teaching File: infertility in a young woman.

Radiologic Description An oblique axial T2-weighted MR image (Fig. 1) through the horizontal long axis of the uterus shows a muscular septum arising from the fundus and extending into the body region; the overlying junctional zone is continuous over the lateral walls of the uterus. The outer contour of the fundus is flattened, whereas a normal uterine fundus is convex on the outer aspect. The left ovary seen in this image is unremarkable. The right ovary, seen better on a different image (not shown), is also normal in appearance.
Relating clay yield stress to colloidal parameters

The ability to predict rheological behavior of clay dispersions would be useful in formulating systems rheologically modified by clays as well as designing equipment to handle clay based materials. Deriving predictive equations for these materials has been hindered due to the various mechanisms by which clay systems develop microstructure. This work seeks to observe the relationship between the yield stress, tauy, and the zeta potential, zeta, and determine the nature of the particle interactions for dispersions of laponite (a synthetic clay) and dispersions of a mixture of naturally occurring kaolinites and bentonites. It is found that the relationship of tauy to zeta2 for clay suspensions is opposite to that found for homogeneously charged spheroidal colloids. This result can be traced to the type of particle interactions occurring, which for the systems studied appear to be edge-to-face attractions.
Long-term results of open and endovascular revascularization of superficial femoral artery occlusive disease.

Background First-line treatment for patients with superficial femoral arterial (SFA) occlusive disease has yet to be determined. This study compared long-term outcomes between primary SFA stent placement and primary femoral-popliteal bypass. Periprocedural patient factors were examined to determine their effect on these results. Methods All femoral-popliteal bypasses and SFA interventions performed in consecutive patients with symptoms Rutherford 3 to 6 between 2001 and 2008 were reviewed. Time-dependent outcomes were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards were performed to determine predictors of graft patency. Multivariate analysis was completed to identify patient covariates most often associated with the primary therapy. Results A total of 152 limbs in 141 patients (66% male; mean age, 66 ± 22 years) underwent femoral-popliteal bypass, and 233 limbs in 204 patients (49% male; mean age, 70 ± 11 years) underwent SFA interventions. Four-year primary, primary-assisted, and secondary patency rates were 69%, 78%, and 83%, respectively, for bypass patients and 66%, 91%, and 95%, respectively, for SFA interventions. Six-year limb salvage was 80% for bypass vs 92% for stenting (P = .04). Critical limb ischemia (CLI) and renal insufficiency were predictors of bypass failure. Claudication was a predictor of success for SFA stenting. Three-year limb salvage rates for CLI patients undergoing surgery and SFA stenting were 83%. Amputation-free survival at 3 years for CLI patients was 55% for bypass and 59% for SFA interventions. Multivariate predictors (odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals) of covariates most frequently associated with first-line SFA stenting were TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus II A and B lesions (5.9 [3.4-9.1], P 70 years (2.1 [1.4-3.1], P Conclusion Indication, patient-specific covariates, and anatomic lesion classification have significant association when determining surgeon selection of SFA stenting or femoral-popliteal bypass as first-line therapy. Patients with SFA disease can have comparable long-term results when treatment options are well matched to patient-specific and anatomic characteristics.
Edge-Flames and Their Stability

Flame sheets that arise in non-premixed combustion often have edges. The leading edge of a flame spreading over a fuel-bed, solid or liquid, is one example. The edge of a hemi-spherical candle flame in microgravity is another. We construct a one-dimensional model which contains some of the essential physics of these edge-flames, and use this model to describe stationary solutions and their stability. The model corresponds to a new class of combustion waves which resemble deflagrations in some respects yet exhibit important differences. Thus, in a uniform flow, wave-like solutions are possible with positive, negative or vanishing wave-speeds, depending on an assignable Damkohler number. At large activation energy, reaction is concentrated primarily in a thin region (the edge) but it persists, in diminished form, behind the edge. This residual reaction plays a key role in defining the flame - or edge-temperature which, in turn, controls the dynamics of the structure. The familiar Lewis-number stability boun...
Volunteer Organizations Serve as Leadership Labs for Business Persons

Christopher Quartly, in the September 1973 issue of Personnel Journal, emphasized that volunteer organizations have been underestimated and misrepresented as a source of managerial development. Yet volunteer organizations, he stressed, are actually laboratories for leadership!
Allopregnanolone does not influence ethanol-induced conditioned place preference in DBA/2J mice

The neurosteroid allopregnanolone (ALLOP; 3α-hydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one) produces behavioral and discriminative characteristics similar to that of ethanol (EtOH) and can modulate some of the behavioral and electrophysiological effects of EtOH. The present experiments investigated ALLOP modulation of the effects of EtOH in a place conditioning procedure in male DBA/2J mice. In a series of experiments examining different EtOH doses (1, 2 g/kg) and ALLOP administration times, ALLOP (0, 3.2, 10, 17 mg/kg, IP) was administered four times with EtOH prior to placement on a distinctive floor (CS+). On alternate days, vehicle was administered prior to a saline injection paired with the other floor stimulus (CS−). In a separate experiment, finasteride (0, 50, 100 mg/kg, IP), a 5α-reductase inhibitor that blocks ALLOP synthesis, was administered prior to both CS+ and CS− trials. In a final experiment, animals were place conditioned to EtOH alone, and ALLOP (0, 3.2, 10, 17 mg/kg, IP) was administered prior to the preference test only. During conditioning, ALLOP increased and finasteride decreased EtOH-stimulated activity compared with vehicle pretreatment. Acquisition of 2 g/kg EtOH-induced conditioned place preference was observed in all mice, regardless of treatment with either ALLOP or finasteride. Similarly, ALLOP did not modulate the expression of EtOH-induced place preference. EtOH increased brain ALLOP levels compared with saline; however, ALLOP administration produced dose-dependent elevations in brain ALLOP levels that were not further augmented by EtOH (2 g/kg) administration. These findings indicate that ALLOP does not modulate EtOH-induced place conditioning in male DBA/2J mice.
Anti-heat shock protein 70 antibodies in Meniere's disease.

Objectives To determine the prevalence of anti–heat shock protein 70 (anti-HSP70) antibodies in patients with Meniere's disease and healthy subjects and to probe the relationship between antibody status and clinical features of Meniere's disease. Study Design Prospective cohort study of consecutive consenting patients with Meniere's disease. Methods Serum samples were obtained prospectively from 134 patients with Meniere's disease and 124 blood donors. Serial samples were taken at 3-month intervals in 38 of 134 patients with Meniere's disease. Demographic data and clinical characterization of vestibular and auditory status were acquired with each sample. Serum was assayed for anti-HSP70 antibodies by Western blot using bovine renal extract, recombinant bovine HSP70, and recombinant human HSP70 antigens. Results Immunoreactivity against bovine renal extract HSP70 was found in 38% of patients with Meniere's disease, compared with 25% of blood donors (P < .04). Reactivity with recombinant antigens was not significantly different between patients with Meniere's disease and healthy control subjects. Patients with Meniere's disease who reacted with all three antigens were more likely to have simultaneously active hearing and balance symptoms (P = .03). Neither univariate nor multivariate statistical analysis established any other association between serological findings and clinical features of Meniere's disease. Tests performed on serial samples of patients with Meniere's disease also showed no association of positive or negative test results with changes in clinical course. Conclusions Because of the high prevalence of anti-HSP70 antibodies in healthy subjects and the very limited association of anti-HSP70 antibody status with clinical features or course of Meniere's disease, we conclude that, at present, the detection of anti-HSP70 antibodies by Western blotting offers little clinically useful information in Meniere's disease.
Novel mixed matrix membranes based on polymerizable room-temperature ionic liquids and SAPO-34 particles to improve CO2 separation

Abstract A mixed-matrix membrane containing three components consisting of a solid polymerized room-temperature ionic liquid (poly(RTIL)), a liquid RTIL, and a zeolite material was previously investigated. This membrane showed an improvement in CO2/CH4 separation over the neat poly(RTIL)–RTIL composite membrane without the zeolite component. It was hypothesized that the RTIL served as “wetting agent,” improving the adhesion between the poly(RTIL) (a charged organic polymer) and zeolite particles (charged inorganic particles). In this article, a detailed study of the CO2 separation performance of this 3-component MMM system is presented, along with results showing how the system can be optimized or tuned. Specifically, this study focuses on the effect of varying SAPO-34 and RTIL loadings on the separation performance of the 3-component MMMs. 3-Component MMMs containing [emim][Tf2N] and styrene-based poly(RTIL)s with various loadings of SAPO-34 and various compositions of RTILs and poly(RTIL)s were prepared. Another type of poly(RTIL), which has a longer n-alkyl substituent and a polyolefin backbone was also investigated, in addition to the initial styrene-based poly(RTIL). The single gas permeation of various compositions and types of these 3-component MMMs were investigated. The results show that increasing the amount of RTIL in the 3-component MMM increases the CO2 permeability of the composite membrane. The presence of the SAPO-34 particles in the 3-component MMM improves both the CO2/CH4 selectivity and CO2 permeability in comparison to the neat poly(RTIL)–RTIL composite membrane. For the 3-component MMMs based on the poly(RTIL) with an olefin backbone, the presence of the added liquid RTIL component is not mandatory, which may be due to the similarity of its structure compared to [emim][Tf2N]. In this paper, we also propose a potential molecular arrangement of the poly(RTIL), RTIL, and SAPO-34 particles in the 3-component MMMs.
Convergence Rates of Spatial Difference Equations for the Discrete-Ordinates Neutron Transport Equations in Slab Geometry

AbstractThe order of convergence, as the spatial cell widths tend to zero, is derived for six numerical methods that have been proposed for the slab geometry, multigroup, discrete-ordinates neutron transport equations. Our results, which in two cases differ from earlier experimental results, are illustrated by means of a simple test problem.
A model for software plans

Even in well-designed software, some concerns can not be easily encapsulated due to their dependence on surrounding context. Such concerns are intermingled with each other and the context code, making it difficult for developers to reason independently about them. We have introduced software plans as an editor-based approach for addressing the tangling of context-dependent concerns. Software plans provide programmers with partial views of the overall software which present only that code related to concerns of current interest. The problem we address is that the traditional sequence-of-characters representation for code is poorly suited for software plans. It lacks the ability to accurately model the concerns associated with a code block, the relationships between code blocks, and the notion of multiple independent plans. In this paper, we present a formally-defined code/concern model that supports these capabilities and more. Using this model, we were able to implement a prototype editing tool that supports software plans.
Role of flour fractions in breadmaking quality of frozen dough

ABSTRACT The primary objective of the research was to fractionate two flours into four major flour components (starch, water solubles, gliadin, and glutenin) and determine the contributions of these fractions to frozen dough quality. Two hard red spring wheat flours of diverse mixing properties, Glupro (strong) and Prospect (weak), were used. When each fraction of Prospect was replaced by the corresponding Glupro fraction, the baking quality of the Prospect reconstituted frozen doughs was improved. Replacement of Glupro fractions with equivalent Prospect fractions resulted in a decline in baking quality of the reconstituted frozen doughs. The functional properties of the four fractions appeared to depend on interactions between fraction and flour components. This was observed when two fractions from one cultivar were simultaneously exchanged with the corresponding two fractions of the other cultivar. This experiment resulted in better baking quality than that of the original reconstituted flours. Within t...
The Absolute Spectral Diffuse Reflectance of Magnesium Oxide

The published values of the spectral diffuse reflectance of magnesium oxide indicate that it should reflect more highly in the red than in the blue. Using a modification of the method described by Preston, we have measured the absolute value of this quantity between λ=0.24μ and λ=0.85μ. A very carefully prepared surface of MgO on silver has a reflectance of about 0.98 at λ=0.54μ, where there is a very flat maximum. The reflectance of a fresh surface falls to less than 0.96 at 0.4μ, but exposure to strong ultraviolet light bleaches it, the final result being a reflectance increasing continuously from the near-infrared to about 0.4μ, where it begins to fall sharply, reaching 0.96 at about 0.25μ. A sphere lined with such a bleached surface raises the color-temperature of Planckian radiation a little, and the observed color agrees well with that predicted from the new results. It is believed that these results are reliable to ±0.002 from λ=0.4μ to λ=0.7μ, but different surfaces prepared with equal care may differ in reflectance by at least 0.005.The bleaching is presumed to be caused by the decomposition of small amounts of magnesium nitride.
Hematopoietic growth factors—An overview

The hematopoietic growth factors are a family of glycoprotein hormones that regulate hematopoietic cell proliferation and mature blood cell function. The list of colony-stimulating factors and interleukins known to stimulate blood cell production is now quite long; these hormones are produced in quantity by recombinant molecular methodologies and most have entered clinical trials. We will shortly have the power to regulate the numbers and function of the circulating blood cells, and the challenge of the coming decade will be in dissecting how these growth factors can be used optimally in therapeutic practice. A central theme of their use will be the enhancement of host defense, opening an area of medical therapy of great potential to reduce the morbidity and mortality of cancer, infectious diseases and immune deficiency states.
Seed and pollen flow and cline discordance among genes with different modes of inheritance.

The relationships between seed and pollen flow and cline discordance/concordance between cytoplasmic and nuclear genes, with the incorporation of the effects of natural selection, are formulated for one locus with two alleles, under assumptions of random mating, no drift and no mutation. Results show that under certain conditions, the relative roles of seed and pollen flow in shaping cline discordance/concordance are very similar to their roles in influencing population differentiation for selectively neutral markers with different modes of inheritance. Where the disequilibria between cytoplasmic and nuclear genes are of the order similar to selection coefficient, cline discordance/concordance can be predicted from the relative values of the ratio of pollen to seed flow and the ratio of selection coefficients. Where the disequilibria attained by seed and pollen flow are significant, the integrated cytonuclear data are recommended for cline analysis. In both cases, the relative rates of selection coefficients between cytoplasmic and nuclear genes can be roughly estimated according to their characteristic length.
Dendrite Spacings in Directionally Solidified Superalloy PWA-1480

Abstract Primary dendrite spacings and side-branch coarsening kinetics were examined in specimens of the single-crystal multicomponent commercial superalloy PWA-1480, which were directionally solidified in a positive thermal gradient. The experimentally observed dependence of primary dendrite spacings and side-branch coarsening kinetics on growth rate and thermal gradient were in agreement with the behavior predicted by analytical models developed for binary alloys.
SDIm an introductory programming course with an ECE context

We report on the content of a pilot for a revised introductory programming course for ECE students titled “Software Design I, modified” (SDIm). SDIm incorporates pedagogical components from a course developed by our computer science department (CCS0) combined with an introduction to electric circuits and other ECE topics. SDIm is being developed in response to observations from several ECE faculty that many students, who attended the previously-offered courses in introductory C-programming had struggled with minor programming assignments throughout the ECE curriculum. The new course initially employs a simple interpreted programming environment based on “Python”. It uses simple small programs associated with mathematical and physical applications in order to illustrate the concepts of programming techniques combined with electric circuits. We expect that students will more quickly learn the fundamentals of and that they will effectively transfer these understandings to the study of C during the second half of the same course.
Nurse staffing and deficiencies in the largest for-profit nursing home chains and chains owned by private equity companies.

Objective To compare staffing levels and deficiencies of the 10 largest U.S. for-profit nursing home chains with five other ownership groups and chain staffing and deficiencies before and after purchase by four private equity (PE) companies. Data Sources Facilities for the largest for-profit chains were identified through Internet searches and company reports and matched with federal secondary data for 2003–2008 for each ownership group. Study Design Descriptive statistics and generalized estimation equation panel regression models examined staffing and deficiencies by ownership groups in the 2003–2008 period, controlling for facility characteristics, resident acuity, and market factors with state fixed effects. Principal Findings The top 10 for-profit chains had lower registered nurse and total nurse staffing hours than government facilities, controlling for other factors. The top 10 chains received 36 percent higher deficiencies and 41 percent higher serious deficiencies than government facilities. Other for-profit facilities also had lower staffing and higher deficiencies than government facilities. The chains purchased by PE companies showed little change in staffing levels, but the number of deficiencies and serious deficiencies increased in some postpurchase years compared with the prepurchase period. Conclusions There is a need for greater study of large for-profit chains as well as those chains purchased by PE companies.
On Some American Spiders of the Family Erigonidae

The present paper is necessitated by the large number of new forms that came to light while the writer was undertaking to arrange systematically the extensive collection of Erigonidae accumulated over many years at the University of Utah. To diagnose and name a portion of these new forms at this time seems a desirable step in work on the taxonomic problem presented by this large and difficult family, even though the assignment of some species to their genera must for the present be tentative, more especially where the species are known only from females. This must remain the situation until much work is done by way of establishing or clarifying the too much neglected generic characters presented by the females and of correlating these with those of the males.