cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reintroduction of immunosuppressive medications in pediatric rheumatology patients with histoplasmosis: a case series

Children with rheumatic diseases (cRD) receiving immunosuppressive medications (IM) are at a higher risk for acquiring potentially lethal pathogens, including Histoplasma capsulatum (histoplasmosis), a fungal infection that can lead to prolonged hospitalization, organ damage, and death. Withholding IM during serious infections is recommended yet poses risk of rheumatic disease flares. Conversely, reinitiating IM increases risk for infection recurrence. Tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitor (TNFai) biologic therapy carries the highest risk for histoplasmosis infection after epidemiological exposure, so other IM are preferred during active histoplasmosis infection. There is limited guidance as to when and how IM can be reinitiated in cRD with histoplasmosis. This case series chronicles resumption of IM, including non-TNFai biologics, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), and corticosteroids, following histoplasmosis among cRD. We examine clinical characteristics and outcomes of 9 patients with disseminated or pulmonary histoplasmosis and underlying rheumatic disease [juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE), and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD)] after reintroduction of IM. All DMARDs and biologics were halted at histoplasmosis diagnosis, except hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), and patients began antifungals. Following IM discontinuation, all patients required systemic or intra-articular steroids during histoplasmosis treatment, with 4/9 showing Cushingoid features. Four patients began new IM regimens [2 abatacept (ABA), 1 HCQ, and 1 methotrexate (MTX)] while still positive for histoplasmosis, with 3/4 (ABA, MTX, HCQ) later clearing their histoplasmosis and 1 (ABA) showing decreasing antigenemia. Collectively, 8/9 patients initiated or continued DMARDs and/or non-TNFai biologic use (5 ABA, 1 tocilizumab, 1 ustekinumab, 3 MTX, 4 HCQ, 1 leflunomide). No fatalities, exacerbations, or recurrences of histoplasmosis occurred during follow-up (median 33 months). In our cohort of cRD, histoplasmosis course following reintroduction of non-TNFai IM was favorable, but additional studies are needed to evaluate optimal IM management during acute histoplasmosis and recovery. In this case series, non-TNFai biologic, DMARD, and steroid treatments did not appear to cause histoplasmosis recurrence. Adverse events from corticosteroid use were common. Further research is needed to implement guidelines for optimal use of non-TNFai (like ABA), DMARDs, and corticosteroids in cRD following histoplasmosis presentation.
Isothermal Dendritic Growth - A Low Gravity Experiment

The growth of dendrites in pure melts and alloys is controlled by diffusion-limited transport of heat and/or solute. The presence of temperature or concentration gradients within a molten phase subject to gravitational forces generally promotes convection, which in turn, modifies the diffusion processes. The vigor of melt convection is controlled by several parameters often expressed as a lumped dimensionless group, the Grashof number Gr = gβΔTl3/ν2, where g is the acceleration due to gravity; is the volumetric expansion coefficient; ΔT is the undercooling; ν is the kinematic viscosity; and l is the relevant length scale, e.g., the characteristic diffusion distance. Dendritic growth, by its nature, does not permit independent manipulation of the controlling length scale, l, which is determined by materials properties (e.g. diffusion coefficient or thermal diffusivity) and the undercooling or supersaturation. The reduction of g through orbital free fall is often the only practical way to lower Gr sufficiently to permit careful observation of the morphological and kinetic characteristics of isothermal dendritic growth. Previously conducted ground-based studies and the current approach to performing these studies in low earth orbit will be described.
Shareholder Meetings and Freedom Rides: The Story of Peck v Greyhound

In 1947 the civil rights pioneers James Peck and Bayard Rustin, members of the radical religious group the Fellowship of Reconciliation and its offshoot the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), prepared to embark on the Journey of Reconciliation an interracial protest against segregated busing in the American South. But first they did something else radical: they bought shares in a corporation. A year later, after their travels in the South had led to terror, death threats, beatings, and in Rustin’s case a term on a chain gang, they brought their civil rights activism to a new site of protest, the shareholder meeting of that corporation, Greyhound. Invoking the shareholder proposal rule adopted a few years before by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Peck and Rustin insisted that as shareholders they had a right to voice their opinions about Greyhound’s segregation policies and to poll other shareholders on the issue. When Greyhound refused to send their proposal to other shareholders in its proxy statement, they brought the case that became known as Peck v Greyhound. In 1952, to end the case and future litigation, the SEC changed its rules and held that shareholders could not use the shareholder proposal mechanism “primarily for the purpose of promoting . . . racial, religious, or social or similar causes.” In this landmark case we see the collision of race and the corporate and securities laws, as radicals attempted to use those laws to pursue social justice while those charged with administering them insisted that race had no role to play in the corporation—in the process paradoxically writing race into the nation’s securities laws.
Motivational Strategies Can Augment HIV-Risk Reduction Programs.

This article advances the view that motivational strategies can augment the effectiveness of skills-based HIV risk reduction interventions. We articulate the empirical and theoretical rationale for a motivational approach and describe how we developed a motivationally based HIV risk reduction intervention. We also describe the strategic exercises and the therapeutic style that constitutes this approach, and then present detailed reviews of three clinical trials that have evaluated HIV-preventive motivational interventions. Results of these trials provide promising evidence for the integration of motivational approaches with traditional skills-based approaches. We recognize the limitations of existing research and provide suggestions for future investigations.
Competition, Party Dollars, and Income Bias in Voter Turnout, 1980–2008

The conventional wisdom is that turnout is higher in competitive contests and that electorates are more representative when more people vote. But whether more competition produces a more representative electorate remains unclear. Using measures of income bias that improve measurement equivalence across states, I show that income biases in voting participation tend to shrink as the state’s party system becomes more competitive and as the Democratic Party does more to mobilize voters. Close elections, however, do little to explain the income composition of the electorate. Rather, competition reflects a political struggle that varies in the extent to which it increases turnout among less advantaged citizens.
Germ cell tumors associated with XY gonadal dysgenesis

Abstract In 5 phenotypic female patients germ cell tumors were found associated with XY gonadal dysgenesis. One of these patients developed a gonadal choriocarcinoma 9 years after a gonadoblastoma had been removed in the contralateral ovary. Two patients were found to have gonadoblastomas with metastatic dysgerminomatous components. The last two patients had dysgerminomas. These findings are of clinical interest because the gonadoblastoma was thought to be of low-grade malignancy and for this reason treated conservatively in most reports.
Ex Post Bias in Management Earnings Forecasts: A Study of Potential Determinants

This study investigates the effect of proprietary information, disclosure-related legal liability, earnings variability, financial distress, and external financing on bias in management earnings forecasts. Bias, specifically ex post bias (as is referred to in the management forecast literature), exists if the expected value of the observed management earnings forecasts differs from actual earnings. The effect of the test variables on ex post bias is investigated by examining whether a firm's forecast error (measure of ex post bias and defined as actual earnings minus management earnings forecast) is a function of the aforementioned variables. Proprietary information, disclosure-related legal liability, and earnings variability are hypothesized to be positively associated with ex post bias, while external financing and financial distress are expected to be negatively correlated. All the independent variables are measured using public information available at the time that the financial statements are released. Using a sample of 267 management earnings forecasts released during the period 1990-95 in the first three quarters of the fiscal year, I find that these forecasts are on average optimistic. Results from the multivariate regression analysis find that three of the five factors, proprietary information, financial distress and earnings variability, are significant in explaining ex post bias. For the most part, these findings are robust across various sub-samples.
The Fourth Way? Harnessing Aggressive Tendencies in the Thymus

During late stages of thymic development, T cells must chose between different fates, dictated by their TCR specificity. Typically, this is thought of as a choice between three alternatives (being positive selection for useful T cells vs negative selection or neglect for harmful or useless T cells). However, there is growing evidence for a fourth alternative, in which T cells are positively selected by agonist ligands, which would normally be expected to induce T cell deletion. In this review, we will discuss where and when agonist selection is induced and whether this should be considered as a novel form of thymic selection or as an alternative differentiation state for Ag-exposed T cells.
POLYSACCHARIDE OF COCCIDIOIDES IMMITIS

Pappagianis, D. (University of California, Berkeley), E. W. Putman, and G. S. Kobayashi. Polysaccharide of Coccidioides immitis . J. Bacteriol. 82: 714–723. 1961.—Soluble polysaccharide from mycelia or culture filtrates of Coccidioides immitis was found to consist mainly of mannose, but also included small quantities of galactose and another reducing sugar. Isolation of the polysaccharide by ethanol precipitation provided accompanying nitrogenous material. There was 3 to 4% nitrogen, present in amino acids, but in a nondialyzable (possibly protein or peptide) form. The average molecular weight of the complex was 31,700. Attempts to separate the nitrogenous and polysaccharide materials by chemical methods or by moving boundary electrophoresis were unsuccessful; ultracentrifugation showed a single peak. Despite these findings, there appeared to be several antigenic species present, as indicated by multiple lines of precipitation in double diffusion and quantitative precipitin tests. In the latter, polysaccharide-containing fractions gave precipitates without measurable carbohydrate, suggesting separability of nitrogenous and polysaccharide components. Images
Current and future trials of targeted therapies in cutaneous melanoma.

In order to effectively treat melanoma, targeted inhibition of key m­echanistic events regulating melanoma development such as cell proliferation, survival, angiogenesis and invasion or metastasis needs to be accomplished. The Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) pathway has been identified as a key player in melanoma development making this cascade an important therapeutic target. However, identification of the ideal pathway member to therapeutically target for maximal clinical benefit remains a challenge. In normal cells, the MAPK pathway relays extracellular signals from the cell membrane to the nucleus via a cascade of phosphorylation events, which promote cancer development. Dysregulation of the MAPK pathway occurs frequently in many human cancers including melanoma. Mutations in the B-RAF and RAS genes, genetic or epigenetic modifications are the key aberrations observed in this signaling cascade. Constitutive activation of this pathway causes oncogenic transformation of cells by promoting cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, migration, survival and angiogenesis. This review provides an overview of (a) key members of MAPK signaling regulating melanoma development; (b) key proteins which can serve as biomarkers to assess disease progression; (c) the clinical efficacy of various pharmacological agents targeting MAPK pathway; (d) current clinical trials evaluating downstream targets of the MAPK pathway; (e) issues associated with pharmacological agents such as drug resistance, induction of cancers; and finally (e) various strategies overcoming drug resistance.
Gridlock, Legislative Supremacy, and the Problem of Arbitrary Inaction

Congressional gridlock threatens the fundamental constitutional doctrines of separation of powers and legislative supremacy. Moreover, as many scholars have noted, the Framers were concerned with preventing arbitrary governmental action. Gridlock not only makes the arbitrary exercise of governmental power more likely, but also implicates a new concern: the problem of arbitrary inaction.
Mutans Streptococci: Acquisition and Transmission

Dental caries is an infectious and transmissible disease. The mutans streptococci (MS) are infectious agents most strongly associated with dental caries. Earlier studies demonstrated that infants acquire MS from their mothers and only after the eruption of primary teeth. More recent studies indicate that MS can colonize the mouths of predentate infants and that horizontal as well as vertical transmission does occur. The purpose of this paper was to demonstrate that these findings will likely facilitate the development of strategies to prevent or delay infant infection by these microbes, thereby reducing the prevalence of dental caries.
Application of Magnetic Suspension and Balance Systems to Ultra-High Reynolds Number Facilities

The current status of wind tunnel magnetic suspension and balance system development is briefly reviewed. Technical work currently underway at NASA Langley Research Center is detailed, where it relates to the ultra-high Reynolds number application. The application itself is addressed, concluded to be quite feasible, and broad design recommendations for a magnetic suspension and balance system are given.
Reliable hash trees for post-quantum stateless cryptographic hash-based signatures

The potential advent of quantum computers in coming years has motivated security researchers to start developing resistant systems capable of thwarting future attacks, i.e., developing post-quantum cryptographic approaches. Hash-based, code-based, lattice-based, multivariate-quadratic-equations, and secret-key cryptography are all potential candidates, the merit of which is that they are believed to resist both classical and quantum computers and applying “Shor's algorithm”—the quantum-computer discrete-logarithm algorithm that breaks classical schemes—to them is infeasible. In this paper, we propose reliable and error detection hash trees for stateless hash-based signatures which are believed to be one of the prominent post-quantum schemes, offering security proofs relative to plausible properties of the hash function. We note that this work on the emerging area of reliable, error detection post-quantum cryptography, can be extended and scaled to other approaches as well. We also note that the proposed approaches make such schemes more reliable against natural faults and help protecting them against malicious faults. We propose, benchmark, and discuss fault diagnosis methods for this post-quantum cryptography variant choosing a case study for hash functions, and present the simulations and implementations results to show the applicability of the presented schemes. The presented architectures can be tailored for different reliability objectives based on the resources available, and would initiate the new research area of reliable, error detection postquantum cryptographic architectures.
Projective Integration with an Adaptive Projection Horizon

Abstract We present an algorithm for projective integration that is computationally efficient for integrating systems of differential equations with multiple time-scales. Adaptive projective integration is a technique that uses a few inner integration steps to generate data to fit to a local reduced-order model. This reduced-order model is then used to extrapolate forward in time to estimate the states at some future time. This inner-outer integration is iterated until the desired integration is complete. The method uses an adaptive projective horizon to control for error generation during the integration. By examining an example Brusselator system, consisting of three non-linear differential equations, we show two orders of magnitude savings in computational time using adaptive projective integration over explicit Euler's method.
Low luminosity and ultra low surface brightness galaxies in the Virgo cluster

A CCD survey of selected areas in the Virgo cluster was undertaken with the goal of finding dwarf ellipticals fainter in surface brightness than known in the Local Group. This was successful, and galaxies as much as 2 magnitudes fainter than e.g., Umi, have been found. These tend to be larger in radius, due to the detection methods, and thus more luminous than the LG as well. Two fields containing such galaxies were imaged with ACS/HST, with the result that individual RGB stars have been resolved in these galaxies, which are 15 Mpc distant.
Spatial variation of output-input elasticities: Evidence from Chinese county-level agricultural production data

. An agricultural production function is estimated using a Chinese county-level dataset along with associated geographic information. County-specific output-input elasticities are computed using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) and mapped with the geographical information system (GIS). A comparison of the ordinary least squares and GWR estimates confirms that allowing spatial variation in the parameters improves model fit of the agricultural production function, and provides valuable insights into the relative importance of inputs in different regions. Moran's indices reveal the spatial dependence of output per unit of land, and four inputs across regions. Mappings of GWR estimates help to detect a few clusters of high output-input elasticities: for labour in the Northeast, North, Southwest and Northwest China, for land in the Central and Southwest, for mechanical power in the North, Northwest and coastal area of the East and South and for fertiliser in the East. The county-specific scale elasticities suggest constant return to scale is likely to hold in the Central, East, Southwest and South.
An adjustable-tip brush for the induction of posterior hyaloid separation and epiretinal membrane peeling

Abstract PURPOSE: To report a new adjustable-tip brush for induction of posterior hyaloid separation and epiretinal membrane peeling. DESIGN: Observational report. METHODS: The adjustable-tip brush made of 10-0 nylon was used during vitrectomy for a variety of vitreoretinal disorders to induce posterior vitreous detachment and to peel internal limiting membrane or epiretinal membranes. RESULTS: The instrument was especially effective in inducing posterior vitreous detachment in eyes with chronic pseudophakic macular edema and diabetic macular edema. It was used successfully to strip thin, immature epiretinal membranes and to unfold rolled edges of giant retinal tears. No complications were associated with the use of the adjustable-tip brush. CONCLUSION: The adjustable-tip brush was useful for posterior hyaloid separation and epiretinal membrane peeling during vitrectomy for a variety of vitreoretinal procedures.
On non-proportional infinitesimal plastic deformation after finite plastic prestraining and partial unloading

Abstract E xperimental data from combined tension-torsion loading of thin-walled tubes of annealed polycrystalline copper subjected to loading, partial unloading, and then loading in a different direction are presented. Special attention is focused on the direction of the plastic strain increment, experimental values of which are compared with predicted values from the Ziegler and Mroz kinematic hardening models, and endochronic theory. The back stress terms in the above mentioned three constitutive models are calculated using the entire deformation history of more than 10% strain in extension (or 15% in shear), followed by partial unloading, and then loading in torsion (or tension). Thus, the main objective of the study is to investigate the effect of finite deformation on subsequent infinitesimal deformation due to 180° and 90° changes in loading paths in the tension-torsion loading space. Among the three constitutive equations used for comparison, the Mroz model is shown to predict the direction of the plastic strain increment closest to the experimental results.
Aminomodified Probes for Atomic Force Microscopy

A procedure for direct functionalization of silicon nitride atomic force microscope (AFM) probes with 3-aminopropyltriethoxy silane (APTES) was developed. The probes were modified in vapors of APTES at ambient conditions (AP-tips). The functionalization of tips was monitored by fluorescent microscopy and the force measurements with AFM. AP-tips were derivatized with a non-fluorescent quinoline analog (FQ) which reacts with primary amines to form a strongly fluorescent isoindole. AP-tip fluorescence was significantly higher than control probes. Amino modified tips manifest a strong adhesion to freshly cleaved mica and this behavior is qualitatively similar to the interaction of unmodified silicone nitride probes with AP-mica. The adhesion of AP-tips to mica or AP-mica to unmodified tips decreases as ionic strength increases indicating a dominant electrostatic component of the adhesion effect. This interpretation is supported by the experiments at different pH and the reaction of AP-tips with glutaraldehyde...
Second Primary Malignancies after Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Multiple Myeloma

Abstract Recent studies demonstrate an increased risk of second primary malignancies (SPMs) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) receiving maintenance lenalidomide after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). We explored the possibility of other risk factors driving post-ASCT SPMs in patients with MM through analysis of our large transplantation database in conjunction with our Long-Term Follow-Up Program. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 841 consecutive patients with MM who underwent ASCT at City of Hope between 1989 and 2009, as well as a nested case-control analysis evaluating the role of all therapeutic exposures before, during, and after ASCT. Median duration of follow-up for the entire cohort was 3.4 years (range, 0.3-19.9 years). Sixty cases with a total of 70 SPMs were identified. The overall cumulative incidence of SPMs was 7.4% at 5 years and 15.9% at 10 years when nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) were included and 5.3% at 5 years and 11.2% at 10 years when NMSCs were excluded. Multivariate analysis of the entire cohort revealed associations of both older age (≥55 years; relative risk, 2.3; P
AN APPROACH TO THE ECONOMETRIC ESTIMATION OF ATTITUDES TO RISK IN AGRICULTURE

A simple model is developed relating the debt and asset portfolio of the farm to the production decision, which leads to a small non-linear system of equations. The system is estimated with time-series cross-sectional data from Australian broadacre agriculture using non-linear three-stage least squares. This gives a new method of estimating risk aversion coefficients by using actual behaviour of farmers in a realistic economic environment, rather than games played in artificial situations. Australian farmers are found to be risk averse, and the partial coefficient of risk aversion decreases with wealth and increases with income. The results are consistent with the results of studies by Binswanger in India and elsewhere using a completely different method. This consistency suggests that the partial risk aversion coefficient is a relatively robust measure of attitudes to risk.
A phase I trial of cisplatin in hypertonic saline and escalating doses of 5-fluorouracil by continuous intravenous infusion in patients with advanced malignancies

Thirty-four patients with incurable solid tumors were treated in a Phase I trial with a fixed dose of high-dose cisplatin (CDDP) administered in hypertonic saline and escalating doses of infusional 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Five treatment levels of 5-FU, ranging from 500 to 900 mg/m2/day for 5 days, were studied. Leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and oral mucositis were the dose-limiting toxicities encountered. Nephrotoxicity was minimal. Ototoxicity and peripheral neuropathies were rare and mild in this patient group, but most patients received only a small number of treatment cycles. Diarrhea was not dose-limiting. Two complete responses (one non-small cell lung cancer and one sweat gland carcinoma) were observed. No other major responses were noted. With the dose of CDDP set at 35 mg/m2/day for 5 consecutive days, the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of a concurrent 5-day 5-FU infusion was found to be 900 mg/m2/day. The recommended dosages for Phase II trials are 35 mg/m2/day CDDP and 800 mg/m2/day 5-FU for 5 consecutive days. Cancers of the lung, breast, gastrointestinal tract, and genitourinary tract would be reasonable targets for Phase II studies.
Making sense of preterm birth.

p w t g t c t t t s s i e fi t Categorization, such as that represented by the taxonomy of Linnaeus and periodic table of Mendeleev, can help us ake sense of and understand the world around us. The sucess of systems such as these underscores the lack of accepted ategories and the corresponding dearth of insight that we have ith regard to preterm birth, despite the fact that it remains ne of our major public health problems. The health and economic burdens of preterm birth are ndeed remarkable. It accounts for 33% of blindness among hildren, nearly 50% of cerebral palsy, and is a leading cause f perinatal death. There is also increased evidence that preterm birth is related to morbid conditions that appear to develop in adulthood, including cardiovascular disease. It has been estimated that the health ramifications of preterm birth cost the health care system $26 billion annually. All he more sobering is the fact that we have made little progess in reducing its frequency, despite intensive basic scince, translational, clinical, and health services research. The reasons for the lack of progress are doubtlessly multifactorial, although one of the simplest reasons may be the way we conceptualize preterm birth as a result of our present classification system (or lack thereof). Kramer et al describe how, given the multiple causes for preterm birth, the dearth of a more nuanced classification system affects our ability to properly understand its multifactorial nature and properly investigate its myriad causes. They point out, for example, how relatively aimless and difficult the interpretation of a genome-wide association study of adult premature death would be, given that the underlying reasons for this death are so many and so fundamentally different. This article by Kramer et al is the first of 3 to be presented in this issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology that seek to rectify the present situation with regard to preterm birth classification and conceptualization. These articles are he product of a working group of international experts formed s a result of the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and tillbirth meeting. They are organized cogently to demontrate: (1) the inadequacy of historic attempts at classification nd the benefits that an adequate classification system would rovide, (2) the issues that must be considered and the deci-
Cure Characterization in Polyurethane and Model Urethane Reactions by an Intrinsic Fluorescence Technique

Intrinsic fluorescence during the reactions between methylene 4,4‘-diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and 1-butanol or hydroxy-terminated poly(propylene oxide) was investigated to characterize a model urethane reaction and polyurethane formation both in dilute solution and in bulk. Fluorescence intensity was found to increase about 87 times when MDI was converted to diurethane, with the emission maximum around 315 nm. The rate constants and the activation energies for the model reaction and polyurethane formation were obtained from the fluorescence results and compared with the IR results. The correlation between the fluorescence intensity and the extent of the reaction determined by IR has been established.
Geo-neutrino: status and prospect

Abstract Geological models are at odds over the radioactive power of the earth, predicting anywhere from 16 to 42 TW. The actual value constrains the thermal evolution and indicates the meteoritic origin of the planet. An estimated 20% of this radioactive power escapes to space in the form of geo-neutrinos. The remaining portion heats the planet with significant geo-dynamical consequences. The amount of radiogenic heating, conveniently expressed as a fraction of the 47-TW surface heat flow, discriminates earth models and characterizes the rate of planetary temperature change. A fraction greater than one means the earth is heating up; a fraction less than one means the earth is cooling down. Radiogenic heating in the planet primarily springs from unstable nuclides of uranium, thorium, and potassium. Closely associated with radiogenic heating is the production of geo-neutrinos. Large sub-surface detectors efficiently record the infrequent interactions of the highest energy geo-neutrinos, which originate from uranium and thorium. The measured energy spectrum of the interactions estimates the relative amounts of these heat-producing elements, while the intensity assesses planetary radiogenic power. Recent geo-neutrino observations suggest radioactivity accounts for less than all of the surface heat flow. This assessment, implying the earth is cooling down, approaches sensitivity to model predictions. Future observations at selected locations have the potential to constrain the thermal evolution of the planet and to resolve earth models. This contribution reviews the science and status of geo-neutrino observations and the prospects for measuring the radioactive power of the planet.
Instability of the rest state of fluids of arbitrary grade greater than one

I am going to prove that the rest state of fluids of grade n, any n:t: 1, is unstable in the spectral sense of linearized theory when the ratio of the coefficients of A, and A,_ 1 in the constitutive equation is negative. Negative ratios, and only negative ratios, are implied by integral expansions of the stress. Moreover, in the only case (n = 2) which has been checked in experiments with polymeric liquids, the ratio is negative. To explain my result I have to specify further what I mean by linearized theory and what I mean by the ratio of coefficients. I am following the analysis of my book on stability (1976) and carrying it further. I take the stress for an incompressible simple fluid in the form T=-pl +S where instead of normalizing the extra stress S in the usual way with TrS=0 I normalize so that S=0 on rigid motions and, of course, S=0 when there is no motion. Thus S need not be traceless and in fact the usual approximations set down for S are not traceless. There are two types of approximations which are used to express the stress on motions perturbing the rest state. I will follow COLEMAN & NOLL (1960, 1961) in setting my work in the frame of simple fluids with fading memory. I will assume that the reader is familiar with the common notations of continuum mechanics and I recall that the stress is given by a functional of the history of the Cauchy strain o~
On the evolution and homologies of ichthyopterygian forefins

ABSTRACT The evolution of forefins within the Ichthyopterygia is re-evaluated based on the largest set of data available up to present, including recently reported Early Triassic forms. Three humeral morphotypes are recognized; one is plesiomorphic, and the other two characterize two of the major clades. The forefin elements of various ichthyopterygians are identified, based on osteogenetic sequences and topological arrangements. Both lines of evidence, ontogenetic and morphological, support a single conclusion that Stenopterygius, and all other ichthyopterygians belonging to the clade that survived into the Jurassic, lack digit I of the forelimb. Digits I and II are probably absent in Shastasaurus and closely related forms. The topology along the primary axis and digital arch is conservative among all ichthyopterygians examined, as expected from the underlying mechanism of limb development.
A Method for Quantifying the Benefits of Greening a Healthcare Facility

Abstract:The healthcare industry has begun to examine the role, impacts, and implications of healthcare facilities on people's health inside and outside their walls. This article reports a snapshot of findings from a multi-year research project of a new green Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. It identifies key data analysis areas and a method that can be used for comparing the benefits of greening a healthcare facility. A plan for an analysis of the economic benefits of green buildings, using break-even analysis, benefit cost ratio, and net present value is discussed, along with describing how to draw conclusions about the positive impact of the greening to the economic, environmental, productivity and satisfaction metrics of the healthcare industry.
Pulmonary Artery Pressure Monitoring

Critical care nurses often care for critically ill patients who require pulmonary artery catheterization. Nurses need an extensive knowledge base to understand the various technical and physiologic factors that may affect the accuracy of pressure measurements. Continued nursing research is needed to refine and guide the development of nursing practice standards in caring for patients who require pulmonary artery pressure monitoring.
Stimulated Brillouin Scattering In Carbon Disulfide At 1315 nm For Pulse Lengths In The Microsecond Regime

ABSTRACT The laser source for this set of experiments was a photolytically pumped iodine laser. The pulse had an energy of 5 joules and a time duration on the order of 100 microseconds. The pulse shape generally consisted of two primary parts: the first peak of approximately 10 microseconds followed by a 20 microsecond period and a final large peak of 40 microseconds full width at half maximum. The other predominant feature was relaxation oscillations.High speed detectors were set up with transient digitizers that monitored the pump laser power, throughput laser power, and SBS return power. The SBS medium was carbon disulfide. The laser beam was focused into the medium and then recollected on the throughput side.SBS was observed for all portions of the pulse above threshold and for continuous periods as long as 40 microseconds. There were two new effects observed in this set of experiments. The first is a decay tail several microseconds long present in the return SBS after the pump signal had dropped below SBS threshold. Secondly, the SBS threshold appears to be correlated with the laser power as a function of time during the pulse. The observed effects are attributed to the additional presence of Stimulated Thermal Brillouin Scattering (STBS) on the basis of qualitative arguments. There was no evidence for forward SBS as a competing process.
Classification of abnormal plasminogens: dysplasminogenemias.

An attempt will be made in this article to classify known abnormal Plgs based only on studies of the isolated highly purified proteins
Investigation of the metal—Insulator transition in Cr- and Al- doped V2O3 by nuclear magnetic resonance

Abstract The metal-to-insulator phase transitions have been investigated in Cr- and Al- doped V2O3 by nuclear magnetic resonance. Distinct resonance lines from the V51 nuclei in the metallic and insulating phases are reported. A phase diagram is determined from the resonance measurements.
Book-Review: Cutaneous Melanoma

Charles M. Balch Alan N. Houghton Arthur J. Sober Seng-jaw Soong Michael B. Atkins John F. Thompson. Cutaneous Melanoma. 5th ed. St. Louis, MO: Quality Medical Publishing, 2009. ISBN-10: 1576262766 There are very few advantages of being struck by a drunk driver, as I was recently, least of which is the enforced absence from surgery. One of them, however, is the opportunity to review new texts in our specialty. Cutaneous Melanoma , the fifth edition by Charles Balch and coauthors, is indeed the definitive word on the subject, continuing the tradition of the book’s previous iterations. As the number of editions has increased, so has its size, which has now expanded to 921 pages (versus the 799 of its fourth incarnation). Lest the reader suspect the extra pages are merely “flab,” I can testify that the additions are well-planned and address clinical genetics and risk assessment (from authors Menzies, Tsao, and Sober), immune modulators in the treatment of melanoma (Allison, Hodi, Saenger, and Wolchok), biomarkers for melanoma (Grimm, Hoon, and Duncan), and—of particular interest to plastic and reconstructive surgeons—an extended chapter on complex closures of melanoma excisions (Nahabedian, Strech, and Tufaro). This edition benefits immensely from the editorial expertise of the two new coeditors, Thomson and Atkins, who undoubtedly helped to achieve a harmonious blend of principles …
From "Fly on the Wall" to Community Participant: The Afghan Women's Day Project

Because of the trauma and losses that refugees have faced, refugee research presents special difficulties. As researchers, we interview and work with people who may have been tortured or had family members tortured; who have lost family members, some of whom may have disappeared in the night, never to be seen again; whose flight placed them in physical danger from planes strafing the escape route, or from robbers, thieves, and rapists attacking their group. In my ten years of working with refugees, no one I encountered has been without emotional or physical scars.
Interest-Driven Learning Among Middle School Youth in an Out-of-School STEM Studio

The concept of connected learning proposes that youth leverage individual interest and social media to drive learning with an academic focus. To illustrate, we present in-depth case studies of Ryan and Sam, two middle-school-age youth, to document an out-of-school intervention intended to direct toward intentional learning in STEM that taps interest and motivation. The investigation focused on how Ryan and Sam interacted with the designed elements of Studio STEM and whether they became more engaged to gain deeper learning about science concepts related to energy sustainability. The investigation focused on the roles of the engineering design process, peer interaction, and social media to influence youth interest and motivation. Research questions were based on principles of connected learning (e.g., self-expression, lower barriers to expertise, socio-technical supports) with data analyzed within a framework suggested by discursive psychology. Analyzing videotaped excerpts of interactions in the studio, field notes, interview responses, and artifacts created during the program resulted in the following findings: problem solving, new media, and peer interaction as designed features of Studio STEM elicited evidence of stimulating interest in STEM for deeper learning. Further research could investigate individual interest-driven niches that are formed inside the larger educational setting, identifying areas of informal learning practice that could be adopted in formal settings. Moreover, aspects of youth’s STEM literacy that could promote environmental sustainability through ideation, invention, and creativity should be pursued.
Inverse Modeling of the Ocean and Atmosphere

Two hundred years ago, when Carl Friedrich Gauss was a youth of 17, he developed the method of least squares, which he would later apply with great success to geodesic and astronomical measurements. Today the method of least squares and the related statistical concepts of linear regression and maximum likelihood form the basis of inverse theory—the set of methods that is used in a wide variety of scientific and technical fields to analyze data and to extract quantitative inferences about the physical world. Andrew Bennett's Inverse Modeling of the Ocean and Atmosphere discusses the application of inverse theory to time-dependent models of the oceanic and atmospheric circulations; the objective is to calibrate empirical model parameters, to estimate initial and boundary conditions, and to test statistical hypotheses.
Insulator Arcover in Air

Although much is yet unknown about the many Factors concerned in insulator arcover, humidity tests presented here lead to a theory of arcover. The geometrical design of the insulator is shown to be a minor factor at power frequencies, but of importance for withstanding impulse voltages.
Dynamic modeling and stability analysis of an experimental test bench for electric-drive vehicle emulation

This paper describes dynamic modeling and stability analysis of one of the dynamometers in an electric drive vehicle test bench designed based on two electromechanical dynamometers. The studied dynamometer is comprised of two electric machines coupled mechanically by one shaft. One of the electric machines acts as the traction motor and injects power to the shaft; the other machine emulates the road condition and absorbs power. This machine acts as a constant power load to the traction motor and degrades system's stability margins.
Reduced Reaction Mechanisms for Methanol-Air Diffusion Flames

Abstract Reduced reaction mechanisms for methanol-air diffusion fiames are developed by systematic reduction of a skeletal mechanism. By examining the magnitude of the net production rates for the intermediate species, it is shown that for stagnation point diffusion flames the steady state assumption is reasonable for CH2OH, HCO, O, OH, H02, and H2O2, but not for CH2O. By eliminating these species from the skeletal mechanism, a five-step reduced mechanism is derived CH3OH + 2H = CH2O + 2H2, (R1) CH2O = CO + H2, (R2) CO + H2O = CO2 + H2,(R3) 2H2 + O, + M = 2H2O + M, (R4)O2 + 3H2 = 2H + 2H2O. (R5) To explore the impact of making the steady state assumption for CH2O, this five-step mechanism is further reduced to four steps by eliminating CH2O from the mechanism. Comparisons of calculated results for the stagnation point diffusion flame show a reasonable agreement among the different mechanisms. However, the four-step mechanism yields peak CH2O concentrations about six limes those predicted by the skeletal m...
Interaction of EGLIN C Variants with the Extended Subsites of the Precursor Processing Proteases

Potent inhibitors of the Kex2/furin family precursor processing proteases were developed by randomizing adventitious contact sites and screening for optimized affinity using inhibition assays in 96-well format [1]. In this review, the binding interactions of the developed inhibitors will be examined in light of the three dimensional structures of Kex2 and furin [2-4].
Combinatorial formula for MacDonald polynomials and generic MacDonald polynomials

We give a direct proof of the combinatorial formula for interpolation Macdonald polynomials by introducing certain polynomials, which we call generic Macdonald polynomials, and which depend on d additional parameters and specialize to all Macdonald polynomials of degree d. The form of these generic polynomials is that of a Bethe eigenfunction and they imitate, on a more elementary level, the R-matrix construction of quantum immanants.
Scaling short-answer grading by combining peer assessment with algorithmic scoring

Peer assessment helps students reflect and exposes them to different ideas. It scales assessment and allows large online classes to use open-ended assignments. However, it requires students to spend significant time grading. How can we lower this grading burden while maintaining quality? This paper integrates peer and machine grading to preserve the robustness of peer assessment and lower grading burden. In the identify-verify pattern, a grading algorithm first predicts a student grade and estimates confidence, which is used to estimate the number of peer raters required. Peers then identify key features of the answer using a rubric. Finally, other peers verify whether these feature labels were accurately applied. This pattern adjusts the number of peers that evaluate an answer based on algorithmic confidence and peer agreement. We evaluated this pattern with 1370 students in a large, online design class. With only 54% of the student grading time, the identify-verify pattern yields 80-90% of the accuracy obtained by taking the median of three peer scores, and provides more detailed feedback. A second experiment found that verification dramatically improves accuracy with more raters, with a 20% gain over the peer-median with four raters. However, verification also leads to lower initial trust in the grading system. The identify-verify pattern provides an example of how peer work and machine learning can combine to improve the learning experience.
Heisenberg's model of ferro- and antiferromagnetism

Abstract Heisenberg's model of ferromagnetism, which is better than the Ising model in taking account of the exchange coupling of electrons, is treated for various lattices, extending the author's treatment of the Ising model reported previously. The first approximation using a pair of orbitals as the fundamental cluster gives the same results as those obtained by Yvon, Nakamura, and Kastelein and van Kranendonk based on different approaches. In the second approximations, ferromagnetic states appear only for the three-dimensional lattices. The anti-Curie point does not appear, but difficulties still remain for low temperatures. It is shown that the same technique can be applied to the case of spin one and also to antiferromagnetism.
Rallying the Armies or Bridging the Gulf: Questioning the Significance of Faith-Based Educational Initiatives in a Global Age

In some segments of the educational policy world, a shift is underway from regarding schools as secular, modernizing institutions, separate from religious organizations, to thinking about schools as “faith-starved” institutions that can benefit financially as well as spiritually from partnering with religious groups. National and international lending and aid agencies, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank, increasingly identify religious organizations as key providers of basic education. Speaking at a March 2004 interfaith conference in Washington, D.C., World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn remarked that “[t]here needs to be something greater than leadership based on economics or leadership based on military power . . . What better place to start than with the faiths?” In 1998,
Expansion of Salt-Water Zone due to Well Discharge

: In coastal confined aquifers, the extent of the salt-water wedge due to natural ground-water flow can be determined by available methods. If water is pumped by a discharge well, the quality of the water depends upon the rate and duration of pumping as well as the location of the well. A study has been made to find the extent of the progress of salt-water intrusion due to the operation of one discharge well taking into account various conditions of aquifer properties, pump capacities, natural flows, time effects, and well locations. Dimension-less solutions for specific conditions have been obtained by means of a simple computer program. Range of most common conditions is discussed. One of the main findings of this study was that salt water may be pumped out of a well even if it is located in an initially totally fresh-water zone beyond the natural salt/fresh-water interface.