cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CT of Patients With Hip Fracture: Muscle Size and Attenuation Help Predict Mortality.

OBJECTIVE. Our objective was to determine the association between muscle cross-sectional area and attenuation, as measured on routine CT scans, and mortality in older patients with hip fracture. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A retrospective 10-year study of patients with hip fracture was conducted with the following inclusion criteria: age 65 years or older, first-time hip fracture treated with surgery, and CT of the chest, abdomen, or pelvis. This yielded 274 patients (70.4% women; mean [± SD] age, 81.3 ± 8.3 years). On each CT scan, two readers independently measured the size (cross-sectional area, indexed for patient height) and attenuation of the paravertebral muscle at T12 and the psoas muscle at L4. We then determined the association between overall mortality and the muscle size and muscle attenuation, while adjusting for demographic variables (age, sex, ethnicity, and body mass index), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification, and Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). RESULTS. The overall mo...
Mechanical Support With Impella During Malignant Arrhythmia Ablation: A Case Report on the Growing Trend in the Electrophysiology Laboratory

Congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries is a rare form of congenital heart disease in which the persistence of the right ventricle as the systemic ventricle leads to heart failure, tricuspid valve insufficiency, and arrhythmia. Supraventricular arrhythmias are especially common in these patients. We discuss the anesthetic management of a 33-year-old patient with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries who required a ventricular assist device to maintain cardiac output during ablation of supraventricular tachyarrythmia. A witnessed pulseless cardiac arrest and resuscitation during a previous episode of supraventricular tachycardia prompted the elective insertion of the Impella catheter after induction of anesthesia for the ablation procedure.
Symbolic Computation in Chemical Education

The past two decades have witnessed revolutions in computing techniques used by students at all levels of science education. The slide rule has taken its place beside the abacus as a historical curiosity, and the electronic pocket calculator is now edging past the computing power of the first “giant electronic brains”. The end of the computer age is not yet in sight, and we are about to witness another equally impressive decade of developments which will most likely render today’s calculational methods obsolete.
Helix instability and self-pairing prevent unnatural base pairs from expanding the genetic alphabet

Several papers have described the use of hydrophobic unnatural base pairs (UBPs) to study mechanisms of DNA replication and transcription (1⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓–7). In PNAS, the study by Zhang et al. (8) claims that UBPs can form stable complementary structures in the absence of hydrogen bonds between base pairs, and that UBPs can be replicated in a bacterial plasmid in virtually any sequence context without loss of the UBPs over many DNA doublings. However, Hirao and Kimoto (4) described two serious flaws with UBPs: ( i ) hydrophobic UBPs destabilize DNA so that only single UBPs sandwiched between long stretches of natural base … [↵][1]1Email: thomas.p.hettinger{at}gmail.com. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Mediated Contact With Gay Men as a Predictor of Modern Homonegativity: An Analysis of Exposure to Characters Appearing on Television Between 2000 and 2015

This study explored the relationship between exposure to television programs featuring gay male characters and homonegativity in a diverse adult sample. Specifically, this relationship was examined at both the program and character level. Participants (N = 120) responded to an online survey that asked about exposure to television shows known to feature gay male characters that aired between 2000 and 2015. Next, participants recalled specific characters from these programs before reporting their homonegative attitudes and beliefs. Results revealed that both viewing programs featuring gay male characters and recall of specific gay male characters decreased their negative attitudes toward gay men in society, irrespective of individual difference factors (e.g., religiosity, gender, close interpersonal contact with gay men). Results are discussed in terms of mediated intergroup contact theory.
Analyzing mHeath Usage Using the mPower Data

The emergence of mHealth products has created capability of monitoring and managing health of patients with chronic disease. In this paper, we analyze the participants’ usage of a mobile app named mPower, developed for Parkinson disease. We identify the demographic/usage difference between different groups of participants, which provides insights into better design and marketing of mHealth products.
Simulation-Based Comparison of Holding Strategies for a Multibranch Light Rail Service

Light rail transit services face many operational challenges, such as capacity constraints, mixed-traffic interference, and branch junctions. The service plans developed for these lines typically specify a precise schedule for each vehicle. Running time and demand variability, special events, and incidents make it challenging to adhere to schedules. Operators can enact real-time control actions to mitigate delays. This research compared the effectiveness of schedule- and headway-based holding strategies applied en route and at terminals (i.e., dispatching) on a simulation model of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line, a four-branch light rail line. The effects of control point placement at terminals, along branches, along a central trunk, and in combinations of these three were studied, as were the effects of limiting holding at midroute stations. Holding strategies were compared on the basis of service and passenger-oriented performance. Headway-based holding was found to be a more e...
Treatment of the irritable bowel syndrome.

SUMMARY Individualization of treatment for patients with IBS is predicated on a thorough analysis of the patient's symptoms, consideration of the reasons for seeking health care, evaluation of symptom-precipitating factors, elimination of confounding features, and the absolute knowledge of the absence of organic illness. Collecting and codifying appropriate historical data allow the physician to educate the patient with respect to the origin of his symptoms, and to enlist the patient as a partner in his future health care. There is no single, universally accepted therapeutic agent available for the treatment of the IBS patient. As a result, treatment is directed at reducing the frequency and intensity of triggering factors as well as ameliorating the symptoms when they arise. Symptoms evoked by psychologic factors may be effectively reduced by psychotherapy or hypnotherapy. Situational anxiety may be treated for brief periods by using antianxiety agents such as diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, buspirone, or similar agents. Depressive reactions may be reduced with suitable doses of antidepressant agents such as amitriptyline. Smooth muscle hyperreactivity may be dulled with small amounts of selected anticholinergics, which are usually most effective in reducing mealinduced discomfort. Peppermint oil may be of additional benefit. Gas-related symptoms require elimination of contributory dietary factors, such as lactose-containing foods, sorbitol, or fructose, as well as certain oligosaccharides. Simethecone, charcoal, or beanase may be helpful. Functional constipation is best treated with graded doses of insoluble or soluble fiber. Diarrheal episodes may be reduced with either loperamide or diphenoxylate. Careful, continued follow-up assessment of therapeutic endeavors, a sincere interest in the patient's concerns, and surveillance for intercurrent organic illness are the cornerstones of complete ongoing care.
An Exploratory Analysis of the Effects of Spatial and Temporal Scale and Transportation Mode on Anonymity in Human Mobility Trajectories

Advancements in tracking technologies have resulted in significant increases in the availability of highly accurate data on moving objects, as well as subsequent issues related to location privacy. Human mobility datasets are often released after they have been ‘anonymized’, however it has been shown that just a few locations can be uniquely associated with an individual trace or trajectory. This study focuses on measuring the ‘unicity’ or uniqueness of locations associated with individual trajectories. Due to data availability, most of the previous work on unicity has been based on coarser-scaled call detail records (CDR), while this study quantifies the unicity of finer-scale GPS movement trajectories using a subset of the Microsoft GeoLife dataset. We explore how unicity varies with (a) the number of locations used, (b) the use of temporal and directional information along with geographic, (c) decreased precision of location, time, and angle measurements, and (d) user-labeled transportation modes. In general, unicity (u) was high for location and location + time, even when only two points were compared and resolution was coarsened (u = 90% for two points with only location and u = 80% for coarsened location + time together. Direction was also fairly unique (e.g. absolute angle for five points had u = 72%), highlighting the potential privacy implications of derived attributes of personal mobility data irrespective of location. Walking was the transportation mode with the highest unicity, although it decreases more drastically as resolution is coarsened compared to unicity for car and taxi transportation modes.
Characterization of clinical grade CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cells produced using automated CliniMACS Prodigy system.

Background Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is highly effective for treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with high rate complete responses. However, the broad clinical application of CAR T-cell therapy has been challenging, largely due to the lack of widespread ability to produce and high cost of CAR T-cell products using traditional methods of production. Automated cell processing in a closed system has emerged as a potential method to increase the feasibility of producing CAR T cells locally at academic centers due to its minimal reliance on experienced labor, thereby making the process less expensive and more consistent than traditional methods of production. Method In this study, we describe the successful production of clinical grade CD19 CAR T cells using the Miltenyi CliniMACS Prodigy Automated Cell Processor at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in a rapid manner with a high frequent CD19 CAR expression. Results The final CAR T-cell product is highly active, low in immune suppression, and absent in exhaustion. Full panel cytokine assays also showed elevated production of Th1 cytokines upon IL-2 stimulation when specifically killing CD19+ target cells. Conclusion These results demonstrate the feasibility of producing CAR T cells locally in a university hospital setting using automated cell processor for future clinical applications.
Robotic Lobectomy: Hilum First Technique

Lobectomy of the lung is performed for primary lung cancer with individual ligation of the pulmonary vasculature and bronchus along with division of the fissures. Recent estimates claim nearly 30% of lobectomy cases are performed in a minimally invasive fashion, the robotic approach of the nonrobotic minimally invasive option may have some advantages that includes a potentially more oncologic resection, less instrument movement at the chest wall that may result in less trauma to nerves and, thus, potentially less postoperative discomfort, and a simpler technique to learn and teach, more closely approximating the moves of surgery by thoracotomy. The operative setup and surgical details for each of the five lobes is described and illustrated, outlining the technique to divide the hilar structures first and then to divide the fissures. Over the 15 years of performing the technique, particular learning points are described.
Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Is Associated With Hyperinsulinemia But Not Increased Maximal β-Cell Function

Context Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is associated with postprandial hyperinsulinemia. Objective This study assessed whether increased blood insulin levels may be due to an increase in maximal β-cell function. Design setting and participants We performed a cross-sectional study at Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York. Subjects without a history of diabetes were studied after surgery (n = 12) and were compared with nonsurgical controls (n = 10) who were mean matched for body mass index, insulin sensitivity, and hemoglobin A1c and with nonobese controls (n = 8). Methods Subjects underwent a mixed-meal tolerance test and on a separate day an intravenous glucose tolerance test followed by a hyperglycemic clamp (450 mg/dL; 25 mM blood glucose) and arginine stimulation. The main outcome measure was maximal insulin secretion quantified after arginine stimulation (AinsRmax). Results The RYGB group exhibited greater peak postprandial glucose levels and fourfold greater peak insulin levels than control groups; however, there were no significant differences in insulinogenic index or AinsRmax. Another finding was significantly greater postprandial glucagon levels in the RYGB group compared with controls. Conclusions Our results suggest that after RYGB, the increase in postprandial levels of insulin are not due to changes in maximal β-cell function but appear to be an appropriate response to altered nutrient flow and absorption.
Incoherent perfect absorption in lossy anisotropic materials

We show that perfect absorption of incoherent light is possible in a semi-infinite slab of anisotropic dielectric even in the presence of loss. The operating frequency of the proposed system is free of any dependence on physical dimensions.
Economic Events and Illegitimacy in Developed Countries

Some traditional “explanations” of levels and trends in illegitimacy rates are reviewed. After discussing the four immediate causes of levels and trends in illegitimacy rates, we study the relation...
“All My Little Might of Money”: Signaling, Structure, and Mobility among the Middling in Nineteenth-Century Virginia and Kentucky

Archaeological testing of a site occupied by farm manager Edmund Bacon and his family (ca. 1806–1822) at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia raised questions about how costly signals operated and other roles that materiality played in this social milieu. Free and White, but neither wealthy nor well educated, Bacon’s positionality both limited and facilitated his socioeconomic mobility. He gathered his “little might of money” to become a prominent Kentucky landowner. Bacon’s experiences and those of his contemporaries, elite and enslaved, illustrate the weight of durable structural inequalities in constituting such personal qualities as wealth, knowledge, and social connection.
Design and fabrication of a three-dimensional meso-sized robotic metamaterial with actively controlled properties

Metamaterials can achieve naturally unobtainable properties according to how their microarchitectures are engineered. By incorporating robot-inspired actuators, sensors, and microprocessors within their microarchitectures, still more extreme properties and diverse combinations of properties can be achieved; and their properties can be actively tuned in real time according to uploaded control instructions. Despite the enormous potential of such robotic metamaterials, no three-dimensional designs have been demonstrated because such designs are difficult to make using existing fabrication approaches. Making them with constituent cells small enough to be considered a material instead of a collection of macro-sized robots is even more difficult. Here we demonstrate the first fabricated three-dimensional robotic metamaterial that achieves actively controlled properties. It's cells are meso-sized (5 mm), which make them the smallest robots to date among those intended to work together within a lattice for achieving any objective. We optimize the design's geometry and demonstrate its ability to tune its stiffness as desired using closed-loop control.
Ovarian Cortical Tissue Biopsy and Freezing for Autotransplantation

Ovarian cortical tissue freezing and transplantation, although considered experimental, is an established method of fertility preservation in reproductive age women at risk of losing their fertility. The number of live births following autotransplantation of the frozen-thawed ovarian tissue increased significantly worldwide during the last 15 years, exceeding 130 cumulative live births in 2017. This chapter focuses on the technique of ovarian transplantation, with special emphasis on in vitro maturation and artificial ovary.
Partnering with your Pirate: Interdependent Sino-foreign rivalry in China's textbook market

As the Qing state launched its full-scale educational reform at the turn of the twentieth century, tens of thousands of new schools mushroomed all over China. Their urgent and enormous demand for textbooks created a thriving new market that attracted both Chinese and foreign publishing firms. Nurtured in China's traditional book trade, Chinese print capitalists had local knowledge of distribution networks and cultural politics, but not a real command of producing educational Western knowledge. To keep up with Chinese students’ increasing demand for Western knowledge, they pirated textbooks published by foreign companies. Meanwhile, leading American and British publishing corporations were expanding their international business by targeting developing countries that had recently established a modern general education system, like China. Drawing from government and company archives, as well as personal papers and legal documents, this article traces the multinational competition, copyright disputes, and business collaborations between a leading textbook provider in China and their Anglo-American competitors between the 1900s and the 1930s. It illustrates an unexpected and uneasy partnership some foreign publishers formed with Chinese pirates in order to gain better access to China's textbook market. Chinese publishers, on the other hand, used piracy and their local knowledge to bargain for better import credit and deals with their foreign rivals. Both sides were dependent on each other to gain the advantage in their transnational business operations in the globalizing Asian textbook business.
Child Challenging Behavior Influences Maternal Mental Health and Relationship Quality Over Time in Fragile X Syndrome

Parenting children with neurodevelopmental disabilities is often challenging. Biological mothers of children with Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) may be susceptible to increased risk of mental health problems. This study examined the longitudinal relationships between maternal mental health, child challenging behaviors, and mother–child relationship quality in children and adolescents with FXS. Fifty-five mother–child dyads were followed from childhood into adolescence. The findings suggest that child challenging behaviors, maternal mental health, and mother–child relationship quality were stable during that period. Additionally, elevated levels of child challenging behaviors negatively impacted maternal mental health. Finally, child challenging behaviors, in combination with maternal mental health, influenced mother–child relationship quality. Clinical implications are discussed.
11 – Thermal Engineering

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses several important topics in the field of thermal engineering such as thermodynamics, thermal transformation systems, and heat transfer. Thermodynamics involves fundamental relationships among heat, work, and the properties of a system. It is concerned with the transformation of one form of energy into another and the basic laws that control such transformation. Thermal transformation systems are systems that transform thermal energy into mechanical energy. Heat transfer is concerned with the transfer of thermal energy from one medium to another by radiation, conduction, and convection. With radiation, heat is transferred by electromagnetic waves emanating from a hot body to a cold body where radiation waves are absorbed resulting in a temperature rise. Conductive heat transfer involves the passage of heat through a solid from a region of high temperature to one of lower temperature. Convective heat transfer involves the transport of thermal energy from a hot body to a fluid flowing across the hot body.
Demonstrated health care cost savings for women: findings from a community health worker intervention designed to address depression and unmet social needs

To evaluate the impact of a community health worker intervention (CHW) (referred to as Personalized Support for Progress (PSP)) on all-cause health care utilization and cost of care compared with Enhanced Screening and Referral (ESR) among women with depression. A total of 223 patients (111 in PSP and 112 in ESR randomly assigned) from three women’s health clinics with elevated depressive symptoms were enrolled in the study. Their electronic health records were queried to extract all-cause health care encounters along with the corresponding billing information 12 months before and after the intervention, as well as during the first 4-month intervention period. The health care encounters were then grouped into three mutually exclusive categories: high-cost (> US$1000 per encounter), medium-cost (US$201–$999), and low-cost (≤ US$200). A difference-in-difference analysis of mean total charge per patient between PSP and ESR was used to assess cost differences between treatment groups. The results suggest the PSP group was associated with a higher total cost of care at the baseline; taking this baseline difference into account, the PSP group was associated with lower mean total charge amounts (p = 0.008) as well as a reduction in the frequency of high-cost encounters (p < 0.001) relative to the ESR group during the post-intervention period. Patient-centered interventions that address unmet social needs in a high-cost population via CHW may be a cost-effective approach to improve quality of care and patient outcomes.
“A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”, A Rare Case of Atypical Cerebral Spinal Fluid Pleocytosis

Introduction Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) analysis has been used since the late 1800s to aid in the diagnosis of conditions affecting the Central Nervous System. Lymphocytic pleocytosis, or the abnormal increase of Lymphocytes in the CSF, usually indicates infection, inflammation or an autoimmune process. However, in rare cases, malignancy can present with atypical CSF pleocytosis as well. Case Report We report the case of an 18-month-old female with a recent history of recurrent otitis media and Entero/Rhinovirus infection transferred to our facility following new-onset, right-sided focal …
Legislating Results: Examining the Legal Foundations of PBB Systems in the States

While most states have had legal requirements in place to conduct performance-based budgeting (PBB) for some time, little research exists that examines the content of these laws. This research examines PBB laws in states that received the highest and lowest scores from the most recent Government Performance Project (GPP) in budgeting for performance. Specifically, we examine the components of state laws that prescribe performance measurement development and protocols for measurement applicability in the budgetary process. Currently, 39 states have code prescribing some sort of performance-based budgeting process. Findings here indicate that all states scored by the GPP as strong users of performance information for budgetary decision making have PBB law, while just over half of states scored as weak in the use of this information to aid decision making have such law. Also, states scored as strong users of performance information for budgetary decision making have PBB laws that are "more comprehensive" tha...
Defining levels of dengue virus serotype-specific neutralizing antibodies induced by a live attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine (TAK-003).

The four dengue virus serotypes (DENV1-4) infect several hundred million people each year living in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Clinical development of DENV vaccines is difficult because immunity to a single serotype increases risk of severe disease during a second infection with a new serotype. Leading vaccines are based on tetravalent formulations to induce simultaneous and balanced protective immunity to all 4 serotypes. TAK-003 is a tetravalent live attenuated dengue vaccine candidate developed by Takeda Vaccines Inc, which is currently being evaluated in phase 3 efficacy trials. Here, we use antibody depletion methods and chimeric, epitope transplant DENVs to characterize the specificity of neutralizing antibodies in dengue-naive adults and non-human primates immunized with TAK-003. Our results demonstrate that TAK-003 induced high levels of DENV2 neutralizing antibodies that recognized unique (type-specific) epitopes on DENV2. In contrast, most vaccinated subjects developed lower levels of DENV1, DENV3 and DENV4 neutralizing antibodies that mainly targeted epitopes that were conserved (cross-reactive) between serotypes. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02425098.
Trade-Promoting and Welfare-Enhancing Cartels?

I present a model of two quantity-setting firms, each producing two goods in a different country, but enjoying a competitive advantage in only one of them. An international cartel can either shut down trade and manufacture both goods domestically or foreclose the inefficient plant and import the high-cost good from the firm that has a competitive advantage in it. Despite the cartel's exploitation of its market power, it can improve national welfare by generating efficiency gains. There always exists a set of marginal cost differences and transportation costs such that collusion weakly welfare-dominates competition for any degree of product substitutability. Further, collusion can promote trade relative to competition when each firm completely specializes in the production of its low-cost product and exports it, as long as the goods are sufficiently unrelated. Using novel data on international cartels, I find that the effect of multi-product cartels on trade is positive, significant and statistically larger than the effect of single-product cartels on trade. This positive and significant effect becomes more pronounced, the more distant substitutes the goods are.
A comparative study of machine learning methods for automated identification of radioisotopes using NaI gamma-ray spectra

Abstract This article presents a study on the state-of-the-art methods for automated radioactive material detection and identification, using gamma-ray spectra and modern machine learning methods. The recent developments inspired this in deep learning algorithms, and the proposed method provided better performance than the current state-of-the-art models. Machine learning models such as: fully connected, recurrent, convolutional, and gradient boosted decision trees, are applied under a wide variety of testing conditions, and their advantage and disadvantage are discussed. Furthermore, a hybrid model is developed by combining the fully-connected and convolutional neural network, which shows the best performance among the different machine learning models. These improvements are represented by the model's test performance metric (i.e., F1 score) of 93.33% with an improvement of 2%–12% than the state-of-the-art model at various conditions. The experimental results show that fusion of classical neural networks and modern deep learning architecture is a suitable choice for interpreting gamma spectra data where real-time and remote detection is necessary.
Street Art Hunting

The large scale and public nature of murals are quick and easy social media subject matter for visitors to broadcast their discoveries to the world and claim an authentic experience of a special time and place. Wide access to digital photography and social media—Instagram in particular—delivers a game‑like social experience of “hide‑and‑seek” for street art lovers, cultivating a sense of intimacy with the murals, the artists, and connection to the larger community. This paper explores the unwritten rules of the game through the lens of a case study in Phoenix, Arizona. It unveils the ways in which creative placemaking is fostered through the spontaneous emergence of digital and physical interactions between artists and their audiences, without interference from social organizations or public officials. This position paper ultimately argues that self-organizing, grass roots community arts activities may be more inclusive, egalitarian, and potent than institutionally-driven creative placemaking efforts.
Deep Roots: Rice Farmers in West Africa and the African Diaspora – By Edda L. Fields‐Black

Rice, like other food crops, can be used to trace the history of people and societies. In the case of spices, they move with people who in turn move ideas and cultures such that a network of trade ...
It is time to reconsider the classification of dens fractures: an anatomical approach

A clinical study was performed to evaluate a new classification for odontoid process fractures. The external and internal anatomy of the axis has been studied. The files of 97 patients with a fracture of the odontoid process admitted to our institution were reviewed and classified according to the proposed new classification. The method was tested for reliability and validity. The patients were followed for a mean period of 14 years, in order to evaluate the outcome of these fractures and to correlate it to the fracture type. Intraobserver and interobserver agreement was excellent with intraclass correlation coefficients at levels of 0.98 and 0.85, respectively. Four types of odontoid process fractures are distinguished. Type B fractures are associated with high risk of pseudarthrosis. Existing classifications are inadequate and misleading since they do not include all types of odontoid process fractures, nor they consider the internal anatomy of the odontoid process. Classification of the odontoid process fractures has to be reconsidered as novel-imaging technology has shown new patterns of fractures. The analysis of the imaging data in the present study justifies the new classification.
Differential turnover of phospholipid acyl groups in mouse peritoneal macrophages

Phospholipid acyl turnover was assessed in mouse peritoneal exudate cells which consisted primarily of macrophages. The cells were incubated for up to 5 h in media containing 40% H218O, and uptake of 18O into ester carbonyls of phospholipids was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of hydrogenated methyl esters. The uptake was highest in choline phospholipids and phosphatidylinositol, less in ethanolamine phospholipids, and much less in phosphatidylserine. Acyl groups at the sn-1 and sn-2 positions of diacyl glycerophospholipids, including arachidonic and other long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, acquired 18O at about the same rate. Acyl groups of alkylacyl glycerophosphocholine exhibited lower rates of 18O uptake, and acyl groups of ethanolamine plasmalogens (alkenylacyl glycerophosphoethanolamines) acquired only minimal amounts of 18O within 5 h, indicating a low average acyl turnover via free fatty acids. Pulse experiments with exogenous 3H-labeled arachidonic acid supported the concept that acylation of alkenyl glycerophosphoethanolamine occurs by acyl transfer from other phospholipids rather than via free fatty acids and acyl-CoA. The 18O content of intracellular free fatty acids increased gradually over a 5-h period, whereas in extracellular free fatty acids it reached maximal 18O levels within the first hour. Arachidonate and other long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids were found to participate readily in deacylation-reacylation reactions but were present only in trace amounts in the free fatty acid pools inside and outside the cells. We conclude that acyl turnover of macrophage phospholipids through hydrolysis and reacylation is rapid but tightly controlled so that appreciable concentrations of free arachidonic acid do not occur.
RF instrument accuracy - Some effects of measurement uncertainty

When measuring the RF noise figure on-wafer on ultra low-noise GaAs microwave devices, the magnitude of the noise figures measured become comparable to the instrumentation accuracy. It becomes necessary to determine the discriminating capability of the instrumentation, and take this into account. For the GaAs device discussed, the instrumentation accuracy is determined by running a repeat measurement on a statistically large sample, and calculating the limits inside of which the measurement system is not capable of discriminating. These measurements are done on an RF autoprober, which allows the noise figure of each of the test devices to be characterized repetitively at multiple frequencies without operator intervention. The results and their implication with respect to conclusions that can be drawn when searching for process performance improvements which are comparable to the discriminating power of the instrumentation are discussed. Some of the alternate statistical techniques applied to attempt to discriminate these improvements are discussed. >
Surface winds on Venus: Probability distribution from in-situ measurements

Abstract A surface wind specification is needed for future landed missions to Venus. While sparse, there exist enough data from the limited surface and near-surface measurements to date to define a probability density function that guides expectations of winds for rational design of landing systems. Following a review of all available data (mostly from the Venera missions), a Weibull function, used previously for Mars and Titan, and widely used in terrestrial engineering applications, is proposed. Best-estimate wind measurements are reasonably described by P (> V ) = exp[−( V / c ) k ], with c = 0.8 m/s, k = 1.9: this function yields a 95% chance of winds c = 0.9 m/s, k = 1.7; 95% wind 1.7 m/s; 99%, 2.2 m/s). The data suggest that winds strong enough to move dust and sand on Venus are rather common (more so than is typical for Mars, Earth or Titan), a prediction testable with radar interferometry on future orbital missions and/or from landed observations. More elaborate analyses should take site-specific factors such as slope or time of day into account, but cannot be meaningfully constrained by present data.
Disturbance-wave interactions in flows with crossflow

The leading-edge region of swept wings is dominated by the crossflow instability, resulting in vortices that all rotate in the same sense. The effect of these possibly unsteady vortices on the behavior of other disturbances is examined, and a strong interaction between these and disturbances of half the dominating crossflow wavelength is predicted. According to theory, the interaction is of crossflow-crossflow type. The effect explains the anomalies found in the experimental observations of Saric and Yeates. Visually, they observe vortices at the wavelength predicted by linear theory; however, in their hot-wire measurements they find that the superharmonic dominates disturbance growth, eventually having three times the amplitude of the primary wave. In this case, the usual transition prediction methods would fail, clearly indicating the importance of studying interactions of this sort.
Preoperative Nasal Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Status, Surgical Prophylaxis, and Risk-Adjusted Postoperative Outcomes in Veterans

Objectives. To determine whether preoperative nasal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage is a significant predictor of postoperative infections, after accounting for surgical infection risk and surgical prophylaxis.Design. Retrospective cohort study.Patients. Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston patients who had nasal MRSA polymerase chain reaction screening performed in the 31 days before clean or clean contaminated surgery in 2008–2009.Methods. Postoperative MRSA clinical cultures and infections, total surgical site infections (SSIs), and surgical prophylaxis data were abstracted from administrative databases. MRSA infections were confirmed via chart review. Multivariate analysis of risk factors for each outcome was conducted using Poisson regression. SSI risk index was calculated for a subset of 1,551 patients assessed by the VA National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.Results. Among 4,238 eligible patients, 279 (6.6%) were positive for preoperative nasal MRSA. Postoperative MRSA cl...
Settling the Brazilian frontier: The role of military colonies, 1849-1889

Abstract Military colonies were used in the nineteenth century to settle the uninhabited interior of Brazil, not only to pave the way for settlement and development of the wilderness, but also to secure the territories and boundaries of the county. The author analyzes the reasons for the military colonization and the process of establishing a military colony—from the initial governmental decision, to the exploration and charting of the unknown territory, and to the actual founding of the colony. The postinstallation phase analyzes the challenges faced by the colonies, including the lack of adequate communications and available roads as well as the threat of Indians. The effort to occupy the wilderness and to secure the national boundaries continues to be a major preoccupation of the Brazilian government.
CADMIUM IN PLANTS ON POLLUTED SOILS: EFFECTS OF SOIL FACTORS, HYPERACCUMULATION AND AMENDMENTS

Abstract Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal that is of great concern in the environment, because of its toxicity to animals and humans. This article reviews recent papers showing how soil factors (such as pH, phosphate, zinc, and organic matter), Cd hyperaccumulation, and soil amendments affect Cd availability. The studies confirm that the pH of the soil is usually the most important factor that controls uptake, with low pH favoring Cd accumulation, and that phosphate and zinc decrease Cd uptake. The work reveals that the availability of Cd is increased by the application of chloride and reduced by application of silicon. The most striking result of this review is the elevated levels of Cd in plants that are being reported in recent studies. Data for concentrations of Cd in soils and plants under variously polluted conditions are presented in a table and show that all plants have Cd concentrations ≥ 0.1 mg/kg, the normal concentration in plants. Concentrations ranged from two low concentrations of 0.1 mg/kg Cd (in grain of corn, Zea mays , on an abandoned sludge disposal site that had not received sludge for 10 years, and in roots of hybrid poplar, Populus deltoides x P. nigra , at a 25-year old active sludge farm) to 380 mg/kg Cd in leaves of penny-cress ( Thlaspi caerulescens ). Plants that hyperaccumulate Cd (i.e., have 100 mg/kg Cd in the tissue or more) belong to the genus Thalspi , the only known Cd hyperaccumulator. Of particular concern for humans are the high concentrations of Cd in rice grain and tobacco leaves. Even if Cd availability is decreased by adding amendments, it is still in the soil and a potential hazard. The best solution for maintaining non-contaminated soils and plants is to remove the sources of Cd in the environment. Given that that is essentially impossible at this time, further research needs to determine how soil and plant factors affect Cd availability on polluted soils.
Nefiracetam (DM-9384): effect on eyeblink classical conditioning in older rabbits

The nootropic compound nefiracetam was evaluated in 88 older rabbits in a 750-ms delay paradigm of eyeblink classical conditioning (EBCC). Rabbits (mean age=28.7 months) were assigned in groups of eight to one of six conditions in experiment 1: paired tone conditioned stimulus (CS)-corneal airpuff unconditioned stimulus (US) presentations and 1, 3, or 10 mg nefiracetam/kg or sterile saline vehicle; explicitly unpaired CS and US presentations and 3 mg nefiracetam/kg or sterile saline vehicle. Animals in the paired conditions received 10 daily sessions of 90 paired trials and animals in the unpaired conditions received 10 daily sessions of 180 unpaired CS and US presentations. The six conditions in experiment 2 were 5, 10, and 15 mg nefiracetam/kg and vehicle in 15 sessions of paired presentations; 10 mg nefiracetam/kg and vehicle in 15 sessions of unpaired conditioning. In both experiments 1 and 2, acquisition measured by trials to learning criterion was significantly faster at the 10 mg/kg dose of nefiracetam. In the repeated measures analyses comparing six doses in the paired conditions, all dependent measures [percentage conditioned responses (CRs), CR amplitude, and response latency] indicated significantly better conditioning in rabbits treated with 10 mg nefiracetam/kg, but this dose did not increase motor responding or responding in the unpaired condition. Nefiracetam facilitated acquisition of EBCC in older rabbits. EBCC is performed poorly by older humans and is seriously impaired in Alzheimer's disease. These preclinical data in an animal model with clear parallels in humans suggest that nefiracetam may prove effective as a cognition enhancer in clinical trials.
Temporal changes in adenylate cyclase activity in acutely ischemic dog heart: Evidence of functional subunit damage

Abstract Literature reports have indicated increased tissue levels of adenosine-3′,5′-cyclic phosphoric acid (cAMP) following ischemic insult to the myocardium. Studies were undertaken to determine possible changes in adenylate cyclase activity from ischemic and control heart tissue following complete coronary artery ligation. No changes were found in adenylate cyclase of ischemic tissue compared to controls following 10 min of occlusion. Basal adenylate cyclase velocities were slightly decreased after 20 min of ischemia and exhibited a 39% decrease after 60 min of coronary occlusion. Isoproterenol- and fluoride-stimulated activities exhibit a greater progressive decline in activity after 20 to 60 min of ischemia. The unphysiological substrate MnATP was utilized to produce a receptor-uncoupled state of the adenylate cyclase enzyme complex. Assays utilizing the substrate MnATP, revealed marked decreases in ischemic heart tissue adenylate cyclase activity following 20 min of coronary artery ligation. The data from the receptor-coupled and uncoupled states suggest initial damage in the catalytic subunit of the adenylate cyclase complex following the onset of myocardial ischemia.
Archaic Greek foundation poetry: questions of genre and occasion

From the eighth to the sixth centuries BCE the Greeks settled an astounding number of new cities on foreign lands from the Black Sea to the coast of Spain, and these new civic foundations generated narratives designed to record and celebrate a city's origin. In general, the Greeks loved to speculate about beginnings; the births of heroes, the origins of cults, and the founding of cities all formed part of their aetiological repertoire. While tales of city foundations appear prominently in archaic literature, I will argue that foundation (or ktisis) poetry does not, as is commonly assumed, function as an autonomous literary genre in the archaic period. Genre is determined by type of occasion, not by content, at this time, and there is no evidence for any one specific occasion for which ktisis poetry was intentionally composed and performed. Instead, the foundation narrative always functions as part of a larger project; we find it embedded in many different poetic genres. For these reasons, the ktisis is better understood as a literary topos or theme which adds geographical detail and aetiological focus to a variety of poetic contexts and thus is performed on more than one occasion.
Wavelength dependence of electron flow and oxygen evolution in isolated chloroplasts: A possible role for carotenoids☆

A previously unreported stimulation of Hill activity in isolated spinach chloroplasts by long wave (> 570 nm) light and an inhibition by short wave (> 360 < 550 nm) light has been demonstrated.The effect is particularly pronounced in the presence of the uncoupling agents, methylamine, NH4Cl and qiuinacrine. Both electron transfer, and oxygen liberation, respond similarly to wavelength. It is suggested that both the stimulatory and inhibitory effects can be explained by the relative state of photoxidation of the blue-absorbing component, possibly a carotenoid. A potential regulatory role in photosynthesis is postulated for this unidentified constituent of chloroplast membranes.
Strategic alliances: introduction to the special issue

Strategic alliances have generally been defined in the academic literature to refer to relationships that allow an organization to access the strengths and capabilities of other organizations. The ...
Time-Periodic Solutions of Quasilinear Parabolic Differential Equations: I. Dirichlet Boundary Conditions

We study boundary value problems for quasilinear parabolic equations when the initial condition is replaced by periodicity in the time variable. Our approach is to relate the theory of such problems to the classical theory for initial-boundary value problems. In the process, we generalize many previously known results.
Real time spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis of the three-stages of CuIn 1−x Ga x Se 2 co-evaporation

Real time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) has been applied for in-situ monitoring and analysis of all three processing stages in the co-evaporation of copper indium-gallium diselenide (CuIn 1−x Ga x Se 2 ; CIGS) for high efficiency photovoltaic devices. The first stage entails indium-gallium selenide (In 1−x Ga x ) 2 Se 3 (IGS) deposition at a substrate temperature of 400°C on soda lime glass coated with opaque Mo. In this stage, an accurate deposition rate and the final IGS bulk and surface roughness layer thicknesses can be obtained. In the second stage, co-evaporation of Cu and Se converts the IGS film to CIGS at an elevated substrate temperature of 570°C. A bulk layer conversion model is justified and employed to analyze the second-stage RTSE data, resulting in steady-state IGS-to-CIGS thickness and volume fraction conversion rates. Near the end of the second stage, the formation of a Cu 2−x Se layer on the CIGS surface can be tracked in terms of an effective thickness rate. The final Cu2-xSe effective thickness at the CIGS surface is obtained in a time interval spanning the end of the second stage to the beginning of the third. Finally, in the third stage, the Cu-rich CIGS/Cu 2−x Se is converted to slightly Cu-poor CIGS by co-evaporation of In, Ga, and Se. In this stage, the thickness conversion rate, and the endpoint bulk and surface roughness layer thicknesses can be obtained. In the three stages, the thickness rates and final thicknesses yield information on the total elemental fluxes, and the roughness evolution yields information on grain growth and near-surface coalescence processes. Modeling of the dielectric functions in future studies is expected to yield compositional information and thus relative metallic fluxes. Variations in the RTSE-deduced information can yield insights into run-to-run irreproducibilities that influence the solar cell performance. The application of these capabilities in the fabrication of solar cells with thick (2.5 µm) and thin (0.3 µm) absorbers is demonstrated.