cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Radiation protection effectiveness of a proposed magnetic shielding concept for manned Mars missions

The effectiveness of a proposed concept for shielding a manned Mars vehicle using a confined magnetic field configuration is evaluated by computing estimated crew radiation exposures resulting from galactic cosmic rays and a large solar flare event. In the study the incident radiation spectra are transported through the spacecraft structure/magnetic shield using the deterministic space radiation transport computer codes developed at Langley Research Center. The calculated exposures unequivocally demonstrate that magnetic shielding could provide an effective barrier against solar flare protons but is virtually transparent to the more energetic galactic cosmic rays. It is then demonstrated that through proper selection of materials and shield configuration, adequate and reliable bulk material shielding can be provided for the same total mass as needed to generate and support the more risky magnetic field configuration.
Oral Corticosteroid Regimens in the Management of Chronic Rhinosinusitis.

Background:Oral corticosteroids are often used in the medical management of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with and without polyps. The purpose of our study is to review the literature for studies re...
Special Anatomical Zone: Sacral and Spinopelvic Tumors

Sacral tumors present several unique surgical challenges due to their intimate relationship with critical retroperitoneal, vascular, and neurologic structures as well as the biomechanical implications of sacrectomy. Consequently, clear treatment goals must be established prior to surgery based on the natural history, location, and extent of the tumor in addition to patient factors, morbidity, and acceptable functional outcomes. Several important questions that must be addressed pre-operatively include the following: Is the lesion best treated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or a multimodal approach? Is the goal of surgery palliative or curative? Can the surgery be performed with acceptable functional outcomes? We begin this chapter with a brief overview of common and clinically important primary sacral tumors with an emphasis on distinguishing surgical lesions from those better treated with combinatorial or other therapeutic modalities.
REBOund: Untethered Origami Jumping Robot with Controllable Jump Height

Origami robots are well-suited for jumping maneuvers because of their light weight and ability to incorporate actuation and control strategies directly into the robot body. However, existing origami robots often model fold patterns as rigidly foldable and fail to take advantage of deformation in an origami sheet for potential energy storage. In this paper, we consider a parametric origami tessellation, the Reconfigurable Expanding Bistable Origami (REBO) pattern, which leverages face deformations to act as a nonlinear spring. We present a pseudo-rigid-body model for the REBO for computing its energy stored when compressed to a given displacement and compare that model to experimental measurements taken on a mechanical testing system. This stored potential energy, when released quickly, can cause the pattern to jump. Using our model and experimental data, we design and fabricate a jumping robot, REBOund, that uses the spring-like REBO pattern as its body. Four lightweight servo motors with custom release mechanisms allow for quick compression and release of the origami pattern, allowing the fold pattern to jump over its own height even when carrying 5 times its own weight in electronics and power. We further demonstrate that small geometric changes to the pattern allow us to change the jump height without changing the actuation or control mechanism.
STARFORGE: the effects of protostellar outflows on the IMF

The initial mass function (IMF) of stars is a key quantity affecting almost every field of astrophysics, yet it remains unclear what physical mechanisms determine it. We present the first runs of the STARFORGE project, using a new numerical framework to follow the formation of individual stars in giant molecular clouds (GMCs) using the GIZMO code. Our suite include runs with increasingly complex physics, starting with isothermal ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and then adding non-isothermal thermodynamics and protostellar outflows. We show that without protostellar outflows the resulting stellar masses are an order of magnitude too high, similar to the result in the base isothermal MHD run. Outflows disrupt the accretion flow around the protostar, allowing gas to fragment and additional stars to form, thereby lowering the mean stellar mass to a value similar to that observed. The effect of jets upon global cloud evolution is most pronounced for lower-mass GMCs and dense clumps, so while jets can disrupt low-mass clouds, they are unable to regulate star formation in massive GMCs, as they would turn an order unity fraction of the mass into stars before unbinding the cloud. Jets are also unable to stop the runaway accretion of massive stars, which could ultimately lead to the formation of stars with masses $\mathrm{>500\,M_\odot}$. Although we find that the mass scale set by jets is insensitive to most cloud parameters (i.e., surface density, virial parameter), it is strongly dependent on the momentum loading of the jets (which is poorly constrained by observations) as well the the temperature of the parent cloud, which predicts slightly larger IMF variations than observed. We conclude that protostellar jets play a vital role in setting the mass scale of stars, but additional physics are necessary to reproduce the observed IMF.
Population coding of reward prediction errors through opponent organization in the fronto parietal network

Computing expectancy violations is essential for decision making and cognitive functions, but its neural mechanisms are incompletely understood. We describe a novel mechanism by which prefrontal and posterior parietal neurons encode reward prediction errors (RPEs) in their population but not single- neuron activity. Simultaneous recordings of neural populations showed that both areas co-activated information about experienced and expected rewards in a precise opponent organization. Neurons encoding expected rewards with positive (negative) scaling were reactivated simultaneously with those encoding experienced rewards with negative (positive) scaling. This opponent organization was mirrored in polarity-dependent noise correlations. Moreover, it extended to two types of expectancy information - based on task-relevant visual cues and statistically irrelevant reward history - allowing decoding of signed and unsigned RPE in two reference frames. Frontal and parietal areas implement canonical computations that facilitate contextual comparisons and the readout of multiple types of expectancy violations to flexibly serve behavioral goals.
Mid-term outcomes of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction across age groups: A national database study

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of age on complication risk after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Methods The TriNetX research database was retrospectively queried for patients undergoing primary arthroscopic ACL reconstruction. Univariate logistic regression was performed to evaluate the risk of complication by age group. Results A total of 21,449 patients were included in the study. Patients ≥61 years old demonstrated significantly higher rates of repeat reconstruction. Rates of postoperative opioid related disorders and surgical site infection varied by age. Conclusion For patients undergoing ACL reconstruction, increasing age is associated with increased risk of developing opioid related disorders, and repeat reconstruction.
THOSE LEFT BEHIND: Socioeconomic Predictors and Social Mediators of Psychological Distress among Working-age African Americans in a Post-industrial City

While the socioeconomic status (SES)-psychological distress gradient is well-documented in the social science literature, less attention has been devoted to how this relationship varies within sociodemographic subgroups. I contribute to this small but growing literature by first examining the relationship between multiple dimensions of SES and two measures of psychological distress (depression and anxiety) among working-aged African Americans. I then test whether three social mediators explain the SES-psychological distress relationship, and whether gender modifies these associations and/or the social mediators that shape them. To address these aims, I analyze two waves of population-representative data from the Detroit Neighborhood Health Study (N=685). Data were collected between 2008 and 2010 in the wake of the Great Recession. I utilize structural equation modeling with latent variables to assess these relationships, and test indirect and conditional effects to detect the presence of mediation and/or moderation, respectively. Findings revealed associations between higher total household income and lower levels of depression/anxiety, as well as unemployment and increased depression/anxiety among working age African Americans. Furthermore, higher educational attainment was associated with reduced anxiety, but not depression, in this population. Gender moderated these findings such that unemployment was associated with higher levels of depression/anxiety among women but not men. I also found that trauma mediated the relationship between unemployment and depression/anxiety as well as educational attainment and anxiety. Gender, however, moderated the association between unemployment and depression/anxiety via traumatic events such that the relationship was stronger among women than men. Collectively, these findings contribute to our limited understanding of African Americans' mental health and underscore the importance of how both socioeconomic forces and life course experiences with traumatic events contribute to poor mental health among this population.
Functional brain connectivity related to surgical skill dexterity in physical and virtual simulation environments.

Significance: Surgical simulators, both virtual and physical, are increasingly used as training tools for teaching and assessing surgical technical skills. However, the metrics used for assessment in these simulation environments are often subjective and inconsistent. Aim: We propose functional activation metrics, derived from brain imaging measurements, to objectively assess the correspondence between brain activation with surgical motor skills for subjects with varying degrees of surgical skill. Approach: Cortical activation based on changes in the oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) of 36 subjects was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy at the prefrontal cortex (PFC), primary motor cortex, and supplementary motor area (SMA) due to their association with motor skill learning. Inter-regional functional connectivity metrics, namely, wavelet coherence (WCO) and wavelet phase coherence were derived from HbO changes to correlate brain activity to surgical motor skill levels objectively. Results: One-way multivariate analysis of variance found a statistically significant difference in the inter-regional WCO metrics for physical simulator based on Wilk’s Λ for expert versus novice, F ( 10,1 ) = 7495.5, p < 0.01. Partial eta squared effect size for the inter-regional WCO metrics was found to be highest between the central prefrontal cortex (CPFC) and SMA, CPFC-SMA (η2 = 0.257). Two-tailed Mann–Whitney U tests with a 95% confidence interval showed baseline equivalence and a statistically significant (p < 0.001) difference in the CPFC-SMA WPCO metrics for the physical simulator training group (0.960 ± 0.045) versus the untrained control group (0.735 ± 0.177) following training for 10 consecutive days in addition to the pretest and posttest days. Conclusion: We show that brain functional connectivity WCO metric corresponds to surgical motor skills in the laparoscopic physical simulators. Functional connectivity between the CPFC and the SMA is lower for subjects that exhibit expert surgical motor skills than untrained subjects in laparoscopic physical simulators.
Risk factors for postpartum readmission among women after having a stillbirth.

BACKGROUND Compared to women with a live birth, women with a stillbirth are more likely to have maternal complications during pregnancy and at birth, but risk factors related to their postpartum health are uncertain. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to identify patient-level risk factors for postpartum hospital readmission among women after having a stillbirth. STUDY DESIGN This was a population-based cohort study of 29,654 women with a stillbirth in California from 1997 to 2011. Using logistic regression models, we examined the association of maternal patient-level factors with postpartum readmission among women after a stillbirth within 6 weeks of hospital discharge and between 6 weeks and 9 months after delivery. RESULTS Within 6 weeks after a stillbirth, 642 women (2.2%) had a postpartum readmission. Risk factors for postpartum readmission after a stillbirth were severe maternal morbidity excluding transfusion (adjusted odds ratio, 3.02; 95% confidence interval, 2.28–4.00), transfusion at delivery but no other indication of severe maternal morbidity (adjusted odds ratio, 1.95; 95% confidence interval, 1.35–2.81), gestational hypertension or preeclampsia (adjusted odds ratio, 1.93; 95% confidence interval, 1.54–2.42), prepregnancy hypertension (adjusted odds ratio, 1.80; 95% confidence interval, 1.36–2.37), diabetes mellitus (adjusted odds ratio, 1.78; 95% confidence interval, 1.33–2.37), antenatal hospitalization (adjusted odds ratio, 1.78; 95% confidence interval, 1.43–2.21), cesarean delivery (adjusted odds ratio, 1.73; 95% confidence interval, 1.43–2.21), long length of stay in the hospital after delivery (>2 days for vaginal delivery and >4 days for cesarean delivery) (adjusted odds ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.33–1.89), non-Hispanic black race and ethnicity (adjusted odds ratio, 1.38; 95% confidence interval, 1.08–1.76), and having less than a high school education (adjusted odds ratio, 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.02–1.80). From 6 weeks to 9 months, 1169 women (3.90%) had a postpartum readmission; significantly associated risk factors were largely similar to those for earlier readmission. CONCLUSION Women with comorbidities, with birth-related complications, of non-Hispanic black race and ethnicity, or with less education had increased odds of postpartum readmission after having a stillbirth, highlighting the importance of continued care for these women after discharge from the hospital.
Scalable Power Converter Architectures with Quantized Output and Envelope Prediction for Wireless Communication

Power supply modulation techniques such as envelope tracking (ET) have achieved wide output bandwidths and high efficiencies suitable for wireless systems in 3G and 4G communication. However, extending the bandwidth further for high power 4G LTE and 5G applications has been very challenging with the traditional multi-phase buck converter-based ET approach. This paper introduces two scalable converter architectures with quantized output and machine learning-based envelope prediction for higher bandwidth and efficiencies in future wireless base stations. The first architecture constitutes multi-level converters that are series stacked to achieve the quantized levels (or bins) depending on the required voltage resolution. The second architecture employs interleaved parallel converters with constant current control to achieve quantized current levels. Further, ‘Extreme Gradient Boosting’ algorithm is used to predict the baseband signal a few tens of nanoseconds in advance, which facilitates improved ET with minimal control latency that is vital for high linearity of the radio frequency (RF) power amplifier (PA). Detailed analysis and simulation results on PSIM using real parameters of GaN FETs validate the concepts.
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin

This teratogen is so toxic that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends that analytical laboratories do not acquire the authentic material for use as a standard. It is present as an impurity in chlorinated phenols and related compounds. It is a particular hazard in waste materials produced as byproducts in the manufacture of such compounds.
Subcutaneous Administration of Carrier Erythrocytes: Slow Release of Entrapped Agent

Carrier erythrocytes administered subcutaneously in mice release encapsulated molecules at the injection site and through cells that escape the injection site. One day postinjection, the efflux of encapsulated (/sup 14/C)sucrose, (/sup 3/H)inulin, and /sup 51/Cr-hemoglobin from the injection site was 45, 55, and 65%, respectively. Intact carrier erythrocytes escaped the injection site and entered the blood circulation carrying with them the encapsulated molecules. Most of the encapsulated (/sup 3/H)inulin that reached whole blood circulated within erythrocytes. Small but measurable numbers of encapsulated molecules were trapped within lymph nodes. Subcutaneous injection of carrier erythrocytes may allow for limited extravascular tissue targeting of drugs.
Addressing Persistent Forms of Oppression in a Liberal Democracy: A Cultural Approach to Multiculturalism

THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC DISCOURSE The liberal democratic discourse is primarily concerned with identifying political values and institutions that can be commonly shared by the diverse members of a multicultural society. This discourse emphasizes how individual rights can be maintained in a society that properly recognizes diversity. Values such as liberty, equality, and freedom guide the underlying arguments of this discourse.
Excessive self-assertion in glottodiachrony: Portuguese sofrer and its Latin and Spanish counterparts

Abstract In certain cultural contents of bilingualism one should expect an occasional over-reaction to the linguistic pressure exerted by the dominant language on the weaker, endangered language desperately struggling for survival. The tendency will be for speakers of the embattled language to purge their speech of any feature obtrusively reminiscent of its aggressive cognate. Precisely such a situation obtained in late medieval and 16th-century Portugal constantly exposed to uncomfortable Spanish pressure. One difference between the two Peninsular tongues being the preference for -er verbs in the West and for -ir verbs in the Center, within the vernacular level, the Lusophones could well have ‘overasserted’ their identity by selecting -er beyond the foreseeable norm.
Exploration of Resource and Transmission Expansion Decisions in the Western Renewable Energy Zone Initiative

The Western Renewable Energy Zone (WREZ) initiative brings together a diverse set of voices to develop data, tools, and a unique forum for coordinating transmission expansion in the Western Interconnection. In this paper we use a new tool developed in the WREZ initiative to evaluate possible renewable resource selection and transmission expansion decisions. We evaluate these decisions under a number of alternative future scenarios centered on meeting 33percent of the annual load in the Western Interconnection with new renewable resources located within WREZ-identified resource hubs. Our analysis finds that wind energy is the largest source of renewable energy procured to meet the 33percent RE target across nearly all scenarios analyzed (38-65percent). Solar energy is almost always the second largest source (14-41percent). We find several load zones where wind energy is the least cost resource under a wide range of sensitivity scenarios. Load zones in the Southwest, on the other hand, are found to switch between wind and solar, and therefore to vary transmission expansion decisions, depending on uncertainties and policies that affect the relative economics of each renewable option. Further, we find that even with total transmission expenditures of $17-34 billion these costs still represent just 10-19percent of the total delivered cost of renewable energy.
Neurologic manifestations of leukemia; report of three cases in children simulating acute bacterial meningitis.

Three cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia with neurologic manifestations are presented in which the clinical signs, together with the findings in the spinal fluid, closely resembled those of acute bacterial meningitis. Review of the literature reveals an infrequent occurrence of neurologic symptoms in leukemia. When present, they usually represent a terminal phenomenon. The occurrence of a low content of sugar in the cerebrospinal fluid in association with meningeal infiltration of the brain in patients with leukemia has been reported. The relation of this phenomenon to the glycolytic activity of leukemic cells is discussed.
RadPath:: A Web-based System for Integrating and Correlating Radiology and Pathology Findings During Cancer Diagnosis

Rationale and Objectives: The current paradigm of cancer diagnosis involves uncoordinated communication of findings from radiology and pathology to downstream physicians. Discordance between these findings can require additional time from downstream users to resolve, or given incorrect resolution, may adversely impact treatment decisions. To mitigate this problem, we developed a webbased system, called RadPath, for correlating and integrating radiology and pathology reporting. Materials and Methods: RadPath includes interfaces to our institution’s clinical information systems, which are used to retrieve reports, images, and test results that are structured into an interactive compendium for a diagnostic patient case. The system includes an editing interface for physicians, allowing for the inclusion of additional clinical data, as well as the ability to retrospectively correlate and contextualize imaging findings following pathology diagnosis. Results: During pilot deployment and testing over the course of 1 year, physicians at our institution have completed 60 RadPath cases, requiring an average of 128 seconds from a radiologist and an average of 93 seconds from a pathologist per case. Several technical and workflow challenges were encountered during development, including interfacing with diverse clinical information systems, automatically structuring report contents, and determining the appropriate physicians to create RadPath summaries. Reaction to RadPath has been positive, with users valuing the system’s ability to consolidate diagnostic information. Conclusions: With the increasing complexity of medicine and the movement toward team-based disease management, there is a need for improved clinical communication and information exchange. RadPath provides a platform for generating coherent and correlated diagnostic summaries in cancer diagnosis with minimal additional effort from physicians.
Unawareness of Partners' Abilities in Aged Subjects (P2.169)

OBJECTIVE: To assess how reliably a caregiver/partner can assess an aged person’s mental abilities. Reporting cognitive deficits may be critical to identify patients with early probable Alzheimer’s disease (pAD). BACKGROUND: Anomia, amnesia and limb apraxia occur in early pAD. Partners, rather than patients themselves, may be the major pAD referral source, because patients may be pathologically unaware of their symptoms (Barrett et al., 2005). How reliable/sensitive partners/caregivers may be in rating patients9 mental abilities, however, is unclear. DESIGN/METHODS: Using Likert scales, thirteen participant Raters estimated the ability of 13 healthy aged Participants to perform neuropsychological tests of memory, visuospatial function, motivation, limb praxis, naming and mood tests, and assessed Participants’ vision (control task). RESULTS: Raters overestimated Participants’ naming ability (post-testing), memory (post-testing), as well as limb praxis and vision (pre- and post-testing). Pre-testing, they underestimated Participants’ attention, but Raters estimated Participants’ attention more accurately after watching the actual testing. CONCLUSIONS: Why Raters mis-estimated the performance of Participants is unknown. However, Raters may have assumed that continuous processing (attention) was more likely to be impaired in their aging partners than activating stored representations (praxis, naming). If people with memory loss are most likely to reach medical attention through informants, then any intervention to improve aged people9s ability to evaluate their partners (e.g. public education) may increase detection of early pAD. Proxy ratings are also used to collect many patient-reported outcomes, and need to be reliable for best care. Partners may be more reliable than patients themselves, but still overestimate performance, and may not detect anomia or apraxia at all. The diagnosis of dementia depends on presence of both cognitive and memory deficits, and thus patients with early pAD may be missed or inappropriately diagnosed as having isolated memory impairment if clinicians base diagnoses on proxy history alone. Study Supported by: Kessler Foundation, Hershey Medical Center General Clinical Research Center, and the Alzheimer’s Association. Disclosure: Dr. Behravan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Eslinger has nothing to disclose. Dr. Barrett has received personal compensation for activities with WebMD. Dr. Barrett has received research support from Kessler Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Improvement, the Department of Education/NIDRR.
Moving beyond Mozert: Toward a democratic theory of education

AbstractMost liberal political theorists of education argue that it is better to teach students to tolerate diversity, than to protect the potentially illiberal commitments of some members of the political communities. In fact, neither approach is wholly satisfying, yet they remain the focus of much political theorizing about education. This article suggests that this misguided focus is, in part, a consequence of a focus, by liberal political theorists of education, upon the 1987 Mozert v. Hawkins court case. Mozert raised serious questions about the nature of toleration in liberal society, but from an educational standpoint, the Mozert case led political theorists to consider what curricular content is appropriate for liberal political education, rather than on the practices that democratic citizens must cultivate. I turn to Hannah Arendt to offer a critical account of the liberal responses to Mozert and then call for a theory of democratic education that fosters practices of democratic decision-making a...
OtoLeitor: A protocol implementation of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening by a mobile platform in Brazil

The evolution of Information Technology and Communication (ICT) have provided significant changes to modern society. Health is among the areas that has experienced more innovation through ICT constantly searching for processes, methods, equipment and / or devices that may improve service to society. In this scenario, the objective of this work is to develop an application that performs the otoacoustic emissions screening protocol. Thus, OtoLeitor assists the audiologist searching for possible risk factors and economic data partners that may influence, directly or indirectly, the hearing loss of newborn.
Theoretical Trends in the Sociology of Occupations

In order to determine the directions which the field of sociology of occupations has taken in recent years, a content analysis of articles on work and occupations in four general sociological journ...
Heat transfer element for modeling the thermal response of non-uniformly heated plates

This paper presents a novel heat transfer element for modeling the 3D thermal response in plates and shells exposed to non-uniform heating. The formulation uses a combination of finite element and control volume techniques to discretize the governing equations into a series of 2D layers that are linked by a finite difference calculation. While a combination of techniques are used in the element formulation, the governing element equations are in a form that can readily be implemented into a commercial finite element code. The nine-node quadratic element considered here is implemented in ABAQUS as a user-defined element. Two- and three-dimensional verification cases are presented to demonstrate the capabilities of the element. Comparisons between the proposed shell heat transfer element and traditional continuum elements demonstrate that the proposed model exhibits a high level of accuracy and requires minimal computational power. The layered formulation offers the additional advantage of simplifying the transfer of temperature data from a thermal analysis to a structural analysis because both models can have the same mesh.
Production and resuspension of planktonic foraminifers at the shelf break of the Southern Middle Atlantic Bight

Abstract Mesoscale hydrographic events that characterize circulation at the shelf break of the US East Coast enhance foraminifer production to levels comparable to that in regions of oceanic upwelling, including subpolar waters, equatorial zones, and coastal upwelling areas. In this work, we quantify the magnitude of shelf break production events and attempt to constrain the response of foraminifers to high frequency, hydrographic forcing. Specifically, we examined production and resuspension of planktonic foraminifers on the shelf break and upper slope of the Middle Atlantic Bight using trap samples, temperature data, and ancillary data collected as part of the SEEP II experiment offshore from the Delmarva Peninsula. We examined a time series of 30 sediment trap samples with an average trapping period of 13 days from February 1988 to May 1989 and cross-shelf transects of trap samples taken during three selected trapping periods (snapshots). Hydrography during the time series and snapshots was interpreted from 395 daily temperature sections. Planktonic foraminifer fluxes exceeded 6000 tests/m2/d in nine trapping periods of the time series. The largest flux event exceeded 40,000 tests/m2/d and resulted from storm-driven resuspension and transport of particles from the shelf to the upper slope. Two other events were clearly associated with resuspension. In contrast, other peaks in foraminifer flux were due to production that was 1.5–7 times higher than that in gyre-center ecosystems and comparable to production in oceanic upwelling locales. Peaks in foraminifer production were associated with specific hydrographic events that lifted nutrient-rich, deep water into the euphotic zone near the shelf break. These events stimulated phytoplankton blooms, which nourished rapid growth and reproduction of planktonic foraminifers. The trophic events lasted a minimum of ∼6 days and occurred with greater frequency than those of typical open-ocean ecosystems. The shelf break, in general, may be a region of significant planktonic foraminifer production despite its proximity to unfavorable conditions that limit the range of planktonic foraminifers on the shelf.
Mechanism for the Sensitized Luminescence of a Lanthanide Ion Macrocycle Appended to a Cyclodextrin

Aromatic hydrocarbons trigger a green luminescence on their association to a β-cyclodextrin (CD) modified with a Tb3+ diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) macrocycle strapped across the bottom of the CD cup, [β-CD∪2(Tb⊂DTPA)]. The mechanism of this enhanced luminescence response is investigated with biphenyl as the aromatic hydrocarbon. Time-resolved emission spectroscopy reveals that excitation energy at the Tb3+ ion appears 12 μs after light is absorbed by biphenyl included within the CD cup. Excitation spectra are consistent with a photophysical mechanism comprising absorption-energy transfer-emission (AETE) from the aromatic hydrocarbon bound to the cavity of CD to the DTPA-encapsulated Tb3+ ion. A comparison of the luminescence decay kinetics for biphenyl associated to [β-CD∪2(Tb⊂DTPA)] and [β-CD∪2(Gd⊂DTPA)] complexes indicates that the pathway for the AETE process is absorption to the singlet excited state followed by intersystem crossing to the triplet, from which energy is transferred to the ...
Simulation of multicomponent aerosol condensation by the moving sectional method

Abstract The moving sectional method is extended to simulate multicomponent aerosol dynamics resulting from condensation/evaporation processes. This method uses a Lagrangian approach in which section boundaries and component masses in a section vary according to the characteristics of condensation/evaporation rates while conserving number concentration in a section throughout the simulation. Simulation of model problems for which new analytical solutions have been obtained shows excellent agreement with the analytical solutions. Limitations and applicability of the sectional method are discussed.
Visible and Ultraviolet Absorption Properties of Uranium Dioxide Films

Films of uranium dioxide ranging in thickness from 132 to 280 mµ were evaporated onto fused silica, annealed at a pressure of 10−6 mm Hg and 960°C, and measured for optical absorption between the wavelengths of 210 and 800 mµ. A moderately intense band observed at 240 to 500 mµ has an unsymmetrical shape with a maximum at about 318 mµ, an approximately linear part with a moderate negative slope between 318 and 380 mµ, and a large negative slope between 380 and 500 mµ. This broad band is undoubtedly at least two unresolved peaks. From 240 mµ to shorter wavelengths there is a very intense absorption band which is most probably the fundamental band for UO2. The extinction coefficient was found to vary from 0.0055±0.0007 at 650 mµ to a maximum of 0.3702±0.0010 at 360 mµ and to a value of 0.167±0.004 at 240 mµ. The index of refraction varied from 2.29±0.03 at 800 mµ to a maximum of 2.58±0.22 at 450 mµ. The effect of oxidation of the films within the UO2 phase suggests that the one unresolved band at 430 mµ is removed by oxygen and the one at 300 mµ becomes more intense.
Filter Paper Technique for Measuring Total Soil Suction

An experimental program was conducted to investigate the noncontact filter paper technique for total suction testing. Calibration curves for seven different batches of Whatman #42 filter paper were obtained to evaluate the variation in the calibration characteristics from one batch of paper to another. Additional tests using salt solutions for controlling suction were conducted to evaluate the measurement uncertainty as a function of suction magnitude. Calibration curves for the various papers varied significantly from batch to batch. This variation can be as much as 11% for filter paper water content, which results in a potential measurement error as high as 92% for suction. Scatter in the measurements appeared to increase with decreasing total suction. At relatively high values of suction (32 000 kPa), the standard deviation for five independent measurements was as much as 11.6% of the mean. At relatively low values (270 kPa), the deviation appeared to increase to 23.2% of the mean. One hundred measurem...
Expression of ABCA3 in developing lung and other tissues.

ABCA3 is a member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family of transport proteins and is required for perinatal respiratory adaptation. Monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies were generated against a recombinant human ABCA3 peptide and used to assess its expression in the developing lung and adult tissues. Immunostaining for ABCA3 was detected at highest levels in type II epithelial cells of the lung but was also noted in other organs including liver, stomach, kidney, adrenal, pancreas, trachea, and brain. In the fetal lung, ABCA3 staining and mRNA increased prior to birth. Like other surfactant protein genes, ABCA3 expression was induced by thyroid transcription factor-1 in vitro. ABCA3 was coexpressed with SP-B and proSP-C in type II epithelial cells. ABCA3 staining was detected surrounding large, intracellular organelles consistent with its association with lamellar bodies. In the human fetal lung, ABCA3 staining was not detected prior to 22-23 weeks of gestation, except in the presence of pulmonary infla...
Hemodynamic and phonocardiographic correlates of the Austin Fint murmur

Abstract Hemodynamic studies in 12 patients with isolated severe aortic regurgitation, and an apical diastolic rumble (Austin Flint murmur) showed a characteristic pressure tracing in diastole. Simultaneously recorded direct or indirect left atrial and left ventricular pressures showed that left atrial pressure was significantly higher than left ventricular pressure in early diastole and that at end diastole, the ventricular pressure was higher than atrial pressure. This pressure phenomenon was not observed in five patients with equally severe aortic regurgitation who did not have an apical diastolic rumble. The left ventricular end diastolic pressure was markedly elevated in all 12 patients with the Austin Flint rumble. The possible relationship of these hemodynamic findings to the genesis of the Austin Flint murmur is discussed.
On the construction of cyclic quasigroups

Let F(x,y) be the free groupoid on two generators x and y. Define an infinite class of words in F(x,y) by w"0(x,y) = x,w"1(x,y) = y and w"i+2(x,y) = w"i(x,y)w"i+1(x,y). An identity of the form w"3"n(x,y) = x is called a cyclic identity and a quasigroup satisfying a cyclic identity is called a cyclic quasigroup. The most extensively studied cyclic quasigroups have been models of the identity y(xy) = x. The more general notion of cyclic quasigroups was introduced by N.S. Mendelsohn. In this paper a new construction for cyclic quasigroups is given. This construction is useful in constructing large numbers of nonisomorphic quasigroups satisfying a given cyclic identity or a consequence of a cyclic identity. The construction is based on a generalization of A. Sade's singular direct product of quasigroups.
Statin use and self-reported swimming performance in US masters swimmers

AbstractExercise and treating hyperlipidaemia with statins are two integral components of the American Heart Association guidelines to reduce cardiovascular risk in adults. Since statins can cause myalgias and myopathies, they could affect the duration or intensity of an exercise regimen. To determine the impact of statin use in adult masters swimmers, a survey was distributed to examine the association between swimming performance and statin usage in adult swimmers (≥35 years). After excluding those with chronic diseases or taking drugs that reduce physical capacity, 749 swimmers (118 taking statins, 73 not taking statins to control elevated cholesterol and 558 controls) were included in a regression model to determine the factors significantly affecting the duration and intensity of swimming workouts. Age and gender were significantly (P ≤ 0.001) associated with the distance swam per 60 min. Younger, male swimmers completed more yards per 60-min workout. Use of statins was not significantly associated w...
Spectral Characterization of EKG Signals in Asphyxiated Neonates and Long-term Neurologic Outcome † 1900

Spectral Characterization of EKG Signals in Asphyxiated Neonates and Long-term Neurologic Outcome † 1900
Current follow-up strategies after potentially curative resection of extremity sarcomas: results of a survey of the members of the society of surgical oncology.

BACKGROUND The follow-up of patients after potentially curative resection of extremity sarcomas has significant clinical and fiscal implications. However, the ideal postoperative surveillance regimen for these uncommon neoplasms remains ill-defined. This study was designed to determine the current follow-up practices of a large, diverse group of physicians who care for sarcoma patients. METHODS The 1592 members of the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) were surveyed regarding their follow-up practices with a detailed questionnaire mailed in 1997. Information regarding frequency of follow-up testing was requested for extremity sarcoma patients treated for cure based on 4 vignettes: low grade lesion ≤ 5 cm and > 5 cm and high grade lesion ≤ 5 cm and > 5 cm. Respondents were asked to indicate the number of office visits, laboratory tests and imaging studies performed annually during the first 5 years and the 10th year after surgery. RESULTS Forty-five percent (716 of 1592) completed the survey. Of the 343 respondents who performed sarcoma surgery, 318 (93%) also provided long term postoperative follow-up for their patients. Ninety-four percent of respondents (295 of 318) were trained in general surgery and 5% (15 of 318) completed orthopedic residencies. Ninety-one percent (291 of 318) were also fellowship trained (80% in surgical oncology). Sixty-three percent (201 of 318) were in academic practice. Routine office visits and chest X-ray (CXR) were the most frequently performed items for each of the years. The frequency of office visits and CXR increased with tumor size and grade and decreased with postoperative year. Complete blood count and liver function tests were the most commonly ordered blood tests, but many respondents did not order any blood tests routinely. Imaging studies of the extremities were performed on the majority of patients with large (> 5 cm) low grade lesions and on both large and small high grade lesions during the first postoperative year. CONCLUSIONS Postoperative sarcoma surveillance strategies utilized by members of the SSO rely most heavily on office visits and CXR. Tumor grade, tumor size, and postoperative year affect surveillance intensity. Cancer 2000;88:777–85. © 2000 American Cancer Society.
Effects of estradiol on tissue distribution of newly-synthesized fatty acids in rats and hamsters

Estradiol treatment decreases body weight and adiposity in ovariectomized (OVX) rats and hamsters partly by increasing energy expenditure. Other manipulations which increase energy expenditure (e.g., cold exposure or overfeeding) enhance thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT) and stimulate BAT fatty acid synthesis/uptake. We examined the effect of estradiol treatment on the in vivo distribution of newly-synthesized fatty acids in OVX rats and hamsters. In both species estradiol treatment increased BAT fatty acid synthesis/uptake (incorporation of tritium from (3H)2O into lipid), consistent with the possibility that enhanced thermogenesis in BAT may contribute to estradiol-induced energy expenditure. Estradiol treatment increased BAT lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in hamsters, but not in rats. Thus, hamsters may utilize fatty acids synthesized in other tissues as a fuel for BAT thermogenesis, whereas rats may rely more on in situ lipogenesis. Estradiol-induced decreases in carcass adiposity (white adipose tissue mass) may be accomplished by different means in rats and hamsters. Estradiol treatment reduced white adipose tissue LPL activity and fatty acid synthesis/uptake in rats, but not in hamsters. While there are some species differences in the effects of estradiol on lipid metabolism, it appears that in both rats and hamsters estradiol acts to direct metabolic fuels (especially lipids) away from white adipose tissue storage depots and into tissues where they are oxidized (e.g., BAT). Finally, cold acclimation and estradiol had similar effects in OVX hamsters including increases in BAT fatty acid synthesis/uptake, BAT LPL activity, and energy expenditure. These findings, too, are consistent with a role for BAT in estradiol-induced thermogenesis.
Observed influence of clouds on ultraviolet‐B radiation

A Brewer Spectrophotometer was utilized to make ground-based measurements of solar ultraviolet (UVB) radiation received at Black Mountain, NC (35.66°N) in order to quantify the reduction of UV-B due to cloud cover. Observations were made over the interval February–July 1995 with continuous coverage except for a three-week period in May. A wide-angle lens video camera at the site was used for the assessment of cloud conditions at the time of each scan. Integrated UV-B (290–320 nm) values were evaluated and a regression through the values for clear conditions was produced for the range of zenith angles from 25°–70°. This regression effectively represents an average effect of the ambient aerosols and attenuating gases and was used to normalize the UV-B values measured under different cloud cover amounts, providing an estimate of the reduction in irradiance due to a given cloud amount as a function of solar zenith angle. For a solar zenith angle of 50°, average UV-B transmission was observed to be 30% for overcast skies, 61% for 8–9 tenths cloud cover, 74% for 6–7 tenths cover, and 79% for the scans during 4-5 tenths cover. A number of fractional cloud cover cases were observed where cloud reflections resulted in measured surface irradiances exceeding the expected clear sky values by as much as 11 percent.
Kinetics of the β → δ solid–solid phase transition of HMX, octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine

Abstract We apply differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to measure the kinetics of the β → δ solid–solid phase transition of octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine, HMX. Integration of the DSC signal gives a direct measurement of degree of conversion. Data is analyzed by first-order kinetics, the Ozawa method, and isoconversional analysis. The range of activation energies found in this work, centering around 500 kJ/mol, is much higher than previously reported values by Brill and co-workers [AIAA J. (1982)], 204 kJ/mol [1] , and Henson et al. and Henson and co-workers [B. Henson, L. Smilowitz, B. Asay, P. Dickson, Thermodynamics of the beta to delta phase transition in PBX-9501, in: Proceedings of American Physical Society Topical Group on Shock Compression of Condensed Matter, American Institute of Physics, Atlanta, GA, 2001; L. Smilowitz, B. Henson, J. Robinson, P. Dickson, B. Asay, Kinetics of the beta to delta phase transition in PBX-9501, in: Proceedings of American Physical Society Topical Group on Shock Compression of Condensed Matter, American Institute of Physics, Atlanta, GA, 2001; P.M. Dickson, B.W. Asay, B.F. Henson, C.S. Fugard, J. Wong, Measurement of phase change and thermal decomposition kinetics during cookoff of PBX-9501, in: Proceedings of American Physical Society Topical Group on Shock Compression of Condensed Matter, American Institute of Physics, Snowbird, UT, 1999], 200 kJ/mol [4] . We discuss possible reasons for the higher activation energies measured here but do not identify the cause.
A Theoretical Analysis of the Operation of Ionization Chambers and Pulse Amplifiers

The noise level of a system composed of an ionization chamber and a linear amplifier is calculated as a function of the input circuit parameters and the characteristics of the amplifier. The frequency spectrum of a pulse caused when an ionizing particle passes through the ionization chamber is also calculated as a function of the circuit parameters and the collection time. From this analysis the shape of the output pulse is calculated as a function of the frequency characteristic of the amplifier. It is concluded that the cut-off frequencies of the amplifier for optimum pulse shape and amplitude depend upon the collection time. The signal to noise ratio is calculated for the case of optimum pulse shape. By proper choice of tubes it is shown that it should be possible to count 100 ion pairs and that for a 1-cm deep chamber and fast protons the signal to noise ratio should be 38: 1.
Ultraviolet spectroscopy of interstellar and intergalactic matter

Ultraviolet radiation in absorption and emission provides diagnostics of interstellar and intergalactic matter. After reviewing some basic physical reasons for the importance of UV astronomy, the UV observations of both media, the future uses of high resolution spectrometers in the far UV, and the atomic data required for proper interpretation are discussed. Satellite UV observations have the potential of answering fundamental questions dealing with the nature of the gaseous matter in the outer regions of our galaxy, in neighboring galaxies, and in the intergalactic matter seen in quasar absorption spectra.