cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Non-Aortic Valve Cardiac Surgery after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

Abstract Background Despite the rapid adoption of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), the frequency and outcomes of non-aortic valve cardiac surgery after TAVR are unknown. Methods Non-aortic valve surgery after TAVR from 2011 to 2019 was queried using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Adult Cardiac Surgery Database. A total of 666 patients, including 47 (7.1%) unplanned TAVR-explant and 3 (0.5%) aborted procedures during non-aortic valve procedures, were identified. Results These 666 procedures were performed by 459 surgeons (median 1.0 case per surgeon) from 308 centers (median 1.0 case per center), which represents 29% of Database participants. The case number increased over time from 4 in 2011 to 204 in 2019, largely attributable to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) (n=283; 42.5%) and mitral (n=258; 38.7%) procedures. The median age was 75.0 and 51.4% had previous cardiac surgeries. The 30-day mortality of the entire cohort was 17.0%. Subgroups with particularly high mortality included patients with robot-assisted mitral surgery (n=5/12; 41.7%), unplanned TAVR-explant (n=19/47; 40.4%), open atrial transcatheter mitral valve replacement (n=10/33; 30.3%) and aortic repair (n=24/79; 29.8%). Among 390 patients with available STS predicted risk of mortality, the 30-day mortality with isolated CABG, isolated mitral repair/replacement and the entire group was 8.4% (n=19/225), 13.5% (n=21/155) and 10.8% (n=42/390) with corresponding observed-to-expected mortality (O/E) ratio of 1.8, 1.8 and 1.7, respectively. Conclusions Non-aortic valve operation after TAVR was associated with a high mortality and O/E ratio. Implanters must be mindful of “lifetime management” strategy including assessment of concurrent pathologies during TAVR candidate selection.
Polysaccharides of gram-negative bacteria.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the polysaccharides of gram-negative bacteria. In Gram-negative bacteria, the general architecture of the outer layers of the cell seems to be consistent within the group. The cell wall is rarely exposed, but is generally covered by a somatic antigen’ that can be extracted as a protein-lipide-polysaccharide complex or as a lipopolysaccharide, depending on the method used, or be released as a simple polysaccharide hapten. This somatic antigen may be a “Smooth” (“O”) somatic antigen in the case of naturally occurring Smooth cultures, or a “Rough” (“R”) somatic antigen in Rough variants. These materials are frequently the dominant immunological components of the cell surface, but in some instances, additional material may overlie them and obscure the surface expression of their serological specificity. If the polysaccharide of the somatic antigen is acidic, then additional free polysaccharide of the same composition may be produced in large amounts as a capsule. If the somatic antigen polysaccharide is neutral, then some different material, frequently acidic, may be produced-for example, hyaluronic acid, polyaminohexuronic acid, polyneuraminic acid, or protein. The subject of capsules, envelopes, and lagers generally, is one where little agreement has been reached, but, for present purposes, it will be sufficient to refer to carbohydrates of “Rough” or “Smooth” somatic antigens and those which are extra-somatic.
A Critique of Trace-Driven Simulation for Shared-Memory Multiprocessors

Trace-driven simulation of a multiprocessor system faces serious validity issues since multiprocessor trace-driven simulation generally cannot represent interacting processes correctly the interactions represented by multiprocessor trace-driven simulation generally do not correspond to correct execution of the algorithm in the hypothetical architecture. Consequently, multiprocessor trace-driven simulation must generally be validated by other modeling/simulation techniques. Low-level modeling/simulation provides low-level accuracy, while high-level modeling/simulation provides high-level insight and the ability to generalize.
Characterization, cloning, and in vitro expression of the extremely thermostable glutamate dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon, ES4

Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) from the hyperthermophilic Archaeon ES4 (optimal growth temperature 98 degrees C and maximum growth temperature 110 degrees C) was purified to homogeneity. The purified native enzyme had an M(r) of 270,000 +/- 5,000 and was shown by gel filtration and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to be a hexamer with identical subunits of M(r) = 46,000 +/- 3,000. The hexameric subunit composition was also evident from electron micrographs, which show a triangular antiprism structure very similar to that of bovine GDH. The enzyme is exceptionally thermostable, with a half-time of inactivation of 3.5 h at 105 degrees C. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed a tm for denaturation of 113 degrees C, and a tm for activation at 60 degrees C. Antigenic cross-reaction with ES4 GDH was observed with the purified GDH from the thermophilic Archaea, Pyrococcus furiosus and Thermococcus litoralis as well as with bovine and yeast GDHs. The genome of ES4 was shown to contain a single copy of the gdhA gene, and this was cloned and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence of the GDH from ES4 corresponded to the NH2-terminal amino acid sequence obtained from the pure protein. From the nucleotide sequence the ES4 protein is composed of 420 residues. It has a relatively high hydrophobicity and a low number of sulfur-containing residues compared with mesophilic GDHs. Relatively high homology (52%) exists between the deduced amino acid sequence of ES4 GDH and Clostridium difficile GDH. Of the two distinct families of GDH sequences known, ES4 GDH belongs to the same family as vertebrates, C. difficile, and other Archaea. The gdhA gene of ES4 was expressed in vitro in a rabbit reticulocyte cell-free lysate, thus providing a system for structural studies of the mechanisms of thermostability in hyper-thermophilic proteins.
Direct method for determining the viability of a freshly generated mixed bacterial aerosol.

A direct method was developed to determine the viability of a freshly generated mixed bacterial aerosol. A mixed suspension of 32P-labeled Staphylococcus aureus and 35S-labeled Proteus mirabilis was nebulized, and the aerosol was collected and separated according to particle size with an Andersen sampler. Quantitative and qualitative bacteriological and radioisotopic techniques were used to obtain ratios of bacterial to radioactive counts for each organism in samples of the nebulizer suspension and aerosol. Loss of viability was calculated from the change that occurred between the ratio of the nebulizer suspension and the ratio of the aerosol. The viability of S. aureus was unaffected by aerosolization, whereas the viability of P. mirabilis declined by 20 to 60% and was inversely proportional to particle size. The advantages of this method over present indirect methods, as well as potential applications of the method, are discussed.
Instance-Based Question Answering: A Data Driven Approach

Anticipating the availability of large question-answer datasets, we propose a principled, data-driven Instance-Based approach to Question Answering. Most question answering systems incorporate three major steps: classify questions according to answer types, formulate queries for document retrieval, and extract actual answers. Under our approach, strategies for answering new questions are directly learned from training data. We learn models of answer type, query content, and answer extraction from clusters of similar questions. We view the answer type as a distribution, rather than a class in an ontology. In addition to query expansion, we learn general content features from training data and use them to enhance the queries. Finally, we treat answer extraction as a binary classification problem in which text snippets are labeled as correct or incorrect answers. We present a basic implementation of these concepts that achieves a good performance on TREC test data.
Transformation and Availability to Rice of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Waterlogged Soils

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the special soil conditions that exist because of waterlogging and discusses the effect of these conditions on the transformation and availability of nitrogen and phosphorus. Waterlogging causes changes in the properties of soils, which profoundly affect the nutrition of lowland rice. The root zone is changed from an aerobic to an anaerobic or near-anaerobic environment because of the drastic decrease in the oxygen supply in the soil. Oxidation–reduction systems in the soil, which are generally stable as long as the soil is bathed in oxygen, become unstable when the oxygen supply is restricted. Nitrate, manganic compounds, ferric compounds, and sulfate are stable in well-aerated soils but become unstable when the oxygen supply of the soil is cut off. Nitrate nitrogen is subjected to loss through denitrification because of the ability of facultative anaerobes to substitute nitrate for oxygen. Manganous manganese and ferrous iron are produced from the oxidized compounds of these elements under waterlogged conditions. If reduction is intense enough, sulfate is reduced to sulfide by anaerobic bacteria. Both nitrate and ammonium ions can be assimilated by the rice plant, but better stability of the ammonium form in waterlogged soils make it the superior form of nitrogen for lowland rice. Advantage can be taken from the reducing conditions in waterlogged soils to increase the utilization of nitrogen fertilizer. Several forms of phosphate that are coprecipitated with ferric oxide are released as a result of the reduction of ferric oxide in the soil. These reactions usually result in a larger amount of phosphate becoming available to a flooded rice crop than would be the case with an upland crop.
The Intersection of Chemistry, Physics, and Biology: An Interview with Professor W. E. Moerner

Professor W.E Moerner earned two B.S. degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering and an A.B in Mathematics from Washington University in 1975, and earned an M.S and Ph.D in Physics from Cornell University in 1978 and 1982 respectively. He worked for more than a decade in the IBM Almaden Research Center and joined Stanford University as a Professor of Chemistry in 1998. He has received many awards throughout his career, including membership to the National Academy of Sciences in 2008, the Irving Langmuir Prize in Chemical Physics in 2009, and most recently, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014. His work primarily focuses on single molecule spectroscopy, and he is widely credited for the first successful optical imaging of a single molecule.
Validation of genetic variants associated with early acute rejection in kidney allograft transplantation

Numerous reports have identified genetic variants associated with kidney transplant outcome; but only a few have been validated in subsequent studies. We analyzed the association of 21 previously reported genetic variants associated with acute rejection (AR), in an effort to validate these associations in our kidney transplant population. All recipients (n=585) received Ab induction, rapid discontinuation of prednisone, and CNI with either MMF or sirolimus. Both univariate analysis and logistic regression were used for determining the association between the genotypes and AR. Univariate analysis detected one significant SNP (p = 0.03), rs1801133, within the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene associated with AR. Logistic regression analysis identified 2 variants associated with AR, the 32 bp deletion within chemokine (C-C motif) receptor-5 gene (rs333) and the p.222A/V variant (rs1801133) within the MTHFR gene. Though our analysis utilized a much larger cohort than used in previous reports, we were only able to detect an association with 2 of these variants. The lack of validation for the other 19 variants may be due to the small effect size, or that they are not associated with AR. These results stress the need for larger cohorts for both future studies as well as for validation studies.
The Evolution of Territoriality

Territoriality is a defining attribute of the Westphalian state, the model upon which the framers of the US Constitution based their aspirations for a new nation. Under Westphalian principles the scope of a sovereign's law corresponds to the geographic boundaries of the sovereign's territory. Yet, it is indisputable that territoriality is decreasingly important as a jurisdictional principle. Since the 1940s, US statutes in a wide range of areas—antitrust, securities, criminal law, intellectual property, to name just some—have been frequently understood to have extraterritorial effect. Similarly, the protections of the Bill of Rights, once believed to apply only within US territory, now extend across the globe with regard to US citizens. In short, territoriality has been slowly unbundled from sovereignty. The relationship between law and territory—what I call legal spatiality—has changed. What explains this change? Although globalization is often said to reduce the centrality of territory to states, I argue that globalization vel non cannot adequately explain the decline of territorial doctrines of jurisdiction. Rather, it is the particular nature of the postwar wave of globalization coupled with fundamental changes in international security that have increased the incentives for states to assert their domestic law beyond their sovereign borders. The Treaty of Westphalia commonly, if mythically, denotes the birth of territorially based state sovereignty (Krasner 1999). The medieval order, broadly characterized, comprised multiple, layered power centers as well as diverse sources of legitimation, allegiance, and status (Bull and Watson 1984; Spruyt 1995). Westphalia introduced a conception of legal spatiality that was no longer status based but instead place based. Legal rules primarily corresponded to places, not to people. Historically, the Westphalian conception of spatiality has informed the treatment of US constitutional rights abroad. In 1880, on a US ship docked in Yokohama Bay, a sailor named John Ross killed a …
Estimation of electron affinity based on structure activity relationships

Electron affinity for a wide range of organic molecules was calculated from molecular structure using the chemical reactivity models developed in SPARC. These models are based on fundamental chemical structure theory applied to the prediction of chemical reactivities for organic molecules strictly from molecular structure. The energy differences between the LUMO state and the HOMO state for a molecule of interest are factored into mechanistic components including the field, sigma induction and resonance contributions to these energy differences. The RMS deviation between observed and calculated electron affinities was found to be less than 0.14 e.v. for a large set of organic molecules.
Modeling of the sheath and the energy distribution of ions bombarding rf-biased substrates in high density plasma reactors and comparison to experimental measurements

In plasma etching and deposition processes, the energy distribution of ions incident onto the substrate strongly affects the surface reactions and the film deposition and etching rates. The magnitude and frequency of the rf-bias power applied to the substrate electrode determines the spatiotemporal variations of the sheath potentials and hence the energy distribution of the ions impinging upon the substrate. A self-consistent dynamic model of the sheath, capable of predicting ion energy distributions impinging on a rf-biased electrode, was developed. The model consists of equations describing the charge transport in the sheath coupled to an equivalent circuit model of the sheath to predict the spatiotemporal charge and potential distributions near the surface. Experimental measurements of the energy distributions of ions impinging on a rf-biased electrostatic chuck have also been made in a high density transformer coupled plasma reactor through Ar and Ne plasmas. The predicted ion energy distributions and sheath profiles are in very good agreement with the experimental measurements.
Studying dynamic equilibrium of cloud computing adoption with application of Mean Field Games

Computing is undergoing a substantial shift from client/server to the cloud. The enthusiasm for cloud infrastructures is not only present in the business world, but also extends to government agencies. Managers of both segments thus need to have a clear view of how this new era will evolve in the coming years, in order to appropriately react to a changing economic and technological environment. In this study, we explore the dynamic equilibrium of cloud computing adoption through the application of Mean Field Games. In our formulation, each agent (i.e., each firm or government agency) arbitrates between “continuing to implement the traditional on-site computing paradigm” and “moving to adopt the cloud computing paradigm”. To decide on his level of moving to the cloud computing paradigm, each agent will optimize a total cost that consists of two components: the effort cost of moving to the cloud computing paradigm and the adoption cost of implementing the cloud computing paradigm. In the formulation, the adoption cost is linked to the general trend of decisions on the computing paradigm adoption. Thus, an agent's optimal level of transition to the cloud computing paradigm is not only dependent on his own effort and adoption costs but also affected by the general trend of adoption decisions. The problem is solved by a system of partial differential equations (PDEs), that is, mean field games PDEs, which consists of a backward PDE, the Hamilton Jacobi Bellman equation for a controlled problem, and a forward Fokker-Planck equation transported by the optimal control from the backward HJB equation. Thus, the solution to the forward Fokker-Planck equation enables us to study the dynamic evolution of the density of the cloud computing adoption. It therefore allows us to investigate the impact of the general trend of technology adoption decisions on a firm's optimal decision of technology transition.
Conferences as Information Grounds: Web Site Evaluation with a Mobile Usability Laboratory

ABSTRACT This article describes an “on-the-road” usability study and explains the study's methodological challenges, solutions, and recommendations. The study concerned a library-consortium website, which is a communication and educational tool for librarians who are physically dispersed throughout the state, and an intranet for remote users. Rather than traveling to numerous locations or attempting a remote usability evaluation of the website, the lab took a mobile laboratory to a professional conference where a large number of website users were gathered. Four doctoral students used the talk-aloud protocol to interview 14 conference participants. The interviews were recorded with Morae software on laptop computers, and participants were asked to complete 13 tasks. Although there proved to be difficulties in mobile usability testing, the conference provided a space to describe the project and recruit participants. While the optimal place to conduct usability testing is in either the lab or the participan...
The MMT f/5 secondary support system: design, implementation, and performance

The 6.5m Multiple Mirror Telescope Observatory (MMTO) installed a new f/5 secondary system in April 2003. We describe the design and performance of the mirror cell and supports for the 1.7 m diameter Zerodur mirror. Pneumatic actuators divided into one lateral and three axial zones support this 318 kg mirror. The control feedback for the high bandwidth pressure transducers for these four zones is obtained from six load cells attached to rigid positioning rods. The mirror cell includes thermal control, force limiters, passive supports, installation and handling, and alignment metrology. Optical test results are described and compared to the original design specifications.
Pen, Sword, and People: Military Regimes in the Formation of Political Institutions

Bureaucrats perceive politics bureaucratically. They would wish it to be an orderly process. Therefore, when officers of “new” or “developing” nations take power, they seek to legitimize the administrative state. Their model is bureaucracy, but government and administration are found to be very different from the model. Organization does not meet all problems; neither does the issuance of “the right orders.” The goals of administration cannot be achieved without the active compliance of much of the population. What is more, compliance must be active: passive acceptance alone is not enough.
Concerns about diabetic nephropathy in the treatment of diabetic hypertensive patients

Diabetic nephropathy ultimately develops in approximately, 40 percent of patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, as well as in a significant fraction of those with non-insulin-dependent diabetes. Consequently, diabetic nephropathy represents the most common single cause of end-stage renal failure in adults. Recent studies indicate that the subset of insulin-dependent diabetic patients who develop nephropathy may have a genetic susceptibility to renal injury resulting from the abnormal physiologic milieu associated with diabetes. This is perhaps due to abnormal glomerular hemodynamic responses resulting in glomerular capillary hypertension. Diabetic nephropathy progresses through a prolonged subclinical stage characterized by abnormal urinary albumin excretion rates (30 to 250 mg/24 hours, "microalbuminuria") and small, but significant, increases in arterial blood pressure. This stage of incipient diabetic nephropathy represents the earliest point at which patients destined to develop overt diabetic nephropathy (albumin excretion rate of more than 250 mg/24 hours, hypertension, and decreased glomerular filtration rate) can be identified, and targets a population that may benefit from therapy aimed at preventing progression of renal failure. Hypertension is intimately related to the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy. Control of hypertension has been clearly shown to slow or arrest the progression of diabetic nephropathy and represents the most important therapeutic option available. Preliminary studies suggest that treatment consisting of strict metabolic control and selective antihypertensive agents during the stage of incipient nephropathy could potentially prevent the development of overt nephropathy. Although control of hypertension with any regimen is most likely beneficial, those agents endowed with selective protective effects on the glomerulus may confer optimal preservation of renal function. Patients with diabetes mellitus, whether insulin-dependent or non-insulin-dependent, are at increased risk for developing systemic arterial hypertension. The treatment of hypertension in diabetic patients takes on importance beyond the usual concerns for reducing blood pressure in other hypertensive patients. In diabetic patients, hypertension is directly linked to the development and progression of nephropathy. If this devastating complication is to be minimized or prevented, then control of arterial hypertension must be a major goal of therapy from the earliest stages of the disease process.
Media Review: Positioning Student Affairs for Sustainable Change: Achieving Organizational Effectiveness Through Multiple Perspectives

(2012). Media Review: Positioning Student Affairs for Sustainable Change: Achieving Organizational Effectiveness Through Multiple Perspectives. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice: Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 229-232.
Central opioids and consumption of sweet tastants: when reward outweighs homeostasis.

Numerous reports have described opioids as peptides involved in the regulation of food intake. The role of these endogenous substances appears to be linked with reward-dependent feeding, since injection of opioid receptor ligands alters consumption of palatable foods and solutions more readily than of non-palatable ones, and intake of such tastants affects the activity of the opioid system within the brain. Among a variety of available foods, those rich in sucrose and other sweet tastants, are extremely appealing to humans and laboratory animals. In the current review, we focus on the rewarding aspects of consummator behavior driven by opioids. We attempt to delineate opioid-dependent central mechanisms responsible for overconsumption of “rewarding” palatable diets, especially foods high in sugar that can potentially jeopardize homeostasis.
Seismic stratigraphy of the central Tonga Ridge

Abstract Seismic stratigraphic analyses of single- and multichannel seismic reflection profiles from the central part of the Tonga arc system, SW Pacific, are used to interpret its geological evolution. On the central Tonga Ridge (a high-standing part of the frontal arc, as defined by Karig (1970)) and its flanks between 18°S and 22°S, we identify and map six seismic sequences overlying inferred lower(?)—middle Eocene volcanic (acoustic) basement. Available island sections and boreholes, along with seismic facies, suggest that the upper Eocene to upper Miocene stratigraphic succession on the central Tonga Ridge consists of volcaniclastic turbidites and hemipelagic sediments. In contrast, carbonate deposition predominates from the early Pliocene to the present. We interpret major hiatuses during the early Oligocene, early Miocene and early Pliocene. Based upon the available seismic data and previous results, we infer that the extreme eastern Tofua Trough, a partially filled basin that now separates the central Tonga Ridge from the Tofua Ridge (the modern volcanic arc), may be the site of latest Eocene or Oligocene extension which may be related to rifting and back-arc spreading in the South Fiji Basin to the west. Another late Miocene or early Pliocene phase of rifting deformed strata deposited in the Palaeogene basin, and led to creation of at least part of the modern Tofua Trough. Available evidence suggests that the Neogene extension is related to initiation of sea floor spreading in the Lau Basin. Widespread carbonate deposition beginning in the early Pliocene suggests a decrease of volcanic activity in the vicinity of the central Tonga Ridge. An apparent N-S migration of Miocene(?) and younger depocentres may be related to sequential uplift of parts of the central Tonga Ridge in response to progressive southward subduction of the Louisville Ridge at the Tonga Trench.
Super ENSO and Global Climate Oscillations at Millennial Time Scales

The late Pleistocene history of seawater temperature and salinity variability in the western tropical Pacific warm pool is reconstructed from oxygen isotope (delta18O) and magnesium/calcium composition of planktonic foraminifera. Differentiating the calcite delta18O record into components of temperature and local water delta18O reveals a dominant salinity signal that varied in accord with Dansgaard/Oeschger cycles over Greenland. Salinities were higher at times of high-latitude cooling and were lower during interstadials. The pattern and magnitude of the salinity variations imply shifts in the tropical Pacific ocean/atmosphere system analogous to modern El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). El Nino conditions correlate with stadials at high latitudes, whereas La Nina conditions correlate with interstadials. Millennial-scale shifts in atmospheric convection away from the western tropical Pacific may explain many paleo-observations, including lower atmospheric CO2, N2O, and CH4 during stadials and patterns of extratropical ocean variability that have tropical source functions that are negatively correlated with El Nino.
Neutral-beam injection into a tokamak, part I: fast-ion spatial distribution for tangential injection

The production processes and spatial distribution of fast ions resulting from tangential injection of a diffuse neutral beam into a tokamak are discussed. The spatial distribution of fast ions for various injection trajectories and absorption mean free paths are calculated and discussed in detail. Maximum beam absorption for a parabolic density profile is shown to occur for injection roughly halfway between the inner wall of the torus and the magnetic axis; however, since this maximum is near unity and only weakly dependent on the injection trajectory, this is not the most important possible optimization. Since the drift orbit surface area over which the fast ions are distributed is roughly proportional to the distance from the magnetic axis, the fast ion density is found to be strongly peaked at the magnetic axis for present experiments where the absorption mean free path λ is comparable to the plasma radius a. This geometric peaking effect is strong enough to overcome the exponential beam attenuation and cause the fast-ion density and consequent beam energy deposition to be peaked at the plasma centre as long as λ0 a/4. Charge exchange of the fast ions with neutrals in the plasma can deplete the fast-ion population, particularly near the plasma edge. When charge exchange is an important loss mechanism, beam injection nearly tangent to the magnetic axis is found to maximize the beam effectiveness in heating.
Spectrum and thermodynamic properties of two-dimensional N = ( 1 , 1 ) super Yang-Mills theory with fundamental matter and a Chern-Simons term

We consider $\mathcal{N}=(1,1)$ super Yang-Mills theory in $1+1$ dimensions with fundamentals at large ${N}_{c}$. A Chern-Simons term is included to give mass to the adjoint partons. Using the spectrum of the theory, we calculate thermodynamic properties of the system as a function of the temperature and the Yang-Mills coupling. In the large-${N}_{c}$ limit there are two noncommunicating sectors, the glueball sector, which we presented previously, and the mesonlike sector that we present here. We find that the mesonlike sector dominates the thermodynamics. Like the glueball sector, the meson sector has a Hagedorn temperature ${T}_{H}$, and we show that the Hagedorn temperature grows with the coupling. We calculate the temperature and coupling dependence of the free energy for temperatures below ${T}_{H}$. As expected, the free energy for weak coupling and low temperature grows quadratically with the temperature. Also the ratio of the free energies at strong coupling compared to weak coupling, ${r}_{s\ensuremath{-}w}$, for low temperatures grows quadratically with $T$. In addition, our data suggest that ${r}_{s\ensuremath{-}w}$ tends to zero in the continuum limit at low temperatures.
Intensive Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents With Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention has documented efficacy in adults with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) but has yet to be systematically studied in youth. Wit...
Dye laser statistics and the phase transition

Abstract By an analytic examination of the photon probability distribution derived by Schaefer and Willis it is shown that, under the conditions for a second order phase transition, the dye laser statistics may be indistinguishable from those of a conventional laser, despite the presence of the triplet states. Under the conditions for a first order phase transition the statistics change, and for some combinations of parameters the change is manifest in the behavior of the normalized second factorial moment of the photon number. Curves are presented that should be directly verifiable by photoelectric counting experiments.
New optimization models for designing synchronizing codes

The problem of representing in mathematical optimization terms the task of finding a best synchronizing code corresponding to a given unlabeled binary tree structure is addressed. An improved formulation, significantly more compact than any previously given, is derived. Next, the more general problem of finding such a synchronizing code corresponding to a set of integer word lengths alone is also shown to be solveable as an integer programming problem. Finally, the most general problem is formulated in similar optimization format: it treats the word lengths also as variables, and thus in a linear, integer program allows the deduction of that minimum redundancy code which has the best (relative to a heuristic measure of the complex phenomenon of synchronization) synchronizing properties.
The MEDIATOR: Analysis of an early case-based problem solver

Case-based reasoning is a reasoning method that capitalizes on previous experience. In case-based reasoning, a new problem is solved in a way that is analogous to a previous similar problem. Case-based reasoning can improve problem-solving behavior in several ways: by providing reasoning shortcuts, by warning of the potential for error, and by suggesting a focus for reasoning. The MEDIATOR was one of the earliest case-based, problem-solving programs. Its domain is dispute resolution, and it uses case-based reasoning for 10 different tasks involved in its problem solving. While some of the MEDIATOR's processes have been elaborated and improved on in later case-based problem solvers, there remain many lessons that can be learned about case-based reasoning by analyzing the MEDIATOR's behavior. This article provides a short description of the MEDIATOR and its domain, presents its successes and shortcomings, and analyzes the reasons why it behaves the way it does. As part of the analysis, the differences and similarities between the MEDIATOR and later case-based reasoners are also described, as well as the implications of those differences.
The generality/specificity issue in consumer innovativeness research

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to explore the role of personality in shaping consumer innovativeness by testing a model of the hierarchical relationships between a global (broad or abstract) personality trait, its domain-specific manifestation in a consumer context, and overt consumer behavior. A survey of 465 adult consumers measured global innovativeness, domain-specific innovativeness for two product categories (clothing and electronics) and self-reported purchase of new clothing and electronic items. Three hypotheses were tested. First, global innovativeness is more highly correlated with domain-specific innovativeness than it is with the purchase of new items. Second, domain-specific innovativeness is more highly correlated with the purchase of new items than is global innovativeness. Finally, the association between global innovativeness and new product purchase is mediated by domain-specific innovativeness. All three hypotheses were supported for both product categories.
Are relative performance measures in ceo incentive contracts used for risk reduction and/or for strategic interaction?

ABSTRACT: This study offers evidence that the use of RPE (Relative Performance Evaluation) in CEO incentive contracting depends on the type of strategic competition between a firm and its peers. Specifically, CEO pay is negatively (positively) associated with peer-group performance when firms compete as strategic substitutes (complements). This finding suggests that firms provide CEO incentives in order to influence strategic interaction with peer firms. Further, the directionally opposite pay-for-peer-group-performance sensitivities, i.e., negative (positive) for substitutes (complements), cancel each other in aggregate, which may explain the lack of consistent support found in prior research for the role of RPE in filtering out common noise from the CEO's performance. I also document that the weight on both substitute and complement peer performance increases, in absolute value, with the intensity of industry competition relative to the weight on own-firm performance. Finally, taking firms' explicit RPE...
Mechanisms of nanoscale self-assembly

As the 21st Century unfolds, chemistry-based, bottom-up approaches to the creation of materials with exactly specified atomic and molecular infrastructures have become more-and-more feasible and the top-down approach, which has served us so well, appears to be approaching some fundamental limits. The aim has been to access the promise that such new approaches hold for the formation of new materials with advanced function eg highly improved tensile strengths and/or novel electronic and magnetic properties, intelligent nanoscale machines for medical applications etc. As these new approaches to research in materials science have shifted more-and-more towards this more intrinsic chemical perspective, the field has acquired a new name, Nanoscience & Nanotechnology (N&N). It is of course not new as biology has done it this way since the first organisms appeared as all living systems are created atom-by-atom, molecule-by-molecule on the basis of a chemically coded recipe stored in DNA.
Three Dimensional (3-D) Reconstruction With Cone Beam Geometry Applied To Nuclear Medicine Imaging

A convolution-backprojection algorithm for fully 3-D reconstruction from cone beam projections was developed and implemented on an ADAC 3300 nuclear medicine computer system interfaced to a rotating scintillation camera with a pinhole collimator. As an approxima-tion, a space-invariant filter was applied to each projection independently before back-projection. The resolution of the system was found to be 7.8 mm at the center of field of view and 10.5 mm in the periphery, as opposed to 18 mm for a parallel hole, all purpose collimator. Results with phantom studies demonstrated that the technique provided images with improved spatial resolution.
The impact of class, education, and health care on infant mortality in a developing society: the case of rural Thailand

Demographic and social factors affecting infant mortality in rural northern Thailand are examined using log-linear modifiedmultiple regression models and data drawn from a representative sample of married couples in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces. Demographic factors do not account for the effects of variations in parental ability or willingness to provide adequate infant care. The final model estimated incorporated both these social dimensions of child care. Parental ability, measured by father’s social class, mother’s health information, and local community development levels, continued to have significant independent effects upon infant survival. Parental willingness, measured by parent’s beliefs about intergenerational wealth transfers, no longer had a significant effect net of other social variables, but infant survival was still affected by whether both parents wanted a birth.
Nanoparticle Surface Charges Alter Blood–Brain Barrier Integrity and Permeability

Purpose: The blood–brain barrier (BBB) presents both a physical and electrostatic barrier to limit brain permeation of therapeutics. Previous work has demonstrated that nanoparticles (NPs) overcome the physical barrier, but there is little known regarding the effect of NP surface charge on BBB function. Therefore, this work evaluated: (1) effect of neutral, anionic and cationic charged NPs on BBB integrity and (2) NP brain permeability.Methods: Emulsifying wax NPs were prepared from warm oil-in-water microemulsion precursors using neutral, anionic or cationic surfactants to provide the corresponding NP surface charge. NPs were characterized by particle size and zeta potential. BBB integrity and NP brain permeability were evaluated by in situ rat brain perfusion.Results: Neutral NPs and low concentrations of anionic NPs were found to have no effect on BBB integrity, whereas, high concentrations of anionic NPs and cationic NPs disrupted the BBB. The brain uptake rates of anionic NPs at lower concentrations ...
SCHMIDT, DAMKOHLER AND REYNOLDS NUMBER EFFECTS ON SECOND-ORDER REACTIONS IN ISOTROPIC TURBULENCE

Abstract A two-point pdf evolution equation is developed to describe second-order reactions in isotropic turbulence. The model employs the LMSE closure for molecular diffusion, and an EDQNM closure for turbulent advection. Reactions needs no modeling in a pdf format. Numerical simulation results are obtained for single-species and two-species decaying reactions for Schmidt numbers, Sc = 0.7 and 2.1; Damkohler numbers of the first kind, Da1 =0.2, 2 and 10; Damkohler numbers of the second kind, Da2 = 18.7, 170, 691; and Reynolds numbers, Rλ =49.2 and 200. The results are discussed in terms of the effect of these parameters on scalar Held statistical quantities such as means, variances, dissipation rates, correlations and the moments which occur in the decay equations for means and variances.
Coupled capillary wave fluctuations in thin aqueous films on an aqueous subphase.

X-ray scattering and interfacial tension measurements are used to demonstrate the formation of nanometer-thick aqueous films on aqueous bulk subphases from polymer-salt biphase mixtures. X-ray scattering determines a coupling constant that characterizes the coupled capillary wave fluctuations of the liquid-vapor and liquid-liquid interfaces of this thin film. These data also determine an effective Hamakar constant that characterizes the long-range interaction between the interfaces and parameters that characterize the short-range part of the interfacial interaction. Wetting phenomena at interfaces are very sensitive to the form of the potential that governs the interaction between the interfaces. For example, x-ray scattering studies of thin wetting films on solid substrates have shown that thermal fluctuations of the liquid surface are reduced by the longrange van der Waals interaction from the substrate [1]. Studies of these thin films are useful for understanding the role of short- and long-range forces in interfacial statistical physics. We chose to study thin aqueous liquid films on top of bulk aqueous liquid subphases for several reasons. First, aqueous biphase systems are used, for example, for the purification and separation of biological materials [2]. We anticipate that these thin films may be of use for biophysical studies and have used them to study ordering in a protein monolayer at the liquid-liquid interface (to be published). Second, the interfacial free energy potential that characterizes this wetting phenomenon is between two liquid interfaces, the liquid-vapor interface and the liquidliquid interface. Numerous x-ray scattering measurements have demonstrated the suitability of capillary wave theory to describe the fluctuations of a single liquid interface. When two liquid interfaces are placed in close proximity, the interfacial potential creates a coupling between the capillary fluctuations. This coupling can be simply described by a perturbative modification of the capillary wave Hamiltonian. This allows us to determine the curvature near the minimum of the interfacial potential. By assuming a simple form for the interfacial potential we can also derive parameters that characterize the long- and short-range interactions between the interfaces. We studied biphase mixtures of polyethylene glycol [PEG; HOCH2CH2nOH, Mn 3400, from Aldrich], potassium phosphate (K2HPO4 from Fluka, 99.5%), and Barnstead Nanopure water [2]. The mixtures were shaken, equilibrated for 201 hours at room temperature, and the two phases separated (the top PEG-rich phase is denoted PEG and the bottom salt-rich phase is denoted salt). The interfacial tension between the two phases, gsaltPEG g2 7.0 6 0.5 mNm, and the surface tensions of each phase with air, gPEGair g1
Microelectromagnetic ferrofluid-based actuator

Computer simulations were used to investigate the performance of a microscale ferrofluid-based magnetic actuator developed for liquid dispensing in microfluidic channels. The actuation was based on the movement of a ferrofluid plug in a magnetic field gradient generated by on-chip effectively infinite parallel conductors. The movement, positioning, and retaining of ferrofluid plugs with different lengths at various locations along a microfluidic channel were investigated for two cases. In case (a), the magnetic field gradient was generated by a single conductor; when the ferrofluid reached its equilibrium position, the current was switched off and the nearest neighbor conductor was energized. A similar, consecutive on/off current switching was performed for case (b), where a set of conductors was energized simultaneously.
From the Discovery of the Reactive Site of Inhibitors to Their Sequence to Reactivity Algorithm

Michael Laskowski Jr. (1930-2004) was a pioneer in the field of Standard mechanism serine proteinase inhibitors. He made numerous important contributions in the field. This article highlights some of his most important contributions such as the discovery of the reactive site in serine proteinase inhibitors, the proposal of the Standard mechanism of inhibition, and the sequence to reactivity algorithm for the Kazal family of inhibitors.
Comparison of hip force calculations and measurements in the same patient

Many investigations report hip-contact-force estimates based either on mathematical models or on the output of instrumented implants. Data from instrumented implants have been consistently lower than mathematical predictions. The authors compared mathematical estimates derived from gait laboratory observations made in a patient with an instrumented hip implant. Appropriate modifications to past models resulted in force predictions that were reasonably similar to the output of the instrumented implant. Peak resultant forces were in the range of 2.5-3.5 body weight during level walking at a freely selected speed, while peak out-of-plane forces ranged from 0.6 to 0.9 body weight. Previous parametric hip-force predictions resulting from mathematically modeled surgical alterations may be high insofar as absolute peak values, but trends are likely correct.
Robotic-Assisted Proctectomy for Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Case-Matched Comparison of Laparoscopic and Robotic Technique

The objective of this study was to compare short-term outcomes of robotic and laparoscopic proctectomy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This is an IRB-approved case-matched review. Seventeen robotic proctectomies (RP), 10 with ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) and 7 completion (CP), were matched to laparoscopic proctectomies (LP). Short-term and functional outcomes were compared between LP and RP. In CP cohort, operative times were longer in the RP group (351 RP vs 238 LP min, p = 0.03), mean robotic time 90 min. Estimated blood loss (EBL) was similar between RP-CP and LP-CP groups (p = 0.18). Return of bowel function (RBF) was slower in RP-CP group (3.0 vs 1.7 days, p = 0.04), and length of stay (LOS) was longer (6.4 vs 4.1 days, p = 0.02). In the IPAA group, there were no differences between operative times (p = 0.14), robotic time 86 min; EBL (p = 0.15), and postoperative complications. Return of bowel function (3.6 vs 2.6 days, p = 0.3) and LOS (8.5 vs 6.1 days, p = 0.17) were similar between RP and LP. Bowel and sexual function were equivalent between LP and RP-IPAA groups. Robotic proctectomy is a safe and effective technique for patients with IBD. It is comparable to LP with regard to perioperative outcomes, complications, and short-term functional results.
Introduction: Curiosities of Middle East Studies in Queer Times

Starting in 2010, movements of transformation, spaces of sociability, relations of power, and economies of affect in the Middle East plunged into a time of radical dislocation. Fearless, dissident solidarities challenged patterns of identity, normativity, and authority that had constituted the region for more than a generation. One epoch ended, in which struggles over power seemed all too often restricted to constrained contests between nongovernmental organizations, religious dissidents, and security-state repressors. In their place new insurgencies came to question the narratives, binaries, and regimes of feeling pinned to “identity politics” as defined by categories of class, gender, sexuality, and religion. Curious forms of revolutionary social uprising exploded among gender, labor, and community dissidents at street level, generating novel popular cultures, rebel counterpublics, and carnivals of new-media experimentation.