cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Microsurgical Free Flap Reconstruction Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer Patients after Surgical Extirpation and Intraoperative Brachytherapy

Objectives: The management of recurrent or persistent head and neck cancer poses a challenging problem. Salvage surgery for these individuals consists of ablative surgery, interstitial brachytherapy, and microsurgical free flap reconstruction. This study reviews complications after such reconstruction. Methods: We reviewed 139 consecutive head and neck cancer patients undergoing free flap reconstruction from January 1994 to May 2002. These included 66 patients with recurrent head and neck cancer undergoing intraoperative brachytherapy (IOBT) and free flap reconstruction and 73 undergoing free flap reconstructions only. A total of 142 reconstructions were performed, with three patients in IOBT group receiving two free flap reconstructions per patient, giving us a total of 69 reconstructions in the IOBT group versus 73 in the non-IOBT group. Nine patients were excluded from the IOBT group because of non-synchronous use of brachytherapy and reconstruction, and 10 patients were excluded from the other group because they had prior radiotherapy or surgical treatment, leaving us with a total of 123 reconstructions, 60 in the IOBT group and 63 in the non-IOBT group. The IOBT group patients received 125 iodine Vicryl seed implants, 103 palladium seed implants, or both, to deliver an average dose of 79.3 ± 31.8 Gy (mean ± 1SD) to the surgical bed. Results: All patients were followed for evidence of local wound complications. The IOBT group showed multiple complications in 23 (38.33%) of 60 reconstructions, the most common being wound dehiscence in 11. This, when compared with the non-IOBT group complications (15.87%), was found to be statistically significant (X 2 test, P <.01). Conclusion: IOBT increases the rate of complications in patients undergoing microvascular free tissue transfer. This, however, should not deter or alter the aggressiveness of cancer therapy used for managing recurrent head and neck cancer. Head and neck cancer, brachytherapy, iodine-125, microvascular reconstruction.
LIGHT-DARK ENTRAINMENT OF THE GROWTH HORMONE ULTRADIAN RHYTHM IN THE RAT IS MEDIATED BY THE ARCUATE NUCLEUS1,2

Monosodium glutamate-induced lesions of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus cause diminished episodic growth hormone secretion and disrupt light-dark entrainment of the growth hormone rhythm in male rats; such lesions do not affect the light-dark entrainment of the pineal rhythm or of drinking behavior.
A linear programming bound for orthogonal arrays with mixed levels

Abstract We show how the Delsarte theory can be used to obtain a linear programming bound for orthogonal arrays with mixed levels. Even for strength 2 this improves on the Rao bound in a large number of cases. The results point to several interesting sets of parameters for which the existence of the arrays is at present undecided.
Reproductive medicine and research: contract laboratories vs. the university-based researcher

Many years ago, most clinical trials were sponsored by pharmaceutical companies conducted in the university community. Among academicians there was a general disdain for pharmaceutical projects and their funding, the projects were often assigned to junior faculty members or fellows, and these projects were given low priority by the principal investigator. However, as managed care began to erode the university profit margin and funding from the National Institutes of Health began to tighten, “drug studies” generated heightened interest. At the same time, the pharmaceutical industry flooded the development pipeline with new drugs. Wall Street demanded ever-increasing returns on investments and because pharmaceutical patents have limited life spans, speed became the currency of the day.
The development of the thigh musculature of the chick twelve figures

The development of the thigh musculature in a series of chick embryos is described and figured. In the earliest the muscular tissue is in the form of two distinct masses lying on opposite surfaces of the limb. Later, both divide into proximal and distal portions at the knee. The proximal portions, by a series of divisions, gradually attain the condition found in the adult thigh. The embryological findings tend to support the theory of the derivation of tetrapod limb musculature from the two opposed (dorsal and ventral) muscle masses of the paired fins of bony fish. The reptilian homologies of the ilio-trochanterici cannot be definitely ascertained from embryological evidence. The ischio-femoralis (= ischio-trochantericus), Previously regarded as dorsal, and the coccygeo-femorales, previously classed as incertae sedis, are in reality members of the ventral group. The distinction between ‘intrinsic’ and ‘extrinsic’ muscles inserting on the free limb appears to have no embryological or phylogenetic basis in fact. Double innervation (motor) is a primitive condition in tetrapods. Rotation of the avian pubis is correlated with an improved functioning of the obturator in the rotated position coupled with a lack of interference with the other musculature concerned.
Development and Reliability of the Lifetime Interview on Smoking Trajectories

Introduction: Assessments of lifetime smoking history are useful in many types of research including surveillance, epidemiology, prevention, intervention, and studies of genetic phenotypes and heritability. Because prospective assessment is impractical for most research, our objective was to develop a reliable retrospective measure of lifetime smoking history. This paper presents descriptive and test–retest reliability data on smoking history variables assessed using the Lifetime Interview on Smoking Trajectories (LIST).
Effects of Pargyline on Mitochondrial Amine Oxidase Activity, Indoleacetic Acid Synthesis and Growth of Crown‐Gall Tumor Callus

Vinca rosea L. crown-gall tumor callus tissue cultures treated with N-benzyl-N methyl propargylamine (pargyline) exhibited a decrease in the level of endogenous indoleacetic acid from 0.42 μg/mg of protein to less than 0.30 μg/mg of protein. A simultaneous decrease in the specific activity of mitochondrial amine oxidase from 3000 units to less than 250 units at 1.0 μM, 0.01 mM, 0.1 mM and 1.0 mM pargyline, suggested a relationship between amine oxidase function and indoleacetic acid synthesis. Tryptamine incorporation into indoleacetic acid was also decreased at these concentrations. Pargyline inhibited tumor callus growth significantly (based on fresh weight measurements) at the highest concentration, 1.0mM. These data support the hypothesis of a coordinate metabolic system linking mitochondrial amine oxidase activity and indole acetic acid synthesis. Inhibitory action of pargyline on the enzyme is reflected in reduced indoleacetic acid levels and, ultimately, in reduced callus growth rates.
Myocardial blood flow and mechanics in volume overload-induced left ventricular hypertrophy in dogs.

Chronic volume overload and subsequent left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) were produced by a surgical shunt between the left subclavian artery and the left atrial appendage in eight dogs. A sham operation was performed on six control dogs. Analysis of biplane ventriculograms showed no significant differences in ejection fraction, mean wall stress, tension-time index, or stress-time index. A significant increase was found in stroke work per gram of left ventricle (P < 0.005). Myocardial blood flow (MBF) was measured using 9 μm, radioactive microspheres at rest, at a constant treadmill workload (CWL) of 2 mph, 2% grade, and at a constant heart rate (CHR) of 175 beats·min−1. Total LVMBF (cm3·min−1) in the shunt dogs was increased at rest (P <0.05) with CWL (P <0.05) and at CHR (P <0.05). However, no differences were found between the groups in the LVMBF·g−1 of myocardium (cm3·g−1·min−1) at rest or during exercise, or in the endocardial to epicardial blood flow ratio. Volume overload hypertrophy, without the presence of heart failure, is associated with normal haemodynamic and mechanical function at rest, normal LVMBF·g−1 of myocardium and normal flow distribution at rest and during exercise.
Spatial and polarization correlations in array processing

Single- and dual-polarized arrays are used for direction-of-arrival estimation. In this paper, we present a generalized framework describing the spatio-polarimetric correlation properties of both types of arrays. It is shown that adding polarization capability to an existing array allows reduction in the source correlation beyond that achieved by only doubling the number of antennas, especially when the sources are closely spaced.
Scalable visual reasoning: Supporting collaboration through distributed analysis

We present a visualization environment called the scalable reasoning system (SRS) that provides a suite of tools for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of reasoning products. This environment is designed to function across multiple platforms, bringing the display of visual information and the capture of reasoning associated with that information to both mobile and desktop clients. The service-oriented architecture of SRS facilitates collaboration and interaction between users regardless of their location or platform. Visualization services allow data processing to be centralized and analysis results to be collected from distributed clients in real time. We use the concept of ldquoreasoning artifactsrdquo to capture the analytic value attached to individual pieces of information and collections thereof, helping to fuse the foraging and sense-making loops in information analysis. Reasoning structures composed of these artifacts can be shared across platforms while maintaining references to the analytic activity (such as interactive visualization) that produced them.
An Empirical Study for Protecting Passive RFID Systems against Cloning

RFID technology plays a key role in various areas of interest without guaranteeing security and privacy issues. Limitations of tag design make privacy and security enforcement a special challenge. In this paper, we introduce the essential components of an RFID system. Subsequently the RFID tag-to-reader authentication is presented as a solution framework for the tag cloning problem. The proposed solution involves receiving EPC RFID Generation-2 standard response messages, which vary according to power level when sent a tag KILL command. Moreover, an empirical analysis is conducted to determine the necessary power level to kill the RFID tag for different brands and types. The intention of the conducted experiments is to determine the necessary power levels at which various RFID tags were able to be killed when preprogrammed with a specific KILL password. The authors found that results of power levels at which tags killed themselves varied widely
Genetic polymorphisms in the cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 genes and risk of colorectal adenoma

Purpose Cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes, COX1 and COX2, are key in converting arachidonic acid (AA) into prostaglandins that have been associated with colorectal carcinogenesis. The aim of our study was to investigate associations of polymorphisms in COX genes, alone and in interaction with exposures known to be related to inflammation and AA metabolism, with risk of colorectal adenomas.
Prediction of sheep responses by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy

Prediction of animal response from near infrared reflectance spectra of feeds was compared with predictions from chemical analyses. Sixty samples of pure and mixed forage-based diets were obtained from sheep intake and digestion trials. Sheep responses measured were digestible energy, dry matter intake, and calculated intake of digestible energy. Diets were analyzed chemically for protein, neutral detergent fiber, and in vitro dry matter disappearance. Coefficients of multiple determination and standard errors for fitting the sheep responses to these 60 diverse diets by regression equations developed from chemical analyses (.62 to .70) or spectra (.63 to .72) were similar. The 60 diets were divided into two sets of 30; one set was used to develop calibration equations for each sheep response, and the second set was used to test the equations. Calibration and errors of prediction were similar. When wavelengths chosen for each of the laboratory measurements were used to fit the sheep responses, standard errors were higher than when responses of sheep were predicted directly from spectra. The scanning instrument has the capability of predicting laboratory analyses and shows potential for predicting animal response as accurately as animal response can be predicted from laboratory analyses.
Galileo Probe Doppler residuals as the wave-dynamical signature of weakly stable, downward-increasing stratification in Jupiter's deep wind layer

Doppler radio tracking of the Galileo probe-to-orbiter relay, previously analyzed for its in situ measure of Jupiter's zonal wind at the equatorial entry site, also shows a record of significant residual fluctuations apparently indicative of varying vertical motions. Regular oscillations over pressure depth in the residual Doppler measurements of roughly 1-8 Hz (increasing upward), as filtered over a 134 sec window, are most plausibly interpreted as gravity waves, and imply a weak, but downward increasing static stability within the 5 - 20 bar region of Jupiter's atmosphere. A matched extension to deeper levels of an independent inertial stability constraint from the measured vertical wind shear at 1 - 4 bars is roughly consistent with a static stability of approximately 0.5 K/km near the 20 bar level, as independently detected by the probe Atmospheric Structure Instrument.
Modulating Hox gene functions during animal body patterning

With their power to shape animal morphology, few genes have captured the imagination of biologists as the evolutionarily conserved members of the Hox clusters have done. Recent research has provided new insight into how Hox proteins cause morphological diversity at the organismal and evolutionary levels. Furthermore, an expanding collection of sequences that are directly regulated by Hox proteins provides information on the specificity of target-gene activation, which might allow the successful prediction of novel Hox-response genes. Finally, the recent discovery of microRNA genes within the Hox gene clusters indicates yet another level of control by Hox genes in development and evolution.
Silicon-on-quartz for low power electronic applications

We have developed a novel Silicon-on-Quartz (SOQ) technology for fabricating SOI devices and circuits for low power electronics applications. SOQ substrate is fabricated by direct bonding of a silicon wafer with an etch-stop layer, and a quartz wafer, at room temperature, followed by thinning using surface grinding and selective etching techniques. We have successfully fabricated SOQ CMOS devices and demonstrated transistors with high mobility and low leakage currents. Thermal stress management techniques employed for the successful fabrication of the SOQ CMOS devices and the advantages of the SOQ approach for low power electronics are discussed.
A Collaboration-based Autonomous Reputation System for Email Services

This paper presents CARE, an autonomous email reputation system based on inter-domain collaboration. Within the framework of CARE, each domain independently builds its reputation database based on both the local email history and the information exchanged with other collaborating domains. CARE examines the trustworthiness of the email histories obtained from collaborators by correlating them with the local email history. To validate the efficacy of CARE, we have analyzed real email logs, conducted a DNS-based estimation experiment, and performed a series of simulations. Our experimental results show that CARE can effectively improve the reliability and performance of email systems.
Spinal epidural abscess: clinical presentation, management, and outcome

Abstract Background We sought to describe the clinical characteristics of patients with spinal epidural abscess and to relate presentation and treatment to short-term clinical and neurologic outcome. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the records and radiographic images of all patients admitted to our institution with a diagnosis of spinal epidural abscess between January 1995 and March 2001. Results Thirty males and 18 females were admitted with spinal epidural abscess. Median age was 61 years (range, 31-84). Twenty-three of 48 patients were febrile at presentation and the mean white blood cell (WBC) count was 15.5 (range, 4.0-38.7). Twenty-seven patients presented with motor deficits, 17 with pain alone, 2 with sepsis, 1 with dysphagia, and 1 incidentally on spinal imaging. Intravenous drug abuse was the most common risk factor (13 patients) followed by the presence of nonspinal infection, including endocarditis (10 patients). Blood cultures were positive in 29 patients. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common organism cultured from abscesses. Collections were located in the cervical spine in 11 patients, cervicothoracic in 4, thoracic in 7, thoracolumbar in 4, and lumbosacral in 22. One patient harbored both cervical and lumbar epidural abscesses. Twenty-three patients initially received nonoperative therapy with antibiotics alone; 25 underwent urgent surgery. Eleven patients initially treated with antibiotics eventually deteriorated and required delayed surgery. Patients receiving antibiotics suffered a significantly greater number of unfavorable outcomes (clinical deterioration or death) than those in the early surgical group ( P Conclusions Patients with spinal epidural abscess may be normothermic and have normal WBC counts. Urgent surgery was more likely to be offered to patients presenting with neurologic deficits than with pain alone. Patients treated without early surgery were significantly more likely to deteriorate and suffer poor outcomes.
Estimating oxygen exchange across the air-water interface of a hypereutrophic lake

Patterns of estimates of oxygen flux (J) across the air–water interface of hypereutrophic Onondaga Lake, NY, U.S.A., are characterized for time scales ranging from diel to seasonal for an 8-month period. The analysis is supported by a high frequency (most often hourly) monitoring program, conducted with a robotic buoy, that included measurements of dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, and fluorometric chlorophyll a in the lake's surface waters, vertical profiles of DO through the epilimnion, and wind speed and solar radiance. The magnitude and direction of J is demonstrated to vary dramatically at diel, day-to-day, and seasonal time scales. Thus, large errors in estimates of J may result from extrapolating flux calculations made from short-term data to longer time periods. The variations in J were driven by variations in metabolic activity and meteorology, and were mediated by departures from equilibrium DO concentrations and wind-driven turbulence. Extended periods of high J values are shown to coincide with intervals of large departures from equilibrium DO concentrations, but day-to-day differences are driven mostly by variations in wind. A distinct diel pattern of J estimates is manifested for average conditions, with substantially higher J values during daylight hours. This pattern reflects the common diel patterns of the drivers of both higher DO oversaturation and wind speed over those hours. It is demonstrated that the magnitude of J is substantial relative to net changes in the epilimnetic DO pool, and thus must be accommodated accurately in estimates of primary production and community respiration that are to be based on diel monitoring of DO in the water columns of productive lakes.
Improved profit functions for newsvendor models with normally distributed demand

Existing textbook and research paper formulas for newsvendor models with normally distributed demand represent reasonable approximations of expected profit only when the coefficient of variation (CV) of demand is relatively low. Instead, we seek expected profit functions that better represent the expected value of what firms will actually earn if managers are making ordering decisions assuming a normal distribution (the most common assumption in many textbooks and papers). We derive robust expected profit formulas that account for high CV, and computational experiments suggest that our formulas provide a close match to actual realised average profit, irrespective of the CV level.
Review of doubled haploid production in durum and common wheat through wheat × maize hybridization

Production of doubled haploids (DHs) is an important methodology to speed the process of breeding and development of mapping populations in crops. The procedure for DH production includes two major steps: haploid induction and chromosome doubling. In recent years, wide hybridization between wheat and maize has become a main approach for haploid production in wheat. In this method, the maize chromosomes are completely eliminated during the early development of the hybrid seeds after wheat spikes were pollinated with maize pollen. Numerous wheat cultivars and mapping populations have been developed using wheat–maize hybridization. In this study, we review the procedures of DH production of durum and common wheat via wide hybridization with maize, the factors which affect the efficiency of DH production, and the mechanism of selective elimination of the maize genome during the early development of the hybrid embryos. We also report a highly efficient protocol for DH production in durum and common wheat, which was established based on the optimal conditions for each of the factors that affect the efficiency of DH production.
Tripeptidyl Peptidase II Promotes Maturation of Caspase-1 in Shigella flexneri-Induced Macrophage Apoptosis

The invasive enteropathogenic bacterium Shigella flexneri activates apoptosis in macrophages. Shigella-induced apoptosis requires caspase-1. We demonstrate here that tripeptidyl peptidase II (TPPII), a cytoplasmic, high-molecular-weight protease, participates in the apoptotic pathway triggered by Shigella. The TPPII inhibitor Ala-Ala-Phe-chloromethylketone (AAF-cmk) and clasto-lactacystin β-lactone (lactacystin), an inhibitor of both TPPII and the proteasome, protected macrophages from Shigella-induced apoptosis. AAF-cmk was more potent than lactacystin and irreversibly blocked Shigella-induced apoptosis by 95% at a concentration of 1 μM. Conversely, peptide aldehyde and peptide vinylsulfone proteasome inhibitors had little effect on Shigella-mediated cytotoxicity. Both AAF-cmk and lactacystin prevented the maturation of pro-caspase-1 and its substrate pro-interleukin 1β in Shigella-infected macrophages, indicating that TPPII is upstream of caspase-1. Neither of these compounds directly inhibited caspase-1. AAF-cmk and lactacystin did not impair macrophage phagocytosis or the ability of Shigella to escape the macrophage phagosome. TPPII was also found to be involved in apoptosis induced by ATP and the protein kinase inhibitor staurosporine. We propose that TPPII participates in apoptotic pathways.
Role of Insulin Resistance in Human Disease (Syndrome X): An Expanded Definition

Resistance to insulin-mediated glucose uptake is characteristic of individuals with impaired glucose intolerance or non-insulin-dependent diabetes, and it also occurs commonly in patients with high blood pressure. The physiological response to a decrease in insulin-mediated glucose uptake is an increase in insulin secretion, and as long as a state of compensatory hyperinsulinemia can be maintained, frank decompensation of glucose tolerance can be prevented. However, it is likely that the defect in insulin action and/or the associated hyperinsulinemia will lead to an increase in plasma triglyceride and a decrease in high density lipoprotein-cholesterol concentration, and high blood pressure. It seems likely that the cluster of changes associated with resistance to insulin-mediated glucose uptake comprise a syndrome, which plays an important role in the etiology and clinical course of patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes, high blood pressure, and coronary heart disease.
Why Animals Lie: How Dishonesty and Belief Can Coexist in a Signaling System

Abstract: We develop and apply a simple model for animal communication in which signalers can use a nontrivial frequency of deception without causing listeners to completely lose belief. This common feature of animal communication has been difficult to explain as a stable adaptive outcome of the options and payoffs intrinsic to signaling interactions. Our theory is based on two realistic assumptions. (1) Signals are “overheard” by several listeners or listener types with different payoffs. The signaler may then benefit from using incomplete honesty to elicit different responses from different listener types, such as attracting potential mates while simultaneously deterring competitors. (2) Signaler and listener strategies change dynamically in response to current payoffs for different behaviors. The dynamic equations can be interpreted as describing learning and behavior change by individuals or evolution across generations. We explain how our dynamic model differs from other solution concepts from classi...
The Algebraic Structure of Transformed Time Series

Invertible transformations are often applied to time series data to generate a distribution closer to the Gaussian, which naturally has an additive group structure. Estimates of forecasts and signals are then typically transformed back to the original scale. It is demonstrated that this transformation must be a group homomorphism (i.e., a transformation that preserves certain arithmetical properties) in order to obtain coherence between estimates of quantities of interest in the original scale, and that this homomorphic structure is ensured by defining an induced group structure on the original space. This has consequences for the understanding of forecast errors, growth rates, and the relation of signal and noise to the data. The effect of the distortion to the additive algebra is illustrated numerically for several key examples.
The Impact of “Soft” Affirmative Action Policies on Minority Hiring in Executive Leadership: The Case of the NFL's Rooney Rule

There is a dearth of affirmative action policies designed to impact executive level hiring. The National Football League's (NFL) “Rooney Rule” is the exception. The Rooney Rule requires NFL teams to interview at least one minority candidate for any head coaching vacancy. Using a difference-in-differences approach, I present evidence that the Rooney Rule had a significant, positive impact on the likelihood that a minority candidate would fill an NFL head coaching vacancy. The Rooney Rule could serve as a case study for other types of firms wishing to enact “soft” affirmative action policies to impact executive hiring.
Rethinking Labor Law: Employment Protection for Boundaryless Workers

In the United States, the labor and employment laws were built on the assumption that workers had career-long, stable relationships with their employers. Now the workplace is changing. New ideas about how to organize work have generated new flexible work practices that are proliferating throughout American enterprises and disrupting long-term employment relationships. There has been an explosion in the use of atypical workers such as temporary workers, leased workers, and independent contractors. Furthermore, regular full-time employment no longer carries the presumption of a long-term attachment between an employee and a single firm and orderly promotion patterns and upwardly rising wage patterns. Today, employees now expect to change jobs frequently and firms expect a regular amount of churning in their workforces. Indeed, the very concept of the workplace as a 'place', and the concept of employment as involving an 'employer', are becoming out-dated. As a result of the transformation of work, the current regulatory regime is seriously out of alignment with the reality of today's workplace. In the United States, the labor and employment laws are for regular workers - those with long term, steady jobs with steady employers. The labor and employment laws give regular workers a right to unionize and bargain collectively, social insurance against unemployment and workplace injuries, a minimum wage guarantee, and health and safety protection. Atypical workers - those lacking a long-term relationship with a particular employer - are usually not eligible for those employment rights. Yet in the labor market today, all workers are becoming atypical. Soon the atypical workers will be typical and the only really atypical ones will be those we today consider typical. In light of the transformation of work, it is necessary to rethink the nature of employment regulation at a fundamental level. The task for labor law scholars today is to describe the current workplace, identify the problems and vulnerabilities it creates, and devise solutions that provide workers with support structures so that they can weather career transitions and thrive in the new boundaryless workplace.
Manuscript Collections in the Bancroft Library

many years the Bancroft Library has been known far and wide as one of the greatest collections of historical materials in this country. Its fame rests on the fact that its central core of documents and books consists of highly specialized collections accumulated at a very early period in the history of Western North America. This fact is basic to any understanding of what the Bancroft Library is and why its sources are so unique. Hubert Howe Bancroft, founder of the Library, came to San Francisco in 1852, while the Gold Rush excitement was still in its ascendant wave. A young man of twenty, reared with a strong Puritan background in a small Ohio town, he kept his head in the swirl of madness that the Gold Fever brought with it; and, in 1856, after trying his hand at a variety of tasks in the gold fields and in Crescent City, he went into the stationery and book business in San Francisco. The choice of his business was largely accidental. It happened that as a youngster he had spent a winter or two in his brother-in-law's stationery store in Buffalo, New York, with indifferent success, but when he went to California he bore a commission from this brother-in-law to dispose of some books and stationery. As a consequence, without any particular training or education in the business that was to make him great, but with a fine sense of integrity, application to duty, and a good personality, he launched his enterprise, which grew, like a real Horatio Alger "success story," to mammoth proportions within a decade. Bancroft found it easy to make money. At a time when other business ventures were likely to fail, his grew stronger and stronger. Making money, however, gave him little real satisfaction and within a few years he began to cast about for other outlets for his energy and ambition, a search which culminated in the acquisition of a library of Pacific Coast materials and in the writing of the
Serum antibody response in sarcoidosis.

SummaryFive patients with active sarcoidosis were immunized with typhoid-paratyphoid mixed vaccine. Antibody levels were determined after primary and secondary stimulation. When compared with the response of an identically immunized group of normal subjects, the sarcoid group responded in a normal fashion. They produced similar levels of 19S or macroglobulin antibodies after primary immunization, and subsequently of 7S antibodies following secondary immunization.
A Novel Wavelength Tunable Silicon Detector for Infrared Detection

A cryogenic extrinsic silicon detector which can detect IR photons of very low energy, i.e., down to about 5.5 meV ( 220 μm) is presented. The mechanism involves photoexcitation of carriers over low energy interfacial work function barriers at p-i or n-i interfaces in a process analogous to the classic photoelectric effect. Estimates for the responsivity and the detectivity for unoptimized commercial samples containing both p-i and n-i interfaces and a sample containing only a single p-i interface are provided by comparison with a silicon composite bolometer. The range of long wavelength thresholds (λt) observed suggests that this approach can be used to tailor detectors for different IR wavelength regions by changing the dopant impurity and the impurity concentration at levels near the metal-insulator transition. Single interface results confirm the possibility of detector optimization using multilayered structures. This should lead to a unique family of uniform monolithic IR focal plane structures with tailorable and tunable response characteristics within virtually all the IR spectral range of interest.
Implicit Client Side User Profiling for Improving Relevancy of Search Results

The Web is being a pool of knowledge, where any user visits hundreds of pages for various purposes but keeping track of its relevance for him is a tedious job. An average browser just provides you by the details of your browsing history but has no way to determine what importance the page holds for the user. In this paper we propose a method which aims to generate user profiles automatically depending on the various web pages a user browses over a period of time and the user’s interaction with them. This automatically generated user profile assigns weights to web pages proportional to the user interactions on the webpage and thus indicates relevancy of web pages to the user based on these weights.
Investigation of the Extraction Procedure of Yimeier Granules

Objective To investigate the factors that affect the production of Yimeier granules,and find the best procedure.Methods According to the orthogonal design,the dry extract and the content of isofraxidin were fixed as the effective factors on improving the production procedure of the Yimeier granules.Results The best procedure was designed by A1B2C2D3.Conclusion The method can be used in industrialized production of Yimeier granules.
Analysis on Frequency and Force of Stay Cable Considering Flexural Rigidity

Based on classical string vibration theory,the finite element model for vibration analysis of stay cable was created,and a method of iteratively computing stay cable balance curve considering flexural rigidity was proposed.The influence of flexural rigidity on stay cable balance curve was discussed,the curves of distance-sagging ratio varying with tension/bending stiffness ratio was plotted,and the regularity of the bigger the flexural rigidity,the smaller the sagging of stay cables was presented.The modes of 25 pairs of cable of Xichang cable stayed bridge were accurately analyzed,the mode crossover of stay cables was testified by finite element method,the curves of frequency and mode shape varying with cable force were separately plotted,the changing rule of cable frequency was induced,the practical cable force computing method was proposed,frequency-difference method was adopted to judge the order of actual measured frequencies,and the second order frequency was used to compute cable force.The engineering instance analysis testified that the method of iteratively computing stay cable balance curve considering flexural rigidity could rule out errors caused by mode crossover,and could be applied to stay cables with any lengths and forces in any construction periods.
Evidence of malignant features in histologically mature teratoma

AbstractA total of 33 specimens from 29 patients with residual stable teratoma and mature growing teratoma after chemotherapy was analyzed for clinicopathological and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) flow cytometric variables, as well as the presence of proliferative antigen and tumor marker levels in an attempt to explain their clinical behavior. We compared the flow cytometric and histological data of these stable and growing teratomas, and of nonseminomatous germ cell tumors before chemotherapy. The DNA content of residual teratoma did not differ significantly from that of the primary testicular tumors (1.38 versus 1.48). Histological analysis of stable and growing teratomas revealed no significant difference but proliferative cellular nuclear antigen was expressed mainly in the epithelial component of the growing teratoma. α-Fetoprotein, β-human chorionic gonadotropin and carcinoembryonic antigen were elevated in the fluid of 6 excised teratomas, while concomitant serum levels were normal. The aneuploidy a...
Merchant Capital and the Roots of State Power in Senegal 1930–1985: Demise of the Dakar textile industry

State authorities face a political choice between certain Senegalese commercial interests and the local textile industry. “Interview with M. Paul Warnier, director of Icotaf,” Africa , no. 103, aout–septembre 1978 The truth of the matter is that the French industrialists in the textile industry, greedy for super profits, refuse to leave any space in this business for Senegalese in order to preserve their monopoly power and to force the government to subsidize profits which they repatriate to Europe. … In whose name, and on the basis of what justification, should we sacrifice [the Senegalese-controlled textile trade] for the benefit of les industriels francais du textile? “ Textile: Halte aux manoeuvres contre les hommes d'affaires senegalais,” Taxaw , no. 12, aout 1978 President Senghor, in a March 1970 speech in Paris, cited the rising index of industrial production to show that the Senegalese textile industry was in pleinessor (full takeoff). Employment, production, and local value-added were on the rise, making the textile industry Senegal's “most dynamic sector in importsubstitution” (World Bank 1974:222). The drought of 1973 affected the entire Senegalese economy, but the general view at the time was that the industrial sector would recover from this setback. High rates of tariff protection gave textile producers a priori claim to a share of the domestic market in goods times and in bad.
Research in Social Psychology: Consequences of Short- and Long-Term Social Exclusion

Social exclusion is a common experience in people’s lives. This chapter examines the phenomenon of both short-term and long-term experiences of social exclusion from a social psychological perspective. I begin with a detailed look at research on the adaptive responses to social exclusion, which demonstrates emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses that should facilitate either mending broken bonds or finding new affiliation partners. I then review work showing behavioral changes that seem antithetical to that goal. This is followed by a review of work within social psychology and related fields on chronic, long-term experiences of social exclusion; work related to bullying and school violence, solitary confinement in the prison system, social isolation and health, loneliness, stigma and discrimination, and a host of other topics are examined. Finally, I examine various factors which moderate how social exclusion impacts people as well as models and mechanisms attempting to explain the often and apparently contradictory findings within the social psychological literature on the topic.
New Agendas and New Patterns of International NGO Political Action

International advocacy strategies devised for the political environment in which World Bank policy is decided are often not suitable for advocacy on broader financial policy and trade issues. Advocacy in these “new” agendas challenges prevailing models, which depict NGOs as mobilizing powerful governments and international organizations to influence a government's behavior. The patterns of international NGO political activity are diverse, sometimes restraining the power of international rules and authorities over individual governments, and require a new or broader model
Observations of pockmark flow structure in Belfast Bay, Maine, Part 3: implications for sediment transport

Current observations and sediment characteristics acquired within and along the rim of two pockmarks in Belfast Bay, Maine, were used to characterize periods of sediment transport and to investigate conditions favorable to the settling of suspended sediment. Hourly averaged Shields parameters determined from horizontal current velocity profiles within the center of each pockmark never exceed the critical value (approximated with the theoretical model of Dade et al. 1992). However, Shields parameters estimated at the pockmark rims periodically exceed the critical value, consistent with conditions that support the onset of sediment transport and suspension. Below the rim in the near-center of each pockmark, depth-averaged vertical velocities were less than zero (downward) 60% and 55% of the time in the northern and southern pockmarks, and were often comparable to depth-averaged horizontal velocities. Along the rim, depth-averaged vertical velocities over the lower 8 m of the water column were primarily downward but much less than depth-averaged horizontal velocities indicating that suspended sediment may be moved to distant locations. Maximum grain sizes capable of remaining in suspension under terminal settling flow conditions (ranging 10–170 μm) were typically much greater than the observed median grain diameter (about 7 μm) at the bed. During upwelling flow within the pockmarks, and in the absence of flocculation, suspended sediment would not settle. The greater frequency of predicted periods of sediment transport along the rim of the southern pockmark is consistent with pockmark morphology in Belfast Bay, which transitions from more spherical to more elongated toward the south, suggesting near-bed sediment transport may contribute to post-formation pockmark evolution during typical conditions in Belfast Bay.
Probing the densification mechanisms during flash sintering of ZnO

Abstract Using ZnO as a model system, the densification mechanisms of flash sintering are investigated. Controlled experiments via limiting the maximum current or the effective ramp rate suggest that both the maximum specimen temperature and the high heating rate (on the order of 200 °C/s) are essential for the rapid densification during the flash sintering. Moreover, benchmarking rapid thermal annealing (RTA) experiments, which were conducted to mimic the heating profiles in the flash sintering, achieved similar densification and grain growth rates with comparable heating profiles, attesting that the ultrafast densification is mainly enabled/determined by the T ( t ) profile. The combination of these experiments suggest that, at least for ZnO, the rapid heating profile is a key factor for the observed rapid densification in flash sintering, while various electric field/current effects could also exist. A clear and consistent correlation between the grain sizes and relative densities is also evident for specimens made by both flash sintering and RTA with different conditions, suggesting the same conventional grain growth mechanism in both cases under the current experimental conditions.
The relationship among age, anxiety, and depression in older adults with cancer.

9123 Background: Depression and anxiety are common psychological sequelae of cancer, resulting in decreased adherence to treatment regimens and longer hospital stays. In men with prostate cancer, a...
Thermal degradation of MWCNT/polypropylene nanocomposites: A comparison of TGA and laser pulse heating

Abstract The kinetics of thermal degradation of isotactic polypropylene (PP) and PP with Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) was studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Nanocomposites with 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 wt % MWCNT showed enhanced thermal stability compared to the pure polymer. Higher heating rates showed a higher temperature for the 5% decomposition point and throughout the decomposition of the samples. This trend was seen at all heating rates ranging from 30 to 180 °C/min. The activation energy, calculated using the Flynn-Wall method, increased with the addition of the MWCNT, demonstrating that MWCNT contribute to the improved thermal stability of the polymer. In addition to TGA, the materials were examined at heating rates approximately 5 orders of magnitude higher than TGA with laser pulse heating. A TGA-analogue curve was constructed for the laser pulse heating case and the results were compared to traditional TGA. Laser irradiance and TGA heating rates exhibited similar effects, where higher heating rates showed lower mass loss than lower heating rates, in both regimes. MWCNTs were demonstrated to improve thermal stability in both the TGA and laser pulse heating experiments. In this work, we have established that there are similarities in nanocomposite thermal degradation behavior between the two regimes.
Stepwise two-photon excitation studies in fibers and crystals for energy upconversion and infrared quantum counter devices

Step-wise two-photon excitation studies are useful for the development of upconversion lasers and infrared quantum counter devices. Our recent experimental results on erbium doped materials revealed efficient violet upconversion emission under diode laser excitation. Latest experiments on infrared quantum counter studies are also discussed. Different energy upconversion phenomena and the upconversion laser development are also reviewed in detail. A discussion is given on the estimation of excited state absorption cross sections.
AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia: footballing rivalry and shared political underdog status in Kenya

In competitive sport, especially soccer, rivalries constitute the highlight of any given season for such rivalries make for entertaining contests, marketability of the competitions and general following by the spectators. Indeed, rivalry adds to the competitive edge of the matches that is appealing and memorable, thereby fomenting a compelling legacy over the years. This essay focuses on the epic yet enduring rivalry between AFC Leopards (formerly Abaluhya United and also fondly called ‘Ingwe’ in Swahili) and Gor Mahia (also fondly called ‘K’Ogalo’) of Kenya – the two most successful and oldest football clubs in Kenya. These were formed to provide opportunities for socialization as well as forging of ethnic identities of the Abaluhya and Luo ethnic groups in the city of Nairobi, for AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia, respectively. This rivalry is, therefore, deeply rooted in the ethnic differences of the communities that were core to their formation and fan base. The essay will endeavour to explore the multidime...
The Effects of Neuronal Growth and Social Experience on the Development of Behavioral Plasticity

The nervous system of a young animal experiences three kinds of plasticity as it grows: developmental changes, changes resulting from learning and memory, and experience-dependent changes in behavioral state. The first two are familiar and intertwined: neurons grow in size and complexity as sensory, motor and cognitive experience refine the synaptic organization of the brain during certain critical periods. At the same time, processes of learning and memory occur in and around synapses to enable sensory and motor experiences to be abstracted, categorized, and stored for later recall. Changes related to behavioral state are less studied at the level of neural mechanisms, but are also the subject of common experience. The behavior of all social animals is strongly conditioned by their social experience: their size and skill relative to their siblings and peers, or the social rank of their parents determines how they behave in the group. Moreover, sudden shifts in experience can lead to equally sudden changes in social behavior that may be short-lived or last a lifetime: the injury, disappearance or death of a dominant rival, or the appearance of a new, larger rival, can instantly and persistently change an animal’s behavior.