cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A review of HGMS methods of coal cleaning

High Gradient Magnetic Separation has been applied to the problem of cleaning coal in several ways. One is by direct mineral removal from coal slurried in water or oil. Similarly, attempts have been made to desulfurize dry coal. Coal liquids, or solvent refined coal, can have their sulfur and ash content reduced by the filtration or separation of undissolved well liberated minerals. The results of such efforts depend on the magnetic properties of the coal minerals. These have been studied and even altered to improve magnetic separation performance. HGMS has also been employed for indirect use in coal cleaning to recover heavy medium (magnetite) used in fine coal cleaning circuits. This paper is a review of our work on these applications and that of others over several years.
Selective activation with all-laser-driven Thomson γ-rays

A bright, narrow band MeV γ-ray source-ray source based on Thomson scattering using a laser-driven electron accelerator has been developed. We discuss the application of this source for selective activation in regions of high particle (neutron or gamma) production, with minimal absorption in intervening materials.
Model‐based biological Raman spectral imaging

Raman spectral imaging is a powerful tool for determining chemical information in a biological specimen. The challenge is to condense the large amount of spectral information into an easily visualized form with high information content. Researchers have applied a range of techniques, from peak-height ratios to sophisticated models, to produce interpretable Raman images. The purpose of this article is to review some of the more common imaging approaches, in particular principal components analysis, multivariate curve resolution, and Euclidean distance, as well as to present a new technique, morphological modeling. How to best extract meaningful chemical information using each imaging approach will be discussed and examples of images produced with each will be shown.
Mount Rushmore Syndrome: When narcissism rules the earth

Abstract American society's approach to its natural environment includes a narcissistic component. “Mount Rushmore Syndrome” refers to an attitude to nature that is grandiose, entitled, distant, dominating, manipulative, and hyper‐independent, yet empty. A manifestation of Mount Rushmore Syndrome is the exploitation of the natural world as a result of consumerism. Heavily influenced by corporate advertising, consumerism requires that people continually alternate between a consumer false self and a consumer symptomatic, or “one‐down,” self. Mount Rushmore Syndrome also includes an over‐identification with technology. Also discussed is a narcissistic process that occurs when , people exploit nature and when some groups socially oppress others, which helps explain why these two phenomena co‐exist so often.
Pressure dependence of the spin-peierls transition

Abstract We derive the pressure dependence of the transition temperature of the spin-Peierls transition within both mean-field theory and the extended theory of Cross and Fisher. The salient differences between the results of these cases are delineated. The anharmonicity of the dimerized lattice mode plays a crucial role in the deduced behavior, especially in the Cross-Fisher case. Using data for TTF-CuBDT, values for lattice force constants and related observables are calculated and are found to be internally consistent.
4D multi-modality tissue segmentation of serial infant images.

Accurate and consistent segmentation of infant brain MR images plays an important role in quantifying patterns of early brain development, especially in longitudinal studies. However, due to rapid maturation and myelination of brain tissues in the first year of life, the intensity contrast of gray and white matter undergoes dramatic changes. In fact, the contrast inverse around 6–8 months of age, when the white and gray matter tissues are isointense and hence exhibit the lowest contrast, posing significant challenges for segmentation algorithms. In this paper, we propose a longitudinally guided level set method to segment serial infant brain MR images acquired from 2 weeks up to 1.5 years of age, including the isointense images. At each single-time-point, the proposed method makes optimal use of T1, T2 and the diffusion-weighted images for complimentary tissue distribution information to address the difficulty caused by the low contrast. Moreover, longitudinally consistent term, which constrains the distance across the serial images within a biologically reasonable range, is employed to obtain temporally consistent segmentation results. Application of our method on 28 longitudinal infant subjects, each with 5 longitudinal scans, shows that the automated segmentations from the proposed method match the manual ground-truth with much higher Dice Ratios than other single-modality, single-time-point based methods and the longitudinal but voxel-wise based methods. The software of the proposed method is publicly available in NITRC (http://www.nitrc.org/projects/ibeat).
An analysis of factors affecting software reliability

Abstract This paper presents the findings of empirical research from 13 companies participating in software development to identify the factors that may impact software reliability. Thirty-two potential factors involved in every stage of the software development process are defined. The study uses a survey instrument to analyze these factors and identify factors that have significant impact on software reliability. The survey focuses on the perspective of the primary participants, managers, system engineers, programmers, testers and other people involved in software research or development teams. Two techniques such as the relative weight method and analysis of variance technique (ANOVA) have been used to analyze all factors and rank them in terms of their impact on software reliability. The research findings have important implications for further research and the practice of software development. For researchers, it points to improvement schemes of existing reliability modeling and factors that may be further verified and extended in subsequent research. For practitioners, it provides a general guide to the important aspects to consider in the whole software development process.
Geodesics and commensurability classes of arithmetic hyperbolic $3$-manifolds

We show that if M is an arithmetic hyperbolic 3-manifold, the set QL(M) of all rational multiples of lengths of closed geodesics of M both determines and is determined by the commensurability class of M. This implies that the spectrum of the Laplace operator of M determines the commensurability class of M. We also show that the zeta function of a number field with exactly one complex place determines the isomorphism class of the number field
Optimal portfolio and consumption decisions for a “small investor” on a finite horizon

A general consumption/investment problem is considered for an agent whose actions cannot affect the market prices, and who strives to maximize total expected discounted utility of both consumption ...
Surface enhanced covalency and its effect on the surface states of d-band metal oxides

The effect of electron-electron interactions on the surface states of ionicd-band oxides is reported. The local density of states of surface cations in the valence band region is significantly increased when surface states occur in the band gap. Coulomb repulsion associated with thissurface enhanced covalency tends to force surface states out of the band gap. These results suggest an explanation of recent experiments on SrTiO3 and TiO2.
Synthesis of 10,11,14,15‐13C4‐and 14,15‐13C2‐retinyl acetate

The synthesis of 10,11,14,15-13C4- and 14,15-13C2-retinyl acetate is described. The procedure uses a modified Wittig-Horner synthesis. By using the 13C isotope, sensitive gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry can be used for analysis in application to human isotope dilution studies. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The role of centrality in ambulance dispatching

An ambulance dispatching policy, Centrality policy, is proposed in an effort to reduce the response time in demanding emergency situations such as in natural disasters, based on the notion of centrality from the study on complex networks. The nearest neighbor (NN) policy prioritizes the emergency calls by closeness and it has been known effective in the literature. The NN policy is evolved into the Centrality policy by prioritizing the calls based on the centrality in addition to the closeness. The centrality enables to capture the efficiency of a call site in reaching out other current and future calls thus secure the long-term performance beyond the immediate performance pursued by the NN policy. Two parameters are associated with the Centrality policy: weight on centrality and choice of centrality measure. An extensive simulation-based sensitivity analysis is conducted on the algorithmic parameters to examine the role of centrality in ambulance dispatching. The analysis evidences the potential of centrality consideration in reducing the response time beyond the NN policy, given that these parameters are appropriately chosen.
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Gene Mutations, Blood Pressures, and Cardiovascular Homeostasis

A common polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene (ACE in humans, Ace in mice) is associated with differences in circulating ACE levels that may confer a differential risk for cardiovascular diseases. To study the effects of genetically determined changes in Ace gene function within a defined genetic and environmental background, we have studied mice having one, two, or three functional copies of the Ace gene at its normal chromosomal location. ACE activities in the serum increased progressively from 62% of normal in the one-copy animals to 144% of normal in the three-copy animals (P < 10(-15), n = 132). The blood pressures of the mice having from one to three copies of the Ace gene did not differ significantly, but the heart rates, heart weights, and renal tubulointerstitial volumes decreased significantly with increasing Ace gene copy number. The level of kidney renin mRNA in the one-copy mice was increased to 129 +/- 9% relative to that of the normal two-copy mice (100 +/- 4%, P = .01, n = 16). We conclude that significant homeostatic adaptations successfully normalize the blood pressures of mice that have quantitative changes in Ace gene function. Our results suggest only that quantitative changes in expression of the Ace gene will observably affect blood pressures when accompanied by additional environmental or genetic factors that together with Ace exceed the capacity of the homeostatic mechanisms.
Three-dimensional subsurface analysis of electromagnetic scattering from penetrable/PEC objects buried under rough surfaces: use of the steepest descent fast multipole method

The electromagnetic scattering from a three-dimensional (3D) shallow object buried under a two-dimensional (2D) random rough dielectric surface is analyzed. The buried object can be a perfect electric conductor (PEC) or can be a penetrable dielectric with size and burial depth comparable to the free-space wavelength. The random rough ground surface is characterized with Gaussian statistics for surface height and for surface autocorrelation function. The Poggio, Miller, Chang, Harrington, and Wu (PMCHW) integral equations are implemented and extended. The integral equation-based steepest descent fast multipole method (SDFMM), that was originally developed at UIUC, has been used and the computer code based on this algorithm has been successfully modified to handle the current application. The significant potential of the SDFMM code is that it calculates the unknown moment method surface electric and magnetic currents on the scatterer in a dramatically fast, efficient, and accurate manner. Interactions between the rough surface interface and the buried object are fully taken into account with this new formulation. Ten incident Gaussian beams with the same elevation angle and different azimuth angles are generated for excitation as one possible way of having multiple views of a given target. The scattered electric fields due to these ten incident beams are calculated in the near zone and their complex vector average over the multiple views is computed. The target signature is obtained by subtracting the electric fields scattered from the rough ground only from those scattered from the ground with the hurled anti-personnel mine.
Physical properties of alginate hydrogels and their effects on in vitro follicle development

The mechanical properties and density of natural and synthetic extracellular matrices are known to affect cellular processes and regulate tissue formation. In this report, these factors were independently investigated for their role in ovarian follicle development. The matrix composition was controlled through decreasing the solids concentration or the molar mass of the encapsulating biomaterial, alginate. Decreasing matrix stiffness and solids concentration enhanced follicle growth and coordinated differentiation of the follicle cell types, as evidenced by antral cavity formation, theca cell differentiation, oocyte maturation, and relative hormone production levels. While a stiff environment favored high progesterone and androgen secretion, decreasing alginate stiffness resulted in estrogen production which exceeded progesterone and androgen accumulation. These studies reveal, for the first time, a direct link between the biomechanical environment and follicle function, and suggest a novel non-hormonal mechanism regulating follicle development.
Diet-induced Obesity in C57BL/6J Mice Causes Increased Renal Lipid Accumulation and Glomerulosclerosis via a Sterol Regulatory Element-binding Protein-1c-dependent Pathway

Obesity and metabolic syndrome are associated with glomerulosclerosis and proteinuria, but the mechanisms are not known. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is altered renal lipid metabolism and increased expression of sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) in a model of diet-induced obesity. C57BL/6J mice that were fed a high fat, 60 kcal % saturated (lard) fat diet (HFD) developed obesity, hyperglycemia, and hyperinsulinemia compared with those that were fed a low fat, 10 kcal % fat diet (LFD). In contrast, A/J mice were resistant when fed the same diet. C57BL/6J mice with HFD exhibited significantly higher levels of renal SREBP-1 and SREBP-2 expression than those mice with LFD, whereas in A/J mice there were no changes with the same treatment. The increases in SREBP-1 and SREBP-2 expression in C57BL/6J mice resulted in renal accumulation of triglyceride and cholesterol. There were also significant increases in the renal expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), type IV collagen, and fibronectin, resulting in glomerulosclerosis and proteinuria. To determine a role for SREBPs per se in modulating renal lipid metabolism and glomerulosclerosis we performed studies in SREBP-1c–/– mice. In contrast to control mice, in the SREBP-1c–/– mice with HFD the accumulation of triglyceride was prevented, as well as the increases in PAI-1, VEGF, type IV collagen, and fibronectin expression. Our results therefore suggest that diet-induced obesity causes increased renal lipid accumulation and glomerulosclerosis in C57BL/6J mice via an SREBP-1c-dependent pathway.
Response to “Ending Social Work's Grudge Match”

This is a sly and oftentimes funny piece. The wrestling metaphor is clever, as is the over-the-top hyperbolic introduction, In one corner, in black spandex … (McMillen, Morris, & Sherraden, 2004, p. 317). The extravagant literate vigor expended here surely gets one's attention … well, it got mine. But it seems clear to me that the authors have a hammerlock on problems and cannot let it go. It takes dedication and single-mindedness to keep a wrestling hold like that, leaving little energy for considering other moves and strategies. This is by way of saying that I am still not sure that the authors get it.
WSN03-1: A Dynamic Distributed Diagnosis Protocol for Wireless and Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks

This paper considers the problem of self-diagnosis of mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) using the comparison approach. In this approach, a MANET consists of a collection of n independent heterogeneous mobile hosts interconnected via wireless links, and it is assumed that at most sigma of these mobile hosts are faulty. In order to diagnose the state of the MANET, tasks are assigned to pairs of mobiles and the outcomes are compared. The agreements and disagreements among mobiles are the basis for identifying the faulty ones. We describe a new distributed self-diagnosis protocol for MANETs that is able to identify hard and soft faults in a finite time, and we show that it performs better than the existing protocols.
Similarities Between Classical Celestial Navigation and Electrostatic Gyro Navigation

In the absence of torque, a gyroscope's spin axis will maintain a fixed angular orientation in space. This angular orientation is analogous to the fixed line of sight to a star. In principle then, one should be able to perform celestial navigation using gyroscopes as self-contained stars. Unfortunately, most current inertial autonavigators apply torques to the gyroscopes. Ideally these torques are of just the right magnitude to cause the stable platform on which the gyros are mounted to stay locally level. In the case of strapdown inertial autonavigators, the gyroscopes are torqued to follow the host vehicle angular rates. This results in the gyroscope becoming just an angular rate sensor, and the only measure of true angular orientation rests within the system computer. These mechanizations lead to concepts unfamiliar to many navigators familiar with celestial navigation. Electrostatic gyroscope (ESG) inertial navigation systems are unique in that they are normally operated untorqued. As such, the orientation of their gyro spin axes remain fixed in inertial space. This makes it possible to consider their operation in terms of classical celestial navigation concepts. This paper will develop this similarity to the point where one familiar with celestial navigation will be able to understand the alinement problem and the fundamental error sources of ESG inertial systems. A specific type of ESG employed at Rockwell International in both gimbaled and strapdown systems will be discussed. This will provide the basis for relating angle readout errors and drift rate to their counterparts in celestial navigation. The buzz words used in inertial navigation, such as Schuler tuning and Kalman filtering, will be related to concepts familiar to celestial navigators. The paper will be based on straightforward physical principles and the concepts presented without resorting to mathematical development.
The orchestration of occupation: the dance of mothers.

Objectives This article describes the relationship of mothers' orchestration of daily occupations, the specialized maternal work of parenting a child with a disability, and the mother's subjective well-being. Method Mothers' daily occupations and subjective well-being were studied using multiple in-depth interviews, participant observation of a day's round of occupations, and scales of well-being. Data were treated to a recursive analysis, which included theoretical notes generated during transcriptions that identified important themes and additional points of inquiry, line-by-line coding of transcripts, and theoretical sorting of codes and regrouping, recoding. To account for patterns in the data, a relational analysis was conducted that included the generation of metaphors. Results Emergent findings of this analysis identified the mothers' guiding occupational motif and eight processes of orchestration in their daily routines. The occupational motif, the embrace of paradox, directed the mother's orchestration of daily occupations. The orchestration processes included planning, organizing, balancing, anticipating, interpreting, forecasting, perspective shifting, and meaning making. Examples illustrate the maternally driven and child-sensitive nature of these processes. Conclusion In their daily rounds, the mothers studied were attentive to the manner and method with which they interacted with their children to produce child-contingent occupations commensurate with their values of being a good mother. Using these orchestration processes, mothers made sense of their past, designed their present, and planned for their future within their daily occupational rounds for themselves and family members.
Anaerobic oxidation of methane: an underappreciated aspect of methane cycling in peatland ecosystems?

Abstract. Despite a large body of literature on microbial anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in marine sediments and saline waters and its importance to the global methane (CH4) cycle, until recently little work has addressed the potential occurrence and importance of AOM in non-marine systems. This is particularly true for peatlands, which represent both a massive sink for atmospheric CO2 and a significant source of atmospheric CH4. Our knowledge of this process in peatlands is inherently limited by the methods used to study CH4 dynamics in soil and sediment and the assumption that there are no anaerobic sinks for CH4 in these systems. Studies suggest that AOM is CH4-limited and difficult to detect in potential CH4 production assays against a background of CH4 production. In situ rates also might be elusive due to background rates of aerobic CH4 oxidation and the difficulty in separating net and gross process rates. Conclusive evidence for the electron acceptor in this process has not been presented. Nitrate and sulfate are both plausible and favorable electron acceptors, as seen in other systems, but there exist theoretical issues related to the availability of these ions in peatlands and only circumstantial evidence suggests that these pathways are important. Iron cycling is important in many wetland systems, but recent evidence does not support the notion of CH4 oxidation via dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction or a CH4 oxidizing archaea in consortium with an Fe(III) reducer. Calculations based on published rates demonstrate that AOM might be a significant and underappreciated constraint on the global CH4 cycle, although much about the process is unknown, in vitro rates may not relate well to in situ rates, and projections based on those rates are fraught with uncertainty. We suggest electron transfer mechanisms, C flow and pathways, and quantifying in situ peatland AOM rates as the highest priority topics for future research.
The role of the vibration signal in the house-hunting process of honey bee (Apis mellifera) swarms

The function of the vibration signal of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) during house hunting was investigated by removing vibrating bees from swarms and examining the effects on waggle dancing for nest sites, liftoff preparations and swarm movement. We compared house hunting among three swarm types: (1) test swarms (from which vibrating bees were removed), (2) manipulated control (MC) swarms (from which randomly selected workers and some waggle dancers were removed), and (3) unmanipulated control (UC) swarms (from which no bees were removed). The removal of vibrating bees had pronounced effects on liftoff preparations and swarm movement. Compared to the MC and UC swarms, the test swarms had significantly greater liftoff-preparation periods, were more likely to abort liftoff attempts, and in some cases were unable to move to the chosen site after the swarm became airborne. However, the three swarm types did not differ in overall levels of waggle dance activity, the time required to achieve consensus for a nest site, the rate at which new waggle dancers were recruited for the chosen site, or the ability to maintain levels of worker piping necessary to prepare for flight. The removal of vibrating bees may therefore have altered liftoff behavior because of a direct effect on vibration signal activity. A primary function of the signal during house hunting may be to generate a level of activity in workers that enhances and coordinates responses to other signals that stimulate departure and movement to a new location.
A systematic approach to the management of postoperative nausea and vomiting

Abstract Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), a common complication after anesthesia and surgery, often results in delayed discharge with the patient's unpleasant symptoms continuing at home. To effectively prevent and treat PONV, it is important to understand the factors implicated in PONV, the mechanisms of PONV, the pharmacology of the antiemetic agents, and the nonpharmacologic measures that have been shown to be effective. The cause of PONV is likely to be multifactorial, with important predictors being female gender, history of PONV, and history of motion sickness. The vomiting center can be triggered by activation of dopamine, serotonin (type 3), histamine (type 1), and muscarinic cholingergic receptors in the chemoreceptor trigger zone and the nucleus tractus solitarus, as well as acetylcholine receptors in the vestibular apparatus, vagal afferents from the periphery, and the endocrine environment. Antiemetic agents such as the serotonin antagonists (eg, ondansetron, dolasetron), droperidol, antihistamines (eg, diphenhydramine, dimenhydrinate), and promethazine can prevent and treat PONV effectively. Transdermal scopolamine and dexamethasone have a role in the prevention of PONV, particularly for certain high-risk patients. Nonpharmacologic measures and alternative treatments such as hydration, maintaining blood pressure, acupressure techniques, trancutaneous acupoint stimulation, and isopropyl alcohol must not be overlooked. Finally, an evidence-based algorithm for the prevention and treatment of PONV in adults is presented. © 2002 by American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses.
Effects of optical feedback in InAs/GaAs monolithic quantum dot passively mode-locked lasers

The impact of optical feedback on the performance of a monolithic InAs/GaAs quantum dot passively mode-locked laser is experimentally investigated. We show that a feedback level greater than −25dB can be detrimental to mode-locking operation.
AGN Unification: An Update

The paradigm for AGN unification is reviewed, in terms of its optical manifestation as obscuration in the equatorial plane and its radio manifestation as relativistic beaming of the jet emission. Within this paradigm, observed AGN properties depend strongly on orientation angle. The predictions of unification are commensurate with the local numbers of AGN of various types. The outstanding question concerns a possible population of obscured AGN at high redshift, which are thought to produce the X-ray background, although few are observed directly. We describe early results from GOODS, an HST-SIRTF-Chandra multiwavelength survey, which has as one of its principal goals the search for such obscured AGN.
Autoimmune thyroid disease following alemtuzumab therapy and hematopoietic cell transplantation in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease

Allogenic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) is currently the only curative treatment option for patients with sickle cell disease. Alemtuzumab is a monoclonal antibody directed against CD52 positive cells used in myeloablative conditioning regimens for alloHCT. Its use has been associated with development of autoimmune disease in adult patients with rheumatologic conditions. We report on three cases of new onset autoimmune thyroid disease after alloHCT treatment with alemtuzumab in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease.
Matriptase and HAI-1 Are Expressed by Normal and Malignant Epithelial Cells in Vitro and in Vivo

Matriptase and its cognate, Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor, HAI-1, comprise a newly characterized extracellular matrix-degrading protease system that may function as an epithelial membrane activator for other proteases and latent growth factors. Both enzyme and inhibitor have been detected in breast cancer cells, immortalized mammary epithelial cells, and human milk, but not in cultured fibroblasts nor in fibrosarcoma cells. To test the hypothesis that this system is expressed by normal breast epithelium, invasive breast cancers, and other cancers of an epithelial origin (carcinomas) but not in cancers of a mesenchymal origin, we have expanded our expression analysis of matriptase and HAI-1 in vitro and in vivo. Matriptase and HAI-1 were detected at the protein and mRNA levels both in hormone-dependent and hormone-independent cultured breast cancer cells, and this expression correlated with the expression of the epithelial markers E-cadherin or ZO-1. However, none of the breast cancer cell lines tested that express the mesenchymal marker vimentin express matriptase or HAI-1, consistent with an epithelial-selective expression of this system. Expression of matriptase, as determined by Western blot analysis, was observed in primary human breast, gynecological, and colon carcinomas, but not in stromal-derived ovarian tumors and human sarcomas of various origins and histological grades. The epithelial-selective expression of matriptase and HAI-1 was further confirmed in human breast cancers by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, where the expression of the protease and the inhibitor were found in the carcinoma cells and in surrounding normal breast epithelia. The expression of the matriptase/HAI-1 system by malignant epithelial cells in vivo suggests a possible role for this protease in multiple aspects of the pathophysiology of epithelial malignancy, including invasion and metastasis.
Suppression of EEG rhythmic frequencies during somato-motor and visuo-motor behavior

Abstract In a previous study of simulated vehicle performance we found that stationary visual attention and body movements alone produced selective effects on topographic EEG frequency patterns. In the present study we focus on an expanded set of these task components. EEG, EOG and ECG data were recorded from 21 subjects during instructed driving movements and during visual scanning tasks ranging from a stationary to a rapidly moving simulated driving display. Spectral analysis was calculated on ten 2-Hz, partially overlapped frequency bands between 6 and 17 Hz. Body movements produced a selective bilateral suppression of 11–15 Hz activity localized to medial somatosensory cortex, while both slow and rapid visual scanning tasks produced a similar bilateral suppression of 11–15 Hz activity localized to temporo-parietal sites. A generalized suppression of 7–11 Hz activity was also found during the fastest visual scanning task. There were no significant differences in ECG between tasks. Other human and animal findings consistent with these functional observations are discussed.
A predictive assay for human tumor cellular response to hyperthermia using dansyl lysine staining and flow cytometry.

Abstract The heat response of five human tumor biopsies has been examined using the fluorescent probe dansyl lysine and multiparameter flow cytometry. Dansyl lysine has previously been shown to possess specificity for heat killed mammalian cells. The human tumors tested included a cervical squamous cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, colon adenocarcinoma, ovarian carcinoma, and a mesothelioma. The samples were excised, mechanically disrupted into single cell suspensions and heated in vitro for various lengths of time at 45°C. The cells were returned to 37°C incubation for 12 to 15 hours prior to staining with dansyl lysine. The fraction of cells staining dansyl lysine was quantitated by flow cytometry after gating on high forward angle light scatter and 90°C light scatter. This gate excluded much of the normal cell contamination within the tumor sample. The data show that the heat response of human tumor biopsies varied significantly, with cervical carcinoma and malignant melanoma being the most resistant and the mesothelioma and ovarian carcinoma the most heat sensitive. Finally, evidence is presented for the expression of thermotolerance in ovarian carcinoma and mesothelioma biopsies pre-heated in vitro . Dansyl lysine appears to be useful in measuring the intrinsic cellular heat sensitivity of human tumors and in determining the kinetics of decay of thermotolerance following an initial heat exposure.
Enterobacter Bacteremia in Pediatric Patients

Enterobacter has emerged as an important human pathogen, particularly in sick, hospitalized patients. Previous reports of nonepidemic enterobacter bacteremia have focused on adult patients. In this report, the epidemiologic factors, clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcome for 33 patients with enterobacter bacteremia in a large children's hospital during a 5-year period are reviewed. The ratio of males to females was 1.2:1. The patients' ages ranged from 2 days to 24 years, and 18 patients were less than 18 months old. Twenty-two cases were nosocomially acquired; six were polymicrobial in nature. Significantly underlying conditions were present in 32 patients. The biliary tract and central venous catheters were the most common sources of bacteremia. Two-thirds of patients had preceding antibiotic therapy. The overall mortality was 24%; mortality attributable to enterobacter bacteremia was 18%. Statistically significant differences in mortality were associated with an age less than 18 months (P = .031) or thrombocytopenia (P = .017); presence of fever was of borderline significance (P = .098). Enterobacter bacteremia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients.
A study of performance support in higher education

Successful performance improvement efforts are closely tied to the strength and integrity of the performance analysis process. During a time when higher education institutions are facing increasing budget cuts, the ability to recruit and retain students is extremely important. For some institutions, web-based courses have been viewed as a way to attract new students, as well as to provide more convenient education options for students currently enrolled. While the occurrence of e-learning has continued to increase, concerns with the quality and availability of faculty support to design and deliver such programs still exist. This study surveyed chief academic affairs officers to gather information about institutional priorities and practices that relate to web-based learning, with the goal of identifying opportunities to improve instructional performance. The findings include evidence that institutions are offering a variety of means of instructional supports; however, there are specific areas where institutions are consistently delinquent.
MATHEMATICA : A FLEXIBLE DESIGN ENVIRONMENT FOR NEURAL NETWORKS

Several neural networks were developed inMathematica in order to explore the role of “spiky” neurons in neural network memory simulations. UsingMathematica for this task confirmed its value as a powerful tool for neural network development: It exhibited distinct advantages over other environments in programming ease, flexibility of data structures, and the graphical assessment of network performance.
The Logical Spreadsheet

This chapter provides a logical interpretation of the resulting relational spreadsheet as the nonrecursive fragment of a suitable flavor of Datalog enriched with negation and constraints. The theory of this language is developed into a model that emphasizes the unique requirements of a spreadsheet. In particular, it provides a logical account of key spreadsheet functionalities such as evaluation, update and explanation. A spreadsheet based on this interpretation can already be called “deductive”, for a very weak notion of deduction.
Protocol Transplant Biopsies: Are They Really Needed?

Studies suggest that surveillance or protocol biopsies that are performed during the first year after kidney transplantation may be clinically useful in identifying early acute rejection or chronic allograft nephropathy at a point when they may be amenable to treatment. Although the benefit of this approach has yet to be evaluated in large, multicenter, prospective trials, numerous studies suggest that implementation of protocol biopsies may improve long-term graft function. In particular, a number of reports suggest that detection of chronic allograft nephropathy in early protocol biopsies is predictive of subsequent graft function and loss and that early treatment may have a dramatic effect on the outcome of the graft. Protocol biopsies also have the potential to be of great value in high-risk patients, such as those with delayed graft function, by allowing for early intervention for acute rejection. Furthermore, the procedure seems to be relatively straightforward and safe. Nevertheless, paucity of data has meant that clear proof of a benefit of early treatment of subclinical rejection and chronic allograft nephropathy detected by protocol biopsy is lacking. Moreover, the optimal timing of protocol biopsies and reliable methods to quantify the histologic changes observed in biopsy specimens have yet to be determined. This review discusses the pros and cons of protocol biopsies and considers the place of this procedure in the routine treatment of kidney transplant patients.
Example Modulator Systems

This chapter contains sections titled: SCMOD2: General-Purpose Second-Order Switched-Capacitor ADC SCMOD5: A Fifth-Order Single-Bit Noise-Shaping Loop A Wideband 2-0 Cascade System A Micropower Continuous-Time ADC A Continuous-Time Bandpass ADC Audio DAC Conclusions This chapter contains sections titled: References
En-Gendering Democracy

Despite the great disparity in wealth and privilege, women in the United States and in developing countries have in common a core principle: Women must be equal participants in our governing institutions and in policy-making. In this paper, I take the position that deep democracy, and other new participatory democratic models will fail, if true participation is really the goal, as long as there are basic inequalities between men and women that prevent women from full and proportionally equal participation. I suggest that an en-gendered democracy is a multigendered democracy. Multigendering is based on the notion that gender is not static, is relational, fluid, and changing in reference to the environment. The relational aspects of gendering, once understood and accepted, may be an answer to the dilemma of the representation of women and our equal participation in the institutions that govern our lives.
Costs of Care for Hospitalization for Pemphigus in the United States

Importance Pemphigus is an autoimmune blistering disorder associated with significant morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the inpatient burden of pemphigus. Objective To determine the incidence of and risk factors for hospitalization with pemphigus and cost of care. Design, Setting, and Participants The 2002-2012 Nationwide Inpatient Sample provided by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality was analyzed. A total of 87 039 711 children and adults (mean [SD] age, 57.7 [0.98] years for those with a primary diagnosis of pemphigus; 70.6 [0.32] years for those with a secondary diagnosis of pemphigus; and 47.9 [0.19] years for those without a diagnosis of pemphigus) were studied. Data analysis was performed from June 1 to August 30, 2015. Main Outcomes and Measures Hospitalization rates, length of stay, and cost of care. Results There were 1185 and 5221 patients admitted with a primary or secondary diagnosis of pemphigus, respectively; when factoring in weights that generalize the sample to the entire hospitalized US cohort, these admissions represented weighted frequencies of 5647 and 24 880, respectively. In multivariable logistic regression models with stepwise selection, increasing age (adjusted odds ratios [95% CIs]: 18-39 years: 5.53 [4.28-7.14], P P P P P = .047), nonwhite race/ethnicity (black: 1.94 [1.75-2.14], P P P P P P P P P P P = .02) were all associated with hospitalization for pemphigus. The total inflation-adjusted cost of care for patients with a primary inpatient diagnosis of pemphigus was $74 466 305, with a mean (SD) annual cost of $14 520.93 ($913.22). The inflation-adjusted cost of care for patients with a primary diagnosis of pemphigus increased significantly from 2002 to 2012 (analysis of variance, P Conclusions and Relevance There is a significant inpatient burden for pemphigus in the United States. Moreover, there appear to be racial/ethnic and health care disparities with respect to pemphigus, such that poor, nonwhite, and/or uninsured or underinsured patients have higher odds of hospitalization.
Towards Performance and Scalability Analysis of Distributed Memory Programs on Large-Scale Clusters

Many HPC and modern Big Data processing applications belong to a class of so-called scale-out applications, where the application dataset is partitioned and processed by a cluster of machines. Understanding and assessing the scalability of the designed application is one of the primary goals during the application implementation. Typically, in the design and implementation phase, the programmer is bound to a limited size cluster for debugging and performing profiling experiments. The challenge is to assess the scalability of the designed program for its execution on a larger cluster. While in an increased size cluster, each node needs to process a smaller fraction of the original dataset, the communication volume and communication time might be significantly increased, which could become detrimental and provide diminishing performance benefits. The distributed memory applications exhibit complex behavior: they tend to interleave computations and communications, use bursty transfers, and utilize global synchronization primitives. Therefore, one of the main challenges is the analysis of bandwidth demands due to increased communication volume as a function of a cluster size. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach to assess the scalability and performance of a distributed memory program for execution on a large-scale cluster. Our solution involves 1) a limited set of traditional experiments performed in a medium size cluster and 2) an additional set of similar experiments performed with an "interconnect bandwidth throttling" tool, which enables the assessment of the communication demands with respect to available bandwidth. This approach enables a prediction of a cluster size, where a communication cost becomes a dominant component, at which point the performance benefits of the increased cluster lead to a diminishing return. We demonstrate the proposed approach using a popular Graph500 benchmark.
Chemical and Physical Hardness of Solids

The concept of chemical hardness was originally developed as a measure of the stability of molecules. Its relationship to physical hardness and to solids is demonstrated here. Also, it is shown that shear moduli, and polarizabilitites, as well as band gaps are related to chemical hardness. Finally, evidence is presented that indentation hardness numbers are better measures of critical phase transition compressions than “pressure-cell” data.
Amblyomma calcaratum (Acari: Ixodidae), a Central and South American tick, found in Kentucky, USA.

Amblyomma calcaratum, an ixodid parasite of the Edentata in Central and South America, was recovered from a flannel drag in Kentucky, USA. This is the 1st record of this tick from the North American continent.
Application of reciprocating gait orthosis in restoration of functional gait for paraplegic patients

Objective To introduce and evaluate the application of self manufactured Reciprocating Gait Orthosis (RGO) to restore standing and walking functions of the paraplegic patients, and consequently to facilitate their systemic rehabilitation. Methods 19 paraplegic patients with complete spinal cord injury of lesion level ranging from T4 to L1 were fitted up with the RGO. All of them were hospitalized for the adjustment and adaptation of RGO. A comprehensive rehabilitation training program, including muscle strength and endurance training, restoration of range of motion, sitting and upright balancing and standing training, was simultaneously executed for the patients. Results Functional gait was achieved in 16 of the 19 patients with RGO, and therapeutic ambulation in the rest 3 patients. At follow ups by telephone or letter, 5 patients were community ambulators, 11 were household ambulators, and 2 were therapeutic ambulators. One patient abandoned the orthosis. Conclusions The RGO is indicated for the paraplegia patients with complete spinal cord injury of lesion level ranging from T4 to L1 to restore standing and functional walking, to prevent the paraplegic complications and to improve the quality of patientshealth and life. The RGO is only optional to those whose lesion level ranges from T4 to T6, depending on their age, body type, upper extremity strength, control of trunk and abdominal musculature. In addition to the lesion levels and degrees, the stability of the spine, health conditions, range of joint motion and good motivation should be taken into account before application of the RGO can be decided.
The clinical effect of tubularized transverse preputial island flap urethroplasty(duckett) for the repair of severe hypospadias

Objective To study the clinical effect of tubularized transverse preputial island flapurethroplasty (Duckett) for the repair of hypospadias. Methods We retrospectively studied 380 cases of hypospadias treated by Duckett's or Duckett and Duplay's procedure performed between January 2005 and Octorber 2012. The mean age of the patients was 4.3 years (range from 1 to 11 years). Results We followed up the patients for 2~36 months. 329 cases were cured (86.58%) by Duckett procedure. Fifty-one patients(13.42%) had postoperative complications, including fistula in 19, stenosis in 11, diverticulum in 16, fistula and diverticulum in 5. Among the cases of fistula and diverticulum, 33 cases were repaired successfully by one additional surgery, and another 7 cases required two additional procedures. Seven cases of stenosis were cured by dilatation, and the other 4 cases of stenosis required urethrotomy for treatment. Conclusion Tubularized transverse preputial island flap urethroplasly provides satisfactory effect for the treatment of severe hypospadias.
The treatment of silent gallstones.

The author presents current information relative to gallstone formation and its sequelae, quantifies the incidence of truly asymptomatic stones, presents the arguments for surgical and nonsurgical approaches to the patient harboring asymptomatic biliary disease, and offers his rationale for therapy.