cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Colocolic intussusceptions in children: a pictorial essay and review of the literature

Colocolic intussusception is a variation of intussusception that is rarely encountered in pediatric patients and as such can prove to be a diagnostic challenge for both the emergency clinician and radiologist. Knowledge of the presentation and imaging findings in these cases can expedite diagnosis and guide the patient to appropriate treatment. The demographics, clinical symptoms, imaging findings, and eventual surgical and pathologic outcomes of 8 children with colocolic intussusception will be presented in this pictorial essay, with a review of the available literature.
Risk of Bias and Quality of Reporting in Colon and Rectal Cancer Systematic Reviews Cited by National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines.

Given the changing landscape of colorectal cancer, systematic reviews are likely to play a key role in advancing the understanding of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. We conducted a cross-sectional investigation of the risk of bias and reporting quality of systematic reviews referenced by colon and rectal cancer National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines. We used two widely accepted tools: Risk of Bias in Systematic reviews (ROBIS) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Using ROBIS, only 3 (4.8%) systematic reviews were judged with low risk of bias, 35 (55.6%) systematic reviews were judged with unclear risk of bias, and 25 (39.7%) systematic reviews were judged with high risk of bias. Across all systematic reviews, the individual bias domains at the highest risk of bias were domains 1 (protocol and eligibility criteria) and 2 (methods to identify and select studies). Across all studies, the median adherence to PRISMA was 74.1% (IQR 69.2–80.0%), corresponding to approximately 20 of 27 items. Systematic reviews cited in NCCN guidelines for colon and rectal cancer are frequently at unclear or high risk of bias and do not report key systematic review items that are important for the critical appraisal of results.
MEDICAID EXPANSION AND EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT UTILIZATION

This study measures the effect of Medicaid expansion on emergency department (ED) utilization. It also explores the mechanism through which treatment effects operate. Identification relies on a county‐level Medicaid expansion rollout within California from 2011 to 2013. The results suggest that Medicaid expansion increased ED utilization in California. Every time one individual transferred into the Medicaid program, there emerged one additional ED visit per year. Furthermore, the effect appears to be driven by difficulty accessing primary care. These findings suggest Medicaid expansion may have different effects in different environments, depending on how easily enrollees can schedule appointments. (JEL I13, I18, I38)
Human Cytomegalovirus Mediates Unique Monocyte-to-Macrophage Differentiation through the PI3K/SHIP1/Akt Signaling Network

Blood monocytes mediate the hematogenous dissemination of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in the host. However, monocytes have a short 48-hour (h) lifespan and are not permissive for viral replication. We previously established that HCMV infection drives differentiation of monocytes into long-lived macrophages to mediate viral dissemination, though the mechanism was unclear. Here, we found that HCMV infection promoted monocyte polarization into distinct macrophages by inducing select M1 and M2 differentiation markers and that Akt played a central role in driving differentiation. Akt’s upstream positive regulators, PI3K and SHIP1, facilitated the expression of the M1/M2 differentiation markers with p110δ being the predominant PI3K isoform inducing differentiation. Downstream of Akt, M1/M2 differentiation was mediated by caspase 3, whose activity was tightly regulated by Akt in a temporal manner. Overall, this study highlights that HCMV employs the PI3K/SHIP1/Akt pathway to regulate caspase 3 activity and drive monocyte differentiation into unique macrophages, which is critical for viral dissemination.
Liberating Sovereign Potential: A Working Education Capacity Building Model for Native Nations.

With culturally sustaining pedagogies gaining momentum in our evolving educational landscape, the political backdrop of sovereignty and the pursuit of self-determination through education for Indig...
Sleep spindles coordinate corticostriatal reactivations during the emergence of automaticity

Plasticity within the corticostriatal network is known to regulate the balance between behavioral flexibility and automaticity. Repeated training of an action has been shown to bias behavior towards automaticity, suggesting that training may trigger activity-dependent corticostriatal plasticity. However, surprisingly little is known about the natural activity patterns that may drive plasticity or when they occur during long-term training. Here we chronically monitored neural activity from primary motor cortex (M1) and the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) during both training and offline periods, i.e., time away from training including sleep, throughout the development of an automatic reaching action. We first show that blocking striatal NMDA receptors during offline periods prevents the emergence of behavioral consistency, a hallmark of automaticity. We then show that, throughout the development of an automatic reaching action, corticostriatal functional connectivity increases during offline periods. Such increases track the emergence of consistent behavior and predictable cross-area neural dynamics. We then identify sleep spindles during non-REM sleep (NREM) as uniquely poised to mediate corticostriatal plasticity during offline periods. We show that sleep spindles are periods of maximal corticostriatal transmission within offline periods, that sleep spindles in post-training NREM reactivate neurons across areas, and that sleep-spindle modulation in post-training NREM is linked to observable changes in spiking relationships between individual pairs of M1 and DLS neurons. Our results indicate that offline periods, in general, and sleep spindles, specifically, play an important role in regulating behavioral flexibility through corticostriatal network plasticity.
Exploiting the VO2 metal-insulator transition in nanoscale optical devices

The demonstration of a photo-induced insulator-to-metal transition in vanadium dioxide (VO2) on a picosecond time scale in the mid-1990s foreeshadowed application of this photo-induced phase transition in silicon photonics devices. The talk introduces our current understanding of the phase-transition physics, but focuses on our recent demonstrations of sub-picosecond switching of cw and ultrafast signal pulses in silicon and silicon nitride waveguides. Direct in-line modulation of signal pulses achieves only modest contrast ratios. However, similar switching strategies deploying VO2 on resonant structures promise substantially higher contrast with smaller switching energies in silicon photonic structures with micron-scale form factors.
Novel resistance strategies to soybean cyst nematode (SCN) in wild soybean

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN, Heterodera glycine Ichinohe) is the most damaging soybean pest worldwide and management of SCN remains challenging. The current SCN resistant soybean cultivars, mainly developed from the cultivated soybean gene pool, are losing resistance due to SCN race shifts. The domestication process and modern breeding practices of soybean cultivars often involve strong selection for desired agronomic traits, and thus, decreased genetic variation in modern cultivars, which consequently resulted in limited sources of SCN resistance. Wild soybean (Glycine soja) is the wild ancestor of cultivated soybean (Glycine max) and it's gene pool is indisputably more diverse than G. max. Our aim is to identify novel resistant genetic resources from wild soybean for the development of new SCN resistant cultivars. In this study, resistance response to HG type 2.5.7 (race 5) of SCN was investigated in a newly identified SCN resistant ecotype, NRS100. To understand the resistance mechanism in this ecotype, we compared RNA seq-based transcriptomes of NRS100 with two SCN-susceptible accessions of G. soja and G. max, as well as an extensively studied SCN resistant cultivar, Peking, under both control and nematode J2-treated conditions. The proposed mechanisms of resistance in NRS100 includes the suppression of the jasmonic acid (JA) signaling pathway in order to allow for salicylic acid (SA) signaling-activated resistance response and polyamine synthesis to promote structural integrity of root cell walls. Our study identifies a set of novel candidate genes and associated pathways involved in SCN resistance and the finding provides insight into the mechanism of SCN resistance in wild soybean, advancing the understanding of resistance and the use of wild soybean-sourced resistance for soybean improvement.
Single-cell sequencing unveils distinct immune microenvironments with CCR6-CCL20 crosstalk in human chronic pancreatitis

Objective Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a potentially fatal disease of the exocrine pancreas, with no specific or effective approved therapies. Due to difficulty in accessing pancreas tissues, little is known about local immune responses or pathogenesis in human CP. We sought to characterise pancreatic immune responses using tissues derived from patients with different aetiologies of CP and non-CP organ donors in order to identify key signalling molecules associated with human CP. Design We performed single-cell level cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing and T-cell receptor (TCR) sequencing of pancreatic immune cells isolated from organ donors, hereditary and idiopathic patients with CP who underwent total pancreatectomy. We validated gene expression data by performing flow cytometry and functional assays in a second patient with CP cohort. Results Deep single-cell sequencing revealed distinct immune characteristics and significantly enriched CCR6+ CD4+ T cells in hereditary compared with idiopathic CP. In hereditary CP, a reduction in T-cell clonality was observed due to the increased CD4+ T (Th) cells that replaced tissue-resident CD8+ T cells. Shared TCR clonotype analysis among T-cell lineages also unveiled unique interactions between CCR6+ Th and Th1 subsets, and TCR clustering analysis showed unique common antigen binding motifs in hereditary CP. In addition, we observed a significant upregulation of the CCR6 ligand (CCL20) expression among monocytes in hereditary CP as compared with those in idiopathic CP. The functional significance of CCR6 expression in CD4+ T cells was confirmed by flow cytometry and chemotaxis assay. Conclusion Single-cell sequencing with pancreatic immune cells in human CP highlights pancreas-specific immune crosstalk through the CCR6-CCL20 axis, a signalling pathway that might be leveraged as a potential future target in human hereditary CP.
Laparoscopic Pectopexy for Patients with Intraabdominal Adhesions, Lumbar Spinal Procedures and other Contraindications to Sacrocolpopexy: A Case Series

Abstract Laparoscopic pectopexy is an alternative to sacrocolpopexy utilizing fixation points in the anterior pelvis for vaginal vault suspension, originally developed for an obese population. This is a retrospective case series of all seven women who underwent laparoscopic pectopexy at one academic center between October 2019 and December 2020. Patients had preoperative vaginal vault prolapse (POP-Q stage 2-3). Pectopexy was performed due to relative contraindications to sacrocolpopexy, including antiplatelet therapy, extensive adhesions and chronic back pain with lumbo-spinal fusion. There were no intraoperative complications. Average blood loss was 32.9mL. All patients were discharged home in stable condition within 24 hours. One patient experienced urinary retention that required release of the retropubic midurehtral sling placed at the time of pectopexy. The most recent follow up examination occurred at an average of 127 days post procedure. All seven patients had resolution of their prolapse (POP-Q ≤ 1). This case series highlights application of pectopexy for patients with extensive adhesions, use of antiplatelet therapy, and lumbar/sacral spinal surgical history. Complication rates and operative results are comparable to sacrocolpopexy at intermediate term follow up in this small case series, indicating pectopexy may be a promising alternative for patients with relative contraindications to sacrocolpopexy. This is the first report of the application of the technique in North America.
Intracellular development of bacteriophage phiR. I. Host modification of the replicative process.

During the intracellular development of φR in Escherichia coli, replicative intermediates are synthesized with properties similar to the RF† of φX174. When the RF is prepared from φR-infected Salmonella typhimurium, however, differences are noted which suggest that a major fraction of this DNA is fragmented: the parental RF is predominantly in the double-stranded closed ring form, but most of the progeny RF is defective in that neither strand appears to be an intact ring. The effect of these host-induced changes in the structure of the RF may be reflected in the limited synthesis of mature phage which is also characteristic of φR development in S. typhimurium.
Nectarin I is a novel, soluble germin-like protein expressed in the nectar of Nicotiana sp.

We have identified a limited number of proteins secreted into the nectar of tobacco plants. Nectarin I is the most highly expressed nectar protein and has a monomer molecular mass of 29 kDa. The other major nectar proteins are expressed at lower levels and have monomer molecular masses of 41, 54, and 65 kDa respectively. Nectarin I was purified and antiserum was raised against the protein. Under nondenaturing conditions, Nectarin I has an apparent molecular mass of >120 kDa. The expression of Nectarin I was restricted to nectary tissues and to a much lower level in the ovary. No Nectarin I was found in petals, stems, leaves, or roots or other floral tissues. The expression of Nectarin I was also developmentally regulated. It is expressed in nectary tissues only while nectar is being actively secreted. Subsequently, the N-terminus of purified Nectarin I was sequenced. Sequence identity showed Nectarin I is related to wheat germin. Although hydrogen peroxide is readily detectable in tobacco floral nectar, we were unable to demonstrate any oxalate oxidase activity for Nectarin I. A partial cDNA encoding the mature Nectarin I N-terminus was isolated and used to probe a Nicotiana plumbaginifolia genomic library. The Nectarin I gene was isolated and the translated sequence was consistent with both N-terminal and internal cyanogen bromide-derived amino acid sequence. The gene contains a single 386 nt intron and encodes a mature protein of 197 amino acids.
NEUROMUSCULAR ULTRASOUND IN POLYNEUROPATHIES AND MOTOR NEURON DISEASE

Current standards for diagnosing polyneuropathies (PN) and motor neuron disease (MND) sometimes lack early sensitivity and result in delayed diagnosis and treatment. Neuromuscular ultrasound (NMUS), already established in the diagnosis of entrapment neuropathies, may offer another means of diagnosis and monitoring response to therapy. This review of current evidence discusses diffuse nerve hypertrophy in hereditary demyelinating neuropathies, multifocal nerve enlargement in acquired demyelinating PN and the lack of readily apparent structural change in axonal neuropathies. NMUS detection of fasciculations and muscular change in MND is also reviewed, along with the need for further research to better define the role of nerve imaging in patients with PN.
MEASUREMENTS OF UNREGULATED EMISSIONS FROM GENERAL MOTORS' LIGHT-DUTY VEHICLES

Sampling and analysis methods for unregulated exhaust constituents are discussed. Emission results for more than fifteen exhaust constituents from both gasoline- and diesel-powered automobiles are presented. It is shown that the catalytic converter substantially lowers the emission rates of aldehydes, benzene, benzo(a)pyrene, hydrogen cyanide, and nitrogen dioxide. However, under certain rich-malfunction conditions, small increases in hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, hydrogen cyanide, and ammonia occur. Particulate emissions are the primary concern for diesels since other unregulated emissions occur at the same low levels as from gasoline-powered vehicles. It is concluded that although steady improvements in chemical analysis technology have led to the detection of more and more minor impurities in exhaust, none of these substances are emitted at concentrations that can be considered dangerous.
Ovarian biopsy performed under culdoscopic visualization

Abstract Ovarian biopsy has been performed under culdoscopic visualization in 25 patients. The only complications have been venous bleeding from the biopsy site occurring in 2 patients. In each instance this was controlled with electrocautery through the culdoscope cannula without resort to culpotomy or laparotomy. Morbidity has not been greater than from culdoscopy alone. Operative technique is described and indications and contraindications noted. The procedure provides satisfactory tissue for study, is safe and practical, and warrants more widespread application.
Expression of ProEx C in primary and metastatic urothelial carcinoma

Background ProEx C is an antibody cocktail targeting the expression of topoisomerase IIα and minichromosome maintenance protein-2. Both these proteins are over-expressed in the cell nucleus during aberrant S-phase induction of neoplastic cells, which leads to cell proliferation. The aim of this study was to determine whether ProEx C expression can detect primary and metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC). Methods Thirty one fine needle aspiration cell blocks (CB) with metastatic UC were identified. Immunohistochemical staining for ProEx C and thrombomodulin was performed. Additionally, staining for Pro Ex C was also performed in tissue microarrays (TMA) of 46 cases of primary UC and carcinomas from colon (80), stomach (31), pancreas (33), liver (92), ovary (24), endometrium (25), breast (60), lung (27), kidney (32), and prostate (44), as well as melanoma (22). Nuclear staining of ProEx C and membrane staining of thrombomodulin in at least 10% tumor cells was considered a positive result. Results Both ProEx C and thrombomodulin have similar sensitivity for metastatic UC (84% vs. 77%, p=0.75; whereas ProEx C yielded a higher sensitivity of 93% for primary UC than thrombomodulin (72%, p=0.01). In addition to UC, ProEx C is also expressed in most of the malignant neoplasms tested in our TMA study, and has the highest sensitivity in colon and stomach carcinomas (94%). Conclusion ProEx C has high sensitivity for UC. However, it is also expressed in carcinomas of colon, stomach, breast, and lung carcinomas and may not be a useful marker for workup of metastatic UC. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2015;43:181–187. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Distortion-Product Otoacoustic Emissions as a Screening Tool for Noise-Induced Hearing Loss.

Noise-induced hearing loss includes both temporary (TTS) and permanent (PTS) threshold shifts. Although TTS and PTS have many similarities, their underlying mechanisms are different. Both TTS and PTS are seen in hearing-conservation programs, making it important to consider both when making physiological measurements of inner-ear damage in applied settings. There are many ways that physiological mechanisms could be useful in screening for NIHL. Can normal-hearing and NIHL ears be differentiated from one another? Can the physiological measure be used in place of behavioural hearing-threshold measures of TTS and PTS? Can it be used to indicate sub-clinical damage (i.e., noise-induced permanent alterations to the inner ear without a corresponding hearing decrement)? Can it be used to indicate pre-clinical hearing loss (i.e., the sub-clinical damage eventually turns into hearing loss)? Finally, can the physiological measure be used to predict susceptibility to NIHL? Evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAEs) depend on normal outer hair cells for their generation. Because this is the site in the inner ear in humans that is most susceptible to noise, there has been considerable interest in the application of EOAEs to NIHL screening. In this review, the application of distortion-product EOAEs (DPOAEs) is considered for this purpose, emphasizing work from our laboratory, but including that of others as well. Wherever possible, we compare the performance of DPOAEs as a screening tool to transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs). We emphasize the importance of how well DPOAEs perform in screening for NIHL in individuals rather than for groups of people; the importance of using large numbers of subjects; and the importance of longitudinal studies.
Tumour Promoters and Prostaglandin Production

Our knowledge of Prostaglandin biosynthesis came originally from the studies by Bergstrom et al. (1964) and van Dorp et al. (1964). During the past 20 years, Samuelsson and his colleagues have done much to describe the biochemical pathways for the biosynthesis and metabolism of the arachidonic acid metabolic products (Samuelsson 1976, 1985; Hamberg and Samuelsson 1974).
Use of a cutoff range in identifying mycobacteria by the Gen-Probe Rapid Diagnostic System.

Commercial DNA probes (Gen-Probe Corp., San Diego, Calif.) for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex Mycobacterium avium, and Mycobacterium intracellulare were compared with conventional methods for accuracy, applicability, and speed for the identification of putative isolates of the M. tuberculosis and M. avium complexes. Results are expressed as percent hybridization. Values of greater than 15% were considered positive, and values of less than 5% were negative. Cultures having hybridization values within an indeterminate range of 5 to 15% were repeated. Mycobacterial isolates resembling M. tuberculosis and M. avium complex from cultures of 589 specimens, representing 432 patients, were entered into this study; 294 cultures were tested with the M. tuberculosis complex probe, and 326 cultures were tested with the M. avium probe. In all cases, probe results agreed with our biochemical identification of the isolates. The M. intracellulare probe was used with 117 isolates morphologically resembling M. avium complex, and one false-negative result was observed. Seventy-two cultures gave initial hybridization results that fell within the indeterminate range and were repeated. If the manufacturer9s recommended 10% cutoff value had been used, the original hybridization values would have resulted in 27 misidentified cultures, 16 false-negatives and 11 false-positives.
Review essay: three lenses on race, crime, and justice

Mary Louise Frampton, Ian Haney Lopez, and Jonathan Simon (eds.), After the War on Crime: Race, Democracy, and a New Reconstruction, New York: New York University Press, 2008. Lauren J. Krivo and Ruth D. Peterson (eds.), Race, Crime, and Justice: Contexts and Complexities, special editors: The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, volume 623: May 2009. Michael J. Lynch, E. Britt Patterson, and Kristina K. Childs. Monsey (eds.), Racial Divide: Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Criminal Justice System, NY: Criminal Justice Press, 2008. The recent publication of three collections of original work on race/ethnicity, crime, and criminal justice allow criminologists and others the opportunity to assess the degree to which the study of race, crime, justice, and social control has evolved since the civil rights revolution of the 1960s. Each of the anthologies under review is certainly well worth reading alone, but the overlapping analyses as well as the slightly different orientations to the subject matter, makes the reading of all three together a much fuller experience. At the same time, each of these collections on the “theory and practice” of race/ethnicity, crime, and justice in the United States are subject to a similar kind of critique. The sheer number of essays involved here, prohibits this reviewer by and large from doing any more than identifying them by title and author for the purpose of giving the reader some sense of the eclectic and sumptuous offerings found inside of these three volumes. Instead of addressing more than forty contributions, this review essay is divided without formal separation into two substantive unequal parts. The Crime Law Soc Change (2010) 53:299–306 DOI 10.1007/s10611-009-9220-2
Carotenoid fractionation in the plumose anemone Metridium.

Abstract 1. 1. Several colour-variants of the Pacific Coast plumose anemose, Metridium senile fimbriatum,a nd the red form of the British species, M. senile senile, yielded astaxanthin esters as the preponderant carotenoid fraction stored in somatic or in gonadal tissues. 2. 2. White males assimilated no carotenoid from a protracted diet of finely divided salmon flesh, rich in astaxanthin. Nor did whole body of a large mature white male yield more than traces of astaxanthin or of any other carotenoid. 3. 3. Pacific Coast Metridium with white, red or various shades of brown somatic tissues stored in their gonads various concentrations ofcarotenoids, predominately esterified astaxanthin. Somatic tissues of coloured types, including red variants from Britain, likewise yield astaxanthin esters, mostly epiphasic, but with some ambiphasic, in systems of hexane + 95% methanol. 4. 4. Esters of zeaxanthin (or certainly of a neutral xanthophyll exhibiting zeaxanthin's spectral and partitional properties) were usually present, while minor amounts of unfamiliar ketone or hydroxyketones were of occasional incidence. 5. 5. The red specimens from Britain likewise yielded zeaxanthin and its esters, as well as occasional minor quantities of acidogenic carotenoid ester (or the free compound) different from astaxanthin. No carotenes were detected in either species. 6. 6. Metridium senile fimbriatum exhibits some similarities tom, and certain apparent differences from, its British relative, M. s. senile, with respect to the metabolic fractionation of dietary carotenoids.
Spontaneous versus driven activity in intracerebellar nuclei: A tissue culture study

Abstract Intracerebellar nuclei in cerebellar explants derived from newborn mice were recognized as focal points of converging Purkinje cell axons. Morphological studies demonstrated characteristic architectonic features and abundant typical large and small intracerebellar nucleus neurons. Spontaneous electrical activity was recorded extracellularly from cortical regions of cerebellar cultures, but no endogenous activity was evident in recording from intracerebellar nuclei. These neurons were pharmacologically isolated from the inhibitory influence of Purkinje cells by application of bicuculline and lidocaine-HCl, without the resultant emergence of endogenous activity. Intracerebellar nucleus neurons in deafferented cerebellar cultures proved incapable of generating spontaneous electrical discharge, suggesting that background excitatory activity in intracerebellar nuclei in situ may be driven by collaterals of cerebellar afferent fibers.
Chemistry of vibronic coupling. Part 1: How to maximize vibronic coupling constants in a diabatic harmonic potential model?

Abstract Using a simple diabatic model of two equivalent energy minima with crossing harmonic potential energy surfaces, we analyze the vibronic coupling constant λ eg i ( e , g ≡electronic states coupled, i ≡coupling vibration). λ eg i (expressed in energy units) is a product of h eg i (expressed in force units) and 〈 u g | Q i | v e 〉 (expressed in distance units) where h eg i is the dynamic off-diagonal vibronic coupling constant, u g and v e are vibrational wave functions for normal mode i , in the g and e state respectively, and Q i is normal coordinate of i th mode. We study the way λ eg i depends on three parameters: the force constant ( k ), the reduced oscillator mass ( m ) and the displacement between two minima along the normal coordinate of the coupling mode Q i (ΔQ) . For each k there is only one Δ Q which maximizes λ eg i . The maximum in λ eg i originates from the opposing behavior of h eg i and 〈 g |δ H /δ Q i | e 〉 factors in ( k , ΔQ ) space. A strategy for obtaining large λ eg i s should adjust properly small Δ Q s in systems with strong multiple bonds (large k s). This condition appears to be hard to fulfill in experiment. It also emerges that λ eg i correlates linearly with √( k / m ). Hence, to maximize λ eg i one should build a system of light elements. The results presented here may be useful in the experimental search for high-temperature superconductivity, delimiting the space of element combinations which might be investigated.
Using collaboration to overcome disparities in Java experience

The lower-division CS curriculum at the University of California, Berkeley includes a version of CS 2 that is intended to introduce students to Java as well as data structures and programming methodology. Some students in the course already have Java experience. In one course offering, students without previous Java experience received final grades that were 0.27 standard deviations below their peers who already had some Java experience (d=0.27, p
Anti-Egoism and Collective Life: Allegories of Agency in Wyndham Lewis’s Enemy of the Stars

We have come to know Wyndham Lewis as one of modernism's most vocal advocates of the static, self-contained ego. In Time and Western Man, Lewis insists that "our only terra firma in a boiling and shifting world is... our 'self.'"1 He then suggests that this "formally fixed" (TWM, 133) self "must cohere for us to be capa ble at all of behaving in any way but as mirror-images of alien realities, or as the most helpless and lowest organisms, as worms or sponges" (TWM, 132). In other words, "the Ego" must be constituted as a "static 'substance'" (TWM, 298) in order to prevent itself from being absorbed into the fluid "time-mind" of mass society. And as Vincent Sherry points out, this does not merely constitute a per sonal credo for Lewis. Shunning the ontological blurring of "acoustic empathy" and "demotic fellow feeling"2 allows one to resist the hypnotic effects of mass political movements. Individuality and stability, it seems, are the last lines of for tification against the sensationalism of crowd-life.3 But what of the Lewis who writes in 1932 that "such artists as Shakespeare or Dickens are very little individuals at all—they are, as a matter of fact, a very great and numerous crowd"?4 And what of the Lewis who writes in 1925 that "the
History of the Legalization of Executive Branch Ethics Regulation: Implications for the Management of Public Integrity

From the early 1960s through today, the federal executive branch has seen a significant expansion of an ethics management program designed to protect citizen confidence in the impartiality and objectivity of government decision-making. The program has placed a heavy emphasis on regulating financial conflicts of interest. Instead of protecting confidence in government decision-making, the program has actually lowered ethical expectations for federal employees and officials. The public and the media now largely view ethics as a process of complying with legalistic ethics rules and regulations. At the same time, critics of "petty ethics rules" argue that the legalization of public service ethics has made it much more difficult to recruit individuals to serve in government. This article deals with the failure of government ethics rules to maintain confidence in government, along with the criticism that ethics rules make it difficult to recruit and retain government personnel, by arguing for (a) the removal of...
Measurement of isothermal diffusion coefficients at 37°C in the systems glycine−NaCl−H2O,dl-α alanine−NaCl−H2O, anddl-α-aminobutyric acid−NaCl−H2O

Isothermal diffusion coefficients have been measured at 37°C in the systems glycine−NaCl−H2O,dl-α-alanine−NaCl−H2O, anddl-α-aminobytyric acid−NaCl−H2O. Experiments were performed at 0.5 and 1.0M in both solutes. It was found that the cross-term diffusion coefficientsD12 andD21 increased and the main-term diffusion coefficientsD11 andD22 decreased as the length of the hydrocarbon chain of the amino acid increased. The cross-term diffusion coefficients for the system with glycine were only 2% of the values of the mainterm diffusion coefficients while those for the system withdl-α-aminobutyric acid approached 10% of the main-term diffusion coefficients at 1.0M.
Nonstationary interference suppression in spread spectrum communication systems

This paper discusses nonstationary interference excision techniques in spread spectrum communications systems. Excision techniques to remove, or at least suppress, sinusoidal, auto-regressive, and digital communication signals have matured relative to those dealing with nonstationary interferers. Time-frequency domain methods for analysis and estimation of the frequency modulated (FM) interference are summarized. Domains other than time and frequency, such as the Gabor-domain, the Wavelet-domain, and quadratic time-frequency signal representations, are appropriate for non-traditional smart jamming in which the interference parameters are highly dependent on time. Excision methods can be linear, bilinear, or nonlinear with performance dependent on the interference power relative to the desired signal and noise. The receiver SINR expressions and curves are presented in this paper for some of the key interference excision techniques.
Myocarditis following adeno-associated viral gene expression of human soluble TNF receptor (TNFRII-Fc) in baboon hearts

Sequestration of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) by TNF-receptor immunoglobulin G (IgG)-Fc fusion proteins can limit heart failure progression in rodent models. In this study we directly injected an adeno-associated viruses (AAV)-2 construct encoding a human TNF receptor II IgG-Fc fusion protein (AAV-TNFRII-Fc) into healthy baboon hearts and assessed virally encoded gene expression and clinical response. Adult baboons received direct cardiac injections of AAV-TNFRII-Fc ( approximately 5 x 10(12) viral/genomes/baboon) or an equivalent dose of AAV-2 empty capsids, and were analyzed after 5 or 12 weeks. Viral genomes were restricted to the myocardium, and routine analyses (blood cell counts, clinical chemistries) remained unremarkable. Echocardiograms were unchanged but electrocardiograms revealed marked ST- and T-wave changes consistent with myocarditis only in baboons receiving AAV-TNFRII-Fc. TNFRII serum levels peaked at approximately 3 times the baseline levels at 1-2 weeks postinjection and subsequently declined to baseline levels. TNFRII-Fc protein and transcripts were detected in the heart at harvest. After AAV injection, anti-AAV-2 antibody levels increased in all baboons, while anti-TNFRII-Fc could not be detected. Baboons that received AAV-TNFRII-Fc developed myocardial infiltrates including CD8+ cells. Thus, a cellular immune response to cardiac delivery of AAV encoding foreign proteins may be an important consideration for AAV-based cardiac gene therapy.
Cross-shelf changes in phytoplankton community composition in the Gulf of Mexico (Texas shelf/ slope): the use of plant pigments as biomarkers

Abstract Plant pigments were used as tracers to document changes in the composition of phytoplankton assemblages in relation to nutrient distributions across the Texas shelf/slope in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) on three cruises in June 1992, January 1993 and October 1993. Diatoms, prymnesiophytes, and cyanobacteria dominated the Texas shelf and shelf/slope break waters in January 1993 (ca. 85%), with diatoms and cyanobacteria as the dominant taxa in October 1993 (ca. 90%). In general, diatoms and cyanobacteria dominated the shelf waters while cyanobacteria, pelagophytes, and prymnesiophytes were dominant in slope waters. The highest concentrations of prymnesiophytes, based on 19’ hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin (19-hex) concentrations, were found in slope waters in January 1993 and were likely related to the presence of a warm-core ring at that time. Water column N : P and Si : N ratios in the dissolved phase for the three cruises averaged 11.44±4.46 and 8.67±5.61, respectively. Cyanobacterial abundance was positively correlated with total nitrogen (TN) concentrations in slope waters on all three cruises, indicating that nitrogen-fixing bacteria may have contributed to TN concentrations in Texas slope waters. Based on the range of the ratio of chlorophyll a : diagnostic pigments ( F p ratios) (0.09–0.34) the overall trophic status of surface waters across the Texas shelf/slope was characterized as oligotrophic. Nutrient concentrations in shelf waters indicated that these waters were not oligotrophic and that the F p -derived trophic status was incorrect. One problem with the application of F p ratios in nearshore systems is that new production may be represented by classes other than dinoflagellates and diatoms, such as cyanobacteria, which if ignored will underestimate new production resulting in an incorrect characterization of eutrophication.
Temperature and Temperature Profile Measurements in the Combustor Flowpath Using Structured Emission Thermography

Structured Emission Thermometry (SET) is a new optical technique for deriving temperature and species concentrations in high-temperature regions of a combustor flow-path from measurements of water and soot emission spectra in the 1 micron region. A prototype instrument has been built for gas- and liquid-fuel combustors with temperatures ranging from 1400–2500K (2100–4000F). This instrument can be used for test stand instrumentation and routine monitoring in fixed installations. With further evolution, the technique may be suitable for an aircraft engine control system. The emissions are measured along narrow lines of sight using small, simple passive fiber probes placed at a short standoff distance from the hot gas flow-path. With proper placement of multiple probes, data may be collected over overlapping lines of sight and inverted to produce a low-resolution spatial map of the temperature and emitter density in the flow-path. In this work, we describe a series of combustor measurements, including cross-validation measurements in a well-controlled laboratory flame and measurements in combustor test stands. Both line-of-sight measurements and reconstructed temperature profiles are presented and discussed.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Biological research on a Space Station

A Space Station can provide reliable, long duration access to ug environments for basic and applied biological research. The uniqueness of access to near-weightless environments to probe fundamental questions of significance to gravitational and Space biologists can be exploited from many vantage points. Access to centrifuge facilities that can provide 1 g and hypo-g controls will permit identification of gravity-dependent or primary effects. Understanding secondary effects of the ug environment as well will allow a fuller exploitation of the Space environment.
MOVIE: Large Scale Automated Analysis of MOVing ImagEs

In this paper we describe our efforts at establishing a software workbench for video analysis, annotation, and visualization, using both current and experimental discovery methods. This project builds upon our previous research with video and image analysis, and joins the emergent field of cultural analytics in the digital humanities. Moving image media is particularly ripe for computational analysis given its increasing ubiquity in contemporary culture. Hoping to make video more legible as a big data format, we employ visual media in the public domain and we focus on crowd-sourced annotation, aural and visual analysis and visualization of extracted image data. Our goal is to fill in existing gaps for asking cultural questions about video archives using computers, we also experiment with transformative methods in video research and analysis. Our long term goal is to allow researchers to move with agility from textual description and collection management, to manual inspection, to automated analysis, to visualization of discrete films as well as whole collections.
Temperature gradient integration in thermoacoustic stacks

Abstract Different approaches to numerical modeling of thermoacoustic effects are being investigated as a step towards developing a model for inert gas–vapor mixtures in thermoacoustics. This paper describes these approaches to numerical calculations, which differ primarily in the way that the temperature profile is computed for the stack. Different aspects of the constant property of the thermodynamic enthalpy in the stack are used by each approach: one maintains a constant value for the enthalpy while calculating the temperature and the other keeps the spatial derivative of the enthalpy equal to zero. The runtime and accuracy of the two approaches are compared by applying them to both a thermoacoustic refrigerator and engine model, and it is found that the second method’s introduction of an additional integration variable leads to more error than the first method’s use of large numbers in the calculation.
Dynamic-mesh finite element method for Lagrangian computational fluid dynamics

We present a novel method for simulation of flows with dynamic interfaces based on a Lagrangian flow formulation and dynamic finite element meshes. Dynamic interfaces are naturally resolved through the material flow description, which eliminates the need for complex dynamic structures to track the moving boundaries. However, the resulting dynamic meshes propagate with the flow and quickly become distorted. We resolve the mesh distortions by regenerating the mesh at each time step. The components include a Lagrangian nodal movement, local refinement/coarsening and triangulation. We have created a highly efficient parallel implementation, and successfully applied it to large-scale simulations of flows with numerous cellular bodies. The method easily handles interface-dominated flows and promises highly successful applications to complex flows including the target problem of microstructural blood flow simulation.
Investigation of the Local Temperature Increase for Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR)

Heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) has been proposed for the next generation hard disk drive due to its potentially higher storage areal density. In HAMR systems, a laser is focused onto the disk to heat the magnetic storage layer to the Curie temperature. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to study the temperature increase in a perpendicular magnetic recording media. The disk was prerecorded with a uniform single tone magnetic pattern by flying a magnetic head above it and using a magnetic read/write device. The decay of the magnetic pattern resulting from laser heating under different laser power levels was evaluated quantitatively using a magnetic force microscopy. The temperature increase was estimated by use of an Arrhenius-Neel model of thermally activated magnetization. In addition, a 3-D numerical model was created to obtain the disk's thermal response under the laser heating. The thermally erased area was calculated from the temperature distribution based on the numerical results. The calculated erased area was compared with the experimental results from the magnetic images. A good agreement was observed between the experimental and the simulation results. The method should be reliable when used with HAMR media also whenever it becomes available.
Shoreline Processes: ABSTRACT

Shoreline can be considered to include the entire sedimentary regime encompassing the actively forming subaerial shore features, as well as the seaward extent of wave conditions capable of causing significant bottom disturbance. This offshore area corresponds to Dietz's "active surf lens," the seaward boundary of which commonly is at a 10-meter depth. The relatively narrow strip of the continent known as the shoreline is an area of extremely complex and variable sedimentation with highly variable morphology and sediment types. The importance attached to the understanding of shoreline processes by geologists is indicated by the large volume of literature concerned with this subject. In addition to being of interest to petroleum geologists because of the role of ancient sho elines as traps and reservoir rocks, the study of nearshore processes has immediate application toward solving the ever-growing shoreline engineering problems now being found along populated coasts. The forces involved in shoreline processes are both subaerial and subaqueous and include wind, waves, tides, and chemical and biological agents. Important recent approaches to the study of these forces have been the quantitative works of Bagnold and Inman and the fluorescent grain-movement studies by Ingle and others. Emphasis of the discussion of shoreline processes is on the Atlantic Coast of the United States between Cape Hatteras and Miami. Among other interesting aspects of this area is the particularly sharply defined "active surf lens," characterized by relatively fine grain size, in a "band"--usually less than 12 miles wide. Little sand-size material presently is being contributed by rivers and evidence is presented indicating that most shoreline sediment here, including beach and estuarine sand, is derived through winnowing and shoreward transport of central and outer-shelf material. The effect of varying wind and wave energies, tidal amplitudes, longshore current activities, and other factors is also exhibited along the southern Atlantic Coast of the United States. End_of_Article - Last_Page 478------------
YOKED GROUP COMPARISON OF SELECTION AND RECEPTION PARADIGMS OF CONCEPT ATTAINMENT: A BIASED PROCEDURE

Concept attainment in the selection (SEL) and reception (REC) paradigms was compared with a modified reception (M-REC) condition in which Ss were provided appropriate hypotheses based on yoked-SEL Ss' verbalizations. M-REC performance was inferior to the SEL condition; no other differences were significant. The absence of a SEL-REC difference was not in agreement with findings of previous studies which have shown, in one instance, the REC groups superior (Huttenlocher, 1962) and in another the SEL group superior (Hunt, 1965). The instability of these findings was discussed in terms of an inherent bias in the yoked-Ss design, which acts against REC paradigms. REC performance was found to be contingent upon the nature of the SEL sequence assigned. When a nonsolved SEL sequence was assigned there was a decreased probability of REC-Ss solving.