cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chapter 23 – Costs of Copper Production

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the investment and production costs of producing copper metal from ore and how these costs are affected by factors such as ore grade, process choice, and inflation. The economic feasibility of a project can be examined before spending significant funds for piloting, market studies, land surveys, and acquisition. The investment costs are expressed in terms of investment cost per annual ton of product copper. The total cost of producing copper from ore is made up of direct operating costs and finance or indirect costs. The total direct plus indirect cost of producing electrorefined copper from ore either by conventional mining, concentration, smelting, or refining is in the range of $1.5 to $2.2 per kg of copper, whereas the cost of producing electrowon copper cathodes from oxide and chalcocite ores is $0.7 to $1.5 per kg of copper. Copper extraction is distinctly profitable when the selling price of copper is ∼$2.5 per kg, whereas it is unprofitable when the selling price falls below $1.5 per kg. At the former price, the industry tends to expand and at the latter price, it contracts.
Chief Justice Webster

The Supreme Court has a love affair with the dictionary. Half of its decisions in the 2018 term cited a dictionary, often as the primary or exclusive means of defining a term in the statute. The Solicitor General may long have been the “tenth Justice,” but in the 21st century the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court may as well be, not John Roberts, but Noah Webster. The Court’s obsession with dictionaries as the arbiter of statutory meaning is a recent phenomenon. A review of cases from 50 or 100 years ago reveals no such focus. The Court’s increased use of dictionaries may stem from the idea – very much in vogue today in some quarters – that courts are not to make law but simply “call balls and strikes.” Looking up a term in the dictionary can seem like the height of judicial restraint. A court that does so isn’t consciously or subconsciously imposing its own ideology on a statute; it’s just turning to a trusted neutral source. That impression is misleading. Dictionaries are not the neutral, commonly-accepted panacea the Court seems to suppose. In this Article, I discuss a historical test case for the use of dictionaries to interpret legal documents. In the early 2000s, patent law flirted with the use of dictionaries to define the terms of patent claims, a process akin to statutory interpretation. The Federal Circuit (the national patent court) unanimously abandoned that experiment after only three years, for a simple reason: it was a disaster. The lessons of patent law’s brief flirtation with dictionary primacy in claim construction suggest that it’s a bad idea to turn to dictionaries to interpret statutes. That’s true for several reasons. Dictionaries aren’t designed to give what courts want: a single definitive meaning (or complex of considerations) that define what the law is. Dictionaries deliberately define terms expansively and in self-contradictory ways, seeking to capture all possible meanings of a term, not to pick among them. They don’t take legal nuance into account, and they can’t incorporate a background pattern of behavior or centuries of precedent against which Congress may have adopted a term. The use of legislative history is often attacked as a cover for judicial activism, but in fact it is the dictionary that provides the easiest cover for activist decisions that depart from Congressional intent and precedent. Dictionaries can literally justify any plausible meaning of a term. Courts that turn to them are doing exactly what they purport to disdain: picking the meaning of a statute based on their own personal preferences.
Among Low-Income Women In San Francisco, Low Awareness Of Paid Parental Leave Benefits Inhibits Take-Up.

Paid family leave policies have the potential to reduce health disparities, yet access to paid leave remains limited and unevenly distributed in the United States. Using California administrative c...
Communication-efficient Decentralized Local SGD over undirected networks

We consider the distributed learning problem where a network of $n$ agents seeks to minimize a global function $F$. Agents have access to $F$ through noisy gradients, and they can locally communicate with their neighbors a network. We study the Decentralized Local SDG method, where agents perform a number of local gradient steps and occasionally exchange information with their neighbors. Previous algorithmic analysis efforts have focused on the specific network topology (star topology) where a leader node aggregates all agents' information. We generalize that setting to an arbitrary network by analyzing the trade-off between the number of communication rounds and the computational effort of each agent. We bound the expected optimality gap in terms of the number of iterates $T$, the number of workers $n$, and the spectral gap of the underlying network. Our main results show that by using only $R=\Omega(n)$ communication rounds, one can achieve an error that scales as $O({1}/{nT})$, where the number of communication rounds is independent of $T$ and only depends on the number of agents. Finally, we provide numerical evidence of our theoretical results through experiments on real and synthetic data.
Study of $B$ and $B_s$ Decays at Belle

We report results on the search for $B_s\to\eta^{\prime}\eta$ decay, and the searches for $B^0\to\textrm{invisible}$ and $B^0\to\textrm{invisible}+\gamma$ decays. The former result is based on a data sample of $121.4~\textrm{fb}^{-1}$ recorded at the $\Upsilon(5S)$ resonance while the later results are obtained from a $711~\textrm{fb}^{-1}$ of data sample collected at $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB $e^+e^-$ collider. We observe no significant signal for the decays and set upper limit on their branching fractions at 90\% confidence level of $\mathcal{B}(B_s\to\eta^{\prime}\eta)<7.1\times 10^{-5}$, $\mathcal{B}(B^0\to\textrm{invisible})<7.8\times 10^{-5}$ and $\mathcal{B}(B^0\to\textrm{invisible}+\gamma)<1.6\times 10^{-5}$.
Self-Learning Analog Comparator with Adaptive Sampling Rate Scheme for Energy Optimization in Continuous Input Monitoring Applications

The analog comparator module integrated on the microcontrollers is used in several embedded applications in which analog input signals from sensors and other sources need to be monitored continuously. These applications require consuming very low energy as they operate from battery or powered through energy harvesting sources. This implies that every module integrated on the microcontroller must be designed for lowest energy consumption. There are different implementation and operating techniques followed for low energy consumption of analog comparator.This paper describes an operational scheme in which the analog comparator module learns the nature of the analog input signal from the previous comparison results and dynamically adapts the sampling rate for the lowest energy consumption without compromising the functional performance. The explained scheme is completely transparent to software and enables intelligent hardware operation through self-learning technique.
Gigantic CP Violations in B-Decays and Prospects for Measuring them

It is well known [1] that certain B meson decays exhibit CP asymmetries which are as large as 5–30%. In this mini-review, we shall discuss how certain asymmetries can be related to the unitarity triangle (UT) [2], and how UT contrains series of measurements. Experimental check of the constraints imposed by UT leads to a very stringent test of the standard model [3].
Abstract 259: Activation of AMP-activated Protein Kinase by Metformin Is Mediated by Atypical Protein Kinase C-zeta

We have recently reported that metformin, one of the most widely used anti-diabetic drugs, improves vascular endothelial function by activating the AMP-activated kinase (AMPK). But how metformin activates AMPK is poorly defined. Here we report that metformin activates PKC-ζ leading to AMPK activation in endothelial cells. Methods and Results: Incubation of Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) with clinical relevant concentrations of metformin significantly increased the phosphorylation of both AMPK- Thr172 (control, 15.84±7.9; metformin, 168.3±25.6, P in vitro kinase assays resulting in AMPK activation, supporting the essential role of PKC. Conclusion: PKC-ζ is required for metformin-enhanced AMPK activation, likely by phosphorylating LKB1 at both ser428 and ser307 resulting in LKB1 translocation and its association with AMPK.
THE BURDEN OF JUDGING

Constitutional law is built on the bedrock foundation that courts should defer to the democratic process, especially in the context of economic regulations, unless the law touches on certain "fundamental rights" or affects "discrete and insular minorities." Three important books on constitutional theory challenge and emphatically reject this principle: "The Classical Liberal Constitution" by Richard Epstein, "Restoring The Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty" by Randy Barnett, and "Terms of Engagement" by Clark Neily. All three books powerfully plow through a dense hallowed ground of judicial review and economic liberty, and spring from a shared intellectual fountainhead. After reviewing these three insightful works, I develop two complementary accounts of how judges decide cases: "public choice constitutionalism," and "the burden of judging."First, public choice theory presumes that many laws are the end result of "interest group" politics, aimed at concentrating benefits on favored groups and dispersing the costs. Public choice constitutionalism provides a judicially-imposed check to this rent-seeking and capture. There are shades of public choice constitutionalism embedded in our Constitution, as evidenced by the text and history of the doctrine of Enumerated Powers and Federalism, the Contracts Clause, the Takings Clause, the 14th Amendment, and elsewhere in our founding documents such as The Federalist. Through engaged judicial review, public choice constitutionalism can serve to correct "government failures" in the sense that judicially-enforced antitrust law corrects "market failures."Second, based on a refined understanding of public choice constitutionalism, I provide an alternate understanding to the Supreme Court’s balkanized approach to judicial review. Beyond the perfunctory task of labeling a right fundamental, or noting that strict scrutiny applies, the real judicial heavy lifting occurs at the outset — placing a burden on either the individual or the government, and calibrating the weight of that burden. Viewing scrutiny in terms of who bears the burden, and how strong the burden is, offers a more accurate description of the Supreme Court’s decisions when it avoids talking about scrutiny. More importantly, this theory helps to reconcile the Court’s varied opinions that meander among, or even disregard, the tiers of scrutiny. Instead of chiseling out the so-called tiers of scrutiny, accounting for these burdens serves as a more accurate descriptor of the manner in which governments and individuals have their constitutional rights either vindicated or vitiated. This task — not an easy one, but a necessary process that cannot be shirked — is the burden of judging.
The Massachusetts Antiwar Bill

The Massachusetts Antiwar bill provides that no inhabitant of Massachusetts inducted into or serving in the armed forces "shall be required to serve" abroad in an armed hostility that has not been declared a war by Congress under Art. I, Sect. 8 of the United States Constitution. One could hardly imagine a more fundamental constitutional doubt arising in the mind of the American public than that of the legality of a major war. The purpose of the Massachusetts bill is purely and simply to obtain an authoritative judicial test of the constitutionality of an undeclared war.
Laboratory Development and Testing of “SmartRock” for Railroad Ballast Using Discrete Element Modeling

Ballast aggregate settlement is generally a result of consolidation or rearrangment of ballast particles in the area underneath crossties. Excessive settlement negatively impacts track performance, resulting in increased risk of train derailment. The purpose of this paper is to compare two methods to evaluate ballast aggregate settlement with repeated loading in railroad: discrete element modeling and laboratory tests using “SmartRock”.In this study, ballast aggregates are considered as uniformly graded, angular shaped with crushed faces. For the discrete element modeling, digital imaging techniques are utilized to create the ballast aggregates. Aggregate settlement in railroad ballast and the effect of aggregate shape on the dynamic response of ballast are evaluated through the discrete element simulations. A wireless device, “SmartRock” is developed to study the relationship between individual ballast particle behavior and overall ballast performance. It has a shell of a typical ballast particle shape with force cells attached on the surface and embedded with a tri-axial gyroscope, a tri-axial accelerometer, and a tri-axial magnetometer. The device can move under train traffic like a real ballast particle and record inter-particle contact forces and particle motion in real time. For the laboratory tests, a model-scale track section is constructed and subjected to repeated loading similar to train traffic. The developed “SmartRock” are embedded below rail seats and in the track shoulders.The laboratory data using “SmartRock” can be compared with results from the discrete element modeling in the future. These comparisons will validate the discrete element modeling procedure as a means to analyze railroad ballast aggregate behavior and the potential of “SmartRock” in railroad applications.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)

Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is one of the most widely used treatments for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of our review was to examine the research on EIBI. The authors found a total of five studies that compared EIBI to generic special education services for children with ASD in schools. Only one study randomly assigned children to a treatment or comparison group, which is considered the 'gold standard' for research. The other four studies used parent preference to assign children to groups. We examined and compared the results of all five studies. A total of 203 children (all were younger than six years old when they started treatment) were included in the five studies. We found that children receiving the EIBI treatment performed better than children in the comparison groups after about two years of treatment on tests of adaptive behavior (behaviors that increase independence and the ability to adapt to one's environment), intelligence, social skills, communication and language, autism symptoms, and quality of life. The evidence supports the use of EIBI for some children with ASD. However, the quality of this evidence is low as only a small number of children were involved in the studies and only one study randomly assigned children to groups.
Implementation of an academic adult primary care clinic for adolescents and young adults with complex, chronic childhood conditions.

PURPOSE: For the growing population of adolescents and young adults with chronic childhood conditions (AYACCC), the transition from pediatric to adult health care contains many barriers and appropriate adult-based health care options are few. In 2005, the Transition Medicine Clinic (TMC), affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine, was established in Houston, Texas. It is one of the first clinics of its kind and serves AYACCC by providing a medical home in the adult health care system. This article describes the development and implementation of the TMC, its patient population and their resource needs, and lessons learned along the way. METHODS: We retrospectively examined the electronic health records of 332 patients that established care in the TMC prior to July, 2011. Data were collected describing multiple facets of the patient population and their resource utilization, both in aggregate and for several subgroups. RESULTS: The most common primary diagnoses were cerebral palsy, spina bifida, Down syndrome, genetic conditions, and autism. Patient characteristics demonstrated the unique challenges faced by the clinic: more than 80% received Medicaid, 65% had an intellectual disability, 41% used a wheelchair, and most had multiple secondary diagnoses. Compared to typical adult primary care practices, a larger amount of clinical resources, medical technology, and specialists were used, especially for those with the most medically fragile conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that a clinic serving AYACCC requires physicians and support staff familiar with the aforementioned issues that are willing to spend a considerable amount of time and effort outside of routine office visits in health care coordination. Because many of these patients are covered by publicly funded health insurance, enhanced reimbursement must be considered to keep clinics like the TMC self-sustaining. Future research is needed to demonstrate adult-based care delivery models, develop clinical care guidelines, and evaluate key clinical outcomes.
Phase I trial of low-dose, prolonged continuous infusion fluorouracil plus interferon-alfa: evidence for enhanced fluorouracil toxicity without pharmacokinetic perturbation.

PURPOSETo determine the maximum-tolerable dose (MTD) of fluorouracil (5-FU) administered as a low-dose, prolonged continuous intravenous infusion (PCI) plus interferon-alfa (IFN-alpha) that would permit treatment for at least 28 consecutive days, and to determine the effect of IFN-alpha on 5-FU pharmacokinetics.PATIENTS AND METHODSTwenty-six assessable patients with advanced cancer received low-dose PCI 5-FU (150, 200, 250, and 300 mg/m2/d) plus IFN-alpha, 5 x 10(6) IU/m2 administered subcutaneously (SC) at hour 48 of the 5-FU infusion, then thrice weekly thereafter in cohorts of at least three patients. Treatment continued until treatment-limiting toxicity (TLT) developed, such as mucositis, diarrhea, or fatigue. Escalation to the next 5-FU dose level occurred if none of three or zero to two of six patients developed TLT before day 28. Quantitation of plasma 5-FU concentration by high-performance liquid chromatography was performed in 15 patients. Data were standardized using the Cosinor method and compa...
Inhibin is present in the corpus luteum of pseudopregnant rats and can interact with progesterone to inhibit resumption of estrous cycles.

The corpora lutea (CL) of ovaries of adult pseudopregnant (PSP) rats were stained by immunohistochemistry for inhibin α subunit using sheep α-chain1–27 antibody as a measure of inhibin content. Staining was light in estrous cycle CL (stage III), increased in Day 2 and Day 4 PSP CL and reached maximal density on day 6 PSP when both large cells and many small cells stained. Staining was decreased in CL from 8 and 10 day PSP. Granulosa cells of growing follicles showed light stain on days 8 and 10 of PSP.Adult female rats were treated for 5 days beginning at estrous cycle Stage III (cornified masses). In Experiment 1, three groups of rats were used: 1. implanted with 30mm progesterone capsules and injected with saline, 2. implanted with 30mm progesterone capsules and injected with 10 ng rh inhibin A daily, 3. implanted with empty capsules and injected with 10 ng rh inhibin A daily. Both groups of rats with progesterone implants had significantly slower return of cycling after removal of the capsules than did...
Theophylline reduces the response to nasal challenge with antigen

Abstract A nasal challenge model of allergic rhinitis was used to determine if pretreatment with oral theophylline reduces histamine release in vivo. Ten subjects were entered into a double-blind, cross-over trial. The results showed that both the physiologic response (sneezing) (p = 0.02) and the amount of mediators (histamine, kinins, toluene sulfonyl arginine methyl ester esterase activity) (p
Comparative toxicity of polychlorinated biphenyls to earthworms Eisenia foetida and Lumbricus terrestris.

Abstract Effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB; Aroclor 1254) in the manure worm, Eisenia foetida , on survival (LC 50 /LD 50 ), and ability of coelomic leukocytes (also called coelomocytes) to form secretory rosettes (SR) and erythrocyte rosettes (ER) with, and to phagocytose antigenic rabbit red blood cells were determined and compared with those published for the earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris . Using a 5-day filter paper contact exposure protocol, LC 50 and LD 50 were 30·4 μg cm −2 and 4500 μg g −1 dry mass, respectively. Nominal PCB exposure concentrations of 5·0 and 10·0 μg cm −2 resulted in tissue levels of 1400 and 2900 μg g −1 dry mass. These body burdens resulted in significant reduction in SR formation by 18 and 52%, respectively. ER formation and phagocytosis were reduced 52 and 61%, respectively, only at the higher tissue concentration. Compared to L. terrestris, E. foetida : (1) accumulated considerably more PCB at each exposure concentration; (2) showed lower LC 50 , but higher LD 50 ; and (3) exhibited effects on coelmocytes only at tissue PCB concentrations that caused some mortality. In terms of lethality and immunomodulation of SR, ER and phagocytosis, E. foetida appears to be more resistant to PCB than L. terrestris .
Physiological studies on Phymatotrichum omnivorum III. Enzymes of glucose catabolism

Specific enzymes of Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway and hexose-monophosphate pathway were detected in cell-free extract ofPhymatotrichum omnivorum grown on a synthetic medium. Cell-free extracts contained active phosphoglucoisomerase, glucose-6-phosphate and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenases of the EMP and HMP respectively. Phosphoglucomutase activity could not be detected in enzyme preparations.
Perturbations in the Gaussian isoperimetric inequality

An isoperimetric inequality of Gaussian type is derived for the class of probability measures on the Euclidean space, having perturbed log-concave densities with respect to the standard Gaussian measure. Bibliography: 23 titles.
REGIONS OF A TRANSPORT NETWORK

ABSTRACT The movements of people between various origins and destinations in an urban road network are sensitive to changes in the network which increases the capacities of certain links. The effects of improvements in some links are not transmitted equally to all portions of the network. The road network may be partitioned into regions to test the extent to which the fields of network effects extend into other regions. Though not entirely impermeable, the boundaries stand up well in delineating noninteracting parts of the network.
Synthesis and characterization of strontium 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate, [Sr3(1,3,5-BTC)2(H2O)4]·H2O

Abstract A three-dimensional strontium-based metal-organic framework was constructed using 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid, [Sr3((OOC)3C6H3)2(H2O)4]·H2O. This new compound was synthesized hydrothermally and is a rare example of a strontium metal-organic network. The compound network contains three distinct Sr centers, one of which is seven-coordinate and the other two are nine-coordinate geometry. The benzene rings form a herring-bone type of arrangement down the a-axis. The material is thermally stable to ca. 230 °C and transforms to an unknown material before finally decomposing to phase-pure SrCO3 at 650 °C. The synthesis, structure, morphology and materials properties are discussed.
Surface and Tribological Chemistry of Water and Carbon Dioxide on Copper Surfaces

The tribological chemistry of carbon dioxide and water vapor is studied on copper surfaces at high pressures, with a view to understand the gas-phase lubrication of copper–copper sliding contacts. The adsorption and film formation properties are studied on vapor-deposited copper films in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber using a quartz crystal microbalance. The nature of the reactively formed film is studied after reaction by ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Carbon dioxide adsorbs reversibly on copper, while water vapor adsorbs both reversibly and irreversibly, where XPS reveals that the irreversibly formed film consists of a mixture of cuprous oxide/hydroxide. Measuring the thickness of the cuprous oxide/hydroxide film as a function of water vapor pressure and temperature reveals that its thickness varies between about 6 and 14 A and is proportional to the total amount of water adsorbed on the surface. This results in a cuprous oxide/hydroxide film that is thinner at higher temperatures. Measurements of the friction coefficient as a function of temperature and pressure in the presence of water vapor shows that it correlates with film thickness, reaching a limiting value of ~0.35 for thicker films.
Molecular Parameters of Three GABA-Ergic Agonists

A comparison of the molecular parameters of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the hydroxamic acid of GABA (HAGABA), and muscimol has been made using structural data and partial charges from the AM1 semiempirical quantum mechanical method. It was concluded that HAGABA was more closely related to GABA than muscimol.
Unified theory on the generation of trees of a graph Part III. Decomposition and elementary transformations

Abstract This is the final part of a three-part series on the problem of efficient generation of trees of a graph. In this part of the paper we summarize most of the existing techniques on tree generation that are based on decomposition and elementary tree and co-tree transformations, and provide a unified theory for their derivation.
Retrieval of water cloud characteristic from active sensor data using the analytical solution of radiative transfer equation

An analytical forward model and numerical algorithm for retrieving the parameters of water cloud of earth atmosphere from optical measurements carried out by satellite-based lidars is presented. The forward model, based on the analytical solution of the radiative transfer equation, is used to fit the temporal profile of the laser light pulses backscattered from the cloud layers. The cloud parameters extracted from the analysis at each position on earth include the transport mean free path, the average radius of water drops, the density of drops, the scattering length, the scattering cross section, the anisotropy factor, and the altitude of top level of major clouds. Also estimated is the possible thickness of cloud layers. The efficacy of the approach is demonstrated by generating parameters of water cloud using the data collected by NASA's cloud-aerosol lidar and infrared pathfinder satellite observations (CALIPSO) satellite when it passed through North America on August 7, 2007.
Six Players on the Inner Stage: Using Ego State Therapy with the Medically Ill

Abstract The symptoms of medical illness often speak through eloquent, embedded metaphors that express deeper unconscious conflicts and meanings. Therapeutic attunement to the multilayered issues associated with a patient’s illness can be instrumental in the uncovering and working through conflicts that may impede both physical and emotional healing. Among hypnotically facilitated psychotherapeutic approaches that can be helpful, ego state techniques offer rapid access to these illness-associated issues. This article discusses six different ego states that are key players in the illness drama for many patients. Five of these are indwelling components of the patient’s psyche, whereas the sixth player belongs to the therapist’s resonant self. All of them are relevant when the practitioner seeks to facilitate deeper healing in patients with mind/body conditions. A version of this paper was presented at the 55th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Santa Fe, NM, 2004.
Metric and taxonomic variations in the dentitions of two Asian cercopithecoid species: Macaca mulatta and Macaca speciosa

The primary molars and the first permanent molars of two Asian cercopithecoid species, Macaca mulatta and Macaca speciosa, were statistically described. Sexual dimorphism was not found related to tooth dimensions nor was there a significant difference between the right and the left sides. Generally, the teeth of Macaca mulatta were found to be larger than those of Macaca speciosa, and that this difference was significant for most tooth measurements. The discriminant function analysis reveals that the two species may be distinguished by tooth dimensions alone except in the dimensional range where over-lapping is expected.
A variational approach for computing weighting functions for remote sensing of the atmosphere in the thermal microwave spectral region

Abstract An approach is presented for the evaluation of weighting functions for temperature and mixing ratio retrievals based on the direct treatment of analytic expressions for the observed radiances using an evaluation of corresponding variational derivatives. The necessary mathematical and physical framework for variational derivatives of operators is also presented.
962-61 Late Redistribution T1-201/Stress Tc-99m Sestamibi Separate Acquisition Dual Isotope Myocardial Perfusion SPECT: A Feasibility Study

Rest TI201(TI)/stress Tc-sestamibi dual isotope SPECT (DIMPS) is an efficient myocardial perfusion protocol. Patients with rest defects, however, frequently require late TI redistribution imaging the next day. Thus, we recently implemented a modified DIMPS (M-DIMPS), with 3.5 mCi TI injected at rest the night before stress testing. On the day of stress testing, 12–18 hr redistribution TI (late TI) SPECT was performed prior to stress sestamibi study. To assess image quality of late TI, we prospectively studied 107 patients who underwent M-DIMPS. For purposes of comparison between conventional DIMPS and M-DIMPS, a subset (group A, n = 41) also had rest TI(25 sec/stop, 60 stops) the night before M-DIMPS. Late TI used 30 sec/stop. Prereconstruction processing used a 20 Butterworth filter (cut-off: 0.5/order 10 for rest TI, 0.35/order 10 for late TI). Comparisons were made for cardiac counts (counts/pixel) and quantitative heart to background ratio (H/B ratio). Image quality was assessed visually using a 5 point score (0 = unacceptable, 4 = excellent), based on the evaluation of image uniformity, defect clarity, left ventricular border definition and the apparent H/B ratio, Comparisons between rest TI and late TI in 41 group A patients yielded quantitative H/B ratio of 1.63 ± 0.39 and 1.49 ± 0,31 (p = 0.002), and total myocardial counts of 41.4 ± 18.1 and 29.3 ± 11.6 (p l 0.001), respectively. Image quality agreement between rest TI and late TI was 90%, with 31 concordant good to excellent and 6 concordant fair studies. Analysis of the 107 late TI studies by patient weight revealed: l150 Ibs (n = 31) 150–200 Ibs (n = 60) g200 Ibs (n = 16) p cardiac counts 30.4 ± 9.6 28.9 ± 13.8 28.9 ± 7.5 ns H/B ratio 1.49 ± 0.24 1.46 ± 0.32 1.42 ± 0.25 ns quality = 3 or 4 90% 90% 63% l0.05 * * g 200lbs vs. the other two weight categories Conclusion Although quantitatively different, late TI has acceptable count statistics and comparable visual image quality to rest TI, establishing the feasibility of late TI/stress Tc-sestamibi dual isotope SPECT in non-obese (l200 Ibs) patients. The protocol allows for final reporting on the same day as stress testing, potentially decreasing the length of hospitalization.
Functional assessment of joint use in experimental inflammatory murine arthritis

A select group of cartilage proteoglycans (fetal human, porcine, and canine articular cartilages and human osteophytes, all depleted of chondroitin sulfate) produces progressive polyarthritis and spondylitis in BALB/c mice. The development of the disease in this murine strain is dependent on the expression of both cell-mediated and humoral immunities to host mouse cartilage proteoglycan. Autoantibodies have been detected in sera of arthritis animals from the fifth to sixth week after immunization, and their appearance precedes the development of the first clinical symptoms by a few days in animals with passively transferred arthritis. In this preliminary experiment, we describe several functional tests and gait analyses in normal mice, in acutely and chronically arthritic mice, and in randomly selected mice with proteoglycan-induced and collagen-induced arthritis. The procedures revealed that changes in joint use and gait could predate by weeks the appearance of the first clinical symptoms (joint swelling, redness, and joint stiffness) of arthritis in mice. Moreover, abnormalities measured by functional tests, such as strength of grip and maintenance of posture on sandpaper, wood, or vinyl surfaces at three different tilt angles (30, 45, and 60 degrees), and gait analysis preceded the appearance of autoantibodies in sera of immunized animals; this indicates that such measurements could provide a noninvasive and simple method to assess joint function accurately during the development of arthritis.
Electrical and optical properties of chemically derived ferroelectric films

Abstract Wet chemical (sol-gel) methods have been used to synthesize a variety of ferroelectric (FE) thin films, most notably lead zirconate titanate. Ferroelectric films have a wide variety of applications ranging from non-volatile memory devices to pyroelectric detectors. Recent progress in this area of sol-gel processing is surveyed, and examples are illustrated by results from the authors' laboratory. It is concluded that impressive results have been achieved in the chemical processing of FE films, but that more effective collaboration needs to be established between chemists/ceramists knowledgeable about wet chemical processing, and device technologists knowledgeable about the characteristics of coatings.
Food competition in captive juvenile snapping turtles, Chelydra serpentina

Abstract Food-competitive hierarchies and their stability in snapping turtles, Chelydra serpentina, were studied. Nine hatchling turtles were paired against each other in independent tests of food-obtaining dominance. Turtles differed in ability to obtain food. These differences appeared stable over time, and were linear. Neck-stretching, snapping, and clawing were the major behavioural patterns involved in food-appetitive and aggressive encounters.
Determination of trace element mineral/liquid partition coefficients in melilite and diopside by ion and electron microprobe techniques

The use of the ion microprobe for quantitative analysis of Sr, Y, Zr, La, Sm, and Yb in melilite and pyroxene is evaluated. Three trace element-doped synthetic glasses of composition Ak_40, Ak_80, and Di_2AbAn were analyzed by ion microprobe (IMP) using ion yields determined from Corning glass standards. IMP-determined oxide concentrations in the Di_2AbAn glass agree well with electron microprobe (EMP) analyses (to within 6%), but IMP analyses of the melilite glasses deviate from EMP averages by up to 19%. The deviations are due to erroneous SiO_2 estimates caused by suppression of Si ion intensities by the enhanced concentrations of Ca and Al in the melilite glasses compared to the standards. Thus, in order to determine compositions of melilite, diopside, and glass from subliquidus experiments on each of the three starting compositions, we adopted a new set of ion yields such that IMP analyses of the three starting glasses reproduce the EMP average compositions. Further IMP and EMP comparisons of the subliquidus assemblages show that quantitative analyses of melilite, diopside, and glass can be obtained by IMP that are within 10% of the concentrations obtained by EMP, when ion yields determined from glass starting compositions are used. EMP-IMP comparison of crystal and glass analyses also suggests that a structural matrix effect may result in overestimation of SrO (10–12%) in melilite by IMP. Comparison of our data for Ak_12 and Ak_90 melilite compositions with literature results shows that melilite/liquid for REE^3+ determined by IMP decrease with increasing X_Ak (Ak_90: D_La = 0.038, D_Sm = 0.032, D_Yb = 0.0086; Ak: 0.67, 0.75, 0.25, respectively) while that for Sr (=Eu^2+) changes only slightly (0.99 to 0.78, respectively). Since X_Ak increases with decreasing temperature for all melilite with X_Ak<0.7, a progressively larger positive Eu anomaly is predicted for melilite as it crystallizes with falling temperature. Our diopside/liquid data are characterized by a large degree of scatter on most interelement correlation plots of apparent partition coefficients. The data cannot be understood in terms of simple models of boundary layer formation but require a complex surface partitioning explanation. Nevertheless, estimates of diopside/liquid are in excellent agreement with literature data.
Experts Examine Ukraine Energy Security Needs

Russia's recent annexation of Crimea and the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine have heightened concerns about how Ukraine will meet its continuing energy needs. Despite the current situation, Ukraine's long-term energy future looks promising if tensions diminish and other measures are taken, experts said during a 1 July panel on Russia, Ukraine, and energy held at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D. C. However, they said, a serious short-term concern is whether the country will make it through this coming winter with sufficient energy supplies.
Maladaptive Cognitions and Chronic Pain: Epidemiology, Neurobiology, and Treatment

Maladaptive cognitions are widespread and play a significant role in the development of chronic pain. (1) Catastrophizing seems to increase the risk of chronicity. In the laboratory it amplifies temporal summation of pain with repeated stimulation and delays the disengagement of attention from pain. In neuroimaging it is associated with increased activation in regions of the cortex involved in attention, the aversiveness of pain, and possibly pain intensity. (2) Fearful anticipation of pain seems to pre-activate brain regions involved in both the sensory and emotional intensity of pain and primes a stronger initial pain response. It may lead to abnormal patterns of muscle recruitment that, speculatively, may predispose to injury. (3) Belief that normal activity should be avoided seems to promote unnecessary long-term disability in nonspecific low back pain. Extreme guarding may intensify pain through loss of inhibition from motor cortex. (4) Educational programs targeting maladaptive beliefs have shown benefit in the primary prevention of chronic back pain in both pain-free and acute pain populations. In established chronic pain, cognitive-behavioral therapy has shown efficacy in improving pain intensity, coping and pain behaviors when compared with usual treatment. (5) Possible future research directions and clinical implications are discussed.
A Simple Treatment of Constraint Forces and Constraint Moments in the Dynamics of Rigid Bodies

In this expository article, a simple concise treatment of Lagrange's prescription for constraint forces and constraint moments in the dynamics of rigid bodies is presented. The treatment is suited to both Newton-Euler and Lagrangian treatments of rigid body dynamics and is illuminated with a range of examples from classical mechanics and orthopedic biomechanics. Copyright © 2015 by ASME.
Targeting synapses and myelin in the prevention of schizophrenia

Abstract Many of the functions that are mediated by the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are severely impaired in schizophrenia. The maturation of these functions takes place during late adolescence and early adulthood, which coincides with the period of time when overt symptomatology of schizophrenia most commonly emerges. Two developmental processes occurring during the periadolescence period appear to mediate the functional maturation of the PFC: pruning of exuberant synapses and myelination of axons. It has long been speculated in the literature that disturbances of these processes may result in dysfunction of the PFC and thereby trigger the emergence of symptoms and deficits of schizophrenia. Alternatively, but not mutually exclusively, it has also been suggested that these late developmental processes may not be aberrant but they “unmask” preexisting deficits in the PFC, resulting in the onset of symptoms. The important implication of both of these scenarios is that in either case the emergence of PFC functional disturbances and the onset of symptoms and deficits of schizophrenia would in theory be preventable by pharmacologic manipulation of the synaptic pruning and/or axonal myelination processes. Thus, better understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that mediate these processes will provide truly novel insight into the therapeutics and prevention of schizophrenia.
Intergenerational Tension, Connectedness, and Separateness in the Lived Experience of First and Second Generation Chinese American Christians

Few studies examine the intersection of family, culture, and spirituality. This study looks at the intergenerational relationships in Chinese American Christian families as experienced by first and second generation family members. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was used (n = 16). Results reveal that both generations experience intergenerational tension and disconnect; how participants navigated this was further categorized into two intergenerational relationship types: “intergenerational connectedness” and “intergenerational separateness.” Findings highlight four key points: (a) the maintenance of family in spite of strong themes of disconnection, (b) how Christianity could serve as a new primary culture, (c) generational differences in response to disconnection, and (d) gender differences of first generation parents. Clinical implications for family therapists, limitations and future directions are discussed.
On the capacity of the AWGN MIMO channel under per-antenna power constraints

This paper derives a closed-form expression for the capacity of the point-to-point static Gaussian MIMO channel under per-antenna power constraints when the channel matrix is full column rank and the optimal input covariance matrix is full rank. Analytical and numerical examples are given to illustrate the applicability of the result.
IT-10SYNERGISTIC CELLULAR INTERACTIONS IN ADOPTIVE IMMUNOTHERAPY LEADS TO IMMUNOLOGIC REJECTION OF MALIGNANT GLIOMA

Adoptive cellular therapy after lymphodepletive conditioning can induce dramatic clinical responses, but this approach has previously been limited to melanoma due to a lack of reliable methods for expanding tumor-specific lymphocytes from the majority of other cancers. We demonstrate that tumor RNA-pulsed dendritic cells can be used to reliably expand CD4+ and CD8+ tumor-reactive T lymphocytes for curative adoptive cellular therapy in a highly-invasive, chemotherapy- and radiation-resistant malignant glioma model. Curative treatment of established intracranial tumors involved a synergistic interaction between myeloablative conditioning and hematopoietic stem cell transfer, adoptively transferred tumor-specific T cells, and tumor RNA-pulsed dendritic cell (DC) vaccines. By employing this platform we activate a polyclonal population of tumor reactive T cells and have further identified tumor-specific repertoires of tumor-reactive CD8+ T lymphocytes. Furthermore, we have observed a significant increase of clonotypic frequency of tumor-specific CD8+ cells by following TCR β chain expression in mice that are cured of established tumor by adoptive cellular therapy, indicating the ability to potentially predict treatment outcomes in a preclinical setting. Clinical studies exploring the feasibility and potential survival benefit of this platform against both pediatric and adult CNS malignancies are currently underway in our institution. Our adoptive cellular therapy platform has demonstrated superior immunologic treatment of malignant gliomas and holds potential against other solid tumors.
Investigating the effect of the zwitterion/lactone equilibrium of rhodamine B on the cybotactic region of the acetonitrile/scCO2 cosolvent.

We investigated the effect of adding acetonitrile to supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) in the presence of rhodamine B. This spectroscopic investigation of the scCO2/acetonitrile, rhodamine B/scCO2, and rhodamine B/acetonitrile interactions revealed that rhodamine B, which possesses a temperature dependent equilibrium between a zwitterionic form and a neutral form, had a strong affect on the cybotactic region. To confirm that this effect was only dependent upon the rhodamine B/acetonitrile interactions and not merely due to the bulk-phase behavior of the scCO2, we measured the compressibility of the scCO2/acetonitrile mixture and found it to be independent of the acetonitrile concentration to less than ∼0.047 mol fraction. We fit the compressibility data using the Peng−Robinson equation of state because it is most appropriate for fluids in the region between 1.72 and 12.45 MPa and between 313 and 333 K.
Identifying health‐related quality of life (HRQL) domains for multiple chronic conditions (diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia): patient and provider perspectives

Objective To examine patient and provider perspectives about the impact of having diabetes, hypertension and/or dyslipidemia (DHD) on health-related quality of life (HRQL) in order to identify domains for an HRQL instrument focusing on specific chronic diseases (DHD). Study design Exploratory qualitative design was used to elicit patient and provider responses. Patient survey contained 11 demographic and nine content questions inquiring how the disease(s) affected patient HRQL. Provider survey examined how the disease(s) affected their patient's HRQL and crucial factors for improvement. Patients were included if they had DHD and spoke English. Providers working with DHD patients were identified among university faculty and community practitioners. Results Thirty-eight patients (24.7%) completed the interviews. Three judges content analysed patient responses and proposed seven categories (patients ranked physical functioning first followed by diet, emotional well-being (E), general well-being, social functioning (S), ‘no change in HRQL’ and medications). One question about medications had four categories (medication inconvenience, medication side effects, forgetfulness and general well-being). Index for reliability was greater than 80% for all categories. Providers ranked lifestyle modification (LM), first followed by complications, medication, self-care, E, education, S, physical activity and resources (ability to pay) as components that impact HRQL. Conclusions Patient and provider perspectives were similar in four areas (E, S, medication and diet); however, the differences were in how these impacted HRQL – patients focused on activities relevant to daily life that were affected, while providers based it on processes of therapy management and self-care (education and implementation of LM).
Overview of photothermal characterization of optical thin film coatings

Photothermal techniques are widely used in thin film characterizations and are particularly useful in studying laser-induced damage in optical coatings. The specific applications include measuring weak absorption, characterizing thermal conductivity, detecting local defects, as well as monitoring laser-interaction dynamics and determining laser damage thresholds. In this paper we take an overview of the principle of photothermal techniques, the various detection methods, and the progress made during laser decade in applying these techniques to optical thin films. Further potential and limitations of the techniques will also be discussed, with emphasis on in-situ studies of laser-interaction with thin films and local defects.