cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Determination of interfacial mechanical properties of ceramic composites by the compression of micro-pillar test specimens

A novel method to determine the fiber-matrix interfacial properties of ceramic matrix composites is proposed and evaluated; where micro-pillar samples containing inclined fiber/matrix interfaces were prepared from a SiC fiber-reinforced SiC matrix composites and then compression-tested using the nano-indentation technique. This new test method employs a simple geometry and mitigates the uncertainties associated with complex stress state in the conventional single-filament push-out method or tensile unloading–reloading hysteresis loop analysis method for the determination of interfacial properties. Based on the test results using samples with different interface orientations, the interfacial debond shear strength and the internal friction coefficient are explicitly determined and compared with values obtained by other test methods. SEM observation showed that micro compression caused an adhesive type of debonding between the fiber and the pyrolytic carbon interface. The results suggest that the debonding/failure behavior of the micro-pillars followed the Coulomb fracture criterion. The determined interfacial debond shear strength is ~100 MPa, which appears to be smaller than that determined from fiber push-out test for similar composite systems. The difference can be explained by the effect of normal stress (clamping stress) on the apparent interfacial debond shear strength.
Theses on Theory

AbstractThese thesis statements address the ghettoization of theory in the academic study of religion, noting not only the creation of specialized venues for the practice of theory (e.g., the conference section that the theses were originally written to directly address) as a symptomatic response, but also the further isolating effects engendered by the emergence of such discursive spaces. In response to these problems of marginalization, the theses go on to propose practical methods for tactical dissolution in hopes to contribute to the further integration of theory into the wider discipline.
A model for predicting damage dependent damping in laminated composites

A constitutive model has been developed for predicting the dynamic properties of composite beams which accounts for the influence of microstructural damage. The model assumes the damage state to be fixed. The model can account for both the damping increase and stiffness loss due to microstructural damage. Damage dependent material constants obtained from a baseline data set can be used to predict damping changes for several composite layups. The validity of the model has been verified by comparing the experimental results to model predictions for crossply laminates with a variety of stacking sequences.
Lung cancer mortality among workers at a nuclear materials fabrication plant.

Background The Oak Ridge, Tennessee Y-12 plant has operated as a nuclear materials fabrication plant since the 1940s. Given the work environment, and prior findings that lung cancer mortality was elevated among white male Y-12 workers relative to US white males, we investigated whether lung cancer mortality was associated with occupational radiation exposures. Methods A cohort of 3,864 workers hired between 1947 and 1974 who had been monitored for internal radiation exposure was identified. Vital status was ascertained through 1990. Results Over the study period 111 lung cancer deaths were observed. Cumulative external radiation dose under a 5-year lag assumption was positively associated with lung cancer mortality (0.54% increase in lung cancer mortality per 10 mSv, se = 0.16, likelihood ratio test (LRT) = 5.84, 1 degree of freedom [df]); cumulative internal radiation dose exhibited a highly-imprecise negative association with lung cancer mortality. Discussion The positive association between external radiation dose and lung cancer mortality was primarily due to exposure occurring in the period 5–14 years after exposure (0.97% increase in lung cancer mortality rate per 10 mSv, se = 0.28, LRT = 6.35, 1 df). The association between external radiation dose and lung cancer mortality was negative for exposures occurring at ages <35 years and positive for exposures occurring at ages 35–50 and 50+ years. Conclusions There is evidence of a positive association between cumulative external radiation dose and lung cancer mortality in this population. However, a causal interpretation of this association is constrained by the uncertainties in external and internal radiation dose estimates, the lack of information about exposures to other lung carcinogens, and the limited statistical power of the study. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Differentiation of proton-pumping activity in cultured renal inner medullary collecting duct cells.

Cultured inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) cells have been shown to secrete protons (H+) by two mechanisms: anN-ethylmaleimide-and dicyclohexyl-carbodiimide-sensitive electrogenic H+-ATPase or H+ pump, and an amiloride-sensitive, secondary active Na+/H+ exchanger. These cells also express Cl−/HCO3 − exchange and carbonic anhydrase activity in common with other renal epithelial cells involved in acid-base transport. Video fluorescence microscopy of individual cells using 2′, 7′-biscarboxyethyl-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein has demonstrated that adjacent-cultured IMCD cells show substantial functional intercellular heterogeneity. The development of H+-pumping activity is associated with high-baseline intracellular pH and peanut agglutinin (PNA) affinity, and loss of mitotic activity and of Na+/H+ exchange. The H+-pumping activity may be further enhanced by removal of fetal calf serum for 6–54 h or by selecting cells with high PNA affinity. IMCD cells in their most differentiated state form domes, which consistently showed the highest rates of H+-pumping activity, as well as high affinity for peanut lectin. When IMCD were plated at low density, domes developed relatively late (2–4 weeks), at which time cells located in the center of nests of contiguously growing cells were quiescent and showed H+-pumping activity but no Na+/H+ exchange. On the other hand, dense plating was associated with early development of domes (end of 1st week), at which time adjacent cells showed a high mitotic activity and Na+/H+ exchange, but no H+-pumping activity. We speculate that differentiation of IMCD cells results in the development of cell polarity. This could include either loss of the apical Na+/H+-exchange activity, or localization of this exchanger only to the basolateral membrane, while the H+ pump differentiates at the apical membrane.
Lloyd George and the 1918 Irish Conscription Crisis

David Lloyd George was a great war-time prime minister. There seems to be little doubt about this, but his was leadership has been so extolled by his supporters that adverse criticism sometimes smacks of heresy. Nevertheless criticism is warranted which, whilst not attacking the man, will qualify the myth. What follows is a critical examiniation of Lloyd George and his Irish policy in 1918.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FAMILY INTERVENTIONS FOR PHYSICAL DISORDERS

This article reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of family interventions in the prevention and treatment of physical disorders. Pathways by which families influence physical health and a typology of family interventions are described. Family intervention studies, particularly randomized clinical trials, are reviewed in four clinical areas: family caregiving of elders, childhood chronic illness, spouse involvement in chronic adult illnesses, and health promotion/disease prevention. Implications for family clinicians and recommendations for future research are presented.
The nutrient content of school-provided Breakfast meals in ohio public elementary schools

Abstract Dietary analysis of school-provided breakfast meals offered in Ohio public elementary schools under the School Breakfast Program sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture was conducted with results compared to the Recommended Dietary Allowances (1989), the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (1990) and the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) (1991) recommendations for nutrient content and fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol consumption. Out of the 612 school districts in Ohio, 306 were randomly selected to receive the survey packet. One hundred thirty-three valid surveys were returned, a response rate of 43%. Of these school districts, 66 (49.6%) participated in the School Breakfast Program. Each school district provided breakfast menus offered during the week of November 1–5, 1993. These menus were analyzed for calories, fat, protein, calcium, iron, cholesterol, vitamins A, C & D, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin. The menus met or exceeded one fourth of the RDA for all nutrients for children age 4 to 14 years except for calories for children over age 7 and iron for females 11 to 14 years. On a weekly average, the menus met the Dietary Guidelines for 30% or less of calories from fat by providing 29.6% calories from fat but exceeded the recommendation for 10% or less of calories from saturated fat by providing 12.4% of calories as saturated fat. The breakfast menus, on average, offer 51mg cholesterol which is well below the NCEP recommendation of 75mg. In summary, the USDA School Breakfast Program currently used in Ohio public elementary schools satisfies most nutritional goals. Most of the major nutrients needed for growth are present in adequate amounts, with the exception of calories. In addition, the Dietary Guidelines for fat and cholesterol are being met using the current school meal pattern.
The refeeding syndrome and glucose load

Objective: A 10-year-old girl with anorexia nervosa developed the refeeding syndrome following cautious reintroduction of nutrition, emphasizing that even with cautious refeeding a shift in fluid, glucose, and electrolytes can still occur, increasing the risk of morbidity and mortality in this ever growing vulnerable group. Method: Biochemical, nutritional, and anthropometrical monitoring in the patient, who followed a conservative refeeding program after a prolonged period of nutritional inadequacy. Results: The refeeding syndrome presented itself with hypophosphatemia, hypotension, and cardiac abnormalities whilst refeeding at 25 kcal/kg (600 kcal/day). Discussion: Comprises of a literature review, highlighting this case as the youngest reported case of refeeding syndrome in anorexia nervosa. Discussion focuses on the possible deleterious affects that carbohydrates may have in exacerbating the refeeding syndrome. © 2010 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Reconsideration of the Annulus Flow Problem in Axial Turbomachinery

The theory pertaining to the annulus flow problem in axial turbomachinery is reviewed and a simplified analysis which is essentially concerned with the effect of streamline curvature is worked out. Some generalized results are obtained for the case of a single blade row and for the oscillating flow between repeating blade rows of arbitrary spacing. The effect of finite blade width is assessed. The simple radial equilibrium hypothesis which is still attractive to designers is reconsidered and a modified radial equilibrium theory which directly eliminates the oscillatory terms is proposed as being more accurate and simpler than the conventional radial equilibrium theory.
Structural Biology of Viruses by the Combination of Electron Cryomicroscopy and X-ray Crystallography†

Recent developments in electron cryomicroscopy and image analysis have made it a powerful tool to investigate the structure, assembly, and dynamics of biological supramolecular assemblies. The subjects of study now include a variety of biological samples that may be homogeneous or heterogeneous, symmetric or nonsymmetric. The combination of this technique with X-ray crystallography plays an increasingly important role in structural biology and provides unique structural information for understanding large, complex biological systems. Here we provide an overview of the technologies and specific applications to virus structure and function.
Advances in simulation and modelling of thermonuclear plasmas

Report on the IAEA Technical Committee Meeting held at Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 15-17 June 1992.
Promoting the nurse practitioner role in managed care

Managed care poses opportunities for nurse practitioners, providing they successfully negotiate new health care systems. This requires being familiar with Medicaid waivers and state policies regarding health insurance. In addition, knowledge of credentialing and compensation mechanisms under managed care enhances nurse practitioners' ability to forge provider roles. Because of the overlap between priorities of nurse practitioner practice and managed care, nurse practitioners have the potential to strengthen their roles as primary and specialty care providers in traditional and nontraditional settings.
Faraday rotation near the Curie point of EuO

The static magnetic properties of EuO near the Curie point have been measured using Faraday rotation. Comparison between magnetometer data reveals a small nonlinear term in the relation between rotation and magnetization. With this correction, results yield critical parameters $beta$ = 0.370 +- 0.006, B = 1.10 +- 0.04, $gamma$ = 1.30 +- 0.02, and GAMMA=0.397 +- 0.012. The value of $gamma$ agrees with other static experiments, but disagrees with neutron- scattering measurements and with theory. All the data can be scaled using these exponents, and are consistent with the two proposed parametric equations of state, with coefficients a$sub 1$ = 2.56, k$sub 1$ = 1.025 and a$sub 2$ = 1.78, k$sub 2$ = 0.718. The data predict specific-heat parameters $alpha$ = -0.04 +- 0.03 and A/A ' = 1.31 +- 0.05, in agreement with experimental results analyzed with nonsingular correction terms. (AIP)
``Kick-Starting'' oxetane photopolymerizations

In the presence of small amounts of 2,2-dialkyl-, 2,2,3-trialkyl-, or 2,2,3,3-tetraalkyl substituted epoxides such as isobutylene oxide, 1,2-limonene oxide, and 2,2,3,3,-tetramethyl oxirane, the photoinitiated cationic ring-opening polymerizations of 3,3-disubstituted oxetanes are dramatically accelerated. The acceleration affect was attributed to an increase in the rate of the initiation step of these latter monomers. Both mono- and disubstituted oxetane monomers are similarly accelerated by the above-mentioned epoxides to give crosslinked network polymers. The potential for the use of such “kick-started” systems in applications such as coatings, adhesives, printing inks, dental composites and in three-dimensional imaging is discussed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014, 52, 2934–2946
The Multi-Story Space Assignment Problem

The Multi-Story Space Assignment Problem (MSAP) is an innovative formulation of the multi-story facility assignment problem that allows one to model the location of departments of unequal size within multi-story facilities as a Generalized Quadratic 3-dimensional Assignment Problem (GQ3AP). Not only can the MSAP generate the design of the location of the departments in the facility, the MSAP also includes the evacuation planning for the facility. The formulation, background mathematical development, and computational experience with a branch and bound algorithm for the MSAP are also presented.
Intraperitoneal insulin administration produces a positive portal-systemic blood insulin gradient in unanesthetized, unrestrained swine.

The present study was performed to evaluate the porto-systemic insulin gradient in response to (1) glucose feeding (2) intramuscular insulin administration, and (3) peritoneal insulin administration in unanesthetized swine. The experiment was designed to verify the hypothesis that intraperitoneal insulin administered might lead to a more physiologic portal vein insulin concentration than systemic administration of a similar insulin dose. Studies were performed in 4 domestic swine with chronic, indwelling catheters in the inferior vena cava and portal vein. Unpaired studied of the absolute portal venous and systemic venous insulin concentrations were performed in response to glucose prn(n = 4), 1 unit regular insulin/kg i.m.(n = 4), and 1 unit regular insulin/kg i.p.(n = 5). Timed blood samples were obtained and serum insulin concentrations determined by RIA. Portal and caval serum insulin concentrations following intramuscular insulin injection showed no significant difference. A significant portal vein insulin excess (p less than 0.001) was demonstrated following both feeding and intraperitoneal insulin.
Potential thrombophilic mutations/polymorphisms in patients with no flow-limiting stenosis after myocardial infarction☆

Abstract Background Although inherited thrombophilias are more common in patients with venous thromboembolism, their influence on the development of myocardial infarction (MI) requires clarification. Methods and Results To determine whether there are increased frequencies of mutations/polymorphisms in 14 genes potentially causing thrombophilia in patients with no flow-limiting stenoses after MI compared with patients with ≥1 flow-limiting stenosis of >50%, we studied 395 patients (60 with no flow-limiting stenosis) who underwent angiography at approximately 1 month. The mutations/polymorphisms studied included Factor V Leiden, prothrombin variant G20210A, β-fibrinogen 448 (G/A), endothelial protein C receptor (23-base pair insertion), methyl tetrahydrofolate reductase 677 (C/T), platelet glycoprotein IIIa PlA1/A2, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 4G/5G, angiotensin II type 1 receptor (A/C), hemochromatosis gene 282 (G/A), nitric oxide synthase (NOS) (3 forms: eNOS, eNOS3, eNOS4), p22 phox of NADPH oxidase C242T, and angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism. The frequencies of Factor V Leiden and the β-fibrinogen 448 A allele were higher in patients with no flow-limiting stenosis than in patients with ≥1 stenosis (11.7% vs 3.6%, odds ratio [OR] 3.6, 95% CI 1.3-9.4, P = .015; and 42% vs 27%, OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.5, P = .018, respectively), and there was a trend toward an increased frequency of prothrombin variant G20210A (6.7% vs 2.1%, OR 3.4, 95% CI 0.95-11.8, P = .069). However, in patients with no flow-limiting stenosis after MI the frequencies of the other gene mutations/polymorphisms were not increased. Also, there were no significant interactions between any of these 14 mutation/polymorphisms, major cardiovascular risk factors, and the absence of any flow-limiting stenosis, except for Factor V Leiden and hypertension (OR 6.34, 95% CI 2.67-100, P = .004). Conclusions Patients with no flow-limiting stenosis after MI had increased frequencies of 2 inherited thrombophilias (Factor V Leiden and β-fibrinogen 448 A allele), and there was a trend toward an increased frequency of prothrombin variant G20210A compared with patients with ≥1 stenosis. These data suggest that polymorphisms/mutations in some gene products influencing coagulation may influence the pathogenesis of MI. (Am Heart J 2003;145:118-24.)
THE LIVERMORE VARIABLE-ENERGY 90-INCH CYCLOTRON

Abstract A variable-energy cyclotron is described which accelerates protons from 2.6 to 15 MeV, deuterons from 5.2 to 12.5 MeV, and alpha particles from 10.4 to 25 MeV. The 90-in.-diameter magnet incorporates a special fringing field to reduce the angular divergence of the emerging beam. The single dee is driven by a crystal-controlled power amplifier, variable in steps of 55 kc/s from 4.0 to 9.5 Mc/s. The internal beam is limited to 200 uA to avoid septum damage, and 15 to 25% of this beam can be extracted. The external beam has a 2% total spread in energy, and an individual pulse in the beam has a time spread of 2% of the radiofrequency period. Most of the external beam is contained in an elliptical cone with half angles of 0.30° and 0.15°.
Turbulence Fluctuations and New Universal Realizability Conditions in Modeling

General turbulent mean statistics are shown to be characterized by a variational principle. The variational functionals, or ``effective actions,'' have experimental consequences for turbulence fluctuations and are subject to realizability conditions of positivity and convexity. An efficient Rayleigh-Ritz algorithm is available to calculate approximate effective actions within probability density function (PDF) closures. Examples are given for Navier-Stokes and for a three-mode system of Lorenz. The new realizability conditions succeed at detecting a priori the poor predictions of PDF closures even when the classical second-order moment realizability conditions are satisfied.
Shape variation of the human pollical distal phalanx and metacarpal.

Human distal pollical phalanx form has been associated with tool manufacture, and the broad tuft of this bone in Neanderthals has been suggested to be a climatic adaptation and/or an aid to a tremendously powerful grip. A wide first metacarpal head has also been proposed to be useful in distinguishing tool-dependent hominids from those less reliant on tools. In order to contribute to an evaluation of these hypotheses variation in first metacarpal and distal phalanx shape is explored among samples of modern humans and compared to that of fossil hominids. Modern humans are from the Terry Collection, Larsen Bay, a Chinese-Alaskan cemetery, Egypt, and Sully and Mobridge. Hominid fossils include AL 333w-39, SKX 5016, SK 84, Stw 294, OH 7, several Neanderthals, Skhūl 4 and 5, and Predmosti 3. Analysis involves length-width ratios, regressions of distal phalanx tuft width on base width and of metacarpal head width on length, and pattern profiles based on Z-scores with reference to the Larsen Bay sample. Larsen Bay individuals are robust, while Terry "blacks," Egyptians, and Chinese-Alaskan males tend to be gracile. Fossil hominids are most distinctive for distal phalanx radioulnar tuft and mid-shaft widths relative to length. Security of grip is one plausible explanation. While most modern samples are positively allometric for tuft width relative to base width, the Larsen Bay and fossil hominid samples are not; thus caution is advised in accepting a base-tuft width comparison as a tool-dependence marker. Separation from modern humans is not easily achieved with metacarpal measures, but the Hadar metacarpal has distinctively narrow radioulnar head width ratios. While first metacarpal head expansion among hominids may plausibly be related to tool manufacture, other activities that place stress on the metacarpophalangeal joint should also be considered.
Robust estimation of standard curves for protein molecular weight and linear-duplex DNA base-pair number after gel electrophoresis

Abstract An accurate procedure for estimating linear-duplex DNA base-pair numbers and protein molecular weights after electrophoresis in single concentration gels is presented. A robust modified hyperbola was found to be superior for determining molecular weights and base-pair numbers for a set of known standards when compared with the conventional log transformation and a similar hyperbolic model. We describe the use of a soft laser-scanning densitometer to measure band-migration distances of wet, stained polyacrylamide gels for proteins and photograhic negatives of agarose gels containing DNA stained with ethidium bromide. This automated densitometric method was more accurate than existing methods. A BASIC computer program detailing the procedure is included.
Lesions of renal glomeruli in mice with virus-induced diabetes mellitus-like disease.

Encephalomyocarditis (EMC) virus infected DBA/2 mice develop a diabetes mellitus-like disease. Many animals survive the acute viral infection and exhibit hyperglycemia and glycosuria for varying periods thereafter. Accumulations of homogeneous, electron dense, basement membrane-like material are observed in the mesangium of the glomerulus of these animals as early as three months after inoculation. The peripheral capillary basement membranes are not affected. Since the alterations are not found in uninfected animals, it is assumed that the abnormal metabolic state or the virus infection, or both processes, are responsible for the glomerular changes. Further investigation will be required to elucidate the pathogenesis of this obscure lesion.
A STUDY OF THE ANKLE JERK IN MYXEDEMA

SLOWNESS of movement is one of the prominent symptoms of patients who have myxedema. It is observed not only in voluntary movements, but also in the response of the tendon reflexes. As a simple test of this aspect of the disease, observation of the speed of muscular movement elicited by the tendon reflexes, particularly those of the biceps and Achilles tendons, has proven to be useful in diagnosis. Usually a definite slowing of the reflex response can be observed in patients with myxedema during the routine clinical examination At the Mayo Clinic, use of this test as an aid in the diagnosis of myxedema began at least thirty years ago when it was recognized that myxedema was probably the only condition in which a characteristic “delayed relaxation” of the tendon reflexes was observed. Graphic records to demonstrate this were not made until 1924, when Chaney (1) reported measurements of the duration of the ankle jerk in patients with myxedema and other conditions. He found that the reflex response was prolo...
Regulation of Rot Expression in Staphylococcus aureus

Repressor of toxins (Rot) is known to be a global regulator of virulence gene expression in Staphylococcus aureus. The function of Rot, but not the transcription of rot, is regulated by the staphylococcal accessory gene regulator (Agr) quorum-sensing system. In addition, the alternative sigma factor (σB) has a repressive effect on rot expression during the postexponential phase of growth. The transcriptional profiles of Rot in σB-positive and σB-negative strains in the postexponential and stationary phases of growth were compared. An upregulation of rot expression was observed during the stationary phase of growth, and this upregulation occurred in a σB-dependent manner. The effects of other staphylococcal transcriptional factors were also investigated. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that proteins present in staphylococcal lysates retarded the mobility of the rot promoter fragment and that the effect was reduced, but not eliminated, with lysates from strains lacking a functional SarS protein. A modest upregulation of rot expression was also observed in sarS-negative strains. Affinity purification of proteins binding to the rot promoter fragment, followed by N-terminal protein sequencing, identified the SarA and SarR proteins. Primer extension analysis of the rot promoter revealed a number of discreet products. However, these RNA species were not associated with identifiable promoter activity and likely represented RNA breakdown products. Loss of Rot function during the postexponential phase of growth likely involves degradation of the rot mRNA but not the inhibition of rot transcription.
Nutritional approaches to reducing phosphorus excretion by poultry

Phosphorus is an essential mineral for growing poultry, and the consequences of a failure to provide for adequate quantities of this nutrient are physiologically and economically disastrous. Therefore, nutritionists provide a margin of safety for this mineral in their diets. However, because of growing concerns regarding the potential contribution of P in poultry excreta on eutrophication of surface waters, increasing pressure is being placed to limit the amount of excess P in diets and thus reduce fecal output. In order to significantly reduce fecal P while maintaining economic productivity, the nutritionist must establish and maintain an integrated program of activities, including an effective quality control program for incoming animal protein feeds, selection of P supplements of the highest biological value, use of phytase enzymes, and judicious selection of dietary P levels. Potential benefits of newer isomers of vitamin D and the commercial development of grains with high levels of nonphytate P offer promise in the future. Whatever measures are taken to increase the biological availability of the phytate-bound and nonphytate P portions of the diet, commensurate reductions in overall dietary P content must be made.
BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO: EXPLAINING THE 2002 SAN FERNANDO VALLEY SECESSION VOTE

ABSTRACT:In November 2002 the voters of Los Angeles soundly rejected Proposition F which, if approved, would have authorized the secession of the San Fernando Valley in order to constitute a city independent of Los Angeles. This article attempts to delineate the interplay of social, economic, and political conditions related to support for secession by examining the results of a Los Angeles Times survey conducted one week prior to the vote. Because an exit poll was not taken following the vote, these data provide the most proximate evidence for the views of voters shortly before casting their ballots. The analysis of the data identifies distinctive social bases of support for secession in the San Fernando Valley that contrast with those outside the region. The results are interpreted in the context of Sonenshein’s discussion of the role of coalition formation in urban politics.
Biomarkers of Immunotoxicology

The immune system is the body’s main defense against invasion by foreign materials and biological agents. The immune system is composed of cells, their receptors and soluble products, tissues, and organs. Immunoreactive cells are neutrophils, lymphocytes, macrophages, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils, and mast cells, inclusive of numerous subpopulations, each characterized by expression and/or function. These cells are distributed throughout the body and concentrate in blood, thymus, spleen, and associated lymphatics and lymph nodes. The immune system is controlled by an array of intra- and interregulated circuits that involve other biological systems such as the endocrine and central nervous systems. Thus, it is impossible, at this time, to duplicate in vitro the multiplicity of the intact immune system.
The Party Politics of “Guns versus Butter” in Post-Vietnam America

As the Vietnam War concluded with the failure of US foreign policy, the so-called “Cold War consensus” collapsed in American politics and society. A significant number of lawmakers came to revisit their national security positions, and under these circumstances the Anti-ballistic Missile (ABM) bills came up in the 91st Congress (1969–70). The costly missile program quickly stirred a major controversy, particularly over a trade-off between guns (defense budget) and butter (welfare spending). This article examines how and why party rank-and-file members in US Congress stayed the course or shifted their positions during the ABM debates. The empirical findings suggest that representatives did not immediately abandon their national security preferences, but rather employed gradual position shifts in legislative processes. In addition, institutional conditions such as “in-party” and “party-out-of-power” hindered or helped legislators' position reversals. This case study of the “guns-or-butter” debates in 1969 and 1970 sheds light on how the representative system in America works in response to public discomfort, with lawmakers trying to fine-tune their individual policy positions and collective party reputations simultaneously.
Shifting Inequality and Recovery of Sparse Signals

In this paper, we present a concise and coherent analysis of the constrained ?1 minimization method for stable recovering of high-dimensional sparse signals both in the noiseless case and noisy case. The analysis is surprisingly simple and elementary, while leads to strong results. In particular, it is shown that the sparse recovery problem can be solved via ?1 minimization under weaker conditions than what is known in the literature. A key technical tool is an elementary inequality, called Shifting Inequality, which, for a given nonnegative decreasing sequence, bounds the ?2 norm of a subsequence in terms of the ?1 norm of another subsequence by shifting the elements to the upper end.
Resolving healthcare forum posts via similar thread retrieval

Web communities such as healthcare web forums serve as popular platforms for users to get their complex medical queries resolved. A typical forum thread contains a query in its first post, and a discussion around it in subsequent posts. However many users do not receive satisfactory responses from other members in the community, leaving them dissatisfied. We propose to help these users by exploiting an existing collection of discussion threads.Often many users suffer from the same medical condition and start multiple discussion threads on very similar queries. In this paper we develop and evaluate a plethora of specialized search methods that treat an entire unresolved forum post as a query, and retrieve forum threads discussing similar problems to help resolve it. The task is more challenging than a traditional document retrieval problem, since forum posts can contain a lot of irrelevant background information. The discussion threads to be retrieved are also quite different from traditional unstructured text documents. We evaluate our results on a dataset comprising over 350K discussion threads and show that our proposed methods outperform state of the art retrieval methods for the task. In particular, method based on non-uniform weighting of thread posts and semantic analysis of the query text perform quite well.
An Efficient Risk Adjustment Model to Predict Inpatient Adverse Events after Surgery

Risk adjustment is an important component of surgical outcomes and quality analyses. Current models include numerous preoperative variables; however, the relative contribution of these variables may be limited. This research seeks to identify a model with the fewest number of variables necessary to perform an adequate risk adjustment to predict any inpatient adverse event for use in resource-limited settings. All patients from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database from 2005 to 2010 were included. Outcomes were inpatient mortality or any surgical complication captured by NSQIP. Models were built by sequential addition of preoperative risk variables selected by their area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC). Among 863,349 patients, the single variable with the highest AUC was American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification (AUC = 0.7127). AUC values reached 0.7923 with five variables (ASA classification, wound classification, functional status prior to surgery, albumin, and age) and 0.7945 with six variables. The sixth variable was one of the following: alkaline phosphatase, weight loss, principal anesthesia technique, gender, or emergency status. The model with the highest discrimination that did not require laboratories included ASA classification, functional status prior to surgery, wound classification, and age (AUC = 0.7810). Including all 66 preoperative variables produced little additional gain (AUC = 0.8006). Six variables are sufficient to develop a risk adjustment tool for inpatient surgical mortality and morbidity. This research has important implications for the field of surgical outcomes research by improving efficiency of data collection. This limited model can aid the expansion of risk-adjusted analyses to resource-limited settings worldwide.
Complications and prognostic factors in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease.

Abstract PURPOSE: To identify associations between complications of disease and final visual acuity in patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease and to identify prognostic factors for disease outcome. METHODS: All patients diagnosed with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease at the Doheny Eye Institute or the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center between 1983 and 1997 were reviewed. Data extracted included initial and final visual acuities, age, gender, ethnicity, complications, treatment, duration of disease, and number of recurrences. RESULTS: One hundred one patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease were identified, 68 (67%) of which were female. Mean age was 34 ± 14 years (range, 8 to 75 years). Asians presented at a significantly older age than all other groups. One hundred three eyes (51%) developed at least one complication, including cataract in 84 eyes (42%), glaucoma in 54 eyes (27%), choroidal neovascular membranes in 22 eyes (11%), and subretinal fibrosis in 13 eyes (6%). Patients who developed at least one complication had a significantly longer median duration of disease and number of recurrent episodes of inflammation ( P = .0001 for each) than did those patients who developed no complications. Statistically significant associations existed between poor final visual acuity and greater numbers of complications ( P = .001), greater age at onset ( P = .03), a longer median duration of disease ( P = .03), and greater number of recurrent episodes of inflammation ( P = .0004). Eyes possessing a better visual acuity at presentation were more likely to have a better visual acuity at final follow-up ( P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Factors associated with a worse final acuity included increasing numbers of complications, greater age at onset, and worse acuity at presentation.
Some behavioral effects of short-term exposure of rats to 2.45 GHz microwave radiation

Rats were tested for neurobehavioral alterations immediately after exposure to 2.45-GHz (CW) microwave radiation at 10 mW/cm2 for 7 h. Behavioral tests used were locomotor activity, startle to an acoustic stimulus and acquisition and retention of a shock-motivated passive avoidance task. Both horizontal and vertical components of locomotor activity were assessed in 5-min epochs for a period of 30 min using photoelectric detectors. Microwave-exposed animals exhibited less activity than sham-exposed animals. This was most evident during the last 10-15 min of the 30-min test session. Twenty identical acoustical stimuli (8 KHz, 110 dB) were delivered to each rat at 40-s intervals. The microwave-exposed animals were less responsive to the stimuli than sham-exposed animals. Microwave exposure had no effect on the retention of a passive avoidance procedure when tested at 1 week after training. Both the locomotor activity and acoustic startle data demonstrate that, under the conditions of this experiment, microwave exposure may alter responsiveness of rats to novel environmental conditions or stimuli.
Outcomes of fetal intervention for primary hydrothorax.

Abstract Objective Primary hydrothorax is a rare congenital anomaly with outcomes ranging from spontaneous resolution to fetal demise. We reviewed our experience with fetuses diagnosed with primary hydrothorax to evaluate prenatal management strategies. Methods We reviewed the records of patients evaluated for fetal pleural effusions at our Fetal Treatment Center between 1996 and 2013. To define fetuses with primary hydrothorax, we excluded those with structural or genetic anomalies, diffuse lymphangiectasia, immune hydrops, and monochorionic diamniotic twin gestations. Results We identified 31 fetuses with primary hydrothorax, of whom 24 had hydrops. Hydropic fetuses were more likely to present with bilateral effusions. Of all fetuses with primary hydrothorax, 21 had fetal interventions. Survival without hydrops was 7/7 (100%), whereas survival with hydrops depended on whether or not the patient had fetal intervention: 12/19 (63%) with intervention and 1/5 (20%) without intervention. Premature delivery was common (44%) among those who had fetal intervention. Conclusions Fetal intervention for primary hydrothorax may lead to resolution of hydrops, but preterm birth and neonatal demise still occur. Understanding the pathophysiology of hydrops may provide insights into further prenatal management strategies, including targeted therapies to prevent preterm labor.
Ecosystem indicators derived from satellite remotely sensed oceanographic data for the North Pacific

Satellite remotely sensed oceanographic data provide reliable global ocean coverage of sea surface temperature, sea surface height, surface winds, and ocean colour, with relatively high spatial and temporal resolution. We illustrate approaches to use these data to construct indicators that describe aspects of ecosystem dynamics in the North Pacific. Specifically, altimetry data are used to construct regional indicators of the ocean vertical structure, ocean colour data to describe the temporal chlorophyll dynamics of the coastal zone, ocean colour, sea surface temperature, and altimetry data to develop indices of biologically important ocean features, and finally altimetry data to drive a larval transport model and develop an index of larval retention. Recent changes in the North Pacific based on these indices are discussed.
Risk, Stress, and Capacity Explaining Metropolitan Commitment to Climate Protection

Climate change and mitigation policies adopted by a locality indelibly impact urban form, landscape, and economy. The Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) has become a dominant movement organizing the localities to proactively address climate change. This study examines metropolitan area commitment to the CCP. Geographic information systems (GIS) and statistical techniques are used to analyze metros on dimensions of climate change risk, stress, and civic capacity. “Climate change risk” measures a metro area’s coastal proximity, ecosystem sensitivity, and susceptibility to extreme weather events. “Climate change stress” summarizes transportation, energy, and production practices that adversely affect climate systems. “Civic capacity” estimates human capital and environmental concern variables that constitute a metro area’s ability to commit to policy initiatives. Statistical results indicate that high stressor areas are significantly less likely to participate in the CCP campaign, and metros high in civic capacity are significantly more likely to commit to the CCP campaign.
Angiopoietin-2, a Natural Antagonist for Tie2 That Disrupts in vivo Angiogenesis

Angiogenesis is thought to depend on a precise balance of positive and negative regulation. Angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) is an angiogenic factor that signals through the endothelial cell-specific Tie2 receptor tyrosine kinase. Like vascular endothelial growth factor, Ang1 is essential for normal vascular development in the mouse. An Ang1 relative, termed angiopoietin-2 (Ang2), was identified by homology screening and shown to be a naturally occurring antagonist for Ang1 and Tie2. Transgenic overexpression of Ang2 disrupts blood vessel formation in the mouse embryo. In adult mice and humans, Ang2 is expressed only at sites of vascular remodeling. Natural antagonists for vertebrate receptor tyrosine kinases are atypical; thus, the discovery of a negative regulator acting on Tie2 emphasizes the need for exquisite regulation of this angiogenic receptor system.
A virtual prototype manufacturing software system for MEMS

IntelliSense reports on a new computer-aided design software system for rapid prototype development of microelectromechanical systems. This system, called IntelliCAD/sup TM/, is self-contained, easy-to-use and has an open architecture. IntelliCAD's integration is accomplished by an architecture different from a previously reported academic system. The new architecture integrates mask layout, a material database, a fabrication database, process simulation, forward and backward search at each fabrication step, process debugging, solid modeling, and parametric electrostatic, thermomechanical and electromechanical analysis into one efficient and user friendly system. The novelty of our approach is in linking the performance modeling to the manufacturing (machine) parameters and allowing modifications for user applications.
Economic Vulnerability to Climate Change in Coastal New Jersey: A Stakeholder-Based Assessment

This study investigates economic vulnerabilities to climate extremes and climate change in coastal New Jersey before and after Hurricane Sandy. Drawing upon methodological best-practices in climate adaptation and disaster risk management, which emphasize coproduction of climate assessment information, the study employs a stakeholder-based approach to identify key climate-related economic stresses, risks and vulnerabilities. Interviews with stakeholders conducted in the months prior to Sandy highlighted a myriad of climatic, environmental and economic stresses in the region and revealed a wide range of economic assets, activities, and populations that are economically vulnerable. PostSandy meetings with stakeholders reinforced findings of the pre-Sandy interviews but also brought to light some new and unexpected vulnerabilities. The study illustrates the value of stakeholder participation in economic vulnerability assessments, including deeper and more nuanced understanding of local economic assets, activities, and populations at risk to climate extremes and climate change. The study also demonstrates the importance of stakeholder-engagement for creating buy-in to the climate assessment process and for facilitating new learning opportunities in a post-disaster context. Given climatic nonstationarity and continually evolving economic conditions, stakeholder-based assessments will need to be conducted and updated on an on-going basis in order to ensure continual relevance to post-disaster learning and response.
Organizational justice, voluntary learning behavior, and job performance: A test of the mediating effects of identification and leader‐member exchange

This paper presents and tests an integrative model of voluntary learning behavior. Drawing on social exchange theory, we argue that individuals are more likely to pursue learning activities when they identify with their employing organization and have a high quality leader–member exchange (LMX) relationship with their supervisor. We further argue that organizational identification is enhanced by both distributive and procedural fairness, whereas LMX quality is enhanced by interpersonal and informational fairness. Moreover, we contend that effective learning behavior improves job performance. The model was tested with a sample of 398 employees from a large automobile dealership. Results supported most predictions. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
CEAL: a C-based language for self-adjusting computation

Self-adjusting computation offers a language-centric approach to writing programs that can automatically respond to modifications to their data (e.g., inputs). Except for several domain-specific implementations, however, all previous implementations of self-adjusting computation assume mostly functional, higher-order languages such as Standard ML. Prior to this work, it was not known if self-adjusting computation can be made to work with low-level, imperative languages such as C without placing undue burden on the programmer.We describe the design and implementation of CEAL: a C-based language for self-adjusting computation. The language is fully general and extends C with a small number of primitives to enable writing self-adjusting programs in a style similar to conventional C programs. We present efficient compilation techniques for translating CEAL programs into C that can be compiled with existing C compilers using primitives supplied by a run-time library for self-adjusting computation. We implement the proposed compiler and evaluate its effectiveness. Our experiments show that CEAL is effective in practice: compiled self-adjusting programs respond to small modifications to their data by orders of magnitude faster than recomputing from scratch while slowing down a from-scratch run by a moderate constant factor. Compared to previous work, we measure significant space and time improvements.
Personal Experience and Public Place Creation

There is a place in Wyoming called the Red Desert. It has tangible characteristics—land and sky, sagebrush and antelope, fences and roads—but if you visit, you will do more than just register these features. You will take memories from and layer meaning upon the landscape, personally investing in the place. This chapter portrays the development of personal place meanings of the Red Desert and describes social and political processes with the potential to translate them into public meanings of place.