cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transversal and longitudinal vortex correlation in the mixed state of high temperature superconductors

We report vortex dynamic correlation measurements in the mixed state of the high temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7. The in-plane and out-of-plane vortex velocity correlation is determined by applying non-uniform currents to the vortex structure. These currents apply non-uniform forces to the vortex system providing a tool to detect transversal and longitudinal vortex rigidity. The in-plane vortex-vortex drag is studied with a force configuration that drives the vortices in orbital motion around a central point. In the solid phase the vortex solid can rotate as a rigid body with a macroscopic correlation as large as 104 vortex spacing. At large temperatures a shear-induced breakdown of the coherent motion is observed.
The Political Austerity Cycle

In the fall of 2008, Dublin-based Depfa Bank flapped its funding wings, creating a financial tornado in Wisconsin's 900-student Whitefish Bay High School. Depfa, an Irish bank specializing in municipal bond investments, had lent US$165 million to Wisconsin's school district. When Depfa stumbled into a cash-crunch, the Irish bank immediately withdrew funds from many of its U.S. municipal investments, including Whitefish Bay. Without funding from creditors like Depfa, the Wisconsin school district resigned to its fate of budget cuts, slashing spending initiatives and teacher retirement payouts. A financial motif for U.S. municipalities, the 2008 global financial crisis tightened foreign financial spigots for many cash-strapped local governments. For instance, the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), deeply dependent on external financing from creditors like Depfa, approved a 7.5 percent increase in subway fares and tolls between 2010 and 2015 to plug its funding deficit. Ironically, the 2008 credit crisis that rippled through the United States is a familiar plight for many Latin American governments that repeatedly incurred “sudden stops” to their financing during the 1990s. Global finance has become a key player in domestic politics. The Whitefish Bay school district and the New York MTA did not want to cut teacher pensions or raise subway fares, but without funding from foreign creditors, they were left with few alternatives. These quandaries parallel the predicament of many Latin American countries during periods of high dependence on international bond markets.
Trial of gene therapy in diabetic dogs.

I WISH to inform colleagues of a clinical trial currently underway at Dick White Referrals, which I hope will be of interest to small animal practitioners, who may also be able to assist with further case recruitment. I have been working for the past five years in collaboration with colleagues from the departments of medicine at the University of Cambridge and the National University of Singapore, and also more lately with colleagues …
Clinical outcome of partial cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma of the canine bladder

Canine transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder has historically been treated with a combination of chemotherapy, cyclooxygenase inhibitors and radiation therapy. While surgery has been used to treat TCC of the bladder, its efficacy has yet to be established. Thirty-seven client owned dogs that underwent partial cystectomy +/- various nonsurgical treatments for TCC were retrospectively evaluated. The overall median progression-free interval (PFI) was 235 days and the median survival time (ST) was 348 days. Prognostic factors identified on univariate analysis significant for ST were age, tumor location, full thickness excision and frequency of piroxicam administration. Prognostic factors significant for PFI were full thickness excision and frequency of piroxicam administration. The median ST with partial cystectomy and daily piroxicam therapy, with or without chemotherapy, was 772 days. Dogs with non-trigonal bladder TCC treated with full thickness partial cystectomy and daily piroxicam (+/- chemotherapy) may have improved outcome compared to dogs treated with medical therapy.
Literacy and numeracy in Latin America: local perspectives and beyond

Literacy as the foundation of economic development and social justice in Latin America is an accepted proposition behind the discourses of some international aid initiatives (American Institutes fo...
Synchronous dynamic view learning: a framework for autonomous training of activity recognition models using wearable sensors

Wearable technologies play a central role in human-centered Internet-of-Things applications. Wearables leverage machine learning algorithms to detect events of interest such as physical activities and medical complications. These algorithms, however, need to be retrained upon any changes in configuration of the system, such as addition/ removal of a sensor to/ from the network or displacement/ misplacement/ mis-orientation of the physical sensors on the body. We challenge this retraining model by stimulating the vision of autonomous learning with the goal of eliminating the labor-intensive, time-consuming, and highly expensive process of collecting labeled training data in dynamic environments. We propose an approach for autonomous retraining of the machine learning algorithms in real-time without need for any new labeled training data. We focus on a dynamic setting where new sensors are added to the system and worn on various body locations. We capture the inherent correlation between observations made by a static sensor view for which trained algorithms exist and the new dynamic sensor views for which an algorithm needs to be developed. By applying our real-time dynamic-view autonomous learning approach, we achieve an average accuracy of 81.1% in activity recognition using three experimental datasets. This amount of accuracy represents more than 13.8% improvement in the accuracy due to the automatic labeling of the sensor data in the newly added sensor. This performance is only 11.2% lower than the experimental upper bound where labeled training data are collected with the new sensor.
Amphiphilic Polymer-Based Fluorescent Probe for Enantioselective Recognition of Amino Acids in Immiscible Water and Organic Phases.

ATRP of N-isopropylacrylamide was conducted in the presence of a 3,3'-diformyl-1,1'-BINOL-based diinitiator to give polymer (S)-7 which was soluble in both water and common organic solvents. Polymer (S)-7 in combination with Zn2+ in aqueous solution (BICINE buffer at pH = 8.80) showed highly enantioselective fluorescence enhancement in the presence of a number of amino acids. It was found that chloroform can be used to extract the aqueous polymer-Zn2+-amino acid solution and the resulting chloroform extract maintained the highly enantioselective fluorescence response. Thus, the enantiomeric composition of a chiral amino acid can be determined in the two immiscible solvents of water and chloroform. The aqueous polymer-Zn2+-amino acid solution showed LCST at 34 oC above which the polymer-Zn2+-amino acid adduct precipitated out. Measuring the fluorescence of the precipitate redissolved in the aqueous buffer solution showed the retention of the high enantioselectivity. Both the chloroform extraction and the thermo-induced precipitation have allowed the fluorescence response of the sensor toward amino acids to be measured away from the original substrate solution. These two strategies should minimize the interference by other reaction components on the fluorescence measurement when the sensor is applied to analyze the asymmetric reaction screening experiments.
Inverse method for hydrodynamic load reconstruction on a flexible surface-piercing hydrofoil in multi-phase flow

Abstract An inverse method for reconstruction of the in situ steady-state hydrodynamic load distribution using limited strain measurements is developed and validated on a rectangular, flexible surface-piercing hydrofoil in fully-wetted (FW) and fully-ventilated (FV) flows. The hydrofoil is used as a canonical proxy to more complex hydrodynamic lifting surfaces such as marine propulsors and turbines. The approach involves using a forward fluid–structure interaction (FSI) model to predict the hydroelastic response for given operating conditions. The inverse problem is solved as an optimization problem to determine unknown operating conditions. The forward FSI model consists of a nonlinear lifting line (LL) fluid solver with considerations for free surface, ventilation, and viscous effects, and a solid finite element method (FEM) solver using 1-D beam elements representing the spanwise bending and twisting deformations. The coupled FSI model was validated using data collected during towing tank experiments at the University of Michigan. Predictions of the lift and moment coefficients, as well as spanwise bending and twisting deformations agreed well with experimental results in FW and in FV flows. The inverse problem is formulated as an optimization problem to determine the unknown operating conditions that will minimize the difference between the measured and predicted deformations. To avoid non-uniqueness problems often encountered by inverse problems, a dynamic constraint using the measured wetted natural frequencies was added to help regularize the problem and speed up the solution process. A sequential quadratic programming algorithm was used as the optimizer for the inverse problem. The experimental studies showed that the inverse FSI model accurately determined the unknown operating conditions (angle of attack and immersed aspect ratio) for a given a known flow speed and a limited number of strain measurements in both FW and FV conditions. The converged results were used to reconstruct a 3-D hydrodynamic load distribution on the foil and to predict the cavity shape for FV operating conditions, which were found to agree well with experimental measurements and observations.
Bridged [2.2.1] bicyclic phosphine oxide facilitates catalytic γ-umpolung addition–Wittig olefination

A novel bridged [2.2.1] bicyclic phosphine oxide, devised to circumvent the waste generation and burdens of purification that are typical of reactions driven by the generation of phosphine oxides, has been prepared in three steps from commercially available cyclopent-3-ene-1-carboxylic acid. The performance of this novel phosphine oxide was superior to those of current best-in-class counterparts, as verified experimentally through kinetic analysis of its silane-mediated reduction. It has been applied successfully in halide-/base-free catalytic γ-umpolung addition-Wittig olefinations of allenoates and 2-amidobenzaldehydes to produce 1,2-dihydroquinolines with good efficiency. One of the 1,2-dihydroquinoline products was converted to known antitubercular furanoquinolines.
Broadband mid-infrared frequency combs in quasi-phase-matched lithium niobate waveguides

We experimentally demonstrate broadband mid-infrared (3-5 μm) frequency combs in quasi-phase-matched lithium niobate waveguides leveraging cascaded-x(2) supercontinuum generation and difference-frequency generation pumped by an Er:fiber laser.
Influence of Temperature on Nanosecond Pulse Amplification in Thulium Doped Fiber Lasers

Thulium silica doped fiber (TDF) lasers are becoming important laser sources in both research and applications in industry. A key element of all high-power lasers is thermal management and its impact on laser performance. This is particularly important in TDF lasers, which utilize an unusual cross-relation pumping scheme, and are optically less efficient than other types of fiber lasers. The present work describes an experimental investigation of thermal management in a high power, high repetition-rate, pulsed Thulium (Tm) fiber laser. A tunable nanosecond TDF laser system across the 1838 nm – 1948 nm wavelength range, has been built to propagate 2μm signal seed pulses into a TDF amplifier, comprising a polarized large mode area (PLMA) thulium fiber (TDF) with a 793nm laser diode pump source. The PLMA TDF amplifier is thermally managed by a separately controlled cooling system with a temperature varied from 12°C to 36°C. The maximum output energy (~400 μJ), of the system is achieved at 12°C at 1947 nm wavelength with ~32 W of absorbed pump power at 20 kHz with a pulse duration of ~ 74 ns.
INTERACTION OF VIRUSES WITH LYMPHOID CELLS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the interaction of viruses with lymphoid cells. Many tumor viruses, especially the leukemogenic oncornaviruses, are markedly immunosuppressive, especially during the initial stages of the tumorigenic process. It is suggested that immunosuppression associated with tumor virus infection may be a necessary prerequisite for development and appearance of a virus-induced malignancy. Various studies have shown that the murine leukemia viruses can interact with antibody-forming cells and their precursors. Infection with MuLV may also affect T cell immunity and macrophages. Infection of tumor virus susceptible mouse strains with a leukemia virus may result in rapid depression of immune responsiveness to a wide variety of antigens, including both T dependent and independent. Immunosuppression often develops prior to overt symptoms of the disease, and the level of suppression is directly related to virus dose and the time interval between virus injection and challenge immunization. Studies with intact animals have shown that leukemia viruses appear to preferentially affect B lymphocytes that are the precursors of antibody-forming immunocytes.
End-to-End Secure Mobile Group Messaging with Conversation Integrity and Minimal Metadata Leakage

Existing End-to-End secure messaging applications trust a single service provider to deliver messages in a consistent order to a consistent group of conversation members. We propose a protocol that removes this single point of failure by using multiple service providers, enforcing conversation integrity as long as one service provider out of N behave honestly. However, this approach could potentially increase the number of entities that learn the metadata for a conversation. In this work we discuss the challenges and provide a protocol that limits the metadata leakage to that of existing messaging applications while still providing strong conversation integrity.
Anti-Obesity Pharmacotherapy After Bariatric Surgery

A 63-year-old man is referred from his bariatric surgeon to an obesity medicine specialist for weight management. Four years ago, he underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and lost 129 lbs or 38% of his total body weight (BMI 48.5 kg/m2, 348 lbs, 5′11″ ➔ BMI 30.5 kg/m2, 219 lbs). He maintained this weight for 2 years; however, he has since regained 27 lbs (BMI 30.5 kg/m2, 219 lbs ➔ BMI 34.3 kg/m2, 246 lbs). In addition to obesity, he suffers from type 2 diabetes, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and hyperlipidemia. A recent transthoracic echocardiogram revealed normal valvular function. Following bariatric surgery, his hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) improved, and he was able to discontinue all of his antidiabetic medications; however, his HbA1c increased to 7.9% last year, so metformin was restarted and titrated up to 1000 mg twice daily. His other medications are aspirin 81 mg daily, carvedilol 25 mg twice daily, lisinopril 10 mg daily, and rosuvastatin 10 mg daily. He follows a low-carbohydrate diet and exercises for 60 min most days of the week. He is concerned about his increasing weight and blood sugar. He denies pancreatitis and a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma. His exam is within normal limits, and his laboratory data reveal no abnormalities besides HbA1c of 7.4%. A few months ago, his primary care doctor initiated lorcaserin 10 mg twice daily for weight management. After 12 weeks, he had not lost any weight so the medication was discontinued.
Feasibility and Acceptability of a Gender-Specific Group Treatment for Men with Substance Use Disorders

Gender-specific group therapy for substance use disorders (SUDs) has primarily focused on women. The purpose of this study was to (a) develop a gender-specific group therapy for men with SUDs who a...
Control of Stratification in Drying Particle Suspensions via Temperature Gradients

A potential strategy for controlling stratification in a drying suspension of bidisperse particles is studied using molecular dynamics simulations. When the suspension is maintained at a constant temperature during fast drying, it can exhibit “small-on-top” stratification with an accumulation (depletion) of smaller (larger) particles in the top region of the drying film, consistent with the prediction of current theories based on diffusiophoresis. However, when only the region near the substrate is thermalized at a constant temperature, a negative temperature gradient develops in the suspension because of evaporative cooling at the liquid–vapor interface. Since the associated thermophoresis is stronger for larger nanoparticles, a higher fraction of larger nanoparticles migrate to the top of the drying film at fast evaporation rates. As a result, stratification is converted to “large-on-top”. Very strong small-on-top stratification can be produced with a positive thermal gradient in the drying suspension. ...
Refining the stress gradient hypothesis in a microbial community.

Microbial species aren’t often found alone, but rather in complex communities containing dozens to hundreds of other species. These species affect one another in many ways. Species can harm one another by producing antibiotics, by stabbing one another and injecting toxins, or simply by consuming resources that others require (1⇓–3). Microbes can also impact one another positively. They can, for example, degrade antibiotics and detoxify the environment, secrete iron-scavenging molecules that allow other species to take up iron, or excrete metabolic byproducts that others can consume (4⇓–6). The ecology and evolution of these interactions are becoming more well characterized, but it’s unclear whether certain environmental conditions promote one form of interaction over another. In PNAS, Piccardi et al. (7) demonstrate that environmental stress in the form of toxic biocides causes interactions between 4 microbial species to become positive. The stress gradient hypothesis (SGH) provides a framework to predict when positive or negative interactions should be observed (8). The SGH states that facilitation should be more common in stressful environments, compared with benign environments where competition should be more common (Fig. 1 A ). Since it was proposed, the SGH has mainly been tested in plant communities by growing species over a stress gradient (e.g., drought stress) and assessing changes in the nature and magnitude of their interactions. Metaanalyses have found that the SGH has had mixed support (9, 10). Some authors have argued that the predictive power of the SGH has been limited by a lack of specificity about which forms of stress should cause the pattern, and how other environmental gradients may influence interactions in combination with the stress gradient (11). In their study of a simple microbial community, Piccardi et … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: harcombe{at}umn.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
The effect of lodging tax increases on US destinations

This study examined the impact of lodging tax increases on eight different destinations of the United States. Data were collected via in-depth stakeholder interviews and monthly statistics provided...
Microarray Reporting: Balancing Laboratory Findings, Clinical Utility and Patient Anxiety

Cytogenomic microarray has been increasingly applied in prenatal diagnosis with the advantage of higher resolution and faster turn-around time compared with conventional karyotyping. However, the greater information offered by this technology also leads to special challenges and ethical dilemmas for laboratory cytogeneticists, obstetricians, and patients. These issues are most apparent in reporting results of uncertain clinical significance, which are frequently found by cytogenomic microarray. The reporting of such variants may lead to significant obstetrician unease and patient anxiety, particularly as the results of cytogenomic microarray may often be the primary factor in determining whether to terminate a wanted pregnancy. However, cytogeneticists often feel an obligation to report such variants due to laboratory guidelines or avoidance of future legal liability. Here, we discuss several issues specific to interpreting array results in the prenatal setting, including copy-number-variant size and gene content, penetrance, inheritance, region of homozygosity, mosaicism, maternal cell contamination, and clinical correlation. We propose a practical approach for cytogeneticists to balance complete reporting of laboratory findings with predicted clinical utility and minimization of patient anxiety. Our discussion also highlights the importance of establishing a prenatal array database with longitudinal studies to determine phenotypic outcomes related to variants identified on array, and the central role of genetic counseling in the use of prenatal cytogenomic arrays. Incorporation of these elements and a universal reporting framework will be crucial for more seamlessly integrating cytogenomic array analysis into prenatal care.
Technical Note—Cyclic Variables and Markov Decision Processes

Markov decision processes are commonly used to model forward-looking behavior. However, cyclic terms, including seasonality, are often omitted from these models because of the increase in computati...
Investor Protection and the Substitution Effect of Corporate Governance and Product Market Competition on Firm Value

International research has firmly established that a substitute relationship exists between corporate governance and product market competition on firm value. In this study, I reexamine this substi...
A Graph Theoretic-Based Approach for Deploying Heterogeneous Multi-agent Systems with Application in Precision Agriculture

The main goal of this paper is to address the problem of deploying a team of heterogeneous, autonomous robots in a partially known environment. To handle such arbitrary environments, we first represent them as a weighted directed graph. Then, a new partitioning algorithm is given that is capable of capturing the heterogeneity of robots in terms of the speed and onboard power. It is shown that the proposed partitioning method assigns a larger subgraph to a robot that has more resources or better capabilities compared to its neighbors. Next, a distributed deployment strategy is proposed to optimally distribute robots on the graph with the aim of monitoring specified regions of interest in the environment. It will be proved that the proposed combined partitioning and deployment strategy is an optimal solution in the sense that any other arbitrary partition than the proposed one results in a larger coverage cost, and that our deployment strategy also minimizes the considered cost. Moreover, the application of the proposed methodology for monitoring an agricultural field is studied, where a series of simulations and experimental studies are carried out to demonstrate that the proposed approach can yield an optimal partitioning and deployment and offer promise to be used in practice.
Improved outcomes after implementation of a specialized pediatric cardiac rapid response team.

Introduction: The efficacy of a specialized pediatric cardiac rapid response team is unknown. We hypothesized that a specialized cardiac rapid response team would facilitate team-wide communication between the cardiac stepdown unit and cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) teams and improve patient care. Materials and methods: A specialized pediatric cardiac rapid response team was implemented in June 2015. All pediatric cardiac rapid response team activations and outcomes from implementation through December 2018 were reviewed. Cardiac arrests and unplanned transfers to the cardiac ICU were indexed to 1000 patient-days to account for inpatient volume trends and evaluated over time. Results: There were 202 cardiac rapid response team activations in 108 unique patients during the study period. After implementation of the pediatric cardiac rapid response team, unplanned transfers from the cardiac stepdown unit to the cardiac ICU decreased from 16.8 to 7.1 transfers per 1000 patient days (p = 0.012). The stepdown unit cardiac arrest rate decreased from 1.2 to 0.0 arrests per 1000 patient-days (p = 0.015). There was one death on the cardiac stepdown unit in the 5 years since the implementation of the cardiac rapid response team, compared to four deaths in the previous 5 years. Conclusions: A reduction in unplanned cardiac ICU transfers, cardiac arrests, and mortality on the cardiac stepdown unit has been observed since the implementation of a specialized pediatric cardiac rapid response team. A specialized cardiac rapid response team may improve communication and empower the interdisciplinary care team to escalate care for patients experiencing clinical decline.
Where Is My Money? The Interplay between Healthcare Information Technologies and Denied Claims

This study investigates the role of health information technology (HIT) in reducing uncompensated care, which has become a significant burden for healthcare providers in the U.S. Several peculiar aspects in healthcare give rise to provision of care that ends up being unpaid by payers or patients, and such loss of revenues increases the healthcare costs by every stakeholder. We theorize that the use of electronic health records (EHR) by care providers reduces the likelihood of care claims to be denied for payment by improving the accuracy and completeness of information processing. With a large-scale dataset of claim records from the State of Maryland in 2013-2016, we find that the greater use of EHR by the care providers, the less likely a claim is denied. More interestingly, this relationship between EHR and denied claims is moderated by claim characteristics – data specificity and sensitivity to claim processing errors. EHR is more effective in preventing payment declines for claims with higher data specificity (e.g. for patients with frequent hospital visits or chronic conditions) but less effective for those with higher sensitivity to claim processing errors (e.g. claims with more procedures and under ICD 10). This study provides significant theoretical insights for the information systems literature on HIT and enterprise systems by uncovering the multi-faceted roles of EHR in capabilities for information processing and compliance.
Agricultural Pesticides and Shingles Risk in a Prospective Cohort of Licensed Pesticide Applicators.

Background: Some pesticides are immunotoxic and have been associated with an increased risk of immune-mediated diseases. The risk of shingles, the clinical reactivation of varicella-zoster virus, i...
Endometrial endometrioid carcinoma with multi-lineage differentiation: rare and aggressive variants.

Endometrioid adenocarcinoma is the most common endometrial cancer, followed by serous and clear cell carcinomas. Although unusual variants of endometrial endometrioid carcinoma have been described, reports of bi/tri-lineage differentiation are rare.[1 2][1] We present two such cases with aggressive
Rembrandt and the Illustrations for Menasseh ben Israel’s Piedra Gloriosa (1655): A Reckoning

Abstract This article discusses Rembrandt’s etchings for Menasseh ben Israel’s Piedra Gloriosa (1655). After a brief review of the content of Menasseh’s book and of the scholarly discussion over an alleged collaboration between Menasseh and Rembrandt, the article examines how many known copies of the book actually have Rembrandt’s etchings, and whether their replacement by engravings by another artist represents a second edition.
Gangliosides and peripheral neuropathies: an overview.

Publisher Summary This chapter provides background information on the subject of gangliosides and peripheral neuropathies. Virtually, all gangliosides and glycoconjugates have been implicated in the past 10–12 years as being candidate antigens in instances of peripheral neuropathy in which antibody titers to one or more of these compounds may be measured. Whether antibodies that bind to glycoconjugates are of pathogenetic importance in the neuropathies with which they are associated has stirred lively debate. Other issues such as whether exogenously administered mixtures of ganglioside can cure or perhaps even cause peripheral neuropathies are also discussed in the chapter.
Robust stabilizing output feedback nonlinear model predictive control by using passivity and dissipativity

Motivated by the passivity-based nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) scheme reported in [1], in this paper, we propose a robust stabilizing output feedback NMPC scheme by using passivity and disspativity. Model discrepancy between the nominal model and the real system is characterized by comparing the outputs for the same excitation function, and with this kind of characterization, we are able to compare the supply rate between the nominal model and the real system based on their passivity indices. Then, by introducing specific stabilizing constraint based on the passivity indices of the nominal model into the MPC, we show that our proposed NMPC scheme can stabilize the real system to be controlled.
Organonitrogen derivatives of metal carbonyls

Abstract Reactions of the dialkylaminotrimethylsilylacetylenes, (CH 3 ) 3 SiCCNR 2 , with Fe(CO) 5 in boiling heptane R = methyl or ethyl or R 2 N = piperidino) or decalin (R = isopropyl) give the yellow air-stable solid cyclobutadiene derivatives [(CH 3 ) 3 Si] 2 (R 2 N) 2 C 4 Fe(CO) 3 as the major organometallic product; in some cases (R = ethyl or R 2 N = piperidino) the dark red tricarbonylferrole-iron tricarbonyl derivatives [(CH 3 ) 3 Si] 2 (R 2 N) 2 C 4 Fe 2 (CO) 6 are also obtained in low yield. The cyclobutadiene complex [(CH 3 ) 3 Si] 2 (C 5 H 10 N) 2 C 4 Fe(CO) 3 crystallizes in the triclinic space group P 1 − with cell constants a 10.602(2), b 14.877(2), c 9.955(2) A, α 96.61(1), β 111.98(1), γ 109.66(1)°, and Z = 2. Solution of the structure using the heavy-atom positions derived from a Patterson map, followed by full-matrix leastsquares refinement of the 4924 observed reflections to a final R value of 0.032, indicate the position of the substituents to be 1,3-[(CH 3 ) 3 Si] 2 -2,4-(C 5 H 10 N) 2 -C 4 Fe(CO) 3 in accord with head-to-tail dimerization of the acetylene. Reactions of (CH 3 ) 3 SiCCNR 2 with Fe 2 (CO) 9 in diethyl ether at room temperature give orange-red (CH 3 ) 3 SiC 2 NR 2 Fe 2 (CO) 6 suggested by their NMR spectra to have the nitrogen atom as well as the two acetylenic carbon atoms involved in the bonding to the diiron unit. Reactions of (CH 3 ) 3 SiCCNR 2 with Co 2 (CO) 8 in diethyl ether at ambient temperature give deep green (CH 3 ) 3 SiC 2 NR 2 Co 2 (CO) 6 apparently analogous to other (alkyne)Co 2 (CO) 6 derivatives except for their unusual colors. Reactions of (CH 3 ) 3 SiCCNR 2 with C 5 H 5 Co(CO) 2 in boiling n-octane give the black trinuclear (CH 3 ) 3 SiC 2 NR 2 Co 3 (C 5 H 5 ) 3 derivatives. Ultraviolet irradiation of (CH 3 ) 3 SiCCNR 2 with Mn 2 (CO) 10 in tetrahydrofuran gives low yields of the red-orange (CH 3 ) 3 SiC 2 NR 2 Mn 2 (CO) 8 .
Diffuse Flow Hydrothermal Fluids from 9° 50′ N East Pacific Rise: Origin, Evolution and Biogeochemical Controls

Diffuse flow and high temperature hydrothermal fluids were sampled from three areas between 9°49-51'N on the East Pacific Rise, in the area known as the BIO-GEOTRANSECT, between 1991-2000 in order to define the relationship between these two types of hydrothermal fluids, and to understand their temporal evolution, and relationship to biological communities. As all of the diffuse flow fluids have Cl concentrations not equal to the ambient seawater value, they must contain a proportion of high temperature vent fluid that has undergone phase separation, requiring temperatures >389°C. In comparison to previously reported data for diffuse flow fluids, these fluids have higher temperatures, and typically have higher concentrations of Si, H 2 S, Fe, CO 2 , CH 4 and H 2 . Each of the three areas has its own distinct chemistry, and follows its own unique evolutionary path. In most cases, the diffuse flow fluids show a loss of H 2 S, H 2 and gain of CH 4 relative to the high temperature fluids. We interpret these differences as indicating subsurface biological activity at these sites. If this gain of CH 4 and loss of H 2 S and H 2 is common in submarine hydrothermal systems worldwide, it would imply that the fluxes of these elements for diffuse flow cannot be calculated simply based on the high temperature data, but that CH 4 fluxes would need to be revised upward, and H 2 S and H 2 revised downward.
The Devolution of American Power

This article questions the thesis that other global powers are arising as the U.S.’s power is declining. It shows that although the U.S. is projecting less power overseas, others are not filling most of the vacuum, leading to increased IR disorder and ad hoc power combinations (“coalitions of the willing”). Moreover, some powers act in effect as U.S. regional surrogates, especially the EU. This article examines the role of China (which has much fewer global ambitions and capacities than often argued); India and Brazil (not truly big powers); and Russia (which acts like a global power).
An Architecture for Simulating Needle-Based Surgical Procedures

Many surgical procedures use cannulas, guidewires, and catheters in the treatment of life threatening conditions (e.g. cardiac tamponade and tension pneumothorax), or for diagnosis (e.g. diagnostic peritoneal lavage). Simulator development is costly in time and resources. Most computer-based trainers are procedure-specific. Each trainer uses a different hardware configuration. The cost of using multiple simulators for teaching is prohibitive. A result is decreased acceptance of simulation for teaching. A generalized software architecture has been developed that simplifies the process of constructing trainers for needle-based surgical procedures. Different procedures can use the same hardware platform. The architecture has been used to develop two trauma simulators. A third simulator is currently being developed using this architecture.
Measurement of the charged kaon mass with the MIPP RICH

The currently accepted value of the charged kaon mass is 493.677 {+-} 0.013 MeV (26 ppm). It is a weighted average of six measurements, most of which use kaonic atom X-ray energy techniques. The two most recent and precise results dominate the average but differ by 122 ppm. Inconsistency in the data set needs to be resolved, preferably using independent techniques. One possibility uses the Cherenkov effect. A measurement of the charged kaon mass using this technique is presented. The data was taken with the Main Injector Particle Production experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory using a tagged beam of protons, kaons, and pions ranging in momentum from 37 GeV/c to 63 GeV/c. The measured value is 491.3 {+-} 1.7 MeV. This is within 1.4{sigma} of the current value. An improvement in precision by a factor of 35 would make this technique competitive for resolving the ambiguity in the X-ray data.
History of Cardiac Surgery

After the development of general anesthetics such as ether and chloroform during the middle of the nineteenth century, investigators began to study techniques to repair heart wounds in the animal laboratory. Soon, simple operations in humans for heart wounds were reported.
Cost-effectiveness of prenatal screening strategies for congenital heart disease

Objective The economic implications of strategies to improve prenatal screening for congenital heart disease (CHD) in low-risk mothers have not been explored. The aim was to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis of different screening methods. Methods We constructed a decision analytic model of CHD prenatal screening strategies (four-chamber screen (4C), 4C + outflow, nuchal translucency (NT) or fetal echocardiography) populated with probabilities from the literature. The model included whether initial screens were interpreted by a maternal–fetal medicine (MFM) specialist and different referral strategies if they were read by a non-MFM specialist. The primary outcome was the incremental cost per defect detected. Costs were obtained from Medicare National Fee estimates. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis was undertaken on model variables commensurate with their degree of uncertainty. Results In base–case analysis, 4C + outflow referred to an MFM specialist was the least costly strategy per defect detected. The 4C screen and the NT screen were dominated by other strategies (i.e. were more costly and less effective). Fetal echocardiography was the most effective, but most costly. On simulation of 10 000 low-risk pregnancies, 4C + outflow screen referred to an MFM specialist remained the least costly per defect detected. For an additional $580 per defect detected, referral to cardiology after a 4C + outflow was the most cost-effective for the majority of iterations, increasing CHD detection by 13 percentage points. Conclusions The addition of examination of the outflow tracts to second-trimester ultrasound increases detection of CHD in the most cost-effective manner. Strategies to improve outflow-tract imaging and to refer with the most efficiency may be the best way to improve detection at a population level. Copyright © 2013 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Temporal lobe epilepsy and cavernous malformations: surgical strategies and long-term outcomes

Cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM) of the temporal lobe often present with seizures. Surgical resection of these lesions can offer durable seizure control. There is, however, no universally accepted methodology for assessing and surgically treating these patients. We propose an algorithm to maximize positive surgical outcomes (seizure control) while minimizing post-surgical neurological deficit. A retrospective review of 34 patients who underwent epilepsy surgery for radiographically proven temporal lobe CCM was conducted. Patients underwent a relatively standard work-up for seizure localization. In patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE), a complete resection of the epileptogenic zone was performed including amygdalo-hippocampectomy in addition to a lesionectomy if not contraindicated by pre-operative work-up. Patients with neocortical epilepsy underwent intraoperative electrocorticography (ECoG)-guided lesionectomy. Seizure-free rate for mesial and neocortical (anterior, lateral, and basal) location was 90 vs. 83 %, respectively. Complete resection of the lesion, irrespective of location, was statistically significant for seizure control (p = 0.018). There was no difference in seizure control based on disease duration or location (p > 0.05). Patients with mesial temporal CCM who presented with MTLE were presumed to also have mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS), or dual pathology. These patients underwent routine resection of the mesial structures. Interestingly, patients who had MTLE and basal (neocortical) lesions who underwent a mesial resection for suspected MTS were found not to have dual pathology. Patients with temporal lobe CCM should be offered resection for durable seizure control, prevention of secondary epileptogenic foci, and elimination of hemorrhage risk. The preoperative work-up should follow a team approach. Surgical intervention should include complete lesionectomy in all cases. Intra or extra-operative ECoG for neocortical lesions may be beneficial. Management of mesial temporal CCMs (archicortex) should consider resection of a well-defined epileptogenic zone (including mesial structures) due to high probability of pathologically proven MTS. The use of this treatment algorithm is useful for the education and treatment of these patients.
Algebraic geometry codes from Reed Solomon codes

This paper discusses algebraic geometry codes by their construction, parametric properties, and decoding algorithms. Comparisons between algebraic geometry codes and Reed Solomon codes are made to provide a deeper understanding of the algebraic geometry codes. Also, a worked example of algebraic geometry codes is given.
War as Pure Negation: Positivity in the Mode of War

Defined existentially, war is the mode in which one orients oneself entirely toward destruction. I consider that existence in this mode poses a paradox to the individual: if one submits to the logic of war in order to survive, one must contend with the dilemma of resolving two disparate identities—the identity one held before war, and the identity one held while within the mode of war. The paper illustrates the ways in which the latter involves a logical rejection of the former, and consequently that a resolution of the two seems at best to be undesirable, and at worst, impossible. “Survival” in the mode of war, then, involves a profound dismissal of the self as one truly defines oneself, and is ultimately not survival at all. Therefore, I argue, a rejection of the logic of war—and, as a result, a rejection of destruction overall—is necessary in order to properly retain one’s individual identity. I explore this argument through the lenses of Emmanuel Levinas and Martin Buber’s philosophies of alterity, Jean-Paul Sartre’s existential conundrums, and the contemporary socio-political conflict described in the journalistic fiction of Slavenka Drakulic.
Science and organization in open-sea research: The plankton

Looking forward on this occasion, rather than reviewing the past 100 years, it appears that 100 years hence, we will have to manage the environment worldwide like a global garden. How will the ecological knowledge necessary for sound management be acquired? Drawing especially on concepts about the plankton of the open North Sea and on unresolved issues of understanding, questions will be raised about research direction and organization that will need to be answered long before the next 100 years have passed.
Identity Without Boundaries Public Administration’s Canon(s) of Integration

It is often charged that the study of public administration lacks boundaries and suffers from an identity crisis. This charge is grounded in a positivist belief in the unity of knowledge. From the perspective of positivists, the study of public administration lacks the epistemological unity that would make it a true science. Regarding public administration as an interdisciplinary study and practice makes it possible, indeed necessary, to include all theories, models, and concepts in use and not just those that are recommended and pursued by positivists. A conceptual map of knowledge integration efforts in public administration illustrates why public administration cannot, and should not be, a traditional academic discipline but rather must be understood as an interdisciplinary study and practice.
Polymer-Concrete Composites

Abstract The need for cost-effective, high-strength, corrosion-resistant materials of construction has led to the development of a new class of materials, polymer-concrete composites. Production of such composites may be effected in four ways. This report focuses on “polymer-impregnated concrete” and “polymer-concrete” composites and looks at the technical, processing, and economic merits of these materials. A case for increased research is made.
Assessing information availability for user-interfaces of shared control systems under reference tracking

We consider three classes of shared control under reference tracking, in which the user provides a reference input, and the automation determines the appropriate low-level control (with possible modifications to the user's reference input). We pose the question of information availability of the user-interface, that is, of whether the user-interface provides adequate information about the underlying system (as well as the automation's actions) for the user to be able to a) reconstruct, and b) predict, those states of the system that are relevant for the user to be able to complete a desired task. We consider the user to be a special type of observer, constrained by human factors guidelines for user-centered design, and extend techniques in unknown-input observability to assess a given user-interface under a specific shared control paradigm.
Impact of duty hour regulations on medical students' education: views of key clinical faculty.

BACKGROUND Teaching faculty have valuable perspectives on the impact of residency duty hour regulations on medical students.
Simplicity and complexity in constructions: Evidence from aphasia

Linguistic complexity is usually approached in terms of markedness and branching structure, and psycholinguistic complexity in terms of frequency, sequential probability, and working memory load. However, predictions made on these bases appear to be inadequate to explain many patterns seen in aphasic speech. Psycholinguistic analyses of aphasic errors provide an empirical basis for describing lexical, morphological, and syntactic contributions to language complexity. We compare the predictions made by existing descriptions of complexity to aphasic error data as reported in cross‐linguistic studies. A construction‐based approach may be able to unify the patterns seen across lexicon, morphology and syntax.
Estrogen receptor down-regulation is regulated noncooperatively by estrogen at the transcription level

Abstract We examined noncooperativity of estrogen action by studying the transcription of estrogen receptor (ER) down-regulation in an ER stably transfected cell line (Rat1+ER). The time-course of the ER transcription rate following 17 β -estradiol (E2) (10 nM) treatment was measured by nuclear run-on assays. ER transcription rates decreased to 40±3% within 1 h as compared with no treatment and stayed suppressed to 24 h of E2 treatment. The ER transcription rate decrease was noncooperative when measured at 24 h of E2 treatment. This suggested that initial E2 binding to the ER is also a noncooperative process. The Hill coefficients of E2 binding to ER were near unity with an equilibrium dissociation constant of 1–3 nM when measured after a 1 h incubation. These results show that E2 noncooperatively binds ER and down-regulates transcription of ER noncooperatively in intact Rat1+ER cells.
The caudal canal in children: a study using magnetic resonance imaging

The anatomy of the caudal (sacral extradural) space was studied in 41 children, using magnetic resonance imaging. The distance from the upper margin of the sacrococcygeal membrane to the dural sac, the length of the membrane and the maximum depth of the caudal space were each measured. Age, height, weight and body surface area were recorded and, using multiple linear regression (stepwise technique), equations predicting the length of the membrane and the distance between its upper margin and the lower limit of the dural sac were obtained. Wide variability limits the clinical usefulness of these equations. In all patients, the maximum depth of the caudal space was found to be at the upper margin of the sacrococcygeal membrane. No correlation was found between this maximum depth and the age, height, weight or body surface area of the child.
A randomized trial of telemedicine-based collaborative care for depression

Background Evidence-based practices designed for large urban clinics are not necessarily portable into smaller isolated clinics. Implementing practice-based collaborative care for depression in smaller primary care clinics presents unique challenges because it is often not feasible to employ on-site psychiatrists.
Purification of Norman Murine Sarcoma DNA polymerase alpha forms with different DNA template primer binding affinity and different specific activity.

Abstract 1. 1. DNA polymerase alpha was isolated from Norman Murine Myxosarcoma cells using ion exchange, immunoaffinity, and DNA affinity chromatography, showing two distinct enzyme forms designated A 1 and A 2 . 2. 2. Chromatographic analysis of polymerase alpha forms A 1 and A 2 indicate a charge difference and a difference in affinity of binding to DNA between polymerase alpha forms which were equally reactive to anti-DNA polymerase alpha monoclonal IgG. 3. 3. Polymerase A 1 specific activity was about 3600 U/mg while A 2 specific activity was about 40,000 U/mg.