cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diffusion processes and sheath structure in the near-anode region of an arc discharge in the presence of a transverse magnetic field

Summary form only given, as follows. Understanding the nature of processes occurring at the electrodes of DC plasmatrons is an important aspect of the field of electric propulsion. Such an understanding yields information on engine lifetime which is related to erosion processes occurring at the electrodes and on engine efficiency which is related to energy loss phenomena occurring at the electrodes. This study attempts to understand the nature of power deposition into the anode of an argon arc discharge in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. The ratio of the transverse diffusion coefficient to the parallel diffusion coefficient, D/sub I//D/sub II/, in the near-anode region is measured experimentally via electrostatic probes. In addition, the behavior of this parameter is correlated with measured anode sheath voltage which has been shown to be directly related to energy loss phenomena occurring in certain electric propulsion devices. Along with the diffusion coefficient data, spatial profiles of electron and ion number density, electron temperature, and plasma potential profiles have also been measured. In addition to the electrostatic probe measurements, spatially resolved spectroscopic measurements have also been obtained in the near-anode region. Spatial variations in the intensity of argon ion emission lines near the surface of the anode have been obtained. Such data provide a qualitative measure of the spatial extent and behavior in general of the anode sheath as a function of magnetic field and discharge current. Data obtained from the above mentioned studies shed light on why the measured large positive anode fall voltages develop.
Metastable states and folding free energy barriers

The demonstration that the native state of a long lived protease is less stable than a partially folded 'molten globule' like state shatters long standing preconceptions about protein folding.
Depletion Flocculation of Beverage Emulsions by Gum Arabic and Modified Starch

ABSTRACT: The creaming velocity, apparent viscosity, and ultrasonic attenuation spectra (1 to 50 MHz) of 5 wt% n hexadecane oil-in-water emulsions containing different droplet radii (r = 0.15 - 0.7 μm), biopolymer types (gum arabic or modified starch), and biopolymer concentrations (0 to 2.5 wt%) were measured. Depletion flocculation was observed in the emulsions when the nonabsorbed biopolymer concentration exceeded a critical concentration (CFC). The CFC increased with decreasing droplet radius for both biopolymers because the magnitude of the depletion attraction increases with droplet size. The CFC was lower for gum arabic than modified starch because it has a higher effective volume in solution. Depletion flocculation led to an increase in creaming instability and apparent viscosity of the emulsions. Flocculation could be nondestructively monitored by measuring the decrease in ultrasonic attenuation of the emulsions. These results show that depletion flocculation by gum arabic and modified starch can have an adverse effect on the stability of beverage emulsions.
Optical propulsion and sorting of microparticles on silicon nitride strip waveguides

This paper describes the direct implementation of the sorting of differently sized glass particles on the surface of silicon nitride strip waveguides due to different propulsion speeds that can be controlled by varying the optical input power. The high refractive index contrast (Δn ~0.52 as compared to silicon oxide) allows for strong light confinement in waveguides of sub-micron thickness (180nm). The use of a tapered fiber increases coupling efficiency and allows us to achieve a guided power of 24mW with 320mW of input power.
Changing Notions of Defense Within Psychoanalytic Theory

Psychoanalysis began with a focus on how the “intrapsychic” defense mechanisms of the individual helped to reduce and control conflict. More specifically, defenses were seen as helpful in managing the intensity of needs, desires, and affects that inevitably lead to conflict as the individual encounters the needs and desires of others around him. While the earliest theory of defenses focused more on maintaining internal equilibrium, contemporary theories of defense are seen as part of a set of relational and cognitive patterns that develop in the context of close relationships with important others. In the more contemporary psychodynamic approach to defense, many defenses are seen as protecting the self-esteem of an individual rather than axiomatically protecting an individual from becoming conscious of thoughts or ideas that would cause anxiety were they to be remembered or recognized. The shift to more object relational and interpersonal approaches for the understanding of defense has had major implications for clinical treatment, which are examined in this article.
Cardiac Lymphoma Associated with Superior Vena Caval Syndrome and Cardiac Tamponade: Case History:

A sixty-three-year-old patient with malignant histiocytic lymphoma of the heart presented with both superior vena cava syndrome and cardiac tamponade. A two-dimensional echocardiogram showed a large tumor mass in the right atrium and pericardial effusion with right ventricular compression. Superior and inferior vena cavagrams disclosed a lobulated tumor located in the right atrium that extended into and obstructed the superior vena cava. After the pericardial effusion was drained and the diagnosis was established, the patient was irradiated and given chemotherapy with resolution of the tamponade and superior vena cava obstruction.
Histologic Characteristics of Vaginal Cuff Tissue From Patients With Vaginal Cuff Dehiscence

Abstract Study Objective To describe the histologic characteristics of vaginal tissue in patients with vaginal cuff dehiscence (VCD) after robotic hysterectomy and to compare this group with patients without dehiscence. Design Retrospective analysis (Canadian Task Force classification II-3). Setting Academic center. Patients Seven patients with VCD and 6 patients without VCD. Interventions Vaginal cuff tissue was obtained from all patients and was stained using hematoxylin-eosin and evaluated for acute and chronic inflammation markers including neutrophils, lymphocytes, and plasma cells. Immunohistochemical staining was performed and evaluated using the semiquantitative method for collagen types I and III, smooth muscle actin, and SM22α (myofibroblast) content. Grading was performed by 4 blinded investigators. The Mann-Whitney test was used to evaluate the 2 groups, and correlation coefficients for interobserver variability. Measurements and Main Results The VCD group, compared with the non-VCD group, demonstrated significantly greater numbers of neutrophils (1.71 vs 1.0; p = .04), lymphocytes (2.85 vs 1.33; p = .002), and plasma cells (2.2 vs 1.0; p = .001). There was no statistical difference between the groups in amounts of collagen I (1.71 vs 1.27; p = .09) and collagen III (1.66 vs 1.38; p = .37), smooth muscle actin (1.23 vs 1.33; p = .65), and SM22α (1.85 vs 1.27; p = .09). Interobserver variability was low (κ = 0.86; p = .76). Conclusion Compared with the control group, patients with VCD demonstrated significantly higher levels of acute and chronic inflammatory cells. This finding suggests that a prolonged inflammatory phase may be delaying normal progression to reparation in patients with dehiscence.
A New Algorithm and its Implementations for RC Filters

In digital communication, it has been an important topic to implement an RC (Raised Cosine) filter digitally. Based on the characteristics of the digital communication, a new symbol-based algorithm is proposed and implemented with MATLAB. It is also realized on Motorola’s DSP56303 in assembly language. The new algorithm features the minimum data buffer and execution time, hence the minimum out-put time delay. Therefore, it is very practically useful for high-speed data transmission. This new method can be applied to any convolution and/or correlation of two digital signals with different sampling periods. It should be applied in all up- and down-sampling signal processing systems.
A motor and a brake: two leg extensor muscles acting at the same joint manage energy differently in a running insect

SUMMARY The individual muscles of a multiple muscle group at a given joint are often assumed to function synergistically to share the load during locomotion. We examined two leg extensors of a running cockroach to test the hypothesis that leg muscles within an anatomical muscle group necessarily manage (i.e. produce, store, transmit or absorb) energy similarly during running. Using electromyographic and video motion-analysis techniques, we determined that muscles 177c and 179 are both active during the first half of the stance period during muscle shortening. Using the in vivo strain and stimulation patterns determined during running, we measured muscle power output. Although both muscles were stimulated during the first half of shortening, muscle 177c generated mechanical energy (28 W kg –1 ) like a motor, while muscle 179 absorbed energy (–19 W kg –1 ) like a brake. Both muscles exhibited nearly identical intrinsic characteristics including similar twitch kinetics and force–velocity relationships. Differences in the extrinsic factors of activation and relative shortening velocity caused the muscles to operate very differently during running. Presumed redundancy in a multiple muscle group may, therefore, represent diversity in muscle function. Discovering how muscles manage energy during behavior requires the measurement of a large number of dynamically interacting variables.
A multi-objective optimization approach for data fusion in Mobile Agent based Distributed Sensor Networks

A recent approach for data fusion in wireless sensor networks involves the use of mobile agents that selectively visit the sensors and incrementally fuse the data, thereby eliminating the unnecessary transmission of irrelevant or non-critical data. The order of sensors visited along the route determines the quality of the fused data and the communication cost. The computation of mobile agent routes involves tradeoffs between energy consumption, path loss, and detection accuracy. For instance, as the number of sensors in the route increases, the quality of fused data improves but the energy consumption and path loss increase. This paper models the mobile agent routing problem as a multi-objective optimization problem, maximizing the total detected signal energy while minimizing the energy consumption and path loss. A recently developed multi-objective evolutionary algorithm called the evolutionary multi-objective crowding algorithm (EMOCA) is employed for obtaining the mobile agent routes. The performance of EMOCA is compared with a recently proposed combinatorial optimization approach. Simulation results show that EMOCA outperforms the combinatorial optimization approach for different network sizes clearly demonstrating the advantage of a multi-objective optimization approach.
Transfection agent induced nanoparticle cell loading.

Loading cells with magnetic nanoparticles, and tracking their fate in vivo by high resolution MRI, is an attractive approach for enhancing the efficacy of cell-based therapies including those utilizing hematopoietic stem cells, neuroprogenitor cells, and T cells. The transfection agent (internalization agent) assisted loading with the Feridex IV 1 nanoparticle is an attractive method of loading because of the low cost of materials, and possible low regulatory barriers for eventual clinical use. We therefore explored the interaction between Feridex IV 1 and three internalization agents protamine (PRO), polylysine (PLL), and lipofectamine (LFA). Feridex reacted with internalization agents to form aggregates, except when either the internalization agent or Feridex was present in large excess. When Jurkat T cells were incubated with Feridex/LFA or Feridex/PRO mixtures, and washed by centrifugation, nanoparticle aggregates co-purified with cells. With C17.2 cells large iron oxide particles adhered to the cell surface. At 30 Mg/ mL Feridex and 3 Mg/mL LFA, internalization was largely mediated by LFA and was largely cytoplasmic. However, we found that the conditions used to label cells with Feridex and transfection agents need to be carefully selected to avoid the problems of surface adsorption and nanoparticle precipitation. Mol Imaging (2005) 4, 165 – 171.
On blind system identification from its output autocorrelation

When the input to a linear time-invariant system is a sequence of equispaced Dirac delta functions with IID. random amplitudes, it has been shown that a time-limited system can be uniquely identified from its output autocorrelation by making use of the cyclostationarity of the output [Tong et al. 1991]. The present authors show that a bandlimited system, however, can not be uniquely identified from its output autocorrelation. A necessary and sufficient condition for a bandlimited system to be uniquely identified from its output autocorrelation is given. Further, simulation results show that the identification method in Tong et al. does not yield satisfactory results for bandlimited systems. >
The Status of Compliance Technology: Implications for Programming:

Compliance is theoretically conceptualized as a skill that is developed along a learning gradient. This review characterizes the phases of compliance, and details research on behavior-management strategies that have been endeavored at each phase. The implications of these findings are considered, and cautions and considerations of discrete strategies are suggested. Differential approaches that are efficacious and pragmatic for establishing or enhancing compliance in varying populations, ranging from the nonhandicapped to the severely and profoundly handicapped, are proposed.
Noise and Light Exposures for Extremely Low Birth Weight Newborns During Their Stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

OBJECTIVES. The objectives of this study were to characterize noise and light levels for extremely low birth weight newborns throughout their stay in the NICU, evaluate factors influencing noise and light levels, and determine whether exposures meet recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. METHODS. Sound and light were measured inside the beds of extremely low birth weight newborns (n = 22) from birth to discharge. Measurements were recorded for 20 consecutive hours weekly from birth until 36 weeks9 postmenstrual age, biweekly until 40 weeks, and every 4 weeks thereafter. Clinical variables including bed type and method of respiratory support were recorded at each session. RESULTS. Age-related changes in respiratory support and bed type explained the weekly increase of 0.22 dB in sound level and 3.67 lux in light level. Old incubators were the noisiest bed types, and new incubators were the quietest. Light levels were significantly higher in open beds than in incubators. The variations in noise and light levels over time were greatest for open beds. Noise and light levels were much less affected by respiratory support in incubators compared with open beds. A typical extremely low birth weight neonate was exposed to noise levels averaging 56.44 dB(A) and light levels averaging 70.56 lux during their stay from 26 to 42 weeks9 postmenstrual age in the NICU. Noise levels were rarely within American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations (5.51% of the time), whereas light levels almost always met recommendations (99.37% of the time). CONCLUSIONS. Bed type and respiratory support explained differences in noise and light levels that extremely low birth weight newborns experience during their hospital stay. Noise levels exceeded recommendations, although evidence supporting those recommendations is lacking. Well-designed intervention studies are needed to determine the effects of noise reduction on the development of extremely low birth weight newborns.
Does displaying the class results affect student discussion during peer instruction

The use of personal response systems, or clickers, is increasingly common in college classrooms. Although clickers can increase student engagement and discussion, their benefits also can be overstated. A common practice is to ask the class a question, display the responses, allow the students to discuss the question, and then collect the responses a second time. In an introductory biology course, we asked whether showing students the class responses to a question biased their second response. Some sections of the course displayed a bar graph of the student responses and others served as a control group in which discussion occurred without seeing the most common answer chosen by the class. If students saw the bar graph, they were 30% more likely to switch from a less common to the most common response. This trend was more pronounced in true/false questions (38%) than multiple-choice questions (28%). These results suggest that observing the most common response can bias a student's second vote on a question and may be misinterpreted as an increase in performance due to student discussion alone.
Pelvic ultrasonography and length of stay in the ED: an observational study☆ , ☆☆ ,★

Abstract Objectives We compared emergency physician–performed pelvic ultrasonography (EPPU) with radiology department–performed pelvic ultrasonography (RPPU) in emergency department (ED) female patients requiring pelvic ultrasonography and their outcomes in relation to ED length of stay, ED readmission, and alternative diagnosis, within a 14-day follow-up period. Methods This was a prospective, observational study of female patients of reproductive age who required either an EPPU or RPPU for their ED evaluation. We hypothesized that patients receiving EPPU would have a length of stay reduction greater than or equal to 60 minutes, as compared with RPPU. Statistical analyses included an independent-samples t test and multivariate regression modeling to control for factors associated with ED LOS. Results Eighteen resident physicians performed EPPU, with 15 attending physicians supervising. Forty-eight patients received only EPPU, and 84 patients received only RPPU. In univariate analysis, those who received EPPU had an ED LOS 162 minutes less than those who received RPPU (95% confidence interval, 106-209 minutes). In multivariate analysis controlling for gynecologist consultation, disposition, and pregnancy status, patients who received EPPU had an ED LOS reduction of 108 minutes when compared with RPPU (95% confidence interval, 38-166 minutes). Five patients (10%) who had received EPPU and were discharged from the ED returned to the ED within 2 weeks, but none had alternative diagnoses. Conclusions Patients with EPPU had statistically and clinically significant reductions in ED LOS, even when controlling for disposition, gynecologist consultation in the ED, and pregnancy status. No patients in the study had an alternative diagnosis within 2 weeks of EPPU.
Taxation and Labor Supply of Married Women across Countries: A Macroeconomic Analysis

We document contemporaneous differences in the aggregate labor supply of married couples across 18 OECD countries along the extensive and the intensive margin. We quantify the contribution of international differences in non-linear labor income taxes and consumption taxes, as well as gender wage gaps and educational premia, to the international differences in the data. Our model replicates the comparatively small cross-country differences of married men’s hours worked very well. Moreover, taxes and wages account for a large part of the observed large differences in married women’s labor supply between the US and Europe. The non-linearity of labor income taxes leads to substantially different effects of taxation on married men and women. We find that going to a system of strictly separate taxation would increase labor supply of married women by more than 100 hours annually in a third of our sample countries.
A DTA, TGA, and Metallurgical Study of the Exothermic Reactions Between Aluminum and Uranium Compounds: The Solid State Reactions of Uranium Oxides and Uranates with Aluminum

Because recent experience at the Savannah River Plant revealed the pseudo-hexagonal uranates Na2U2O7 and Na6U7O2 will react exothermically in the solid state with aluminum, a systematic thermal study of the aluminothermic reactions of the three crystal classes of uranates and their relationships was begun at the Savannah River Laboratory. This paper discusses that study.
Activation of the gab Operon in an RpoS-Dependent Manner by Mutations That Truncate the Inner Core of Lipopolysaccharide in Escherichia coli

The gab operon (gabDTPC) in Escherichia coli functions in the conversion of γ-aminobutyrate to succinate. One component of gab operon regulation involves the RpoS sigma factor, which mediates activation at high cell density. Transposon mutagenesis was used to identify new genes that regulate gab operon expression in rich media. A Tn5tmp insertion in the hldD (formerly rfaD) gene increased gabT::lacZ expression 12-fold. The hldD gene product, an ADP-l-glycerol-d-mannoheptose-6-epimerase, catalyzes the conversion of ADP-d-glycerol-d-mannoheptose to ADP-l-glycerol-d-mannoheptose, a precursor for the synthesis of inner-core lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Defined mutations in hldE, required for heptose synthesis, and waaF, required for the addition of the second heptose to the inner core, also resulted in high-level gabT::lacZ expression. The hldD, hldE, and waaF mutants exhibited a mucoid colony phenotype due to production of a colanic acid capsule. However, in the hldD::cat background, the high-level expression of gabT::lacZ was independent of the regulatory components for colanic acid synthesis (rcsA, rcsB, and rcsC) and also independent of manC (cpsB), a structural gene for colanic acid synthesis. Activation of gabT::lacZ in the hldD::cat background was dependent on the RpoS sigma factor. The hldD::cat mutation resulted in a sixfold increase in the levels of a translational RpoS-LacZ fusion and had a marginal effect on a transcriptional fusion. This study reveals a stress-induced pathway, mediated by loss of the LPS inner core, that increases RpoS translation and gab operon expression in E. coli.
A Significant Improvement of the Efficacy of Radical Oxidant Probes by the Kinetic Isotope Effect

The accurate and sensitive detection of radical oxidants is a central problem in the field of chemical biology.[1] Radical oxidants can be detected in vitro with fluorescent leucodyes such as dihydroethidium (DHE),[2] dihydrorhodamine (DHR),[3] the hydrocyanines,[4] redoxfluor-1,[5a] and their organelle-specific analogues.[5b] Although these probes are widely used in cell culture, their accuracy is compromised by their high levels of background fluorescence,[6] which is caused by their spontaneous oxidation that is catalyzed by light or oxygen. Radical oxidants can be detected by using DHE, DHR, and the hydrocyanines, as they undergo an amine oxidation reaction[7] with cellular oxidants, such as superoxide or hydroxyl radicals. However, the probes also generate background fluorescence by undergoing the same amine oxidation reaction with air and light; this reaction is often attributed to the effects of singlet oxygen (1O2).[8]
Common ragweed interference in peanut

Abstract Studies were conducted to evaluate density-dependent effects of common ragweed on weed growth and peanut growth and yield. Common ragweed height was not affected by weed density and peanut canopy diameter. Weed height exceeded peanut height throughout the growing season, indicating that competition for light occurred between the two species. Common ragweed aboveground dry biomass per plant decreased as weed density increased, but total weed dry biomass per meter of crop row increased with weed density. The rectangular hyperbola model described the effect of weed density on percent peanut yield loss. With the asymptote constrained to 100% maximum yield loss, the I coefficient (yield loss per unit density as density approaches zero) was 68.3 ± 12.2%. Common ragweed did not influence the occurrence of tomato spotted wilt virus, early leaf spot (Cercospora arachidicola), southern stem rot (Sclerotium rolfsii), and Cylindrocladium black rot (Cylindrocladium crotalariae). However, as common ragweed den...
Mass Representation Defined: A Study of Unique Page Views at East Carolina University

The following case study examines three years' worth of data gathered by East Carolina University's Special Collections Division. The analysis focuses on the number of Unique Page Views (UPVs) reported by Google Analytics. A straightforward method to analyze this data is proposed, which ranks the frequency of UPVs received per year for each collection-level web page. The results indicate that the overall distribution of UPVs is heavily skewed toward the top 20%—or, top quintile—of online finding aids, which account for over 70% of the views. The term mass representation is introduced to refer to the disproportionate amount of visibility attained by the top quintile.
Queuing Disciplines: Order of Packet Transmission and Dropping

This chapter examines the effect of different queuing disciplines on packet delivery and delay for different services. It is noted that as a part of the resource allocation mechanisms, each router must implement some queuing discipline that governs how packets are buffered while waiting to be transmitted. Various queuing disciplines can be used to control, which packets get transmitted and which packets get dropped. The queuing discipline also affects the latency experienced by a packet, by determining how long a packet waits to be transmitted. Some of the common queuing disciplines are first-in-first-out (FIFO) queuing, priority queuing (PQ), and weighted-fair queuing (WFQ). In FIFO queuing, the first packet that arrives at a router is the first packet to be transmitted. PQ is a simple variation of the basic FIFO queuing. Each packet is marked with a priority; the mark can then be carried. WFQ allows a weight to be assigned to each flow. This weight effectively controls the percentage of the link's bandwidth each flow can get.
Excitation energies of levels in 31P

Abstract A silicon target enriched in 29Si has been bombarded with 9 MeV3He++ particles, and the emitted protons have been observed with a magnetic spectrometer. A silicon target enriched in 30Si has been bombarded with 10 MeV3He++ particles, and the emitted deuterons have also been observed with a magnetic spectrometer. The excitation energies of 45 levels in 31P have been determined and the results are compared with previous results.
An Evaluation of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Cigarette Smoking Among Youth

INTRODUCTION Research across the past 4 decades has supported a cross-sectional association between adult cigarette smoking and lower fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC), and emerging research suggests higher FVC may predict cessation. Among youth, findings are limited to a few cross-sectional studies with somewhat mixed results. Here we evaluated the FVC-smoking association among youth both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. METHODS We analyzed data from a subsample of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979: Child and Young Adult. The subsample included adolescents aged 14-18 years at baseline in the year 2004. Multivariable cross-sectional analyses assessed whether baseline FVC was associated with smoking frequency among ever-smokers (n = 578). Longitudinally, the study assessed whether baseline FVC predicted smoking progression among baseline never-smokers who tried a cigarette by 4-year follow-up (n = 388). Multivariable regression models adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, parental education, and health behavior orientation. RESULTS Cross-sectionally, youth who consumed fruit ≥2 times per day were 53% less likely (RR = 0.47; p < .05) than those who typically did not consume fruit to be in a higher smoking frequency category. Longitudinally, the fruit consumption and smoking association was not significant (RR = 0.61; p = .282). There were no significant associations observed between vegetable consumption and smoking. CONCLUSIONS Fruit consumption, but not vegetable consumption, was inversely associated with smoking frequency cross-sectionally but not longitudinally. Further research is needed to provide information on the consistency of the FVC-smoking relationship among youth and may help to elucidate possible explanatory mechanisms.
Discovery of a novel inhibitor of kinesin-like protein KIFC1

Historically, drugs used in the treatment of cancers also tend to cause damage to healthy cells while affecting cancer cells. Therefore, the identification of novel agents that act specifically against cancer cells remains a high priority in the search for new therapies. In contrast with normal cells, most cancer cells contain multiple centrosomes which are associated with genome instability and tumorigenesis. Cancer cells can avoid multipolar mitosis, which can cause cell death, by clustering the extra centrosomes into two spindle poles, thereby enabling bipolar division. Kinesin-like protein KIFC1 plays a critical role in centrosome clustering in cancer cells, but is not essential for normal cells. Therefore, targeting KIFC1 may provide novel insight into selective killing of cancer cells. In the present study, we identified a small-molecule KIFC1 inhibitor, SR31527, which inhibited microtubule (MT)-stimulated KIFC1 ATPase activity with an IC50 value of 6.6 μM. By using bio layer interferometry technology, we further demonstrated that SR31527 bound directly to KIFC1 with high affinity (Kd=25.4 nM). Our results from computational modelling and saturation-transfer difference (STD)-NMR experiments suggest that SR31527 bound to a novel allosteric site of KIFC1 that appears suitable for developing selective inhibitors of KIFC1. Importantly, SR31527 prevented bipolar clustering of extra centrosomes in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells and significantly reduced TNBC cell colony formation and viability, but was less toxic to normal fibroblasts. Therefore, SR31527 provides a valuable tool for studying the biological function of KIFC1 and serves as a potential lead for the development of novel therapeutic agents for breast cancer treatment.
Venoscopic obliteration of variceal tributaries using monopolar electrocautery. Preliminary report.

background. Retrograde saphenous venoscopy has a diagnostic and potentially therapeutic role in the treatment of truncal varices. objective. To determine whether venoscopic electrocautery of saphenous vein tributaries can eliminate reflux into varices and reduce the need for further variceal evulsion or sclerotherapy. methods. Twelve patients with truncal varices underwent ligation of the saphenofemoral junction, retrograde venoscopy of the saphenous vein trunk, and endoscopic electrocautery obliteration of selected tributaries and varices. results. Postoperative color-flow duplex studies revealed that the saphenous vein trunk was completely preserved in nine patients (75%). Portions of three saphenous vein trunks (25%) near the cannulated tributaries were thrombosed. Four patients (33.3%) did not require further sclerotherapy. These four patients usually had a cluster of varices arising from a single tributary that lay close to the saphenous vein. Seven of the eight remaining patients (58.3%) reported significant improvement from the operative procedure alone, but required additional treatment with sclerotherapy to make the results satisfactory. One patient (8.3%) experienced little improvement. conclusion: Venoscopic obliteration of variceal tributaries is feasible and may prove useful in the treatment of truncal varices. In selected patients, 4 of 12 (33.3%), no further treatment with sclerotherapy or evulsion was needed.
Elastic Characteristics of the Ureter

Abstract An explanation was sought as to why the ureter becomes tortuous with increased intraluminal pressure. Changes in ureteral diameter and length, secondary to increased intraluminal pressure, were measured in different pathologic conditions and these changes were compared to similar ones in a non-biologic material (latex rubber tubing). It was demonstrated that these changes were anisotropic and remarkably similar under quite different pathologic conditions. Ureteral tortuosity occurring secondary to increased intraluminal pressure may be related to anisotropic expansion of a tube with both ends in a fixed position.
Power, Emancipation and the Administrative State

Until recently, critical theorists have conceived of power in terms of domination. Public bureaucracies were thought to play a central role in domination as they mediated on behalf of dominant interests both by embodying and enforcing the dominant ideology, and by reinforcing society-wide practices of domination. Habermas, however, has suggested that one particular form of power, "communicative power,'* might be emancipatory rather than domineering in nature and that the domineering practices of public institutions might be set aright through its proper expression and exercise. This paper argues that power as first conceptualized in Veblen's evolutionary critical theory and as further explicated by Foucault, is of a still more intricate and subtle nature than suggested by Habermas. Further, it argues that as a consequence public agencies have both less potential for mediating domination and more potential for advancing emancipation than critical theorists originally thought.
Role of ERCP in Patients With Idiopathic Recurrent Acute Pancreatitis.

Recurrent acute pancreatitis (RAP) is defined based on the occurrence of two or more episodes of acute pancreatitis. RAP is differentiated from chronic pancreatitis based on the presence of a normal morphological appearance of the pancreas between episodes. RAP can be due to a variety of etiologies including common bile duct stones or sludge, sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD), pancreas divisum (PD), anomalous pancreaticobiliary junction, genetic mutations, and alcohol related. In approximately 30 % of patients, the etiology of RAP is unclear and the term “idiopathic” is used. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) can be utilized in both the diagnosis and the initial management of RAP, but it has known limitations and risks. Since gallbladder sludge and SOD account for most cases with RAP, cholecystectomy and, eventually, endoscopic biliary and/or pancreatic sphincterotomy are performed as a part of management. In patients with PD-associated RAP, data from uncontrolled and primarily retrospective studies point toward a benefit from minor papillary endoscopic intervention. However, given the lack of quality data from prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs), endoscopic management in such patients remains an individualized decision, and RCTs are needed to ascertain its true long-term benefit. Future studies to investigate the role of endoscopic therapy in preventing progression to chronic pancreatitis are needed.
Changes in thyroid cancer incidence, post-2009 American Thyroid Association guidelines.

Background The thyroid cancer incidence rate has tripled in the United States since the 1980s, especially among women and small-sized tumors. This trend has been attributed to increased detection due to the availability of ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration technology. In 2009, the American Thyroid Association (ATA) released revisions to their guidelines for well-differentiated thyroid cancers. Objective To examine trends in thyroid cancer incidence rates by tumor size and gender following the 2009 ATA guideline revisions. Methods Cases of differentiated thyroid cancer diagnosed from 2000 to 2012 were analyzed from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results program, 18 registries. Trends in incidence rates based on gender (males, females) and tumor size (< 1.0 cm, 1.0–2.9 cm, 3.0–3.9 cm, ≥ 4.0 cm) were analyzed using Joinpoint Regression and reported as the annual percentage change (APC). Results From 2000 to 2009, overall thyroid cancer incidence rates increased rapidly by about 8% per year in both sexes. Incidence rates increased across all tumor sizes, but especially in tumors 1.0 to 2.9 cm (men, APC = 7.7; women, APC = 7.8) and < 1.0 cm (men, APC = 7.8; women = 10.9) for both genders. Since 2009, the trend slowed in men (APC = 3.0) and women (APC = 2.8). The deceleration among females was confined to tumors less than 2.9 cm. Trends for all size groups in males remained constant from 2000 to 2012. Conclusion The rapid increase in thyroid cancer incidence rates over the past three decades has recently slowed, especially among small-sized cancers and women, which coincides with the 2009 ATA guideline revisions. Level of Evidence 2c. Laryngoscope, 2017
A reuse distance based performance analysis on GPU L1 data cache

Generally, cache is a bridge between CPU and main memory in order to narrow the gap of performance. As a throughput-oriented device, Graphics Processing Unit(GPU) has already integrated with cache, which is similar to CPU cores in order to exploit the locality of memory accesses. However, the applications in GPGPU computing exhibit distinct memory access patterns compared to the multi-core counterparts. Normally, the cache, in GPU cores, suffers from threads contention and resources over-utilization and few detailed works excavate the root of this phenomenon. It is significant for us to have a profound understanding of these behaviors. In this work, we adequately analyze the memory accesses from twenty benchmarks based on reuse distance theory and quantify their patterns. As a metric, the reuse distance can be employed to evaluate the cache performance and predict the access behaviors. We calculate the reuse distance for each memory access and plot them into different distributions according to the cache configuration. Through the analysis, we discover that most benchmarks either access cache in a streaming manner or reuse previous cache line in a short reuse distance. Streaming accesses barely benefit from cache since they have no data reuse. For the accesses with a short reuse distance, they can exploit the data locality in current cache design. Additionally, we discuss the optimization suggestions for all benchmarks which could improve their cache performance.
Acute aerobic exercise hastens emotional recovery from a subsequent stressor.

Objective Despite findings that regular exercise is broadly associated with emotional well-being, more basic research is needed to deepen our understanding of the exercise and emotion connection. This paper examines how acute aerobic exercise in particular influences subjective emotional recovery from a subsequent stressor. Potential mediators and moderators, including level of physical fitness, attentional control, and perseverative negative thinking were explored. Method All of the participants (n = 95) completed 3 laboratory visits, each including 1 of 3 activities (i.e., cycling, resting, stretching), tests of working memory and attentional control, and an experimental stressor. Self-reported rumination after the stressor and the experience of positive and negative emotions throughout the study were recorded. Results In this within-subjects paradigm, as expected, higher rumination in response to the stressor predicted more persistent negative emotion afterward; this effect was attenuated only by prior acute aerobic exercise, in this case, cycling, both 5 min and 15 min poststressor. This effect was unrelated to physical fitness or cognitive performance. Physical fitness level did predict greater attentional control and the capacity to update working memory. Conclusion Acute aerobic exercise may facilitate subjective emotional recovery from a subsequent stressor and improve emotional flexibility. (PsycINFO Database Record
Development of a 1.0 mm inside diameter temperature-assisted focusing precolumn for use with 2.1 mm inside diameter columns

Abstract On-column solute focusing is a simple and powerful method to decrease the influence of precolumn band spreading and increase the allowable volume injected increasing sensitivity. It relies on creating conditions so that the retention factor, k’, is transiently increased during the injection process. Both solvent composition and temperature control can be used to effect solute focusing. In the case of temperature, the release of the transiently delayed solute band requires increasing the temperature rapidly and with a minimum of radial thermal gradients. Thus, the focus of attention in temperature-based efforts to carry out on-column focusing has been on capillary columns. As a result, the benefits of this simple and reliable approach, temperature-assisted solute focusing or TASF, are not available to those using larger diameter columns, in particular the highly successful 2.1 mm inside diameter columns. Based on considerations of thermal entrance length at the volume flow rates used with 2.1 mm inside diameter columns, TASF would not be effective with such columns. However, we determined that the thermal entrance length for a 1.0 mm inside diameter precolumn is sufficiently short, about 2 mm, that it could work as a precolumn before a 2.1 mm inside diameter analytical column. Finite element calculations demonstrate that a 1.0 × 20 mm precolumn packed with 5 μm reversed phase particles is effective at a flow rate of 250 μL/min, suitable for the 2.1 mm inside diameter column. Eight 1-cm2 Peltier devices are used to heat (and cool) the precolumn. The computed axial temperature profile shows that the center of the column heats more rapidly than the ends. Based on the changes in back pressure, the full temperature transient from 5 °C (focus) to 80 °C (release) takes about 10 s. Experimental van Deemter curves indicate that the reduced velocity in the precolumn at 250 μL/min flow rate is about 50. Nonetheless, about 1000 theoretical plates are generated. When operating as a precolumn, clear advantages are seen for solutes across a range of modest k’ values (2.2–23.4 at the separation conditions at 65 °C) using TASF alone (5 °C) with 50 μL injection volumes of methyl through n-butyl parabens, and with 100 μL injections that also include solvent-based focusing (90:10 aqueous/acetonitrile sample, 80:20 mobile phase).
The impact of elevated CO2 on Prochlorococcus and microbial interactions with 'helper' bacterium Alteromonas.

Prochlorococcus is a globally important marine cyanobacterium that lacks the gene catalase and relies on ‘helper’ bacteria such as Alteromonas to remove reactive oxygen species. Increasing atmospheric CO2 decreases the need for carbon concentrating mechanisms and photorespiration in phytoplankton, potentially altering their metabolism and microbial interactions even when carbon is not limiting growth. Here, Prochlorococcus (VOL4, MIT9312) was co-cultured with Alteromonas (strain EZ55) under ambient (400 p.p.m.) and elevated CO2 (800 p.p.m.). Under elevated CO2, Prochlorococcus had a significantly longer lag phase and greater apparent die-offs after transfers suggesting an increase in oxidative stress. Whole-transcriptome analysis of Prochlorococcus revealed decreased expression of the carbon fixation operon, including carboxysome subunits, corresponding with significantly fewer carboxysome structures observed by electron microscopy. Prochlorococcus co-culture responsive gene 1 had significantly increased expression in elevated CO2, potentially indicating a shift in the microbial interaction. Transcriptome analysis of Alteromonas in co-culture with Prochlorococcus revealed decreased expression of the catalase gene, known to be critical in relieving oxidative stress in Prochlorococcus by removing hydrogen peroxide. The decrease in catalase gene expression was corroborated by a significant ~6-fold decrease in removal rates of hydrogen peroxide from co-cultures. These data suggest Prochlorococcus may be more vulnerable to oxidative stress under elevated CO2 in part from a decrease in ecosystem services provided by heterotrophs like Alteromonas. This work highlights the importance of considering microbial interactions in the context of a changing ocean.
Storytelling: Learning to read as social and cultural processes

The argument here is that learning to read for young people in school is not a monolithic process but, rather, consists of multiple and differentiated pathways involving the acquisition of diverse reading practices and cultural ideologies embedded in a broad range of social and cultural contexts. Such a view of learning to read entails reconceptualizing reading and literacy, what it means to be a reader, and the meanings associated with reading, learning, and instruction. We discuss a theoretical framework for viewing learning to read for young children in school as a social and cultural process. Then we describe the storytelling project, an effort to reframe early literacy learning in school.
Some Aspects of Endocrinology of the Placenta

The production of hormones that occur in pregnancy and their changes are the most remarkable recorded in mammalian physiology or pathophysiology. These include those of the maternal pituitary gland, adrenal glands, and the thyroid and in particular those of the placenta. Metabolic homeostasis of the pregnant mother and growth of the fetus depend upon combined precise regulation of maternal nutrient storage, its mobilization with placental growth, nutrient transport, and fetal uptake and utilization. Critical to these processes, in addition to placental steroid production, are the placental somatogenic and lactogenic hormones with those of the maternal pituitary gland act in concert to integrate the metabolic demands of pregnancy with those of fetal (and later neonatal) development. Dysregulation of these functions may reflect and/or exacerbate placental dysfunction with long-term effects on the offspring’s growth and metabolic function. Aspects of placental endocrinology and maternal and fetal well-being are described in several other chapters.
Electrochemical Studies of L-Histidine

The electrochemical investigation of L-histidine in aqueous phosphate buffers at pH 7.4 and 11 has shown that L-histidine oxidation at glassy carbon occurs as a chemically irreversible process, and the current response is nonlinear with concentration. The oxidation potentials are more positive than those observed for L-cysteine under corresponding conditions. For this reason, cyclic voltammetric behavior at gold is dominated by the oxide formation process on the gold surface. The complexation of Zn2+ and Cu2+ by L-histidine in pH 7.4 MOPS buffer has been studied by square wave voltammetric (SWV) methods by considering the peak potential shift between the metal stripping peak (E0 estimate) and the peak potential for the ML2 complex reduction. Attempts to observe characteristic mass peaks from MALDI experiments for the zinc and copper complexes with L-histidine and L-cysteine at ML2 compositions yielded no definitive results.