cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High dynamic range ultrasound imaging

High dynamic range (HDR) imaging is a popular computational photography technique that has found its way into every modern smartphone and camera. In HDR imaging, images acquired at different exposures are combined to increase the luminance range of the final image, thereby extending the limited dynamic range of the camera. Ultrasound imaging suffers from limited dynamic range as well; at higher power levels, the hyperechogenic tissue is overexposed, whereas at lower power levels, hypoechogenic tissue details are not visible. In this work, we apply HDR techniques to ultrasound imaging, where we combine ultrasound images acquired at different power levels to improve the level of detail visible in the final image. Ultrasound images of ex vivo and in vivo tissue are acquired at different acoustic power levels and then combined to generate HDR ultrasound (HDR-US) images. The performance of five tone mapping operators is quantitatively evaluated using a similarity metric to determine the most suitable mapping for HDR-US imaging. The ex vivo and in vivo results demonstrated that HDR-US imaging enables visualizing both hyper- and hypoechogenic tissue at once in a single image. The Durand tone mapping operator preserved the most amount of detail across the dynamic range. Our results strongly suggest that HDR-US imaging can improve the utility of ultrasound in image-based diagnosis and procedure guidance.
Connections for a Class of Pseudogroup Structures

Affine connections have long been familiar in differential geometry, among other things for providing a measure of deviation from flatness for manifolds; here flatness means the existence of a system of local coordinates such that the transition functions between any two coordinate systems are affine transformations. The intention of the present note is to show how similar connections can be introduced, in real C ∞ or in complex analytic manifolds, associated to some general classes of pseudogroup structures, for the purpose of investigating the existence of systems of local coordinates with transition functions lying in the pseudogroups. The point of view adopted here is analytical rather than geometrical, in the sense that connections are envisaged as arising from the formal properties of certain systems of partial differential equations rather than as deriving from the splittings of vector bundles into vertical and horizontal components. The classical affine and projective connections of course appear again, and the familiar relationship between them seems perhaps simpler in this context.
Penile Prosthesis Complications: Planning, Prevention, and Decision Making.

Abstract Introduction Inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) is an established treatment option for men with erectile dysfunction (ED) refractory to medical therapy. Standardization of surgical technique and improvements in device construction have reduced all-cause complication rates to less than 5% in recent reports. Nonetheless, complications do exist, and can strongly impact morbidity and the quality of life of patients. Prosthetic urologists must be aware of the constellation of complications that can arise during or after IPP placement. Aim To provide a comprehensive review of penile prosthesis complications and discuss preventative strategies, as well as proper preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative decision making. Methods A review of the available literature from 1973 to 2018 was performed using PubMed with regard to IPP complications. Main Outcome Measures We reviewed publications that outlined preoperative planning strategies and the following IPP complications: hematoma, floppy glans, corporal fibrosis, corporal perforation and crossover, urethral injury, infection, impending erosion, and glandular ischemia. Results Careful patient and device selection, setting realistic expectations of postsurgical outcomes, and adherence to a perioperative checklist is essential in the preoperative period. Intraoperatively, anticipate corporal fibrosis situations and always dilate laterally during corporal passage to reduce the risk of crossover and urethral injury. Limit perioperative antiplatelet therapy, apply compressive dressing, use a closed suction drain if indicated, and leave the device partially inflated postoperatively to reduce risk of hematoma. After surgery, monitor patients for potential complications that may warrant device explantation or salvage: IPP infection, glans ischemia, and impending erosion. Conclusions By using evidence and expert opinion-based decision-making strategies in the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative period of IPP placement, surgeons can reduce the risk of complications and dissatisfaction, even in ED patients with multiple comorbid conditions. Scherzer ND, Dick B, Gabrielson AT, et al. Penile Prosthesis Complications: Planning, Prevention, and Decision Making. Sex Med Rev 2019;7:349–359.
Study of human chromosome. V: The effects of thymidine concentration and timing on the expression of uridine-induced constitutive fragile sites

The induction of fragile sites on human chromosomes has been demonstrated under various conditions that cause thymidylate stress, including exposure to uridine. In this study, we examined common fragile site expression by initially exposing peripheral lymphocytes to uridine, followed by repair of the fragile sites with media containing various concentrations of thymidine. Lymphocytes were cultured in medium 199 with 2 mM uridine. At 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 12, and 18 h before harvest, the uridine medium was removed and replaced by medium containing thymidine at various concentrations. Our results demonstrate that the effect of uridine on chromosome fragility can be reversed by low concentrations of thymidine (2 μM up to 200 μM) and the “rescuing” effect of thymidine can be achieved if the cells were treated prior to 2–3 h before harvest. No repair was found if thymidine was added to culture within 2 h prior to harvesting, suggesting that packing of chromosomes is also an important factor in the expression and repair of fragile sites.
The Unproductive Protective State: The U.S. Defense Sector as a Fiscal Commons

Economists model state-provided defense as a value-added, public good. The actual government provision of defense, however, is a “black box” that is rarely analyzed. This chapter contributes to opening this black box by analyzing the U.S. defense budget. We provide an institutional explanation for why scarce public resources are often squandered on defense-related activities. Our framework blends insights from James Buchanan and Elinor Ostrom and models the U.S. defense budget as a “fiscal commons.” We consider the absence of mechanisms to ameliorate overgrazing and, in doing so, emphasize that waste, fraud, and abuse is a system feature of the current system. We also consider the implications for reform.
ПЕДАГОГІКА ПРАЦІ: ПОЛЬСЬКИЙ РИНОК ПРАЦІ ПІД ВПЛИВОМ ПРОЦЕСІВ ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКОЇ ІНТЕГРАЦІЇ

Experts determine the changes in the labor market and employment as one of the peculiarities of the European integration process of the Republic of Poland. The article indicates trends that led to changes in the labor market and employment, focusing on a concise analysis of the threats and challenges that Polish society faced. It is indicated that trends, challenges and threats, their extensive diagnostics and theoretical understanding became the subject of studies of labor pedagogy. This is a branch of pedagogical knowledge that studies issues of education in conjunction with human professional work, develops qualification frameworks, modular programs of professional learning, professional education programs, practical projects for the further development of professional training, retraining, and improvement of specialists for the free labor market.The new forms of employment, including outsourcing, freelance, competition for the place of work (as the basis for the development of new competencies) relate to positive phenomena in the labor market during the investigated period.The threats that arise in the field of employment have also been reconsidered. In particular, such forms of the functioning of the individual in the work environment as workaholism, mobbing, professional stress, high unemployment level. Studying of the Polish experience of applied approaches in the research of these phenomena has a direct impact on: the formation of the goals of professional education of specialists in the context of Ukraine's Eurointegration course; the development of flexible content in order to adapt to the needs of the modern economy, to the various forms of population's engagement (especially unemployed one) to different types of education and social inclusion.
Persistently low peace of mind in parents of cancer patients: A five‐year follow‐up study

Background Pediatric cancer affects the well-being of the entire family. Previously, our group found that 76% of parents experience low peace of mind after diagnosis. Herein, we present a five-year follow-up study of these same parents, aiming to determine whether low peace of mind persisted, and what baseline variables associate with persistently low peace of mind. Procedure Cross-sectional survey of parents of children with cancer between April 2004 and September 2005 within one year of diagnosis, and a follow-up questionnaire administered at least five years later. Results Sixty-six percent of parents whose children were living and who were able to be contacted completed follow-up questionnaires (91/138). Of these parents, 77% (70/91) were parents of disease-free survivors and 23% (21/91) had recurrent disease. The majority of parents (66%, 53/88) had low peace of mind five years after diagnosis, regardless of relapse status or prognosis. Additionally, 28% of parents of disease-free survivors reported being very/extremely worried about relapse (18/66), late toxicities (19/66), and late effects (19/66). Each worry was associated with low peace of mind (OR between 9.66 and 20.09 for each worry). In bivariable logistic regression, low peace of mind at five years was negatively associated with trusting the physician completely at baseline, with and without adjustment for relapse status (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.12 to 0.87, P = 0.032, adjusted for relapse). Conclusion Most long-term studies and interventions have focused on parental bereavement. Our findings show that most parents are changed by pediatric cancer, even when children survive and the future is bright.
The impact of the immune microenvironment in patients with GEP-NETs.

267Background: The immune microenvironment in neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) remains largely unexplored with very limited data evaluating its impact on survival. We aimed to characterize the immune m...
Landscapes of Fear: Spatial Patterns of Risk Perception and Response

Animals experience varying levels of predation risk as they navigate heterogeneous landscapes, and behavioral responses to perceived risk can structure ecosystems. The concept of the landscape of fear has recently become central to describing this spatial variation in risk, perception, and response. We present a framework linking the landscape of fear, defined as spatial variation in prey perception of risk, to the underlying physical landscape and predation risk, and to resulting patterns of prey distribution and antipredator behavior. By disambiguating the mechanisms through which prey perceive risk and incorporate fear into decision making, we can better quantify the nonlinear relationship between risk and response and evaluate the relative importance of the landscape of fear across taxa and ecosystems.
QoS-Aware Power Management with Deep Learning

Network densification is becoming an overwhelming phenomenon in many emerging wireless communication paradigms. Although network densification may promote system metrics like the throughputs, the quality-of-service (QoS) issue needs to be carefully investigated. Commonly, the QoS-aware power management is tightly restricted by the complicated patterns of interferences among multiple active communication devices. Conventional approaches in optimizing the QoS-aware power management problem may either fail to convergence or the overall power rate is unsatisfactory. In this paper, we make an effort to solve the QoS-aware power management problem with the aid of the deep learning (DL) methodology. Recently DL has shone light on wide variety of research fields, such as image processing and natural language processing. It is our intensive interest in exploring the role that DL plays to solve the QoS-aware power management problem. In the presented extensive experimental analysis work, we show that the DL-based method can well match the solution generated by a conventional optimization procedure. It is impressed that the convergence of DL is quite fast. Moreover, the DL-based approach demonstrates the better performance when the conventional method enters the infeasible region.
Instability of Flux Flow and Production of Vortex-Antivortex Pairs by Current-Driven Josephson Vortices in Layered Superconductors

We report numerical simulations of the nonlinear dynamics of Josephson vortices driven by strong dc currents in layered superconductors. Dynamic equations for interlayer phase differences in a stack of coupled superconducting layers were solved to calculate a drag coefficient $\ensuremath{\eta}(J)$ of the vortex as a function of the perpendicular dc current density $J$. It is shown that Cherenkov radiation produced by a moving vortex causes significant radiation drag increasing $\ensuremath{\eta}(v)$ at high vortex velocities $v$ and striking instabilities of driven Josephson vortices moving faster than a terminal velocity ${v}_{c}$. The steady-state flux flow breaks down at $vg{v}_{c}$ as the vortex starts producing a cascade of expanding vortex-antivortex pairs evolving into either planar macrovortex structures or branching flux patterns propagating both along and across the layers. This vortex-antivortex pair production triggered by a rapidly moving vortex is most pronounced in a stack of underdamped planar junctions where it can occur at $Jg{J}_{s}$ well below the interlayer Josephson critical current density. Both ${v}_{c}$ and ${J}_{s}$ were calculated as functions of the quasiparticle damping parameter, and the dc magnetic field was applied parallel to the layers. The effects of vortex interaction on the Cherenkov instability of moving vortex chains and lattices in annular stacks of Josephson junctions were considered. It is shown that a vortex driven by a current density $Jg{J}_{s}$ in a multilayer of finite length excites self-sustained large-amplitude standing waves of magnetic flux, resulting in temporal oscillations of the total magnetic moment. We evaluated a contribution of this effect to the power $W$ radiated by the sample and showed that $W$ increases strongly as the number of layers increases. These mechanisms can result in nonlinearity of the $c$-axis electromagnetic response and contribute to THz radiation from the layered cuprates at high dc current densities flowing perpendicular to the $ab$ planes.
Evaluation of Soybean for Resistance to Neohyadatothrips variabilis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) Noninfected and Infected With Soybean Vein Necrosis Virus

Soybean vein necrosis virus (SVNV) was first identified in Arkansas and Tennessee in 2008 and is now known to be widespread in the United States and Canada. Multiple species of thrips transmit this and other tospoviruses with Neohydatothrips variabilis (Beach) (soybean thrips) cited as the most efficient vector for SVNV. In this study, 18 soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., genotypes were evaluated in four experiments by infesting plants with noninfected and SVNV-infected thrips using choice and no-choice assays. In both choice experiments with noninfected and SVNV-infected thrips, the lowest number of immature soybean thrips occurred on plant introductions (PIs) 229358 and 604464 while cultivars Williams 82 and Williamsfield Illini 3590N supported higher counts of mature thrips. The counts between the two assays (noninfected and SVNV-infected thrips) were positively correlated. In both no-choice experiments with noninfected and SVNV-infected thrips, counts of thrips did not differ by soybean genotypes. Further studies are needed to characterize the inheritance and mechanisms involved in the resistance found in the choice assay.
Sewage treatment process refinement and intensification using multi-criteria decision making approach: A case study

Abstract In assessing sewage treatment systems, decision makers now have to consider sustainability, affordability, and reliability beyond functionality. To facilitate this complex assessment, multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) tools have evolved recently. This case study illustrates an application of the Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment of Evaluations (PROMETHEE) method in the MCDM process in evaluating five sewage treatment systems: activated sludge treatment followed by anaerobic digestion (P1); photoautotrophic algal treatment followed by hydrothermal liquefaction (P2) or by anaerobic digestion (P3); and, mixotrophic algal treatment followed by hydrothermal liquefaction (P4) or by anaerobic digestion (P5). This evaluation is based on 15 criteria aligned with the United Nation’s sustainable development goals. Based on energy recovery, the five processes ranked as follows: P2; P3; P4; P5; and P1. But, when all the 15 criteria are considered, P4 ranked as the most preferred option followed by P5 and P2. Utility of the MCDM approach in highlighting drawbacks of the options and identifying areas for improvement is illustrated. This study indicated that recovering phosphates and energy from the digested sludge in P1 offer greater potential to improve its ranking than by minimizing its energy demand for aeration. Increasing biomass density in the mixotrophic system can further improve its ranking, minimizing footprint and maximizing recoveries. Since the energy-intensity of hydrothermal liquefaction in P2 and P4 (4.57 and 23.23 kWh/kg BOD, respectively) is higher than that of anaerobic digestion in P1 (0.01 kWh/kg BOD), nutrient recovery from its byproducts has to be maximized to justify its selection.
Predicting Psycho-Educational Problems in Childhood.

Presented are (1)a brief synthesis of several key conceptual and methodological concerns and some ethical perspectives related to identification of psychoeducational problems and (2) conclusions regarding the current state of the art. The conceptual discussion focuses on differentiating prediction from identification and screening from diagnosis; three models used in developing assessment procedures also are presented. Methodologically , the minimal requirements for satisfactory research are described and current problems are highlighted. Three ethical perspectives are discussed; costbenefit for the individual , models-motives-goals underlying practices, and cost-benefit for the culture. The current state of the art is seen as not supporting the efficacy of the widespread use of currently available procedures for mass screening. Given this point and the methodological and ethical concerns discussed, it is suggested that policy makers reallocate limited resources away from mass identification and toward health maintenance and other approaches to prevention and early-age intervention.
Penalized Parametric PET Image Estimation Using Local Linear Fitting

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful imaging tool for quantifying physiological information. Particularly, parametric PET imaging has been increasingly investigated because the voxel-wise spatial distribution of tracer kinetics can be achieved, which is suitable for identifying heterogeneous tracer uptake. Our goal is to provide a fast and accurate parametric imaging method by utilizing the full-dose image. In this article, we propose a novel penalized parametric imaging in which dynamic images are reconstructed frame by frame, and then voxel-wise kinetic parameters are iteratively estimated by a kinetic-domain penalty using a local linear fitting (LLF) that utilizes a full-dose static image as a prior in the penalty. In our optimization, a dual-domain approximation is derived to efficiently split suboptimizations for image and kinetic parameter separately, which can simplify suboptimizations including the nonlinear fitting of the two-tissue compartment model (2-TCM). In addition, we further investigate the feasibility of image-driven input function extraction by comparing with the standard blood sampling. We evaluated the performance of the proposed method using simulation and patient study with [18F]MK6240 tau scan data of two subjects, and results are compared with the conventional method and the Logan graphical model. We demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the conventional parametric imaging methods.
Long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide and mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract Background Ambient air pollution is among the greatest environmental risks to human health. However, little is known about the health effects of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a traffic-related air pollutant. Herein, we aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to investigate the long-term effects of NO2 on mortality. Methods We conducted a systematic search for studies that were published up to February 2020 and performed a meta-analysis of all available epidemiologic studies evaluating the associations between long-term exposure to NO2 with all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality. Overall pooled effect estimates as well as subgroup-specific pooled estimates (e.g. location, exposure assessment method, exposure metric, study population, age at recruitment, and key confounder adjustment) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using random-effects models. Risk of bias assessment was accessed by following WHO global air quality guidelines. Publication bias was accessed by visually inspecting funnel plot and Egger's liner regression was used to test of asymmetry. Results Our search initially retrieved 1349 unique studies, of which 34 studies met the inclusion criteria. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause mortality was 1.06 (95%CI: 1.04–1.08, n = 28 studies, I2 = 98.6%) per 10 ppb increase in annual NO2 concentrations. The pooled HRs for cardiovascular and respiratory mortality per 10 ppb increment were 1.11 (95%CI: 1.07–1.16, n = 20 studies, I2 = 99.2%) and 1.05 (95%CI: 1.02–1.08, n = 17 studies, I2 = 94.6%), respectively. The sensitivity analysis pooling estimates from multi-pollutant models suggest an independent effect of NO2 on mortality. Funnel plots indicate that there is no evidence for publication bias in our study. Conclusion We provide robust epidemiological evidence that long-term exposure to NO2, a proxy for traffic-sourced air pollutants, is associated with a higher risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality that might be independent of other common air pollutants.
Public interactions, attitudes, and conflict regarding management of a “novel” urban species

As coyotes (Canis latrans) expand their range into urban areas across the U.S., monitoring human-coyote conflicts and discussing future management options can avoid reactionary decisions that often...
How the PhoP/PhoQ System Controls Virulence and Mg 2+ Homeostasis: Lessons in Signal Transduction, Pathogenesis, Physiology, and Evolution

The PhoP/PhoQ two-component system governs virulence, Mg2+ homeostasis, and resistance to a variety of antimicrobial agents, including acidic pH and cationic antimicrobial peptides, in several Gram-negative bacterial species. Best understood in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, the PhoP/PhoQ system consists o-regulated gene products alter PhoP-P amounts, even under constant inducing conditions. PhoP-P controls the abundance of hundreds of proteins both directly, by having transcriptional effects on the corresponding genes, and indirectly, by modifying the abundance, activity, or stability of other transcription factors, regulatory RNAs, protease regulators, and metabolites. The investigation of PhoP/PhoQ has uncovered novel forms of signal transduction and the physiological consequences of regulon evolution.
Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) Triggers Inflammatory Responses in Macrophages

We were the first to previously report that microcystin-LR (MC-LR) has limited effects within the colons of healthy mice but has toxic effects within colons of mice with pre-existing inflammatory bowel disease. In the current investigation, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism by which MC-LR exacerbates colitis and to identify effective therapeutic targets. Through our current investigation, we report that there is a significantly greater recruitment of macrophages into colonic tissue with pre-existing colitis in the presence of MC-LR than in the absence of MC-LR. This is seen quantitatively through IHC staining and the enumeration of F4/80-positive macrophages and through gene expression analysis for Cd68, Cd11b, and Cd163. Exposure of isolated macrophages to MC-LR was found to directly upregulate macrophage activation markers Tnf and Il1b. Through a high-throughput, unbiased kinase activity profiling strategy, MC-LR-induced phosphorylation events were compared with potential inhibitors, and doramapimod was found to effectively prevent MC-LR-induced inflammatory responses in macrophages.
Material Classification by Analysis of Prompt Photon Spectra Induced by 14-Mev Neutrons☆

Abstract Neutron based technologies are widely used in the field of bulk material analysis. These methods employ characteristic prompt gamma rays induced by a neutron probe for classification of the interrogated object using the elemental parameters extracted from the spectral data. Automatic data analysis and material classification algorithms are required for applications where access to nuclear spectroscopy expertise is limited and/or the autonomous robotic operation is necessary. Data obtained with neutron based systems differ from elemental composition evaluations based on chemical formulae due to statistical nature of nuclear reactions, presence of shielding and cladding, and other environmental conditions. Experimental data that are produced by the spectral decomposition can be expressed graphically as sets of overlapping classes in a multidimensional space of measured elemental intensities. To discriminate between classes of various materials, decision-tree and pattern recognition algorithms were studied. Results of application of these methods to data sets obtained for a pulsed 14-MeV neutron generator based active interrogation system are discussed.
The Potential for Cost-Effective Reductions of Non-Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the U.S.

To date, most of the economic analyses of greenhouse gas emission reductions have focused on energy-related carbon emissions since carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions currently account for about 82 percent of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions weighted by 100-year global warming potentials (EPA, 1999a). A number of recent analyses, however, suggest that the inclusion of mitigation options for the non-CO2 greenhouse gases included in the Kyoto Protocol — methane, nitrous oxide, and the high GWP (global warming potential) gases (HFCs, PFCs, and SF6) — can make a significant contribution to cost-effective emission reductions for the U.S.
Differences in localization of insulin receptors and adenylate cyclase in the human placenta

The interactions of hormones with plasma membranes in the human placenta were characterized for specific fetal and maternal components. The microvillus brush border membrane, which is exposed to maternal blood in the intervillous space, was markedly enriched in specific insulin receptors but contained no hormone-sensitive adenylate cyclase. On the other hand, a basal plasma membrane fraction, which is presumably exposed more directly to fetal hormones, contained adenylate cyclase which was sensitive to prostaglandins, epinephrine, and fluoride but was not enriched in insulin receptors or other brush border markers. This study demonstrates separate fetal and maternal aspects of placental-hormone interactions. This separation and the relative impermeability of the placenta to hormones may allow for independent maternal and fetal components of the interaction of hormones with the placenta.
A Review of “The Queen's Hand: Power and Authority in the Reign of Berenguela of Castile”

Janna Bianchini, an assistant professor of history at the University of Maryland, has written a pivotal work on what some historians might consider a rather obscure historical figure: the Iberian m...
A Formal Specification of UML Class and State Diagrams

UML has been the de facto specification language for software design, using the object-oriented approach in particular. However, components in UML are mostly presented as graphical diagrams that are informal and often lead to different interpretations. Although formal methods exist for UML specification, most of which are semi-formal or rely on another high-level language to describe the UML components. In this paper, we give a formal specification for the core UML, the class and state diagrams using the basic predicate logic and set notations. The goal is to provide a precise definition for object-oriented software.
MALT Lymphoma of the Bladder: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

The presentation of a MALT lymphoma in the bladder is exceedingly rare. Furthermore, the optimal treatment of primary MALT confined to the bladder remains to be defined. Here, we report a case of a 65-year-old female with primary MALT lymphoma treated with definitive radiation therapy. The patient received a total dose of 30 Gy in 20 equal daily fractions to the bladder and tolerated the treatment well. In addition, we have extensively reviewed the relevant literature to better define the optimal management of this rare disease. In conclusion, primary MALT lymphoma of the bladder represents a rare malignancy with excellent prognosis if detected at an early stage. For early stage disease, definitive radiation represents an excellent treatment modality with a minimal side-effect profile.
Utilization of agricultural by-products as fillers and reinforcements in ABS

Lignocellulosic agricultural by-products can be utilized for an array of biocomposite material applications. Biocomposite properties can approach those of synthetic conventional composites. They are highly suitable for automotive applications, where the thrust is toward fuel economy, weight-reduction, and higher renewability. A common automotive polymer for biocomposite application is alloyed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), whose extensive usage can be attributed to its exceptional balance of properties. However, the low sustainability of ABS in environmental degradation entails the addition of fillers. In this study, the UV blocking properties of lignin component of natural fibers will be analyzed for their use as additives in a natural ABS grade and will be compared to an ABS grade compounded with a traditional UV inhibitor.
Judicial Ordeals, February-March 1830

While the ministers impatiently awaited a horoscope favorable to their coup, they accelerated their campaign against journalists in the courts. In Paris and in the provinces, February and March were marked by a great variety of political press trials. Nearly all the possible applications of the press codes were employed: Outrages to individuals, attacks on the “government of the King” (a phrase conveniently indefinite), attacks on the King’s prerogatives, and with the appeals of two Breton Association cases, the charge of “hatred and contempt of the government of the King”. Other cases involved the alleged intimidation of printers and their right to refuse service to liberal journalists. The small weekly or monthly opposition papers of smaller cities, were rallying points of provincial opposition. They were now being constantly harassed by royal prosecutors and prefects in an effort to reverse a rural electoral shift to the Left which had been growing since Villele’s fall.
Offload Compiler Runtime for the Intel® Xeon PhiTM Coprocessor

The Intel® Xeon PhiTM coprocessor platform enables offload of computation from a host processor to a coprocessor that is a fully-functional Intel® Architecture CPU. This paper presents the C/C++ and Fortran compiler offload runtime for that coprocessor. The paper addresses why offload to a coprocessor is useful, how it is specified, and what the conditions for the profitability of offload are. It also serves as a guide to potential third-party developers of offload runtimes, such as a gcc-based offload compiler, ports of existing commercial offloading compilers to Intel® Xeon PhiTM coprocessor such as CAPS®, and third-party offload library vendors that Intel is working with, such as NAG® and MAGMA®. It describes the software architecture and design of the offload compiler runtime. It enumerates the key performance features for this heterogeneous computing stack, related to initialization, data movement and invocation. Finally, it evaluates the performance impact of those features for a set of directed micro-benchmarks and larger workloads.
Tricuspid Endocarditis With Pulmonary Emboli

Right-sided endocarditis accounts for 5–10% of all cases of infective endocarditis.1 Its epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment differ from that of left-sided endocarditis, making it a distinct entity. This article presents a case of tricuspid valve endocarditis in an intravenous drug user, and discusses the presentation, diagnosis, and therapeutic considerations unique to right-sided endocarditis.
Lessons learned: recent advances in understanding and preventing childhood aggression.

Publisher Summary A number of important advances in the understanding and prevention of childhood aggression have emerged in the past. The understanding of the causes of aggression has shifted from general theories of aggression, which emphasized nature versus nurture, to integrated theories of development that emphasize the multiple predictors of aggression and how they interact across contexts and over time from conception onward. Rather than contrast nature versus nurture, the focus has shifted to the complex interplay between innate and learned contributions to aggression. From a developmental perspective, children are seen as possessing certain individual propensities and temperamental risk that can escalate or decrease over time as a function of contextual influences and how they unfold. This individual risk is evident from an early age and certainly by elementary school when characteristic patterns of aggression emerge. Not only contextual risk can exacerbate the effects of individual risk, for instance the interaction of difficult child temperament and ineffective parenting, but the environmental contingencies also determine the adaptive value of aggression in a given setting.
Noncontrast enhanced four-dimensional dynamic MRA with golden angle radial acquisition and K-space weighted image contrast (KWIC) reconstruction.

Purpose: To explore the feasibility of 2D and 3D golden-angle radial acquisition strategies in conjunction with k-space weighted image contrast (KWIC) temporal filtering to achieve noncontrast enhanced dynamic MRA (dMRA) with high spatial resolution, low streaking artifacts and high temporal fidelity. Methods: Simulations and in vivo examinations in eight normal volunteers and an arteriovenous malformation patient were carried out. Both 2D and 3D golden angle radial sequences, preceded by spin tagging, were used for dMRA of the brain. The radial dMRA data were temporally filtered using the KWIC strategy and compared with matched standard Cartesian techniques. Results: The 2D and 3D dynamic MRA image series acquired with the proposed radial techniques demonstrated excellent image quality without discernible temporal blurring compared with standard Cartesian based approaches. The image quality of radial dMRA was equivalent to or higher than that of Cartesian dMRA by visual inspection. A reduction factor of up to 10 and 3 in scan time was achieved for 2D and 3D radial dMRA compared with the Cartesian-based counterparts. Conclusion: The proposed 2D and 3D radial dMRA techniques demonstrated image quality comparable or even superior to those obtained with standard Cartesian methods, but within a fraction of the scan time. Magn Reson Med 000:000–000, 2013. V C 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A terahertz photonic crystal structure for sensing applications

This paper explores the use of a 1-D photonic crystal (PC), with and without a defect layer, for sensing in the THz spectral region. The PC consists of a stack of alternating high and low permittivity materials (BK-7 glass and air). Introducing a liquid or gaseous sample leads to a change in the transmission characteristics of the PC. An inverse problem method is used to characterize the dielectric properties of the sample under study. Such a configuration provides high sensitivity while requiring a small sample volume.
DNA synthesis of benign human breast tumors in the untreated athymic "nude" mouse. An in vivo model to study hormonal influences on growth of human breast tissues.

DNA synthesis in 33 human benign breast tissue biopsy specimens (HBT) was determined by 3H-thymidine radioautography 0, 15, 30, and 60 days after s.c. transplantation to female nude mice. A third of the grafts was removed from each mouse at each time period. Grafts and 0-day slices were exposed to 3H-thymidine in vitro. Labeling indices (LI) [number of radiolabeled epithelial cells per unit area epithelium (0.1 mm2)] were calculated for 0-day slices and grafts from each mouse at each time period. The LI of high 0-day HBT grafts (LI greater than 15) decreased significantly between 0 and 15 and 0 and 30 days. The LI of low 0-day HBT grafts (LI less than 15) increased significantly at 15 days then decreased to 0-day levels at 30 days. No significant differences in LI of HBT grafts were observed between 30 and 60 days. Thus, a model has been proposed for studies of factors effecting the growth of human breast tissues transplanted to nude mice in which (1) each mouse is used as its own control by measuring DNA synthesis of grafts before and after treatment, and (2) the treatment is initiated 30 days or more after transplantation of breast tissues when graft DNA synthesis is stabilized. Using this model, we have observed marked increases in HBT graft DNA snythesis induced by human placental lactogen treatment of host nude mice from day 42 to day 60 after HBT transplantation.
Mechanisms of the nonlinear optical properties of squaraine dyes in poly(methyl methacrylate) polymer

We report on the nonlinear optical characterization experiments of squaraine dyes in solid poly(methyl methacrylate) solutions. We find that a quantum three-level model of a squaraine best agrees with the quadratic electroabsorption measurements when the isomer composition is taken into account. We compare the nonlinear response of several dyes with the three- and four-level models to help determine which models are most suitable for predicting nonlinear behavior. Four-level models that include either two one-photon states or two two-photon states are inconsistent with quadratic electroabsorption spectroscopy. Furthermore, we find that the effect of isomers is more significant than molecular reorientation at room temperature and that the isomer model best agrees with the experimental results.
Pregnancy in a hermaphrodite with a male-predominant mosaic karyotype

Objective To report a pregnancy in a hermaphrodite and review of the literature. Design Case report and literature review. Setting Clinical. Patient(s) A patient with male-predominant mosaic karyotype 96% 46XY. Intervention(s) Removal of left ovotestis in combination with a supracervical hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Main Outcome Measure(s) Identification of published cases of pregnancy and hermaphroditism. Result(s) The current patient had previous pregnancy and a wedge biopsy of her left gonad, which demonstrated an ovotestis and an area suspicious for a gonadoblastoma. After delivery of her second pregnancy, the patient underwent a hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. The histopathologic evaluation following bilateral oophorectomy demonstrated a residual ovotestis without further evidence of a gonadoblastoma. Review of the literature identified 10 other cases of pregnancy in a hermaphrodite patient. Conclusion(s) This is the 11th reported case of fertility in a true hermaphrodite and only the second report of a mosaic true hermaphrodite to demonstrate fertility. This is the only case of a pregnancy involving a male-predominant mosaic 96% 46XY and the only case to confirm the genetics of the offspring.
Similarity of the laser- and thermally annealed Si(111) surfaces

Photoemission studies using synchrotron radiation show that laser-annealed Si(111)-(1 x 1) and Si(111)-(7 x 7) surfaces have very similar electronic structures; namely, both show (i) the same two surface state (each with a characteristic angular emission pattern), (ii) similar surface core-level spectra, and (iii) the same Fermi-level pinning. We observe that the (1 x 1) and cleaved (2 x 1) surfaces are not related as recently reported. Low-energy-electron-diffraction studies conclude that the (1 x 1) surface has a compressed ideal (1 x 1) geometry; this is inconsistent with a band-theory interpretation of our results.
14-3-3 proteins: regulation of endoplasmic reticulum localization and surface expression of membrane proteins

The density and composition of cell surface proteins are major determinants for cellular functions. Regulation of cell surface molecules occurs at several levels, including the efficiency of surface transport, and is therefore of great interest. As the major phosphoprotein-binding modules, 14-3-3 proteins are known for their crucial roles in a wide range of cellular activities, including the subcellular localization of target proteins. Accumulating evidence suggests a role for 14-3-3 in surface transport of membrane proteins, in which 14-3-3 binding reduces endoplasmic reticulum (ER) localization, thereby promoting surface expression of membrane proteins. Here, we focus on recent evidence of 14-3-3-mediated surface transport and discuss the possible molecular mechanisms.
Sr and Nd isotopic and trace element compositions of Quaternary volcanic centers of the Southern Andes

Isotopic compositions of samples from six Quaternary volcanoes located in the northern and southern extremities of the Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ, 33–46°S) of the Andes and from four centers in the Austral Volcanic Zone (AVZ, 49–54°S) range for 87Sr/86Sr from 0.70280 to 0.70591 and for 143Nd/144Nd from 0.51314 to 0.51255. The ranges are significantly greater than previously reported from the southern Andes but are different from the isotopic compositions of volcanoes in the central and northern Andes. Basalts and basaltic andesites from three centers just north of the Chile Rise-Trench triple junction have 87Sr/86Sr,143Nd/144Nd,La/Yb,Ba/La, and Hf/Lu that lie within the relatively restricted ranges of the basic magmas erupted from the volcanic centers as far north as 35°S in the SVZ of the Andes. The trace element and Sr and Nd isotopic characteristics of these magmas may be explained by source region contamination of subarc asthenosphere, with contaminants derived from subducted pelagic sediments and seawater-altered basalts by dehydration of subducted oceanic lithosphere. In the northern extremity of the SVZ between 33° and 34°S, basaltic andesites and andesites have higher 87Sr/86Sr,Rb/Cs, and Hf/Lu, and lower 143Nd/144Nd than basalts and basaltic andesites erupted farther south in the SVZ, which suggests involvement of components derived from the continental crust. In the AVZ, the most primitive sample, high-Mg andesite from the southernmost volcanic center in the Andes (54°S) has Sr and Nd isotopic compositions and KR/b and Ba/La similar to MORB. The high La/Yb of this sample suggests formation by small degrees of partial melting of subducted MORB with garnet as a residue. Samples from centers farther north in the AVZ show a regionally regular northward increase in SiO2, K2O, Rb, Ba,Ba/La, and 87Sr/86Sr/ and decrease in MgO, Sr,KR/b,Rb/Cs, and 143Nd/144Nd, suggesting increasingly greater degrees of fractional crystallization and associated intra-crustal contamination.
Saturated and mono-unsaturated long-chain hydrocarbon profiles from mandarin juice sacs

Abstract The long-chain saturated and mono-unsaturated hydrocarbon content of the juice sacs of five mandarin cultivars (Mediterranean, Honey, Wilking, Kinnow, King) were examined. Normal homologues accounted for more than 47% of the saturated and more than 75% of the monoene hydrocarbons. In the saturated fraction the major hydrocarbon was n -C 25 but in the monoene fraction n -C 25 predominated in Kinnow and King while C 29 predominated in Mediterranean, Honey and Wilking. All five cultivars could be differentiated from each other and from other citrus species by their hydrocarbon patterns. The noticeably high normal/iso ratios of saturated C 23 and C 25 hydrocarbons previously shown to be characteristic of mandarin species, Citrus unshiu and C. reticulata , were also found in C. nobilis and C. deliciosa .
Customer‐based brand equity, equity drivers, and customer loyalty in the supermarket industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to measure consumer‐based brand equity in the supermarket industry and to identify the strategy drivers associated with levels of brand equity for consumers' typically patronized supermarkets.Design/methodology/approach – A nine state survey of consumers was conducted to provide brand equity ratings of 22 national, regional, and specialty supermarket brands.Findings – Factor analysis yields two brand equity outcome dimensions and eight brand equity drivers. A large proportion of consumers clearly have strong feelings about the supermarkets they patronize, and that effort expended in keeping customers, service level, and product quality and assortment appear to be basic requirements for achieving high levels of consumer‐based brand equity. The top supermarket brands typically score highly on at least one other key driver of equity. Supermarket brands that use formal loyalty programs to drive patronage in general have lower levels of customer‐based brand equity.Researc...
Autotaxin and lysophosphatidic acid stimulate intestinal cell motility by redistribution of the actin modifying protein villin to the developing lamellipodia.

Abstract Autotaxin (ATX) is a potent tumor cell motogen that can produce lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) from lysophosphatidylcholine. LPA is a lipid mediator that has also been shown to modulate tumor cell invasion. Autotaxin mRNA is expressed at significant levels in the intestine. Likewise, LPA2 receptor levels have been shown to be elevated in colon cancers. The molecular mechanism of ATX/LPA-induced increase in intestinal cell migration however, remains poorly understood. Villin is an intestinal and renal epithelial cell specific actin regulatory protein that modifies epithelial cell migration. In this study we demonstrate that both Caco-2 (endogenous villin) and MDCK (exogenous villin) cells, which express primarily LPA2 receptors, show enhanced cell migration in response to ATX/LPA. ATX and LPA treatment results in the rapid formation of lamellipodia and redistribution of villin to these cell surface structures, suggesting a role for villin in regulating this initial event of cell locomotion. The LPA-induced increase in cell migration required activation of c-src kinase and downstream tyrosine phosphorylation of villin by c-src kinase. LPA stimulated cell motility was determined to be insensitive to pertussis toxin, but was regulated by activation of PLC-γ1. Together, our results show that in epithelial cells ATX and LPA act as strong stimulators of cell migration by recruiting PLC-γ1 and villin, both of which participate in the initiation of protrusion.