cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanism of focal atrial tachycardias occurring after pulmonary veins isolation

Introduction: A proarrhythmic consequence of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) to treat atrial fibrillation can be a persistent left atrial tachycardia (LAT). We previously described that focal LATs can occur; however it is unclear whether the mechanism of these focal arrhythmias is reentry, triggered activity, or abnormal automaticity. We performed detailed pacing and pharmacologic maneuvers to determine the mechanism of focal LATs occurring after PVI. Methods: PVI was performed by segmental ostial ablation guided by a circular mapping catheter (Lasso). Patients whose recurrent arrhythmia was a LAT that persisted for more then 8 weeks returned for mapping and ablation. Results: Of 15 pts with persistent LAT, three (age 66 14, all male) had focal LAT (cycle length 268 21 ms) that remained stable in response to pacing. Electroanatomic maps demonstrated focal areas of early activation at the septal aspect of the right lower (2 pts) or right upper (1 pt) PV. Adenosine caused transient AV block but no change in tachycardia cycle length (TCL). Entrainment from multiple LA sites (N 23) outside the PVs demonstrated long post-pacing-intervals (PPI) (mean PPI-TCL 73 27 ms, range 46-127 ms). Entrainment from multiple poles around the Lasso catheter had a wide range of PPIs (PPI-TCL 22 18 ms, range -3 to 50 ms), suggesting both isthmus sites and sites outside the circuit. Septal Lasso sites and not lateral sites had PPI TCL. A single beat resetting curve in 2 pts demonstrated a mixed flat-increasing curve, consistent with reentry. In one pt, burst atrial pacing terminated and reinitiated the same tachycardia. Recordings at the critical isthmus demonstrated mid diastolic potentials or a long fractionated signal suggesting slow conduction. Ablation at the site of mid diastolic electrograms or best PPI (PPI-TCL 2 6 ms) resulted in LAT termination. Conclusions: Focal left atrial tachycardias may occur after segmental PVI, particularly at the septal aspect of the right pulmonary veins. Detailed entrainment mapping and resetting confirm that the mechanism of the stable tachycardias we studied is reentry. RF application at the critical isthmus results in tachycardia termination.
Hyaluronate in vasculogenesis

Limb buds of chicken embryos contain within the peripheral mesoderm an avascular zone that is rich in hyaluronic acid. Epithelial tissues that synthesize large amounts of hyaluronic acid relative to other glycosaminoglycans caused avascularity when implanted into normally vascular wing mesoderm. Epithelia that synthesize little hyaluronic acid did not cause avascularity. Elvax implants containing hyaluronic acid caused the formation of avascular zones, whereas similar implants containing other glycosaminoglycans did not give rise to avascular zones. Hyaluronic acid may thus play a role in determining the location of blood vessels in the embryo.
Projections to the cochlear nuclei from principal cells in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body in guinea pigs.

Spherical and globular cells in the cochlear nucleus provide input to the cell groups in the superior olivary complex devoted to the analysis of binaural cues. Desending projections from the superior olivary complex appear to inhibit the spherical and globular cells. It is not known which of the numerous cell types in the superior olive provide this descending input, but recent studies have shown that some of the cells are located in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MTB). The present experiments were designed to determine whether the MTB projections arise from principal cells, which are known to play a role sound localization, and to determine whether their projections terminate on spherical or globular cells. Principal cells in the MTB are characterized by their contacts with synaptic specializations called calyces, which arise from the axons of cells in the contralateral cochlear nucleus. In the first experiment, a fluorescent tracer was injected into one cochlear nucleus to label the calyces anterogradely. A dfferent tracer was injected into the opposite cochlear nucleus to label cells retogradely in the MTB. In every case, some of the labeled cells were enveloped by a labeled calyx, demonstrating that principal cells do project to the cochlear nucleus. In the second experiment, fluorescent tracers were injected into different parts of the cochlear nucleus. Anaysis of the distribution of labeled cells suggested that MTB projections selectively target the globular cell region of the cochlear nucleus. In a third experiment, the axonal arborizations arising from this projection were labeled with biocytin or wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase. Labeled boutons appeared to contact globular cels but not spherical cells. Multipolar cells in the ventral cochlear nucleus and cells in the dorsal cochlear nucleus were also contacted. The results suggest that MTB projections to the cochlear nucleus arise largely from principal cells and contact, at least in part, cells in the cochlear nucleus that give rise to ascending pathways involved in sound localization. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Vegetation control effects on untreated wood, crude cellulose and holocellulose δ13C of early and latewood in 3- to 5-year-old rings of Douglas-fir

The stable carbon (C) composition of tree rings expressed as δ13C, is a measure of intrinsic water-use efficiency and can indicate the occurrence of past water shortages for tree growth. We examined δ13C in 3- to 5-year-old rings of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb) Franco) trees to elucidate if decreased water supply or uptake was a critical factor in the observed growth reduction of trees competing with understory herb and shrub vegetation compared to those growing without competition. We hypothesized that there would be no differences in δ13C of earlywood in trees growing in plots with competing vegetation and those in plots receiving complete vegetation control during 5 years because earlywood formed early in the growing season when soil water was ample. We also hypothesized that δ13C in latewood which was formed during the later half of the growing season when precipitation was low, would be greater (less negative) in trees in plots without vegetation control. We then separated early and latewood from rings for three consecutive years and analyzed their δ13C composition. No significant differences in earlywood δ13C in years 3–5 were observed for trees in the two vegetation control treatments. δ13C of untreated latewood separated from wood cores was greater in 4- and 5-year-old rings of trees growing with competing vegetation compared to trees growing without vegetation competition (i.e., −25.5 vs. −26.3‰ for year 4, and −26.1 vs. −26.8‰ for year 5). Results suggest that water shortages occurred in Douglas-fir trees on this coastal Washington site in the latewood-forming portion of the growing season of years 4 and 5 in the no-vegetation control treatment. We also compared δ13C from untreated wood, crude cellulose extracted with the Diglyme–HCl method, and holocellulose extracted with toluene–ethanol to see if the extraction method would increase the sensitivity of the analysis. δ13C values from the two extraction methods were highly correlated with those from untreated samples (r2 = 0.97, 0.98, respectively). Therefore, using untreated wood would be as effective as using crude cellulose or holocellulose to investigate δ13C patterns in young Douglas-fir.
Enzymatic glyceride synthesis in a foam reactor

We report the results of our study on Rhizomucor miehei lipase-catalyzed lauric acid-glycerol esterification in a foam reactor. A satisfactory yield of glyceride synthesis can be achieved with an unusually high initial water content (50% w/w). We found that product formation could be regulated by controlling foaming. Foaming was a function of the air flow rate, reaction temperature, pH value, ionic strength, and substrate molar ratio. Monolaurin and dilaurin, which constituted nearly 80% of the total yield, were the two dominant products in this reaction; trilaurin was also formed at the initial stages of the reaction. A study of pH and ionic strength effects on an independent basis revealed that they affect the interfacial mechanism in different manners. On varying the ratio of lauric acid and glycerol, only a slight change in the degree of conversion was detected and the consumption rate of fatty acid was approximately the same.
Hydrogen Migration vs Carbon Migration in Dialkylcarbenes. A Study of the Preferred Product in the Carbene Rearrangements of Ethylmethylcarbene, Cyclobutylidene, 2-Norbornylidene, and 2-Bicyclo[2.1.1]hexylidene

Ethylmethylcarbene (1), cyclobutylidene (2), 2-norbornylidene (3), and 2-bicyclo[2.1.1]-hexylidene (4) and the transition states that correspond to 1,2-H-migration, 1,3-H-migration, and 1,2-C-migration were optimized at BHandHLYP/DZP, MP2/DZP, and CCSD(T)/DZP levels of theory. The 1,2-H-migration of 1 to 2-butene has a theoretically derived barrier of 5.2 kcal/mol at CCSD(T)/DZP. The 1,2-H-shift that leads to 1-butene has a ΔG⧧ of 8.5 kcal/mol, 1,3-H-migration of 8.3 kcal/mol and 1,2-C-migration of 18.1 kcal/mol. For 2 ΔG⧧ for 1,2-C-migration is only 10.5 kcal/mol, which is 7.6 kcal/mol less than for 1. This lowering of the barrier for rearrangment of cyclobutylidene is attributed to the similarity between the TS and singlet 2 which prefers a nonclassical structure. The barrier for 1,2-H-migration for 2 is 9.7 kcal/mol due to H repulsion in the TS. For 3 the process with the lowest barrier (5.2 kcal/mol, BHandHLYP/DZP) is a 1,3-H-shift that leads to nortricyclene. The preference for this rearrangement can...
Alfred Packer's World: Risk, Responsibility, and the Place of Experience in Mountain Culture, 1873-1907

In 1874, Alfred Packer, a prospector and mountain guide, appeared at the Los Pinos Indian Agency in southwestern Colorado. He declared that all his comrades had died, and near starvation had forced him to eat their flesh. On the surface, the story of Alfred Packer resembles other stories of people driven to extreme action in order to survive in the wilderness. But Packer's inability to keep his story straight and the subsequent discovery of the brutally murdered bodies of his companions tells another tale—one of murder and theft. Some began to suspect that Packer had lured the men to their deaths by his claims that he could take them across the snowy mountains. Examination of Packer's multiple versions of what happened, the recollections of those who knew Packer, court records, and other evidence support the conclusion that while cannibalism disgusted mountain miners, Packer's betrayal of these newcomers' trust infuriated them. Natural hazards, especially in the winter, played a central role in how prospectors and how those who followed them into the mountains understood their environment. Furthermore, the harsh environment shaped the interactions they had with one another. From the early days and into the early twentieth century, mountain residents depended on one another when disaster struck. This dependency, coupled with reliance on more experienced people to identify and offset risks, contributed to the creation of socio-cultural adaptations specific to the Mountain West. Packer broke the law, but he also violated codes of conduct that mountain people relied on for survival. Placing Packer within the context of mountain culture allows for a more nuanced understanding of how the environment influenced human actions in the Mountain West.
Dewetting of Solid Surface: Analogy with Spinodal Decomposition

Abstract The formal analogy between the theory of dewetting of a solid surface covered by a fluid film and the theory of spinodal decomposition is established. It is shown that the later stage of dewetting (nucleation and growth of dry regions) can be described within the framework of the existing mathematical model of film rupture, if one uses the accurate derivation of the disjoining pressure in the range of low film thickness (
Verma, Theater of the Mind: Imagination, Aesthetics, and American Radio Drama

N. (2012). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. 296 pages. Despite the renaissance in radio studies in recent decades, a dearth of formal approaches has daunted scholars as the field lacks his...
Aortic valve replacement with a caged ball valve.

Abstract 1. 1. Valve types and various materials are discussed. 2. 2. Skepticism is expressed regarding the durability of nonwettable cusps that must undergo double or triple flexion. 3. 3. Construction of ball valves in general is reviewed with specifications of this human aortic prosthesis. 4. 4. Fatigue, biologic and hydraulic testing devices are presented. 5. 5. Clinical results with two series of patients 1 year apart are reviewed in relation to technical problems and their solution. The problem of cardiac resuscitation has been greatly reduced by using moderate general body hypothermia, and profound local hypothermia to achieve cardioplegia. 6. 6. Late follow-up of patients 6 to 19 months after prosthetic replacement of the aortic valve is reported. The caged ball valve has been hemodynamically sound. There has been no evidence of damage to formed blood elements and no peripheral embolization. 7. 7. The ten cardinal features of prosthetic valves are defined.
Hospital variation in postoperative infection and outcome after congenital heart surgery

Background Several initiatives aim to reduce postoperative infection across a variety of surgical patients as a means to improve overall quality of care and reduce variation across centers. However, the association of infection rates with hospital-level outcomes and resource utilization has not been well described. We evaluated this association across a multicenter cohort undergoing congenital heart surgery. Methods The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database was linked to resource utilization data from the Pediatric Health Information Systems Database for hospitals participating in both (2006 to 2010). Hospital-level infection rates (sepsis, wound infection, mediastinitis, endocarditis, pneumonia) adjusted for patient risk factors and case mix were calculated using Bayesian methodology, and association with hospital mortality rates, postoperative length of stay (LOS), and total costs evaluated. Results The cohort included 32,856 patients (28 centers); 3.7% had a postoperative infection. Across hospitals, the adjusted infection rate varied from 0.9% to 9.8%. Hospitals with the highest infection rates had longer (LOS) (13.2 vs 11.7 days, p p p = 0.9). The proportion of variation in costs and LOS explained by infection was 15% and 6%, respectively. Conclusions Infection after congenital heart surgery contributes to prolonged LOS and increased costs on a hospital level. However, given that infection rates alone explained relatively little of the variation in these outcomes across hospitals, further study is needed to identify additional factors that may be targeted in initiatives to reduce variation and improve outcomes across centers.
Gender, race and the ethical praxis of slide guitar

This article explores slide guitar as the basis for an ethics of listening. Here, slide guitar serves as a metaphor through which alternative possibilities of hearing, performing, thinking, and living might be explored. By analyzing slide guitar and the particular sonic elements that characterize its tone and techniques of sounding, I argue that sliding—with all of the risks its movement entails—signifies a mode of recursive questioning through which totalizing gestures might be eluded or radically undercut. As a mode of maneuvering that is both interrogative and generative, slide's gestures prompt us to consider the ways in which its poised instability might yield an expanded breadth of critical movement—one whose stakes need to be considered in relation to race and gender's intersectional bearing on its production (or smooth elision) of sonic subjects and objects.
Radical Excision and Reconstruction of Axillary Skin

. Radical excision and reconstruction of axillary skin is an excellent surgical therapy for a selected group of patients: those for whom all attempts at medical management have been unsuccessful. Each patient should be adequately prepared with an extended discussion of the operation, probable postoperative course, and expected result. This operation, when carefully performed in properly selected patients, can produce satisfying results for both patient and doctor. Technical considerations, dressings and postoperative care, and complications are discussed. Three case reports are presented.
Noise overstimulation induces immediate early genes in the rat cochlea

In mammals, exposure to intense noise produces a permanent hearing loss called permanent threshold shift (PTS), whereas a moderate noise produces only a temporary threshold shift (TTS). Little is known about the molecular responses to such high intensity noise exposures. In this study we used gene arrays to examine the early response to acoustic overstimulation in the rat cochlea. We compared cochlear RNA from noise-exposed rats with RNA from unexposed controls. The intense PTS noise induced several immediate early genes encoding both transcription factors (c-FOS, EGR1, NUR77/TR3) and cytokines (PC3/BTG2, LIF and IP10). In contrast, the TTS noise down-regulated the gene for growth hormone. The response of these genes to different noise intensities was examined by quantitative RT-PCR 2.5 h after the 90-min noise exposure. For most genes, the extent of induction correlates with the intensity of the noise exposure. Three proteins (EGR1, NUR77/TR3, and IP10) were detected in many regions of the unexposed cochlea. After exposure to 120 dB noise, these proteins were present at higher levels or showed extended expression in additional regions of the cochlea. LIF was undetectable in the cochlea of unexposed rats, but could be seen in the organ of Corti and spiral ganglion neurons following noise. NUR77/TR3 was a nuclear protein before noise, but following noise translocated to the cytoplasm. These studies provide new insights into the molecular response to noise overstimulation in the mammalian cochlea.
Familial generalized resistance to thyroid hormones: report of three kindreds and correlation of patterns of affected tissues with the binding of [125I] triiodothyronine to fibroblast nuclei

We here report three kindreds with a total of 19 persons affected with central and peripheral resistance to thyroid hormones: one kindred with 10 affected persons is the largest reported to date. Male to male transmission of the syndrome was evident in two kindreds, consistent with an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. During several years of follow up, the degree of resistance to thyroid hormones did not ameliorate. Within a given kindred, a given tissue or tissues was consistently more resistant to thyroid hormone than other tissues. The pattern of tissues most affected in one kindred differed from that of another kindred, perhaps reflecting the inherited underlying molecular defects. Members of kindred A frequently had bone involvement, and several had learning disabilities and recurring infections, while most members of kindreds B and C had little bone involvement, but marked hepatic and cardiac resistance to thyroid hormones. Kinetic studies of the binding of [125I] triiodo-L-thyronine to nuclei from skin fibroblasts from affected patients from each of the kindreds demonstrated decreased maximum binding as compared to normal fibroblasts, but there was no correlation between this parameter and other features of the disease. Four of the 19 patients had previously been treated inappropriately with antithyroid therapies, demonstrating how the syndrome may be readily confused with Graves’ disease by some clinicians. Behavior or school performance improved in all children treated with thyroid hormones, and a growth spurt was documented in six children, but objective improvement in IQ scores was not demonstrated, suggesting that initiation of hormone therapy at an early age may be important for maximum benefit.
Effect of Temperature and Grafting on Vegetative Growth Phases of Algerian Ivy

THE closely similar English and Algerian ivies, Hedera helix, Linn, and Hedera canariensis, Willd., do not flower until the juvenile vining type of growth changes into a stiff erect form. This mature type of growth has entire, ovate to lanceloate leaves, and the round stems rarely produce aerial roots. The juvenile trailing stems are somewhat flattened, frequently produce aerial roots, and the leaves are palmately lobed. Both stems and petioles frequently have red pigments. Doorenbos1 was able to produce many reversions to the juvenile form by grafting the mature fruiting form of English ivy on juvenile two- or three year seedlings or on juvenile plants grown from cuttings. Plants of adult ivies grown on juvenile understocks for approximately a year outdoors in a lath house in the relatively cool coastal climate of west Los Angeles did not exhibit the reversions described by Doorenbos. Preliminary experiments indicated that mature budded plants on juvenile understocks all reverted to the juvenile form when grown for more than a year at 80° F. but produced few reversions at lower temperatures.
TPD and FT-IRAS Investigation of Ethylene Oxide (EtO) Adsorption on a Au(211) Stepped Surface

Adsorption of ethylene oxide, CH2CH2O (EtO), on a Au(211) stepped surface was studied by temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and Fourier transform infrared reflection−absorption spectroscopy (FT-IRAS). Ethylene oxide was completely reversibly adsorbed, and desorbed molecularly during TPD following adsorption on Au(211) at 85 K. EtO TPD peaks appeared at 115 K from the multilayer film and 140 and 170 K from the monolayer. Desorption at 140 K was attributed to EtO desorption from terrace sites, and that at 170 K to EtO desorption from step sites. Desorption activation energies and corresponding adsorption energies were estimated to be 8.4 and 10.3 kcal mol-1, respectively. The EtO ring (C2O) deformation band appeared in IRAS at 865 cm-1 for EtO in multilayer films and when adsorbed in the monolayer at terrace sites. The stronger chemisorption bonding of EtO at Au step sites slightly weakens the bonding within the molecule and causes a small red-shift of this band to 850 cm-1 for adsorption at step sites...
Planning for End-of-Life Care: Black-White Differences in the Completion of Advance Directives

The authors examined Black-White differences in the likelihood of completing written advance directives for end-of-life health care and engaging in informal verbal communication about advanced wishes. Data from the 1998 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were combined with data from the 2000 HRS exit interview to analyze Black and White participants' completion rates. Whites were more likely than Blacks to grant durable power of attorney for health care, to complete a written will, and to informally communicate their wishes; group differences remained after controlling for personal characteristics. Also, Blacks were less likely than Whites to engage in more than one form of end-of-life planning. The authors speculate that sociocultural differences in trust in the medical system and knowledge about advance directives may partially account for these findings. The findings may aid policy makers and practitioners in increasing the level of participation in advance directives.
Resolution of Iatrogenic Aortic Dissection Illustrated by Computed Tomography

An 83-year-old man with known history of known coronary artery disease (prior coronary artery bypass surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention), hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia presented with ongoing exertional angina and dyspnea despite medical therapy. A dipyridamole rubidium-82 stress test showed moderate-sized ischemia in the inferior and inferolateral territory. An echocardiogram showed mild segmental left ventricular dysfunction with an ejection fraction of 45% and mild mitral regurgitation. Angiography showed severe native triple vessel disease, patent left internal mammary artery graft to left anterior descending artery, patent stents in saphenous vein graft to obtuse marginal, and occluded vein graft to right coronary artery (RCA; previously known to be occluded). The native RCA was diffusely diseased with subtotal occlusions in its mid and distal segments including severe proximal posterior descending artery disease and was partly collateralized from obtuse marginal (Figure 1A). Given the ongoing symptoms on medical therapy, decision was made to proceed with percutaneous coronary intervention to RCA. Figure 1. RCA angiographic appearance: preprocedure (A), contrast in the false lumen of the aortic root dissection originating from RCA ostium (image at the time of ostial stent deployment) (B), and final angiographic appearance (C). The RCA ostium was engaged with an 8F Amplatz (AL 0.75) guide (chosen for extra support in a calcified, diffusely diseased artery), and the total occlusions in the mid and distal RCA were crossed using a PT Graphix guide wire (Boston Scientific, Natick, Mass). Rotational atherectomy with 1.50-mm burr was performed to …
Multiple scattering calculations of rain effects

The multiple scattering calculations of rain effects are studied on the basis of calculating the incoherent intensity at 30, 60, 90, and 120 GHz. The Mie solution and the Laws-Parsons distribution are used to determine scattering and absorption characteristics. The equation of transfer and the Stokes parameters are used to determine incoherent intensities for the horizontal and vertical polarizations. The ratio of the copolarized incoherent intensity to the copolarized coherent intensity is defined as the incoherent copolarized discrimination. The ratio of the cross-polarized incoherent intensity is defined as the incoherent cross-polarized discrimination. These ratios are calculated in terms of copolarized attenuation, rain rate, and field of view. The results show that multiple scattering effects may become significant during heavy rains.
Diamond, GCH and weak square

Shelah proved recently that if κ > ω and S ⊂ κ + is a stationary set of ordinals of cofinality different from cf(κ), then 2 κ = κ + implies ◇ κ+ (S). We show that for singular κ, an elaboration on his argument allows us to derive ◇ κ+ (T) from 2 κ = κ + + □ * κ where T = {δ < κ + | cf(δ) = cf(κ)}. This gives a strong restriction on the existence of saturated ideals on κ + .
Bradycardia: A Late Complication Following Cardiac Transplantation

Symptomatic bradycardia occurred in 11 of 213 patients (5.2%) surviving > 1 year after orthotopic heart transplantation, most of whom were managed with permanent pacemakers. Evidence for sinus and/or atrioventricular node dysfunction was present in many cases, but patients at risk for this complication could not be predicted from baseline clinical characteristics.
Non-Gaussian statistical properties of virtual breast phantoms

Images derived from a “phantom” are useful for characterizing the performance of imaging systems. In particular, the modulation transfer properties of imaging detectors are traditionally assessed by physical phantoms consisting of an edge. More recently researchers have come to realize that quantifying the effects of object variability can also be accomplished with phantoms in modalities such as breast imaging where anatomical structure may be the principal limitation in performance. This has driven development of virtual phantoms that can be used in simulation environments. In breast imaging, several such phantoms have been proposed. In this work, we analyze non-Gaussian statistical properties of virtual phantoms, and compare them to similar statistics from a database of breast images. The virtual phantoms assessed consist of three classes. The first is known as clustered-blob lumpy backgrounds. The second class is “binarized” textures which typically apply some sort of threshold to a stochastic 3D texture intended to represent the distribution of adipose and glandular tissue in the breast. The third approach comes from efforts at the University of Pennsylvania to directly simulate the 3D anatomy of the breast. We use Laplacian fractional entropy (LFE) as a measure of the non-Gaussian statistical properties of each simulation. Our results show that the simulation approaches differ considerably in LFE with very low scores for the clustered-blob lumpy background to very high values for the UPenn phantom. These results suggest that LFE may have value in developing and tuning virtual phantom simulation procedures.
Theory of Raman scattering on spin fluctuations in nearly antiferromagnetic systems

The role of the spin degrees of freedom in Raman scattering from the antiferromagnetic, undoped high temperature superconductors is well understood. In the doped materials, however, where the magnetic correlation length is finite, the situation is less clear. In this paper we consider the scattering of light from low energy collective spin excitations in almost antiferromagnetic systems which we propose as a new mechanism for Raman scattering in these materials. We present results for the temperature and the frequency dependence of the Raman scattering intensities from hydrodynamic long wavelength spin modes as well as from slow fluctuations of the staggered spin density.
RESTATS: The Renewable Energy Statistics Database for the United Kingdom—an update

SYNOPSIS This paper is a follow-up to “Compiling Renewable Energy Statistics” which appeared in Volume 13 of this journal. The paper argued the need for a project aimed at compiling information on renewable energy schemes running throughout the UK, and went on to describe the Renewable Energy STATisticS (RESTATS) database which was being developed and managed by ETSU. Since the project began, data are now collected from a variety of sources, including other databases and updated annually for publication in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES). Future plans for RESTATS involve incorporating the database into a single system being set up to consolidate all renewable energy data held by ETSU; in addition, opportunities for using Geographic Information Systems (GIs) to assist in surveys and promoting results are being investigated. RESTATS is arguably the most reliable means by which the success of the UK renewables programme can be both measured and monitored.
Library Awareness and Use Among Graduate Social Work Students: An Assessment and Action Research Project

This article details the evolution of an action research project over the fall of 2011 through the spring of 2014. The project investigates the engagement of social work students at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College with library resources and services. In addition to a review of the literature and a contextualizing discussion around the status of information literacy instruction in social work, the article describes the development and use of an online assessment tool, the introduction of new information literacy instruction strategies and materials including online research guides, and a discussion of the descriptive and inferential findings generated from 3 years of survey data.
Estimating the probability of emigration from individual-specific data: the case of Italy in the early twentieth century.

This article develops a method for estimating the probability of emigration conditional on the observed characteristics of individuals. In addition it is shown how to calculate the mean standard error and confidence intervals of the conditional probability of emigration given a random sample of emigrants. The technique is illustrated by providing statistically consistent estimates of the probability an Italian would emigrate to the United States in 1901 and 1911 conditional on personal attributes. (EXCERPT)
A Current Injection Built-In Test Technique for RF Low-Noise Amplifiers

In this paper, a practical current injection based built-in test (BIT) technique for impedance-matched RF low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) is proposed. A current generation circuit injects the RF test current at the gate of the LNA; this approach has the advantage that the matching network is not affected by the test circuitry. The technique can be used without design changes to measure the voltage gain during on-wafer test and to measure S21 during final test in the presence of gate inductance and package parasitics. Furthermore, the current injection testing technique enables accurate gain measurements in order to detect faulty impedance matching networks. The proposed current-based BIT requires an on-chip voltage source, two on-chip power detectors (PDs), and an accurate external resistor. On-chip or external equipment resources are only required to measure the dc output of the PDs. As a proof of concept, a 2.1-GHz inductor-degenerated common-source LNA with a gain of 23.9 dB was designed in 0.13-mum CMOS technology together with the BIT circuitry (14% area overhead). The gain predicted by the current injection RF BIT agrees with the simulated gain using corner models within 0.8-dB error.
Final Laboratory Integration and Test of the Keck Interferometer Nuller

Mid-infrared nulling is a key observing mode planned for the NASA-funded Keck Interferometer at the Keck Observatory on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
Stop the Beat : Quiet Regulation and Cultural Conflict

This article explores a recent conflict over the youth phenomenon known as "raving" in the City of Chicago. By interviewing participants involved in the conflict, I set out to understand the extent to which the crackdown on raves in Chicago was similar to earlier social reactions to jazz, comic books, rock and roll, and Dead Head culture, as well as to more recent conflicts over punk, rap music, and raves in other cities. While most previous research on cultural conflict has focused on moral crusades, campaigns, and panics, the Chicago conflict represents an example of "quiet regulation." Opponents refrained from highly visible, morally charged attacks; instead, in the absence of media hype and visible public discourse, public officials justified the crackdown in highly bureaucratic terms - avoiding risk, collecting taxes, enforcing codes. Nonetheless, they also drew on cultural schemas that linked raves and raving with drugs, sex, and deviance. As a result, officials selected a course of regulation that criminalized DJs and discredited the artform. In the absence of a highly visible moral campaign, the rave participants were unable to mobilize and resist the regulation and defend their lifestyle. Sociologists must move beyond highly visible campaigns and crusades and pay greater attention to quiet regulation, both because such regulation is likely to increase in the future and because it has significant consequences for power, cultural expression, and identity.
Observation of Single Colloidal Platinum Nanocrystal Growth Trajectories

Understanding of colloidal nanocrystal growth mechanisms is essential for the syntheses of nanocrystals with desired physical properties. The classical model for the growth of monodisperse nanocrystals assumes a discrete nucleation stage followed by growth via monomer attachment, but has overlooked particle-particle interactions. Recent studies have suggested that interactions between particles play an important role. Using in situ transmission electron microscopy, we show that platinum nanocrystals can grow either by monomer attachment from solution or by particle coalescence. Through the combination of these two processes, an initially broad size distribution can spontaneously narrow into a nearly monodisperse distribution. We suggest that colloidal nanocrystals take different pathways of growth based on their size- and morphology-dependent internal energies.
Moving Stories: Evaluation of a BSW Oral History Project with Older Adults with Diverse Immigration Histories

The purpose of this study was to evaluate an experiential learning project with BSW students to see if their perceptions of older adults have changed. The project consisted of an oral history project and presentation that matched BSW students with older adults from diverse ethnic backgrounds to gather their immigration narratives. The study used a single group pretest posttest design with 17 BSW students enrolled in an integrative field seminar class. Using a series of inferential analyses, BSW students’ attitudes towards older adults, future career plans, confidence with working with older adults from diverse backgrounds, and geriatric competencies were examined. Overall, a significant increase in BSW students who had varying levels of participation in project perceptions of geriatric social work competencies between pretest and posttest were found. Students who both conducted and presented the oral histories of older adults also were significantly more likely to report future plans to work with older ad...
Synthesis and antifolate activity of 8,10‐dideazaminopterin

A synthesis of 8,10-dideazaminopterin, using 2,4-diamino-6-bromomethyl-8-deazapteridine (2) as a key intermediate, is described. Condensation of the triphenylphosphinylide derived from 2 with p-formylbenzoyl-L-glutamate afforded a 9,10-dehydro-8,10-dideazaminopterin ester intermediate 5. Hydrogenation of the olefinic linkage and subsequent hydrolysis of the glutamate ester gave the title compound. 8,10-Dideazaminopterin was a potent growth inhibitor of folate dependent bacteria. It was 16 times more potent then methotrexate as an inhibitor of dihydrofolate reductase derived from L1210 leukemia cells, and showed strong activity against L1210 in mice.
A Frequency-Domain Analysis of Haptic Gratings

The detectability and discriminability of virtual haptic gratings were analyzed in the frequency domain. Detection (Exp. 1) and discrimination (Exp. 2) thresholds for virtual haptic gratings were estimated using a force-feedback device that simulated sinusoidal and square-wave gratings with spatial periods from 0.2 to 38.4 mm. The detection threshold results indicated that for spatial periods up to 6.4 mm (i.e., spatial frequencies >0.156 cycle/mm), the detectability of square-wave gratings could be predicted quantitatively from the detection thresholds of their corresponding fundamental components. The discrimination experiment confirmed that at higher spatial frequencies, the square-wave gratings were initially indistinguishable from the corresponding fundamental components until the third harmonics were detectable. At lower spatial frequencies, the third harmonic components of square-wave gratings had lower detection thresholds than the corresponding fundamental components. Therefore, the square-wave gratings were detectable as soon as the third harmonic components were detectable. Results from a third experiment where gratings consisting of two superimposed sinusoidal components were compared (Exp. 3) showed that people were insensitive to the relative phase between the two components. Our results have important implications for engineering applications, where complex haptic signals are transmitted at high update rates over networks with limited bandwidths.
The Effects of Instructors and Student Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Characteristics on the Accuracy of Grades Predicted for an Introductory English Composition Course:

The effects of different instructors and student Myers-Briggs Type Inventory personality characteristics on the accuracy of predicting 1041 introductory English composition grades from a single regression equation were investigated. The instructor variable was defined by three groups of classes: high grade means, average grade means, and low grade means. The Scholastic Aptitude Test Verbal, Test of Standard Written English, and high school class percentile rank were used as the predictors. Analyses compared the regression equations of the class and student personality subgroups. The results suggested that grades were inflated in classes with high means and deflated in classes with low means. For these classes, there was a difference between the regression equations and there was an interaction of the equations with student personality. In the average class, there was not a difference among the student personality regression equations, although grades were more predictable for certain personality types tha...
Essential role of the molecular chaperone gp96 in regulating melanogenesis

Summary Through a process known as melanogenesis, melanocyte produces melanin in specialized organelles termed melanosomes, which regulates pigmentation of the skin, eyes, and hair. Gp96 is a constitutively expressed heat shock protein in the endoplasmic reticulum whose expression is further upregulated upon ultraviolet irradiation. However, the roles and mechanisms of this chaperone in pigmentation biology are unknown. In this study, we found that knockdown of gp96 by RNA interference significantly perturbed melanin synthesis and blocked late melanosome maturation. Gp96 knockdown did not impair the expression of tyrosinase, an essential enzyme in melanin synthesis, but compromised its catalytic activity and melanosome translocation. Further, mice with melanocyte-specific deletion of gp96 displayed decreased pigmentation. A mechanistic study revealed that the defect in melanogenesis can be rescued by activation of the canonical Wnt pathway, consistent with the critical roles of gp96 in chaperoning Wnt-coreceptor LRP6. Thus, this work uncovered the essential role of gp96 in regulating melanogenesis.
Simulation of dielectrophoretic assembly of carbon nanotubes using 3D finite element analysis

One of the most important methods for selective and repeatable assembly of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is alternating current dielectrophoresis (DEP). This method has been demonstrated experimentally as a viable technique for nano-scale manufacturing of novel CNT based devices. Previous numerical analyses have studied the motion of nanotubes, the volume from which they are assembled, and the rate of assembly, but have been restricted by various simplifying assumptions. In this paper we present a method for simulating the motion and behavior of CNTs subjected to dielectrophoresis using a three-dimensional electrostatic finite element analysis. By including the CNT in the finite element model, we can accurately predict the effect of the CNT on the electric field and the resulting force distribution across the CNT can be determined. We have used this information to calculate the motion of CNTs assembling onto the electrodes, and show how they tend to move towards the center of an electrode and come into contact at highly skewed angles. Our analysis suggests that the CNTs move to the electrode gap only after initially contacting the electrodes. We have also developed a model of the elastic deformation of CNTs as they approach the electrodes demonstrating how the induced forces can significantly alter the CNT shape during assembly. These results show that the CNT does not behave as a rigid body when in close proximity to the electrodes. In the future this method can be applied to a variety of real electrode geometries on a case-by-case basis and will provide more detailed insight into the specific motion and assembly parameters necessary for effective DEP assembly.
PREDATOR RESPONSES, PREY REFUGES, AND DENSITY‐DEPENDENT MORTALITY OF A MARINE FISH

Detection of density dependence in animal populations is a primary goal of population ecology, and the processes causing density dependence play a major role in population regulation. Predation can strongly regulate populations by populational and behavioral responses of predators to their prey. Here I evaluate the existence and strength of density-dependent mortality in local populations of a reef fish, the kelp perch (Bra- chyistius frenatus), caused by its predator, the kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus). Specifi- cally, I examine both the functional response and a potential aggregative response by kelp bass as mechanisms underlying predator-induced density-dependent mortality. I calculated the per capita mortality of kelp perch as a result of the functional response of its predator by subjecting a range of densities of kelp perch to a low, constant number of kelp bass and different amounts of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) as habitat structure and a potential prey refuge. The potential for an aggregative response by kelp bass was determined by exposing densities of kelp perch to natural levels of kelp bass in the field. Per capita mortality of kelp perch in the laboratory was inversely density dependent to density independent with increasing habitat structure. By contrast, per capita mortality in the field was strongly density dependent, with evidence for an aggregative response by kelp bass. Furthermore, emigration and other nonpredatory losses of kelp perch from field plots were negligible, indicating that the product of the functional and aggregative responses by kelp bass induced density-dependent mortality in kelp perch. My results indicated that increasing habitat structural complexity at low densities of kelp perch, coupled with a strong aggregative response by kelp bass, was responsible for the observed pattern of density-dependent mortality. In addition, the distribution and relative abundances of kelp perch and kelp bass at larger spatial scales (entire reefs) were consistent with predation as an important process structuring local populations of kelp perch. The contrasting patterns of short-term per capita mortality found here underscore the need to evaluate both the functional and aggregative responses of predators to their prey. Ultimately, the pattern of mortality expressed will be determined by the relative strengths of these behavioral re- sponses and the degree to which habitat structure provides an effective prey refuge.
Hanoi Eclipse: The Music of Dai Lam Linh

Hanoi Eclipse: The Music of Dai Lam Linh is a film by ethnomusicologist Barley Norton, author of a fine book documenting the music performed at spirit possession ceremonies in Vietnam's Mother Godd...
Gastrointestinal toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents

Chemotherapy-induced toxicities commonly occur in sites within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and account for dose-limiting effects. These toxicities are major contributing factors to dose reduction, delays, and cessation of cancer treatment. Through intensive therapies including surgery, combination chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and targeted therapy, an increasing number of patients with cancer are experiencing improved survival and long-term disease-free survival, as well as palliation of disease-related symptoms. Thus, GI toxicities should be predicted and appropriate interventions initiated to prevent them when possible and provide effective supportive measures and comprehensive follow-up care. This review will discuss the etiology, incidence, prevention, and treatment of GI toxicities of cancer chemotherapy.
Successful catheter ablation of focal ventricular fibrillation originating from the right ventricle.

Sudden cardiac death from ventricular fibrillation (VF) typically occurs in patients with structural heart disease, but in 5 to 10 percent VF is “idiopathic,” occurring in normal hearts. Recently, there has been the description and growing recognition of patients with VF that has a focal origin, the common sites being in the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) and sites in the left ventricle. A focus within the right ventricle outside the RVOT is rare. We present a case of a woman with VF storm that was localized to the inferobasal right ventricle and was successfully treated with radiofrequency ablation.